Involuntary Control (Gray Spear Society) (42 page)

Flashing red lights on her panels warned that several missiles were coming her way. Normally, she would've dived to evade them, but she had a feeling that wasn't necessary.

She pressed the "shield" button, and a spherical shell of glittering energy surrounded the helicopter. A moment later the missiles splashed against the shield. She was treated to an impressive fireworks show that temporarily overloaded her night vision goggles, but the helicopter wasn't harmed. The massive blasts didn't even budge her.

"Yes!" she cried.

She realized her assignment had changed. The Lord hadn't given her these weapons just so she could create a distraction. He wanted her to send a message to His enemies in the clearest possible terms. This was His world, not theirs.

She put her finger over the "hammer" button.

* * *

General Doolittle rushed outside to observe the battle. The black helicopter was hard to see against the dark sky, but he knew exactly where it was. Waves of heat seeking missiles streaked straight towards it. The explosions were impressive, but somehow the helicopter remained in the air. It was protected by some kind of impervious armor. The missiles were certainly hitting their target, but they were as effective as soap bubbles. He couldn't believe his own eyes.

A strange glow made him look up. A bright white object was falling straight towards the base at lightning speed. He caught a glimpse of a flaming iron ball before it struck a building. The shockwave made him lose his footing, and the entire building was instantly pulverized. A fountain of molten rock shot up from the point of impact. There was no defense against a weapon like that.

Doolittle had survived many battles because he had one skill that all commanders craved but few possessed. He could take in new information and immediately reassess a situation. This enemy was far too powerful. His entire base was about to be annihilated.

Without hesitation, he ran for his life.

Chapter Twenty-five

Dust drifted down from the ceiling.

Smythe looked up and muttered, "What the hell was that? Is Marina dropping thousand pound bombs on us?"

The attack was having its desired effect, and everybody was scrambling to find safety. Nobody intervened as Smythe ran to the room where Aaron was being held.

Smythe pulled open the door. Aaron was lying on the floor in a fetal position, shivering and drooling. Speakers on the walls emitted a repeating pattern of musical tones at deafening volume.

Smythe dragged his boss out of the room. Now they could hear each other.

"Get up!" Smythe said. "We have to go, now!"

Aaron moved his mouth but no sound came out. It wasn't clear he had understood the command. Smythe considered trying to carry Aaron off the base, but it would be difficult at best. Aaron was a beefy man.

"I am the Lord!" Smythe yelled. "Hear My voice! Stand up now!"

That tactic seemed to work better. Aaron slowly, painstakingly climbed to his feet. He wobbled, and Smythe held him so he wouldn't fall over.

"Walk!"

Aaron took one step, then another. His eyes flicked left and right as if he were seeing intense hallucinations. His whole body twitched. Smythe had to push him to keep him moving forward.

Aaron spoke in a whisper, "Kill switch."

"Huh?" Smythe leaned closer.

"Get me out of range. Hurry."

Smythe remembered the interrogation of Dr. Hurly in the abandoned church. He had mentioned a kill switch.

"We'll go as fast as we can," Smythe said.

Aaron's focus improved a tiny bit with each step. His face was twisted with effort. He seemed to be fighting some kind of internal battle.

The ground shuddered and more dust fell from the ceiling. All the scientists and guards fled the chamber in a mob. They were obviously afraid of being trapped underground if the exit tunnel collapsed. Aaron and Smythe were left behind.

They reached the long staircase that would take them to the surface. Aaron was so weak he could barely lift his feet, and the obstacle seemed insurmountable. Yet, somehow he found the strength to climb. Smythe was forced to patiently watch his slow progress.

Smythe continued to hear powerful explosions. Marina was doing a lot more than just creating a distraction. It sounded like a full scale war had broken out.

Aaron finally made it to the top of the stairs. Smythe helped him through the door and into cooler night air.

"What is that?" Aaron muttered.

Smythe looked up. A glowing, white helicopter hovered in the sky a short distance from the base. It fired beams of brilliant light, which sliced through buildings and people with equal ease. The entire base was literally getting chopped to pieces. At the same time, small, spherical meteors were pounding the ground with astonishing force. Each impact left a glowing crater behind.

"That's Marina," Smythe said, "I think."

"What is she flying?" Aaron said.

"I have no idea."

They walked west at the best pace Aaron could manage. Everybody else was so preoccupied trying to survive they didn't even look at the pair of fugitives.

Smythe called Marina using his phone.

"What?" she said angrily. "I'm busy."

A beam of light decapitated an entire line of fleeing men with a single swipe. Their heads fell to the ground separate from their bodies.

Marina giggled insanely.

"What the hell are you flying?" Smythe said.

"An AH-3X attack helicopter, divine wrath edition."

"Huh?"

"The Lord is making a bold statement tonight," she said.

A M1 Abrams tank was trying to drive away. It got as far as the outer fence before a meteor vaporized it. Smythe felt the shockwave bounce off his chest.

"Having fun?"

"This is better than sex," Marina said in a husky voice.

"Maybe you should calm down a little. I'm not entirely comfortable with apocalyptic weapons in the hands of a lunatic."

"This 'lunatic' has you in her gun sights, by the way."

Another meteor struck the roof of a building. All four walls were blown out, and large chunks of reinforced concrete flew like flocks of birds.

"I humbly apologize if I insulted you," Smythe said in a sincere tone. "If it's not too much trouble, would you mind clearing a path for us?"

Three meteors struck simultaneously. Buildings, fences, and people were blasted aside like dry leaves, leaving the way open towards the west. Smythe only had to avoid the puddles of molten rock now.

