Infernal Justice (Angels at the Edge Book 2)

by Michael Arches

  We took the elevator to the top floor. Given Caligula’s ego and a comment from a satyr, I expected that was where the sorcerer worked. We exited the car, but didn’t get far. The short hallway ended at a metal door with the name Merlin Holdings, Inc. on it.

  Jack disappeared. A few seconds later, he opened the door from the inside. The suite looked like a typical business office except that a stuffed crow stood on the receptionist desk. It held an envelope in its mouth addressed to Honah’s Thugs.

  I opened it and read, This bird has flown. The killings will continue because I love nothing better. Kindest regards, Avenger

  “Jesus H. Christ,” I said. “He’s playing us.”

  We searched the deserted suite. A huge pile of shredded paper covered the floor in the file room. That told me he wasn’t planning on running his business empire much longer. We’d made it too difficult for him to continue business as usual.

  That thought filled me with pleasure, but it wasn’t enough. We had to stop the killings by stopping him. How? I still had no idea. I hoped the tower would tell me.

  Chapter 13

  CALIGULA WAS GONE, but this was hardly the first time I’d reached out for him and missed. Investigations always moved in fits and starts, but this one had a lot more fits than starts.

  Several angels on the team complained about missing our target and wanted to return to headquarters, but not me. A day ago, I would have given almost anything for access to this place. Even if the demons had destroyed most of the evidence at the office, they hadn’t had time to destroy everything.

  Honah sent Cleo to me and pulled all the guardians except Kiko. She stayed aloof as Cleo and I roamed from office to office checking the scraps of evidence that remained.

  The demons had left a dozen computers, but all of the hard drives, where the data would’ve been stored, had been smashed. That was disappointing.

  We spent hours searching for something useful in the suite. All we found were several pages of handwritten notes stuffed behind a drawer in the accountant’s desk. I couldn’t understand the writing, but I took the notes, hoping they might be useful later.

  When we finished with the office, we dropped one floor to check out Caligula’s residential suite. This time, Honah teleported me inside to unlock the door. Cleo and I again combed the place while Kiko stood guard.

  The demons had left much more behind on this floor, including furniture, personal mementos, and a kitchen full of expensive gadgets. As a detective, I’d discovered that kitchens were popular places to hide things, but although Cleo and I spent an hour there, we came up empty-handed.

  Next, we headed for the bedrooms, and it wasn’t hard to figure out which one Caligula had used. It was three times the size of the other rooms, and the king-sized bed inside vibrated twelve different ways.

  I tore the furniture apart looking for hiding places while Cleo searched for hidey holes and safes. All we found was a Kindle that had slipped through a crack between the headboard and mattress. The e-reader contained a dozen romance novels, which I let Cleo review. She didn’t find any secret messages.

  Our search of the other bedrooms went faster because they were smaller and contained fewer potential hiding places. Cleo discovered a baggie containing a small amount of white powder that I guessed was cocaine. That didn’t do us any good.

  In the last room, one with four beds, I felt a sudden chill. Cleo entered behind me.

  “Three dark immortals were annihilated here,” she said. “Apparently, Caligula didn’t need them anymore and didn’t want them talking.”

  His casual brutality kept making me physically sick to my stomach. He’d given me three more reasons to track him down to the gates of Hell if necessary.

  By the time we’d reached the living room, I was as frustrated as I’d ever been. We’d found nothing useful in the living suite. I took out my annoyance on the sofa, slicing apart each cushion with a knife from the kitchen. Then I flipped the sofa over and heard a few coins and something heavier rattle around. Using the knife, I sliced open the fabric under the frame. The heavier object turned out to be an old smartphone. It wouldn’t turn on, but it still could store data. I stuck it in my pocket and finished searching the room. We turned up nothing else remotely interesting. Bit by bit, I was confirming the naysayers’ opinion that the legion didn’t need an angelic detective.

