Carnival Of Mayhem Part 28

"Hey!" he said. "How are you feeling?"

She looked over at him. "It's about time you showed up! I'm bored out of my mind. If one more nurse takes my temperature, blood will be spilled. I'm not kidding."

"Sounds like you're feeling better."

"Just a little headache, but I'm ready to work. More than ready."

She got out of bed. She wore a blue gown that was ugly even on her amazing body. Her red hair was a tangled mess.

He handed her a paper bag. "Your clothes."

She immediately began to change in the middle of the room.

"You'll never guess where we're going today," he said. "A carnival. Wiley's Wild and Wacky Carnival of Fun, to be exact."

"Huh?" She gave him a funny look. "Why?"

He quickly summarized yesterday's events.

"Sounds like you had fun," she said. "I'm sorry I missed it."

"It wasn't that much fun, really."

"You spent a lot of time with Smythe. What is your a.s.sessment so far?"

Aaron pursed his lips. "Capable, but very stubborn and opinionated."

"Ethel must love that."

"If you mean she would love to kill him, you're right. Are you ready?"

She now wore jeans and an orange, knit sweater, a much better look for her. She quickly brushed out her hair.

"Yes," she said.

He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her softly. "I missed you."

"Me, too." She kissed him back. "Let's go."

Aaron drove his car into a huge parking lot in Melrose Park, which wasn't far from Chicago. The lot had once served a department store that had gone out of business. Now Wiley's Wild and Wacky Carnival of Fun temporarily occupied the great expanse of cracked asphalt. Almost all the parking spots were full, so Aaron had to drive around to find an empty one.

He and Marina stepped out of the warm car and into chilly air. The afternoon sun provided only the suggestion of warmth. Aaron hoped that the clear sky meant tomorrow would be more comfortable. October wasn't supposed to be this cold. He zipped up his leather jacket all the way.

Several cars in the parking lot had blue Chicago Cubs flags sticking out the windows or attached to the radio antenna.

"Is something special going on with the Cubs?" Aaron said.

Marina shrugged. "Why are you asking me? Do I care about baseball? Where is Ethel?"

She wore a furry black parka and black pants. The only exposed skin was her hands and face. A heavy coat made it easy to hide weapons, but it also made it hard to reach them in an emergency.

"Look for a medium sized, white delivery truck."

She pointed. "Over there."

They walked over to a truck somewhat larger than a van. He estimated the cargo area was about ten feet long and six feet wide, big enough to hold plenty of gear. Apparently, Ethel was getting serious about this mission. The words "Best Day Ever Catering" were painted on the side of the truck in tall, red letters.

Smythe stood at the rear of the truck. He wore a long, fleece coat and a ski hat. When he saw Aaron approach, Smythe knocked on the back of the truck.

The sliding rear door rolled up. Ethel stood inside, wearing a yellow s.h.i.+rt and black pants. She seemed underdressed for the cool weather, and Aaron wondered if her hyperactive muscles provided extra heat.

"Get in," she said.

The whole team climbed into the truck and Aaron closed the door. A single bulb provided light.

"Here are your orders," Ethel said. "When we get into the carnival, we'll split into two teams. Smythe will come with me. We're here to perform reconnaissance. Do not engage. Do not interfere. Remember, we still don't know if they are the enemy. Lethal force is not authorized."

"But what about..." Smythe said.

She gave him a look that shut him up.

"However," she said, "we also can't forget they're a.s.sa.s.sins who specialize in poisons. Take precautions. Do not eat or drink anything. Avoid touching. Stay out of enclosed s.p.a.ces."

"What if we get sick with PRooFS, ma'am?" Aaron said.

"We must accept that risk. Choose your weapons. We'll be lightly armed today."

Shelves lined the walls inside the truck, and Ethel had stocked them with everything the team might need. The selection included a variety of surveillance gear. The range of weapons ran the gamut all the way up to a .50 caliber sniper rifle. Aaron wasn't sure what to take. He wanted as much firepower as Ethel would let him have, but the phrase "lightly armed" was ambiguous. He reached for a ST Kinetics Compact Personal Weapon, which was really a machine gun disguised as a bulky pistol. She shook her head.

"Why did you bring it if I can't use it?" he asked.

"Because you never know," she said. "Take this instead." She handed him a Russian made OTs-33 Pernach.

The Pernach was also fully automatic, but it was small and relatively easy to conceal. It looked a lot like a cla.s.sic Colt handgun. He loaded the magazine with 18 rounds of 9mm ammunition and screwed on a suppressor.

Marina went for the knives. Her obsession with cutting was such a fetish even Aaron found it disturbing. On the other hand he couldn't argue with her skills. In her hands a knife would dance like a living thing.

When everybody was ready, they left the truck and headed for the carnival. Melrose Park was close enough to Chicago to have a semi-urban feel. An even mix of white, black, and Hispanic patrons streamed in and out through the front gate.

The carnival had several rides, including a circular rollercoaster, a carousel, a giant slide, a drop tower, and a scrambler. All were small enough to be easily disa.s.sembled and s.h.i.+pped. Even from a distance the construction looked rickety. Aaron already knew he would ride none of them.

The aroma of hot dogs made his stomach grumble. Picking up Marina had taken so long that he had missed lunch, and dinner time was approaching. He expected he wouldn't have a chance to satisfy his hunger for several more hours. He tried to ignore the emptiness in his belly and focus on the mission.

