Reapers: The Shadow Soldiers Read Online Free

he said. The phrase was read off a poster found just behind the male nurse, but it worked nonetheless.  
    “Welcome to Altias then, doctor,” the woman said at last as she turned back and finished off her cup of noodles. The male nurse kept looking at him, so Burns made sure to give the man an approving nod as well. He responded in kind and then also went back to his work.  
    Adjusting the coat to fit comfortably, Burns began to head out of the room. As he did, he managed to get a glance at the facility fire preparedness map. According to it, the unmarked meds were kept below ground in cold storage. He assumed that was where the Flenin would be kept. He gained a slight bit of nervousness looking at this map though. Cold storage looked to be a maze of hallways. He hoped he didn’t get lost.  
    “Hey, do you need help?” the woman asked from behind him. Burns turned around and looked at her. He didn’t really want to bring someone along for the ride, but having someone along that knew the route could make his infiltration more seamless.  
    “Uh, yeah,” he stammered. “I have a patient coming in who’s going to need something strong but cheap.” He hoped that was enough of a description of Flenin to be useful.  
    “Sure, we have something like that,” she said, standing up. “Follow me.”
    She led the way through the door as they proceeded toward the other end of the hallway.
    “So, did you see what’s going down on Silverset? Scary stuff,” she exclaimed, beginning some idle chatter. Burns shrugged back to her, remembering vaguely the news report he saw at Lagona’s.
    “Sure is,” he replied. She nodded back as they approached the elevator.  
    “You know, my father is stationed down there,” she said.  
    “No kidding,” Burns replied.
    “Nope. He’s a lieutenant, a part of the planetary defense force. He got promoted from the invasion fleets.” Burns began to remember his time in the invasion fleets. Back in the day, that was where they had sent all the new recruits.  
    “Invasion fleets?” he repeated. “I served three tours in the fleets. What’s his name?” he asked.  
    “Alvarez. You know him?” she asked as she pressed the down button on the elevator.  
    “I’m afraid not.” Burns told the truth. The name wasn’t ringing any bells. It wasn’t much of a mystery though: lots of men served in the invasion fleets. “Are you worried about him?” he asked, understanding only vaguely what was happening on Silverset.
    “A little,” she said. “He’s a good soldier, but he’s getting older. The reports say that things are bad. Nearly the whole planet has been taken over. The navy might even be sending an invasion fleet. Some people are saying that the Minister of War is in negotiations to let the planet be annexed to the Isolated territories.” Burns began to feel a little lightheaded; all of this was bringing back bad memories. “My father wouldn’t like that. He’d rather die than see us negotiate with terrorists,” she told him, but Burns’ only focus was on staying upright. Thankfully, the elevator had finally arrived. They both stepped aboard.
    “That’s very brave,” he told her, still wanting an end to the conversation.
    “Yeah, he’s the reason why I decided to be a nurse. I could never do what he does, but if I can protect the people who do—well, that’s priceless.” She began to sound like someone Burns once knew. He grabbed a hold of the picture in his pocket. He wanted to take it out, but knew that doing so would begin a discussion he didn’t want to deal with.  
    Eventually, the elevator reached the correct floor, and they stepped out into the cobalt-lit cold storage room. The name didn’t do it justice—it wasn’t just cold, it was downright frigid.  
    The nurse didn’t seem to care about the temperature, and soon they were on their way through the maze of halls. Burns was thoroughly lost, but she seemed to know the correct path. Within