Cracks in Reality (Seams in Reality Book 2) (25 page)

"The enemy is coming!" he yelled. "Sorcerers are here! Get ready to fight for your lives!"

In this rare case, Blake was telling the truth. He sensed Andrew and Charley in the distance, and he expected they could sense him. The energy signature of a sorcerer was as unique as a fingerprint and impossible to fake. They would have no doubt he was in the barn, and they would come for him.

Blake looked at the drums full of explosive and smiled.

The White Guerrillas still looked uncertain. A few of them moved towards the open door of the barn.

"No!" Blake said. "If you go outside, they'll kill you for sure. Stay in here. Find good defensive positions by the doors and windows. I gave you weapons for a reason."

They settled down and prepared to defend the barn.

* * *

"Is anybody hurt?" Dan yelled.

Andrew and Charley were huddled together in a depression behind a rock. Dan was standing with his back to a tree, and the other BPI agents were scattered around. Andrew didn't see any blood, but he also didn't see Tungsten.

"Tungsten?" Andrew said. "Where are you?"

There was no answer. He didn't dare poke his head up for a better look.

"I think he ran off," Dan said.

"He ran away?"

"I can't say. Do you see the shooter?"

Andrew couldn't see anything except trees. He wasn't even positive about the direction the bullets had come from. His body was shaking from adrenalin. He hated feeling so helpless and vulnerable. He was supposed to be a powerful sorcerer, and he couldn't do a damn thing to save himself.

"Are you OK?" he murmured to Charley.

"Just scared," she said. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his chest. "I really don't like being shot at."

"Me neither."

"What did you say about Blake?" Dan said.

"He's up ahead," Andrew said.

"You're sure?"

Andrew looked again with his inner sight. "Absolutely. He hasn't moved."

"What about his portable seam, the Russian Eye?"

"I'm not sensing any other sources of energy."

"Andrew is right," Charley said. "I don't think Blake has it with him."

"So, he's vulnerable," Dan said. "We can arrest him."

"Apparently."

Andrew was suddenly suspicious. He had a hard time believing Blake would allow himself to be caught without his precious seam. It was his most important advantage.

Andrew heard dry leaves crunching. Somebody was walking through the woods towards him.

"It's OK!" Tungsten called out. "I got him!"

Andrew dared to raise his head. Tungsten was approaching, and he had a prisoner with him. The prisoner was a young man wearing a dirty green parka over a plaid shirt. A green ski cap was pulled down over his ears. He had heavy canvas pants and leather boots. His right arm hung limply, obviously dislocated. Tungsten was holding the prisoner by the left arm.

"I didn't see anybody else in the area," Tungsten said. "The barn is just on the other side of the hill."

"Blake is there," Dan said, "according to Andrew and Charley."

"He won't be there for long. I'm sure he heard the gunfire. We'd better go after him before he runs."

"Don't," Andrew said. "This doesn't smell right."

Dan raised his eyebrows. "You're changing your story?"

"No, but I can't believe Blake would make it this easy. Ever since we got to Charleston, the clues have been right in front of us, like a trail of breadcrumbs. I mean, do you really think Phillip would be able to escape and talk to police?"

"We'll be careful, but there isn't any choice. Our mission is to kill Blake, and this is clearly our chance."

Andrew shook his head. "Careful isn't enough when you're dealing with a snake like him. Let's think about this. It could be a trap."

"We don't have time for quiet contemplation," Dan said. "Stay here if you want. We don't need you or Charley anyway. Blake doesn't have a seam. He's powerless."

Andrew looked at Charley. She grimaced and shrugged.

* * *

Time to go,
Blake thought.

He squelched his energy to make himself invisible to Andrew and Charley. He expected they would take the irresistible bait anyway.

"I'm going to scout around outside," Blake said. "Hopefully, I'll be back in a few minutes."

"But what about the sorcerers?" Dean said.

"I've dealt with sorcerers before. I know a few tricks for avoiding them."

"OK." Dean frowned.

The gunfire had happened in the north, so Blake went to the south side of the barn. He looked out through a window which had no glass. Nothing was moving except the leaves in the breeze. He climbed outside through the opening.