  -o-o-o-

  Wednesday, August 16th

  WHEN WE RETURNED to headquarters, I reviewed the pages of notes I’d found. With a closer inspection, I realized the notes listed nineteen account numbers, including their balances as of three years ago in June. The amounts totaled over $9 million. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell which bank held these accounts. That name could be incredibly useful in finding Caligula by tracing his spending. The demon was on the lam and would have to spend money to eat and hide himself and his surviving entourage.

  Next, I turned to the phone. I plugged it into a charger using a standard micro USB cable. I didn’t know much about electronic gadgets, so I sent a message to Honah. I found an old phone, an Android device. It might have useful information. Do you know anyone who understands how to bypass the lock screen or should I start searching for someone?

  A moment later, he said, I’m sending someone. Also, prepare to leave for the casino. The opposition knows we’re close behind now, and there is no longer any reason for us to wait to shut down Caligula’s businesses.

  I was thrilled to hear he knew a hacker. I had no clue about how to find one in the middle of the night.

  A moment later, a middle-aged black woman popped out of the ether near the desk where I was sitting. She was over six feet tall and broad-shouldered. When she smiled at me, her brown eyes twinkled. A lanyard around her neck stated she was employed by the United States Embassy, Beijing.

  Although she didn’t look like a typical computer geek, I’d learned not to take anything at face value in the immortal world. I stuck out my hand, “Did the chief send you?”

  “Sho ’nuff,” she said in a gravelly voice. “Honah sent me on a detail to China. It’s part of my career path in the CIA.”

  “Welcome. I’m Gabriel Townsend. I believe I’m the legion’s only licensed detective.”

  She grinned. “I’ll just bet you are. I’m Rosie Kamau. I hear you have a phone problem.”

  “I found one that might’ve belonged to a demon we’re chasing,” I said.

  “I’m the one who finds out what’s inside. Where is it?”

  I pointed at the front of my desk.

  She glanced skyward. “Sweet Jesus Christ! You plugged it in?”

  That had obviously been stupid. “It was dead. I was hoping it wouldn’t be locked, but no such luck.”

  She put her hand over her heart like I’d given her a shock. “It could’ve been planted as a bomb. It’s big enough to have destroyed this half of this floor.”

  Several of the other angels nearby looked at me with narrowed eyes. One of them muttered, “Fool,” loud enough for me to hear.

  My face warmed. “Sorry. I’m used to dealing with ordinary crooks, not terrorists.”

  She laughed nervously. “You haven’t felt real pain, honey, until you’ve been blown to bits.”

  “I did get burned to a crisp in a forest fire once. That was no day at the beach.”

  Her face softened. “We ain’t gonna stand around arguing about whose is bigger. Why don’t you just unplug that little ol’ thing and hand it to me.”

  I did, and she sat at the desk next to me. Then she pulled a case about the size of a hardcover book out of her purse. It held dozens of tiny tools. Within a couple of minutes, she’d opened up the phone.

  “The good news is, no bomb,” she said. “It’ll take me a good hour to find out whether this gadget contains any data.”

  I didn’t crowd her, but I was curious about how she could read the information by pulling the thing apart.

  A moment later, Jack w
alked up to me. “Ready for our raid, Gabe?”

  I didn’t want to miss watching Rosie work her magic, but duty called. “You bet.”

  He put his hand on my shoulder. “You, me, and Kiko are hitting the office above the casino. I’d like to see what we’re going into.”

  I’d seen the memories of several casino employees who’d visited that office, and Jack read my mind to see those memories. Then he said, “Good enough. If the manager’s there, leave him to me.”

  I was happy to. Sword fighting wasn’t my strong suit. “No problem. Have fun with him.”

  Kiko approached and smiled at Jack. Everything went black until we three appeared in semi-darkness, standing in some kind of office. To our right, a series of catwalks over by one-way mirrors showed the casino below.

  Jack yelled, “Freeze!”

  To our left, a tall, stout vampire was standing over a paper shredder. Six other demons stood staring at us blankly. Jack raced forward, his white flaming sword already out, and he swung for the vampire.

