Divine Hope

by Jo O'Neil

  Chapter Twenty Two

  The Divines Protection

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Ryan said as he fixed his gaze intently on me.

  ‘Do you remember me telling you God has entrusted me with your safe return to England?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Do you also recall me saying the details aren’t always entirely clear to me until the time for clarity is called for?

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Well, this is one of those times.’

  He looked even more perplexed at my attempt to make him understand.

  Hope, who had been pretty quiet up to this point piped up, ‘I’m afraid you’ve lost me too, Serena.’

  I considered how I could make it simple for them both.

  ‘OK,’ I said as I had an idea. ‘God wants both of you to return to England, naturally unharmed. Hope, there is no way you can fly back on your comfortable charter flight at the expense of the English tax payer with the Hart brothers, agreed?’

  ‘Of course I can’t. They tried to get some big, scary monster to permanently silence me,’ she answered near hysterically. And then composing herself she added, ‘The Harts have probably found out by now their pet ogre failed to finish me off, a fact I’m sure they are furious about. At the very least they are bound to have put out an all points bulletin on me. I’m afraid you have two fugitives on your hands, Serena.’

  I processed her response before turning to Ryan.

  ‘Ryan, there is no way you can travel home without being arrested, agreed?’

  ‘Agreed,’ he answered.

  ‘Well actually, that isn’t quite true.’

  His confused look magnified.

  ‘We can all travel safely home on Air Force One.’

  ‘WHAT! ARE YOU MAD?’ Hope shouted.

  Ryan remained quiet. Nevertheless, the look on his face left me in no doubt he agreed with Hope.

  ‘No. I’m acting on God’s orders.’

  I silently asked God to stop me if I had misunderstood His instructions. When no such command filtered through I continued, ‘I’m positive if you ask Evie she will tell you her father is flying to England in the next day or so.’

  ‘Well even if he is, how does that help us? We can’t stowaway on Air Force One. We can’t buy a ticket, and even if we could, it still doesn’t mean I can bypass immigration without being apprehended.’

  ‘Ryan, all I know is this is God’s wish for you. God wants you to ask Evie to help us organise this flight.’

  ‘I think that might be pushing my friendship with Evie too far, Serena. And even if it isn’t and she agrees to help, I can’t see her father approving your plan.’

  ‘It’s not my plan, it’s God’s plan, and all this negativity isn’t conducive to a positive outcome, Ryan.’ I gave him an authoritative look. ‘I’m sure if you ask Evie she will help and if you trust in God the President of the United States will give us a lift home.’

  Neither of my charges looked convinced. In fact, their respective expressions told me in no uncertain terms they thought my idea was completely ludicrous and they were seriously questioning my sanity at that precise moment. Still I didn’t relent.

  ‘Ryan, I know you think I’ve lost the plot, but if you don’t ask Evie, I will.’

  He noticeably jumped at that idea.

  ‘I will ask her, Serena. Please tell me one thing though; do you have any more information such as: am I supposed to sit opposite the President making small talk, or perhaps I’m meant to advise him on matters of national security. Maybe I’m getting above my station and God wants me to make myself useful and serve the President canapes?’

  ‘No, that’s Hope’s job.’

  ‘WHAT?’ Hope demanded.

  ‘Ryan, God wants you to suggest to Evie her father provides you and Hope safe passage home in return for service. Hope will act as an air stewardess and you will be the President’s bodyguard.’

  ‘Are you mad, Serena?’ Hope challenged me.

  Ignoring Hope’s disparaging comment, I addressed Ryan and said, ‘The sooner you ask Evie the better.’ My eyes averted to the door to indicate I meant now.

  ‘Right, I’ll do it this instance, shall I?’

  ‘Great idea,’ I said practically shoving him out of the door.

  Left alone with Hope, she once again voiced the concerns they both shared.

  ‘I do so hope you haven’t lost it, Serena. With all due respect, this idea of yours seems utter madness.’

  ‘It’s not my idea, Hope. God takes full credit for this plan.’

  She didn’t look persuaded.

  It was an hour or so later before Ryan came back to Hope and me. We were still cocooned in his bedroom, patiently waiting his return. Even though I knew Evie had to have said yes, I expectedly looked at him.

  ‘At first Evie wasn’t sure her father was flying to England, and I could tell from the look in her eyes she thought my idea was complete idiocy. Still, as testimony to our friendship she telephoned him and it’s all arranged.’ He had a look of awe about him as he continued. ‘I don’t know how you managed it, Serena.’

  ‘I didn’t, Ryan. As I keep reminding you both, it’s all God’s work,’ I calmly reiterated.

  He shook his head as he told us, ‘We will meet the President of the United States at Joint Base Andrews, a military facility where Air Force One is kept, tomorrow at zero three hundred hours.’

  ‘Great, get as much rest as you can between now and then,’ I instructed. ‘I’ve a feeling it’s going to be a bumpy ride, and it may not be any smoother once we’ve landed back in England.’

