by Michael Todd
Travers nodded in agreement. “The thing is, this all seems a little too coincidental to me. Every day it seems to get worse. The guys are pulling twenty-four-hour shifts and still can’t keep up with it. They are leaving one arrest midway with rookies just to chase down another perp right in the middle of it all. One thing I learned really fast with this demon shit is that coincidences are rarely that.”
“You think there’s something bigger on the horizon, don’t you?’
Travers pressed his lips together. “How can I not? Between the surges of attacks, the fact that none of them seem planned or orchestrated by any larger entity, and the quietness of the large incursions, it feels like something is in the wings. The main demons, this Moloch character and his minions, they don’t seem like the kind that would just give up. They hit France with force, but we all saw a quiet period beforehand and knew something big was coming.”
Schultz scratched his head confused. “Then wouldn’t that mean it should be quiet right now.”
“Yeah, if we were dealing with beings that didn’t learn from past mistakes, but I think we’ve come to learn through our allies and enemies that these demons aren’t unintelligent beings, at least not the high-level ones. They saw that staying quiet, keeping the calm alerted us to bigger things. What if their plan now is to allow this all to continue to build? Maybe they are helping these cults, and these idiots cause a ruckus as a distraction of sorts. Keep pushing us to our limits until we’re worn to the bone, and then come out of nowhere with something we don’t expect.”
Schultz nodded. “That makes perfect sense, actually. There’s a rumbling of something going on, all connected to these small arrests, this unrest within the city.”
“And it's not just here. I’ve talked to buddies of mine in California, Kentucky, and Iowa. They all say the same thing about the amount of unrest there is.”
“Okay, so we feel the attack coming, we see the signs, but we have no idea where it could take place, how big it will be. We don’t even know if it will be through infected humans, a portal or both. How do we prepare for something, short of sending someone to hell as a spy, which we know won’t work?’
“We don’t,” Travers replied. “We pull off of the knowns. We look at everything we know about the demons: their powers, how they attack, and what their track record indicates. Then we start moving to be prepared for it. We don’t put all our eggs in one basket like France did with the portals. We spread out and be ready to move at a moment’s notice. We don’t assume that if one incursion breaks out that will be the only one. We have to plan ahead on this, it’s the only way we can really see to survive it. With the lack of men and the way we are stretched so thin, this place is going to start looking like Gotham City, only we don’t have a Batman.”
Shultz snickered. “No, but we have an angel...”
“Katie can’t take them all on at once. She is tough, but not that tough. The mercenaries have all but disbanded. The days of teams rolling out to take down a whole incursion singlehandedly are over. We have to pull together using the forces we have developed, and continue to strengthen those. In the meantime the little guys—that’s us, in case that wasn’t clear—keep it together on the streets.”
Schultz walked over to the bookshelf and pulled down a book on preventative measures in case of a threat of mass proportions. He opened up the chapter on early warnings and slid it across the desk to Travers. “At least we have the latest procedure, as much use as it is since it’s geared toward a human threat.” He squared his shoulders. “Still, we can use the knowledge we’ve gained from working with Katie to figure it out. We implement what we can from where we are and then start moving up the chain of command, getting the go-ahead to implement the bigger things.”
“Shit. I’m impressed, Schultz. You still got a little fire in you yet.” Travers chuckled. “From here I can get the chief to get a meeting with the commissioner. In the meantime, we start bringing in some of our part-timers. The weekend warriors, the ones who are on the brink of retirement but can fill the streets. We give our younger guys a little time to rest and take care of the families, and get us back on twelve-hour shifts to start with. No one is going to be any good if they haven’t slept in three days.” He shook his head. “It all starts to blur after that.”
“I’ll go see if the captain has a minute.”
“I’ll write down a list of all the things we need to have happen to prepare for whatever is coming. Let me know if he is down for it.”
Schultz nodded his head and left the room, heading over to the captain’s office. He walked in to find the captain with one hand on the desk, rubbing his tired face. Schultz knocked on the doorframe.
“Captain, do you have time to speak to Travers and me? We had some ideas we would like to run past you.”
The captain looked up and nodded. “No better time than the present.”
Schultz grabbed Travers, and they both went into the captain’s office, shutting the door behind them. They sat down in front of his desk, which was covered in stacks and stacks of paperwork. He had been there for three days straight, taking a rest in one of the holding cells here and there, but mostly just plowing through.
The captain leaned forward over the desk and stared at both of them, a look of concern in his eye. “You guys are seeing what I’m seeing, aren’t you?”
“Sir?” Travers replied.
“There is something big coming, something rumbling right below us and it’s about to explode.”
Brock’s team rowdily exited the jet, a couple of the guys slipping the flight attendants their numbers as they thanked them. They’d had a blast on the plane ride to New York, thanks to the stellar efforts of the ladies. So far, the trip had been a welcome pampering after everything they had been through.
A certain sadness tinged Brock’s enjoyment of the experience. Lamb had been laid to rest in France, and his sacrifice still had a rawness Brock couldn’t bring himself to examine too closely. He knew it was a risk that they all agreed to take on from the beginning, but that didn’t make his death any easier.
