“You are so annoying.”
“I’m afraid you need some new material, Sister Killjoy.”
“Some of us are not as proficient at being annoying as others are. You are much more like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle than an Archangel.”
“I knew it was only a matter of time before you pulled the Mutant Ninja Turtle card on me.”
“You did see the movie then.”
“Yes, I saw it. I wasn’t too thrilled with my namesake.”
“I bet you never showed Abaddon the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” Catherine stated with confidence.
“No, he didn’t.” Abaddon leaned across the isle, smiling at Raphael.
“Never mind, Mr. Man With No Name.” Raphael warned Abaddon off with a wave of his hand.
“Oh boy, we can all watch that one together,” Catherine suggested.
“As wonderful as you seem to think such a joint viewing would be, I am not the least interested in such blasphemy,” Raphael said in staunch professorial manner. “The idea those Hollywood mental midgets would deign to name that turtle buffoon, Raphael, illustrates the depths to which civilization has descended.”
Catherine clapped her hands lightly in mock applause of Raphael.
“Bravo, Raphael.” Catherine prompted more laughter from across the isle where Abaddon and Angelina were listening intently.
“You seem fully recovered from your ordeal in the prison, Sister Mary Catherine,” Raphael observed, while giving Abaddon and Angelina his new gesture of holding his hand out at them in a stopping motion while mouthing talk to the hand.
“Being near you and Abaddon has been great therapy.” Catherine watched Abaddon snatch Raphael’s hand before it could be pulled back.
Lola hurried to rescue the cringing Raphael who had barely seen the blur which engulfed his wrist.
“Please Sir,” Lola admonished Abaddon, “we will be taking off in moments. Release your friend and adjust your seat in the straight up position.”
Abaddon released Raphael’s wrist. “Very well, but he started it.”
“No, you.” Raphael brushed his hand over Lola’s left arm, causing her to shiver. “We promise to behave, Lola. Sorry for the disturbance.”
Lola’s face flushed. She gasped, looking around at the other passengers to see if they were watching. Most were simply shifting around in their seats with the ever present cell-phones pressed to their ears. They clutched the modern world’s version of a security blanket until the last moment before takeoff, when they would have to dislodge the devices as per the airline policy. Lola smiled crookedly at Raphael. She moved self-consciously to the front of the plane and into the first class lavatory.
“What did you do to her, Raphael?” Catherine asked accusingly, noticing Abaddon with an amused look on his face while Angelina rocked in her seat with both hands over her mouth.
“How old are you, Sister Mary Catherine?” Raphael asked in reply.
“I…I’m twenty-one, but… hey, don’t duck my question. What in the world did you do to that stewardess?”
“You may be too young for us to discuss what I inadvertently did to poor Lola,” Raphael explained. “She’ll be fine. I told you my brother and I would have some problem with being very attractive.”
“You…you made her orgasm just by touching her,” Catherine blurted out, blushing a bright red.
“Perhaps. I didn’t do it on purpose after all, right brother?”
“Don’t bring me into it, Raph. That’s a very appealing color for you, Sister Mary Catherine.”
“She looks like a ripe tomato.” Angelina struggled to suppress her laughter.
“You stay out of this, you little tart,” Catherine warned.
Angelina lost her struggle and began laughing in braying gusts of mirth.
Catherine crossed her arms with a reproachful stare at her Archangel companion. “Raphael, you should be ashamed of yourself.”
“I’m not that kind of angel,” Raphael replied.
Chapter 7
San Francisco
Even the redoubtable Raphael appeared eager to leave the last plane in their long journey. Although booked in first class with as many non-stop flights as possible, the quartet had still changed planes twice more after touchdown in New York. Catherine and Angelina hurriedly walked through the throng of gawking people at their arrival terminal. Abaddon and Raphael followed close behind. As the two Archangels realized the nuns were heading toward the airport bathroom, they concentrated on the more basic and immediate problem of moving through the crowded San Francisco International Airport without running over any innocent bystanders. Outside the women’s bathroom, Abaddon and Raphael leaned against the wall, glad to be standing upright after so long seated.
“Shall we have some refreshment while we decide where to go from here, Sisters?” Raphael asked when Catherine and Angelina emerged from the lavatory.
“Could I get a glass of wine, Raphael?” Catherine asked.
“Of course, Sister, I’ll have one with you.”
“I want a cold beer,” Angelina announced.
“And you, my brother?” Raphael asked Abaddon.
“Since I haven’t tasted either, I’ll have one of each.”
“Always the extremist. Very well then, let us adjourn this meeting to the nearest pub. I think I spotted three just walking from the terminal to here.”
“Let’s go to one with the lights low and candlelight on the table,” Angelina suggested. “I spotted such a bar on the way over here too.”
“Are we losing you to the dark side, little sister?” Raphael admonished.
