The Preston Six Collection: (Book 1, 2 and 3)

by Ryan, Matt

  “Why did you do that?” he yelled at the man’s lifeless body. Tears filled his eyes and he wiped them away with his shirt. No, the man was probably a rapist and a killer. No normal man would have that kind of rage in them.

  The aircraft screamed for attention. With part two complete, he darted to the cockpit and the controls. He skimmed over the last instruction Harris gave him and within a minute he had the bird humming along. Part three complete.

  He had done it.

  Climbing to his feet, he slung his bow over his head and spotted the quiver of arrows lying on the floor. Taking a deep breath, he took out his Panavice and typed to Harris that he had secured the craft.

  Harris responded and told him how to take the craft offline and switch the controls over to Harris. He followed the instructions and the craft changed directions and flew down, next to the ocean.

  Where are we going? Lucas typed.

  Harris’s response worried him. Sanct. Poly and Julie are in trouble.

  If you’ve gotten them hurt. . . .

  I know. I’ll want you to shoot me if I did.

  The ocean sprayed the window as it raced a few feet above it. He couldn’t see anything but water. The line they were taking was straight to Sanct. If the plane had some kind of booster, he would use it.

  Does the plane have a turbo? Lucas asked.

  No, it’s at full speed though. And make sure you get rid of the men.

  Lucas almost forgot about the smolderer in the cargo hull with Hank. He ran through the door, relieved to see him still on the floor, not moving.

  With rope, he tied the man to a steel pipe in the cargo hull. He left the dead man’s body lying where it fell. He couldn’t bring himself to move it. The color had already visibly faded from his cheek. Lucas pulled his focus to Hank, who hadn’t moved through the entire ruckus.

  “Hank.” He pushed against Hanks chest with his hands. “Wake up.”

  Hank didn’t move, Lucas put his ear next to his mouth and heard his breath. He stood up and stared at Hank. If the gas knocked out Hank like this, why was he awake and alert? If anyone should be awake it would be Hank, the sheer size of the guy would create trouble for any anesthesiologist.

  His Panavice vibrated and he took it out of his pocket and read Harris’s message. We’re going to land you in the middle of it all, be prepared for mayhem. Max is there. Turn your Pana to the National channel.

  Lucas clicked on the link Harris provided and watched a hovering shot of Poly and Julie on a stage, facing Max.

  THE CHALLENGE HUNG IN THE air and the crowd silenced. Poly glared into Max’s eyes. She grinded her foot on the wood stage, testing the grip.

  Max never took his eyes off hers, as he paced. Cameras buzzed by him and he appeared annoyed by their presence. “I accept, even though I don’t like to hurt women,” he said, looking into the camera.

  “Like when you killed Compry, in cold blood?”

  Travis took a step forward with clenched fists, but he stopped and looked at the ground. The damned coward. Max scowled at the camera humming near his face, pulled out his gun and fired three shots into it. Sparks flew out of the camera, as it crashed to the stage. The crowd gasped and conversations rumbled.

  Julie moved close against her and Poly felt the shield surround her.

  “Go get ‘em, Poly,” a man yelled from the crowd. The guards in black carried the supporter away from the crowd as everyone booed. The mob swarmed against the guards in the front rows.

  Max stuffed his gun back in his jacket. “Execution is the punishment for creating a personal shield like that.”

  Julie wrapped her arm around Poly’s waist. Poly’s right arm was blocked by Julie. While she was good with her left hand, she was right handed. If she had any chance against Max, she needed both hands and full movement. With both of them attached, Max could overwhelm and kill them both.

  “Let’s settle this without tech. You drop your guns and devices, and we can settle this with nothing but blades.”

  Max laughed. “Fine.” He placed two guns, a Panavice and several small-looking electronics on the ground and kicked them to the back of the stage. A guard standing next to Travis picked them up. Poly met eyes with Travis and he gave a tiny shake of his head and mouthed what she thought was “No.”

  But Poly couldn’t turn back, surrounded by guards, watched by cameras, and stalked by Max; she had nowhere to turn.

