Between Heaven and Hell

by Jeff Kirvin

  And for a while, everyone was happy.

  BOOK III:

  JIHAD

  Paradise

  HEAVEN. THIRTY MONTHS AFTER THE DEMONIC CRUSADE.

  Daniel walked the halls of Heaven, the boots of his tan uniform echoing loudly through the empty spaces. Built on the ruins of what had been downtown Los Angeles, the angels’ seat of government was a technological marvel. The gleaming, golden building was more than one hundred stories tall and covered a ground area of more than forty city blocks. It reportedly was as impervious to earthquakes as it was to everything else. Michael said he wanted a symbol as much as a base of operations when he had it built, and that’s exactly what he got.

  The reconstruction of society from the chaos the demons created had gone surprisingly well. It had taken only about a year to get all the provisional governments of the world to sign on to the Heaven Proposal. There had been a few who scoffed openly at the idea and stubbornly refused to give up their national sovereignty (such that it was after the demons got through with it), but they all eventually came around. With the signing of France eighteen months after the close of the Demonic Crusade, the Earth’s six billion people had been united under a single government.

  A year tomorrow, Daniel said to himself.

  Heaven buzzed with preparations for the first anniversary celebration. Rumor was that the global party was going to be the biggest single social event in human history, a celebration of Michael’s Golden Age. Movie stars, prominent scientists and dignitaries of every stripe had practically climbed over each other to wrangle an invitation.

  Daniel just wanted to hide until it was over. He’d never been a party guy, and he was sick to death of hearing about it. Unfortunately for him, it was part of his job to hear about it. Daniel had spent the last thirteen months as Michael’s “Security Advisor”, a figurehead position more than anything else. Gabriel’s Elite Guard handled all of Heaven’s actual security, but Michael thought it looked good having the Great Hero of the DTF as a prominent member of his staff. Daniel was expected to attend the party planning committee meetings, even if his attendance was mostly for show.

  Daniel finally reached Michael’s court. The two angels on either side of the gigantic, golden and ornate doors opened the doors as soon as they saw him. Advantages of fame, Daniel mused as he crossed the threshold; only a select group of humans was ever allowed into this room. The vast room was decorated in gold and sky blue, and was far more opulent than the office of any human head of state Daniel had ever seen. The mix of luxury and technology was striking; though Michael sat on an elegantly appointed (and tremendous) throne, he was surrounded on either side by computer consoles and monitors. He could control the entire world from that chair.

  Michael fit the room, or the room fit him. The leader of both the angels and the human race looked every bit as majestic and regal as befitted the office. He was tall, at least as tall as Gabriel, with a sleek yet powerful frame. His naturally golden skin and hair brought out his powder blue eyes, and his chiseled, ageless good looks instilled a feeling of trust and goodwill. If Michael had any flaws, Daniel didn’t know what they were.

  No, that wasn’t true. The camera didn’t know what they were. Michael had a tendency to get on Daniel’s nerves. While Daniel granted that if anybody had a right to a “holier than thou” attitude, this would be the guy, the angel’s smug assertion that he always knew best grated on Daniel. He usually fought down his annoyance with a shrug and figured, “What am I gonna do, the guy runs the planet.”

  “Daniel!” Michael called as Daniel entered the room. “Good to see you!”

  Daniel nodded in reply. As always, Michael was flanked by Gabriel to his right and Susan Richardson to his left. Susan was Michael’s media liaison, a position she fit like a glove. Who better to convey Michael’s proclamations than the world’s most beloved and trusted newswoman? There were maybe half a dozen others in the room, various department heads. Most were angels, but a few, like Daniel and Susan, were prominent humans.

  Daniel walked over and took a seat next to Susan. With a push of a button from Michael’s throne, the seats to either side of him swung around on the floor to face the opposing wing, forming a sort of conference table without the table.

  Susan leaned over and whispered, “Why the long face?”

  Daniel hadn’t been aware he was broadcasting his emotions so clearly. “Nothing,” he said, then straightened a little in his chair.

  “Now that we’re all here,” Michael said with a nearly imperceptible glance at Daniel, “we can begin.”

  Michael went on at length about what he expected for the following day’s gala. Each department head reported in turn on how their end of the preparations were going. Daniel had heard most of this before, and found his mind wandering when Michael looked to him and said, “Security.”

  Daniel hastily shook himself out of his reverie. “Nothing new to report, sir. Gabriel informs me that all the necessary precautions are in place.” The truth was that Gabriel had handled everything, and almost certainly kept Michael appraised of how things went. Daniel was only kept in the loop as a formality.

  “Good,” Michael said, clapping his hands together. He stood, as did everyone else. He glanced around the room and everyone, including Daniel, left promptly. Only Gabriel stayed behind, but he always did.

  The meeting was over.

  “What was the matter with you in there?” Susan demanded. She had raced to catch up with Daniel as he left the meeting.

  He hardly turned to acknowledge her. “What do you mean?”

  Susan put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him. “You’re changing, Daniel. You’ve become so distant recently. I want to know what’s bothering you.”

  “What’s bothering me, or what’s bothering Michael’s Security Advisor?”

  Susan paused. “What’s the difference?”

