by Alex Siegel
The house where the little girl lived was made of wood and natural stone. It was built on a steep slope with dense vegetation all around. The trees were so close, there was hardly enough room to get around the side. An abundance of balconies and windows created a very open, airy feel.
Hanley crept around the house and checked the windows. He knew how to move through thick brush quietly and efficiently. He soon found the crime scene.
The dead bodies of a man and a woman were lying in a kitchen. Blood had gushed onto the floor from bullet wounds in their chests. The woman had silky, blonde hair, and the man had Native American features. Hanley tightened his jaw with anger.
He backed away from the house, crouched down in the brush, and called Min Ho.
"Sir?" the hacker said.
"I'm at the house in Mill Valley. It looks like the bad guys have already come and gone. What do we know about this girl?"
"Olivia Bellar, age nine. There isn't much public information about her. I'm having a hard time even finding a picture. She was home-schooled. The parents are Tom and Jessica."
"Deceased. OK. I'll investigate further." Hanley hung up.
He worked his way around to the front door. The door was open, but the weather was so nice, that didn't matter. A steady breeze off the ocean was cooling the land after a warm day.
He poked his head inside the house. "Hello?"
A policeman in a very dark blue uniform came to the door. He was a Hispanic man with short, black hair. "Stay out. This is a crime scene."
"What happened? I'm Jessica Bellar's brother. I came for dinner."
The cop looked at Hanley's camouflage clothing and furrowed his brow.
"I'm on leave from the Army base," Hanley said. "What's going on? Is everybody all right?"
"I'm afraid not, sir. There was a shooting."
Hanley put on a stricken expression. "People were killed?"
"A man and a woman... I'm very sorry, sir."
"And the little girl, Olivia?"
"There was no girl here when we arrived," the cop said.
Hanley put his face in his hands and forced himself to cry a little. He wasn't nearly as good an actor as Marina, but he could handle performing grief.
He was feeling genuine rage though. If the girl was dead, the mission had failed, and that was completely unacceptable. Seeing the murdered parents was a memory he wouldn't soon forget.
"Maybe you should go, sir," the cop said. "I'm sure the detectives will be in touch with you."
Hanley nodded and left. He returned to the car quickly. Katie was still sitting in the passenger's seat with an anxious expression.
He called Ipo.
"What happened?" Ipo answered.
Hanley summarized the situation for him.
"Fuck," Ipo said. "This mission is going from bad to worse. Let's meet back at headquarters and try to sort out this disaster. Maybe the Voice of Truth will have some kind of insight. He got us into this mess after all. It's time he started pulling his weight."
"At a minimum, he can fix Katie. Her mental health has not improved. If anything, the damage is spreading. What's happening with Yang?"
"The doctor sewed up his arm, but he's still at the hospital. I told him to find his own way home."
"You warned him not to take a taxi straight to headquarters, right?" Hanley said.
"Of course."
"OK. I'll see you in an hour or so, depending on traffic."
Hanley hung up, started the car, and drove off.
* * *
"Where the hell are they?" Vulture yelled. "They should be here by now. Get them on the radio!"
He walked over to the operator in charge of communications. She was a pudgy woman with unfortunate acne scars, but he didn't care about her appearance.
"Right away, sir," she said.
She worked the controls on her console and spoke into her headset, but her frown told him she wasn't having success. He clenched his jaw in anger. Bringing one little girl back to the ship had seemed like a simple task. He didn't understand how his men could've screwed it up.
"We're getting a police report," another operator said. "It could be important, sir."
Vulture walked over to the man in charge of monitoring official communications channels.
"What?" Vulture demanded.
"Five dead at the Paradise Cay Yacht Harbor," the operator said as he studied his computer monitor. "All shot in the head. The victims were heavily armed males in black body armor."
The news hit Vulture like a physical blow. Not only had he lost the girl, but it sounded like the Gray Spear Society had successfully rescued her. Nobody else could slaughter his bodyguards so easily. He leaned on a desk for support.
The command and control room was very quiet. Nobody else on his team knew about the Society, but everybody could tell a disaster had occurred.
Vulture stood up straight and gathered himself. He hadn't reached the heights of power by allowing fear or disappointment to defeat him. The mission wasn't over. It was a hundred times more difficult now, but he had to push forward regardless.
"The first order of business is moving this ship to a safer location," he announced. "I want the Fearless Star in the Pacific Ocean ASAP."
One of the operators began relaying the orders through his headset. Vulture was very glad he had had the foresight to choose a mobile command post.
He continued, "Second, the operation will proceed without interruption. Everybody will continue to work their assigned shifts. We're not done until I say we're done. Third, get every bit of information we can about the girl. We know who we're looking for now, and that's a huge help. Tap the communication of all her friends and family members. If she resurfaces, they might be the first to know. Better yet, let's put out a big reward for information about her slain parents. A hundred thousand dollars, and make sure her relatives hear about it. We'll scour the Bay Area for this brat. What's her name?"
"Olivia Bellar, sir," a console operator replied. "Paying a reward is dangerous. Money can be traced."
