The Price of Disrespect (Gray Spear Society Book 6) (25 page)

The workstations were plugged into a big power box. She ran over and yanked the main switch. Many of the fans in the room went silent.

"Aaron," she said, "are you OK?"

Aaron turned to her. His face was twisted with rage, and she could hear him grinding his teeth. His whole body was shaking. He walked towards her menacingly with his hands out front, ready to grab her. As she backed up, she realized she didn't have a gun. It looked like he intended to tear her apart, and with his great strength, he probably could.

Wesley ran into the room and glanced left and right. He dashed over to Tawni. He bravely placed himself between her and Aaron.

"Aaron!" he yelled. "Look at my eyes! Look! See the light!"

Aaron turned his attention to the boy.

"The anger isn't real," Wesley said urgently. "It was put in your head. This isn't you. Let the light wash away the bad feelings."

Aaron stopped walking. He twitched and his face went through contortions, as if he were having a seizure. Tawni wondered if she had looked the same way last night on the roof.

Aaron's normal calm expression slowly returned. He blinked a few times, and his fists unclenched.

Wesley ran to the twins. Odelia was sitting on the angry sister and holding her in a brutal arm lock. The girl was thrashing desperately in an attempt to escape. The other twin was still cowering and crying.

"Leanna!" Wesley said. "Look at me. I can help you. You just need to focus on my eyes."

Snarling, Leanna looked at him. Her anger gradually dissipated, and her body relaxed. Odelia got off of her.

Norbert and Smythe came in. Norbert hurried over to help with the twins, and Smythe went to his commander.

"What happened, sir?" Smythe said.

Aaron answered in an unsteady voice, "I almost killed Tawni, and Wesley saved her again. This is becoming a regular thing."

"Why?"

"The television program." Aaron glanced towards the dark computer monitors. "I saw it on the screen and anger overwhelmed me. It hit me so fast I had no opportunity to resist."

"The penguins?"

Aaron nodded. "All I wanted to do was kill. It didn't matter who I killed. Tawni just happened to be the first person I saw." He took a deep breath. "I understand this weapon now. It's extremely nasty, and Wesley might be the only cure."

"That's not convenient," Smythe said. "There is only one of him to go around."

They went over to the twins. Norbert had Leanna in his arms, and she was crying silently. Odelia's hands were glowing as she treated Bethany's injuries.

"I need an explanation," Aaron said.

Leanna sniffled. "I discovered an anomalous carrier wave buried in the video. I was using different filters to try to isolate it."

"Apparently, you succeeded."

"Yes, sir. I purified and amplified the signal."

"While you were watching the video at the same time?" he said. "That seems a little reckless, doesn't it?"

"I had to see what I was doing to the image." She wiped her nose. "I didn't think about it. I'm sorry."

"Let's be more careful next time. At least we confirmed the nature of the threat. Now we just have to find the source
quickly.
Bethany, do you have anything to report?"

Bethany stood up. Her legs were shaky as she walked over to her workstation. "Who turned off my computers? I had a lot of stuff running!"

"Don't be mad at Tawni. She made a reasonable choice under pressure, and she didn't hesitate." Aaron looked at Tawni. "Nice job."

She had a warm feeling inside. She wondered when she had started wanting compliments from this man.

"I'll try to remember what I can," Bethany said. "The cable company for that apartment building is Clear Path Cable and Internet. They provide service to most of Chicago and some other parts of Illinois. They were the provider in Lemonseed."

"Who owns the company?" Aaron said.

"It's part of a telecommunications conglomerate controlled by billionaire Roger Gains. I was trying to analyze the financials when Leanna lost her mind."

She started turning on her many computers. To Tawni, it looked like a complicated procedure.

"I'll build a special signal detector, sir," Leanna said. "We can use it to trace the cable lines until we find the source of the carrier wave."

"Are these lines on poles?" Aaron said.

She shook her head. "Most of them are in tunnels under the streets. The detector will have to be close to the wire to pick up the signal. No more than a few feet away."

"In other words, somebody will get to tour the city from the perspective of a mole rat."

