by Siegel, Alex
He knew parking the car would take much more time than they had. All the lots were already full. He simply drove onto the sidewalk, forcing tourists to move out of the way, and stopped.
Katie raised her eyebrows. "Interesting parking spot."
"We're on official business," Hanley replied.
"The car will be towed by the time we get back."
"We'll fetch it from the impound lot later."
They stepped out of the car. Tourists were gawking at them, and Hanley smiled back.
The weather was damp and chilly. San Francisco was never truly cold, even in December, but shorts and a T-shirt wouldn't work on a day like today. He inhaled the salt spray from the ocean.
Hanley and Katie began to walk briskly towards Pier 39.
"The angels chose an interesting location for their grand appearance," he said.
She nodded. "A tourist trap on a busy weekend. The perfect spot for maximum exposure. Millions of people will be talking about this. The pictures will be all over the internet."
"Yes, I have to agree with Marina and Ipo. This isn't the subtle hand of the Lord at work. It was much more like a Hollywood publicity stunt."
The crowd thickened as they approached Pier 39. Hanley forced his way between the bodies to make progress, and more than one bystander cursed at him. Katie stayed close behind him. It seemed everybody in the world wanted to see the spot where the angels had appeared.
Hanley saw big, white ships in the harbor on his left. They served tourists who wanted to spend a few hours on the Bay. He had never taken a tour boat, but the team had gone cruising a few times in rental boats. Crowds bothered Marina. Given a choice, she always operated in small groups or even alone. She was an intensely private person who almost never shared her feelings with even her close friends. Only Aaron was allowed inside her head.
Hanley and Katie were finally getting close to their destination. The crowd blocked his view of Pier 39, but he had been here before and knew what it looked like. Two levels of boutique shops, restaurants, and tourist attractions ran along both sides for its entire length. There was a 3D theater, an aquarium, a mirror maze, a small stage, a carousel, and world-famous sea lions. A dedicated tourist could spend hours wandering up and down the long wooden pier.
Hanley saw nothing but badly dressed people now. To reach a spot where he could actually see the angelic writing, he had to push and shove rudely through the crowd. Finally, he reached a police barricade. A solid line of officers in blue uniforms was having difficulty holding back the press of bodies.
The writing looked like it had been burned into the surface with a high-temperature blow torch. Bricks were cracked and blackened. The geometrically perfect lines were sharp and clear though, as if they had been drawn with a stencil.
"Strange," Hanley said.
"What?" Katie said.
"The black charring. You need carbon to get that effect, and bricks don't have much carbon."
"A chemical was applied to the surface. If you want fire, something has to burn."
"Yes." He nodded.
He snapped pictures with his camera. He played with the settings to pick out specific wavelengths, and he zoomed in on particular symbols.
A small group of men and women were using scientific equipment to properly examine the angelic writing. Hanley expected their report would be interesting reading.
"We can't do much else here," he said. "Let's go find a witness."
He and Katie pushed to escape the already unruly mob. He expected the authorities would have to clear the area soon or risk fights breaking out.
It didn't take long to find somebody who at least claimed to be a witness. A man wearing a safari hat was telling his tale to an attentive audience. A big backpack, a water bottle, and hiking boots created the impression he was travelling through mountains instead of the city.
"It was a wonderful feeling," he said, "like a blanket of warm happiness. I could smell the angels, too. The aroma was as sweet as honey."
"Did you feel enlightened?" a woman said.
"I don't know about that, but it was certainly something I'll never forget. They were more beautiful than I could ever imagine. The way they glided through the air made me cry with joy."
"Could you feel the heat from the fire?" another bystander called out.
"A little," the witness said.
"Did they speak to you? Was there a message?"
"Only the writing on the wall. The divine words spontaneously burned with white flame. They crackled like popcorn."
That's interesting, Hanley thought.
"Do you think the angels will come back?" somebody else said.
"I hope so," the witness said. "I want everybody to see them."
Katie stepped forward. "How did the angels fly?"
"They used their wings."
"No, I mean, were they just floating like balloons, or did they have to flap to stay in the air?"
"I guess they swam like fish," the witness said. "They weren't working to stay up."
"So, they weren't heavy."
"No. They didn't seem heavy at all."
Hanley took a turn. "Tell me more about the warm feeling."
"It was very pleasant," the witness said, "like a space heater in my chest, and it made me sleepy."
"Sounds like a drug."
"The effect was spiritual, not physical. It touched my soul."
Hanley frowned. I doubt that. "How long did it last?"
"A few minutes. It wore off after the angels left."
"How did they leave? Did they fly into the sky?"
"No." The witness shook his head. "They faded away."
Hanley nodded to Katie, and the two of them walked off. They found a relatively quiet spot across the street where they could talk.
"What do you think actually happened?" she said in a low voice.
He shrugged. "I don't know, but a report from a single witness doesn't make a trend. We need to find more."