  We left at ten o’clock that evening in the heavily tinted privacy glass rental car Evie had hired especially for Ryan to embark on our journey home. Hope, who once again occupied the back seat, had been banned from using her phone in case the Hart brothers traced her. Resourcefully, she’d commandeered the untraceable phone Ryan had acquired to search for information to help her with her disguise as an air stewardess. She occasionally muttered something out loud from the array of training tips she was reading online, much to my annoyance.

  In an effort to distract myself, I asked Ryan, who was seated at the steering wheel with his red bandana in place, the question I had been anxious to know the answer to ever since I learned he was hiding out at the President’s daughter’s house.

  ‘Ryan, how do you know Evie?’

  ‘I’ve known her a while. After college Evie went on a sabbatical of Europe. I was on leave from the Royal Marines and was enjoying an unusually reckless, albeit fun, weekend in the west end of London.’

  I tried to imagine the exceptionally trained killer sitting tamely beside me out with some friends for a social drink. I could have easily been the one to have fatedly met Ryan in a London bar as my colleagues and I celebrated an important win. Molly and I would have harmlessly flirted with Ryan’s crowd, and then . . . God only knows where our journey would have ended. But I guessed God didn’t destine the Daughter of Eve to meet her protector over cocktails. I was brought back to the moment by Ryan’s voice which was starting to become comfortably familiar to me.

  ‘Evie and her travelling companion ventured into the bar my marine buddies and I were frequenting. I was never any good at talking to girls, but with my courage fixed with spirit I approached them. Nothing romantic ever occurred between Evie and me, although we both knew there was something extra special about the purely platonic connection which had formed between us.’

  I was surprised how relieved I felt to know Ryan had never been physically involved with the President’s daughter.

  ‘How often do you two hook up?’ I not entirely innocently enquired.

  ‘Not as often now the responsibilities of adulthood has been bestowed upon us, but the length of time bears no consequence when a friendship is true. I knew without hesitation Evie would help hide me, no questions asked, and I also knew the moment I realised I was in trouble there is no one in this
world I would trust with my life more than I trust Evie.’

  ‘That’s a great friendship to have,’ I answered as I drew parallels between Ryan and Evie’s relationship, and Molly and mine.

  OK, so I had met Molly at work instead of a bar, but I trusted her more than I trusted anyone else. As I thought about the lack of contact I’d had with Molly since my angelic secondment, my heart hurt.

  ‘Ryan, does Evie know you’re on the run from the British Secret Service?’

  ‘Yes. I’ve always been truthful with Evie, and no matter how bad it gets that will never change.’

  ‘Was Evie honest with her father?’

  ‘I was there when she made the call. She asked him to trust her. She said it would be difficult for me to get back home if I was travelling without his protection. It did sound like he asked some awkward questions, but Evie assured him I had done nothing wrong. She told him I was a good guy and I needed to get back to England to clear my name. The President must trust his daughter’s judgment because he agreed.’

  ‘You’ve never met him?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘How did she explain Hope’s involvement?’

  ‘She said Hope had inadvertently got tangled up in the situation when she’d tried to help me. Although, I could only hear Evie’s side of the conversation, it seemed to me the President wants to keep his daughter happy so anything she requests he is going to do.’

  ‘Yes, girls can have that effect on their fathers,’ I said as I smiled, knowing full well how I could easily get my own way with my father. ‘Did you tell Evie about me?’

  Ryan considered his answer before tactfully responding, ‘Some things, Serena, are beyond explanation.’

  ‘I will take that as a, ‘NO’.’

  ‘It’s not as if I purposely kept you a secret from Evie. I just didn’t know how to explain your existence. Outside my family no one knows our history and the game we have played to keep Lucifer from harming you, except the other pawns. I feel God wants to keep it that way, so I haven’t intentionally kept it from Evie. I’ve done what I feel is right by God.’

  I thought about Ryan’s answer as we travelled the remainder of the journey in relevant silence.

  Ryan kept the speed of the cruiser strictly under the limit so as not to attract unwanted attention from the authorities. With comfort breaks we arrived at Joint Base Andrews exactly one hour before our scheduled time. I had the distinct feeling Ryan had planned our arrival down to the last second, giving him ample opportunity to scout around the accessible parts of the base to map out an escape route if the necessity arose. I had urged him to trust in God. Still, I acknowledged old habits are sometimes hard to break, particularly when one’s life was at stake.

  At precisely three o’clock, Hope and Ryan accompanied by an invisible me reported for duty. When they were separated I honesty wished God had given me the ability to be in several places at once. Lacking in this power, I chose to be with Hope, believing she was my primary charge. Plus it did cross my mind it was inappropriate to spy on Ryan as he changed, no matter how much I wanted to.

  Hope was then begrudgingly briefed by the very attractive, late twenties head air stewardess on decorum aboard Air Force One, while a smooth shaven, sun bespectacled Ryan (even though the sun was yet to rise), who was suited all in black apart from his crisp, white shirt which highlighted his bandana void, blonde hair, was put through his paces.

