Stone Soldiers 5: Black Knight Down (10 page)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Dr. Laura Olson was more than a little angry.

"What do you mean, fishing?" she demanded.

"Uh, the Colonel and his granddaughter, they took Mr. Kane out for some fishing on the lake," Dr. King said pleasantly. Or was that nervously?

Laura had found King eating breakfast in the small dining area of the South Fox Hotel- wolfing down bacon, eggs and biscuits. She had changed from her night gown into slacks, sweater and hiking shoes after waiting hours and hours for Mark to return to his room. When he hadn't returned, she'd gone out and searched the island for him, then Jimmy and Josie.

"Fishing? On Lake Michigan?"

"Why yes," Dr. King said, pausing to take a sip of coffee. "I've gone a few times myself."

Laura narrowed her brown eyes to thin slits and regarded King coldly. There was definitely something off about the old, stone-eyed man. He was always rather peculiar, and hard to read- even with her vampiric senses- but now she was sure of it. He was definitely hiding something.

"And Josie planned on going with her grandfather? In her sweats?"

Dr. King smiled and swallowed nervously. "Well, no, I don't- I mean, I don't know if-"

Laura leaned in close. "I know you're hiding something."

Dr. King laughed nervously. "Don't be ridiculous, my dear. What would I be hiding?"

Laura sat down across from King at the table and grabbed a half-eaten biscuit off his plate. "All right then... let's change the schedule for today a bit. Let's depetrify the telepath... PJ whatshisname."

Dr. King blinked several times, mouth open, unsure what to say. "Well, I don't... I mean, that isn't fair to the others... We have a schedule to keep, you know."

"What's the matter, Doctor?" Laura said opening her mouth wide so her fangs showed and taking a large bite of the biscuit. "Worried what PJ might find in your head?"

***

It had been a long, long drive from Michigan- Mark Kenslir had stopped the car only long enough to refuel it and let Josie and Jimmy take bathroom breaks. The quiet super soldier had himself been a source of eerie, robotic endurance- driving through the night, morning and afternoon with no signs of fatigue.

Kenslir had seemed not to have much of an appetite either- consuming only bottled water, beef jerky and candy bars on the trip- all purchased from gas stations along the way. Josie wasn't a fan of such fare, but had not spoken up about it.

Jimmy, on the other hand, seemed to relish the jerky. "Man, this stuff is great!" he'd commented several times. He'd gone through an amazing amount of it- all paid for with cash from a large wad Kenslir had brought with him from Miami.

"How long did you have this planned out- the trip to Oklahoma, I mean?" Josie asked.

"As soon as I discovered a connection between the landowners where the satellite fell," Kenslir revealed. "Originally, I was going to leave from Miami, but Jimmy's new condition gave me the opportunity to head to Michigan."

"And what if there's more than just six witches?" Jimmy asked.

"We'll contact Command for reinforcements- but witches generally can't stand each other. Covens working together is almost unheard of."

"Won't you get into trouble for breaking your orders- coming back here?" Jimmy asked around another mouthful of jerky.

"Fortunately, results tend to outweigh concerns like that in this line of work."

"What if it isn't witches?" Josie asked.

Kenslir gave her a long look- one of the first times in the fifteen hour drive he'd taken his eyes off the road.

Josie held her hands up. "Okay, okay- you're sure it's witches. Then why not just alert the Secret Service- this falls under their directive, right?"

"The Black Knight may prove to be more than they could handle," Kenslir said. "Never underestimate a witch."

He turned the car off the main road and onto a back road. Easing the TTV goggles down over his eyes, he checked his position and activated the head up display's GPS map system. Markers sprang into view- indicating the path of travel and the heading for their ultimate destination.

Josie glanced down at the car's dashboard clock- it was nearly six PM locally. Less than an hour until sunset. "So where do we start?"

Kenslir turned again, this time up a private road- something little more than a dirt path through a field. "We're going to check out the outlying houses first- the properties the witches purchased. A little after nightfall, we'll head toward the object."

Kenslir slowed the sedan down and pulled off the dirt road and parked by a cluster of trees. He switched the engine off then turned sideways in his seat. "If this goes south, you run like hell and turn on your cells. As soon as a cell network marks your location, Command will know- and know something is up."

"Okay," Josie said.

Kenslir then leaned back in his seat, folding his arms across his chest and closed his eyes.

"What are you doing?" Josie asked.

"Getting some sleep. "

***

Paul J. Murphy sat up slowly, eyes blinking in the harsh light. It took him a moment to adjust but he was finally able to make out his surroundings- he was in an operating room, sitting on an inclined table. A young man with gray eyes, wearing blue scrubs, stood to one side of the table, while a doctor in a white lab coat held his wrist, checking his pulse on the other side of the table.

A doctor with long, curly red hair.

"Am I in heaven?" PJ asked, grinning widely.

Dr. Laura Olson looked up and gave PJ the hint of a smile as she released his wrist. "How are you feeling?"

She pulled a small penlight from a pocket of her jacket and checked PJ's eyes briefly.

"Seriously, Doc, where-?" PJ started to ask. He stopped and his face got a perplexed look.

