Apocalypse Cult (Gray Spear Society)

by Alex Siegel

  "I don't understand, ma'am." He shook his head.

  "We are God's attack dogs. Priests and preachers take the high road, but we take the low. Have you ever read the Old Testament? Sodom and Gomorrah. Jericho. Exodus 11:5: All the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die. Deuteronomy 20:3: Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies. Jeremiah 18:21: Deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword. The Lord commands us to crawl through mud and slay His enemies without hesitation. Marina will do that. If I'm worried about anybody on this team, it's you."

  "Why?"

  "I'm not sure you have the stones to be one of us."

  Not too long ago, that comment would've offended Aaron. He had to admit maybe Ethel was correct.

  "I have to get some sleep," she said. "I'll see you later."

  She called for Victor, and they left.

  Aaron went back into the garage and sat with Marina on the lawn chairs in front of the monitors. The only visible activity was one squirrel chasing another around a tree. He exhaled slowly. It would be a long, dull day.

  "You told Ethel about last night," Marina said softly.

  Aaron glanced at her. "I had to talk to somebody. Sorry."

  "I thought you loved me."

  "I do."

  "But then you rat me out."

  "It's not like that." He shook his head. "Besides, do you really want to keep secrets from Ethel?"

  She took a long moment before answering. "I'm not proud of what I did. I completely lost control, and that's inexcusable. How did Ethel react?"

  "She's not going to kill you this time. No guarantees about next time though. You're sure you don't want to talk about it?"

  "Very sure. And it's not smart to tell Ethel everything. She doesn't need to hear about every screw up."

  "Oh?"

  "If she decides you're too weak or too stupid to be a Spear, she will revoke your membership... with her machetes." Marina made a slashing motion across her own throat with her finger. "Understand?"

  "Yes," Aaron said. "I understand very well."

  Chapter Seventeen

  Aaron was having trouble keeping his eyes open. The garage was too warm, the air was too still, and the only sound was cicadas chirping in the trees. He glanced at Marina. She was slouched in her lawn chair with her head at an angle. His watch showed 2:00 PM. Two hours until our shift is over, he thought.

  Hoskins and his team were still in their brown van, which hadn't moved an inch all day. One of the surveillance cameras showed a partial angle through a back window of the van. Aaron could sometimes glimpse the men inside, and he didn't envy them. It was probably as hot as an oven and stinking of sweat inside there. They couldn't run the air-conditioner without starting the engine, and they couldn't start the engine without attracting attention.

  Aaron slapped his own face to wake himself up. He grabbed a can of cola from one of the grocery bags that Ethel had left behind. The can was warm but the drink was caffeinated, and the latter was the most important consideration.

  A white sedan pockmarked with rust pulled into the driveway of the yellow house where the cult members were hiding. Four men immediately rushed out of the house and began unloading small wooden crates. The men wore street clothes, but green tattoos on their faces marked them as agents of the Church of One Soul.

  "Do you see that, Marina?" Aaron said. "Are you still awake?"

  "I see," Marina said.

  It took just half a minute to move eight crates into the house. The sedan drove away. The driver never even got out of his seat.

  Marina walked over to a video control console next to the monitors. She played the video back until they had a clear view of one of the crates. She zoomed in.

  "Russian markings," she said. "Military high explosives."

  Seeing the actual explosives crystallized the danger in Aaron's mind. "What should we do?"

  "I don't know. Ethel has to make the decision. Our orders are to stay put and observe." Her phone rang and she answered. "Hello? OK." She pressed the speakerphone button so Aaron could listen.

  Edward's voice came through the phone. "I just intercepted a phone call from Agent Hoskins. He was excited about some crates that were just delivered. He sent photos to a lab in Washington for analysis."

  "We saw them," Marina said. "Russian high explosives."

  "That's not good."

  "Did you tell Ethel?"

  "No," Edward said. "She and Victor are still sleeping."

  "What about the guy who delivered the explosives?" Aaron said. "We can pull a license plate number off the surveillance video and track him down."

