by Alex Siegel
"Send a team to the house," he said. "Same procedure as yesterday. Neutralize the police and take pictures of the girl."
"Yes, sir," the console operator replied.
* * *
Marina was looking through a pair of binoculars at the back of a pale green house. It was two stories tall and had a big footprint. People in the Bay Area would consider it a mansion.
Nobody was inside it. A little girl with blonde hair lived there, but she and her family were visiting Sweden. The people who lived in neighboring houses had all left for work or school. There was little danger of civilians getting caught up in today's operation.
The house was located in a cul-de-sac in an area known as Baywood Park. It was hilly land at the edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Only the hilltops had been developed, and the steep little valleys in between were covered with native vegetation. Short trees, bushes, and grass clung to the dry dirt. Marina was stationed on the side of one of those valleys across from the house.
"Are you sure they'll come, ma'am?" Yang said.
She looked at him. "Very."
The group consisted of the two of them and Katie. They were wearing green camouflage suitable for a daytime operation. Marina was expecting to do more surveillance than serious fighting, so they had lightweight body armor and just basic weapons. Heavier equipment was packed in the car just in case.
"How do you get away with this?" Yang said.
"Get away with what?"
"All the fighting and killing. The illegal weapons. It seems like I've been breaking laws since I joined."
"We obey God's laws," Marina said.
"How do you know what those are?"
"He told us."
Yang gave her a dubious look. "On a sacred mountain like the Ten Commandments?"
"No. In our hearts and minds. After everything you've seen, you doubt we talk to the Lord?"
"Well, I mean..."
"Do you feel that burning sensation in your gut?" she said.
"I thought it was from eating a big breakfast."
"That's God's breath. It's His way of getting you ready for battle. You're one of His warriors now, and that job comes with perks. You get to see things ordinary men aren't allowed to see. You can do things ordinary men would find impossible. You're supernaturally quick and tough. The best perk is direct communication with the Almighty."
"A lot of people claim they talk to God," Yang said.
"And maybe some of them have." Marina shrugged. "All I know is we need to stop talking and watch the house."
"Yes, ma'am."
Her phone buzzed. The caller ID showed Ipo's code number, and she answered it, "Yes?"
"The police just arrived, ma'am," Ipo said.
He and Hanley were watching the front of the house. They were positioned on a rooftop across the street.
"Did you have Min Ho check the license plate?" Marina said.
"Yes. The cops seem legit."
"OK. Keep watching." She hung up.
A few minutes later, she heard a rustle.
"Hide," she whispered urgently to Katie and Yang.
The group slipped into the surrounding trees.
Three men in military garb were walking quickly but stealthily towards the house. Their green camouflage used a digital pattern. Guns and a few grenades were attached to their Kevlar vests. Their helmets had integrated radio headsets but no goggles this time.
Marina waited until the enemy was a safe distance away, and then she called Ipo.
"Ma'am?" he said.
"Our guests have arrived," she whispered.
"What do you want us to do?"
"Nothing yet. I'm going to try to plant a tracking device on their car." She hung up. "Stay here," she told Katie and Yang.
Marina crept quickly in the direction the soldiers had come from. Steep slopes, loose dirt, and tough weeds hindered her progress, but eventually, she reached a hilltop and a cluster of homes.
A black Humvee was parked on the street with the motor still running. The windows were tinted, but as she approached, she saw a soldier in the driver's seat. He was looking around alertly.
She crouched behind another car. Annoying, she thought.
She had a tracking device in one of her pockets, but it had an adhesive backing. She needed to press it against the target car without being seen.
She checked her equipment to see what she might use to create a distraction, and she found a smoke grenade. She grabbed the grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it as hard as she could towards a cluster of trees. Blue smoke began to shoot out immediately.
Marina circled around, moving from car to car. The soldier in the Humvee got out and walked towards the smoke with a curious expression on his face. He stood at the edge of the road and watched the growing blue cloud.
Marina shot forward silently with her head down. She attached the tracking device to the bumper. Her phone vibrated. She ran back and crouched behind a bush before answering it.
"Yes?" she whispered.
"We see smoke, ma'am," Ipo said.
"That was me. The tracking device is active. I want you and Hanley to get in your car and follow the signal. The rest of us will catch up in the second car."
"Yes, ma'am."
Marina stayed hidden until the other three soldiers returned. They hadn't found any girl, of course, and hopefully, they had avoided a confrontation with the police. The SAS team conferred for a moment, climbed into the Humvee, and drove off.
Marina sprinted away.
* * *
"We have a report from the SAS team, sir," a console operator said.
Vulture walked over. The operator was a woman in her thirties. Short hair and a large jaw made her appear mannish, and he idly wondered if she were a lesbian, not that it mattered.
"Yes?" he said.
"The house was empty. No girl."
"Damn."
A total of eight leads had been investigated so far, and all of them had turned out to be duds. Vulture had no choice but to press on and hope his luck would eventually change.
He walked over to the operator in charge of intelligence. He was an older man with a gray beard.
