Trident Fury (The Kurgan War Book 3) Read Free Page A

us,” said Sheridan. “The clock is ticking. Take it or leave it.”
    Smith muttered something under his breath. He stepped back and raised his hands. “Okay, I’ll do it, but let me speak to my wife first. She’s scared already; this is only going to make things worse between us.”
    “You have two minutes and then we’re leaving,” stressed Cole.
    Smith shuffled off to speak to his wife.
    Sheridan looked at Cole. “He’s the best you could find?”
    “Beggars can’t be choosers. It took me a week of negotiations just to get him to agree to this.”
    “Well, let’s hope that the missiles are still here or this trip will have been for nothing.”
    The walk through the maze-like streets of the colony to Abbas’ guarded compound took less than thirty minutes. Tall steel walls with guard towers every one hundred meters enclosed the sprawling complex. A drone hovered in the sky, keeping watch on all who approached Abbas’ home.
    Cole reached out and stopped Smith. “Before we go another step, I want to know what your plan is to get us in there.”
    “I do daily maintenance on the compound’s heating system. I’m going to tell them I forgot to do something and want to make sure that it won’t fail during the night.”
    “That explains you, what about us?”  
    “I’ll say that you are looking for work and that I’m teaching you all about my job.”
    “Sounds pretty flimsy.”
    “It’s the best I can think of. I’m not used to thinking on my feet.”
    Sheridan bit his lip. He would have preferred more time to concoct a better story, but time was in short supply. He knew it was now or never. He looked at Cole. “Let’s go.”
    At the front gate stood two mercenaries dressed in full body armor. They were covered entirely with state-of-the-art armor designed to withstand any small-arms fire and most fragmentation devices. Sheridan knew that it was heavy to wear and impractical to fight in, but for standing guard, it was perfect.
    As they got closer, Smith waved at the guards. One of the men stepped forward and raised a hand. “What do you want?” asked the guard, his voice sounded metallic through the helmet’s speaker.
    “I think I may have screwed up earlier,” replied Smith. “I want to double check my work on the heater before the sun goes down.”
    “What about them?”
    “They are my apprentices. I can’t do this forever. The sooner I train someone to replace me, the sooner I can spend more time with my young wife . . . if you get my meaning.”
    The guard motioned for Sheridan and Cole to step forward. He slung his assault rifle, grabbed a scanning device from his belt, and turned it on. He pointed at Cole. “You first.”
    Covered by his partner, the mercenary ran the scanner over Cole’s body. When he saw that there were no weapons concealed under Cole’s clothes, he made him stand by Smith. Sheridan was next. The guard was almost finished with his sweep when the device chimed by Sheridan’s head.  
    Sheridan smiled. “It’s only a hearing aide.”
    The guard ran his scanner back and forth. It only went off by Sheridan’s right ear.  
    “Do you want to see it?” asked Sheridan. “It isn’t much, but without it I’m as deaf as a post in my right ear. I bought it for a couple of credits in the bazaar last week.”
    The guard shook his head. “You can proceed.”
    Sheridan nodded and walked over to Cole’s side. His heart was racing in his chest. They had no weapons on them. If the guards had opened fire, they would have been dead in seconds. Before leaving Smith’s home, they had hidden all of their weapons in a cupboard, intending to pick them up when they were done.
    The guard spoke into his communicator. A couple of seconds later, the front gates slid open. “Go on and be quick about it.”
    “Right you are,” replied Smith, taking the lead.
    As they stepped into the compound, Sheridan was stunned to see how large it really was. Even with an orbiting satellite, the