by Siegel, Alex
"That's all we need from you," Imelda said to the old man. "Thank you."
He nodded and wandered off, leaving a cloud of pipe smoke in his wake.
Jia held Olivia's hand as they entered the room. It was the size of a large bedroom, and there was just one king-size bed. Sleeping arrangements would be a problem. Weapons on hooks covered one wall, and the arsenal spanned the range from .22 caliber pistols to assault rifles. A shelf held bundles of cash, some gold bars, and a machine for printing fake identification.
There was a computer, an obsolete model but still functional. Min Ho and Jia raced to it, but he got there first. She sighed with disappointment. She dearly missed her wonderful computers back at headquarters.
Imelda closed the door with a heavy clang. She walked over to a surveillance console and turned it on. Four monitors lit up, and they showed views of the exterior of the lighthouse. All possible approaches were covered.
"We'll do four-hour security shifts," Imelda said. "I'll take the first shift. You guys can sleep."
Jia looked at the limited accommodations and frowned. "Who gets the bed? Olivia and one other person."
"She'll feel safest with you."
Jia was thinking the same thing, but she didn't want to say it out loud and appear selfish.
Corrie had a pained expression. "I get the floor?"
"Be glad you're still alive," Imelda said.
"Oh!" Jia said. "That reminds me. I'd better call the boss."
She took out her phone and dialed Marina.
"Are you OK?" Marina answered.
"Yes, ma'am," Jia said. "We escaped with no injuries. We're staying at the old lighthouse tonight."
"Thank God! Now I can finally sleep. Just stay where you are. We should be able to rescue you tomorrow night. And tell everybody I'm very proud of them. You did a great job under difficult conditions. Good night."
The call ended, and Jia put away her phone.
"She's very proud of us," she announced, "and the team will be home tomorrow night. We'll hang out here until then."
Min Ho, Imelda, and Corrie smiled.
"Time to go to bed," Imelda said.
Chapter Seventeen
"Slow down," Iris said. "We're almost there."
She was looking at the Pacific Ocean at night. The beach was familiar because she had seen the same view through the eyes of the Chinese woman just a few minutes ago.
"Is that it?" Laurence pointed.
"Yes! Pull over. Don't get too close. They have surveillance."
He stopped the car on the shoulder of the highway. Iris could barely see the white building in the darkness, but the silhouette was familiar. It was an old lighthouse which had been converted into a home. Seeing it again created a sense of déjà vu even though she had used another pair of eyes the previous time. She heard the pounding of the ocean surf.
"What kind of defenses do they have, ma'am?" Laurence said.
"I didn't see much," Iris said, "but they're in a fortified room, and there are cameras on the exterior. They may have some hidden surprises though."
"Are we still trying to take prisoners?"
"No. The girl is definitely in there. We can simply destroy the place."
He nodded. "Finally. I'll assemble a team for a dawn assault. We'll hit the building with rockets and grenades until it's a pile of rubble. Do you think the Society will stay put until then?"
"Yes. They're going to sleep." She smiled. "At dawn, I'll watch Olivia die through the eyes of the enemy, and then I'll get my reward. I can hardly wait. Let's find a hotel."
He looked around. Then he made a U-turn on the highway and drove off.
* * *
A banging noise woke Marina. She growled and turned over while keeping her eyes stubbornly closed. I'm destined to become the most powerful woman in the universe, she thought, and they won't let me sleep. How disrespectful.
She was tired. She hadn't been able to relax until her friends in San Francisco had told her they were safe. Even then, sleep had come slowly. Her bed was just a lumpy pillow and a blanket spread on the hard, cold floor. She had slept in her body armor as a precaution and because it provided a little extra padding.
She heard a thump and a loud curse.
"Damn it," she muttered.
