by Siegel, Alex
"Yes, ma'am."
"Bye." She put away her phone.
Frowning, she walked over to Min Ho. The hacker was wearing an outfit made of shiny blue nylon with green stripes. It looked like a warm-up suit for an athlete with a flair for fashion. She wondered where he bought his clothes, certainly not off the rack.
"Anything new?" Marina said.
"No, ma'am," Min Ho said. "Ten years ago, the Warriors were just an obscure group who lived in the woods of New Hampshire. They hunted together and performed pagan blood rituals on animals. At some point for no obvious reason, they became much better organized and equipped."
"That's probably when the so-called 'Goddess' took control."
"We're trying to find out who that is, but it's hard."
"Follow the money," she said.
"Yes, ma'am."
Marina walked off feeling frustrated.
* * *
Iris was eating dinner in her hotel room. It was a quiet meal with just her and Laurence at the table. Her dish was roast duck with plum sauce and a side of sweet potato soufflé. He was eating the same thing he always did: plain hot dogs, white rice, and boiled carrots. His diet never varied in the slightest.
Her phone rang, and the display showed Walfred was trying to reach her with his "magic mirror." It was actually a very sophisticated communications device, but he didn't know that.
She accepted the connection. "What is it?"
"The enemy came just as you foretold, Goddess," he replied.
Iris already knew exactly what had happened. She had watched the whole episode through his eyes. She had seen the Gray Spear Society in action, and they had been as impressive as she had expected. The effortless way they had killed made her jealous.
"Yes," she said, "I saw. I also know most of the Warriors escaped. Well done. The night went exactly as I had hoped."
"Thank you, Goddess."
"You talked to somebody on the radio. Who?"
Iris could see through another person's eyes, but unfortunately, she couldn't listen through his ears. It was an annoying limitation.
"The enemy," Walfred said. "It was just a brief conversation."
Her eyes widened in alarm. "You didn't tell them anything, did you?"
"Of course not, Goddess."
She was still uneasy. It wouldn't take much of a slip to give the Society a vital clue. The plan depended on them not suspecting the truth until it was too late.
"Good," Iris said. "I knew I could depend on you. And you have all the equipment you need for tomorrow?"
"I believe so. The laser power supply is repaired."
She smiled. Tomorrow promised to be an extremely interesting day.
"I want you to ditch the green trucks. They've become a liability. Safer transportation has already been arranged. I have also prepared the costumes and vehicles you will need for the final performance."
"But, Goddess," Walfred said, "you told us to use the green trucks."
"Yes, and they served their purpose."
"Which was what? Is that how the enemy found my encampment? You set us up?"
"Don't question my wisdom," Iris said. "There is a warehouse in Oakland..." She gave him detailed instructions.
"Yes, Goddess."
"And you can stay in nice hotels tonight. It's the last night of the operation. You deserve clean beds, hot showers, and soft towels."
"Thank you," Walfred said.
Iris ended the connection.
Laurence looked at her. "We just need the Warriors to survive until noon tomorrow."
She nodded. "I'm confident they will."
Chapter Nine
Marina and Corrie were standing outside headquarters. It was a cool, breezy night, and Marina wished she had thought to grab a jacket. Still, it was a lot nicer than Chicago. She kept seeing horror stories on the news about the ongoing nightmare in her hometown. Between the cannibals and the hellish snowstorm, the city was under siege.
"I'm a little jealous," Marina said.
"You are, ma'am?" Corrie said.
"You got to have a grand tour of North America. How many teams did you visit?"
"Eleven."
"I've only seen Chicago and San Francisco," Marina said. "I hope you appreciate how unique an opportunity that was. Normally, only the legate gets to travel between cells."
"You and Aaron visit each other, ma'am."
"That's a special case, and technically, against the rules."
Corrie nodded.
Marina heard an animal in the brush. Tall hills surrounded headquarters on three sides, and at night, they were intimidating dark masses. The land was a kind of national park, so nothing had been built on it. Native plants covered the landscape. Rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, and deer often wandered down to headquarters and sniffed around. Even larger predators such as pumas were sometimes detected by the security system.
"Do you think everything will return to normal after the project in Chicago is done?" Corrie said.
Marina shrugged. "Hard to say. I just hope it works after all the trouble it's causing."
"I still don't believe it."
"Don't believe what?"
"That the twins are going to change the universe," Corrie said.
"After everything you've seen, and after the miracles you've witnessed, you still doubt?"
"Those are localized aberrations. We're talking about all of fucking reality here. Billions of galaxies, quadrillions of worlds. I don't care how smart the twins are. They can't make a fundamental change to physics."
"Everybody else," Marina said, "including God Himself, seems to think they have a shot at it."
Corrie shook her head.
Marina furrowed her brow. "How do I compare to the other commanders?"
"Ma'am?"
"You spent time with eleven other commanders. That's a pretty good sample size. How would you rank me?"
Corrie was silent.
"Come on," Marina said. "I never get angry when people are honest with me. I won't punish you for telling the truth. Go ahead and criticize."
