Shadow Ops 3: Breach Zone Read Online Free PDF Page B

hell of a thing to make that happen.’
    ‘It is.’ Crucible gestured at the phone.
    Harlequin pushed PLAY . The video was slightly grainy, the digital zoom making the colors run together, the gray and white of the stone and asphalt blending. But it wasn’t so fuzzy that Harlequin couldn’t make out the shimmering curtain, the ranks of monsters marching through it.
    Harlequin showed no reaction, and Crucible watched him, arms folded, until the video finally stopped, leaving the image frozen on a woman, arms spread, smiling up at the widening gate. Around her, tall ebony shapes spread out, white cuts for mouths grinning along with her.
    Harlequin lowered the phone. ‘That’s her, isn’t it?’
    The picture was too distorted to make out her face, but he recognized her anyway.
    Harlequin searched Crucible’s face for an accusation, found none. Relief mingled with guilt. If she was involved with anything, he was to blame. No. Oscar Britton is to blame. If it went your way, she’d still be rotting in the hole and FOB Frontier would still be standing.
    ‘It’s her,’ Crucible said. ‘We ran the image through facial-recognition software just to be double sure.’
    ‘Jesus,’ Harlequin said, resisting Crucible’s attempt to retrieve his phone, his eyes returning to the picture.
    Crucible nodded. ‘It’s not just Gahe . There are goblins. Rocs. Giants. Everything we faced at FOB Frontier.’
    ‘What do they want me for?’
    ‘The president is declaring this to be a national-security incident. He wants you as his incident commander on scene. You’ll be back in New York, just like old times,’ Crucible said, ‘except I won’t be there, and you’ll be commanding the defense instead of liaising with the NYPD.’
    Harlequin finally let the phone go. ‘So, in other words, nothing like old times.’
    ‘They know who that is, Jan. You . . . know her. You’ve fought the Gahe before. You want out of this pasture they’ve put you in? You want to show them you’re a team player? This is your chance.’
    Harlequin thought of the slim shape between the Gahe and felt his stomach do somersaults. She was easily the most dangerous Selfer in the world, the woman who’d single-handedly slaughtered hundreds and left FOB Frontier bared to its enemies. She called herself Scylla.
    Once, he’d known her by another name.

Interlude One
    Pariah
    I feel bad for them, I do. I feel bad for people with infectious diseases. I feel bad for people whose mental illness inclines them toward violence. I am not blind to how tough that is on them and their families. But if you think for a second that means I’m going to let them hurt anyone else, you’re out of your mind. We don’t quarantine in an epidemic because we think it’s fun. We do it to protect the larger population. It’s no different for Selfers. I raised my right hand and swore to protect the people who elected me to office, and God as my witness, I’m going to do it.
    Senator John McGauer
Debating the McGauer-Linden Act on the Senate floor
    Six Years Earlier
    ‘I’ve got it,’ Lieutenant Jan Thorsson said.
    Sergeant Ward looked doubtful, but he waved to the NYPD cops crouching behind the cruiser. ‘Stay put!’
    He turned back to Thorsson. The flames had singed Ward’s moustache. The black, crisped hair stank. Thorsson could only imagine how bad it must be for Ward.
    ‘You sure?’ Ward sounded relieved. He didn’t want to go in there, and Thorsson doubted he would do any good even if he did.
    Thorsson nodded. ‘You’ve got the other exit covered?’
    Ward nodded. ‘We see her . . .’
    Thorsson nodded to the building in front of them, constituting the L-shaped corridor that trapped the Selfer inside. ‘You shoot her. She’s either coming out with me, or she’s not coming out.’
    Ward’s expression went pinched. ‘Harlequin, she’s got kids.’
    Ward referred to him by his SOC call sign, yet another layer of distance between non-Latents and the SOC.