by Alex Siegel
The road narrowed as the van went deeper into the town. Soon, low hanging branches were scraping the roof.
"You live in the forest?" Yang said.
"Just about," Marina said. "We like privacy, and that reminds me. The name 'Gray Spear Society' is a secret. Everything about us is secret. Don't discuss our business with anybody else, and that includes family. Just to be safe, you'd better forget your old life entirely. We'll create a new one for you."
"I don't want to give up my old life. I never agreed to this, ma'am."
"Neither did I. The kid made the decision for both of us."
"But he's just a kid," he said. "What gives him the right?"
"He's the Child of Destiny, and you don't argue with destiny. You'll understand soon enough."
The van passed a small, wooden sign which read, "Perpetual Energy Technology." They drove a short distance on a private driveway which was in much better condition than the public road. The headquarters building was on the right.
The green walls were made of solid, poured concrete, and they were about fifteen feet tall. Tall windows were too narrow for a person to squeeze through but still allowed some natural light to enter. Visible cameras were mounted on the corners of the roof, but there were many more cameras and sensors hidden on the property. Land mines and popup guns were ready to repel threats. Metal doors warned visitors to stay away because of "hazardous materials."
Katie drove past the building and parked in a giant, white tent in back. Many other vehicles were parked there, and they ranged in size from motorcycles to full-size moving vans. There was a police car, and ambulance, and a fire truck for undercover missions. The collection even included a black and silver Lamborghini.
Everybody climbed out.
"Quickly," Marina said, "let's get into headquarters. I want to talk to the whole team for a minute before the kid shows up and starts throwing his weight around."
She jogged around the headquarters building, and her companions scrambled to keep up. She didn't have a second to waste.
She pulled open the thick glass front door and walked into the entry chamber. The white walls were made of solid concrete and were designed to contain a bomb blast. A pane of bullet-proof glass separated the entry from the security booth.
Ipo was in the booth now. He was a giant man, one of the largest Marina had ever seen. His arms were as thick as her legs, and his chest was as big as a barrel. His bronze skin and Polynesian features reflected his Hawaiian heritage. Short, black hair was tied in a little knot in back in the style of a samurai warrior. He had a serious expression which always made her think he was a little constipated.
"Who is the stranger, ma'am?" Ipo nodded towards Yang.
"Our new legionnaire, apparently," Marina said.
"Huh?"
"I need to talk to the whole team immediately. Listen through the security system."
"Yes, ma'am," Ipo said.
He pressed a button, and a back door buzzed. Marina ran to open it. The door was made of inch-thick steel plate, but it was balanced on a well-lubricated pivot.
She went into the main part of headquarters. The central room had an open floor plan and was about a hundred feet square. It was split down the middle, and the back half was three feet higher than the front half. Bright lights hung from a high ceiling.
"Min Ho!" Marina called out. "Hanley! Get over here!"
Min Ho got up from his computer workstation and ran over. He was a short, thin Korean. His black hair was teased out in a bold but immature style. He had worn earrings for the last few weeks, and he had chosen diamond studs today.
"Who is this, ma'am?" He looked at Yang with open suspicion.
"We'll get to him shortly," Marina said.
The final member of the team, Hanley, joined the group. He had been working out, and his face was still pink and sweaty. Curly, black hair was cut close to his scalp. He had an intense, fierce expression as if he were about to kill somebody, but he always looked that way. His body was very lean and muscular.
"Wesley, a.k.a. the Voice of Truth is about to arrive," Marina said. "There are a few things you need to know. First, it's our job to protect him at all costs. It doesn't matter how obnoxious he gets. His life is more important than ours. Is that clear?"
Everybody nodded but appeared confused. Until today, nobody else on the team had ever met Wesley, and they only knew him as a legend.
"Second," she said, "there is the tricky issue of who is in charge. I'm still the commander here, but I can't tell Wesley what to do. Technically, he isn't a member of the Society, and if he tells me something, I have to assume it's the truth. It's physically impossible for the Voice of Truth to lie even when he's talking about the future. That's part of his gift."
Hanley stared at her. "He's a prophet?"
"Yes," Marina said. "Finally, there is his protection team. Four bodyguards accompany Wesley at all times, day or night, and they are elite fighters. That means they're a lot tougher than any of us. Don't get in their way. They will kill anybody who threatens the boy. I won't be able to stop them either. I'm not even in their league."
"You seem nervous, ma'am," he said. "I don't think I've ever seen you like this."
"You'll understand soon enough. This kid is always surrounded by a hurricane of death and destruction."
Ipo's voice came down from overhead speakers. "They're here, ma'am."
Marina looked up. "Let them in!" she yelled.
The door opened, and Wesley entered first. His sparkling blue eyes looked left and right eagerly. He was wearing a miniature uniform of the San Francisco Giants baseball team, and it looked adorable on him.
"This is great!" he declared.
His protection team followed immediately. Charles rushed to get ahead of the boy and greet Marina.
"This is your headquarters?" Charles said in a tone of disappointment.
"Yes. What's wrong with it?"
"The security is grossly inadequate. A hostile force could just walk up and take you out."