Corrie swallowed. "Every commander was impressive in his or her own way. Some were incredibly intelligent, some were intuitive, some were driven, and some were just great leaders. It's hard to say one was better than another."
"You're evading the question."
"You're different, ma'am. You're scarier than the others. It's like God took a bunch of death and molded it into the shape of a woman. Even after a year, being with you still feels a little like a nightmare."
Marina thought about that statement. She wasn't displeased by the assessment even though it probably wasn't meant to be flattering. She had spent most of her life honing her mind and body to become a perfect killing machine. She had sacrificed so much for that goal, but had she given up too much? Aaron loves me, she thought. His opinion is the only one that matters.
A dark blue van came up the driveway. Marina knew it was her team, but she still put a hand on the butt of her gun. Until she saw their faces, she would take precautions.
The van parked in the grass with its rear doors facing the front of headquarters. Ipo, Hanley, Katie, and Yang got out. They were still wearing their advanced body armor. The black and gray fabric fit their bodies like a second skin, and even though it could stop a bullet, it was flexible enough to not restrict movement.
"That armor makes them look like superheroes," Corrie said.
Marina agreed.
Ipo opened the back doors of the van. "We found some evidence in the encampment. The bad guys left it behind, so it probably isn't worth much, but it still looks interesting."
"Did the captive tell you anything?" Marina said.
"Not much new, ma'am. For the last several years, the Warriors of Dagda have been operating under the orders of a mysterious woman known as the Goddess. She speaks to Walfred directly using some kind of mirror device. She also sends 'sacred couriers' with money, supplies, and instructions."
"Strange beh
avior for a deity."
"Indeed," Ipo said. "They've never seen her in person. I don't think there is any chance they can lead us to her. What's interesting is the captive absolutely believed the Goddess could see every move the Warriors made. She must be using bugs or spies to watch her own people."
Marina nodded.
She walked over to the van to inspect the evidence, and at first glance, it looked like junk. There were damaged weapons parts, computer components, torn clothing, mechanical bits, and other odds and ends. It was clear why the Warriors hadn't bothered to pack any of it.
Corrie also took a look, and her expression showed more interest.
She picked up a red metal tube with an opening at one end. "This is a laser module."
"Will it tell us anything?" Marina said.
"It might help me figure out the technology they used to generate the angels." Corrie picked up a bulbous canister. "And I bet this held the gas they sprayed. Some might be left inside. I could use mass spectrometry to determine the chemical."
"Sounds like you're going to have a busy night. I'll stay up for a few hours and examine the other evidence. As for the rest of you—" Marina faced her legionnaires. "—get this stuff inside, and then go home. Be back here at dawn tomorrow."
"Yes, ma'am," they said in unison.
* * *
Marina was yawning as she left her bedroom. She had been up very late looking at evidence without much success. The junk had yielded some fingerprints and serial numbers, but the hackers had been unable to find any matches in their computers. It was becoming obvious the "Goddess" was a very savvy adversary who knew how to cover her tracks.
Corrie was still working in the cage where she performed dangerous experiments. The scientist had stayed up all night without being asked to.
Flickering white light caught Marina's attention, and she hurried over to see what was happening. Corrie had a clear plastic box on her workbench. She was waving a device that looked like a laser pen, but Marina couldn't see the laser. The invisible beam produced strokes of brilliant white light inside the box. The spectacular effect looked like white flame except it didn't burn the plastic.
"What is that?" Marina said excitedly.
"I'm pretty sure this is how the angels were made," Corrie said. "An ultraviolet laser is causing the gas to fluoresce. It's a special chemical that seems to burn but actually just converts the light to the visible spectrum."
"But you're just drawing lines. How do you make angels?"
"That's easy. You bounce the laser off a computer-controlled mirror. You see that technology at laser shows all the time. A complex image would probably require multiple lasers, but all that equipment can be bought off the shelf. The only clever bit was finding the perfect gas."
"Do you think an enemy of God gave them the formula?" Marina said.
"It's possible, but they also could've figured it out with old-fashioned experimentation. The gas in the canister was actually a composite of several chemicals, some with narcotic effects."
"That would explain the warm, happy feeling the victims experienced."
"Yes, ma'am," Corrie said.
Marina stepped back and pondered. Understanding the technology behind the angels was helpful, but the much more important question was motivation. The Goddess was going to an enormous amount of trouble and expense for no obvious reason.
Olivia came out of her bedroom and wandered over. She was wearing floppy pink pajamas with a puffy white rabbit tail. Marina felt a rush of maternal emotions.
Olivia stared at Corrie's laser experiment. "That's cool!"
"I suppose it is," Corrie said.
Her face sagged with exhaustion. All four assistants had helped with the analysis of the evidence. Min Ho and Jia had gone home to sleep, while Imelda was stuck in the security booth.
"Go home," Marina told Corrie. "You did a fine job."
"Thank you, ma'am." Corrie turned off the laser and left.
Marina turned to Olivia. "Hang out with me in the security booth while we wait for the legionnaires to show up."
The girl followed Marina to the east side of headquarters. She knocked on a solid steel door, and it opened after a second. Imelda looked out with bags under her eyes. She was a very skinny woman, but normally, she made up for lack of mass with abundant energy. Now she seemed frail and weak.
