Grim Reflections by Alex Siegel

Author:Alex Siegel
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781304046918
Published: 2013-05-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Aaron stood in the hallway as Smythe, Odelia, Tawni, and Norbert returned to headquarters. They were still wearing full battle gear. Dried blood sprays marked their body armor. Nobody looked injured, but with Smythe and Odelia on the team, that wasn’t a surprise. Working together, they could heal even the most severe wounds. None of the legionnaires would meet Aaron’s gaze.

Norbert was pushing a cart with three dead bodies piled on it. They looked like soldiers in green fatigues. Smythe was carrying a heavy garbage bag which clanked with each step. At least the vanquished heroes come bearing gifts, Aaron thought.

He pointed down the hallway. “Kitchen. Now.”

He followed his sullen team back to the kitchen. The evidence was set aside. Ethel, Boreas, and Perry were already sitting down.

After everybody else found a seat, Aaron said, “What the hell happened out there?”

Smythe cleared his throat and gave a detailed report. Aaron glared at him the entire time. As the leader of the team, Smythe bore the most responsibility for Sheryl’s capture. He should’ve done a better job of watching over her.

“You were careless,” Aaron said. “You should’ve checked the perimeter before entering the house. A small army was waiting just out of sight.”

“Yes, sir.” Smythe stared at the glass table despondently.

“And now we’re screwed. We don’t know where Sheryl is or even if she’s still alive. The overall mission has suffered a huge setback. We almost have to start from scratch. Meanwhile, the situation in the city is growing worse by the hour. Cannibals are running amok. The morgues are overflowing with half-eaten bodies. Police are shooting suspects on sight. The citizens are out of their minds with fear. The Army could show up at any minute and declare martial law. This is unacceptable!” Aaron pounded the table.

The legionnaires jumped a little.

He continued, “You’re supposed to be the best there is. The Lord’s personal hit men, an unstoppable force. Yet tonight you were ambushed like a bunch of grade A suckers. It’s embarrassing. It’s humiliating. I thought I trained you better. Were you even paying attention tonight?”

“Aaron,” Ethel said, “calm down.”

Aaron looked at her.

“A commander always demonstrates decorum,” she said in a quiet voice. “Do it now.”

With difficulty, he got his emotions under control. The legate was right. Verbally abusing his team wouldn’t get them any closer to rescuing Sheryl.

“Does anybody have any constructive suggestions?” Aaron said.

“We brought some bodies, sir.” Norbert nodded to the cart which was parked in the kitchen.

“We’ll examine the evidence in a moment. I’m looking for ideas now, any ideas.”

Nobody spoke. Unfortunately, Aaron didn’t have any suggestions either. It seemed they had already explored all possible avenues of investigation.

“Perry,” he said, “you’ve been pounding away on your computer all day. Tell me you have a lead, please.”

Perry kept his eyes down. “No, sir. The gift baskets were the only common pattern I found.”

“And the basket store is gone,” Smythe said, “along with just about all the evidence.”

Aaron walked over to take a closer look at the corpses.

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