by Siegel, Alex
"Doing what, exactly?"
"Protecting the Earth from God's enemies. That's what we do every day. That's what you'll do for the rest of your life."
Hanley lowered his head and stared at the floor. He felt completely overwhelmed by what was happening.
"We're done," Ethel said. "Marina, take him back to his hotel."
"Yes, ma'am," Marina said.
She found a winter coat for Hanley. She tugged on his arm to get him to his feet. When he stood up, he automatically expected to feel pain, but his knee was solid and strong. He couldn't help but smile. This job has nice health benefits at least, he thought.
Marina led him outside. He discovered he had been held in a small suburban house. He saw the tall buildings of downtown Milwaukee in the distance.
They got into a car and travelled towards downtown in silence. He had a thousand questions, but he wanted a moment to think before he asked them. He had a lot to think about.
He looked over and noticed she was still wearing her weapons. He could easily grab the gun from her holster. The idea was tempting.
She handed the gun to him. "Here, take it if it makes you feel better."
He checked the weapon and found it was loaded with explosive tipped bullets. He thought about pointing the gun at her, but it wouldn't accomplish anything. She was going to release him anyway.
"Cheer up," she said. "One day you'll look back and realize this was one of the best nights of your life."
"Then why do I feel like I just got shanghaied by pirates?" he said.
"Joining the Society is a rough experience for everybody. When God decides you're ready, it happens fast."
"So I should blame God for this?"
She shrugged. "If you want. Honestly, you're going to love your new life. There are only 210 members in North America, less now thanks to you. We have to protect 500 million souls. Sometimes we fall short, but when we win, it's the greatest feeling ever. It's worth all the pain and sacrifices."
"How many lives have you saved, really?"
"Me? Millions, I suppose. I've been in the business for eleven years."
"Come on." He made a face at her.
"I don't want to go through all my missions. I'm too tired. But I'm telling the truth. You're on God's team now, and we play for the highest stakes."
He frowned. "All this talk about God. It still sounds like religious nonsense to me."
"I've met the Guy several times. Manifestations, at least." She held up her hand. "He gave me these fingernails."
"No offense, but black nail polish isn't a good look for you."
"That's my natural color. They grow black and very sharp. Touch them if you want, but be careful."
She held out her hand. He touched the tip of one fingernail and nicked his finger. It felt like a razor blade. The black color appeared to be inside the nail.
"That's freaky! And you produce venom, too?"
"I can paralyze people," she said, "put them to sleep, or kill. That's how I knocked you out."
It was one more piece of unbelievable information to throw on top of the pile. These people seemed to live in an entirely different world.
Hanley furrowed his brow. "But how does the Society really work? Where does the money come from?"
"You're obsessed with money." She glanced at him.
"I spend a lot of time in budget meetings."
She rolled her eyes. She took out a bulky gray phone like the one Ethel had used.
"Bethany?" Marina said. "I have Hanley with me. Ethel just made him a member. It sounds crazy, but it's true. He has questions about money. Enlighten him." She gave the phone to Hanley.
He spoke into it. "Who is this?"
"Bethany." The voice sounded like a young woman. She spoke softly and in a very polite tone. "I'm one of the computer experts in Chicago. What do you need to know?"
"What's the budget for the Society?"
"We don't have one."
"Then where does the money come from?" Hanley said.
"I'm not allowed to answer that question. It's one of the secret ways God interacts with mankind. It's complicated anyway. I'll tell you money is a very powerful illusion, but nothing more than that. Why? Do you need some?"
"Sure. I always want more money."
"I can't give you money just because you want it," Bethany said. "You have to actually need it for something useful. That's the rule."
He furrowed his brow. "I have some credit card payments which are due."
"You have debts?"
"A mortgage, car loans, all the usual stuff. Is that a problem?"
He heard very rapid typing. After a moment she said, "They're gone."
"What are?"
"Your debts. There will be no more payments."
"Huh?" He raised his eyebrows. "How did you do that?"
She sighed. "Do you need anything else?"
"Can you put ten million dollars in my checking account?" he said eagerly.
"Do you want it or need it?"
"But you can do it?"
"Of course," she said. "It's just a number in a computer. You're wasting my time, and I don't appreciate it. I've had a very long day."
"Sorry."
"Can I talk to Marina, please?"
"Sure." He gave the phone back to Marina.
"How are you guys holding up?" she said. "I know. We're all tired. Call Aaron and ask him if you can sleep. I think the heavy lifting is done for tonight. Bye." She put away her phone.
Hanley was silent for a moment. It felt strange to be completely free of debt.
"Satisfied?" Marina said.
"She just deleted all my loans." He looked at her. "Is everything that easy for you guys?"
"We have problems, too. They're just different from the problems normal people have. Ours are always life threatening. We'll be back at the hotel in a few minutes, so let's go over your instructions again."
"Send the Unit back to Washington. Convince Rosecrans to retire. Stay in contact with Xavier."
"And don't let him even suspect you flipped sides," she said. "Be extremely careful with him. You don't get to be a commander if you're any kind of fool, and he's been a commander for a long time. Oh, don't forget the survivors from San Francisco. Call the warden and make sure our people are treated well."
