The Price of Disrespect (Gray Spear Society Book 6) (21 page)

The lives of Denzel and his friends were in her hands. The weight wasn't comfortable.

"Let's scare them off," she said.

Norbert nodded once. "Good choice."

He drew a Smith & Wesson model 1911 from a holster inside his jacket. The classic pistol had a black finish and sharp edges, and a short suppressor added a sinister touch.

Tawni pulled out an OTs-33 Pernach. The weapon was so rare and illegal that Denzel probably didn't know it was a fully automatic machine pistol. Tawni was enjoying her access to the huge armory at headquarters. She was like a kid in a candy store.

"Go away," Tawni said.

Denzel glanced nervously at the guns. "When did you start packing?"

"A girl has to protect herself. I told you to go. All of you." She aimed at his chest and cocked the hammer on her gun.

His friends turned and fled.

Denzel still had that crazy look in his eyes. He stood his ground and flexed his pectorals. "You won't shoot me. I know you."

It was true. She wouldn't kill him in cold blood on a public street just for being obnoxious. He was a victim anyway. Whatever was affecting his brain, it wasn't his fault.

"Can you knock him out safely?" she asked Norbert.

He launched a straight kick at Denzel's jaw that struck like a lightning bolt. Denzel fell backwards and remained still.

"Yes," Norbert said. "Let's go."

He and Tawni continued walking down the street.

Once they were safely away, she said, "That was fucked up."

"I thought it went pretty well actually."

"Aaron should've known something like that would happen. I used to live here. Wait." She faced Norbert. "He did know! He expected it! That was another one of his damn tests."

He smiled. "You're a bright woman, even though you try to hide it."

"That was serious shit. Somebody could've been killed."

"It was a good test." He nodded. "I'll be happy to report to Aaron that you handled yourself well."

"You knew?"

"No, but it's obvious in retrospect."

She shook her head. "When will he stop yanking my chain?"

"Who says he'll stop? All of us get the same treatment. Testing and training every day. When we met you the first time the other night, what do you think we were doing?"

She had clear memories of that night. The men had worn black and gray camouflage which had blended into the shadows. Masks had covered their faces. They had emerged from the night like they were part of it. The experience had frightened and excited her at the same time.

"Will I learn how to knock out a man with one kick?"

He stared at her. "You'll learn how to
kill
a man with one kick."

"I like that."

"Let's circle back to the car." He looked around. "It's time to go home."

* * *

Tawni was back in the conference room in headquarters. This place was starting to feel familiar, which disconcerted her. She still didn't like these people, except for Norbert. He was nice. Jack was kind of cute, too. After some consideration, she realized she couldn't complain about the twins, either. For computer nerds, they weren't too bad.

The four red plastic coolers containing samples were lined up on the table. Aaron and the twins were the last to arrive at the meeting. Tawni, Norbert, Smythe, Odelia, and Wesley were already waiting.

"I have good news," Aaron said as he sat down. "We don't have to spend our time analyzing the samples. I spoke to the legate. There is a big lab down in Atlanta that will do the job for us."

"What kind of lab, sir?" Smythe said.

"It's a secret appendage of the Centers for Disease Control. The whole division can use the facility for tackling problems like ours."

"I'd love to see it. It must be very impressive."

"A personal visit won't happen," Aaron said, "but I'll ask the commander in Atlanta for pictures. I just need you to pack all the samples for shipment. We'll send them out tonight by special courier. We should start getting results within twenty-four hours."

Smythe smiled. "It's too bad that lab wasn't available when we were fighting the Order of Eternal Night. It would've saved us a lot of trouble."

"That's exactly why the legate created the lab. She makes a point of learning from her enemies. I don't have anything else for this meeting. Our investigation is stalled while we wait for the results of the analysis, unless somebody has another idea."

Nobody spoke.

"Then it's dinner time," Aaron said. "I want to make this meal a special event. We're celebrating our new headquarters and our new members." He nodded to Wesley and Tawni. "As well as our favorite guest." He looked at Odelia.

She grinned. "Thank you, sir."

