Beg, Borrow or STEELE (Project STEELE: Book Two)

By Liz Rein

Severely injured during a sabotaged Black Ops mission Major Gage Peterson and the Project STEELE team are now looking for the man behind everything. With the help of corporate whistleblower, Olivia Lights, and their new enhanced bionic abilities, they will track him down. All Gage has to do to keep her safe. Can he fight this unknown entity as well as his desire for her?

This book can be read as a stand-alone story but because the storylines are interwoven they are best read in order.
Book #1 STEELE Her Heart
Book#2 Beg, Borrow or STEELE

What is Project STEELE?
In 1958 Dr. Jack E. Steele, a medical doctor and retired US Air force Colonel, coined the term bionics. Bionics originating from bion meaning unit of life and the suffix ic meaning like. Bionic: like a unit of life.
This new science focused on giving superhuman powers with the use of electromechanical implants. DARPA, The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is responsible for developing this technology under the classified program called Project STEELE.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Free Rein Books
• Release date: Nov 19, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301304561

Liz Rein

Liz Rein is a thirty year old single girl living in southeastern Washington with her two dogs Cooper and Mikey. She spends her days flexing her creative muscles, working with clients developing marketing plans and materials for small businesses. When not working you can usually find her curled up with a good book, most likely a romance novel. Liz started reading when she was thirteen and never looked up. Now seventeen years later she finally put the book down and picked up a pen. Encouraged by her mother she wrote her first book on a lark. The second, when inspiration struck.

Book preview

Beg, Borrow or STEELE

Project STEELE: Book Two

By Liz Rein

Copyright by Liz Rein 2012

Smashwords Edition

Published by Free Rein Books

Cover Art by Free Rein Marketing

www.FreeReinMarketing.com

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Beg, Borrow or STEELE

Severely injured during a sabotaged Black Ops mission Major Gage Peterson and the Project STEELE team are now looking for the man behind everything. With the help of corporate whistleblower, Olivia Lights, and their new enhanced bionic abilities they will track him down. All Gage has to do to keep her safe. Can he fight this unknown entity as well as his desire for her?

Prologue

In 1958 Dr. Jack E. Steele, a medical doctor and retired US Air force Colonel, coined the term bionics. Bionics originating from bion meaning unit of life and the suffix ic meaning like. Bionic: like a unit of life.

This new science focused on giving superhuman powers with the use of electromechanical implants. DARPA, The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is responsible for developing this technology under the classified program called Project STEELE.

Chapter 1

The first thing that Gage felt when he woke up was pain. His whole body ached but his eyes felt like they were removed with a dull spoon and his right arm like it was removed with the matching butter knife. Knowing that being attacked by flatware was improbable, Gage wondered what had happened.

He knew that he was in a hospital. The beeping and whirling of medial equipment could not drown out the sounds of doctors, nurses and patients outside the door. Alone, the sounds reassured him. What ever happened to him must not have been too bad or he would be surrounded by doctors right?

Using the arm that was not paining him, Gage felt his face. His eyes were covered in bandages and his head was wrapped like a giant Q-tip. Moving his hands down the opposite shoulder he felt for his arm wondering what was wrong with it. Grasping his triceps and moving his hand down his arm, he stopped. It stopped. His arm was missing.

Panicked, Gage struggled to sit up in the bed. Blindly patting where his arm should have been, Gage’s mind raced. What happened and where the FUCK was his arm?

****

Gage watched Quinn and Colten while waiting for his turn to play against the winner of the Ping-Pong match in the rec-room. Located deep underground the CIA headquarters at Langley, the facilities’ rec-room was the only place the guys could blow off steam. The constant waiting for a call to go on a new mission was a stressor in itself. Not to mention being practically locked away twenty four-seven while on call in the sterile concrete bunker that was the Black Ops headquarters. Therefore a friendly game of Ping-Pong routinely turned into a deadly match with the plastic ball flying at a high velocity.

The sound of the door opening drew Gages attention. Looking up he saw Grayson standing at the door. Straightening up from the casual slump he was in as he watched the tournament, he walked toward Grayson and followed him out the door. The guys, who noticed Grayson too, followed suit. Once they were all out in the hall in relative privacy Grayson spoke, We have a mission.

Together they walked down the hall to the secure intelligence room to get the details. The room, like the rest of the facility was barren except the high-tech equipment.

Once in the room they sat down in the conference chairs and pulled the hand-held tablets that were sitting on the table towards them. The team waited as Grayson entered his security protocols and then sent the file to their tablets.

Without preamble Grayson started breaking down the details of the file and the mission. Intel suggests that the Qirani government is building and selling nuclear weapons. We are to scout the area, find out who the buyers are and destroy the facility and equipment.

Gage knew that Grayson always liked to check as much of the Intel as possible so after everyone read the file in full Grayson began giving orders.

Grayson turned to Quinn. Quinn I want eyes and ears on the ground ASAP. Scout the location, talk to the locals about suspicious activities and see if you can find out any information. Let’s see if this deal is really going down and who the buyers are.

As their resident infiltration expert this was an ideal mission for Quinn. Gage watched as Quinn left the room. There was no point in waiting, the sooner Quinn arrived in Qiran the more intel he could gather. Turning his attention back to Grayson, Gage listened as he handed out everyone else’s assignments.

Colten, hack the Qirani government and see if you can find a schematic of the facility, I don’t want us going in blind.

Yes, sir Colten replied in a deep southern accent.

Ryker, start building an explosive device that would destroy everything. I want to be able to take down the building from top to bottom. If they are building nuclear weapons I want them to have to scrap the whole base.

Ryker silently nodded his head, accepting his assignment. Gage knew that he was never much of a talker. When they first met Gage found this trait suspicious but after working together for years he knew that that was just the man’s way and that he as an all-around good guy and excellent solider.

Then Grayson’s attention turned to him, Gage, find us a good entry and extraction point. Liaise with the extraction team and make sure that they know we want this whole mission on the QT.

Gage was Grayson’s best friend as well as second in command, he knew that Grayson trusted him to take care of everything perfectly without any type of supervision.

I am going to talk to Beckford to see if we can find out more information about this deal from our network of contacts. He told the team at large.

Before they broke up so that they can start their assignments Grayson gave one last piece of advice. Remember guys ‘Knowing is half the battle.’

Chuckles broke out.

As Gage and Grayson walked out he asked Grayson, Do you think that maybe using a toy company’s slogan is one of the reasons why the Generals do not take you as seriously as you want?

It’s not where I got the saying, it’s the meaning behind it. Grayson replied. Besides it was not the slogan it was a PSA, and those G.I. Joe’s really know their shit.

Gage laughed.

After breaking from the meeting, Gage went to one of the secure lines