Fury of the Six (The Preston Six Book 5) (25 page)

“I’M SORRY, BUT WE DON’T have this kind of equipment.”

“Well, you’re going to have to make it then.” Gladius crossed her arms and glared at the man holding her request and wearing a hard hat.

He glanced at the paper again and then back to her. “It’s not going to be cheap. And you really should be wearing a hard hat, miss.”

Gladius stepped forward, disregarding the idea of wearing a stupid plastic hat on her finely done hair. “Name your price.”

“She really wants these made,” Hank said.

The man rubbed the stubble on his chin and looked back at the factory behind him. Before the Cough had nearly destroyed Earth, they’d made bread there, and a few other bakery items.

“Think of the jobs,” Gladius said.

“Miss, there is nothing I’d like more than to take your money and give a go at this, but these cooking methods are new to me. I’m not even sure what some of this even does. Who made these plans for you again?”

Gladius took deep breath and thought of the factory meeting she had in Vanar with the Snackie Cakes corporation. She’d signed an agreement stating they would never make a Snackie Cake on Vanar. But they weren’t on Vanar, and she had every intention of making her damned treat if it killed her. This was the one and only thing she remembered sharing with her mom.

“I had them made,” Gladius said. “So, are we in agreement?”

He stared at the plans, turning them sideways.

“Hello?” Gladius said.

“Yes, I can do this. But it’s going—”

“I don’t ever want to hear a ‘but’ from you again. All I want to hear is ‘yes I can.’”

“Yes . . . yes, I can.”

“Good. You have three months to do it.”

“But that’s—”

“No
buts
. I don’t care if you have to bring in a city of people, employ everyone!” She pulled out her Panavice and completed the awaiting task on the screen. “I just sent the first ten million to your company’s account.”

The man shuffled his feet and looked back at the factory. “We’ll get it done.”

“I want a twenty-four hour shift, around the clock. Pay everyone double.”

“You’re going to be one popular little lady.” The man had the widest grin on his face.

“Thank you,” Hank said and shook the man’s hand. “We’ll be in touch.”

“Just get it done.” Gladius said and walked away with Hank.

When they got in their car and left the factory, Gladius wasn’t as happy as she thought she would be. The fear simmering in her stomach wasn’t diminished. It was then she knew, that the thing that kept her awake at night, needed to be addressed.

She gazed at Hank as he drove down the road and he looked back, giving her a questioning smile. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“You seem to have a lot of nothing lately. You know, I’ll make sure this factory deal goes your way, okay?”

“It’s not the factory, or even Snackie Cakes.”

“Then what is it?”

Gladius didn’t want to say anything. The remaining Six were his family and he’d die for them. Gladius thought of Poly and Julie as sisters as well, even Lucas had an appeal to him, but she hadn’t spent her whole life with them. She didn’t have the history and she thought she saw the truth better than Hank on the matter.

“I don’t think I want to live in Preston.”

“What? I thought you were totally on board.”

“I am, I am with you. It’s just, I think as long as we live here, the rest of the Six are going to keep dragging us into whatever weird crap seems to revolve around them. And I think those kids of theirs are going to double their trouble.”

“But they are my family. What about my dad?”

“He can come too. I just can’t see another person die, Hank. I don’t want to see you . . .” She couldn’t even bring herself to utter the words but she knew, if they kept on the current path, it’d only be a matter of time.

“Nothing is going to happen to me. I think that guy back there just got you going. You aren’t thinking this through.”

“No, I’ve been thinking of this for a long time. I’m not saying we lose their number or anything, maybe just take them off speed dial.”

Hank gripped the wheel and Gladius stared at the side of his head. The car’s engine shut off and slowed down. Hank took his hand off the wheel, trying to restart it, but the ignition wouldn’t work.

“Out of gas?” Gladius asked.

“I don’t know, it just died.” He pulled on the steering wheel and coasted to the shoulder. He turned the key but nothing, no click or even a turn of the engine.

“Bet it’s electrical, the battery probably became disconnected. My dad taught me about some of these ancient motors. You want to pop the hood?” Gladius said with her hand on the door.

“Look at that plane.” Hank leaned forward and looked out the windshield.

Gladius searched and spotted the plane flying low and at a steep angle. She cringed at the inevitable crash, and her heart jumped into her throat as the plane smacked into the field. It rolled and crumbled before igniting into a massive fire ball.

“What the hell is going on?” She opened the door and looked to the sky. A series of beeps blasted through the speakers of the car at maximum volume. She covered her ears as each tone blasted. “Turn it down.”

Hank fumbled with the buttons and dials. “It won’t stop.”

The radio crackled and then a clear voice came across.

Gladius stumbled out of the car and with the raging inferno of the plane crash behind her and the woman’s voice speaking out of all their devices, she knew . . . she’d have to wait a while longer to get her peace with Hank. And damn it, she just realized she wasn’t going to get her factory built anytime soon either.

Hank looked to her in a panic. “They’re here.”

The series finale
End of the Six
coming soon…

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