The Belial Stone (The Belial Series) (18 page)

CHAPTER 38

Saint Paul, MN

L
aney relayed the information she had learned from her uncle to Jake while they sat in a little bohemian coffee shop not too far from campus.

It seemed incredible.  The United States had often been belittled by other countries for its short history and lack of culture.  The U.S.’s oldest historic sites were only a couple of hundreds of years old, compared to the sites thousands of years old found around the world.

If this site truly existed, all that would change.  Even more critically, they might be able to find the missing men and Tom.  Montana could answer all of their questions.

The sky was beginning to darken with rain as they left the shop.  They decided to stay in Minnesota for the night and head to Montana the next day.  If they left now, they wouldn’t arrive until well after dark anyway.  And if Montana was as important as they thought, they were going to need to hit the ground running. 

They checked into a two-room suite at the Redfield and ate at the hotel’s restaurant downstairs.  The dining room was intimate, with fabric-covered booths, low lighting, and soft music piped in.  It was romantic and delightful.  For the first time since all this had begun, Laney felt safe, normal.

When they reached the room, Jake asked her if she wanted to join him for a workout in the gym.  

“Normally I’d say yes.  But I’m so sore, I think a workout would be torture.”

“It might help work out some of those kinks.”

“It probably would.  But I’m thinking a really hot bubble bath might be equally helpful.  And less strenuous.”

Jake looked at her for a long minute.  “Maybe I'll skip my workout.  I don’t like the idea of you being alone.”

“Jake, you’ll be one floor down.  I promise to yell really loud if any one breaks in the room.”

“No.  I’ll stay.  Maybe we’ll rent a movie.”

At dinner, Laney had felt relaxed, but Jake had been like a coiled spring.  He needed to work off some of that energy.   She put her hand on his arm.   “How about a compromise?  A quick work-out and then a movie?

He smiled, taking out the key card.  “Deal.

Before he could insert it, the door to their room swung open, a gun extending from the dark.  Grabbing the gun barrel, Jake slammed the gunman’s hand against the door frame before launching himself at the attacker.  The men crashed to the floor, the door swinging shut behind them.

It happened so fast Laney couldn’t even be sure the shooter had been male.  She reached for the door handle to help when the door to the room next to her flew open.  A second gunman.  She aimed a sidekick for his stomach.  He dodged the kick, grabbing her ankle and yanking her towards him, into the other room.  She grabbed the gun with both hands, hopping as she balanced on one leg.  She threw a right elbow at his chin.

He grunted and dropped her leg.  He drew back to throw a punch, but she twisted out of the way, taking his gun hand with her.  He yelped as his finger got pinned next to the trigger.

Forcefully twisting the gun from his hand, he screamed as his finger broke.  Unfortunately, she yanked too hard and the gun went flying from her grasp, hitting the far wall.  She turned to run for it, but was yanked back by the waist.  She threw her head back
, catching him under the chin.

“Bitch!"

He threw her away from him and she crashed into the desk.  Paper, pens, the phone all crashed to the floor with her.  He ran at her.  She rolled to her feet, sidestepped his rush and aimed a round kick for his knee. It buckled and she caught a reflection on his belt from the moonlight streaming in through the window.  She reached down and yanked the knife from his belt. 

She sliced up in an arc starting at his waist and diagonally across his chest.  He screamed and tried to grab her.  She dodged his hands, bringing the knife around again and sliced across his neck.  Blood poured from the wound.  She stopped, staring in horror
at the damage she’d inflicted.

The man turned, blood gurgling from his neck and mouth.  He grabbed onto her, falling forward.  They fell backwards, his blood now dripping onto her chest, neck and face.  With a scream, she shoved him off her. 

Scrambling quickly back from the body, she crashed into the wall behind her.  She watched the man writhe, and then just as quickly become still. 