“I’ll let you know.” Angelina led them toward the establishment she had mentioned.
Ten minutes later, Raphael raised his glass of wine in toasting fashion.
“To our mission.”
The others clinked their glasses with Raphael’s. Abaddon took an extra moment while observing what the proposed toast entailed. They all sipped from their glasses.
“This beer is most extraordinary,” Abaddon said. “It has so many different shades of taste. I…”
“Here they are,” a squeaky voice announced from only ten feet away.
Raphael had watched the approach of three colorfully dressed young men, all with overly expressive mannerisms. He had not felt anything particularly threatening about them, so Raphael had decided to await their arrival before reacting. The first man to reach their table began gesturing angrily at the two nuns. Raphael shook his head slightly in the negative at Abaddon, who acknowledged his brother’s lead.
“How dare you wear those costumes around here,” the blonde haired man of medium height stated. “Your church discriminates against gays. Now you parade around here flaunting the hate in our faces.”
“Huh?” Angelina’s confusion was evident in her face. “What hate? Do we know you?”
“He means we represent the Catholic Church, Sister Angelina,” Catherine said. “The Catholic Church doesn’t condone homosexuality. Apparently, these gentlemen are homosexuals. I…”
“We don’t condone you, or your costumes,” the young man’s companion interrupted. Anger emanated from him in a palpable wave. He jabbed a finger in Catherine’s face, completely ignoring the presence of the two huge Archangels. Raphael simply blocked the man’s jab with his palm.
“Oh, so now the Pope sends bodyguards with his whores,” the companion jeered.
“Are we invisible, Raphael?” Abaddon sipped of his beer, unsure if the men represented a threat . “Do I look like a cherub in this suit?”
Raphael laughed. “No, you don’t. Perhaps these men feel invincible because of where we are.”
“You two homophobes don’t scare us,” the third man in the group stepped forward. “You touch us and we’ll have you arrested for a hate crime. We have the right to express our legitimate outrage.”
The man’s two companions echoed his sentiments. The two Sisters exchanged uneasy glances.
“What is a
homophobe, Raph?”
“Someone who fears the degeneracy of homosexuality. Did I ever explain homosexuality to you? I…”
“What do you mean degeneracy, breeder?” the blonde haired man said, hands on hips, rage seething across his features.”
“What is a breeder, Raph?” Abaddon continued questioning each outburst from the trio.
“I imagine he is referring to normal human interaction resulting in the birth of a child.”
“They are so angry, Raphael,” Catherine whispered near Raphael’s ear.
“What did you say, bitch?” The third companion yelled suddenly. “Don’t whisper. Speak your hatred to my face.”
“I…I just said you all are so angry,” Catherine repeated.
“I’m dying of aids. I’m tired of being treated like an animal,” The blonde haired man stated.
“What do you think, Raph?” Abaddon asked. “Is this some new plague?”
“They are harmless if you wish to act on this.”
“Can you help them?” Angelina asked.
“Of course.” Abaddon reached out, grabbing the blonde man’s hand.
The blonde man’s body arched backwards as if a jolt of pure energy raced through his system. Abaddon released him. The blonde man fell to his knees. He grasped Abaddon’s hand in both of his. Wonder and fulfillment gleamed from the man’s eyes as he met Abaddon’s calm gaze.
“I…I have been such a fool. Am I truly well again?”
Abaddon nodded.
“Chet!” The second companion exclaimed grabbing his friend’s shoulder. “What did… oh my God… I…”
A similar surge streaked through both of Chet’s companions as they grasped their friend to pull him to his feet, only to receive the same energy flowing from Abaddon. All three men knelt next to the table. On-lookers in the restaurant began to hastily pay their bills and leave. Catherine noticed one of the restaurant workers talking on a cell-phone.
“I think we have been reported,” Catherine said.
The blonde man wiped tears from his eyes. He stood up shakily, his friends following his lead. “What…what can we do?”
“You young men have much time left,” Raphael answered for Abaddon. “Go and fulfill your lives with the blessings of a normal existence.”
“Everyone you touch if they hold no evil in their hearts will be healed in their bodies and souls of this affliction,” Abaddon added. “Be careful how you spread this gift. Some will seek to harm you because of it.”
Three heavily armed security guards approached the table.
“Is there any trouble here?” The lead officer asked, surprised to see each of the three flamboyantly dressed men bow quickly to the two huge suited figures sitting at the table with two Catholic nuns. “We were told there was a disturbance.”
“A simple misunderstanding, officer,” Chet said, smiling reassuringly at the policeman. His two friends nodded their agreement.
“Well… okay then,” the officer replied, glancing at the restaurant employees. “Are you three leaving?”
“Yes, officer,” the three said in unison, turning to wave quickly at the Archangels before moving around the security detachment and away from the restaurant.
“We’d like to stay.” Catherine smiled up at the officer.