He sprinted straight for the tree line, slipped into the forest, and kept running. He was old and out of shape, but he was highly motivated. He didn't slow down.

* * *

"I just lost track of Blake's energy," Andrew said. "He vanished."

"I can't see him either," Charley said.

"Damn it!" Dan said. "He'll escape. We have to go
now
." He started walking towards the top of the hill.

The other BPI agents followed except for Tungsten. The big man was still holding his prisoner by the arm but also seemed concerned about Andrew and Charley.

Tungsten furrowed his brow. "I'd better guard the apprentices, and I have to interrogate this asshole." He jerked on the prisoner's arm.

"Fine," Dan said, "and I'll do my duty. Let's go!"

He ran off, and the other three agents chased after him. Tungsten watched them until they vanished into the trees.

"Thanks for staying with us," Andrew said.

Tungsten faced him. "I have to admit my motives aren't entirely honorable."

"What do you mean?"

"When you've survived as many battles as me, you develop an intuition. You learn there are fights you run towards and fights you let other people have. I agree with you. Blake made it too easy."

"So you think it could be a trap?" Andrew said. "And you just let Dan and the rest go?"

Tungsten looked away. "They're big boys. They know what they're getting into. You did warn them very clearly."

"Still..."

"I don't want to talk about it. I'm not very proud of myself right now," Tungsten said.

Andrew thought about calling Dan on the phone and asking him to come back. Andrew knew how the conversation would go though. Dan cared about duty above everything else. He would never walk away from a chance to kill Blake.

Tungsten snarled at the prisoner. "What's your name?"

He swallowed. "Logan."

"What's going on in that barn, Logan?"

Logan pressed his lips together.

Tungsten kneed him in the groin. The blow was hard enough to lift Logan off the ground. He collapsed to the dirt with his hands over his crotch and his eyes crossed.

Andrew winced in sympathy.

"I'm not screwing around," Tungsten said. "Talk to me, or I'll break more than your balls. They're building some kind of bomb, right?"

Logan nodded. "Yes," he squeaked.

"What's the target?"

Logan kept his mouth shut. Tungsten stomped on his face, and Andrew heard a crunch. When Tungsten lifted his foot, Logan's nose was a bloody mess.

"Headquarters," Logan cried.

"Headquarters of what?"

"Bureau of Physical Investigation."

Tungsten did a double take. "Why?"

"Because that's where the sorcerers are. A whole nest of evil is there. We're going to kill them all."

Andrew nodded with understanding. Blake was using the White Guerrillas as a tool to destroy his enemies. It was an obvious tactic in retrospect. Of course, the irony was they were taking orders from the most evil sorcerer of all.

* * *

Dan was huffing as he ran over the top of the hill. He saw an old barn nestled in the trees below. The wooden planks were warped and sagging. If there had ever been paint, it was gone now.

He was torn between charging forward and approaching covertly. The more time he took, the less likely Blake would still be there when Dan arrived.

He charged forward, waving for the other BPI agents to keep up. He knew he was running into a dangerous situation. The White Guerrillas were probably armed and ready for him, and Blake would tell them what to expect. The isolated location was also perfect for an ambush. Dan's duty as a federal agent forced him to proceed however. If there was any possibility of capturing or killing Blake, Dan had to go for it.

He was disappointed in Tungsten. The veteran soldier had been a little too eager to hang back, but Dan wasn't entirely surprised. Tungsten wasn't a sworn agent after all. The BPI was employing him as a private contractor for the duration of the mission. He didn't have much skin in the game.

Dan used what cover was available as he approached the barn. He stepped lightly and avoided dry litter on the ground. Fortunately, the dense forest allowed a stealthy approach.

He spotted a woman looking out a high window. She was carrying a FN SCAR, a very modern and expensive assault rifle, but her awkward posture and grip suggested she barely knew how to use it. Dan expected Blake had supplied the weapon. The woman had a frightened expression.

Dan waved for his colleagues to get behind cover. The three men had come from the Louisville office of the BPI, and Dan had met them for the first time yesterday.

"How do you want to do this?" one man said. His name was Cruz.