"Let's have a real party tonight. Nancy and Kamal already started cooking. I want Norbert and Wesley to help them in the kitchen. Smythe, take care of the samples. Odelia and Tawni, change into workout clothes. Meet me in the exercise area."

The last order surprised Tawni. She had wanted to relax before dinner, but it sounded like Aaron had other ideas. She almost opened her mouth and complained. A sharp look from him kept her quiet.

Odelia and Tawni hadn't brought any workout clothes. They went to the costume supply closet next door to find some. The large room was packed with clothing on racks and in shelves. Space was so tight Tawni had to walk sideways.

As she browsed the racks, she became frustrated by the selection. "Most of this stuff is for men."

"The team was short on female
legionnaires
," Odelia said, "until now. You can go shopping when you have time."

Tawni grinned. "I can buy all the clothes I want?"

"Of course. Just pay with a credit card attached to a cover identity."

"Do I get to keep the clothes?"

"Who else would wear them?" Odelia sounded confused. "Back in Los Angeles, I keep half of my outfits in my apartment and the other half in headquarters. I must have hundreds of costumes. These might fit you."

She tossed a set of gray sweats to Tawni. She changed into them while standing in the closet. The pants legs were an inch too short but she could deal with it.

When Odelia stepped out from behind a rack, she was dressed identically. Tawni realized they looked a little strange together. Odelia was white with white hair, and Tawni was black with black hair, yet they had exactly the same clothes.

They walked out to the exercise area. Part of the large space was dedicated to free weights, and there were several types of stair climbers. Blue pads suitable for martial arts covered most of the tiled floor.

Aaron was waiting. He had changed into formal gray robes with braided hems. A layered hood went partway down his back. To Tawni, it looked like a medieval costume, but it probably had some official significance.

"Tawni," he said, "I want to watch you fight a skilled opponent. You'll spar with Odelia. Light contact only. Just show me what you can do. Don't worry about how good it looks."

Tawni took a moment to judge Odelia as an opponent. The white girl was in great shape, but she was two inches shorter and about twenty pounds lighter than Tawni. Physically, Tawni had a clear advantage.

She was a little concerned about her lack of formal combat training. She had taken karate for a year, until the instructor had thrown her out for talking back. The National Guard had put her through boot camp, but that had focused on conditioning and guns. On the other hand, she had won plenty of street fights. She knew what worked and what didn't. She intended to educate Odelia on how disputes were handled in the 'hood.

Tawni came at her opponent with a flurry of aggressive punches. Odelia danced out of the way with a style so elegant, it was actually distracting to watch. Tawni quickly discovered the chick was very hard to touch. Odelia responded with kicks, and all of them found their mark. Tawni felt light touches on her face, ribs, and abdomen. Odelia's little white feet seemed to be everywhere.

Tawni tried harder. She pushed forward aggressively and put real strength behind her attacks. If she made contact, she wanted it to count. Odelia just dodged and twisted a little faster.

"Don't get frustrated," Aaron said. "Just keep pressing. I'm learning a lot about you."

"It's not fair," Tawni said.

"What isn't?"

Tawni stepped back and faced Aaron. "If this were a real fight instead of just messing around, I'd do a lot better."

"You really think so?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, sir."

"Odelia is a battle-tested veteran. She's been training for five years. She could destroy you easily."

Tawni looked at Odelia and sniffed. "I'm not afraid of this bleached Barbie doll."

"I'm happy to let her beat you up," Aaron said, "if you insist. How 'real' do you want this to be?"

Tawni snarled. "I'm ready for whatever she's got."

"I love your bold spirit. Odelia, tournament rules."

Odelia's eyes opened wide. "Sir!"

"Why not?" Aaron shrugged. "We have both healers in the house, and Tawni wants a real fight."

"Yes, sir." She frowned and faced Tawni. "Are you ready?"

Tawni got into a defensive stance. "Go for it."

Odelia was suddenly a spinning white whirlwind. Tawni desperately blocked an attack to her face that almost knocked her over. She felt ripping pain as a low kick bent her right knee the wrong way. A second ferocious blow snapped the other knee like a pretzel stick and dropped her to the ground. Odelia jumped up and landed with her heels on Tawni's lower ribs. There was a sickening crunch as multiple bones broke. Odelia stomped on the same spot again, and Tawni felt her internal organs get squeezed into places they shouldn't be.

