by Alex Siegel
"Could I have some food?" she pleaded. "I'm kind of starving."
"I'll get you something from the kitchen right now."
Mia let loose a loud, exasperated sigh. "I'm going to bed."
"Uh, OK," Stony said.
She stormed out of the room. He still didn't understand why she was being so emotional.
Veronica also left.
Brian sat on a chair just inside the doorway and became very calm. Stony expected him to meditate while he watched Diana.
Stony hurried down the hallway towards the kitchen. He passed a small dining room, affectionately called the "Mess Hall." The kitchen was across from his own apartment, and he went inside.
The team had a stainless steel, industrial refrigerator which the PEA kept stocked with food. A gas stove had six burners, but Stony always used the microwave instead. Most of his meals came out of a can or a frozen package. Mia didn't like to cook either. Rarely used pots, pans, and cooking utensils hung from overhead racks. The kitchen was sparkling clean, another benefit of free maid service. Stony knew the place would be a pigsty otherwise.
He wasn't any kind of cook, but he knew how to make a mean sandwich. He grabbed two slices of bread and put them on a plastic plate. He piled on salami, pastrami, Swiss cheese, lettuce, onions, and a thick smear of mustard. He realized Diana probably wanted a drink, so he filled a glass with ice water.
He walked back to her apartment. She was lying on her bed in her orange prison uniform. Her eyes were closed, and she was obviously asleep. She had passed out on top of the covers.
Stony smiled at her beautiful, peaceful face. He put the food and water on the nightstand.
"Don't forget," he whispered to Brian. "She can turn into a panther, and she's fast."
"I know," Brian said. "I got this."
Stony went back to his own apartment. He thought about asking Mia about her emotional outbursts, but then he decided he was too tired. That argument could wait.
She was already under the covers when he entered. He quickly undressed and laid down beside her.
A thought occurred to him. "Could you loan Diana some of your clothes?"
"Huh?" Mia said. "No! I'm not letting that girl wear my things. She can requisition clothes from the PEA like the rest of us."
"But that takes days. All she has to wear is that ugly orange prison outfit."
"Good. The uglier, the better."
"Are you OK?" Stony said. "You're in a terrible mood. Maybe you're still upset over Ace's death."
"That's not it. Just take a nap. We're done talking."
He frowned, confused by her hostility, but he let it go for now. He closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.
Chapter Six
Stony was shaken awake.
"Get up," Mia said. "Wake up."
He rubbed his eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. We just slept too much."
He rolled over and looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was almost dinner time. They had slept for six hours.
"Damn," he muttered. "Now my body clock will be messed up for days. Did you hear anything about the status of the investigation?"
Mia shook her head sadly.
Stony ground his teeth together. "While we're waiting for the field teams to dig up a lead, Orcus is preparing for his next big move. He could be killing more kids." He forced himself to calm down and be patient. "At least we have time to continue Diana's initiation."
"Her skills need testing."
"Right. Let's get to it."
They got out of bed, used the bathroom, and put on fresh, white sweat suits. They walked to the far end of a hallway and arrived at Diana's room. Stony knocked, and Brian opened the door.
"Any trouble?" Stony said.
"No," Brian said. "She slept, ate her food, and slept some more. She is in the shower now."
Stony heard the shower running in the bathroom.
"Great. Thanks. We can watch her now. She has to be tested."
"I want to see that. I bet Veronica does, too."
"Could you find her and bring her to the boxing ring?" Stony said. "And please tell Director Robertson. He likes to observe these tests."
"Sure." Brian left the apartment and walked down the hall.
Stony and Mia waited. After a few minutes, Diana came out of the shower wrapped in a towel. She was smiling as if she had enjoyed herself immensely.
"Hey!" she said to Stony. "Thanks for letting me sleep. That shower felt great! I hope I didn't use all the hot water. Orcus would yell at us when we took long showers. He saw them as a waste of time when chores needed to be done instead."
