by Siegel, Alex
There were eager questions as Tawni, Atalanta, and the rest of the Washington legionnaires were added to the call. The people with Aaron also grabbed their phones.
"Be quiet. Here is the situation." Aaron gave a quick summary of recent events as far as he knew them. Afterwards, he said, "Blondie, how are you doing?"
"Still on the roof, sir," Blondie said. "I can't climb down without being seen. The whole area is swarming with Marines."
"Muscles and Hairy?"
"Lying on the floor of a dirty bus," Muscles said. "We're safe enough for now."
"Rescuing you three is my next objective," Aaron said. "When you see your chance to run, do it. Then we'll capture the Fourth Corner. There are plenty of civilians in the building. Let's try to save their lives while we're at it."
"Yes, sir," several people responded.
"Sir," Tawni said, "the President is nearby. He's in a car parked on the other side of the Interstate."
"Why is he here?" Aaron replied angrily. "He should be in Washington, damn it!"
"He wanted to come. Can we talk about this later?" she said timidly.
"We certainly will." He snarled.
"What's the plan?" Ethel whispered.
He looked into her enlarged pupils. Even after years of familiarity, they still unsettled him. They were tiny windows into a distant place without light or warmth. It was a realm so dead, even the idea of life was almost inconceivable. There was only eternal, timeless, stifling oblivion.
"I understand why God created the universe," Aaron said.
"You figured it out?" Ethel raised her eyebrows. "Good for you. That doesn't help us with this mission though."
"Right." He spoke into his phone. "Tawni and Atalanta, where are you exactly?"
"North of the Transit Center," Tawni said, "in the woods."
"Your assignment is to identify the Fourth Corner. He'll be the Marine with the most stars on his uniform. Capture him if you can. Taking him out will end this fight."
"Yes, sir. Atalanta and I won't disappoint you."
"I like your confidence," Aaron said, "The rest of us will draw attention away from you while we rescue the other legionnaires. Neal, please, work with the President. Try to convince him to get his ass away from here as fast as possible."
"OK," Neal said.
"That's all. Stay sharp, everybody."
Ethel, Boreas, and Brownie looked at Aaron expectantly. He realized his plan still had a few blank spots.
He crept forward and peeked between the leaves at the soldiers. They weren't wearing gas masks which mildly surprised him. The threat of chemical or biological weapons usually mandated extreme precautions. Perhaps the soldiers hadn't had time to find masks in the rush to surround the Transit Center. They were vulnerable.
The anxiety on their faces indicated they were having similar thoughts. Biological weapons were not something to be trifled with. Aaron smiled. The blanks spots in his plan were filling in nicely.
He grabbed his phone and spoke into it, "Blondie?"
"Yes, sir," Blondie said.
"Can you get inside the building?"
"There is an access panel on the roof, but it's locked. It will take me a minute to break through."
"Do it," Aaron said. "Do you have any smoke?"
"I have a box of those little smoke bombs that kids use on the Fourth of July. They're easier to carry than full-sized canisters."
"Perfect. Get down to the first floor. Break a window in back and use all the smoke bombs at once. I want to see colored smoke coming out of the window. Do you understand?"
"I think so," she said.
"Call me when you're ready to go." He closed his phone.
Ethel knelt beside him on the dirt. "That smile on your face tells me the Fourth Corner messed with the wrong guy."
Aaron winked.
* * *
President Haley was sitting in the armored sedan when his gray phone rang. He quickly answered the call. "Hello?"
"This is Neal. We would like you to get your ass away from that location as fast as possible."
"What happened?"
"Several hundred Marines surrounded the Transit Center and tried to capture our people," Neal said. "We're taking control of the situation. You'll get the whole story later. In the meantime, leave."
"I'm waiting to talk to the general in charge," Haley said. "His name is Wordsworth."
"That seems like a very dangerous idea," Neal said. "That general probably wants to kill you."
