by Alex Siegel
"I will. Bye." She hung up.
"Sir?" Tawni said.
"Even the legate is stumped," Aaron said. "Let's find someplace to eat a quick dinner on the way back. It could be a long, cold night."
He drove off.
* * *
Ethel walked into the big room where the aperture was being assembled. The twins were hard at work as usual. They were using industrial robots to place and weld tiny components at high speed. Violet lasers created precision welds in a flash. Bethany was watching the robots with her black, crystalline eyes. Leanna was using a microscope to check the components that still needed to be added.
I'm certain this whole mess is because of you two, Ethel thought. "Almost done, girls?"
"The initial assembly is nearly complete," Bethany said in her computerized voice. "Then we must perform several rounds of testing, conditioning, and calibration. Before we go to full power, we must ensure there are no imbalances in the energy flow."
"Do that, please."
Leanna suddenly collapsed. Ethel dashed forward in the blink of an eye and caught her before she hit the ground.
"What's wrong?" Ethel said.
"I'm tired," Leanna said.
"When was the last time you slept?"
"Three days ago."
Ethel rolled her eyes. "You're no good to us if you work yourself to death. Sleep now. Both of you."
"But..."
"That's an order, and when an order comes from the legatus legionis, it's very serious business indeed."
"Yes, ma'am," Bethany and Leanna said in unison.
The industrial robots were shut down. The girls walked off towards their quarters, their legs swinging in perfect synchrony.
Ethel stared at the aperture. The design was rotationally symmetric, and she could see where parts were still missing. It was almost complete. The swirling color pattern was elegant and beautiful.
Will they succeed? she asked God.
I don't know, the Lord replied.
How can You not know?
Too much depends on human free will.
Ethel contemplated that statement for a long moment.
This cannibal situation is horrendous, she thought.
I see that, God responded. It saddens Me.
I may have to break a few rules to fix it.
You have My permission. The old rules are fading. Do what you must to protect the twins.
Yes, Sir.
Ethel went straight to Aaron's office. Perry was napping in the chair of his computer workstation. He had worn the same clothes for days, and she could smell his body odor. Food wrappers and empty cereal bowls were on the floor beside him.
"Wake up!" Ethel said.
His eyes snapped open. "Ma'am?" he said nervously.
"Show me a satellite photo of the bedding factory and the surrounding area."
He typed on his keyboard. An image popped up on one of the computer monitors. It showed a very large, white building surrounded by a double fence. The structure had several brick chimneys. A third fence was much further out. There was no cover in the area, not even a single tree. An intruder would be spotted from a long distance away.
"Zoom out," Ethel said.
Perry pressed a few keys, and the image switched to one that showed the surrounding farmland. It was flat, open country. Barns were the largest structures aside from the factory.
She pointed to a farm far off to the side. "I need the exact latitude and longitude of that spot."
He typed again, and numbers appeared on the screen. "There you go, ma'am."
Ethel took out her phone and called President Haley. She was sure he was awake. He didn't get much sleep these days.
He answered quickly, "Ethel?"
"Yes," she said. "We've tracked down the source of the cannibal illness."
"That's fantastic news."
"It's an awkward situation. A group of mercenaries called Unit K is responsible. The rules prevent us from killing them, and it's not feasible for us to arrest them. We don't put people in jail. That's why I'm calling you. I need your help."
"Anything," Roy said.
"I need one of your Special Forces units to drop in and arrest Unit K for us. There will be fighting involved. It could get messy."
"Done. Where and how many?"
Ethel read the coordinates from the screen. "I think two hundred soldiers should be more than adequate."
"I'll send Delta Force. They've been ready to fly into Chicago all day."
"Aaron will meet them on the ground and provide specific instructions."
"Got it," Roy said. "And I'll have the FBI standing by to take the prisoners away."
"Good thinking. I have to call Aaron now. I love you."
"I love you, too."
She hung up and dialed Aaron's number.
"Ma'am?" he said.
"The President is sending Delta Force to help you. They'll meet you about two kilometers west of the factory. Perry has the exact coordinates. You'll be in charge of the operation."
He paused. "Are you serious?"
"Yes," she said. "It's a compromise solution. Delta Force will arrest Unit K. Our hands will be clean, more or less."
"What happened to not using outsiders to fight our battles, ma'am? Aren't you breaking the rules?"
"The Lord gave me special permission."
"I see." Aaron paused. "Before I send in the troops, I want to talk to Hess by myself. Maybe I can trick him into revealing useful information before he's arrested. But I'll need gold to pay for that conversation."
"I'll have Smythe and Odelia bring plenty with them."
"Yes, ma'am." He sighed. "This is turning into a very unusual night."
"Good luck." Ethel hung up. She looked at the ceiling and yelled, "Jack! Where are Smythe and Odelia?"
"The costume supply closet, ma'am," Jack replied through overhead speakers.
Ethel furrowed her brow. What are they doing in there?
