by Siegel, Alex
Tawni raised her hands. She glanced to either side and realized Norbert had vanished.
"Calm down," she said. "I won't give you any trouble."
The guard blinked slowly at her. The anesthetic was still affecting him.
Norbert came around the other end of the truck. He approached the guard from behind with silent footsteps.
"But he will," Tawni added. She looked past the guard's shoulder.
He turned around. Norbert slugged him across the jaw and knocked him out.
Smythe quickly checked the body. "I should've tied him up just to be safe," he said. "That was stupid of me."
"An honest mistake," Tawni said.
"No such thing in our business. Let's transfer the boxes to the pickup truck and get out of here. I can't wait to get back to headquarters and open them up. It will be like Christmas, a very evil Christmas."
Chapter Six
Aaron, Marina, and Sheryl were wearing white karate uniforms with gray belts. Aaron and Marina were facing each other from opposite ends of an exercise mat. Sheryl was watching the combatants from the side.
"This is going to be good," Aaron said.
"Just like old times," Marina said, "but before we begin, I have a question."
"Oh?"
"I'm still wondering how Norbert beat me yesterday. He's a good fighter, but he's not quite that good."
"He's been training very hard," he said.
She shook her head. "No, he had a plan. He knew exactly what to do. It's almost as if somebody coached him, somebody who knows my fighting style very well." She narrowed her eyes.
"I'm sure Ethel didn't talk to him."
"I wasn't referring to Ethel."
He shrugged innocently. "Then I don't know what you could possibly mean. Shall we begin?"
She came at him in a rush. He barely had time to twist out of the way of her lightning-fast attack. Her foot ruffled his hair in the spot where his head had been an instant earlier.
He tried to trip her, and she leapt over his legs. She tried to stomp his chest, and he swept her feet aside. He jumped. She rolled. He punched. She kicked. They had sparred so many hundreds of times, it was like a ritual dance. They knew each other's moves by heart.
Aaron could've won at any time. Over the years, he had grown too big, too strong, and too fast for Marina to handle. She had the edge in skill and experience, but it wasn't enough to overcome his much greater physical advantages. He didn't win though. Sparring with her was the next best thing to having sex with her. Her hard blows felt like loving caresses to him. As they went back and forth, he was becoming aroused. He could see the same reaction in her eyes.
He remembered Sheryl was watching. He abruptly backed off before the situation became embarrassing. Marina sighed with obvious disappointment.
Sheryl was cowering.
"What's wrong?" Aaron said.
"I've never seen people fight like that," she said with wide eyes. "You're not human."
"We're mostly human."
"I don't think so, sir." She shook her head. "More like demons."
"It's your turn. Step onto the mat. Marina will be your guest instructor today."
She stared at him. "You're kidding, right?"
"Not at all."
She held herself timidly. He grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the mat like a stubborn child.
Marina smiled. The gesture was probably meant to be encouraging, but it came across as chilling instead. Sheryl flinched.
"Being a legionnaire is an extremely dangerous job," Marina said. "You will do battle with all the evils that God's enemies can muster. If you want to survive, you have to learn how to fight."
"I'll never be able to fight like you, ma'am," Sheryl said.
"Maybe, but you will become a competent fighter, even if it means training every day until you can barely walk."
Sheryl bit her lip.
"Let's begin," Marina said. "We'll start by working on balance. Female legionnaires spend a lot of time standing on one leg and kicking with the other. Balance is crucial."
Aaron smiled and nodded. Sheryl's new career was off to a strong start.
* * *
Aaron watched as Smythe pushed a dolly into headquarters. Three steel boxes were stacked on it, and each was big enough to hold a dead body folded up. Tawni and Norbert followed him.
"Any problems?" Aaron said.
"It went smoothly, sir," Smythe said. "No casualties."
"Good. Put those in the exercise area."
