The Price of Disrespect (Gray Spear Society Book 6) (33 page)

"What do we know about this place?" Aaron said.

"Not much, sir," Bethany replied. She was reclining in the chair of her workstation. "The business is listed as a manufacturer of trucks and tractors, but there is no public information or even a website. It's just a shell corporation."

"Did you try hacking into the computer system?"

"I couldn't find a way in. I don't think they have internet service at all. There are just a few plain old phone lines. I could get in with a wireless link if somebody plugged the tap into the computers inside the building."

Aaron nodded. "If you give me the equipment, I'll send it with the team."

"Yes, sir."

He continued to contemplate the building. "I need weather information. Which way is the wind blowing?"

Keys clattered as her fingers danced on her exotic keyboard. "One moment, sir."

Aaron glanced over his shoulder as Tawni, Wesley, and Norbert walked into the room. They approached and looked at the monitor.

"What's this, sir?" Norbert said.

"The target of tonight's operation," Aaron said. "We attack at nine."

"It's big."

"Yes. I have no doubt you'll be badly outnumbered and outgunned. I want you to get in, look around, and get out quietly."

"You don't want us to kill anybody?" Norbert said in a tone of surprise.

"A little mayhem is fine, as long as it doesn't attract attention. You could easily get trapped in there. I want to minimize the risks until we know what we're dealing with."

"Yes, sir." Norbert smiled. "This is exciting!"

Aaron nodded. "I wish I were coming with you."

"You're not?" Tawni said.

"I have to manage things from here.
Legionnaires
get to have fun while the commander usually stays home."

Green arrows appeared on the image, pointing towards the north-east.

"The prevailing winds, sir," Bethany said.

"Pull out a bit," Aaron said. "Let me see the whole area."

The image changed. Now he could see streets and several other large buildings. Some of the blocks were just undeveloped dirt lots. A plan popped into his mind.

He looked at Tawni. "How good a driver are you?"

"Pretty good, I guess."

"Have you ever been in a car chase?"

She winced. "No, sir."

"The secret is driving really fast without crashing." He patted her shoulder. "Norbert, Smythe, and Odelia will enter the building in full battle gear here." He touched a spot on the monitor. "Tawni, your job will be to create the biggest possible distraction. I want the enemy looking at you, not them. Use tons of smoke to help hide their entry. Once the team is safely inside, run like hell. Draw off as much heat as you can."

"What kind of distraction?" Tawni said.

"Have you ever fired an RPG?"

A grin spread across her face. "Now this is starting to sound fun."

"You'll have a blast tonight—literally. Just don't blow yourself up. That's an embarrassing way to die."

"Yes, sir."

"What about me?" Wesley said.

Aaron looked at the boy. "You're on the reserve team with me."

"That's not fair! I want to go."

"This thing could turn into a full scale massacre. That's why I'm equipping my people with the biggest guns and the best armor we got. I would be disregarding my duties to God and mankind if I sent you into that unholy mess."

"But I'm a
legionnaire
," Wesley said. "It's my duty to fight."

"
Legionnaires
are respectful and obedient. You're neither. You know I'm telling the truth."

Wesley scowled and stormed out of the room.

Tawni shook her head. "The kid is spoiled."

"Not a surprise," Aaron said. "He has spent his whole life being treated like God's gift to the world because that's what he is. Back to the mission. Tawni, you'll operate over here." He pointed to an empty lot. "The drifting smoke should block the surveillance cameras. I also want you to knock out the electrical power. That should disrupt the enemy for a little while. Our people will have night vision goggles."

Tawni studied the image on the monitor. The intensity in her eyes made her face more beautiful. Her smooth skin was a rich, dark brown.

"What are you feeling?" Aaron said.

"God's breath is burning me. My veins are on fire. But it's good. It makes me stronger."

He wanted to give her a congratulatory hug, but that didn't seem appropriate. "Come on. Let's go shopping."