  Kiko yelled something in Japanese and followed him. I reached for my blade’s handle at the base of my neck and pulled it out. I also changed into full battle form with tan and white wings and a flowing white gown. They were gung ho, but I needed a few seconds to collect my thoughts. What was I supposed to bring to this party?

  “Stay close,” Kiko muttered to me before she lunged at a ghoul with blood splattered all over the front of his shirt. The sound of clashing blades filled the room.

  The two guardian angels had no doubt taken the toughest opponents, but that left three devils and a centaur for me to hold off. The centaur reacted first, running at me holding a red flaming broadsword over one shoulder like a baseball bat. The three devils followed him. They’d no doubt noticed I was the easiest target.

  Four on one weren’t good odds, so I decided to attack the centaur before the others could get into the fight. I darted forward, staying down low and swung my sword sideways.

  That caught him by surprise. Before he swung, I severed his front legs right above his hooves. He screamed in pain and fell, unable to stand on the stumps.

  That didn’t destroy him, but he couldn’t cause trouble. Even better, as he thrashed on the floor, his hind legs knocked one of the devils off his feet. The other three were split apart, so I lunged after the single one, on my right.

  His blade deflected mine, and lightning-quick, he slashed at my face. I leaned away, but his sword sliced a chunk off the top corner of my left shoulder.

  The pain was incredible. I couldn’t move my left arm, but thankfully, I fought right-handed. Blocking out the pain, I stabbed at him with my healthy arm.

  My opponent backed up, running into a desk.

  Behind me, someone shrieked until the sound abruptly ended. One of the fighters had entered the void. I didn’t dare turn to see. I barely had time to face the two devils on my left.

  Each slashed at me from opposite sides, and I couldn’t move my blade back and forth fast enough. But I took off the head of one, who vanished in a puff of black smoke. Unfortunately, I lost track of the one on my right from earlier. He stabbed me on the right side, right above my hip, and even more pain surged through my body, almost making me pass out. I couldn’t fight them all off, too woozy.

  I tried to stay upright, bringing my sword forward, but I was too slow.

  Thank God, the devils didn’t pounce. Instead, they ran.

  Jack put an arm around me. “Hang on, buddy. You’re too tough to give up now.”

  I wanted to believe that, so I took a deep breath and fought back the agony in my right side and my left shoulder. “Thanks. You saved my butt.”

  He helped me sit in a chair then drove his sword’s point into the centaur’s head, putting him out of his misery.

  At the same time, Kiko screamed like an eagle in victory.

  I wanted to see the documents that the demons had been trying to destroy, but my wooziness returned. I slid off the chair to the floor.

  -o-o-o-

  UPON WAKING IN pain, I found myself in a comfort room at headquarters. The office’s healer, Deng Ming, entered the room and laid his magical hands on my right side. My suffering flowed out to him and into the infinite power of God. Then he turned his attention to my left shoulder.

  Within a few minutes, I felt better than new and kissed his hands.

  Ming smiled and nodded. “Better, yes?”

  “Lots better, thanks so much!”

  Once I’d calmed down, I sent a message to Honah. All good now. Can you send me back to the casino’s office?

  The chief responded, Jack has the search well in hand.

  I didn’t doubt it, but I wanted to see for myself. I haven’t had time to fill him in on all my lines of investigation.

  Honah shipped me back to the dimly lit room. Kiko was gone, but Jack was standing over a pile of empty folders next to the shredder.

  Before I dived into the files, I leaned over the edge of the railing that separated the catwalks from the office area. “Is everything under control down there?”

  He nodded. “Dozens of demons were gambling when we showed up. Listen, I’m sorry about the injuries. I should’ve warned the boss right away to send us more help. He’s already chewed my ass on that score, and rightly so.”

  As the new guy, I lacked the fighting experience they all had. Even the peacemakers, like Cleo, had fought hundreds of times. “I didn’t say anything because I know how unpredictable crime scenes, I mean battles scenes, are.”

