by Alex Siegel
"How did you meet this guy?" she said.
"We bumped into him on a mission," Ipo said. "The old boss used him occasionally when we needed unusual weapons on short notice. He's reliable, as reliable as an illegal arms dealer can be."
"I don't intend to use him much. The only reason we're here is because we need guns tonight. Tomorrow, when I have a spare minute, I'll order new equipment from a Society approved supplier."
They walked out onto a wooden pier. They met the ship at the extreme end of the pier, as far from shore as it could get. A man threw a rope down, and Ipo tied it to a bollard.
Marina studied the arms dealer. He was wearing a worn-out Army jacket with Ranger patches on the shoulders. His green pants had a splotchy, camouflage pattern. Two of the fingers on his right hand were missing. His deeply tanned face had the texture of old leather. Long, brown hair and a scrappy beard gave him a wild look.
"Mister Hood," the arms dealer said to Ipo, "it's good to see you again. It's been too long. Who is your pretty lady friend?"
"This is my boss," Ipo said, "Miss Sharp. She'll be the buyer today. Miss Sharp, this gentleman is known as Wicked Willey."
"Glad to make your acquaintance," Marina said. "Shall we get right down to business?"
Willey put a gangplank down. Marina and Ipo climbed onboard, holding out their arms to maintain their balance.
She looked around the deck. It was rusty, and white paint was peeling in spots. A big, black barbeque grill was welded to the middle of the deck.
"Before we view the merchandise," Willey said, "I'd like to know how you'll be paying today."
Marina handed him the velvet bag of gold coins.
He looked inside, and his eyes widened. "Real bullion?"
"Every coin," she said.
"This will do nicely." He gave the bag back to her. "I'll have to test the gold for purity of course."
"You can do that test here?"
"Everything I need is on this boat. Let's go down."
The group of three climbed down a steep ladder to a lower deck. Marina smelled engine fumes, seawater, and rotting garbage. She shrugged off the feelings of disgust.
The interior of the boat consisted of narrow, steel passages and cramped rooms. They made their way to a central hold which was obviously meant for storing large amounts of fish. The space was the size of a small bedroom.
Tall, wire racks held a great number of guns, and each was tied down with a plastic strap. Marina also saw body armor, boxes of ammunition, grenades, and even a vintage flame thrower.
She smiled. "My kind of convenience store."
"Are you looking for anything specific?" Willey said.
"I want the good stuff. Don't even show me an AK-47 or a WASR."
"Ah, a discerning customer. I have a few brand new SCAR's that might interest you. They still have the factory gun oil in them."
He retrieved an assault rifle with a tan paint job and gave it to Marina. She admired the straight, clean lines. She played with the bolt and the trigger, and both operated smoothly.
"How many do you got?"
"Four," Willey said.
"I'll take them all along with every box of ammunition. Do you also happen to have the grenade launcher module?"
He stared at Marina. "I'm in love with you."
"Charming." She gave him a polite smile. "Let's focus on the guns. I have a long shopping list."
Chapter Five
Ipo parked the van in front of the Perpetual Energy Technology building. He and Marina stepped out into the cool evening air.
The parking lot had only a couple of other cars, and it reminded her that the team needed to buy vehicles for missions. She didn't want to leave them in the open though. A curious neighbor might wander by and wonder about the odd collection.
"We'll need a big tent or something to use as a temporary garage," Marina said.
Ipo nodded. "Like a wedding tent. At least we have plenty of land to work with. We also need a gun range, ma'am."
"That's a trickier problem. There isn't enough space in the building for a proper range. I want at least fifty yards. We may have to do something unconventional." She sighed. "Even a temporary headquarters is an annoying amount of work."
They went into the building. The reception area was packed full of items that the team had decided they didn't need. The pile would be hauled away when there was time. A lot of it was laboratory equipment and chemicals which required safe disposal. Eventually, the room would become the secure entry for the headquarters. Marina picked her way around the uneven stacks.
