Read Tritium Gambit (Max and Miranda Book 1) for Free Online Page B

the shower, Max?”
    The orange juice I was drinking from her glass came out my nose. It had a cleansing tingle to it.
    She frowned at me. “Tyler?”
    The golden retriever was at her side in a heartbeat. “You need to pull down on the spout to get the water to come out of the showerhead,” he said.
    I pulled out a pair of graviton bars and planted them firmly in the air above my head and began doing overhand pull-ups.
    Tyler came back from the bathroom. “Are those graviton flux devices?”
    “ Yep,” I answered when I reached fifty pull-ups. I then switched to underhand pull-ups.
    “ Did you know they can create black holes?” he asked.
    “ The guy who sold them to me said there was only a slight chance they could destabilize when you put them in reverse.” I repositioned the bars above waist level to do dips. “They sure are useful, though.”
    “ Did you hear that the Endarri system was consumed by a black hole believed to have been created by a pair of graviton flux bars?”
    “ I don’t watch the news—too depressing.” I moved the bars to hover a few inches off the ground to hold my feet so I could do sit-ups.
    Tyler’s voice was a little high pitched. “They’re banned in nineteen systems.”
    “ Not here though,” I replied as I finished my sit-ups.
    “ That’s because they don’t know about them!”
    “ Probably better that way.”
    Miranda came out of the bathroom in standard issue cargo pants that I would bet were filled with a week’s worth of supplies and all standard issue agent gear. Her white T-shirt had “Sweetheart” printed on it in light pink letters. “Your turn in the shower, Max.”
    “ Gotcha,” I replied. I returned my graviton bars to my belt, grabbed my travel bag, and went to the shower. I cleaned up quickly and then dressed in my cargo pants, including the standard issue belt and equipment, and a white T-shirt with the letters “gl hf” on the front and “gg” on the back.
    I dug in my pack and found my metabolism boost pills. I kept digging and found a single Power Protein drink tucked deep into one corner. There had to be more, I thought. I packed two dozen before leaving. I turned the pack inside out, but there were no more. I put my lone Power Protein drink in my pocket and hoped that I wouldn’t need more than that.
    When the three of us were ready, we stepped out into the cool predawn morning. The resort consisted of many small cabin-like buildings tucked away behind trees far enough from each other to make you feel like you were alone in the woods, unless you noticed the bright orange paint on everything.
    “ Did you bring sky packs?” I asked.
    “ We’re only a few miles away.” Miranda patted my stomach with the back of her hand. “It wouldn’t hurt you to walk.” Then she poked my stomach again. “Do you have a six pack?”
    “ Sorry. This is my last one.” I pulled out the Power Protein drink and handed it to her.
    She looked momentarily confused, then said, “Thanks.” She examined the label. “Three thousand calories?”
    “ Yeah, and they have the guts to call it a meal replacement. It’s more of a snack.”
    “ Um, thanks. I’ll save it for later.” She tucked it into her pocket.
    Tyler led the way through the woods with Miranda right behind him. I followed at a leisurely pace. Something about the forest bothered me. I kept an eye on the still branches above and the tangled undergrowth around us. I was hearing small sounds in the woods that made me wonder if we were being watched, but there was no one in sight.
    Then I heard a twig snap and a scuffle. I saw Miranda stop ahead of me, and I ran to her.
    “ What was that?” she whispered as I approached. We both scanned the foliage around us. She grabbed my arm. “Where did Tyler go?”
    “ I hope he went to get more bacon.”
    Miranda pulled out her Voltaic Fusion Pistol. The leaves to our left rustled.
    “ Tyler!” she shouted.
    I grabbed her arm. “Shh! There’s