"Which is why I ordered the Secret Service to arrest him as soon as he shows his face. I have plenty of police officers and federal agents around me, and more are on the way. And the Marines will obey my orders, too. A lone, renegade general is no threat."
"Mr. President, the Gray Spear Society is asking you to leave the area. When you ignore our requests, bad things happen."
"I appreciate your concern," Haley said, "but I won't run with my tail between my legs when it isn't necessary. I've never been a coward, and I won't start now."
Neal paused. "I'll send more protection your way." He hung up.
Haley frowned at his phone.
George Seferis leaned into the car and said, "Is that a new phone?"
"Yes." Haley put the gray phone away.
"Who were you talking to?"
"Just keep your eyes open for Wordsworth. Arrest him the instant he gets here."
"Yes, sir," Seferis said.
* * *
Tawni looked through the leaves of a bush at the enemy formation. An impressive number of military support vehicles were packed close together in a lot to the north of the Transit Center. Green supply trucks and armored transports made up the bulk of the collection.
One vehicle in particular stood out from the rest. It was built like a tank with tracked wheels, but it didn't have a gun. The upper surfaces bristled with antennas and sensors. A steady stream of officers entered and left through a hatch in back. The open door was three inches thick.
Tawni pointed. "Look."
"The command vehicle," Atalanta whispered. "Our target will probably be hiding in there."
Sixteen Marines stood guard and protected all four sides. There was no possibility of approaching unseen.
"How do we get inside?" Tawni whispered.
"We'll need costumes for a start."
Atalanta sniffed the air. She narrowed her eyes and moved silently through the forest like a prowling tiger. Tawni followed, and despite her best efforts, she wasn't as quiet.
She spotted two soldiers ahead. They were hiding in the woods and smoking weed.
"The Lord always provides," Atalanta murmured.
She unzipped a concealed zipper that ran down the right leg of her pants. A leather scabbard was revealed, and she slid her sword into it. She drew two long knives from sheaths under her shirt.
She disappeared into the foliage. A moment later, she emerged behind the soldiers. She killed both at once by stabbing them in the soft spot between the clavicle and the neck. The knives were angled to pierce the soldiers' hearts. They died with only a soft sigh.
Even though the technique was simple, Atalanta's swiftness and inhuman precision impressed Tawni. The elite warrior killed like a robot.
"Change," Atalanta said urgently.
Tawni ran forward. She began to pull the clothes off of one of the soldiers.
"You never told me how you became so tough," she whispered.
"Wesley is helping me remember the details," Atalanta said, "but I'll tell you what I know. I was a legionnaire in Manhattan, and we were on a mission. The bad guys had packed a boat with canisters of nerve gas. They were going to release the gas where the wind would carry it across the Financial District. It would've killed tens or even hundreds of thousands of people. Another legionnaire and I managed to sneak onto the boat. It was just us. The rest of the team was too far away to help." She paused.
Tawni continued to work on her dead soldier. She had managed to remove the body ar
mor, shirt, and boots. The pants were giving her a little trouble.
"I was in love with my teammate," Atalanta said. "He and I were inseparable. He was a great man. The fight went badly, and he became a dead man. When I saw his body, I was crippled with grief. All I could do was cry. I was helpless."
"Then what happened?"
"God took away the feelings. He made my body and my mind as hard as stone. I became a pure warrior without any distracting emotions or memories. When I walked off that boat, I was drenched in the blood of my enemies and felt nothing."
Tawni grimaced. "Do you miss having feelings?"
"Not much." Atalanta shook her head. "The only strong feeling I still have is arrogance, and that's the one I don't want. Wesley told me my arrogance would get me killed someday."
"That's heavy. I guess you need to work on that."
"No, you don't understand. He was making a prophesy. Arrogance will kill me."
"That twerp can't always be right." Tawni frowned.
"He's called the Voice of Truth for a reason."
Tawni felt terrible for her. Some gifts came at too high a price.
