The Price of Disrespect (Gray Spear Society Book 6)

by Siegel, Alex

  "You don't want Odelia to come?"

  "That's not true at all. I could really use her help right now. However, she'll be walking into a dangerous, messy situation. It will be a business trip. She'll go out on assignments with the rest of my team. In other words, I can't guarantee she'll come home safely. If you don't want to expose her to that risk, I'll understand. I know how valuable she is to you."

  "I see." Yule nodded.

  Aaron waited for a response. Yule could be a deep thinker at times.

  "I have several answers," Yule said. "First, I have complete confidence that you and Smythe will take very good care of my Odelia. I see no reason not to trust you with her safety. I know for a fact Smythe would sacrifice his own life to save her. And, of course, few commanders are as brilliant as you."

  "Thank you," Aaron said.

  "And I still owe you my life. If Odelia's services can serve as a token of repayment, then so be it. Finally, she's a legionnaire. It's not her job to be kept safe. If the Lord's enemies are active in Chicago, then she must be there. In fact, I demand it."

  Aaron smiled. "You're a good friend. If you need Smythe's help with an emergency situation, or my help, don't hesitate to call. Odelia, I can't tell you what you'll find when you get here, but expect some big surprises."

  Odelia grimaced. "Yes, sir. I'll try to get a good night's sleep."

  "That's all. Good bye." He stood up and turned off the conference system.

  * * *

  A knock on the door of her hotel room made Tawni jump up with excitement.

  "I'll be right there!" she yelled.

  She ran to the door and opened it. A man in a tuxedo was waiting outside with two rolling carts full of food.

  "Come in." She stepped out of the way.

  The carts were pulled in. Savory aromas were already making her mouth water. She had gone through the room service menu and had ordered every single item that had appealed to her. The bill had totaled over a thousand dollars, but she had just charged it to "Mr. Berrycloth."

  There was far too much food. In retrospect, she realized she had gone overboard, and most of it would go to waste. She didn't care though. It was Aaron's money, not hers. Screw him.

  The waiter laid out a place setting for her at the desk. After everything was arranged properly, he stood with his hand out.

  "Oh," she said. "A tip."

  She took the cash roll from her pocket and peeled off a hundred dollar bill. She felt like a real player.

  The waiter accepted it and bowed slightly. "Thank you, ma'am." He left the room.

  She sat at the desk and rubbed her hands together. There were almost too many good ways to start her feast. A five pound lobster tempted her, but the shell looked tough, and she didn't want to fight with it. That would be a project for later. She went for the crispy duck instead. One bite of the succulent skin confirmed she had made an excellent choice.

  She admired the hotel suite as she chewed. It was bigger than her mother's entire apartment. A king-sized bed was in a separate bedroom with its own bathroom. All the furnishings were upholstered in plush black, gold, or blue fabric. Giant televisions were visible from every spot. There was even plenty of space to entertain guests. She could easily get used to living here.

  By the time she reached her third course, she was slowing down. She could feel her stomach bulging. Most of the food hadn't been touched, and that lobster was still waiting.

  She noticed a pair of large, black shoes on the floor in front of her. A man was standing in them. She raised her head and saw a black, shaggy beard and black sunglasses.

  She gulped. "Carlos."

  Somehow he had entered her room and had walked up to her without her noticing. She had a clear view of the door. She was fairly certain it had never opened. He blocked out the light with his huge body.

  "Hello, Tawni," he said in a voice that sounded like wind blowing through the streets of the city. It wasn't a human voice.

  Her hands were shaking as she put her fork down, but she kept a steak knife. "How did you get in here?"

  "I go where I want to go. I came to give you a message."

  "What?"

  "Protect the Child," he said. "His life is more important than yours."

  She didn't like the message or how he had delivered it. She thrust out her chin and put on a brave face. "I've met guys like you before. Your tough attitude doesn't scare me. I bet you're soft. What are you hiding behind those sunglasses? Pretty blue eyes?" She sneered.

