Judgment Day (Templar Chronicles Book 5) by Joseph Nassise Read Free Book Online Page B

the road, Cade doubled back on foot until he found the place where Riley had turned off.
    The road was nothing more than a narrow track through the forest, just barely wide enough to fit a vehicle the size of Riley’s truck. Cade could see lights through the trees a few hundred yards ahead, so he knew his destination wasn’t far. He crept forward, trying to make as little noise as possible.
    Ten minutes later he saw the back of Riley’s truck loom out of the shadows ahead of him. He crept forward until he reached the back doors, then hunkered down and peered around the side.
    Light was filtering through the trees ahead of them and in its glow Cade could see Riley standing at the front of the truck, talking in low, earnest tones to another Templar who was decked out in full combat gear. When the second man turned slightly, allowing the light to catch him across the face, Cade could see that it was Jimmy Martinez, a veteran member of Echo’s command squad. Cade himself had promoted him in the wake of Sergeant Olsen’s death several months before.
    Cade couldn’t hear what was being said, but it was clear that they were prepping for some kind of operation. Martinez stood holding Riley’s helmet and primary weapon, a Mossberg pump-action combat shotgun, while the Echo Team commander finished sealing the Velcro enclosure on the side of the ballistic vest he’d just pulled on, and then passed it over. Riley popped the helmet on his head, chambered a round in the shotgun with a quick jerk of the slide, and then nodded to Martinez to lead the way.
    Together they turned and headed for the trees.
    Cade gave them a moment and then followed.

    # # #

    Martinez led Riley to the staging area just inside the tree line near the south side of the bridge. Ten more men awaited them there; the rest of Echo’s command squad as well as the men from squads Three and Four. That brought their full complement to twelve.
    Twelve men , Riley thought. Twelve men to take on the Adversary. Should prove to be an interesting evening if they managed to live through it.
    He glanced around him. All of the men were wearing standard Templar combat armor that consisted of ballistic vests with chest and back plates made of boron carbide ceramic plates covered with Kevlar fabric, flexible bicep armor, and guards over the elbows and knees. Kevlar helmets and wireless communications rigs completed the get-up. Many were armed with the standard issue Heckler Koch MP5 submachine gun, though a few carried Mossberg combat shotguns like he did. To a man they had their blessed swords strapped diagonally across their backs; knights never went into combat without their swords unless it couldn’t be helped.
    In short, they were ready to tango.
    Now all they needed was a dance partner.
    “Where is it?” Riley asked in a low voice.
    “This way,” Martinez replied. He led Riley and the rest of the men a short distance through the woods until they stood at the top of a small rise. Below them, in a narrow gully running perpendicular to their direction of travel was a set of train tracks.
    Martinez held a finger to his lips and then began making his way down the slope. Riley followed, moving as quietly as possible. At the bottom, Martinez pointed down the length of the tracks to their left.
    Riley looked in that direction.
    About fifty feet from where they stood the woods gave way, revealing the swiftly running waters of the Housatonic River and the large, timber-and-iron trestle bridge that spanned them. The bridge was at a slight angle from where they stood so he could see the woman standing on it, just a few yards past the entrance. Even from this distance he could see that she had auburn-colored hair and was wearing a long, dark coat.
    Riley never had the pleasure of meeting Gabrielle Williams when she was alive – she’d been “killed” by the Adversary before her husband Cade had entered the Order – but he had encountered her three times in the years since.