Shaking, she stared at him, unable to believe what had just happened.  She had just killed him.  She hadn’t hesitated.  Hadn’t had any qualms about the actions.  Was this who she’d become?  Someone who could kill without thought?

Her head jerked up.  What if he was one of them?

Heart pounding, she ran for the gun, lying beneath the window.  She grabbed it and trained it on the man.  She moved closer.  He didn't move, not even his chest.  She leaned down and quickly checked for a pulse.  He was gone.

She fell back from the body, all her energy seeming to drain from her.  “Not a superhuman,” she whispered.

CHAPTER 39

J
ake slammed the man’s head into the floor.  Then, wrapping his right hand around the man’s forehead, his left around the back, he twisted.  The man’s neck broke and he went limp.  He leapt from the body, and grabbing the gun that had been lost in the tussle, threw open the door.

“Laney!” He yelled.  The hallway was empty.  Where had she gone?  Did she go get help?

He ran down to the end of the hall and then back.  She wasn’t there.  Fear enveloped him. Where was she? 

A noise from the room next to theirs had him bringing his weapon up.  The door next to their room opened and Jake watched in stunned disbelief as Laney stepped out, covered from the waist up in blood.  He quickly lowered his gun, walking towards her.  “Laney?  Are you hurt?”

She didn’t say anything, just stepped back to let him in.

His gun drawn, he stepped in.  The room was a wreck.  He stepped closer to the body next to the bed.  The man was gone.  Blood soaked into the carpet around him.  He leaned down anyway to check for a pulse.  There wasn’t one.

He turned back to her.  “Laney?”

Her eyes met his.  “He’s not a superhuman.” 

His head jerked back in surprise.  He hadn’t even thought about that.  But she was right.  Neither of the attackers was a superhuman.  So who were they and how did they fit in with this whole mess?

“Mine, either.”

“Is he dead, too?” she asked, her voice quiet.

He nodded and a tear rolled down her cheek.  And then she began to shake and her legs gave out.

Jake grabbed her before she could hit the floor.  He pulled her into his arms.  She didn’t resist.  “I’ve got you, honey.  I’ve got you.”

He carried her out of the room, cursing whoever was putting her through this again.

CHAPTER 40

“S
o silver lining, they weren’t superhumans,” Jake said as he walked with Laney down to their new room ninety minutes later.  He couldn’t say angels.  He might have accepted that reality in his mind, but he was not ready to say the word out loud.

A hotel manager had offered them the use of a different room to get cleaned up in and to comp their room.  He’d apologized profusely for the incident.  The man was probably more concerned about them potentially suing the Redfield.   Jake took pity on the poor man and assured him that they did not hold the hotel to blame in any way for the attack. 

The police had a mobile fingerprint scanner and the results had come in almost immediately.  Both assailants were Russian nationals who were wanted in a string of countries for various violent acts.  Reading through the lines, Jake knew what they were - assassins. 

Jake gestured to room 209 down the hall.  Laney walked towards it without comment.  He was worried.  She hadn’t said a word since the attack, except to answer the police’s questions.  She seemed to have shut down. 

Jake opened the door and let her walk in first.  “We’ll get cleaned up and then leave for the airport in a few hours.”

She looked back at him.  “The police don’t need us to stay in town?”

Inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief that she was at least speaking.  “No.  Henry gave them a call and smoothed the waters.  He assured them we’d return if necessary.”               

He placed her bag on the couch.  Before they’d changed rooms, he’d collected her stuff, not wanting her to have to face the evidence of violence in the other suite.  He watched with concern as she gathered it from the couch.  Once again silent, she carried it into one of the bedrooms and closed the door behind her.

He didn’t like her silence or the stiffness in her posture.  But he was at a loss as to what he could do to help her.  He was used to violent confrontation, and providing comfort generally did not come with the territory.  He found himself now in the uncomfortable position of wanting to offer that comfort and having absolutely no idea how to accomplish it. 

