Redzone Read online

  Praise for

  DEADEYE

  “Action-packed and entertaining.”

  —The Book Plank

  “Entertaining and fast-paced.”

  —The BiblioSanctum

  Praise for the Legion of the Damned novels

  ANDROMEDA’S CHOICE

  “Filled with intrigue, danger, and page-turning battle sequences . . . Once I started reading I did not want to break away from the story.”

  —SF Signal

  “[Dietz] allows McKee a bit (but just a bit!) of softness and vulnerability, making this debutante turned army sergeant into a completely engaging three-dimensional character.”

  —RT Book Reviews

  ANDROMEDA’S FALL

  “[Recommended] for readers who enjoy military fiction, science fiction, action, and strong female characters.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “[Andromeda’s Fall features] a likeable protagonist, a ruthless villain, and enough surprises and pounding action to propel the reader forward.”

  —SF Signal

  “Full of action and suspense.”

  —Elitist Book Reviews

  “A must-read for any fan of Mil Fic.”

  —The Archaeologist’s Guide to the Galaxy

  “An exciting plot and engaging characters made this novel impossible to put down. Fast-paced and action-packed with plenty of suspense, intrigue, and drama . . . [A] promising new series.”

  —SciFiChick.com

  “Returning to his Legion of the Damned universe, Dietz illustrates why he’s a master of the genre: The battle scenes are numerous and thrilling; the world feels immersive and authentic; and our heroine, Andromeda McKee, is a tough-as-nails badass.”

  —RT Book Reviews

  “A page-turner.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  A FIGHTING CHANCE

  “Superb . . . An exciting, action-packed tale . . . Fast-paced.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  WHEN DUTY CALLS

  “The action is as brisk as ever in a Legion yarn. Standard-issue military SF doesn’t get much better than this.”

  —Booklist

  “Fans of military science fiction on other worlds will thoroughly enjoy When Duty Calls, the latest Legion of the Damned space-opera thriller . . . William C. Dietz keeps his long-running saga fresh to the delight of military science fiction fans.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  WHEN ALL SEEMS LOST

  “A fast-paced, deep-space military tale with enough sci-fi details to fire the imagination.”

  —The Kansas City Star

  “A pedal-to-the-metal plot jam-packed with intrigue, deep-space adventure, and futuristic combat.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “This is classic Dietz, which means classic military SF for all fans of the brand.”

  —Booklist

  “[When All Seems Lost] starts at hyperspeed and accelerates from there into a fabulous, graphic military science fiction opus in which readers will need seat belts.”

  —SFRevu

  “Pleasant, straightforward adventure in space with military undertones. Dietz’s characters are better drawn than in most similar books.”

  —Don D’Ammassa, Critical Mass

  Praise for

  BONES OF EMPIRE

  “Plenty of action, political intrigue, military maneuvering . . . The action moves smoothly and swiftly from one plot to another, never getting bogged down, yet never seeming to skimp on detail or motivations. This is science fiction for anyone who enjoys action, politics, and character-driven stories.”

  —CA Reviews

  “Fast-paced space opera. Action, adventure, alien politics, and a bit of romance move the plot forward. Violent, blood-spattered scenes lead to the satisfying conclusion.”

  —RT Book Reviews

  “An action-packed, faster-than-the-speed-of-light, futuristic in-space thriller.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  AT EMPIRE’S EDGE

  “A testosterone-soaked tale of violent retribution.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Should please his many followers as well as fans of Steve Perry’s Matador series and the novels of Michael Stackpole.”

  —Library Journal

  “Like Dirty Harry in space . . . A good read.”

  —Dorkgasm

  “Entertaining police-procedural space opera . . . Fans who enjoy a blood-spattered science fiction thriller will want to read the first of a two-part saga as William C. Dietz provides an exciting but out-of-control opening act.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  “An excellent novel for first-time readers of Mr. Dietz . . . The story moves at a nice clip and contains plenty of future tech and strange creatures. This novel should satisfy a wide range of readers.”

  —CA Reviews

  Ace Books by William C. Dietz

  Mutant Files Series

  DEADEYE

  REDZONE

  Legion of the Damned Series

  LEGION OF THE DAMNED

  THE FINAL BATTLE

  BY BLOOD ALONE

  BY FORCE OF ARMS

  FOR MORE THAN GLORY

  FOR THOSE WHO FELL

  WHEN ALL SEEMS LOST

  WHEN DUTY CALLS

  A FIGHTING CHANCE

  ANDROMEDA’S FALL

  ANDROMEDA’S CHOICE

  ANDROMEDA’S WAR

  Drifter Series

  DRIFTER

  DRIFTER’S RUN

  DRIFTER’S WAR

  Sam McCade Series

  GALACTIC BOUNTY

  IMPERIAL BOUNTY

  ALIEN BOUNTY

  MCCADE’S BOUNTY

  Sauron Duology

  DEATHDAY

  EARTHRISE

  Jak Rebo Series

  RUNNER

  LOGOS RUN

  Jak Cato Series

  AT EMPIRE’S EDGE

  BONES OF EMPIRE

  FREEHOLD

  PRISON PLANET

  BODYGUARD

  WHERE THE SHIPS DIE

  STEELHEART

  An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

  REDZONE

  An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the author

  Copyright © 2015 by William C. Dietz.