  Reaching for his back, Max pulled out a sword and swung it in front of him, the air whooshed around as his sword cut the air. The moves of a blademaster. Poly sighed, she had hoped he sucked.

  “No interference from your guards?” she asked.

  Max turned in a circle and addressed his men. “If any of you interferes, I will personally see you are dealt with in the most extreme measure.”

  “Don’t do this,” Julie whispered to Poly.

  “It’s okay, Julie, I got this.”

  “No, I won’t watch you get killed.” Julie clutched her tighter.

  “Come on, this guys doesn’t stand a chance.” She couldn’t even believe herself. “Just go,” she pleaded.

  “I can’t, I won’t. . . .” The anger and tears welled in Julie’s eyes.

  Poly took in a deep breath, grabbed her by her arms, and pulled her face to face. “I won’t stand a chance with you on me like this. Just stay five feet behind me.”

  Julie nodded and took two big steps back.

  Poly pulled out her sword, a gift from Travis and the finest blade she had ever seen. Max’s eyes narrowed at the sight of it.

  He moved toward her and lunged at the last few feet with his sword. Poly moved to her side and struck his blade away. He offset her counter and swung the blade for her head. Poly blocked the stroke, using all her muscle to keep his blade from pushing through hers.

  “Win or lose, MM will have you.” Max pushed his blade closer to her face. “Look around, you can’t win, you’re surrounded.”

  “If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me.” Poly pushed his blade back and thrust her sword at his stomach. He moved, but not quickly enough. Her blade sliced him on his side, above his hip.

  The crowd cheered and some of the guards moved closer. Max took a step back and touched the wound with his fingertips and showed her the blood on them. Then he showed the crowd. “She drew first blood.”

  Max lowered his hand and pointed his sword at her. “Now we can have fun.”

  He swung his sword at her arm and she blocked it, while moving backward. His attacks came in all directions, as Poly struggled to keep him at bay. She glanced back and saw the few feet she had left on the stage. He smiled and she took that moment of arrogance and thrust her sword at his lower abdomen, but he dodged it with a smile still on his face. She swung, trying to hit the kill spots on his body, and with each attempt, he blocked them.

  Breathing hard, doubt settled in; he was too fast, too powerful. Poly felt for her throwing knife at her side. She pulled it from the small slit in her clothes and held it in her hand.

  She stabbed her sword and Max moved his body sideways. She had anticipated this and used her other hand to stab the throwing blade into his shoulder. She felt the blade strike his bone, sticking in place.

  Rage filled his face as he stared at the blade. She used the moment of shock to attack, but he parried off her attacks and took two steps back. Leaving the blade in his shoulder, Max swung his sword and while she went to block it, his foot came up and kicked her in the gut, sending her falling off the back of the stage.

  The crowd thundered, booing and gasping.

  She clutched her stomach as she landed, the wind pushed from her. Her sword sailed out of her hand. With eyes watering, she tried to sit up and grab the sword lying next to her, but Max kicked it away.

  This was the end, she didn’t have a blade and he was a much better fighter. She rummaged through her pocket and held the white pill in her hand. If she was going to go out, she was going out on her terms. She put the pill in her
mouth and held it with her front teeth, thinking of Joey on the top of the roof, when he took him away from her. It was the worst part, she was breaking her promise.

  I’m sorry, Joey.

  Max didn’t notice her actions as he pulled the blade from his shoulder and jumped on top of her, straddling her with his knees. His weight pushed down on her body. She squirmed, but he held tight. She punched at his face and clawed at his eyes, but he grabbed her hands and slammed them to the ground. Hovering over her, his shoulder dripped blood onto her face. She kept her expression still and waited for her moment.

  Max leaned close to her face. “It’s over,” he said. “I don’t care if he wants you alive—”

  She spit the pill into his mouth.

  He stumbled backward and moved away from her, holding his throat. He tried to grab his neck and squeeze the pill out, but it was too late. Max raised the hand holding his sword.

  A shadow spread over him and a silhouette of a person stood on the stage above. Her eyes betrayed Travis, and Max turned at the last second to block Travis’s sword from hitting the back of his neck.

