State of Emergency by Sam Fisher Read Free Book Online

. sir.'
    Smith turned quickly to Crystal and then Sophia. 'Fuck, I
love this shit!' The girls giggled. 'Okay, dude.' He glanced back
at the pool man. 'Go right ahead, do your stuff.' He pressed a
button on the remote and a new song burst from the stereo.
    The Dragon walked slowly towards the pool. At one end,
a set of three stone stairs led down to the pump housing. He
sat on the top step, placed the metal case on the ground next
to him, opened the latches and lifted the lid. The box was
lined with grey foam. Nestled in the centre was a Magnum
handgun, and beside it a silencer. He lifted the gun, pulled
on the silencer and twisted it into place. Then he closed the
box, stood and walked back towards the pool, the case in his
left hand, the gun out of sight in his right.
    As the Dragon approached, Smith turned from where he
had been licking an erect brown nipple. He had no time to
speak or to even lose his blissed-out expression. The Dragon
fired a single bullet at the stereo and there was silence.
He then turned the gun towards Crystal and squeezed the
trigger. The Magnum bullet hit her between the eyes, and
her pretty face froze. The bullet exited just above the nape
of her neck, taking with it a chunk of skull and a cupful
of grey-red slurry. She slammed backwards against the edge
of the jacuzzi and slid under the water.
    Sophia had spun in panic and was scrambling at the side
of the tub. Moving the gun a few degrees to the side, the
Dragon's next bullet hit her between the shoulderblades. A
plume of blood sprayed across the hot water, which already
was foaming with red. A second bullet smashed into the
girl's neck, almost decapitating her.
    Gordon Smith's face was cocaine-white, his pupils huge.
They reflected the image of the Dragon, who was now
pointing the Magnum directly at his forehead.
    'You didn't really think you'd get away with it, did you,
Gordon?' the Dragon said slowly.
    'We had a deal . . . please –' Smith was shaking. Tears
welled up in his eyes. 'I've got money. How much do you
want?'
    The Dragon gave him a disgusted look.
    'Please – don't kill me,' Smith pleaded.
    'Don't you mean, "Please don't kill me, sir ?"'
    Smith swallowed hard. 'Please don't kill me, sir,' he
croaked.
    The Dragon smiled. 'Fuck, I love this shit,' he said, as he
pulled the trigger.

12
Base One, Tintara
E-Force training, week three
    'You know the trouble with this place?' Josh Thompson
observed, leaning back in his favourite armchair close to the
pool table in the main recreation area. 'There aren't enough
women working here.'
    'How very socially aware of you, Josh,' Stephanie Jacobs
retorted, turning away from the TV, which was showing a
rerun of The Sopranos .
    He laughed. 'Steph, you'll come out to dinner with me at
the beach bar tonight, won't you?'
    'Sorry, I have to wash my hair.'
    'Ouch,' Tom sniggered.
    There was a sound at the door, and a cheer went up from
the five people gathered in the room as Maiko Buchanan
walked in.
    'Fuck! It's a Borg drone,' Tom Erickson yelled, wheeling
over to Mai. Motioning that she should bend her head
down, he quickly inspected her neck. 'Nope, can't see any
bolts,' he said.
    'Well, that's a relief!' Maiko laughed, and walked over to
Stephanie, Pete, Josh and Mark.
    'How're you feeling?' Mark asked.
    'Great,' she replied instinctively. She rubbed her neck.
The day before, she had volunteered to be the first of the
group to undergo three hours of surgery to implant a set
of devices into her body. This was her first time up and
about.
    She was equipped with three enhancements. The first was
a nano-processor planted just behind each eye, expanding her
visual range dramatically. At the same time, it gave her far better
vision in low light. The processor was so small that a million
of them could fit onto a pin head, but it had the computing
power of a conventional desktop. The second implant was
a cochlear chip to enhance her hearing. Lastly, Maiko was
implanted with a nano-processor in her brain