They looked around. The crowd was thick with reporters carrying recorders and cameras. The religious fringe was also making its presence felt. A circle of men and women in white robes were chanting to the sky with their hands held up. The prayer was a weird blend of Latin and traditional gospel.
Katie pointed towards a woman speaking to a large, attentive group. The woman was obviously enjoying being the center of attention.
"I guess everybody wants their fifteen seconds of fame," Hanley said. "Come on."
They hurried over to join the audience.
* * *
This is the best documented miracle since the resurrection of Jesus, Marina thought.
She was sitting in her office in front of her computer. She knew how to use a computer even though she didn't do it much. She preferred to leave the technical stuff to Min Ho and Jia, but on this occasion, she had no choice. She was browsing the collection of pictures her hackers had collected. There were thousands of them, and she needed a quiet place where she could patiently examine every one.
The images were spectacular. Whoever was responsible had found a way to create a flock of amazing angels in the middle of the air. The white flame was so bright, Marina could almost feel the heat through her computer. Each angel had distinct facial features and was clearly male or female. They even wore different outfits which indicated various ethnic backgrounds. They were truly works of art.
Marina sighed and sat back to ponder the meaning of it all. Her office was furnished in a traditional, elegant style. All the furniture was made of varnished oak with black leather upholstery. Granite slabs covered the floor. She had some oak cabinets, but they were lined with steel on the inside and built like safes.
Perpetual Energy Technology had originally been a real company dedicated to designing a better kind of battery. The owners had created a little battery museum in the office, and she had preserved it. One battery was made of layers of silver, cloth, and zinc in a salty solution, and it conformed to the historic design of Ales
sandro Volta. Thomas Edison's original iron and nickel battery had been lovingly reconstructed.
Marina also had a shelf of trophies from her missions. She had Ice Crusher's laptop from when she had just arrived in San Francisco. She had a priceless bronze knife from ancient Greece originally owned by Bill Burch. Her most recent adventure had yielded the steering wheel from the Fearless Star, the only relic that remained from the mighty ship. The rest was at the bottom of a trench in the Pacific Ocean.
The familiar surroundings failed to soothe her troubled mind. The true purpose of the angels was unclear, but she did know one thing: they would be trouble.
Marina's phone rang, and the display identified the caller as Hanley.
She answered the call immediately. "Report."
"We talked to three witnesses, ma'am," he said, "and their stories were consistent. About a dozen flaming angels flew a hundred feet above a crowd for around two minutes."
"I saw the pictures. Very impressive."
"All the witnesses also reported a sweet odor and a drowsy, warm feeling."
She raised her eyebrows. "That's interesting."
"Yes, ma'am, and they were at three different locations, so the effect covered a wide area. Of course, they assumed the angels caused the feeling by some spiritual means. I believe otherwise."
Marina leaned forward and clicked through a few more pictures while she considered how best to proceed. She didn't doubt the authorities would thoroughly investigate the phenomenon. They would interview all the witnesses and do all the forensic work. Her team just had to obtain the reports, and that was easy.
She stopped on a photograph that had been taken at an odd angle. It included a piece of a building across the street. Sunlight glinted off of something shiny on top, but the image was too poorly focused to make out details.
"Are you near the Pier 39 parking garage?" Marina said.
"Yes, ma'am," Hanley said.
"Go to the top level above the 'Public Parking' sign. Somebody was up there while the angels were flying around. They had a direct line of sight."
"It could've been more tourists."
"Maybe," she said. "Look for evidence anyway."
"Yes, ma'am."
She closed her phone and went back to the pictures. The angels were seductively beautiful.
Chapter Two
Hanley put away his phone. He pointed to the top of the parking structure and said, "The boss wants us to look up there."
"Why?" Katie said.
"She saw something in a picture."
The parking structure was made of plain concrete, and the only architectural embellishment was some texturing on one side. A scene depicting whales had been painted on the wall facing the aquarium across the street.
The legionnaires went inside and climbed four flights of stairs to reach the top level. Cars filled every space.
Hanley walked over to the corner closest to where the angels had appeared. At first glance, he saw nothing but a low concrete wall.
Katie crouched down. After staring for a long moment, she pointed at the floor. "Scrape marks."
He got down on his knees and leaned in for a close look. He saw white lines in the concrete surface.
"You have sharp eyes," he said. "Those were made by hard metal."
"It could just be a coincidence."
"It doesn't tell us much anyway. Keep looking."
Hanley examined his surroundings. A truck could've easily parked up here while the show was going on, and then driven off afterwards. If the illusion of angels had a technological origin, then the equipment involved was probably bulky. A truck would be necessary.
"I don't see anything else," Katie said.
Hanley nodded. "Not a surprise. We're obviously dealing with experts."
"You're sure people were responsible? Marina and Ipo don't know everything. Maybe God has a new trick up His sleeve. We have no idea what those symbols mean."
"It's hard to imagine our Supreme Boss pulling such a crazy stunt without at least tipping off the local Society commander. They are on speaking terms."