She and Ipo entered the main area. The members of her team were working hard on various tasks. Marina had been gone for just a few hours, but already, the changes were dramatic. The desks and chairs in the north-west corner had been cleared out in anticipation of making it an exercise area. The chemistry lab was pretty much gone, although some of the equipment had been moved into the cage with the experimental electrical apparatus.
The hackers had finished rearranging their computer workstations. Min Ho was under the computer table and messing with wiring while cursing under his breath.
"I brought Christmas presents!" Marina yelled. "Everybody, come help carry them inside. The crates are heavy."
She noticed Corrie sitting on a couch and staring into space. The scientist seemed lost in her own thoughts.
"Corrie!" Marina said. "Everybody includes you. Move!"
The whole team gathered together and went outside. She opened the doors of the blue van proudly. The interior was packed with yellow plastic crates labeled "FRESH FISH." They were jammed into the van tightly and covered the rear seats.
The team immediately set to work pulling them out and carrying them inside.
"Fish?" Corrie said.
Marina smirked. "Not exactly."
She yanked out one of the heavy crates. It took all her strength to place it on the ground without dropping it. She popped open the air-tight lid. The crate was full of handguns wrapped in clear bubble wrap.
"Oh, shit," Corrie murmured.
"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear earlier," Marina said. "Our purpose is to protect God's world from supernatural interference. When we find it, we deal with it forcefully."
Corrie bit her lip. "You kill people?"
"Usually."
Corrie looked at the other members of the team, and her face lost some color. "How many people have you killed?"
"Don't worry about it. You're not a legionnaire. Your title is caculas or assistant. You'll stay here where it's safe and handle the scientific aspects of our missions. Min Ho, Jia, and Imelda are also assistants. Hanley, Katie, and Ipo are legionnaires. They take all the risks and do all the killing. Speaking of science, how did your conversation with Kamal go? Help me carry this while we talk."
Corrie grabbed one end of the crate, Marina grabbed the other, and they lifted together. Corrie was clearly straining, but they didn't have too far to go. They started walking.
"He gave me a lot to think about," Corrie said. "I wrote down some equations that I need to learn."
"Good," Marina said.
They worked their way through the crowded reception area. After reaching the main room, they turned left. They walked past the big closet containing electrical panels and computer servers, and they arrived at the storage room in the south-east corner.
It had been cleaned out in preparation for becoming the armory. The team was unpacking weapons and placing them on the many shelves attached to the walls. Corrie looked at the assault rifles with wide eyes.
"Can I talk to you?" she asked Marina timidly.
They put down the heavy crate.
"Sure," Marina said.
They stepped out of the room.
"Kamal told me about the 'pre-physical potential field.'"
"The what?" Marina said.
"The place where God lives."
"Oh."
"He didn't just talk about it," Corrie said in an urgent tone. "
He told me how to prove it exists. I performed the experiment while you were out, and it worked perfectly."
"Sounds like fun." Marina smiled encouragingly.
"I don't think you understand, ma'am. This experiment is break through science. This discovery would revolutionize cosmology and physics. I feel like I just found out the Earth goes around the sun. I'm still dazed."
"Your first day in the Society is always disorienting."
Corrie grabbed Marina's arm. "We can't keep this information secret. It's too important!"
Marina pulled Corrie's hands off. "You won't tell anybody."
"But, ma'am..."
"But nothing." Marina gave Corrie a stern look. "This is one of the many secrets that the Lord keeps from ordinary people. The existence of the Gray Spear Society is another such secret. Spreading this knowledge would disrupt His plan. It's absolutely forbidden."
Corrie frowned. "I don't see how knowing the truth could be bad for anybody."
"I won't get into a philosophical argument with you. The rules are the rules whether we like them or not. I'm certainly not a fan of some of them. The punishment for breaking a rule is death." Marina raised her eyebrows. "How many people have I killed? Over a thousand. I certainly won't hesitate to knock off a disrespectful assistant who can't keep a damn secret. Have I made myself perfectly clear?"
