Natural Born Angel

by Speer, Scott

  “I’ll be sad to see you go,” Susan said, her eyes glimmering. “But you have some lives to save.”

  Maddy’s last flying session was the next day. Following her Cessna flight with Tom, Maddy had been practising flying the obstacle course on off-hours, taking advantage of an extra set of keys Susan had sneaked to her. She used the principles Tom had taught her, and she found herself getting better each time. He had been right: she’d needed to learn flying the way a pilot does. She might be part-Angel, she might have wings, but it didn’t come naturally to her. She needed to learn to put one wing in front of the other.

  Instructor Trueway was waiting for her in indoor hanger #7 for their last flying session. The blinding overhead lights arced over the indoor course, which extended far into the distance. Emily and Mitch were just leaving as Maddy arrived. Maddy looked out and saw that the agility course had been set to “Difficult”.

  “Hey, Maddy!” Mitch said, seeming more friendly than he had the previous week. “Ready for assessment? Almost as brutal as that first interview with Tara Reeves post-Commissioning.”

  Maddy laughed to hide her nervousness. She had to hand it to Mitch: although you could tell it made him uneasy that Maddy was being advanced towards Guardianship so quickly, at least he was trying to be a good sport about it. Better than some other Angels she could mention, like the one right next to him.

  “We were just getting a workout in. You know, kind of polishing our skills, since we’ve been training for years,” Emily said snootily, looking back at the course. “Don’t worry, he’ll set it back to beginner’s level for you.”

  She walked up close to Maddy and spat at her under her breath: “What you’re doing is a disgrace. You’re a fraud. I just wanted to tell you. And we’re not going to take it lying down.”

  Emily stepped away and turned to Mitch, raising her voice again. “Come on, Mitch, I’ve got a four o’clock with Valerie.”

  “Thanks for letting me know, Emily!” Maddy said, beaming a big fake smile at her.

  Mitch, who was clueless about what had just happened between the two girls, simply smiled and waved goodbye.

  Maddy turned to Trueway. He was going over notes on a clipboard. He gave her a serious look.

  “Maddy, as you know, we’ve had some . . . difficulties in honing your flying skills. There are challenges we’ve never had to face before in training one of our nominees. And now there’s this . . . unprecedented . . . potential promotion. Now I’m not saying that I absolutely can’t recommend you for Guardianship, but it certainly is in question right now.”

  A shot of adrenaline ran through Maddy. It was time to apply everything she’d learned. Now or never.

  “I understand. I’m ready.”

  The instructor reached to adjust the course in front of them.

  “And can we do it on intermediate?”

  Trueway raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

  Maddy nodded. “Yes.”

  The huge platforms along the floor and ceiling began rotating, using the complex hydraulic system the Angels had designed.

  Steep walls, a long tube tunnel that took a number of turns, a narrow gully that quickly climbed up towards the ceiling, as well as a number of hoops gleaming in the bright light – these all appeared as the course set itself to intermediate.

  A blast of air rippled her ponytail sideways as Maddy’s wings extended quickly. She only grimaced slightly this time – the pain lessened with every unfolding.

  You’ve got this, Maddy told herself.

  Instructor Trueway looked at her. “Ready when you are.”

  Leaning forward – her wings beating once, twice – then Maddy was flying along the agility course. The ground blurred underneath her as she approached the first obstacles. It was the fastest she’d ever gone on the course, but she had to make an impression. The first few segments were easy hoops that Maddy flew through, making turns to pass through each one. Kind of like a warm-up. Ahead was a series of walls extending from both the floor and ceiling, which she had to fly in between. Concentrating, Maddy lowered her speed and used the hard, sharp beats of her wings to manoeuvre through the walls. Once on the other side, she was able to pick up some speed, moving towards the far end of the course.

