by Alex Siegel
This battlefield is clean, Ethel thought. God must be pleased.
* * *
Aaron and Marina approached the second cult ship, the Aegis of Allah. It was about the same size as the Scimitar, but taking control of this ship would be much more difficult. A small bridge sat atop a very large, enclosed main deck. The blue hull was tall enough to contain two full decks below.
The Aegis moved slowly but inexorably towards Navy Pier and its dense crowds of unsuspecting tourists. Already, it was frighteningly close.
Aaron loaded a 40mm grenade into his launcher.
"What are you doing?" Marina said.
"I have six grenades left. I could do some real damage, maybe even sink that ship."
"Are you kidding? Ten thousand people would see you."
"So what?" he said. "Better than those people getting blown up."
"The police will be all over us in a minute. It will be a huge scene."
"That's fine, as long as we win."
"No!" She shook her head. "The Gray Spear Society is first and foremost a covert organization. Our operations must remain secret, even now."
"Don't quote policy to me. Too many lives are at stake."
"It isn't just a policy, you idiot!" she yelled. "It's a mandate from God! You're new at this, so you don't understand what that means. If we don't do this the right way, it will end in disaster for everybody, including all those innocent lives you want to save. I appreciate your willingness to take risks and make sacrifices, but no. You will not use grenades in the open. You will not create a public spectacle. We have to get onto that ship quietly."
"Without Ethel helping us, I don't see how." He shrugged. "We're screwed."
"Hey!" She narrowed her eyes. "Ethel isn't the only one with elite skills. I'm not so shabby."
"It doesn't matter since we don't have a plan. Right?"
"Well, we, uh..."
"Hmm?" He gave her a hard stare. "You're the experienced veteran with 'elite' skills. What should we do?"
She looked at the Aegis and frowned.
"I still like my idea." He aimed his grenade launcher at the ship.
"Don't." She touched his arm with her black fingernails. "I may love you, but duty comes first." Her expression was deadly serious.
He lowered the launcher.
Aaron studied the ship, hoping to spot a weakness. He saw ten alert guards posted on the main deck, spaced at regular intervals. The hull was tall and smooth enough that the only way to board was by using the single ladder on the side. One guard stood directly above the ladder. It was impossible to approach the ship unseen.
An idea occurred to Aaron. He called Edward back at headquarters.
"Yes?" Edward said.
"This is Aaron. Ethel told us Simon's safe contained names and phone numbers. Have you sorted through it all, yet?"
"We just started, sir. There is a lot of material, mostly handwritten, with plenty of religious gibberish mixed in."
"I'm hoping you can find a page that lists the crew of the Aegis of Allah along with some cell phone numbers."
"Why?" Edward said.
"Because I want to call the captain of the Aegis and tell him that two more crew members are about to arrive," Aaron said. "Simon is sending last-minute reinforcements, a woman and a man who just happen to look exactly like Marina and me."
"I understand, sir. I'll get the whole team here working on it right away."
"Good. This is extremely urgent. Call me when you have the information." Aaron closed his phone.
Marina nodded to him. "Very clever. Impressive, even. I knew there was a reason I loved you besides your handsome face."
"But now we have another problem. The bad guys won't accept us looking like this. We need green clothes and facial tattoos. Good thing my head is already shaved."
"Then we have to go back to Navy Pier."
"Do we have time?" he asked.
"The bomb on the Scimitar was set to explode at 9 PM. I assume it's the same on the Aegis, which gives us plenty of time."
"Unless the enemy decided to move up the schedule."
"That's true," she said. "Let's get moving."
He drove the red speedboat towards the pier, making a wide arc around the Aegis. Along the way they stowed their weapons in cabinets on the boat. Marina wanted to make sure a chance encounter with the police wouldn't turn into a deadly confrontation.
The guy who owned the speedboat was still unconscious under a tarp. Marina gave him a dose of venom from her fingernails to make sure he stayed asleep for at least a few more hours.