She hurried through headquarters and threw open the door of the costume closet. She caught the two healers fondling and kissing each other. Smythe was sitting on a chair, and Odelia was in his lap.
"Ahem," Ethel said.
Smythe stood up so quickly he almost knocked Odelia to the ground. They straightened their clothes and tried to stand at attention.
"This is why I was hesitant to bring Odelia here," Ethel said. "The world is falling apart, and the two greatest healers in the Western Hemisphere are making out like a couple of horny teenagers. Shouldn't you be doing something more productive?"
"We're waiting for orders, ma'am," Smythe said nervously.
She gave him a hard look. He wilted a little.
"Here are your orders," she said. "Aaron wants both of you to meet him in the field. Be prepared for serious combat."
"Yes, ma'am," Odelia chirped. Her skin was a little paler than usual.
"Take plenty of gold with you. Aaron needs it. You still have bars in the cash closet, right?"
"Yes, ma'am," Smythe said. "Will four bars be enough? That's probably all we can carry."
"It should be. Go!" Ethel made a shooing motion with her hands.
The two lovers hurried out the door.
That's the problem with love, she thought. It always gets in the way of duty.
The Lord was silent, but she sensed amusement in Him.
Chapter Twenty-three
Aaron clipped his phone to his belt. He faced Norbert and Tawni.
The team was wearing their combat gear again. Aaron had to admit that Tawni looked good in her skin-tight body armor. The dark night seemed to enhance her exotic beauty. She was a mysterious, black silhouette against a background of white snow. I've been away from Marina for too long, he thought.
"Delta Force is coming to help us out," he announced.
The two legionnaires stared at him.
"Sir," Norbert said, "isn't that pretty much a blatant violation of our rules? I thought we always fought our own battles."
"It helps that the legate is a friend of both the President of the United States and the Creator of the Universe. She made the arrangements."
"That is convenient."
"I'm off to meet our reinforcements," Aaron said. "Wait here and call me if anything happens."
He took one final look at the factory. The team was sitting in a tree that allowed them to peek over the outer fence. Bright flood lamps were placed all around the gigantic, white building. He was far away, but he could still see patrols making their rounds. The south side was getting most of the attention. He wondered what Sheryl was doing.
Aaron climbed down from the tree and started marching west through the heavy snow.
* * *
Sheryl created a tiny mirror that allowed her to peek around a corner. Four mercenaries were guarding a door at the end of a hallway. She frowned. Too many for me to handle, she thought. She turned around and headed another way.
For hours, she had wandered through the empty parts of the factory, and the time had been largely wasted. She had merely confirmed that the factory made crappy, generic sheets and blankets. The equipment was generally old and in poor condition.
After strolling along for a while, she peeked through a door and saw an employee break room. Fluorescent lights were suspended over long tables with attached seats. The floor was white tile, and it needed a good sweeping. The walls were painted puke green. A vending machine caught her eye, and her stomach growled.
She walked over to the vending machine. It contained just candy and chips, but she didn't care. Food was food at this point.
She kicked the glass with her boot to break it. The tinkling noise was loud, but she wasn't too worried. The mercenaries were in a different part of the building. She grabbed all the Fruit Roll-Ups because they seemed a little healthier than her other choices. She began to eat, and the sticky sweetness put her teeth on edge. Healthy was a relative description in this case.
Sheryl decided she needed to get into the south end of the factory where the mercenaries were holed up. If there was any new intelligence to be found, she would find it there. All the entrances were heavily guarded though. They had made sure there was no way to sneak in.
After finishing her candy, she washed it down with tap water from a fountain. The water was freezing cold.
A nearby door caught her attention. A sign read, "HIGH VOLTAGE - KEEP OUT." Sounds like an invitation I can't refuse, she thought.
She opened the door and turned on a light. The room contained dozens of circuit breaker panels. The air was a little warmer in here, and she could smell ozone. Some of the breakers were big enough to grab with two hands. They were helpfully labeled, and she now knew the factory well enough to understand what the labels meant. She located the master power switch for the south end. If she pulled that switch, the mercenaries would be plunged into darkness.
First, I have to get some night vision goggles, she thought.
Some of the guards on patrol outside the factory had goggles. During her wandering, she had seen a restroom near one of the outer doors. If a guard had to urinate, he might go there. It seemed a good place for her to ambush one of them and take his goggles.
She hurried to that part of the factory, but she didn't let her footsteps make any noise. Aaron had drilled her on moving silently until it had become a permanent habit even if she wasn't always successful.
She passed locations that were becoming familiar to her such as a machine shop and a room full of giant washing machines. Finally, she saw the restroom up ahead. She approached cautiously.
Before she got there, an odor made her stop. She sniffed the air. Somebody is smoking pot, she thought. She followed the smell to a janitor's closet.
She pulled out her knife, steadied herself, and yanked open the door. She thrust the knife into a soldier's throat before he had time to react. A cigarette dropped out of his mouth. She snatched his night vision goggles off his head and closed the door.