Aaron, Norbert, and Tawni went down the hall to the armory. The room had reinforced concrete walls in case a weapon went off. It was about forty feet square. Tall racks of guns took up half the space. Grenades, mines, launchers, and other more exotic weapons had their own section. The rest was dedicated to body armor, night vision gear, and general equipment.

"Everybody take a cart," Aaron said.

Shopping carts were placed along the wall. They were a convenient way to move lots of bulky equipment at once.

He grabbed a cart and pushed it over to the advanced body armor. Complete suits made of dense, fibrous material hung on hangers. The tough strands were knitted together to form layers of tight mesh. Overlapping plates covered critical areas like fish scales. Black and gray stripes created the camouflage pattern preferred by the Society. The suits were designed to fit snugly and allow complete freedom of movement.

Tawni came over. "I noticed these before. What are they made of? It's not like any kind of body armor I saw in the military."

"I don't know what the fibers are. Some top secret material. Flexible, fireproof, bulletproof, and extremely expensive. We use these suits when we expect a major battle."

He picked out body armor for the team members and put it in his shopping cart. He also grabbed night vision goggles.

"Sir," Norbert said from the other side of the room, "can we use the paintball guns tonight?"

Aaron grinned. "Why not? I think we tested them enough."

"Paintball guns?" Tawni said. "Are you serious?"

They walked over to Norbert. Six paintball guns were standing in a rack. Black and gray powder paint covered the contoured metal surfaces. Charged canisters of CO2 and spare hoppers were nearby. The boxes of ammunition were marked with plenty of stark warning labels.

"Why don't you try one in the shooting range," Aaron said. "I'll put it together for you."

He assembled a gun, screwed on a CO2 canister, and filled the hopper with bright pink balls. They walked to the range next door.

He clicked off the safety and gently gave Tawni the gun. "Aim at the wooden target. It's fully automatic. Enjoy."

A wooden dummy was placed half-way down the range. She pulled the trigger and a stream of balls shot towards the target. The gun made a soft hissing noise.

As each ball struck, it burst and exploded into flames. Greasy material clung to the target and continued to burn fiercely. Aaron could feel the heat from twenty-five yards away. Within seconds, fire enveloped the entire dummy.

"Wow," Tawni said. "I think I just had an orgasm."

"We got the idea during the convention," Aaron said. "We had a paintball tournament and liked the guns a lot. We just needed to replace the paint with rocket fuel."

She looked at the pink balls. "Very cool."

"Let's go back and finish shopping."

* * *

Wesley glanced left and right to make sure nobody was in the hallway. He silently returned to the computer room. The twins were working at their computers, which meant they were oblivious to the rest of the world. He would have to poke them to get their attention.

He examined the satellite photo of the target building a little more. The streets were labeled and he memorized key intersections. He mentally plotted the path he would take tonight. He intended to join Smythe and his team shortly after they entered the building, when it was too late to send Wesley away. It was helpful Aaron had laid out the plan. Wesley merely had to be in the right places at the right times.

He felt it was his duty to ignore Aaron's order to stay in headquarters. A real
legionnaire
fought God's enemies regardless of circumstance and risk. Wesley was tired of being constantly protected. He was old enough and skilled enough to take care of himself. It was time people stopped treating him like a child just because he was ten.

He tapped Bethany on the shoulder.

She twitched as if startled. She looked up at him, "What is it?"

"What town is the truck factory in? Where is it exactly?"

He used a little of his gift to encourage her to talk. He just had to allow his inner light to flow through his eyes. She immediately relaxed and smiled. For a person like her who had nothing to hide, the light of truth was pure pleasure.

"Crestwood," she said. "Near the intersection of 294 and Cicero. Why?"

It was impossible for him to lie so he changed the subject instead. "What are you and Leanna working on?"

"I'm analyzing the financials of Clear Path Cable. That might tell us who is behind the Nonsectarians. I'm already finding strong patterns of financial deception. Leanna is digging into Ted Cobby's background, and she has other leads to follow."

"You're very tired," he said.

"We'll go to sleep after tonight's operation is done and the team is safe. Tomorrow morning we can give you another math class."

