CounterPoint (15 page)

Ariel was gathering last minute supplies from his office before leaving for what he knew would be the last time. This office had many memories for him, and had been the centre of some of the greatest events in human history. Greatest tragedies and scandals was probably a better description Ariel thought. A single piece of white parchment lay in the middle of his now empty desk. He had packed everything of importance and anything else had been destroyed. The parchment detailed his reasons for leaving, though he was sure his name would be tarnished in a very short period of time, his endless list of achievements forgotten. A slight rumble through the floor of his office flushed his nerves. Dark red lights began flashing in his room and the long corridor outside his office door coupled with a loud penetrating alarm noise.  This was the emergency alarm; it had never been activated before. It meant an incursion had occurred in the complex. The clear glass panes in the two doors to his office caught his immediate attention as they swished open.

“Release,” he barked at his desk, with the top of it splitting in two and coming apart wide enough to reveal a huge six foot angelic staff with a large light blue diamond encrusted at the top. Clicking his fingers, a long black overcoat appeared on him. Arming himself he waved his hand across the gigantic map and it changed to show a layout of the building. Flashing red dots swarmed the entrance to the complex and were spreading onto every floor with veracity. White dots highlighted angels coming out of their offices and board rooms to counter the threat but Ariel estimated they were outnumbered six to one. They had to gain control of the situation quickly. While the armoires and sensitive areas of the complex would automatically be sealed off with protective invisible barriers, these were not impenetrable. They always thought it would be impossible for demons to enter the complex, and it should have been. Something had seriously gone wrong here. Six red dots were shooting down the corridor towards his office. Swinging into action, adrenaline pumping, he swung through the air landing right behind the main doors of his office. Knowing they would open automatically sensing his presence, he withdrew a blade from his overcoat and flung it towards the six speeding down the corridor at him. The blade sliced through the three of them at their mid-rift, splashing blood across the white marble walls. The blade immediately rebounded back into his hands. The other three demons stopped; clearly they were new recruits and didn’t have experience dealing with angels.

“How have you entered this building?” bellowed Ariel, brandishing his staff threateningly at the three casually dressed demons who now stood amongst the remains of their former comrades. The demon in the middle was clearly the elder of the group. It gave a hollow laugh, bearing its white teeth.

“You really think there’s anything sacred about these grounds anymore? Nothing done here is sacred. We’re back. We can go everywhere, and do anything,” said the demon confidently, pushing his chest outward. So confident that Ariel truly wondered what could have happened which could allow demons to enter this complex. The complex was christened as sacred holy ground when it was established. Some of Heaven’s greatest sanctified creations came down to christen it personally. It was to be a secure location for angels to safely administrate the planet; no demon should be able to enter it without burning to death instantly. Many had tried over the years and their remains still populated the outer perimeter.

“Regardless, I can’t let you proceed any further,” said Ariel, before withdrawing another blade from his overcoat and firing it forth once more. It split into two pieces in mid-flight, severing the two demons guarding the senior one in half. The remaining demon uttered a beastly roar like that of a savage dog.

“However, I won’t kill you just yet, demon. I require information.  Why are you here? What is the reason?” demanded Ariel, but as he expected, the demon tried to flee. Clicking his fingers, the demon stopped dead in his tracks. He was desperately trying to move, but couldn’t. Ariel had simply bonded him to the spot. Circling his hand, the demon was forced to turn round and face Ariel directly.

“I’ll ask again, only once. Why are you here?”

“It’s judgement day, angel. The boss has returned; we are following our orders.”

“Your boss is locked in a cage in the fiery pits of damnation!” said Ariel in his usual deep commanding voice. His eyes however blazed with fury.

“You think we would dare breach your Headquarters without bigger backup and without those inside your ranks sympathetic to our cause? Don’t underestimate us angel, were going to take over this world. We won’t be destroyed because angels fucked this planet up. Angels are slow and elderly now. There hasn’t been an angel created in millions of years. Your weapons haven’t been upgraded in centuries. Your generals are old and tired, their knowledge based on the wars of old.  What makes you think you even have the slightest chance against us now?”

