Live Free or Die Complete Series Boxed Set: Age Of Madness - A Kurtherian Gambit Series by Hayley Lawson (pdf e book reader .TXT) 📗

He was covered in infected blood.

Afana’s elation quickly sank away, drowned by the horror of being infected. Revenge would have to wait. Afana left the lab, not for Level Six, but for his quarters on Level One.

He could feel the advisors’ eyes on his back as he left. He knew that if he turned around, they would be looking, but he didn’t give a shit what they thought. He was going to get this bloody mess cleaned off.

Terrier was confused. First George had told them they were locked in on Level Six and that Afana couldn’t open the doors from Level One, then he’d told them that Afana could override the doors.

Terrier wanted to shake the right answer out of the advisor. “What are you talking about, George? I thought that we were locked in here.”

George looked at Terrier blankly. “We are.”

Everyone looked at George, confused.

General Murray was beside Advisor George. “Which is it?” he pressed.

George looked even more confused than everyone else. “What are you talking about?”

“Can Afana open Level Six’s door from Level One?” Mama Lou asked Advisor George.

George spoke extra slowly and clearly as though they were all complete dumbasses. “No. I locked us in, and he can’t override the door from Level One.”

Terrier frowned at George. “I just asked you that question and you said yes. Which is it?”

“What?” Advisor George frowned at them and shook his head. Terrier really wanted to give George a good shake.

Mama Lou waved her hands to calm everyone down. “Terrier, I think you didn’t ask the question correctly.” Mama Lou repeated the question in a soft tone.

Advisor George squeezed his eyes together, “I said no already! He can’t get in. We’re locked in here!”

Terrier and the others were confused. “How could you make a mistake like that?” Terrier asked.

“I did all right.”

Level Six fell quiet for a moment. The people were relieved that they were safe from Afana’s rage. Only Terrier knew that they were playing a waiting game now. Their hopes were pinned on Ryder to get to them before the disease broke out down on Level Six, whether they knew it or not.

Terrier was worried that Ryder might not make it back in time. He cursed himself for not going with her. She could have been killed or captured out there. However, leaving the women and children without his protection was not an option. Terrier might not be the sharpest knife in the melee, but he was as loyal as a summer day was long. If Ryder didn’t make it back, he would just have to rescue everyone all by himself.

He needed to think of a way to get out of the bunker.

Bodies crashed down onto the ceiling of Level Six, startling the people below. Afana was throwing his advisors from Level One. Their skulls broke on impact, and the drop door was painted with brain matter.

Advisor George screamed, “Why did you have to force me to stay down here? You traitor! I could have helped solve the problem if you’d only let me do my job on the other levels. It’s your fault Afana is killing good men.”

General Murray rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you scream a little louder? That way Afana can hear you.”

“There’s no point,” Advisor George muttered sullenly.

“Why, because he doesn’t care?” General Murray shot back.

Advisor George shook his head in defiance. “Because he can’t hear me. When I shut the cameras off I had to also take out the speakers, since they are all linked together.”

Now General Murray was confused. “Why would anyone link them together?” he asked. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Advisor George glared at Murray. “Because that’s how the system works.”

General Murray grinned. “It doesn’t sound too smart to me. I thought advisors were smart. Just my luck to be stuck with one of the dumb ones.”

Advisor George took offense to that. “I’m not dumb!”

“Really?” General Murray raised his eyebrow.

The two went back and forth like little kids.

“Stop bickering,” Natalie chided from the doorway to the kids’ room. “You’re supposed to be an example to the kids, and you’re acting like kids yourselves.” She waved her finger at them sternly.

“Oh, you two just got schooled.” Terrier laughed as he walked over to Natalie.

General Murray was annoyed, not at Natalie but at himself. He’d so quickly gone back to his old ways of being a monumental asshole. Murray blushed, embarrassed by his actions. “Sorry, Natalie.”

Natalie and the others looked at him in surprise, and he shrugged and smiled back. Natalie started to talk with Terrier. They looked happy.

General Murray remembered when his son Martin was born. He could remember it like it was yesterday even though it had been twenty-two years ago. His son had died too young. Murray glared at Advisor George, who didn’t blink as he stared up through the glass floor to Level One.

General Murray looked away from Advisor George. He couldn’t let his anger control him, not anymore. He went back to thinking about the day Martin was born.

Annabel was his mother. Murray had loved her, and she’d loved him. She died in childbirth and it broke General Murray’s heart, but he hadn’t allowed it to show since compassion for women was a sign of weakness on Level Six and weakness would get you killed.

He’d locked away any signs of caring, but Martin’d had a way of unlocking it. His eyes were just like Annabel’s, filled with hope. General Murray could get lost in Annabel’s eyes when they were able to spend time together, and because of his rank he’d been able to spend all of his free time with her. After Martin was born he lived with the other children on Level Six, but those who were from general or advisor rankings moved up to their level once they turned sixteen.

Martin quickly became Murray’s shadow, always by his side even when he wasn’t meant to have been. More than a dozen times Murray had punished Martin for it, but it