Read Absolute Zero (The Shadow Wars Book 4) for Free Online Page B

structure, one that hadn't been seen or touched in centuries.
    The group split apart into smaller groups, spreading out across the interior, hunting through the little corridors and alcoves created by the piles of crates. There were no signs of conflict. No bullet holes, spent shell casings, corpses or pools of blood. Nothing was smashed or broken or tipped over. Everything was exactly where it should be.
    “This is creepy,” Stephen murmured.
    “I don't think we're going to find anything here,” Gideon said.
    “I agree,” Sergio said. “Come on, let's check out the shacks, then we'll investigate the main compound.”
     
    * * * * *
     
    There were a cluster of sheds beyond the warehouse. Ten of them, lined up in twin rows in between the edge of the warehouse and the courtyard that boarded the primary entrance to the facility. The sheds didn't offer anything new, either. Like the warehouse, they were full of supplies, everything covered in a thin layer of frost, now that the heating failing. It likely wouldn't be long before it failed completely.
    Trent used the opportunity to check out what kind of supplies a secret corporate research facility kept out in the sheds, but he didn't find anything useful. The crates all carried typical outpost stuff: redundant spare parts, extra clothing, tools. The contents stenciled across the sides in thick black text. They regrouped after searching the sheds.
    “Okay,” Sergio said. “The range of the automated drone guns is just beyond the last two sheds. There's about thirty feet of open space. The shutdown switch is below them. The process for shutdown is rather simple, with this.”
    He held up a small, black square device that vaguely resembled a grenade.
    “What is it?” Trent asked.
    “EMP grenade. Who has the best arm?”
    “Me,” Tristan said, stepping forward, her hand out. “I pitched on a baseball team all through school. And I've got steady hands.”
    “Very well. Stand dead center between these two sheds, aim dead ahead when you throw it,” Sergio explained.
    Tristan nodded and moved forward. She stood in between the sheds, spent a moment lining herself up, then hesitated. She took a step forward, then another. Trent felt tension coursing through him. If she was off by one step...
    Tristan pulled back her arm, activated the grenade and hurled it.
    She took a slight step forward to balance herself.
    A spray of gunfire suddenly erupted. A second later there was a muffled sound and Trent's head's up display flickered, but remained. Tristan let out a sharp cry of pain and fell back onto her ass. Gideon moved forward, grabbed her and pulled her back. Everyone gathered around her. Trent could hear her panting over the radio link.
    “I warned you,” Sergio murmured.
    “Shut up,” Drake snapped. He crouched beside her. “I can see the bullet.”
    “Shit,” Tristan muttered.
    Trent studied the wound. It was in her stomach. He could indeed see the bullet. The tail end of it still stuck out of the armor. Tristan reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a field medical kit. She cracked it open and pulled out a tool.
    “Let me do it,” Gideon said.
    “No, I've got it,” Tristan replied firmly.
    She gripped the end of the bullet with her instrument, hesitated, then extracted it. She let out another short bark of pain, dropped the tool and the bullet, grabbed a vial from her pack, opened it and poured the contents into the hole in her suit.
    “Shit!” she growled.
    After a few seconds of heavy breathing, she closed the kit back up, replaced it, then extracted what Trent recognized as a suit repair patch from another pocket. She peeled away the top and slapped it over the wound.
    “Fuck, okay, that's done. I'll need to take a better look at it once we get inside,” she said, standing up, waving off helping hands.
    “Who wants to check and see if the EMP worked?” Sergio asked.
    Drake stepped up. “I'll do it. I've always been quick on my feet.”
    Trent