He tried not to stare at her bare legs, still damp and flushed from the hot shower. She had an amazing body.
"Is your mind any clearer?" Mia said.
"Yes," Diana said, "but I still can't help you find Orcus. He never told me more than I needed to know about anything. He was very secretive."
"Just keep thinking," Stony said. "I'm sure you'll remember something. The next step in your initiation is a test."
"What kind of test?" she said in an anxious tone.
"We just need to know your capabilities. It won't hurt... much. Get dressed."
Diana frowned at her orange prison uniform, which was laid out on a chair. The clothes were stained and wrinkled. She had been tortured in them and obviously didn't want to put them back on.
"Fine," Mia said in a tone of annoyance. "Let's get you something from the costume closet."
Everybody walked across the hallway and opened a door. They entered a room filled with clothing racks and shelves. Hundreds of outfits were hung or folded neatly.
"That's a lot of costumes!" Diana said.
"They're for undercover work," Stony said, "although we don't use them much. The field teams, the first division, does most of the investigating. The tedious legwork is their job. The priests are the next group in. We get involved only at the end, when the killing happens."
"Sounds like fun."
"It can be... when the right people get killed."
"Stony," Mia said, "get out of here. I'm sure she doesn't want you to watch her get dressed."
Stony nodded and stepped out of the room. He closed the door.
A few minutes later, Diana emerged. She had put on a white jogging suit and pink tennis shoes. Stony thought she looked cute.
He led both women to a big room with a boxing ring on one side. The other side had foam mats, punching bags, rubber dummies, wooden knives, and other martial arts gear.
Brian, Veronica, and Director Robertson were already waiting for the test to begin. Veronica had a white sweat suit and was ready to participate. Stony wasn't planning on calling on her though. He didn't trust her self-control so soon after Ace's death.
"Any good news?" he asked Robertson.
The director shook his head. "We've expanded the search area to all of Texas and Louisiana, and we still got nothing. And I have other bad news. Kane's leg surgery had some complications. The whole leg had to be stabilized. He's in the base hospital, and he'll be there for a while."
Stony grimaced. "We'll visit him tonight."
"He'll appreciate that. He had a bad day after a bad night."
Stony turned to Diana. "Get in the boxing ring."
"I have to fight somebody?" she said.
"Yes, but first, I want another look at how you turn into a cat."
Stony, Mia, and Diana climbed into the ring.
"But if I change completely," Diana said, "I'll come out of my clothes."
"I saw you go partway before," Stony said. "How much control do you have?"
"Complete control."
Her head smoothly changed shape like it was made of liquid. Now she had the head of a gray panther with black stripes, but the rest of her body was still human. She held up her hands. One at a time, her fingernails became long, black claws. She reminded Stony of an Egyptian goddess. She morphed back to fully human.
"Very impressive," he sai
d. "Orcus taught you that trick?"
"Some of it, and the rest I figured out on my own. The power originally came from Forneus though. I have a question. If I'm cut off from the demon, how can I still change shape?"
"Our abilities are a gift from Hell, not a loan. They can't be taken back. But Forneus will be severely pissed when he finds out what happened. He would certainly come after you if you didn't have Rathanael's protection."
Diana bit her lip anxiously. "The angel is strong enough to keep me safe?"
"He's hardcore, just like us. Earlier you mentioned you can also control animals."
"I can implant commands in their minds and read their thoughts. It's sort of animal telepathy. I'm not as good as Orcus though. He's the master."
"Still," Stony said, "a very handy skill. Does that power extend to controlling humans?"
"No. Human minds are too complicated. It works best on domestic mammals like dogs and horses, creatures that are used to taking orders. Reptiles and birds are tougher to control. Their minds don't mesh with mine. I can't do anything with insects. Of course, in my case, I'm great at talking to big cats. I love tigers and lions."
"There were a lot of animals in your house including a lion."
