The Belial Stone(92)
An explosion from inside the enclosure rocked the walls. A chorus of screams rolled over them.
Laney looked at Tom and he nodded. “Sorry, Uncle Patrick. But we’re not leaving this fight.”
Laney could tell Patrick wanted to argue with her. She cut in before he had the chance to speak. “Can you get Seeley to safety?”
Patrick looked at the man on the ground and a group of Kensington’s men’s heading for one of the Suburban’s to escape. “I’ll take him to some of the men, and have them get him out of here. I’ll find you in the enclosure.”
With a nod, she and Tom turned to leave when Patrick’s words stopped her.
“Delaney McPhearson.” She turned to face him. “Don’t make me come save you again.”
“You got it, Uncle,” she said with a smile. And then with a deep breath, she and Tom sprinted for the enclosure gate.
CHAPTER 80
Henry crouched low to the ground, using some debris from one of the destroyed towers as a barrier. He’d helped clear the area of guards and was going in for one last sweep. Almost a hundred yards away, he saw a group of Kensington’s guards pulling away in a Suburban. They were too far away to reach.
He quickly made his way to his ammunition stash, hidden to the left of the enclosure entrance. He pulled out the surface to air launcher and lined the truck up in his sights as it sped from the enclosure. Pulling the trigger, he watched the plume of smoke trail the missile as it zeroed in on the truck.
The impact flipped the truck, sending it flying twenty feet into the air. It crashed down to earth in a ball of fire, just like the other surface-to-air missile had done to the Jeep at the Chandler headquarters.
“That’s for my men,” he whispered.
Dropping the empty canister, he reached for his gun. A man collapsed onto his back with a shriek. From the smell, he could tell the man was a captive, not a guard.
“Bring him over here,” another man yelled. Henry looked up to see two more inmates a few feet to his left.
Henry let the man pull him over to the other two. “Look, I’m not one of the guys who put you here. I’m one of the guys who set you free.”
“Well, right now, I don’t really care.” The man’s face had been horribly scarred from burns that looked recent. “I’m owed payback and it looks like you’re going to give it to me.”
Henry was about to reply when he was distracted by the sight of a car pulling up in front of the enclosure. The glow of the fires around the enclosure and the breaking dawn provided enough light for Henry to identify the man getting out of the car.
It was Gideon.
“Hey, man, I’m talking to you,” the inmate yelled, accentuating his point with a right hook to Henry’s ribs. Henry’s body shifted only a little with the punch, but the man now had his undivided attention.
CHAPTER 81
Jake flattened himself against the enclosure wall with an upturned sifter table in front of him for cover. He reloaded his M4. Leaning around the table, he caught sight of Yoni entering the enclosure and let loose a spray of cover fire.
Yoni sprinted across the dig site to him. He dove over the table and landed in a heap next to him.
Yoni quickly righted himself as Jake ducked back behind the table.
“So, how’s it going in here?” Yoni asked.
Jake spared him a grin. “Oh, great. We’ve got a bunch of armed ex-cons who don’t seem to realize that we’re the good guys and Kensington’s security appears to be endless. How’s it going outside?”
“Henry and Jordan did their part. They took out all the guard towers and most of the guards around the perimeter. And Patrick got to Laney and Tom.”
“Are they clear?”
“Well, they’re no longer in the cage,” Yoni replied cheerfully.
Jake groaned. “Please, tell me they’re not joining the fight.”
“What do you think?”
A string of bullets slammed into the top of table, cutting off his reply. Jake flung himself at the ground. Beside him, Yoni did the same. The barrage of bullets halted as gunfire erupted from a different direction across the enclosure.
Jake glanced out. Laney had pinned down the shooters. A slim black man rose up behind the two guards and took both of them out.
Yoni peered over his shoulder. “Personally, I’m okay with them joining the fight.”
CHAPTER 82
After the transformer blew, the enclosure was plunged into darkness. Priddle’s trailer, which ran on its own battery, stayed lit. Kensington jumped at the sound of the explosion and went to look out the trailer window.
“The enclosure’s dark.”
“Hmm?” Priddle murmured, still staring at the stone. “I can’t swear it, but I think I just saw a puff of smoke drift through the center of the stone. I wonder what that could be?”