"Stop," Aaron said. "That's enough. Odelia, please fetch Smythe."

"Yes, sir." Odelia walked off.

Tawni had never felt this kind of pain before. She vomited onto the mat despite a desperate effort to hold it back. All she could do was curl into a fetal position and shudder. Tears made her vision blurry.

Aaron knelt in front of her. "Why do you do this? You're very smart. I'm sure you know better. There must be a little voice inside your head that warns you before you make these kinds of dumb mistakes."

She was in too much agony to respond with anything other than a moan.

"Is it pride?" he said. "Arrogance? Stubbornness? No, it must go deeper. What's happening in your head? I need to know."

Tawni couldn't answer the question, not even for herself. The big stop sign had been in front of her, and she had walked right through it.

Smythe hurried over. He looked down at her and shook his head sadly. "Pull off her clothes," he said. "I need to get in there."

Odelia and Aaron stripped Tawni down to her underwear. Jolts of fresh pain made her gasp as they moved her around. It took all her willpower to keep from sobbing like a little girl.

Smythe went to work. His hands swam around inside her body like a pair of magical fish, and the strange sensation didn't bother her. She just wanted the pain to go away. The miraculous procedure took less time than she expected. He finished by fixing her broken knees.

He stood up. "Your turn, Odelia. There is still some inflammation."

Odelia knelt down. Tawni's eyes opened wide when Odelia placed glowing hands on her chest. Tawni felt an unexpected tingle and warmth that swept through her body. Her heart pounded as if she were running a race.

"All done." Odelia stood and held Smythe's hand. "You can put your clothes back on."

Tawni found she could move normally again. Everything was so well healed she actually felt good. The memory of the pain remained though. She pulled on her sweat suit and got to her feet.

"Is that all, sir?" Smythe said.

Aaron nodded. "Thank you."

Smythe walked off.

"Let's start again," Aaron said. "Tawni, how do you want to fight Odelia? Light sparring or real?"

Tawni looked down. "Light sparring, sir. Nice and slow."

"Good, but first, clean up the puke. It's disgusting."

Chapter Nine

Tawni looked at the delicious feast spread across the kitchen table, and her mouth watered.
These people know how to eat,
she thought.

The main course was broiled steaks. Mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, and fresh corn on the cob were the vegetables. There was also a tub of caviar on the glass table, and it looked very out of place. Tawni intended to try it. She had never tasted caviar and wanted to know what the fuss was about. Baked apple and cherry pies were cooling on the counter. There would be plenty of leftovers.

Jack was in the security booth, but the rest of the team was crowded around the table. They were serving themselves freely like a family. Everybody was smiling.

Tawni didn't share their festive mood. She was still shaken from her fight with Odelia. Physically, Tawni was fine, but it had taken an emotional toll. Getting utterly humiliated was bad enough, but getting humiliated by an adorable, white girl was a nightmare. On top of that, Ladona's death was still a crushing burden.

Tawni noticed that Bethany and Leanna had different food than the others. The twins were using red plastic plates with divided sections. They were eating plain sliced turkey, cubes of white cheese, skinned apples, and raw carrot chunks. The portions were cleanly separated and symmetrically arranged. It was a meal a young child might eat.
Weirdoes,
Tawni thought.

Ironically, the only actual child at the table was eating like a grownup. Wesley grabbed a big slab of meat and poured spicy barbeque sauce all over it. Either his eyes were bigger than his mouth, or he had a hell of an appetite.

Aaron tapped his glass with a fork politely. The table immediately fell silent.

"This is our first big meal together in our new headquarters," he said. "Building our new home was hard work for everybody, but I want to give particular thanks to Nancy."

Nancy's round face turned red.

"This place was her baby from the beginning," he added. "She studied every blueprint until she could see them in her sleep. Her mechanical genius is in every truss and bolt. It's probably the strongest, safest building in Chicago thanks to her. It will still be standing long after all of us are gone."