Free All The Beautiful People (A Dread Novel Book 1) by Jonathan Yanez Page A

the way to the end.”
    “My income for a year. I’ll need that entire amount for this one job, but…” Taylor paused to do the math. She was the only Cleaner they had left. She was the best at what they did. Wade Treadstone would give her whatever she wanted, she was sure of that. “…tripled.”
    Jason leaned away from her in shock. A look of disappointment Taylor hadn’t witnessed in years, usually coming from a parent, twisted his face. “Taylor, how could you think of money at a time like this? There are people out there dy—”
    “Done,” Wade said, a smile penetrating through the layers of worry and responsibility. “I would have given you more if you’d asked.”
    “I know,” Taylor said, “I didn’t want to take advantage of the situation.”
    Wade chuckled. He stood from his desk with a wave of his gnarled hand. “You two follow me. We have a full briefing scheduled with the Board and everyone else who is going to be part of what happens next.”
    “What is going to happen next?” Jason asked.
    Wade opened the door to his office and walked out, not looking back to confirm they would follow. “Our last best chance of beating this thing before it destroys society as we know it.”
    “Oh,” Jason said in a low tone, “is that all?”
    Taylor followed Wade and Jason through Lazarus’ massive headquarters. Compared to that morning, the place was as silent as the inside of a church. Employees moved around the steel and glass but it seemed everyone was too wrapped up in their own thoughts to talk even to one another. Where groups of two or three passed, no words were exchanged. Everyone wore the same look, one Taylor had become accustomed to seeing over the years. It was a look of dread, a look of defeat.
    Past lonely corridors, empty offices, and long halls the silence between herself and her companions lengthened. The weight of what was happening was falling on their shoulders just as it had to those Taylor saw passing. Each person was left alone to doubt and wonder.
    This was a dangerous place for Taylor. Her past haunted her like a shadow. She was hard because she had to be. Because she refused to be a statistic, she refused to be another two-minute segment on the news. She had chosen this life at an early age because of the darkness in humankind she had been exposed to through the events surrounding her friend’s kidnapping and eventual death. She had done things since then to survive and she would survive this. The past happened the only way it could. Thinking about it wouldn’t change anything. All there was, was to move on. Taylor cleared her mind of the events that made her the person she was today.
    “We’re here,” Wade said. He stopped in front of a pair of armed guards and waved his badge.
    Both guards stepped aside, allowing the group entrance to two large stainless steel doors. The gray metal doors were massive; rivets outlined the perimeter of each door like a frame expertly designed for a painting. Wade reached for a handle and hesitated. His glance back confirmed what Taylor expected. Wade had enough guilt on his plate to last a lifetime. He was trying to relieve his stressed conscious as much as he could.
    “What you are about to witness, I wouldn’t ask either of you to see if we didn’t need your help. It will be difficult to grasp. Please keep an open mind.”
    Taylor nodded, Jason licked his lips and adjusted his glasses. Wade opened the door.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 14
     
     
    The room reminded Taylor of a college lecture room. Stadium-style seating digressed into a pit where a wooden podium was placed below four large monitors.
    The lecture hall was lit with halogen lamps set deep into the vaulted ceiling. The room was already full. It was no surprise to Taylor that she didn’t recognize anyone, but Jason gave a few upward chin jerks and sad smiles to several of the room’s occupants.
    “Take a seat,” Wade said. “I’m going to start now. We