The Belial Guard (The Belial Series Book 8)

by R. D. Brady

  “I barely said a word.”

  Hanover grinned. “Like I said, you did very well.”

  Laney smiled in spite of her situation. She liked the lawyer. He had a sense of humor and wasn’t as dour as some of his companions. “So now what?”

  “Now we wait. But you need to prepare yourself: at some point you will most likely be brought in for a more formal interview.”

  “Will I be arrested?”

  “I don’t know. It’s possible. I’ve also learned that Israel has petitioned The Hague to bring charges against you.”

  Laney couldn’t have been more surprised. The Hague? That’s where the international criminal court was. She ran through the charges she could possibly face, and stopped at one phrase: crimes against humanity. Oh, the company she would keep if that charge stuck: Muammar Qaddafi, a sea of African warlords responsible for genocide… A bunch of tyrannical monsters and then me.

  “Do you think they’ll succeed?”

  “I think it’s premature. But I thought you should know.”

  “Great. Thanks.”

  Hanover stood. “I’ll contact you if anything else develops.”

  “Okay.” Laney looked down the long line of lawyers. “Thank you all.”

  They nodded back at her before heading out. Hanover paused at the door. “Dr. McPhearson, we will do our best by you. And if it’s any consolation, I don’t believe any of that report.”

  Touched, Laney nodded. “Thank you.”

  Hanover smiled before disappearing out the door.

  Laney sat in the silence of the conference room, wondering what she should do now. She should probably find Jake or Henry and let them know how the meeting had gone. But she couldn’t seem to make herself move. She just stared out the window, watching birds soar in formation through the sky, and thinking of all that had happened and all that still might.

  “There you are,” Jake said from the doorway.

  “Here I am.”

  He sat across from her. “How’d it go?”

  Laney shrugged. “I don’t really know. Hanover would have a better read. But I got the feeling they were hoping I would let something slip. Like, ‘Yes, I am the mastermind behind it all.’”

  Jake raised an eyebrow. “I’m hoping those words didn’t actually come out of your mouth while the agents were here.”

  She smiled. “No. But from their questions and looks, you’d think they had. How’s everything else going?”

  “Good.” Jake looked away.

  “What?”

  “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

  “Jake,” Laney said with a warning tone.

  He sighed. “A known terrorist was stopped at Logan’s two hours ago.”

  “He was coming for me.”

  “That’s what we think.”

  Laney closed her eyes.

  “It’s okay. He was detained. He’s being deported.”

  “But there will be others.”

  “Yes, and we’ll stop them too.”

  Laney looked into his brown eyes and knew he believed that. But she also knew there was a good chance someone would get hurt—if not killed—if they had to keep protecting her from every nut job out there.

  “Henry’s at his house,” Jake said. “He wants to discuss next steps. You ready to go over everything?”

  “Yeah. Um, actually, I just need a quick minute.”

  “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, fine.” Laney forced her tone to be light. “I just want to call Kati’s parents. They called earlier, and I haven’t had a chance to speak with them. They’re really worried about all the news coverage.”

  “I didn’t realize you kept in touch with them.”

  Laney didn’t meet his eyes. “Well, with Kati out of the picture, I told them to call if they needed anything. I speak with them about once a month.”

  “Full of surprises you are.” He squeezed her hand. “Okay. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

  She waited until he disappeared down the hallway. Then she closed the door and pulled out her phone. She stared at it for a long moment. Was she doing the right thing? Part of her was terrified of taking the next step, and the other part of her was terrified of not taking the next step.

  How did things all get so out of control?

  You went against the world’s greatest strategist and lost, a voice reminded her. Not that she needed the reminder. All Samyaza had needed to do was act like she was willing to kill people, and Laney jumped right through her hoop.

  Laney sighed. But what else could she have done? Was she supposed to have called her bluff? Because Laney knew as soon as she did that, Elisabeta would no longer bluff.

