Read Online Girl Takes The Oath (An Emily Kane Adventure Book 5) by Jacques Antoine - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jacques Antoine
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kicking and striking at them, but I get a look at her face and it’s totally placid, like nothing out of the ordinary is going on. I’ve never seen anything like it. Sometimes I think I just hallucinated the whole thing.”
“Goddamn it, Cho. How the hell could you idiots take her to a place like that?”
“Hey, don’t blame us. And thank God she was there, ’cause she really saved us. And it’s the strangest thing, when I think back on it, because she was totally fierce in that fight, you know, like there’s nothing too nasty for her, snapping elbows and knees, smashing guys’ faces against hard things. I mean, it’s like she broke those guys… and then she’s helping me up, and I look up into those eyes, and it’s like practically a religious experience. But I’m sure you know what I’m talking about, right? They’re so dark and deep, and looking into them is so calming, like serenity itself, but with this unsettling feeling that if you looked deeper, if you could see all the way to the bottom…”
“You might see the very fires of hell,” Perry added. “Yeah, I’ve been there.”
By this point, the two of them were standing side by side at the edge of the same tidal pool, gazing blankly at the ancient volcano across the bay. Gray storm clouds in the background spread out behind the broken cone and Perry shifted over a few feet to try to imagine what an eruption might look like. Of course, the storm didn’t stretch high enough to complete the illusion, but Perry took some comfort from it anyway.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” he asked, waving the slip of paper in his hand. “Can you at least tell me what the characters mean?” he asked after another moment’s silence.
“Like I said, my knowledge of Mandarin is pretty sketchy. It could be a name, but this character seems to mean cicada.”
“Cicada? You mean those big insects?”
Cho shrugged.
“Leone said your team is catching a ride with Strike Group Ten to the Persian Gulf.”
“How the hell… nobody outside the SEAL chain of command is supposed to know about mission plans.”
“I don’t pretend to know anything about how you guys operate,” Cho said, with a shrug. “Leone insisted on face to face hand off only. No phones, emails, nothing. He seems to think a SEAL in Kabul will contact you.”
“Damnit, Theo,” Perry muttered under his breath.
“If you get me burned over this, man…. I only agreed because it’s her, you know. So don’t screw it up, whatever the hell it is.”
Perry growled.
“You hungry?” Cho asked to change the subject. “There’s a good noodle house on the other side of the park.”
~~~~~~~
“Do you really have to go to this thing, Em?”
“I don’t have to go, CJ. I want to go,” Emily replied as they crossed King George Street.
“But it’s gonna be so boring.”
“Look, guys, it’s not like I’m asking you to come.”
“But Zaki and McDonough are meeting us,” Stacie said.
“That’s okay. I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
“They’re not gonna like it, Em. You know how they can be.”
“I’ll be fine. It’s just a lecture. Plus, you can bet Bauer and his pals wouldn’t be caught dead there.”
The girls stared at her imploringly at the corner of Prince George Street, all to no avail. As on so many other occasions, she resisted their entreaties, though perhaps now with more than the usual regret. The sweetness of friendship makes its own demands on the heart, and Emily felt the risk of not deferring to it more at that moment than before. She glanced down the block and saw what she expected: a dark sedan idling by the curb.
“Fine,” Stacie said. “We’ll be at the Ram’s Head. There’s one of those jug bands playing tonight, you know. McDonough is really keen to see ’em.”
“I’ll try to get there before ten. Wait for me, okay?”
Once the girls had gone, Emily motioned to the sedan. When whoever sat in it didn’t respond, she
“Goddamn it, Cho. How the hell could you idiots take her to a place like that?”
“Hey, don’t blame us. And thank God she was there, ’cause she really saved us. And it’s the strangest thing, when I think back on it, because she was totally fierce in that fight, you know, like there’s nothing too nasty for her, snapping elbows and knees, smashing guys’ faces against hard things. I mean, it’s like she broke those guys… and then she’s helping me up, and I look up into those eyes, and it’s like practically a religious experience. But I’m sure you know what I’m talking about, right? They’re so dark and deep, and looking into them is so calming, like serenity itself, but with this unsettling feeling that if you looked deeper, if you could see all the way to the bottom…”
“You might see the very fires of hell,” Perry added. “Yeah, I’ve been there.”
By this point, the two of them were standing side by side at the edge of the same tidal pool, gazing blankly at the ancient volcano across the bay. Gray storm clouds in the background spread out behind the broken cone and Perry shifted over a few feet to try to imagine what an eruption might look like. Of course, the storm didn’t stretch high enough to complete the illusion, but Perry took some comfort from it anyway.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” he asked, waving the slip of paper in his hand. “Can you at least tell me what the characters mean?” he asked after another moment’s silence.
“Like I said, my knowledge of Mandarin is pretty sketchy. It could be a name, but this character seems to mean cicada.”
“Cicada? You mean those big insects?”
Cho shrugged.
“Leone said your team is catching a ride with Strike Group Ten to the Persian Gulf.”
“How the hell… nobody outside the SEAL chain of command is supposed to know about mission plans.”
“I don’t pretend to know anything about how you guys operate,” Cho said, with a shrug. “Leone insisted on face to face hand off only. No phones, emails, nothing. He seems to think a SEAL in Kabul will contact you.”
“Damnit, Theo,” Perry muttered under his breath.
“If you get me burned over this, man…. I only agreed because it’s her, you know. So don’t screw it up, whatever the hell it is.”
Perry growled.
“You hungry?” Cho asked to change the subject. “There’s a good noodle house on the other side of the park.”
~~~~~~~
“Do you really have to go to this thing, Em?”
“I don’t have to go, CJ. I want to go,” Emily replied as they crossed King George Street.
“But it’s gonna be so boring.”
“Look, guys, it’s not like I’m asking you to come.”
“But Zaki and McDonough are meeting us,” Stacie said.
“That’s okay. I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
“They’re not gonna like it, Em. You know how they can be.”
“I’ll be fine. It’s just a lecture. Plus, you can bet Bauer and his pals wouldn’t be caught dead there.”
The girls stared at her imploringly at the corner of Prince George Street, all to no avail. As on so many other occasions, she resisted their entreaties, though perhaps now with more than the usual regret. The sweetness of friendship makes its own demands on the heart, and Emily felt the risk of not deferring to it more at that moment than before. She glanced down the block and saw what she expected: a dark sedan idling by the curb.
“Fine,” Stacie said. “We’ll be at the Ram’s Head. There’s one of those jug bands playing tonight, you know. McDonough is really keen to see ’em.”
“I’ll try to get there before ten. Wait for me, okay?”
Once the girls had gone, Emily motioned to the sedan. When whoever sat in it didn’t respond, she
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