by Alex Siegel
After a few minutes, one soldier in particular came forward. He was dressed identically to the others except for a tiny rank insignia on his collar. His body was big and rugged, but a white mask prevented Aaron from seeing much of his face.
"I'm Major Hamilton." He shook Aaron's hand. "You are?"
"The man who will guide you to the target."
"Our orders weren't clear. What is our objective tonight?"
"We have located the source of the disease that causes cannibalism," Aaron said. "Your assignment is to go in and arrest all the people responsible."
Hamilton smiled. "Sounds like an enjoyable evening."
"They're well-armed and dangerous. Veteran soldiers like yourself. You can expect some serious fighting."
"All the better."
The Delta Force operatives carefully bundled up their parachutes and rigging. These were stacked in a neat pile and covered with snow. Aaron appreciated the attention to detail.
Finally, they started marching. Aaron and Hamilton walked at the front. The rest of the troops followed in a column that was four men wide.
"That's interesting body armor," Hamilton said.
Aaron looked down at his body. The striped, black and gray camouflage pattern often reminded him of a big tabby cat. "It's top secret stuff."
"It looks comfortable. Does it work?"
"Extremely well," Aaron said.
"And you have some interesting weapons. If you don't mind my asking, which department do you work for?"
"I do mind. Sorry."
Hamilton shrugged. "I'm used to it. I can't argue with your credentials. The order came straight from the Oval Office."
Actually, from higher up in the chain of command than that, Aaron thought.
"Who exactly are we up against tonight?"
"Mercenaries," Aaron said.
"Why are mercenaries involved in cannibalism?" Hamilton said.
"We'll find out when we interrogate them."
They trudged through the thick snow for a while. Aaron was getting very tired of working outside in the dead of winter. Fighting the elements was a battle in itself. Just moving around was exhausting. No matter how carefully he bundled up, cold wetness always found a way to reach his skin.
Finally, the factory came into view. Aaron asked the troops to hang back while he escorted Hamilton to the screen fence.
The major peered between the plastic slats. "That's the target?"
"Yes," Aaron said.
"It's well guarded."
"Indeed. One of my people is inside disguised as a mercenary. Don't get too trigger happy in there."
"We know what we're doing," Hamilton said. "You're talking to Delta Force. We're the best of the best."
Aaron nodded noncommittally. They returned to the main group.
Norbert and Tawni emerged from the night and approached Aaron. Tawni was carrying her katana, and it was wrapped in smoky darkness.
"Those two are yours?" Hamilton muttered.
"Yes," Aaron said, "and two more are on their way."
"You have an interesting crew."
"You have no idea."
Tawni looked at the long column of soldiers. She whistled and said, "Wow. That's a lot of guys."
"Why do you have a black sword?" Hamilton said.
"The color matches my hair." She winked at him.
Aaron heard crunching snow and turned.
Smythe and Odelia were approaching. Like the rest of the Spears, they were heavily armed and armored from head to toe. Smythe was favoring automatic shotguns and grenade launchers tonight. Odelia had a light sniper rifle and some target pistols. Her white hair was the same color as the snow. He had three bars of solid gold in his hands, and she had a fourth.
When Smythe got close, he looked over at the soldiers and said, "Who are these guys, sir?"
"Delta Force," Aaron said.
Smythe raised his eyebrows. There were unspoken questions in his eyes.
"Why are you carrying bars of gold?" Hamilton said.
"I'll explain," Aaron said. "I'm going inside by myself. I'll talk to the leader and try to get some answers out of him. The gold will pay for those answers, I hope."
"That's very courageous. You'll become a hostage."
"Then it's a good thing I have the world's best hostage rescuers here. I want Delta Force to enter about twenty minutes later. Arrest everybody. If they resist, you're authorized to shoot them, and they probably will resist."
"I hope they do." Hamilton nodded.