CHAPTER 41

Baltimore, MD

H
enry stood staring out his office window.  The sun was just beginning to peek out over the hills.  He normally loved this time of day.  Watching the sunrise gave him a sense of calm and peace.

Today, though, the red streaks of the sunrise seemed more like an angry warning than a peaceful omen.   And after the attack on Laney and Jake last night, he had a feeling that things were going to start getting a lot more dangerous for all of them. 

But at least they seemed to finally be making some headway in this case.  After Patrick had relayed the information that Jake and Laney had gathered from the University of Saint Paul, Danny had run a search for connections between Montana, AFP, and Priddle.  And they’d hit pay dirt.  Unsurprisingly, AFP was a strong supporter of Montana Senator Robert Kensington.

What was surprising, however, was that Kensington had purchased, through a number of shell companies, a 300-acre ranch a few miles outside of Havre, Montana about a year ago, just before all the men began to go missing.  Henry had contacted an operative on the West Coast last night to check it out and to meet up with Jake and Laney when they arrived in Montana later this morning.   

He pulled his gaze from the sky when the door to his office opened.  Patrick walked in with a handful of printouts and a plate of donuts.  Haggard lines circled the priest’s eyes.  His walk seemed slower, as if his body had somehow aged overnight.   

The day before, Patrick had made Henry promise that he would be told if there was any threat to Laney, no matter the time, day or night.  After Henry had received Jake’s call last night and spoken with the Saint Paul P.D., he’d kept his word.  Waking Patrick, he’d watched the anguish cut across the priest's face at the news.  And he’d known there was nothing he could do to ease the man’s suffering, or his own. 

So the two men had headed to the main building to continue working on the case.  Patrick was looking for more information on the Belial Stone and Henry was reviewing all the information on AFP and their Montana connections.

Danny had joined them about an hour ago.  They were making some progress tying AFP and Kensington more strongly to the missing men, although there still wasn’t enough to bring the information to the authorities.  And you didn’t go up against a United States Senator without an iron-clad case.

Henry watched Patrick take a seat at the conference table next to Danny and place a donut in front of him.  Danny grinned his thanks.  Henry smiled at the unlikely friendship that seemed to be building between the two. 

A dark shape in the sky drew his attention back to the window.  He frowned.  The Chandler helicopter was back at Essex Skypark for repairs and there were no scheduled flights for this morning. 

He crossed to his desk and retrieved the binoculars he kept in the bottom drawer.  Returning to the window, he noticed that the helicopter had drawn nearer and seemed to be heading in the direction of the helipad on the east lawn. 

He tried to make out the call signs on the helicopter.  A chill went through him.  The numbers had been covered up. 

He pulled out his phone and dialed his head of Security, Kevin Chung.  “Kevin, are you seeing this?”

“We’ve been monitoring the flight.  The helo was heading around the estate and then made a beeline towards us.  There are no identifying marks on the bird.  We’ve tried to hail them.  No joy.  I have a security detail heading over to it as we speak and I’m heading over to you.”

“Okay.  And make sure any staff on Sharecroppers Lane is moved to a secure location.  I hope this is nothing.   If it isn’t, I need them safe.”

“Already have a team working on it, sir.  See you in five.” Kevin hung up. 

Henry turned to Patrick, who’d come to stand next to him at the window. 

“Problem?”  Patrick asked.

He handed him the binoculars.  “I’m not sure.  I’m probably just being paranoid, but we have no scheduled incomings.  Hopefully, somebody’s just lost.”

The helicopter was only about four hundred yards away.  “It doesn’t have any call signs,” Patrick said.  “And it’s landing.”

Henry and Patrick watched the Jeep Cherokee with the security detail drive across the lawn, a hundred yards from the helicopter. 

The side of the helicopter slid open.  A man aimed a surface-to-air missile at the Cherokee and fired.  The impact flipped the Jeep into the air.  It crashed back to earth, a flaming ball of metal.