Read Online The Rabid: Rise by J.V. Roberts - Free Book Online Page B

patiently while I snap my fingers and tap my heels. “Okay, yeah, Bo said something like that.”
    “Bo?”
    “The name isn’t important. He was a guy that saved our ass. Militia type with different chapters spread out across the country. Anyway, he said that when all this stuff hit the fan that he got reports from each chapter, at pretty much the exact same time, letting him know it was going down. Like a switch had been flipped.”
    Bytes shrugs. “Yep, that’s pretty much what it says they did.”
    “So, if they turned it on, they can turn it off, right?” Katia asks.
    Bytes shakes his head. “They’d have done that. They lost control, obviously. It’s beyond them now. They’re just trying to save whatever ass they’ve got left. Hence , why they’re after this drive and what’s on it.”
    I walk around the table to Ruiz, talking low so Bethany can’t hear me. “Okay, so we can use this.”
    “Use it for what?”
    “To get Momma back, this is a bargaining chip, a big one. They don’t want this shit getting out.”
    Ruiz barely turns his head to address me; he speaks from one corner of his mouth. “Nah, kid, this is much bigger than that. You don’t understand what’s going on. This thing is a flak jacket for us. Let’s just finish up here and I’ll...”
    “What does that mean, a flak jacket?”
    “It means we can use it to make the guys at the tiptop think twice. If they know we have this, if they know that we can release this information, then they’re likely to think twice before making a move.”
    “Release it where? Where are you going to release it , Ruiz? You gonna fold up a paper airplane and send it out on the wind?”
    Ruiz turns to face me, each foot falling heavy against the floor. “Bytes is working on something to get us back online. Something to get us communicating with the great beyond.” Ruiz locks his thumbs together and wags his fingers in front of my nose like a butterfly.
    “Do you know what’ll happen if you do that?”
    “I know exactly what’ll happen.”
    “You’ ll start World War Three!” Volume control isn’t a priority for me anymore.
    “This is World War Three, manito! You’re already in it.”
    “The rest of the world will pound us into dust. They’ll tear this entire fucking country down to its foundation. Is that what you want? For us? For your sister? We should be trying to rebuild, not cause more destruction.”
    He steps in closer, flexing his jaw. “How long have we been pieces of shit on the boot heels of these assholes? We were puppets on strings. They maneuvered us however they saw fit. Digging into our emails. Our phone calls. Disarming us. Sending our brothers to die for their petty bullshit. Now...now they use us as lab rats. You think all of that should go unanswered? That we should just let them sweep it under the rug?”
    I can sense the tension in his voice. “Ruiz, that’s not what I’m saying , but governments are going to rise. They’re going to fall. Yeah, you may crush them. But, we’ll get crushed right along with em’. When all the dust is settled, when we’re in the ground, another government, just as shitty and broken as this one, will rise to take its place. It’ll be for nothing. Instead, how about we rise? We can play this thing to our advantage.”
    He jabs a finger into my shoulder. “ You’re blind on this one, kid. You don’t know what’s going on. You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. Just step back...”
    “Dealing with the General is advantageous for all of us . I’m not even saying to give him the drive; we can lure him out with it though. Get the bastard out in the open, and strike.”
    “ Give the drive away? You want to give this information away as some bargaining chip? Are you out of your fucking mind?”
    “ No good can come from what you’re planning to do.”
    “ In your opinion. I’m thinking big picture and you’ve got your head up your ass.”
    “So what, we’re all