The human acts quickly, pulling out a small box from his jacket and making the angel put some distance between them. The guy flips the switch on the box letting an extremely low pitch booming sound emit, and the angel's lantern vibrates furiously and spasms out. It takes flight, carrying the connected angel with it, and instantaneously erupts into all directions it can to get away from the booming sound. The first act between these strangers is a collective sigh from everyone as Clyde and I approach the victims. I can tell by the face they're making that they never even knew we were here the whole time. I help up the human, while Clyde picks up his mouse friend.
"Who are you guys?" Clyde asks.
They share a glance before turning back to us. The mouse speaks first, "Just two souls doing what it takes. You two shouldn't be here if you're trying to beat that angel and get the reward that comes with it. You trying to get to Heaven, right?"
"Not exactly," I say. "So Heaven, huh? Killing that woman means you get backstage passes to God's penthouse?"
"We don't kill her, we best her in combat," the human says, "Proving ourselves worthy grants us access to Heaven in the afterlife."
"Whatever happened to just being a good person? Does that still count?"
The man smirks. "Why hope to get in when you can know for sure."
Clyde takes another sip from his flask and clears his throat, "No offense, but tonight's fight doesn't seem like you guys are the victors here."
"No," the mouse begins, "we failed tonight. That angel would've killed us and damned our souls to Hell, but Jacob here has an artifact that could disrupt divine powers."
I look at the box in Jacob's hand, "That's one hell of a bass you've got there. How does it work?"
Jacob raises it up to eye level, "I don't know. All I know is that it works, which means we get another chance tomorrow."
Clyde raises an eyebrow, "Another chance? This ain't the first tussle you've had with that thing?"
Jacob remains silent, and the mouse adverts his eyes to the floor. "She comes back every night," says the mouse, "even after sending her away with the box. Every time it looks like we're not gonna make it, we banish her until tomorrow so we could get another go at her."
This is truly an odd case, but in my experience, it's never so cut in dry as a story you read in a book. Religious or not, these two seem thoroughly convinced, but I don't think the biblical route is something my superiors would settle for in my report.
"I'm Abel by the way," the mouse says while extending his hand.
I snap back to reality, "Able to do what?" A slap crosses the back of my head.
"That's his name, you dink," says Clyde.
Well, my face is red, "Oh, whoopsie." I shake his hand, "Troy. And that mountain of muscle back there is Clyde."
Clyde steps in front of me, "Alright, here's the deal. We need that box for research purposes. Will you hand it over peacefully?" I could tell that Clyde's towering physique was intimidating them. Poor Clyde can't tell how wrong of a move this is.
I pull him back from his jacket collar, "Easy there, Robocop. Whether you like it or not, that's their property, and we're not going to force them to part with it."
He smacks my hand away, "Troy, I really don't want to dawdle in Iowa. That piece of technology is significantly related to this scenario, and it does not belong in a civilian's care."
"Wow, big words from a small brain. Guess subtle isn't an option anymore."
"You ain't gettin' this box!" says Jacob.
I can't pull Clyde away, so I step in between, "Whoa, hang on. I apologize for my partner's behavior, he's just a little on edge. You can keep the box, but it is protocol that I ask for you two to come with us." Protocol? I'm as conspicuous as Clyde now, aren't I?
They glance at each other, and Jacob asks, "What did you say you were here for?"
Damn, didn't think this through! I look at Clyde for help, but he dismisses me and rolls his eyes.
"Uh," I stutter, "I didn't, and it's better that you don't ask that again. Just know that we're on your page, that angel must be stopped at the earliest convenience."
"Stop it?" asks Abel, "You mean to defeat it, right?"
"No, to keep it from killing anyone else."
"What, you mean like, get rid of it? Why on Earth would you omit a method to reach divinity and betray mankind as a whole?"
Okay, this is bad. "Angel or not, it's killing, and it's not stopping."
"People come here to challenge the angel, she doesn't go after them! When they die, they die willingly!"
Silver tongue, why must you abandon me at such a significant time? They disregard me and retrieve their swords from the ground, but I step on one of them to slow them down.
"Hang on, wait! Please, you know this isn't right. I know what's running through your mind right now. You're thinking how someone could die so young at the belief that they would get into a good place when all they had to do instead was live their life well and long. You know it's not fair, you know it's not right."
Abel pushes my foot off his blade, "Listen, if you want a shot at that angel, you come back later. Tomorrow night is ours, so check back next week."
Oh great, I'm losing my only lead! I look at Clyde once again for assistance, but he still chooses to watch me be bad at my job. Jacob and Abel walk down the snowy path and exit the gates, leaving Clyde and me to ponder our next move.
"Call Adams?" asks Clyde.
"Yeah, but be careful of what you say to her. Articulate in our favor."
He pulls out his phone and dials the number, "It's ringing."
