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

from the recesses of Jericho’s mind. The first was of Julie, the one spark of light and hope in an otherwise cruel and violent life. He had honestly believed he would die by her side after a lifetime spent together.

The second was of the only other time he had felt like he wasn’t going to survive—a snapshot of a landing strip in Colombia. The bullet he had taken to his head should have killed him. But GlobaTech kept him alive. They bolted his skull together with a titanium strip and replaced his eye with a state-of-the-art synthetic one. They had given him a new life. A new purpose.

And he was about to die in service of it.

He closed his eyes. The last thing he saw was Gomez’s finger move inside the trigger guard. He took a deep breath and relaxed.

He was ready. He would die on the battlefield, fighting to protect innocent people who didn’t deserve what was happening to them. There were worse ways to go.

He was ready.

BANG!

The sound of the single shot consumed the world. His body flinched against the expected impact. Jericho gasped his final breath.

Then he took another one.

And another.

He opened his eyes and looked down at his body. He was alive. The shot had somehow missed him.

He didn’t understand.

He looked up to see Gomez fall away with a fresh hole in his chest.

Jericho frowned as he forced himself upright, using his left hand for balance. He looked ahead, toward the main entrance of the palace. Standing there, still aiming a pistol that had wisps of smoke dancing from the barrel, was Colonel Ramirez. He smiled and nodded with a silent you’re welcome.

Jericho rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh of relief. “Jesus…”

Seconds later, a hail of automatic gunfire rang out nearby. Jericho watched the colonel’s body flail backward and land unceremoniously at the foot of the steps as he was hit with multiple shots.

Jericho scrambled to his feet. “No!”

He made it halfway across the courtyard before the general’s men descended on him, bringing an unnerving silence with them. They swept in from all directions, surrounding him as he stood between the general’s tank and the colonel’s body.

The hatch of the tank opened. General Guerrero appeared, holding his arms out to the side and wearing a smile that was more to say I told you so than to express humor.

“It is over,” he shouted down. “Tell whomever you have left to stand down. You have lost.”

Jericho turned a slow circle, taking note of all the men and guns that encircled him. He stopped as his gaze landed on the general.

“You call this winning?” he asked. “Congratulations, General. You’re king of the rubble.”

Guerrero scoffed. “There will always be casualties in war. On both sides. No matter the cost, this country will rebuild itself. And it will be stronger than ever before, with me leading the people into a new era for Paluga.”

Jericho held his arms out to the side. “So, go ahead. Kill me. Get this over with, so you can get back to oppressing your people. Meet the new boss… same as the old boss.”

“It will not be oppression, you misguided fool. It will be freedom. Freedom from terrorists like you. These people… my people… deserve justice.”

Jericho shook his head, unable to stop himself from smiling. “And you say I’m misguided. Jesus. Just… before I die… can you at least tell me how you did it?”

The general frowned. “Did what?”

“All this. How did you kill President Herrera, arm your men with advanced weaponry that shouldn’t even exist, and hide what you were doing from the rest of the world?”

Guerrero narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about? GlobaTech did this. Herrera died on your watch.”

“But you orchestrated it all. This was all a part of your plan… of your coup to seize control of the country because you didn’t trust him to do the job. You hated the fact that he was cutting the funding for the military. You wanted him gone but were too scared to run against him in the election in case the people picked him over you. This way, you look strong. You look like the savior the people need. You ask me, General, you’re nothing but a coward. You’ve slaughtered hundreds of U.N. Peacekeepers here. You do understand that, right? Forget that GlobaTech has a force of highly trained security operatives that numbers well over a quarter of a million people. You violated U.N. sanctions and international laws, not to mention the fact that you publicly threatened to attack the U.S. if you succeeded here. My men and I were protecting your people, and we were doing so on the order of President Schultz. You think this is over now? You think you get to waltz inside what’s left of your palace, rebuild your government, and carry on as if this never happened?”

Jericho stepped toward the tank, prompting the men surrounding him to reinforce the fact they had guns pointing at him.

“This is just the beginning, General. After you reprimand the men loyal to Ramirez, your military will have less than five thousand men. What are you going to do when GlobaTech, the United Nations, and the U.S. Army come knocking on your door looking for answers and retribution?”

The general went to reply but hesitated, as if unsure of the correct response. Finally, he said, “There was never going to be a coup. The people would have followed me once they heard what I wanted to say and the world saw what our nation could’ve been.”

“Well, you screwed that up, didn’t you? The world hasn’t heard a single word since Herrera died. No one knows what’s going on here except the United Nations. You’ll be locked away in a black site until the end of time, and no one will ever know what you almost got away with.”

“Almost, hmm?” Guerrero smiled. “Look around, boy. If there is anyone still alive inside, they will surrender or die. Out here… you