  "I think Hoskins had the same idea, sir. His phone call included a license plate number, so the DEA is already chasing that lead."

  "OK," Marina said. "Wake up Ethel and advise her of the situation. Bye." She closed her phone.

  She and Aaron looked at each other.

  "What now?" he said.

  She shrugged.

  "At least we have a little more information. The cult intends to blow something up, and the plan probably involves a boat."

  "It's three days until the Fourth of July," she said. "That means huge crowds of people packed together to watch fireworks, and we barely know anything."

  "Damn," he muttered. "Are all your missions this intense?"

  "Each in its own special way."

  * * *

  4:00 PM finally arrived, and so did Ethel and Victor. Aaron pushed himself out of his lawn chair and stumbled on legs that were half-asleep.

  "Walk south to 61st Street," Ethel said. "A cab is waiting to take you back to the hotel."

  "Thank you, ma'am," Aaron said. "I'm desperate for an ice cold glass of water and a shower to wash off the sweat."

  "Anything new to report?"

  "No, ma'am," Marina said.

  "Hoskins still hasn't taken a break?" Ethel said. "The man is certainly dedicated. He's been on duty for twenty straight hours."

  Aaron and Marina left the garage and headed south along the street. Heat rising from the surface made the air shimmer. A slight breeze rustled the green leaves of the many trees.

  "It's a shame about Hoskins," she said softly.

  "What is?"

  "He's as good as dead. I tried to warn him."

  "He's a senior federal agent," he said. "He can protect himself."

  "No." She sighed. "You'll see. It's always the same."

  They found the cab that Ethel had left for them. It had the traditional yellow paint job with a black checkerboard pattern. Aaron and Marina slid into the cramped back seat, and the air-conditioning felt like a wind from Heaven. The cab driver started driving without asking about the destination.

  Marina's phone rang and she answered it. "What? Shit. OK, we're on it, ma'am." She closed her phone. Then she leaned over and told the cab driver, "Take us back to the harbor. Quick."

  The cab performed an immediate U-turn.

  "What happened?" Aaron said.

  "Two cult members just left the house in an electric golf cart," she said. "It was loaded with duffel bags and headed towards the harbor. Our orders are to investigate while our teammates watch the house."

  So much for my ice water, he thought.

  The cab dropped them off just south of the harbor. Marina gave the driver a very generous tip.

  A white golf cart was parked at the entrance to one of the docks, where it met a narrow access road. Two men were depositing several duffle bags in a small speed boat. Judging by the physical effort involved, the bags were heavy.

  "We need to follow that boat," Marina said.

  "Then let's steal one of our own," Aaron said.

  He sprinted north and made a wide circle around the cult members. Aaron picked another dock about two hundred yards away. A locked gate blocked the entrance, but he climbed over it. He glanced back and saw Marina go over the gate with the skill of an acrobat. She was impressively limber.

  He
ran along the dock until he spotted an outdated boat with a big engine. Hopefully, the primitive controls would be easy to hotwire. He jumped onto the unsteady deck.

  "Tools," he said, looking around. "We need tools."

  Marina reached under her sari and produced wire cutters and pliers. "Like these?"

  "Perfect. But how did you know?"

  "Standard equipment on a covert mission."

  "I guess I need to read the manual on covert missions."

  Aaron got to work on the ignition. As he had hoped, the wiring was simple, and in less than thirty seconds he had the engine purring.

  He was just in time because other people in the harbor were looking curiously in Aaron's direction. There was too much daylight for this job. He spun the boat around and aimed the bow toward the mouth of the harbor.

  He stopped when he was well outside the breakwater. He could still observe the cult speedboat, but he was far enough away to be discreet about it. Sweat dripped into his eyes.

  "Nicely done," Marina said. "You have real talent."

  "Thanks. Sometimes a misspent youth has advantages."

  Four men came running up the dock towards the speedboat. Two were uniformed police officers, and the other two had buttoned white shirts. Aaron recognized Agent Hoskins among the latter.

