by Siegel, Alex
"Oh." She winced. "Why did you recruit her, sir?"
"She's very bright, and I like how she fights. I was hoping you could talk to her, one woman to another. Maybe you can settle her down."
"Yes, sir. I'll try."
"She's been in the shooting range all morning," Aaron said. "I expect she's still there. Smythe, when are you leaving for the hospital?"
"In about a half-hour, sir," Smythe said. "I want to give Odelia time to eat."
Aaron nodded. "That's fine. We're not on a rigid schedule. I'm going to finish unpacking my office." He walked off.
When Smythe and Odelia were alone, she turned to him and said, "Wow. There is a lot happening here."
"You were very brave with Charles."
"Thank you, but I had you and Aaron with me. I wouldn't have done as well by myself."
"I think you would've held up just fine." He kissed her. "Let's go find Tawni."
They walked through headquarters to the north-west corner. As they approached the range, he heard booming gunshots. It sounded like Tawni was playing with the big guns.
Smythe and Odelia put on ear protection and went in. Tawni was holding a Mossberg 590 pump action shotgun. It was a simple weapon designed to shred enemies at short to medium range. Tawni had a ferocious expression as she fired shell after shell at a wooden target.
Casings from bullets of all calibers covered the floor. Smythe had to sweep them out of the way with his foot just to take a step. It must've taken hours for her to expend so much ammunition. She had chosen an interesting way to work through her anger and grief.
She stopped shooting and faced Odelia.
Tawni's eyes widened. "You are the whitest white chick I ever saw. It looks like you got dipped in bleach. Is that real hair?"
"Nice to meet you, too." Odelia offered her hand. "I'm Odelia."
Tawni barely shook it. "Smythe's girlfriend. They want you to be my role model. Forget it. I don't need one."
"You already have it all figured out? You're wise in the ways of the Society?"
Tawni shrugged.
"How long have you been a member?" Odelia said.
"This is my second day."
"I'm past five years. You might want to listen to a little of my advice. It could help you survive. A lot of new recruits die on their first mission."
Tawni furrowed her brow. "That's great. I never wanted this job, and now I find out it can kill me."
"Nobody chooses this job. I certainly didn't have much of a choice. The FBI wanted to throw me in prison for selling biological weapons secrets to the Iranians. The real spy was a guy who worked with me. He set me up. The Society offered to protect me if I joined."
"What happened to the spy?"
"Let's just say you shouldn't mess with the chief scientist of a laboratory that studies exotic and fatal diseases." Odelia smiled a little.
"You're a scientist?" Tawni's stance softened.
"Yes, and so is Smythe."
Tawni looked at Smythe with a curious expression.
"A pathologist, actually," he said. "My introduction to the Society was equally rough. Three witnesses saw me throw a man off a balcony to his death. At least, that's what they told the police. I had to choose between becoming a Spear or spending my life behind bars."
In a soft voice, Odelia said, "I heard you lost your mother last night."
"I don't want to talk about that," Tawni said sharply.
Odelia frowned.
"We're leaving for the hospital in a half-hour," Smythe said. "Sweep up in here. Then try to find a nurse's uniform. We have plenty of costumes in the supply closet, but we can buy one on the way if we don't have one in your size. Bring a gun, but make sure it's well concealed. We shouldn't see any combat today."
Tawni nodded vaguely.
"A respectful acknowledgement would be appropriate."
She looked away. "Yes, sir," she muttered.
Her behavior frustrated him, but he decided not to chastise her this time. He and Odelia just left her alone instead.
* * *
Ladona's death was still a fresh wound in Tawni's heart. Every time she touched the memory, pain overwhelmed her. Her mother had been the only family she had had. Tawni had never known her real father.
This was the pattern of her life. She was always letting pride and anger lead her into tragic situations even when she knew better. She was swimming in a stew of guilt and grief. She let out a shuddering sigh.
