Danger Close by James Sumner (classic novels for teens txt) 📕

weapons systems. Whoever produced this, it wasn’t us.”

Julie got to her feet. “I say we take it to our quartermaster. If anyone can dissect this thing, it’ll be Devon.”

Buchanan thought for a moment. “Agreed. But do it quietly. You two and no one else. Make sure he understands the delicacy of the situation. Right now the three of us, Jericho, and Mr. Jones are the only people who know about this bullet. With the exception of our quartermaster, I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Well, it’s not just us, is it?” said Collins.

“How do you mean?”

“There’s at least one more person who knows about it… the person who fired it.”

“And whoever hired them, presumably,” added Julie.

Buchanan nodded. “One thing at a time.” He pointed at the bullet. “Find out what that thing is. Report back to me the moment you have answers.”

He sat back in his seat wearily.

“You need us for anything else?” asked Julie.

He shook his head and pointed to the flashing light on his phone. “No… I think I’ll be heading to New York in a few minutes.”

Collins passed the bullet to Julie, who shoved it into her pocket. The two of them nodded a silent goodbye and left the office.

The door closed behind them. Buchanan picked up the receiver, took a long, deep breath, and pressed the flashing button.

“This is Moses Buchanan…”

9

Collins and Julie walked briskly across the compound, only pausing for the small transport vehicles that whizzed by. A line of armed operatives, two people deep, stood across the main entrance, staring out at the sea of media that crowded on the other side of the barrier.

“No wonder the traffic’s backed up,” said Julie. “Look at them out there. Goddamn vultures.”

Collins shrugged. “Aye. Nothing like a good story to bring out the crazies, eh?”

They walked on, heading for the larger of the two armory buildings that stood alone against the far perimeter wall. Once inside, they took the second corridor on the left, following it to the testing range. They stepped out onto the walkway that overlooked the area and scanned the floor, looking for Devon.

After a moment, Collins nudged Julie’s arm and pointed away to his left. “There he is.”

They made their way down the stairs and over to a weapons testing station. Devon Green was standing in the middle of a semi-circle of GlobaTech personnel, apparently lecturing them about the rifle he was holding.

“…reduced the recoil by eighteen percent. It’ll still give you a firm kick, sure, but keep your firing to short bursts, and you should maintain better overall control.” He looked up as they approached. “Miss Fisher, Mr. Collins, to what do we owe the pleasure?”

Julie smiled politely. Devon was wearing GlobaTech fatigues with an urban camouflage design—a mixture of blues and grays—along with his trademark backward baseball cap. Despite not being much older than herself, flecks of white were shining through his styled beard, highlighted against his dark skin.

“We need your expertise,” she said. “With your knowledge, it hopefully won’t take up too much time.”

Devon laughed. “Flattery will get you everywhere. Lay it on me.”

Collins looked at the men who were standing nearby. “Uh, guys, give us some privacy, will ya?”

The men nodded without question and took their leave. Devon watched them go, then turned back and looked at Julie and Collins in turn. His expression hardened a little.

“This must be serious,” he said.

“I’m afraid it is,” replied Julie. “We’re here at the request of Moses Buchanan, and what we’re about to discuss is classified beyond your wildest dreams. Breathe a word of this to anyone besides the two of us, and you’re done here. Understand?”

Devon straightened and subconsciously adjusted his cap. He knew formality was sometimes required at GlobaTech and that Julie meant nothing personal by it. But he could tell they were here for serious business, and he acted accordingly.

“Of course,” he said. “Whatever you’re about to say goes with me to the grave. What do you need?”

The three of them huddled around a worktop.

Julie took out the bullet and placed it down for Devon to see. “We need your help identifying this.”

Devon leaned in slowly, his mouth hanging open. “What in the world is that?”

“That,” said Collins, pointing to it, “is the bullet that killed the president of Paluga and three of our guys yesterday.”

Devon looked up at him. “Are you serious?”

“Deadly,” said Julie. “Ever seen anything like it?”

He shook his head. “Not once in my thirty years around weapons. You got the others?”

“The other bullets?” Julie looked at him. “There aren’t any.”

He picked it up and delicately examined it. “You’re saying this one bullet took out four people?”

“We are.”

“How?”

“We’re hoping ya can tell us,” said Collins. “We need ya to reverse-engineer that monstrosity, tell us how it works, who made it, who fired it, and how.”

Devon stood straight and let out a heavy breath, scratching absently at the back of his neck. “I mean… I can take a look, but honestly, this is beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”

“Uh-huh,” said Julie. “Same goes for everyone else. But we’re going to need whatever you can give us, like, now. We’re on the clock here.”

He laughed exasperatedly. “You don’t ask for much, do you?”

“Nothing I don’t think you can handle,” she said, smiling.

Devon rolled his eyes and took out a small magnifying lens from his pocket. It looked similar to a loupe, like jewelers use to appraise diamonds. He held it to his eye, then held the bullet up to it.

“Okay, let’s see what we have here…” He examined it intently for a couple of minutes, then lowered the lens and looked at Julie. “This thing shouldn’t exist.”

“Is that a moral argument?” asked Collins, half-smiling.

“My job doesn’t have much room for morals, Mr. Collins. No, I mean as a feat of engineering, this thing shouldn’t be possible. At best, this is… I dunno… theoretical propulsion technology. You’re more likely to see this on a drawing board at NASA than anywhere else.”

“How do you mean?” asked Julie.

Devon held the bullet