Specters: A Monster Squad Novel - 8 Read Online Free Page A

have.”
    He held the phone away from her when it vibrated in his hand. He stared at the device and threw it against the wall. It simply bounced away and clattered to the floor. Laura gave him a smug smile and bent to retrieve it. “It’s a ruggedized military-grade cell phone, Dad. You could run it over with a Humvee and it would be fine.” She flipped it open and saw a missed call from Evan.
    “Don’t do it, Punk. I’m telling you, I’m fine.” He glared at her as he spoke.
    “You aren’t acting fine.” She punched the redial button and stepped away from him. “Besides, if you’re lucky, there won’t be any side effects. But if there are, we need to know what they are.”
    “Laura?” Evan’s voice sounded tinny over the tiny speaker.
    “Evan, sweetie, I need to ask you something.”
    “Okay. Is something wrong?”
    “No, no, nothing’s wrong. I mean…maybe not.” She bit at her lower lip then blurted out the question. “What would happen if I accidentally gave him too much?”
    “Too much? Like, how much too much? If you mean just a few CCs then not much. There’s always a margin of error in—”
    “No, Evan. Like, if he got hold of the red vial and took the whole thing?”
    “Oh no…”
     
    *****
     
    Mark was out the door of the Humvee before McKenzie rolled to a stop. He hit the ground at a trot and brought his carbine up to his eye, both eyes scanning the darkness. It still surprised him that he was able to so easily adjust to near total darkness without the aid of night vision. He paused and held a fist in the air, halting Mac mid-step.
    Without turning he keyed his coms and whispered, “There are sentries at the gate.”
    “Then we go around.” Mac began to advance again, cutting to the left when Mark held him.
    “They’ve got guards at each side of the compound.”
    “How the hell can you know that?” Mac shot him a questioning glare.
    “I can smell them.” Mark advanced slowly, his body sinking into the grass until Mac couldn’t tell where he went. With a silent curse he tried to follow the Marine’s movements. Mark popped up next to a thicket and held a casing up. “They staged here.”
    Mac slipped in behind a large oak tree and hugged the trunk. “Do we take out the sentries?”
    “Negative.” He brought a pair of field glasses to his eyes and studied the western fence. “There’s only one on the western side. One on the roof. If we remove them at the same time, we should have at least a few moments.”
    Mitchell’s voice cut through his earpiece, “For recon.”
    Mark sighed and nodded. “Copy that, OPCOM. Recon only.” He switched off his coms and looked to Mac. “Unless we find out our people are neck deep. Then all bets are off.”
    “Copy that.” Mac shot him an evil grin. “Westward ho.”
    The two branched to the left and eased up on the clearing facing the western fence. Mark motioned to Mac to take the guard on the roof while he took out the fence patrol. He held up three fingers and the two operators counted down.
    Almost simultaneously, both carbines belched silver plated death through suppressed barrels, their receiver actions making more noise than the bullets. The two commandos slid into the fence and Mark grabbed the bottom of the chain link fabric ripping it from its ground anchors, allowing Mac to roll under. Mac propped the fabric with his knees while Mark slid under and the two made for the nearest lit building.
    As Mac came to rest alongside the building he keyed his coms. “OPCOM, signal check.” He waited only a moment before looking to his XO. He shook his head and stepped to the side of the door, stacking along the north side of the entrance. “Should we switch to First Squad’s frequency?”
    “Already have. It’s silent.” Mark nodded toward the door and Mac pulled it open slightly, checking for booby traps. Convinced it was clear, he pulled it open further and the two men slid along the shadows. At the far end of the