Break of the Six (The Preston Six Book 4) Read Free Page A

assistance to help stop the man who ruined Vanar and Ryjack.
    “We don’t really have a plan yet.”
    Hank started coughing again and took another drink from the water bottle. Gladius raised her hand to start hitting his back, but he waved her off.
    “You alright there, big guy?” Travis asked.
    “Yeah, just a cough.”
    “You know, I could have my medical staff take a look...”
    “No, I’m fine,” Hank said and took another swig of water.
    “If I could, I would help, but we don’t have the resources. If you can expose him, I will personally come to your aid.”
    “Dad, we can’t just leave them to the whims of Marcus, the dude’s a complete psycho. You know he is up to some evil shit.” Gladius put her hands on her hips.
    Travis regarded Julie and stood from his chair. “I’ll travel to Earth when you can show me this is indeed Marcus. It is possible the company developed this technology on their own. After all, we share a similar history, it would make sense if your planet ended up developing the same technology.”
    “By the time Marcus shows himself, I fear it will be too late,” Julie said.
    “I have the same fear, but I can’t leave my world on a suspicion. Get something solid, and I’ll be there for you guys.”
    “And if he kills us before then?” Lucas asked.
    Travis shook his head. “If he wanted you dead, you wouldn’t be here right now. The man always has a plan.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
    POLY TURNED UP THE CAR RADIO.
    “The crap hit the fan and if I wasn’t on the radio, I’d say a lot worse.” The radio stopped playing music and had switched to a constant news feed. The DJs seemed uncomfortable discussing such a heavy subject, but what else could they do in the circumstances?
    “I bet this came from terrorists, some biomedical people,” the other DJ said. “You just mix influenza and small pox and bingo, pandemic.”
    “This is a cough...”
    “But it’s killing people, Jerry, this is going to kill us all if we don’t get a handle on it.”
    Poly turned off the car radio. She hated being right, but her gut was rarely wrong. Something terrible had happened while they were gone and it covered the entire planet with panic. She gripped the steering wheel and glanced at Julie working on her Panavice. They were sick with worry, waiting for any news about Samantha. She needed to know if she was okay. Really, Poly wanted to grab all the family and friends she had and gather them around her.
    It’d been two days since they left Travis’s office and at first, the goal had been to find proof of Marcus. Then their priorities shifted when they realized all they wanted to do was get the Six back together.
    When they left for Vanar, a new strain of the common cold had been on the news here and there, but now the Cough was the news. Every major TV channel had turned off all regular programming to concentrate on twenty-four hour coverage. A telethon had started, with a rolling list of celebrities making appearances in support of the cure. Schools were closed, along with some businesses. Preston had daily meetings on the Cough, designating groups to check in on the elderly and such. All people with symptoms were asked to head to the medical treatment center, previously known as the high school gym.
    “Have you heard back from Travis?” Poly asked.
    “No, he’s in some area without net and Harris is MIA as well.”
    Poly didn’t like the timing of Julie finding who they believed to be Marcus and the emergence of the Cough.
    “I can’t find her,” Julie said.
    “What do you mean, you can’t find her? I thought you could find anything?” Poly said.
    “I don’t know, she’s not leaving a digital trace anywhere.”
    Poly squeezed the steering wheel and glanced at Julie running her fingers over her Panavice. “We need to get the others.”
    “Look out!”
    Poly turned to look out the windshield and slammed her foot on the brake. Hank stood in the middle of the dirt road. He