Free The Shift: Book II of the Wildfire Saga by Marcus Richardson Page A

exploded, flooding the street in a cloud of fog.   Just as the headlights of the lead German vehicle penetrated the smoke, the first fragmentation grenade went off.
    Cooper didn't wait to see what happened to the trucks.   "Jax, get us off this street!"
    " Hang on! "   Jax sent their stolen truck into a tire-chirping turn around the corner.
    Jax brought them to a shuddering stop next to another of Boston’s ubiquitous brownstone apartment buildings.   " Everybody out!   This is the end line. "
    Cooper and Mike hopped off the rear bumper as the rest of the team emerged from the doors, dragging Doctor Boatner with them.
    "I'll loop around some and ditch this thing, then link up with Sparky."
    "Go!" said Cooper as he slapped the side of the truck.   Jax hit the gas and the captured German truck peeled out down the side street heading in the opposite direction of their extraction location.
    Cooper didn't bother to watch the taillights as Jax tore off into the pre-dawn darkness.   He could tell from the sound of secondary explosions that at least one of the German trucks had been severely damaged.   They were less than a block away around the corner.   When Cooper looked back the way they had come, he could see smoke from the grenades drifting down the street on the light breeze.   He spun back in the direction Jax went and saw a side alley heading parallel to the main road.  
    Cooper put his hand on Dr. Boatner’s shoulder and said, "Okay sir, we going to get you out of here.   This way, please, and try to keep quiet."   He nudged the doctor forward, and pointed at Mike.   The smaller SEAL nodded before trotting off toward the alley with his weapon up.
    Cooper shot a glance over his shoulder.   “Swede, watch our six."
    “Done.”
    “ Going green ,” announced Mike.   " This alley’s full of shit to trip on—watch it back there…”
    Cooper activated his own night vision and waited a few heartbeats for the green-tinted world to stop shimmering.   Once his visor was ready, he was able to pick his way through the minefield of debris that clogged the alley and lead Boatner to another side street.
    " Where to now, Coop? "   Mike said, kneeling at the entrance to the alley and pointing his rifle north.  
    Charlie took position on the other side of the alley, scanning the street to the south.   " All clear ."
    Cooper took a knee behind Mike and pulled up his forearm-map screen.   The little screen displayed a picture of Harvard and the area around the University.   The image shimmered and static lines appeared and disappeared at random.   "Damn signal’s too weak for me to get a lock.”  
    Something nearby was interfering with the GPS signal.   Or maybe the tech boys hadn’t gotten full access to the satellites yet.   Either way, it left Cooper with one burning question he hadn’t had to ask in his decade of service:   “Where the hell are we?"
    " Sign out at the end of this street says Clairborne, " said Charlie's voice.
    " I don't see —" Mike stopped talking as a coughing fit suddenly gripped him.
    Cooper’s head snapped up and he immediately jumped to his feet and touched Mike on the shoulder.   "You okay?"
    Mike coughed one more time, then cleared his throat.   " Yeah ," he said, his voice hoarse.   " Must’ve inhaled some of the smoke back there ."   After a second, he turned his head and glanced at Cooper.   " I'm fine, seriously."
    "Okay," said Cooper, completely unconvinced.   Their HAHO helmets filtered out smoke—Cooper had not smelled anything but recycled air since he’d activated his suit after leaving the Sons of Liberty headquarters.   "You got any signs down your way?"   Cooper turned and moved backed to his position next to Boatner.   He could see Charlie shaking his head in the darkness.  
    "Negative on signs," said Mike.
    Cooper looked down at the map on his forearm and traced streets with his finger.   That's Clairborne over there so there's no way we can be