Tricks and Traps (Gray Spear Society Book 7) (11 page)

He turned on the flashing lights and sirens. The police car shot forward as he pursued the truck. After a moment, it pulled over to the side of the road. He parked close behind it.

He and Tawni got out. They had belts outfitted with standard police gear and weapons, and in addition, they each had a gray spray can.

As they walked up to the truck, Tawni tried to peek through the rear windows. They were heavily tinted, but she caught a glimpse of a man in the cargo section. The standard procedure for an armored truck was to have a driver in front and a second guard known as the "hopper" in back. A solid steel wall separated the two sections.

Tawni spotted Norbert about thirty yards away. He was standing on the sidewalk in a brown business suit.

Smythe knocked on the driver's door.

The door cracked open and a guard with a blue cap peeked out. "What's the problem, officer? I wasn't speeding."

Smythe took his spray can from his belt and sprayed the guard in the face. White foam coated his eyes, nose, and mouth. The guard spat and tried to wipe it off.

Tawni quickly climbed onto the roof of the truck. Baffled air vents on top provided extra ventilation for the cargo section, a necessity on a hot day like today. She sprayed foam through one of the vents.

"How much should I use?" she said.

"All of it," Smythe said. "We have to make sure the hopper is unconscious. He has a radio."

When she ran out of foam, she climbed down. The driver had already fallen asleep. Smythe had pushed him to the far side of the cab and was taking his place.

Norbert jogged over. "That was easy. I thought hijacking an armored truck was supposed to be tough."

"Not if you're properly prepared," Smythe said. "Ride with Tawni."

Tawni ran back to the police car and took the driver's seat. Norbert got in on the other side.

The armored truck pulled away smoothly. Tawni followed close behind in the police car with the lights and siren off.

"What's your opinion of Sheryl?" Norbert said.

She gave him a dirty look. "I just had this conversation with Smythe."

"What was the conclusion?"

"I think she's soft. He thinks she's brave. I might sleep with her. I haven't decided."

He turned away.

"What?" she said angrily.

"I'm a Catholic. I was taught homosexuality is..."

"A sin? Evil?"

"Something like that." He cleared his throat.

"And what does the Pope say about fucking two sisters at once? Isn't that bigamy?"

"Only if we're married."

She nodded. "Then it's hot, premarital sex instead."

"God commanded me to do it, so it isn't a sin in my case, and I'm not allowed to marry."

"How convenient for you. For your information, I'm very lonely. It's just me and my vibrator at night. I never considered a relationship with a woman before, but it's probably better than a relationship with nobody."

"I'm sorry," he said. "Do what you feel is right. I'll try not to pass judgment."

She exhaled. "Sometimes you can be so
medieval
."

"I was a monk once."

Eventually, Smythe drove the armored truck to an unused patch of land between a golf course and a water-filled quarry. A line of trees marked the edge of the golf course and provided some privacy. A black pickup truck was already parked in the dirt. Smythe and Tawni parked their vehicles next to it.

Norbert got out and hurried to the pickup truck. He started a gas-powered electric generator which was sitting in the bed. An orange extension cord ran between the generator and a circular saw. He slipped on a pair of protective goggles.

Smythe and Tawni stood back and watched.

Norbert started cutting into the armored truck with the saw, and the noise was awful. An impressive stream of sparks flew into the air as tungsten carbide bit into hardened steel. He was attacking the hinges on the back door.

"Careful!" Smythe yelled.

Norbert nodded.

After about fifteen minutes, the thick steel door fell out. He hopped back as it landed with a thud on the dirt. Finally, he turned off the saw.

Tawni could see the unconscious guard inside. Smythe climbed into the truck and checked the guard's pulse.

"He's alive," Smythe announced.

She moved in for a closer look. The cargo section contained three boxes made of galvanized steel. They were each about the size of a shopping cart basket.

She heard a stumbling noise.

"Hands up!" a man said.

The driver of the armored truck had woken up, and he was holding a gun. He was leaning against the side of the truck with his eyes half-closed.

Tawni raised her hands. She glanced to either side and realized Norbert had vanished.

