Apocalypse Cult (Gray Spear Society) by Alex Siegel Page A

"It will explain everything."
    "Where?" The cult member looked towards the corner of the loft containing the desk and file cabinets.
    "Let me get it for you."
    "No way."
    "There are six of you and one of me," Aaron said. "What are you worried about?"
    The thug shook his head.
    "Do you want to spend hours picking through my files trying to find the right one? I have thousands. If you untie me, we can get this done in a few minutes. Nice and quiet. You can just take the folder and go. It will answer all your questions."
    He appeared to think about it.
    "I'm just a private eye, not a hero," Aaron said. "I won't sacrifice my life for a client. Come on. I'll do whatever you want. Just don't hurt me again."
    Finally, the thug nodded, and his friends untied Aaron. Aaron stood up and rubbed his sore wrists.
    "Get moving!"
    "Sure," Aaron said. "No problem."
    He walked over to his office area. He had purchased several large cabinets with the expectation of filling them with important case files. The sad reality was that he had barely filled two drawers so far. Nonetheless, he made a show of opening those drawers and searching through folders. He started at the front and worked his way to the back, taking time to read the label of each one.
    "Hurry up!" the thug said.
    "I'm looking. It's in here. I'll find it."
    Aaron reached the end of the files. He frowned, sighed, and started over at the beginning.
    "You have one minute," the thug growled.
    "Oh, I know where it is! On my nightstand."
    Aaron kept a snub-nosed revolver in his nightstand. He walked quickly in that direction while trying to appear calm. The cult members just watched. He leapt the last few paces, opened the drawer, and reached inside, but the gun was gone. Where is it? he thought.
    "Looking for this?" The thug took the revolver out of the pocket of his green sweatshirt.
    Aaron's shoulders sagged. "You can't blame a guy for trying."
    The cult members approached Aaron menacingly.
    He noticed his front door was slowly and silently opening. He threw a lamp at a wall to create a momentary distraction, and it hit with a satisfying crash.
    Victor and Marina walked into the apartment. Both carried semi-automatic pistols with suppressors, and they started shooting at once. The distinctive click and hiss of silenced weapons spurred Aaron into motion. He dove behind his bed, the nearest available cover.
    "It's over," Victor said just seconds later. "You can come out."
    Aaron cautiously stood up. Six bodies lay on the floor with wounds in their heads, and blood was leaking into his fairly new carpet. As far as he could tell, not one bullet had missed its target. Very nice shooting , he thought.
    "Are you injured?" Marina said.
    He shook his head. "Just roughed up."
    "What were they doing here?"
    "Brittany told them I was at the compound during the tear gas attack. They wanted information."
    She nodded. "So Brittany escaped back to the cult."
    "I appreciate being rescued," he said, "and you certainly did an effective job, but did you have to kill all of them?"
    "What else would we do?" She tilted her head and seemed confused.
    "Arrest them?" He shrugged.
    Victor laughed out loud. "That's funny. You should be packing a suitcase."
    "Why?" Aaron said.
    "You're leaving in five minutes and never coming back. This location is unsafe."
    "What about my stuff? My whole life is here. What about the dead bodies?"
    "You have four minutes and forty-five seconds left. Move!"
    Aaron wasn't about to argue with a man who had just committed multiple murders in cold blood. Aaron grabbed a suitcase from under his bed and began to fill it up.
    Meanwhile, Marina stood guard by the door. Victor used his phone to report their status to Ethel.
    "Ethel has a question," he called out. "How did the cult know where you live? Did you tell Brittany?"
    "No," Aaron said. "I didn't even give her my last name. Only her parents knew..." He had a sick feeling. "We need to get over to their house right away!"
    He tried to