Eyes of the World (Gray Spear Society Book 10)

by Alex Siegel

  "Hello?" she said.

  "This is Aaron."

  "Hello, sir! I heard you got promoted. Congratulations."

  "It's temporary," he said. "I need you to work on a very important task for me."

  "Of course."

  "I'm sure you heard about the cannibal plague that just hit Chicago. A group of mercenaries called Unit K was doing the dirty work. We already took them out, but the people who paid them are the ones we really want. Perry tried to follow the financial trail, but he got stuck."

  "Can't the twins help him?" Wendy said.

  "They're busy," Aaron said. "This is a banking problem, and I need the top bankers in the world working on it. That's you and your team. Talk to Perry."

  Aaron gave the phone to Perry. He and Wendy had a conversation full of jargon. It seemed to be a mix of computer and financial terms. Aaron had only a vague idea of what they were talking about.

  Finally, Perry gave the phone back to Aaron and said, "They'll get right on it."

  Aaron wiped his hands ceremonially. "That's two problems taken care of. What's left?"

  "The Red Eye radio and the electronic warfare campaign."

  "Focus on the radio. The rest of the hackers in the division can fight the war for us."

  "Yes, sir," Perry said.

  Aaron took another look at the guts of the radio. It was a dense block of circuitry which seemed impossible to untangle.

  "Oh, I have yet another task. We need to steal weapons from the Army to equip our own people. I want times and routes of supply convoys. We'll ambush one tonight."

  "I'll ask one of the other hackers to get that information for you, sir."

  Aaron patted him on the shoulder. "Good man."

  "I've never been in a war before," Perry said. "This is exciting!"

  "Let's just hope it doesn't get too exciting. I like my wars to be nice and manageable."

  * * *

  Smythe was sitting with Odelia on a bench in the lobby of the Rosemont Tower Hotel. The stone bench wasn't the most comfortable surface, but they were happy to get off their feet after several hours of greeting guests and making sure everybody had a room. It had been a stressful and exhausting time. The flow of new arrivals had finally slowed to a trickle. Almost all of God's warriors were in the building.

  The two lovers were holding hands. Just being in Odelia's presence made Smythe happy. He kept glancing at her beautiful, pink face and smiling. The unique red-brown color in her eyes delighted him. Her short, red dress showed off muscles in her legs that were strong yet feminine.

  "With all the big changes going on," Smythe said, "I can't stop thinking about our future together."

  "Me, too," Odelia said. "I keep fantasizing about getting married and having kids. I'm like a teenage girl with a head full of romantic dreams."

  "There must be a way to make it work."

  "I've never heard of anybody getting out of the Society. It's dangerous to even talk about."

  "Maybe Wesley can help us," he said.

  She gave him a hard look. "You really want to get him involved? He might tell us something we don't want to hear."

  "At least it would be the truth."

  "I'd rather keep my dreams."

  "Wesley's parents escaped from the Society," he said. "They managed to survive for eight years."

  "Constantly travelling under assumed names and living in fear isn't quite what I had in mind. Our current situation is better than that."

  He sighed and squeezed her hand.

  Marina walked into the lobby. She had strawberry-blonde hair tied in a ponytail with a black silk ribbon. Light freckles decorated the pale skin on her face. Her eyes were the color of jade. She never wore much makeup, and she didn't need it. She was a naturally gorgeous woman. Her fingernails were jet black and sharply pointed at the ends.

  Her main flaw was an unmistakable hardness in her expression. She could be extremely cruel when the situation called for it. Before her departure from Chicago, she had been known as the vicious bitch on the team. Recently, Tawni had taken up that role.

  Marina looked harried and stressed. Four legionnaires accompanied her: three men and one woman.

  Smythe recognized Hanley at once. The former chief of the FBI Special Missions Unit had participated in the capture of Xavier last winter. He had short, dark, curly hair. He seemed to be in his mid-thirties. His handsome face was locked in a stern, intense expression. He had obviously spent a lot of time training while in San Francisco. He had muscles in places that Smythe didn't remember him having muscles.

