"Yes," she said. "Go for it."

"In and out, as quick as you can. No s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around."

"Stop fussing."

"I love you," he said.

"I love you, too. Now blow up the d.a.m.n truck. Bye."

He put away his phone.

He grabbed a satchel full of ammunition, spare weapons, and other supplies from the truck. Then he shoved the stick shift into first gear. The truck rolled off the edge of the cliff, plummeted a hundred feet, and crashed onto the rocks. He was hoping it would explode on its own, but that kind of thing only happened in the movies.

He pressed a b.u.t.ton on a radio trigger on his belt. The explosion was so forceful he felt it through his feet. A huge fireball rose up, and the intense heat forced him to back away. For a moment the entire quarry glowed with orange light.

He ran a hundred yards along the edge of the cliff until he came to a thick clump of bushes. He lay under the foliage so only the top of his camouflaged head was exposed, making him effectively invisible. He extended the legs under his rifle and chambered a round. He took a deep breath to calm himself. As his body relaxed, his heart rate slowed. He looked through the scope. His aim was as steady as a rock.

The burning fuel was creating a thick, heavy cloud of smoke, which was spreading outward across the ground, but his thermal scope saw right through it. He watched the carnival workers run around as they tried to get organized.

Aaron spotted Marina dashing across the floor of the quarry with her head down. The strobe made it easy to pick her out. He adjusted the magnification on the scope.

She approached the carnival but had to stop at the edge of the light. The smoke provided some cover but not enough to guarantee safe pa.s.sage across open ground. He aimed at the flood light that was causing the problem. The target was about the size of a human head. The bore of the rifle was cold, which affected his aim slightly, but the wind was minimal. He held his breath and gently pulled the trigger. The gun kicked his shoulder. A ten inch suppressor kept the muzzle flash and noise to a minimum. An instant later the light went dark.

Marina took off immediately. She ran between the trucks and trailers of the carnival, staying low and moving fast. He briefly lost sight of her a few times, but she always reappeared somewhere else. She left a couple of dead bodies behind as signs of her pa.s.sage. She liked to hold a knife in both hands in situations like this. She was an ambidextrous killer.

She headed towards the "flying saucer" ride. She managed to run most of the way before two men forced her to stop.

Aaron was preparing to take his shot when Marina abruptly engaged both enemies at once. She spun and slashed like a living food processor.

"f.u.c.k!" he muttered. "You couldn't wait another two seconds?"

He was reduced to the role of spectator. With the combatants so close together and moving so quickly, he couldn't shoot without risking a hit on Marina.

She killed one man quickly. Then she sliced the Achilles tendons of the other and stood over her fallen opponent. Instead of finishing him off right away, she appeared to be speaking to him.

"d.a.m.n it, Marina," Aaron said. "Stop gloating. This isn't a movie."

She liked to amuse herself by toying with her enemies at the end. It was a very bad habit, and he had chastised her several times. Apparently, he had wasted his breath.

He couldn't allow this stupidity to continue. It wasn't the safest shot, but he aimed at the face of the man on the ground and pulled the trigger. The resulting splatter was visible even in the night scope.

Marina started moving again and quickly reached the target. The ride was mounted on the back of a trailer truck. The plan was to drive the entire truck out of the quarry, but first she had to get inside. He watched her struggle to open the door, which was obviously locked. She went around to the back of the cab, where the trailer partially concealed her. Aaron lost sight of her, but he expected she was breaking through a rear window. He prayed she didn't get cut by any broken gla.s.s.

A nearby man headed in her direction. Maybe he had heard something. Aaron put a bullet through his brain. Hurry up, Marina, Aaron thought. This is taking too long.

Marina needed to hotwire the truck, a skill she rarely practiced. Stealing cars was his specialty, not hers.

There were five bodies on the ground, too many to go unnoticed, so it was no surprise to Aaron when the Eternals began to scramble. Some of them ran for the nearest cover while others formed search teams. He wanted to draw their attention away from Marina's location, so he sighted on one man who was barking orders to the rest. Aaron took him out with another perfect headshot. Now the Eternals really scrambled. They knew there was a skilled sniper somewhere in the darkness, a prospect that could terrify even the most hardened soldier.

