by Michael Todd
Katie turned over, soaring on her back and gazing up at the stars. I guess sometimes it is just easier to push the thought out and continue forward with the heavy shit than to stop and think about your own needs.
Pandora smiled. This time around is probably the first time I have had that conflict. Before, I was carefree and selfish. The only thing I thought about was my needs. Not so much anymore, I guess.
Katie smiled. Funny what humanity can do to you, huh?
Pandora chuckled. Look, it is obvious from the way you talk about Brock, the way your vitals shoot up when you are around him, and the way you two thirst to see each other, that you really do care about him. That shouldn’t be a surprise after the whole losing him in a vat of lava thing happened. In the end, I just want you to be happy.
Katie turned back over, not sure what to say to that. That was one of the few times Pandora had readily spoken about her feelings for Katie, showing her that she truly did care about her. It hadn’t been something she thought would come out of that conversation, but now that it had, she wasn’t upset in the least.
Pandora laughed at the silence and growled, flying out of Katie. She swirled around her and flipped over on her back, gliding along right beneath her, eye to eye. Pandora smiled jokingly. “Because sometimes you can be a mopey bitch.”
Katie laughed, nodding. “Joking or not, there is truth in that, sister.”
Pandora reached up, pressed one finger to Katie’s shoulder, and stretched her head up, whispering. “Tag, you’re it.”
Pandora took off, and Katie shook her head and smirked. The two flew all over the city, playing tag, relaxing, and just being free for one night.
Baal pushed the cave door open with one finger, looking around with a wrinkled nose. He stepped inside and walked down the dim and dripping hallway, seeing a flicker of candlelight coming from Beelzebub’s study. He stepped around the corner and looked around, but he wasn’t there. A light humming was coming through the adjacent door, and the sound of sizzling filled the air. Baal narrowed his eyes and pushed into the kitchen, then stopped and glanced back and forth.
Beelzebub was standing at the stove, humming and laughing to himself. He was a happy little crooked demon, which was quite out of the ordinary for his persona. Obviously, something huge had happened, and Baal was kind of afraid to ask. Beelzebub looked over his shoulder and stopped humming, giving Baal a creepy but sincere smile.
Baal shivered. “Stop that. That happy smile makes you look…scary. As if you are in a good mood or something. What did Lucifer inject in you?”
Beelzebub laughed loudly, turning with his pan and sliding a cooked steak onto each of two plates. Baal watched him as he perfectly arranged some sort of green vegetables, sprinkled salt and cracked pepper over them, and wiped the edges of the plates. He then picked up his glass and poured himself a heavy slug of 1964 Glenlivet ‘The Winchester Collection’ fifty-year-old Scotch.
He swished it around and looked off in the distance as he sipped it. “I know we usually feast on living furbags down here, but one thing I truly loved when I was topside was a really good medium-rare filet mignon. I have a contact above who was able to portal it to me just as the skillet got hot. It’s all about the finer things in life these days. In my opinion, at least.”
Baal narrowed his eyes, looking down at the plate in front of him. He nudged a piece of asparagus with his claw and looked back up at Beelzebub. “Seaweed?”
Beelzebub chuckled. “No, my friend. Asparagus. Delicious, but it makes your piss smell bad. Just a warning.”
Baal shook his head and his hands, finally tired of whatever game was going on between them. “What is your deal? I have never in history seen you like this. Like…happy. Just the thought makes me shiver in disgust.”
Beelzebub put his Scotch down and began to cut his steak, shrugging. “Nothing. Just, maybe I had a talk with Lucifer.”
Baal stared down at the steak as Beelzebub stuck his fork in the tender meat and brought it to his lips. He hadn’t known that Beelzebub had gone back to see Lucifer, but then, it wasn’t anything he would know. They weren’t attached at the hip, and the other demon was free to do as he pleased. Still, Beelzebub’s mood was irking him. “Okay, and what the fuck does that mean? Did he give you a lobotomy? Did he replace you with someone else?”
