Leaving Hell Part 5

Chapter 278-4

Leaving Hell

Part 5

 

He turned back around, as Mr. Holliman said. “I have decided to withdraw my name for cadence and I feel that Mr. Wesley would be the best choice for the job, providing that I server under him as one of his three councilors with Mr. Carrion and Mr. Vincent since they have also agreed too take the position.”

Mr. Striker stood up then cringed in pain as it reminded him of the beating we gave him, plus his two missing fingers. “Yelled, No, I refuse to let that happen. Have I not proven myself enough that I am more capable to rule then Mr. Wesley? His from Harvard damn it.”

Mr. Granger stood up and said. “Not anymore. Mr. Striker. You and Mr. Gregory are only here because I want you here too wittiness what happiness when people disappoint me. Not only did you lose the game today by embarrassing me and our members that have betted a considerable amount of money because you have never lost a game until now. And for your information, I graduated from Harvard myself, in fact, I and Mr. Wesley were in the same fraternity there. So cut the crap. By the way, I found your little present Mr. Striker inside my room, and have informed Mr. Wesley that what I have found have come to an agreement that if we can find the keys or should I say when we find the keys to open our temple tonight.

“That if Mr. Wesley is chosen to replace Mr. F*****g Tate. He can fill not only yours and Mr. Gregory as well as Mr. Fairchild’s slots as lower kings. He can now fill the slot you have created by decapitating one of our 12 king’s; if you can not provide me a damn good reason why I shouldn’t kill the both of you, instead of demoting you to the lower ranks.”

Stringum gave the messenger the go-ahead to knock on the door and leave the package. Mr. Holliman got up from the table since neither Mr. Striker nor Mr. Gregory was capable of getting up without difficulty.

He opened the door and bent down picking up a small chest that had a lock on it and envelope addressed to Mr. Granger. He was told to set it on the table as he opened the envelope and read it taking the key and opened the small wooden chest. He growled angrily at Mr. Striker, said. “Is this some sort of joke?” Mr. Striker stood up limping towards the box, finding Mr. Granger's two councilor’s heads in it staring up at them. Mr. Striker said. “Don’t look at me; I never left the game, and neither did Mr. Gregory.” 

Mr. Granger slapped the paper against Mr. Striker chest as he cringed because of the pain, said. “Well the note in your handwriting, the same handwriting I found with the head of one of our members. The only difference was you left me his key to proving that it was his and vile of his blood. You may have not done the deed yourself, but doesn’t mean you had one of your friends do it for you.

“Plus the fact we had already watched a tape of you; Mr. Gregory and Mr. Fairchild conspiring to kill me and my two councilors. So don’t stand there and lie to me. This was your doing and we all know it; thinking for one minute that if you can get rid of them you can get rid of me so you can take over this coven. Not only that, I had found blood in your room and now I know who it belongs to.

“But what you don’t know was I took their rings from them, after what had happened earlier with Mr. Fairchild. Too bad he didn’t have one of the keys we needed considering he and Mr. Gregory and Mr. Fairchild your two councilors as well as Mr. Jacobson who was also captured today with Mr. Fairchild. These three men you killed were good honest men and what’s more, they were friends of mine.

“Mr. Holliman you may go, we will swear in you and Mr. Carrion and Mr. Vincent as Mr. Wesley councilors when we next meet.” Mr. Holliman bowed low placing his right hand over his sternum and thanked him and left the room as we watched him sag against the wall with a sigh of relief and made a hasty exit as he quickly packed and left out the door, hopping into the waiting car with his boy Larry. Watching Landan open the car door for him; he had been told to go directly to Mr. Earl’s house for the night where he will meet up with his wife and his other two boys. 

Mr. Granger took a seat after closing the lid on the box as he patted it softly as if saying goodbye to his two best friends, said taking his seat. “Now then I have already put in the first key, and it has already given me the next location of the next one. Which is inside this room, I was unable to find the other four keys and I searched this place from top to bottom and only got a faint echo as if someone had warded the box they are in…which is inside this very room, preventing my master key to get a true location. So we have no choice but to dance to Mr. Tate’s tune.

“I have also questioned Mr. Stringum extensively finding him, very intelligent and very useful, but however he knows nothing about the keys we are looking for or about the hidden chamber door inside this room. I have asked him to stay on as temporary caretaker until we can decide who will take up residence here. That he could be a great benefit too us all having the right connections and influence with the people here. As well as a very rich man, perhaps we could bring him into the fold in a lesser position since his wife Dr. Sars is the new High Priestess of the coven here. It would be waste to not to do so otherwise, so let's get on with the task at hand.”

Mr. Bronson asked. “So how long do intend to play with their emotions as time is growing short?”

Stringum turned around said. “As long as it takes for my men to get everything ready… I have a little surprise for our guest that will be dining tonight and as for your friend Mr. Wesley I have provided him an escape, but if you don’t want to be here and watch the fun you are more then welcome to leave. I have spent months and weeks planning for today and I have no intention of hurrying things up. Now shut the hell up, we will leave the moment I have been given word that everything is in place and not a moment sooner.”

