Break of the Six (The Preston Six Book 4) (18 page)

“WE SHOULD HAVE KILLED THEM,” Derek said as he paced next to Zach laying on the lobby floor.

“Get me a medical bag!” Samantha demanded, kneeling next to Zach. She removed Zach’s shirt as carefully as she could. When he winced, she winced. She thought maybe Zach would get shot at some point—creating something everybody needed to stay alive meant you had the whole world wanting to take it from you—but she never imagined the bullet would come from Joey Foust.

Anger filled her again thinking about it. He’d done it to prove a point and all he accomplished was proving how wrong he was. She almost agreed with Derek in that moment, like she wouldn’t know if Zach was the vilest person ever . . . Did they really think she was so stupid?

Blood was smeared over a healthy portion of his body. Samantha held her hand over her mouth, but she recovered from the shock and pulled open the bag Derek set next to her.

Lisa stood nearby. She hadn’t said a word since the shooting.

“Can you help me with this?” Samantha asked.

Lisa looked pale and took a few steps back. “I can’t, I just can’t.” She turned and ran out of the lobby.

“I’ve had some training.” Derek dropped on his knees next to her.

Samantha took a step back and felt tears flowing down her face. How could her friends have done this? She didn’t even know if she could learn to forgive them.

“I’m going to be fine,” Zach said with a smile. He seemed amused by the whole gunshot thing.

“I’m not sure, Zach,” Derek said putting pressure over his wound. The gauze turned red. “You’re losing a lot of blood. We need to get you to a hospital.”

“Thanks, but all I need you to do is take me to my medical wing on floor thirteen.”

“We don’t have a facility to operate on you.”

“Listen,” Zach sat up and the fire in his eyes made Derek lean back. “Take me to floor thirteen, now.”

“Let’s just take him there,” Samantha interjected.

Derek nodded and grabbed Zach’s arm, lifting him on his feet. Samantha rushed to his side and supported him. They walked Zach to the stairs.

After thirteen flights, Samantha thought she was the one needing a medical team. She held on to Zach, breathing hard.

“The back room.” Zach pointed. They helped him walk to the door. “Now leave me.” He shrugged off their help and leaned against the door with one hand.

“Sir, you are in—”

“I said, leave me,” he barked.

Derek took a few steps back, turned and walked out of the room.

“I can help you.” Samantha rubbed his bare shoulder, feeling his sweat cover her hand.

“Please, just go. I will be fine in a bit. I have a doctor in here who will help me.”

Samantha stared at the solid steel door and wondered why she never heard they had a doctor on staff, let alone a medical room advanced enough to handle a gunshot wound. But she didn’t know about the whole surveillance floor either. She started thinking about all the things she didn’t know and they were mounting quickly.

“I’ll be waiting out here.”

“Fine, but please wait in the stairwell.”

“Okay.” She bumped into a monitor displaying what looked like a burnt forest, but she didn’t give it much thought as she stared at Zach’s bare back. Turning quickly, she left the room, watching him from the stairwell. He stood at the door and she heard his voice and a faint vibrating sound before the door opened. He entered the door and it closed behind him.

SAMANTHA SAT ON THE FLOOR of the stairwell. Her butt hurt and she adjusted herself, trying to find a more comfortable spot. Zach had been in the room for a while, she’d even knocked on the door a few times, but no one answered. Thoughts of him lying dead on the floor filled her mind. She couldn’t help it. She kept thinking of the worst possible scenarios. She got up, unable to sit, and paced, staring at the steel door.

The door opened and she ran toward it.

Derek ran on her heels and Zach exited the room, wearing a clean black shirt with his tie clip pinned to it. He looked weary, but the color was back in his face. She tried to sneak a look in the room as the door closed, but she only saw a glass machine that looked like a tanning bed.

He smiled and held out his hands. “All better.”

She rushed to him and hugged him, kissing his mouth. She didn’t want to ever let him leave her sight again. It was just her and him from now on. If she was braver, she would have said the three words to him right then and there.

“Not totally better,” he said between her kisses.

“Glad to see you’re okay, sir,” Derek said.