  Excerpt from Graveyard by William C. Dietz copyright © 2015 by William C. Dietz.

  Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

  ACE and the “A” design are trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

  For more information, visit penguin.com.

  eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-15011-9

  PUBLISHING HISTORY

  Ace mass-market edition / August 2015

  Cover art by Gene Mollica.

  Cover design by Lesley Worrell.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Version_1

  This one is for Lawrence Kane . . .

  my first self-proclaimed fan!

  Thanks for sticking with me. I really appreciate it.

  CONTENTS

  Praise for William C. Dietz

  Ace Books by William C. Dietz

  Title Page

  Copyright

 
Dedication

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Special Excerpt from Graveyard

  ONE

  DEPUTY CHIEF ROSS McGinty had been dismembered by a serial killer called the Bonebreaker—and his body parts dumped next to a freeway. Unfortunately, that was the same fate that had befallen Cassandra Lee’s father two years earlier. And now, as the long procession of police cars and limos followed the black hearse toward LA’s Evergreen Cemetery, there should have been a sign. Rain perhaps . . . to match the mood. But no, the sky was blue, and it was going to be a nice day. For most people, anyway.

  Lee was seated in an unmarked car along with Assistant Chief Sean Jenkins and two other members of the LAPD’s Special Investigative Section (S.I.S.). It was the unit McGinty had led prior to his death—and was supposed to hunt down the Bonebreaker.

  Lee was the only member of the force who had encountered the serial killer and lived to tell about it. “I am the Avenger,” the Bonebreaker had told her. “I’m the one God sent to kill the monsters and their progeny. That’s why you’re going to die the way your father died.”

  That threat had been hanging over her ever since. But if the Bonebreaker was hunting her, she was hunting him, and had been for years. “I’m going to miss the chief,” Jenkins commented. He had dark skin, green eyes, and was seated next to her.

  “Yeah,” Lee agreed. “Me too.” And that came as a surprise. McGinty and her father had been partners once. But they had fallen for the same girl, got into a fight, and wound up as enemies. Some of that hostility had been apparent in the way McGinty treated her. Although, truth be told, Lee knew that some of the friction stemmed from her rebellious personality. Then the Screed kidnapping brought them together. And that was when Lee learned that there was a lot to like about McGinty, who, as it turned out, had a legitimate reason to dislike her father.

  A brace of motorcycle cops led the funeral procession into the cemetery and its carefully kept grounds. The graveyard had been there since 1877 and was very crowded. Thickets of markers lined both sides of the gently curving road. I won’t let them bury me here, Lee decided. When I go down, there won’t be any police cars, bagpipes, or mourners. I’ll leave instructions for a couple of motorcycle riders to scatter my ashes along a good stretch of road. Highway 26 out of Stockton would do . . . The last thing I want is a box and a hole in the ground.

  Then Lee remembered McGinty’s coffin and why it was so light. The Bonebreaker liked to keep his victims’ limbs. So all McGinty’s family had to bury was a head and a torso.

  Later, once the flesh had been removed from McGinty’s arms and legs, the killer might send some of the bones to the police, members of the press, or relatives. But he kept most of them for himself. Maybe they were buried somewhere. But Lee figured that the Bonebreaker kept the missing bones close to him, so he could look at and touch them. Including those that belonged to her father. She shivered.

  The vehicles ahead of them were pulling over by that time, so Detective Yanty did likewise. Lee opened the door, got out, and was forced to squint in the sunlight. She put on a pair of sunglasses and was following a column of mourners into the maze of markers, when a reporter stepped out from behind a large monument. She looked like a fashion model and was holding a microphone. Her cameraman hurried to frame a two-shot. “Detective Lee! I’m Carla Zumin with Channel 7 News . . . The Bonebreaker killed your father. Now Deputy Chief McGinty is dead as well. How do you feel about that?”

  Suddenly, everything that Lee felt, all of the emotions that were bottled up inside of her, came boiling to the surface. The result was a roundhouse right that struck Zumin in the temple. Lee felt the impact all the way up her arm, saw the lights go out in the reporter’s eyes, and watched the blonde slump to the ground. “That’s how I feel,” Lee said, as Jenkins knelt next to the reporter. “I hope that helps.” Then she walked away.

  There was a great deal of fuss as medics were summoned to revive the reporter, her peers converged on the scene, and Channel 7’s footage of the knockout was sent back to the station.

  Meanwhile, most of the mourners remained unaware of the dustup as bagpipes played and a large crowd gathered around the open grave. Then, after a lengthy eulogy and a prayer, McGinty’s coffin was lowered into the ground.