"These are temporary accommodations," she said. "As you may have heard, the old San Francisco headquarters was destroyed last winter. Besides, we're not helpless. We have defensive capabilities."
"Well, I hope you're planning to move into a permanent facility soon."
Marina was reminded that Charles had been the legatus legionis of North America before Ethel had taken over. He was used to giving orders and expressing his opinion any way he pleased.
"As a matter of fact, we have purchased a property in San Jose. We're going to build a shopping mall, and our headquarters will be hidden underneath, but we're at least a year away from completion. It's a big project."
Wesley gave Marina a look that suggested he knew something about it, but he kept his mouth shut. She decided not to ask. It was probably better she didn't know.
"Imelda," she said, "replace Ipo in the security booth. He needs to be out here."
"Yes, ma'am." Imelda ran off.
Marina noticed Yang wandering around with a bewildered look. She had almost forgotten about him.
She went over to him and said, "What do you think?"
"A lot nicer than what I expected for a kooky religious cult."
"I suppose I'll take that as a compliment. The hackers work there." She pointed to a cluster of computers in the southeast corner. "The armory is in the closet in the corner. That's the living room and kitchen." She pointed to the west. "My private quarters are in the back. The science cage is where Corrie usually works. Imelda owns the machine shop." She looked north. "And all the exercise equipment is over there. You'll be spending a lot of time in this place."
"Doing what?" Yang asked.
"Training. When we're not on a mission, we train."
He raised one eyebrow. "To fight God's enemies?" he said in a dubious tone.
"Exactly," Marina replied.
Ipo came over with a very perturbed expression. He was wearing his formal gray robes, and they looked like a t
ent on his enormous body.
He shook Yang's hand. "Hi. I'm Ipo, the senior legionnaire here. If you have a question, come to me first."
"I'm Yang." Yang appeared awestruck by a man who weighed at least twice as much as him.
"How did you become a legionnaire? Normally, there's a process. It doesn't just happen."
"Wesley made the decision," Marina said.
Ipo turned to her. "And that was good enough, ma'am? A kid gets to decide who is on our team? You didn't have anything to say about it?"
She shrugged. "He didn't ask for my opinion."
He narrowed his eyes. "Mind if I talk to him?"
"Be my guest." She made an inviting gesture with her hand.
Ipo walked over to Wesley. The protection team took immediate notice and gathered together, but they didn't stop Ipo.
The big man got down on one knee. "Hi, I'm Ipo."
"Glad to meet you." Wesley shook his hand enthusiastically.
"It wasn't very appropriate for you to add a team member. Marina is the commander, and it's her job to make those decisions."
"You'll like Yang a lot. He's a true warrior with a great destiny."
"That's not the point," Ipo said. "You had no right."
"I was just telling the truth."
"How do you know it's the truth? Maybe you made a mistake. You're just a child. You're not infallible. You should respect your elders more, particularly accomplished commanders like Marina."
"I respect Marina more than you can imagine, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong." Wesley smiled mischievously. "Look into my eyes, and you'll understand."
"Sure."
Ipo stared into those incredible blue eyes. At first he seemed confident, but then his face became slack. His mouth dropped open, and his right eye twitched.
"Wesley," Marina said. "Please, stop."
The boy didn't stop. Ipo's whole body began to shake as if he were having a seizure. It was strange seeing such a huge man at the mercy of a ten year-old kid.
Yang came over and whispered to Marina, "What's going on, ma'am? What's wrong with him?"
"Wesley is showing Ipo the truth," she said.
"The truth about what?"
"Himself. It's a traumatic experience."
She had also been a victim of Wesley's gaze, and the memory of having her soul stripped bare was still sharp. She shuddered.
Tears dripped down Ipo's cheeks.
"Wesley!" Marina said. "That's enough. You've made your point. Now you're just being cruel."
Wesley turned away. Ipo immediately collapsed onto the tile floor and curled into a fetal position. Marina had never seen him cry before, but he was weeping openly now. The great man had been reduced to a pathetic wreck.
She went over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Get up."
Ipo shook his head.
"Come on!" she said. "You'll be OK. You just need a little time alone."
He staggered to his feet. She led him by the hand to her office in the northwest corner. He sat heavily on a chair in front of her desk.
All the furniture in the room was made of varnished wood and had a traditional, elegant style. The chairs had black leather pads and tall backs. Even the filing cabinets looked rustic, but they were more secure than they appeared. Granite tile covered the floor.
Perpetual Energy Technology had been a battery research company at one time. The previous owner had created a little museum of battery technology on the wall, and Marina had kept it intact. Glass and copper capacitors called Leyden jars looked too primitive to be useful. A zinc can shaped like a modern battery was actually a reproduction of a Gassner "dry" cell.
"You can stay here for as long as you need to," Marina said.
Ipo looked up at her with tears on his cheeks. "Thank you, ma'am."
He opened his mouth as if he wanted to talk more, but he hesitated. She waited patiently for him to put his thoughts together.