"The latest tip came from the FBI?"
"That's correct, sir," the operator said.
"I'm suspicious. Child abuse cases aren't usually handled at the federal level. Follow up. Find out exactly where the information came from."
"Yes, sir."
* * *
Marina looked out the window of the car. They were in a commercial part of Oakland near the port. Big box stores, strip malls, and outlets were on either side of an avenue as wide as a major highway. Nearby neighborhoods consisted of small homes which were relatively cheap for the Bay Area. As the car drove closer to the water, the neighborhood became more industrial. She saw a roofing supply company, a metal recycler, and a boat rigging factory.
A device in Marina's hands beeped, and she looked down at a display that showed a map of the local area. A red crosshairs marked the current position of the SAS team according to the tracking device she had planted on their car.
"We're getting close," she said. "Drive slow but don't stop."
Katie was at the wheel. She maintained a steady pace as the car passed a building with a sign that read, "Golden Palace Discount Furniture." The walls were made of red cement, and plywood covered the windows. The front door was locked with a heavy chain and a padlock.
"That's it," Marina said. "Now we have to find Ipo and Hanley. Keep going around the block."
Katie made several turns and had to loop around again before they finally found the other two legionnaires. A green SUV was parked in the shadow of an old warehouse made of cinderblocks painted white. The location had a clear view of the back of the furniture building.
Katie parked beside the SUV, and everybody got out. The still, warm air smelled of seawater and smog.
Ipo and Hanley were using the SUV as cover as they observed the enemy. Both men had binoculars.
"Report," Marina said.
"Five black military Humvees are parked in the rear parking lot," Ipo said, "so I'm pretty sure they're in there, but we haven't seen them."
He handed the binoculars to her, and she took a look. The back of the furniture building had large doors and loading docks, but they were closed, and there was no movement. The Humvees were parked in a straight line with military precision.
Marina pursed her lips as she contemplated what to do. Her first instinct was to launch a full assault and capture or kill everybody inside. The Marina of old wouldn't have thought twice about it and would've insisted on leading the attack.
Her time as a commander had changed her. She now realized there were better ways to turn this small advantage into a decisive one.
"We're going to watch them," she said. "We'll see who comes and goes. Maybe they can lead us to bigger fish. I'll have the hackers monitor all phone calls."
Ipo raised his eyebrows in obvious surprise.
"You don't think that's a good idea?"
"I think it's a fine idea," he said. "I just can't believe it's coming out of your mouth. What happened to your unquenchable thirst for mayhem, ma'am?"
"Temporarily under control. Hanley, I want you on the roof. Your gift should allow you to hear them talking through the ventilation system. You'll be our bug."
"Yes, ma'am," Hanley said. "That's a good idea, but getting on the roof without being seen might be tough. There's no cover around the building, and I'm sure they have hidden surveillance cameras. I can't make myself invisible like Charles."
Marina nodded. "We'll need a clever plan. I also want to plant trackers on all the Hummers. If the enemy leaves, we need to follow. They could take us right to the girl. Suggestions?"
He looked at the furniture building. "I have an idea. We'll need a large delivery truck, one with a tall trailer."
* * *
Ipo loved driving big trucks. The deep rumble of the engine made him feel like he was commanding a mighty beast. The experience appealed to his primitive nature. Sometimes, he wished he had lived in Japan during the feudal era. Back then, all a warrior had needed was a brave heart, a quick blade, and masterful skills. Hackers and high-tech gimmickry made him feel obsolete.
Ipo was driving through the parking lot behind the furniture building. The vast plane of cracked asphalt was empty except for the five black Humvees. Golden Palace Discount Furniture had gone bankrupt a year ago, and the property was in the final stages of foreclosure.
He stopped the truck directly in front of the Humvees. The position was chosen to exactly block the view from the building where people or cameras might be watching. He left the engine running, but he took his hands off the steering wheel.
* * *
Katie was hanging underneath the truck, and it wasn't an enjoyable experience. She was afraid she would fall off, hit the ground, and get crushed by a tire. Every time the truck hit a bump, her heart skipped a beat. The harness straps were cutting into her flesh. The hot, rusty exhaust pipe was uncomfortably close, and she had almost put her hand on it more than once.
Finally, the truck stopped. She quickly unclipped her harness and dropped to the parking lot. After checking in all directions, she dashed over to the Humvees. Tracking devices were in a convenient pocket on her belt. She ran from car to car, sticking the devices to the frame underneath. They had thick layers of gummy adhesive, so it just took a second for each one.
She ran back to the truck, reattached herself, and tightened the uncomfortable straps. She squeezed her body into a gap between the rails where nobody would see her.
* * *
Ipo wasn't surprised when a soldier came out of the furniture building to confront him. The soldier had taken off his weapons and armor, but he still wore green fatigues. He walked with a crisp, military gait.
Ipo was dressed like a truck driver with a plaid shirt and a baseball cap. He gave the soldier a surly glare.