  There was a verbal confrontation. It seemed Hoskins was trying to arrest the cult members. Instead of complying, they pulled out assault rifles and began shooting wildly. One of the cops went down, obviously hit by a bullet.

  Seconds later, the speedboat shot out of the harbor with a huge rooster tail of water trailing behind. It blew past Aaron close enough to spray cool mist in his face.

  "It's headed east!" he said.

  He opened the throttle of his own boat and pursued. The rooster tail turned out to be a tremendous help. Not only did it allow him to follow from much farther back without losing his quarry, but it blocked visibility to the rear of the speedboat. The cult members couldn't see Aaron as long as he stayed directly behind the spray.

  Marina's phone rang. She crouched down to get out of the wind. She took off her wig because it kept getting in the way. He couldn't hear the conversation over the ferocious engine noise, but it didn't last long.

  After the call ended, she stood up and spoke directly into his ear. "Edward intercepted an emergency message sent by Hoskins to the U.S. Coast Guard. He ordered them to stop the speedboat by any means necessary."

  "Is that good?" he said.

  "No, it's very bad. We need to know where that boat is going, and we absolutely do not need more involvement by the authorities." She shook her head. "What a nightmare."

  The pursuit continued at full speed. Aaron pushed his boat as hard as he could, but it just wasn't fast enough, and the cult speedboat started to get too far ahead. In frustration, he threw his red turban into the lake.

  Just when he thought he might have to give up, he spotted a much larger ship ahead. The white and red paint marked it as a Coast Guard vessel. He killed his engines and drifted to a stop.

  The big ship fired a shell across the bow of the speedboat, and the booming noise was loud even to Aaron, half a mile away. The speedboat turned hard and stopped.

  His ears were used to the constant roar of an engine, and the sudden silence seemed loud. The Coast Guard vessel remained in place about a hundred yards away from the speedboat. Nobody was moving.

  "What should we do?" Aaron said.

  Marina shrugged. "I'll call Ethel."

  "You can't get a signal out here. We're in the middle of Lake Michigan."

  "Our phones can get a signal anywhere."

  She made her call and pushed the speakerphone button so he could hear too.

  "What's your status?" Ethel asked.

  "A Coast Guard cutter stopped the enemy boat," Marina said, "but they're still separated, ma'am."

  "Maybe the Coast Guard is waiting for Hoskins to get out there. According to Edward, he rented a couple of boats a short while ago."

  "Sounds like he wants to make the arrests in person."

  "Not a surprise," Aaron said. "If I were Hoskins, I wouldn't want the Coast Guard screwing up my bust, especially after the bad guys shot at me. I'd want to see their faces when I slapped on the handcuffs. I'd also want to be the first person to look inside those duffle bags."

  "Regardless," Ethel said, "this situation is deteriorating quickly. Continue to observe. Call me if you have anything new to report."

  Marina closed her phone.

  "What did she mean by 'deteriorating quickly?'" Aaron asked.

  "There are way too many civilians getting involved in a Spears mission. It's going to get ugly."

  They waited as the sun dropped slowly towards the horizon. The only sound was waves slapping against the hull.

  He heard engines in the distance. Two more boats were approaching at high speed.

  "That must be Hoskins," Marina said.

  The new arrivals suddenly veered towards her and Aaron.

  "Shit!" he said. "He spotted us. Should we run?"

  "No," she said. "Let him talk to us. Maybe we'll learn something useful."

  "He'll try to arrest us again."

  "Yes, he'll try."

  The DEA flanked Aaron's boat on both sides. Hoskins had brought five other men with him, for a total of three men in each of his two boats. They wore blue body armor over T-shirts and jeans. In the orange light of sunset, Hoskins looked exhausted. He had black circles under his eyes, sagging cheeks, and uncombed hair.

  "You two!" he said angrily. "I should've guessed. You're like a bad habit I can't get rid of."

  "The same goes for you," Marina said. "Did you catch the guy who delivered the explosives earlier today?"

  He stared at her. "You're well informed."

  "Of course."