Laura laid a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Relax, your powers will come back as your strength returns."

PJ leapt off the table, scared. His legs felt wobbly and he almost collapsed to the floor. Laura grabbed him by the arm and held him up with no apparent effort.

"Sit back down- you've been given a sedative."

PJ leaned back against the table and rested his weight on it. "Where am I?" His memory was starting to come back. He looked down and could see he was wearing a hospital gown.

"You're in Michigan," Laura said calmly. "Do you remember being in Miami?"

"Yeah, I- " PJ sat up straight and looked around in a panic. "The giant!"

Laura held a tight grip on PJ's arm. "Calm down- you're all right."

"How'd I get here? Who are you?" PJ demanded. His heart was racing now.

"You were petrified on the roof of Argon Tower. You've been brought here for reanimation."

"Let go of me!" PJ was standing now, despite the powerful grip on his arm.

He saw the redhead nod to the boy in scrubs. He turned and saw the boy reaching for him.

"No!" PJ yelled. He felt a rush, like the jolt of too caffeine kicking in, and the boy froze in his tracks. PJ's powers had returned.

Laura grabbed PJ and spun him around, grabbing his head between both her hands. Blue-white light crackled from between her hands and PJ's skin, and the telepath's eyes rolled up in his head.

After several seconds, Laura released her grip and PJ collapsed to the floor. She calmly turned and picked up another syringe off a small rolling cart. Kneeling, she carefully gave PJ an injection in his arm.

"You okay, Jason?" Laura asked, standing.

Jason Trumball was shaking his head, as if to clear it. "Man, he's strong!"

Laura turned toward the observation window and saw Dr. King smiling. He quickly dropped the smile and turned toward the intercom.

"I think perhaps we should call it a day, Dr. Olson."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Darkness had fallen, and Jimmy had changed from his bright blue shirt and tan pants into a black t-shirt and black sweats they'd picked up at a truck stop hours before. Colonel Kenslir was at the trunk of the car, pulling items from his nylon duffel bag.

He started loading up with gear- adding a gunbelt covered with ammo pouches and supporting a large Desert Eagle magnum on his right thigh. A pair of bowie knives, hung from the front of his shoulder holster harnesses, handles down toward his belt. An ammo carrier on his left thigh- also supporting a small combat hatchet.

"Going kinda light there?" Josie asked.

Kenslir ignored the remark and pulled his goggles down over his eyes. "Remember- wait twenty minutes before you follow me." He had already rubbed streaks of black face paint on his hands and face.

Josie nodded and watched as the Colonel turned and jogged away through the dark field, headed for a house that had been barely visible in the distance by day. As she watched, the Colonel seemed to just vanish into the darkness.

"Is he like a ninja or something?" Jimmy asked beside her.

"What, you can't see him either?"

Kenslir made quick time through the field, noting the tall grass that should have been cut and baled weeks ago. Whoever had bought the farm wasn't maintaining it.

He crouched at the edge of the tall grass, watching the main house for several minutes, his senses strained, listening for any sign of life. All he could detect was a faint metallic smell. Blood- and lots of it- coming from the house.

The Colonel crept forward slightly stooped over, his boots barely making any sound as he crossed the long gravel driveway. No lights were on in the house, so he approached the front door, his Tactical visor down over his eyes. The front door was unlocked, the knob turning freely in his hand.

He swung the door in slowly, wincing as the old hinges gave off the faintest of creaks. He stepped through quickly and closed the noisy door shut behind him. His hand dropped to the grip of the pistol on his right thigh and he waited in the darkness, listening.

Still no sound came from inside the home. Not even the sounds of appliances or central air conditioning any normal house might have. It was as silent as a tomb.

In the thick darkness, the Colonel's eyes, enhanced by his curse, could make out dim shapes. He cybernetically activated his tactical goggles- the lenses suddenly filling with amplified images of the home over his field of vision. The darkness was peeled away.

He crept forward now, hand still on the butt of the massive magnum he carried. He followed the powerful stench of blood inside the house- turning from the main entryway into a large living room just inside the home.

There a man's body was sprawled on the floor- a floor covered with a pentagram and witches' ceremonial symbols. The man's chest was cut open- a gaping hole indicating his heart had been removed. Kenslir briefly considered connecting to the FBI network through the tactical goggles- to see if he could get a facial recognition match on the corpse.

A sound came from the back of the house- the gentle sigh of hinges from a different door. Kenslir switched off his amplified view of the home and melted back into the shadows.

The creak of wood under feet not trained to move silently sounded. Someone was walking through the old home- quietly, but not quietly enough. The Colonel could tell the intruder was large- and a man.

At last, the figure crept into the main room. Big hands were out, probing in the darkness, feeling their way. The hulking figure wore a dark jacket with a large hood to conceal their face.

The figure finally stopped, and reached into a pocket. When his hand emerged, a dim light emanated from a small flashlight- barely enough light to see by. The intruder recoiled when he saw the corpse on the floor.

The man moved closer, walking toward the corpse.

"Stop!" Kenslir said. His voice was low- barely more than a whisper.

