Read Online Sanctuary Lost WITSEC Town Series Book 1 by Lisa Phillips - Free Book Online Page B

single one
except number three-hundred, you know, with the first appearance of
Venom. Now I’m back at my mom’s house.”
    “That’s harsh, dude.”
    “You’re telling me.” The first guy sighed.
“Issue number seven got mud on the corner.”
    The two guys couldn’t have been older than
early-twenties. John waited until they crossed in front of him at a
right angle to Main Street and then he sprinted across.
    The road to the farm was much like the road
to the ranch. As wide as a two lane road it was blacktop all the
way to the open gate. Air puffed from his lungs in clouds as John
moved down the side of the road where the tree line was. He
couldn’t hear much, but past the gate there was movement and the
low rumble of men talking.
    John froze. He ducked against the nearest
tree. Ten feet to his right something moved between the trees. The
steps were silent but he heard the rustle of fallen leaves as
someone made their way to the farm. John lifted his wrist and
illuminated his watch.
    8:47 p.m.
    “Freeze!”
    John pulled his gun surrounded by four men,
all masked. They pointed paintball guns at his chest. Every one of
them had the letter B drawn on their cheeks.
    “Easy, man.”
    John waited until they lowered their guns and
then re-holstered his weapon. “Sorry. Reflex.”
    The one in front grinned. “Looks like we
caught ourselves a dark agent boys.” The man took John by the arm
and hauled him with the group to the yellow light of the barn. John
figured he’d just go with it.
    A tall, dark haired man wearing a black
t-shirt and black cargo pants sat on a bale of hay. He was younger
than John but had an air about him that was solid. Salt of the
earth, his mom would have said. Even with a B on both his
cheeks.
    “Sheriff?”
    John nodded.
    The man cracked a smile and stuck out his
hand. “Dan Walden. You’ll have to excuse me for missing last
night’s welcome dinner. I was elbow deep in mare placenta.”
    John blinked.
    “Thankfully it all came out okay.” He
motioned at a stall to their left, where a brown horse with a
smattering of white hairs across its neck and back stared at them.
“That’s Bay.”
    The guys who’d walked him in gathered closer
to the huddle. “He’s the dark agent,” one said. “He has to be.”
    Dan looked at John a question present in his
eyes. It was hard to imagine the man ever getting flustered, even
when he was “elbow deep in placenta”. Whatever that meant, John
didn’t even want to know.
    “I’m not the dark agent.”
    Dan’s eyes narrowed. “Still, you’ll remain
here with us where we can keep an eye on—”
    The lights went off. John stood completely
still. The room smelled like hay and other less appealing farm
odors. The men around him spun, bumping into each other. John
pulled out his flashlight and flipped it on. Behind Dan, a slender
figure darted through the room.
    “Right there!”
    The flagpole across from Dan tipped over.
Someone fired several bursts of paint like the steady slam of a
nail gun.
    “Get her!”
    Dan ran for the figure. Paint slammed into
his back but he didn’t stop. Animals whined and shifted about in
their stalls. The guys ran after the farmer out the single door at
the back, leaving John alone in the barn.
    From a dark corner the slender figure
emerged. A wool cap covered the woman’s hair and a mask like Zorro
covered her eyes. She wore all black and made no sound as she
crossed the room with a red flag in her hand. Black C’s were drawn
on both of her cheeks. Another team? She tucked the flag into her
back pocket, the bright red bait clearly visible to anyone in
pursuit. She lifted one gloved finger to her lips and then sprinted
out the wide front doors of the barn.
    The men ran back in. “Where is she?”
    “That was the dark agent!”
    “Who was it? I’ve never seen her before. Have
you?”
    “No, never. She disappeared into
nowhere.”
    They talked over each other until Dan came
back in. “Tanner, radio the