by Leo Romero
Smith’s brow furrowed. “I’m afraid not, Mr. Stone. We require the whole armor to perform our experiments.”
Hando’s fingers collapsed in dejection.
I gave him a shrug. “Sorry, buddy. No can do. You belong to Smith now.”
Hando’s fingers trembled and juddered.
My face pinched. “Dude? Are you crying?”
Hando bravely waved his fingers from side to side, but he carried on trembling regardless.
Aurora gave me a nudge with her elbow. “Hey, don’t be mean!”
I gave her a bemused stare. “Mean to the hand? Man, I’m too tired for this,” I groaned, collapsing on my back, an exhausted heap of agony.
Smith took a big purposeful step over me and snatched up Hando. Hando’s fingers straightened in fright and he began wriggling in Smith’s grip. Smith wrestled back control before spinning away and marching off. “Farwell, Mr. Stone,” he said, heading toward the roof entrance. As he went, Hando waved goodbye to us over his shoulder.
“See ya, buddy,” I said as Hando’s fingers drooped in dejection.
When they were both gone, I turned to Aurora. “I’m actually gonna miss that little guy,” I told her.
“Come on, fallen angel,” she said with a chuckle. “Let’s get your wounds tended to.”
She helped me up to my feet. I went like a rusty tin man, my joints and muscles screeching in pain. “Does that come with a massage?” I asked as we limped to the roof entrance.
“I suppose you deserve it.”
“Oh I do, believe me.” Dark Suits were still chasing bits of armor around us as we left the scene “Ah, having my wings back felt nice,” I said, the final remnants of Divinity leaving me, replaced with pained human flesh. I picked up Excalibur from the ground and held him high. “Who knows if I’ll ever get em back.” I shrugged. “Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.”
Chapter 21
The next day, I pulled up to the Guild where Brutus was standing to attention outside. He was sporting a Warner Bros-esque bandage on the finger I bent back last time I saw him. I felt kinda bad seeing that, but hey, his pain was nothing compared to the temple of agony my beat-up ass was right then. The exertions of the last week or so had decided to make their presence felt in the form of aching joints and bones, strained muscles and migraines. And as a result, I wasn’t in the mood for any BS.
I climbed off my bike, wincing at the pain shooting up my spine. I limped up to the Guild; Brutus laid eyes on me. I was expecting him to come bounding up to me and give me crap, but he just crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.
That was unexpected. “Hey, Brutus.”
“Gabriel,” Brutus answered in an emotionless tone, still looking away from me, tapping his foot on the sidewalk. Is this asshole at least gonna thank me for saving the planet? Or hadn’t the news reached this far yet?
“You not gonna give me any shit today?” I asked him.
“No!” he said in a defiant tone. “Heroes don’t deserve shit. But at the same time, you’re an asshole, so I’m remaining neutral.”
“Hero?” I echoed.
Brutus let out a hot sigh. “Don’t milk it, Stone, okay? Everyone knows what you did. Word spreads fast. Glad you took out Samuel. He was an asshole too.”
“Thanks,” I said in a dry tone. I trudged toward the Guild and as I did, the word Brutus just uttered echoed in my mind. ‘Hero’. I puffed up my chest and swaggered into the Guild. Yeah, I’m a hero. So bow down, suckers!
I sauntered down the steps to the main floor of the Gentleman’s club, a big grin on my face. Things were looking good. I’d brought down Beelzebub, saved the planet, cleared out the scum from the Guild and was about to collect. And I was a hero.
I marched triumphantly into the Guild, expecting to be mobbed by Enforcers and bounty hunters all falling over themselves to heap praise unto me. Instead, I got Jerome stomping up in my face, his eyes burning with ire. “You’re in a lot of trouble, Gabriel!”
“So much for a hero’s welcome,” I said, my grin melting.
He whipped up a familiar looking yellow form and shoved it into my face. “This L45 form has been forged!”
“Ah,” I said, realizing I’d need to start BS’ing ASAP. “About that form…”
“Do you understand ‘chain of command’?” Jerome asked in a blunt fashion.
I shrugged. “I’m a bit vague on the idea.”
Jerome’s back stiffened. “And that’s why you’ll never be an Enforcer! Do you know how much trouble I’m in for putting this document in for processing? Trouble for me means double for you.”
“Don’t I even get a thanks for saving the world? Or for rooting out Samuel?”
