Striker (The Alien Wars Book 2) by Paul Moxham Read Free Book Online Page B

did
they pay you?”
    ~*~*~
    Logan looked back
at the others. “Are you ready?”
    Xavier nodded. “Let’s
do this.”
    Logan quietly
opened the door and looked around the lobby. All was silent. He stepped forward
and glanced around. Broken shards of glass and empty bottles of alcohol greeted
him, but no soldiers. He lowered his pistol. They hadn’t seen anyone on the
staircase and now, at the lobby, there was still no one in sight. “They must
have fled during the night.”
    Lucy glanced
around the lobby one last time. “I used to love this place.”
    “How long did you
stay here for?” Logan said.
    “Seven years.”
Lucy pointed. “The Christmas tree used to go there every year, remember?”
    “Oh yeah. Those parties were a blast.
Remember how we sat on the roof and saw all the lights sparkling in the
darkness last year?”
    Lucy smiled. “Yes,
it was magical.”
    Logan peeked
through the broken windows. “I don’t see anyone out there.”
    After picking up
a shotgun that was lying on the ground, Xavier used it to break the glass that
remained on the glass door. He tossed the empty weapon aside and popped out
onto the street. The area looked relatively the same as they’d last seen it, except
this time, there weren’t any soldiers.
    The group stood
in the middle of the lane and stared around. “Let’s head this way until we find
a working vehicle,” Logan suggested, moving a bit down the street south of them.
    Xavier took the
lead, while Logan covered the rear. They weren’t expecting any trouble, but it was
better to be safe than sorry.
    At the
intersection, they turned right, heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge ,
determined to walk all the way if they had to.
    They were heading
down a side street when several figures materialized at the far end. Xavier,
who was still in the front, slowed down and shared a glance with Logan . “There’s someone up ahead.”
    “Keep moving,” Logan murmured. “They
may be able to help us.”
    Xavier frowned
but continued advancing down the street. The shadows came forward and revealed
five men, all sporting bloody clothes and more weapons than trigger fingers. “I
think we should turn around.”
    “Me too,” Lucy
said.
    Jet also agreed. “They
don’t seem like the kind of people …” He paused as one of the men raised his
shotgun and opened fire.
    As shotgun
pellets hit the ground around them, Xavier fired back. “Go!”
    He sprinted to a
power pole, leaned against it, and fired back.
    Logan fired once
with his pistol before leading the charge back down the street. Halfway down,
he stopped and glanced back. “Come on!”
    “Just a moment!” Xavier emptied the
rest of his magazine and carved a hole in another man’s chest. He reloaded as
he sprinted to the end of the street and dove for cover with the others behind
a garbage truck.
    “Give him
covering fire!” Logan opened fire at the men, who, even though they had lost two of in
their party, were still advancing. Seeing their targets getting away, they
started running.
    Bullets hit the
asphalt near Xavier, but he managed to twist and escape. Something hot tore
into his leg. He fell headfirst onto the street, completely in the open.
    “Cover me!” Logan hunched over and
raced toward Xavier.
    Jet knelt next behind
the truck and opened fire, hitting one of the men in the gut.
    Logan reached down
and helped Xavier to his feet. As he did, a round cracked in the air between
them. Enraged, Logan shifted and blazed away at the nearest man. He collapsed to the
ground. The other two turned tail without another shot.
    Xavier hobbled to
the garbage truck and leaned against it. He offered a grim smile to the others.
“Thanks.”
    Lucy bent down
and looked at the wound. Blood was steadily seeping out of the right leg, just
above the kneecap. She glanced up at Xavier. “We’ll have to get the bullet out.”
    Xavier shook his
head as he ripped off part of his shirt and tied it around the leg. “We don’t
have