by Michael Todd
Mr. Belly laughed nervously. “Then you don’t need me. You won’t be the one on trial.”
Wilson walked farther from the people at the front of the restaurant. “You’ve supported this team and me the entire time. You’re the one who needs to be there. You speak lawyer-ese and I do not, which makes you invaluable during questioning. You also know exactly what needs to be brought to the foreground in order to move the Council to put her away.”
Mr. Belly sighed. “Yes, but the Council has already pretty much made up their minds, and—”
Wilson snapped in a whisper, “Get it together, Mr. Belly. You are the lawyer, and you need to be there.” Wilson cleared his throat and calmed his tone. “Besides, if you leave it up to me, there’s going to be a lot less legal speak and a hell of a lot more cursing. I’ll see you tomorrow at the hearing. Red and I will save you a seat at the lawyers’ table.”
Wilson hung up without letting Mr. Belly make any more excuses. He understood that a man like him would be nervous about retribution from Katie, but Wilson was sure everything would go as planned. The Council was on the ball with it all, and they were already on his side.
“Wilson,” the woman at the front called.
He walked up to the front and smiled, taking his three large bags of Chinese food. He headed out of the restaurant into the fresh cold air of New York, greeted by the honking and screeching of cars all around him. He headed down the block, stopping to pull his hood over his head. The snow was falling faster, and everyone around him looked miserable.
Wilson turned the corner and hurried down a side street to a small shady motel with the lights flickering on the sign. The SUVs were parked outside their rooms, and his three team members were enjoying an evening doing whatever they liked. Wilson figured it was the least he could do after they had gotten them this far. They most likely wouldn’t have to trail Katie anymore after tomorrow.
He walked up to his room and struggled to pull the card key out of his pocket. Before he could put it in the door, it swung open. Red stood there in a T-shirt and shorts with her long red hair flowing around her. “That took you about a million years.”
Wilson walked in, taking his boots off at the door. He set the Chinese food up on a small round table in the corner. “We’re in New York City, love. There were about a million people out getting food in the snow. I personally don’t know how they deal with living in a city where you are always waiting forever for things.”
Red walked over and stood behind him, glancing out the window. It faced an alley, and the snow was falling between the buildings. She cringed. “This warrior queen was not cut out for snow. I don’t like it in the least.”
Wilson smiled as he opened the first bag. “My mind is on other things. I’m nervous.”
Red tilted her head and crossed her arms. “About what?”
Wilson sighed and looked over his shoulder at her. “I’m glad the World Council is going to take action against Katie, but I’m worried something could go wrong.”
Red smirked. “We have plans for that, too.”
Wilson relaxed a bit and began laying out the copious amounts of food he had bought. Red chuckled and pulled her shirt over her head, tossing it to the side as her breasts bounced. She shimmied her shorts down to the floor and kicked them, raucous laughter coming from her belly.
Katie stood in front of her mirror, putting the last of her weapons into its holster. She pushed down on it several times, trying to get it to sit in the right position. Pandora could tell that she wasn’t at ease. There’s no reason to be nervous. We made a choice, and now we will see how it all plays out.
Katie stopped fidgeting and nodded. Yeah, I know. I guess by now, I should be used to people hating me.
Pandora laughed. It takes a little while, but after all these centuries, it’s old hat to me.
Katie took a deep breath and grabbed her cell phone, pausing and then throwing it back on the dresser. “Let’s get this party started then, shall we?”
Pandora whistled. Hell, yes! Don’t forget your coat. It’s fucking cold outside.
Katie smirked, grabbing her black bubble jacket with its gray fur-lined hood. She pulled it on as she made her way through the condo and down to the elevators. Pandora went silent, and Katie did too as they nodded at the doormen, who were surprised to see her. She turned the corner and went out the side door, knowing there would be pushback out front from the protestors.
The sun was shining through the dense gray clouds, but a few flurries were still fluttering down. The streets had been plowed, and the sidewalks were trampled to slush. She hurried through the crowds, keeping her head down as she went. She could have flown, but she wanted to keep her strength up for the trial.