She sat up and rubbed her eyes. The reassembly of the aperture had begun. Legionnaires were carrying and opening crates as fast as they could. Bethany, Leanna, and the fifteen scientists who were assisting them were plugging cables into sockets. Discarded packing materials were being tossed into growing piles of debris. The whole group was busy including the legates. Marina realized she had overslept and needed to make herself useful.
But first, she thought, I need a bathroom.
She looked around and saw a line in front of a plywood structure. It had the size and shape of an outhouse, and she guessed that was its purpose. She headed over there.
The people who were waiting insisted Marina go straight to the head of the line. She tried to defer politely, but they demanded she cut in front of them. She shrugged and did so. Now I'm getting respect, she thought.
After a minute, it was her turn to use the outhouse which contained a single toilet and a sink. All the plumbing was exposed, but it looked functional. It appeared the toilet connected to the sewer, and the odor wasn't bad.
After she finished, she went back out and looked around for something productive to do.
Hanley, Ipo, Katie, and Yang were waiting for her.
"Any word from San Francisco, ma'am?" Yang said eagerly. "Is everybody OK?"
"As far as I know," Marina said. "They reached the old lighthouse last night."
Her team looked immensely relieved. Yang and Hanley gave each other high-fives.
"The others have been asking about you, ma'am," Hanley said.
"Oh?" Marina raised her eyebrows.
"They want to know what kind of leader you are."
"And what did you tell them?"
"The truth," he said.
She paused. "Oh."
"Now they're scared."
She grunted. "That's fine. It seems being feared is my fate."
"Is that the kind of leader you intend to be?" Hanley said. "You want to inspire fear?"
Marina took a moment to think about her answer. She had no illusions about herself. She wasn't a nice person, and that would never change even if she wanted it to. The most she could do was direct her cruel nature so it was constructive instead of destructive.
"The aperture will give you incredible powers," she said. "Aaron and I are responsible for making sure you use them to fight God's enemies. If you don't fear us, you'll fear nothing at all, and eventually, that will become a problem. Fear keeps us focused on what's important."
Wesley walked over and beckoned for Marina to speak with him privately. The Voice of Truth was wearing a white suit which was so clean, it almost glowed. He had a black tie and polished black shoes. He looked ready to attend a wedding.
Marina went to him. "You look nice."
"Thanks." He smiled. "This is an extremely special day. How are you feeling?"
"Good. Tired, but good. Olivia is safe."
An expression of doubt crossed his face.
"You disagree?" Marina said.
"Well..."
Her eyes widened. "I'd better call them." She took out her phone.
He grabbed her wrist with a surprisingly firm grip. "Don't. They'll be OK... this time. Wait for them to call you."
Wesley had destroyed Marina's good mood. She wondered what kind of horrors her friends in San Francisco were about to face. The old lighthouse was an extremely secure place to hide, and it had served the Society as a refuge for decades. The inner room was built like a bank safe. It seemed impossible for the enemy to find them there.
"Are you having any second thoughts?" Wesley said.
She focused on him. "I have to admit I'm a little apprehensive. Aaron and I will have a ridiculous amount of responsibility,
maybe too much."
"You don't have to do it. You two can choose to live a quiet life as an ordinary, married couple."
"But you need us."
"Not if you don't want the job," he said. "God can find replacements, even at this late hour."
Marina looked at the crowd of legates, commanders, and legionnaires in the room. They were the best the Society had to offer, and she expected many were qualified for the role. The legates certainly had a wealth of leadership experience and had already proven themselves worthy.
"No," she said. "An ordinary life would be a slow, miserable death for Aaron and me."
Wesley nodded. "Yes."
"Will everybody else go through?"
"Not everybody." He looked across the room. "I think Smythe and Odelia have other plans."
Marina followed his gaze. Smythe and Odelia were working in their formal gray robes. He was cutting open boxes while she cleared away packing materials. They kept glancing at each other like teenagers on a first date. Odelia's red eyes and pink face had a dreamy expression. It was very cute.
"Oh," Marina said. "What plans?"
"They're talking about having kids."
