The Weapon (The Hourglass Series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

There was no point in her trying to run
away as he turned his back to her to untie Finn. First, she had no doubt that
she wouldn’t be able to overpower the blond man. Second, even if they managed
to escape the truck without him shooting them, they were in the middle of a
military compound, wearing decidingly non-military clothes, in the middle of
the day. Sarah heard Finn take a big breath as his noose was removed. There was
a red line around his neck. The blond man pointed out of the truck.
    “After
you.”
    Sarah
and Finn exited cautiously. The guy who had slapped Finn was waiting there, his
gun resting casually in his hands. He was chewing on something. Sarah wanted to
punch him in the nose. The blond man jumped out behind them and then passed in
front, heading off in the direction of a low set building fifty metres away.
The soldier raised his eyebrows and indicated for them to follow. They did.
Sarah wished they would untie their hands. Her right hand was throbbing. They
followed the blond man into the building. There was a small reception area,
attended by a bored looking man who was typing something on a screen. He
saluted the blond man and then went back to work, ignoring Sarah and Finn. They
entered a drab hallway. There were framed photos of military exploits lining
the walls, but it all had an impermanent look about it, as if they could take
down the building and in the same day have it set up again fifty kilometres
down the road. They arrived at an office situated at the end of the hallway.
There was a desk there, accommodating a large chair behind it. In front of the
desk sat two chairs. Crewcut sat behind his desk with a sigh. The idiot with
the gun shoved Sarah and Finn forward so that they were standing in front of
the desk. Apparently they didn’t qualify for the chairs. Sarah glanced back
behind her. The guy with the gun had stationed himself firmly in front of the
door, his legs planted wide. He was still chewing. She turned back around.
Crewcut studied them for a moment and then reached down to pull out a bottom
draw on the desk. He dug around in it for a moment and then pulled out a
scanner. Sarah felt her heart sink to her stomach. She knew they would scan the
barcodes, but it hadn’t stopped her from hoping that they wouldn’t.
    “Let
‘em loose,” ordered Crewcut.
    Their
guard came forward. He holstered his gun for the first time and bought out a
switchblade, watching their faces with enjoyment as he flicked it open. Sarah
was the closest to him so he grabbed her hands first, being non-too-careful as
he slid the knife under the tie enclosing her wrist and sawed it open. Sarah
winced. The blade had cut her a little bit. It wasn’t deep, but it still hurt.
It hurt even more when the tie was loosened and all the blood rushed in and out
of her right hand. The leather band had protected her left wrist. She was
starting to get quite fond of it. Switchblade moved along to release Finn while
Sarah rubbed her wrists and tried to move her fingers.
    “Take
off your bracelet,” said Crewcut. “And you,” he said to Finn as Switchblade
moved away. “Take off that bandage.”
    Sarah
reluctantly took off the leather cuff with numb fingers. She fumbled the strap
for a second but got it off eventually. She clenched the leather in her right
fist as the barcode became visible. A few seconds later Finn had unwrapped his
bandage. This was the first time Sarah had seen it since it was burnt. It was
better than she had thought it was going to be. It was still blistered and red,
the barcode obliterated, but it was clean and less deep than she had feared. It
seemed like twenty minutes of running water really did help.
    Crewcut
grunted. “So, at least one of you is smart.” Sarah felt her face flush.
“Although not as smart as you think.” He stood up, using the desk as leverage
with another grunt and rounded the table, holding the scanner.
    “Want
to tell me who you are first?” he asked.
    They
didn’t say