Involuntary Control (Gray Spear Society) (33 page)

"Norbert," he said in a low voice, "go to the north end of the block and watch from the corner. Smythe, take the south end. Be prepared to tail them."

The two men nodded and headed in opposite directions.

Aaron couldn't share the earpiece with Marina. He had to wait until she gave a report. Lacking anything better to do, he gave her a kiss on the cheek. She responded with a dirty look.

Eventually, she put the earpiece in her pocket. "Breakfast is over. They're paying the bill."

"What did they say?"

"They have a meeting with a very important person at 11 AM. No names were mentioned. They obviously didn't want to say too much in a public place, but they're nervous about the meeting."

"I found out they're part of a secret training program in the U.S. Army," Aaron said. "They might want to use mind control to weaponize people."

She made a disgusted face. "Actually, I don't think these guys are with project 708. It sounded like they came from an Army base, not White Flame. They never mentioned mind control."

"Maybe the meeting is with project 708. Either way, we'll follow this lead a little longer."

Aaron was keeping one eye on the restaurant. Four men came out, including the man in the yellow shirt. The leader was much older than the others. They walked south along the sidewalk.

"Five went in," Marina said quietly. "We lost one."

"That's bad," Aaron said. "The straggler could be making sure the rest aren't followed. We'd better stay put."

"We'll lose the group."

"Smythe will pick them up, I hope."

The man in the blue shirt and new sneakers came around the corner of a building. He approached Aaron and Marina purposefully.

"Fuck," Aaron muttered.

"Isn't this pretty," the man said in a hostile tone. "The jerk from the elevator, and the broad who followed us from the hotel, sitting together like a pair of lovebirds. Who are you?"

Aaron looked up at him and smiled. "Gorgeous weather, isn't it?"

"I have a gun up my sleeve. I can drop it into my hand and shoot both of you in 1.3 seconds. I'm slick as shit."

"You're going to kill us on a public street?"

"I'll be gone before the echoes die," the man said.

"Fine." Aaron stood up. "I'll tell you who we are, but not here. Let's go someplace where we can talk privately."

"Keep your hands where I can see them. Both of you."

Aaron looked around. Privacy would be hard to find in this busy area. He eventually decided to go around the same corner the man had come from.

With Aaron and Marina leading the way, they entered an alley. It was surprisingly clean, which was very different from a typical Chicago alley.

"That's far enough," the man said. "We can talk here."

"People might see us from the street," Aaron said.

"Who cares?"

Aaron anticipated this conversation could end in violence. He wanted to go deeper into the alley to reduce the chance of witnesses.
You can't always pick your battlefields,
he thought.

"Your meeting today is with my boss. We're supposed to make sure you're legit."

The man in the blue shirt raised his eyebrows.

"For example," Aaron added, "how do we know you're really part of the Advanced Warfighter Conditioning Initiative? Maybe the CIA sent you."

"You want to see my identification?"

"That would be a start."

"Let me see yours first, asshole," the man said.

"We don't have any," Aaron said. "We don't exist."

"Then it won't matter if I kill you."

"My boss wouldn't like that. Not at all."

The man softened his stance.

"I have an idea," Aaron said. "I'll give you a piece of information that proves I'm who I claim to be. Then you'll do the same for me. We'll go back and forth until we trust each other."

The man narrowed his eyes. "Go on."

"We tested the technology on the population of Lemonseed."

The man's lack of reaction indicated he already knew this fact, which proved he knew something about project 708, even if he wasn't directly involved.

"My commander and your boss served in the same platoon in Vietnam," the man said.

Aaron filed away that useful fact. "Implanting the device leaves a scar on the back of the skull."

"We tested your procedure on four captured Afghani terrorists."

Aaron was a master at interpreting body language. "You're lying."

The man snorted. "You got me."

"Of course. Now tell me something true."

"Your boss doesn't want the military to get this technology. My commander had to beg for this meeting as a personal favor from an old friend. We've been trying to schedule it for weeks."

That statement confirmed the meeting was with project 708, but it also surprised Aaron. It made him wonder about the goals of the project.

"OK," Aaron said. "We've talked enough. I suggest we just walk away from each other now."

"I don't think so," the man said. "Both of you are coming to the meeting with me."

"What will that accomplish?"

"I want your boss to vouch for you in person."

Aaron needed to make a quick decision. This was his chance to meet the man behind project 708. However, the enemy would know Aaron was a spy, and the meeting would quickly become a bloodbath. Aaron still didn't have any evidence of supernatural interference. He had to find a less violent way of gathering intelligence.

He looked at Marina and nodded once. He didn't need to explain the situation to her.

She took a step towards the man. "Sorry," she said in a soft tone, "but we can't go with you. We have other duties."

She appeared completely relaxed. She kept her hands down and her palms facing forward. She even cowered a little. It was an act designed to disarm her opponent, and she was performing it brilliantly.
I love her,
Aaron thought.

"It's not optional," the man said.

She continued to approach him. He backed up a step.

Aaron waited until the distance between them was exactly the length of her leg. He made a sudden move with his hands, and the man immediately focused his attention on Aaron. A gun dropped into the man's hand from a holster hidden up his sleeve. Marina was already in motion, and she kicked the gun out of his hand. She landed a brutal mule kick straight into his groin. He folded over, and she rammed her fingernails into his neck. He was unconscious seconds later.