She was sitting in a van with her team. Smythe was driving and Odelia sat up front with him. Norbert was beside Tawni in the middle. Everybody had already put on their costumes for today's assignment. Smythe and Odelia were dressed as doctors, Norbert was an orderly in blue scrubs, and Tawni was a nurse.
"Maybe you should talk to Wesley," Norbert said softly.
"About what?" Tawni said.
"You're obviously feeling very sad."
"That kid can't help me."
"He absolutely can. Whether he will is the question."
She shook her head. "I don't want his help anyway." She turned away and stared out the window.
He didn't respond, which she very much appreciated.
The van parked in front of the Bernstein Memorial Hospital. The building had long horizontal stripes of windows separated by concrete platforms which looked wide enough to walk on. Red brick trim gave it a traditional Midwest air. The huge hospital had nine floors and extended a good distance back from the road. Several police cars were parked in front.
Tawni got out of the van and looked at a public park in the other direction. The grass was still a little yellow from winter, and the trees were budding. The air was just warm enough that she didn't need a coat. Lake Michigan was on the far side of the park. She couldn't quite see the water, but the masts of a few sail boats poked above the horizon. She had never been on a sail boat and wondered what it was like.
"Tawni," Smythe said, "from this point forward, we will be undercover. For God's sake, don't use our real names. If there is any question about what to say, don't talk at all. Odelia and I have spent a lot of time in hospitals. Let us take the lead."
"OK," Tawni said.
He didn't seem satisfied by that response but didn't press the issue.
Smythe and Odelia headed towards the hospital, leaving Tawni and Norbert to trail behind. Norbert had a pleasant smile on his face. He was definitely the nicest guy in the group and reasonably handsome besides. She thought his brown, curly hair was very cute. It was strange to think of him having sex with a couple of weird geeks like the twins. A guy like that deserved a real girlfriend.
Smythe and Odelia spoke to each other in a continuous stream of medical jargon. Tawni didn't understand a word of the patter.
They entered a lobby that was so big and confusing Tawni couldn't even see a reception desk. Smythe didn't hesitate though. He checked a map on the wall and went to an elevator. He and Odelia continued to speak in doctor-ese as if it were their native tongue.
They went up and stepped out on the sixth floor. Speckled tiles covered the long hallways of the hospital. Strips of fluorescent bulbs cast bluish light on lime green walls. Tawni smelled bleach.
Smythe, Odelia, and Norbert proceeded down the hall with an air of total confidence, even boredom. Tawni tried hard to match their example. She disliked being the least competent and least experienced member of the team.
Norbert grabbed a wheelchair that was apparently unused. He pushed it along, whistling a happy tune.
A police officer guarded the door of one of the hospital rooms. Smythe and Odelia just nodded in a friendly manner as they entered the room. The cop only glanced at the fake hospital identification clipped to their white doctor's coats. Tawni and Norbert didn't receive even that much scrutiny. Apparently, nurses and orderlies were invisible in a hospital setting. That was a good fact to remember.
There were three patients in a room designed for only two with the third bed jammed awkwardly in the corner. The patients
were handcuffed to the steel rails of their beds. Two more police officers sat on chairs and watched the prisoners with little interest.
Smythe walked over to one prisoner in particular and checked the chart. The patient was an overweight black man with short, tightly curled hair. His right arm was in a cast and his left knee was heavily braced.
"Mr. Powell," Smythe said, "how are we feeling today?"
Powell looked so angry his eyes were bulging. "Like fucking shit."
Smythe took a small container of pills from his pocket. He gave one of the little, white pills to Powell. "Swallow this. You'll feel better."
Powell kept his mouth closed.
"A pill in the mouth or a needle in the ass," Smythe said calmly. "It's up to you."
Powell accepted the pill and washed it down with a glass of water. Tawni wondered what kind of medicine it was.
"Careful with that one, doc," one of the policemen said. "He's trouble."
