Read Deception City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 5) for Free Online Page A

give their enemy exactly what they wanted.
    The prospect excited her, though. Milwaukee was shaping up to be one of the critical battles in the war between the alliances, and she would have a front row seat to the action. Selene had always been a competitor, and she took Ragnarok as yet another challenge. No beating on weaklings for her. She wanted to go up against the best, and she wanted to beat them at their own game.
    Her hair fluttered in the breeze as two helicopters took off and circled over the area once, then headed west. Selene could see minigun pods mounted on the stub wings. Obviously someone out there needed air support.
    “How are you guys coming?” a voice said behind her.
    Selene glanced over her shoulder, then turned to greet the speaker. “We’re fine, Gray,” she replied. “Ethan’s squad is out on the lake practicing with their scuba gear. Logan took part of his squad to help with the supply run into Old Chicago. And Gavin’s reviewing stuff right now.”
    Gray nodded. “Alright, sounds good. Anna’s calling a meeting later today to go over some stuff as well. We’re making our plans for the recon phase.”
    “Naturally.”
    Gray grinned. “We’ll see if your guys can keep up.”
    “Don’t worry, we’ll be there to bail you out of trouble when you get yourselves cornered,” Selene joked back. It was all in good fun; both Black Wolf and Redd Foxx had a health respect for each other’s abilities.
    “Yeah. Anyhow…,” Gray said, looking toward the north. “What’s it like in the city? I mean, you guys are the only ones to have set foot in the place.”
    “Didn’t get much of a glimpse at it, to be honest,” Selene told him. “First I was underwater, then I was hiding in the dark, then we had to fight, and then everything exploded.”
    “Sounds like every other raid.
    “Yeah. I will say, though, Ragnarok had a lot of NPC guards around the place. Probably because they want their actual troops on the front lines instead of playing guard duty.”
    “And I’m betting those same troops want to be on the front lines as well,” Gray said. “Can’t imagine that guarding a warehouse day after day would go over well.”
    “I’d probably go crazy,” Selene agreed.
    “Maybe we can exploit that, like we did in Eagle Creek,” Gray suggested. “We sneak parties ashore and map out the entire district.”
    Selene shook her head. “I don’t think that’s possible right now. Ragnarok’s probably on full alert after the stunt we pulled. They’ll be watching.”
    “So our best chance is going to be air recon,” Gray said. “Not ideal when your enemy has an edge in the skies.”
    Selene shrugged. “Who says we have to focus on that one district? There’s plenty of others we can take a look at. Besides, the one we raided is right in the middle of the city. Do you really want to be squeezed from all sides?”
    “OK, point taken,” Gray acknowledged. “Still, recon work isn’t going to be easy.”
    “But that doesn’t matter, ‘cause we’re good,” Selene replied.
    Gray laughed. “I think I should be the one saying that. You’re right, though. We’re plenty good enough to take on this challenge. See you later at the briefing.”
    Selene waved him off and continued walking. Even the doubts of some of the other leaders couldn’t dampen her enthusiasm. Ghost Battalion had gone through some of the hardest fighting the alliance had seen, from raids behind enemy lines, to clearing out the subway tunnels in Indianapolis, to singlehandedly taking a district with an improvised plan, to their greatest, most desperate fight against Ragnarok at Green Bay. They had taken all comers, met all challenges and come out on top. That was back when they had to constantly worry, with the price of failure weighing heavily on their heads. One wrong move could spell doom for the alliance.
    Now they had control of the initiative. No longer did they have to worry about their next mistake being a