  He took off his sunglasses. She screamed in terror and fell off her chair. He didn't have eyeballs or even flesh. Behind the sunglasses were the bony eye sockets of a dry human skull.

  "Protect the Child." He took a step forward.

  She scrambled backwards until she bumped against a wall. He continued forward and walked through the desk as if it didn't exist. His joints didn't bend in the usual places.

  "Protect the Child," Carlos stated again.

  Tawni lurched forward and stabbed him in the thigh with her knife. It felt like she was punching through hard leather. There was no blood. He didn't flinch or show any other reaction. She yanked out the knife and left a gaping hole in his thick hide. There was only dark emptiness inside him. His body was completely hollow.

  "Protect the Child!" His voice sounded like a tornado ripping apart a house.

  She shielded her face with her hands. "Yes, I will! Yes, sir! Whatever you want, sir! I'll protect him." She whimpered. "Please, go away."

  He walked off. He left the room through the door without bothering to open it. He simply passed straight through it.

  She remained curled in a fetal position, shaking with terror. Gradually, her heart rate slowed down. She wasn't dead. She forced herself to stand up even though her legs felt like overcooked noodles. It took all her self-control to not throw up.

  Anger slowly replaced her fear. It wasn't fair. She hadn't volunteered to work for Aaron. She didn't deserve to be bullied by him or monsters like Carlos. Everybody in the Gray Spear Society was treating her like yesterday's garbage.

  She wasn't garbage. She kicked over one of the carts full of food, and plates flew half-way across the room.

  "Enough of this bullshit!" she yelled. "I'm out of here."

  She ran to the door and left.

  * * *

  Aaron stood in the darkened security booth of his headquarters. He was looking over Jack's shoulder at a video monitor. Both of them had just witnessed the conversation between Carlos and Tawni.

  Aaron pressed a button on the console and spoke into a microphone. "Smythe, come to the security booth immediately."

  Half a minute later, Smythe walked into the booth. He was wearing a gray sweat suit, and there was perspiration on his forehead.

  "What's happening, sir?"

  "Tawni just had a meeting with Carlos," Aaron said.

  Smythe widened his eyes. "Was she hurt?"

  "Just scared half to death. She ran off."

  "Do you want me to stop her?"

  "No," Aaron said. "I ordered her to stay, and she's disobeying me. She needs to learn a lesson."

  "Are you going to teach her a lesson?"

  "God will be her instructor tonight."

  "How do you know that, sir?" Smythe said.

  "This equation has only one solution."

  Smythe gave his boss an odd look. "What do you want me to do?"

  "Follow her," Aaron said. "Make sure she doesn't die, but don't be too quick to save her. Wait until she pays a price for her disrespect. You had to pay a similar price as I recall."

  Smythe looked down. "I still have the scars on my back."

  "You could ask Odelia to heal them."

  "No. They make sure I don't forget." Smythe took a deep breath and nodded. "I know what to do, sir."

  "She still has her phone, so she'll be easy to follow. Go."

  Smythe rushed out the door.

  * * *

  Tawni stood in front of the yellow brick apartmen
t building where her mother lived. She mashed on the door buzzer repeatedly.

  "Hello?" Ladona's voice sounded tinny through the speaker.

  "Mom!" Tawni said. "It's me. Open the door."

  She heard footsteps coming down the stairs. The door opened.

  As soon as Ladona saw her daughter, she said, "What's wrong?"

  "I'll tell you inside."

  Tawni hurried up the stairs and entered her mother's apartment. Seeing tokens from her childhood scattered around the room calmed her down a little. A watercolor painting of a squirrel was framed and hung on the wall. She had made out with a boy for the first time on this couch. Every time she had received an "A" on a test in school, Ladona had taped it to the old-fashioned, steel fridge until the metal had been completely covered. Some papers were still there.

  Tawni sat on a chair. Her mother stood with her arms crossed.

  "You look like you saw a ghost."

  "I think I did." Tawni sniffed and nodded.

  "What's going on? Why were those military police with you this afternoon?"