  Daniel nodded. “That’s what I thought.” He turned and walked away from her, angry with himself for getting angry.

  “Wait a minute!” Susan called, running after him again. “What did you mean by that?”

  Daniel spun on his heel and faced her. “Look around you, Susan. What do you think this place means?”

  “Peace, prosperity—”

  “Did Michael teach you to say that or did you come up with it on your own?”

  Susan slapped him. Daniel ignored it.

  “You used to be a journalist, Susan. Now you’re a puppet. So am I. I guess I’m just getting tired of it.”

  “We aren’t puppets!”

  “Aren’t we?” Daniel asked. “Come here.”

  He led Susan down the hall to a door with a rather elaborate electronic lock. “You ever been in there?”

  “No…” she answered cautiously.

  “No human has,” Daniel said. “You and I are supposed to be members of Michael’s staff, yet the only ones I’ve ever seen enter that room are Michael and Gabriel. And I’ve watched. Since Gabriel handles all the actual security around here, I’ve had plenty of time.”

  Susan relaxed. “So that’s what this is all about,” she said. “You feel underused and unappreciated. Daniel, I’m sorry if you’re bored, but you have to realize what an honor it is to be on Michael’s staff. You—”

  “That isn’t it at all,” Daniel said. “But I guess you wouldn’t understand.”

  Without another word, he turned and walked away. This time, Susan let him go.

  The Serpent

  The world rejoiced.

  Over the evening skies of Los Angeles, fireworks burst in multicolored glory, accented by angels in powered armor flying in formation over the city. It was an image mirrored over nearly every major city on the planet. The population of Earth celebrated their unity, the defeat of the demons, and their saviors, the angels.

  Daniel thought it was a load of crap.

  Nonetheless, he was thankful for the celebration. If his plan worked, it would give him the chance to learn something that had bo
thered him for months. While most of the population of Heaven, Michael and Gabriel included, partied either on the roof or in the streets outside, Daniel sat in alone in Security Control, perched behind an out of the way computer console.

  His computer illiteracy while he and Susan had been on the run was a thing of the past. He’d spent a fair portion of the last two years becoming proficient with computers, and he knew the angels’ security system inside and out. Tonight he had a very special task. He was determined to get into the forbidden room that he had pointed out to Susan. With everyone else preoccupied with the celebration, he figured he’d never have a better chance.

  As he’d done so many times in the past, he located the file that contained the security passcode that would open the door. It had taken nearly three months to locate that file, and when he had, he’d learned that it wouldn’t do him any good. The file was encrypted, and even though he knew how to access the file, he couldn’t actually read it without a key, a key he’d never been able to find.

  A few weeks before, he’d discovered how to do something that would allow him to bypass the key altogether. If he couldn’t read the code, he could replace it with null values, effectively deleting it. In theory, the door would then open for anyone. There was a problem with this plan. Once he’d done it, he couldn’t undo the damage. He’d have to get in, see what the angels were hiding and get out again before anyone else came near the room. Once out again, he could feign ignorance of the zeroed out passcode, Gabriel would reset it, and no one would be the wiser.

  The celebration offered the perfect cover. It was now or never.

  Daniel glanced at the security monitors to verify that Michael and Gabriel were still at the party. They were. Daniel then arranged for the security camera that monitored the door to be disabled. Electronics glitch. Terrible thing. Then he finally turned back to his terminal. He already had the command to zero out the passcode typed in. All he had to do was press “enter”.

  Once I do this, I’m committed, Daniel thought. His hand hovered over the key.

  Screw it. His hand pressed the “enter” key quickly and decisively. Daniel was already up and headed out the door.

  Daniel reached the door two minutes later. As expected, the hallway was empty. He glanced up at the video camera he disabled, winked, then pushed on the door.

  It swung open.

  Daniel quickly moved inside and closed the door. The room was smaller than he expected, and filled with computer equipment and a modest conference table. He sat down at the main computer console.

  The computer was already on and there didn’t seem to be any security precautions. Daniel wondered why at first, then realized it’d be just like Gabriel to decide such measures weren’t necessary inside a secure room. He began poking around the computer. It wasn’t long before he found the sort of thing he was looking for.

  “Oh my God.” He pulled an optical disk from his uniform, then started a file copy.

  Several minutes later, Daniel left the room as he found it, the blind eye of the camera seeing nothing.

  Daniel caught up with Susan a while later on the roof. “We have to talk,” he said quietly.

  Caught up in the festivities, Susan barely noticed him. “What?” she asked, still smiling. Then she caught the expression on Daniel’s face and grew concerned.

  Without another word, Daniel took her by the arm and led her away from Michael and the crowd, over to an edge of the roof relatively free of people.

  “I found out what they’re up to,” Daniel said.

  “Who?”

  Daniel rolled his eyes and sighed. She used to be smarter than this, he thought. “Michael. The angels.”

  Susan shook her head. “Daniel, what are you talking about?”

  “This,” he said, showing her the disk. “I broke into that room. I found this on a computer.”

  She looked at the disk, but made no move to take it. “What is it?”

