Chemical Burn Read Online Free Page A

and small trees in Xen’s yard and passed through the yellow police-line tape barring the front doors. The tape made a lot less noise than the doors as we passed through. With a deafening sound of crunching metal and splintering wood, we came to an abrupt stop.
    Tires squealed behind us as the second SUV came in for the kill.
    ***

A Minor Secret
    The old me took over, and my conscience dissolved into fiery ash. I smiled, savoring the feel of the predator I was designed to be. Nothing remained but the hard-wired desire to eradicate the target. It was time to play.
    The instant the car came to a stop, I rolled over Natalia, grabbed the door handle, and opened it a crack. I heard Victor’s door open. A second later, the bark of a Kalashnikov filled the night as Victor fired at the SUV. I peered through the crack of the door and saw several rain-hazed shadows dive for cover. Sparks from Victor’s gunfire spattered across the side of the SUV, and I turned to Natalia as she got to her knees.
    “You okay?”
    “Yes,” she replied calmly.
    “When I say go, follow me out the door straight ahead, through the doorway, and into the kitchen.”
    “Wait,” she urged.
    “What?” I was impatient, hungry for the kill.
    She shifted her body around me to the back seat and hit a panel underneath the back seat. It flopped open revealing several weapons.
    “Here, take this,” she said, offering me a Glock .40.
    “I don’t like guns.”
    “What?” she said shocked.
    “I don’t like guns. They’re not any fun.”
    She stared at me in disbelief, blinking slowly.
    “Suit yourself,” she said finally, shaking her head as she reached in again. “I do,” she added as she slipped the Glock onto the back of her belt and grabbed a Kalashnikov. She removed her suit-jacket and shoes. “Is there any broken glass out there?”
    I quickly lifted my head over the window frame and looked at the ground between the car and the kitchen.
    “No. A few boards, some splinters of wood. I don’t see any nails sticking up either.”
    “Good.”
    Machine gun fire rattled off of the back of the car. Victor’s Kalashnikov erupted again, pinning down our assailants.
    “GO!” I hissed as I opened the door. Placing my foot on the doorframe, I leapt like a cat, spanning the eight feet to the kitchen doorway without touching the ground. Natalia peeked out the door, saw it was clear, and rolled out. She came up in a crouch, laying down a burst of suppressing fire with the Kalashnikov as she ran. Victor saw her make the dash and opened up with two fast bursts. Bullets sprayed out into the night, bouncing off the SUV and forcing several of our assailants back into cover. I turned in the doorway and watched Natalia cross the short distance like a commando, obviously combat-trained.
    “Victor! MOVE IT! ” I yelled.
    Natalia spun around in the doorway, kneeling below me. She flipped the selector of the rifle to single-shot and aimed out the shattered front doorway.
    Victor rolled over the hood of the car, using it for cover, and dropped behind the door I’d left open. I could see him favoring his left leg. Wedging the barrel in the crease between the door and body of the car, Victor aimed another burst of suppressing fire into the street and then bolted towards us.
    Just as he started to move, I saw three shadows pop up from their cover and take aim.
    Crack! Crack! Natalia’s rifle barked. One shadow dropped where he stood, and the other spun off behind a tree. The third opened fire on full auto and sent a hailstorm of bullets into Victor’s path. He spun around like a top. The Kalashnikov flew from his hands and sailed off deeper into the house with a loud clatter. He dropped limply, face down at Natalia’s feet, his head and arms flung through the doorway. There was blood everywhere. Natalia looked down at the prone body but said nothing. She fired three more rounds into the street to keep the gunmen pinned down.
    I bent down, grabbed one of