Dan studied the barn. It had several windows, and none were glazed. He couldn't see the front, but a door in the back didn't have a lock. A clearing surrounded the barn, and it would force him to cross about thirty yards of open ground.

"We have to look inside," he said. "If Blake is in there, we'll shoot him on sight. Cruz and I will sneak up to a window." He turned to the other two agents. "Go around to the far side and fire your weapons. Draw attention away from us."

They nodded and hurried off, staying in the shadows.

"When we hear the noise," Dan said, "we'll go."

Cruz nodded. He knelt like a sprinter preparing to start a race.

* * *

"Hold on a sec," Andrew said. "How much ammonium nitrate would it take to destroy BPI headquarters?"

"Depends on what you mean by 'destroy'," Tungsten said.

"Kill everybody including the people underground."

"We're talking about tunnels in bedrock. No amount of conventional explosive could get down that far."

"But only the administrative staff is above ground," Andrew said. "Accountants and paper pushers. Blake doesn't care about them."

"Unless..." Tungsten looked at the prisoner lying on the ground. "How much explosive do you have in the barn?"

Logan didn't answer immediately, so Tungsten gave him a swift kick in the kidney.

Logan gasped in pain. "Two thousand pounds," he said through his teeth.

"Not enough for the job," Andrew said.

"But more than enough to wipe out the White Guerillas and anybody else in the area," Tungsten said grimly.

Andrew felt like a fool. Blake's plan was painfully obvious in retrospect.

Andrew grabbed his phone and dialed Dan's number.

* * *

Dan heard gunfire on the far side of the barn. The woman in the high window looked in that direction. Dan sprinted forward, running as hard as he could.

His phone buzzed, but he ignored it.
Not now,
he thought.

He left the protection of the trees and crossed open ground to reach the barn. He tried to keep his footsteps quiet. Fortunately, the gunfire was loud enough to cover the sound of his boots crunching grass. Agent Cruz was two paces behind.

It took only a few seconds for Dan to reach a window at ground level. He didn't have time to be subtle. He pointed his gun through the opening and looked inside.

Men and women had taken up defensive positions inside the barn. They were generally young and scared. All were surprisingly well equipped in brand new combat gear.

A green and yellow dairy truck was parked on the dirt floor. Tools and parts surrounded the vehicle. Dan guessed the White Guerillas intended to use it as a car bomb.

Four 50 gallon steel drums full of powder were also in the barn. The powder had white and gray streaks.
Ammonium nitrate and aluminum,
Dan thought. There was enough explosive to demolish a building.

The oldest man in the room was standing by the drums. He was tall, lean, and handsome. He was wearing a leather coat with a sheepskin liner.

Dan didn't see Blake or anybody who might be him in disguise.

"Hands up!" Dan yelled. "Drop your weapons! We're federal agents! Tell me where Blake Blutstein is!"

The man in the leather coat looked at Dan for a moment with a puzzled expression. Then the man aimed his assault rifle at the drums.

"No!" Dan screamed.

* * *

Blake heard the explosion. It sounded like a sharp thunderclap except the sky was cloudless. He looked back in time to see a fireball rising up quickly and dissipating. There was little smoke. Ammonium nitrate was a clean burning fuel.

He didn't know if Andrew or Charley had died. Blake was too far away to locate the energy of the apprentices now. Somebody had died certainly. Dean wouldn't have set off the bomb unless the BPI had attacked the barn.

Regardless of the specific outcome, Blake felt good about it. He had killed some of his enemies, and more importantly, he had made them look like fools. When all the BPI agents and sorcerers heard the news, they would be afraid. They would hesitate before the next confrontation. The possibility of another trap would distract them from their mission. He was an expert at exploiting fear.

Blake kept running through the woods.

* * *

The sound of an explosion startled Andrew.

"Dan!" he yelled.

Andrew ran in the direction of the blast.

"Andrew!" Tungsten yelled. "Wait!"

Andrew kept going. He reached the top of the hill and looked down the other side.

A circular blast pattern showed where the barn had stood, but only a crater was there now. The leaves of nearby trees were stripped off.