Zach ignored him and used his hands to caress Samantha’s face. She felt him kissing her back. His tongue brushed her lips and she moaned. She pushed her body against his, and clutched on to him.

He breathed heavy and pushed her back to look at Derek. “Can you get my helicopter ready?”

“Yes, sir,” Derek said and jogged to the staircase.

With Derek gone, Zach turned his attention to Samantha. She loved the lust in his eyes, she felt the same way.

“Let’s wait until we get back to the house,” Zach suggested.

“You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.” He looked back at the door. “I have a great doctor.”

“Can I thank him for fixing my man?” She brushed her fingers down his back and pulled his hips against her own.

“Wouldn’t you rather get out of here?” Zach said.

Yes, more than anything, she wanted to be somewhere alone with Zach. She would follow him to where ever he wanted to go. Kissing him again, she took as much from him as she could.

“A friend told me recently that a tragic situation can bring a couple together, closer than ever. I didn’t understand it until now.”

“I don’t know if I can get any closer,” Samantha said, pushing up against him.

“Transport’s ready, sir,” Derek announced, standing at the doorway.

“Great, can you take Samantha up there? I have one item I need to attend to before I can join you both.”

“Yes, of course.”

“But. . . .” Samantha pouted.

“Just a moment longer, my dear. I’ll be up there before you can miss me too much.”

“Not possible. I miss you and you’re standing in front of me.”

“Let your need grow, and when we are together it will be all the greater.”

Samantha didn’t want to let go, but Zach moved away from her and took her hand, guiding her to Derek.

Derek pulled on her arm, climbing the stairs with her. She looked back at Zach standing on the landing, looking up at her. They rounded the next steps and he was gone. She reluctantly followed Derek to the roof, where Zach’s helicopter sat in wait, motors roaring and blades spinning.

ZACH STOPPED WAVING AND TOOK off his stupid smile. He tasted his lips, still wet from her tongue. It wasn’t a bad flavor, but he couldn’t let the thoughts of tasting her distract him from his goal. He had a lady to find.

He ran down the stairs, knowing exactly where to find her; the floor with the cure. The steps flew by as he skipped down four at a time. The door hung open to the research wing where he supposedly found the cure. Now, where was she?

“Hello?” Zach called out.

“Don’t move.” Lisa pointed a shotgun at his head from across the room.

Too far to snatch from her delicate hands, Zach laughed at the aggression. He didn’t expect her to be so easy to find. He could dispatch her in a few minutes and be back to Samantha in no time. “Dear,
Lisa
. It looks like you won’t be playing the charade anymore?”

“Who are you? You are not Marcus.” She gripped the gun with both hands.

He took a step closer and raised his hands. “I am your savior.”

Lisa lowered her hand and pulled a Panavice from her pocket. “I’ve seen what’s in your serum. I don’t know what you are planning on doing, but I won’t let you do it. These people are good. They’ve shown me more respect and kindness than all of Vanar.”

Zach took a step closer and lowered his hands slightly. “I have a feeling you don’t know how to use that weapon. Did daddy not teach you? Or was it your mother who never allowed you to touch something so crude?”

Lisa shook. “Shut your mouth. It ends now. It ends here.” Lisa pulled the trigger, sending a shower of sparks out of the barrel.

He didn’t move as the pellets bounced off his shield.

She fired again, but with the same results. Zach laughed and took several steps closer. Bits of paper floated around and the smell of gunsmoke filled the room.

Lisa dropped the gun and picked up a long dagger from the table. It melded with her movements as if an extension of her body.

“There you go, that’s your weapon. Look at you.”

“Just come for it, you sick bastard.”

“Oh, I will, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun. Do you want to have fun with me?”

She rushed toward him and slammed her dagger against his shield. He reached out in a flash, grabbing her wrist and squeezing it near the breaking point.

“This is what I’m talking about.” Zach pulled her closer and nuzzled against her neck. “You’re a pretty thing, aren’t you?”

She struggled and it made him laugh, holding her even tighter, he wouldn’t let her go until he got what he wanted. Then he felt it, a stabbing pain at his side. He looked down and saw a wooden dagger piercing his shirt and penetrating his skin.

He laughed again and she pushed it further. He felt the warm blood filling his innards.

