39/XXXIX. Injustice! (Mastered)

“Get in here, please!” Lot pathetically begged the two angels to stay in his home inside the city of Sodom of Gomorrah.

He was wise enough to know that these two strangers were the messengers of God.

He has seen a lot when he was with Abraham before their servants fell out.

“Lot, we are here to warn you.” As soon as they stepped in his home, Maloriel took the direct approach and blurted out her warning.

“About what?” Lot curled his brows. He wanted to offer food and drinks to the messengers of God, but that straight-forward statement threw him off.

Rarely did he experience any warnings from the messenger of God. He always heard good tidings and blessings given to his uncle whenever an angel of God visited his camp.

“The people in this city grew wicked - too wicked that the God Almighty took notice.” Jessiel vindicated the situation.

The true God indeed was merciful and forgiving, but the evil and wickedness in the city reached Heavens and the Almighty decided to purge it.

Time was of the essence, Lot had to move out or else he will be caught in the destruction.

“Wha- what are you saying?” He shook his head in disbelief. He stuttered in shock even asking that question.

SFX: TOK, TOK, TOK, BANG! BANG! BANG!

A group of men banged on Lot’s front door as he was entertaining his guests in the reception area.

“Excuse me.” He trailed off of their conversation and rushed to the door.

He inhaled, sighed, and spoken at the side of the closed door to the strangers.

“Buddy! I saw that there were men who came in here as guests. I heard that they’re well-clothed and beautiful. Can you at least introduce us to them?” The night fornicators called on Lot upon hearing that there were guests that visited – guests as beautiful as they can imagine.

The evil in this city is limitless. Jessiel glanced upon Lot’s worried face as he thought about the reason why God wanted to destroy the city.

“I’m so sorry, but they are my esteemed guests.” Lot sought to reason with the wicked men, but they wouldn’t budge and at the end-

“How about… you have my daughters instead?” He debated against the idea, but to give the messengers of God to the evil men were much more of a grave sin, or so he thought.

“Maloriel.” Jessiel signaled to the angel of curse as Lot was already at his wits end.

“Evil, be gone! Men, who has wicked thoughts, both great and small, I curse you to darkness!” With one statement, the fornicators who were trying to get their hands on the angels and were trying to open the door to the house of Lot succumb to the darkness and became blind.

The two angels gazed at each other’s eyes, and Maloriel quickly warned Lot, “The Lord will destroy this city by sunrise tomorrow. You and your family should go before then. Depart from this place.”

Lot quickly barged out of his house to warn his sons-in-law, relatives, kins, but they mocked him just as the plains people mocked Noah when he preached about the flood.

It was hard for people to believe that there was a God that’s all- seeing and punishes evil.

His relatives scorned the old man, as he returned disheartened by the reception of his preaching.

He can never preach to them, he was a sinner himself, within the walls, taking advantage of the greed and covetousness.

He went home near dawn, facing the two angels that warned him about the destruction of the city.

As the morning arise, the two angels woke up Lot’s wife, and his two daughters to leave the city before fire and brimstone were set into it, but Lot lingered.

Michael stepped in and teleported the family outside the city walls.

“Don’t look back lest thou be consumed.” Maloriel gave them her last warning. Everyone looked at each other puzzled by what the messenger of God just told them, “Don’t look back…”

They had everything inside the walls, food, riches, comfort, and money, but all of it - they weren’t able to save anything.

But as Lot gazed upon his wife, and his daughters, not all hope was lost.

“Messenger of God, you have been so graceful to us, thank you.” Lot and his family were able to enter the cave of Zoar just as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was happening.

The mountains of Zoar were able to protect the family, but before they entered the city, his wife, overcome by human desire, looked back at the city she loved with all her heart.

As the fire and brimstone entered the surface of the Earth and meteors were sent from heaven, the city burned in flames and Lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt on the way to the mountains of Zoar.

“Raph.” Michael spotted Raphael from beyond the cave of Zoar.