  Max stumbled back as Travis continued an assault. Poly rushed to her sword and plucked it off the ground. She flanked Max and stopped his retreat from Travis.

  Max glanced at her but kept most of his attention on Travis. He lowered his sword as the poisonous pill had started to take effect. Travis sliced his shoulder and he dropped his sword. It clanked on the hard surface and Max fell to his knees.

  Poly kneeled near him, staring at his stunned gaze. He held onto his throat and tried to mouth words, but the poison had shut his throat and was now working its way through his body. She stared at him, wanting her eyes to be the last thing he saw. He fell to the ground and stopped moving.

  The crowd cheered and pushed against the guards. The guards turned their attention to crowd control and pushed back, but the crowd had turned into a mob and started pushing back.

  She jerked at the sound, forgetting she had an audience. Julie rushed to her side and she felt her warm embrace and something more, a shield maybe. Julie sobbed in her ear and held her tight. Poly climbed to her feet with Julie’s help.

  “What took you so long?” Poly asked Travis.

  “Sorry, had a lot of stuff going on up here,” he said.

  Julie scowled at him and pulled Poly away. Poly didn’t care about Julie’s anger toward Travis. She grabbed Julie and hugged her tight.

  A strong wind blew down on them. Dust stirred up from the street and two black aircrafts with MM logos hovered above the stage. Poly grabbed her sword. If Marcus himself came out of the aircraft, she’d be ready.

  The door opened and the metal ramp lowered to the stage. Lucas stepped from the plane and searched for them. Julie waved and ran onto the stage. Lucas ran down the ramp and Julie jumped into his arms, spinning in circles as they hugged.

  Poly lowered her weapon and even the pain in her gut wouldn’t stop her from running to the stage to greet Lucas. “So happy to see you,” she said, as she snuck in a hug between him and Julie.

  “We’ve been watching you on TV,” he said. “The whole world has.”

  “Where’s Hank?” Poly asked.

  “He’s still recovering from some knockout gas. I think he’s going to be okay though.”

  Before she could ask the question, Harris spoke from the other plane. “Poly, Julie.” His grin spread across his face, as he rushed to greet them. He hugged Julie and then stopped and turned to Poly. They shared a look and then he wrapped her up in a huge embrace. The crowd cheered each hug.

  “You’ve been amazing,” Harris said. He split his looks from Julie to Poly. Then he looked past them, gaze landing on his dead brother, facial features sagging at the sight.

  A camera hummed close to them. An image of Harris projected on the wall with his name spelled out underneath. The crowd rumbled with conversations. Hundreds of eyes on them sent chills down Poly’s spine. They’d killed one, but an army of MM soldiers surrounded the place, moving as a unit toward them.

  Poly clutched Harris’s shirt and pointed to the oncoming army. Harris didn’t waste any time and grabbed Poly’s hand, yanking her in the direction of the aircraft. Before he got two steps in, an electrical bolt struck the aircraft. Another bolt hit the second craft a moment later. Both crafts stopped hovering and crashed to the stage.

  The wood stage buckled and shattered under their immense weight. The sound of cracking wood and creaking metal roared past Poly. Harris picked her up as the stage fell to the ground. Poly landed on Harris, rolled over and climbed to her feet. She searched for her friends and spotted Julie and Lucas on the ground nearby. Travis was on his feet, with Max’s sword in hand.

  “You okay?” Poly asked.

  “Yeah,” Julie said.

  The escape path for them had been eliminated. Poly searched for another way out, but she was back to the same situation as before; surrounded by MM, with no way out.

  “Get behind the craft,” Harris said.

  They ran to Lucas’s craft and crouched next to it. Harris held two guns out and Lucas brought an arrow to his bow.

  Travis stood nearby with his sword, keeping a distance from Julie’s searing gaze.

  “You think Hank’s alright?” Julie asked.

  “He’s buckled up in the cockpit, he should be fine,” Lucas said.

  Much of the stage blocked their view to the main crowd, but Poly saw the black helmets, there must have been a hundred of them closing the gap. She took her defensive stance and waited for their move. Glancing at the open door to the aircraft, she tried to see Hank in the blackness. She couldn’t find him. If they were killed, would they find him? Would they kill a man in a stupor? She had to concentrate on defending the craft, she wouldn’t let them get to him.

