The Beast That Was Max Read Free Page A

the plan and sustain the value of what is being done, but only if you are punished."
    "You wouldn't dare."
    "Why not? Would you dare betray us?"
    Max strained to contain the Beast. He wiped the sweat beading on his forehead. The hand holding the phone shook slightly. "She must be a hell of a woman."
    "What is your mission status?"
    Max grunted as if struck in the gut. "Operational.”
    “Check your contact for time limitations."
    Before Max could reply, the connection was severed. He put the phone back in its cradle.
    "Nice job of pulling a briefing out of those assholes," Lee said.
    "Thanks," Max said, with more of the Beast's grumble than his own voice.
    "So I guess you're not going to tell me shit, either.”
    “They said I had to check with you about time limitations."
    "Let me make a call. Maybe we can buy some wiggle room." Lee took the phone, punched in numbers, spoke in low tones, listened, glanced at Max, cocked an eyebrow, checked his watch, hung up. "Damn. I was hoping to sneak over to City Island and pick up crab legs to go before my next drop. But I really do have to get this Fordham divinity student out of the city before the papal meat boys cut off a few of his heretical parts. Looks like my dinner goes the way of your passengers in the trunk. We're cleared to delay your pickup, but I hope you're not thinking of digging really deep graves."
    "No digging."
    Lee waited a moment, studying Max as if to gauge his mood, then pressed on. "Goddamn awesome rating a Nowhere House deployment, though. Better write down anything you want to remember that happened to you over the past forty-eight hours."
    "I thought it was twelve."
    "You believe government specs? I hung out for a weekend with a team one time before they went inside. Saw them a week later during a Tibetan incursion and they took a shot at me."
    Max went over the events of the past week and found nothing worth saving. "There's nothing I need to remember."
    "Well, don't forget the protocol and write yourself instructions on what you have to do once you leave the place, or you're going to be wandering around the South Bronx wondering what the fuck you're supposed to do with your new girlfriend."
    "I know what I should to do with her."
    "Easy, big fella. You're on company time."
    Max pressed the accelerator, wove the Lincoln through the close traffic on the Saw Mill's winding roadway. Horns blared and high beams flashed in his rearview mirror. The Beast was disappointed over the failure of the other drivers' nerves. They exited at Tuckahoe, drove through quiet, tree-lined village streets with Colonials, split-levels, and the occasional overblown Tudor or small manor set on neatly trimmed lots. A stand of trees blotted out the lights of the surrounding neighborhood. Max slowed. Another house appeared, tucked among the trees. Max turned onto the gravel driveway, switched off the lights, let the car crawl toward a single light bulb shining over a side door to a run-down, three-story Victorian. A realtor's weathered For Sale sign and a construction company's renovation announcement were nailed over a faded movie production poster pasted to the door. Max popped the inside trunk release, cracked the door open.
    A dog's barking drifted faintly through the surrounding woods. Cold air stung his lungs as Max got out and took a deep breath of suburban air. He picked out the blood scents of a cat's and an owl's kill, the chemical bites of fertilizer and cleansers, an intoxicating burst of the season's first, fresh growth.
    He joined Lee at the back of the Lincoln, raised the hood, grabbed one end of a man's ravaged, naked corpse. Blood and shit stench mingled with the twins' sweet and musky markings, and with the smell of multiple orgasms spilled by all three. Max gritted his teeth, and was puzzled by the touch of jealousy. The Beast yipped with glee. Lee whistled, took hold of the feet, and stumbled along with Max as they headed toward a hole in the ground beyond the