The Good Death Box Set: A Hard SciFi Science Fiction Series Read online

  Contents

  The Good Death

  Special Offer!

  Rights & Disclaimer

  Dedication

  Lazarus Suspended

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  Andromeda Act

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Pandora Man

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Parthenon Unleashed

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Poseidon Gates

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  One More Thing

  About Doug McGovern

  THE GOOD DEATH BOX SET

  Books 1-5:

  Lazarus Suspended

  Andromeda Act

  Pandora Man

  Parthenon Unleashed

  Poseidon Gates

  By

  Doug McGovern

  A Special Offer!

  To receive updates & special offers on my books, please sign up for my newsletter by CLICKING HERE! I’ll also tell you more about joining my Street Team, through which you can receive FREE COPIES of my books in return for honest reviews! PLUS, you’ll receive a FREE novella-length Prequel to the series just for signing up! It’ll be a blast!

  Rights & Disclaimer

  This is entirely a work of fiction. All people, places and events contained have been completely fabricated by the author. Any similarities to real people, places, or events are completely coincidental.

  The Good Death Copyright © 2016 Doug McGovern

  http://www.Facebook.com/AuthorDougMcG

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any manner or used in any way without advanced written permission by the author.

  Dedication

  This book is for everybody who had anything to do with this series, from editors to readers. Thank you for the support.

  THE GOOD DEATH

  Book 1:

  Lazarus Suspended

  By

  Doug McGovern

  Prologue

  When his vision finally refocused itself, Dr. Lucien Kingsley found himself looking up toward the muddy waters of the Red River. Confused, he looked down and saw the blue and cloud-spattered sky. A strong wind whipped across his face.

  Am I... hanging from something? he thought. What the hell?

  Being spun upside down had done more that change Kingsley’s literal point of view. The good doctor now realized that he was probably in over his head.

  He coughed and struggled against the seatbelt of his sleek black Maserati, which was now perched precariously over the lazy waters below. He’d always found seat belts a bit irritating, especially in a sports car, but now he couldn’t complain. The belt had saved his life, despite knifing into his stomach as gravity had its way with him.

  Kingsley laughed hysterically at his predicament, trying not to look down at the river. But when you’re hanging head first, that’s like trying not to breathe.

  As he struggled with the belt he replayed in his mind the events of the last few minutes: He had careened off the side of the Long-Allen Bridge in Shreveport, Louisiana, though it wasn’t quite clear exactly how. The only thing holding him and his to this bridge was Harrison Kelley’s heel, pressed solidly on the back bumper of Kingsley’s Maserati.

  “Yo! Hey, Superman! Seriously, buddy, can you pull me up?” Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? Kingsley held his breath, hoping for an answer that wouldn’t come.

  Harrison Kelley was a zombified hulk after what Lucien had done to him. A terrible procedure gone wrong in so many ways...

  “Kelley! C’mon, man! Let me make it up to you! I can fix this!”

  Kingsley slowly realized he was a fool to try and reason with this walking dead man. Then again, maybe he was a fool in every sense. He got by on bought friendships and bad-faith loans, along with a toxic mix of bullying and greasy charm. That was how he came to his current state, dangling over the river and begging a lobotomized ogre for help.

  “Seriously? You’re going to hold a grudge against me?! I was trying to put you out of your misery, man! Lou Gehrig’s is one hell of a disease! Is it my fault that your crazy broad wife hooked me up with bad pharma? God, I wish
you would say something!” The car creaked and swayed. Was the brainless giant moving his foot?

  “Okay, so yeah, I admit you are stuck in some kind of sleepwalking state, but you’re all better now!” Kingsley was really starting to panic now. He felt the car begin to slip, and the wind picked up over the waters. “Look at you! You’re like super-human strong! Kelley? Come on…”

  Kelley tilted his fat head to the side. Insidious eyes flickered blackly in his dark sockets. Now he really did begin to ease his heel off the bumper. The Maserati pitched forward.

  “Oh! Oh God!” Kingsley’s heart was pounding in his ears. Had he begun to fall yet? Was he already dead? It was all a blur. Fear had overthrown his perceptions.

  And for the first time in his life, he sincerely regretted his choices.

  *****

  Chapter 1

  A few days before Dr. Kingsley found himself dangling over the river, he was disrupting the quiet, dark rooms of Caddo Vitality Care with his drunken raving. Sleep is a desperate effort in a medical center, the Critical Care Unit in particular, and the loud talk between the doctor and the young nurse, along with the clatter of displaced utensils had just jarred many sick individuals awake.

