Omaha Stakes

by Mark Everett Stone

Overview

Agent Kal Hakala, who has been running the Bureau of Supernatural Investigation as its temporary director, has his hands full. First there was the windigo crisis that threatened humanity with extinction. Now he has received an anonymous challenge from a creature calling himself Maydock: "Come to Omaha within the next five days, or every day thereafter I shall kill ten humans in many inventive and disturbing ways." Maydock has infiltrated BSI Security and can monitor Kal's every move, so until Ghost can repair the breach, Kal has no choice but to travel to the Heartland with no team backup and only those items he can carry. While Kal dances to Maydock's tune, Canton and his team covertly follow as close as they dare, realizing that if they are caught, they will trigger Maydock's epic murder spree. Even as Kal is put through his paces, he uncovers corruption so insidious it tears at his fragile sanity. With the odds stacked so heavily against him, how can Kal possibly vanquish the most powerful being he has ever encountered? Book 5 in the From the Tales of the BSI series.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603819312
Publisher:	Camel Press
Publication date:	01/15/2015
Series:	From the Files of the BSI , #5
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.82(d)

About the Author

Born in Helsinki, Finland (The Land of the Uncommonly Stubborn), Mark Everett Stone arrived in the U.S. at a young age and promptly dove into the world of the fantastic. Starting at age seven with the Iliad and the Odyssey, he went on to consume every scrap of Norse Mythology he could get his grubby little paws on. At age thirteen he graduated to Tolkien and Heinlein, building up a book collection that soon rivaled the local public library's.In college Mark majored in Journalism and minored in English. The newspaper business wasn't for him, so he did what every good writer does: find work in a wide variety of fields that included catering, bartending, and restaurant management. After getting married, he sold Hyundais (before they became popular) and, because he lives in Colorado, Subarus. Eventually he matured enough to be able to sit down and just write. Mark is feverishly working on his next book, The Judas Line, while his amazingly patient wife, Brandie, keeps

Read an Excerpt

Maydock's dry laughter was really starting to chap my ass, but he kept up his chuckling for a few seconds. "Kal, I am something new under the sun, the first of my kind. An incipient species ready to stride the world like colossi."

Perfect.

With no further comment, I smashed my smartphone against the corner of the chest of drawers, sending shattered plastic and delicate components flying. Lowenstein's head fell to the floor with a dull thud and rolled to a stop next to Nihsen's size nines. I put the cheap phone to my ear.

"Good, Kal," Maydock purred. "Now … three eight three one."

"What?"

"Three eight three one. That's the code that will disarm the bomb attached to young Nelson."

My skin began to crawl. I knew what would come next, but remained silent.

"He is three blocks away. Two blocks directly south, one directly east. A warehouse under renovation and is currently unoccupied by human prey. He is on the roof. You have ten minutes. Come alone or he dies. Oh, and destroy the phone." Click.

I didn't think twice. The cheap cell joined the detritus of the smartphone as shards of plastic and paper circuitry rained down upon the carpet.

"What are you doing?" shouted Nihsen, grabbing my arm.

"I have to go."

He wouldn't let go. Damn, but he packed some muscle beneath that tubby exterior.

His eyes blazed with mistrust. "What did he tell you?"

"Check the Picasso," I said, pointing to the crudely rendered, spear-wielding Spaniard. "Camera is in there somewhere." While everyone looked toward the print I hightailed it out of there, taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

My sneakers hit concrete at a run and the too-humid air walloped my face like a wet slap. The car was close, but so was the warehouse. I briefly considered raiding the Hyundai's trunk but realized that time was short and I had plenty of lethality hidden about my body. At least, I hoped so.

Three blocks passed in a blur; the only sound I was aware of was the flapping of my trench coat. I spied my destination. It was the only building large enough to be called a warehouse--a three-story brick monstrosity surrounded by shorter structures, equally old and worn. An ancient, weathered Gulliver surrounded by storefront Lilliputians.

Most of the small windows decorating the warehouse were either boarded up or broken. As I approached, I became aware of an aura of decrepitude and abandonment that practically shone from its crumbling russet façade. If it was being renovated, it must've been from the inside out.

I knew it was a trap. Had to be. Maydock was toying with me, putting me through my paces for his cruel amusement. It would be up to me to spoil his fun.

Editorial Reviews

This action-packed urban fantasy follows the brooding Kal Hakala, human head of the Bureau of Supernatural Investigation in an alternate contemporary America, to what promises to be the first of many confrontations. After reading a message from someone that wants him dead, Kal decides to trek to Omaha for the decisive first and final meeting with the letter writer. Concerned, Kal's BSI buddies decide to rescue him before he can fall prey to this deranged killer. Stone (Things to Do in Denver When You're Un-dead) writes in a brisk, conversational style that livens up the portrayal of his rather clichéd lead and villain. The setting fuses magic and technology in appealing ways that will hopefully be developed in future installments. Heavy-handed exposition and pop-culture references can drag down the story, and while Kal's frolic through a nifty supernatural world is enjoyable, it does not attempt anything particularly new. (Publishers Weekly: Jan.) Reviewed on: 10/27/2014

The Judas Line: "Stone's depiction of magic is realistic and intelligent and his treatment of Catholicism refreshingly informed and three-dimensional. Even the obligatory near-apocalyptic ending is coherent, surprising, and exciting."

--Publishers Weekly Starred Review

From the Publisher