"I'll do it, sir." She stood up straight. "I deserve to suffer after my bad mistake."

"No. I'd never send one of the lovely Satin sisters into dark, dirty, and dangerous tunnels. You could get trapped down there. This is clearly a job for a
legionnaire
." Aaron looked around the room.

Not me,
Tawni thought,
please.

"Tawni and Odelia," he said. "I'm sorry ladies, but space will be tight. I need people who are slim enough to squeeze through narrow openings. The men would just get stuck."

"Yes, sir," Odelia said with a lack of enthusiasm.

Tawni kept her mouth shut. She was afraid of what she might say if she opened it.

"Smythe and Norbert will be in a support van," Aaron said. "They'll try to stay close to you. Smythe, bring some excavation equipment in case you need to dig them out."

"Yes, sir," Smythe said.

"What about me?" Wesley said. "I want to go."

Aaron made a sour face. "Ride in the van. There is no way I'm sending you through the tunnels."

"But, sir, I'm small, and it sounds like an adventure. I'm a
legionnaire,
too."

"Did you hear me? No way!"

Wesley looked down.

"We have a plan," Aaron said. "I want this to happen tonight. Tawni, try to get a little more sleep while everybody else prepares. It could be another long night."

* * *

The tunnels under the streets of Chicago were even worse than Tawni had feared. She had to walk with her head down to avoid banging it against the ceiling, and despite being careful, she had banged it plenty of times. It was a good thing she was wearing a hard hat.

A layer of muck on the floor made each step an adventure. Her heavy boots were coated almost up to the top. She didn't want to think about what was in that muck, but it smelled like moldy bread. She had definitely seen some dead rats along the way, and a few live ones.

The only illumination came from powerful flashlights that she and Odelia carried. The beams of light cut through the darkness ahead, but that left the darkness behind. Tawni kept glancing over her shoulder. She wasn't claustrophobic or afraid of the dark, but the combination was unnerving. She had seen horror movies with scenes like this.

Both women wore blue coveralls and long sleeve shirts. Work gloves covered their hands. The baggy outfits weren't attractive, but Tawni was glad for the protection. She didn't want her skin to touch anything in this environment.

Odelia also carried a device that looked like a miniature metal detector, and she was waving it across the cable conduits in the tunnel. Tawni wasn't sure why two women were needed for this job. As far as she could tell, Tawni's purpose was just to be Odelia's companion.

"You're a good fighter," Tawni said grudgingly.

"Thank you," Odelia said, "but you've never really seen me fight."

"You beat the shit out of me."

"I was holding back. I didn't want to kill you."

Tawni considered that point. "Are you one of the best female fighters in the Society?"

"Not nearly." Odelia shook her head. "I'm considered middle tier."

They came to an intersection in the tunnels. She used her detector to check all the conduits carefully. She selected a particular direction and continued.

"Who is better?" Tawni said.

"Aaron's girlfriend, Marina, for one. She could definitely kick my ass. The legate, Ethel, is even tougher. She could beat Aaron and Marina put together. Then you get into the true elites like Atalanta and Yvonne."

Tawni remembered the feel of Atalanta's sword pressed against her throat.

"What makes them so tough?"

"Atalanta's skin and bones are as strong as steel," Odelia said. "You could throw her off a building, and she wouldn't care. Her martial arts skills are off the charts. She is a cross between a grand master and a high performance combat robot."

"Wow."

"Those abilities didn't come for free. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh."

"What do you mean?" Tawni said.

"God's wrath is the fuel that drives us, and it burns very hot. In the case of somebody like Atalanta, it has burned away a big chunk of her personality and memories. She's emotionally numb."

"I've felt that burn. Wesley called it God's breath. It's like a spicy tingle in my belly. It hurts a little, but I like it."

"That tingle means God wants you to fight," Odelia said.

"Why doesn't God fight his own battles? Why does He need us?"

"He hates direct intervention. It's our job to suffer and die so His hand can remain hidden."

"That's not fair," Tawni said.

Odelia shrugged. "Go ahead and complain to Him. You won't be the first."