Aaron had an odd feeling. He realized he was effectively deputizing Delta Force as an adjunct to the Gray Spear Society. It seemed like a natural thing to do. The two groups had similar overall missions. Both relied on absolute secrecy. The main difference was in the type of opposition they fought.
"What are our orders, sir?" Smythe said.
"My people will stay back and watch. Make sure nobody escapes. I don't want any loose ends tonight."
"Yes, sir. We'll split up so we can watch every side."
"Good idea." Aaron took out his phone. "It's time to tell the enemy I'm coming."
* * *
Commander Hess was shaken awake.
"Sir, you have a phone call."
Hess rubbed his eyes. The power outage had disrupted his rest earlier. So far, he had slept maybe two hours. He needed a lot more.
He pushed himself out of his bunk with his eyes still half-closed. "Where?"
"There, sir." A squad leader pointed to a phone in a small office attached to the barracks.
Hess stumbled over, sat heavily on a chair, and grabbed the phone. "Who is this?"
"You know the woman who is giving you so much trouble in your factory?" a male voice said.
"Yes." Hess's brain still wasn't firing on all cylinders.
"I'm her commander."
That statement got Hess's attention. He forced his eyes to open all the way. "I recognize your voice. You're the guy who paid for the job this morning. You tried to capture my assassin."
"Was it just this morning? It seems like days ago. Yes, you're right. I also took two of your men tonight."
"Are you calling to gloat?" Hess said.
"No. I want information from you, and the most expedient approach is to pay for it. A final battle to the death between my forces and yours will do neither of us any good. I'm told you're a businessman. You understand there is no profit in vengeance. A simple, clean transaction is always best."
"True. What's your proposal?"
"I'll come to you with gold as a peace offering," the mysterious man said. "You let me into your factory and answer my questions truthfully. Then I'll leave and never bother you again."
Hess had his doubts. In the mercenary business, there was no such thing as a "simple, clean transaction." A deal wasn't done until blood was spilled. This proposal smelled rotten.
On the other hand, Hess didn't see how he was taking any risks. He would keep the gold whether he answered the questions or not. Having a hostage wasn't a bad thing, either. Hess might even get some useful information from this man. He was effectively surrendering.
"How much gold?" Hess said.
"Two bars."
"My answers don't come that cheap."
"Then how about one bar per answer?" the man said. "At the current price of gold, that's like three quarters of a million dollars. Pretty good money. The answers have to be truthful and complete though."
Hess didn't have much choice. His men weren't speaking out openly against him, but they were questioning his leadership with their eyes and attitude. They hadn't been paid in a while, and many had died. That wasn't a good mix for a mercenary. Hess needed to prove he was still a capable breadwinner. A few bars of gold wasn't much in the big picture, but they might keep Unit K intact until the big contract paid off.
"That's acceptable," Hess said. "Come alone and unarmed. No phone either. Just plain clothing and empty pockets. And the gold, of course."
"I'll be there short
ly." There was a click.
Hess hung up the phone. Two squad leaders were standing in the office with curious expressions.
"Our enemy is coming here with bars of gold," Hess said. "He thinks he's going to buy information, but he'll get more than that. Pick out four blood donors, the biggest, meanest ones in the litter. Wake them up and bring them to the loading dock."
"You want to use the cage, sir?" one squad leader said.
"Yes. I'm going to negotiate with our guest. He will accept my terms or be eaten alive."
Chapter Twenty-four
Aaron trudged through the heavy snow towards the factory. He had left his armor and weapons behind and now wore only civilian clothes. He didn't have his phone either and felt half-dressed as a result. He had four bars of gold in his hands, a total of a hundred pounds. Carrying the extra weight was helping him stay warm. The wind had picked up, and it was finding every gap in his clothing. Blown snow was getting on his face and in his eyes.
He approached the front gate. Soldiers carrying KRISS Vector assault rifles watched him closely. The weapons fired .45 caliber ammunition at 1000 rounds per minute. A few German Shepherds barked at him. Aaron made sure to appear confident.
