BACKTRACKER by Milo Fowler (books to read in your 30s TXT) 📗

at all, really. A synthetic—oneprogrammed by its creator with an overriding directive to kill an innocent manin the past. Harold Muldoon, whom he and Irenahad sought for so long.

Now that this man was dead, now that Cade had obeyed his killorder, was he once again in command of his own faculties? Or, at any time,could his will be overridden by its creator? Could he be forced to performanother soulless atrocity?

Mary took his hand, her fingers warm and smooth, slippingbetween his and clasping tightly. It was as if she could sense the troublednature of his mind. "Though I walkthrough the valley of the shadow of death," she whispered with a squeeze, "I will fear no evil."

The same passage of holy scripture that had passed through his ownmind. His lips parted with surprise.

"Who goes?" a cancerous throat rasped from the dark."Who goes!"

Gavin Lennox shouldered the automatic rifle he carried andpeered through the infrared scope. He pulled the trigger without pause.Staccato fire exploded in the confined space of the subway portal, and a hoarsescream erupted from the darkness.

Mary clutched onto Cade.

"We goes," Lennox muttered. He kept his eyesocket flush with the scope as he moved forward. "Well, what do youknow?" He stooped to retrieve something off the ground.

"The Gatekeeper," Mary whispered into Cade's ear."He just...killed him?"

Cade did not say a word. Lennox was a dangerous man. Andunpredictable.

"Catch," Lennox barked, his voice echoing.

A pair of goggles flew through the air, followed by another. Cadecaught them both by the straps.

"Put them on. We'll have the advantage." Lennox wasenjoying himself, all of this an adventure to him.

Cade handed a pair of goggles to Mary. "Do as he says."

"There is no advantage," she said so only he could hear."The freaks will smell us, if they haven't already heard thegunfire."

"I am sure they have." Cade pulled on his goggles, andthe darkness transformed into blurry shades of grey.

"What are you two bickering about?" Lennox stood a fewmeters away, picking through the Gatekeeper's pile of belongings with interest.He glanced at Cade, the black goggles giving his face an insect-like quality."Hunting season." He grinned, beckoning them to follow. "C'mon,let's get what we came for."

"Maybe they'll kill him," Mary muttered hopefully, adjusting the gogglesaround her eyes. "He doesn't even know where he's going."

"That does not seem to matter to him."

Cade stopped.

"What is it?" Mary frowned.

"We are being followed." Cade wished for his kodachi,but of course Lennox had not allowed him to bring a weapon of any kind, letalone his favored blade.

"Let's move, people!" Lennox said.

"Who is it?" Mary pressed against Cade's back, peeringover his shoulder.

"I do not know."

"Should we tell Lennox?"

"No." Friend or foe, the person tailing them would makehis presence known eventually. If it proved to be a friend, they would do wellto keep Lennox in the dark—figuratively—for the time being. "We shouldcatch up."

"I hate him." She held onto Cade with both hands.

"I know, my sister."

She drew back from him. "I'm not really your sister, youknow." She sniffed, tugging at the uncomfortable goggles. "We're notrelated at all, when you think about it. Not by blood, anyway."

He turned to face her, uncertain how to proceed. He wasunaccustomed to the amount of conversation she seemed to expect from him. Shewas fragile at the moment, having seen both her brothers gunned down before hereyes. He did not wish to upset her further.

"Planning some kind of mutiny?" Lennox charged straightfor them. "I'll endyou both right here, right now, without a secondthought." He waved the rifle with menace. "Get the hell over here andshow me the way. You." He pointed at Mary. "Lead on."

With obvious reluctance, she joined Lennox. He faced Cade.

"You watch the rear, monk. And I don't mean hers."

"This way," Mary said. She stepped off the ledge at theend of the platform and plunged toward the abandoned tracks below.

Lennox glanced at Cade's folded arms. "So these freaks thatare supposed to live down here. They're real?"

Cade nodded. As real as you or I.

"And they actually...drink people's blood?"

"Only those who make their presence known."

Lennox chuckled. "Cute." He slung the rifle over hisshoulder and jumped down toward the tracks, landing with ease.

Cade hesitated, half-turning to glance back over his shoulder.There were two figures now in pursuit, doing their best to remain out of sight,but failing miserably. The goggles detected heat signatures; there was no wayto hide from them completely. The two figures cowered behind a corner of theentry portal, but the glow of their combined body heat emanated outward like anaura of vaporous white. If Lennox hadn't been so focused on the path ahead, hewould have noticed them. And shot them down, more than likely.

Cade leapt from the ledge to follow Lennox and Mary. They moved insilence, goggles panning left to right, up and down. Cade surveyed the tunnel'severy angle with each step. If residents of the Underground had heard thegunfire, there was no indication as of yet. Or perhaps Lennox and his guideswere still too close to the outside world for the freaks' liking.

When they had encroached half a kilometer into the darkness, Marybegan whispering, quietly at first, building in volume as she walked, unarmed,before them.

"What are you doing?" Lennox hissed. She did not answerhim but continued her soliloquy uninterrupted. He turned toward Cademid-stride. "What is she doing?"

"She quotes the holy scriptures."

"Why?"

"One way to ward off thelocals."

Lennox cursed under his breath. "Superstitious fools."

Mary picked up the pace, jogging now, darting left then right,avoiding broken and jagged sections of the subway tracks that would haveskewered her otherwise, had she not been able to see them ahead of time. Caderemembered the last time he ventured this way, guided along through the blackby Cyrus Horton and his three children. From what he recalled of that trekthrough the Underground, they would soon come upon one of the secret entrancesto Horton's hidden lair. They would open the hatch and slip inside, then sealit shut behind them.

And then? Would Mary give Lennox the power he sought—theBackTracker?

Cade had destroyed two of the wristwatches, smashed them to piecesin the office that had once belonged to Harold Muldoon. If there remained yetanother BackTracker device in