  And that’s the problem. Wherever I am, the people with me will be at risk. And I can’t chance that.

  She dialed before she could change her mind. Dom picked up on the first ring.

  “Dom, I need your help.”

  CHAPTER 103

  “So, we do know that The Hague has taken the petition, and they’re considering it,” Henry said.

  Across the table from Laney, her uncle took a sip of tea. There was the slightest tremor in his hand. His face was drawn, and he looked like he’d aged overnight. In fact, Henry and Jake weren’t exactly looking their best either.

  Not that I’m a beauty queen right now. She knew she had the same bags and dark circles under her eyes, the same pale cast to her skin. But she also knew a good night’s sleep was at some far-off point in all their futures.

  “What about the American government?” Jake asked.

  “Matt still has contacts inside the FBI,” Henry said. “He says it’s only a matter of time before they put out an arrest warrant.”

  “What will the charges be?” Patrick asked.

  “He’s not sure. It’s complicated because everything happened on foreign soil. But he believes it will be some variation on treason, or even terrorism.”

  “So now I’m a terrorist?” Laney asked quietly.

  Patrick’s eyes went wide. “If she’s a labeled a terrorist, she won’t be granted any of the protections of the Constitution.”

  “No, she won’t,” Henry said, his face serious.

  “They could have her extradited to country that allows torture.”

  Henry’s voice was grim. “Yes.”

  Patrick shook his head, his eyes wild. “No. They are not allowed to do that. After everything you’ve done, after everything you’ve lost and fought for—”

  Henry put his hand on Patrick’s. “Patrick, we won’t let that happen.”

  Tears sprang to Patrick’s eyes. “But they can’t—”

  “We’ll run if we have to,” Jake said.

  Laney’s head jerked up. “What?”

  “Henry and I discussed it,” Jake said. “If it gets to the point where we think you’re going to be railroaded, we’re going to disappear.”

  “No. Absolutely not,” Laney said.

  “Laney—” Jake began.

  Laney stood up. “No. If we all disappear, Elisabeta wins. The triad is gone. The world is unprotected. She didn’t do this just for spite. She has a plan. She needs me out of the way. You two can’t volunteer to get out of the way as well.”

  “Then I’ll go with you,” Patrick said.

  Laney wanted to cry, picturing her uncle standing between her and a United States government convinced she was enemy number one. She shook her head. “No. No—none of you are going anywhere. The best way you can help me is out in the open, not on the run.” She stepped away from the table. “This is not up for discussion. We don’t know that I’m going to be taken in anyway. We need to focus on my defense, proving to law enforcement that I wasn’t behind everything. That’s our play.”

  “We are working on that,” Henry said. “We can already demonstrate that one of the tapes was tampered with, and we’re getting statements from people involved in each of the incidents. Nana and Elena have even offered to fly up from Ecuador to testify.”

>   Laney smiled—her first genuine smile of the day—at the image of the diminutive but mighty Nana facing off against a host of government lawyers from multiple nations. “Well then, we have nothing to worry about.”

  “Laney…” Jake said.

  She shook her head. “No. It will be fine. We just need to give it time.”

  None of the men around the table looked convinced.

  “Please?” she asked. “Let’s try it my way, and then we can discuss it again if things start to look dire, okay?”

  “Okay,” Patrick said. “Whatever you want.” But she heard the subtext beneath his words:I am not letting anyone hurt you. The same message was on Jake’s and Henry’s faces even as they nodded their agreement.

  She felt tears burn the back of her eyes. “I love you. All of you.”

  Patrick started to stand to hug her, but Laney knew if he did that she would lose it, and she couldn’t afford that right now. “No,” she said quickly. “I’m all right. I’m just going to go for a walk. Clear my head.”

  “You want some company?” Jake asked.

  “No. I, um, I need to be alone for a little bit.”

  Patrick kissed her cheek. “We’ll see you later then.”

  Laney struggled to keep her face impassive as her throat tightened. “Yup. Later.”

