Read Online Son of Cerberus (The Unusual Operations Division Book 2) by Jacob Hammes - Free Book Online

loss keenly.
    Marcus put the thought out of his head and jumped in one of the vehicles. Henry and Brenda were already seated and buckled up. They all carried concealed weapons and identifications associating them with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Marcus patted the FN 9mm strapped beneath his left armpit and the extra magazines that were hanging from the opposite side to reassure himself that he had not forgotten anything important.
    “Are you guys ready to see something we’ve never seen before?” Henry was genuinely interested in getting his hands on the magical box that was making people see crazy things. Marcus had to admit, he couldn’t fathom what type of radio frequency radiation had to be pouring out of that thing in order to make people hallucinate. Something was seriously wrong with a machine if it could temporarily alter a person’s sanity.
    “ Toujours Pret ,” Stephen said. It was the motto of the 2 nd Cavalry Regiment, the longest running cavalry unit in the Army’s history, and French for ‘always ready.’ “I can’t wait to see what type of trip we’re going to have when we accidentally turn it on.”
    “You would say something like that,” Brenda scoffed. “Don’t get mad at me when my skin melts off and I start shooting fire into your crotch.”
    “You’d never hurt me, baby,” Stephen said, patting his girlfriend on the knee. “Trust me, a little fire crotch has never hurt anyone.”
    “In all honesty,” Henry continued, cutting everyone else off, “we need to take this seriously. The DOD is concerned that a new weapon has been constructed that has the possibility of creating mass hysteria. We need to get in, snatch that box, and get out before local press is alerted to the situation. If news spreads that something like this exists, we’re going to have to deal with everything from copycats to a population that’s worried to go outside.
    “We’re going to have to be very cognizant of the fact that there is a distinct possibility this piece of machinery will negatively affect us, too. I’d suggest putting someone on a rope with as many sensors as they can carry. That way, you can pull them back when they start seeing demons.”
    “I take it you’re not volunteering to go inside?” Brenda patted him on the back.
    “Hell no,” Henry said, laughing. “I’ve done LSD once or twice. I said I’d never do it again. Besides, you know how well I do with dead bodies. That’s why I’m going to the hospital. You doubt my usefulness, you young punks?”
    Henry wasn’t one to complain, but it was true he was somewhat squeamish around gore. He could be a cold-blooded killer when the time came and never hesitated to shoot back at someone, but he had expressed, on occasion, his inability to stomach large amounts of human remains.
    “We would never doubt you.” Marcus said and smiled.
    Two vehicles pulled out onto the street and headed toward the small private airport. Fifteen minutes later, the team would be aboard two private corporate helicopters shooting northeast at over a hundred miles per hour. They would be in New Jersey and Philadelphia within an hour, split into two groups and essentially investigating two very different objects of interest.
    Marcus wondered about the team that had been tasked with investigating the sole survivor. Thus far, the UOD had no background on the young woman, except for the fact she had been aboard the ship. No one knew anything about her. The owners of the boat, registered in Spain, had no known children. Though it was a distinct possibility the yacht had been borrowed or even rented out, their leads would be few and far between until the bodies aboard the ship were identified.
    The team’s secondary objective was actually to clear the ship of any traps in order for coroners to take the corpses off to some medical facility. The only real way they could start solving this mystery was to get rid of that box. It was already causing headaches