Dark Rising

Dark Rising by Greig Beck Read Free Book Online Page B

Book: Dark Rising by Greig Beck Read Free Book Online
Authors: Greig Beck
Tags: Fiction, General, Horror
Neck?’ he asked.
    Alex knew a little about the Bronx as he had spent some time at Fort Hamilton in New York. Though the Bronx was one of the most populous areas in the United States, and some of those areas were the toughest in the country, parts of it were fast becoming gentrified and Riverdale and Throggs Neck were two suburbs that were now more movie star than ‘gangsta’ turf. Alex heard a slight snigger from the other men at the question.
    O’Riordan’s eyes slid to Alex and narrowed for a second before he went back to staring straight ahead. ‘Nah, sir. Born and raised in South Bronx just down from Fordham. Born and bred there, but it ain’t my home now; ain’t never goin’ back.’
    It was a tough area – primarily Hispanic, African-American and Italian. A kid with red hair would stand out like crap on a snow cake – Irish would have had to do a lot of fighting growing up.
    Alex stared directly into the man’s face as he said, ‘Put too much cream in your coffee, did they? Had some bad sushi at your last poetry reading, Lieutenant?’
    O’Riordan’s jaw muscles worked and his eyes burned as they stared into Alex’s face. Alex could tell that it was only his army discipline keeping him in check. After a few more seconds he straightened. ‘Nothin’ to go back to. Some asshole bein’ transported to Rikers broke outta custody and tried to drag my dad outta his car at a stop light. Well, my dad, he was one of the last of the red Irish rhinos, he wouldn’t give in for nothin’. Even though that car was a pile of crap, he weren’t givin’ it up to some asshole car thief. Got a face full of lead for his trouble, and Ma took two in the gut. Nothin’ there for me anymore; army’s home now . . . sir . ’
    Alex looked hard into the man’s face for a few seconds more, nodded once and turned away. Hmm, a lot of anger there that’s going to need to be channelled , he thought. He’d read O’Riordan’s psych report again just to ensure this guy wasn’t going to explode under pressure. Still, he figured they were good to go for the induction. There was just one more thing.
    ‘All right, you new soldiers, this is the Hot-zone All-Forces Warfare Commandos and we are the best on this planet. The pay’s no better, there are no fast cars, no cheer squads – in fact, as far as Mr Joe Citizen is concerned, we don’t even exist. Our casualty rate is higher than any other Special Forces unit in the United States, and if you’re ever captured – well, like I said, we don’t exist. But what I can guarantee you is access to the best weaponry, intelligence and training the army has to offer. And if you like a challenge – well, you’ll find yourself being challenged like at no other time in your life. As a HAWC, you don’t just save lives, you save countries.’
    Alex paused and looked at the two new men. Rocky Lagudi’s face was serious, but Irish O’Riordan seemed to be barely holding a smirk in check.
    Alex spoke directly to the redheaded man. ‘This is your opportunity to speak your mind – to ask me questions, ask your fellow HAWCs questions. There may not be a better time, or any other time. Things happen fast in this outfit.’
    He waited for a few seconds, and when both men maintained their silence he continued. ‘Most of the year you’ll be in training. You will learn new skills, use new weapons and technologies, and you will be tested time and time again in drill missions across various terrains and hostile environments. Just because you’re in the HAWCs doesn’t mean you have a right to stay in the HAWCs.’
    Alex saw Sam Reid give a half-smile. He and Hex had been through the tests and knew what they entailed.
    ‘And then there are the live operations,’ Alex went on. ‘Arduous, dangerous projects that no one else wants and no one else could succeed at. Projects that are given to us because we are the deadliest, most feared unit on the entire planet.’ He smiled grimly.

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