Read Online Jordan Summers - [Dead World 01] by Red (html) - Free Book Online

you think that's wise? Re publics don't like the tactical team sticking
their noses into their business, especially when they haven't been called."
    "I know, but I have to do it for my own peace of
mind."
    He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Please be careful.   Boundary towns aren't exactly welcoming places and you will have no jurisdiction.
If you go there, you have to go as
Gina Santiago, not Lieutenant Santiago."
    "I understand. I'm only
going to give it a look-see. Strictly hands off. I'll be back before you've
noticed that I've gone."
    "I doubt that."
    Red smiled reassuringly, but his
expression re mained
shrouded in worry. "You know I can take care of myself. I slayed that dragon,
remember? Besides, I learned
from the best." She winked and released her grandfather's hand. "You taught me all there
is to know about
the criminal element. I'm not concerned about encountering unknowns." Or  Others, she added silently.
    "I didn't teach you
everything, special one." She heard him murmur softly as she headed for the door. "There are worse things in
this world than unknowns. I pray you don't find them—and that they don't find you."
     
    chapter
five
     
    Situated in a low desert valley, surrounded by the
rubble remains of bare mountains, Red
smelled the dying town before she caught
sight of any of the buildings. The odor of decay wafted in the air, pol luting
her nostrils and burning her throat. Located twenty miles north of what used to be Phoenix, Arizona, the municipality of Nuria resembled every other small dusty boundary fence town that was scarce on jobs and brimming with poverty.
    Solar panels twinkled like displaced stars from the
rooftops, giving the appearance of life, but several of the buildings sat empty, closed signs barring their sealed front doors. Windows had been shattered, leaving glass skeletons behind. All the town was missing was the sound
of a death rattle. Red was sure that if she tried really hard, she'd be able to hear one. There were no biospheres here like the ones built to enclose and protect IPTT and the larger cities from high levels of radiation exposure. Nuria had been left to fend
for itself like all the other boundary towns, which
explained why the architecture reflected a different time, a different age.
    Red was amazed they'd managed to survive the last world war with so many of the original
buildings intact. Not many places could boast of such a feat. It was as
if the world had forgotten about them.
    Although the houses appeared
antiquated with their whitewashed
window frames and brick walls, Nuria's streets were paved with the latest
synthetic green tarp scientists
had designed to accommodate the sun's punishing rays and protect the tread on
most civilian hy drogen vehicles.
    Red couldn't really blame them for choosing that
practical option over the more expensive biodome. Nuria might not have many
businesses, but the ones that did exist needed a way for their employees and
customers to reach them.
    She hadn't been able to find
much information about the town before she left. Most of the buildings weren't recorded in her navcom. so it
made using Rita damn near useless. Nuria
proper didn't exist on any map. That was
the trouble with small towns, they popped up overnight and faded just as quickly. It was a waste of manpower to keep
track of them, so IPTT didn't. And obviously
neither did the Republic of Arizona, since it wasn't listed there either beyond its care center.
    Despite the oppressive heat and
the sweat trickling between her breasts,
Red smiled. Her grandfather would feel at
home in this place that time forgot. She could almost picture him strolling
down the sidewalk, a blissful smile brightening his face as he perused the architecture.
    At some point, the town must
have had a booming economy, but you
couldn't tell that by looking at it today. The fringe owned it now. It wouldn't
be long before Nuria took its last breath and expired, swallowed by the
ever-present boundary