  She had to fly down into a gully, which was so narrow that she had to pull her wings in as close to her sides as she could; for once her smaller wings were an asset instead of a hindrance. The gully climbed up to the ceiling and started circling over. Doing an inversion, Maddy flipped over near the ceiling and rocketed down towards the next section, in which she had to zigzag back and forth between a series of massive poles, the most technical part of the course. She gulped for air, starting to tire with the effort as she neared the final stretch. Her ponytail snapped from side to side as she whipped back and forth between the poles and on to an open stretch.

  The mouth of the tunnel appeared. Maddy dived straight into it, setting her wings. It was narrow, but not too bad. The lighting inside was a spiral of LEDs, guiding the Angels through the twists and turns. Maddy grunted, using her concentration to avoid crashing into the sides as she zipped through.

  She was actually doing it. She trusted her wings; she knew that when she did one thing with them, it would result in a consistent outcome. Tom had shown her that, through the constants of physics and aerodynamics. She had of course known it, but now she felt it.

  The end of the tunnel appeared, and Maddy tore into the bright light of the open air. Only one section left: the final series of hoops, which were arranged in a difficult spiralling pattern. The hardest part of the course.

  Maddy decided to increase her speed.

  The hoops hurtled at her quickly, and Maddy let her pilot instinct take over, setting her wings like a plane’s. With her speed, she began spinning laterally as she flew through the hoops. She couldn’t believe it, how fast she was going through them! Her mouth opened in a delighted smile, and she gave a shout of glee.

  She shot past the final hoop, spun slightly to level herself off, and then dropped down dramatically right in front of Instructor Trueway. She was panting, catching her breath. Maddy couldn’t believe how well she’d done. It blew away anything she’d ever done on the course.

  “Good,” Trueway said, making a note on his iPad.

  Good? That was it? Maddy wanted to hear that she was in, that she’d done it, that she was recommended. A big “Congratulations!” But if she thought she was going to get that from Trueway, she was mistaken. The instructor’s face was blank as he put his iPad away.

  “I’ll see you Friday,” he said, walking out of the hangar.

  The day of the assessment finally came. Maddy had tried to sleep, but she’d mostly just tossed and turned all evening. She had set her alarm early, almost as early as when she woke up for a shift at the diner. Yawning as she padded around her apartment, she was surprised to find she kind of missed the way early morning felt. The way her body felt, the way the world felt. The sun rose over the Angel City Hills. A warm breeze passed through the palms. Another perfect day in the Immortal City.

  Although the paparazzi and media were getting even more frantic, and there were tons of events and appearances Darcy was trying to orchestrate, Maddy had tried to take it easy that week, going to only one event, a launch party for one of her fellow nominee’s fashion lines. She and Jacks had only hung out once during the week, but then, she had been really busy.

  She took a shower and put on a black pencil skirt and grey top she’d bought at Fred Segal just the day before. The outfit was fashionable and sleek, but also a little conservative; she’d got it specifically for the assessment today.

  Putting on a pair of heels, Maddy stood in front of the mirror. She smiled at her image. At the very least, she looked the part to become a Guardian. Some days it shocked her that it was actually her, Maddy, looking back in the mirror.

 
Just then she got a text. She was surprised to see it was from Tom. He had remembered what day it was.

  “Remember: You’re a natural. Break a wing!”

  The guard at the gate to the training grounds cheerfully greeted Maddy as she pulled up. “The big day, eh, Ms Godright?”

  “Sure is,” Maddy said, trying to be cheerful herself, although it felt like a thousand butterflies were flying loop-de-loops in her stomach at the moment.

  As Maddy stepped out of her Audi in the car park, she peered up into the cloudless sky.

  Across the perfectly blue atmosphere, far, far up, two fighter jets screamed across the sky, leaving two crisp white trails behind them. Maddy idly wondered if one of them was Tom.

  Sadie rolled up almost noiselessly in her golf cart.

  “They’re ready for you,” Sadie said, her perfect white teeth sparkling in the morning sun.

  “Great,” Maddy replied, smiling forcefully. Looking around, though, she was confused. “Wait, where’s Jacks? He said he was going to meet me here.”