Vulture stared at him. "We won't actually pay. The offer is just to generate buzz. Get to work!"
He hurried up to the main deck. He needed some fresh air and a moment alone. His enthusiasm and bravado had been partially an act. If the Gray Spear Society was protecting the girl, he had an extraordinarily difficult problem on his hands, and his chances of surviving this assignment were not good.
He looked out at the dark waters. The last light of the setting sun was fading, and he feared it would be a long night. He thought about Sheila waiting for him in his cabin and sighed. He didn't have time for her.
The Fearless Star began to move through the water. He wished it would go faster.
Vulture took a red phone out of a secret pocket in his jacket. He put his eye against the retinal scanner.
Erika answered after a moment, "What do you want now?"
"I need my reinforcements."
"I told you before. Nine o'clock tonight. You're so impatient, like a little kid."
"I've had a setback," Vulture admitted in a tone of embarrassment.
"Oh?"
"The details aren't important."
"I see," she said. "As long as we're on the subject, I don't believe we've settled on the terms of payment."
"I agreed to pay Iris thirty thousand dollars per man per day for as long as the mission lasted."
"That was your agreement with her. There is the small matter of my fee as an agent."
He sighed. This deal was getting very expensive. "What do you want?"
"First of all, I want you to address me by my title."
He gritted his teeth. "What do you want, my queen?"
"Better," Erika said. "Money is meaningless to me. I'll settle for credit when you make your final report to the benefactor. Tell it my assistance was critical to your success."
Vulture winced. It was a bitter price to pay, but he had little choice. If he refused, she would block the reinfo
rcements he so desperately needed. He couldn't continue to send out his personal bodyguards.
"Fine," he said. "You can stand beside me when I proclaim my victory."
"Wonderful. We'll be in touch."
The call ended, and he put the phone away. This deal is really starting to suck, he thought.
* * *
Marina drove the limousine into the parking lot of an elementary school. She went around to the back where nobody would see her from the street. A row of trees provided a screen and necessary privacy.
She parked, got out, walked to a back door, and entered the rear compartment of the limousine. The interior was spacious, but it had been designed for business use, not entertainment. Supple brown leather covered the seats. A small television could be lowered from the ceiling.
The little girl was huddled in the corner and shivering even though the limousine was warm. She was wearing a pink dress with red hearts on it. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying, but there were no tears on her cheeks now. She had peeled the tape off her mouth.
"Hi," Marina said in the gentlest tone she could manage. "What's your name?"
"Olivia," the girl replied in a sweet voice.
"I'm M...m...m...Sheila."
"I know you. You saved me from drowning in the ocean."
"No." Marina shook her head. "You have me mistaken for a person who looks exactly like me named Marina."
"There was an earthquake and a tsunami. You pulled me out of the water."
"Let's not talk about that. Why did those men kidnap you?"
"I don't know! They came into my house and..." Olivia had a stricken expression.
"And?"
"Shot my parents." Olivia squeezed her eyes shut and more tears came out. She sniffled.
"I'm sorry," Marina said. "Come over here. Let me give you a hug."
The adorable little girl crawled into Marina's arms. Holding Olivia felt surprisingly good, and Marina wondered what it would be like to have children of her own. She felt wetness on her chest.
"My parents were shot, too. I was a teenager when it happened."
Olivia wiped her eyes and looked up at Marina. "Really?"
"Yes. My uncle murdered them."
The memories caused Marina to feel pain in more ways than one. They came from a life she was trying to reject. The year was 1936, and her parents had died in 1990. The logical inconsistency was impossible to resolve.
"Why?" Olivia said.
"It doesn't matter. I just want you to know you're not alone. I'm here, and I understand. It hurts now, but some day, you'll be all right."
Marina gave Olivia another long hug.
"You killed those men."
"Yes," Marina said. "I couldn't let them take you away. Something awful would've happened to you."
"How did you do that? Are you a soldier?"
It was a very good question, and one Marina had already asked herself. She had skills and memories that didn't belong to a king's consort, but thinking about it made her head hurt.
"Let's talk about you instead. I'm pretty sure I'm not qualified to take care of you. I don't know anything about kids. Is there anybody you can go to? A relative you trust?"
"I don't know." Olivia bit her lip. "What if more men come for me?"
Marina furrowed her brow. "I'll stay with you for a while just in case." She kissed the girl on the forehead. "I won't leave until you feel safe."
"OK. Thank you. Why are your fingernails black?"
Marina looked at her black, sharply pointed fingernails. One more thing that doesn't make sense for a king's consort, she thought. Her life was full of impossible contradictions.
Olivia touched Marina's forehead. "You're in pain."
"I have a bad headache. It's been a long day. It started..."
Marina remembered waking up in a bedroom different from the one on the yacht. A boy had been with her. The intense conflict in her mind made her gasp.
"Something is wrong with you." Olivia stroked Marina's temple. "There is a sickness."
Marina stared at her. "What are you talking about? How can you tell?"
"Well, I..." Olivia blushed and went silent.
