The Belial Library (The Belial Series) (28 page)

She watched Henry shove open his door with such force it was ripped from its hinges. 

Seconds later, Henry took out the first two men who moved on him with efficient moves.  And then the fight changed.  Two of the men grabbed Danny, pulling him from the car.  Laney wanted to leap into the screen and kill them for touching him. 

But she wasn’t needed, she realized with shock as Henry leaped over the car.  Not over the hood, but the base.  He must have jumped at least seven feet in the air and ten feet in distance.  Laney felt her jaw drop.  She couldn’t find any words.

“I thought I’d imagined that,” Danny whispered.

Laney looked at Jake who was staring at the screen with the same dumbfounded expression.  On the screen, Henry moved with lightning-fast reflexes, taking out the two men who’d touched Danny.  He moved equally fast taking down the men who tried to follow Danny as he ran for the woods.  Finally, the men tranq’d Henry and he fell.

Laney’s heart ached at the image.  It took four of the attackers to lift Henry into the pickup.  Gathering up two of their own men who weren’t moving, they sped out of sight. 

Laney grabbed onto the back of the chair.  She turned it so she could sit before she collapsed.  “Did that really just happen?” 

She wasn’t sure if she was asking about Henry’s abduction or his skills.  She knew about Henry's abilities.  She’d seen them first hand in Montana, but seeing it again brought it all back.  Henry was skilled beyond reason, beyond humanity.  If she saw anyone else with those skills, she would be terrified. 

But it was Henry.  He was practically her brother and that was the most important,  defining quality about him.  But now all those memories came crashing back along with all the questions she still harbored.  Who was Henry really?  Was he a fallen angel?  Was he something else?

"I don't understand how he did that."  Danny's brow furrowed.

Laney knew he was trying to figure out a rational explanation for what he’d seen.  She and Jake had never mentioned Henry's abilities to Danny and neither, apparently, had Henry.

A nagging thought stayed just out of her reach.  “Danny, can you back up the recording?  Slowly?”

He did and Laney stared at the screen, ignoring the fight.  She focused on the periphery of the action.  “There.  Danny, can you focus in on that one guy over by the red pick up?”

Danny zoomed in and the man became clear.  A baseball hat and sunglasses hid most of his face.  He was dressed the same as his partners, but he had one extra accessory.  “Is he holding a camera?”

Jake stepped closer.  “Yeah.  He’s taping the whole scene.”

Laney felt cold.  “Somebody wanted to see that fight.” 

CHAPTER 64

The next two hours were a whirlwind of activity.  Jake and the Chandler estate’s security were on the phone pinning down operative locations, trying to firm up the search and rescue team. 

They’d debated whether or not to call in law enforcement.  Right now, they were holding off.  Fact of the matter was, the feds had no legal grounds to get involved, and the Chandler Group had more extensive resources than the local police.  So for now, it was just them.

“And if we need to go in and get him?”  Laney had asked.

“I’ll ask for forgiveness from the feds later if I need to, but I won’t ask permission to save Henry,” Jake said

Laney knew what he meant.  Law enforcement wasn’t going to be allowed in on this search.  Not if Jake could avoid it.

Danny was locked in his office, creating algorithms to break the signal on Laney’s laptop.  He was convinced Henry’s abduction was related to Ecuador.

Laney stayed in Henry’s office, out of everyone’s way.  She had no role to play in this search.  She felt useless.  She paced along the windows that lined the back of the room.  Jake and everybody else of importance was down at security, looking for any trace of Henry.  So she was here alone, left with only her uncomfortable thoughts.

She stared out the back lawn.  Henry’s abduction had to be related to the Shuar’s treasure.  There couldn't be two incredible incidents, could there?  Or was it just a huge coincidence?  But if it was related, why take Henry?  He’d never seen the treasure. 

She sat down, closing her eyes, picturing the treasure. The map in the lagoon, the tunnel, the treasure space.  The statues standing at attention along the walls, the sculptures, the books.

