Apocalypse Cult (Gray Spear Society) Read Free Page A

together and slathered with green paint. He imagined that the interiors were drafty and freezing in the winter.
    His heart was beating fast, but from excitement instead of fear. Since leaving the police force a year ago, his life had been a perpetual slog from one dull job to the next. This operation was the first intense action he had seen in several months. The thrill made him feel alive.
    Now came the first real challenge. Galina had provided six tiny surveillance cameras that could transmit video over half a mile. The problem was that they needed a power source, such as an electrical wire or socket. Batteries wouldn't last long enough.
    There was nothing suitable at ground level that Aaron could find. Overhead wires ran from rooftop to rooftop, but climbing might make noise and wake the sleeping occupants of the buildings. He had to be very careful.
    He used a windowsill to get half-way to the roof and pulled himself the rest of the way with just his arms. Wood creaked under his weight. He hoped the sound would be mistaken for the wind if anybody had heard it.
    The wires on the roof were exactly what he needed. He slid forward on his belly to distribute his weight as evenly as possible until he reached the nearest one. He took a small kit of electrical tools from his pocket, put on rubber gloves, and carefully spliced into the live wire.
    His walkie-talkie made a soft clicking noise.
    He whispered into it, "I'm working. No fireworks yet."
    "Standing by," Galina replied in a puzzled tone.
    It took a while, but Aaron planted all six surveillance cameras on the roof and wired them properly. He covered every direction and would get good pictures of anybody coming or going. Best of all, he had performed the job in almost perfect silence, which made him smile with pride. Even though he was a little out of practice, he still had a talent for this kind of work.
    After dropping off the roof with a soft thud, he whispered into the walkie-talkie, "The cameras are in place."
    "All of them?" Galina said.
    "Powered and transmitting."
    "Good job." She sounded surprised.
    "Thanks. There are too many patrols between here and that building you want me to investigate. I'll need that distraction now. Let's see those fireworks."
    After a few seconds he saw bright flashes of light and heard many small explosions, as if a war were taking place just outside the fence. The racket was almost continuous. All of the guards immediately converged in that direction. Their robes were cut short and belted snuggly to allow complete freedom of movement. Extra girth around the chest suggested they wore a vest underneath.
    Aaron waited patiently until the path to his next objective was clear. He began to jog in that direction. This job is going great , he thought. I just have to take some pictures, and then I'm out of here.
    A surprising source of light in the forest caught his attention. A glowing ball hovered above the tree tops with no obvious means of support. It rippled like moonlight reflected from a lake even though the moon was hidden. Bursts in the center of the ball looked like miniature lightning strikes. The effect faded away to nothing.
    Strange.
    Aaron's night vision goggles flashed intense green, forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut. He took off the goggles and discovered huge floodlights were turning on across the entire compound. People were screaming orders in all directions. The darkness that had protected him was gone. He was standing in the open, completely exposed.
    He immediately began looking for any kind of cover. About thirty yards away there was a rusty, dented pickup truck, which had dark shadows underneath. He sprinted towards it. He hadn't even gone half-way before somebody yelled at him. He glanced back and saw guards pointing in his direction, which meant hiding was no longer possible. Fortunately, the pickup truck offered another option.
    The door was unlocked, a lucky break. He leapt into the cab, locked himself inside, and