by S E Brower
It was summer now in North America, but the nighttime air was cooler than he had expected. The hour was late, even the tree frogs had quieted. She was sitting outside alone looking up at a sky full of stars, as he touched down behind her. “Hi Jessie,” he said, startling her.
Jessie jumped up recognizing the voice, but not the face. She had never seen Garret, except in spirit form. She did not know what he looked like. When she saw the handsome young man before her with the tousled dark hair, and impish grin, her eyes flew open wide.
“Garret? Garret, you are okay, and you are you, again! I was so worried,” she exclaimed, running to him, only to stop short. “Turn around. Let me see, let me see,” she told him, pressing her hand to her mouth. Smiling, Garret did an exaggerated model’s twirl, giving her a look at his wings.
“Not so bad, eh?”
“Oh, Garret,” she sighed, “they are beautiful, just beautiful,” and hugged him hard around the neck. “Is it cool? Flying? I’ll bet it’s wonderful.”
“The best,” he beamed back at her, “it’s just brilliant.”
Backing up, she pulled him by the hand, “Come sit down with me. What are you doing here?” She was relieved and thrilled to see him. “You know, you are taller than I thought you would be.” He laughed at the comment. “Were you able to get Evan back? I heard you would try.”
“Yes,” he shook his head excitedly, “we went back into Hell and stole him right out from under Lucifer. It was wicked awesome.”
“What do you mean by ‘WE’? Who went with you?”
“You might say, I met some new friends along the way.”
Jessie smiled, “You must tell me all about it.”
Garret turned to her raising his right hand, “I could… you know… share the memory.”
Jessie leaned back shaking her hands, “Uh… no thanks, I don’t need a memory of Hell running around in my head, thank you very much. But I want to hear all about it, the normal way.”
Garret’s smile faded, “Yeah, about that. I wish I could stay and tell you, but I am kind of not supposed to be here.”
Jessie gave him the look she gives her kids when they’ve just gotten through telling her they’ve broken something. “Why aren’t you supposed to be here?”
Garret fidgeted in his seat. “The Father gave Drummondax permission to put a stop to prayer interception.”
“That’s great,” she said, her eyes sparkling, until she realized he wasn’t smiling. “Wait… you don’t look happy. Why don’t you look happy?”
“I am happy. But when I said I would contact you and Travis to help, Drummondax said, no. He said, you needed to be with your family.”
Jessie pursed her lips letting out a hissing sound, standing, looking up at the sky, fists clenched, “Dax,” she said, “you don’t get to decide for me.”
“That’s what I thought,” Garret told her, “I know your circumstances aren’t good Jessie, but I also know you would want to help if you could.”
“Damn right, I would. Just because The Author is putting an end to my life, doesn’t mean it has to be on his terms. You go back and tell Dax, I’m in. I’m sure Travis will be too. Just let him try to keep us away.”
Garret hugged her again, “I’ve got to get back, Jessie. No one knows I’m here. But I will tell him what you said.”
She bit her lip with worry, “He will be mad.”
“Let him,” Garret told her, “I’ll be in touch,” he said, leaping into the air, hovering just above her head in the backyard. Jessie blew him a kiss as he turned, winging his way back to the Guardian Library.
Jessie’s prediction proved accurate. Garret tried to sneak back into the Guardian Library undetected, but Drummondax was standing in front of the pile of books he had left untouched, arms crossed waiting for him. It was obvious he knew where Garret had gone. He wasn’t smiling, in fact he looked downright fierce.
“You have disobeyed a directive,” Drummondax said, his voice measured and quiet. “I told you we shall seek the help of others in this matter,” the muscles in his jaw tensing.
Garret wanted to say something back but thought better of it knowing how angry Drummondax was with him. In silence, they eyed one another until Drummondax spoke. “If you have something to say, you shall say it now.”
Garret squared his shoulders and faced him. “I went to see Jessie, yes. It is not up to you to decide for her. As angry as you are with me, I assure you, she is twice as angry with you. It’s her decision, not yours.”
