The Price of Disrespect (Gray Spear Society Book 6) (26 page)

Smythe had his arm around Odelia's shoulders. She was snuggling against him and holding his waist.

"How did you two meet?" Tawni said.

"Three months ago," Smythe said, "there was a Society convention up in Wisconsin. The entire leadership of the North American division attended. We still have the video from the fighting tournament. If you want to see some truly incredible fights, watch it. Odelia and I were the medical team. That's where we met."

"Was the convention fun?"

"Do you want to hear the whole story? We have some time."

"Sure," she said eagerly.

He launched into a long tale of betrayal and intrigue involving a man named Xavier. The story fascinated Tawni. It gave her a new and broader perspective on the Society. She began to see the Chicago cell as part of a much larger organization. She also gained some appreciation for Aaron's skills as a commander. He had made Xavier look like a fool in the end.

"Well told," Odelia said when Smythe was done.

He kissed her.

"I want to meet the legate," Tawni said. "She sounds really interesting."

"You may change your tune when you do actually meet her," Smythe said. "She's not very sociable. If you're rude to her, you won't live long."

Odelia nodded emphatically.

Norbert eventually returned driving a truck with the words "Citizens Gas and Power" painted on the side. Leanna was riding in the passenger's seat. They got out and retrieved equipment from the back of the truck. The X-ray machine looked like something from a dentist's office except it was on a rolling platform. The liquid nitrogen was in a stainless steel container big enough to hold several gallons.

The equipment and a tool chest were lowered into the manhole using ropes. Leanna went down next, but nobody else joined her. It appeared she would work by herself.

"I'd like to watch," Tawni told Smythe.

"You won't be much use down there." He shook his head. "There's no point in risking your life just to be a spectator. She'll be disarming booby traps."

"What if Leanna needs help?"

"She'll yell. I don't want you getting in her way or distracting her at a critical moment. It's extremely delicate work."

"I understand." Tawni nodded. "I'll be very quiet and do exactly what I'm told."

He sighed. "Ask her if she wants company. If she says no, come back up right away. Don't screw around."

"Yes, sir."

She climbed down the ladder and dropped into the chamber. Leanna was positioning the X-ray machine in front of the broadband amplifier.

"Do you mind if I stay and watch?" Tawni said.

Leanna thought for a moment. "Can you be quiet?"

"Yes. And if you need me to do something, I'll do it."

Leanna went back to working with the X-ray machine. After taking plenty of pictures, she studied them using an attached laptop computer. Tawni leaned in for a closer look and saw text appearing on the screen. It seemed Leanna was having an online conversation.

"Is that Bethany?" Tawni said.

Leanna gave her a sharp look. "Yes. We always work together. Now please be quiet, ma'am."

Tawni closed her mouth.

After long consideration, Leanna seemed to decide on a course of action. She snapped on a pair of heavy rubber gloves. She took out a battery powered saw and began to slice into the side of the amplifier. She cut along specific vertical and horizontal lines, stopping frequently to check the X-rays.

As pieces of sheet metal were removed, the guts of the device were exposed. It was packed full of wires and electronic components. Tawni didn't see how Leanna could make sense of the mess.

Leanna snapped a few dozen pictures with her phone. There was another long consultation with Bethany. Tawni was starting to get bored by the painstaking process. It wasn't like the movies at all.

"You can help me with this part," Leanna said. "Put on gloves and pick up the flask, please. Don't touch anything else. Very high voltage is running through the amplifier."

Tawni found another pair of rubber gloves in the tool chest. They were lined with a soft, insulating material. She picked up the flask and discovered it was heavier than she expected. The liquid nitrogen sloshed around inside.

Leanna used a flashlight to illuminate a spot deep inside the amplifier. "The bomb is there."

Tawni looked closely and saw a big stick of plastic explosive. "Shit!" She took a step back.

"You're going to pour the liquid nitrogen over the detonator batteries." Leanna shined the flashlight on two small, silver boxes.

"What will that do?"

"The extreme cold will stop the chemical reactions inside the batteries. It should give me enough time to safely remove the explosive." Leanna sounded completely calm, as if this procedure were part of her daily routine.

