Storm Tide Rising: Blackout Volume 2 Read Free Page A

announcement for each home, so you'll want to be there to receive yours. Drew wouldn't want you to miss a letter from him."
    Unable to stop herself, Alyssa made a sound of pure anguish that rose from deep in her throat, and tears finally began trickling down her cheeks. She opened her mouth to say something, but Mike suddenly took her in his arms and held her as if to comfort her pain. "Don't speak," Mike whispered. "I think he knows more than he's saying."
    "Who are you?"  Parker asked as Mike let go of Alyssa. "Do you live in this neighborhood, sir?"
    "I'm a friend of the family," Mike replied, careful to keep his hands in plain sight again. "Drew asked me to keep an eye on Alyssa while he was out looking for water. We got worried when he never came back, that's all. Is he okay? Do you know where he is?"
    "You'll have to take Ms. McCarthy back home, sir," Parker said, his voice suddenly very firm and official. "This area has been deemed unsafe for travel. The number of accidents and attacks has been up due to the absence of police authority."
    Mike nodded. "I understand. I'll take Alyssa back home, and we'll wait for the announcement there, okay?"
    The man tapped the side of his glasses again and nodded. "Do you know how to get her home? Two right turns and a left, okay?"
    The hair on the back of Mike's neck stood on end. Neither he nor Alyssa had mentioned how to get back to the house, but Parker had nailed it turn by turn. Mike looked again at the glasses Parker was wearing, and wondered if they were smart glasses. He nodded and carefully began backing away with Alyssa frowning at his side. "Yes, sir, I remember."
    Mike turned to go, but the man cleared his throat loudly. "And sir, make sure you leave the rifle at home next time. If you carry something like that around, you might get mistaken for a criminal up to no good." Parker paused for a long moment of tense silence. "And you wouldn't want that to happen."
    Mike swallowed hard and led Alyssa back down the street and out of the contractors' line of sight.
    "What the heck was that about?"  Alyssa asked angrily. "He said he knew something about Drew!"
    Mike shook his head. "All he said was your name and address. He never actually said anything about your husband other than mentioning some letter. If he knew about a letter, why not just tell us where your husband is? He stayed away from any real details like that on purpose. I think he was using smart glasses to look up information on you."
    Alyssa frowned suddenly, her anger temporarily stifled by confusion. "Why would he do that?" she asked.
    Mike gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "How should I know?"  he replied. "All I know is I'm not planning on sticking around to find out."

Ch. 3
    The Daily Brief
     
    Terry Price stepped into the room and immediately everyone stood, snapping to attention. Their response so caught him off guard that he nearly stumbled. None of the men were in uniform, but that hardly mattered. Some things become so deeply ingrained in a person's mind and actions over years of training that they become instinct rather than conscious thought. In the same way a doctor is always a doctor, these men had long since become military men in every sense of the word.
    Terry was immediately both humbled and embarrassed. "At ease, gentlemen," he said uncomfortably. "I'm sorry to be late."
    There was a rustle as the men all returned to their seats. Terry went to the desk at the center of the small theater-style briefing room. A screen descended from the ceiling behind him, and the lights dimmed to half strength. Terry picked up a remote control from the desk and pressed a button to activate the screen. The entire wall was a curved smart screen that took a moment to boot up. While the display program loaded, Terry turned to the room and held up a copy of the briefing file.
    "I'm sure you all read the file," he said. "I know I owe you more of an explanation, and I swear that I will give it to you when we have