"Really? What a waste of talent. Any idiot can do that."
Wesley snorted. "I would expect the Lady of the Society to say that."
"I'll take that as a compliment." She looked at the frantic activity around the aperture. "I should be doing something useful."
"Go help. The deadline is tonight, and we'll be cutting it close."
"How close?"
His glittering blue eyes stared at Marina. "Very."
* * *
A thump woke Jia abruptly.
"We're under attack!" Corrie yelled. "They're shooting rockets at us!"
Somebody turned on a light. Jia blinked and took a moment to remember where she was. The assistants of San Francisco were hiding in the old lighthouse. Corrie was on security duty, while Min Ho and Imelda were sleeping on the floor. Jia and Olivia had the bed.
More loud thuds startled Jia. She could feel the impacts as much as hear them. The armor-plated room could withstand some punishment, but eventually the lighthouse would collapse.
Jia got out of bed and ran over to the surveillance monitors. Dawn was breaking, and the early morning light shone on a line of soldiers. Some were firing shoulder-launched RPG's, and they had a plentiful supply. Others were hurling grenades as hard as they could. One team was firing shells out of a mortar tube, and that scared Jia most of all.
More explosions vibrated the walls. She heard the ominous sound of stone crumbling.
"What are we going to do?" Corrie yelled.
"Don't worry!" Imelda yelled. "We have a back door. Move the bed."
Everybody worked together to shove the wooden bed across the room. A steel trapdoor underneath was revealed. She yanked on the latch.
In the meantime, there were more explosions. Something heavy struck the wall with a metallic thud.
"Hurry!" Jia yelled.
Imelda and Min Ho both pulled on the heavy trapdoor to open it. There was a ladder underneath, and Jia smelled the ocean. The luggage was tossed into the hole, and then everybody began to climb down.
"This wasn't just a lighthouse," Imelda said. "A long time ago, smugglers lived here."
The ladder went down into a natural cave. She turned on a light switch, and a single bulb illuminated a wooden dock. A powerboat was tied to the dock.
"Cool," Corrie said.
The group climbed onto the small, unstable boat with their luggage in hand. Imelda grabbed a gas can from a shelf and boarded last.
"Now we'll see if I can get this thing started," she said. "A prayer wouldn't hurt."
She began to fiddle with the engine.
Jia heard thuds and crashes above, and dust rained down through the open trapdoor. The safe room wasn't so safe after all.
* * *
Iris opened her eyes. "They're getting away!" she yelled.
"How?" Laurence said.
"A secret cave underneath. It has a water channel."
They were sitting in a car parked on a hill with a view of the ocean. The battle was a half-mile away, and from this distance, it was hard to see the men. The explosions and clouds of smoke were easily visible though. The surviving Warriors of Dagda and the Circassian Democratic Front were pounding the shit out of the lighthouse, and anybody inside would soon be dead if they weren't already. Unfortunately, Olivia wasn't inside anymore.
Laurence issued urgent orders into his radio.
* * *
The sound of an engine starting was beautiful music to Jia's ears. Imelda whooped with joy.
She opened the throttle and steered towards a narrow opening in the cave. Jia, Corrie, Min Ho, and Olivia ducked automatically. There didn't seem to be enough space to get through safely. Imelda kept up her speed though, and with a couple of nifty maneuvers, she piloted the boat through the gap.
The boat exploded out onto the open ocean. It was a cool misty morning, and the waters were mercifully calm. Imelda drove straight away from shore.
The sound of gunshots made Jia look back. Soldiers were standing on a tall cliff and firing guns at the Spears.
"Serpentine!" Jia yelled.
Imelda opened the throttle to full with one hand while she used the other to control the steering. The ride became rough as the boat bounced across waves and rolled from side to side.
After half a minute, the cliff disappeared behind the mist. It appeared the team had escaped. Imelda slowed the boat to a less insane speed.
"Is anybody hurt?" she said.
