Involuntary Control (Gray Spear Society) (17 page)

"Not this again," Marina said sadly.

The intelligence went out of his eyes. He snapped at her with his teeth and pulled violently at his bonds. She began to wonder if the surgical tubing would hold him. He suddenly had amazing strength, and hyper-extending his joints didn't seem to bother him at all. He managed to dislocate his own shoulder.

"Check the back of his neck," Smythe said.

Marina needed all her strength just to hold Peter's head still for a moment. She found the tell-tale scar at the base of his skull.

"Another brain surgery victim," she said.

Smythe grimaced. "Now I'm really angry. These White Flame bastards are going to pay somehow."

She stepped back. Peter was thrashing so hard his skin was bleeding from rubbing against the tree bark. He seemed possessed by a demon.

"What do we do with him?"

"I don't know," Smythe said. "Leaving him in this condition is cruel."

"Maybe if we wait a while, he'll come out of his trance."

Peter growled at them. He had bit his own lip so hard it was bleeding.

"I doubt it," Smythe said.

Marina drew her pistol and shot Peter in the forehead. His violent movements ceased abruptly.

"When I joined the Spears," Smythe said in a philosophical tone, "Ethel told me we were creatures of destruction. We have no choice but to leave death in our wake wherever we go. At the time I thought she was exaggerating, but she was speaking the hard truth. We are truly a cursed people. You've been a Spear for a decade. How do you keep your sanity?"

She shrugged. "It feels normal to me."

"I hope I never get to that point."

"Just wait until you get a few more missions under your belt. I need to report our status to Aaron."

She took out her phone and called her lover.

"Hello?" Aaron said.

She related the events of the last several hours.

"Brain implants, eh?" he said. "This investigation just keeps getting uglier. At least that explains the strange behavior."

"White Flame must be going for the title of Most Evil Corporation of all time. What's next, boss?"

"We're cooking up a plan here. You, Smythe, and Norbert are going into White Flame headquarters disguised as government auditors. You're going to steal all the financial records."

"That's ambitious," Marina said.

"The twins are creating identities for you," Aaron said. "They'll also build the special equipment you'll need. Norbert will bring everything with him when he comes back to Lemonseed."

She grunted. "You're putting a lot of faith in a couple of raw recruits. If their work is shoddy and our cover is blown, all of us will be in a very bad place. We won't be able to fight our way out of White Flame. The next time you see me, I could have a brain implant."

"I know." He sighed. "I'm nervous, too, but my gut tells me this is the best option available. You and Smythe can get some rest in the meantime. You're off duty until Norbert comes."

"When will that be?"

"The twins have to finish their tasks first," he said, "and I won't rush them. I'd rather they take the time they need to do a perfect job. As you already observed, the life of the woman I love depends on their success. Don't expect to see Norbert until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. Stay safe until then."

"OK," she said. "We'll catch up on our sleep. Good night."

"Night."

* * *

A thumping noise startled Bethany. She looked over at her sister, but Leanna remained entirely focused on her computer screen. Her fingers danced on her keyboard as lines of text scrolled by.

Bethany heard another thump. It came from outside the room. As she stood up, pain in her neck made her wince. She had been working for several hours without moving an inch in all that time. Now her legs tingled and her back was stiff. She desperately needed an ergonomic chair and a properly installed keyboard tray. She couldn't work much longer under these primitive conditions.

She walked out of the room and into the main corridor of headquarters. Aaron and Norbert were practicing karate together on a large, blue mat. They wore white uniforms with gray belts.

"Again," Aaron said.

Norbert came at him with a lunging punch. Aaron dodged sideways and grabbed Norbert's arm. Aaron pulled, but Norbert braced himself with his leading foot and managed to stay upright. Aaron attempted to sweep his leg. Norbert jumped up to avoid the attack, but while he was in the air, Aaron pushed him over. Norbert landed hard on his back with a loud thump.

Bethany winced.

"That was better," Aaron said, "but don't forget to roll when you hit the ground."

Norbert stood and straightened his uniform. "Yes, sir."

"Let's practice rolling."

Aaron abruptly hooked Norbert's leg and shoved his chest at the same time. Norbert fell back and rolled over his shoulder into a kneeling position. His technique was awkward, even to Bethany's inexpert eye, but it worked.

It had been a long time since she had seen men spar. During her days in the palace, the guards had practiced fighting in the courtyard. Those soldiers had been relatively unskilled young men. Aaron and Norbert were much more serious practitioners of their craft.

"That was plain ugly," Aaron said. "You're going to hurt yourself if you fall that way. Shove me as hard as you can."

Norbert ran at Aaron and pushed him with both hands. Aaron flew backwards but curled himself into a ball just as he touched the ground. He performed three backwards rolls and popped back to his feet. His grace astonished Bethany. With his huge muscles, she had expected him to move with the stiffness of a body builder instead of the fluidity of a gymnast.

Norbert wasn't a weakling either. Bethany didn't often admire the physical attributes of men, but he was a powerfully masculine figure in his karate uniform. His rounded face and curly hair made him cuter and less intimidating than Aaron.

"You see?" Aaron said. "No wasted motion. No lost energy. No bruises."

"Yes, sir." Norbert nodded.

"You can work on that lesson by yourself. Keep practicing until you can roll in any direction without thinking about it. Expect to be tested the next time we get together." Aaron turned to Bethany. "How is it going in there?"

Her eyes widened in surprise at suddenly being the focus of his attention. "Pretty well, sir. Leanna finished designing the bug, and she's locating the parts now. We should be able to find everything we need in Chicago. I finished the new backgrounds for Smythe and Norbert. I just started on Marina."