"Thank you, officer," Smythe replied. "I'll be very careful. Mr. Powell, I need a little background information for your chart. What kind of work do you do?"
"Unemployed," Powell said in a hostile tone.
"You must've had a job at some point."
"I was a car mechanic. They fired me for having a bad attitude."
"When was that?" Smythe said.
"A month ago. Assholes didn't even give me my last paycheck just because I broke a lift."
"While you were a mechanic, were you exposed to unusual chemicals? Perhaps something toxic?"
Powell's eyes started to droop. "Just the stuff you find in any garage. Oil and shit like that."
"Do you remember anything odd happening before you were fired? A smell in the air? Food that tasted funny? A strange light?"
"Why?"
"These are standard questions," Smythe said. "Think hard."
Powell shook his head. "I don't remember nuthin'."
"How about changes in your lifestyle? Did you take a trip somewhere?"
"I never go anywhere."
"Do you have a family?" Smythe said.
"A girlfriend. She dumped me." Powell's head bobbed back and forth as he tried to stay awake.
Tawni guessed the pill had contained a sedative.
"Was there something remarkable about her?" Smythe said. "Did she use an unusual perfume or have odd personal habits?"
"No."
"We're going to X-ray that arm now. I want to make sure the bones are in the right places. Is that all right with you?"
"Sure." Powell passed out.
Smythe turned to the cops. "Officer, please remove his handcuffs. I have to take him downstairs."
One of the officers stood and came over. "Maybe I should go with you, just in case. This guy is violent."
"If you want, but it's not necessary. He'll be unconscious for quite a while."
Tawni was impressed by Smythe's composure. He obviously didn't want the cop to come along, but there wasn't even a hint of that feeling on his face. Odelia and Norbert didn't react at all. These Spears must be good poker players, Tawni thought.
"I'd better come anyway," the cop said.
The men transferred Powell to the wheelchair.
The whole group left the room with Smythe in the lead. It seemed he had done his homework and knew where to go.
They rode the elevator up to the top floor. There seemed to be just offices and conference rooms, which confused Tawni. Smythe looked through open doorways. Eventually, he went into a small conference room with wood paneling on the walls. Everybody else followed.
The officer looked around. "What are we doing here?"
Odelia smoothly snatched his gun from behind. He glanced back. Smythe and Norbert drew their own guns from hidden holsters and aimed them at the officer's chest. The ambush had taken just a second.
"Lie down on the floor," Smythe said.
The officer looked at the three guns pointed at him. He complied.
Smythe gave him a white pill. "This will make you sleep. It's safe."
The officer accepted the pill but was reluctant to swallow it.
"Or," Smythe said, "I can knock you out by hitting you in the head."
"You're going to get into a lot of trouble for this." The officer swallowed the pill.
Everybody waited until he fell asleep.
Smythe checked his pulse. "He's fine. Let's go."
After the team left the conference room, he turned off the lights and closed the door.
"That was slick," Tawni said quietly.
Smythe shrugged.
They went all the way down to the first floor. He followed the signs to the radiology department until he found an unoccupied room with a complicated piece of equipment inside. Tawni guessed it was an X-ray machine, but it could've been a giant cheese slicer for all she knew. It had a lot of buttons.
Smythe and Norbert transferred Powell to a plastic examination table. Odelia locked the door.
"What if somebody wants to come in here?" Tawni said.
"We booked this room ahead of time," Smythe said. "It's ours for an hour."
He pulled the thin, blue hospital gown off of Powell's body. The patient wore just underwear beneath the gown. Thick, splotchy folds of fat caused Tawni to make a face.
Smythe pushed his hands through the fat. He moved his arms back and forth as if searching for hidden treasure.
"I'll never get used to seeing that," Tawni said. "What does it feel like?"
Smythe's eyes were closed as he probed Powell's innards. "Warm shaving cream."
"Weird. How did you learn to do that?"
