Apocalypse Cult (Gray Spear Society) (30 page)

"That's it," Aaron announced.

"What?" Marina said.

"The target is definitely Navy Pier. I suspected before, but now I'm absolutely sure. Simon bought this condo so he could have a bird's eye view of the action. This was going to be his command post, not just a love nest."

She came over to the window. After a moment, she took out the binoculars from the desk drawer and used them to study the Pier.

"You could be right," she said. "I can see everything from here."

"What should we do?"

"We still have to find the damn secret papers."

Aaron began to knock on the walls, searching for hidden compartments. He would check every inch of the condo if necessary.

"I have an unrelated question," he said as he worked.

"What?" Marina had pulled out a knife with a black blade, and she was slicing open the mattresses on the bed.

"Ethel was only a few seconds from killing me earlier. Let's say she wanted to kill you. What would you do?"

"Beg her to do it quickly and painlessly."

"Come on," he said.

"I suppose it depends on the situation. If she had two broken legs, I might have a chance to run away, but that would just postpone the inevitable. She could always order somebody else to kill me. Worse comes to worse, she could call her boss, the legate. He has people who could find me
anywhere,
and I wouldn't last a second against them. If the Gray Spear Society decides you're a problem, you don't stay a problem for long."

"Would you get a hearing? Is there an appeals process?"

She snorted. "No. If you did something bad, Ethel would be your judge, jury, and executioner. No appeal. She has the last word on anything that happens in the Chicago territory."

Aaron grunted.

He went back to the desk, the only interesting piece of furniture in the entire condo. It occurred to him the thing was built like a giant Chinese puzzle box. The unusually heavy construction allowed plenty of space for secret compartments. He started tapping on the sides and listening for a hollow sound.

Marina watched his fruitless efforts for a couple of minutes. She left the apartment and came back a moment later carrying a two-handed axe.

"Where did you get that?"

"The fire hose cabinet." She handed the axe to Aaron.

"Very resourceful."

"I always try to know where the nearest deadly weapons are. Start chopping."

He whacked at the desk with enthusiasm. It felt good to engage in violent physical action after days of inactivity and tension. Soon there were chunks of wood on the floor and sweat in his eyes. The heavy planks resisted his attack, but he was relentless and motivated.

He struck a metal object inside the desk, which turned out to be a small, hidden safe. He used the axe to destroy the wood around the safe and pulled it free.

Panting and dripping with sweat, he said, "Do you think you can open it?"

Marina leaned down and examined the lock. "I can't pick a high-security combination like this one, and there could be booby-traps. We have equipment back at headquarters that can cut this thing open safely. Can you carry it?"

He grunted as he lifted the safe which probably weighed a hundred pounds. The sharp, metal edges dug into his skin. "Let's go!"

She held the door as he staggered out of the condo. The elevator ride was mercifully swift. A minute later they were at street level, and he carried the safe out into the steamy summer air. He set it down on the sidewalk and massaged his sore hands.

"I'll call headquarters and have them send a car," Marina said.

She made the call, and she included a situation report for good measure. They were close enough to headquarters that it took only a few minutes for a brown sedan to arrive. Edward was driving, and surprisingly, Ethel had come with him. She stepped out of the car.

Aaron loaded the safe into the trunk. Meanwhile, Ethel took out a large gray shoulder bag and a gray backpack. She gave the shoulder bag to Marina and the backpack to Aaron.

He hefted it. "What's in here, ma'am? Feels like it's full of rocks."

"Look inside," Ethel said.

He peeked under the flap. The backpack contained guns, grenades, knives, and boxes of bullets. There was enough firepower for a prolonged, all-out battle. He guessed Marina's bag held similar contents.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't bring you body armor," Ethel said quietly. "Maybe we'll find some later."

She wore a long, gray shawl that wrapped completely around her body. Now he understood the reason for her strange attire on this miserably hot day. She was wearing her weapons underneath.

Edward drove off, leaving Ethel behind with Aaron and Marina.