“Just die!”

“Not now, not ever.” He pulled her hand back, snapping the small bones in her arm. She cried out in pain. He head butted the side of her head and let her fall to the ground.

A wooden knife? What a cunning little bitch. He kicked her in the stomach and raised his foot over her unconscious head, but stopped.
No.
He had a plan to follow. A path to travel. He grabbed her by her wrist and dragged her limp body down the stairs.

At the bottom, he placed his hand on the wall and activated the screen. Typing in the code, he said the password. “I am the savior.”

The floor slid open, revealing another set of stairs. He felt like pushing her body down the final set of stairs, but he didn’t want to damage her beyond repair. He could have fun with such a body for a long time.

He dragged her down the four flights of stairs to another sealed door. He used a retinal scan to open the final door. A simple warehouse, really. Blank walls and a high ceiling for which to hang a person from. He admired simple things.

“Let us down from here,” Hank called out.

Zach slid Lisa’s body across the floor, under Hank and Harris. They both looked down at his new prize. Zach took out his tablet and used it to lower the chain from the ceiling. He tied up Lisa’s arms and raised the chain until she was dangling unconscious. “I brought you company.” He walked up to Harris and patted his dangling foot. He tried to kick Zach, but he ducked under it. He looked up to Harris. “You can talk, but don’t touch . . . her body’s mine.”

Harris eyed him and the simple act unnerved Zach. The man seemed to be taking in everything he did, judging it. Shaking it off, he reminded himself it didn’t matter anymore. Soon, the plan would be complete and he could be free. Being so close to the end sent chills up his arms and he ignored the calls from Hank.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon and we can finish this. Hang in there.” He laughed his way out of the room, grabbing at his side. He needed to get to floor thirteen before meeting Samantha on the roof.

She really was gorgeous, and he felt a hint of shame at what he was doing to her, but squashed it quickly. The plan required him to do certain things, in the correct order, if he wanted to ever be free. She was just a means to an end.

HANK SWAYED FROM THE CHAIN, the leather straps digging into his wrists. He made sure not to say anything until the door closed and Zach was gone. “Gladius,” he whispered.

Harris stared at her swaying between them.

At first she didn’t move, but then a smile crept in and she opened her eyes, gazing at the closed door. “Hey, Hank. Hey, Harris.”

“How the hell did he get to you?” Hank asked.

“I was pretending to be a new employee at ZRB and got all the way up to Samantha’s assistant.” Gladius struggled against her straps and rattled the chain running up into the ceiling. “If I had to be that freaking, bubbly Lisa girl for one more minute...”

“You sneaky little—wait, did he hit you?” Hank asked.

“That dude head-butted me freaking hard.” She adjusted her hands and the chain clanked under her movement. “Did it leave a mark?” She looked to the side, revealing a large swath of red and swollen skin along the side of her face.

Hank gritted his teeth and looked at the floor.

She growled. “I knew it. I’m going to cut his balls off if my face guy can’t fix this. At least he took me down here.”

“You
wanted
down here?”

“Well, yeah. Who else was going to save your stupid asses?” She did a double take at

Harris. “If my face looks anything like yours, I’ll slit my wrists and end it all.”

Harris laughed and then coughed. “You have a plan?”

“Of course.”

Hank wanted to hug Gladius. She was one of the last people in the worlds he expected to see coming to their rescue.

She glanced at him and smiled. “What? Did you think I was going to let you guys deal with this by yourself?”

“I didn’t think you . . . No, not really. I am thrilled to see you, though,” Hank said. He recalled the few times they went to Vanar over the last year, making appearances for her dad. She was always around and they had pleasant conversations, but he never felt he made any kind of lasting impression.

“Can you tell us this plan?” Harris said and then coughed. “You have a light saber bracelet or are you just going to use the force?”

“A
Stars Wars
reference, nice, Harris. You watched the box set Lucas gave you, didn’t you?”

He laughed. “Yes, some fine movies.”

“If you nerds are done nerding, can we go now?” Gladius now hung by one arm. She dropped from the chain and landed on her feet. Looking up, she walked to the wall and pressed a button. Hank heard motors running as they were lowered to the ground. She pulled Harris free and he slumped to the ground.