"You look tired."

She realized she was very tired. The day had started in a motel room in Lemonseed, and a lot had happened since then. Her whole life had changed in fact. "Yes, sir."

"You and your sister can stop for tonight," Aaron said. "Get some sleep and come back fresh in the morning. Of course that brings up the tricky question of where you're going to sleep. Eventually, we'll get an apartment for you, but not until we're less busy. We don't have a guest room here. The only bed is in my private quarters, and I'm sure Marina wouldn't want you to share it with me."

"They can stay at my place," Norbert said. "They'll use my bed, and I'll sleep on the couch."

"Bethany, is that all right?"

She nodded. What other choice did she have?

"Good," Aaron said. "Norbert, take them back to your apartment. I'll sleep too. It's been a long day for everybody."

Bethany went back to the computer room. She stood behind her sister and whispered, "Leanna. Leanna. Pay attention."

After a moment Leanna turned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. We're going to sleep. Norbert invited us to be his guests in his apartment."

Leanna smiled. "That's nice. I like him. I hope his apartment is organized and clean." She stood up and winced. "Ouch! These chairs suck."

"What do we do now? We've never stayed with a man before."

"What about Haykal?"

"He was just a servant," Bethany said. "That doesn't count. Do we bring a gift? I heard that guests are supposed to have gifts."

Leanna looked around. "We don't have anything. We'll tell him he'll get a gift tomorrow."

"Good idea." Bethany nodded. A strange thought suddenly struck her. "What if he wants to have sex?"

"He won't. He's a gentleman."

"Oh."

Leanna raised her eyebrows. "You want to have sex with him?"

"He's very handsome, but no. It would be messy. We don't know what to do."

"We've read about sex on the internet. The concept is simple. The penis is inserted into the vagina. Rapid rubbing motions stimulate the..."

"We read a lot of things on the internet," Bethany said in a nervous tone, "and most of them are false. What if we accidently hurt him? What if he gives us an awful disease? What if he thinks we're ugly? Sex is dangerous."

"You're right."

Norbert entered the room. He had changed into a baggy, gray jogging suit. Sweat still plastered his hair to his head.

"Ready to go, ladies?"

The twins nodded.

"Are you missing something?" he said. "A change of clothes? A toothbrush? You're spending the night."

"Oh," Bethany said. "That's right."

All of the twins' clothes and other personal possessions were in boxes in a corner of the computer room. They opened the boxes and found what they needed. The items were neatly placed in a small, blue suitcase.

"Now we're ready," Leanna said.

Norbert led the twins to one of the cars parked in the main corridor. It was a brown sedan that matched his humble demeanor. He drove, and the girls sat together in the back seat.

They made their way out of headquarters. Once they reached the city streets, Bethany grew nervous and pulled her sister close. It was an unpleasant neighborhood during the day, and at night it became frightening. The two and three-story brick buildings were packed so close together there was hardly space for an alley in between. Many had broken windows or no windows at all. Men wandered the sidewalks with no good purpose, glaring at the sedan as it went past. Some of the street lights were dark.

"Why is headquarters in such a terrible part of the city?" Leanna said.

"It keeps visitors away," Norbert said.

"But isn't it dangerous?"

"We work in a steel-plated fortress. Street gangs aren't an issue for us."

"We're not in headquarters now," Bethany said.

"Calm down," Norbert said. "I'm carrying three loaded guns, and I know how to use them. I'll protect you. Besides, this car has bulletproof windows."

She knocked on the thick glass. She hadn't noticed until he had mentioned it.

"That reminds me," Leanna said. "The government of Satinia is still looking for us."

"Don't worry about them," he said. "They won't find you, and if they did, we would take care of the problem. Anybody who tries to harm a member of our team will pay with their lives."

Bethany allowed herself to relax a little.

"What if we weren't members of the team?" Leanna said. "What if we ran away?"

"Don't even think about that," Norbert said. "Aaron would kill you, and I'm not speaking figuratively. If you think hiding from the government of Satinia is tough, it's nothing compared to hiding from the Society. You wouldn't last an hour."

The twins were silent. Bethany had seen enough of the Society's capabilities to know he was telling the truth. She would be a member for the rest of her life, whether she liked it or not.

"Don't hold that against Aaron," he added. "He really likes you, and I'm sure that situation would make him very sad. But there are strict rules he has to follow."

"He seems kind of mean," Leanna said.

"He has enormous responsibilities. Over ten million souls depend on him for protection, even though they don't know it. It's not surprising he gets very intense at times. Seriously, I have infinite respect for Aaron. He's a brilliant, compassionate commander. As long as you do your job well, you'll get nothing but kindness from him."

They drove for another ten minutes through dark streets and eventually entered a better neighborhood. The houses were a little bigger and in much better condition. Some had real lawns in front. Compared to Lemonseed, this area was still an urban jungle, but at least Bethany felt she could walk on the sidewalk without getting raped or killed immediately.

Norbert parked his car in a garage behind a two-story building with brown bricks and white trim. When they stepped outside, Bethany enjoyed the feel of warm night air against her skin. The weather was perfect tonight.

They climbed a flight of wooden stairs to a second-story entrance. Norbert stared at the door without touching it.

"What's wrong?" Bethany said. "Can we go in?"

"Just checking for signs of forced entry," he whispered. "Wait here while I make sure it's safe inside."

He silently unlocked the door. Then he drew a gun from a holster inside his jogging suit and entered without turning on a light.