Eight guards formed a ring around him. They seemed more interested in the gold than him.
He was escorted through a door and into the warm interior of the factory. He breathed a sigh of relief. His ears and nose had become numb from the cold.
A table was just inside the door, and two soldiers were seated there. Several items were on the table.
"Put the gold down," one guard ordered in a stern tone.
Aaron gently placed the heavy bars on the table. The soldiers proceeded to test the gold for purity. They measured the density of the metal by first weighing it, and then putting the bars in a water tank. The water displacement showed the volume. The soldiers scraped the bars with a knife to test for softness. Finally, they used drops of concentrated nitric acid. The metal didn't react to the acid, proving it was real gold.
In the meantime, other guards patted Aaron down. They checked every part of his body with humiliating thoroughness. Finally, all the preliminaries were done.
Aaron was about to take the bars back when one soldier said, "Leave them."
"But they're mine," Aaron said.
"They'll be safe right here."
Aaron looked around. Ten assault rifles were aimed at his unprotected torso.
"Fine," he said. "I'll trust you."
He was escorted deeper into the factory. They passed through a room filled with industrial sewing machines. Giant spools fed thread to equipment made of steel. Bolts of colored cloth probably weighed at least a ton each.
Aaron wondered who had owned the factory before Unit K had taken over. Clearly, it had been a real bedding factory at one time. He made a mental note to pursue that line of investigation.
The group proceeded to an indoor loading dock. Sliding garage doors were big enough to admit full-sized trucks, but all the doors were closed at the moment. Frost covered the corrugated steel. The floor, walls, and ceiling were made of unpainted concrete with the occasional crack. Thick pillars were spaced around the big room in a regular pattern.
About thirty other mercenaries were already standing there. Their attention was focused on a steel shipping container supported by truck jacks. Inch-wide holes had been drilled in the side of the container, and heavy ropes were pulled tightly through the holes. The ropes were tied with multiple knots.
Something inside the container was jerking on the ropes. Aaron heard loud banging noises. He frowned.
"Get in," a mercenary grunted. He jabbed Aaron in the back with a rifle.
The back of the container was open. Aaron walked around and looked inside. Four naked men were bound to the walls of the container, two on each side. Ropes held them by the necks and waists. They were struggling to free themselves and banging against the walls in rage.
All four had exceptionally lean bodies with impressive muscles. Their shaggy hair was badly tangled. Their fingernails and toenails had grown so long they were curling around. There was no intelligence in their eyes. The cannibal illness had reduced them to animals.
Aaron hesitated.
"Move!" a mercenary yelled.
He and a large number of his friends had their guns aimed at Aaron. He decided getting into the container was safer than fighting them. He climbed inside.
A forklift drove forward with a big chunk of iron fence balanced on the forks. The forklift slammed the heavy fence against the open end of the container, sealing Aaron in. The container had become a cage, and he had four cannibals to keep him company.
One of the mercenaries came forward. A dense layer of curly, brown hair on his head looked like carpeting. His nose was unusually long and straight. There was an ugly scar in place of his right ear.
"Are you Hess?" Aaron said.
The one-eared man nodded. "And you are?"
"I came to get answers, not provide them. What's all this for?" Aaron waved his hand towards the cannibals.
"To put you in a cooperative mood. I was told you brought four bars of gold, and they passed our tests for purity. That means you get to ask four questions. Make them good ones."
Aaron narrowed his eyes. "Who do you work for?"
"I don't know," Hess said. "I've never met them. My employers are just a voice on the phone. Sometimes, a courier delivers written instructions or needed supplies."
"Why are you spreading this terrible illness?"
Hess shrugged. "Again, I don't know, and I'm being paid enough not to ask. My instructions were to cause as much chaos and death as possible."
A relatively small, thin mercenary slipped into the loading dock through a back door. Aaron was startled when he realized it was Sheryl. She had cut off her hair, and she had smeared brown gunk on her skin. Her face was swollen as if she had been punched hard, but she seemed healthy otherwise. Her pupils reflected the light in an odd way. Nobody else noticed her.