  “Yes, yes,” Sadie said, pulling a bouquet of flowers from the seat of the golf cart. “These are for you. Jackson isn’t feeling well and couldn’t make it.” Sadie looked at her watch. “We should get going. They are waiting.”

  “Oh.” Maddy took the bouquet of assorted flowers in her hand as she climbed into the golf cart, trying to hide her confusion and hurt. She looked at the card.

  GOOD LUCK TODAY, MADS. LOVE, JACKS

  Disappointment washed over Maddy – was he really sick? Why hadn’t he told her directly? He was supposed to be there!

  Maddy didn’t have time to think about it. Before she knew it, they’d arrived and Sadie was leading her into the small auditorium built into the end of the bungalow offices. The room also served as an event space whenever the training facility was holding some occasion or party or there was a presentation from an Angel expert.

  Sitting at a long wooden table that had been placed at the front of the room were Louis Kreuz, Susan, Trueway and Philip, the tweedy teacher she’d met the first day of Guardian training, whom she’d been quietly battling with ever since. Looking to her left as she entered, Maddy was surprised to see Jackson’s stepfather, Mark, sitting in the auditorium seats further up. He gave her a subtle thumbs-up.

  Sadie seated Maddy behind a smaller table in front of the board of instructors. There was a bottle of water and an empty glass on the table. Maddy didn’t think she’d need it: she knew that there was to be no more discussion. The decision would simply be made.

  “We’re here today to either recommend or deny Madison Montgomery Godright’s nomination to Guardianship,” Louis Kreuz said. “As you know, Maddy came to us much, much later than normal for training. And her unique situation creates other considerations.”

  Maddy anxiously glanced back towards Mark, but he wore a look of pure confidence.

  “We have had our discussions. Now that the potential nominee is here, it is time for us to recommend or deny. The decision must be unanimous. Is the board ready?”

  All three other instructors nodded.

  “We’ll begin with Archangel Archson,” Kreuz said.

  “Recommend,” Susan said brightly, smiling at Maddy.

  “Phil?”

  “Recommend,” Philip said, coughing into his hand.

  “Trueway?” Kreuz said, narrowing his eyes.

  Maddy looked at her flight instructor, former Agent Trueway. He eyed her without emotion. Maddy’s heart was pounding up through her throat as she waited for him to speak.

  “Recommend,” he said.

  Silence hung in the room as Maddy looked at Louis Kreuz, who for once didn’t have a cigar in his hand. It needed to be unanimous in order for her to move to Commissioning.

  Kreuz looked at Maddy and began addressing her. He was strangely much more formal, as if he felt the gravity of the situation.

  He cleared his throat.

  “This is exceptional in our history in the training of Angels. A half-Angel, half-human, brought to our facilities for training and Guardianship. And now promoted to nominee after only a short period of training. Unknown territory. We have no idea how she will react in a save. If her inner Angel will truly win out during the save . . . or if her weaker human side will prevail.”

  He cleared his throat again, loudly. He continued: “It looks like the minds of the other members of this board are to recommend,” he said. “And I have no choice but to go along with their view.

  “Madison Montgomery Godright, you are recommended for Guardianship.”

  CHAPTER 22

  Sylvester awoke from a strange dream, sitting up in bed. In the dream he had been following someone down a fetid, dark alley, the buildings reaching to the top of the blue-black sky. The alley never ended. It just kept extending and extending, Sylvester never getting any closer. The figure in front of him always remained the same distance away. Every once in a while, the figure would stop and turn around. Sylvester couldn’t see his face.

  “Hey! Hey!” Sylvester would yell. He would reach for his gun, but it wouldn’t be there. And the figure would continue running. And Sylvester would keep going down the never-ending alley.

  The only thing that changed in the alley was that it got hotter. A lot hotter.

  The ring of his landline woke him. The old-school telephone rang again. And again. In his white undershirt and boxers, the detective fumbled for the light, and then the telephone.

  He looked at the clock: 4:34 a.m.

  “This is Sylvester,” he grumbled into the phone, rubbing his eyes.