"ADX Florence doesn't have luxury accommodations, but I'll do my best."
They were quiet for a moment. Hanley could see the hotel in the distance. At this time of night, there was no traffic at all.
Marina smiled and patted him on the leg. "You'll be OK."
"What evidence do you have to support that dubious statement?"
"Let's just say you smell like a proper Spear."
"And how does a proper Spear smell?" He looked at her.
"Like a grave yard."
He snorted. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing."
She shrugged.
"Ethel..."
"Refer to her as the legate."
"The legate mentioned a very generous pension for Rosecrans," he said. "How much should I offer him?"
"Money, again?" She glared at him.
"I just need a number."
"It really doesn't matter. Whatever seems reasonable to you will be fine. And while you're at it, you can pick how much money you want your widow to receive. Just tell Aaron, and he'll have Bethany take care of it."
"Do I have to fill out an expense report?" Hanley said.
She widened her eyes. "I can tell this is going to be a difficult transition for you."
She dropped him off in the hotel parking lot and drove away. She let him keep the gun. It was a nice one, and he appreciated the gift.
According to his watch, only two hours had passed since his abduction. It had seemed much longer. He might still get a little sleep tonight.
Four police cars and a forensics unit were parked in front of the hotel. He realized he would have to answer a lot of questions. He obviously couldn't tell anybody the truth, but h
e didn't have the mental energy to come up with a convincing lie. That left saying nothing at all. Fortunately, the military had a tried and true procedure for doing exactly that.
Hanley entered the warm lobby, went to the elevator, and rode up to the seventh floor. He stepped out of the elevator and found two soldiers on either side of the door.
They jumped to their feet. "Sir! You're alive!"
"Yes," Hanley said, "I'm fine, and thanks for your concern. You can go back to your rooms now. You're relieved of guard duty. There's no need for special security anymore."
He went down the hall and around the corner. There was a cluster of men gathered near the door of his room. Most were men from the Unit, but some police officers were in the mix. Colonel Rosecrans stood with the rest, and he was wearing a bathrobe. Forensics technicians were dusting the doors for fingerprints.
As soon as the men saw Hanley, they came running over. He was immediately peppered with questions.
He put up his hands. "Sorry, I can't talk about it. That's classified information."
The questions continued. He had to say "classified" several more times before everybody calmed down. It was like a magic word.
"The party is over, gentlemen," Hanley said. "Nothing happened that you need to know about. Go to your rooms and try to get some sleep." He looked at the police officers. "You can go too. I'm sorry we wasted your time. It was all a big misunderstanding."
The police were reluctant to leave, but his refusal to cooperate eventually defeated them. Finally, the only person left in the hallway was Rosecrans.
The colonel glared. "What happened to you? And if you tell me it's classified, I'll slug you." There was a red mark on his cheek.
"What happened to your face?"
"The maid kicked me."
"The maid?" Hanley said.
"Yes. She had white hair."
Odelia, Hanley thought.
"Then they gave me some kind of drug." Rosecrans touched a small cut on his neck. "Made me sleep for an hour."
Marina. "But you're fine now?" Hanley said.
"Just shaken up."
"What about the men?"
"No serious injuries," Rosecrans said. "The Society made us look like complete chumps."
Compared to them, that's what we are, Hanley thought. "That's good news."
"You're avoiding the question. I presume you had your mysterious meeting."
"Let's not talk about this in the hallway."
They went into Hanley's hotel room. Seeing his familiar possessions struck him oddly. The Race Hanley who owned these things would soon be dead.
Rosecrans closed the door. "Spill it. You can start by telling me how you escaped."
Hanley sat on the bed and stared at his friend. There was so much he wanted to say and so little he could.
"They let me go."
"Did they hurt you?" Rosecrans said.
"Not really. We just talked, but I can't say what we talked about. I will tell you this mission is hopelessly compromised. My contact was feeding us bullshit from the beginning. We have to send the men home before anybody else gets killed. We really shouldn't be here at all. We'll leave in the morning."
"You're giving up?"
"It's for the best," Hanley said sadly.
Rosecrans sat on the bed with him. "How did they get to you? Did they threaten your family?"
"They just explained what's really going on."
"You're being very coy."
"I'm sorry," Hanley said. "You deserve better. I have one more thing to tell you. The Gray Spear Society wants you to retire. You need to go away and pretend none of this happened."
"Not a chance." Rosecrans said.
"They'll pay you."
Rosecrans' face turned red. "I won't be bought off. I'm offended you would even suggest the idea."
Hanley stood and began to pace back and forth. He wasn't sure how to resolve this situation.
"You're walking a lot better," Rosecrans said. "No limp at all."
"They had a doctor treat my knee."
"Is that why your pants are cut off?"
"Yeah," Hanley said. "He did a great job."
"Didn't you have a lot of scars before?"
Hanley looked down at his perfect knee. "Must be the lighting in here."
Rosecrans narrowed his eyes.