When she finally reached the UN building, she took a deep breath and walked through the front doors. Stomping the snow off her feet, she removed her hood, alerting the security guard at the front to her arrival. Instantly, he clicked his comm, and two men to the right dressed in black suits looked at her, stopping mid-conversation.
They walked over and nodded at Katie, who gave them a smile. “I’m here to attend the World Council trial.”
They both nodded, and the one to the right pressed the comm in his ear, whispering of her arrival. They didn’t put their hands on her, but they walked closely behind as they made their way to the elevator. One of the men pressed the basement button, which was where the New York Council headquarters was stationed. They all stood silently as the elevator moved downward. There was no music in those elevators, and the men were extremely professional and serious.
Katie’s eyes roved over the weapons on their belts. Pandora scoffed. Please. Mace me, and I’ll think you’re hitting on me. I wonder if they have special bullets?
Katie smirked, looking down at the floor. Knowing I was coming today? Probably.
Pandora chuckled. Isn’t that poetic? They stock up with the very bullets you put on the market just in case they need to put one in you.
The elevator doors slid open, and one security guard walked in front while the other one trailed behind. They approached another checkpoint, this one with a large sign reading, No Weapons Beyond This Point. Katie paused for a moment and then began pulling her weapons out of their holsters and sheaths and setting them down on the table.
The guards glanced at each other, surprised. Katie chuckled. “It’s not a trick. This is a peace offering. I’m showing you that I’m fully in compliance.”
She took the knife out of her leg sheath and the pistol out of the ankle holster. “But if anything goes down, you know I can summon a sword and a shield, right?”
The woman guard behind the counter hid a smirk as she tagged Katie’s weapons and moved them off the table. The men who had escorted her put out their hands, leading her to tall double wooden doors down the hall. Pandora snorted. Leave it to these jackweeds to make this place as ridiculous as possible.
Katie walked through the doors. Hey, maybe they made them for frost giants.
Pandora snickered. Or for their incredibly big egos.
Katie giggled to herself. Or the incredibly huge dicks they all think they have.
Pandora laughed. Those would fit through the keyhole.
The bright lights of the room made Katie blink her red eyes. It was quite expansive, like a courtroom. Straight ahead of her, the tribunal was sitting on a dais of sorts. General Brushwood nodded at her, Romanian President Dragos gave her his normal sneer, and the Prime Minister of the UK just sighed.
Katie glanced right and left at the benches lined with a small number of attendees, all military and all looking straight ahead. Through a small set of swinging half doors were two tables, one on the right and one on the left. To Katie’s left was Wilson, standing with a cowardly-looking attorney whom Katie assumed was the infamous Mr. Belly she had heard about in conversation. Behind them was a team of junior lawyers, all wearing perfectly pressed suits and staring wildly at Katie as she made her way forward.
The security guard held open the swinging door, and Katie nodded at him, taking a right to face Colonel Jehovivich. She smiled kindly at Katie and walked forward to shake her hand. The two stepped over to the table, and Jehovivich leaned in. “I will be representing you at this hearing. I have shared all the information I have been given with the general, so he is more informed than anyone else here. We have been doing a lot of research into these people, and there have been some interesting findings.”
Katie smiled at the colonel as the two sat down. She leaned in, whispering very quietly, “So, have we, and I implore you, keep your wits about you. Things are nowhere near what they might seem here. I am not nervous in the least.”
Jehovivich wrinkled her brow and opened her mouth, but the banging of the gavel by President Dragos cut her off. Katie looked up at the rotund man, sloppy and even more villainous-looking than she remembered. He cleared his throat. “Silence in the room. I am officially calling this hearing to order. Today we will be hearing the case brought against the mercenary Katie by the World Council for disobeying a direct order and fighting on foreign soil without permission. During these proceedings, we will also attempt to bring to light what exactly Katie’s status is. Is she a criminal, as we have seen?”