  "You're not getting away from me this time," he said. "There are six of us plus an entire Coast Guard cutter against just two of you. Unless you have a submarine, you're alone out here. Dead or alive, we will take you in."

  "I suggest you deal with the cult first. You'll have better luck with them. Actually, it would be even better if you just ran away and forgot about this whole thing."

  "Why would I do that?"

  "Because there is a slim chance it could save your life," Marina said. "Did you interrogate the delivery guy? What did he tell you?"

  Hoskins paused. "This wasn't his first delivery. He made many, many others. Simon purchased several tons of high explosives and other ordinance."

  "Strange behavior for drug dealers, don't you think?"

  "Tell me the truth. What's going on here?"

  "The truth?" She looked up at the sky. Sunlight made her pale freckled skin glow. "God wants you to leave."

  "Huh?" He raised his eyebrows.

  "He doesn't need your help. You shouldn't be here. This is our job, not yours."

  "So, God wants you to stay and me to leave."

  "That's exactly right." She nodded.

  He rolled his eyes. "Enough of this shit." He looked at his three men in the other boat. "Stay here and watch these jokers," he ordered. "If they do anything, shoot them. Understand?"

  "Yes, sir," the three replied.

  Hoskins drove his own boat towards the speedboat with the two cult members on board. The Coast Guard cutter converged at the same time.

  Take it nice and slow, Aaron thought. He had a bad feeling.

  The engine on the speedboat roared to life. With a huge spray of water, it jetted towards the cutter at suicidal speed. Hoskins accelerated his own boat on an intercept course, and everybody converged towards the same spot.

  The speedboat exploded into a fireball. Aaron felt searing heat on his face, and a blast of hot air ruffled his clothes. The size of the explosion was like nothing he had ever seen. The hull of the cutter was torn open, allowing water to flood the lower decks. An inferno made of burning fuel gushed out and spread across the lake. Hoskins and his men were caught in the middle of the fire
, which didn't matter because the blast had already killed them.

  Aaron heard three rapid gunshots at close range. He turned to find that Marina was holding a smoking pistol. The three DEA agents that had remained behind were dead, each shot in the head. She fired a few more times at the hull below the waterline, clearly intending to send their boat to the bottom of the lake.

  The Coast Guard cutter sank while Aaron watched. There were dozens of men in the water, but they were either dead already or being burned alive by the spreading fuel. Distant cries of pain filled the hazy air. It was the most horrifying thing Aaron had ever seen.

  "Get us out of here!" Marina ordered.

  "But what if there are survivors?"

  "Then they'll drown! Only two people are leaving this battlefield: you and me."

  She shoved him aside and grabbed the controls of their boat. She drove west at full speed.

  He looked back at the scene of fire and death. The cutter had almost disappeared under the water. There were no lifeboats. Feeling sick, he sat down.

  "You froze back there," she said. "That's unacceptable."

  "I didn't freeze," he said. "I had a normal human reaction. I felt compassion! Is that unacceptable now? Why did you kill those three men?"

  "Because they were distracted. It was my opportunity."

  "You murdered federal agents in cold blood."

  "I wasn't about to let them arrest us. We're past the point where we can afford any more delays. I told Hoskins to go away. I don't know how I could've been more explicit. This is what always happens when outsiders stick their nose in our business!"

  He didn't know what to say to her. Images of death crowded his mind and destroyed his ability to think rationally.

  "Make yourself useful," Marina said. "Call Ethel and report our situation."

  He took out his phone and punched in Ethel's number with no enthusiasm.

  "Hello?" Ethel said.

  "Everybody is dead, ma'am."

  "Marina?"

  "No, no," Aaron said. "She's fine. Everybody else is dead."

  "How?"

  "The cult members blew up their own boat. I guess those duffle bags were packed with explosives. The fireball was big enough to take out the Coast Guard cutter. Then Marina finished off the DEA agents. Oh, one other thing. Hoskins talked to us before he died. He said Simon purchased tons more explosives. They must be building a gigantic bomb."