On the table in the library were 7 puzzle boxes. Each of them was shaped like little jigsaw pieces. Mr. Granger read the instructions said. “Ok, according to these instruction of Mr. Tate that when assembled they will create the key that fits into this box before us. I have already failed to see how they fit.”

Mr. Wesley said. “May I,” Mr. Granger nodded as he pushed the pieces over to Mr. Wesley, who assembled together in less than five minutes, said that it was Child's play… of course, it was considering that Stringum told him how to solve it.

Mr. Striker and Mr. Gregory looked stunned as Mr. Ganger was because none of them could figure it out. As the puzzle was in shape of some sort of wooden ball that fit nicely into the hole of the box the puzzle came in. There was a slight click as drawer popped out with another key that fits in the main box providing another clue to where the next key was. Mr. Striker said. “I can’t read it.”

Taking it out of Mr. Granger hands. “It’s in a language I am not familiar with.” 

Mr. Granger said yanking it back. “That’s because it’s not in a language, it nothing more than numbers and letters of the alphabet they used during the late seventeen hundreds during the revolutionary war, when they were sending a coded message. What you are looking at is the cipher to help decode the message that we must find in one of these books.

“You forget I was big history buff and professor at after I graduated from Harvard then went on to Princeton when I gained my law degree and where I met Mr. Tate and brought him into the fold.”

He quickly found several books from the library and scattered them across the table. Stringum stated that he learned that from Mr. Tate. Yet we both knew Jeff had something to do with it. He took the code and quickly solved it and quickly found the book on the shelf opening it finding the key inside it where someone had cut out a large portion of the book placing the key inside it. He then added the key to the other two as another drawer reviled itself. He read the next clue as he told them to turn off the lights.

At first, I didn’t see anything, but then again there were so many monitors to watch, as the fake Stringum announced dinner was now being served in the main dining room causing my stomach to rumble.

Stringum said. “Trust me, my boy, you don’t want what they are having for dinner. I have taken the liberty of ordering us pizza and should be waiting when you boys get home.” I turned my attention back to the library monitor. I couldn’t believe what I was looking at which was the star constellation.

Mr. Gregory looked up, said. “According to the clue; we must find the numbers that will give us the next coordinates to where the last key is. Lucky for you this was my major and a hobby of mine ever since I was a kid.”

He quickly worked out the puzzle finding the numbers among the thousands of stars. At first, I couldn’t see then once he pointed them out. I wanted to slap myself because they were so obvious that a three-year-old could find them.

Mr. Stringum tapped on his mic asking someone how close they were not expecting them to complete the task so quickly. It was barely 7 pm we need to be gone no later than 8 pm. Mr. Bronson and I both checked the time, seeing him getting nervous. Stringum told them to hurry the hell up.

The fake Stringum made his way to the library knocking on the door getting a very rude welcoming from Mr. Granger to go away that they wouldn’t be joining them for dinner, instead the fake Stringum pushed open the door blinking seeing them lying on the floor or the table in complete darkness looking up at the ceiling, Mr. Granger said. “I said go away,”

Stringum said. “I thought you boys would like your dinner served in here since we haven’t seen you join the other guests;” pushing in a food trolley and then apologizing with a bow and closing the door.

Quickly placed a gas mask over his mouth and nose as he continued back to the dining room as Tony and his men did likewise going to each of the rooms and locking all the doors from the outside with people in them. While the guests in the dining room were celebrating the night with wine and all the food they could ever want watching the servants make a hasty exit.

Mr. Gregory quickly turned the on lights as the bulbs blinked a couple of times and came on, then when he got the last key inside giving them the location to the box with all four keys in it well the one that they believed was real.

Stringum said cut the power. In the library, the lights went out; he counted on his fingers until 10 minutes went by, and then sent his men into the library carrying a flashlights and camp lanterns to tell Mr. Granger and the people inside the library that power is out across the city and just waiting for the back up generators to turn on. Leaving them the flashlights and camp lanterns as their only source of light.

Mr. Wesley was quickly led out of the room and was replaced with a look like. Not a great look alike but close enough for one in the dark. He was then led by one of the men to where we are. Stringum said. “Time to leave boys,” watching us looking back seeing the dining room guests fall over as the room was filled with some unseen knock out gas and the library was still in complete darkness.

Not that we cared it was way past time to go. Mr. Stringum told them to make sure none of them wake in the dining room or their rooms until morning then we let deal with those that are a threat when he looked at Mr. Wesley and Mr. Bronson when he said that threat was directed at them as well. 

Dad and Mr. Vicente carried the boys and girls that were still so young and deep in a tranq sleep as Tony and couple his men carried the others as we quickly went around the corner finding the doorway to the hidden tunnel. 

Mr. Wesley whispered in each other's ear as I watched Mr. Bronson touch his chest indicating he had the key on him. The tunnel was very claustrophobic and smelled wanting to gag. It was also very cold and wet which explained why it smelled from the stale water that had been seeping through the bricks from years past.