  Tawni didn't know where to begin. It had been the craziest day of her life. She still didn't believe some of the stuff that had happened even though she had seen it with her own eyes.

  "They weren't really military police."

  "Who were they?" Ladona said.

  "It's hard to explain. They're called the Gray Spear Society. They act like spies but I don't think they work for the government. They told me they work for God. They own a nice hotel by the airport, and the top floor is their secret headquarters. And they have a lot of money."

  "Strange. What do they want with you?"

  "They made me join," Tawni said. "I'm one of them now."

  "Maybe you should talk to the police."

  Ladona walked over to the window and looked outside. She furrowed her brow.

  "I don't think that would help," Tawni said. "They're friends with the cops. What are you looking at?"

  "A green car is parked across the street. Two guys were sitting in it all day, but I don't see them now."

  "What kind of guys?"

  "They looked like gangsters," Ladona said.

  Tawni went over to the window. She spotted a big, green Cadillac with chromed rims. "Sweet ride."

  Smoke was puffing from the tailpipe even though nobody was in the car. That detail troubled her. She decided to stay by the window and watch.

  "How did you meet these spies?"

  "I was out with some friends the other night," Tawni said. "Aaron saw me and talked to me. He's the boss."

  "Does he want to sleep with you?" Ladona said.

  "He hasn't made any moves. He told me he has a girlfriend. I don't know what to do."

  "Are they dangerous?"

  "Very," Tawni said. "They carry guns and some are black belts. The headquarters is like a fortress with thick concrete walls. They even have missile launchers on the roof."

  Ladona gave her an incredulous look. "Have you been taking drugs?"

  "No! You know I don't touch that shit. I'm serious."

  "I think somebody would notice a fortress with missile launchers on top of a hotel."

  "That's not the craziest part," Tawni said. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you the rest."

  She shuddered at the memory of Smythe putting his hand inside her body. The image of Carlos' empty eye sockets was still vivid in her mind.

  "Maybe you should stay here and get a good night's sleep," Ladona said. "Everything will make more sense in the morning. My bed is big enough for both of us. Hey, those are the guys! They have friends now."

  She pointed at a group of six men. They wore blue baggy pants and black jean jackets. Black do-rags covered their heads. The clothing marked them as members of one of the larger gangs in Chicago.

  They looked around as if checking for witnesses. They headed towards the door leading up to the apartment.

  "Shit!" Tawni said.

  She still had a revolver in a holster under her skirt, and she pulled it out.

  Ladona backed up when she saw the gun. "Where did you get that? What are you doing?"

  "I think those men were waiting for me to come here."

  "Why?"

  "I've been causing trouble," Tawni said. "Fuck!"

  Her Society phone was in a clip on her belt. She hated the idea of calling Aaron, but maybe it was time. He had promised he would rescue her.

  She took out the big gray phone and flipped open the protective cover. A large display showed the word "LOCKED" in bold red letters. She had left the manual in her hotel room and didn't know how to unlock the phone. There was supposed to be an emergency beacon, but she hadn't learned how to use that feature. The damn thing was useless to her. She mashed the buttons in frustration.

  The door at the bottom of the stairs banged open. She heard rapid footsteps getting louder.

  She only had a few seconds to formulate a plan. Her revolver held six shots. She was fairly certain she could kill two or three of the men before running out of bullets, but that wouldn't get the job done. No doubt they were well-armed. She would be defenseless against the survivors.

  "We have to hide!" Tawni said.

  Ladona ran into the bedroom and Tawni followed. Ladona opened the door of the closet which was packed to absolute capacity with clothes. She forced her way inside. Tawni gave her mother a shove to help her reach the back of the closet. Tawni went in and closed the door. Suddenly, she was in darkness.

  She heard voices. It sounded like the men were searching the apartment. Tawni squeezed herself into a back corner of the closet. The clothes made it such a tight fit she could barely move.

  "What kind of trouble?" Ladona whispered.

  "Beating up crooks," Tawni said. "Trying to make the streets safer."