Finally, he spoke in a low voice, "We go through life telling little lies to ourselves. We believe we are smarter, braver, stronger, and more virtuous than we actually are. We exist in a comfortable fantasy of our own design. When all the lies are suddenly ripped away..."
"I know," she said. "I've been there. There is such a thing as too much truth."
Marina patted Ipo on the shoulder and left the office. She marched back to Wesley.
"Did you enjoy that?" she said angrily.
"I wanted him to understand," he replied in his beautiful voice.
"Leave my people alone. You can push me around, but that's where it stops."
He looked up at her, but he didn't use his gift. He was such a perfect child, it was hard to believe he was real.
"I'll try," Wesley said.
Marina nodded. "Thank you. Now let's get down to business. Wesley came here because we have a mission. Min Ho, I saw a news report about a little girl who was beaten up in a parking lot. I want to see it again."
"Yes, ma'am," Min Ho said.
The hacker sat in front of his computer and began to type.
After just a moment, he said, "Found it. The story is all over the internet. It's trending like wildfire."
He clicked a few more keys, and a video appeared on his monitor. It was exactly the news report Marina had seen earlier. The whole group gathered around to watch.
Instead of listening to the words of the witnesses, she studied their tone. She watched facial expressions and body language. There was something off with both the man and the woman. Marina didn't think they were necessarily lying, but there was an undertone of hysteria which didn't quite fit.
"None of that was true," Wesley told Marina's team. "God's enemies are using the public to find the girl. They want to kill her."
"How do you know?" Hanley said.
"Sometimes, I can see the shape of the future and the paths of destiny. My vision is clear this time."
"I believe you," Marina said. "Our job is to find the girl first. Do you know anything else about her?"
Wesley shook his head. "Only what was reported on the news."
"There must be a thousand kids in the Bay Area matching that description. How will we recognize her?"
"You'll know. There won't be any doubt."
"That's not very helpful," she said.
"You'll know." The boy stared at her. "And when you find her, you must protect her. Don't forget."
"Why would I forget?"
Wesley stared into her eyes. "Just don't. It's very important. OK?"
Marina gritted her teeth.
She faced her team. "We're going to have to play the same game as our enemy. Min Ho and Jia, I want you monitoring all the police and news channels. If somebody out there thinks they found the girl, my people have to get there first, not second. I'll make a grand tour of my top contacts in the area and give them the same message. I'll offer a big reward for any information. Hanley, you're with me. Put on a nice suit."
"Yes, ma'am." Hanley hurried off to the costume closet.
"What about me, ma'am?" Katie said.
Marina furrowed her brow. "After Ipo recovers, I want you and him to talk to those witnesses from the news. Listen to their story again and look for holes."
"Yes, ma'am. If we know they're lying, maybe we should interrogate them."
"Not yet. It would tip off the enemy that we're on the case. Yang, just hang out here for now. I have to leave." She faced Charles. "What are your plans?"
"We're staying here," Wesley declared.
"I guess we're staying," Charles echoed. "I'll be in charge of your security. My team will man the booth."
Marina couldn't argue with his qualifications. He had thirty years of experience in the Society and had fought every threat imaginable. Her headquarters would be very safe in his hands.
"Good," she said. "Bye."
She jogged to her private quarters. The room was barely large enough to contain a king-size bed, three dressers, two wardrobes, and a pair of long clothing racks. She had a huge col
lection of outfits, and all of them were stored here. The furniture was made of wood painted a neutral black.
Her pride was her personal knife collection on gleaming glass shelves, and she had spent many years assembling it. She had one of the prototype KA-BAR knives submitted to the Marine Corps in 1942. She also had a knife used by Theodore Roosevelt when he was a member of the Rough Riders.
She went straight to a rack where her nicest clothes were hung. She picked out a standard gray suit which projected confidence and authority.
After dressing, she hurried out to the main room. She met Hanley who was wearing a stylish and expensive black suit. They left headquarters together.
A huge, gray bus was parked in the grass, and clearly, it was Wesley's personal transportation. The windows were small and heavily tinted. Automatic tire inflation hoses were attached to the wheels. An abundance of large bolt-heads on the exterior suggested the bus was armor-plated, and Marina assumed the windows were bullet-proof.
"It's a rolling fortress," Hanley said.
"The Child must be kept safe."
"He's really that important?"
"Yes," Marina said, "according to God."
They jogged over to the white tent which served as the parking garage. She pointed at a blue BMW M3 with a racing engine under the hood. It was a fun car.
Hanley took the driver's seat. "Where to, ma'am?"
"We'll visit the Chief of Police of San Francisco first." Marina sat on the passenger side in front. "He's conveniently close."
Hanley started the engine, and it roared in a satisfying manner. He backed up and drove off.
Once they were safely on the road, Hanley said, "Tell me about the protection team, ma'am. What are their gifts? What makes them so tough?"
"Let's see. Atalanta is naturally armor-plated. It takes a very big bullet to punch through her hide, and her bones are almost unbreakable. She also has supernatural focus and concentration, making her one of the best martial artists on the planet. Her skill with a katana is mythic."
"Wow."
"Yvonne eats her enemies," Marina said.
"What?" He glanced at her.