Everybody responded negatively.
"How did they find us?" Corrie said.
"I don't know," Min Ho said. "The lighthouse was one of our best kept secrets."
"We can't trust any of our safe houses now," Imelda said. "If the enemy knew about the lighthouse, they might know about the rest."
"I don't see how that's possible."
"Then you explain what just happened."
Min Ho frowned and looked down.
Jia's feet felt wet. Bullets had penetrated the hull, and water was seeping into the boat.
"Plug the leaks!" she yelled.
There was a frantic scramble to stuff things into holes. Rolled up pieces of clothing seemed to work best, but they were still inadequate. There was a bucket in the boat, and Min Ho bailed water with desperate energy.
"I have to take us back to shore right now," Imelda said. "We'll sink if we stay on the water. We need a place to go. Somewhere the enemy can't possibly find us."
"I know a place," Olivia said.
Jia looked at the girl in surprise. "Where?"
"The witch in the mountains. Rachiel. She'll keep us safe."
Jia remembered the story. During Marina's period of madness a few months ago, she and Jia had met a real witch in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Marina had described the location as remote and difficult to reach.
"You can lead us there?" Jia said.
Olivia nodded. "I remember the way."
Jia smiled. "Smart girl."
"Works for me," Imelda said. "Now we just need a car to get us into the mountains. We're not hiking the whole way." She began to turn the boat towards shore.
Min Ho took out his phone. "I'll take care of it."
* * *
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Iris pounded the dashboard of her car with her fists. "We were so close!"
"Where are they now, ma'am?" Laurence said.
She closed her eyes and sent her consciousness back out. She found the Chinese woman easily enough, but when Iris looked through the woman's eyes, all she saw was morning mist. Iris couldn't even tell which direction the sun was in.
"Still on the water somewhere, but probably not for much longer. The boat is leaking."
"That's fine," Laurence said. "When they land, you'll figure out where they are, and the chase will continue."
He made it sound easy, but it wasn't. Iris couldn't
just know where the target was located. She had to wait for visual clues like road signs. If the Chinese woman never looked at something that indicated her position, Iris would be out of luck.
She hissed through her teeth. "Tell the men to stop shooting. We might as well save our ammo for the next fight."
"Yes, ma'am," Laurence said.
* * *
Min Ho was staring at the display on his phone. The GPS navigation app was giving him directions even though the boat was still in the Pacific Ocean and shrouded by fog.
Jia had the privilege of bailing water instead of playing with her gadgets. The other assistants had taken their turns, so she couldn't complain about fairness, but it was pure torture for her. Her skinny arms were shaking with exhaustion, and the muscles in her back were on fire. Every bucket felt like it was full of lead instead of water. With a clenched jaw, she pushed through the pain and kept bailing. They would reach land soon.
"Make a forty degree left," Min Ho said. "Slow down."
Imelda pushed the steering handle and the boat turned. After a couple of minutes, the mist parted to reveal a sandy beach. She grounded the boat on the shore and killed the engine. The sudden silence seemed loud to Jia.
Min Ho climbed out of the boat. "Let's go! We have to meet the guy!"
The four adults each grabbed a piece of soggy luggage. Jia's arms were so tired, she had to use two hands and it was still a struggle. Olivia trotted along in the midst of the group but stayed closest to Jia.
The beautiful beach was empty. After walking through soft sand for some distance, they reached a highway.
"Does this look right?" Corrie said.
Min Ho shrugged. "The phone says it is."
When there was a break in the traffic, they ran across the highway, and an enormous industrial plant was on the other side. The giant buildings were painted blue-gray and were very dusty. A maze of conveyor belts ran between them. A big sign read, "Sure-ment Company," and Jia guessed the plant made cement.
"There!" Min Ho pointed at two men standing in a parking lot in front of the plant.
They had sharp, blue uniforms with cute caps. Black bowties were over the top in Jia's opinion.