“Get Hank free, don’t worry about me.”

She complied and went to Hank. He felt her petite hands untying the straps and freeing his hands. Once they were released, he wrapped her up in a hug and spun her in a circle.

“I didn’t know I was going to get a ride for my deed.” She patted Hank on the shoulders and giggled.

“I would give you so much more if I had it.”

Harris fell forward onto his hands and coughed blood on the floor. He recovered and looked up at them. “To tell you the truth, I was positive I was going to die on the chains up there. Until the moment I saw that man dragging you into this room. I knew then I had a chance.”

“Aren’t you sweet? Thinking my limp body was going to be your saving grace.”

“It wasn’t you, it was him. The last time I saw him, I was nearly unconscious and took his imitation for face value. His walk, his voice, his mannerisms were nearly dead on, but today he made a critical mistake.”

“What, being an extra-large asshole?” Gladius asked.

“No, his laugh. I’ve heard it only a few times in my life and Marcus doesn’t laugh like that.”

“Wait, are you saying this Zach guy isn’t Marcus?” Hank asked.

Gladius snorted. “Duh, just look at him.”

“I thought he changed his looks or something. I mean, my friends were pretty convinced he was the guy.” Hank let it all soak in and asked the question they all had. “If he isn’t Marcus, who is he?”

“More importantly, what is he doing?” Harris said.

“He has to be, who else could control the Arracks like this?” Hank said. “Why play with us this way? Why not just kill us? I mean, he knows who we are, he knows where you came from.”

“He knew who I was as well. I saw it on his face the second he looked at me,” Gladius added.

Harris shook his head and gingerly got to his feet. “He could be faking he is faking. A long time ago, before Marcus became the evil man you know him as, he was a fun loving guy. He would play pranks, and just mess with people around him for the fun of it. We used to call him a joker.”

“Marcus?” Hank and Gladius spoke at the same time.

“I think he used it early on to cope with his intelligence. He wanted to interact with people and found it difficult to relate to most. But there was venom behind the smile, once you got to know him.”

“Then why this charade?”

“If it is Marcus using the façade of Zach, then we are in greater danger than I imagined.

He must be planning something grand and I bet it all centers around us, and the rest of the group. Have you seen him interacting with any of the Six?”

“Are you kidding? His girlfriend is Samantha, and she hangs all over his nuts like a squirrel getting ready for winter. Makes me ill.” Gladius rolled her eyes.

“Samantha?” Hank asked.

“Yeah, they are like boyfriend-girlfriend.” She made a rude gesture with her fingers.

“Marcus rarely takes on a girlfriend; if he does, it’s only for another reason.”

“So now we are thinking this Zach guy
is
Marcus?” Hank asked.

“It doesn’t matter. Whoever he is, we need to stop him and warn the rest. Marcus is the type of person who will go to great lengths and spend a lot of time driving his point home to an opponent.”

“That should be easy, as the rest of the six are right outside,” Gladius said. “We just had an encounter with them. Joey freaking shot Zach. It was awesome.” She laughed.

“The rest are
here
?” Harris asked.

“Yeah, they should still be out there.”

“We need to get to them.”

“No offense, but you look terrible. Can you even walk?” Gladius said.

Harris took a step and closed his swollen eyes, before making his way toward the door. Favoring one leg, he stopped and stabbed his finger at the screen on the wall in frustration. After a minute of messing with the screen, he took a step back. “I can’t get through it.”

“I bet Julie can get down here.” Gladius pulled out what looked like a dice.

“You brought a ping?” Harris said and moved closer.

“Yes, if you know her Panavice ID, we can send her a text.”

“I do know it.” Harris took the dice in his hand and pressed his finger on it. It unfolded into a screen the size of a playing card.

Hank shook his head as he looked on. He was always amazed by the technology they used.

“Tell her about the door under the stairs. Tell her the password above is ‘I am the savior,’” Gladius said.

“What an arrogant. . . .” Harris mumbled the rest under his breath as he typed into the screen. “Okay, sent it. Maybe she will have better luck getting through this door.”