“I guess it’s okay. You two guys are pretty big. Are you priests?”
“More like deacons of the church,” Raphael replied. “We help the two Sisters here in their travels abroad.”
The officer looked at Raphael and Abaddon for a moment longer, unsure what he should do next. After a moment, he simply turned and left with the two other officers following his lead. Raphael went over to the counter for a few moments. All the restaurant employees were smiling at him when he returned to the table. Catherine gave Raphael her now familiar questioning look.
“I gave them three hundred dollars to offset their losses when the other customers left,” Raphael answered the unspoken question.
“This has turned out to be a very expensive stop for refreshments,” Catherine observed. She gulped a large portion of her wine.
“Yes, but think of the good which will spread from it,” Angelina said. “I wonder how many lives will be changed.”
“That is the beauty of free will.” Raphael patted Angelina’s hand. “It may only be three, or it could be three thousand.”
“In this city, the wave initiated by Abaddon’s touch may envelope many more than that,” Catherine offered. “Do you follow current events here on earth, Raphael?”
“I confess to having a morbid curiosity concerning the afflictions visited upon and spread by humans,” Raphael answered seriously. “I understand evil much better since studying earth than I ever did before its creation. It seems more and more shades of right and wrong appear with each passing year of civilization. The self destructive nature of your species ebbs and flows according to a myriad of conditions. Our Father created humans in such a way as to allow the complexities to evolve slowly from the first one celled creatures to the present examples of your species.”
“Wait,” Angelina cut in. “What of paradise and creation?”
“Sister Angelina refers to the bible’s accounting of Adam and Eve,” Catherine explained. “We…we had hoped… I mean…”
“You had hoped for a literal truth from the first man and woman story in the bible,” Raphael finished for her. “The complexities I spoke of needed much more time and intricate development. There was indeed a first of everything. As you have already witnessed, there was a snake in paradise. Lucy has been at work from the very beginning. Good and evil resides in everything, from the simplest to the most complex life form.”
“Wow,” Angelina pronounced quietly, draining the last of her beer. “I…I think I need another.”
“Me too,” Abaddon agreed, entranced with Raphael’s explanation of humanity’s evolvement.
“Me three. This is so… enlightening.” Catherine’s speech began to slur slightly.
“I’m cutting you off, Sister Mary Catherine,” Raphael told her.
“Just one more,” Catherine pleaded.
“Okay, but we need to get some food into you along with it, Sister of overindulgence,” Raphael agreed reluctantly. “If I allow you to be corrupted any further, when you grasp the next possessed person, the demon inside of them will simply hug you back.”
This caused inebriated pandemonium from the two nuns as they laughed uproariously at Raphael’s assessment of Catherine’s loss of innocence.
“I believe we had better order the food now, Raph,” Abaddon gestured for the waiter to take their order.
“Uh oh,” Catherine said, all trace of amusement disappearing. “That priest is coming this way.”
Her comrades turned in the direction Catherine was looking. A portly older man, dressed in the black outfit of a priest with white collar walked toward the entrance to the restaurant/bar, pulling his wheeled suitcase along behind him. He stared reproachfully at Catherine and Angelina and looked to be heading for their table.
Abaddon sighed. “We should have sat in the back.”
“And miss all this entertainment, brother?”
“Why is everyone so angry?” Catherine asked in a hushed tone once again.
“Hello, Father,” Catherine greeted the priest’s glare as he strode to their table, sobering somewhat under his intense look. “I’m Sister Mary Catherine and this is Sister Angelina. Our companions are Abaddon and his brother Raphael. Won’t you join us?”
“First of all young lady, I am a Monsignor. I would like to see some identification proving the two of you are nuns.”
“Why, Monsignor, would our two companions have to do that?” Abaddon asked. “They do not have to prove anything to you.”
“It’s alright, Abaddon.” Catherine briefly touched his hand with hers. “I’m sorry, Monsignor. Sister Angelina and I have been on a mission overseas for over a year in the Holy land. The priest who accompanied us, Father Joseph, wa
s killed. Our identifications were lost.”
“What kind of mission?” The Monsignor asked suspiciously.
“It was an exorcism,” Catherine answered truthfully.
“Ridiculous, what do you take me for?” The Monsignor laughed derisively.
“Rude,” Abaddon piped in.
“Arrogant,” Raphael added, “and a great deal condescending too.”
Angelina turned away, trying to keep from laughing. She was seated nearest the priest. He had pulled his rolling suitcase around Raphael when approaching the table so as to be nearer the two nuns. The Monsignor reached down and gripped Angelina’s arm angrily. Angelina stood quickly, knocking her chair back. She slapped the Monsignor in the face hard enough to make him release her arm. The blow caused the Monsignor to almost fall over his bag. He steadied himself, holding his face with his free hand where Angelina’s blow had struck.
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