"Hey!" the soldier yelled in a British accent. "What are you doing? This is private property."
Ipo rolled down the window. "I'm here to deliver furniture."
"Huh? We're closed! Get the fuck out of here."
"I have an order to deliver a dining room set and four couches to Golden Palace Discount Furniture, and I'm not leaving until that shit is off my truck. Now open up a loading dock."
"This is your last warning," the soldier said. "Go."
Ipo assumed Katie was done planting the tracking devices. He drove the truck over to one of the loading docks and backed it up. He stopped when the rear doors of the truck were almost touching the sliding door of the dock.
He leaned out the window and yelled, "Open up!"
* * *
Finally, I can get off, Hanley thought.
Riding on top of a truck looked like fun in the movies, but in real life, it was an uncomfortable and frightening experience. Ropes attached to adhesive pads prevented him from falling off, but there was enough slack to allow him to slide across the slick metal surface. Sharp turns had tossed him helplessly from one side to the other. The back of the truck also had a stiff suspension, and cracks in the road had bounced him like a Ping-Pong ball.
Hanley unhooked himself from the ropes and stood, but he remained in a crouched position. He peeked over the edge of the truck and saw a soldier standing there.
The back of the truck was right against the furniture building. The roof was about six feet higher, an easy jump under normal conditions, but a tough one to make silently. Hanley had worn soft ninja boots in anticipation. He ran forward, leapt, and pulled himself onto the roof.
He flattened himself on the tar and gravel surface. He didn't hear anything to suggest he had been spotted, but he stayed down just to be safe. He started working his way across the huge roof.
* * *
"You just stepped in it, mate," the soldier said. "I'm going inside for a minute. When I come back out, you'd better be gone."
Ipo gave him a hard, stubborn look.
The soldier entered the building through a back door. Ipo glimpsed a dark interior but saw nothing interesting.
His phone rang, and the caller ID showed Marina's code number.
Ipo answered, "Ma'am?"
"Hanley is on the roof. You can leave."
"In a moment, ma'am. I need to make this look good."
"Be careful," Marina said.
The call ended.
The soldier came out a moment later with a Mossberg 590 shotgun in his hands. The synthetic stock and camouflage paint job marked it as a military weapon. He levelled the gun at Ipo's face.
Ipo threw the truck into gear and stomped on the accelerator. Tires squealed as he drove off. He reached the street half a minute later and continued at high speed.
Mission accomplished, he thought.
* * *
Marina nodded with satisfaction. The small deception had worked like a charm.
"You people lead an exciting life," Yang said.
She turned to her newest recruit. He had helped during the preparation of the truck, but otherwise, he had been a quiet observer all morning. She was starting to wonder what thoughts were lurking behind his handsome, Oriental features.
"We actually spend most of our time training," Marina said. "Real missions are infrequent. This is only the third this year."
"What keeps God's enemies from attacking all the time?"
"The Lord is ever watchful. I think it's difficult for His enemies to sneak into His universe without getting caught."
"I don't quite understand," Yang said. "I assume He sees everything. How can they get by Him at all? What are the rules of this war?"
"I wish I could tell you. All I know is the Gray Spear Society is supposed to fight off the incursions when they occur. The technical details are beyond me."
"Does anybody know?"
"The twins might," Marina said.
"Who are they?"
"Hackers in Chicago. Bethany and Leanna. They
could easily be the smartest people on the planet, and they're working to improve the security of the universe."
He stared at her.
"I'm serious," she said, "but we probably shouldn't talk about them. That's Chicago business, and we're San Francisco. I need to check on Hanley."
Marina's position gave her a good view of the back of the furniture building, but she couldn't see Hanley. Earlier, she had seen him climb onto the roof with admirable agility. He was turning into a very fine legionnaire.
She called him on her phone.
"Ma'am?" he said.
"What's your status?"
"I have my palms against an air-conditioning duct, and I can hear them talking in the building. I love their proper British accents. They're discussing the delivery truck, and so far, they haven't given any indication they think it was a trick. It sounds like there are ten to twenty men down there."
"Have they revealed who they work for?" Marina said.
"No, ma'am. Not a clue, but I'll keep listening."
"You'll be OK? You could be there all day."
"I had a big breakfast," Hanley said, "and the weather is perfect. I shouldn't have a problem."
"Bye."
She hung up.
A white delivery truck drove up behind her. It parked out of sight of the furniture building, and Ipo stepped out of the cab. He was wearing the shirt and jeans of a trucker, but his brown face didn't match his redneck attire.
Katie dropped down from the frame underneath the trailer. Black grease and dirt had smudged her green camouflage outfit. She was scowling.
"We'll take two hour shifts," Marina said. "Katie and I will have the first shift. Ipo and Yang get a break, but don't wander too far. I may need you back here on short notice."
"Yes, ma'am," Ipo and Yang said.
They walked off together.
Katie came over to Marina. "Riding underneath a truck sucks."
Marina smiled. "Didn't you feel like a stunt-woman?"
"No, I felt like a muffler."
* * *