  Smythe didn't know the other members of Marina's team. One very big man had Polynesian features and the arms of a sumo wrestler. The last man was smaller and Chinese. The lone female legionnaire was a little shorter than Marina and had medium length, brown hair.

  Smythe jumped up, ran over, and gave Marina a warm hug.

  "I finally made it," she said. "That was a nightmare trip!"

  He stepped back. "What happened?"

  "Soldiers are everywhere. All the roads are blocked. It was like sneaking into a giant prison camp. And the weather is a bad practical joke. I've never seen so much snow! Who else is here?"

  "Just about the whole Society. You might be the last to arrive. I'm under strict orders to send you straight up to headquarters for a special meeting with Aaron and Wesley. The Voice of Truth has been asking for you."

  Her eyes widened. "Now I'm terrified."

  "With good reason, I think. Go on up, ma'am."

  "Don't tell Aaron I'm coming. I want to surprise him."

  "Sure," Smythe said. "Just go. Odelia and I will take care of your people."

  Marina ran off.

  Smythe shook Hanley's hand and gave him a thump on the shoulder. "It's great to see you again. You got strong!"

  Hanley grinned. "Hey, guys, this is Smythe and Odelia. They're the supernatural healers you heard about."

  The audience nodded and smiled appreciatively.

  "And who are your friends?" Smythe said.

  "This is Ipo, Yang, and Katie." Hanley pointed to the Polynesian man, the Chinese man, and the woman respectively.

  "Very glad to meet you." Smythe shook their hands. "What's it like to work for Marina? She was just a legionnaire when I knew her."

  "She's intense," Ipo said in a deep voice, "and she knows her stuff. She really keeps us on our tip-toes. She's a great commander."

  "Messing with her is a real bad idea," Yang added. "Those fingernails aren't just for show, and she's a demon with a knife." He looked around. "This is a nice hotel. What's happening here? We were in the middle of a mission when God told us to drop everything and fly to Chicago."

  "War is what's happening. You'll get your marching orders at the big meeting tonight. The whole Society is gathering in the ballroom at sunset. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime event. In the meantime, you can rest after your arduous journey. Come with me. I'll find rooms for you."

  Smythe headed towards the front desk.

  Chapter Eight

  Marina was eager to see Aaron's headquarters. She hadn't visited Chicago since August. He had insisted on coming to California instead for their infrequent trysts. He had hinted that significant changes had occurred, but he had been annoyingly vague about the details. Something impressive had happened to Bethany and Leanna in particular. Marina was dying to see what the big secret was. Clearly, it was the reason the entire Society had been summoned to this place.

  The elevator doors opened, and she stepped into the entry chamber. Her first sight came as a shock. She had expected to see Jack in the security booth, but a computer was there instead. Dozens of components with lights on the front occupied tall racks. A huge bundle of network cables and power cords hung off the back of the equipment.

  "Hello?" Marina said cautiously.

  "Hello, Marina. I've heard a lot about you." The voice was Jack's.

  She knew that Jack was dead. He had succumbed to a fatal gambling addiction. Hearing his voice
again was creepy.

  "Are you a computer?"

  "Yes. The twins built me and named me Jack."

  Marina made a sour face. "How clever of them." She wasn't pleased with the notion of a computer in charge of security.

  "This is the first time we've met in person, so I'm unfamiliar with your biometrics. I must establish your identity another way. When you and Aaron first met, you fought the Church of One Soul. Two boats were destroyed at the end of that mission. What were their names?"

  She stared at the computer. "That was a long time ago."

  "It was a significant day," Jack said. "You should be able to remember."

  "Uh." She rubbed her temples. "Scimitar of Allah and Aegis of Allah."

  "That is correct. Welcome to Chicago."

  The side door buzzed. She opened it and hurried into the hallway beyond. She felt like she had just passed an important test.

  She almost tripped over a big hunk of scientific equipment. She saw similar junk up and down the hallway. Somebody needs to clean up their mess, she thought.