“The Human Experiment is of critical importance to all. We protect it at all costs. Evil was never meant to be a factor. Demons are simply an unexpected pollutant to the experiment. This planet has been host to a war that is millions of years old,” said Ariel, the ceiling above him shaking as the battle raged on upstairs.

“We won’t be exterminated. Lucifer is back, he won’t let angels decide the fate of the planet.”

The demon closed his eyes tightly and refused to speak. Anger contorted his face.  Ariel remained calm, staring straight at him. While many considered torture to be a barbaric tool for information extraction he found it to be unusually effective. Ariel clenched his fist and concentrated, the demon began to scream and roar in agony. His insides were beginning to heat up before they would melt and turn into a sloppy goo-like substance. Most angels used this as a method to kill demons, but with Ariel’s experience he could use it at the right levels to be an effective torture tool.

“Tell me where Lucifer is.”

“I will not!” roared the demon, blood seeping out from his eye sockets and fingernails.

Ariel, sensing this one to be a lost cause, clenched his fist tighter. The demon let out a hollow scream before exploding, painting the white walls a dark lumpy red. Knowing that demons could not be allowed to invade the lower floors of the compound, Ariel rushed towards the lift, his weapon with him. He quickly glanced at the corridor, taking in one last bittersweet gaze in the knowledge that it would be the last time he would see it.

Meanwhile, the scene upstairs in the main reception was even worse than he imagined. This vast square room housed the reception desk and around twenty lifts to each level and section of the entire compound. Mervil, the receptionist since this compound was created, stood on top of her pristine black glass desk. She had her staff in hand letting loose volleys of crackling red fire. Any demon unfortunate enough to get hit by one was quickly exterminated.  Throes of angels hurled themselves towards demons at every angle, but they were hopelessly outnumbered. Countless more poured in from the large lifts that led to the surface. Knowing the compound was now in lockdown, Ariel had to get to the middle primary lift. There was no other way to get above ground.

“Ariel, you need out?” shouted Mervil across the room from her desk.

Ariel nodded quickly, trying to keep track of everything happening.

“Ok, GO, I’ll provide cover fire!” she blasted, and with that she certainly did. Her staff seemed as if it was about to explode with the amount of firepower she suddenly started releasing. Every demon between Ariel and the lift was getting fried. Ariel blasted a few out of the way as well before realising that no matter what his feelings where towards management, he couldn’t just leave without helping the general rank and file. Stopping in his tracks, he squeezed his eyes shut in concentration and slammed his staff into the ground creating a crack in the floor tiles. A blinding shot of pure energy burst from the top of his staff, encompassing the entire room. The demons fell one after the other, shattering their limbs and ricocheting them across the four walls of the reception room. With that, and a brief break in the attack he charged towards the lift and using his staff for a push, propelled himself up the long lift shaft blasting falling demons out of the way.

Pushing for as much speed as possible, he burst up the shaft and punched through the roof of the garage, flying off into the sky narrowly avoiding a lightning bolt. The staff in the compound would have to deal with the invasion on their own, though Ariel suspected that there were other things happening across the globe which had more importance. Glancing down, he saw hordes of black dots descending on the garage. The place looked likely to be overrun, especially with so many angels out on patrol. While the only positive to come from this may have been the chaos that would overtake central command and therefore make his job slightly easier, he suspected this was planned by management from the beginning.

A red bright glint caught his eye below and to his relief, Amber was racing up towards him.