  “Their plans.” He looked over her shoulder at Michael, roughly a hundred meters away. He never had successfully determined how sensitive immortal senses were. “I don’t think it’s safe to talk about this here. Can we go to your quarters?”

  Susan looked at Daniel and smirked. “Why Mister Cho, are you coming on to me?” For the first time, Daniel noticed she was a swaying a little. Damn, he cursed, she’s been drinking.

  “This is serious!” he said, but not loudly enough (he thought) for Michael to hear. “We need a place to talk, and Michael probably suspects I don’t trust him. Your room is less likely to be bugged.”

  Daniel’s manner finally started to pierce Susan’s alcohol-enhanced good mood. “Daniel, what do you think you have there?”

  “Downstairs,” he said. They went.

  “Here,” he said. He handed Susan the disk and she inserted it into her computer.

  Daniel plopped down in a chair as Susan read. It didn’t take long for her to get to the end of what he’d been able to copy before caution and fear drove him out of the room. “This can’t be right,” she said.

  “It is. I took it from Michael’s secure system. Why else do you think we’re not allowed in there?”

  She handed the disk back to Daniel. “I can’t believe this. It has to be a prank, a fake, something, but Michael would never do such things.”

  Daniel sat up straight. “You don’t think so? Think about what everybody out there is celebrating. We have peace, yes. We have a unified world government, certainly. But what kind of government? A theocracy, a dictatorship that we all just went along with because Michael’s immortal and he claims to know what’s best for us. Did I ever tell you about the conversation I had with Satan the night he fell? He wasn’t evil. He thought he knew what was best for us, too.”

  “Daniel, there’s a reason he was called the ‘Prince of Lies’.”

  Daniel stood up quickly. “Yeah, because that’s what Michael wanted us to call him!” He held up the disk. “Do you believe this? Do you believe me?”

  Susan dropped her eyes to the floor.

  Daniel nodded. “Fine,” he said.

  “Daniel, I don’t think you’re lying, but this is just too far-fetched to accept without confirmation. I can’t make a decision on a single data point. You’ve been under a lot of stress recently. I know that for years you were either on the run from demons or chasing them yourself. Don’t you think it’s possible that you want to believe this because you need an enemy to fight?”

  Daniel stared open-mouthed at Susan. “You think I made this up?”

  “Maybe not consciously, but—”

  Susan didn’t get the rest of the sentence out before Daniel was gone, slamming her door behind him.

  Falling From Grace

  Daniel packed as fast as he could. He had to get out of Heaven before Susan, good intentions or not, ratted him out. His room was still pretty spartan, though not as bare as his old apartment in Washington. He threw most of his clothing into a bag, grabbed a few other things he couldn’t bear to leave behind, then walked out his door.

  He was stopped only once on his way out of the gargantuan complex, by Heinrich von Braun, now proudly serving as one of Heaven’s many guards. Heinrich was obviously puzzled by the bag. “Where are you going, sir?”

  Daniel smiled, slung the bag casually over his shoulder and walked over to Heinrich. “I’m off to visit a friend, Heinrich. A young lady that doesn’t live here in Heaven, but who might just have a heaven of her own for me.”

  Daniel winked at the young German, who smiled and blushed simultaneously. Heinrich nodded, and Daniel was on his way. As he walked out of the security gates on the ground level, Daniel vowed there would only be one way he’d ever return.

  Michael sat on this throne and frowned. He was alone in his enormous “office” and the object of his consternation was something on one of his many flat-screen computer monitors. He didn’t look up until Gabriel walked into the room.

  “You wished to see me, Michael?”

 
“Look at this,” Michael said and spun the monitor over to Gabriel in disgust.

  “An email from Cho,” Gabriel observed. “Why did this make you so—”

  “Read it!” Michael commanded.

  “Michael,” Gabriel read aloud. “I’ve discovered what you really are and what you’re really doing. I know all about your plans, and I won’t let you get away with it.”

  Gabriel paused, then read, “I’ve been in the secure room.”

  “Is it true,” Michael asked. “Has he?”

  Gabriel looked away from his leader. “It could be,” he said. “I was about to come tell you about it when you summoned me. The passcode on the door has been zeroed out, and the security camera watching the door appears to have malfunctioned. Even so, the only time he could have gone in there without being noticed—”

  “Was during the party.” Michael said. “And I don’t remember seeing much of Cho on the roof with us.”

  “No, I remember seeing him talking to Richardson for a few minutes, but that’s all. We can’t prove Cho was in the planning room last night, but if he says he was, I see no reason to disbelieve him.”

  Michael sunk further into his massive chair. “Were you aware that by the time I received this message, Cho was nowhere to be found in the complex, and that his room had been cleaned out?”

  Gabriel studied the floor. “No, sir, I was not.”

  Michael stood and walked to one of the foot-thick windows. “We have a major security problem here, Gabriel. If Cho does know our plans, he could turn public opinion against us. I don’t want a rebellion on my hands after only being in office a year.”

  “My Lord, he’s only one human. I doubt—”

  Michael spun and faced Gabriel. “One human. One human that discovered our existence. One human that helped orchestrate the fall of Hell. One human that the entire planet recognizes as a hero. That’s the one human to whom you refer?”