Both women changed into clothes taken from the soldiers. They checked each other to make sure the costumes looked right. Tawni didn't like the Marine body armor. It was heavier and bulkier than the stuff the Society used, and she couldn't move as well.
Atalanta led the way back to the edge of the woods. They crouched in a spot where shadows hid them and they had a clear view of the command vehicle.
"What now?" Tawni whispered.
"We wait for Aaron to make some noise," Atalanta said.
She drew a pistol with a suppressor. Tawni did the same.
Chapter Twenty-One
Aaron's phone buzzed. He answered it immediately, "Yes?"
"I'm ready, sir," Blondie said.
"Good. Give me thirty seconds to get into position. When you see your chance, run out of the building. Meet us in the woods to the south. Muscles and Hairy, did you get that?"
"Yes, sir," Muscles said. "We're more than ready to get off this damn bus."
"Start the countdown now." Aaron put away his phone. "Boreas, I need your help."
"Gladly," Boreas replied in his scratchy voice.
The two big men walked into the open. They were still dressed as Marines, and nobody gave them a second glance.
"When the action starts, use your gift to take down as many soldiers as you can," Aaron murmured. "Don't kill them this time. Just disable."
Boreas nodded. "Got it."
A window on the ground floor of the Transit Center shattered. A moment later, colorful smoke poured out of the opening.
"Biological weapon!" Aaron screamed. "The terrorists are attacking! Bio weapon!" He fired his M16 into the air to get everybody's attention. "Run!"
Boreas took off his glasses and began to sweep the area with his gaze. Clumps of soldiers collapsed all around them. They remained on the ground, moaning and twitching. The rest looked at their fallen comrades fearfully.
"We're getting massacred!" Aaron screeched hysterically. "It's the germs! Go! Go! Go!" He fired a long burst.
The Marines finally got the message. They scattered in all directions like startled pigeons. Officers desperately tried to restore order, but it was hopeless. Very quickly, the southern parking lot cleared out.
Blondie, Muscles, and Hairy broke cover and sprinted towards Aaron. He and Boreas led them into the forest to rejoin Ethel and Brownie. The whole team was back together.
Blondie was panting. "That was genius, sir," she said between gasps.
"Thanks," Aaron said, "but we're not nearly done. Let's circle around and try to hook up with Tawni and Atalanta. The Fourth Corner is the next objective on the list."
* * *
Atalanta began to pick off targets with uncanny precision. Every time she pulled the trigger, there was a soft pop, and a soldier died. She killed with the rhythmic cadence of a machine.
Tawni focused on doing the same. She raised her gun and aimed carefully at the nearest target. She pulled the trigger. A red spot appeared on a man's forehead, and he dropped to the ground.
Aaron demanded all his legionnaires spend at least an hour a day in the shooting range, and he often supervised the long training sessions personally. With him, great marksmanship was much more than just an important skill. It was part of the definition of being a Spear. He was the greatest marksman of all, of course.
As a result of all that training, Tawni was almost as deadly as Atalanta with a gun. The two women mowed down the enemy with relentless efficiency. The ground was littered with corpses before the Marines figured out where the bullets were coming from.
Atalanta took off before the enemy could organize a counter-attack. Tawni had a hard time keeping up with the taller, beefier woman as they sprinted through the woods. Tawni heard automatic gunfire behind her. The Marines were coming, and they were pissed.
Atalanta made a big circle and eventually returned to where she had started. Most of the soldiers were now dead or chasing shadows in the woods. The way ahead was clear.
Tawni was breathing hard. "Hold on," she gasped. "Give me a sec."
Atalanta gave her a disdainful look. "You're out of shape."
"I run every day."
"Run harder. Come on."
They walked into the open. They were still dressed like Marines, and with all the confusion, nobody paid attention to two extra soldiers. Tawni didn't know what Aaron was doing on the other side of the Transit Center, but he was certainly causing a big commotion.
She walked up to the command vehicle. The thick, steel hatch was closed, and when she pulled on the handle, she found it was locked.
"How rude."
"Open it," Atalanta said.