Marina was still working with Sheryl when everybody else walked in. Sheryl's face was sweaty and red, and her shoulders were slumped over. Her quivering legs indicated she had reached the "can barely walk" stage of today's training.
"That's enough," Aaron said. "Thank you, Marina."
Marina nodded. "My pleasure. Sheryl, you can rest now."
Sheryl collapsed onto the mat and lay flat on her back.
Smythe cleared a space on the floor and unloaded the boxes. Aaron crouched down for a closer look. The metal sides had no handles, openings, or markings. The seams were welded and seemed air-tight.
"Are we supposed to cut them open?" Aaron said.
Smythe shrugged. "This is all we found. There were no instructions."
Aaron tapped on the side of one of the boxes. The metal sounded sturdy.
He noticed a square seam which was almost invisible. He pressed it and the metal shifted. It was a concealed button. Careful examination yielded more buttons on all sides. He sat back and scratched the stubble on his chin.
"It's a puzzle box," he announced. "You have to press the buttons in the right order to open it."
Smythe, Norbert, and Tawni crouched down and studied the boxes.
"Wait!" Aaron said. "Don't touch anything. I bet if you get the combination wrong, something very bad will happen. This is a clever way to make sure the packages don't fall into the wrong hands. It's a secret security code combined with a booby trap."
Everybody backed away.
Aaron frowned as he pondered what to do. "Somebody fetch Kamal."
Tawni ran off. A moment later, she returned with Kamal. He was wearing a white buttoned shirt and black pants. Polished shoes gleamed under the lights. He always looked like he was prepared to give a presentation at a professional conference.
"Sir?" he said.
Aaron nodded to the steel boxes. "I want to look inside in a very non-intrusive way. Before we start messing around, we need to know exactly what we're dealing with."
"I have an X-ray radiography scanner that should work nicely. It can generate a high resolution three-dimensional image of the contents. It will take me a while to setup the equipment."
"You have an hour."
Kamal grimaced. "Yes, sir."
* * *
Sheryl was staring up at the ceiling. The metal tiles had a pebbled surface that caught the light in interesting ways.
The face of a beautiful, black woman appeared in her view. "How's it going, rookie?" Tawni said.
"Not very well," Sheryl replied.
"Oh?"
"Aaron had me in the gun range until my hands were numb. Then Marina gave me a martial arts lesson from Hell. Now I can't move."
Tawni grinned. "Sounds like every day around here."
"Just kill me now, please. End the suffering. Joining was a terrible mistake."
Tawni reached out her hand. Sheryl grabbed it and was pulled to her feet. Her leg muscles gave way, and she fell against Tawni's chest. Sheryl didn't mind the unexpected intimacy. Tawni helped her straighten up.
Sheryl's stomach growled. "I'm getting hungry. Is it lunchtime?"
"Sure," Tawni said. "Let's see what we can find in the kitchen."
"I was hoping we could do better than cold sandwiches. This is my first day in the Gray Spear Society. I want it to include a memorable meal."
"Aaron might need me on short notice. We can't go far."
"Is there a nice place to eat in the hotel?" Sher
yl said.
Tawni furrowed her brow. "Is this a date?"
"It's just two co-workers having lunch together."
"Well, there is a great Italian restaurant on the ground floor. The Favoloso. I've eaten there a few times and never been disappointed."
"I could definitely go for some pasta," Sheryl said. "Just let me shower and change real quick."
Headquarters included a large bathroom with two shower stalls, and she used one. The hot water soothed her limp muscles. Now that she was moving around, she felt better. Her recovery was quicker than she had expected. A burning sensation in her belly seemed to be supplying fresh energy and strength. God's breath, she thought. Aaron wasn't kidding.
After drying off, Sheryl put her green dress back on. She brushed out her hair and touched up her lipstick.
She walked out of the bathroom and found Tawni waiting. Sheryl showed off her best stage smile.
Tawni rolled her eyes. "This is getting weird. Let's go."