Drummondax looked down at the floor. “Jessica is unaware of the full gravity of her situation. She knows not what will be required of her, and me.”
Garret shook his head, “You are wrong. She knows what she is doing. She wants to help, and she is sure Travis will want to help, too. She told me as much. You won’t be able to keep her away, I’m telling you.”
The anger on the older Angel’s face dissolved into anguish, as he looked Garret straight in the eyes. “Garret, my young brother,” he said with authority, “there are things you and Jessica both, do not yet understand. You know not, the full truth of her circumstances. However, I am sure that what you say is true. Her mind is set, and when Jessica determines to see something through, it seems even the Heavens cannot stop her. As you wish, we shall visit her soon to plan.” And with that he turned and walked away, leaving a stunned Garret, to tend to the books.
Garret stood there confused, as he watched him disappear into his office. “Hmm,” Garret thought to himself, “that’s odd, I wonder what he meant by that? Jessie and I are both aware of her situation, and I was expecting more of a fight.” Now, Garret was uneasy. But he had tasks needing his attention. Pushing the worry aside, he tended to them.
Later that day, Drummondax revealed to Garret the methods used by Lucifer to listen in on prayers. The whole scheme came about using technology. Lucifer had his demons possess four scientists involved in brainwave experimentation. Once they could manipulate a computer using Delta, Theta, Alpha and Beta brainwaves, they could then triangulate satellites to intercept thoughts or ‘prayers’ and relay the data back to Lucifer in near real time.
When a person prays, their brainwaves focused on a higher plane, making them distinguishable from all other thoughts. Imagine the chaos he could create with knowledge only The Father should have. It was ingenious, really.
Lucifer thought no one was the wiser for quite a while, but The Father knows all things. It was high time someone shut this activity down, for good. However, the conversation between Garret and Jessie had not taken place protected inside a Holy building. Lucifer would know they were on to him and would try to stop them. He would be ready.
A few days later, Drummondax and Garret came to Jessie again. They told her to bring Travis and return to the Patriots Chapel. There, they would discuss the plans.
So, Jessie called Travis, and then her dad, telling him she would come up for a short visit. While it would be nice to see her father again, it saddened her, because Michael had just returned home a few weeks before.
As much as she hated leaving him and the kids, this was her choice. It was something she felt compelled to do. It was difficult kissing them all good-bye, knowing it might well be the last time they would see each other in this life.
Making matters worse, the trek north was ridiculously slow. Jessie drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, angered by the knowledge that for everyone else, the trip to the Chapel would be a short one. “Oh well, figures,” she sighed, taking another sip of her latte. She listened to the radio and continued crawling up I-95.
She thought once again about the discrepancies in historical events, the removal of Easter from the minds of mankind. The whole point of Lucifer’s exercise was to erase the memory of the ‘Son’, making it easier to turn man away from The Father. Lucifer intended to steal the throne.
Even if successful in preventing Lucifer from intercepting prayers ever again, she wondered how they could recover the memories. She sighe
d. It didn’t matter, “Dax will figure it out,” she thought. Besides, her head was throbbing.
She reached into her glove box and pulled out a few aspirins, swallowing them with a large gulp of coffee, to temper the bitter pills. “I wonder if there are lattes in Heaven,” she thought out loud, placing hers back in the cup holder.
Even with the traffic, Jessie was the first to arrive in Valley Forge. It was the middle of the afternoon, the sun was hazy with humidity, hot and sticky. She stopped by the mausoleum to ‘talk’ to her mother.
She then continued the path to the Patriot’s Chapel, escaping the heat, grateful for the coolness of the old stone building. Once inside, she looked around for Pastor Parkerton, but he was nowhere. Opening her purse, she pulled out a few bills and once again, dropped them into the donation box.
She sat down in a pew, just as the door opened, followed by the sound of Travis’ voice, “Hey, what’s going on?”
