Fury of the Six (The Preston Six Book 5) by Matt Ryan Page B

she’s here.”
    “Your voice patterns are consistent with lying. You are not of any use for Marcus and he has given me permission to end you.”
    “End us?” Hank asked, and the lights turned off.
    Blackness filled the room and Gladius searched her pocket and pulled out the Panavice. She lit the room and saw Hank and Minter standing near the door.
    “You hear that?” Minter asked.
    “What?” Hank said.
    “The air, it turned off as well.” He looked at the ceiling and around the room. “It’s only a matter of time now.”
    “Emmett!” Gingy cried out, trying to open the machine. “He’s still in there.”
    Gladius hadn’t realized Alice had probably just killed Emmett as well. Whatever. The guy had it coming to him in so many ways.
    “Help me.” Gingy pushed on the door, but it wouldn’t open.
    Hank rushed to her side and pushed the door until the lock broke and the door flung open. Emmett lay on the table and Gladius hesitated before shining her light on him. Blood smeared over much of his leg but no new blood was coming out of the hole in his thigh.
    “He’s breathing,” Gingy said.
    “Yeah, maybe we . . .” Hank started to say, but Emmett’s lightning quick hand grasped his neck. Hank choked and pulled on Emmett’s hand.
    Gladius cleared the distance between them and had a knife in her hand, but Hank had it under control as he pushed Emmett’s arm back down. Then Emmett went limp as he slipped back into unconsciousness.
    “You’re hurting him,” Gingy said and punched at Hank.
    Gladius felt her blood raging as she saw her hitting her man. She jumped past Hank and punched Gingy in the throat. Her stunned face tried to understand what happened as she fell to the floor, gasping for air.
    “Gladius, did you really need to hit her? She wasn’t hurting me.”
    She ignored Hank. He didn’t understand the simple fact that some people just needed to be hit sometimes. Standing over Gingy, she raised her hand. Gingy cowered and covered her head. “Don’t you ever touch him again.”
    Gingy coughed and nodded.
    “Now, let’s tie up Emmett before his sorry ass wakes up again.” Gladius sighed, looking at Emmett’s stupid chest moving up and down. With each breath, he took another breath from her and Hank. She ran some quick numbers in her head, thinking of the cubic footage they had and the average person’s oxygen usage. If they got rid of Emmett and Gingy, it’d add days, easily. One glance at Hank’s sympathetic face and she knew he wouldn’t go for it.
    Minter gathered some cord as Hank carried Emmett to a chair and they bound him to it. Gladius checked the knots and when she was satisfied, looked to Gingy. “You.” Gingy whimpered. “There has to be another way out.”
    “There’s only the one door you came in.”
    “No way. Marcus would have a back door somewhere in this place.” Gladius pictured the whole bunker in her mind and thought of the places she’d use for a hidden escape. He would’ve been stupid to let Alice in on all his escape routes, and he surely wasn’t dumb. As much as Marcus hated AI, he would never stay in a place where something or someone controlled his only exit. “Think, Gingy, where have you seen Marcus enter and exit?”
    She looked at the floor, tears staining her ruddy cheeks. “I’ve only seen Marcus a couple times. He doesn’t like to be bothered.”
    Gladius laughed. “You must have noticed his comings and goings.”
    She shook her head.
    Gladius looked to Emmett and thought about shaking him awake to get answers, but she knew of his reputation. Getting information from him would be as likely as dogs flying. “You know you’re going to die in here the same as us, right?”
    Gingy looked up and nodded. “I don’t know a way out. If I did, I’d tell you and get the hell out of here.”
    “In Marcus’s room, I think I saw something,” Hank said.
    “Show the way.”
    “What about Emmett?” Hank pointed to the man strapped to the machine