Apocalypse Cult (Gray Spear Society) (33 page)

"Halt!" a male voice boomed through a loudspeaker. "Kill your engines! Prepare to be boarded!"

Ethel shook her head.
If they try, they'll regret it.

She was flying across open water now, and Navy Pier was fading into the distance. She let herself relax a little. The most important part of the job was done.

The sun was bright, the water blue, and the breeze fresh. The weather was so perfectly pleasant she smiled despite the circumstances. Whatever else happened today, at least she had this one enjoyable moment. She had long ago learned to treasure these small gifts.

The men on the patrol boats shot handguns into the air, obviously trying to scare her. She ducked down as a precaution, but there was little actual danger. She allowed the
Scimitar
to continue on its course towards deep water.

She would have to face the Coast Guard eventually. Killing the boat crews was an option, but she hoped she could find a peaceful alternative. She had no desire to slaughter innocents. She decided to just surrender instead. At this point it didn't matter whether she got arrested. Her team would just arrange for her release from jail, and she could probably escape even without their help.

She used a broken piece of wood to lock the steering wheel in place as best she could. Then she abandoned the bridge and headed down to the lower deck.

She went back to the room containing the gigantic bomb. She placed one of her own demolition charges on top of a box of Semtex, and she started a detonation timer with a twenty minute delay.
All done
, she thought.

She quickly stripped off all her weapons, body armor, and other possessions, leaving only black tights. She even gave up her precious machetes. The only item she kept was her phone. The Coast Guard would see that she was completely unarmed and hopefully, they would not get trigger happy. Just as important, she carried nothing that could serve as evidence or provide identification. The phone needed a special code to be unlocked, so it was safe to carry.

She went up to the main deck. With her hands held high, she walked slowly out the door. A Coast Guard boat was nearby, and the men immediately aimed their guns at her. She continued to the railing and jumped into the water, which seemed to surprise them.

The lake was cold compared to the hot air, and her muscles clenched, but she fought through the tightness. She treaded water as the
Scimitar
moved rapidly away with its escort of patrol boats.
Bon voyage
, she thought.

One of the patrol boats peeled away and circled back towards her. There were four men in red and black uniforms on the boat. Two kept their weapons drawn while the other two pulled Ethel out of the water. She didn't give them any trouble and just sat on the deck, dripping cold water.

The captain had a brass name tag that read "Ben Thomas." He was tall, muscular, and well tanned.

"Who are you?" he barked at Ethel. "What's going on?"

He would get no answers from her. She considered remaining completely silent, but then she decided to say one thing.

"There is a large bomb on that ship which will explode soon. I strongly recommend you order the other patrol to turn back. Those men are in great danger."

"What bomb?" Captain Thomas demanded. "Why is there a bomb?"

"Please, do as I ask. I'm begging you. When that bomb explodes, everybody in the area will die."

He shook his head. "I bet there's something or somebody on that ship you don't want us to see. I can't just let it escape. If there's a bomb, we'll find it when we search the ship. Until then, sit there and shut up. We'll get to you later." He turned to the other three men on his boat and yelled, "Let's go!"

The pilot gunned the engines, and they were off, headed straight towards the
Scimitar
. Ethel estimated the distance at 1000 yards and closing. She wanted to go in exactly the opposite direction.

"Captain," she said calmly, "listen to me."

"I told you to shut up!"

She sighed with disappointment. Even after serving in the Society for decades, these situations still depressed her. These men were innocent, but God liked His battlefields swept clean when the fight was done. All evidence and witnesses had to be eliminated. Only the Spears were permitted to know about His secret struggle for control over His own world.

Ethel looked at Captain Thomas. This would be a quick fight.

She broke his knee with a kick, and as he fell, she grabbed his gun from its holster. She shot him in the head. He was already dead when he hit the deck. She rolled over and shot three more times, killing the rest of the crew in under a second. Still moving fast, she pushed all the bodies into the water.

She grabbed the steering wheel and swung the boat hard around until the
Scimitar
was at her back.