They took the secret elevator down to the first floor. The hotel was busy with guests coming and going. Most of them looked like they had come to Chicago on business.
"How many people know about our headquarters?" Sheryl whispered.
"Just our team," Tawni said. "Even the other cells in the Society don't know our exact location. It's safer that way."
"What about the hotel staff?"
Tawni shook her head. "No, and if they find out, we have to kill them."
"You're joking, right?"
There was no humor in Tawni's eyes. Sheryl swallowed. These people are crazy, she thought.
"Some of them know something is going on," Tawni said. "Aaron is monitoring the situation. It's a security risk. We may have to move eventually."
"That's a shame. This place is cool."
"Security comes first."
Tawni led the way to an Italian restaurant which was in a back corner of the hotel. All the furnishings were made of brass, dark wood, and black leather. Opera music played softly in the background. Tawni and Sheryl were given a table.
Sheryl opened the menu, and the high prices immediately caught her eye.
"Who is paying for lunch?"
"I have a credit card," Tawni said.
"Me, too, but am I allowed to use it? What's our salary?"
"Zero. We have access to money through our false identities. I buy what I need, and Aaron pays the bills."
"Is there a budget?" Sheryl said.
"Not really. Aaron and the twins handle the finances, and they won't tell me where the money comes from. It's some kind of mystery involving God. Sometimes it seems like the money is created from nothing."
Sheryl was intrigued. "There are secrets within the Society?"
"Big ones," Tawni said. "Don't get too curious. Aaron will tell you what it's safe for you to know."
A waiter came to take their order. Sheryl asked for a cheese ravioli dish, and Tawni ordered spaghetti with meat sauce. Much fancier items were on the menu, but neither woman was looking for an elaborate meal.
When they were alone again, Sheryl said, "I watched Aaron and Marina spar."
"Oh?" Tawni had a disappointed expression. "I wish I had seen that."
"It was terrifying. I thought they were going to kill each other."
"The big boys play rough."
"How can they move like that?" Sheryl said.
"That's the Lord's anger. It turns us all into monsters eventually. The longer you're in, the nastier you get. Aaron and Marina are tame compared to some other members of the Society." Tawni shuddered. "I've seen nightmare shit. Wait until you meet the legate."
"Who?"
"Aaron's boss. She's a black slice of death. Wesley's bodyguards are just as scary. They make the worst serial killer in the world look wimpy."
Sheryl didn't want to think about becoming a monster. It was more than she could handle at this point. She was already completely overwhelmed.
The food arrived. She could tell from the first bite of her meal that it was the best cheese ravioli of her life. The cheese was creamy and bursting with milky flavor. The pasta had just the right amount of firmness without being chewy. She sighed with pleasure.
"Eat fast," Tawni said. "If Aaron calls for us, he won't wait."
Sheryl ate quickly.
* * *
Aaron was studying the result of the X-ray scan of the steel box. A rotating three-dimensional image was on the screen before him. Each of the small parts were rendered with superb definition and colored by material density. Nothing was hidden from view.
However, there were a great many parts, and they fit together in intricate ways. It was impossible to make sense of the mess.
He stepped back so other people could take a look. Smythe, Norbert, and Marina gathered around the screen.
Aaron was standing in Kamal's laboratory. Complicated scientific equipment stood on the counters and the floor all around the room. The general theme was stainless steel, glass, and buttons. Kamal loved his toys, the more expensive, the better.
"Shoot this data over to the twins," Aaron said. "Maybe they can figure it out."
"Yes, sir," Kamal said.
Aaron left the laboratory and went straight to the computer room. He was expecting to find the twins there, but their seats were empty. His shoulders sagged. The life of a commander was sometimes full of irritations.
He yelled up at the ceiling. "Where are the twins?"
"On the roof, sir," Jack replied through overhead speakers. "Again."
Aaron snarled.
He jogged across the exercise area and climbed a flight of stairs. When he emerged into the open air, bright sunlight made him squint. It was an oppressively hot, humid day. Dead still air provided no relief.