General Brushwood looked at Dragos and nodded. “Katie, do you promise to respect this proceeding, telling the entire truth, and standing with integrity behind any decision this tribunal comes to?”
Katie stood up and nodded. “I will listen and adhere to your ruling.”
The UK President nodded. “We will begin these hearings with Attorney Belly, who is representing the World Council today. Mr. Belly, if you would call your first witness to the stand.”
Mr. Belly stood up, Katie noticing a slight twitch in his right hand. “Uh, yes. First, I would like to call Lieutenant Colonel Wilson of the United States government and leader of the Demonic Defense Force to the stand.”
Lieutenant Colonel Wilson smirked as he buttoned his jacket and walked to the stand. He put his hand on the bible and promised to tell the truth, which Katie knew was a total falsehood. Mr. Belly paced the floor with his hands behind his back. “Lieutenant Colonel, you have known of Katie and watched her operate for many years now, is this true?”
Wilson cleared his throat. “That is correct.”
Mr. Belly stopped in front of the witness box. “Let’s just cut to the nitty gritty here, then. Why are you here today protesting against allowing this mercenary to do the work she has been doing for a while now?”
Wilson looked smugly at Katie. “After watching her and examining her battles and where they are located, it quickly became obvious to me that Katie is working with the demons. She is trying to start a demonic army in the States.”
Jehovivich quickly stood up. “I object. There is no basis for this allegation, and the lieutenant colonel has brought no evidence to support it. Tribunal, I would like to have the opportunity to cross-examine this witness since he is making serious allegations against my client.”
Katie reached up and tapped Jehovivich. She leaned down and listened to Katie whispering in her ear. “No cross-examination. I’ve got this under control. Just get me up there on the stand in front of that sniveling attorney and I promise you’ll have what you’re searching for.”
Jehovivich looked at Katie for a moment and then up at the Tribunal. “I withdraw my request.”
Mr. Belly nodded and excused Wilson from the stand. He then turned and stared right at Katie. “I call Katie to the stand.”
23
Katie stood up, smoothing her normal fighting garb. She meandered from behind the table, stopping for a moment to eye Mr. Belly before stepping onto the stand. Mr. Belly pulled nervously on his tie, swallowing hard. Katie’s eyes were a steady red, but as she had expected, she could not get the attorney to make eye contact with her.
The assistant came forward and put the bible in front of her. Katie repeated, staring directly at Wilson the entire time, “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.”
Mr. Belly nodded and launched right into it. “Katie, you have been seen fighting demons, or so you say, all over the world. You have been highly televised and are well known, but rarely speak to anyone. You were once associated with our police and military but have since ceased working with them. Over the course of the last few months, it has come to our attention that some of these incursions were in fact triggered by demons in a hunt for you. After further consideration, we have come to believe that you are in fact a demon yourself, and under the influence of a very powerful one. Is it not a fact that you are the cause of the uptick in war, and therefore—”
Katie put up her hand nonchalantly, stopping Mr. Belly mid-sentence. She stood up and rolled her shoulders, revealing her wings. “I’m no demon, attorney. I got wings.”
She spread her wings wide, and everyone gasped. She turned to the tribunal. “Any of you have these? Any demons have these?”
Everyone shook their heads. Katie turned and slammed her fist on the stand, pointing at Wilson. “You are diverting the guilt here. In all truth and honesty, which you demand from me, that man, Lieutenant Colonel Wilson, is the one who has been working with hell this entire time!”
A loud roar came from everyone in the room. Wilson shot out of his seat, his face beet-red. “This is an outrage! That is a baseless and nonsensical barrage of lies you are using to divert the guilt from yourself. Tribunal, you must see she is grasping at straws to shake your confidence and go free so that her mission for Lucifer can continue.”
Katie threw her head back and laughed loudly. “Please. If you haven’t forgotten, I am an angel, presented with my angelic powers by the very God who wrote that book you so haphazardly have anyone swear upon. You are a demon. I can smell it on you, and your lawyer too.”
