CounterPoint

by Daniel Rafferty

  “Ariel, we have a situation!” shouted his deputy director. Her long red hair injected some much needed colour against her black office suit. Ariel stared blankly at her, pulling himself back from the memories of the past. She was in a frantic panic.

  “We have reports from special operatives signalling a possible mass attack on The White House,” she continued speedily, glancing at some charts. “We have six angels stationed there now, but from intelligence we’re receiving, that will be insufficient to hold the line let alone repel an attack.” Ariel’s department protected all ‘critical’ locations around the globe from demon interference, especially human centres of power and control.

  “What the Hell is going on today?” he replied in anger directed at no one. “Right, inform the Ministry of Defence we need troops out there ASAP or they can explain to Management why The White House has fallen. Get me a full squadron of special operatives; I’m heading down there to take control of the situation. Amber you coordinate from here and get…”

  “Sir,” interjected a low ranking angel, “an urgent message.” He shoved a piece of rolled up parchment into Ariel’s hand before taking off.

  “Michael wants to see me,” said Ariel gravely.

  “Sounds serious,” said Amber. No one was ever summoned to meet Michael. Ever.

  “Indeed. Amber, lead that squadron and eradicate this threat. I’ll join you when I can. Don’t take any prisoners; I want that building secured immediately. Use whatever force necessary.”

  “Yes sir,” was her fierce, immediate reply and she rushed towards the elevator with a few others joining her automatically. The benefit of this department being so small was that every angel knew what to expect and what to do, never having to be told. Looking around, the hallway seemed to be a lot busier than usual for this time of night. The world was overwhelmed with crisis.

  Amber appeared in the secretary office attached to the President’s office. She may have just appeared, but with her angelic capabilities she ensured no one took notice. “The President is in danger. An attack is imminent,” she whispered to the secret service agent stationed at the window. He raced into the President’s office immediately, as swarms of agents appeared through multiple doors.

  “Ma’am, we’ve scanned the building. The demons are gone,” said one of her squad team.

  “Of course they are,” realised Amber. “Demons would never dare attempt an invasion of The White House. This has been a distraction….everyone, back to base now.”

  The angelic squad vanished back to Headquarters. Amber suspected war may be upon them whether they wanted it or not.

  ***

  Whilst he knew it was only a short distance to Michael’s level, it always seemed to go quicker than one wanted it to. Watching the huge double bolted silver doors hiss open sensing his arrival, he readily increased his pace. The sense of power down here was palpable, and kept even the brightest and most confident angels on their toes.

  Seven levels up Amber was back, marching up and down the conference room in their department. Made of a solid, thick white glass and surrounded with black leather high back chairs, and centred by a large table fit for a corporate office, the room was built for its pure functionality. She watched as the various department subheads took their seats. The manager concerned with weapon control and supply for the department was still not present. Amber suspected he was in conference with the Ministry of Defence about acquiring more firepower for the troops in Rome to hold off the attacks until reinforcements arrived. Whether he would be successful or not remained to be seen, Heaven’s weapons apart from the basics were under strict lock and key, and their release could only be authorised by an Archangel.

  “Amber, we’ve just received word that three angels have been killed in combat in Jerusalem.” Amber swung round to look at the bearer of bad news. Jared, seconded from the Department of Strategic Planning who also acted as a conduit between the two departments instead of relying on the ‘hourly updates’.

  “What is going on?” replied Amber, her voice raised and throwing her papers on the white glass table. She was becoming extremely frustrated; angels were dying and management was staying quiet about the whole affair. Usually a large taskforce would be dispatched instantly to quell the demon uprisings once they became problematic.

  “We aren’t sure. We’re detecting massive increases in demon activity all across the globe. Investigations have yet to release their findings on what is happening,” answered Jared, flicking through his paperwork whilst replying to his superior.

  Amber knew the Department of Investigations would not be releasing any findings until it was reviewed by management and censored accordingly. If you weren’t in management, you never got the full picture.

  “Sorry I’m late boss; Heaven isn’t issuing any requests for more powerful weapons. They say they won’t be releasing anything until they receive an order from management to do so. At the moment, they’re not even taking requests for later review.” Matthew had just entered the room. As always, his presence was felt and heard at the same time. Despite always wearing the best fitting suits his tie was always undone and out of place, something even Ariel had given up in reminding him about. After hearing this Amber had had enough.

  “Ok listen up everybody,” shouted Amber to the room, rounding them all in. “I want a complete list of where our forces are, what weapons they currently have and how many are encountering strong resistance. Demon numbers across the globe that are currently active against our troops, now!” The room become a hive of activity almost immediately.

  “Jared,” she turned to him once more, “tell defence to shore up the protection of every human leader, everywhere.” He nodded and instantly sped off.