Finding a place to dock turned out to be a big challenge. After going completely around Navy Pier, they finally found a free bollard near the water plant. Aaron had forgotten the James W. Jardine Water Purification Plant was so close. The largest water treatment facility in the world, it supplied fresh water to an area that included all of Chicago and the outlying suburbs. If the plant were damaged, millions of people would lose their water supply.
"I just figured out why Simon sent two bomb ships," Aaron said. "There are two targets."
Marina nodded. "He was a real bastard. It's a shame his death was too quick and painless."
They climbed onto the sidewalk. She led the way into the crowds of tourists, which had grown even thicker and sweatier since last time.
"Where are we going?" he said.
"I'll know when I see it," she said.
As they wormed their way between moving bodies, she held his hand to keep from being separated. Finally, after twenty minutes of tedious wandering, she came to a stop at a long line of young children. A make-up artist sat at a table and painted on the kids' faces with thin brushes. Puppy dogs, kitty cats, and butterflies seemed to be the main theme.
"Perfect," Marina said. She walked past the entire line and spoke to the young lady at the table. "We need to borrow you for a private face painting."
"Please wait in line, ma'am," the girl said. "There are a lot of children ahead of you."
Marina pulled out a roll of bills and peeled off a stack of hundreds. "Are you available now?"
The girl looked at the Benjamin Franklins. "Yes, ma'am."
"Let's go somewhere else. Just bring your green paint. You won't need another color."
It took a half-hour that they could ill-afford to spend, but the girl did a nicely artistic job. Marina asked for skulls painted on her cheeks and crossed swords on her forehead. Aaron went with green flames around his eyes and mouth. The paint didn't look exactly like a tattoo, but one had to get close to see the difference.
Then Marina and Aaron walked over to the shopping section of Navy Pier. A large crowd had gathered around a small stage where a pirate show was taking place. The actors lacked talent, but they compensated with relentless energy, although the strain of countless performances was obviously wearing them down. Their movements seemed forced and robotic.
Marina found a store that sold clothes. Everything had Chicago or Navy Pier logos, but those could be concealed by turning the clothing inside-out. She and Aaron walked out wearing green sweat pants and green T-shirts.
She looked him up and down. "Not great, but good enough."
"It better be," he said. "We're spending too much time here. Let's go to a quiet place so I can call headquarters."
They found a service corridor. Uncovered fluorescent lights lit a white hallway with scuffed, white tiles. Doors led to the back rooms of the many retail stores. A few cardboard boxes and crates were stacked near the doors, but otherwise, the corridor was empty. The quiet came as a great relief to Aaron, whose temper was badly frayed.
He called Edward.
"What's your status?" Aaron asked.
"We have a phone number, sir," Edward said.
"Great. Now I need to hear Simon's voice so I can imitate it."
Aaron heard a noise coming through one of the nearby doors. It sounded like a man yelling in Polish in a very angry tone.
"Way ahead of you," Edward said.
"We found a recording on the internet. Jack has been practicing, and he has it nailed cold. We think he should make the call."
Aaron raised his eyebrows. "OK." These guys are on the ball. "Have him tell the captain of the Aegis to expect Marina and me to arrive in ten or twenty minutes."
"Your cover names will be Delilah and Sampson."
A woman replied in a soft, muffled voice to the angry man, and she also spoke Polish. Marina stared at the door behind which the argument was taking place.
"Very biblical," Aaron said.
"The cult likes Christian mythology," Edward said. "One problem, sir. Won't it be suspicious if Jack pretends to be Simon given that Simon is dead?"
"The crew only knows Simon has gone missing. Tell them he's watching the action from his condo in the Spire. He can see the ship from there. Got it?"
The angry Polish man yelled some more.
"Yes, sir," Edward said.
"Good. We'll head over to the Aegis now." Aaron closed his phone and spoke to Marina. "It seems we are Delilah and Sampson now."
"It's a pretty name," she said, "but didn't she betray Sampson for silver?"