Beelzebub swallowed his bite and groaned happily, pointing to the plate. “I’m serious. You need to try the steak. It’s better than I remembered.”
Baal stared down at the piece of meat, which had a red ring around it on the plate. He sighed and shook his head. “I’m serious. What does that mean?”
Beelzebub groaned again, not happily this time, and put his fork and knife down. “So impatient. We talked, and he confided to me his concerns with Mania. I gave him a fantastic idea, obviously letting him take credit for it, and now it seems he feels comfortable with me. I am thinking it won’t be too long until I am offered a seat on the Council of the Eight again. My chair has been empty for a long time, just waiting for me.”
Baal lifted both eyebrows, paused, and then burst into laughter. “Oh…oh… I’m sorry. Give me one second. Bwahaha. Lucifer has hated you for a very long time. The only reason he hasn’t cast you out of hell is because heaven won’t take you, and he knows you will cause him problems in another dimension. So you live here on the edges of existence, the farthest he could put you. There is no way. That will never happen.”
Beelzebub shrugged. “You can laugh all you want to, but you didn’t see Lucifer’s reaction to what I said earlier. Sometimes being humble can get you a long way.”
Baal stopped laughing and put his claws on the table. “There has been far too much water under far too many burning bridges for you to be taken back into the Eight. Lucifer knows this, and even if he is softening toward you, you can’t think he will go from tolerating to trusting you in one of the highest seats in hell overnight, do you? I think you are setting yourself up for disappointment.”
Beelzebub stared at him calmly for a moment and then smirked. “I know this is hard for you to believe, but demons do change. My priorities have shifted as well. I am one hundred percent confident that I am on the road to redemption with the Dark Lord. It will just take a little bit of time.”
Baal watched Beelzebub as he started to hum again, picking up his plate and his Scotch and heading to the study. Usually Beelzebub was pretty good at seeing reality, and in this circumstance, he was sure of himself. Baal rubbed his head. Shit. He may be moving up in the world after all.
Calvin stood at the window of the hotel, one hand on his lower back, the other holding the curtain slightly to the side. His red eyes scanned the parking lot, making sure that he didn’t see any signs of anyone suspicious. They had been coming and going from that hotel room for far too long, and he needed to get somewhere else that would be safer for all of them.
“Calvin,” Sofia called from behind him.
Calvin turned around, wiping the concerned look from his face and putting on a smile. “Yes, my love?”
Sofia smiled. “Are you all right? You seem to be awful quiet today. Not your usual self at all.”
Sofia’s father and mother looked up. They were all sitting at a small table in the corner, playing cards to pass the time. Calvin nodded. “I am just fine. I am putting all the information together in my head right now, trying to make sure I have everything straight.”
Sofia’s father furrowed his brow. “For what?”
Calvin took a deep breath and walked across the room, shutting the tv off. “I think we’ve stayed at this hotel long enough. I think I have taken too many unnecessary risks driving to the house and back here again. We could have someone watching us here, looking for us. I don’t want to put you in more danger. I think it’s best if we all get as far from here as we can, at least until I can figure things out and find out who was behind this. Once the threat is neutralized, you can all go back to your lives.”
Sofia’s mother shook her head.
“But where would we go? We can’t keep hopping hotels, not with Sofia in this condition.”
Sofia rolled her eyes. “Mom, I’m not in any ‘condition.’ I’m just pregnant.”
Calvin chuckled. “But still, she has a point. That is why the three of you are getting an all-expenses-paid trip to a little base in Nevada.”
Sofia gazed at Calvin, a smile on her lips. Calvin knew it would make her happy to see the team, even if it was because she couldn’t go home. Calvin could see the dislike for the idea on her parents’ faces, though. They had no connection to the team.
Calvin walked over and sat down in the chair. “Look. I know you all have lives. And I know those lives are important and you need to get back to them, but I have to protect you. For the first time in my life, I have absolutely no idea what is going on. One minute everything was perfectly fine, the next minute things went downhill, and fast. This is no longer a safe place for any of you to be.”