  She turned and headed for the front door. But at the end of the hall, she stopped and looked back at Henry, Jake, and Patrick—the three most important men in the world to her.

  She took a shuddering breath. Goodbye.

  CHAPTER 104

  By the time Laney reached Dom’s place she had her emotions under control. She left her two shadows outside the shelter and made her way down through Dom’s levels of protection. Five minutes after she stepped past the first blast door, she was striding into Dom’s main living area.

  She smiled at the pictures Dom had placed in frames around the room: Lou, Rolly, Danny, herself, Jake, Henry, Patrick, Cleo. When Laney had met Dom he was a reclusive agoraphobe, but now, as evidenced by these photos, he was coming out into the world more and more, at least socially. She was hopeful that one day he might even start taking more trips up to the surface—but she knew not to hold her breath on that one.

  “Laney.” Dom stepped out of the hallway leading to his office.

  “Hey, Dom.”

  Dom was carrying a large backpack, which he set on the kitchen counter.

  “Did you have any trouble?” Laney asked.

  “No. Everything’s ready.”

  “Were you able to wire the money to that other account?”

  “Yup. And your IDs are in here as well.” Dom unzipped the bottom pocket. “But this should see you through for a while.”

  Laney’s eyes bulged as she stared at the rolls of hundreds. “Dom, that’s got to be fifty thousand dollars.”

  “Seventy-five, actually.”

  Laney shook her head. “I can’t take that. That’s yours.”

  Dom shrugged. “What am I going to use it for? It’s part of my rainy day money. I keep it down here, just in case.”

  “Dom—”

  “Laney, take it. I’ll feel better if I know you at least have some money.”

  Laney looked into Dom’s brown eyes. Fear, sadness, and concern were all reflected back at her. The catch appeared at the back of her throat again. She looked away, blinking back tears. “Thank you. Oh, and here.” She handed him five envelopes. “Give them to everybody when I’m gone, okay?”

  Dom nodded.

  “There’s one for you, too.”

  Dom took a hasty step back, cleared his throat, and placed the envelopes on the counter. She could tell he was forcing his voice to sound normal, but there was still a tremor in it. “Come on. We should get you moving.”

  He led Laney toward the back of the shelter. “How’d you even know I had another exit?” he asked.

  Laney smiled. “Dom, you are prepared for everything. It never made any sense to me that you would only have one way in and out.”

  Dom grinned, but Laney still saw the sheen of tears in his eyes. “There’s actually four. But the plans only show two.”

  Dom pushed open the door to the storage room and wound past rows of just about everything imaginable: food, paper goods, an inflatable raft, a dozen hazmat suits, oxygen canisters, and boxes and boxes of Cheerios. Laney smiled. Note to self: in the event of an apocalypse, head to Dom’s.

  When they reached the back wall, Laney scanned it, looking for a door, but she couldn’t make one out. Dom reached up to a high shelf and pulled down a box marked “plastic forks.” He wiped away a tear that slid down his cheek, and Laney had to look away for a moment to get control of her own emotions.

  When she turned back, Dom held a remote in his hand. “Ready?”

  Laney nodded.

  Dom hit a button on the remote, and the wall behind him slid to the right, revealing a tunnel.

  Laney gaped. “Wow, that’s some serious Batcave stuff.”

  Dom handed her a flashlight from the racks, his eyes bright behind his glasses. “It was an old tunnel used by the Underground Railroad—one of the few sections that was literally underground. It goes two miles east of the estate. The car will be waiting for you to the east of the exit. It’s a silver Toyota Camry.”

  Laney nodded. Toyotas were one of the most common cars on the road. She’d blend right in.

  Dom handed her the pack, and Laney strapped it on her back.

  “Your phone,” Dom said.

  “Oh, right.” Laney pulled it out of her back pocket and placed it on one of the shelves. “Well, I guess this is it.”

  Dom nodded, staring at the floor. When he spoke, there was a hitch in his voice. “I’ll give you as much of a head start as I can. But once they get down here…”

  “I understand. Just do what you can.”