He walks back and forth, making a small trail in the thick snow. Now that the heat of the moment has ended, I remember just how cold I was. What's the point of a big jacket if it doesn't even keep you warm?
"Adams, we've confirmed the angel," he finally says. "Yes ma'am! No, not yet...there's still a couple of unanswered questions. We're on the trail right now! Got it!" He hangs up.
"So, what's our next move?"
"You have to ask? That box! We need to know what's going on here, and that box is the most tangible thing out of all this. Oh, and one important thing to note, we have permission to use lethal force against that thing, avoiding civilian casualties, of course."
"Why? That's counterintuitive to our 'infiltrate and collect data' mantra. You can't research a dead specimen...at its full potential. Besides, your killing machine status is offline, you couldn't even check your firearm before dropping on the scene. That's how people die, just saying."
He draws his gun from his holster, "I don't get it. This gun was customized specifically so that it never jams!" He pulls the trigger lightly and shoots off a bullet that strikes my jacket sleeve. The cotton on the inside bursts into the air, but it misses my flesh by mere centimeters.
"Holy crap," I scream while clutching the .45 sized hole in my jacket, "watch where you point that thing!"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I don't know what happened! Maybe the gun jams when the angel's around!"
"Well, that would explain why those boys were carrying swords instead of packing lead. That's another factor to add to the equation of biblical prowess. Maybe there is such a thing as an angel." Once our hearts settled down, we decide to track down those men and get that box.
*** *** ***
Their car is parked at a late-night diner, and we slide our company car in the alleyway to avoid detection. I really wish I had a disguise right now, it would've made things so much easier to start off with a clean slate. They have their backs to the giant window, so at least we have them blocked in. Clyde enters first with me tailing right behind him.
"Cup of coffee, sweetie," I say to the woman behind the counter who begrudgingly puts down her newspaper and leaves to the kitchen. The two boys turn around from their meals and jump out of their chairs.
"You kiddin' me right now!?" says Jacob.
"Okay, okay just one moment," I start, "we got off on the wrong foot, but we DO have a common goal."
"I wouldn't call it common," he says.
"Right, but how about this. Tomorrow night we go back to the cemetery and try again, all four of us. With more fighters, we'd have an advantage over her. We defeat her, and split the profit of backstage passes in the great beyond."
They look at each other, both of their demeanor changing to that of critical thinking. Bingo, I've found common ground!
"Troy," Clyde whispers in my ear, "we can't let these civilians take another stab at that creep. It might kill 'em next time."
I gently push him away, "Don't worry, they've got more experience with this thing than us. They'll be fine, but we need their expertise." He sticks his tongue at me as if to say, 'we are the experts idiot'!
"Fine," says Jacob, "you can come. But you will do this honorably, no tricks, no second agendas."
"Of course," I lie through my teeth, "we'll follow your lead. After all, what's better than a spot in Heaven?"
The woman comes back with a stained cup of cold coffee and sets it on the counter. "What, no creamer?" Her response is the whipping of her newspaper. Maybe I should fill out a company complaint.
*** *** ***
Oakland Cemetery: The Next Night
I inspect the sword given to me by the Bible Brothers, "I don't know how to use this."
"Well learn," says Abel. "Your guns won't work in her presence."
"Yeah, we figured that out last night."
Clyde starts doing some practice swings behind me, trying to remember his lessons in sword combat. He's doing a lot better than me, but he's still clunky on his poise. Not that I can do much, I tend to skip a lot of classes that involve hand-to-hand combat. I barely even clocked enough hours in my firearms training to be registered as properly trained.
"Lantern!" shouts Jacob.
Just like they said, the angel came back at exactly midnight. They waste no time charging up through the gates and straight for the mausoleum. Clyde takes another swig of the flask before chasing after them, then I follow close behind. The angel hears the brother's battle cries and takes its humanoid form for another round of whooping mortal ass. Abel goes for the first strike, lunging at her with his full momentum. A simple side-step is all that is needed to turn him over and knock him off balance. Jacob swings at her legs, but she hovers right above it and flings him across the snow.
Clyde slows down prepares himself, "You're a very interesting creature. Come quietly, or else." He readies his blade while I plant myself by his side. The knot in my stomach refuses to go away, but I pose my sword in a similar fashion. The angel reveals her dagger, and Clyde slides in closer to get a swipe at her head. She ducks and slashes at his stomach, but he twirls out of the way. I try doing basic swipes at her, but it doesn't help our side at all.
"Dammit, Troy! Get some skills!" yells Clyde. He continues his onslaught of attacks; the angel still unscathed. I step carefully, lunging for all the openings that were given to me. She goes for a swipe at me, but I parry it quite expertly, even surprising myself. Clyde makes a wrong move, and she bashes her own lantern against his head. The glowing essence inside explodes, blinding me with bright lights and replacing my emotions with what I would call Nirvana; like I wasn't in my body anymore, just a peaceful soul floating around in a vast nothingness.