“It’s irrelevant now you’ve begun forging critical documents.” He let out a hot sigh. “There’s someone here to see you.”
I met his stare. “Who?”
Jerome didn’t answer. Instead, he whirled on his heels. “Follow me, please,” he said, marching off toward the back of the club.
I gulped. I didn’t like the look of this. I took tentative steps after Jerome, who was already halfway through the club. My heart began to pick up pace. I was in trouble. I knew it. I hated to think what was waiting for me. Horrid visions of purgatory or even worse, Hell itself began playing in my mind like a nightmare. As I followed Jerome, it felt like there were a million eyes on me all at once.
Man, I came here to collect my bounty and now I was being led to the gallows.
Jerome made it out back where he waited impatiently for me, tapping his foot on the carpet.
“What’s gonna happen, Jerome?” I asked him as I caught up.
“You’ll see,” was all he said before setting off down the corridor. He stopped by one of the dressing rooms and stuck his head inside. He spoke, then pulled his head back out. He faced me, straightening his back. “Enter, Gabriel. Now, be on your best behavior,” he warned.
“Aren’t I always?” I asked. I took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
The moment I entered the room, a blessed aura engulfed me and by that I mean, a sense of warmth and light surrounded me, which caused rapid decay to all my nerves and negative thoughts. It was like a positivity spell. And I realized it was emanating from the guy sat in the chair in front of a giant mirror. He had one leg crossed over the other while lounging back in his seat. He flicked his big brown eyes toward my reflection in the mirror.
“Hey, Gabriel!” he said with what was one of the flashiest, warmest smiles I’d ever received.
Before I could answer, he stood up from his seat and I was faced with a tall guy with a jawline you could grind bones with, dressed in a suit so sharp you could cut your finger on it.
He smiled, and when he did, I couldn’t help but smile myself. It was as infectious as leprosy. I couldn’t help but like the guy. Love him in fact. Holy moly, that’s a weird feeling.
He put out his hand. “Hi. I’m Michael.”
I frowned. “Michael?”
He nodded. “Michael.”
“The Michael?”
He rolled his eyes. “Well, I don’t like to blow my own trumpet, unless I’m using it to banish a demonic entity, but I suppose I am the real Michael. The verified Michael, with a tick.” He grinned again and I almost went weak at the knees like I was a damn schoolgirl meeting her favorite boyband member. I let out an abrupt chuckle as a nasty mix of adulation and fear juddered through me. I was face-to-face with a top dog of Heaven, which was an honor, but at the same time, if he’d made the effort of coming down here, it might mean I was in trouble. And even though these were the good guys, they could come down hard on your ass if they were pissed.
Jerome came and stood behind me and I was suddenly sandwiched between them both. I glanced over my shoulder to meet Jerome’s stern stare. He still had that L45 form in his hand. I’d done something wrong and even though Michael was already like the bestest buddy I’d ever had, I still needed to be dealt with.
Michael put
on that grin again and pointed at me. “You know, we’ve had our eye on you, Gabriel. Great name by the way.”
I tried to swallow, but my mouth was dry. “Thanks.”
“Good work taking down Beelzebub. That guy can be tenacious.”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
“Now, on the other hand, faking that L45 form...” Michael tutted and wagged his finger on the air. “Not cool.”
My eyes rolled down and around. I didn’t know where to look. I suddenly felt like a naughty school kid.
Jerome moved in closer to my back and I was getting hot under the collar. They were sweating me, good cop, bad cop style and it was making my heart beat harder, my chest tighten. It was horrible. Like being in the court of Caesar about to be fed to the lions.
Michael sighed, and it was the first time a glint of negativity came into his eyes. “Now, we really need to have a chat.”
I gulped. “Okay,” I said in a shaky voice.
“Please take a seat,” Michael said, and I did as I was told, trudging to a waiting chair with my head bowed. I had to take my beating like a man.
*****
The Big Kahuna really does work in mysterious ways.
I sat there in that Gentleman’s club dressing room, waiting to get my ass handed to me by Archangel Michael, with Jerome in tow. I sat there quivering like a jelly, while they both stood over me, Jerome all mean and stern-looking and Michael all uber-cool and suave, that infectious grin still on his face.
