Heavenfall: Genviants Book 1 Read Free Page A

while soldiers scanned the interior. It only took a few seconds for the handhelds to skim the passengers and clear them through. She'd have to endure two more stops before being allowed out of the vehicle, and she had to tamp down the urge to scream. This feeling of claustrophobia was something new. The night air smelled stale, felt hot and thick against her skin. The stop and start movement to the checkpoints made her queasy. The total opposite of the feeling of freedom she had on her motorcycle.
    They stopped at the entrance and a guard opened her car door. With a sigh of relief, she took in great gulps of fresh air and followed the man inside. They walked in silence through the maze of corridors to the commander's office. In contrast to the stark, utilitarian gray walls, concrete floors, and metal desks of the center, his office held the quiet opulence of power. Soft, thick rugs with strong reds and golds in the pattern beneath burgundy leather wing chairs. A dark cherry wood desk dominated the center of the room. Matching barrister bookshelves, with their spotless glass and books perfectly symmetrical like the buttons on a uniform, stood guard on each side of the window. The only window in the building.
    He wasn't alone. "Commander," she acknowledged straight-backed and with the respect due his status. "Reporting as ordered."
    The commander motioned for her to sit. "I believe you know our guest."
    "Hello, Dex. What a surprise to see you here." She let the sarcasm drip from her voice and sat in the chair next to him. "Another sec mech gone rogue?" The members of Hadrian's elite mech security tended to develop a god complex, and when one short circuited and went rogue? Hellish.
    "Not this time." His easy smile and the commander's clenched jaw indicated trouble in this little paradise. Not a standard termination.
    "Ursula." The commander's tone brought her to attention. He held out a file, and she took it without asking any questions, preferring to evaluate the contents without outside opinion.
    She scanned the information and closed the file. "You want me to terminate a drug dealer?"
    "Yes." Dex shifted in his chair to look her in the eye. "He's one of the few who has access to A, and he's selling to sec mechs and controllers. He's costing Palisade time and a great deal of money. An irritant which must be removed."
    "So, why not send Palisade mech security after him. This isn't covert." She dropped the file on the edge of the commander's desk.
    "He's gone under." Dex's gaze never wavered, but she saw a flash of wicked anticipation in his eyes.
    She had to stifle the laugh which threatened to escape. "In other words, you did send a Palisade security team after him, and they screwed it up? What's his name?" She picked up the file again, flipped through it. "Yeah, this Niko, caught their scent and rabbited. Figures, most of those testosterone infused mech cops couldn't find their dicks with both hands and a map."
    A vein in the commander's temple throbbed. She'd probably just insulted his best retrieval team. "The damage is done, Ursula. Can you find the guy?"
    "Sure. It'll take more time, but I can get him. However, we need to talk about compensation first."
    Dex leaned back in his chair. "The usual—"
    "This isn't a usual situation," she interrupted. "If you want me to go into the fringes, I'll need money. Lots of it. On top of my fee."
    "That's understood," Dex answered.
    "And Commander, I have four days left on the wall. I want my release papers signed today, and loaded into the mainframe. I'll need civilian ID with proper clearance to get through the city checkpoints with weapons."
    "I've already started the paperwork. Your new credentials should be here any minute."
    She nodded in acknowledgment. "And, I want a bottle of A now, plus I keep everything I take off the dealer."
    Dex's faced showed a hint of amusement at the demand, but the commander's face turned red, and his eyes bulged. "You want it on a freaking silver