Pandora slowly appeared behind Belphegor. Her armor glistened, and she held her sword tightly at her side. Belphegor turned quickly, watching everyone’s reactions. He jumped back and pointed his shaking finger. “See, there is the bride of Lucifer, come to free Katie!”
Pandora smirked, her eyes shimmering blue. “Ex. He is my ex-husband, asshole.”
Belphegor screeched. “Shoot her!!!”
Red stood up, reaching between her breasts and pulling out a hidden pistol. Pandora thrust her hand out, summoning the gun out of her hand. She threw it on the floor and continued, using her angelic power to pull Red out of her seat. The whole room watched as the Amazonian woman slammed into Pandora’s hand. Pandora tightened her grip around Red’s neck and sheathed her sword. Reaching back, she balled her fist and punched Red hard across the face.
Red groaned, and her eyes rolled back in her head. Pandora giggled as she tossed Red’s unconscious body to the floor. “What now, Belphegor? What’s your next plan?”
He turned quickly to Dragos and pointed at Pandora. “Can’t you see? She is a dangerous ally of the king of the dead.”
Dragos tilted his head to the side. “Who is Belphegor? I thought your name was Mr. Belly.”
Pandora smirked. “Oh, let me show you.”
She swirled around Belphegor, slicing her blade through his skin. She landed a few feet away and watched the lawyer. The men of the Tribunal all gasped in horror as the skin began to peel off Mr. Belly. It fell to the floor in pieces, revealing his demonic form.
Katie reached for her gun, but she had left it with the guards at the front. Before she could summon her armor, General Brushwood reached below the desk in front of him and grabbed a pistol. He stood up, pointing it at Belphegor. He glanced at the other Presidents, who nodded their heads. The general smirked and pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into Belphegor’s skull. The demon shrieked and fell to the floor, writhing and yelling.
Pandora sheathed her sword once again and watched him with a chuckle. When he burst into dust, her expression hardened and she poked out her bottom lip. “Well, shit. Now we’ll have to deal with that asshole again.”
>
The general smiled apologetically. “Sorry about that.”
Jehovivich immediately stood and moved up next to Pandora, looking at her uncomfortably for a moment. She smiled and turned to the Tribunal. “I think this proves that not only have you all been played by covert operatives from hell but that Katie has once again saved the day. Well done, Katie and Pandora.”
Pandora nodded. “Thank you.”
Jehovivich stood tall. “I hereby request that all charges against the accused be dropped and that the real culprits be apprehended immediately to stand trial at a later date.”
The general looked at Dragos. “What do you think?”
Dragos mumbled, embarrassed by his mistake. He slammed the gavel on the bench. “All charges against Katie are dismissed.”
He turned and made his way down from the dais. The UK President pointed at the security guards around the room. “Handcuff this woman, Red, and take her into immediate custody. Also, where are Lieutenant Colonel Wilson and his team from DDF?”
Everyone turned and looked around the room. Apparently, he had slipped away in all the chaos. The UK President banged his gavel. “Find them at once, but also put out a bulletin for their arrest just in case.”
Pandora brushed her hands off and walked over to Katie, who pulled her wings in. As they vanished, she also reached up and pulled the red contacts from her eyes and flicked them onto the floor. “Well, I think that went quite well, don’t you?”
Pandora’s armor disappeared. “I suppose so, although we did let Wilson get away.”
Katie shrugged. “If they can hunt me down, I’m pretty sure finding him will be easier than Where’s Waldo. For some reason, I think he may not have known he was working for the demons, not that it matters. If he had known, he still would have taken the opportunity to watch me fry.”
Pandora looked down at the pile of dust on the floor. She wrinkled her nose. “I hate most lawyers. They’re basically their own class of demon, you know? Jehovivich is pretty badass at it, although she was defending us and pretty much just kept quiet, so we can’t really judge her. And there was this barrister I knew once. He had quite the dick!”