“Let’s hope she does it quickly. I have a feeling that dirt bag will be back soon. I bet he finishes up with Samantha in a hurry.”

JOEY WATCHED JULIE GLARE AT her screen with unblinking eyes. They’d formed a small circle around her at the bottom of the stairs inside the ZRB headquarters.

“Holy crap, Harris and Gladius are down there with him too. They gave me the password to the door.” Julie had gotten past all the other security protocols, but the password on the floor door had blocked her.

“Let’s bust this door down then,” Lucas said.

Julie slid her hand across the screen on the floor and said, “I am your savior.” The door opened, revealing a staircase.

Joey rushed down, wanting to get to Hank and Harris. Another steel door stood in their way.

Julie walked up and smiled. “This one’s easy.”

Soon, the door slid open and Hank rushed out. The big guy looked weary and his wrists were raw and red. Joey paused for a second when he saw Harris. The man looked like he’d been severely beaten with much of his face black from bruising; not to mention the swelling, which made him almost unrecognizable.

“Hank!” Lucas yelled and jumped into his arms.

“So good to see you guys.” Hank took turns hugging everyone.

It felt good to have the big guy back in the mix. It lessened the sting from Samantha a smidgen, but it still weighed on Joey’s mind more than anything else. He didn’t see a way to convince her anymore.

“Are those tears?” Lucas pointed to Hank’s face. “Are you
crying
?”

“No, there is just a lot of dust down here,” Hank said, wiping his eyes.

“Dude, there is no dust down here.” Lucas laughed. He wrapped his arms around him in a man hug and then moved to Harris. “Dear God, what the hell happened to you? Did you walk down a flight of stairs with your face?”

“Gladius,” Julie squealed and ran up to her. They hugged and Joey thought he saw Gladius tearing up as well. “Why in the world are you here?”

She looked at the floor and stuffed her hands in her pocket. “I just thought I could help you guys.”

“Ah, you are the sweetest thing,” Poly said. “Thank you so much for coming to help us.”

“Should we be talking in here?” Gladius asked, touching her face.

“I’ve scanned it. It’s clear. Who did that to your face?” Julie asked.

Gladius brushed back a strand of her hair, revealing a red mark. “That bastard, Zach. But I found the serum he made, he put something in it.”

“We know, your dad helped us find the nanobot,” Julie said.

“I bet he’s going to hold the whole world hostage with it,” Lucas said. “I’m so glad we took the clean cure from Vanar.” He stared at Harris again. “Dude, for real, what the hell happened to you? You look about as bad as Hank does on a good day.”

Harris’s swollen mouth crept back in a grin. “I was gang banged by a bunch of Arracks.”

Lucas’s mouth hung open for a second. “Wait, what does that mean on Vanar?”

“When a gang beats the crap out of you.”

Lucas sighed in relief. “My God, man. Don’t use that phrase here ever again. It means something much worse.”

Harris laughed and smirked. “Got you.”

“You sly bastard, you are not allowed to make jokes. You had me going for a second there.”

“But really, a bunch of Arracks beat the crap out of me,” Harris said.

“Yeah, they lined up like kids at an amusement park to get their hits in,” Hank explained.

“It’s for what you did to them, isn’t? For attempting genocide and killing their planet?” Julie asked.

“Yes.”

“Then you deserved it,” she shot the words at Harris.

“I do and so much more.”

Joey stepped between the two. “We need to work together if we have any chance of stopping Marcus. He has Samantha wrapped up in some kind of brainwashing.”

“Love,” Gladius corrected.

Joey felt like she punched him. Love? The word didn’t fit. It had to mean something different on Vanar. “You’re wrong, she doesn’t love him. He must be slipping her drugs.” He grasped for any logical reason to explain the path she’d taken. Poly squirmed by his side.

Gladius chuckled and shook her head. “I know what it looks like. The way you look at Poly.” She pointed at Poly. “Samantha looks at Zach like that, but maybe with even more passion. I’m pretty sure they are back at his house right now. Your little show outside gave her every reason to fall completely on board with the scumbag.”

He wouldn’t let the thought sink in. Slamming his eyes shut, Joey thought of something he could control. “We are going to have to kill him.”