As she jogged back, she wondered when killing had become so easy for her. It certainly hadn't been the case before she had joined the Society. Squashing a tiny spider had been the most violence she could handle. Aaron did this to me, she thought. Somehow he turned me into an assassin when I wasn't looking. Tricky bastard.
Sheryl arrived at the circuit breaker room. She slipped the night vision goggles over her head and turned on the battery power. She saw ghostly white images through the lenses. She switched off the lights in the room to test the goggles, and she could still see, but the image was very fuzzy. These goggles weren't as good as the ones she was used to.
Good enough. She yanked the master switch.
She hurried through pitch-black hallways to the guarded door she had seen earlier. The four soldiers were still there, but they were feeling along the walls. Clearly, they were blind, while Sheryl could see just fine. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. She easily slipped past the guards and continued on.
She was back in the barracks section which had rooms full of beds. More soldiers were fumbling around and calling out to each other. She heard Commander Hess's booming voice rise above the others. He was yelling for "somebody to find the fucking circuit breaker."
Sheryl looked around for a good place to hide. She wanted to overhear conversations without being seen.
Some overhead ductwork looked promising. She ran, bounced off a bed, and grabbed a ceiling beam. She swung her body onto the top of a large air duct. The sheet metal flexed alarmingly underneath her, but it supported her weight. She settled down and became still.
About fifteen minutes later, the lights came back on. She just closed her eyes and listened.
* * *
Norbert felt a hand caress his thigh. He looked down. The hand belonged to Tawni.
"Really?" he said.
Her hand moved a little closer to his groin. His body armor muffled the sensation of physical contact, which was a good thing in this case.
"What's wrong, big boy?" She grinned, and her teeth were white in the night.
"I thought Aaron told you to back off."
"He told me to be more considerate. Right now I'm considering that sitting out here is boring as shit, and both of us could use a little excitement."
Her point about boredom was hard to refute. They had been watching the factory for an hour. Norbert was becoming so familiar with the pattern of patrols, he could predict when guards would come and go. The winter night was very still, quiet, and cold.
"We're on duty," he said.
"You do your duty while I check out the hardware," Tawni said.
She began to unzip his pants.
Norbert knew he was supposed to push her hand away, but he hesitated. The twins had given him permission to fool around, and he desperately needed some female attention.
Tawni slipped her hand into his pants and fondled him. "Pretty meaty for a white guy," she murmured.
He sighed with pleasure. She knew exactly what she was doing. The twins had never touched him like this. They didn't know how. With Bethany and Leanna, sex was a rigidly defined procedure that efficiently reached a conclusion with a minimum of wasted energy.
However, he still loved them despite their peculiarities and limitations. Even though he had permission, he couldn't betray them. They were too pure and sweet.
"Stop." Norbert pulled Tawni's hand out of his pants.
"Why?" she said. "You were just warming up."
"You may not understand, but I have ethics. I believe in committing to a relationship until it's officially over. I'm still in a relationship with the twins, at least for another few days. You'll have to wait your turn."
She stared at him for a long moment. Her dark face seemed like part of the night.
"I understand," she said. "I just didn't think men like you actually existed. It's a shame you weren't my father. I would've had a much happier childhood."
He zipped up his pants. "We all have our crosses to bear. Let's get back to work."
Both of them turned their eyes to the factory.
* * *
"Sir!" an officer yelled. "We just got some hot intel. Delta Force is about to perform an insertion two kilometers west of the factory."
General Walker perked up. "They're coming here? Who gave the order?"
He was looking down on the backs of the many console operators in the command bunker. It took a lot of eyeballs to run such a complex operation. Everybody had screens full of information in front of them.
Walker yawned. The clock on the wall read 08:16, but it felt later. Living underground for weeks had screwed up his biological clock. The polished steel walls of the bunker reflected light that never changed in intensity.
"It came straight from the President," the officer said.
Walker raised his eyebrows. He turned to Erika and said, "That's interesting."
For once, she was alone in her enclosure. She had sent her slaves to their tiny, windowless bedrooms because they were "bugging her." She was reclining on a couch and sucking fresh, red grapes into her mouth with little slurping noises.
"It confirms what we suspected. The President is one of them. It's a good thing we already have a plan for dealing with him."
"When will he be taken care of?"
"Tomorrow morning," Erika said. "Everything is coming together very nicely."
Walker nodded. President Haley had the power to wreck their plans. With the Vice President dead, Haley was the one variable left that couldn't be controlled, the one voice that couldn't be ignored. He had to be removed from the game.
Walker faced the big screens at the front of the underground bunker. He was eager to see Delta Force in action.
* * *
Aaron looked up at the sky. He could just barely see the parachutes in the darkness. There were so many, they looked like another cloud.
After a minute, soldiers began to land. Loose, white suits covered their armor and most of their weapons. White masks with integrated goggles left only their mouths exposed. They touched down gracefully despite the darkness and thick snow.
Aaron waved his hand to get attention. He was quickly surrounded by men with guns.
"Who is in charge here?" Aaron said. "I need to speak with your commander."
