by Alex Siegel
"We wait here," Marina said.
"Wait for what? I'm sure Hoskins and his men are asleep by now. We should be, too."
"Ethel ordered us to perform reconnaissance."
"I'll call her," Aaron said. "This is pointless."
"Go ahead."
He called Ethel on his phone. Very quietly he said, "This is Aaron, ma'am."
"What's your status?" she replied in a whisper. She and Victor were tailing Brimstone.
"We're watching the hotel. Hoskins' cars are here, but we don't see him. What about you?"
"We're at a small house very near the harbor. We believe Brimstone is inside with several cult members. We spotted four other people performing covert surveillance of the house, like us."
"Hoskins' men?"
"That's our assumption," Ethel said. "His team is following the same signal as we are."
"Not much is happening here. Should Marina and I come help you?"
"No, I have a better idea. It's interesting this house is so close to the harbor."
"Now that you mention it," Aaron said, "I remember Simon making several references to water. Do you think his grand plan involves a ship, ma'am?"
"It's a possibility. I want you and Marina to break into the harbor master's office. Make photographic copies of logs, reports, anything that might tell us what boats have come and gone lately. I'll have Edward drive you over."
"Yes, ma'am. We'll stay put until he gets here." He closed his phone.
"What's the plan?" Marina said.
He smiled. "Breaking and entering. Does that sound fun?"
"Sure."
* * *
Edward drove the truck while Aaron sat in the passenger seat. There were only two seats, but Marina had wanted to see out the front, so she sat on Aaron's lap. He had no complaints about this arrangement. It gave him a chance to hold her tight, but she was big enough that he was glad it was a short drive.
They arrived at the harbor in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on the shore of Lake Michigan. Guarded by a breakwater made of rocks, the harbor was big enough for a few hundred boats. Aaron suspected many of the boats were owned by wealthy Chicagoans who came up on weekends.
The harbor office was a small, single-story building made of brown brick. The area was well lit and open, so they would have to get inside quickly to avoid being seen by a passing car.
"I see sensors on the windows and doors," Edward said. "You'll have to disable the burglar alarm before going in."
"Not my specialty," Aaron said. "Marina?"
Marina shook her head. "I'm not good with electronics. We'll have to use an expert. Edward, can you get us inside?"
"Me, ma'am?" Edward said in a tone of surprise. "I'm just your driver tonight."
"But you were a professional burglar. You know exactly what to do."
"It's been a long time, and what if I get into trouble? I don't know how to fight. I'm not authorized for field operations."
"Then I'm authorizing you."
He clenched his jaw.
"Aaron and I will be right here," she said. "I'm giving you an order."
His shoulders sagged. "Yes, ma'am."
He parked the truck in the shadow of a tree. They went around to the back and climbed into the cargo area. Edward dug into piles of equipment and supplies until he found a couple of nice cameras, which he gave to Aaron and Marina. Edward also produced pen-sized flashlights for all of them. Finally, he grabbed a red tool box for himself.
"Give me ten minutes to open the front door," he said. "Then come after me."
Marina nodded. "If you have a serious problem, run."
"I already had that plan."
Edward slipped out of the back of the truck and jogged towards the harbor.
"Now we wait," Aaron said. "I have to say that you look fantastic in that tight outfit. It really shows off your sexy body."
Marina stroked his chest. "You look yummy, too." She gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
"I wonder how Ethel and Victor are doing. I'm surprised she came with us on this road trip. She seems like the type who likes to pull strings from headquarters."
"No." She shook her head. "She hates being cooped up. She goes out every chance she gets, and it's a good thing this time. We'll need extra help."
"She and Victor make a strange team. A huge, beefy Italian guy with a small, middle-aged black woman."
"They're like mother and son."
"Talk about a dysfunctional family."
"Yeah." She looked down. "That was another reason she came along. She wants to supervise Victor."
"Why?" he said.
"His behavior has become more extreme and erratic lately. Did you read the report Victor wrote last night?"
"Am I allowed to do that?"
"Sure," she said. "We don't keep secrets from ourselves. Anyway, he tracked down a drug addict who buys heroin from the cult, one of their steady customers."
"Sounds like a good source of information." He nodded.
"Victor caught him in a nightclub restroom. The interrogation was unsuccessful. The guy knew nothing. By the time Victor was done, there was so much blood on his clothes that he couldn't go back into the nightclub. He escaped into an alley by kicking a hole in a back wall."
"Jeez."
"I'm worried about Victor," she said. "If he continues this way, Ethel will have to step in, or God will. Either way, he's a dead man."
They waited in silence until ten minutes had passed. Marina slipped out of the truck, looked around, and waved for Aaron to follow. They ran to the front door of the office building. After crossing her fingers, she pulled open the door. No alarm sounded.
They went inside and found Edward already at work. He was opening desks and rifling through the papers inside. Aaron focused his attention on a row of filing cabinets. He quickly discovered they were organized chronologically, which was convenient because he only cared about the last few months.
He took out the first folder, spread the papers on the floor, and took a picture. The flash was dark blue and barely visible.
"Edward," he whispered, "what's wrong with this flash?"
