This Machine Kills by Steve Liszka Read Free Book Online Page A

Leisureplex as our new stomping ground. It’ll be bikinis and cocktails all round.”
       Taylor laughed, “Yeah and with our luck we’ll be guarding the men’s steam room.”
       As they continued to dress in silence, Taylor glanced at the mirror on the inside of his locker. He may have been indifferent about his looks, (he could at best be described as rugged rather than handsome), but he couldn’t help admire the reflection he saw of his own body. He was athletic looking rather than bulky and packed with functional lean muscle, every inch of it there for a reason. His torso looked like it had been sculpted with a chisel. What he really prized himself on though, was that unlike his muscle-bound colleagues, he knew exactly how to use his strength and power; years of training had taught him well.
       The locker room grew louder as the banter between the men steadily increased. Taylor was glad to hear them sounding happy, they had just suffered the first fatality in the Old-Town for months. He was surprised to see Doyle look so carefree as he laughed at Spike’s dirty jokes.
       As the laughter from Spike’s punch-line delivery died down, the high spirited boy yelled across the room to Taylor, “Hey Sarge, you watching the fights tonight?”
       Doyle’s words caused the noise in the room to quickly die down.
       Lennox looked at him and shook his head, “Don’t you know dude? Taylor don’t do prison matches.”
       Now they were off-duty, the team was free to address their leader by his name.
       Doyle stared back at Lennox blankly.
       “You do know who he is don’t you?” Lennox asked.
       “Yeah, of course. When I told my father I was joining your team,” he said, addressing Taylor, “he made me sit down and watch some of your fights. My dad was a big fan of yours.”
       Taylor smiled, accepting the compliment.
       “It was really funny to see you in those old files, you looked really young back then.”
       Spontaneous laughter broke out in the room.
       “What?” Doyle asked innocently.
       “Old man Taylor!” shouted Skinner.
       Spike was laughing so hard at Doyle’s unintentional slight, he could barely catch his breath.
       “Nice, rookie,” he finally managed to say, “I’m getting to like you more and more.”
       Doyle looked to Taylor apologetically, “I didn’t mean anything.”
       Taylor shook his head, trying to conceal his amusement, “And there I was thinking that you were going to become a valued member of the team.”
       “But Sarge…” Doyle’s voice was drowned out by the other men’s laughter.
       Skinner patted him on the back, “Don’t make it worse for yourself son, you’re in the doghouse now.”
       Taylor finally smiled, letting Doyle know no offence had been taken.
       “So Taylor,” Lennox said over the noise, “we thought we’d hit the City tonight and give Rogers a send-off. You up for it?”
       Taylor pulled his T-shirt over his shoulders, “I’d love to, but I’ve got something I need to do.”
       Spike jumped in before anyone could reply.
       “Hang-on Lennox, I thought you said you and Skinner were polishing each other’s helmets tonight?”
       Skinner let out a nervous laugh as Lennox dropped his eyes to the floor, avoiding the gazes of the team. It was a well-known secret that when they were in basic training together, Skinner and Lennox had become more than a little friendly with each other. They weren’t the only ones either, it had always amazed Taylor how only a few months away from their wives and girlfriends could quickly send a group of red-blooded men into each other’s arms. When they went back to their normal lives, these brief relationships were usually swept under the carpet but in Skinner and Lennox’s case, it was hard to tell if they had altogether given up on their  feelings for each other.
       “You’re not saying you’re too good to have a drink with your