Tawni drew her sword from a scabbard hidden under her body armor. She wrapped her blade in black shadows. With three quick strokes, she cut out a big, triangular chunk of armor. The plate hit the ground with an impressive thud. The edges of the cut were as smooth as glass.
Bullets sprayed out of the hole. Atalanta and Tawni ducked and put their backs against the hull of the command vehicle.
Atalanta drew her own sword and breathed deeply. Her eyes narrowed. She abruptly dived through the hole. Tawni heard more gunshots and bullets bouncing from metal walls. The fight lasted just a few seconds.
"All clear," Atalanta said.
Tawni ducked cautiously through the hole. Three soldiers were inside the vehicle, and they were alive, but they weren't happy. Atalanta had cut off their hands and feet. Tawni wasn't an expert on rank insignia, but it looked like one man was a colonel, another was a major, and the third was a lieutenant. The floor was slick with blood.
"You OK?" Tawni said.
"Fine," Atalanta said. "They were firing 5.56 mm rounds. Those little bullets barely dented my hide."
Computer monitors and television screens lined the walls of the command vehicle. There were two workstations with keyboards. A driver could sit up front, but the seat was empty.
Atalanta crouched down beside the colonel. "We're looking for the man in charge. Is it you?"
His face was pale from either blood loss or terror. "I'm temporarily in command here."
"Temporarily?"
"The general..." He paused.
She raised her eyebrows. "What?"
He shook his head. "I won't talk."
"Yes, you will." Atalanta drew a knife.
"Let me, please," Tawni said. "I'll have him singing in thirty seconds."
"Be my guest." Atalanta stepped back.
Tawni stood over the colonel. She dragged the tip of her black sword across his belly, and the flesh split open. The meat inside was gray and dead, destroyed by her shadows. His eyes bulged and he bit his lip, but he didn't scream. His self-control impressed her. He was a good soldier.
"Maybe we should start with the junior officers and work our way up," she said.
She crouched over the lieutenant. He trie
d to get away, but it was hard without hands or feet. He only managed to bleed more.
She put her hand over his face and sent her shadows down his throat. His body contorted as he tried to breathe, but darkness clogged his lungs. He was forced to suffer in silence.
"That pain is death clawing at your guts," Tawni said. "I bet it hurts."
"Who are you?" the colonel said.
She looked at him. "Your general is on God's shit list. You work for the general, which pretty much puts you on the same list. Not a fun place to be. The Lord sent us to deal with all you fuckers."
She didn't want the lieutenant to suffocate, so she withdrew her shadows from his lungs. He gasped for air. She attacked his ears and eyes with darkness next. He screeched in agony.
"Too loud," Atalanta said urgently.
Tawni quickly pushed her shadows into the lieutenant's brain. He shuddered, sighed, and died.
"Your turn." She looked at the major. "And keep it quiet. You'll live a little longer."
"It's General Wordsworth!" he said. "He's the one you want!"
"Where is he?"
"I don't know. He left ten minutes ago. He took his A team with him."
She cocked her head. "What is an 'A' team?"
"His personal squad. Hardcore special ops. They would eat their own children if he ordered them to."
"But you have no idea where Wordsworth is?"
The major shook his head.
Tawni looked up at Atalanta.
Atalanta shrugged. "Keep working. We need to be sure they're telling the truth."
"OK." Tawni raised her hands, and shadows danced on her fingertips.
* * *
President Haley sighed with impatience. He was getting tired of waiting for Wordsworth to show his traitorous face.
Haley looked out the bulletproof windows of the sedan. More police officers, Secret Service agents, and even a few FBI agents had arrived. He estimated about forty men and women were in loose groups strung along the off-ramp. All were armed and most had vests. It was more than adequate protection, and Haley didn't understand why Neal had been so worried.
A small, green ball flew over the bushes, landed on the road, and rolled under another car. What was that? Haley wondered. Many more green balls followed quickly. They were being thrown by people hiding in the trees.