"How am I supposed to do that? Pray?"

"You'll bump into the Boss sooner or later. Speak to Him directly."

That statement sounded preposterous to Tawni, but she had to accept it for now.

"How will I know when I meet God?"

"He doesn't hide His presence from us," Odelia said. "I've had four encounters, and all of them were very obvious."

They came to a steel grill that blocked the tunnel. A heavy padlock held it closed. Odelia took out a set of lock picks and quietly went to work. She had the lock open in just a couple of minutes.

"You'd make a hell of a burglar," Tawni said.

"Thanks. I've had plenty of practice."

Tawni was becoming painfully aware of how much she had to learn. It would take a lot of training before she could call herself a competent
legionnaire
.

They continued their dark journey through the bowels of Chicago.

"Do you think I can be a success in the Society?"

"I'm certain of it," Odelia said.

"Why?"

"Aaron likes you, and his instincts are solid. Wesley saved your life twice. If you're looking for God's stamp of approval, that's it. Just don't get cocky. Overconfidence is a quick way to get killed in this business."

Tawni sighed. Her feelings about the Society were hard to disentangle. She was excited for one. All of this felt right in a way that nothing else ever had. Even the death of her mother couldn't dull the thrill of her new life, but she was also very intimidated by the challenges ahead.

Odelia continued to lead the way through the darkness. Eventually, they came to a lighted chamber connected to several other tunnels. Hefty chunks of humming electronic equipment were mounted on pedestals. Bundles of thick cables and large ducts came together here. High voltage warning signs were posted all over.

Odelia pulled a paper map out of her pocket. "This is one of the main amplifier stations."

She used her detector to sweep all the cables. She went back and forth, narrowing her search, until her attention focused on one piece of equipment in particular. The cabinet was about four feet tall and had a row of green lights on the front. There were some switches, but except for the main power, none of the labels were meaningful to Tawni.

She reached out to touch the device. Odelia shoved Tawni back before she could make contact.

"Don't touch anything!" Odelia yelled. "Just keep your hands in your pockets if you don't know what to do with them."

"What are you worried about?" Tawni said.

"It could be electrified or poisoned. Maybe a vibration sensor is attached to a bomb. I've seen it all."

Tawni stepped back. There was a chance Odelia had just saved her life.

Odelia took out her phone and made a call. "Come down. I think we found something. The detector is picking up a very strong signal."

Tawni looked up. A vertical shaft with an iron ladder went up to a manhole cover. After a couple of minutes, the cover was pulled off and she glimpsed a few stars in the night sky. Smythe, Norbert, and Wesley climbed down. They were wearing the same "Citizens Gas and Power" costumes as earlier in the day.

Odelia pointed to the suspicious equipment. The men looked at it from all sides without touching it. They used flashlights to try to peek through air grills in the sides.

Smythe took some pictures with his phone. He made a call and turned on the speaker so everybody could hear.

"What is this thing?" he asked.

"A high-power broadband amplifier, sir." The voice on the phone sounded like Bethany. "Standard equipment for a cable company."

"Odelia thinks this is the source of the trouble."

"That would make sense. It feeds thousands of homes. I would like you to bring the whole thing back to headquarters, so Leanna and I can analyze it."

Smythe frowned. "It's bolted down and probably booby trapped. Moving it seems unwise."

"This is Leanna, sir," an identical female voice said. "I'll come there and take it apart."

"What about the possible traps?"

"I'll bring a portable X-ray machine and liquid nitrogen. I should do this, sir. I owe it to the team after my mistake with the video."

Tawni cocked her head. She didn't understand why liquid nitrogen was useful in this case.

"If Aaron approves," Smythe said, "it's all right with me. I'll send Norbert to fetch you."

Everybody went up the ladder to wait on the surface while Norbert retrieved Leanna.

Tawni found herself in an unfamiliar location, but it had the same crappy homes as the neighborhoods she knew. Barriers with flashing yellow lights were placed around the open manhole.

Tawni took a deep breath of fresh air. A cool breeze on her face felt delicious after spending an hour in stagnant, smelly warmth.