Read Online Gorgon: An Alex Hunter Novel by Greig Beck - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Greig Beck
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back to Hammerson. ‘Well, you called me.’
‘That I did,’ Hammerson responded. ‘Wanted to see how you were – in person. See if you’ve found what you were looking for.’
‘You know the answer to that,’ Alex said, and snorted softly. ‘I’ve felt you on my shoulder the past few months now.’
Hammerson smiled back. ‘Son, we were never off your shoulder. As I said, we were watching over you.’ He took a step forward. ‘Fact is, there’s a lot of people out there who want to do you harm.’
‘I can take care of myself. And no, I didn’t find what I was looking for. When I got there, it had all changed. You know that.’
Hammerson took another step toward his protégé. ‘Everything changes; it’s what makes life interesting. We want you to come back to us. We think –’
‘Makes life interesting?’ Alex shook his head. ‘I don’t want interesting. I want normal. I want my life back the way it was. I want to have a wife, a family. I want to go home after a day’s work, have a few beers with friends. I want normal.’
Hammerson shook his head slowly. ‘We don’t do normal. I know you know that, Alex.’
‘Jack, I don’t want this life anymore. I want to go home. I was nearly there.’ Alex remembered Joshua waving goodbye to him. ‘I was so close.’ His eyes bored into Hammerson’s. ‘Do you know about Joshua?’
The older man seemed to relax. But Alex knew he was doing the complete opposite – he was making his body loose, ready.
‘Yes,’ Hammerson said.
Alex’s jaw clenched. ‘You knew. And you knew he was mine.’
‘We suspected it. We assessed it was better to monitor the mother and child, stay away from them. Let them –’
‘Let them what? Continue thinking I’m dead? Live a normal life without me? I should be there with them.’
Hammerson shook his head. ‘You’re not ready.’
He turned slightly side-on. Alex recognized the defense position. So much for trust. He rubbed his temple, feeling the ache again, deep inside.
‘That’s just it. I’ll never be ready. You should have let me die after Chechnya.’
‘I chose to stay away and make them safe,’ Hammerson said. ‘And I think you did too. I take risks – we both do, every single day of our lives – and sometimes it’s my goddamn shitty job to decide what’s an acceptable risk for someone else. When I authorized the Arcadian treatment for you, it was a risk. But the alternative was leaving you as a brain-dead bag of meat on a hospital bed. Is that what you would have preferred? You’re alive and walking around – you got a good deal.’
‘I’m a ghost – I don’t exist! Alex Hunter, the real Alex Hunter, died on that damned operating table, and what’s left is some sort of military killing machine. I can’t even speak to my son. I’ve got nothing!’
Alex’s head throbbed, and a small voice began to whisper its hate to him.
‘Bullshit! Time to stop feeling sorry for yourself, soldier.’ Hammerson yelled the words, chin jutting, jabbing his finger into Alex’s face.
We’ll all be better off if you’re dead.
Alex ground his teeth. Did Hammerson just say that?
The experiment was a failure. Time to clean the books – wipe out you and your abomination offspring.
Alex shook his head. ‘What did you say?’
Hammerson spoke again, but Alex couldn’t hear his words. There was another voice, even louder in his head.
We don’t need you any more … we’ve got the kid. We can cut him up – see what makes him tick.
‘Like hell you will!’ Alex’s hand shot out to grab Hammerson around the neck.
Sam moved at a fantastic speed for someone his size, took hold of Alex’s forearm and yanked. Without releasing his hold on Hammerson, Alex grabbed Sam’s shirtfront with the other hand. Sam was a big man, weighing in at around 250 pounds, with the MECH suit adding another eighty to that, but Alex slowly lifted him till his huge boots were clear of the ground.
‘Put him down,
‘That I did,’ Hammerson responded. ‘Wanted to see how you were – in person. See if you’ve found what you were looking for.’
‘You know the answer to that,’ Alex said, and snorted softly. ‘I’ve felt you on my shoulder the past few months now.’
Hammerson smiled back. ‘Son, we were never off your shoulder. As I said, we were watching over you.’ He took a step forward. ‘Fact is, there’s a lot of people out there who want to do you harm.’
‘I can take care of myself. And no, I didn’t find what I was looking for. When I got there, it had all changed. You know that.’
Hammerson took another step toward his protégé. ‘Everything changes; it’s what makes life interesting. We want you to come back to us. We think –’
‘Makes life interesting?’ Alex shook his head. ‘I don’t want interesting. I want normal. I want my life back the way it was. I want to have a wife, a family. I want to go home after a day’s work, have a few beers with friends. I want normal.’
Hammerson shook his head slowly. ‘We don’t do normal. I know you know that, Alex.’
‘Jack, I don’t want this life anymore. I want to go home. I was nearly there.’ Alex remembered Joshua waving goodbye to him. ‘I was so close.’ His eyes bored into Hammerson’s. ‘Do you know about Joshua?’
The older man seemed to relax. But Alex knew he was doing the complete opposite – he was making his body loose, ready.
‘Yes,’ Hammerson said.
Alex’s jaw clenched. ‘You knew. And you knew he was mine.’
‘We suspected it. We assessed it was better to monitor the mother and child, stay away from them. Let them –’
‘Let them what? Continue thinking I’m dead? Live a normal life without me? I should be there with them.’
Hammerson shook his head. ‘You’re not ready.’
He turned slightly side-on. Alex recognized the defense position. So much for trust. He rubbed his temple, feeling the ache again, deep inside.
‘That’s just it. I’ll never be ready. You should have let me die after Chechnya.’
‘I chose to stay away and make them safe,’ Hammerson said. ‘And I think you did too. I take risks – we both do, every single day of our lives – and sometimes it’s my goddamn shitty job to decide what’s an acceptable risk for someone else. When I authorized the Arcadian treatment for you, it was a risk. But the alternative was leaving you as a brain-dead bag of meat on a hospital bed. Is that what you would have preferred? You’re alive and walking around – you got a good deal.’
‘I’m a ghost – I don’t exist! Alex Hunter, the real Alex Hunter, died on that damned operating table, and what’s left is some sort of military killing machine. I can’t even speak to my son. I’ve got nothing!’
Alex’s head throbbed, and a small voice began to whisper its hate to him.
‘Bullshit! Time to stop feeling sorry for yourself, soldier.’ Hammerson yelled the words, chin jutting, jabbing his finger into Alex’s face.
We’ll all be better off if you’re dead.
Alex ground his teeth. Did Hammerson just say that?
The experiment was a failure. Time to clean the books – wipe out you and your abomination offspring.
Alex shook his head. ‘What did you say?’
Hammerson spoke again, but Alex couldn’t hear his words. There was another voice, even louder in his head.
We don’t need you any more … we’ve got the kid. We can cut him up – see what makes him tick.
‘Like hell you will!’ Alex’s hand shot out to grab Hammerson around the neck.
Sam moved at a fantastic speed for someone his size, took hold of Alex’s forearm and yanked. Without releasing his hold on Hammerson, Alex grabbed Sam’s shirtfront with the other hand. Sam was a big man, weighing in at around 250 pounds, with the MECH suit adding another eighty to that, but Alex slowly lifted him till his huge boots were clear of the ground.
‘Put him down,
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