“Hey Travis, Dax and Garret will be here soon. They will tell you all about it.”
Travis took a seat next to her, “Garret huh, nice. It will be great to see him.”
“I know, right?” Jessie laughed, just as the two Angels appeared before them.
“Dude!” Travis exclaimed, standing up, smiling when he first laid eyes on Garret, “you are taller than I thought you would be.” Garret and Jessie looked at each other and burst out laughing, not bothering to explain why.
Drummondax and Travis paid no mind, focusing on the matter at hand. The four of them would spend the next hours discussing how they would put an end to Lucifer’s plans.
Chapter 22
A Spiritual Cleansing
Patriot’s Chapel stood silent once more when Jessie and Travis both left for their dad’s house to visit for the evening. They would have plenty to do the next day to prepare for their mission, and Jessie wanted to spend a little down time with her dad and Travis.
Harrison turned on a mix of the epic music Faith had loved, and they sat around the dining room table, munching on pretzels and playing cards. Harrison and Travis each had a glass of Scottish Ale, while Jessie drank merlot. The day had been a hot one, and the night air was no better, humid and still, leaving the cold glasses of ale sweating in little puddles atop their coasters.
Harrison, who was keeping score, put his pencil down to turn on the fan. The bit of a breeze it created made the house tolerable. Laughing as they played, Travis won the last card game.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” he crowed.
“Yeah, ok. So, you win… this time. I’ll get you on the next one,” Jessie gave him a mock scowl.
“Not tonight,” Harrison interrupted, suddenly becoming the fun police, “it’s getting too late to start another game.”
So, instead they finished their drinks while swapping stories about Mom. Harrison doodled on the score pad as they chatted. Although the conversation between them was light-hearted, now and then, the siblings would exchange worried glances when they thought their father wasn’t paying attention.
Without the card game to concentrate on, Jessie fidgeted, bouncing her heel, worrying about what was to come the following day. Although, she was sure having Travis by her side would make all the difference. “The time for relaxing has ended,” she thought, “a lot of things would end soon.”
Harrison laid his pencil down, leaning back, his hands clasped behind his head. He yawned, then stood, pushing in his chair, “I’m going to bed now,” he announced. His chin down, he looked at both his children over the top of his glasses, “Someday, I expect you two will tell me what this is all about.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about, Dad,” Jessie nervously laughed.
“Sure, you don’t,” he said, as he bent down to kiss the top of her head. “Good night, Sweetheart,” he told her, “good night, Bub,” he winked at Travis, before turning to head down the hallway to bed.
The two of them sat there staring at one another. When their father shut the bedroom door behind him, Jessie mouthed, “What was that about?” Travis shrugged, but then, something caught his eye, as he glanced down at the score pad still in front of Harrison’s chair.
There in the right-hand corner at the bottom, was a perfect tiny replica of the Dragon Tattoo on Travis’ right forearm. Travis spun the pad around on the table to show Jessie. Her jaw dropped, “Do you think he knows?” she asked.
“Nah,” Travis shook his head, “he just knows something is going on, but he doesn’t know what.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not ready to have that conversation,” Jessie said, as she got up clearing the glasses from the table, placing them in the kitchen sink.
It was true, she wasn’t ready. She would most likely never be ready. But in her heart, she knew her time was growing short.
Soon, she would have to decide on whether to tell her dad everything. Travis wasn’t even aware she was living on borrowed time. He was unconscious when The Author told her what he’d written into her Life’s Book. Travis had no idea Jessie was dying, and she meant to keep it that way, for as long as she was able.
Travis picked his keys up off the counter, “I’m heading home. You know what you’re doing right?” he looked down at her.
“Yeah, I know,” she said.
“Jess, we got this. It will be all right.” He gave her shoulder a shove.
“Go home, you big goof,” she told him, and stood staring out the window as he drove away. She went to bed, but sleep didn’t come.