  Marina made her way deeper into headquarters. She discovered the conference room had been turned into a second scientific laboratory. The machine shop was also cluttered with equipment that looked like it belonged in a science fiction movie.

  Nancy was working in the machine shop. She never stopped smiling, but now her smile looked forced and brittle. Her coveralls had a chemical stain down one leg. Her eyes were bloodshot.

  When Marina entered the exercise section, she stopped and gaped. The large, open area had become a field of technological debris. It looked like an alien space ship had dumped its cargo in the middle of headquarters. Thick power cables ran along the floor with no attention paid to safety.

  Marina saw two robots moving in the middle of the mess. She approached them cautiously. When she saw their bodies, she realized they were Bethany and Leanna. Marina couldn't believe her eyes. The girls' skulls were made of gray metal now, and their eyeballs were large, black crystals. Below the neck, they hadn't changed. They still wore the same dorky white shirts and red skirts as always. Becoming cyborgs clearly hadn't improved their poor taste in fashion.

  "Girls?" Marina said.

  The twins ran over and gave her a hug.

  "Hi, Marina," they said in unison. Their voices sounded like simplified, electronic versions of human speech.

  "You've changed."

  "God made us much smarter," Bethany said. Her crystal eyeballs were disturbing. They had golden structures deep inside the translucent material.

  Marina raised her eyebrows. "I see."

  The twins were working on a device that looked like a giant donut covered with colorful sprinkles. It was made of countless components, some as small as grains of sand. The pieces were arranged to form loops, swirls, and rings in a hypnotically beautiful pattern.

  "What's this?" Marina said.

  "The aperture," Bethany said. "It's the key to our project."

  Marina heard Aaron's voice in his office. She had more questions for the twins, but they could wait until after she greeted her lover.

  She picked her way through the high-tech junkyard to reach the office. Aaron was tall and very muscular. Bushy eyebrows shaded his brown eyes. His brown hair had grown out a little but wasn't messy. A strikingly handsome face always made her sigh like a girl. Unnatural shadows clung to his brooding features in spots, and they had darkened since the last time she had seen him.

  He noticed her and immediately ran to her. He gathered her up in his arms and gave her a big hug that felt like Heaven. He kissed her on the lips. Then he hugged her again. For a long time, they just held each other. They were finally together again.

  "You weren't joking about the changes," Marina said. "Jack turned into a computer, the twins became cyborgs, and your headquarters is a disaster area."

  "And I turned into a legate," Aaron said.

  "What!" She stepped back.

  "Ethel ran off to save the President. Somebody had to take her place temporarily."

  "Wow." She raised her eyebrows. "I guess that means you're my boss again, just like old times."

  "Wrong," a young, musical voice said.

  Marina spun around to find Wesley standing there. He had visited her in San Francisco once, but that had been months ago, and it looked like he had actually grown since them. His glittering blue eyes were as captivating as ever.

  Norbert, Yvonne, and Guthrum were standing behind Wesley. The odd combination confused Marina.

  "Where are Charles and Atalanta?" she asked.

  "Atalanta went with Ethel," Wesley said. "Charles is right here."

  She noticed Charles sitting by the desk in the office. His peculiar gift made him easy to miss.

  The former legate waved to her. "The kid fired me. I work for Aaron now."

  "And I'm protecting Wesley," Norbert said.

  Marina looked at him. "Huh? My head is spinning. I need a cheat sheet to keep track of who works for whom around here. It's like a game of musical chairs."

  "You haven't heard the best part," Wesley said.

  "Which is?" Marina said.

  He looked around and frowned. "Not here. We need a more appropriate place. This is important. Let's go up to the roof."

  "But it's freezing cold outside."

  "God's love will keep us warm. Bethany and Leanna! It's time."

  Marina gave Aaron an anxious look. He shrugged.

  The entire group went up a flight of stairs to the roof. Marina expected to walk out into biting wind and a blizzard of snow, but it was shockingly pleasant instead. A setting sun had punched a hole through the clouds. Its red rays were heating the roof like a giant laser beam and leaving the surrounding area untouched. Snow on the roof was melting rapidly, and it felt like spring had suddenly arrived. The phenomenon was clearly supernatural.