"That sounds great. Thank you."

Wesley left the room and immediately took out a notepad and a pen. He wrote notes to himself so he wouldn't forget the details of his plan. He couldn't afford any missteps, and the timing had to be exactly right. Being even a minute off could lead to disaster.

Now he just needed some money to pay for a cab ride to Crestwood. He had no idea how much it would cost, but it probably wouldn't be cheap. There was cash in the security booth.

He went down the hall and knocked on the door. Kamal opened it.

"Where is Jack?" Wesley said.

"Oh, hi, Wesley. He went home to sleep." Kamal sat at the security console.

He wore crisply pressed brown slacks and a white buttoned shirt. Black shoes had a shine even in the darkened room. He was always the best dressed member of the team even though nobody else cared much. The clothes looked good on Kamal's tall, slim body.

Wesley hadn't spent much time with Kamal. The scientist was usually alone in his laboratory working on experiments. Wesley's gift was warning him that Kamal was secretly publishing results under a fake name in professional science journals. Gathering information from outside scientists was acceptable, but it couldn't flow the other way. One day soon that dangerous habit would get him into deep trouble. Aaron would have to deal with that problem when the time came.

"Can I help you?" Kamal said.

"No," Wesley said. "I'm fine, thanks." He watched the surveillance monitors.

"What does it feel like when you use your gift?"

"I open myself and let the light out. It's very natural for me."

"And you always know when people lie?" Kamal said. "How?"

"A thousand little clues. The tone of their voice, the color of their skin, the smell. Sometimes I don't know how I know. I just do."

"Fascinating. You can tell the future, too, it seems."

Wesley shook his head. "Not really. God has His plans and sometimes I get a peek at them. I know some stuff that's supposed to happen. I keep most of those secrets to myself. It's dangerous to mess with destiny."

"You see the future that God intends?"

"Kind of. God doesn't move through time like we do which makes it complicated. He can have a plan and still be surprised by it. Or He'll change the past to match the future. The twins understand the theory a lot better than me."

Kamal frowned. "I looked at some of the math they're doing for Him. It's incredibly hard. I thought I was a smart guy, but their work is way beyond me."

"And it will get even harder until their brains can't handle it anymore. No human is smart enough to reprogram the universe."

"What will happen?"

"A transformation." Wesley paused. "Norbert will be sad. He loves those girls, and when he sees how God changes them.... They'll still be beautiful but not the way they are now. I can't say any more."

Kamal became quiet.

Wesley had watched the surveillance video long enough to confirm the cameras he had turned off were still off. He went to the cash closet.

He didn't understand money at all. The whole concept was a huge lie. The pretty pieces of paper and metal had little intrinsic worth. The numbers that banks kept in their computers were even less meaningful. Humanity had played the money game for so long that few people even knew it was just a game. Wesley was painfully aware of that fact though. He despised money and all the trouble it caused. There had to be a fairer way to organize the world.

He took a short stack of hundred dollar bills from the closet.

"What's that for?" Kamal said.

Wesley instinctively wanted to tell the truth and reveal his entire plan. He fought a mental battle just to keep his mouth closed. Summoning every bit of his willpower, he walked out of the room without answering.

He stood in the hallway and gasped. Sweat dotted his forehead.
That was close,
he thought.

* * *

Tawni, Norbert, and Aaron were sitting around the kitchen table. They were eating a steak dinner, and the only sound was chewing and swallowing. Nobody had spoken a word during the meal.

Tawni looked at her commander. Her opinion of him had changed and changed again during their time together. She still thought he was a complete asshole, but now she understood why. She didn't even hold a grudge for the time he had almost drowned her in the lake. The test had been necessary.

Unexpectedly, she felt jealous of Marina's relationship with him. Aaron was quite a catch. Powerful, strong, intelligent, and handsome, he had all the qualities a woman sought in a man. His frosty personality was his only serious flaw. If he and Marina ever broke up, Tawni might make a pass at him. Until that happened, she would keep her distance. Tawni had seen Marina fight in the tournament and wanted no part of that action.