The Price of Disrespect (Gray Spear Society Book 6) (14 page)

"I hope these come out right," Bethany said. "We haven't recalibrated the printers after the move."

There were hundreds more computers in the next room. Huge bundles of cables tied them all together. The blinking lights reminded Tawni of Christmas.

"Why do you need so many computers?" Tawni said.

"Simulating complex models is computationally expensive," Bethany replied as if that explained everything.

Big machines occupied part of the room. They looked like the giant copiers and printers used in copy stores. One machine with tan panels was making chattering noises.

A driver's license came out of a slot. Tawni picked it up. It had the name Cheryl Miller, but the picture was of Tawni.

"This looks really good. I'd never guess it was a fake."

"It's real," Bethany said. "Cheryl Miller is now in the DMV computer system. If you get a speeding ticket, it will show up on her record. You'll even get a renewal notice in a few years."

Tawni thought about that for a second. Bethany wasn't just forging identification. She was hacking the system itself.

A credit card fell out of another machine, and Bethany gave it to her. The color was a pretty blue.

"I can't have a gold card?" Tawni said in a half joking tone.

"We try to keep a low profile, ma'am, but if you feel it's important, I'll make one for you."

"Why do you keep calling me ma'am?"

"You're a
legionnaire
," Bethany said. "I'm not. I work for you."

Tawni smiled. "Really? Cool. Can I use this card?"

"Of course," Aaron said from behind her. "The bills come to me. Just don't buy anything flashy. Low profile. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." She couldn't wait to try out the credit card. Maybe this job had some nice benefits after all.

"She needs a phone," he said.

Bethany grabbed a spare gray phone from a shelf. "Let me set it up." She flipped open the cover and began to press buttons.

"That phone is your lifeline," Aaron said to Tawni. "Always have it with you. There are no exceptions to that rule. If you get into trouble, you'll use it to call for rescue."

"You'd rescue me?"

"Absolutely, and I'd destroy anybody who got in my way."

"If you care so much about me," Tawni said, "why do you treat me like shit?"

"There isn't time to bring you along gently. If you don't learn your job quickly, you could put the whole team at risk."

"Do you treat her the same way?" She nodded towards Bethany.

"Bethany isn't a
legionnaire
," Aaron said. "I would never ask her to fight a hoard of maniacs to the death. But I might order you to do it."

Tawni pursed her lips.

Bethany gave her the phone, a small paper manual, and a belt clip. "Here you go, ma'am. All our numbers are already programmed in."

"Bethany," Aaron said, "we're having a meeting now. You and your sister are invited."

"Yes, sir."

Bethany and Leanna followed Aaron and Tawni through headquarters. They went into a big conference room with a long wooden table. Bookshelves stood against one wall but were empty. The chairs were the cheap folding kind.
I guess the real furniture isn't here, yet,
Bethany thought.

Smythe, Norbert, and Wesley joined the meeting. It had been a long time since Tawni had participated in any kind of team meeting. It felt strange. Even when she had served in the National Guard, she had always been a loner.

She placed her heavy gold bar on the table with a thunk.

"Tawni," Norbert said, "why do you have a gold bar?"

Tawni sniffed. "I like feeling compensated for my time and trouble."

"Saving thousands of lives isn't enough compensation? Enjoying God's approval? Living a life of excitement and purpose? Being surrounded by loyal friends who will work miracles on your behalf? That isn't sufficient? You also need a chunk of metal."

The look on his face made her feel like an idiot.

"How do you intend to spend that gold?" he added.

She frowned at the gleaming bar. "I guess I could take it to a jeweler and sell it for cash."

"Like the cash we already have here? The cash that is available to you anytime you need it?"

She put the gold on the floor where nobody else could see it.

"Let's begin," Aaron said. "First, I'll give my report."

He described what had happened at the protest. His memory for details impressed Tawni, and he included many observations she had missed completely. She realized she hadn't been paying nearly enough attention.

After he finished his report, he said, "Clearly, this situation demands further investigation. Does anybody have a suggestion?"