When the plane landed, they went to catch a breath of fresh air and straighten out a little after the excess during the flight while the crew unloaded their gear.
A man in a suit with an airport badge walked out the door and put his hands in front of him. “Gentlemen, if you would follow me right this way, your car is waiting.”
“Yes, gentlemen,” one of the guys joked, ramming his shoulder into the guy next to him.
The guys situated their bags on their shoulders and followed him out through the private side of the airport. The people on the main concourse looked up as the men passed by on the other side of the rope.
“Oh my God, it’s Brock!”
“Brock! Brock! We love you!”
He smiled and waved, remembering the days when groupies like them were a part of daily life. However, this time it was different.
Other people started to line up at the rope, and they were clapping for the whole team. His teammates walked a little taller when they got their first taste of a crowd calling their names. They all took a few minutes to greet the crowd, at Brock’s urging. He knew exactly what a boost to morale it would be, both for his team and for the people who now had an outlet for the relief they’d felt when they saw the demon hordes defeated.
Brock grinned when he saw a pretty redhead press her number on one of the guys. Another was signing a newspaper for an elderly gentleman in a USMC cap.
Wow, this is pretty different from the tour, his demon remarked. Feels kind of…I don’t know, wholesome? I felt better about the orgies.
It isn’t the Brock Show anymore. Brock smiled. It was about all of them; all of the soldiers, all the heroes who had saved the day in France. The people had seen the television coverage and recognized their efforts. It made all of the guys feel good about themselves, proud of what they were doing. It was the kind of rejuvenation that they all really needed after months of nothin
g but fighting.
How do you feel about that? I mean, you got all the attention back then. Now you’re just a poster boy for something much bigger.
Brock loved it. For once he wasn’t being singled out for his singing or his looks, but instead for something much more important—his effort to protect. It was a small contribution, but nevertheless, it felt good and right to serve the people of the world. Sure, he could have been living the high life, but it wouldn’t have sat right with him in the end. Making the decision to dedicate himself to service had been the right thing to do. It had been a tough call after living as a pampered rock star, but he felt more than satisfied with his life as it was now.
The guys looked at each other with huge smiles on their faces. The man at the front opened the door to the outside and revealed a limousine just for them. The guys laughed and patted Brock on the back.
Brock grinned and followed them out, appreciating Katie’s effort to show his team her thanks. Even if he didn’t get anywhere near Katie that week, it would be worth it just to see their spirits lifted.
His demon snorted. You keep telling yourself that. You might even convince yourself it’s true. You’ve got it baaaad…
Chapter Eight
Calvin followed Korbin and Stephanie into the living room. Stephanie excused herself to the kitchen. Calvin looked around at the evidence of their all too brief utopia, the keepsakes placed here and there, the photos of the two of them doing ordinary everyday things together. They really did look happier than he had ever seen either one of them before Katie had exorcised them.
Stephanie returned a moment later. “Thought maybe something a little stronger than tea was in order.” She smiled, holding up three beers.
Calvin grinned. “Oh, thank you, that is definitely right up my alley.”
Korbin indicated a chair. “Please, have a seat.”
Calvin nodded and all three sat down, Stephanie and Korbin on the couch across from him. Calvin set his beer down on a coaster on the coffee table and put his hands together, trying to figure out where to start. He figured he should start with the basics.
“You were both infected, but Katie pulled your demons from you to give you a chance at a happy life together..”
“Katie is the woman on the television, the one with the wings, right?” Korbin asked.
“Yeah, that’s her.” Calvin chuckled. Stephanie nodded. “Even without the wings, she is just…spectacular. I love her!” She held a finger up to Calvin. “In a platonic way, of course. Everything that woman has done? I expect we don’t know even half of it, but it would be hard not to love her.”
Korbin rescued Stephanie from her fangirl moment. “We both very much admire her. She does so much for the world, and has no fear. It’s really amazing, especially for a woman that young.”
Calvin cleared his throat and smiled. “Katie is pretty special. She cares about other people. She wants the ones she loves to have amazing lives and be anything they want. That’s why she did what she did to the two of you.”
“What did you mean by that?” Stephanie looked at him in confusion. “I don’t understand. Neither of us has ever met Katie, but you’ve mentioned her twice now. I mean, that would be really awesome. She looks like a fun person, but we spend most of our time right here at the house.”
Calvin shook his head. “Not recently. Before all this. Before you got married and had the house and the garden. We were all really good friends, in fact.”
Korbin chuckled and then furrowed his brow, just like he used to do. Calvin held back a smile, not ready to go into their history together. Slowly the smile slid off Korbin’s face as he thought about what had been said.
“You’re saying we knew Katie?”
“Yeah.” Calvin chuckled. “Let me give you some background. My name is Calvin, and you brought me into the mercenaries along with Damian, a priest, who is now serving his church by traveling around the world. Katie came much later. She was a college volleyball player who was drugged by a cult and infected. Now, when she was infected, we didn’t know, but her demon was very powerful. In fact, her demon is Lilith, the wife of Lucifer.”