"Let's get out of here," Aaron said.

He and Marina walked swiftly down the alley.

"When he wakes up," she said, "he'll tell his friends about us."

"He doesn't know anything worth telling. I can't believe you let yourself get spotted by those guys. Aren't you supposed to have amazing ninja skills?"

She blushed. "It's hard to tail people on foot in broad daylight, especially when you're alone. Besides, they were pros."

"Those excuses aren't convincing."

"Yes, sir." She lowered her eyes.

They emerged onto another street. Aaron looked around to make sure nobody would overhear him. He took out his phone and called Bethany. Marina leaned in so she could share the conversation.

"Hello, sir," Bethany said immediately.

Aaron smiled. He liked such prompt service. "Who is the leader of the Advanced Warfighter Conditioning Initiative? I need his name."

"I think we have that data." She paused. "Here it is. General Reginald Clark. A highly decorated soldier, sir."

"Very good. He served in the same platoon in Vietnam as the leader of project 708. Follow that lead."

"The Vietnam War ended before we were born, sir."

"So?" Aaron said.

"Some of the information might be in an archaic format or not computerized at all."

"I'm sure if you apply your enormous talents to the problem, you'll overcome such minor obstacles. This is important."

"We'll try, sir," Bethany said.

He paused. "Have you eaten today?"

"Norbert cut up some fruit for us before he left. He was in a hurry."

"Eat now. You must be starving. The Vietnam research can wait twenty minutes."

"We'll make grilled cheese," she said.

Marina smiled.

"That's fine," Aaron said. "Drink some orange juice, too. You need your vitamin C. I bought the pulp-free kind just for you. Tell me where Smythe is."

"He went back to the Calhoun Hotel, sir. Norbert is with him."

"OK. Bye." He closed his phone.

Marina rolled her eyes. "You treat them like little kids. Pulp-free orange juice?"

"There is nothing wrong with being nice to your friends." He stared at her. "Try it sometime."

Chapter Twenty

When Aaron returned to the hotel, he found Smythe and Norbert standing in a corner of the lobby. Aaron and Marina went to them.

"I thought you were following those guys?" Aaron said.

"We did," Smythe said. "They came back here after breakfast."

"Probably getting dressed for their big meeting."

"What big meeting, sir?"

Aaron summarized recent events for Smythe and Norbert. Aaron finished by saying, "So, this Army initiative and project 708 aren't the same thing, but one can lead us to the other."

"I have a theory, sir," Smythe said. "I know why project 708 doesn't want the military too involved."

"Why?" Aaron said.

"This mind control technology is explosive. If it works as promised, it's bigger than the atomic bomb. Governments all over the world will battle for control of it. Once that genie is out of the bottle, nobody will be able to put it back."

"That's true. What's your point?"

"Project 708 has to fight to maintain ownership," Smythe said. "They can't let any other agency even sniff this technology, or they'll risk losing it to a bigger, meaner player. This is the kind of secret you never share, not even with your closest friends. When the stakes are this high, friends can become enemies in an instant."

Aaron nodded. "Well put."

There was a coffee station nearby. He walked over to pour a cup and treated himself to two packets of sugar. With all the intense exercise he got, there was no chance of him getting fat. The coffee was somewhat stale and cold, but he drank it anyway. He needed the jolt.

He went back to his team and said, "I had another thought. This technology will get out into the wild eventually. Project 708 can't keep it under wraps forever. The leaders must know this fact and are already preparing for the end game."

"What does that mean, sir?" Norbert asked.

"If I were them, I wouldn't bother using mind control on ordinary troops or civilians. What's the point? Those people already follow orders. They're pawns. No, I'd preemptively attack adversaries I'm likely to face during the final shit storm. Political leaders, military leaders, and corporate executives. I'd work my way down from the very top, starting at the President of the United States if possible. That's the only way to win the war."

The team was silent.

"But that's a conversation for another day," Aaron said, "General Clark will come down shortly. His meeting is less than an hour from now. We have to plant a tracking device on him."

"I can't be involved, sir," Marina said. "His people saw me before."

"True. As penance you can get a long range tracker from the van, and Norbert will need a regular police uniform. Quickly."

She ran off.

"I will, sir?" Norbert said.

Aaron winked at him.

He waited impatiently for Marina's return. If the general appeared before they were ready, a big opportunity would be lost.

Marina came back carrying a small, metal case in one hand, and a police uniform wrapped in clear plastic in the other.

Aaron grabbed the uniform and shoved it at Norbert. "Put this on. Change in the restroom."

Norbert jogged to the restroom.

Marina gave the metal case to Aaron, and he opened it carefully. The tracking transmitter looked like a piece of gray chewing gum resting on a black foam pad. The case also contained a detector the size of a cell phone with a large display.

"I don't think I've seen this model," he said.

"It's the very latest thing. The transmitter is flexible enough to conform to most surfaces, and it's sticky. Just slap it on. It uses organic circuitry that is invisible to ordinary X-ray."

"Fancy. How long will the battery last?"

"About three hours," she said. "Ironically, White Flame Technology invented this gadget. It's still in development. We were lucky to get our hands on this prototype."

Norbert came out of the restroom dressed like a cop. The costume looked too clean and wrinkle free to be realistic, but Aaron didn't expect that to matter.