Into Focus (Focus Series Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

office. Alas, the real
world is often far less interesting than we hope. I mean, hell, I
was a freaking skinchanger walking around an honest-to-God
mercenary company, and these flatfoots didn’t even have the
courtesy to be part of some kind of horrifying conspiracy.
    Just once, once, I’d like to find out
something that wasn’t completely boring. But all I turned up was
human resources complaints, tax information, personnel files, and,
on one of their computers, a surprisingly varied and meticulously
organized folder filled with pornography.
    Lame.
    I went back to good old Josh’s office, and
flopped back down in front of the computer. The building itself was
totally empty except for me. The guards apparently were posted in
positions to keep people from getting into the compound at all, not
to monitor what happened inside. They probably didn’t particularly
care what happened inside. It’s not like there was anything
interesting.
    The transfer was up to ninety percent, which
was good. I wanted out of there. If I had to hang around for much
longer, the sheer boredom might just kill me. I checked the desk
clock. It was just after eight-thirty. That was fine. I’d be gone
before the work day officially started.
    Just as the transfer reached ninety-six
percent, I heard a chorus of shouts from the courtyard outside the
building. It sounded like hurried demands, voices giving orders
that should be followed, and that most sane men would obey.
    Shit. They must’ve found Josh.
    There wasn’t much I could do just yet; the
transfer wasn’t complete, and you never know what the client was
really looking for. I didn’t want to have to do this again, so I
didn’t scrap everything and bug out. Besides, it was almost
finished. And it’s not like they wouldn’t spend some time figuring
out what had happ—
    Ka-WHAM.
    An explosion, impossibly loud, erupted from
the direction of the shouts. The blast shook the building, and the
windows of the office rattled in their panes, threatening to
shatter. I jumped up from my chair, almost frantic, trying to
remain calm. It’s hard to do that when the fucking building
shakes.
    I staggered to the door and closed it, but
there wasn’t a lock on it. I cast about for something to barricade
it, and as I considered the heavy file cabinet against the wall, a
hail of gunfire shattered the relative quiet. Renewed shouts of
alarm were barely audible in brief pauses between the gunshots, but
they sounded panicked.
    I forced myself to look at the situation
rationally. It didn’t make sense. If Josh had returned, then they
would have come for me. There shouldn’t be a freaking battle
breaking out.
    The compound was, it seemed, under
attack.
    I didn’t know why it had happened, or who had
done it. It didn’t particularly matter to me, either. I had a job
to do, and getting myself involved wouldn’t get that done.
    Cursing the awful timing of paramilitary
conflicts, I practically dove over the desk to get to the computer.
The transfer was, I was happy to see, just about complete, hovering
at ninety-nine percent. In my experience, that could have either
meant it was done or would hang there for an hour.
    I didn’t have an hour.
    I stood over the desk, staring at the little
progress bar, wondering what pencil-necked code monkey had designed
this to estimate remaining time so poorly, when the door swung open
and a white-faced guard burst inside.
    He held an assault rifle in his hands, an
honest-to-God assault rifle, not just a civilian one that was
semi-automatic. That one would rip a man to shreds in a few
seconds, and might even kill me if he got lucky enough. I sized up
the distance between us, and was about to strike when the guard
closed the door quietly and crouched down where he couldn’t be
seen.
    His eyes found mine, and he mouthed “Get
down!” with startling sincerity. I obliged him, ducking behind the
desk. I crawled around it, and looked at my new friend.
    “What’s happening?” I