Marina and Aaron came to a midway in the center of the carnival. There was the usual a.s.sortment of unwinnable games involving rings, bowling pins, and air guns. He was more interested in the "carnies" who worked in the stalls. All were young men with short haircuts and strong bodies. Instead of appearing bored with their mindless jobs, they studied the crowd intensely.

"The Eternals are definitely here," Marina said. "The sunset symbol is everywhere."

Aaron looked around and saw it too. Above every stall, the lights were arranged to form a half-circle with radiating lines. The same pattern was repeated in red on the ticket booths. There was a giant Wiley clown face with spiky hair and a horizontal stripe across the nose. A Ferris wheel was painted half black and half yellow, creating a rotating sunset.

"The workers are all soldiers," Marina said.

Aaron nodded. "I noticed. Young and athletic. Excellent posture."

"And there are a lot of them. A whole army. This could get interesting."

He sighed. For her, "interesting" meant knee deep in blood and guts.

They pa.s.sed a food vendor, and Aaron's empty stomach demanded his attention. The food looked a hundred times better than the usual c.r.a.p served at carnivals. Plump, flame grilled hot dogs steamed under heat lamps. There were oversized apples covered in creamy caramel. The pizza was so thick with cheese and fresh toppings that one slice was a meal. Steak sandwiches contained impressive slabs of real steak. Meanwhile, the shockingly low prices meant the carnival had to lose money on every sale. They were practically giving away the food. There was a long line of eager customers, and four workers filled orders as fast as they could.

"I know how the Eternals are spreading PRooFS," Aaron said.

"It's obvious," Marina said.

He watched the people gobbling down the food. He suspected they were killing themselves with every bite and desperately wanted to intervene, but Ethel's orders were very clear. He had to stand by and allow the tragedy to unfold.

"This is a really s.h.i.+tty situation," he said.

"Yeah," Marina said. "I wish we could do something. We will do something when the time is right. Come on."

They continued walking.

Off to the side a man was performing in front of a crowd. He was throwing knives at a wooden board with various targets glued to it. He hit the spade on an ace of spades playing card. Then he cut a string holding a helium balloon, and Aaron watched the balloon float into the sky.

"Nice," he said.

"I could do that," Marina muttered.

"Really?"

"I'm a world cla.s.s knife thrower."

"I've seen you practice," he said, "and you're good, but calling yourself 'world cla.s.s' is a stretch. You specialize in close-in work."

She sniffed and turned away.

They continued wandering for another hour, then headed back to the white truck. Ethel and Smythe met them inside.

"It's the food!" Smythe said. His eyes were wide with eagerness.

"Yes," Aaron said. "We saw."

"We need samples. I'll use the lab in headquarters to perform an a.n.a.lysis. If I find anything, it would be a huge breakthrough. This is exciting!"

"We will get your samples," Ethel said, "but finding a cure for PRooFS is not the main reason we're here. First, we need evidence of supernatural interference."

"How are we supposed to get that, ma'am?" Smythe said with a sneer.

"I suggest you change your tone."

He opened his mouth, then closed it. Finally, he said, "Yes, ma'am."

"We will continue our reconnaissance. Smythe and I will create an observation post across the street. Aaron and Marina will go back into the carnival. Our immediate goal is to determine where the Eternals perform their rituals."

"I apologize for my ignorance," Smythe said, "but why?"

She glared at him. "Don't you remember? The appearance of a supernatural ent.i.ty causes a burst of a special kind of radiation. Kamal can determine in his lab whether an object was exposed to that radiation. So, we want to collect things that were probably nearby when an ent.i.ty appeared. Ceremonial knives, crystals, candlesticks, and so on."

"Oh."

"Before we go back," Aaron said, "can we take a break for dinner? I'm starving. I saw a burger place down the street."

"Sure," Ethel said. "Eat. It could be a very long night."

Aaron kept his hands in his pockets to warm them up. His coat was thick enough but he hadn't brought gloves or a hat. The chilly, night air made his nose drip. He stood tall and tried not to show his discomfort in front of Marina.

"This has got to be the coldest October ever," he said.

"I hope it warms up before Halloween," she said, "or the kids will be miserable when they go trick or treating."

The comment startled him. "You're thinking about kids?"

"There are a lot of families here."

Even though the sun had set, there were plenty of kids still at the carnival. They lined up at the rides with big smiles while their parents watched. The younger children rode in strollers, some already asleep.

Aaron and Marina were forbidden to have children of their own because a family would distract them from their duties. The topic almost never came up in conversation, and he didn't really know how she felt about it. She guarded her true feelings the way a miser guarded gold.

"Does not having kids bother you?"

"A little," she said. "I am a woman, which means I have certain feelings whether I want them or not. It's fine. I'd be a terrible mother. I'm too manipulative, impatient, and violent. It would take a special kind of kid to put up with me. What about you?"

"I don't know. The older I get, the more I wonder what my life would've been like if I had made different choices. Would I be happy?"

"You'd be bored out of your mind. G.o.d made you for one purpose, to fight His battles."

"I know." He nodded. "Right now I have everything I want in life, including you."

She smiled at him.

He checked his watch. It was around eight o'clock, and according to the sign in front, the carnival closed at nine. Hours of wandering and careful observation hadn't produced any new revelations. Aside from the incredibly good food, the carnival seemed perfectly ordinary. The Eternals were doing a great job of disguising their true intentions.

"We need to change our approach," Aaron said. "Let's go around to the back and see what's happening behind the scenes."

"Risky," Marina said. "We don't look anything like the carnies. They'll know right away we don't belong."