"We were on a mission, and Aaron was dying. God gave me the power to save his life. Actually, the Lord saved all of us that night."
She shook her head. "That's hard to believe."
"You have a better explanation?" he said. "Norbert was there. He'll tell you."
Norbert nodded. "I'll never forget it."
Smythe was systematically sweeping up and down Powell's body. It looked like a trick done with mirrors, but Tawni couldn't see the gimmick. Aaron had told her the rules were different for members of the Society, and she was starting to think he was right.
"Later, I found out the twins were behind our rescue," Smythe said. "They bargained with God for our lives."
"This story keeps getting crazier. The twins cut a deal with God?"
"The craziest part is what they offered in return."
"What?" Tawni said.
"I'll let them try to explain it to you. Even I have a hard time believing it."
Now she was curious. What could God want from those computer nerds? She still wasn't buying any of it.
After a few minutes, Smythe stepped back. "I can't find anything wrong. He's structurally sound. Aside from arterial plaque around the heart, I don't feel any disease. There are no implants or foreign bodies. Odelia, I hope you have better luck."
Odelia's hands began to glow with a white light. She placed them on Powell's chest.
"Ah!" Tawni said. "What the fuck is that?"
"Shh," Odelia said.
She swept her hands across his skin. The glow was bright enough to light up the room. Tawni wasn't sure whether her trick or Smythe's was more incredible.
"Norbert," she said, "can you do anything special like them?"
Norbert shook his head. "No, but I'm hopeful one day I'll get a gift."
"You will," Odelia said. "You just have to survive long enough. Most legionnaires have to wait several years and get through a bunch of missions to show they are worthy."
"Aaron got his on his first mission."
"As far as I know, he is the only one ever."
She touched Powell all over his body. It reminded Tawni of sweeping a beach with a metal detector.
After about fifteen minutes, Odelia said, "The energy flow feels pretty normal. He doesn't have a serious disease. If it's a poison, it's a very subtle one. There is a cold spot in his head, but it's not localized. It doesn't seem dangerous. This
is a stumper." She frowned.
"We might as well take some pictures of his head," Smythe said.
They rolled the patient over to the X-ray machine. It took them a little while to use the unfamiliar equipment. Tawni was getting nervous. They had been in this room for a long time, and eventually, somebody else would want it.
The machine printed out black and white images of Powell's skull. Smythe and Odelia studied the pictures carefully. They consulted with each other, but their tone implied neither of them had made an interesting discovery.
"Let's take blood samples and get out of here," Smythe said. "I think we'll have to mark this assignment down as a failure. Damn. It seemed like a good idea, and we executed it well."
He had brought syringes in his pocket. He filled them with blood taken from Powell's arm.
The team headed out to the van, leaving Powell on the examination table. Smythe and Odelia seemed lost in their thoughts as they walked in silence. Even Norbert's mood was a little down.
Tawni felt a small bit of gratification. It was comforting to know the Gray Spear Society didn't always succeed. The miraculous powers of its members had limits.
On the other hand, she had wanted to know what was wrong with Powell. She had seen the insanity in his eyes. Something very bad was happening in Chicago, her home town.
The drive back to headquarters was just as quiet. It gave Tawni too much time to think about her dead mother.
To distract herself, she said, "Odelia, what is your team in Los Angeles like?"
"My boss looks like a real freak," Odelia said. "He scared the hell out of me the first time I saw him, but now he's one of my favorite people in the world. My number one favorite is sitting right here."
She smiled at Smythe, and he smiled back.
"Is he just as nasty as Aaron?" Tawni said.
"What are you talking about?" Odelia said. "Aaron is a great, compassionate leader."
"Not to me."
"You might see his better nature if you had a better attitude."
Tawni just looked out the window at the other cars on the highway.
Eventually, they arrived at headquarters. The team went straight to the conference room to have a meeting with Aaron. He wanted to hear their report at once.