Read Shades of Gray for Free Online

guess he was an Earth power. He wasn’t.
    “No worries,” Meteorite chirped. “We were about to get a game of bridge going while Frostbite manned the screens, but now that’s been blown to hell. Can’t play bridge with five people. So we might as well have our status meeting.”
    “Firebug,” Frostbite said. “Kick it off.”
    The Fire power frowned. “The cleanup isn’t going well. New rabids, old rabids, the gangs, the Families, the petty criminals … Christo, it’s a fucking mess out there.”
    “Language,” Steele chided.
    Firebug shrugged by way of apology, and her coat creaked. “There’s just too much to clean up. And the city’s Finest aren’t making our jobs any easier.”
    “That’s for sure,” Meteorite grumbled. “You should hear what they’re saying on dispatch. Most of them don’t buy that you four are still card-carrying good guys. Lee’s pressuring Wagner to extend the warrants to include you.”
    Firebug rolled her eyes. “Lee’s an ingrate.”
    Jet silently agreed. The mayor was quick to go whichever way the wind blew, especially in an election year. Hard to believe that not even two weeks ago, he’d been presenting Jet with an award for her service to New Chicago. But then, a lot had changed in two weeks.
    “It’s not his fault,” Steele said softly. “How can any of them trust us? Hundreds of other Squadron soldiers are razing the Americas. Why should they think we’re different?”
    “Gee, maybe because you haven’t tried to rip off their heads yet?” Frostbite scoffed. “Or destroy the city? Or declare war against the humans?” He punched in more keyboard commands, then scowled. “Colossal Man’s not helping, what with his ‘We’re not your dogs’ speech. That’s still getting airtime, if you can believe it. Freaking drama king. The media loves him.”
    “We’re lucky that more of the Squadron haven’t gone completely rabid,” Jet said.
    “Lucky?” In the corner, Hornblower let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, that’s us. Real lucky.”
    Jet held her hands up, hoping to placate him. If anyone loathed her more than Frostbite, it was Hornblower. “All I’m saying is it could be worse.”
    “Yeah, right.” He glared at her, and she felt the heat of his rage rolling off him in violent waves. “You haven’t had to go up against your own family. Oh, right,” he said, snapping his fingers. “You don’t have family, do you?”
    Jet forced herself to unclench her fist. “Tyler …”
    He slammed his palm against the table. “Don’t you ‘Tyler’ me like we’re buddies!”
    “Sorry,” she gritted. “Hornblower. I know that going against Lancer yesterday was hard, but you did the right thing.”
    “Hard?” The large man’s snarl would have terrified a serial killer. “You don’t know anything, you Shadow freak.”
    “Hey now,” Meteorite said. “No call for getting nasty.”
    “I don’t trust her,” Hornblower said, his piercing gaze lancing Jet. “She’s unstable. Always has been. She’ll turn on us faster than Slider can run.”
    “Speaking of Slider,” Jet said, casting one last look at Hornblower before pointedly turning away from him, “she’s one of three I took down this morning.”
    “Rogue?” Firebug said. “Or rabid?”
    It was a fine line between the two. But Jet and the others had agreed that the extrahumans who were merely lashing out at the system were rogues—wannabe anarchists, born-again criminals, petty terrorists who liked the attention. Dangerous, but manageable—possibly even convertible. The rabids, though, were the ones who had lost their minds when their brainwashing stopped. They were the ones Jet and the others had to rein in as quickly as possible.
    “Rabid,” Jet said. “Were and White Hot were borderline.”
    Frostbite blinked. “You went up against Were?”
    She nodded.
    He held her gaze for a moment, then said, “I’m sorry.”
    A sad smile flitted across her lips. For all that Derek hated