"It's an ultraviolet camera," Edward said. "It works perfectly well, sir. The pictures will come out crystal clear. Just start shooting."
"Nice." Aaron clicked away freely.
He had worked through an entire drawer of one filing cabinet, when he heard the back door of the office open. Cautiously, he investigated. Marina was standing just behind the building on the dock. She was in the open.
He hurried over to her. "What are you doing?"
"I heard something." She looked at the harbor full of boats. "Maybe a scream."
He listened carefully and heard it. "A woman in trouble. Over there, I think." He pointed at a boat at the end of one of the docks. Its lights were on.
Marina started walking along the dock.
"Where are you going?" he said.
"To help her."
"But we're on a mission. I thought we weren't supposed to get involved in other business. Ethel told me we don't fight crime."
"Stay with Edward," she said. "I'll be back in just a few minutes."
"Let's call the police and let them deal with it."
She glanced back at him. "Are you kidding? We're working here. We can't have cops hanging around. This won't take long."
He watched her walk out to the boat. In her black and gray clothing, she looked like a flowing shadow. Her footsteps on the wooden planks made no noise at all.
Edward came up behind Aaron and whispered, "What's going on?"
"We heard a woman scream," Aaron said. "Marina is investigating."
"We're on an assignment."
"I understand, but what if the woman is injured? Or getting raped?"
Edward shook his head. "Doesn't matter, and Marina knows that. Ethel won't be happy when she hears about this. And if it really is a rape..." He furrowed his brow. "Maybe you should go out there."
"Why?"
&
nbsp; "Marina has a thing about rapists. Hurry, but be careful."
The anxiety in Edward's voice caused Aaron to worry also. Aaron jogged along the dock, making no attempt to be silent.
He arrived at the boat but nobody was on the deck. However, there were plenty of thumping and crashing noises coming from the hold, the sounds of a serious fight. At least the screaming had stopped.
He hopped onto the boat and leaned over to look into the hold. The sight was so grotesque it took a moment for him to comprehend what he was seeing. There was blood everywhere. A naked girl was handcuffed to a bed, obviously a rape victim. Fresh bruises on her thighs, arms, and face marked her pale skin. She was cowering, frozen with terror. Marina stood a short distance away, and she was catching her breath.
The remains of two men lay at her feet. She held a bloody dagger in her hand, and judging by the horrifying condition of the men, she had put it to good use. The cuts were not so much deep as plentiful, as if she had wanted the suffering to last. One of the men still moved slowly, but he lost more blood with every heartbeat. The other man was already gone.
Marina looked up at Aaron. Her eyes held an insane gleam, and she brandished her knife.
"Calm down," he said softly. "It's just me. You won."
She looked around in confusion as if seeing her location for the first time. She walked over to the girl. "Sleep," Marina whispered as she pressed her black fingernails against her neck.
The victim went to sleep. Marina covered her with a sheet.
She climbed out of the boat. Aaron gave her plenty of space. She jumped into the dark lake and dunked her head under the surface to wash off the blood. She climbed onto the dock, dripping wet. She slipped the dagger into a scabbard on her belt.
He didn't know what to think. Saving the girl was necessary, but butchering two men in the process was not.
"Are you feeling better now?" he asked nervously.
Her body was shaking even though the air was very warm. "No."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No."
Marina headed up the dock alone. Aaron trailed her by a few paces.
"I think we should talk about it," he said. "It looks like Victor isn't the only one with extreme and erratic behavior."
She shook her head.
"Please." He touched her shoulder.
She grabbed his wrist and performed a hip toss. He landed flat on his back hard enough to knock the wind out of him. He couldn't remember the last time he had been thrown like that. Certainly, a woman had never done it.
"I'm your friend," he said after he caught his breath. "More than a friend. We can work on this together." He got back to his feet.
Tears were running down her cheeks. He approached her cautiously, and she allowed him to hug her.
"What's going on in your head?"
"Be quiet," she said.
"I'm trying to help," he replied softly.
"It's not working."
He squeezed her. "OK. I'll shut up."
She was so tense it was like holding a statue.
After a moment she melted into him, and her tears made his chest wet. "I just carved up a couple of grown men like they were Halloween pumpkins." She held up her black fingernails. "I'm a repulsive monster. You should be disgusted with me."
"Then I must be a monster, too, because I'm in love with one." He kissed her.
"Stop that!"
"What?"
"Being so nice," she said. "I don't deserve it."
He just held her.
Finally, she sniffled and wiped her nose. "Enough. Let's get back to work."
"Sure." He gave her another quick kiss.
They returned to the office and spent another hour taking pictures. When it seemed like they had photographed every piece of paper that might possibly be interesting, they went back to the truck. Aaron yawned. He had been awake for twenty-two hours, and dawn was just a few hours away.
Marina called Ethel. They spoke for a moment.
Afterwards, Marina closed her phone and said, "Ethel and Victor are still watching the house with the cult members inside. They'll spend the night there. We're under orders to get a little sleep and relieve them at 7:00 in the morning."
"Where are we sleeping?" Aaron said.
"The nearest hotel with high-speed internet access."
"Why?" Edward said.