Shoving her awe aside, she focused on the find with objective eyes. 
Okay, okay.  What does the collection tell us?
 

The find was proof of a highly advanced pre-diluvian society.   They had a group of seven individuals who saved the knowledge of the society.   They were capable of flight, maybe even space flight.  They were educated. They had a written language.

What the hell did any of that have to do with Henry?  Why would they need the head of a think tank?  Did they need his resources?

She shook her head.  No, whoever this group was, they had tons of resources.  Besides, no ransom call had come so far.

And why had they recorded the abduction?
Someone who couldn't be there must have wanted to see it. 
But why?
  Laney pictured the truck slamming into Henry's SUV, it flipping.  Henry fighting the men off and then . . .

And then when the men went after Danny, Henry revealed what he could do.
Was that the point?  To get Henry to reveal his abilities? 

She moved over to Henry’s desk, sitting in his large chair, twirling herself back and forth as she tried to piece together the puzzles.  “Okay, the Crespi collection and a superhuman.  What do they have in common?” 

Her phone interrupted her musing.  She pulled it out.  Yoni.  “Hey Yoni.” 

Yoni’s voice bounced through the line.  “How’s my favorite redhead?”

Laney’s heart clenched.  He didn’t know.  She took a breath.  “Not so good.”  She explained about the attack on Henry and Danny.

“Son of a bitch.  Who’s leading the search?”

“Jake and Kevin.”

“Good.  They’ll find him, Laney.”

“I know,” she said, even though she had no confidence in the words.  She cleared her throat.  “Are you calling about Warren?  Did you find anything?”

“Yeah.  I found your boy’s daddy.”

Laney grabbed a pen and legal pad, pulling them into her lap.  Thank God.  A break.  “Who was he?”

“Antonio Flourent.”

Laney scribbled down the name.  “That name sounds familiar.”

“It should.  He was the heir to his daddy’s company; Flourent, Inc.”

Laney sat straight up.  “Holy crap.”

Flourent, Inc. was a worldwide corporation that dabbled in a bit of everything.  The name was splashed across billboards, boats, race cars.  She pushed her pad aside and googled the net worth.  Her eyes grew wide at the amount of zeros on the screen. She let out a low whistle.  “Wow.  Now that’s rich.”

“Well, apparently daddy didn’t approve of his only son shacking up with a Las Vegas dancer.  He refused to let them marry.  Threatened to disown him.  So, the son set the girl up and made sure little Warren never wanted for anything.”

“Except a father.”

“Yes.  Except that.”

Laney was surprised to feel a stirring of pity towards Warren.  She told herself she was feeling pity only for the boy he’d been, not the man he was now.  “Where’s his Dad now?”

“Dead.  About five years ago in a boating accident.”

“Any other kids?”

“Nope.  Warren is the one and only.”

“Grandpa still alive?”

“Sebastian Flourent. And yup.  But according to my source – her name’s Bubbles, by the way – Grandpa never met the boy and never wanted to.”

“Does Bubbles still speak with the mom?”

“No.  Not since they moved to Beverly Hills.”

Laney sat back.  “Okay.  So Warren has an uber-rich grandpa.  Did the old man have a change of heart as he got older?  Did he reach out to his only grandchild?”

“I don’t know.  And I gotta go.  I’m going to get the next flight out to you guys.”

“Okay, Yoni.  We’ll see you soon.”

She disconnected the call and googled Sebastian Flourent.  Recluse, believed to be living somewhere in the Southwest.  Hadn’t been seen much in public for about fifteen years.  Used to be a man of industry.  Rumors about an illness around ten years ago.  His father died of a heart attack thirty years ago, leaving him Flourent Inc.

That name.  Something about the word was stirring a thought. She sat back, staring out the window.  Flourent.  She knew she’d seen it somewhere else.  She was sure she’d read it somewhere in the last few days.  Glancing around the office, she struggled to remember, but she’d read so much it was impossible to pinpoint. 

