Zero-G Read Online Free Page B

voices. Two of them are patrolling the vats on my right, looking for Carver. Two more stand over the hostages, all lying in a small cluster on the floor. Mikhail is over by the main door.
    “You find anything back there?” one of them yells.
    The answer comes from below me. “Nothing, man. I don’t like this.”
    The questioner nods, turning to the others. “Spread out. There’s someone else here.”
    I look down. And that’s when I see a woman, one of the hostage takers, staring up at me.

8
Prakesh
    “ Now, Suki! ” Prakesh shouts. “ Do it now! ”
    Everything happens at once. Benson screams – the scream of a man who realises what he’s done, and desperately wants to take it back. He throws his arms out as if he’s about to hug someone. At the same time, Prakesh hears metal on metal as Suki, or whoever she’s with, shoves the Mark Six into place.
    Benson vanishes. A half-second later, there’s a strange sound, as if a giant has been punched in the stomach. It’s followed by a crack so sharp that it reverberates off the walls of the Air Lab. Benson screams again, and this time it’s a scream of pain.
    Prakesh closes his eyes for a moment, then looks over the edge.
    The Mark Six is destroyed, its surface pushed inwards. It’s a transparent, inflatable greenhouse, six feet square, a lightweight alternative to the steel and plastic ones they used before. Suki did what she was told, pumping it up out of sight, then pushing it into place when she heard Prakesh call out.
    Benson hit hard enough to rip the surface. If it had been pumped up even a little bit less, he would have gone straight through it. But it was enough to bounce him sideways, stopping the fall. He’s broken his leg – Prakesh can see the bone poking up through the fabric of his pants. Benson is writhing in pain, surrounded by techs, who are calling for stretchers and medkits. No one is looking at him except for Suki, who looks like she wants to throw up.
    Slowly, very slowly, Prakesh finds his way back onto the roof. He puts his hands on his knees, bending over. He’s curiously light-headed. Depression , he thinks, not entirely sure what the thought is connected to until he remembers what Benson said. That can’t happen again. I need to pay more attention to the techs. I’ll get Benson help, whatever he needs …
    He hears applause and raises his head. The group of techs on the roof are cheering, running towards him. Only Julian Novak hangs back, still chewing, his expression entirely neutral. Then Prakesh is surrounded by beaming faces and eager voices, and he lets Julian slip from his mind.

9
Riley
    Before I can pull myself back onto the vat, the woman raises her stinger. “Up there! On the tank!” she shouts.
    “Where?”
    “Third from the right! By the pipes.”
    “Just one?”
    “Watch the hostages.”
    “Somebody fire!”
    I hear the crack of the stingers, and the bullets pinging off the metal. I’m on my back, frantically looking for an escape route. I have to move – a single ricochet off the roof or one of the pipes could end me.
    Carver’s in my ear again. “Riley! I’m coming!”
    “No!” I say, shouting over the gunfire. “I got this.”
    I regret the words the second they’re out of my mouth. A stinger bullet slams into the vat ahead of me, spitting up sparks. The bullets aren’t designed to go through metal, but they’ll make a real mess of anything softer. Another bullet whips by, scoring a hot line above my ankle, only just missing.
    Royo is barking in my ear. “Hale, we’re hearing gunfire! I need an update!”
    I’m trying to stay as low as possible. Maybe I can slip off the back of the vat, drop down, make a run for it. I could draw my stinger, return fire. But I’m an awful shot, always have been, and finding a target under fire will just get me killed. I dig in my pockets, feeling for anything that could help. Half a protein bar. A tiny battery. I’m going by feel, and I’m about to admit defeat