"I'm fine. Let's just focus on your problems, OK? Where should I take you? Who do you trust?"
"I have an aunt in Berkeley," Olivia said. "I know her address."
"Perfect, but we're not going to Berkeley in this car. The police are probably looking for it. We have to find other transportation. The problem is that I don't have any money and I'm wearing a bathing suit. I may have to steal a car."
"That's wrong."
"Well," Marina said, "I don't have much choice."
The girl's strange black and white eyes stared at Marina with wisdom far beyond her years.
"We could ask for a ride."
"To Berkeley?" Marina said. "Who would give a ride to a strange woman dressed like me? They'll call the police."
"If I asked nicely..."
"You're a sweet girl, and I hate to disappoint you, but nobody is that trusting or kind."
"You saved my life twice," Olivia said, "and you don't know me at all. That was very kind."
Marina hugged her thin body. "I'm not like other people."
"I'm not either." Olivia appeared thoughtful.
"What does that mean?" Marina said.
"I can make somebody give us a ride."
"How?"
Olivia grimaced. "My parents made me promise to keep it a secret. I'm not supposed to show anybody."
"If you have important information, you need to share it with me. It could explain what those men wanted with you."
Olivia huddled against Marina and remained quiet.
"I respect the promise you made," Marina said softly, "and keeping one's word is important, but this is a life or death situation. You have to choose who to trust. Right now, the only person who is clearly on your team is me."
After a moment, Olivia nodded. "OK. I'll show you."
She pulled away from Marina and got out of the car. Marina followed her across the school parking lot. Night had fallen, but street lamps provided light. Olivia walked towards the street, and Marina couldn't get over how cute the girl was.
Olivia chose the nearest house with light in the windows. It had white wooden walls and blue trim. The single-car garage had been left open. She went to the front door and knocked while Marina crouched behind a bush.
A man wearing jeans and a blue T-shirt answered the door. "Yes?" He looked down at Olivia. "Oh, hi. Are you lost, little girl?"
"No. My friend and I need a ride to Berkeley. It's very important. I'm in a lot of trouble."
The man raised his eyebrows. "If you're really in trouble, I'll call the police for you."
"Don't, please. Don't tell anybody."
"Then I'm afraid I can't do anything for you. Sorry. I'm not going to give a ride to a strange child."
Olivia started to cry. The girl was good, but Marina could tell it was an act. The man crouched down to comfort her.
She abruptly put her hand on his forehead. Instantly, his expression became dreamy, and he smiled a little.
He straightened up. "I changed my mind. I'll help you." He turned and yelled into the house. "It's a guy from work, honey! We have an emergency at the office. I'll be back in an hour. Keep my dinner warm, please." He walked out of the house and closed the door.
Marina was shocked. Olivia had used some kind of mind-control on the man.
"Where is your friend?" he said.
Marina stepped into the open and expected him to react to her guns and odd clothing.
Instead, he just nodded. "Come on. Let's go."
The three of them walked to the garage. A white pickup truck was parked there, and they climbed into the cab. Olivia sat between Marina and the man. She still couldn't believe how cooperative he was. He didn't even ask for her name.
He drove off into the night.
* * *
Hanley drove past headquarters and parked u
nder the white tent in back. It felt good to be home even under the distressing circumstances.
Katie was breathing heavily and making squealing noises.
He turned to her. "What's wrong?"
"I know this place."
"Of course. You've spent the last nine months here."
"But it's not England..." Her eyes showed panic.
"Relax." He took her hand. "Just be strong for a few more minutes. We're about to meet a boy who can help you."
She nodded uncertainly.
They stepped out of the car. The cool air smelled like the ocean, and he inhaled deeply. Dark hills surrounded headquarters, and they're familiarity comforted him. He had spent a lot of time training on those hills.
Hanley led Katie by the hand to the front door of headquarters. They entered, and he was glad to see the bodies had been removed. He didn't know where they had gone and didn't particularly care. Only some red stains on the white paint remained.
Yvonne was in the security booth. A loose, green dress covered her freakishly bulbous muscles, but he could still tell she wasn't normal. He had heard about her gift, and he wasn't eager to see her use it.
"What's the word?" she said.
"Disaster," he said. "The bad guys snatched the girl and killed her parents. Marina is missing, possibly dead. Katie's mind is totally screwed up."
"Oh." She grimaced. "Wesley is inside."
A door in the back of the entry chamber buzzed. Hanley opened it and held it for Katie. She was pale and shaking, but she went through.
"Wesley!" he yelled. "We need you now!"
The Voice of Truth ran over so quickly, it was clear he had been waiting for this moment. He was wearing the gray robes of a legionnaire in a child's size, and they looked cute on him. His straight, brown hair had been trimmed a little.
"Look into my eyes," he told Katie.
"Why?" she said. "Who are you?"
"Please, just do it."
She knelt down and looked at his blue eyes. Hanley couldn't get used to the way they sparkled like little jewels. He hadn't believed the stories about Wesley before they had met, but now Hanley knew the truth was even more incredible.
Katie cried out as if in terrible pain.