"We have to identify the cause, sir," Smythe said. "The most direct approach is a thorough medical examination. Let's kidnap one of the leaders, somebody who is strongly affected. I can try to figure out what's wrong with him."

"We can't bring him back here," Aaron said.

"Why not?" Tawni said.

He turned to her. "Only members of the Society are allowed in headquarters. Anybody else who sets foot in here must be killed. No exceptions."

"That's crazy. You never have visitors?"

"You keep forgetting that little word."

"That's crazy, sir," she said.

"It's one of the many rules we live by," he said. "Rules you need to learn."

"Who wrote these rules?"

"God."

She rolled her eyes. "Right."

He glared at her with an openly angry expression. The room became very quiet.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. Speaking those two words was difficult for her.

"We'll use the facilities at a real hospital, sir," Smythe said. "Norbert will play the part of my orderly, and Tawni can be my nurse. She should be able to handle that."

"I want to go!" Wesley said.

"A child would look out of place in a hospital. This operation is for grown-ups only."

Wesley pouted.

"There is something else, sir," Smythe said. "I'm sure it slipped your mind with everything else going on, but the team will have another member tomorrow morning. Odelia is coming."

Aaron winced. "Oh. This isn't the best time."

"She's a medical expert. Her assistance at the examination would be invaluable. And if this situation turns into a real mission, having Odelia on hand would be helpful. She's very experienced and talented. A true veteran with a unique gift."

Aaron opened his mouth.

"And, sir," Smythe added quickly, "Tawni could use a role model. Odelia is a great example of a female
legionnaire
for her to emulate."

"As usual, your argument is sound," Aaron said, "but your opinion is hardly unbiased. You would say anything to have Odelia here. Let me think about how to handle this. At a minimum, Yule and I will need to have a serious conversation about the risks. She works for him, not me."

"Yes, sir."

Tawni didn't want a role model but was still curious about Odelia. It sounded like Smythe loved her.

"Otherwise," Aaron said, "we have a plan for tomorrow."

"I'll begin the preparations immediately," Smythe said.

"Dismissed. Tawni, come with me."

The room cleared out. Tawni followed Aaron back into the hallway.

"Odelia is Smythe's girlfriend?" she said.

He nodded. "She's a
legionnaire
in Los Angeles."

"Do you have somebody, sir?"

"Marina, the commander of San Francisco. She was in Chicago until she was promoted recently."

Tawni smiled. It sounded like relationships in the Gray Spear Society could be more than just professional. "What about Norbert?"

"He has the twins," Aaron said.

"Both of them?" She widened her eyes.

"They do
everything
together."

She snorted. Whenever she turned a corner around here, she got a new surprise.

She realized she had left her gold bar in the conference room. Running back to get it didn't seem worthwhile. Clearly, whenever she wanted a gold bar to carry around, she could have one.

Aaron led her up a flight of stairs and through a door so thick it looked bomb-proof. They emerged onto the roof of the hotel. Night had fallen, but clouds and light from the city made it impossible to see any stars. A half-moon was visible though. The air was a little too cool and damp to be comfortable.

A large, blue helicopter was parked in the center of the roof. Tawni pointed at it and said, "Who flies that?"

"I've been taking lessons," Aaron said. "Marina used to be our expert pilot, but now I have to pick up the slack. I've achieved basic competence. I can get from A to B without crashing at least."

She nodded.
A private helicopter,
she thought.
Very cool.

There was a large, metal shed on the roof. Overcome with curiosity, she walked over and opened the door. She found two full-sized missile launchers loaded with a total of sixteen missiles.

"Shit!" she said. "Are those real?"

"Of course. We need a way to deal with threats in the air. But I didn't bring you up here to show you helicopters and missiles. There are two ways into headquarters: the service elevator from the basement and a smaller elevator from the first floor of the hotel. There are a lot of ways to escape. I don't want anybody getting trapped up here during an attack. We're going to practice escaping now."

He took her over to a line of ten devices that looked like small, white cranes. Cables hung over the edge of the roof, and a harness was attached to each one.

