Recruit MD–701 is responding well to the new cognitive enhancement regimen. There’s been no apparent degradation in strength or stamina, but cognitive processing speeds far surpass those of the average soldier. His medical training should be accelerated.
Recruit Analysis, February 2063
* * *
FIVE
The roads were a little rough, but nothing the vehicle Knox had provided couldn’t handle. Dani managed to avoid the worst of the potholes and jagged cracks in the asphalt, and they made good time and distance, over twenty miles before Knox’s truck shuddered to a halt in front of them.
They followed suit, and Nina climbed out of the passenger seat, shading her eyes against the midday sun. Knox’s men had already exited their seats and spread out in the middle of the overpass, and as she crested the gentle rise leading up to their position, she saw why.
A section of the bridge had collapsed. Craggy bits of concrete jutted from its shattered edge like broken teeth, shot through with twisted steel rebar. A yawning chasm stretched out, fifty feet across, impassable and mocking.
“Well, fuck.” Nina stopped beside Knox, who was frowning in consternation. “I thought your boy wonder mapped this route with satellite imagery.”
“I did.” Conall glared at the tablet in his gloved hand. “But it’s not like I can get instant images. There aren’t that many satellites left up there. My last recon sweep was about a week ago.”
“So this is new.” Nina sidled up to the precipice. An armored truck emblazoned with a discreet version of the TechCorps logo lay crumpled on the ground below, its bulletproof windows shattered but intact. Blood painted two of them, radiating outward from central impact points. The locked doors in the back had broken open, and crates used to transport cash spilled out of them.
It was a tempting picture. Too tempting.
Dani kicked a loose chunk of concrete over the edge as she peered down at the truck. “Well, this is a trap.”
Maya inched up on Dani’s other side and let out a sharp laugh. “Holy shit. It’s not even subtle.”
Maybe not, but it was sophisticated, the kind of thing that took skill and resources to set up. Going down to check it out could be worth it for the intelligence alone.
Knox crouched and tugged off his glove. He dragged his fingers through a small puddle of liquid on the cracked pavement and rubbed his fingers together. “Low-quality biofuel made from vegetable oil. There’s an old pre-Flare air base not far from here where raiders have set up camp.”
“Dobbins-Crenshaw AFB,” Nina murmured. “I know.”
He rose and wiped his hand on his cargo pants as he pinned her with a serious look. “I hope you’re not considering something stupid.”
“That’s the one thing you can always count on, Captain.” She leaned closer. “You’re not the tiniest bit curious?”
He arched one eyebrow. Without breaking eye contact, he held out his hand. “Rifle.”
Silently, Gray handed it over. Knox lifted the rifle and peered through the scope. “The Dobbins crew prefers clean kills. They use motion-activated taser mines.”
“Taser mines?”
He gestured toward the truck. “They set up a detector grid around the bait and wait for their prey to electrocute themselves. Explosives might destroy anything useful on the bodies, you see. The sensors are set up…” He looked through the scope again. “One on that rock, another next to the tree, the third three feet south of the lowest case, and the fourth over by the overpass sign.”
Nina held out a hand. “May I?”
With an appraising look, he passed her the rifle. With the scope’s magnification—and Knox’s direction—she spotted the motion detectors, each flashing minuscule green lights that almost blended into the lush overgrowth surrounding the wreck. She couldn’t see the tasers at all, though she could just make out a painted metal box that must have been their power source tucked behind one wheel of the truck.
She relinquished the rifle. “I guess you don’t have to be curious, then.”
Knox slanted a look at her. “No. Because I’m experienced.”
He bit off the word, four clipped syllables that were anything but seductive. Still, the casual competence behind them sent a thrill shivering up Nina’s spine.
She covered with a half shrug. “I’m impressed. Might still be worth going down there, though. I don’t have any taser mines, and they seem useful.”
Gray stepped forward. “With all due respect—”
“—we don’t know how often they check their traps,” Dani finished for him. “I love a good scavenger hunt, but they