The man in the hood recoiled and spun toward the corner Kenslir stood in. The faint light played across the Colonel, barely revealing him.

"You!" Father Lee Schuler exclaimed.

"Don't move!" Kenslir said, stepping forward.

The priest again recoiled, stepping backwards, his foot scuffing along the floor.

"Dammit!' Kenslir said, and extended a hand. He pointed with his index finger. "You've broken the circle."

Father Schuler looked down, aiming his flashlight. Sure enough, his right foot was just inside the outermost ring of a large pentagram drawn on the floor. He guessed it was drawn in dried blood, as his foot had scraped away a portion of it.

That wasn't good.

***

It had been an agonizingly long twenty minutes, but Josie and Jimmy finally were able to set off across the field after the Colonel. They crept through the tall grass slowly, looking around to see if anyone was nearby.

Jimmy kept rubbing his nose. "I think I'm allergic to this stuff!"

"Don't be silly- you ever hear of a werewolf sneezing?"

Jimmy was about to answer when he saw something. He held his hand out, grabbing Josie's sleeve. "Look!"

Josie turned her head in the direction Jimmy was pointing. What little moonlight broke through the heavy cloud cover above seemed to be reflecting off something- something moving. Josie stepped closer to Jimmy, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up.

"What is it?"

Jimmy gave her a puzzled look. "You can't see?"

When Josie shook her head no, Jimmy eased her down to a kneeling position, both their heads just above the tall grass. "Men. With guns."

For Jimmy, there was plenty of light- he could make out at least a dozen men approaching from the northeast, in pairs. All were dressed in black and tan and carried submachineguns. They were converging on the house.

"What do we do?" Josie asked, whispering.

"Wait here," Jimmy said. "The Colonel will hear them coming- maybe he can sneak away?"

"I want to get closer."

"Are you crazy?" Jimmy hissed. "If they see us, they'll start shooting- I don't think I'm bulletproof, but I know you aren't."

"Then tell me that they're doing!" Josie said.

"They're surrounding the house," Jimmy said.

Sure enough, the dozen men were positioning themselves like a swat team- at least six of them lined up outside the front door. They moved with precision born of great experience. But maybe a little too much precision- they seemed stiff, almost robotic.

When the men were all in position, a series of hand signals were passed around the perimeter of the home. Then all hell broke loose.

The front door was kicked in and the team of men charged in. Behind the house, flash bang grenades could be heard detonating- bright flashes of light visible through the curtained windows of the dark house.

The sound of submachinegun fire erupted- with more flashes from the barrels of the weapons showing. More noises followed- almost like that of splintering wood.

Suddenly, a window exploded outwards into hundreds of tiny pieces- propelled out of its frame by a body- the body of a uniformed man. He flew some ten feet, then hit the ground, rolling and flopping along like a rag doll.

More crashing noises were coming from the house- and more submachinegun fire. Then the unmistakable, loud booming of the Colonel's Desert Eagle magnum.

Josie started to get up, but Jimmy held her back with a strong grip on her arm. "No! You remember what he said!"

Josie was about to protest when she saw the first man throw out of the house sit up. He looked straight ahead and tried to stand, but one arm seemed twisted at an odd angle. The man rolled over onto his stomach and finally managed to push off from the ground with his one good arm. When he stood, left his arm dangled limply by his side.

"What the hell?" Jimmy said- following Josie's line of sight.

The Black Cauldron security man limped forward, his right foot twisted at a gruesome angle. He shuffled along, toward the house, from which the terrific sounds of battle continued.

"That's just not right," Josie said. "Can we go now?"

"Turn on your phone, and stay here!" Jimmy said, rising. He took a deep breath and charged forward, toward the house.

The injured guard didn't seem to hear Jimmy's loud charge, or maybe didn't care. He was knocked off his feet again, crashing back to the ground. Jimmy rolled clear and leapt to his feet.

Again, the security guard stood slowly. This time when he did so, Jimmy could tell what was wrong. The man's left arm was completely dislocated. But that wasn't all- several ribs were protruding from the man's shirt- and his breath came in long, wheezing sighs.

"Dude- stop!" Jimmy said, holding up his hands. "You're messed up!'

Behind Jimmy, a door banged open and Colonel Kenslir ran out. He aimed the Desert Eagle- now equipped with a silencer- at the severely injured guard and fired once. A .50 caliber bullet punched a neat hole in the guard's head and he fell to the ground.

"Jimmy!" Kenslir said, running over. "You're supposed to be running!"

"I-" Jimmy started to say. He flinched when Father Schuler emerged from the house as well- his clothes torn in places from what must have surely been a terrible fight.

"Where's Josie?" Kenslir asked, quickly ejecting a magazine from the Desert Eagle, then slammed in a fresh one.

"Right here!" Josie said, running up, her cell phone in her hand.

"We need to get out of here!" Schuler said, looking about. "Find these kids some cover."

Kenslir was looking around as well. "Too late."

Jimmy followed the Colonel's line of sight, up, slightly above the horizon, from the direction the armed men had come. Five shapes hung in the air- or rather, were moving through it. In the moonlight it was impossible to tell, but they looked like women. Flying women.