Living Nightmare (Delta Squad Book 3)

Book summary

In Living Nightmare, peace reigns until the world’s nations attempt to replicate the legendary Delta Squad, provoking old enemies to strike back. Faced with the threat of a deadly nano virus that turns victims into mindless killers, the new team must confront this nightmare with an unconventional strategy.

Excerpt from Living Nightmare (Delta Squad Book 3)

Two long and peaceful years had passed since the liberation of America. The worldwide reveal of the Delta Squad had shaken the world to its core. The illusion of power that might have existed once was shattered. However, the Syndicate and the Delta Squad themselves had disappeared after the snowy battle of Washington D.C.

The world did its best to move on and rebuild the balance of power the only way it knew how.

Jason had offered his unique skills to the American government. Instead of being imprisoned for his crimes, he was offered a full pardon for all crimes known and unknown if he would agree to use his expertise to build five new sets of armor to be used.

Jason accepted the deal. Now he stood in a large room filled with people doing various things and five suits in glowing blue capsules in the center. He stared at them, not quite knowing what to think of this work. The only thing that came to mind, however, was inferior craftsmanship. The sound of approaching footsteps broke his concentration.

“Are they ready? The UN is growing impatient with all the delays. They don’t like their funding being wasted,” General Will said to him as he approached. Jason half smiled at the result of their so-called work.

“Just about ready, but two years is hardly enough time to build one decent suit, and you want five of them in the same amount of time. That’s funny,” he replied and started to press some more buttons on a console. “However, they will be the most advanced weapons on the planet, you know, beneath true Syndicate tech,” he finished.

Will shook his head. “Well, as long as we are one step ahead of the bad guys, that’s all we care about,” Will replied as he stared at the suits in the capsules, trying not to remember all of the horrors these and all the things like them were capable of.

“Yeah, normal bad guys won’t stand a chance, but if one of the heavyweights come out of the woodwork, these suits might as well be coffins you can wear. Don’t worry, General, they’ll be ready on time, relatively speaking,” Jason replied, annoyed with having to talk to anyone right now. Will ignored that remark.

“You take care of the tech, and we’ll take care of the people. Just be ready,” Will replied as he turned and walked out. He hated being in the same room with that maniac. Will got into the elevator and his phone rang. He picked it up.

“I just got out of the lab. The suits are nearly done. How are the volunteers doing?” he asked. “Good, glad to hear it. Make the call. Get the five of them to the center. I’m on my way,” Will finished and hung up the phone. Building technology was one thing, playing God was another, and it didn’t make him feel comfortable. He knew how easy it was to slide into hell by trying to do the right thing.

The General waited in the elevator for a few minutes. The tight spaces began to make him feel uncomfortable. He had a small sigh of relief when the doors slid open to reveal a white, well-lit hallway. One he had been down several times before. It had always smelled like bleach down here or something close to it.

Will walked straight down and found the doors he was looking for. He put his left hand on the scanner beside the door. A white beam scanned his hand from top to bottom, then the door swung open without a sound. Will walked inside, and five people stood at the ends of their beds at strict attention with a salute.

“At ease, soldiers,” he said, and the five responded in kind. “Today is the day you’ve all been waiting for. The suits are ready, and you need to be ready,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” they replied at the same time. It made him smile. He wondered if the real squad was this responsive, but something was telling him that wasn’t the case. “Get on the beds. The doctor will be with you shortly,” Will said. The five of them sat on their beds at once. Will took a deep breath. He knew that he could stop this at any time.

It was then from the far side of the room a man in a white coat came walking out, wheeling a cart with five syringes filled with red liquid, each with a long needle attached to the end. The five soldiers were nervous. Will knew he was too and could see it in all of their eyes as the cart came closer and stopped at the first one.

Winnie took a deep breath as the cart stopped. An errant strand of blonde hair on cue fell out of place and she brushed it away. “Hey, how are we doing today?” the doctor asked, and she nodded. “I’m doing fine, just a little nervous,” she said, and he nodded. “Well, don’t you worry about a thing. This here is going to make you into the perfect soldier,” he replied with an air of confidence that made her worry a little bit. “They’ll think your name just stands for winning all the time,” the doctor said, and she smiled at his bad attempt at a joke.