"Have you done this before?" Tawni said.

"No, but the theory is sound."

Tawni licked her lips. "Can you just cut the red or blue wire, or whatever?"

"Which wire are you referring to?" Leanna looked at the amplifier which contained hundreds of wires of all colors.

"Never mind. I'm up for this if you are. Ready?"

Leanna grabbed wire snipers and pliers from the tool box. "Don't splash any liquid nitrogen on me, please. I don't want to get frostbite. Proceed."

Tawni unscrewed the cap on the flask. White vapor leaked out as she began to pour. The angle was awkward and the flask was heavy, making it a challenge to hit the batteries. She splashed a little of the clear liquid on her feet, but her heavy boots and the layer of muck protected her. The air became noticeably colder.

"That's enough," Leanna said. "Step back."

Tawni moved back hastily. Leanna went to work immediately with her tools. After just a few seconds, she yanked out the plastic explosive and threw it across the room. The frozen material shattered when it hit a wall. A second later, there was a loud bang.

"What was that?" Tawni said.

"The detonator." Leanna took a deep breath.

Tawni realized she had almost died again. It was becoming a habit she wanted to break.

"Now we have to turn the device off," Leanna said.

"I see a power switch."

"It's trapped. If I flip that switch, the whole thing will fry. We need to sever the power line." She pointed to a steel conduit running across the ceiling and down to the amplifier. "Please go up the ladder and ask for a small cutting charge."

Tawni hurried up the ladder and emerged onto the street. Smythe, Odelia, Norbert, and Wesley were standing around the manhole. They were all staring in the same direction.

Tawni looked the same way. There was a fire a few blocks away, and the blaze was bright enough to make low clouds glow orange. She heard many sirens blaring in the distance.

"What's going on?" she said.

"A major riot," Smythe said. "It's bad. Can you hurry up down there? We may need to leave suddenly."

"Leanna wants a small cutting charge."

He jogged over to the truck and climbed inside. After digging around for a minute, he came up with a strip of explosive encased in a metal shell. He held a small detonator in his other hand.

"Have you ever used one of these?"

"No," Tawni said.

"This isn't a good time to learn. I'll go down with you."

Both of them went down the ladder. Leanna pointed at the conduit, and Smythe nodded. He placed the charge, connected the detonator, and set the timer. Everybody hurried into one of the side tunnels.

Tawni covered her ears, but the explosion wasn't as loud as she expected. Smythe went back into the chamber and signaled that it was safe. Tawni and Leanna followed.

The shaped explosive had sliced cleanly through the thick conduit. The severed ends of copper wires were exposed, and each was as thick as Tawni's thumb.

Leanna stared at the amplifier. All the lights on the front panel had gone dark.

"Is it safe to touch?" Tawni said.

Leanna furrowed her brow. "I'm not sure. It could still have a capacitive charge."

Smythe put out his hand. "Let me have those gloves."

Tawni took off her gloves and handed them over. Smythe snapped them on. He reached into the amplifier and yanked out a long, thick wire using brute strength. He put one end of the wire against an exterior panel and the other against a piece of steel pipe. There was a flash of blue light and a loud pop. Smoke drifted up from somewhere inside the device.

"Thank you, sir," Leanna said. "All we need is the control module."

"Which part is that?" he said.

She pointed to a circuit board.

"Hold on."

Smythe swiftly climbed the ladder. A short time later, he came down carrying an axe. He whacked at the amplifier with all his considerable strength. Broken electronic components flew each time the axe struck. Leanna backed up and covered her eyes with her hands. Even Tawni was a little intimidated by the violence.

It took him just a few minutes to cut out the control module. Some bits of surrounding hardware were still attached.

"Quickly," Smythe said, "up the ladder."

Leanna looked around. "What about the tools?"

"We'll get them later. Come on! Get out of here!"

Leanna and Tawni went up the ladder first. Smythe followed, climbing while carrying the control module under one arm.

The fire had grown in size. Tawni could see a large building engulfed in flames.

