The Price of Disrespect (Gray Spear Society Book 6) by Alex Siegel

at him was making her dizzy. She didn't understand why.
    She noticed Norbert was pale. He was shifting his weight with obvious nervousness, and his hand hovered near his belt buckle. Seeing his reaction made her worry.
    "You picked that job," Wesley said. "I never had anything to say about it."
    "Somebody had to do it. Why not us? We're the best."
    "Why does somebody have to do it?"
    "Because you are who you are," the old man said.
    "That's the problem! I don't want to be—" Wesley stopped and glanced at Tawni. "—Me."
    The old man turned his attention to her. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Charles. You are?"
    "Tawni. What's the deal here? Why are you assholes harassing this kid? Are any of you his parents?"
    Everybody stiffened. She immediately knew she had made some kind of mistake.
    The Japanese woman narrowed her eyes and walked over until they were only inches apart. Tawni was a big girl and wasn't used to looking up at other women, but this one towered over her.
    "Aaron," she said, "who is this ignorant person?"
    "A new recruit," Aaron said.
    "Hey!" Tawni said. "I can speak for myself. Back off, sister."
    There was a flash of movement. Suddenly, a sword was pressed against Tawni's neck. She looked down at two feet of razor sharp, polished steel.
    "Excuse me?" the Japanese woman said.
    Tawni held very still. She had never seen anybody move like that. The sword looked like an authentic katana.
    "Tawni!" Aaron said. "Get over here. I need to talk to you."
    He walked off a short distance. Tawni slowly backed away from the sword and went over to him.
    "I thought you were smart," he said in a low urgent tone. "Wasn't it obvious you needed to keep your mouth shut?"
    "I..."
    "Listen. You may think I'm a nasty son of a bitch, but I'm a cream puff compared to these guys. Stow the attitude, be extremely polite, and speak only when spoken to. Got it?" He glared at her.
    "Yes, sir." She swallowed. She was still jumpy from almost being decapitated.
    Aaron walked over to Charles. "Sorry about that."
    "How new a recruit is she?" Charles said.
    "Technically, she's not a member, yet."
    "What? You're allowing an armed civilian near the Child?"
    "I admit it's not ideal," Aaron said.
    "I'm disappointed with you," Charles said.
    Aaron crossed his arms. "I have responsibilities besides looking after Wesley. I'm doing the best I can with an impossible situation."
    "This is unacceptable."
    Charles walked over to Tawni. She backed up nervously. The weight of the MAC-11 under her sweater was comforting.
    "Tawni," he said, "we are the Gray Spear Society. It's a global organization that fights God's battles for Him. We seek out and destroy His enemies. Aaron is the commander of the Chicago territory, an area that covers over three states. Norbert is a field operative, also known as a legionnaire . That's now your title also. You just joined the Society."
    "Charles!" Aaron said.
    Charles continued, "Wesley goes by several names: the Voice of Truth, the Beacon of Light, and the Child of Destiny. One day, he will lead all of mankind into the next era. Until then, it's our responsibility to keep him safe. I'm the leader of the protection team. The others are Atalanta, Yvonne, and Carlos." He nodded to his companions.
    "Are you crazy?" Tawni said. "What are you talking about? God's enemies?"
    "Aaron will tell you the rest. Congratulations on becoming one of us."
    "I didn't join you!"
    He leaned towards her. "You know too much now. The only way out is death. Do you want to exercise that option? I'll be very happy to assist you. I promise it will be relatively painless."
    Even up close, Charles was hard to focus on. Tawni's attention kept drifting.
    She looked around. Aaron was rubbing his forehead with his eyes closed. Norbert appeared sad. Atalanta had an evil smile on her face.
    "No," Tawni said. "I'm good. I don't want to die."
    Aaron sighed deeply. "Charles, that was cruel."
    "It had to be done." Charles shrugged. "Now she's not a civilian. Problem