Sofia’s father straightened his face. “What kind of base is this? Army? Marine?”
Calvin held back a chuckle. “None of those. It’s Katie’s mercenary base. I know for a fact that you will be safe there while I go through the process of checking things out.”
Sofia’s mother put her hands on Sofia’s cheeks and looked at Calvin. “But Nevada is cold at night during this time of year. We won’t have any of our comforts, and it is important that Sofia not undergo too much stress, especially this early in the pregnancy.”
Sofia’s father nodded. “And what about our home? We each have a practice and patients or clients who are waiting for us. We cannot just disappear without a word to anyone.”
Calvin put his hands up and shook his head. “I know you have concerns, and I know that you have lives, but those patients can be referred. I cannot in good conscience send you back there, not knowing if someone is tailing you or trying to harm you. These demons are not to be taken lightly.”
Sofia’s father and mother stared at each other for a moment, then Sofia’s father took a deep breath and pursed his lips. “That’s Nevada, right?”
Calvin nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Sofia’s father looked at her mother and shrugged. “Maybe we can go into Vegas? We have talked about doing that for years.”
Sofia’s mother nodded. “Maybe. I do like a good challenging game of poker.”
Sofia stood up and took Calvin by the arm, pulling him to the front of the room. She gripped it tightly before releasing her grip and sliding her hand over to pat his chest. Calvin could tell she was scared, and he felt horrible about that. He shook his head and hugged her tightly, resting his cheek on the top of her head. The familiar scent of her lavender shampoo was sweet and tender in his nose.
She pulled back and looked at him seriously. “Are you sure that everything is okay? It’s not like you to just ship me off to Katie’s base, and especially not my parents, unless it is really dire.”
Calvin smiled. “I think any attack on our lives should be considered dire.”
Sofia shook her head. “I know, but I feel like you are making bigger decisions, so I want to make sure there isn’t more to it that you aren’t telling me. I know you feel guilty about this, but you shouldn’t.”
Calvin looked down, watching Sofia rub her hand over her belly. He reached forward and pressed his palm against the bump, looking straight into Sofia’s eyes. She put her hands over his, and a tear welled in her right eye. Calvin kissed her on the forehead. “It may not all be okay now, but I am going to make it right. There is no way we are going to live our lives like this. Period.”
Sofia nodded and walked over to the bed, putting her suitcase on it and packing her things. Her parents followed suit. Calvin pulled out his phone and dialed the base, making sure that Stephanie could send the jet for them. He had to keep them as safe as possible.
14
Katie’s plane was still in France, so Stephanie was unable to send it. Calvin did, however, contact someone with ties to the team and arrange a private plane to be ready for them. He gathered everyone together as quickly as he could, loaded their luggage in the Jeep, and checked out of the hotel. They all seemed to be very anxious, so Calvin tried to stay as calm as possible. There was something that he couldn’t pinpoint, but it was pulling at his chest.
He pushed the feelings away and headed for a private airport just outside of San Diego. They pulled through the gates and around to the airfield, parking as close to the plane as they could get. The air service’s staff immediately came out, familiar with the urgency that often accompanied members of Katie’s team.
Calvin looked at her parents. “Just stay here for a moment so I can get this handled.”
He jumped out of the Jeep and opened the back, letting the luggage handlers pull out the bags. Hurrying inside, he signed the receipt for the team and walked back out, waving to Sofia. He could see her turn to say something to her parents and they all piled out. Calvin hurried them over to the plane, stopping at the bottom of the steps.
One of the luggage handlers raced over and tapped Calvin on the shoulder. “I’m sorry, sir, but there seems to be an issue with taking off.”
Calvin furrowed his brow and looked up at the cockpit window, where the pilot was on his comm. “What kind of issue are we talking about here?”
The luggage handler pointed in front of the plane. “There seems to be a car on the runway, sir.”