"You're probably right." She nodded.
"Let's go home."
"Our car is towed by now."
"I know," he said. "It's a pain in the ass."
* * *
Marina dialed a number on her phone.
Corrie answered, "Ma'am?"
"I need you to come back to San Francisco. We have a situation."
"That's not really up to me, ma'am. Maybe you should talk to the commander here."
Marina frowned. A few months ago, the legate had stripped the division of most of its scientists. They had been sent to Chicago to help the twins with the damned firewall project. The handful that remained were travelling from cell to cell as missions arose. Corrie had already visited half the cells on the continent and had met over a hundred members of the Society. Marina was actually a little jealous of Corrie's exciting adventures.
"Put him on."
"Yes, ma'am," Corrie said.
A minute later, a man with a soft voice spoke, "Hello?" He was the commander of Houston.
"Frank, this is Marina. I need my scientist back."
"That's a problem. I'm using her."
"But she's my assistant," Marina said.
"The legate told us to share."
She gritted her teeth with frustration. She couldn't go down to Houston and retrieve Corrie by force. Marina didn't even know where the Houston headquarters was located. She was a helpless victim of the situation.
"Listen," Frank said, "I hate this as much as you. My scientist is stuck in Chicago, and I have no idea what he's doing. I'm not even allowed to talk to him. Relying on Corrie is the last thing I want, but I have a mission to finish, and I need her help."
"Angels were just sighted flying over San Francisco. I need my scientist to tell me what the hell is really going on."
"Angels?"
"With big, fiery wings," Marina said.
"And I'm dealing with swarms of centipedes that chew holes in concrete. Collapsing buildings have killed over a hundred people."
She had to admit his situation sounded worse than hers.
"I'll send Corrie home as soon as I can," Frank said. "Hopefully, by tonight. We finally have solid information about where these centipedes are coming from."
"OK," she replied in a grudging tone. "I don't have much choice."
He paused. "By the way, has your team been unusually busy lately?"
"The angels could be my fourth mission this year. That's the most I've ever done in one year."
"The last six months have been crazy for us," Frank said. "God's enemies are really turning up the heat."
"Maybe they're nervous because of Chicago."
"Do you know what's happening there? What are they doing with all those scientists? Every time I ask the legate, she shuts me down. You're close to Aaron. He must've told you something."
Marina didn't know all the details, but she certainly knew more than Frank. She realized she should've kept her mouth shut.
"No, nothing," she said. "You obviously have a lot on your plate. I'll let you get back to it. Bye."
She hung up.
Noises outside her office got her attention. She stood up, went to the door, and opened it. Hanley and Katie had returned from their outing.
They had a frazzled appearance, and Marina was glad she hadn't gone with them. She hated few things worse than being stuck in a crowd of tourists. She preferred dark, quiet places with only a few close friends around her.
She met Hanley and Katie by Min Ho's workstation. The hackers had recently changed their furniture to a more futuristic design. They were now lying almost flat on their backs on padded benches. A split keyboard was on either side so each hand had access to just half a keyboard. A bank of eight monitors was suspended over their heads. Instead of having a mouse, a laser system tracked the hackers' eyeballs, and the cursor instantly went wherever they looked. The idea of lasers po
inted at her eyes made Marina squeamish.
"What are your thoughts?" she said.
"We were talking in the car, ma'am," Hanley said. "The mild narcotic effect was very interesting. Maybe gas was used on the crowd."
"A hallucinogen would definitely make the angels seem more impressive."
"Indeed."
Marina tapped Min Ho on the shoulder. "Have you found anything new?"
He was a short, slender Korean man. A soft face made him seem babyish even though he was in his thirties. He was wearing a green mesh shirt with leather shoulder patches. Blue pants had rhinestones on the hems. Min Ho's fashion sense was famously over the top.
He looked up from his reclining position. "No, ma'am. It seems like half the internet is trying to figure out what the strange writing means. Linguists and cryptographers from all over are taking a crack at it."
"What about the official investigation?"
"State and federal authorities have people on the scene. The FBI sent forensic specialists. This incident is getting a lot of attention."
"That's good in a way," Marina said. "They'll do the leg work for us. Still, it seems like we should be doing something instead of sitting on our asses."
"I have a suggestion, ma'am," Katie said. "The angels could've been some kind of hologram or projection. We should talk to an expert in the field."
"That's an excellent idea. The three of us will go. Why don't you and Min Ho get the name of an expert while I have a word with Yang."
Marina walked over to the east side of headquarters. A door made of solid steel protected the security booth, and it had no handle on the outside. She knocked.
Yang opened the door and invited her inside. She looked around the overly familiar interior of the booth. A large console had several video displays and lots of controls, but the operator rarely had to touch anything. The security system was largely automated. It identified things worth looking at and showed them on the monitors instantly. The twins had written the software, and at times, it seemed so intelligent, Marina almost wanted to talk to it. The defensive weapons could be operated manually or set to kill anything that approached headquarters.