Chapter 19

After his quick flight, Ariel marched forward towards the luxurious hillside winter cabin in Russia. Since it was a protected house used by the hierarchy, he could not transport himself directly inside. Hidden away in the mountains of East Russia, the cabin was the perfect place to secure and hide people under the protection of angels. Surrounded by trees and other foliage, some would say they had taken extra care in selecting this naturally secluded location. Ariel knew, however, that was not the case; it was simply a matter of luck. Angels were not concerned with who knew about what they were doing, they were in charge of the planet and answered to no one. Strolling up the steps to the door, he ensured to look calm and collected. His long black trench coat provided an extra layer of protection against the harsh winds. Opening the door with nothing more than a stare, he strode inside to find the Bassett’s sitting around a blazing fire. None of them would look at him; clearly Uriel had been using his trademark skills. Nine angels were nearby, four inside and four patrolling the perimeter of the house. They had not even questioned him as he walked towards the cabin. The general was standing close to his human captives. This could get nasty.

“Evening, sir,” said the tall, rugged well-built angel named Uriel, a true soldier in both appearance and personality. Ariel had dealt with him on numerous occasions and though he was highly competent, he had little respect for humans. This had always irked Ariel greatly. Although Uriel was a high-ranking military general, Ariel was still a department head. Therefore the customary ‘sir’ had to be included to show he accepted Ariel’s hierarchical seniority. More importantly, Ariel’s department was adept at surveillance and he was able to ascertain quite quickly where Heaven was holding the Bassett’s.

“Evening Uriel. Status update?” asked Ariel politely, trying to keep it like business as usual.

“Everything is normal, sir. I’ve got people patrolling the perimeter and so far we’ve registered no signs of anything unusual,” he looked towards the window at the now beginning snow storm, “but we are on our guard.”

“Excellent; unfortunately I have orders from Michael to transport them to a more secure location. Headquarters is under siege and we don’t want to take any chances with them,” said Ariel, waiting for the reply that would shape the future of this conversation.

“I’m sorry, Ariel, I can’t authorise their release unless I hear from Raphael directly. He has taken personal interest in these humans and has instructed me they are not to be moved under any circumstances,” replied Uriel tersely, squaring up to Ariel. He knew from this moment on that this was going to have to be done the hard way.

“Okay, I understand,” whispered Ariel, before swinging his right fist into Uriel’s left jaw. Uriel flew into the air and smashed through four solid wooden walls across the cabin. The other four angels immediately withdrew their blades and advanced towards Ariel. The Bassett’s jumped up to shield Mary from the violence - she had been so weak ever since her mission to London. Ariel’s staff immediately appeared in his hand, almost three times as long as their blades. He engaged the four angels at once. Thrashing his staff equally around all sides he managed to fool the two at his right into backtracking until they fell rearward over a well-positioned stool.

With seconds to spare, he instantly attacked the other two, which were still viciously trying to slice him. Using his free hand, he levitated a huge wooden clock from the fireplace and smashed it straight into the head of one of the opposing angels. He vaguely heard one of the Bassett family emitting a low yelp. Duelling with the other one, very much aware the two who had tripped were getting back to their feet, he realised he was running out of time. Outstretching his arm towards the large dining room table, he levitated through the hole in the wall formed by Uriel. Seconds later it came crashing through towards the approaching angels at the rear, connecting with them violently before punching into the cottage’s outer walls and far down the hill into the trees. The blizzard winds were now blowing freely into the cabin.

Facing the final guard, Ariel showed off some of his more majestic duelling moves, not letting himself be touched by that damn blade. Seeing his chance as the angel heard Uriel calling him four rooms away, Ariel thrashed his staff through the angel’s abdomen till it pierced out his back. Coming eye to eye with the angel, he observed a mixture of anger and sadness in his eyes. Ariel felt it too; no matter what, he didn’t want to kill.

“Ariel. You’re dead!” shouted Uriel who stormed back again through each gaping hole he was punched through mere seconds ago. Ariel swung round to face him, though he knew that Uriel would be more than a match for him and this fight could go either way. Squaring up to each other, they refused to blink.

“Uriel, don’t make me do this. Just let me take them and I’ll go,” negotiated Ariel, he sincerely did not want to have to try to end another angel’s life again.