The Recruit: Book One Read Online Free Page A

the
babies.” He continued down the hallway without looking at her again.
    Hannah frowned.  “The babies?”
    Richard gave an embarrassed laugh.  “It’s
what we call the new recruits.”
    * * *
     
    Hannah was pulled from her memories by the
sound of Richard or Barb coming down the stairs.  She emptied the last of her
coffee down the drain and rinsed the cup as Richard entered the kitchen.
    “Good morning.  You’re up early.”  He
yawned and poured himself a cup of coffee as the front door slammed and Will
entered the room in a blast of cool air.
    He nodded to them both and stood in front
of Hannah, reaching behind her to get a mug from the cupboard.  Hannah frowned
and slid to the left. 
    He grinned.  “Sorry – forgot you don’t like
people in your space.”
    He certainly didn’t look sorry, Hannah
thought grumpily as he poured himself some coffee and sipped at it.
    “We have five new babies starting
tomorrow.”  Richard said to Will.  He put some bread in the toaster and yawned
again.
    Will rolled his eyes.  “Hope they’re better
than this last bunch.  They still have their heads up their asses and it’s been
nearly two months.”
    “You’re too impatient, Will.  We can’t
expect them to be effective slayers in only a month or two.”
    Hannah cleared her throat.  “Richard, I
want to join the new recruits.”
    Richard stared at her, his mouth dropping
open, and Will actually laughed out loud.  She flushed and gave him a dirty
look.
    “Hannah, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
 Richard began to butter his toast.
    “It’s an excellent idea.  I can’t go back
home, and I can’t sit around here being useless forever.”
    “There is plenty of administrative work
that needs to be done.  You can work in the office.”
    Hannah scowled.  “No.  I want revenge for
Sara, and I won’t get that by sitting behind a desk.  I want to be taught how
to kill vampires.”
    Richard stared at her thoughtfully.  “I
understand the desire for revenge Hannah, you know I do, but the recruiting
program is terribly difficult.  We usually only recruit people who we know can
handle the emotional and physical aspects.”
    “What he’s trying to say is that you’re not
in good enough shape.  You’re too –“ Will paused, “uh, curvy to keep up with
the rest of the babies.”
    She gave him a withering look.  “I can keep
up.”
    She turned to Richard with a pleading look.
 “Just give me a chance, Richard.  That’s all I’m asking.  If I can’t do it,
you can cut me from the program and I won’t argue.  At least give me the
opportunity to try.”
    Richard looked at Will.  “What do you
think?”
    Will shook his head.  “I vote no.  She’ll
never make it through the program – you know she won’t.”
    She flashed him another dirty look that he
ignored as Richard frowned at her.  “Are you sure you want to do this, Hannah? 
It’s not just physically difficult.  It’s one thing to say you want to kill
vampires, it’s another to actually kill them.”
    “I’m sure.”  She said steadily.
    Richard stared at her for a few more
minutes and then nodded.  “You’ll start tomorrow with the others.”
    Hannah blew her breath out in a trembling
sigh as Will snorted in disgust and left the farmhouse.

Chapter 4
     
    “How’s she doing?”  Richard stood next to
Will and watched as the new recruits trickled in from their morning run. 
Hannah was trailing behind the other five, her grey t-shirt completely soaked
in sweat and her face pale.  They stood panting in the cool sunshine, and Richard
winced when Hannah suddenly staggered away from the others and vomited behind a
large tree.
    “It’s been three weeks and she’s still
throwing up after the morning run.”  Will replied.  “She can’t do a pull-up to
save her life, she can barely get through a hundred push-ups and her
hand-to-hand combat training is, in a word, pathetic.  She’s not going to