  Screams. Not the type she’d heard from horror movies, but the type heard from battle cries. The cameras zoomed away from them and faced the crowd behind the stage. The battle cry turned into a yelling and clattering of metal, and grunts of men—a total melee of sound.

  Gunshots popped and the crowd became a deafening roar. The black helmets disappeared into a mixture of hair and hats. It became a blur. She wanted to get closer, if they were fighting off MM, she needed to help.

  “Something’s going on,” Poly said.

  “A riot,” Travis said. “And it’s about damned time.”

  Poly gave him a questioning look. She climbed to the door of the craft and lifted herself high enough to see the immense crowd. She couldn’t believe what she was witnessing. The crowd was fighting the soldiers. Angry faces punched black helmets, rocks pelted body armor. The city finally had enough of MM, they had finally turned. Was she the last straw, the spark?

  She didn’t have time for arrogant thoughts. A man was getting beat over his head with a baton from an MM soldier.

  “We need to help,” Poly said jumping from the craft and running toward the riot.

  “No,” Harris warned.

  She felt his hand grab her arm, so she slipped from his grip and jumped to the top of the partially collapsed stage to join the fight. Pausing on the platform, she looked for her first victim. Sword in hand, blood on her face, full of rage, the crowd quieted. They were watching her. She raised her sword and screamed. The crowd exploded into their own battle cries and the remaining guards were swallowed into the crowd.

  She spotted men in black clothing at the feet of the mob, and then they were gone. She had no target, nothing to kill. Her heart pounded in her chest and every muscle in her body tensed. In this state, she should have noticed the one man not cheering her name.

  JULIE SCANNED HER PANAVICE FOR any nearby threats, but there was too much going on around her. Ten thousand Panas were close by. She watched as Poly jumped from the craft and ran to the stage. That fool of a girl didn’t know when to stop. Poly dodged Harris’s attempt to grab her and she jumped on the stage.

  Julie ran and stopped behind her. Poly stood on a small section of the sta
ge and screamed with her sword held high. Julie had been trying to understand this new Poly for the last week, besides whatever Travis had given her. She knew something broke internally when Joey was taken from them. She seemed heavier, darker now. The Poly of Preston would have never been able to take on a man like Max and kill him.

  She stared at Poly with her sword held high, the sunlight cast a shadow that Julie stood in and it gave Poly a mystical silhouette. The crowd screamed her name. They fought for her. Julie felt tears in her eyes for Poly, she saved them from Max, and Julie hoped she never again had to watch her friend in a battle to the death. Her hands still shook as she looked at her Panavice.

  Setting it to alert her of all MM presences, she was happy to see all the red dots moving away. Except one. There was one red dot at the edge of the crowd, Julie ran to the end of the stage to see the person. Only a solid line of plain-clothed men and women, some bloody and tattered, made up the front row. She scanned the faces and no one looked out of place. The MM soldier should be right there.

  “Poly!” Julie yelled.

  Poly didn’t respond, the crowd’s roar drowned her out.

  “Poly!” Julie screamed, but Poly couldn’t hear her.

  Julie grabbed Harris and shoved her Panavice in his face. “Someone’s out there,” she said in his ear. He nodded his head and climbed up the stage, just as Poly jumped to the road on the other side. Harris scrambled over the stage and jumped to the other side as well. Julie rushed forward to see if she could spot the sole MM soldier out there.

  Harris pulled at Poly, but she shot him a confused look and pulled her arm away. The crowd began to chant Harris’s name, mixed with yells for Poly. A man in a large orange jacket didn’t cheer, Julie’s eyes went wide when she spotted him.

  “Lucas, push me over.”

  He hesitated.

  “Now!”

  Lucas grabbed her foot and she lifted herself over the broken stage and landed hard on the asphalt. She felt a twinge in her ankle. Poly walked in front of the crowd, in the direction of orange-jacketed man. Harris glanced at Julie and she pointed at the orange man. Harris ran toward Poly, but he had fifty feet before he got to her.