Apocalypse Cult (Gray Spear Society) Read Online Free PDF Page A

instant, hoping she wouldn't notice his attention. She was so close to him, just inches away. Was it possible she was the one? Would he ever have a chance to find out? I need to calm down and think straight, he thought. I'm a grown man, not a horny teenager. I don't know anything about this woman.
    "But you did marry once," the boss said.
    "I was a clean-cut, decorated police officer then." Aaron sighed. "When that part of my life ended, so did my marriage."
    "Tragic." She closed her manila folder.
    "Are you done prying into my personal life? Is the interview over?"
    "For now."
    She stared at him even more intently than before. She seemed fascinated by him.
    "What are you looking at?" he said.
    "I have a very powerful intuition. Actually, it's more than just intuition. Call it spiritual guidance. Right now that guidance is being very chatty."
    "You hear voices? What are they telling you?"
    "Just one voice," the boss said. "It's telling me you're an extraordinary man. You'll accomplish incredible things and rise to great prominence in my organization. The eyes of the world will look to you for guidance. You'll become more powerful and dangerous than you can possibly imagine. Most interesting of all, you and I will become the closest friends and the strongest allies."
    Galina and Joseph gave Aaron incredulous looks.
    Aaron smiled a little. "Do you get this kind of guidance often?"
    "I've never received guidance quite like this," the boss said. "It's... highly noteworthy. My name is Ethel. That's my real name, and it's one that very few people know. This woman is Marina, and the large man beside me is Victor. Those are also their real names and closely guarded secrets. Never use those names in public."
    Aaron looked at Marina's beautiful face. Now I know something about you.
    "Do you have a picture of Brittany?" Ethel said. "May I see it?"
    He took his photo of Brittany from his pocket and handed it over.
    Ethel stared at it for a moment, then tucked it into her own pocket. "I'll have my team monitor the surveillance video. If the girl is living in the compound, they'll find her. I'll notify you immediately. You can count on my help, and you won't be betrayed next time."
    "OK." Aaron sipped from a glass of ice water. He still didn't trust her.
    "Which brings us to the larger problem. We have to go in there again tomorrow night to gather the evidence that we were supposed to gather tonight. We still have a job to do, even if we botched it on the first try." She stared at Victor. "Any ideas?"
    He drank his water.
    "What kind of evidence?" Aaron said.
    Ethel gave him a long look. "I can't tell you. You've been a very good sport so far, and I see your frustration. However, there are lines that cannot be crossed at this point. There is a process we must go through. After we overcome the immediate challenges, we'll have a more informative conversation under better circumstances. I promise."
    He grunted.
    "I have an idea," Victor said, "but it's radical. If we could somehow smoke the cult out of the compound, then Marina and I could just walk in and do our job. Meanwhile, Aaron could watch the crowd until he spots the girl."
    She nodded. "Interesting, but not smoke. Tear gas." She smiled. "Lots of tear gas. We'll drive them out and scatter them like a flock of frightened geese."
    Aaron understood the plan, and he didn't like it much. Tear gas wasn't a toy. "I may need some help with rescuing the girl," he said. "She probably won't be alone."
    "I'll stay with you," Ethel said. "I have to supervise the operation in person this time, anyway."
    "You?" He raised his eyebrows. "What if we get into a fight?"
    Everybody at the table grinned as if he had told a joke.
    "Don't worry about me," she said. "I'm very capable of defending myself. If anybody gets into trouble, it will probably be you."
    Marina and Victor nodded in agreement.

Chapter Three
    Aaron crouched behind a bush and watched the heavy front gate of the cult encampment. It was made