  "Like those Lake Street Vigilantes I heard about?"

  "I'm the leader of the Vigilantes."

  "Oh, Tawni. When will you learn?"

  Tawni was miserable. She had put herself and her mother in grave danger by coming here. She couldn't blame anybody else for this screw up. That asshole Aaron had even ordered her to stay in the hotel. He had made that point repeatedly. Why hadn't she stopped to think before running off?

  The closet door abruptly opened. The clothes were yanked out, exposing the two women. Tawni considered shooting her revolver, but then she saw six pistols and two sawed-off shotguns aimed at her. She dropped the revolver and raised her hands.

  The gangsters yanked her out of the closet and threw her to the floor in the living room. Her mother was thrown down beside her.

  The biggest of the men sneered at Tawni. He had a large diamond stud in his nose.

  "Tawni, Tawni, Tawni." He clucked his tongue. "You've been a bad girl. I know what to do with bad girls."

  Another gangster said, "What about the old broad?"

  The first one replied, "Not worth fucking. Waste her."

  "No!" Tawni screamed. She tried to shield her mother.

  She was pulled out of the way by her hair. One of the men used the butt of his shotgun to bash Ladona's skull. Tawni heard the crunch of breaking bones.

  She jumped up with no plan in mind other than causing as much pain as possible. She rammed her head into the gut of one man. Another reached for her, and she bit his arm until she tasted his blood.

  Somebody fired a gun. Terrible pain ripped through her shoulder and knocked her back. She touched the wound, and her fingers came away sticky and red.

  She heard a clattering noise. She looked down and saw a green canister with holes in the side. She recognized it as a flash-bang grenade. She barely had time to close her eyes before it went off.

  The world flashed white, and the sound was so loud, she felt it as a physical blow. All the lights went out an instant later.

  All she could see were purple spots and inky darkness. A ringing in her ears made her deaf as well. If she were about to die, there was nothing she could do about it. She was comforted by knowing the gangsters w
ere in the same situation.

  After several long seconds, the lights turned on. Tawni's vision was still spotty, but she saw Smythe standing in the room with night vision goggles over his eyes. He carried a pistol with a suppressor and the barrel was smoking.

  She looked at the floor. All the gangsters had been shot in the head.

  "Mom!" she yelled. She lurched over to her mother who hadn't moved since getting struck.

  Smythe took off his goggles and crouched down. "What happened?"

  "Her skull was smashed."

  He put his hand inside Ladona's head. The sight made Tawni queasy.

  "Her brain is hemorrhaging badly," he said. "I can't fix it. She'll die. I'm sorry." He sounded genuinely sad.

  She clutched her mother and sobbed.

  "Hold still," he said. "Let me heal that shoulder."

  She remained clinging to her mother as he tore open her sweater. He reached inside her shoulder and moved his fingers around. It felt strange, but she was too overwrought to care.

  It took him only a few seconds to work his magic, and he stood up. Out of curiosity, Tawni touched her shoulder. The wound was gone, and there was no pain. The skin appeared completely healed, and despite her overwhelming grief, the miracle astonished her.

  "The police will be here any second," he said. "We have to go now."

  She shook her head.

  He grabbed her, tore her away from her mother, and set her on her feet. Still sobbing, Tawni was pulled out of the apartment.

  They went down the stairs and out into the cool night air. She heard sirens in the distance. Smythe took her in the other direction at a brisk pace.

  Tears rolled down her cheeks. She wiped snot on the sleeve of her sweater. The emotional pain was unbearable, and guilt was a big part of it. She should never have come here. Her stupid mistakes had killed her mother this time.

  They came to a small, brown sedan. Smythe sat in the driver's seat, but Tawni hesitated to join him. She just stood on the sidewalk and sniffled.

  "Get in," he said. "I'm taking you home."

  "The hotel isn't my home," she mumbled.

  "I ordered you to get in."

  She didn't have to be told what would happen if she ignored the order. He had just executed six men in cold blood. She sat in the car.