Six Bullets by Jeremy Bates Read Free Book Online Page B

maybe one month, maybe two if we really stretch it. But he took the seeds,
Walt, he took the heirloom seeds. He took all my guns too—all of them except
the .357 Magnum, which was in the holster on my belt.
     
    ••••••
     
    This will be my last entry. I don’t
know why I’m bothering to still write in the fucking diary. I guess because I
started the damn thing, and I want to finish it.
    We ran out of food today. We still have water, which means
we can probably last another couple of weeks. But what’s the point? So we can
starve to death slowly and miserably?
    I’m not going to let you go through that, Walt. It’s not
right. It would break my heart.
    The .357 Magnum’s cylinder is full, my last six bullets, but
I only need two.
    Good night, my boy
    This world doesn’t deserve you anyway.
     
     

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
    Thank you for taking the time to
read Six Bullets . If you enjoyed the story, it would be wonderful if you
could leave a review on the Amazon
product page . Reviews might not matter much to the big-name authors, but
they can really help the small guys to grow their readership.
     
    Also, you can check out www.jeremybatesbooks.com for info on
my other novels and novellas.
     
     
     

 
    THE TASTE OF FEAR
     
    ***Read the first
three chapters of The Taste of Fear below. If you enjoy them, and would
like to continue reading, you can download a full copy of the novel FREE from www.jeremybatesbooks.com ***
     

PROLOGUE
Thursday, December 26, 5:53
p.m., 2008
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
     
    The
assassin stared at the TV set in the hotel room, his face impassive.
    “At least
twenty-three people have been killed in the duel attacks on the American
embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam,” the suit-and-tie anchorman said.
    He stood before a
video image of the United States Embassy emblem. The ticker read: “Breaking
News.”
    “Our African
correspondent, Sebastian Briers, has the latest from Dar es Salaam. Sebastian,
good evening to you.”
    The camera jumped
to a somber-looking field reporter dressed in khaki pants and a white linen
shirt. “Good evening, Cary. The attacks, which seem to have involved car or
truck bombs, both occurred inside the periphery gates of the embassy compounds.
There were, as I believe you said, twenty-three casualties so far counted.
Eleven of those were here in Dar. Four are believed to have been the Marine
Security Guards stationed at the front gate. Witnesses reported hearing a short
burst of gunfire, followed by a loud blast, what was likely a grenade attack on
the gatehouse. Then came a much louder explosion which could be heard miles
away.” The camera jumped again to shaky, low-resolution video footage of the
embassy complex. It was crowded with emergency response teams. Billowing clouds
of black smoke trailed into the air. The anchorman said in voiceover: “The
images you’re seeing were captured on a cell phone immediately after the attack
and played on a Gulf news channel. But this was not the first time attacks have
been carried out on the American embassies in these two countries. Exactly ten
years ago truck bombs exploded out front—”
    The assassin
flicked the channel.
    “—various claims
of responsibility have already begun to surface on jihadist websites from
groups with Al Qaeda connections. One has threatened more attacks against
American and British interests overseas. Despite recent efforts to suppress
militant groups, today’s events are a grim reminder that cells are—”
    Click.
    “—though it
hasn’t been confirmed by official sources yet, we have just gotten word that American
actress Scarlett Cox and her husband, American billionaire hotel tycoon
Salvador Brazza, were among those kidnapped today in what appears to be a fresh
Al Qaeda tactic. Sasha, what do you make of this new approach?”
    “We can only
speculate, Nicole. But if you remember the 1998 bombings, of the more than two
hundred casualties, only twelve were American.