The Blueprint (The Upgrade Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

watched his boss, a short bald man, pacing the office back and forth spitting profanities and threats.
    Unfortunately, his boss had every right to be furious. Jeremy knew that he had completely blown a simple operation. Yes, it felt as a series of unfortunate events that made his simple and seemingly foolproof plan fall apart, but he knew better than to try to make any excuses. It’s one thing to screw up an operation but it’s quite another not to take responsibility for it. In his line of work he could get himself killed for less than that. He couldn’t help, however, but to think how improbable it was for so many things to go wrong in such a short time.
    The plan was simple, a sniper was supposed to take a position one hour prior to the target’s arrival at their destination. There would have been a single shot, a well-rehearsed escape, and it would have been done and done. Jeremy wouldn’t even have to be anywhere close to the action himself.
    Things started to go wrong right from the start. First, the sniper failed to establish a contact when he was supposed to take the position. In fact, the sniper didn’t make any contact at all, as on his way to the location he got run over by a ninety-year-old grandma, who crushed both of his legs. Now he was in a medically-induced coma and handcuffed to his bed. Things like high-powered rifles packed in a case along with a suppressor that the old lady was nice enough to drive to the hospital with him were still disturbing enough for the police to get involved.
    Despite the initial setback, Jeremy was confident he could finish the mission. Like a true professional, he had a backup plan. He and his second in command were positioned in an SUV and were monitoring the signal of the target’s cell phone that allowed them to follow their car at a safe distance. Once it became clear that the sniper wasn’t going to be in place, Jeremy sprang to action. His lieutenant quickly gained on the target’s vehicle, and Sykes lowered his window, stuck out his automatic rifle, and took a careful aim at the silhouette in the back of the limo.
    Just as he pressed the trigger, the front tire blew out.
    The SUV madly swerved right, then immediately left as his driver was trying to regain control, and Jeremy’s initial salvo went completely off target, hitting the town car at the corner of the trunk. Despite his quick reaction, it took a couple of seconds to get the limo in his crosshairs again, but the passengers were no longer visible. They must have realized what was happening and ducked for cover. Frustrated Sykes let out a long torrent of bullets hoping that something would get through. His driver finally got the car under control and they tried to ram the limo town car off the road but it was all in vain.
    His lieutenant accelerated hard, trying to give Jeremy an unobscured shot. That’s when the limo’s driver slammed on the brakes, making them overshoot the target and in one fluid motion executed a flawless PIT maneuver, pushing them off the highway. Jeremy had just enough time to pull himself inside the SUV and slap a belt in place before they crashed through the railing and went airborne. He got lucky. Except for few bruises on his legs and torso he was completely fine.
    The driver, who wasn’t buckled in, wasn’t that fortunate. On impact he went straight through the windshield, severing his carotid artery in the process. He was dead within seconds.
    “We can stage another operation, boss,” he heard himself saying. “Nobody is going to be able to link the incident on the bridge to the hit.”
    “No, it’s way too hot right now.” His boss finally stopped pacing and sat behind his desk. “Get out.”
    Sykes wasn’t surprised by that decision. Even in this day and age when the police typically didn’t get involved in mini wars between different corporations he knew it would be foolish for them to push their luck. If there were an actual response, it would be swift and