  Entering the official offices of Saint Michael the Archangel was an experience one does not forget. The offices themselves were rarely used, as Michael was no fan of Earth and preferred the sunlight of Heaven. The room itself was completely different from the rest of the complex. Its dark oak walls were a welcome change from the bleach clean décor used everywhere else. The plush, dark red carpet which was bordered with solid oak wooden flooring felt soft and extravagant underfoot. Upon pushing open the main office doors, Ariel was now walking up the long corridor towards the large dark wooden desk situated at the end in a large circular room. Catching his eye were the various displays of artwork adorning the wooden walls. Artwork depicting the creation of Earth, the first humans and even the war in Heaven. He recognised one of the portraits, what humans adoringly called ‘The Mona Lisa’ by Leonardo DaVinci, a famous work shrouded still in mystery. Why Michael even had that hanging in his office confused Ariel greatly.

  Upon entering the main room he saw Michael standing, gazing out through the large square window directly behind his desk holding his hands behind his back. Highly trained special operation angels were also present – four, each spaced evenly along the walls of the room. Clad in a precisely cut black suit and tie, their silence only added to the level of fear they projected. They stood motionless, arms crossed forward and staring directly ahead.

  “Ariel. I’m glad to finally meet you in person, as it were,” said Michael, still staring through the window.

  Caught by surprise due to the cold silence in the room, Ariel thought quickly and spoke even more so. “Thank you, sir. It is an honour,” he replied, trying to keep his calm and nerve.

  “Ariel,” Michael continued to stare out the large window, “we have the gravest of problems.”

  “And what is that, sir?” Turning round to face Ariel for the first time, he could feel Michael’s eyes meeting his directly. The enormous golden drapes surrounding the window coupled with the thunderstorm outside only added to the aura of Michael’s stature and power.

  “We are tasked with administrating this planet. It is time to rid it of the demon threat once and for all. The human experiment is failing, it cannot last the intended course. We must give the humans a chance to start over. There have also been rum
ours Lucifer may be on the verge of escaping his prison. We cannot allow that to happen.” Michael let the words hang in the air. Their weight lingered for what seemed like minutes. Scripture telling of the return and uprising of Lucifer was generally considered illegitimate by angelic scholars. Lucifer was locked in the darkest pits of an unreachable prison and chained with the most powerful constraints known to Heaven. Even Fate herself had acknowledged that the uprising of Lucifer was not on any of her schedules and that they were ‘planned very far in advance’. Sensing Ariel’s silence, Michael continued.

  “Heaven believes that evil has polluted this planet to such an extent that the experiment is now in danger. The Archangel Council is in full agreement. The experiment must be protected and therefore we must wage war on demon-kind. To do nothing would be abandoning our oath to God. Demon numbers continue to rise as humanity falls deeper into the throes of demon territory. We cannot allow that to continue, for humanity’s sake and ours. Whatever has to be done must be done. From midnight tonight I am ordering all regional offices to a state of high alert. We’ll be putting more troops on the ground than at any time in the history of this planet.”

  Ariel was now feeling the weight of what he was told bearing down on him. They were now getting ready for war.

  “I’m sorry, sir, but can I be so bold as to ask why you are informing me of this privately?” asked Ariel. He was a director and head of department, but there were over twenty departments and then management was also above him in the angelic hierarchy.

  “You have yet to be successful in your mission. You were instructed to remove that human family from Dublin and place them in a safe house, yet this has still not been done. This bloodline is important to us and if we fail to secure them we will regret it. We cannot allow them to fall into demonic possession. Intelligence reports indicate that demons have also become aware of this particular family. If they secure them before us, they can use them as leverage and possibly even experimentation. Seeing the questions written all over Ariel’s face, Michael knew he would have to tell him more but only as much as was absolutely necessary.

  “I can’t emphasise enough the importance of securing this family. Heaven agrees with me in this instance. It is written in the Holy Scriptures. Radweriel has personally informed me that this family must be secured. Get them to agree. Do whatever you have to do to bring them to a safe location and secure it. I’m authorising you to use any and all resources you need.”

  “Sir,” Ariel attempted to gather his thoughts. He had not heard the name Radweriel in a long time. That angel was God’s official scribe, writing everything down. “Demons outnumber us a thousand to one, and their ability to search far and wide greatly exceeds our own. I’m worried that they may already have a major advantage over us before we even begin. If that family decides to flee, if we push them too hard, we may never find them again.’

  “That has also been discussed. As such, I will be authorising a full scale angelic attack on Hell itself. We will lay siege to Hell for as long as we can. That should keep its forces occupied and give you enough time to secure that family. We will also be removing religious and tactical artefacts from around the globe and securing them in our vaults. Relevant departments will liaise with yours in this task.”

  “Sir, I have spoken to the family and they are very much against coming into our protection. I think they don’t trust us any more than a demon.”

  “I don’t care if you have to torture every last one of them to get that yes. I don’t care if you personally have to drag them out of their hideaway yourself. We need them secure. The Department of Intelligence is at this very moment presenting a file to your deputy director. It contains information on the family that you will find interesting. This meeting is now over.” Michael turned back round to the window and gazed outwards once more. Feeling helpless to say anything more, Ariel quickly walked out.

