The Belial Fall (The Belial Series Book 13)

by R. D. Brady

  “Well, that is your choice, of course. But remember, if you choose not to answer my simple little questions, I have to figure out more creative ways to make you talk.” She pulled the trigger again, and Carstairs jolted as more volts rushed through her.

  Tears streaming down his cheeks, Radcliffe pushed back from the table. “No, no. Stop!”

  Frankel’s voice was frighteningly pleasant. “I can stop, Dr. Radcliffe. But what will you do for me in exchange?”

  Radcliffe’s shoulders slumped. “I-I’ll tell you.”

  Frankel smiled as she pushed a legal pad and pen toward him. “Excellent.”

  CHAPTER 89

  Shremp stared at the list in front of him. The doctor’s handwriting was difficult to make out, and to be perfectly honest, he wasn’t sure half these words were real. But if they were . . .

  Frankel turned from the computer with a smile. “They all check out. Everything on that list exists.”

  Shremp grinned. Finally. He’d had Frankel check each substance on the list just to be sure the doctor hadn’t been lying to them. Not that he’d really thought he was. The man was too terrified to lie to them.

  “Send that list to this address.” He scribbled an email address on the top of the legal pad and handed it to her.

  Frankel turned back to the computer. A few keystrokes later, and she turned back. “Done.”

  He smiled. “You did well. I didn’t think he was going to tell us anything.”

  “Psychological profiles always help. His protective nature was the key. I had heard how close he was with the people in the Chandler Group and that he may have helped McPhearson when she was on the run. But I needed the psychiatrist to confirm it.”

  “Carstairs was a smart choice. You brought the psychiatrist in knowing that would be the case?”

  Frankel shrugged. “I played a hunch. She is known for being a fierce advocate for her patients, as well as being highly regarded. Plus, she reminds me a little of McPhearson—strong, no nonsense. If Radcliffe was going to try to protect anyone, she seemed like the most likely candidate.”

  “Speaking of Carstairs, what exactly is the plan with her?”

  “She’s in a cell down the hall. We’ll hold on to her until we are sure that Radcliffe’s formula actually works.”

  Shremp nodded. “Good. And then what do we do with her?”

  “Depends.” Frankel met his gaze. “Do you want anyone here to tell the world what happened here?”

  Shremp didn’t hesitate and didn’t pull his gaze. “No.”

  Frankel nodded. “Then we’ll make sure no one hears from her. And we’ll do the same for Radcliffe.”

  “I knew you were perfect for this job.” He stood. “I’m heading back to D.C. You have everything handled here?”

  “Yes, Senator. You have nothing to worry about.”

  He turned for the door. Nothing to worry about and everything to hope for. You’re welcome, United States. I have just made sure you remain the greatest country on the planet.

  CHAPTER 90

  All three rows of the Suburban were filled with Chandler and SIA operatives. Laney and Cleo sat in the last row. With Laney’s face being so well known and Cleo being Cleo, it made more sense for both of them to be in the back of the darkened van rather than up front where a random person driving by might see them. She absentmindedly ran a hand through Cleo’s fur while she thought of Dom.

  When she’d met him years ago, he’d been the stereotypical absent-minded professor. His brain raced with so many thoughts that the everyday aspects of life often fell through the cracks. He almost always had the buttons on his sweater-vest and oxford mismatched. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him when his glasses weren’t sitting at a slight angle, with his hair some sort of wild halo around his face. But none of that mattered. Dom was a good man, a good friend. When Laney had gone on the run, he’d helped her. She had trusted him, and he had paid her back by keeping her secret.

  And now, his trust in me is why he is in this situation. She had known when she’d asked Dom to make the Omni for her that she was putting him in danger. But she never thought it would come to this. She never thought it would be her government that would take him. She rolled her hand into a fist. And I left him alone.

  Guilt rolled through her. She had left him on his own. She should have warned Henry or Jake. Told them the government might target him. But she had never honestly thought they would.

  God, I was so stupid, so naive.

