Live Free or Die Complete Series Boxed Set: Age Of Madness - A Kurtherian Gambit Series Hayley Lawson (ebook reader play store .TXT) 📖

hadn’t stopped him. Murray had loved the company of his son, really, but he had to keep him at arm’s length because of Afana. If the vampire realized the strength of their bond, he could and would use it against him. He’d seen it happen many times over his life, and he didn’t want the same to happen to him and his son—which was why General Murray had sent Martin to work down in Level Six.

As far away from him as possible.

Now Martin was even farther away than he’d imagined, just when there was a chance of getting out of here. Murray looked for George, but he was gone. Where’s that ginger George now? Murray wondered. He scanned the area, but he was nowhere to be seen. For fuck’s sake!

George wasn’t by the exit door trying to open it.

He’d better not have gone after the women. Murray refused to have their blood on his hands. He already had too much of it staining his conscience. Murray did a quick search of Level Six. He didn’t want the others to know he’d lost George. What kind of general could lose one scrawny advisor?

General Murray thought for a moment, then headed down the tunnel George was working in before Martin turned Mad. He didn’t want to go down there and see his son’s body after the women had killed him.

“George, are you down there?” General Murray yelled from the beginning of the tunnel. He knew his voice wouldn’t carry far because of the roar of the industrial fans, so he yelled again at the top of his voice.

“What?” Advisor George yelled back.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“My job!” George snapped. “Come down here and help me.”

George must be thinking out his ass again. There was no way Murray was going back down that tunnel, and especially not to help George.

“Leave the cameras,” he told him.

“No!” Advisor George screamed. “I’m doing my job!”

General Murray heard metal parts landing on the floor, and the scuffle of George’s shoes on the floor. George screamed, and a thud followed.

Then Advisor George huffed, and he came into view with a face as pale as a ghost’s and blood down his white lab coat.

George tried to catch his breath and pointed back the way he came. “There’s a dead body down there.”

Murray looked at George, confused. Why was he making Murray go through this again? What kind of twisted person was he? Then he saw that George was being genuine.

“It’s Martin,” Murray reminded him.

Advisor George looked around as if he were looking for Martin, then back at General Murray. “Oh, yeah.”

Murray frowned. Something wasn’t right with George. “Stand over there where I can see you.”

George was confused. “I forgot, okay?”

Wrong words.

Murray glared at the advisor. “You forgot that my son died because he was saving you?”

Advisor George twisted at his ginger hair, then tugged on it until it was in his hand.

“What the hell are you doing?” Murray demanded.

George tilted his head, pulling another clump out. “What are you talking about?”

“Your hair. What are you doing to your hair?” Murray snapped.

George looked at his open hands. He turned his hand sideways, and hair fell from it. “I don’t feel well,” George said. He certainly wasn’t acting well.

Murray looked him over skeptically. “You’re not going to throw up, are you?”

“Not that type of unwell. This type.” He tapped his forehead. Advisor George was a smart man. He didn’t need the glowing eyes and crazy physical behavior to know something was going on inside.

“What are you saying?” Murray asked.

George looked at Murray with horror in his eyes. “I’m infected.”

“You don’t look it. You look like your normal scrawny annoying self.” Murray smiled, attempting to lighten the situation.

“I will turn soon. You need to lock me up,” George insisted.

Murray was taken aback, but when he thought about it, he realized that George wanted to be locked up to stop them from killing him, not because he was scared of hurting others.

“You need to show me how to unlock the doors first.” Murray wasn’t going to let their only exit route die.

George looked up at Murray with wide, frightened eyes. “You promise to lock me up and not kill me?” George waited for Murray to reply.

“I promise,” Murray assured him.

The two men headed up the stairs toward the door.

“I need your knife. I’ve lost my tools,” George told Murray.

Murray passed him one of his knives and George took the top off the control panel.

The advisor paused. “You need to connect the red and blue wire together.” He shook his head. “My mistake, it’s the green and orange.” He shook his head again. “Why are there so many colors?” He turned to Murray like he knew.

“Which color is it?” General Murray asked.

George tilted his head in confusion. “For what?”

General Murray was unable to contain his frustration. “To get out of here!”

George clapped his hands over his ears. “Stop yelling at me!” George panted. “I can’t think over all your shouting!”

Murray held his palms up. “Calm down George, I won’t shout again. I’m sorry. We just need to know which wires to cross.”

“Why would you cross the wires?” he asked in a lost voice.

Murray’s heart began to drop. “To get out. Remember?”

George began to laugh hysterically. “We can’t get out. We’re trapped down here forever.” He sat down and started rocking. George had lost it, and there was no coming back from where he had gone.

Murray took George’s shoulder to stop him from rocking. “George, snap out of it. You need to tell me what to do to open the door.”

He looked up at Murray, big tears rolling down his cheeks. “I can’t remember.”

Murray wanted to shake the answer from George, but he knew he had to get George into a secure room quickly before he changed. He’d given him his word, and he was going to stand by it.

He placed a hand on the advisor’s shoulder. “George, maybe a lie-down would help you come up with the answer.”

“To what question?” George asked. Murray