Corrie pressed her lips together.
"Well?" Marina said.
She swallowed. "Yes, ma'am."
"Excellent. We'll have your formal initiation ceremony tonight at dinner. You'll swear the oath and make your membership official. In the meantime, study those equations. Learn how to do your job. I may put you to work soon."
Marina walked over to Min Ho. His shaggy, black hair was even more wild than usual. He was wearing a stylish, black sweater-vest over a white shirt with a collar.
"Yes, ma'am?" he said.
"Are your computers up and running?"
"Almost. Jia is reinstalling all the servers in the back room. We should have basic functionality in an hour or two."
"As soon as possible, find this man for me." Marina gave Min Ho the photo she had received from the police chief. "Oscar Quintero. Enforcer for a Mexican narcotics gang."
He studied the photo. "Yes, ma'am. I'll start by looking up his criminal record."
"Good idea. This is urgent. I'm going after him tonight."
"You're planning to kill him?"
"Probably," she said, "but first, we'll have a nice, long conversation."
Marina walked back into the armory to help with the unpacking. She had purchased enough weapons, body armor, and other accessories to outfit herself and all her legionnaires. The equipment wasn't the highest quality though. She was particularly disappointed with the night vision goggles she had purchased, and the body armor was an obsolete style. Still, they would serve as a stopgap until superior equipment arrived.
"Hanley," Marina said, "you and I are going to have some fun tonight after dinner."
Hanley stopped unpacking and looked at her. His face was flushed from exertion.
"What kind of fun, ma'am?" he asked in a suspicious tone.
"We're going to abduct one of the toughest members of a Mexican gang and torture him until he gives us the name of a dirty cop."
He stared. "Are you serious?"
"Of course. It will be your first official assignment as a Spear. I'll be observing you closely to see how you perform."
"I see." He furrowed his brow. "I guess the Gray Spear Society is not big on due process or the rights of the accused."
She nodded. "That's correct. I'm the law in my territory, and the only person I answer to is the legate... and God, of course."
"Yes, ma'am, but I was told the Society never got involved in ordinary crime."
"This is a special case. I'm doing this as a favor for the mayor of San Francisco and the police chief. Building relationships with local leaders is an important part of my job as commander. I may need their help to solve a critical problem someday, so we're bending the rules but staying within acceptable limits."
"I understand," he said.
"But before we go on that adventure, I'm taking the whole team out for a special, fancy dinner tonight. We're going to celebrate a new beginning for all of us." She smiled.
* * *
Marina had rented an entire ballroom in her hotel, and it was big enough to seat hundreds of people. Vertical brown stripes on the yellow walls emphasized their great height. The plaster ceiling had sunflower-shaped cutouts illuminated with orange light. The sunflower theme was echoed in the carpeting, and small fixtures cast beams of white light on each of the golden flowers underfoot.
One table stood in the exact center of the room, and all eight members of the San Francisco team were seated there. There was no other furniture. They would be dining privately tonight.
The stained glass door of the ballroom opened. Eight waiters entered, each carrying a silver platter. They formed a column and walked swiftly over to the table. In perfect synchrony, they served a glass of wine, a glass of water, and a salad to each member of the team. The overblown formality made Marina smirk. The waiters left with their empty platters.
"How much is this costing?" Hanley muttered.
"You don't want to know," Marina said, "but we're not doing it again. It's too extravagant."
She waited until the ballroom door was closed and the team had privacy. She listened for a moment to make sure. The only sound was the subdued hush of the ventilation system.
"Tonight, we celebrate the rebirth of the San Francisco team," she said proudly. "We're an amalgamation of old members and new, battle-scarred veterans and wide-eyed recruits, but it doesn't matter how we got here. We're one team now, as close as any family. We'll serve God and protect Northern California as a single unit. I'm very happy to be your commander."
Marina received a polite round of applause.