  “You didn’t have to say anything. I wasn’t going to wait for him to figure it out for himself. Neither was Kiko. We’ve each been suspended for a day…time to be served after we’ve dealt with Caligula.”

  “Sorry I got you in trouble.”

  He shook his head. “You didn’t. Nobody expects you to be all-powerful. I’ve been agitating for years for him to hire a true detective, one who’d received professional training. I’m just a bureaucrat at the FBI who hasn’t spent much time in the field.”

  I didn’t know what else to say, so I changed the subject. “From the looks of that big pile of folders, they spent hours destroying their records.”

  Jack nodded. “Caligula must’ve had someone watching his tower. I’ll bet that as soon as our group assembled there, he pulled the plug here and at all his other businesses.”

  I glanced at the headings for various empty folders. Most seemed to be bank records. “If we could just find the name of the bank, we could probably identify the company’s accounts by following the movement of money from one place to another.”

  Then I had an idea. “I’ll bet the credit card machines downstairs are directly connected to Caligula’s bank.”

  He nodded. “Good thinking.”

  I looked into the playing room below and noticed Cleo ushering several low-level employees out of the building. When you get a chance, I told her, could you grab those electronic credit card machines and take them to Rosie? I’ll bet they contain critical bank info.

  She looked up at the ceiling but in the wrong direction. Sure. Anything useful up there?

  We don’t know yet. I wasn’t going to mention that I’d gotten hurt again until I could explain it personally.

  Then I glanced at the computers visible on each desk, but all of them had been opened to remove the hard drives. That was a lost cause.

  One office was enclosed with glass, and that had to belong to the manager. I strode to it and found an open, empty safe. Then I checked the desk’s drawers and found a smartphone with a dark screen and a bunch of office supplies. Remembering how I’d annoyed Rosie by messing with the first phone, I gingerly set this one on top of the desk.

  The only filing cabinet in the room remained locked. That gave me hope. Nobody would’ve bothered locking it if all the goodies inside had been removed. I couldn’t find the key anywhere, but one quick jerk on the top drawer’s handle popped it open. Superhuman strengt
h came in handy now and then.

  The top drawer was filled with employee records, which didn’t interest me much. The bottom drawer was half-full, but behind that was something more interesting. I found an empty cash deposit bag. The name, First National Guaranty Bank of San Francisco, was printed on the outside. I typed the name into my smartphone exactly as it had been printed on the bag. Then I mentioned the name to Jack, who was rummaging around the other desks.

  He shrugged. “Doesn’t ring any bells. Hundreds of banks have offices in this city, and most have names that sound like that.”

  We searched for another half-hour but didn’t find anything else useful.

  -o-o-o-

  BACK AT HEADQUARTERS, Rosie had been busy. She’d rebuilt the phone and unlocked it. Best of all, it had synced with the owner’s Gmail account, giving us access to his recent emails. Unfortunately, they were written in some foreign language none of us recognized.

  That surprised me. The legion’s San Francisco office was more international than most, and our angels collectively spoke more than a hundred human languages. So, I asked Cleo a potentially stupid question. “I know angels have their own language which I can’t understand. Do demons, too?”

  She thought for a moment. “Probably, but no self-respecting light immortal would stoop to learning such a revolting thing.”

  I disagreed but didn’t know how to say so. Was I too ignorant of angel ways to feel degraded by associating with demons? Probably, and I sure wasn’t too proud to wallow around inside demons’ minds for hours on end.

  I asked, “What if learning their language would help us defeat them?”

  She shuddered. “It’s not like popping into their heads briefly. You’d have to immerse yourself in their culture and world view for long periods of time. Their language was created by fallen angels and is infused with evil. It could end up tempting you to the dark side, corrupting you.”

  That gave me pause. It wasn’t like I could count on particularly strong moral fiber. I was barely moral enough to qualify as an angel, and those who’d been trained for millennia had to be better at fighting off temptations than me.