"Norbert," Smythe said, "take Wesley and Leanna home immediately. Don't stop for anything!"

"Yes, sir," Norbert nodded.

"What about the rest of us?" Tawni said.

"We're staying," Smythe said.

Norbert, Wesley, and Leanna climbed into the truck. Smythe gave the control module to Leanna and closed the door. The truck pulled away, squealing its tires.

Smythe and Odelia remained behind with a very confused Tawni.

"What are we doing here?"

"Figure it out," Smythe said. "I'll give you a clue. Somebody is going to meet us here in a few minutes."

Odelia had an amused expression.

Tawni hated looking like a fool. She thought hard about it. "I guess the cable company is going to come. A lot of customers just lost service."

Smythe nodded. "Go on."

"I get it! They won't just send a regular technician. That was a special piece of equipment. Only special people are allowed to touch it, and we want to talk to those people." She smiled.

"Very good. You're starting to impress me."

The sound of yelling made her look in the direction of the fire. There were a lot of different voices, and the noise was getting louder.

"Shit," Smythe said. "Follow me. Stay tight."

He sprinted towards a nearby alley. He moved fast for a big man, and Tawni had a hard time keeping pace. Odelia brought up the rear with a gun in each hand. She had drawn her weapons in an instant.

Smythe melted into the shadows in the alley. Tawni couldn't see him even though she knew where he was. She groped in the darkness. He grabbed her hand and pulled her down.

"Quiet," he whispered.

She looked out in time to see an angry mob running down the street. They were carrying chunks of wood, rocks, shovels, tire irons, broken beer bottles, and other primitive weapons. The crowd was a mix of old and young, male and female. The only feature they shared was insane rage. Many of them were yelling for no reason at all. Tawni heard windows being broken.

"It's getting worse," Smythe said. "The authorities will bring in the military pretty soon. They'll lock down the whole city."

The mob moved on. The team crept to the mouth of the alley. Up and down the street, Tawni saw broken glass and small fires. The random acts of vandalism had no purpose other than mindless destruction.

The scene made her angry, and for once, she knew the feeling was justified. There was no question she was on the right side of this fight.

The sound of a child wailing drew her attention. Across the street, a little girl was standing near an injured woman.

Tawni ran over. A jagged piece of wood had been thrust deeply into the woman's stomach. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was ragged.

Smythe and Odelia caught up to Tawni.

"Deal with the girl," Smythe said. "She must not see this."

Tawni knelt down and hugged the child. The poor thing couldn't be any older than five.

"Shh." Tawni said. "Calm down. Everything will be OK." She pressed the girl's face against her chest.

Odelia lit up like a giant light bulb, sending brilliant white light in all directions. Her hair looked like it was on fire, and her eyes glowed red. She placed her hands on the injured woman's chest.

Tawni gasped in wonder.

Smythe yanked out the wood. Blood spurted from the hideous wound. He went in with both hands and pulled the torn flesh back together. Even though he didn't have a needle or thread, he was able to close the wound perfectly. He spent a minute with his hands inside the victim, obviously doing more repair work. Finally, he stood up.

Odelia wrapped her arms around the injured woman. "Wake up," she whispered. "Live."

The victim's eyes opened. Odelia instantly turned off her supernatural light.

"You had a close call there," Smythe said. "Next time you see an angry mob, hide."

The victim looked around with a confused expression. She saw the bloody chunk of wood on the sidewalk. "What happened? I was stabbed." She touched her healed stomach.

"Go home. Get your daughter off the street quickly. It's not safe out here."

Smythe and Odelia walked off.

Tawni followed close behind. "You guys are amazing! I can't believe it. That was a real, honest to God miracle."

"Yes," Smythe said, "but we have to be very careful with miracles. Civilians aren't allowed to know."

"Why? What would happen?"

"God protects His secrets."

Tawni was starting to understand the rules, and she didn't like them. The Gray Spear Society could do so much good for the world, but they were constrained at every turn.

"Let's go below," Smythe said. "Company should be along any minute now."

They went back down the manhole to the underground chamber. The tools and the X-ray machine were still there alongside the destroyed amplifier.