Battle Lines (The Survivalist Book 5) by Arthur Bradley Read Free Book Online Page A

side. “I’ve never seen anyone as fast as you are.”
    “I used to be a firearms instructor.”
    She nodded. “It shows.”
    Mason stepped up onto the porch and checked that all three men were dead. Thankfully, they were. The thought of having to put another bullet in a man who was already down didn’t sit well with him. Such brutality was best saved for the battlefield.
    Leila stepped closer and studied the men.
    “They were blind, weren’t they?”
    “The blast did that,” Mason said, recalling his own temporary blindness.
    “Do you think all the survivors will be blind?”
    He shook his head. “In closer to the city, instinct would have been to look away.”
    “I guess that’s something they can be thankful for.”
    “Not really. The same heat will have burned them alive.”
    Leila squatted down and touched Red Man’s burned face.
    “Our numbers are getting fewer and fewer every day.”
    “Maybe so, but these men wouldn’t have helped the gene pool.”
    “No, I suppose not.” She reached over and picked up Red Man’s Beretta with her left hand. Using her thumb, she carefully activated the de-cocker, returning the weapon’s hammer to a safe position.
    “You know your way around firearms.”
    She slid the handgun into the back of her waistband.
    “Not like you I don’t. But this model is similar to one used by soldiers in my country.” She held up her injured hand. “Too bad, I’m right-handed.”
    “Even so, a pistol in the wrong hand is better than no pistol at all.” Mason recalled his own training with non-dominant hand shooting. It took practice to learn to control a semi-automatic handgun with the weak hand, and many shooters, even those in law enforcement, neglected to master the skill.
    “I guess I should say thank you.”
    “For what?”
    “For saving my life, of course.”
    “You could have just run off. I doubt they would have hit you.”
    “If that’s true, then why didn’t you run?”
    He shrugged. “I had more than just me to worry about. Besides, if I’d have run, my dog would have lost all respect for me.” He reached down and scrubbed Bowie’s neck. “And I can’t have that.”
    She studied him. “You’re an interesting man, Marshal Raines. I wonder though…”
    “What?”
    “Does it bother you to have shot these men?”
    “I don’t know why it should. They brought the fight to me.”
    “Even so, they were blind.”
    Mason stepped down off the porch and moved to stand directly in front of her.
    “Leila, I learned a long time ago that I don’t get to choose my enemies.”
    She nodded thoughtfully. “That, Marshal, is very true.”
    “Now,” he said, reaching out and carefully lifting her injured hand. “Let’s see what we can do about that hand of yours.”

Chapter 5  
     
     
    Rosalyn Glass tried to sit up, frantically pulling the oxygen mask away from her face. Firm hands pressed against her shoulders.
    “Easy, Madam President. You’re safe.” General Carr’s voice was calm and reassuring.
    She settled back against the hospital bed, sliding up to get a better look around. A sterile plastic bubble surrounded most of the room, puffing outward from the constant pressure of purged air. Dr. Tran stood at the foot of the bed, wearing scrubs and a white lab coat, and General Carr sat next to her.
    President Glass tried to speak but managed only a garbled croaking sound. She brought her hands to the bandage covering her neck.
    “The doctor says your voice may come back with time. For now, you’ll have to communicate through writing and with this thing.” Carr held up a device that looked like a fancy microphone.
    Her eyes opened wide with horror.
    “Ah, it’s not so bad.” He pressed the electrolarynx against the bottom of his mandible and began to speak. The voice coming from the device was very different than his own, but it remained clear and distinctively male. “I figured it out pretty quickly. The main thing is to speak slowly and clearly.