  “Be careful, Laney.”

  “I will.” A shudder ran through her, and she had to take some deep breaths before she could speak without crying. “Take care of them, okay? All of them.”

  Dom hugged her quickly and then stepped back, tears running down both cheeks. “You should go,” he said, his gaze on the floor.

  Laney wiped at the tears on her own cheeks. She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze before turning on the flashlight and stepping into the tunnel. “Bye, Dom.”

  “Bye, Laney.”

  The door to the tunnel closed behind her.

  CHAPTER 105

  As the click of the closing door echoed down the tunnel, Laney felt the finality of her actions. She was well and truly on her own. But she shoved those emotions aside. She promised herself that when she was far enough away that the rest of them were safe, she’d allow herself to cry for a week if she needed to.

  She flashed her light around, revealing a dirt tunnel hollowed directly out of the earth, with no supporting beams that she could see. She hoped it hadn’t collapsed anywhere along the line, or this was going to be the shortest escape ever. But as she moved forward, she saw that the tunnel had held up well, and she was actually able to jog. She made the two miles in just over twenty minutes.

  At the end of the tunnel, an old iron gate was set in the ceiling, overgrown by bushes on the other side. Laney stopped to listen intently, but hearing nothing, she said a quick prayer, unbolted the gate, and pulled it open. It let out a giant screech that made her cringe, but no one came running.

  She pulled herself up, pushed her way through the bushes—and the night sky twinkled down on her. She was in the middle of a field, the moon shining brightly overhead. Turning off her flashlight, she jogged east. The car was parked only a few hundred yards away. She removed the keys from the wheel well, unlocked it, and threw her bag in the back.

  Thirty minutes later, she was leaving the state of Maryland.

  Laney felt the tightness in her chest ease as she crossed the border into West Virginia. She stopped checking the rearview mirror quite as often—though her eyes did stray to the
exit for the SIA facility as she passed it.

  Even keeping to the speed limit, it wasn’t long until she was in Ohio. She stopped for gas, picked up a phone, and hit a fast food place for coffee and food—being sure to keep her hat pulled low over her face, in case there were cameras—and then she was off again. She planned on driving as long as she could. She’d get a cheap motel and sleep a little bit when she grew too tired, and then she’d be back on the road.

  The lanes continued on ahead of her, and as the night wore on, she passed fewer and fewer cars. She had only Bruce Springsteen on the radio to keep her company.

  It’s for the best, she told herself over and over. If I’m gone, they’re safe.

  She just hoped they understood.

  CHAPTER 106

  Patrick sat at Henry’s table as Jake and Henry discussed the possible directions they could take with Laney’s legal and physical defense. Patrick tried to listen, but all he could see was Laney as an eight-year-old with her big green eyes staring up at him, her arm wrapped in an impossibly large cast. He’d failed to protect her then, and while he knew she was grown now—and that in many ways she was stronger than him—he couldn’t get past his need to protect her this time like he had failed to do before.

  “Patrick?” Henry asked.

  “Sorry, what?”

  “We were saying that the kids at the school are going to need a lot of help to get through this if Laney is arrested. Do you have any thoughts about what we should do there?”

  Patrick nodded. “Yes. I’ve already put out calls to a number of people: counselors, rabbis, pastors, just friends of the school. They’ll be available for whatever we need.”

  “Good,” Jake said. “How are the kids doing?”

  Patrick had visited them this morning. “There’s no one answer for that. Shocked, angry, in disbelief. They don’t want to believe it of Laney. She’s had such an impact on all of them. But for some of them… I can see the news at least has them wondering.”

  And that was another thought that terrified him. All the students at the school were either nephilim or Fallen, and some believed their abilities meant they should be given special considerations. He worried that if they believed Laney had committed these acts, it would help them justify their own bad behavior. After all, if Laney doesn’t play by the rules, why should they?