D.E.A.D. Till I Die: An Action Thriller (GlobaTech Book 1) by James P. Sumner

knee on his shoulder, to elevate her into the air. She moved her arm so the point of her elbow was positioned above his head, and then slammed it down on the center of his skull. He crumpled to the floor, and she landed on top of him, straddling his chest.
    In a flash, she turned her body to the right, just in time to catch a right kick that was aimed at her head. She caught it in her arms, displaying a natural strength you wouldn’t expect from looking at her. With very little movement on her part, she held the man’s ankle high in her left hand, and thrust her right forearm through his knee from the side, snapping his leg. He fell to the floor, screaming with obvious and understandable agony. She looked back down at the man between her legs, and threw a quick right hand at his face, ensuring he was out for the count.
    She stood and dusted herself down, looking quickly around to make sure all of the men were taken care of before turning back to look at Jericho.
    He was stunned, temporarily forgetting the pain in his skull as he watched Julie—a slight, timid, innocent nurse—single-handedly take out six armed men with more ease than practically anyone he knew.
    She walked toward him, and he sprang to his feet, stepping back into a loose fighting stance, trying to keep his left eye closed.
    “Who the fuck are you?” he asked.
    “Relax, Jericho, I’m on your side,” she said. She placed a finger on her ear. “It’s me. Someone’s found us... probably the CIA. I had to break cover—Jericho’s bandages are off, and his eye is struggling with the sunlight.”
    Jericho took a step toward her, forgetting any concerns he had, or any pain he felt, succumbing to the fresh feeling of anger. “Who are you talking to?” he demanded, pointing at her.
    She walked over, putting her hand in her pocket and taking out an earpiece. She handed it to him.
    Jericho frowned. “What’s going on?” he asked, both angry and confused.
    “Put this in,” she said. “You want answers? They’re on the other end of the comms.”
    Reluctantly, Jericho took it and placed it in his right ear. Lightning bolts of pain were shooting through the left side of his head. He grimaced as he activated the earpiece. “Who... is this?” he asked, grunting through a fresh wave of agony.
    There was a brief crackle of static, and then a familiar, British voice. “Jericho, it’s me—Josh. Are you alright? What’s happening?”
    “Josh? What’s happening is, I feel like a thousand burning knives are stabbing my skull! What the fuck did you people do to me?”
    “Bollocks... okay, try to relax. We thought there might be a reaction to the light at first, but it’s only temporary. Keep it covered, and we’ll check you over when you come in.”
    “Fuck you—I’m not coming back!”
    Josh sighed. “Jericho, listen to me. Those men Julie just disposed of for you, and the ones in your hotel room, were part of a CIA unit sent to kill you. Not bring you in... kill you. Do you understand? Do you get what’s going on here? Thanks to your phone call yesterday, they now know you’re alive, which means you have a very large bullseye on your back. You’ll be dead within twenty-four hours on your own. We can help you.”
    Jericho paused, feeling a second’s reprieve from the pain inside his head. “Why would you help me?” he asked, conceding that Josh made a valid point.
    “Because we’re on the same side,” he implored.
    Jericho looked over at Julie, who was stood resting against the hood of their sedan, her arms folded casually across her chest.
    “Jericho, you need to come with us,” she said to him. “You shouldn’t have made that call to your old boss yesterday, but I had to let you see for yourself that you can’t trust them anymore.”
    He glared at her. “Come with you? After you lied to me? I mean, it was all a lie, right? The helpless nurse, the frightened girl who can’t hold a gun... even you ‘rescuing’ me... it was all for