In the morning she had intended on slipping out of the house early to meet up with Travis, but Harrison was already up, sitting on the deck drinking his coffee.
“Hey, Dad,” she poured a cup, joining him outside. “I’ll be spending the day with Travis, so I won’t be here most of the day or evening. Don’t wait up for me. Okay?”
“Hmm,” he grunted. Jessie was sure he had questions, but grateful he didn’t ask. She finished her coffee taking a long look at him.
“What?” he said, when he caught her staring at him.
“Nothing,” she said, “I love you, and I will miss you, you know, when I leave.” Which was truer than he could ever have realized.
“I love you too, Sweetheart,” he smiled at her. She had lingered long enough. Kissing him good-bye, she left to pick up a few things and meet up with her brother.
Lucky to find a parking spot in front of the local grocery store, Jessie bought several gallons of water. Stopping at a local parish, she made a hefty donation for its blessing. Next, she went to the hardware store, where she picked up a bucket, mop, sponge, squeegee, rubber gloves and a roll of caution tape. As she was checking out, she spied two large water guns on a shelf and grabbed those too.
Funny how Angels can make things happen when they need to, whispering suggestions, influencing behaviors, securing a position for her, as a onetime substitute cleaning person, for a high clearance firm in the area. This was her ‘in’ to the building. The plan was to begin shortly before dusk.
Travis, again with divine intervention, had gotten permission to shoot a segment he needed for his weekend show. Given the classified nature of the work being done there, this was unprecedented. Now, having the access, he would meet up with Jessie later that evening. To avoid suspicion, they would pretend to not know one another.
It was much later in the day when Jessie finished her errands and finally pulled up to the designated building. It was still light out, but the sun was setting. Leaving all her purchases in her car, she walked through the glass doors, greeted by a gruff-looking security guard seated at a desk in front of yet another set of doors.
“Who are you here to see?” he asked.
“Um…. no one, I’m filling in for one of the cleaning crew. They were to have called ahead.”
“Name,” he said, without looking up.
“Jessica Santino?” she answered, her voice rising, as if she were suddenly unsure of her own name.
She stood there waiting as he looked at his computer wi
th no idea what she would do if he wouldn’t let her in. After a minute he said, “You can go back out to the parking lot.” Jessie breathed a sigh of relief. “Drive around to the back of building C,” he told her, “there is a ramp, drive up to the door and wait. A guard will be out to get you.”
“Thank you,” Jessie told him. He did not acknowledge her, but kept staring at his computer, so she exited the building thinking, “I knew it was a high security building, but geez.”
Back in the car, she drove around the massive complex. “Building C, Building C,” she said aloud, over and over, as she wound her way through the parking lot. “There you are!” spying the enormous C on the side of a blue building. Driving up the ramp, she stopped in front of a large steel door. Another security guard appeared and walked towards her, a tablet in his hand.
Jessie rolled down her window. “Jessica Santino?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” she replied.
“May I see some ID?”
“Of course,” she told him. Reaching into her purse, she retrieved her driver’s license, sitting silent while he looked at it.
“You’re from Virginia.” It was not a question.
“My husband is an Officer in the Navy. I’m from here originally,” she mentioned as he handed it back. He did not acknowledge her.
“This way,” walking away, he motioned for her to follow.
“And… you don’t care, do you?” she muttered under her breath. She pulled forward, waiting as the guard entered a code into a keypad. When he finished, the steel garage door at the top of the ramp chugged open. She drove through and stopped.
“Get out of the car ma’am,” the Guard told her.
“Oh great, he ma’amed me,” she thought, as she opened the door.
“Wait here, I’ll get you a cart for your supplies.” She nodded, as he disappeared around the corner. It wasn’t long before she heard the metal wheels on the concrete, rolling towards her. Opening her trunk, it surprised her when the guard helped her load the water onto the cart.
She picked up the bag containing the water guns and other small items from the hardware store, stuffing it on the bottom shelf of the cart.