"Orcus loves animals. He could never have enough of them. We also used them for honing our skills."
"Interesting," he said. "Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?"
"I'm very strong." She shrugged.
"We're all strong. Now let's see how you fight. Do you have any training?"
"My father taught martial arts to me and my siblings. He believed a Satanist should know how to fight properly. Orcus continued my training so I could serve as his bodyguard if necessary."
"Excellent," Stony said. "Spar with Mia."
Diana looked at Mia. "Now?"
"Give her your best shot, but as a woman, not a cat."
Diana and Mia moved to the center of the boxing ring and faced each other. Mia stepped into a classic defensive stance with her arms raised.
Diana feinted with a low kick. Then she spun around and aimed her right foot at Mia's midsection. The kick was lightning fast, but Mia twisted aside at the last instant. She slid forward and viciously back-handed Diana across the face, forcing her to stumble.
"Hey," Stony said. "Not so rough."
Mia gave him a hard look. "Are you serious? Did you forget why we're here?"
Diana rubbed her cheek. "Don't worry about it. Let's go again."
She attacked more cautiously this time, launching a rapid series of punches and kicks which showed great creativity. She flipped, twisted, and tumbled like a gymnast. Stony admired her polished technique, but the moves were too elaborate. She needed to simplify her attacks. She was good enough to challenge Mia though.
Mia patiently allowed Diana to demonstrate her skills, but after a few rounds of back-and-forth sparring, Mia suddenly became aggressive. She stepped in and used her palm to strike Diana in the chest. Then Mia swept Diana's legs and sent her crashing onto the canvas. Finally, Mia grabbed Diana from behind and twisted her arms around.
Diana squeaked in pain.
"Give up?" Mia said.
"Yes! Please get off!" Diana said.
Mia stood up. As soon as she was able, Diana also stood, but she was rubbing her shoulders.
"Not bad," Stony said, "but you have a lot of hard work ahead of you before you're qualified to go into the field."
He looked across the room. Director Robertson appeared impressed, but Veronica's face showed no reaction.
"Can I see you fight?" Diana said.
"Mia and I?" Stony said. "No. I don't like hitting her, even if it's just training. Brings back memories from before I joined the PEA. I'll take on Brian."
Brian smiled and climbed into the boxing ring. He was wearing a white T-shirt and loose, black pants made for martial arts. Stony expected that Brian's clothes hid several sharp knives. The assassin was always armed with deadly implements.
Diana and Mia moved to the side, and Stony and Brian took their place in the center of the ring. The two men bowed and assumed defensive stances.
Stony had the clear advantage in size and brute strength. If he could get a good grip, he could literally throw his opponent across the ring. Brian had better martial arts skills though, much better.
"Go," Stony said.
Brian twisted and turned like he was made of rubber bands. Hands and feet flew faster than Stony's eyes could follow. He was barely able to dodge out of the way in time.
He knew he had just a fraction of a second for his counter-attack, so he boldly reached out and grabbed Brian's arm. Blows struck Stony's ribs, face, and stomach, but he had already hardened his skin, so Brian's attacks had little effect. Stony threw Brian down and tried to pin him, but Brian somehow escaped Stony's grip. Stony managed to land just a light punch before Brian danced away.
Diana clapped loudly. "That was amazing!"
Brian smiled and walked up to her. In the blink of an eye, he slipped around behind her, drew a knife from under his shirt, and pressed the blade against her throat. He wrapped his free arm around her chest, pinning both of her arms. She held very still.
Don't hurt her, Stony thought.
"What lesson did we just learn?" Brian said into Diana's ear.
"Don't trust a guy named Brian?" she murmured.
"You dare make a joke?"
"I thought we were supposed to be friends, and then you pull a knife on me."
"If I weren't your friend," he said, "your throat would be cut."
"And you'd have no balls. The real lesson is to beware a cat with claws."