  Then she realized it wasn't the sun. God was staring down on them.

  Marina took Aaron's hand. She was scared. Something very big was about to happen.

  Wesley walked to the center of the roof and beckoned Aaron and Marina to join him. Everybody else stood politely off to the side.

  Aaron and Marina faced Wesley.

  "Love is the most important thing," the boy said. "It is the glue that holds the universe together. It joins mankind to God. Without love, there is nothing. It is finally time to make your love official."

  Marina furrowed her brow. "What are you talking about?"

  "Aaron Glade, do you take Marina Pavlova for your lawful wedded wife, to live in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honor, comfort, and cherish her from this day forward, forsaking all others?"

  Aaron stared at Wesley as if he were an alien.

  "Do you?" Wesley asked cheerfully.

  Marina started to grin. An impossible dream was coming true. She felt like she was floating on clouds.

  She elbowed Aaron in the ribs and said, "The kid asked you a question, mister!"

  He croaked, "I do."

  "Marina Pavlova," Wesley said, "do you take Aaron Glade for your lawful wedded husband, to live in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honor, comfort, and cherish him from this day forward, forsaking all others?"

  She nodded eagerly. She couldn't believe this was actually happening. "I do."

  "Then in the name of the Lord Almighty and in front of these honorable witnesses, I declare you husband and wife for all eternity. May your undying love always guide you through the challenges you will face. You may kiss."

  Marina grabbed Aaron's face and kissed him on the lips. At first, he was too stunned to respond, but then he became passionate. The kiss went on and on. The small audience clapped enthusiastically the entire time.

  When it was over, she was too flustered to speak. She had never dared to hope this day would come. She wished she had worn a nice dress.

  Aaron looked at Wesley and said, "Why?"

  The boy gazed at God hanging low in the sky. "In times of war, there can only be
one supreme commander. A single voice must lead the army. A single will must drive it forward. Seven bickering legates won't do."

  "I don't understand," Aaron said.

  "The Lord wants you to lead His army, but you can't do it alone. The task is too difficult. Your other half must be at your side. You were always meant to work as a team."

  "Wait. I'm the supreme commander?"

  Wesley faced Aaron and Marina. "Both of you are. You'll be known as the Lord and Lady of the Society."

  She cocked her head. "We're in charge until the mission is done?"

  "This is a permanent appointment," Wesley said. "You report to God, and the rest report to you, forever."

  The magnitude of the moment was slowly penetrating her brain. In a single stroke, the boy had rearranged the command structure of the Gray Spear Society. He had created a marriage in a place where marriage couldn't previously exist. He hadn't just broken the rules. He had written new ones.

  She looked up at the warm, red orb in the sky. God clearly approved.

  "Why us?" Aaron said. "There are many others with more experience."

  "You have the necessary qualities. It will make sense in time."

  "And I'm a little confused by terminology. You used words like 'forever' and 'permanent.' Marriage vows normally include an exit clause like 'until death do us part.'"

  Wesley just looked at him.

  "We have another surprise coming, don't we?" Aaron said. "Getting married and promoted at the same time wasn't enough. You're saving the whopper for last."

  Wesley patted him on the arm. "Don't worry about that now. We go to war tonight, and God's army is waiting for your orders. You need to come up with a plan. You don't have much time. The Society is gathering at sunset, and they'll expect you to have the answers. You're their leaders now. Both of you."

  Aaron had a terrified expression. Marina gave him a hug even though she was just as scared.

  Wesley walked off. Norbert, Yvonne, Guthrum, and the twins followed him downstairs.

  Charles remained behind. The old man walked over and shook Aaron and Marina's hands.

  "Congratulations," Charles said. "That seems like a very small word for what just happened. The 'Lord and Lady of the Society.' I never imagined such a thing was possible. In retrospect, it makes sense though. It was clearly necessary. You can't run a war by committee."