There was the distinct sound of somebody being slapped. Marina headed toward the door.
"Marina," Aaron said, "what are you doing?"
"Just checking...," she replied.
Suddenly very anxious, he rushed over, but he failed to stop her from opening the door. They looked into a small, poorly lit storeroom crammed with boxes. A large man stood over a woman, who sat on one of the boxes. She held her right cheek, which had the red imprint of a hand on it.
"What are you looking at?" the man yelled in a Polish accent. Both he and the woman wore T-shirts with the name and logo of a nearby coffee shop. "This is none of your business!"
Marina clenched her jaw. Aaron put his hand on her shoulder and found she was as tense as a bow string. She started rubbing her black fingernails.
"Marina," he whispered into her ear, "we can't afford one of your episodes right now."
She stared straight ahead, frozen in place. Then she took a step towards the Polish man.
"Marina!" Aaron said urgently. "If you love me, you'll let this one go."
He realized she wasn't capable of just walking away, no matter how much he pleaded with her. He also didn't trust her to choose an appropriate, non-lethal response. He had to take some kind of action so she wouldn't have to.
He walked over to the Polish man and stood with their noses almost touching.
"Apologize to the lady," Aaron said.
The man sneered.
Aaron didn't have time to mess around, so he punched him in the gut very hard. The man crumpled to the floor. Aaron kicked him in the face to make sure he knew what it felt like to be struck there.
"Apologize," Aaron demanded.
"I'm sorry," the man croaked.
The woman smiled slightly.
Aaron grabbed Marina's hand and left the storeroom. She allowed herself to be led away.
"Thank you," she said softly.
"No problem," he said. "Can we get back to saving the world now?"
They slowly made their way through the churning crowd. Once outside, they could move more quickly, but then they came to a stop. Policemen were examining the red speedboat while paramedics tried to revive the owner of the boat. The tarp had been pulled back.
"Fuck!" Marina murmured. "We need our weapons."
"We have to keep moving," Aaron said. "Let's see where the Aegis is."
They walked around to the south side of Navy Pier where the crowd was even worse. Sweat stung his eyes. They spotted the Aegis drifting near the end of the pier, just a hundred feet from thousands of unsuspecting tourists. The attack could come at any moment. Guards wearing green clothing were still posted all over the ship.
Aaron's phone rang, and he answered it. "Hello?"
"This is Edward. We called the Aegis, and the captain bought the whole story. He actually believed that Jack was Simon. Give 'em hell, sir."
"Good job. Bye." Aaron turned to Marina and said, "We have permission to board the enemy craft."
"How?" she replied. "We don't have a boat, and we can't swim across."
"That's the easy part. I'm worried about fighting an entire gang of heavily armed thugs with nothing but our bare fists and sharp wits."
"And then we have to defuse a highly sophisticated, tamper-proof bomb."
"Since we're working miracles today, why not cure the common cold, too?" he said. "I hope you enjoyed your life. Today is likely to be the end of it."
Chapter Twenty-four
Aaron and Marina stood at the end of the pier to get a closer look at the Aegis. Wearing green clothing and facial tattoos, the dozen or so sentries tried to maintain casual postures, but their stiffness showed they were hardly relaxed. Standing on a giant bomb would explain their anxiety. Compared to most of the boats in the water, the Aegis was a big ship, like a bully among small children.
Marina started jumping and waving her arms.
"What are you doing?" Aaron said.
"They're expecting us, aren't they? Maybe they'll come pick us up."
He shrugged. He also waved his arms like an eager child.
They eventually got the attention of the men on the ship. A blue, inflatable dinghy was dropped into the water, and a man rowed it over to the pier. Aaron and Marina climbed down into the small boat carefully to avoid capsizing it. The lone man at the oars turned the dinghy around and started back towards the ship.
He had a shaved head with green leopard spot tattoos in place of hair. Aaron judged he was no older than twenty, perhaps even just a teenager. He wore a green sweat suit.
