doing. Smythe had both his hands inside of Torngasoak's abdomen. He was muttering about broken ribs and a collapsed lung. Odelia was holding onto Torngasoak's chest, and her arms were glowing like fluorescent light bulbs.
Smythe looked over at Ethel and said, "Ma'am, this could take a little while. This man is badly injured, and Sampson took a severe beating too."
She nodded. "We'll have a twenty minute recess while the healers work their magic. Everybody is dismissed."
Marina quickly walked over to Aaron. He wrapped his big arms around her and gave her a gentle squeeze. It was exactly what she needed.
"I don't like this tournament," she said softly.
"That could be the wisest thing I've ever heard you say," he replied.
* * *
Xavier hurried out of the room. He had a phone call to make and exactly twenty minutes to do it.
He grabbed his coat from a hook in the hall and ran outside. Shocking cold hit him in the face. Without slowing down, he pulled on the coat.
He ran about a hundred yards before finding a secluded spot behind a cabin. He stopped to listen carefully. He didn't hear anything and concluded he was alone.
He took his slim black phone out of his pocket and called Hanley. Xavier didn't have time to mess with the hands-free headset.
"What is my color?" he said quickly.
"Gray."
"What is my weapon?"
"A spear," Hanley said. "Enough! I've waited all morning, Xavier. Your plan better be worth it."
"It's the best I can come up with," Xavier said. "There is a banquet tonight in the large central building. Do you see it on your satellite photos?"
"Yes."
"The entire convention will be there. Nobody will be in their cabin. The perfect time to attack is exactly 7:15. That's when everybody will be seated for dinner."
"OK," Hanley said. "Sounds good."
"I'm not done. Sending in ground forces alone won't work. They'll get annihilated. You have to trust me on that."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"An airstrike," Xavier said.
"A what!"
"A precision bomb, dropped from a plane. Destroy the entire building with no warning at all. Then send in your troops to mop up the survivors, if there are any. I'll be hiding in the woods."
"You must be joking," Hanley said. "You want me to call for an airstrike on Wisconsin?"
"It's the only way."
"It's insane. We're the FBI, not the Air Force."
"Your Unit has a military component," Xavier said. "That's one big reason I hooked up with you. I'm sure one of your buddies can make the arrangements. I'm only asking for a single bomb."
"Xavier..."
"Listen. I've always given you good intelligence. Even when you ignored my advice, I turned out to be right every time. There is only one way to stop the Society: my way."
Hanley sighed. "I can't just whip up an airstrike on short notice. It's not nearly that simple, and last I checked, we're not at war with Wisconsin."
"Do you want your men to die?" Xavier said.
"No."
"Then figure out how to make this happen. Show me you're more than just a paper pushing FBI flunky with a bum knee. I'm expecting to see fireworks at 7:15 sharp."
Hanley hesitated. "I'll try."
"Before I go," Xavier said, "I'll confirm the location of the attack. We can't afford a mistake."
He took out his regular Spears phone and opened the navigation page. He read off his current longitude and latitude to Hanley.
"That's exactly what I have. Camp Zonta."
"Good. I have to go." Xavier put his phone away and hurried back to the tournament.
Chapter Seven
"Norbert, look." Bethany pointed to one of the surveillance feeds on her monitors.
Norbert turned his attention to an image of Xavier. The commander of Houston was making a private phone call behind a cabin. The camera was far away and the angle was poor, but Xavier's impressive mustache was instantly recognizable.
"So?" Norbert said. "I'm sure he has important business back home that requires his attention."
"It's not his regular phone," Bethany said.
He moved closer and saw that she was right. The phone Xavier
Smythe looked over at Ethel and said, "Ma'am, this could take a little while. This man is badly injured, and Sampson took a severe beating too."
She nodded. "We'll have a twenty minute recess while the healers work their magic. Everybody is dismissed."
Marina quickly walked over to Aaron. He wrapped his big arms around her and gave her a gentle squeeze. It was exactly what she needed.
"I don't like this tournament," she said softly.
"That could be the wisest thing I've ever heard you say," he replied.
* * *
Xavier hurried out of the room. He had a phone call to make and exactly twenty minutes to do it.
He grabbed his coat from a hook in the hall and ran outside. Shocking cold hit him in the face. Without slowing down, he pulled on the coat.
He ran about a hundred yards before finding a secluded spot behind a cabin. He stopped to listen carefully. He didn't hear anything and concluded he was alone.
He took his slim black phone out of his pocket and called Hanley. Xavier didn't have time to mess with the hands-free headset.
"What is my color?" he said quickly.
"Gray."
"What is my weapon?"
"A spear," Hanley said. "Enough! I've waited all morning, Xavier. Your plan better be worth it."
"It's the best I can come up with," Xavier said. "There is a banquet tonight in the large central building. Do you see it on your satellite photos?"
"Yes."
"The entire convention will be there. Nobody will be in their cabin. The perfect time to attack is exactly 7:15. That's when everybody will be seated for dinner."
"OK," Hanley said. "Sounds good."
"I'm not done. Sending in ground forces alone won't work. They'll get annihilated. You have to trust me on that."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"An airstrike," Xavier said.
"A what!"
"A precision bomb, dropped from a plane. Destroy the entire building with no warning at all. Then send in your troops to mop up the survivors, if there are any. I'll be hiding in the woods."
"You must be joking," Hanley said. "You want me to call for an airstrike on Wisconsin?"
"It's the only way."
"It's insane. We're the FBI, not the Air Force."
"Your Unit has a military component," Xavier said. "That's one big reason I hooked up with you. I'm sure one of your buddies can make the arrangements. I'm only asking for a single bomb."
"Xavier..."
"Listen. I've always given you good intelligence. Even when you ignored my advice, I turned out to be right every time. There is only one way to stop the Society: my way."
Hanley sighed. "I can't just whip up an airstrike on short notice. It's not nearly that simple, and last I checked, we're not at war with Wisconsin."
"Do you want your men to die?" Xavier said.
"No."
"Then figure out how to make this happen. Show me you're more than just a paper pushing FBI flunky with a bum knee. I'm expecting to see fireworks at 7:15 sharp."
Hanley hesitated. "I'll try."
"Before I go," Xavier said, "I'll confirm the location of the attack. We can't afford a mistake."
He took out his regular Spears phone and opened the navigation page. He read off his current longitude and latitude to Hanley.
"That's exactly what I have. Camp Zonta."
"Good. I have to go." Xavier put his phone away and hurried back to the tournament.
Chapter Seven
"Norbert, look." Bethany pointed to one of the surveillance feeds on her monitors.
Norbert turned his attention to an image of Xavier. The commander of Houston was making a private phone call behind a cabin. The camera was far away and the angle was poor, but Xavier's impressive mustache was instantly recognizable.
"So?" Norbert said. "I'm sure he has important business back home that requires his attention."
"It's not his regular phone," Bethany said.
He moved closer and saw that she was right. The phone Xavier
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