Read Online Monster Hunter Nemesis by Larry Correia - Free Book Online
Authors: Larry Correia
Ads: Link
it was sobering how many of those shiny badges he’d known as living and breathing men and women. “I figured you’d be here.”
“How come?”
“The first time a new guy comes to headquarters, they always gravitate right to this spot. Can’t help themselves. They’ve seen the stats, read the histories in the academy, but they need to see the names to put it into perspective. I know I did.”
“That’s a lot of badges . . .” Strayhorn trailed off.
“Sure, it’s dangerous, but we’ve been around since 1902.” Archer didn’t want to point out that he’d seen the statistical analysis, and their casualty rate was higher now than it had ever been. Things were really picking up out there, but there was no need to depress the new guy already. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“Somebody needs to give the rookie a tour, and your training officer is a trigger puller. He probably doesn’t even know where half the cool stuff is.” Archer walked back toward the elevator and the rookie followed. “What’s the MCB’s mission, and the First Reason for that mission?”
“Is this a test?”
“Humor me.”
Strayhorn quoted from his training. “The MCB’s primary mission is to keep the existence of monsters and the supernatural a secret. The First Reason is the more people who believe in the Old Ones, the more powerful they become.”
“Correct. You might think it sounds a little crazy right now, or you might be having some doubts about our mission or our tactics, I know I was when I was in your shoes, but believe me, the first time you see a monster tree the size of this building rampaging across the countryside sucking all the light and happiness out of the world, you’ll be all in favor of doing some crazy shit too. The Bureau has four main departments to achieve our goals . . .”
“Admin and Logistics, Media Control, Research and Development, and the Special Response Team.”
“Good for you. I was still so freaked out that monsters were real that I missed half of the nuts and bolts stuff from the academy,” Archer lied. He was a nuts and bolts kind of guy. Archer slid his keycard in the reader and pushed the button for the fourth floor. “You’ll be assigned to one of those after this Franks duty.”
“What department does Franks belong to?”
“None. The Bureau just lets Franks do his own thing. Were you Special Forces or anything like that?”
“Not even close.”
“Then you probably won’t go to the Strike Team. Yeah, that’s not the official name, but we don’t call them SRT. We had that name first, but then the FBI came along and stole it. They’re our resident badasses who ride in black helicopters and go in guns blazing,” he explained as the elevator rose.
“I heard they’re pretty tough.”
“Of course. You’ve been listening to Radabaugh. They’ve got some offices here, but mostly they stage out of military bases and train at Quantico. Myers is their boss now, and his number two is this crazy guy named Cueto. You don’t want that assignment though.”
“How come?”
“They’re most of the badges in the fountain.”
* * *
Archer returned to work, satisfied that he’d done his good deed for the day. The rookie seemed like a pretty sharp kid. R&D was always a crowd pleaser, with all of the dissected monsters and equipment prototypes laying around, then they’d gone through Media Control, where the MCB worked their magic discrediting and slandering witnesses, manipulating the news, and even producing their own easily debunked conspiracy theories. Strayhorn seemed a little put off by that department, though he’d tried to hide it, but that was a fairly normal reaction. Then Archer’d turned the rookie back over to his TO and gone back to his cubicle on the ninth floor.
He found that Grant was waiting there, grey-faced and anxious. It was unusual to see Grant disheveled, let alone looking like he was about to barf in the trash can. “Man, you don’t
“How come?”
“The first time a new guy comes to headquarters, they always gravitate right to this spot. Can’t help themselves. They’ve seen the stats, read the histories in the academy, but they need to see the names to put it into perspective. I know I did.”
“That’s a lot of badges . . .” Strayhorn trailed off.
“Sure, it’s dangerous, but we’ve been around since 1902.” Archer didn’t want to point out that he’d seen the statistical analysis, and their casualty rate was higher now than it had ever been. Things were really picking up out there, but there was no need to depress the new guy already. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“Somebody needs to give the rookie a tour, and your training officer is a trigger puller. He probably doesn’t even know where half the cool stuff is.” Archer walked back toward the elevator and the rookie followed. “What’s the MCB’s mission, and the First Reason for that mission?”
“Is this a test?”
“Humor me.”
Strayhorn quoted from his training. “The MCB’s primary mission is to keep the existence of monsters and the supernatural a secret. The First Reason is the more people who believe in the Old Ones, the more powerful they become.”
“Correct. You might think it sounds a little crazy right now, or you might be having some doubts about our mission or our tactics, I know I was when I was in your shoes, but believe me, the first time you see a monster tree the size of this building rampaging across the countryside sucking all the light and happiness out of the world, you’ll be all in favor of doing some crazy shit too. The Bureau has four main departments to achieve our goals . . .”
“Admin and Logistics, Media Control, Research and Development, and the Special Response Team.”
“Good for you. I was still so freaked out that monsters were real that I missed half of the nuts and bolts stuff from the academy,” Archer lied. He was a nuts and bolts kind of guy. Archer slid his keycard in the reader and pushed the button for the fourth floor. “You’ll be assigned to one of those after this Franks duty.”
“What department does Franks belong to?”
“None. The Bureau just lets Franks do his own thing. Were you Special Forces or anything like that?”
“Not even close.”
“Then you probably won’t go to the Strike Team. Yeah, that’s not the official name, but we don’t call them SRT. We had that name first, but then the FBI came along and stole it. They’re our resident badasses who ride in black helicopters and go in guns blazing,” he explained as the elevator rose.
“I heard they’re pretty tough.”
“Of course. You’ve been listening to Radabaugh. They’ve got some offices here, but mostly they stage out of military bases and train at Quantico. Myers is their boss now, and his number two is this crazy guy named Cueto. You don’t want that assignment though.”
“How come?”
“They’re most of the badges in the fountain.”
* * *
Archer returned to work, satisfied that he’d done his good deed for the day. The rookie seemed like a pretty sharp kid. R&D was always a crowd pleaser, with all of the dissected monsters and equipment prototypes laying around, then they’d gone through Media Control, where the MCB worked their magic discrediting and slandering witnesses, manipulating the news, and even producing their own easily debunked conspiracy theories. Strayhorn seemed a little put off by that department, though he’d tried to hide it, but that was a fairly normal reaction. Then Archer’d turned the rookie back over to his TO and gone back to his cubicle on the ninth floor.
He found that Grant was waiting there, grey-faced and anxious. It was unusual to see Grant disheveled, let alone looking like he was about to barf in the trash can. “Man, you don’t
Similar Books