  “For God’s sake, Lucien! Did you ever think that maybe it’s not just your job that’s on the line? This is my ward too you know!” The young woman was half-shouting, half-whispering at Kingsley. “

  “Me and Dex and Lindsey! We all get hauled in if you keep this up!” Her voice was tinged with despair. An edgy crash victim sucked his tubes too deeply into his nostrils. His hair stood on end as he watched the nurse deflect Dr. Kingsley’s fist with a plastic tray as she fell backward, sliding a bit on the cold linoleum. A long strain of colorful words followed.

  Dr. Kingsley dramatically slammed his hands on one of the counters. Syringes went rolling into the hall. The young nurse lifted herself up. The coast was clear for the moment.

  “What part of ‘I am the boss’ don’t you get, Jane?” Dr. Kinglsey spat and knocked a cylinder off the table. A drowning rescue child woke up then and wailed in terror.

  “You want to be the boss? Okay, so start acting like the supervising doctor of the freakin’ CCU, you drunk pig!” cried Jane, really shouting now.

  Jane Lewis was the only RN brave enough to stand up to their crazy drunk doctor. Some of the other aspiring medics were scared for her, but they all admired her will. She jabbed a finger in the doctor’s face, teeth barred.

  “I could have pressed charges against you 20 times for all this physical abuse! Only reason I haven’t is to spare the struggling reputation of this hospital! I’m a sucker for it too! If the word ever gets out? If people really knew what went on here after dark, with the smashing and the constant ‘accidents’ you have?! It’s not just your career, you callous pig! My job, my whole future, is on the line! One day I will be a doctor myself and take my rightful place at the steering wheel. Then I’ll see you behind bars!”

  She waved her finger in Kinglsey’s face. Clucked her tongue at him. He shoved her and she went sailing into one of the X-Ray machines.

  “Malpractice! I’ll give you malpractice!” Dr. Kingsley raved. This was the third night in a row.

  Finally the janitor, Quinton Brown, who had been watching from the adjacent corridor, could take no more of it. He swung his mop heavily against the Doctor’s back.

  Kingsley spun around, eyes bugging out like a jacked up race horse.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” he spat.

  Quinton shrugged.

  “Sue me. I’m old and tired and I mop up your trash for peanuts. You touch the girl again and I’ll kill you. Then I’ll go to prison and serve a life sentence. At my age, that’s probably like 5-6 years tops. Besides, they have MTV in lock-up, shop class, and hot entrees. It’d be a dream compared to this shit.”

  “Or I could kill you, old stupid—”

  Kingsley didn’t finish his sentence. Quinton brought the broom handle across his nose.

  “You want to go run the roads?” growled Quinton. “Party like it’s 1999? Get your stuff, Junkyard. Then you better make tracks. I don’t want to see your pasty face in my hospital until it’s time to punch in 6:30 pm tomorrow night. Got it?”

  Grumbling and cupping his bloody nose with both hands, Kingsley made tracks.

  “Oh my God! Jane!” Her friend Dexter came running from down the hall once Kingsley was out of sight, his eyes the size of a Chinese goldfish’s.

  Jane was sprawled on the floor under the X-Ray machine. Blood was pouring from her bottom lip. Her short blonde hair stood on ends where she’d been electrocuted by the equipment.

  “Eh, well if I’m going to be battered by my boss, at least I get to be in the hospital, right?” Jane’s eyes floated in her head as Dexter eased her to her feet.

  “To hell with the hospital, honey. You should press charges.” Quinton’s lips were a solid line.

  Jane’s head rolled on her neck. She looked from Quinton to Dexter and then back at Quinton.

  “What am I going to do, huh? Shreveport’s sold on this ‘Doctor Cassanova.’ The newspaper, the police officers— hell, the freaking DHS. He buys them all drinks. Drinks buy friends. Well, if you wanna call them friends. Forget the Labor Act, Quin. Even the Feds couldn’t help me now.”

  Lindsey came running then, shoes in hand so her quick steps wouldn’t further disturb the patients. Her mascara was streaming down her face. This was the one night that she’d watched Jane get smacked around and had also forgotten to apply her waterproof makeup. She’d been bawling her eyes out in the break room for half an hour.

  “This isn’t the only hospital in Louisiana!” said Lindsey. “Transfer! Heck, you’ve got the skills. They’d hire you anywhere. Head to New Orleans! Convince your Granny to move back to the Ozarks with you!” Lindsey waved her arms about her head, teeth grit.