"Where is he going?" Aaron said.

"Headquarters," Ethel said. "The team will open the safe and tell us what's inside."

"And where are
we
going?"

"Navy Pier, of course. It was your theory." She started jogging.

He sprinted to keep pace with her. "What if I'm wrong? It was just a hunch."

"Or divine inspiration."

"The real target could be miles away. This could be a huge mistake. We don't have any solid evidence I'm right!"

"That is a risk," she said, "but we don't have time to be methodical."

The three of them hurried all the way to Navy Pier, which didn't take long. They spent more time waiting at traffic lights than actually jogging. Still, they managed to work up a sweat in the oppressive heat. A slight breeze blew towards the lake, providing little relief.

When they arrived, Aaron discovered the pier was even more crowded than he had thought. The walkways were so packed with sweaty, brightly colored, irritable tourists that he had to squeeze between them. He tried to keep the guns in his backpack from clanking together.

"Let's look around," Ethel said. "Stay alert."

They made slow progress along the main walkway on the south side of the Pier. Venders selling food and drinks created localized traffic jams, which made the journey even slower. Aaron wanted to yell with frustration. If only they could evacuate the area.

"This is insane, ma'am," he muttered to Ethel. "These people are in danger. Let's tell the authorities about the threat."

"The cult would just wait to strike another day. The three of us
by ourselves
will wipe out the enemy. That's how we work, and if we do it properly, we'll succeed. The Lord wants this done. Can you feel it?"

Aaron actually did feel something strange. There was a tingling heat in his veins which energized him.
God's breath,
he thought.

"What about all the innocent lives at risk?"

"Simon put them at risk, not us," Ethel said. "We'll do what we can to protect civilians, but our first priority is completing the mission. That will save the most lives in the end."

It took a quarter of an hour just to reach the far end of Navy Pier, which was even bigger than Aaron had remembered. He saw countless boats, large and small, but none were the one he wanted. There were so many that all the marinas in Chicago must have emptied out. Everybody wanted to enjoy a relaxing afternoon on the water, capped off with a spectacular fireworks show.

The Coast Guard also had a very visible presence. He saw one big cutter and at least a dozen patrol boats on the lake. They seemed very busy with the job of keeping the pleasure boats from crashing into each other or into the big commercial ships.
Too many people packed into too small an area
, Aaron thought.
It's a disaster waiting to happen.

Already tired and thirsty, he purchased four frozen lemonades, one for each of the women and two for himself. Ethel seemed about to complain, but she just ate her lemonade instead. Marina didn't hesitate to eat hers. When Aaron took a bite, the refreshing iciness and sharp flavor made him moan with pleasure.

Coin-operated telescopes dotted the end of the Pier. He dropped a quarter into one and looked out at the lake, still searching for that elusive cult ship. Marina and Ethel followed his lead.

After a minute Marina pointed and said, "There! I see it! The
Scimitar of Allah!
"

Aaron swung his telescope around to point in the same direction. The
Scimitar
floated near the breakwater away from the other boats. From its heading and speed, he judged it had just come in from deeper waters. The polished, white hull gleamed in the bright sunlight. Long, horizontal strips of windows were so heavily tinted they looked black. It was a gorgeous yacht, certainly worth millions of dollars when new.

"I see guys standing guard on the deck," Aaron said, "and there could be a lot more inside. That ship is much bigger than I realized. We have our work cut out for us."

The guards stood in strict military postures. They wore civilian outfits, but all the clothing was various shades of green. No weapons were visible.

"I expect the enemy will wait until dark," Ethel said. "Then they'll cruise over here, crash into the pier, and detonate the bomb directly underneath the tourists. A night attack will produce more casualties due to the extra panic and confusion."

"What are our orders, ma'am?" Marina said.

"If we spook them, they'll just launch their attack immediately. We have to be very careful about preserving the advantage of surprise."

Ethel's phone rang. She listened for a couple of minutes before hanging up.