  Cleo huffed as she lay half on the floor and half on the bench next to her. She watched the traffic go by on the highway outside the window. A minivan pulled up next to them. Cleo’s head perked up. She leaned her snout against the black glass, leaving a ring of condensation as she exhaled. There was a little kid in the back of the minivan eating goldfish from a snack cup. Cleo stared at him, willing him to look her way.

  Laney patted Cleo’s back. “He can’t see you, honey.”

  Cleo sighed as the minivan pulled away without the child even glancing over.

  Mustafa turned from the row in front of her. “She likes kids, huh?”

  “Loves them. Honestly, her idea of heaven would be a schoolyard at an elementary school during recess.”

  “I wish she could do that.”

  “Me too.”

  Mustafa paused. “We’ll get him back, Laney.”

  “Yes, we will,” she said, looking back out the window. She knew Mustafa was right. They would get him back. The real question was what kind of shape would he be in when they got him back?

  Jake pulled off the exit, then made two turns before pulling to a stop behind a foreclosed restaurant. The second SUV pulled in as well. Everyone piled out. Jake went to the back of the van. Pulling the doors open, he started handing out gear.

  “Anyone you see you assume is a bad guy. Tasers and non-lethal force unless there is absolutely no other option. We do not want the government to tag us any more than they have to for this.”

  Laney met Jake’s gaze. It probably wouldn’t matter if they walked in without hurting a soul or just blew the whole damn place up. The government was going to want their heads after this. Laney looked at Lou, Rolly, and Danny. “You guys are in and out no matter what you hear. Your job is only to get Danny to the security room, get the intel, and get right back out.”

  Rolly smiled. “We’ve got this. It’s not like it’s our first time.”

  “No, but you do tend to take side trips on these little missions,” Laney said.

  “One time,” Rolly argued.

  “More like five,” Danny grumbled.

  Rolly threw up his hands. “Fine, five times. We’ve changed.”

  Laney shook her head, catching Lou’s gaze. “In and out, Laney. I promise,” Lou said.

  Laney nodded back at her. She wanted to ask Lou if she was sure she wanted to do this. But she was here, which meant she was.

  Jake closed the back of the SUV. “All right, everyone put your earpieces in. From this point forward, we are on mission. The facility is only ten minutes from here. Does everyone know their role?”

  Everyone nodded back at him. Cleo sat on the ground, leaning against Laney. Laney placed her hand on Cleo’s head, needing the extra contact.

  Jake’s gaze scanned the group in its entirety before he nodded. “Good. Then let’s load up and go get Dom.”

  CHAPTER 91

  The plan was to hit the facility before they even realized they were at the gate. Jen, Matt, and Hanz lined up next to Laney down the street from the facility. The SUVs were running behind them, everyone inside them. Matt nodded. “Ready.”

  “Then let’s go.” Laney sprinted forward, reveling in the strength that flowed through her limbs as her legs ate up the distance. In a blur, the four of them crashed into the gate, sending it flying. Matt and Hanz stopped momentarily to handle the guards at the gate, but Laney and Jen didn’t. They blurred toward the main building. Two guards whirled around, their eyes widening at the gate and
the sound of two SUVs racing down the drive.

  Laney slammed into one, sending him crashing into the wall. Jen grabbed a leg of the other, yanking him off his feet. Neither man even had time to scream before they were out cold. Neither Laney nor Jen paused, they just burst through the open door. Laney didn’t look back. Their job was to get inside. Those coming after them would take care of restraining whomever they came across.

  A man in fatigues rounded a corner, a sandwich in his hand. Jen flew toward him, her knee catching him in the groin so hard that even Laney winced. An uppercut to the jaw sent him falling to the floor.

  Rows and rows of towering shelves filled with files greeted them. Outside, one of the SUVs halted, and running feet sounded behind her.

  “I’ll take the upstairs,” Jen said.

  “Try not to make the next guy incapable of reproducing.”

  “I make no promises,” Jen said before disappearing into the aisles.