"Do you have any other instructions?" Aaron said.
"Yes," Hess said. "We were told to capture you and your people. We were promised a handsome bounty for each live captive we delivered. It's a shame the battle at the chocolate shop went so poorly. Five of you would've been worth a king's ransom in gold. My gift baskets almost worked."
"You were specifically told to look for us?"
"Indeed. 'Creatures of darkness and death.' We were even warned about your phones. I wish I had taken that warning more seriously. That's all four questions. I hope you got your money's worth."
Alarm bells were going off in Aaron's head. Somebody knows about the Gray Spear Society, he thought. This investigation had suddenly taken a disturbing turn.
"Then it's time for me to go." Aaron rattled the iron fence that blocked his escape.
Hess shook his head. "I don't think so. It's my turn to ask questions."
"Are you going to pay me?"
"I'll let you keep your life. You already noticed my four pets."
Aaron glanced at the cannibals. They were still frantically trying to squirm out from under the ropes. Their pain and suffering was palpable.
"They're human beings."
"Not really," Hess said. "Not anymore. I don't know a lot about the bacteria, but I do know it makes men very strong, very fast, and very hungry. If I cut the ropes, they'll tear you apart. They'll gnaw the meat from your bones. And when they're done eating you, they'll turn on each other. You look like a fighter. You might beat one of them, maybe even two if you're exceptionally skilled, but nobody can defeat four at once. I recommend you cooperate. You can start by telling me your name."
Aaron crossed his arms. "I don't think so."
"Don't force my hand. My men are watching. I can't back down in front of them."
"That's not my problem."
"I'm serious." Hess gave Aaron a hard look. "Don't test me."
"Aren't I worth a lot of gold to you? A 'handsome bounty.'
How much specifically?"
"Five thousand ounces."
Aaron whistled. "That's more than I weigh. I never imagined I was so valuable. I feel honored. If you kill me, you'll be throwing away all that gold."
"At this point, I'll be happy with the payment for just the job. Watching you get eaten alive will be very satisfying after losing so many of my men."
"You really care about your casualties?"
"Recruiting and retaining highly skilled mercenaries is expensive," Hess said. "It's a substantial investment, and when they die, that investment is lost. You also damaged my reputation which is worth a lot of money to me. I'm normally not a vengeful man, but in this case, I'll indulge myself."
Aaron leaned forward. "Let me explain some things that should already be obvious to you. This is a fight between my people and your employers. Unit K is no match for either side. You're dumb thugs caught up in a war you don't understand. You're a speed bump between me and my true enemy. They set you up to get crushed. Instead of worrying about gold, you should worry about survival. You'll be lucky to see the dawn. In fact, you could die in the next twenty minutes."
Hess maintained a stoic expression.
Aaron went on, "There are very few people on this planet who can get you out of the deep, black hole you've dug for yourself. I'm one of them. Instead of threatening me, you should be begging for opportunities to redeem yourself in my eyes."
"I don't think so." Hess shook his head. "I've heard this speech a hundred times. You run into a lot of tough guys in this business, and it's always the same song and dance. Well, all those guys are dead now, and I'm still here."
"I'm different."
"I doubt it." Hess sneered.
"You want to see? Release your pets."
"What?"
Aaron moved to the center of the container. He was just out of reach of the cannibals. They were trying to scratch him with their overgrown fingernails.
He stretched his arms and popped his neck. "Go on. I'm ready. I already know how this fight will go."
Hess stared in obvious disbelief. He looked at the soldiers around him, and they were watching expectantly.
"If you insist," Hess said. "Untie the ropes!"
All four cannibals were released at once. Aaron immediately kicked one in the head and broke his neck. Two more were almost on him in the same instant. Aaron grabbed the arm of one cannibal and threw him into the other.
