Read Quake for Free Online Page B

yourself in with a magazine.’
    Carter sighed, and rolled grumpily out of bed.
    The meal had been a particularly fine one, the following wine - and sex - almost too much for Carter to bear.
    When he awoke, in the darkness, he was struck by momentary confusion. Sex-sweat had left him chilled, and he tried to work out how long he had been asleep. He frowned - why was he awake? He didn’t need a piss, or a drink. That usually meant something bad and he rolled swiftly out of bed, palmed the silenced Browning 9mm and pulled on his trousers. If I’m going to fight, he thought, I ain’t going to do it naked ...
    Carter hadn’t lived as long as he had without being careful.
    And clothed.
    He moved towards the door, silent across the thick carpet, senses screaming at him that something was out of place; he could hear nothing, smell nothing but scented oil from Natasha’s burners and candles, and yet something was wrong. He peered around the door and froze, waiting for his eyes to adjust. Like any hunter he knew that it was movement, mainly movement, that would give away a position - no matter how good the camouflage.
    There was a large dark-clad figure, moving with extreme care.
    Carter’s eyes narrowed.
    The man - or woman - was searching through the cabin; Carter watched as hands rifled through drawers, then through Natasha’s handbag. Carter stepped silently into the room - but, almost impossibly, he was heard. The figure’s head, masked in a neat black balaclava, snapped around, eyes gleaming - then it whirled, dropping to a crouch and leaping with lightning speed at Carter who squeezed the trigger and the Browning spat, a bullet hissing free and smashing into the dark bulk of the figure before it crashed against Carter and sent them both flying back against the wall. Carter bounced to the floor, grunting.
    The Browning was knocked free, a fist found Carter’s jaw and he felt a tooth crack, blood flooding his mouth as stars danced in front of his eyes for a second. He lashed out with both fists, striking again and again at flesh beneath the mask and he carried on punching as he was picked from the floor and hurled across the room where he hit the wall again. A picture smashed this time, glass slicing strips of flesh from his back and he hit the floor once more, hard ...
    Boots stomped down but Carter rolled with lightning speed, coming up in a crouch and smashing an overhead straight punch into the attacker’s groin - once, twice. Then, gaining his feet, he lashed out and gripped the attacker’s windpipe. The large masked attacker pulled free Carter’s hand with the ease of incredible strength and reached swiftly forward, fingers of both hands curling around Carter’s throat before he could step beyond reach and lifting him from the ground with crushing force, dangling him breathless and kicking, eyes wide as the figure rose to his full height. Carter stared into dark slitted glittering eyes.
    Carter choked, his hands gripping at the huge muscles in the arms which held him suspended. His eyes narrowed as he realised this huge fucker was much, much stronger than he, and he kicked out once, twice, three times but the grip would not release and Carter was choking, spinning white stars dancing patterns before his eyes and choking, choking and falling, he was shaken like a rag doll and he realised that he was suffocating ...
    Carter’s hands dropped swiftly to the waist of his combats and with agony hammering through him and pain burning his brain with hot acid he slid free the thread of MercG that was sheathed there - hidden - as he heard the confused voice of Natasha calling from the bedroom. Carter sensed more than saw the attacker’s change of stance, head turning to this new potential threat...
    He had to act - and act fast.
    His feet lashed out ineffectually against the attacker’s groin and belly. Carter spun the mercury garrotte, a processor-controlled liquid metal thread activated by mind augmentations, so thin