The Gauntlet Assassin Read Online Free PDF

the harsh bathroom light, saw only the tiny lines at the corners of her eyes and the deepening furrow in her brow. Police work had done that to her forehead. She’d started using rub-on Botox a few months back, but it could only do so much.
    She stepped out of the bathroom and saw Kirsten digging into the suitcase she’d left unzipped on her bed. “Hey, what are doing?” Lara rushed across the sitting area.
    Kirsten spun around with the Taser in her hand. “Why did you bring a stun gun?”
    Resisting the urge to shout, Lara commanded, “Put it down before you hurt someone.” Kirsten complied and Lara grabbed the Taser. “I’m an ex-cop and a paramedic. Dealing with noncs can be dangerous. I always carry a weapon.”
    “I don’t think you’re allowed to have it during the competition. I could report you.”
    “Weapons are only banned in the arena. And I could report you for wearing perfume and rifling through my things.” Lara felt rattled. She’d been there ten minutes and was already on the edge of trouble. This was not the plan. She wanted to be charming in her social encounters and ruthless in the competition. “Let’s forget all of it, okay? I’d like to get along.” What she really wanted was for Kirsten to leave the small colorless room so she could be alone for a moment.
    The NetCom made a soft noise, then a woman’s voice came through the speakers. “This is Minda Walters, director of the Gauntlet. Do you hear me?”
    Lara spun toward the desk. The video app on the monitor showed a thirty-something woman with close-cropped black hair and permanent eye-makeup tattoos. Lara stepped forward, a sick feeling in her gut. “This is Lara Evans. Kirsten Dornberg is here too.”
    “I’d like you both to report to my office on the fourth floor. It’s suite 402. Bring the perfume and the Taser.”
    Kirsten started to speak, but Lara held her finger to her lips. She grabbed her room card and motioned Kirsten to follow.
    In the hall, her roommate’s face crumpled. “I forgot about the cameras in the sitting area. I hope she doesn’t boot us out.”
    “Are you sure it’s video?” Lara knew the staging areas in the arena had cameras everywhere because the event was broadcast, but she hadn’t expected them in the hotel rooms.
    “It’s new this year, and the notice was in the file they sent us last week. You signed a consent form or you wouldn’t be here.”
    Lara had read five pages of fine print but didn’t remember such a reference. Damn! As they walked toward the elevator, her anxiety built like pressure in a teakettle. Would they be given a warning or simply kicked out? Last year, the director, nicknamed the Axe, had terminated a contestant before the Gauntlet even started, and all he’d done was smoke a cigarette, an activity that was banned almost everywhere.
    Suite 402 was on the top floor at the end of the hall and the door was open. A good sign, Lara thought. A huge metal-and-glass desk sat in the middle of the main room, and the woman behind the desk seemed tiny in comparison. Lara recognized her as Minda Walters, the Gauntlet’s director, who also served as co-host for the competition. Lara saw Minda glance up at a vent on the wall, then click her keyboard. The room was wired for video, she realized, and the director had just shut off the cameras.
    Minda’s tight expression made Lara wince, but she introduced herself with confidence anyway. She didn’t offer a handshake. The custom had faded after back-to-back influenza outbreaks, and many younger people had never adopted it. Her roommate plopped in a chair, looking glum.
    “Put the contraband on that table and have a seat.” Minda gestured, but her facial muscles didn’t move. Lara suspected her lip color was permanent as well.
    Kirsten dropped off her perfume bottle, but Lara held on to her weapon.
    The director ignored it for the moment. She introduced herself, then stared at Kirsten. “The rules are clear about perfume. This is