  Jake stepped through the doorway. Behind him, Matt and Hanz were tying the guards’ hands and feet with zip ties after removing their weapons. Jake stopped at her elbow, weapon in hand, scanning the room. “Well?”

  “I don’t sense any Fallen.” She frowned. “This seems like its only storage.”

  Cleo trotted up.

  Laney looked down at her. Find Dom.

  Without a word, Cleo slipped into the warehouse. Laney met Jake’s gaze.

  “After you.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Such a gentleman.”

  He chuckled. “Hey, you’re the one who heals quickly. Any gunfire, and I’m using you as my shield.”

  “You damn well better,” Laney said as she headed inside. “I’m going to run some laps.”

  “Happy hunting.” Jake moved down the first aisle. Laney zipped through each aisle on the first floor. There was one guard at the back of the room. Laney knocked him against the wall. “Guard down, back of the room.”

  “On our way,” Matt said.

  Jen’s voice came through Laney’s earpiece. “Second and third floors cleared.”

  Laney, Cleo called.

  On my way. Sensing where Cleo was, she hurried to the back of the building, where Cleo sat in front of an old freight elevator. Jake was inside, examining the panel. He looked up as she arrived. “It only goes up.”

  “Let’s see about that.” She tapped her mic. “I need Danny.”

  Seconds later, Lou and Rolly appeared with Danny between them. They released him, and he stumbled, grabbing on to Rolly to keep from hitting the ground. He glared at his friends, speaking through gritted teeth. “I’m pretty sure I could have just jogged here.”

  Rolly clapped him on the shoulder. “That would have taken too long.”

  “In here, Danny,” Jake said.

  With another glare at Lou and Rolly, Danny stepped inside and studied the panel. In a few seconds, he’d pulled the face of it off. The ancient face gave way to a much sleeker control panel underneath. Danny pulled that face off as well and started attaching wires. “This definitely goes down.”

  “We need a breach team,” Jake said into his mic.

  Matt and Hanz arrived along with Yoni, Jen, and Jordan. They all loaded into the elevator, including Cleo.

  Laney turned to the teenagers. “When we give the all-clear, you grab whatever tapes you can find and get back to the vans. Right now, you stay against the wall. Your job is to keep Danny safe, understood?”

  Rolly snapped his heels together and initiated a crisp salute. “Yes, Mein Heir.”

  Laney narrowed her eyes.

  Lou grabbed Rolly’s arm. “Ignore him. He’s an idiot. We’ll get Danny down and then out as quickly as, well, inhumanly possible.”

  “Good.” Laney turned back to the panel. “Okay, Danny, let’s see what’s underneath this place.”

  CHAPTER 92

  Heading to Bolivia

  Mary Jane looked around the plane in disbelief. She could not believe she was sitting in an old cargo plane, surrounded by people she didn’t even know a month ago, heading to some mysterious hiding spot that only Drake could get them into.

  The plane was loud. Boxes of supplies were stacked high, taking up half the plane, with small narrow paths between them. Molly was sitting with Susie in her lap, Joe and Shaun on either side. Theresa was sitting next to Molly, holding her hand.

  Cain unbuckled himself once Nyssa slipped off to sleep and walked over to Mary Jane. “How are you?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. Everything is happening so fast.”

  He gave her a sympathetic smile. “Do you still want to have our conversation?”

  Mary Jane didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

  Things were happening fast, but she needed to know why. Maybe it would help her, and more importantly, Molly, understand how they came to be here.

  Twenty minutes later, Mary Jane was still trying to accept everything he had shared during that time. “So Atlantis was real? And Lemuria too?”

  Cain nodded. “Yes. But much like the world right now, they became focused on material gains rather than spiritual ones. It led to their destruction. They didn’t listen to the warnings. They thought they were untouchable.”

  Church had been a large part of Mary Jane’s life. She had gone to Catholic school from kindergarten through high school. She’d even attended a Catholic college. That was in addition to church every weekend, Bible school, and youth group. Yet as Cain spoke, the more she struggled to comprehend. It was all so different from what she had been taught.