Brian stiffened. Diana had her hand on his groin, and her fingernails had become long, sharp claws.
He slowly backed away and slipped the knife under his shirt.
"Brian was trying to teach you to always be alert for trouble," Stony said. "Be on your guard at all times, even among friends."
Diana nodded. "OK. I get it. Thanks for the lesson," she said grudgingly.
"I think we've done enough martial arts for now. The next test will take place in the gun range. We'll see how good a marksman you are."
"Oh. I've never shot a gun."
"That's about to change." He raised his eyebrows. "Follow me."
The whole group left the martial arts room and walked across the thirteenth floor. They passed a door with a window made of bulletproof glass. The room on the other side was square, white, and empty.
"What's that for?" Diana said.
Stony stopped walking. "We call that the 'time out room.' It's our own private prison cell. When one of us gets too rambunctious, he or she cools off in there, whether they want to or not."
"Does that happen often?"
"Not often, but it happens. We all carry psychological baggage. Come on."
The group continued onwards until they entered the gun range in the southeast corner of the floor. The shooting lanes were relatively short, only twenty-five yards, but they were good enough for practicing with a pistol. The walls were solid concrete, and sand at the far end caught the bullets. Handguns of all sizes were placed on wooden shelves.
Stony picked out a Sig Sauer P238 and loaded a magazine. The small gun was perfect for a woman's hands, and the .380 caliber bullets had modest recoil.
Everybody put on ear protection. Stony motioned for Diana to stand at the end of a shooting lane, and he gave her the gun.
He noticed a sudden tension in the observers. Brian reached under his shirt where he kept his knives. Robertson put his hand under his jacket where a gun was probably located. Nobody trusted Diana with a loaded weapon. Even Stony felt compelled to hover over her with his hands ready to grab her.
"We're not doing a full shooting lesson today," he said. "We just want to see if you have natural ability with a gun."
"Are you going to put up a target?" she said.
"No need. Just shoot at the far end."
Diana raised the gun and aimed.
"Brace yourself for the recoil," Stony said. "Keep your arms straight, from your wrists to your shoulders. Control the gun. Don't let it control you. Now pull the trigger."
She squeezed off a shot. The recoil kicked the gun upwards and back, and she had a surprised expression.
"That was loud!" she said.
He guided her into a proper shooting stance by pushing her wrists, elbows, and shoulders into the correct positions. He wiggled the gun to check the strength of her grip. Then he looked down her arms to make sure the gunsights were at the right level. Her hair smelled like strawberry shampoo.
"Shoot again," Stony said. "Empty the magazine."
Diana fired repeatedly, slowly at first and then with more confidence. She stopped flinching by the end, a very good sign. Most first-time shooters had an uncontrollable urge to turn away from the noise and violence of gunshots. She obviously enjoyed the thrill instead.
He took the gun from her hands and began to reload it.
"Can I have a target now?" she said eagerly.
Stony nodded to Mia. She grabbed a paper target showing the silhouette of a man. She clipped the target to a wire and ran it to the far end of the range.
Stony gave the gun back to Diana. Smiling, she aimed carefully and fired. The bullet missed the target's head, but considering she was a total novice, her aim was remarkably good. On just her fourth shot, she got a kill.
She lowered the gun and fired at the target's crotch. Stony grimaced. She finished off the magazine with a gleeful grin on her face.
"That's enough," he said as he took the gun back. "You won't have much trouble learning how to handle a firearm. It's just a matter of practice. Next comes the mental acuity test. We need to know how smart you are."
"An IQ test?" she said.
"Yes. On a computer."
The group made their way across the hall to a room with computers in it. Veronica and Brian decided the fun part of the test was over, and they walked off.
Director Robertson also lost interest, but before leaving, he gave a large, stuffed envelope to Diana.
"What's this?" she said.
"Your badge and official identification along with human resources paperwork and computer logins. All the boring stuff you need to be an agent in the PEA. I'll see you later."