Free Arcadian Genesis by Greig Beck Page B

landscape. Hammerson could almost feel the earth shift under his feet.
    An accident at the physics research lab? With that class of hi-tech, precision blast, it was more likely someone was cleaning house. And there was only one leader in the world who’d nuke his own soil – Vladimir Volkov.
    Hammerson’s heart pounded in his chest. Another thing he knew about Volkov: he would love to have a captured American Special Forces team as his scapegoat. Blame would shift from Russia to the United States. Isn’t gonna happen on my watch . He reached for his phone.
    ‘Secure line.’ He waited. ‘Dark Bird One, this is Overlord.’
    The pilot of the chopper stationed at the Georgian border answered immediately.
    ‘Acknowledged.’
    ‘Immediate Valkeryn retrieval.’
    ‘Acknowledged.’
    He hung up the phone.
    The mission was terminated, accomplished or not. He had been ordered to obtain the power cell. That brief did not include starting World War III.

CHAPTER 11
     
     
    The four HAWCs moved along the line of parked vehicles in Surkhaiki Street. Fifty feet farther down the road was number fifteen, their destination. Like most of the houses, it was a modern weatherboard on wooden stilts. Out the front there were three wooden steps, with a small shrub on either side shielding the area underneath from prying eyes – a good hiding place. Again, Alex scanned the line of roofs and black windows. Several were open a crack. He held up his thermal scope: cold as Jack Frost’s tomb.
    I don’t like this one bit , he thought. He looked back at Bruda, who was at his designated point a hundred feet back at a corner. He nodded and shrugged – nothing in his line of sight either.
    They’d maintain radio silence until they had something to report. Alex pointed to Kolchek, then to the steps. The man took off, staying low.
    Kolchek knelt beside the steps and reached underneath. Almost immediately, he pulled free something wrapped in a dirty towel. The package looked monumentally heavy. He gave Alex the thumbs-up.
    Thank God , Alex thought, and pressed the stud in his ear. ‘Got it, boss – coming back.’ He didn’t expect a reply; Bronson’s focus would now be on extraction.
    Kolchek slung his gun over his shoulder, needing both arms to carry the package. As he turned, he grinned – but only for a moment.
    His head kicked back.
    Kolchek fell heavily, the leaden canister bouncing off his chest. Immediately, Bruda’s booming gun shattered the silence, erupting like a thousand thunderstorms all around them.
    ***
     
    Bronson frowned at the clipped instructions from the incoming chopper. They’d been pulled. He’d given coordinates that would set it down right on the main street – he doubted the average Chechen would come out to investigate a military chopper coming down in the center of their town. It would still take them an hour to arrive; he’d give Hunter a little bit longer to finish the job.
    Khamid sat nervously, his eyes darting back and forth.
    Looks ready to bolt , Bronson thought. ‘Don’t worry, Doctor; you’ll be home soon.’
    Khamid looked at him with a sort of weary gratitude, then suddenly jerked upright. His eyes widened. Bronson reached instinctively for his gun.
    With his other hand, he snatched at the loop of razor wire that swung over his head and pulled tight. Even with his Kevlar glove, it bit deep into his fingers. A massive booted heel stomped down on his gun hand, breaking bones and pinning it to the dirt.
    Khamid cowered in fear. There would be no help from the little man, but Bronson didn’t expect any. He grunted with pain as the garrote sliced through to the bone of his knuckles. The force being exerted was enormous.
    A deep voice whispered in his ear: ‘Hurts, da, little man?’
    Sweat and blood spat into the air as the first of his fingers fell away. The pain was nauseating, and he could feel himself sinking under it. With his last conscious breath, he croaked at the scientist, who was