"That was the team back at headquarters," she said. "They cracked the safe and found the mother lode of intelligence. Names, phone numbers, addresses, bank accounts. It turns out Simon's organization was even bigger than we suspected. It was an entire criminal empire built on drugs and theft. The cult members were his loyal soldiers, willing to commit any crime on his orders. We have enough information to destroy every last piece of his operation."

"That's good news for tomorrow," Aaron said, "but we still have a problem right now, ma'am. I don't see how we can get close to that ship without being spotted." He looked around for a source of inspiration. The Coast Guard cutter had a naval gun mounted on its bow, which gave him an idea. "If we blow up the
Scimitar
while it's still far from shore, civilian casualties will be light."

"I'm worried that any large explosion will be taken as a terrorist attack by Muslims. Let's save that idea as plan B. If possible, we want to do this quietly."

"Just the three of us? In broad daylight? That's extremely optimistic, ma'am." He furrowed his brow.

Ethel nodded. "And the first step is getting much closer to the enemy. Let's steal a boat."

They worked their way along the north side of the pier. It was less busy than the south side, but even so, a steady stream of tourists flowed in both directions. The access road and parking garage entrances were on this side.

Many boats of various shapes and sizes were docked along the pier. Most were tied to red and blue bollards, but there weren't quite enough, so some of the small boats used iron fence posts instead. Nearly every boat had people drinking and eating on board. Loud music added to Aaron's irritation, which the heavy crowds and oppressive heat had already pushed to a high level.

"I don't see any empty boats." Marina massaged her black fingernails. "We may have to take one by force."

Ethel looked left and right. "There are too many people here. We'll cause a commotion, and then the police will be on us in seconds. Let's go somewhere less crowded."

"There is a marina behind Soldier Field, ma'am."

"The traffic is so bad it would take us a half-hour just to get there." Ethel shook her head. "We can't leave the enemy alone for so long. I'll go by myself. You two stay here and keep watch. Hopefully, nothing will happen while I'm gone, but if something does, you're in charge, Marina."

Ethel jogged away.

Aaron looked at Marina, who just shrugged.

They turned back toward the lake end of the pier. She took his hand, and the unexpected token of intimacy gave him some comfort despite their palms being sweaty. Her beautiful face improved his mood another notch. She really was an amazing woman, and he felt lucky to be with her.

The aroma of cheap beer was unmistakable. There was a beer garden nearby, which was already packed with loud tourists, even though it was still the middle of the day. Aaron had to step over a puddle of vomit.
Like a college frat party
, he thought.

"We need to prepare for battle," Marina mumbled into his ear. "Find a place where we can have some privacy."

He looked around. There was a large, red brick building at the end of the pier. A ballroom on the ground floor was full of people eating and drinking. The upper stories were more promising.

Aaron and Marina went inside and found a back stairway. A security guard caused a bit of a delay, but Marina used her venomous fingernails to quickly resolve that issue. They left the guard sleeping with his back against a wall.

On the second floor they discovered an unoccupied office, which had the bonus of a window facing east. They could see the
Scimitar
slowly moving around the harbor like a stalking predator.

Marina emptied her gray bag onto a desk, creating a pile of assorted weapons, holsters, and other accessories for killing. Aaron added the contents of his own heavy backpack to the pile.

"Jeez," he said. "Do you think we have enough firepower?"

She shook her head. "No, but it will have to do."

He sorted through the guns to find his favorites. A Beretta PX4 caught his eye due to its light weight, reliability, and accuracy. He loaded it with 17 rounds of 9mm ammunition, and then he loaded two spare magazines.

The pistol would serve as a base weapon, but he also needed something that could get him out of an ambush. After some indecision, he settled on a Heckler & Koch 69A1. It shot 40mm grenades that had to be loaded and fired one at a time, but there was nothing better for creating a quick escape route, no matter who got in the way. Ethel had thoughtfully packed several types of 40mm ammunition including high explosive and poison gas.