Guerilla by Mel Odom Read Free Book Online Page A

being shot. Thankfully he was still alive. He wasn’t even injured. The projectile had hit him right in the head. Right in the head! He was never going to take that helmet off when he was on patrol again. Never. He was lucky he was with Pearson tonight. Pearson was a stickler for rules and regs. Otherwise . . . Anders didn’t want to think about that.
    The main sec channel officer buzzed them over the helmet comms. Like Pearson, her voice was calm but held a hint of edginess. “What’s going on out there, Lima Three? I’ve got reports of gunfire.”
    Anders let Pearson take the call as he searched the area.
    â€œRoger that, Control. We popped off a few rounds after someone took a shot at us.”
    â€œDo you need sec units, Lima Three?”
    â€œNot yet. We’re confirming the situation. Looks like a lone attacker who just wanted to score pride points. Took a shot at us with an arrow. We’re uninjured.”
    â€œAffirmative, Lima Three. I’m standing by.”
    â€œAppreciate it.”
    â€œDo you see who did it?” Anders asked. He made an effort to hold it together. He’d been on the ground on Makaum only a few weeks. He’d been on the space station with Master Sergeant Sage when the sergeant lit up the bashhounds in the Azure Mist Tavern. Anders had thought all the soldiers in the place were going to get killed by cyber-­enhanced bashhounds that night. No love was lost between the Army and the secmen.
    Since then Anders had been on patrol a few times out in the Green Hell, but nothing had ever happened. Except getting confronted by some of the local wildlife. This was a direct attack by another intelligent being. This had been personal.
    â€œNo, but you lit up that rooftop pretty good.”
    Switching to infrared and increasing the magnification on his HUD, Anders looked at the white meat of the shattered tree branches. A half dozen of them were bigger around than he was. The depleted uranium balls had smashed through everything he’d fired at. Flames danced along some of the limbs.
    â€œProbably got whoever shot me too.” Anders heard the pride in his own voice. He was from Lincoln, Nebraska, and nothing had ever happened there. That was why he’d joined the Terran Army. He’d wanted to see the stars and fight the enemy.
    Now he’d probably racked up his first kill, an attacker he hadn’t even seen. Part of him felt sick at the realization, but the rest of what he felt was fierce pride.
    â€œYeah, but maybe you better hold off on the celebration.”
    Anders swallowed bile. “Why?”
    Pearson kicked the broken pieces of an arrow that lay on the ground. “Because whoever shot you with this knew it wouldn’t hurt you.”
    Anders stared at the arrow. “That doesn’t make any—­” Before he could finish speaking, Pearson grabbed him and pulled him back toward the barracks. Unable to stop himself, Anders sailed through the air as a section of the fence’s wire mesh turned into molten metal and blew up, spraying composite links out like shrapnel. They rattled against his armor. A follow-­up flash bomb specifically tailored to take out the HUD visuals burst like an exploding nova.
    The electric-­white flash rendered Anders blind right before he struck the ground.
    Visual systems are temporarily off-line. Stressors are evident in your nervous system. Do you require medication to remain combat ready? The near-­AI’s voice was feminine, as sexy as Anders could select. Only it didn’t sound sexy now.
    Anders struggled to get control of himself as Pearson kept him pinned down. The corporal spoke calmly. “Control, Lima Three requires backup immediately.”
    Pearson’s words were lost in the loud explosion and sudden flood of agonizing heat that followed. Anders screamed as the suit tried to fight off the incendiary attack. On his faceshield, systems started