The Belial Stone(53)

“What is this?” Kensington demanded. “Does it tell you where one of the stones is?”

“Uh, no. Not yet.”

At Kensington’s glare, Priddle continued, a tremor in his voice. “It does, however, tell us that the people who built the site are familiar with the Belial Stone and have used it. It’s only a matter of time before we find one.”

Kensington nodded. “How much time?”

Priddle looked uneasily around the room. “I’m not sure. It’s not clear at this point where the stone will be found. But we are making good progress. You realize, of course, that the cold weather will be upon us soon and we'll have to shut down for the winter. The ground will be too hard to dig through.”

“Can’t we just bring in some earth movers? Wouldn’t that speed up the project?”

Priddle cringed. “That’s not a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“For two reasons. First, the structures are all incredibly close to the surface. Over time, the ground above them has been eroded by wind and rain. That’s the reason the first monolith was uncovered. Left alone, most of the structures would have probably been uncovered naturally in another hundred years or so. Second, the structures are simply too close together. If we use an earth mover, we risk damaging the monoliths.”

“So?” Kensington asked.

“We, also, might lose a Belial Stone in the process or worse, destroy it. We don’t know if one became dislodged over the years. By using the earth movers, we could miss it.”

Kensington grunted. “Fine. But I expect you to increase the pace before winter. I want more than pretty pictures of a Belial Stone, Professor. I want a stone.”

“Sir, the men are working around the clock as is. Perhaps if we had more men to dig…”

Kensington looked up and caught Priddle’s eyes. The academic quickly looked away.

“Very well,” Kensington replied. “I will get you more men. But you had better get me results.”

“Yes, sir. Of course. I’m sure we’re very close.”

Kensington grunted again and waved him out of the room. Priddle glanced at Gideon, who had moved to the couch along the back of the room.

Gideon merely raised his eyebrows and tilted his head towards the door. Priddle turned. Tripping on his untied shoelaces, he caught himself on the doorjamb before stumbling from the room.

With a look of disgust at the doorway, Kensington turned his attention to Gideon. “That man is a cockroach.”

Gideon sighed. “True, but he is a useful cockroach.”

Kensington’s gaze returned to the photos on his desk. “Can you get more men?”

“More men are never a problem. The problem, however, will be when winter moves in. The professor is right about the timetable. We have another month, maybe, before winter moves in. Then you’ll have about 200 or 300 men and nothing for them to do.”

Kensington sighed. “Well, we’ll just have to close up shop and start again in the spring.”

Gideon looked at him for a long moment. He knew what the Senator was really saying. But he got a perverse pleasure from making the man spell it out. “And the men?”

“They’ll have served their purpose and provided a valuable service to this country. Once we have the stone, they will have helped forge a stronger United States.” Kensington leaned back in his chair, his hands across his chest. “Their sacrifice will be remembered.”





CHAPTER 38



Saint Paul, MN



Laney 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.