"You're off duty," Marina said.
"Thank you, ma'am," Imelda said with relief.
Marina and Olivia took her place in the booth. Marina sat before the main console, and Olivia sat in the guest chair. Marina used the external cameras to perform a quick survey of the land around headquarters, and she saw nothing more exciting than a scrawny coyote. A computer screen showed the latest police reports for Pacifica and nearby areas, and they were also uninteresting.
She checked the status of all the weapons systems. Land mines were placed under all the roads in the vicinity. If an enemy evaded the mines, they would face .50 caliber machine guns, sniper rifles, rockets, and a Vulcan cannon. The weapons popped up out of trapdoors in the ground. They were controlled from the booth either by a human or by the security computer. A battery of heat-seeking missiles could knock down helicopters or low-altitude airplanes.
All the diagnostic lights were green, and Marina settled in for a long sit. Shifts in the booth usually lasted eight hours.
She glanced at Olivia. "We need to start making long-term plans for you. You can't spend the rest of your life in headquarters."
"I like it here," Olivia said. "I feel safe, and the people are nice."
"You need to be part of a real family."
"Yang and Jia are like my mom and dad."
"Taking care of you isn't their job," Marina said. "They have other responsibilities. Don't worry. I would never throw you out on the street, but the current situation isn't a permanent solution. This isn't an orphanage. If only your eyes weren't so distinctive. Perhaps you could wear contacts..."
* * *
Hanley walked into headquarters. Marina was in the booth, and he nodded to her respectfully. Olivia was in the other seat, still wearing her pajamas.
For just an instant, Marina looked different. Her features seemed made of hard crystal, and her eyes were glowing green orbs. It was a startling vision, but after he blinked, she was her normal self again. Her red hair needed to be combed, and her green eyes were a little bloodshot. She was wearing a baggy green shirt which was more comfortable than attractive. Usually, she dressed more sharply, but he guessed she had been too tired to care.
"Did Corrie discover anything?" Hanley said.
"Yes," Marina said. "The angels are a product of gas, lasers, mirrors, and computers. She'll be happy to give you a demonstration when she wakes up. In the meantime, watch the news. I'm expecting our enemy to make the next move at any time."
"Yes, ma'am. Are we going to fly that reconnaissance drone again?"
"The hackers are asleep, and nobody else can do it. I'll wait a few hours and then wake up Min Ho. Go in."
Hanley entered the main part of headquarters and headed straight for the living room. He turned on the television, found a news channel, and turned up the volume. He listened as he went to the kitchen nearby. He began to prepare breakfast.
Ipo, Katie, and Yang arrived after a short while. Everybody helped with the cooking, and they made a meal of eggs, bacon, toast, oatmeal, fresh orange juice, and fruit salad. The legionnaires had slept enough to be in a reasonably good mood. Hanley hoped it lasted.
He filled a plate and brought it to the security booth. Marina gratefully accepted her breakfast.
"Come out and eat," he told Olivia.
The little girl followed him back to the kitchen. He had never spent much time with children, and it still felt odd to have one in his workplace. Fortunately, she was very well behaved, abnormally so.
Yang already had a plate ready for her with everything just the way she liked it. Everybody on the team adored Olivia, but Yang and Jia were e
specially fond of her. They had practically adopted her as their own child.
A report on the news grabbed Hanley's attention.
"Monday morning turned into a nightmare for commuters when angels appeared over the freeway," a female reporter said. "They flew for two minutes above the interchange between Interstate 80 and the Bayshore Freeway. The distraction caused hundreds of minor collisions. Tow trucks and emergency crews are rushing to the scene, but the raised highways have limited access. It will take hours to untangle the snarl..."
Hanley knew that location well. Hundreds of thousands of cars passed through that interchange every day. It was a choke point for traffic, and its closure would have ripple effects across the entire Bay Area.
Marina's voice came down from speakers installed in the ceiling. "Hanley and Katie, you're with me. We're taking the helicopter. Ipo, you're in the booth. Move!"
Hanley and Katie met Marina in the entry chamber. The three of them ran outside and around to the white tent behind headquarters. Marina usually let one of her legionnaires drive, but she was obviously in a feisty mood. She sat in the driver's seat of an Aston Marin Rapide, a four-door supercar costing more than two hundred grand. Hanley took the other front seat, and Katie sat in the back.
The engine had barely started when Marina stepped on the gas. She backed up, spun, and launched the car forward without ever coming to a stop. Hanley held onto an overhead strap with both hands.
The ride to Half Moon Bay Airport took a scant five minutes at an average speed of over a hundred miles per hour. It was a regional airport built right on the coast with a view of the Pacific Ocean. There was only one runway which catered to small, private aircraft. Marina had made special arrangements to park her helicopter on a pad.
The wheels squealed as she made sharp turns. The car skidded to a stop in front of a helicopter painted a sexy black and silver. It could carry two pilots in front and four passengers in back. Dual turbine engines were mounted just beneath the rotor. The helicopter had a sharp nose and retractable landing gear. Hidden chain guns could pop out from the rear.