  ***

  Back in Special Operations, Amber was standing in the middle of the huge central operations room with a keen eye on everything going on around her.

  “I want numbers, people!” barked the department’s chief strategist, pointing her fingers towards the group of analysts hunched over a massive, moving rectangular map bolted onto the wall. It displayed the individual assignments of angels all over Earth. Amber, on the other hand, became much more interested in a red, leather bound folder she had just been presented with.

  “Never mind that now!” interrupted Ariel as the doors to the conference room flung open. “Everyone take their seats, NOW!” Those around the room analysing maps and pointing towards statistic charts quickly sat around the table, opening their folders and staring intently towards the top. The doors of the conference room closed securely and the lights dimmed ever so slightly. A serious, no-nonsense mood set over the darkened, hushed room.

  “Status,” he said.

  “White House raid was a ploy. We’re now detecting demon activity all over the globe. Sir, almost every angel on the ground is under attack. It is war.”

  “I share your feelings,” he said, looking at everyone around the conference table, “to charge into battle and help our fellow comrades, but we have been issued with new orders from Michael himself.” Ariel chose not to indulge the audible gasp and looks of confusion on his staffs’ faces. There was simply no time.

  “Michael is now personally concerned with us finding a human group. The Bassett family. We have been authorised to use whatever force and resources necessary to complete the mission as quickly as possible.”

  Ariel waved his hand towards a large luminous red and green map on the wall to his left illustrating Ireland and the United Kingdom. Small pinpoint dots highlighted various important religious locations and current troop movements. “At this present moment, it is believed that there could be a serious uprising and that Hell is preparing to unleash a wave of demons unseen before in history. What we are seeing now is only the beginning. Therefore, to allow us to fully concentrate on the assignment, the Ministry of Defence will take over guard duties at all our protectorate sites. Amber, please ensure we provide the Ministry with all appropriate files and information regarding these sites. They need to know everything, I don’t want them failing in any regard and it coming back to us.”

  “Certainly, sir. Can I ask though how do we obtain the Bassett family?”

  “I visited them a number of hours ago under instruction from Raphael directly. They are not, however, overly receptive to the notion of joining us. We will have to forcibly remove them from the building. I plan to take a contingent of five elite angels with me on this mission. Make the necessary arrangements.” The chief strategist nodded and began calling up a register on a device which looked similar to a computer tablet. “Amber, you will also join me.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  “If the humans do not go quietly.” dared one.

  “We are to apprehend them at any cost. That is final,” said Ariel rather more calmly that he intended.

  “But, sir, that’s against everything….” gasped one foolish clerk. Divine Respect mandated that humans should not be harmed, tortured or made to do anything against their will.

  “I don’t want to hear it!” snapped Ariel, gazing round the room. “We have our orders from Michael. If any of you have a damn problem with that, I suggest you go and voice it to him yourselves. Right now we have our orders and we’re against the clock on this one. Amber, I want a full assault team ready within the hour. You and I will lead them personally to safely secure the Bassett family. Once that has happened, we will bring them here and lock them in one of the secure areas. Let’s get this done. NOW!”

  Seeing Ariel shout was not something his staff was accustomed to, and it caused Amber to give Ariel a slightly concerned look as she rose up to head back to her office. She still needed to review all these files.

  Chapter 7

  The club music pumped exuberantly, blasting thumping remixes of every latest tune by Dublin’s top DJs at Bra
dley’s House of Fun in the south of the city. Huge, dazzling LED disco lights lit up the club whilst fog and smoke concealed the floor.

  David, Claire, Thomas and Bernadette were standing round one of the clubs many bars downing shots of everything strange and wonderful. Irish clubs always put a twist on even the most basic shots. It was only 11pm and the night was young. With Star ships starting to roar over the speakers, Thomas and Claire were hitting the dance floor whilst David and Bernadette, an old university friend, caught up. To David, Bernadette was one of the funniest people he had ever met. Always armed with a quirky sarcastic reply and ready to put her huge high-heel in whenever needed, she regularly assured the night would be unforgettable. With Bacardi Sunsets in hand, they headed to a quiet table on one of the balconies overlooking the street below. The club music was now reduced to a dull thud but still added to the nice calm ambience of the cocktail bar.

  “So what do you think? I’m going crazy?” asked David, using his twirled straw to stir the drink around the long crystal like glass. He was glad the club had installed heaters on the balconies, Dublin wasn’t exactly known for its warm, balmy evenings.

  “I hardly think you’re lying, you idiot. If you say it happened then it did. I’ve heard worse before,” joked Bernadette, her eyes following a young strapping man walking past their table in tight fitted grey pin-stripe trousers and white shirt.

  “You’ve heard worse?” enquired David jokingly, surprised he could laugh about it. The situation was so fucked up he felt like he was floating with the clouds.

  “Well you know,” she replied with a smirk on her face. “I could think of worse things happening to you. So some guy decided to shake you up in the toilets, you know what those bars are like. Was he good looking?” she cackled loudly.