The Nightingale Circus Read Online Free PDF Page A

Conflicting orders fired
inside his brain, confusing his system. When his vision momentarily
blackened, instinct took over, and he pushed away the metal above
him and rolled on all fours, remaining in a defensive stance.
    Big Dino froze with his hand raised, still
holding the faulty module with the tweezers.
    “You alright?” Rake asked.
    “Yes—” Spinner drew in a satisfying breath,
“—I’m fine.” With the interference gone, the pain caused by various
injuries became the central focus in his brain, but at least he
could move again.
    He crawled up to Rake and tossed aside the
body lying on top of him. “Hello, handsome!” He grinned into his
friend’s blood-streaked face. The explosion had hit them from the
front, leaving its mark on their faces, arms, chests, and
shoulders.
    Rake growled, and Spinner hurried to roll him
onto the side. Without enhancements, Big Dino would have never been
able to maneuver his over half a ton weight.
    “Scalpel.” Spinner held out his hand.
    Big Dino placed the scalpel in his open
palm.
    “Tweezers.”
    Big Dino handed him the tweezers, muttering
something unintelligible under his breath, obviously not used to
playing the role of a nurse.
    The instant Spinner unplugged the module,
Rake rolled onto his knees and stood up, only to stumble because
his left leg had been so badly injured the bone was visible. He
scanned his surroundings and zeroed in on their savior’s bag.
    “You don’t mind, do you?” Rake asked over his
shoulder while he inspected its contents.
    Big Dino took one look at Rake’s bulky frame
that came close to matching his height even while on his knees and
shook his head, grinning. “By all means, help yourself.”
    After some digging, Rake found a
twenty-centimeter-long screwdriver. He held it with both hands in
front of him and shoved it in the right side of his chest,
grunting.
    “What-what are you doing?” Spinner asked,
puzzled. One extra chest wound was the last thing either of them
needed, but he made no attempt to stop him. Once Rake set his mind
to something, he couldn’t be stopped.
    “I’m handling in my resignation.” Rake
pressed harder and turned the screwdriver, his features twisted in
concentration. “I didn’t sign up for this shit. I wanted to protect
people, not be killed by our own.” He turned the screwdriver again,
and when he removed it, it came out with a small tracker, still
covered in blood, attached to its end. “There.” He smashed the
device under his boot and left it there. “We can remove the other
parts that can be tracked later on. Are you coming?” he asked when
Spinner didn’t move.
    “Uhh … yeah … now?” Spinner stammered. He
wanted to leave now ? Of course, it was doable but … Damn, he
was going to miss some of the implants they would have to get rid
of. He’d been living with them for half of his life.
    Sighing, he took the screwdriver from
Rake.
    “Fascinating.” Big Dino clasped his hands.
“I’ve never seen someone performing the procedure on himself.”
    “We have an elevated pain threshold,” Rake
said.
    It didn’t stop Spinner from grunting when he
pulled out the tracker. “Done.”
    “I may have something for you to cover that.”
Big Dino nodded at the puncture in Rake’s chest and retrieved a
spray can from the bag.
    Rake sniffed its contents and sprayed a
generous amount on his chest then handed the can over to
Spinner.
    “It itches,” Spinner said, resisting the urge
to scratch after he sprayed his chest.
    “Yeah, well … we don’t sell it, and it does
the job.” Big Dino shrugged.
    Now what? Spinner looked at Rake. They
had some money put aside since the army provided them with
everything they needed during the service, but they couldn’t access
it any longer, not if they wanted to disappear. So, they would have
to start from scratch. A wave of nausea washed over him, and
Spinner swayed on his feet. He felt too old to start a new
life.
    “You said something about a