  Just then Jane heard the little girl, Mandy, crying in her room. Jane’s face twisted in disgusted agony. The look in her eyes told the others the real reason why Jane was loathe to leave this place.

  “Mandy! It’s okay! Do you need more drip? Honey, remember I told you to press your buzzer when you needed it.” Jane ran into the room, daubing the blood off her lip with her thumb.

  The little girl sat up in bed, dangling her IV along the wall. She was shaking, terrified.

  “Jane! He hurt you! Jane!” She shook her head wildly and bounced in her sheets.

  “Oh? Baby, I’m okay. It takes more than grouchy Dr. Kingsley to bring me down.”

  The little girl grabbed Jane around the waist.

  “Will he hurt me too?” She asked, looking up into Jane’s eyes.

  Lindsey felt the tears breaking free again as Jane swallowed a stony lump in her throat.

  “No, ma’am. He’s got to go through me first.”

  Lindsey, Jane, Quinton, and Dexter gathered in the coffee lounge a minute later to dress Jane’s lip. It had needed stitches.

  “So, if you can’t leave… What’s to be done? This can’t keep happening!” said Quinton, clutching his coffee mug as if he feared it would dissipate.

  Jane shrugged.

  “How about we blackmail him?” said Lindsey. “Get him pinned in a corner where it’s obvious he’s really done something big and nobody can deny it even if he won’t fess up?”

  “Works for me!” Dexter gasped, handing her a cooling pad to press against her face.

  Lindsey wiped her eyes with a Kleenex and finished bandaging Jane’s electrically burned fingers.

  “It’s a good idea theoretically. How do we pull it off?”

  Unbeknownst to them, the Fates had smiled upon their plight. Tonight the miserable Dr. Kingsley would drive the last few nails into his own coffin. The four of them would get their chance for revenge sooner than they dared to hope.

  *****

  Dr. Kingsley’s Maserati plowed over sidewalks as he made his way into Bossier City. People leaped out of his way, startled from their sleep
y ambling by the blare of the doctor’s horn.

  He was seething as he stumbled through the revolving door of the new club on Benton, tucked in the old brick building that used to be the crowd-favorite pizzeria. Black Magic Temple was not his regular haunt. But maybe here he’d escape some of the fireworks his lifestyle had set off. He was already buzzed, high on a few prescription medications he’d helped himself to and at least a fifth of a fifth of Jack.

  Jane’s guts had made her speech inarguable. He couldn’t get around the truth in her words. He had been sued three times in the last three months for malpractice. That’s once a month. All were relatively serious cases, too. The state government was starting to raise their eyebrows at his method of medicine.

  He shrugged it off and clapped his hands together, ready to get his party on. Jane might be right in everything she’d said, but it didn’t mean there was a significant threat to his livelihood. He had pretty much bought off Shreveport with his Good Samaritan-flavored generosity. The drinks kept flowing at Kingsley’s table. The party never stopped if he was hosting it.

  But Jane’s voice still nagged in the back of his mind. She could have technically had him arrested and thrown into prison for aggravated assault about 20 times already. More often if they counted all the times he’d aimed for her and missed. Fear for the collateral reputation of everyone on the ward kept her closed-mouthed about her abuse. Neither could she duck out. Like a soldier reluctant to leave the battlefield, Jane was afraid to leave her beloved fellow nurses and patients alone with Kingsley’s reckless, erratic behavior.

  She’d never pressed charges… but still, people talk. Just because they were all blown half out of their wits on morphine and in critical condition didn’t mean his terrified patients left his hospital any less wise to his devices. He was unfriendable on Facebook, as far as Shreveport was concerned. Self-respecting citizens stepped around him in the supermarket. These days people only brought their loved ones to the Caddo Vitality CCU because of the highly-reputable young RN Jane Lewis.

  Jealousy is a catalyst for destruction. Dr. Kingsley was so high off on jealousy-riddled substance abuse tonight there was great doubt he’d ever come down. This would be the beginning of a new and grotesque chapter for the doctor. One he could never have foreseen.

  He blew his entire week’s salary on cards that night, playing in a smoky back room behind the bar, hardly larger than a storage closet. Frustrated, he slapped some savings bonds and even part of his IRA on the table, the other players laughing at him behind their shades and cigarettes, and, of course, lost those too. Brandishing a credit card, he headed for the bar and bought a whole round of drinks for himself.