Shades of Blood and Darkness (Templar Chronicles Missions eNovella #1) by Joseph Nassise Read Free Book Online Page A

commander who led by example, not from the sidelines, and staying behind as tactical operations command had been a test of his patience; but his concern over their target’s ability to detect his presence had won out over his need to be involved in the action. The need for stealth was over. Signaling Riley, his second-in-command, Cade emerged from cover and strode briskly forward.
    He swept up the steps and entered the house, ignoring the snipers’ victims lying in the uncut grass on either side of the porch. As he moved swiftly through the lower floor he passed four other bodies, all young Hispanic males, each lying in a rapidly expanding pool of blood. He had no sympathy for their wasted lives; they were on the wrong side of this conflict, and the unflinching hand of righteousness had finally caught up with them. If anything, he was simply pleased that there were four fewer gangbangers on the city streets. It was the man that his team held captive in the kitchen that truly mattered to Cade. Everything and everyone else beyond that was just a means to an end.
    Juan Alvarez was seated in the middle of the room in an old chair, his arms pulled back between the steel posts supporting the seat back and his hands secured together with a set of nylon flex cuffs. Wilson and Ortega stood a few feet to either side of the prisoner, their HK MP5s at the ready and aimed in his direction.
    His pistol still in hand but pointed at the floor, Cade crossed the room to stand in front of the prisoner. Alvarez looked as if he had just been roused from sleep; his normally slicked-back hair was in disarray, and all he was wearing was a pair of hastily donned jeans. His usual air of smug superiority was still in place, however.
    Cade fully intended to change that.
    Alvarez had been under surveillance by Echo Team for the last three weeks. During that time it quickly became clear that the Bridgeport police were correct in their suspicions; Alvarez was indeed the primary conduit for the movement of heroin through Connecticut and into the rest of New England.
    Cade didn’t care about the drugs.
    He wanted Alvarez for a far more personal reason, and he wasted no time getting to the point.
    “Where is he?” Cade asked.
    The prisoner gave him a look of disdain, and a stream of rapid-fire Spanish poured forth from his mouth. Cade understood enough to know that it was more a commentary on his mother’s background than an answer to his question.
    Shaking his head in resignation, Cade nodded to Riley.
    The larger man stepped forward and gripped the back of the prisoner’s chair, holding it tightly.
    Cade moved closer, placed the barrel of his pistol against the prisoner’s left kneecap, and, without another word, pulled the trigger.
    Blood flew.
    Alvarez screamed.
    Riley held the chair firmly in place against the man’s struggles.
    Cade waited patiently until the screaming stopped. Then, softly, he said, “I don’t have time for this. I asked you a question. I want an answer. Where is the Adversary?”
    This time, the answer was in English.
    “Drop dead, asshole. I don’t know who you’re talkin’ about.”
    Expressionless, Cade shot him in the other leg, shattering the man’s right kneecap.
    Alvarez writhed in agony, his muscles straining against the pain. Riley’s arms tensed, but that was the only outward sign of the increased effort he exerted to hold the prisoner securely in place.
    Over the wounded man’s cries, Cade shouted, “Tell me where he is!”
    The prisoner lapsed back into Spanish, cursing his interrogator vehemently; but he did not acknowledge Cade’s demand. His blood flowed down his legs and began to pool on the cracked linoleum beneath his feet.
    Cade snorted in disgust and motioned Riley out of the way. The sergeant lost no time in following orders.
    Cade raised the gun and pointed it at the prisoner’s face. “Last chance.”
    With that, Alvarez went abruptly still. His eyes lost focus, as if listening to a voice no