Marina! Get the truck moving now! Aaron thought.

He took out a few more floodlights. The Eternals probably had some night vision gear but not enough for everybody. The darkness and smoke was their enemy. Right now they were likely wishing it were daytime.

He heard an engine roar to life. The truck with the flying saucer ride rolled forward and turned. Now came the most dangerous part of the operation. The only way out of the quarry was a long, narrow, dirt ramp.

The overloaded vehicle rocked on its suspension as she turned hard towards the exit. Once she had it straightened out, she gunned the engine. Men chased after her. Aaron couldn't make precise shots on moving targets at this range, so he just fired into the crowd. When he emptied one clip, he grabbed another from his satchel. He had plenty of bullets and no reason to save them.

The foot pursuit dissipated by the time she was half-way up the ramp. There was a trail of casualties behind her, thanks to Aaron's quick shooting. This mission was turning into a bloodbath despite Ethel's orders to the contrary, but that fact didn't bother him much. The Eternals celebrated death after all. He was giving them an early Christmas gift.

Two fast cars took over the chase. Aaron fired at the driver of the lead car, but he needed several shots before he finally scored a hit. The car veered off the ramp and crashed onto the rock floor of the quarry. The second car reached the top of the ramp and escaped before he could stop it.

He called Marina on the phone.

"Report," she said in a breathless voice.

"There is one car in pursuit," he said.

"I see it."

"Stay on the planned route. Don't slow down. I'll catch up to you."

"Hurry!" she said. "This truck handles like a pig. I'm afraid I'm going to crash into a tree."

Aaron left his rifle behind because of its awkward bulk, but he took the satchel and walked directly away from the quarry. There was just enough moonlight for him to pick his way through the bushes. He came to a dirt bike that he had placed earlier in the day. He hooked the satchel onto the back, put on a helmet, and started the engine. The single headlight illuminated a dirt path before him.

It only took a couple of minutes for him to reach the road. Once he was on solid pavement, he picked up the pace. The thought of Marina in trouble made him drive at dangerous speeds.

He spotted the truck up ahead. A black sports car was right on her tail, but she kept it from pa.s.sing her by swerving from side to side. A man with a handgun was leaning out the pa.s.senger window. I guess the Eternals decided guns are useful, Aaron thought. Even a zealot can learn.

The open window gave him an idea. He groped around in his satchel until he found a grenade. He cranked the throttle and the bike shot forward. When he reached the car, he pulled the pin with his teeth and tossed the grenade into the window. He hit the brakes to drop back.

A few seconds later an explosion blew out all the windows. The car veered off the road and crashed into a ditch.

Marina stopped swerving the truck. Aaron drove up and nodded to her. She blew a tender kiss to him.

They proceeded three more miles down the road until they came to a small town. Marina parked the truck behind a grocery store, and Aaron got off his bike. He was sweating despite the cold.

A gray van was waiting there. Ethel got out and came over to join them. She wore a heavy, sheepskin coat that went down to her knees.

"It looks like the mission was a success," she said.

"Pretty much, ma'am," Aaron said.

"What does that mean?"

"It got a little messy towards the end. The body count went kind of high."

"But he did a great job of protecting me," Marina said. "It was like G.o.d was watching over me." She kissed him on the lips.

Ethel furrowed her brow. "I ordered you to avoid excess bloodshed."

"Tell the Eternals that, ma'am," Aaron said. "They insist on fighting to the death."

"Hmm. Let's get to work."

They examined the flying saucer ride. There was supposed to be a secret compartment in the base, but finding it would be tough. The thing was made of riveted steel plates and weighed many tons. There were no obvious seams or structural weaknesses.

"Aaron," Marina said, "how much saliva do you have?"

He shook his head. "Probably not enough. I can see why the Eternals hid their valuables in this beast. It's built like a fortress."

"We have to work quickly," Ethel said. "We can't still be here when the grocery store opens in the morning. I'm sure the Eternals are searching the area for us, too."

"Then let's drive the truck back to headquarters."

"Too risky. By now the Eternals probably reported it as stolen. We know they have cops on their payroll, so the report will get attention. Every trooper in the county will be looking for a flying saucer on wheels."

"Which reminds me, what's happening with Smythe, ma'am?" Aaron said.