  Lee turned to watch the woman everybody referred to as “McGinty’s companion.” Her name was Cheyenne Darling, and Lee had seen her at parties but had never exchanged more than a couple of words with her. Darling’s blond bangs fell to a point just above her eyebrows. She had high cheekbones, a well-proportioned nose, and a generous mouth.

  Like the rest of the mourners, Darling was dressed in black but with a difference. She was wearing silver jewelry, her dress was a little too short for the occasion, and her heels were red. It wasn’t typical widow wear by any means, but Darling was crying, and that was when Lee realized that she wasn’t.

  Should she cry? Should she have to think about crying? What the hell was wrong with her anyway? Such were Lee’s thoughts as her eyes scanned the crowd. Was the Bonebreaker present? Feeding off the misery? And feeling superior?

  If so, he was pretty damned stupid because police officers dressed as reporters were salted throughout the crowd. Their job was to photograph the mourners so that detectives from the S.I.S. could check them over later.

  The coffin was in the ground and a final prayer was being said as Lee sensed movement beside her. She turned to find that Jenkins was there. Their eyes met, and he shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry, Cassandra,” he said. “But I’ve got to place you under arrest. Let’s go to the car. Do not, I repeat do not, interact with the press. And that includes punching reporters. Do I make myself clear?”

  Lee nodded contritely. “Sorry, boss. Is she okay?”

  “Yes,” Jenkins said, “or so it seems. When Zumin came to she looked up at her camera operator, and said, ‘Did you get that? Did you fucking get that?’ So I think she’s going to survive.”

  Lee laughed as they returned to the car, but she knew the incident wasn’t any laughing matter. It could, and probably would, cost her her badge.

  Things went from bad to worse once Lee entered the car and was ordered to surrender both her weapons and her ID. Then, with the other officers listening in, Jenkins read her her rights. “Okay,” he said, once the formalities were complete, “take us to the MDC.”

  The Metro Detention Center was located downtown, a short walk from LAPD headquarters. The process of being booked was something that Lee, like every police officer, was very familiar with. She’d never been through it herself however—and was struck by how powerless she felt. Plus, there was the shame that went with the abrupt transition from police officer to accused criminal.

  After being searched and forced to surrender the rest of her belongings, Lee had to sign for them. Then she was given an opportunity to lawyer up. Something she definitely needed to do. But it was evening by then, and she feared that it might be difficult to reach people.

  Lee knew dozens of lawyers, but there was only one she wanted, and that was a wily old legal lizard named Marvin Codicil, or “Coddy” as he was known at the courthouse. How many times had she arrested a scumbag only to see Coddy get him off? A dozen? At least that. Lee hoped he was still in the office.

  * * *

  After arriving home from work, Marvin Codicil took his clothes off and forced himself to stand in front of a full-length mirror. Not because he was vain but because he was a mutant and had to be vigilant. That included looking at all the things he would have preferred to ignore, including the pasty white skin, the paunch, a
nd the bushy pubic hair. None of it was pretty—but all of it was normal. And that was the key. To look normal even though a third kidney was growing inside his body.

  Yes, a small number of norms were born with a third kidney, but his situation was different. Codicil had been born with two kidneys, but had contracted Bacillus nosilla, and begun to grow a third shortly thereafter. That was in the year 2038, when a terrorist who called himself Al Mumit (the taker of life) turned the plague loose on the world.

  The bioengineered bacteria was delivered to Kaffar (unbelievers) all around the world by 786 Shaheed, or martyrs, each of whom had been selected because they had light-colored skin, were elderly, or only a few months old. Babies turned into weapons. The thought of it made Codicil sick to his stomach.

  The results were everything that Al Mumit hoped for. Bacillus nosilla spread quickly. Billions fell ill, and of those who did, only 9 percent survived. Most of the survivors went on to develop mutations. Some were good, but most were bad, and frequently disfiguring.

  Hundreds of thousands of such people were declared communicable, some mistakenly, and herded into hastily organized “recovery” camps. And by all rights, Codicil should have been one of them. But his mutation was internal and would have remained a secret even to him had it not been for some emergency surgery in 2040.

  “You aren’t a carrier, Mr. Codicil,” his doctor told him during a private conversation. “But you are a mutant. A third kidney is growing between the others. That shouldn’t cause you any distress, and odds are that you’ll die of something else. But the mutation could be a harbinger of things to come. So examine yourself frequently and seek help if you see unusual changes. In the meantime, I recommend that you keep this condition to yourself. You know what will happen if you don’t.”

  And Codicil did know. It hadn’t been long before the “recovery” camps evolved into “relocation” camps—and untold thousands of people were loaded onto trucks and sent east into the states of Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona. The sudden influx of mutants caused the “norms” in those states to flee in the other direction. And, so long as they were B. nosilla negative, they were allowed to immigrate. A policy that wasn’t as generous as it seemed since the people along the West Coast were going to need workers with a wide variety of skills.