"Because you have to transmit all those photos back to headquarters," Marina said.
"That's like ten gigabytes of data. When do I get to sleep, ma'am?"
"After you're done," she said.
* * *
Aaron rubbed his eyes. A "little" sleep had turned out to be only three hours worth. Two cups of coffee were the only thing keeping him upright.
He and Marina were walking down a street towards the location where Ethel and Victor were hiding. It was a quiet, traditional neighborhood with a mix of large and small homes. Some were clearly abandoned, but most were in good condition, and a handful even had fresh paint. Weeds pushed through cracks in the sidewalk. The nicest feature of the neighborhood was the many large, lush trees that concealed some of the signs of neglect and decay.
Aaron and Marina wore disguises. She had put on a traditional Indian sari that went from her neck down to the ground. She also wore a brunette wig, and brown makeup darkened her face. The disguise would not stand up to intense scrutiny, but from across the street she looked like she had come straight from India. The loose-fitting sari had the additional advantage that it allowed her to hide a variety of weapons underneath.
Aaron had attempted to match her disguise by wearing an Indian sherwani made of black silk, which went down to his knees. Like her sari, his outfit allowed him to carry an assortment of concealed weapons. He also wore brown makeup on his face, but instead of a wig, he had a round turban made of red cotton.
They turned left into a driveway and walked past a blue house with cobwebs on the windows. A "For Sale by Owner" sign was nailed to a tree, but it had rusted through in spots.
Instead of going into the house itself, Aaron and Marina went to a garage in back made of cinderblocks. They found Ethel and Victor inside, sitting on folding lawn chairs in front of video monitors. Live feeds from a dozen hidden cameras showed various views of the street.
"There you are!" Ethel said. "Five minutes late."
"Sorry, ma'am," Marina said.
"The cult members are inside that one." She pointed at a yellow house on one of the monitors. "And the DEA is hiding there." She pointed at a brown van parked on the street. "Four men, including Hoskins."
"That's a small van for four guys plus gear. It must be snug in there."
"I'm sure it is, so don't whine about our luxury accommodations."
The garage was dusty but spacious and well ventilated. Between the lawn chairs were two grocery bags full of soda, fruit, and snacks.
"You won't hear me complain," Aaron said. "This is nice for a stakeout. Comfy."
"I drew a schematic." Ethel gave a piece of paper to Marina. "It shows the locations of cars, cameras, and other items of interest. Study it."
"What's the plan?" Aaron said. "When are we going to grab the cult members, ma'am?"
"Soon. I'm sure there are other cult houses. If we take out this one, the rest will know to expect trouble, so for now we'll just gather intelligence. Besides, before we deal with the cult, we will have to deal with the DEA."
He looked down, not liking the implications of her statement.
"I think that's all," she said. "We'll be back at 1600 hours to relieve you."
Ethel and Victor stood up and headed for the door.
"Wait, ma'am!" Aaron said. "I need a few minutes with you alone, please."
He and Ethel went outside together. They stood on the back lawn behind the abandoned house. He made sure to close the garage door so Marina wouldn't hear.
"What's wrong?" Ethel said.
"Something happened last night, ma'am."
"What?"
"While we were at the harbor," Aaron said, "we heard screaming. It turned out to be a girl getting raped. Marina..."
"I can guess the rest. She went berserk."
"She shredded two men."
Ethel nodded and sighed. "We're violent creatures fighting a violent war, but there are boundaries. She sometimes forgets that."
"What's wrong with her?"
"All I know is that she had a very bad experience when she was young. She's still angry about it. I've tried to talk to her many times, but she refuses to even discuss the matter."
"So," he said, "you just tolerate this kind of murderous behavior, ma'am?"
"I'm in a very difficult position. Marina is a phenomenally talented legionnaire, and when she stays in control, she's a star performer. Just as important, she's a survivor. To give you an idea, twelve different legionnaires have worked for me during my time as a commander. Eight were killed."
That last number troubled him. Those weren't good odds of survival. "Wait. You have three now, plus eight is eleven."
"You're forgetting Yvonne," she said. "She was a legionnaire too, and technically, she still is. My point is surviving five years is a substantial achievement. Marina is almost at her tenth anniversary. Some day you'll understand how impressive that is. This team would be much less effective without her. I keep hoping she'll get better. I've been trying to counsel her. It hasn't helped."
Ethel's dark eyes were full of sorrow. It was as much emotion as Aaron had ever seen her express.
"Maybe I can help her," he said.
"I very much hope you can, but be careful. You could easily become another victim of her rage. At least she didn't compromise the mission. Headquarters reported they received the photos. Nobody on the team was injured, and the police weren't involved. Good work."
He looked up at the lush trees. "Victor is a thug. Edward was a professional crook. Marina is dangerously insane. It makes me wonder whether I'm on the right team, ma'am."
"Your history is not without blemish. You were a Chicago cop for long enough to get plenty of innocent blood on your hands. When the department threw you out..."
"Those charges were fabricated!" Aaron clenched his fists.
"Not all of them," Ethel said. "The reports I saw called you a maniac and a gun slinger, and they were written before the bribery incident. That's one reason I recruited you."