"He's still in jail."

"Are you going to kill him?"

"I haven't decided," Ethel said. "I'll think about him later."

Aaron felt sorry for Smythe. The guy had refused to accept Ethel's leadership and now would pay a very high price. Aaron was surprised a professional soldier could be so insubordinate, but it would explain his checkered military career. The whole situation was tragic.

Aaron turned his attention back to the problem of finding the secret compartment. He knocked on the side of the ride, and it sounded solid.

"What tools did you bring in the van?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Ethel said. "Nancy loaded it. Let's take a look."

They went to the back of the van and found shelves filled with tools. Aaron recognized the basic screwdrivers, hammers, and saws, but some of the power tools were unfamiliar.

"It's too bad you didn't bring Nancy herself along," he said. "She would know what to do."

"She's not qualified for combat," Ethel said, "and there could be more fighting, especially if we stay here too long."

"I'll call her, ma'am."

Aaron called Nancy's number.

"What do you need, sir?" she said.

"We're looking for the secret compartment, but the ride is made of steel plate and it's big. What do you recommend?"

"Hmm. Det cord might cut it apart. I put a roll in the van."

"Too noisy," he said. "We don't want to wake up the entire town."

"Then you'll have to drill until you find the compartment. I packed a flexible video probe, which you can use to peek through small holes."

"Thanks. We'll try that." He hung up.

After he found the probe, he went back to the ride. It was built in two sections, one on top of the other. The top section was the actual "flying saucer," which was currently folded and strapped down for transport. The bottom section contained the mechanical drive. It was a big, rectangular box with metal walls. The secret compartment had to be inside.

He climbed onto the bottom section. Rather than waste time with an actual drill, he decided to use his saliva. He picked a spot in the middle and spat at the metal between his feet. The yellow liquid bubbled and smoked for several seconds until a hole appeared.

After the reaction stopped, he inserted the probe and looked at the video display. The probe had a light that illuminated the interior of the ride nicely. He saw electrical equipment, motors, cables, and support beams. Everything was packed together tightly, blocking his view, but he could tell the hidden compartment wasn't in this section. He moved along and tried again.

It took five more holes until he found it. The metal was extra thick here, and he needed two gobs of spit to punch through. He used the probe to view the interior of the compartment, which was about the size of a refrigerator.

"I see knives, robes, crystals, and other stuff," Aaron said. "There is a bomb on the door. A block of plastic explosive with an electronic trigger."

"Do you see how to disarm it?" Ethel asked.

"No. It looks complicated."

"Then we'll have to cut down through the top."

"The steel is a good two inches thick. I don't think we have a tool capable of cutting that much metal in a short time, and I don't have that much saliva. My mouth is already dry."

She frowned. "Should we use a torch?"

"The heat would burn everything and explode the bomb." Aaron noticed a water hose behind the grocery store. "Does it matter if the evidence gets wet?"

"No. Water shouldn't affect the a.n.a.lysis."

"Good. Let's fill the entire compartment. Then we'll drop in the det cord and set it off from a safe distance. The pressure will blow the doors off from the inside. The water will m.u.f.fle the blast and prevent burning."

"Brilliant." Ethel smiled. "Do it."

Aaron ran over and grabbed the hose. He shoved it into the hole he had already made. Even though the spigot was fully open, it still took ten minutes to fill the large compartment.

Marina handed him the det cord. It was a roll of yellow, plastic tubing, filled with high explosive. He fed the tubing through the hole until all one hundred feet of it was inside. Finally, he attached a detonator to the end and set the timer for one minute.

He jumped down to the ground. All of them ran over to the van and stood behind it.

A minute later there was a dull thump, as if something very heavy had fallen onto the ground. It didn't sound like an explosion at all, which was good because there were homes nearby. A four foot square section of thick, steel plate landed about ten yards away from the ride, and there was a corresponding opening in the side. Water sprayed far and wide.

"Move!" Ethel said.

All three of them transferred the wet contents of the compartment to the van as fast as they could.

Afterwards, they climbed into the van. Aaron took the driver's seat and drove away. He had travelled only a block when he spotted a police car in the rear view mirror. The car turned into the grocery store parking lot.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Where to, ma'am?" he asked.