Read Online Instinct (2010) by Ben Kay - Free Book Online Page A

prone forms of giant wasps.
    He enjoyed stepping on the paralysed bodies, feeling their exoskeletons crush as their internal organs became a sticky mess beneath his boots. It was like the satisfaction of squashing a dozen empty cigarette packets at once.
    Soon he was in the depths. He could hear his breathing, mixed with the thick dripping of the spray and the occasional tennis-ball-landing-in-stew sound of a wasp falling from the wall with the extra weight of the liquid coating. He looked up to the ceiling and the giant sweep of nest that stretched away to the back of the cave. The mist was designed to break this down, leaving no discernible evidence.
    Wainhouse continued to spray as he walked backwardsto the entrance of the cave. There, he bumped into Garrett, who had taken over from Van Arenn, and turned the hose off. The others were waiting just outside, relieved to see Wainhouse return. Operations never went wrong from this point. Once Garrett had given them the signal to clear the area, they knew the threat would soon be over. All that remained was for the fireballs to be deployed, and the mission would be finished.
    Garrett did not enjoy replacing her friend under these circumstances, but she did relish the chance to use the pyroballistics.
    She removed the smooth, black spheres from their casing. They had a fat weight to them, like huge ball bearings, and Garrett liked the idea that something that looked so perfect could cause so much destruction. She felt for the shallow indentations at either end and pressed them until she heard the solid spring release and felt the sphere rocking gently in her palm.
    She held the first one up between thumb and forefinger as it vibrated with increasing force. This was accompanied by a hum that increased in pitch until – Pyanggg – the sphere leapt out of her grip and shot towards the back of the cave. The force of repelling electromagnets sent it to stop just short of the far wall, where it hovered a few feet off the ground, still shaking as if alive.
    Another five followed, each powered by weaker levels of magnetism, so they didn’t vibrate quite as hard. When they were released, they stopped closer and closer to where Garrett was standing, eventually forming arow of shuddering black globes that seemed impatient to fulfil their potential. All that remained was for Garrett to remove her mask and light a Lucky Strike.
    She sucked deep and snapped shut her Zippo, taking one last look into the gloom. Then she flicked the cigarette into the cave and turned to join the others at a safe distance.
    Not everyone on the team had seen what happened next before but they all knew the sound: a solid, metallic clang like a mallet striking a car door, followed by hundreds of tiny arrows firing into rock. The spheres were triggered by highly sensitive smoke detectors to give the team enough time to get away before the packed steel shards flew out and embedded themselves in whatever surface they found. Then it was just a short wait until they exploded, reacting with Wainhouse’s spray to create the most efficient incendiary combination known to science.
    A quick white flash lit up the entrance, and a second later everything in the cave was annihilated. Carter and Mills would go back in to check, but every time they had done so, the hiding place looked exactly as it would have done before the wasps arrived.
    Outside, the team made its way back down the mountain to where Webster was standing with Laura. She had not spoken during the twenty minutes the others had been away. Each of Webster’s offers of coffee and cigarettes had been refused, as she was intent on appearing anything other than friendly or dependent.
    Webster saw that one of his team had been injuredand was now being helped down the mountain by two of the others. He removed his protective suit and ran towards them, fearing the worst. Van Arenn had taken his mask off and was leaning on Mills and Wainhouse as he blinked back a stream