She ran her hands through her hair and then stared up at the ceiling.  “God, if you’re listening, we could really use a break right now.”

CHAPTER 65

Washington, DC

Abigail Dresden sat in one of the private dining rooms of La Chaumiere.  Quiet, out of the way, it was the location for some of DC’s biggest deals.  With her immaculately-tailored, deep-magenta suit and perfectly coiffed brown chignon, she fit in with all the power brokers. 

Of course, nothing about her appearance was real.  Padding filled out her figure, adding pounds to her lithe frame.  Heavy make-up took years off her fifty-seven, and the wig completed the look of a young Washington power broker.  Her ‘Abigail Dresden’ persona.  Of course, Abigail was only one of a legion of personas she used.  But precautions must be taken.  Precautions were life.

Her menu sat untouched in front of her.  Ralph Gregor, her bodyguard, glanced in.  Thick dark hair sat upon a perfect face that time had aged well.  Although her age, his shoulders were still as wide as when he’d been a star linebacker in college. 

He’d been with her for over thirty years.  They knew each other so well, words were almost unnecessary.  With a subtle nod, Ralph intercepted the waiter about to walk in and closed the door. 

Abigail pinned the man across from her with her violet eyes.  “I’m waiting, Senator.”

Former Senator Paul Glancy wiped his forehead with his linen napkin. A not so thin line of perspiration had worked its way there almost as soon as he sat down.  Sweat rings had bled onto the collar of his white shirt, leaving a sodden stain.  His yellow-and-white striped tie hung loosely from his thick neck. 

“Ms. Dresden, you have to understand.  These people are brutal.  If they knew I was talking to you-”

She raised a single finger.  He went silent.  Her voice was whisper soft.  “The information.  Now.”

He nodded, a stammer in his voice.  “It was, it was seven months ago.  That’s the last report we have on him.  He disappeared.”

She let the silence draw out between the two of them, knowing silence was often a much more effective interrogation technique than words. 

A minute passed before Glancy spoke.  His words jumbled together, trying to fill the void.  “The Council has used every resource, but we haven’t found a trace of him.”

“And the others?”

“Others?”

Abigail let out a sigh.  “I’m getting annoyed, Senator.”

“The others, right.  We currently have seventeen verifieds under surveillance.”

“Unverifieds?”

“Around twenty.”  He paused.  “And there’s something else.  It’s in the report, but you should know, we have indications that they’re grouping together.”

“Grouping?  How many?”

“At first, two.  The biggest group was ten.”

Only years of practice allowed her to keep the fear from her face.  If they were grouping, that could mean only one thing. 
I’m not ready.  She’s not ready.  We need more time.

She handed him a business card.  “You’ll forward all the information you have on them to this email address.”

He took the card with only two fingertips, staring at it like it was poisonous snake.  “But, but, they’ll trace it to me.  They’ll trace it to you.”

“They won’t trace it to me.  You, however—” She shrugged.  “Consider taking a long vacation.”

“But –”

The door slid open.  Ralph stepped in.  “A situation has arisen.”

Abigail’s chest grew tight and fear spiked through her.  There was only one reason Ralph was ever allowed to interrupt one of her meetings.  “Leave,” she ordered Glancy.

“Ms. Dresden, there must be another –”

The anger she’d leashed for the meeting slipped a notch. “Leave.  Now.”

Glancy knocked over his chair in his haste to escape.  Ralph stepped aside at the door, then closed it after Glancy, who ran down the narrow, heavily carpeted hall to the front doors.

Abigail was on her feet, grabbing her bag.  Her eyes searched Ralph’s face for a sign of the news.  Concern.  She could see concern in his brown eyes.  That scared her more than his words.  “What’s happened?”

“It’s Henry.  He’s been abducted.”

CHAPTER 66