Read Soft Target (Major Crimes Unit Book 2) for Free Online Page A

a deep
breath.  “ Yeah, I ’ m fine, just not a fan of confined spaces. ”
    “ We ’ ll be at the facility soon. ”
    “ Good.  Why is this place buried underground, anyway?  Even MI5 has
an office on the Thames. ”
    Howard sniffed.  “ MI5 is known to exist, our agency is not.  It was set up in response
to the 9/11 terrorist attacks as a joint enterprise between the US and UK
governments.  Its purpose is to provide a jointly-run task force that can follow
up leads on both continents quickly and cohesively.  The US had three
facilities of its own until recently, but this is the only one we have on our
side of the Atlantic.  We share whatever intel we have with the Pentagon, and
they with us.  There are no secrets between our two governments under the
purview of this task force and we are a united front against all known threats
to our nations. ”
     Sarah clip-clopped down the
steps, hoping to reach the end soon.  “ So, it ’ s kind of like a US/UK bromance. ”
    “I suppose you could call it that.  One thing
we learned after 9/11 was that much could be gained by working in tandem,
rather than pursuing only our own interests.  President Bush and Prime Minister
Blair agreed to commission the MCU and give it autonomy to act as it saw fit,
answering only to the president and prime minister themselves.  Of course,
nowadays we answer to President Conrad and Prime Minister Breslow. ”
    Sarah whistled sarcastically.  “ Those are some pretty
swanky connections.  You could probably tell me if Elvis is still alive, huh? 
What about Benny Hill, who did he leave his millions to?  Is the New World
Order a thing?  Who is Keyser Soze?”
    Howard ignored her.  They came to the bottom of
the long staircase and Sarah finally let out a sigh of relief.  Howard stepped
up to a keypad and thumbed in a code.  The console chirped back at him and then
a round door slid aside into a hidden alcove.  For once, Sarah had nothing to
say.  In front of her was a vast open space the size of a football stadium. 
Her claustrophobia disappeared completely.
    “ Told you it opened up, ” said Howard, patting
her back.  Sarah stumbled forward, her mouth wide open.  She gawped at Howard,
but he just smirked at her and said, “ Welcome to the Major
Crimes Unit. ”

TAKING THE
TOUR
    “W elcome to the Major
Crimes Unit. ”
    Howard followed Sarah in,
pressing a button on the wall which closed the hatch behind them. The ceilings
were fifty-feet high with massive vents.  Banks of computers lined every wall,
while a desk, large enough to seat twenty people, took up the centre of the
room.   At one end of the desk was a large monitor. 
    Sarah glanced around for
people, but there was no one.  She noticed that all of the computers were
switched off.  “ Where is everyone? ” she asked.
    “ We have offices in the back, ” Howard
said.  “ Come on, I ’ ll take you there now. ”
    Sarah followed Howard, taking
it all in, but the more she concentrated on her surroundings, the less
impressive they became.  The equipment was not high-tech, as she ’ d first believed; the monitors were old CRT units and the desktops
were square and clunky.  A thick layer of dust covered almost everything.
    “ When was this place built? ” Sarah asked as they
made their way through the rows of computers.
    “ It was commissioned after 9/11, so it ’ s more
than ten years old. ”
    “ And when was it last used? ”
    Howard understood Sarah ’ s confusion.  “ The facility is bigger than we need.  The team confines itself to a
smaller section at the front.  The reason we call this place the Earthworm is
because it ’ s very long.  We just entered through the tail; we tend to do our
work in the head. ”
    At the far end of the room was
another hatchway.  Sarah then realised that the area was not completely
deserted.  A lone security guard in black fatigues stood in the entryway. 
    Howard nodded to the guard as
they drew