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

deathblow to the alliance. After all this time, they finally had a sense of control. Now they were on top, and Selene was determined to keep it that way.
    It felt good, being the predator instead of the prey. Black Wolf and the rest of Hydra would hunt Ragnarok to the ends of the earth, giving them no chance at rest or respite. They would find their weaknesses, hit them hard and cut their throats.
    Nothing else felt quite like it, not victory, or discovery, or anything else. It was almost like drug. They finally had control. And if she had anything to say about it, Ragnarok would learn to fear those prospects.

4
    Open Door
    F orest . Filled with all manner of leaves, fallen branches, twigs and brush, a simple walk through the woods could turn into an exercise in futility for anyone trying to remain stealthy. Danny made his way through the thick undergrowth, willing himself to remain silent.
    He tried to remember his stealth training mostly taught to him the hard way by Liz. First, he needed to relax. The harder he tried to focus on remaining stealthy the more his body would tense, and that was a sure way to kill his attempts. A stiff body wouldn’t move as fluidly, potentially causing more noise.
    He didn’t have to remain completely silent either, due to the ambient sounds of the forest. The sound of the wind rustling the treetops, the call of birds, the random sound of a falling branch, all of those could help mask his presence. Plus, trying to conceal all noise meant moving slower, which made the risk of detection even greater. It was often better to cause some noise in order to move quicker, because it meant less time being exposed out in the open.
    And anyhow, Danny wasn’t in this alone. He had his unit him, and there were several Redd Foxx squads spearheading their advance, guiding their path to the target area. Even if he couldn’t remain silent they could, and they would take care of any enemy patrols on the way.
    But they weren’t here to fight. That would come later. Instead, their task force had been assigned to scout the area between Racine and the southern end of Milwaukee. Command wanted to know what kind of forces Ragnarok had placed in the area, how many there were, how well they were armed, that sort of thing. Information like that would be critical in the coming offensive. If they knew their enemy’s hand they could anticipate their moves and come up with counter strategies.
    Their second goal was to find a way inside Milwaukee. The alliance had looked at it as a possible target during the early days, but it was deemed too difficult to deal with. The walls were massive, and they had no way to cross the lake to the less fortified shore. Instead, they had chosen to take an initial base and Lerna Bastion, and then proceed on to Indianapolis.
    Things had changed this time around. Hydra had plenty of artillery to breach the walls, but that would take time and a lot of munitions. An amphibious assault remained a possibility, but that could result in heavy casualties. Plus, if they were invading a Ragnarok district their enemy might very well throw them back into the lake.
    So if they could find a weak point in the southern walls they would do everything they could to exploit it. Whether that meant artillery, or armor, or a straight assault he didn’t know, but they would find a way. They always did.
    His wrist alert vibrated. “Bravo Wolf,” he answered quietly.
    “Looks like they’re patrolling this area pretty heavily,” Liz told him from the other end of the link.
    Danny frowned. “That’s a surprise.”
    “Or not,” Liz replied. “They know at least part of our battalion is at Racine. Would you want to give us free reign of your rear areas?”
    “Point taken,” Danny said. “But is that going to interfere with our mission?”
    “Not if we stay quiet,” Liz said. “They’re sticking to the main roads. Probably to protect supply convoys and the like. We might have free reign of the