The twins were seated in lawn chairs near the white shed again. He hurried over to them.
"Go downstairs," he ordered. "I have something for you to look at."
"But, sir," Bethany said.
"Quiet! I let you work on your firewall project all morning, even though you should be investigating the monkey machines. I held my tongue. I was very tolerant. Now I need your help, and it can't wait. I'm still your commander. I shouldn't have to beg for your time."
The sisters exchanged enigmatic looks. Their faces revealed no emotion at all.
Bethany finally nodded. "Yes, sir."
She and Leanna went downstairs, and Aaron followed.
When the twins were seated in their chairs, he said, "Kamal just sent you an X-ray of a box. Tell me how to open the box safely."
Bethany's fingers began to dance. The X-ray image appeared on her screen, but instead of just rotating, the diagram was disassembling before Aaron's eyes. He watched the components virtually fly apart as she performed her analysis. The effect was hypnotic.
"Sir," she said fifteen minutes later, "the results are on the printer."
He went to the printer and found a sheet of paper. It showed detailed instructions explaining what buttons to push in what order. Helpful little diagrams accompanied each step.
"This is perfect," he said. "Thank you. You can go back to the roof if you want."
"We'll stay down here. We should review the universal equations again. Maybe this time we'll understand them better."
"Still having trouble?"
"A lot of trouble," she said. "We're not smart enough. God is becoming frustrated. We're afraid of what might happen."
"Try to stay calm and focused. Fear won't make you smarter."
"Yes, sir."
Aaron gathered his legionnaires around the steel boxes. Tawni and Sheryl were a little slow coming back from lunch, but he didn't comment.
Aaron handed the sheet to Sheryl. "You're the expert on puzzles. Follow these instructions to open the boxes."
"Yes, sir." She accepted the paper and looked intently at it.
"Be careful. A mistake might kill us all."
Her face lost its color.
"Go on," he said. "We don't have all day
."
He put his arms around Marina and pulled her close. She snuggled against him as they watched Sheryl work.
Aaron could tell right away he had given the job to the right woman. Sheryl's long, thin fingers had a remarkably soft touch. Every movement was precise. She triple-checked every step and never rushed.
"Do you know how to pick locks?" Marina said.
"I'm pretty good at it," Sheryl said.
After about five minutes, Aaron heard a click. The metal walls of the box opened and fell outwards.
"Excellent work," he said. "Now do the other two while we examine this one."
"Yes, sir," she said.
The team crowded around. Aaron cleared away some packing foam to reveal the Super Double Monkey machine. A thick glass case enclosed an astonishingly intricate mechanism. A dozen brightly colored balls of various sizes were free to roll around on a series of curving tracks. There were hoops, springs, rubber bands, traps, and many little gadgets. A silver bell was at the end of each track.
"How do you play this thing?" Smythe said. "I don't see how to keep score. What's the goal?"
"I don't know," Aaron said.
There were many knobs and levers at the base of the machine. He played with them and saw components move inside the case. With a little practice, he found he could push the balls around. It was entertaining in a childish way.
"I think you want to move the balls along the tracks," Marina said. "They're like little obstacle courses. Maybe if you hit the bell, the machine pays out. It could be fun."
"We have three," he said, "so we can afford to break one. Let's crack this one open and take it apart. Maybe we can figure out what makes it so extremely addictive. It doesn't look dangerous from the outside, but we should still be very careful."
He picked up the game with both arms. It felt like it weighed about fifty pounds. He carried it into the machine shop and placed it on a workbench. Nancy was repairing a small piece of electrical equipment in the shop.
"Can you cut this thing open for me?" Aaron said. "Try not to break anything inside."
"Yes, sir," she replied.
The shop contained tools of all kinds. Hand tools and small power tools filled shelves along a wall. Free standing equipment took up floor space elsewhere. Raw materials such as wire, pipes, and screws were on racks in the back.