Aaron grabbed one of the harnesses for her. "Make it snug," he said. "You don't want to slip out."

She stared at the harness which was made of yellow nylon straps. "You're shitting me."

"One way or another, we're both jumping off this building. I recommend using the safety equipment, but it's your choice."

He took a harness for himself and started pulling it on.

If he can do it, so can I,
she thought.

It was fairly obvious how to wear the harness. It took thirty seconds to put on, a feature that would be very useful in an emergency. She pulled the straps until they were uncomfortably tight.

She shuffled over to the edge of the roof and looked down. Her heart jumped into her throat. It was a long way to the ground. She would land on a patch of grass which didn't look soft enough to matter.

"Ready?" Aaron said.

"No, sir. How do I use this thing?" Tawni looked at the crane mechanism. The steel cable was wound around a large spool, and there were some buttons.

"It's easy. You just jump."

He gave her a hard shove. For an instant, she was in freefall and fear made her squawk. After she dropped a short distance, the cable tightened. She heard an electric motor whir furiously as she descended. She bumped against the side of the building, but the smooth glass surface didn't scrape her. It took very little time for her to reach the ground. She was going so fast she thought she would break her legs, but the cable pulled hard at the last instant. She landed softly.

She could only stand there while her heart raced. She wasn't sure if she had wet her underwear.

Aaron landed beside her. "Wasn't that fun?"

She wanted to slug him, but a sudden bout of sanity stopped her. She settled for saying, "That was fucked up, sir."

"Nobody got hurt and you learned something useful. Don't complain. Not all lessons are so pleasant."

They took off the harnesses and left them dangling in the air. He led her around to the front of the building.

"You'll live in the hotel for now," he said. "Eventually, you'll get an apartment nearby, but that can wait. In the meantime, don't wander off. Don't call your friends. Don't talk to outsiders. It's important for you to stay where I can keep an eye on you while you learn the rules. Fortunately, the rooms are very nice. The hotel staff knows me as Mr. Berrycloth. Say it."

"Berrycloth."

"
Never
use my real name with people who aren't in the Society. And you're Cheryl Miller. Don't forget."

"Yes, sir," she said. "I'm hungry. Can I order room service?"

"Order anything you want. Charge it to Mr. Berrycloth's account or use your credit card."

"What if I want expensive champagne?"

He gave her a serious look. "After what you've seen, do you honestly think I care?"

They entered the building through the lobby. She liked the black and gold color scheme. A suspended water sculpture was elegant and soothing. She didn't know if she had ever stayed in a hotel as nice as this one.
And my boss owns it,
she realized. Maybe having Aaron in her life wasn't such a terrible thing, even if he was a huge flaming asshole.

Aaron went to the front desk and asked to speak to the manager. An older man with wisps of white hair came out. He was sharply dressed in a black suit and a golden tie.

"Mr. Rosenblum," Aaron said, "this is another good friend of mine. Cheryl Miller. Please find a nice room for her."

"Yes, sir," Rosenblum said. "I've been meaning to talk to you about your other friends. One of them made quite a mess."

"Which one?"

"A very tall Japanese woman."

Atalanta,
Tawni realized. She hadn't known Wesley's bodyguards were staying here, but it made sense. They would want to be close to the boy.

"What did she do?" Aaron said in a resigned tone.

"We found pieces of chopped wood and bamboo all over her room. Some of the furniture was also cut up. It looked like she had used an axe."

Or a sword,
Tawni thought.

Aaron shrugged. "Just clean it up."

"She's also giving the housekeeping staff a hard time. Your friend has very poor manners."

"Then tell them to stay out of her room. If she complains, tell her Mr. Berrycloth gave the order. She knows how to reach me."

Rosenblum smiled slightly. "Yes, sir. Thank you."

Aaron turned to Tawni. "Stay in the hotel. Relax. Enjoy the amenities. Call me if you really need to. I'll get you in the morning." He walked off.

She watched him go with a mixture of feelings.