The man picked up the first long needle. She didn’t look at it as he plunged the thing deep into her arm and into the muscle. The doctor wasn’t particularly worried about infections down here in the lab. Winnie winced in pain but didn’t move as the liquid was injected. “And that’s all there is to it,” he said and pulled the needle out. “Now just lie back and relax. You might get a bit of a head rush for a few minutes,” he said, put the empty needle down on the cart, and walked away to the next one.

Vera was lying there, and as the man approached, her nose started to itch. It was a nervous thing. Whenever she was required to be still, something like this always happened. “How are we doing today, Vera?” the man asked her with a warm smile. “Fine, let’s just get this over with,” she said hurriedly with her Russian accent.

“Not a problem. You just hold still and it’ll be over before you know it,” he replied as he picked up the next long needle and held it over her pale white skin. Without hesitating, he pushed the needle deep into her arm and injected the red serum. Vera ignored the pain and the procedure by not looking at it. “I know, lie back. Head rush. I heard you tell the commander,” she said before he could. “Good,” the doctor replied with a smile.

He placed the needle down on the tray and moved forward. Jin was next. “Hello, good sir, are you doing alright as well?” he asked, and Jin nodded. “Yes, as well as can be expected,” he replied in his quick and quite normal Chinese accent. The doctor smiled. “Good. This won’t take long,” he replied, and he repeated the procedure he had done twice before. “Ancestors would be disappointed in me if they could see me now,” Jin said, and the doctor shook his head.

“Nonsense. Your ancestors helped invent medicine and all kinds of things to make life easier, better, and not to mention deadlier. If I were to guess, I’d say if they had this stuff back then, they would have used it too. There is no dishonor here, trust me,” he replied. Jin sighed. He didn’t believe any of that, but his government had chosen him, and this was his place in the world now. He wasn’t going to let his people down. In the time it took for him to say all that, the injection was over. Jin didn’t even feel it. “Relax for a few minutes,” the doctor said and moved forward.

Rory was nervous. He had been dreading this day since he was picked to be part of the team two years ago. He hated the idea of being altered in any way, but that was part of the deal. “Hey. How’s it going?” the doctor asked him, and Rory was snapped out of his thoughts. “Oh, you know. Just trying to do my best before becoming a human guinea pig is all,” he replied in his English accent. The doctor tilted his head. “I’ll have you know that every pig we tested this on exploded, but lucky for you, you’re not a pig,” he said, and Rory thought he felt his heart skip a beat.

“Kidding, son, take it easy. You’ll be fine, I promise,” he said, and that promise meant little to him. The others hadn’t died yet and seemed okay, however. “Alright, let’s get this over with,” he replied and closed his green eyes tight. It had been the same thing he had done since he was a kid when it came to shots of any kind. Right now, he wished he had his mom’s hand to hold on to as well. Despite the size of the needle, the pain was minimal.

“There you go, big guy, all done,” the doctor said, and Rory opened his eyes. He couldn’t even see the needle mark. “Oh, well, that wasn’t so bad,” he replied. The doctor smiled, nodded his approval, and moved to the last one.

Yoshi couldn’t help but laugh at Rory’s obvious fear. He didn’t know why because he was a little scared himself of this whole thing too. “Hey, Yoshi. How are you, and what’s so funny?” the doctor asked. “Oh, I still think it’s funny that they are giving the Japanese guy the sword position,” he said, and his laugh disappeared. “Yeah, but you know that you do more than that. It’s just the stereotypical thing that everyone expects,” the doctor replied.

“True, I suppose,” Yoshi replied. “Oh well, let’s do this,” he said, and the doctor nodded. “You bet,” he replied. Yoshi watched as the needle was pushed into his arm. He squinted at the pain and the sight of watching the red fluid being injected. “Perfect,” the doctor said as he pulled the needle out. “It’ll take effect soon, so take it easy,” he finished. Yoshi nodded.

Then he moved to Will, who was still waiting at the end of the hall.

“Thanks, but did you really have to have a conversation with all of them, Solaris?” Will asked, and the doctor shrugged. “Oh, a little bedside manner never hurt anyone. The team will be ready in just a few minutes. So, give them a little time,” he said. Will never did like Dr. Solaris, but he had to listen, at least for now. “You’re dismissed, doctor,” Will replied. Solaris smiled, took his cart, and walked it out the way Will came in.

He took a breath and decided that was enough time to wait.