A few minutes later, the sky brightened. She glanced back to see a gigantic fireball rising up. The explosion made a boom so deep and loud it was more a sensation than a noise. The other patrol boat was close enough to the blast that it simply evaporated.

This battlefield is clean
, Ethel thought.
God must be pleased.

* * *

Aaron and Marina approached the second cult ship, the
Aegis of Allah
. It was about the same size as the
Scimitar
, but taking control of this ship would be much more difficult. A small bridge sat atop a very large, enclosed main deck. The blue hull was tall enough to contain two full decks below.

The
Aegis
moved slowly but inexorably towards Navy Pier and its dense crowds of unsuspecting tourists. Already, it was frighteningly close.

Aaron loaded a 40mm grenade into his launcher.

"What are you doing?" Marina said.

"I have six grenades left. I could do some real damage, maybe even sink that ship."

"Are you kidding? Ten thousand people would see you."

"So what?" he said. "Better than those people getting blown up."

"The police will be all over us in a minute. It will be a huge scene."

"That's fine, as long as we win."

"No!" She shook her head. "The Gray Spear Society is first and foremost a
covert
organization. Our operations must remain secret, even now."

"Don't quote policy to me. Too many lives are at stake."

"It isn't just a policy, you idiot!" she yelled. "It's a mandate from God! You're new at this, so you don't understand what that means. If we don't do this the right way, it will end in disaster for everybody, including all those innocent lives you want to save. I appreciate your willingness to take risks and make sacrifices, but
no
. You will
not
use grenades in the open. You will not create a public spectacle. We have to get onto that ship quietly."

"Without Ethel helping us, I don't see how." He shrugged. "We're screwed."

"Hey!" She narrowed her eyes. "Ethel isn't the only one with elite skills. I'm not so shabby."

"It doesn't matter since we don't have a plan. Right?"

"Well, we, uh..."

"Hmm?" He gave her a hard stare. "You're the experienced veteran with 'elite' skills. What should we do?"

She looked at the
Aegis
and frowned.

"I still like my idea." He aimed his grenade launcher at the ship.

"Don't." She touched his arm with her black fingernails. "I may love you, but duty comes first." Her expression was deadly serious.

He lowered the launcher.

Aaron studied the ship, hoping to spot a weakness. He saw ten alert guards posted on the main deck, spaced at regular intervals. The hull was tall and smooth enough that the only way to board was by using the single ladder on the side. One guard stood directly above the ladder. It was impossible to approach the ship unseen.

An idea occurred to Aaron. He called Edward back at headquarters.

"Yes?" Edward said.

"This is Aaron. Ethel told us Simon's safe contained names and phone numbers. Have you sorted through it all, yet?"

"We just started, sir. There is a lot of material, mostly handwritten, with plenty of religious gibberish mixed in."

"I'm hoping you can find a page that lists the crew of the
Aegis of Allah
along with some cell phone numbers."

"Why?" Edward said.

"Because I want to call the captain of the
Aegis
and tell him that two more crew members are about to arrive," Aaron said. "Simon is sending last-minute reinforcements, a woman and a man who just happen to look exactly like Marina and me."

"I understand, sir. I'll get the whole team here working on it right away."

"Good. This is extremely urgent. Call me when you have the information." Aaron closed his phone.

Marina nodded to him. "Very clever. Impressive, even. I knew there was a reason I loved you besides your handsome face."

"But now we have another problem. The bad guys won't accept us looking like this. We need green clothes and facial tattoos. Good thing my head is already shaved."

"Then we have to go back to Navy Pier."

"Do we have time?" he asked.

"The bomb on the
Scimitar
was set to explode at 9 PM. I assume it's the same on the
Aegis
, which gives us plenty of time."

"Unless the enemy decided to move up the schedule."

"That's true," she said. "Let's get moving."