"Calm down," she said. "I won't give you any trouble."

The guard blinked slowly at her. The anesthetic was still affecting him.

Norbert came around the other end of the truck. He approached the guard from behind with silent footsteps.

"But he will," Tawni added. She looked past the guard's shoulder.

He turned around. Norbert slugged him across the jaw and knocked him out.

Smythe quickly checked the body. "I should've tied him up just to be safe," he said. "That was stupid of me."

"An honest mistake," Tawni said.

"No such thing in our business. Let's transfer the boxes to the pickup truck and get out of here. I can't wait to get back to headquarters and open them up. It will be like Christmas, a very evil Christmas."

Chapter Six

Aaron, Marina, and Sheryl were wearing white karate uniforms with gray belts. Aaron and Marina were facing each other from opposite ends of an exercise mat. Sheryl was watching the combatants from the side.

"This is going to be good," Aaron said.

"Just like old times," Marina said, "but before we begin, I have a question."

"Oh?"

"I'm still wondering how Norbert beat me yesterday. He's a good fighter, but he's not quite that good."

"He's been training very hard," he said.

She shook her head. "No, he had a plan. He knew exactly what to do. It's almost as if somebody coached him, somebody who knows my fighting style very well." She narrowed her eyes.

"I'm sure Ethel didn't talk to him."

"I wasn't referring to Ethel."

He shrugged innocently. "Then I don't know what you could possibly mean. Shall we begin?"

She came at him in a rush. He barely had time to twist out of the way of her lightning-fast attack. Her foot ruffled his hair in the spot where his head had been an instant earlier.

He tried to trip her, and she leapt over his legs. She tried to stomp his chest, and he swept her feet aside. He jumped. She rolled. He punched. She kicked. They had sparred so many hundreds of times, it was like a ritual dance. They knew each other's moves by heart.

Aaron could've won at any time. Over the years, he had grown too big, too strong, and too fast for Marina to handle. She had the edge in skill and experience, but it wasn't enough to overcome his much greater physical advantages. He didn't win though. Sparring with her was the next best thing to having sex with her. Her hard blows felt like loving caresses to him. As they went back and forth, he was becoming aroused. He could see the same reaction in her eyes.

He remembered Sheryl was watching. He abruptly backed off before the situation became embarrassing. Marina sighed with obvious disappointment.

Sheryl was cowering.

"What's wrong?" Aaron said.

"I've never seen people fight like that," she said with wide eyes. "You're not human."

"We're mostly human."

"I don't think so, sir." She shook her head. "More like demons."

"It's your turn. Step onto the mat. Marina will be your guest instructor today."

She stared at him. "You're kidding, right?"

"Not at all."

She held herself timidly. He grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the mat like a stubborn child.

Marina smiled. The gesture was probably meant to be encouraging, but it came across as chilling instead. Sheryl flinched.

"Being a
legionnaire
is an extremely dangerous job," Marina said. "You will do battle with all the evils that God's enemies can muster. If you want to survive, you have to learn how to fight."

"I'll never be able to fight like you, ma'am," Sheryl said.

"Maybe, but you will become a competent fighter, even if it means training every day until you can barely walk."

Sheryl bit her lip.

"Let's begin," Marina said. "We'll start by working on balance. Female
legionnaires
spend a lot of time standing on one leg and kicking with the other. Balance is crucial."

Aaron smiled and nodded. Sheryl's new career was off to a strong start.

* * *

Aaron watched as Smythe pushed a dolly into headquarters. Three steel boxes were stacked on it, and each was big enough to hold a dead body folded up. Tawni and Norbert followed him.

"Any problems?" Aaron said.

"It went smoothly, sir," Smythe said. "No casualties."

"Good. Put those in the exercise area."

Marina was still working with Sheryl when everybody else walked in. Sheryl's face was sweaty and red, and her shoulders were slumped over. Her quivering legs indicated she had reached the "can barely walk" stage of today's training.

"That's enough," Aaron said. "Thank you, Marina."

Marina nodded. "My pleasure. Sheryl, you can rest now."

