The Belial Stone (The Belial Series #1)(84)

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?”

“Arthur!”

Priddle jerked his head up to look at Kensington with barely concealed annoyance. “What?”

He gestured to the window. “The enclosure. It’s dark.”

Priddle paused in his inspection of the stone and leaned over to pull back the curtain next to him. “Huh, that’s never happened before.”

A loud popping noise came from the outside the enclosure.

Priddle frowned. “Is that a car backfiring?”

Kensington paled. “Shit! Douse the lights!” He hit the switch by the door.

“What are you doing?” Priddle shrieked.

“You idiot! That’s not a car backfiring, that’s gunfire. Someone’s attacking the site.”

Priddle paused for a moment before flinging himself to the floor. He crawled under the table and reached a hand back up, feeling around until he felt the Belial Stone. He pulled it down to him.

Kensington stumbled over to the table. He turned off the light above it before crawling underneath. “Move over!”

Priddle shifted his bulk closer to the wall as Kensington squeezed himself in, yelping as he whacked his arm against the table in his haste. Both men held their breath, waiting to see if anyone noticed them.

The sounds of gunfire seemed to recede from the trailer. “I think we could probably make a run for it,” Priddle suggested in a whisper.

Before Kensington could reply, the RV door rattled.

“Did you lock the door when you came in?” Priddle asked, his voice shaking.

Kensington looked at the door and saw the handle turn. No, he hadn’t locked it.

They waited with bated breath as the door opened. A dark figure filled the doorway. The man had a flashlight, which he used to search the corners of the trailer. The light came to rest under the table.

“My, my, my. What an unimaginative hiding spot.”

“Gideon?” Kensington asked in disbelief and then quickly changed his tone. “Thank God. The compound is under attack. Can you get us out of here?”

“Happy to see me, Robert? Why, I thought you’d be surprised, after the men you sent to my house tried to kill me.”

“What? Are you okay?” Kensington exclaimed, his words coming out in a rush as he tried to convey his sincerity. “I would never do anything like that. We’re partners, right?”

“Are we?” Gideon asked, his voice steely.

“Yes, yes, of course. In fact, I was just going to call you and tell you about the Belial Stone.” Kensington snatched the stone from Priddle’s hands. “See? We found it a short while ago.”

Gideon kept his flashlight trained on the stone while Kensington struggled to free himself from beneath the table. As he stood, he held out the stone.

Taking it, Gideon held it up so that the light from the flashlight could shine through. “It’s been so long,” he murmured.

“Now can you get us out of here?” Kensington demanded, feeling sweat begin to appear on his brow.