Marina grunted with pleasure. "Clear enough?"

"That's fine."

The call disconnected, and Smythe frowned at his phone.

"Come on," he said to Aaron urgently. "We have to get out of here before Marina turns this whole place into a barbeque pit."

Aaron walked a little faster. He seemed to be winning whatever battle was happening inside his head.

"Hey," he said softly. "Didn't I order you to get off this base? What are you doing here?"

"It's a clear case of insubordination, sir," Smythe said. "Feel free to reprimand me severely after you're rescued. In the meantime, move your ass!"

* * *

Norbert watched the light show. He knew about Sodom and Gomorrah, of course. The
Bible
also contained other descriptions of the Lord's displeasure. However, reading about it and seeing it in person were entirely different experiences. Blazing, white death rained down from the sky relentlessly. Clearly, God intended to reduce the entire military base to dust, and then to burn the dust.

Norbert was absolutely terrified.

He wasn't witnessing the loving Holy Spirit of the
New Testament
. Nor was this the stern but fair God who had spared the life of Abraham's Son, Isaac. No, this was a Creator on a rampage. Norbert realized it was a very bad thing when God had to personally clean up a mess. The whole purpose of the Gray Spear Society was to allow Him to remain backstage, so nights like tonight wouldn't happen. Norbert was looking at failure, not victory.

He had another insight that was equally unsettling. He didn't need faith anymore. Proof of God's power was staring him in the face so brightly he had to squint. Norbert was the Lord's employee now. It was a professional relationship, not a religious one. Aaron and Marina had tried to explain this fact to Norbert many times, but he hadn't understood. Now he got it.

Norbert felt he should pray or meditate or something. He was witnessing a large scale miracle. However, he didn't know what to pray for, and it didn't matter anyway. God wanted results from Norbert, not worship. He decided to work even harder on his training. He swore to himself that his next mission wouldn't end as badly as this one.

* * *

Aaron and Smythe finally reached the grass outside the fence, and it wasn't a moment too soon. The entire military base had become a field of fire and choking ash. If anybody was still alive in there, they wouldn't be much longer.

Suddenly, Aaron collapsed. In the light of the flames, Smythe saw Aaron's eyes bulge out. His mouth was open but he wasn't breathing. Smythe tried to administer CPR, but it didn't work. Aaron's stomach was clenched so tight he couldn't inhale. The muscles in his throat stood out like ropes. He was going to suffocate.

The kill switch,
Smythe thought.

He wrung his hands in frustration. He had spent many years in medical school and many more as a practicing doctor. He considered himself to be a healer first and foremost. Now, the man he admired most in the world was dying, and Smythe could do nothing. His vaunted skills were useless.

He looked up at the helicopter.
God,
Smythe thought,
you can kill, but can you heal?

Suddenly, the beams vanished and the meteors stopped falling. Except for the soft groans of dying men, the night was quiet.

Smythe felt a Presence. Its anger coursed through his body like a billion volts of electricity. The Lord wasn't pleased about getting so directly involved in this crisis. The Chicago team would have to do a much better job of taking care of business next time. All of that fury settled in Smythe's hands. The pain was beyond anything he had ever experienced. He felt like they were submerged into molten lead. Then the Presence departed, but Smythe knew what to do.

He reached into Aaron's skull. Smythe's hand passed through skin, bone, and brain tissue as if they were just fog. It looked like an optical illusion. He felt the implant with his fingers and gently pulled. When his hand emerged, he was holding the tiny device in his palm.

Aaron gasped sharply. He took rapid, deep breaths, and the color of his skin slowly returned to normal.

"What did you do?" he said.

Smythe showed him the device. "It's a miracle." He peeled off the bandage on the back of Aaron's neck and discovered perfectly healed skin.

"God gave you a gift?"

"I think so. What happened to your shoulder?"

"I was shot," Aaron said.

"Hold on."

Smythe pushed his hand into Aaron's shoulder. The flesh was warm and moist to the touch, but it didn't resist the intrusion. Smythe felt where the tissue was injured, and he made a scooping motion. That seemed to wipe away the damage. His hand came out holding bloody fragments of a bullet.

Aaron rotated his arm. "That's an incredible gift! Now I'm jealous. All I can do is spit acid."

"Can you stand, sir? Norbert is waiting for us."

Aaron got to his feet, and he obviously felt a lot better. He and Smythe jogged west towards a line of trees.

Smythe's phone rang. The caller ID indicated it was Marina, so he handed the phone to Aaron. "It's for you."

Aaron took the phone. "Hello? Yes, I'm alive, but very, very tired. What's your status? Land the helicopter and meet us on the ground." He returned the phone to Smythe. "She sounded a little pissed."

"Why?" Smythe said.

"Somebody took away her toys."

Smythe smiled. "It was a good time for her to stop anyway. There was nothing left to destroy."

They continued jogging through the grass.

Smythe was having a hard time comprehending the miracle he had just experienced. As a man of science, he automatically rejected the supernatural or at least tried to ignore it. He certainly didn't believe in psychic healing. Yet, he now had an ability that defied rational explanation. He looked at his hands. The power to heal was still there, and it would stay with him for the rest of his life. God's fury had transformed him into something monstrous. Smythe wasn't comfortable with his new condition, even if it had great benefits.

He and Aaron found Norbert behind the trees.

"Sir!" he called. "You're alive!"

"Thanks to Smythe's healing touch," Aaron said.

They gave each other a fraternal hug.

"I brought plenty of weapons," Norbert said.