  She gestured around the plane. “And all this, it dates back to then?”

  “It dates back even earlier. To the very first people.”

  “Adam and Eve?”

  Cain shook his head. “They weren’t the first.” He explained about the first people arriving and being immortal. That they were led by two people, Adam and Lilith.

  “But she’s evil, isn’t she?”

  “No. In fact, she was the only one who held on to the old ways, the ways of goodness. She tried to get people to come back to the path, but they felt they knew better. And then she made us mortal.”

  Mary Jane watched Cain. It was strange. When he spoke, he made the history come alive. Almost as if he were a witness to it rather than just a teacher of it. Mary Jane shook her head, shaking off that thought. “And what about you? How did you get involved in all this?”

  “I knew Laney’s biological mother. And I tried to keep her from doing something that would result in her death.”

  Mary Jane started. “You tried to save her?”

  “Yes and no. Because by saving Victoria, I would have doomed others. But I didn’t care about that. I just wanted her to stay with me.”

  “She died?”

  “She did.” He glanced over at Nyssa and smiled.

  “And your glasses? You said you’d explain why you always wear them.”

  “I did.” He paused. “I know all of this is difficult to believe, but it is true.” He went quiet.

  She leaned forward, sensing he was worried for some reason about revealing his secret. “It’s all right. Whatever it is, it’s all right.”

  He patted her hand. “You are a good person, Mary Jane. I hope we can still be friends after I tell you. You will actually be the first person I have told this to in a very long time.”

  “I’m honored.”

  He gave her a nervous smile before picking at a loose thread in his pants. “Tell me, what do you know about Cain from the Bible?”

  She frowned. “I suppose what everyone else knows. He killed his brother, and as a result, he was punished by God to roam the Earth forever. He’s the world’s first murderer.”

  Cain nodded. “All true. Do you remember how he was supposed to bear a mark that would warn people to stay away from him, lest they suffer God’s wrath?”

  A chill slipped up her spine. He couldn’t. No. “Whoever harmed him would receive sixfold the injury they intended.”

  “Sevenfold, actuall
y.” He looked down, sliding his glasses off. “I have lived a very long time, Mary Jane. A very long time.” He looked up.

  Mary Jane gasped. His eyes were black, completely black. She inched back. “I-I don’t understand.”

  “Yes, you do. Your mind is just taking a minute to catch up with the facts. I am not a Cain. I am the Cain.”

  She stared at him, shaking her head. It wasn’t possible. Cain, if he even lived, had died thousands and thousands of years ago. There was no way the man standing in front of her was the Cain from the Bible. That man had been arrogant, selfish. He was a murderer. This man was kind, generous, considerate.

  “No. I don’t know why you think that, but you are not the Biblical Cain. You are a good man. That Cain died forever ago.”

  “You don’t believe me because you don’t want to believe me. But tell me, before your daughter, did you believe in reincarnated angels? Nephilim? Did you believe a person like Laney with all her abilities could exist? With everything you have seen, and while looking in my eyes, can you honestly say I am not telling the truth?”

  Mary Jane wanted to tell him he was wrong, mistaken. But there was no hesitation in his words. The way he spoke about history . . . “Your . . . your eyes are the mark?”

  He nodded. “It has kept me relatively safe for my life. For millennium, they were viewed as a sign of my demonic nature. Most people gave me a wide berth as a result, although a few would tempt fate, much to their detriment. As people grew more educated, as societies became more civilized, I started to hide them. But that, in my long lifespan, is a very short time period, only the last two hundred years. Before that, my eyes were a large part of my power.”

  Mary Jane could see that. Even knowing him, she felt a trickle of fear when she looked at him. As a nurse, she’d never seen anything like it. She’d never heard of anything like it. The closest medical condition she could think of was primary acquired melanosis, which caused brown spots to appear in the sclera. But this was not that. This was something unique. “You . . . you killed your brother.”