He drove the red speedboat towards the pier, making a wide arc around the
Aegis
. Along the way they stowed their weapons in cabinets on the boat. Marina wanted to make sure a chance encounter with the police wouldn't turn into a deadly confrontation.

The guy who owned the speedboat was still unconscious under a tarp. Marina gave him a dose of venom from her fingernails to make sure he stayed asleep for at least a few more hours.

Finding a place to dock turned out to be a big challenge. After going completely around Navy Pier, they finally found a free bollard near the water plant. Aaron had forgotten the James W. Jardine Water Purification Plant was so close. The largest water treatment facility in the world, it supplied fresh water to an area that included all of Chicago and the outlying suburbs. If the plant were damaged, millions of people would lose their water supply.

"I just figured out why Simon sent two bomb ships," Aaron said. "There are two targets."

Marina nodded. "He was a real bastard. It's a shame his death was too quick and painless."

They climbed onto the sidewalk. She led the way into the crowds of tourists, which had grown even thicker and sweatier since last time.

"Where are we going?" he said.

"I'll know when I see it," she said.

As they wormed their way between moving bodies, she held his hand to keep from being separated. Finally, after twenty minutes of tedious wandering, she came to a stop at a long line of young children. A make-up artist sat at a table and painted on the kids' faces with thin brushes. Puppy dogs, kitty cats, and butterflies seemed to be the main theme.

"Perfect," Marina said. She walked past the entire line and spoke to the young lady at the table. "We need to borrow you for a private face painting."

"Please wait in line, ma'am," the girl said. "There are a lot of children ahead of you."

Marina pulled out a roll of bills and peeled off a stack of hundreds. "Are you available now?"

The girl looked at the Benjamin Franklins. "Yes, ma'am."

"Let's go somewhere else. Just bring your green paint. You won't need another color."

It took a half-hour that they could ill-afford to spend, but the girl did a nicely artistic job. Marina asked for skulls painted on her cheeks and crossed swords on her forehead. Aaron went with green flames around his eyes and mouth. The paint didn't look exactly like a tattoo, but one had to get close to see the difference.

Then Marina and Aaron walked over to the shopping section of Navy Pier. A large crowd had gathered around a small stage where a pirate show was taking place. The actors lacked talent, but they compensated with relentless energy, although the strain of countless performances was obviously wearing them down. Their movements seemed forced and robotic.

Marina found a store that sold clothes. Everything had Chicago or Navy Pier logos, but those could be concealed by turning the clothing inside-out. She and Aaron walked out wearing green sweat pants and green T-shirts.

She looked him up and down. "Not great, but good enough."

"It better be," he said. "We're spending too much time here. Let's go to a quiet place so I can call headquarters."

They found a service corridor. Uncovered fluorescent lights lit a white hallway with scuffed, white tiles. Doors led to the back rooms of the many retail stores. A few cardboard boxes and crates were stacked near the doors, but otherwise, the corridor was empty. The quiet came as a great relief to Aaron, whose temper was badly frayed.

He called Edward.

"What's your status?" Aaron asked.

"We have a phone number, sir," Edward said.

"Great. Now I need to hear Simon's voice so I can imitate it."

Aaron heard a noise coming through one of the nearby doors. It sounded like a man yelling in Polish in a very angry tone.

"Way ahead of you," Edward said. "We found a recording on the internet. Jack has been practicing, and he has it nailed cold. We think he should make the call."

Aaron raised his eyebrows. "OK."
These guys are on the ball.
"Have him tell the captain of the
Aegis
to expect Marina and me to arrive in ten or twenty minutes."

"Your cover names will be Delilah and Sampson."

A woman replied in a soft, muffled voice to the angry man, and she also spoke Polish. Marina stared at the door behind which the argument was taking place.

"Very biblical," Aaron said.

"The cult likes Christian mythology," Edward said. "One problem, sir. Won't it be suspicious if Jack pretends to be Simon given that Simon is dead?"

"The crew only knows Simon has gone missing. Tell them he's watching the action from his condo in the Spire. He can see the ship from there. Got it?"