Stone Cold (Camel Club 3)

Finn tossed the items to him. Gray looked at the orders. “It’s hard to believe these have survived all these years.”

“Lots of things have survived all these years, including my mother,” Finn said as he edged David behind him. He could sense everyone’s fingers edging toward triggers.

Gray listened to the recording on the cell phone, then handed it to a man next to him, who placed it in a small electronic device and played it again. He read off the result displayed on an LED screen on the side of the device. “It’s the original, copied once.”

Stone had given one copy to Gray previously.

Gray smiled, pocketed the cell phone and looked at Finn. “And how is your mother?”

“A widow, thanks to you.”

Gray looked around. “John, I know you’re out there. Perhaps you have your little ragtag regiment with you. But just so you understand the playing field, I have this place surrounded and sealed shut. And it has been placed off-limits to the police, FBI, Secret Service and anyone else you might be counting on. I’m sure you know there is a mock terrorist attack going on outside right now. That’s probably why you selected this place tonight. You no doubt hoped it would help you to escape. But what it does, instead, is ensure that if there is any shooting in here, no one outside will hear it, or if they do, they won’t bother to investigate.”

As they listened, the sounds of staged sirens, gunfire and bombs exploding, all part of the drill, reached them.

Gray glanced back at Finn. “And you might want to thank this young man, John. He killed Bingham, Cincetti and Cole. You have no way of knowing this, but it was your three former colleagues who were part of the team sent to kill you. They missed, of course, but they did get your wife. Cole claimed he was the one who killed her, but Bingham disputed that. They actually volunteered for the job. I guess you weren’t too popular with them.”

Only silence greeted this verbal right cross from Gray.

Gray waited a moment and then added, “You also might want to see who else I stumbled on while I was on my way here.”

CHAPTER 91

FINN’S HEART SANK as he saw Milton being marched in between two of Gray’s men.

From behind the concrete parapet on the balcony Stone’s finger eased near the trigger of his rifle. He could take both men out before they could harm Milton. The only problem was he didn’t know where the rest of Gray’s strike team was. He needed to flush them out.

Finn said quietly, “I think that concludes the exchange.”

Gray shook his head. “Actually, Harry, it’s just starting.”

He nodded to his men as he backed out with Simpson. When they reached safety, Simpson called out, “By the way, John, I was the one who ordered the hit on you. No one leaves Triple Six voluntarily. My only regret was we didn’t get you then. But good things come to those who wait.”

From the balcony Stone stared down at the spot where Simpson was speaking from. The senator was smart enough to have put a thick wall between them. For an instant Stone’s mind went blank, then everything clicked back on. He had a job to do and nothing Simpson could say would interfere with that. He raced over to a large powered winch they’d set up earlier.

On cue, Finn grabbed his son and flung him down, pulling a gun from his waistband and shielding David with his body. The next instant a large object dropped from the rafters. It was a heavy Jersey wall they’d hoisted up earlier. Stone had just let it go and hustled back to his shooting position.

The barrier hit its mark perfectly, landing a foot in front of Finn and his son. The impact nearly broke it in half but they immediately took cover behind it.

Gray’s two men took aim at Milton, the easiest target. Before their fingers could squeeze the triggers, two rounds from Stone’s weapon fired a second apart killed them.

Next to Stone was a long electrical cord attached to a power strip. He hit a button and the entire room went black.

Stone raced down from the balcony. He had memorized the number of steps and turns, so the darkness didn’t slow him much. He dropped on top of a flat roller that they’d found in a storage room, the kind that mechanics use to glide under cars. He slid across the floor of the Great Hall, heading toward Milton. The original plan had been to get Finn and his son out this way. But Milton was in the most immediate danger.

He called out, “Finn! Cover!”

Finn immediately started laying down fire.

As he rolled along, Stone blinked rapidly, making his eyes adjust to the absence of light. He hit one dead body, his fingers snagging the NV goggles off the dead man’s belt. As he put them on he said, “Milton!”

“Over here,” Milton answered weakly.

Stone powered on the goggles and looked to his right. Milton was lying there, his hands over his head. The other dead man had fallen on top of him.

Stone asked, “Are you hurt?”

“No.”

Stone pulled the body off his friend and, “double-decking” on the roller, they slid across the room toward the stairs to the balcony while Finn emptied two clips from his pistol to cover their escape.

Stone said to Milton, “I’m taking you to Annabelle. She, you and David will get out via a duct that leads to the Capitol. It’ll be a tight fit, but you can make it.”

“Oliver, I can’t go out that way.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve got claustrophobia.”

Stone sighed. “All right, then you can leave with me.”

“No tight places,” Milton said nervously.

“It’s all tight places in here, Milton,” Stone snapped. “Did you see how many men Gray brought with him?”

“A dozen.”

“Then he has ten left.”

Stone knew that the next part of their escape involved running through quite a bit of open space. Gray’s men were certainly watching for any sign of them through their NV goggles. Stone was actually counting on that. The goggles were wonderful tools, but they had one Achilles’ heel.

Stone pulled off his goggles, tensed and then hit the button on the power strip again. Lights blazed on all over. He heard voices calling out in pain. Gray’s men. When bright lights came on and you were caught wearing your NV goggles, the result was you wouldn’t be seeing anything except hot stars for at least a minute.

He and Milton ran for it.

No sooner had they gotten behind cover than Gray’s men recovered and opened up with overwhelming firepower. Stone left Milton and raced off again. Finn and his son were still behind the barrier, pinned down by fire. Stone grabbed the motorized hand truck full of commercial HVAC equipment and made his way to Finn and David. The bullets fired by Gray’s men bounced off the heavy metal.

With this shield they made their way back to relative safety and collected Milton. They sprinted down the hall and through a series of doors, handing a terrified David off to Annabelle. r />

Annabelle saw Milton and said, “My God, what are you doing here?”

“Long story and no time to tell it,” Stone said. “You and David can get out through the ducts. Milton will come with us.”

Finn hugged his crying son, who kept his arms tightly around his father.