"Hi, there," Aaron said. "Thanks for the ride."
He was ignored.
A bulge under the young man's shirt suggested he had a concealed gun, and Aaron wanted the weapon. Others were watching from the Aegis, which limited his options.
Marina abruptly leaned to one side, forcing the dinghy to rock violently. The man with the leopard spots fell on her, and they became a tangle of arms and legs. After a moment of awkward struggle, they separated. He resumed his work at the oars.
"What was that?" Aaron murmured to Marina.
She took his hand and pressed it against her belly. He felt a gun under her shirt. He smiled at her. I picked the right woman to fall in love with, he thought.
The dinghy arrived at the Aegis. The three of them climbed a ladder to reach the main deck. Aaron's heart was pounding, but he maintained a calm appearance.
A small group waited on the deck. The oldest man wore elaborate green robes with blue bands. Jade rings pierced his nose and eyebrows.
"I'm Captain Job," he said. "You must be Delilah and Sampson."
Marina nodded. "What can we do to help you?"
"You can start by explaining why Simon sent you. We didn't ask for help, nor do we need it."
"He lost contact with the Scimitar, and he became concerned."
The crew was staring at Marina with obvious suspicion. Aaron realized she was the only woman in the group, and the entire crew of the Scimitar had also been male. Apparently, Simon had run a very sexist organization. Marina was not acceptable as a fellow crewmember. Aaron became irritated at himself for not anticipating this problem, but there was no helping it now.
"Does Simon know what happened to the Scimitar?" Job said.
"No." Marina shook her head. "We must presume it's lost. The entire mission now depends on you, Captain. It is fortuitous that Simon sent two ships instead of just one."
He looked at her face closely. Then, he looked at Aaron's face. "Your tattoos seem odd."
"It's a new style," Aaron said. "Simon prefers it."
"Does he?" Job said in a tone of doubt. "He also prefers the women remain with the children, instead of pretending to be soldiers."
Marina's cheeks became flushed. To her credit, she held her tongue.
"Delilah is an unusual woman," Aaron said. "Simon tru
sts her. We would like our orders now. I'm sure there is something useful we could be doing."
"Everything is done," Job said. "We're just waiting for sunset and watching for enemies. Sraosha warned that our adversaries would attack the instant we dropped our guard." He gave Marina a sharp look.
"Could we tour the ship?" she said. "Simon would like a report from us."
"Are you saying he doubts my abilities?"
"No, but he is anxious. Tonight is the culmination of years of hard work. I don't understand your hesitation, Captain. Aren't you proud of your ship and crew? Don't you want to show them off? I'm sure my report to Simon will be very favorable."
"This isn't the time for a guided tour. I need my entire crew at their posts, including myself."
Job crossed his arms in an aggressive, stubborn manner.
This isn't going well, Aaron thought. The captain had three other men with him, and all three carried AK-47's. The weapons were held low, below the top of the railing, so nobody else in the harbor could see. Aaron noted the safeties were off. Not well at all.
"Captain," he said, "we all serve Simon, and our goals are one. There is no reason for this argument."
"Right now the best way for you to serve Simon is to stop distracting me." Job turned to his men. "Lock them in the forward starboard stateroom. Be alert! I don't trust these two." He walked off.
Marina and Aaron were escorted into the interior of the ship. One of the crewmen led the way while the other two followed behind. All three held their assault rifles in a ready position. They were tense and quiet.
Aaron couldn't allow himself to be locked up, which meant he had to make his move now. He was confident he could take out one of his escorts quietly, and Marina could handle another, but that left the third. Any gunfire would cause the entire crew to come running. He had to be clever.
The interior of the ship had beautiful furniture and cabinets made of cherry wood. The windows were beveled glass, which refracted the sunlight into a thousand tiny rainbows. A large plasma television showed a pie eating contest in progress. There was a half-full glass of cola on a table beneath. That's what I need, Aaron thought.
He approached the television until the cola was just within reach. He pretended to watch the eating contest.