“For the moment: recovery. Mandatory R&R. Stay loose, but stay sharp. Chess Team is going to be on alert status 24/7.”
“Chess Team,” Rook said. “I still think it sounds like an after-school club for nerds.”
Aleman threw him a withering glance. “I never played chess.”
King ignored them. “We’re going to need an HQ.”
“You’re sitting in it,” Deep Blue replied. “It’s temporary until we can come up with something better, but feel free to redecorate as you see fit; just submit your requisitions to General Keasling.”
Rook rolled his eyes at that news, but then his face seemed to brighten. “Dudes. We’ve got to have a horseshoe pit!”
Bishop’s face creased in annoyance. “Horseshoes? Really?”
“Just promise me this,” King said, cutting Rook off before he could launch into an impassioned defense of his favorite hobby. “Next time, can we just go up against some normal bad guys; you know, tangos with loose suitcase nukes and nerve gas? No more freaky science experiments, killer mountain crocodiles, historical voodoo…no more weird shit.”
Deep Blue laughed. “I won’t make promises I can’t keep, but it’s hard to imagine that you’ll ever have to deal with anything quite so extreme in the future.”
King had a sudden urge to knock on wood, but before he could rap his knuckles against the tabletop, he realized that it was molded plastic.
Ah, hell, he thought. Deep Blue’s right. Nothing could be as weird as what we just went through.
Three days was long enough — too long, really.
Rainer wasn’t coming back. The rogue Delta operator had failed, and given the resources he’d taken into the field, that was a frightening prospect indeed.
The telephone trilled once, twice…
Damn it! They know they need to pick up on the first ring.
“Reinhart.”
“What took you so long?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Never mind. You’ve just been promoted; congratulations.”
“What?”
God, the man is thick. “Rainer’s not coming back. He’s either dead or — God forbid — captured. Either way, you’re running the show now. First order of business is damage control.”
“Got it; no loose ends. I’ll make sure there’s nothing that ties us to him.”
To his credit, Reinhart seemed to grasp what was being asked of him, but was tidying up after Rainer going to be good enough?
The whole situation had been a farce from the beginning. He had no interest in plague research; that had been Katherine’s passion, and the only reason he’d even started down that road was to honor her memory; he’d thought that perhaps if he could salvage something useful from her work, her death wouldn’t feel like such a waste.
Sentimentality is for suckers. It’s time to write this whole fiasco off.
“Good. And while you’re at it, I think it’s time to dissolve our partnership with the Chinese.”
“When you say ‘dissolve?’” Reinhart let the question hang.
“Complete liquidation of our assets.”
“Clear as crystal.”
Reinhart hung up first, which would have been a further irritant to his employer under any other circumstances, but the breach of protocol barely registered. Things were finally looking up.
He had never been comfortable with the idea of dealing with the triad. Criminals were so unsavory, and while the partnership had been useful for procuring test subjects and generating untraceable revenue, the risk of exposure was just too great.
Besides, that line of research was a dead end — literally. Richard Ridley had no use for dead ends. He was going to live forever.
Dear Reader,
You have just finished the Chess Team origins novel book and I wanted to take a moment to thank you for reading. I hope you have enjoyed the journey and that you will come back for more adventures. If you did enjoy the book, please show your support by posting a review at Amazon.com. The Amazon website works on algorithms, meaning the more people review my books, the more Amazon will recommend them to other readers. And the more people buy my books, the more I get to write them, which is a good thing for both of us (assuming you enjoyed the book). While some authors pay for five star reviews, I'm depending on you, the actual reader, to voice your opinion. And while you're there, feel free to pick up the next Chess Team books, PULSE, INSTINCT, THRESHOLD, RAGNAROK and OMEGA. There are also eight novellas bridging THRESHOLD and RAGNAROK! Hey, I’m an author, shilling my books is part of the job.
Thank you!
— Jeremy Robinson
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
JEREMY ROBINSON is the bestselling author of more than thirty novels including PULSE, INSTINCT, THRESHOLD and RAGNAROK, the first four books in his exciting Jack Sigler series, as well as PROJECT NEMESIS and THE ANTARKTOS SAGA. Robinson also known as the #1 Amazon.com horror writer, Jeremy Bishop, author of THE SENTINEL, THE RAVEN and the controversial novel, TORMENT. His novels have been translated into eleven languages. He lives in New Hampshire with his wife and three children.
Visit him on the web, here: www.jeremyrobinsononline.com
SEAN ELLIS is the author of several thriller and adventure novels. He is a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources Policy from Oregon State University. Sean is also a member of the International Thriller Writers organization. He currently resides in Arizona, where he divides his time between writing, adventure sports, and trying to figure out how to save the world.
Visit him on the web, here: seanellisthrillers.webs.com