She continued, "I want everybody to tell a little story about themselves. It could be about a mission or something from your childhood. It doesn't matter as long as it captures what kind of person you are. Got it? I'll start." She took a deep breath. "Before I joined the Society, I worked for the CIA as a spy. I operated in the black markets in Eastern Europe. I speak fluent Russian by the way. It was a disgusting period of my life. I traded sex for information like a whore, and when that didn't work, I killed to get it."
That statement got everybody's attention. Corrie in particular appeared shocked.
"Eventually," Marina said, "I grew unhappy. The CIA treated me like a piece of meat instead of the top agent I was. So I quit, but just quitting wasn't enough. I wanted to make a statement. I published some very embarrassing pictures of the Director of the CIA on the internet. He was extremely upset." She smiled a little.
Hanley raised his eyebrows and leaned forward.
She went on, "For the next few months, I was on the run. The CIA came after me like I was an infamous terrorist. Eventually, I made a mistake. I trusted the wrong stranger. He was a serial killer who liked to stab young women and fuck the bloody holes. He knocked me out with chloroform. When I woke up, I was tied to a bed in a cheap hotel room with a gag in my mouth. The asshole was about to get to work on me.
"I managed to pull one hand free. The only weapon within reach was a ballpoint pen on a nightstand, so I stabbed him in the eye. Then I punctured his jugular vein. There was a lot of blood." She grinned. "After the guy died, I untied myself. A few minutes later, Ethel broke down the door. She was the commander of Chicago back then, and the serial killer had been inspired by an enemy of God. She invited me to join the Society on the spot."
Silence followed, and Marina looked around. Ipo was obviously impressed, but the other members of the team just seemed startled.
"That's a tough act to follow," Ipo said, "but I'll do my best. This was my introduction to the Society."
He was wearing a black and white tuxedo for the occasion. She wondered how he had found one on
short notice in his size. His black hair was slicked back, and his face gleamed from a fresh scrubbing.
She listened intently.
"I'm a fourth degree black belt in Judo," he said. "Before I entered the Society, I was the head instructor for my own school. At its peak, we had three hundred students. Those were golden days of meditation, martial arts, and spiritual peace. My serenity was disturbed when many of the younger students stopped coming. I asked the parents and found out the kids were attending a new boarding school called the Meliusculus Academy. The school promised to turn even the dullest student into a dedicated scholar in just a few months. I was suspicious."
Ipo took a sip of wine. Marina used the opportunity to taste her own wine, and she decided it was excellent. The flavor was delicate and fruity. She also took a few bites of her salad.
"When I investigated, I found a surprising amount of security," he said. "The staff claimed the fences were meant to keep the students safe, but the truth was they were prisoners. I broke in one night and discovered a full-scale brainwashing operation. The school was turning kids into zombies who studied and passed tests but did nothing else. I got caught, and the enemy surrounded me. I was fighting my way to freedom when the old San Francisco team showed up. They slaughtered the entire staff. They almost killed me before they realized I was on their side."
Corrie gasped and said, "Are all these stories going to involve people getting killed?"
"Possibly," Marina said. "Let's finish our salads before we hear the next story."
Everybody polished off their salads just in time. The waiters reappeared and replaced the salad bowls with soup bowls. She sipped her soup and found it was delicious fish chowder. A bit of onion and pepper gave the dish a nice bite.
After the waiters left, Marina said, "Katie, your turn."
Katie was wearing a black evening gown which fit her curvy body well. Blue eye shadow matched the blue in her eyes. Her dark brown hair was brushed out and silky.
"A lot of you know how I joined the Society because you were there," she said. "I'll tell you an Air Force story instead. I served in the Air Force for ten years as a Special Investigations Officer. I worked undercover and investigated crimes. In this case, the incident occurred on Beale Air Force Base. A woman fell off a third story balcony and died. The person living with her claimed the victim had been drinking heavily and the death was accidental, but there wasn't a lot of alcohol in the victim's blood. Special Investigations decided to take a closer look.