  “You were looking for me, detective?” a strange voice said on the line in a hushed tone.

  Sylvester sat up straight.

  “Could be. Who’s this?” Sylvester scrambled to put his glasses on, along with getting a pad of paper and a pen.

  “It’s about the bombing. Minx . . . he told me about you. That you might be able to help me.”

  “Yes, yes, of course,” Sylvester said. “I can help. Now where are you?”

  There was silence on the line. Sylvester could hear the man breathing. “No. It’s too dangerous. We need to meet somewhere public.”

  “The train station,” Sylvester offered.

  “No, they’re watching. The Angel Wax Museum. In the lobby. Noon. Come alone.”

  “How will I recognize you?”

  “I’ll know you, detective. Noon. Come alone, or you’ll never hear from me again.”

  “Who are— ”

  Before the detective could finish his sentence, the phone clicked dead – he’d hung up.

  Sylvester slowly placed the receiver down. He sat on the edge of the bed in the room that was dark except for one bedside light, his mind running over the strange turn of events.

  For a moment he lay back down on his bed, but his eyes remained wide open. After only a minute or so, he let out a large sigh and got up, walking to the kitchen to make the first pot of coffee of the day.

  At eleven thirty Detective Sylvester was on Angel Boulevard amid throngs of tourists, in the heart of Angel City. He was wearing a shirt just picked up from the cleaners and a pair of shoes he’d had re-soled down at Raoul’s on Santa Monica. He felt all right. He was ready for this case to break open.

  The reports and DVD surveillance that the Godspeed kid had slipped him from the Angel investigation didn’t give him too much info, aside from confirming for Sylvester that there were two bombers, working in tandem. He hadn’t been able to glean anything further than that, though. The case had remained slow up until the call early this morning.

  Sylvester walked his way around fans snapping pictures of the stars on the Walk of Angels; the empty spot where it was rumoured Maddy Montgomery’s star might go drew an especially huge crowd. Looking down as he walked along the glittering pavement, Sylvester noticed nam
es of Angels past and present that he had known over the years. As he got closer to the Angel Wax Museum, he came across Jackson Godspeed’s star. No one was taking pictures of it. Sylvester shook his head.

  He reached the wax museum. In the very front of the building, surrounded by glass so everyone could see it from the street, was a new wax statue of Maddy with her shorter, oblong wings with the fine silver threading that ran along them. Groups of people were excitedly lining up to enter.

  Sylvester walked down Angel Boulevard a little further, then back, slowly letting his old police instincts take over as he read the crowds. It was fairly busy for a weekday, with double-decker buses blowing by, throngs of tourists, vendors selling maps to the Angel houses in the Hills, those hawking T-shirts reading “SAVE ME”, the Angel impersonators whom you could pay to get a picture with. Above the whole scene hung massive billboards with half-naked perfect Angels selling perfumes and clothes, along with garish neon signs. Every once in a while, some remnant of old Angel City would peek through the chaos, giving Sylvester a sense of the city he once knew. One he had been proud to be an Angel in.

  Looking up, Sylvester saw three-storey footage of Maddy’s arrival at a red-carpet event across town. She smiled perfectly as the flashes surrounded her.

  At eleven fifty Sylvester walked to the ticket desk and purchased one adult ticket for entry to the wax museum. He walked into the lobby, scanning the crowd slowly. No one seemed out of place, or otherwise nervous, just your general crowd of Angel City tourists.

  Some of the more popular wax statues were in the lobby, including Vivian Holycross in the outfit she wore to last year’s Commissioning, one of classic hunk Owen Holymead, and one of Gabriel, one of the founding members of the Council of Twelve. Gabriel appeared wise and almost glowing in his white robes. Behind him was a wax statue of an ancient Angel in Grecian battle dress, holding a copy of The Book of Angels in his hand.

  The detective walked down one of the hallways. It was uncanny, how many of these wax Angels he had once known in real life. Seeing their statues was like seeing ghosts from his former life.