  At a quarter to five the official, Presidential, armour plated, State car pulled up alongside Air Force One. As the President stepped out of the American manufactured limousine, Ryan stood protectively beside him, looking every bit the American Secret Service agent he was impersonating. When the President boarded Air Force One with Ryan closely behind, I took this as my cue to orb on board.

  I had felt very clearly I was to travel on the aircraft with Hope and Ryan. But as I had never held my orb shape for so long, I hoped I could manage the seven hour journey. The thought of involuntary materalising in front of the President didn’t bear thinking about, as no amount of explaining would suffice.

  Hope tentatively cared for the President as naturally as if she’d been an air stewardess all her working life, which didn’t go unnoticed by the head air stewardess who cattily remarked that the dyed blonde would be seeking to take over her role if she didn’t look out. Hope pretended not to hear the remark, but I could tell by the hurt look on her face she’d picked up every word. I almost felt sorry for her, notably when the hired helped took a coffee break in which they clearly ousted Hope.

  Midway across the Atlantic Ocean, Hope discreetly called out to me. I was very tempted to ignore her, deeming she wished to complain about the treatment she was enduring at the hands of her colleagues. Somehow, I dutifully overrode that impulse, and keeping my invisibility intact I whispered to let her know I was with her.

  Much to my surprise, far from whining, Hope told me she’d started to feel a sense of foreboding she couldn’t shake. At first she dismissed it, but the intensity grew so ferociously, she felt she needed to tell me in case it was of importance. As she voiced her concerns she had a vision that stabbed painfully at her temple, and would have floored her if Ryan hadn’t quite by chance stepped by and effortlessly steadied her.

  In Hope’s insight, she saw a three headed dragon rise out of the Atlantic Ocean and attack Air Force One when the English coastline was visible. Not wishing to cause alarm, I sent my two charges back to their posts with the reassurance I would take care of everything, and then I yelled with all my might for A.M. who appeared to me instantly.

  Inaudible to all, I told A.M. about Hope’s sinister feelings and the premonition which had followed. After tentatively listening to me, A.M. instructed the Angels of Hope to escort Air Force One until we had safely landed.

  At first they argued it wasn’t in their job description to act as minders, but once God stepped in, the cherubs obediently took their positions to create a three deep protective circle around the high status aircraft. With their weapons drawn, and their collective aura’s that shielded us and our immediate perimeter with a defensive white blanket, I knew even if we came under attack from a powerful mythical creature we wouldn’t come to any harm. Still, I couldn’t help feel apprehension when I first glimpsed the shoreline of home.

  The angels, who had been guarding us to the complete oblivion of all the others on board, reacted to my anxiety by increasing their defense with the appearance of a clear impenetrable force field which encased the President’s airplane until it landed without incident at London Stansted airport.

  As Hope disembarked, I lightly touched her shoulder and said, ‘Don’t be alarmed, Hope, it’s only me, Serena.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ she whispered. ‘We didn’t suffer any substantial turbulence, let alone a three headed dragon.’

  ‘Let’s not worry about that now. I need to make contact with Ryan and get you both to a safe area.’

  ‘Where are we going?’ she asked.

  ‘Honestly, I’ve no idea. But, I’m certain all will become clear when the occasion deems it necessary.’

  I orbed to Ryan, keeping Hope within my sight. He was still flanking the President so I didn’t think announcing my presence was appropriate. Instead, I bided my time and remained alert, scanning the area for any apparent threat that could harm my charges, which was a challenging task given that the area was swamped with police and secret servicemen. Quite fortuitously though, all of the security personnel, of which Ryan was one, were on high alert for acts of terrorism, so took little notice of one of their own, and given that Ryan was in such close proximately to the President, all of which had been arranged by Evie, he received privilege status so wasn’t required to submit his counterfeit United States of America passport.

  After I had seen Ryan safely through immigration, and he’d accompanied the President to his armour plated limousine, which was identical to the one he’d arrived at Joint Base Andrews in, Ry
an was debriefed and then fully discharged from duty.

  I left him changing back into his civvies with instructions Hope and I would meet him by the taxi rank. As the last remaining taxis were hired by weary travellers, my tall, blonde, bandana clad protector appeared. I had manifested so Hope and I could converse without alarming the passersby, who would have otherwise assumed that Hope was talking to herself. As Ryan joined us, he once again congratulated me on a highly successful mission given its impossibilities, and I yet again reminded him it was God’s operation and not mine.

  As distracted as I was by my handsome charge, I turned to Hope who was being unusually quiet, especially as I had expected her to complain to Ryan how hideously hard her job had been compared to his, and not all because of the hours spent on her feet. Terror struck me as I saw her baby pink telephone light up. Ryan and I had explained to Hope the consequences of using her telephone, so I couldn’t believe she’d been so foolishly irresponsible.

  ‘NO!’ I screamed, oblivious to the stares I was attracting. ‘I knew I should have taken it away from you. Do you want them to find us?’

  I was going to keep ranting, but something in the expression on her face stopped me.

  ‘Serena, they have my parents,’ she cried.