“Look,” I said. “About that form. I only did it cause I thought it was the right thing to do. I know I should’ve called you about Beelzebub and it was reckless of me to go after him alone and I broke all protocol forging that form and staying on Earth as an angel, but I felt I had to do it or Hell would come to Earth and I...” I broke off to take a breath, running out of steam. My mind was in a whirl. “Please don’t send me back to purgatory,” I begged. “Anywhere but there. Or Hell. Anywhere but purgatory or Hell!”
Michael stared at me with a frown. “Does this guy think something bad is about to happen?” he asked Jerome over his shoulder.
I stopped talking and stared at them both, nonplussed.
Jerome shrugged in response. “Why ruin the fun? I’ve personally quite enjoyed putting him through the wringer.”
I shook my head. “I don’t—”
Michael clapped his hands. “We don’t wanna send you to purgatory, dummy!” he said, that grin getting even wider. “That place is way too boring. We wanna promote you!”
My jaw dropped. “Come again?” I said.
“Is he hard of hearing?” Michael asked Jerome.
“What Michael is trying to say, Gabriel, is that with Samuel out of the picture, there is a vacancy in the Guild.”
“We need a new Enforcer and we think you fit the bill,” Michael stated.
I licked my lips and pointed at myself. “Me?”
Michael looked left and right. “Hello? Is there anyone else here? Yes, you. You managed to stop Samuel and Beelzebub. That’s some righteous work right there. Don’t think Heaven doesn’t appreciate top quality work. We need guys like you, Gabriel. The people of Earth need you. We can’t do it all. What do ya say? Wanna become an Enforcer?”
“I think you should say ‘yes’, Gabriel,” Jerome said over Michael’s shoulder.
I looked em both over while I considered the offer. It took me all of two seconds.
And so here I am. Gabriel Stone, half angel, half human, poker playing badass. And Angel Enforcer.
I got my stripes and was on the job the same day. I promised I wasn’t gonna be a hardass like the other Enforcers, especially Samuel. I was gonna be there for all the bounty hunters. Right by their side. If they needed extra help, they got it. From now on, no hunter would be on the job alone. Gabriel Stone would help them any way he could.
So, everything worked out in the end. Samuel and Satan’s plot was thwarted, Beelzebub sent back to Hell. I collected my bounty and my feathers. Aurora was safe. For now. She decided to go back down to the Underworld for a while to learn more magic and get to know her pops a bit better. I’d been given the role of her supervisor, orders sent straight from Heaven’s top brass. Make no mistake, Satan and the hordes of Hell would come back for her. And I had to be ready. But that was a worry for another day. Cause right then, it was time for a well-earned break.
Cause the best perk of being an Enforcer? Five, count em, baby, five free L45s a year. Gold dust. And I took one ASAP, sprouting my wings again and ascending to that place in the sky to be with my angel. It was long overdue. I stepped through Heaven’s gates once more, ethereal peace enveloping me. Just like the old days.
And Lucy? Well, she got her party after all. I bagged the bounty just in time to arrange a last minute do for her at the swankiest hotel in town. Food, DJ, balloons, the works. Happy eighteenth, daughter. She’ll never forget it. Now all I had to do was keep an eye on her. For the whole night. I couldn’t let her outta my sight. From Heaven, I gazed down at Earth, specifically at that banquet hall I’d rented for the night. All her friends were there, partying. The best party in all of Chicago.
I zoned in on Lucy, seeing what she was up to. Making sure she was behaving. I frowned. Some guy had his hands around her waist.
A surge of anger engulfed me. “Hey, who’s that guy that’s got his hands all over her?” I asked. I was ready to jump down there and kick his ass, when a hand fell on my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. A delightfully soft hand.
“Come on, Gabe,” came Mia’s soothing voice. “Relax. She’s just having a bit of fun. Why don’t we do the same? Remind me what I’ve been missing.”
I turned to face her. I locked eyes with her and my love for her cascaded over me like a tidal wave. I savored her hand on my cheek. It was real. Not a mirage, not a hallucination. She was actually there with me; I could touch her, feel her, smell her, and I couldn’t afford to waste a second.
She was right. I needed to relax. I dragged myself away from Lucy’s party to lie back in Mia’s heavenly arms. She gently stroked my forehead, washing away the aches and pains of the last week. Ah, what a feeling, I thought to myself, relishing Mia’s angelic touch. It doesn’t get better than this.
I let out a contented sigh as a grin spread across my cheeks. Man, was I gonna enjoy my day in Heaven.
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