The God Complex: A Thriller by Murray McDonald Read Free Book Online

the white of their eyes, “…three!”
    Cash watched proudly as Kyle grabbed his mom to help her down the stairs as quickly as possible . He followed with Mrs. Kramer. They barely avoided a collision at the bottom of the stairs when they spun around and into the basement door, which was beneath the staircase.
    “In!” prompted Cash .
    Kyle stood back to let the ladies in first . It really isn’t the time for English gallantry thought Cash.
    “Rigs!’ shouted Cash . “We’re down!”
    “There are many more than we thought . I’ve taken six out and they’re still coming!”
    “Banksie?” called Cash, only to be met with silence.
    Rigs and the officer covering the front rushed back to the hallway. The front door buckled when the attackers unleashed a hail of bullets against the solid oak panels.
    “Basement,” Cash said, pushing the officer and Rigs into the doorway. A Surenos gang member rushed into the hallway from the back of the house, catching Cash cold and unarmed.
    The front door gave way under the unrelenting hail of bullets.
    Cash dived through the doorway, taking advantage of the startled gang member ’s lack of experience, and the gang member took the full brunt of the torrent of bullets that passed through the front door.
    Cash crashed into the officer and Rigs, sending the three of them tumbling into a heap at the bottom of the stairs.
    “Run!” screamed Sophie as the footsteps could be clearly heard racing across the corridor above them.
    A ll three rushed towards her voice and through the small doorway on the far wall.

***
    When the Surenos members filtered back out of the house, Green instructed his two colleagues, Red and Brown, to move forward with him. Green had orders to stay back until the scene was clear. Gray had already lost one operative and didn’t want to lose any more. As far as Green was aware, it wasn’t that Gray cared for them particularly. Despite their colorful and anonymous names, they were not faceless and untraceable mercenaries. Each of them was a well seasoned ex-Special Forces man with a history that could tie them back to Gray. It was only thanks to Green’s quick actions that the police hadn’t found Blue’s body at the professor’s house.
    The operatives Green had with him were perfectly capable, particularly against a couple of academics. It was a different matter against trained CIA killers. Gray’s men would stay back until all dangers were eliminated.
    “We’re going in now,” advised Green on the radio to Gray.
    “We need the flash drive and no witnesses,” Gray reminded him.
    “Understood.”
    “Two dead in the kitchen and the rest are in the basement ,” one gang member said, strutting towards Green.
    “All dead?” asked Green.
    His shrug was not the solid affirmative he had hoped for.
    “Are they dead?” he repeated.
    “I don’t know,” replied the Surenos boss, his face exploding to mush before Green’s eyes.

***
    The door thudded behind them, quickly followed by a hiss.
    “A bomb shelter?” asked the officer, looking around the small room that was stacked floor to ceiling with dry goods and water bottles.
    Cash nodded . “The Chief was a bit of a prepper. He liked to know he could protect his family. It’s also a great earthquake shelter, which is handy given the San Andreas Fault runs right beneath here.”
    Cash pushed a bag of rice to the side, revealing a gun cabinet below.
    “How did you know that was there?” asked Rigs quietly, keeping his voice almost inaudible to everyone but Cash.
    “I helped build this thing . I just hope he didn’t change the padlock code.” Cash entered the code ‘0716’.
    Sophie watched him, a look of anger flashing across her face . “So you do remember my birthday.”
    Cash shrugged . No apologies were ever going to make up for what he had done.
    A number of rifles lay wrapped in oily rags . “He was sure one day we’d all need to hunt to eat,” explained Cash, removing them one by