Calvin stopped, walking forward and narrowing his eyes. Sure enough, there was. A red Corvette was barreling down the runway, top off. Crazy Esther was standing up while driving; apparently she’d followed them from the hotel, although he had no idea how she’d known they were there. With one hand on the wheel and the other stretched forward, she blasted her gun at the plane.
Bullets ricocheting off the body of the plane forced everyone to duck. Calvin turned quickly and grabbed Sofia and her parents, forcing them up and into the plane. He looked back at the luggage handler and waved his arm. “Close the luggage hatch. Don’t care if everything is in.”
Once on the plane, Sofia and her parents moved back to the cabin, huddling together in fear. Calvin sprinted to the cockpit, looking out at Esther, who was getting closer. “We have to get out of here. You need to move this plane.”
The guy shook his head. “Are you crazy? I can’t fly out there. There is a car on the runway, and that insane woman is shooting at us. She could take us out before we even get to the end of it.”
Calvin growled. “She is sure to take us out if you don’t, dammit.”
The pilot dove through the cockpit’s emergency hatch in the floor and scuttled toward the safety of the office as the car whipped around the plane and came to a screeching halt. Esther jumped from the driver’s seat and ran up the stairs, turning the corner just as Calvin got to his family. She smiled maliciously, pointing her gun at them. “There you are.”
Calvin stepped in front of them and slammed his hand on the emergency door button. The door flew open, and a ramp immediately began to inflate. He tapped his foot impatiently as Esther’s eyes shifted frantically back and forth.
Calvin pushed Sofia’s father. “Go. Everyone, go!”
They dove down the inflatable slide, leaving Calvin standing in front of Esther. He reached back and pulled out his gun, and they shot at each other, missed, and dove in opposite directions, sliding behind the seats. Calvin pulled himself quickly up and reached around the row, blasting his weapon at her.
He leapt over the seats one row at a time, shooting down at her. When his gun clicked empty, she repeated his move, missing him by an inch as he dove toward the front of the cabin. Esther stood up and took something off her belt, laughing. She pulled the pin out of it with her teeth and reached back like a bowler, sending the grenade bouncing down the aisle.
Calvin’s eyes went huge and he looked to the right, sighing. Outside the door were the boarding stairs and a hard concrete pad. “This is going to suck.”
He dove out of the door and over the
steps, not touching a single one of them. He knew he would be okay, because he had his demon inside him for backup. Still, that didn’t stop the instantaneous pain that seared through him when he hit the ground and rolled into a pile of heavy crates. Calvin scrambled to get up and dove behind the crates just as the cockpit of the plane exploded in a loud, fiery blast. Shards of glass and metal blasted out and he covered his head, rolling himself into a ball to avoid the flying debris.
Esther was blown to the back of the cabin but she stood up, pulling a burning shred of her own flesh off her arm and throwing it to the floor. She gritted her teeth and stepped through a line of flames, inching up next to the door Calvin had dived out of. She took a long, deep breath and smiled at the sight of the blazing cockpit.
Calvin scurried through the crates and took position behind some of the bags to the side, then pulled his gun from his waistband and dropped the magazine. Quietly, he pulled another from his pocket and slotted it into place. Turning, he laid down on his back and propped himself between the bags, his gun shifting from the door to the back in case she came down the slide.
They both paused, each unsure where the other was. Calvin could feel the heat getting more intense, and he knew he had to get out of there before the fire reached the fuel tanks. If he left, though, she would still be out there. She would still be hunting him and his family, and he couldn’t let that happen.
Suddenly he heard her voice and shifted his gun back toward the side door of the plane. “Come on, mercenary, you know you aren’t going to get out of this alive. Even if I don’t kill you today, you and your family will get what’s coming to you. Why don’t we just get this over with?”
Calvin steadied his hand and waited until Esther peeked around the door, looking for him. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger. The bullet hit her right between the eyes, slamming her into the doorway and back into the plane. Calvin smiled but shifted his gaze, seeing a spark ignite. He dragged himself to his feet and took off, running as fast as he could out onto the runway. The rest of his family had already gotten away from the fire.