Sheryl collapsed onto the mat and lay flat on her back.

Smythe cleared a space on the floor and unloaded the boxes. Aaron crouched down for a closer look. The metal sides had no handles, openings, or markings. The seams were welded and seemed air-tight.

"Are we supposed to cut them open?" Aaron said.

Smythe shrugged. "This is all we found. There were no instructions."

Aaron tapped on the side of one of the boxes. The metal sounded sturdy.

He noticed a square seam which was almost invisible. He pressed it and the metal shifted. It was a concealed button. Careful examination yielded more buttons on all sides. He sat back and scratched the stubble on his chin.

"It's a puzzle box," he announced. "You have to press the buttons in the right order to open it."

Smythe, Norbert, and Tawni crouched down and studied the boxes.

"Wait!" Aaron said. "Don't touch anything. I bet if you get the combination wrong, something very bad will happen. This is a clever way to make sure the packages don't fall into the wrong hands. It's a secret security code combined with a booby trap."

Everybody backed away.

Aaron frowned as he pondered what to do. "Somebody fetch Kamal."

Tawni ran off. A moment later, she returned with Kamal. He was wearing a white buttoned shirt and black pants. Polished shoes gleamed under the lights. He always looked like he was prepared to give a presentation at a professional conference.

"Sir?" he said.

Aaron nodded to the steel boxes. "I want to look inside in a very non-intrusive way. Before we start messing around, we need to know exactly what we're dealing with."

"I have an X-ray radiography scanner that should work nicely. It can generate a high resolution three-dimensional image of the contents. It will take me a while to setup the equipment."

"You have an hour."

Kamal grimaced. "Yes, sir."

* * *

Sheryl was staring up at the ceiling. The metal tiles had a pebbled surface that caught the light in interesting ways.

The face of a beautiful, black woman appeared in her view. "How's it going, rookie?" Tawni said.

"Not very well," Sheryl replied.

"Oh?"

"Aaron had me in the gun range until my hands were numb. Then Marina gave me a martial arts lesson from Hell. Now I can't move."

Tawni grinned. "Sounds like every day around here."

"Just kill me now, please. End the suffering. Joining was a terrible mistake."

Tawni reached out her hand. Sheryl grabbed it and was pulled to her feet. Her leg muscles gave way, and she fell against Tawni's chest. Sheryl didn't mind the unexpected intimacy. Tawni helped her straighten up.

Sheryl's stomach growled. "I'm getting hungry. Is it lunchtime?"

"Sure," Tawni said. "Let's see what we can find in the kitchen."

"I was hoping we could do better than cold sandwiches. This is my first day in the Gray Spear Society. I want it to include a memorable meal."

"Aaron might need me on short notice. We can't go far."

"Is there a nice place to eat in the hotel?" Sheryl said.

Tawni furrowed her brow. "Is this a date?"

"It's just two co-workers having lunch together."

"Well, there is a great Italian restaurant on the ground floor. The
Favoloso.
I've eaten there a few times and never been disappointed."

"I could definitely go for some pasta," Sheryl said. "Just let me shower and change real quick."

Headquarters included a large bathroom with two shower stalls, and she used one. The hot water soothed her limp muscles. Now that she was moving around, she felt better. Her recovery was quicker than she had expected. A burning sensation in her belly seemed to be supplying fresh energy and strength.
God's breath,
she thought.
Aaron wasn't kidding.

After drying off, Sheryl put her green dress back on. She brushed out her hair and touched up her lipstick.

She walked out of the bathroom and found Tawni waiting. Sheryl showed off her best stage smile.

Tawni rolled her eyes. "This is getting weird. Let's go."

They took the secret elevator down to the first floor. The hotel was busy with guests coming and going. Most of them looked like they had come to Chicago on business.

"How many people know about our headquarters?" Sheryl whispered.

"Just our team," Tawni said. "Even the other cells in the Society don't know our exact location. It's safer that way."

"What about the hotel staff?"

Tawni shook her head. "No, and if they find out, we have to kill them."

"You're joking, right?"