Korbin’s eyes widened in shock. “Whoa.”
“Yeah, well, she turned out to not be so bad, and never took Katie over fully. They work as a team, kicking demon ass.”
Stephanie frowned. “What about the wings?”
“That’s something that has just developed lately, brought to her via Gabriel, the angel. Apparently, she is somehow part angel as well. We haven’t gotten to the bottom of that one quite yet. Anyway, there have been a lot of us coming and going, some dying, and some exorcised, going back to lead semi-normal lives. Before then, it wasn’t Katie’s Killers. It was Korbin’s Killers.”
Korbin’s face dropped, and he looked at Stephanie in complete shock. She reached over and took his hand, her face both shocked and comforting at the same time. He stood up and walked over to the window, putting his hands on his hips and staring out at his garden.
“You okay?” Calvin asked. “I know it’s a lot to take in all at once.”
“Uh, yeah.” He laughed. “I mean, I guess it makes sense. I am in much better shape than I should be at my age.”
Stephanie chuckled. “I have to admit, I have skills that are a little too good for a madam.”
“Well, that’s because you were kicking demon ass with Katie all over the West Coast. The two of you were like this crazy team, researching powerful Damned and either taking them down or ripping the demons right out of them. I guess the incursions weren’t enough to keep your attention. That, and the ammo business you helped run. To be honest, without you, the whole thing might have been a flop.”
“Ammo business?” she asked.
“You heard me right. Katie is part owner of the company that makes the demon-killing ammunition. And you too, Korbin; you are part owner. That’s where the monthly deposit in your bank account comes from.”
Korbin turned around. “I thought I struck it lucky with the military, but I wasn’t about to question it.”
“That would have been some fucking luck.” Calvin laughed. “Of course, we kept part of your share in an account for you. It would have been too big of a deposit to explain away with the military.”
“Well, that makes sense. And Katie and I—we ran this business and were mercenaries?”
“Yep, with the help of Stephanie, and the one who makes the metal, Joshua. There are also the former brothel workers. You gave them all jobs there when you closed down the business. Most of them stayed, even after you were exorcised.”
Korbin walked back over and sat down on the couch, clutching his hands together and leaning forward. “And Katie, she is the one who did this to us?”
“You make it sound like a bad thing, but if you could remember, you’d know merc life was hard. She loved you both so much, and she wanted your love for each other to have a chance to grow without demons butting in. She wanted you to have a chance at a real life.”
“And you?”
“I still work with the mercs. I turned down the top position and offered up Katie for it. She didn’t want to take it at first, but she is doing a good job. It’s only three of us at this point, since most of the merc teams have gone their own way since Incursion Day. It’s a lucrative business, demon-killing, if you can stay alive long enough to see the deposits.”
Stephanie smiled. “I guess in a way we should be thankful to Katie. We are married, happy, and alive. We got a chance that apparently not everyone gets.”
“True.” Calvin smiled.
“So why do you want us to come back?”
“Well, I need a couple of badass humans to help me watch over someone I love very much. She has been through a hell of a lot, and though Katie and I took care of the main threat, I have a feeling that there are more people out there trying to get to her. I guess I was hoping the two of you could maybe help me out for a few days. I wouldn’t have broken into your happiness, but you are li
terally the only normal humans that I trust.”
Korbin chuckled. “I don’t know about normal, but we are pretty trustworthy.”
“To be honest, I don’t even know what normal is anymore.” Stephanie laughed. “Especially not after this conversation. Now, I just want to make sure—we aren’t infected anymore, right?”
“No,” Calvin replied. “You aren’t. Katie took care of that, and I promise, if you were, you would know about it. Demons tend to talk more than most people would really like.”
If you fed a brother some tacos every once in a while, maybe we could have normal conversations. Calvin was almost surprised to hear his demon. He had been silent for a couple of weeks.
I was starting to think you weren’t there anymore.
In your dreams, pal. I just figured you would want some privacy with your little girlfriend for a bit.
Appreciate it.
Hey, it’s Korbin. He coming back?
That’s what I’m hoping.
“As far as Sofia is concerned, I really have no idea if anyone will actually attack her, but I don’t want to take any chances. She was mixed up with some really bad demon drug lords. After saving her from that, I don’t want to take even the slightest chance if I have any doubts. It’s one of those things, you know? Do what you can to protect the people you love.”
Korbin looked at Stephanie and she smiled, stretching up and kissing his cheek. She gave him a slight nod. Korbin looked at Calvin with a grin.
“We will do it, on one condition.”
“Okay, what’s that?”
“We get to meet Katie and have a chance to talk about everything.”
Calvin gritted his teeth and sighed, knowing that Katie wasn’t going to be happy. Not because she didn’t want to see Korbin and Stephanie—she loved them, after all—but because she knew that there was a possibility they would be angry with her for exorcising them without talking to them about it first. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it up to Korbin and Stephanie.