"Listen," Hanley said, "the Society thinks you know too much. As a favor to me, they're willing to let you walk away, if you can keep your mouth shut. I can't make it any simpler than that."
"Otherwise, they'll kill me?"
"They know where you live. They know everything."
"I have a lot of powerful friends in Washington," Rosecrans said. "They can protect me."
Hanley remembered Ethel's eyes. "Not a chance. You know I'm a straight shooter. If I'm telling you this is the right choice, you can trust me. How much money do you want? You're being offered a comfortable retirement."
"I already told you I won't be bought off. I'll fight to the end."
"I'm trying very hard to save your life."
"Maybe I don't want to be saved by a defector like you," Rosecrans said.
"I'm not a defector!" Hanley said. "I just know the truth."
"What truth?"
Hanley remembered the sign he had seen near Camp Zonta. He hadn't really understood it before, but now it made perfect sense. "There are places ordinary men should never go," he said softly. "Things they shouldn't see. Roads they shouldn't travel."
"What are you saying? I'm an ordinary man, and you're not?"
Hanley rubbed his tired eyes and nodded.
"To Hell with you. The mission wasn't the only thing compromised tonight. We'll deal with this properly when we get back to Washington."
Rosecrans walked out of the room and slammed the door.
Hanley lowered his head. "Fuck."
Chapter Fourteen
Xavier opened his eyes. He wasn't dead yet, which came as a pleasant surprise. It always did.
Sampson was snoring in the next bed. He was like a big puppy dog sometimes. He was so friendly and energetic it was hard not to like him. Of course, his credulity was the attribute Xavier valued most these days. Sampson wasn't a stupid man. He just never asked smart questions.
Xavier silently slipped out of bed and used the bathroom.
By the time he was done, Sampson was stirring, "Sir, what time is it? Did I miss breakfast?"
"Always hungry." Xavier smiled. "No, it's right now. Let's get there while it's still hot."
Sampson jumped out of bed.
Xavier put on his formal robes. Proper attire was required in the dining room, even at breakfast. He strapped on his weapons and zipped up his heavy outer coat.
He had to wait a minute while Sampson also got dressed. Finally, they were ready and went outside.
For some reason, the morning air wasn't quite as frigid today as yesterday. Maybe Xavier was just getting used to it. They quickly trotted over to the main building and went straight to the dining room.
He inhaled the aroma of bacon, eggs, and pancakes. He had to give credit to Aaron for one thing. The man knew how to feed his guests.
Xavier noticed a piece of paper by the door with the title "Legate Meeting Schedule." Every attendee at the convention had a time beside his or her name. Xavier was scheduled for 5:00 in the afternoon, almost the last meeting on the list. He didn't have any other obligations, which meant he could spend the day pursuing his own agenda.
His top priority was determining his real location. There had to be clues somewhere in the camp. He just needed to be very observant and methodical.
Breakfast was served buffet style. He and Sampson grabbed plates and filled them with food. After not eating dinner last night, Xavier was particularly hungry. They sat together at a table in the corner.
"What do you think of the convention so far, sir?" Sampson said around a mouthful of eggs.
"Very relaxing," Xavier said. "It's been much more of a social gatherin
g than a business trip." For some.
"Maybe the legate just wanted everybody to get to know each other."
"If that's true, she certainly accomplished it. We've had little else to do."
Two other commanders came to the table. Xavier recognized one as Yule from his giant cat eyes. Xavier wondered what he would look like with normal eyes. The other man was the commander from Manhattan, but Xavier didn't remember his name.
"Mind if we join you?" Yule said.
"Please," Xavier said.
They sat down, taking the other two seats at the table. Their very full plates indicated they planned to stay a while.
"I'm sorry," Xavier said, "but I can't quite recall your name."
"Hector," the commander from Manhattan said. "You're Xavier and Sampson, right?"
"Yes, sir," Sampson said eagerly.
Hector looked old, even older than Ethel. Xavier had to respect a man who could survive that long in the Gray Spear Society. Legionnaires had an average life expectancy similar to a goldfish. Replenishing the ranks was a continuous process and a pain in the ass for every commander. Each cell was supposed to have ten people in total, but most were short at least one.
"Do you have plans for the day?" Hector said. "Aside from your meeting with the legate, of course."
"I heard Aaron will be running paintball battles in the woods," Sampson said. "I'll probably do that. We'll have to be careful about the booby traps though."
"I'm sure he has a safe area marked off."
Xavier couldn't stop himself from glancing at Yule's eyes. The pupils were vertical slits as large as camera lenses. When he blinked, his eyelids slapped together and made a tiny popping noise.
"What about you?" Hector asked Xavier. "Any plans?"
"Not really," Xavier said. "I'll probably get bored at some point and try my hand at paintball, too. Until then, I'll just enjoy a relaxing morning. It's strange being away from headquarters with nothing to do. This is what a vacation must feel like."
"It's a shame we can't have conventions more often, but the risks are too high."
"Risks?"
"God's enemies don't take a break just because we're all away from the office," Hector said. "And having so many Society members in one place creates a very big target. It's a situation that invites mischief. What do you think of the security here? Is it adequate in your opinion?"