The Captain teleported both Jessiel and Maloriel from where Raphael was standing, observing his magnificent fireworks from the city walls of Sodom.

“Mike.” The angel of healing didn’t seem pleased by what he was doing. He is the angel of Life and Healing, and yet, he’s bringing death and destruction upon the orders of God.

He inhaled deeply, sighed, and rolled his eyes to another direction. He didn’t want to see something that destroys what he created.

“Raph, you’re under orders?” Sometimes, it happens, there were some orders that they don’t want to do, but cannot disobey.

“Hm.” He simply nodded, looking away from all the gore and blood seeping out of the city walls.

Michael similarly felt the same overwhelming emotion, and can empathize. He put his hand on Raphael’s shoulders and looked him in the eye.

The two Seraphs with them cannot decipher their communication language and just stood silent amidst the roars and cries from within the city of Sodom.

As soon as there were no echo within the walls, and everything went quiet, Raphael slowly put down his arms controlling the meteors, and put his other hand over his mouth, appearing to be gagging, almost vomiting.

He crossed his brows and turned to Michael, teary-eyed. Michael hugged his brother tightly as he bawled in tears, and burst into a breakdown.

The two Seraphs were stunned but Michael shoo the two away as he wanted Raphael to have a private moment to recollect himself.

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“Eagle!” Eddie and Irene arrived at the backdoor of the studio 72 meeting Jackson and Arthur.

“What happened?” Irene’s worried face can be read all over.

This was the first time she’s dealing with these kinds of situation herself, and seeing the blood in Arthur’s face made her more worried than ever.

“Eagle! I thought you’re with Storm?” Eddie wanted to sound cool but missed the timing since Johnny was already kidnapped.

“Storm is with a clone, he’s trying to lose the monitoring team that’s following the car. We need to go home, and get supplies, we’re searching for Snake, he’s been kidnapped.” Arthur briefed everyone in the team what’s been happening right now.

The two dropped their jaws and shook in silence, Eddie tried to regain his train of thought much faster, “Wait, wait, where are we going exactly, and Snake’s kidnapped?”

The suggestion just didn’t sit right with Irene, how can they possibly go home without having past the surveillance team outside the production lot?

“How can we do that if Storm’s not with us, and there’s a surveillance team outside the lot?” Irene was not yet aware of Arthur’s angelic powers.

He planned not to tell her, but it would be weird if she does question him about it. The only reasonable thing to do is combined Manipulation and Oracle to manipulate her memories and make her forget.

Arthur pulled out his black handkerchief from his pocket, and folded it in front of Irene, and as he’s trying to blindfold her, “Do you trust me?” he asked.

“Is this some kind of kink?” She pulled away just as Arthur was putting the blindfold.

There’d be no need for a blindfold if I’m going to let her forget.

“Then, let’s go. The EM disruption is still working so it would be safe for me to go ahead and help us teleport.” Arthur firmly held the right hand of Irene, almost squeezing it.

She wanted to be lost in the moment, but the choice words that Arthur used, “teleport”, is something unusual.

“We’re ready.” Jackson and Eddie both laid their hands on Arthur’s shoulders and- “Hang tight and close your eyes, Irene.”

“WHa- What do you- What do you mean?” The sudden touch of hands flustered Irene, and as she drew closer to Arthur, a strong gush of wind enveloped her and she was forced to close her eyes in the midst of the chaos.

Right now, I can only do one skill at a time, if I used Illusion and Manipulation at the same time to fool her eyes, it would be counter-productive, and I may pass out from that, this damn child’s body!

The first EM disruption has not yet ended, and then another EM disruption burst came upon the lot as Arthur used Teleportation to directly teleport them inside the study office of his father.

The strong gust of wind carried the four of them into the mansion in a matter of seconds, and while Irene’s eyes were closed due to the wind, she can still feel the flow of time and knows that it only has been seconds.

“We’re here.” The four of them touched down the ground as the wind dissipated.

Nothing in the room was disturbed as they stood straight inside the study room. Good thing that the room doesn’t have any windows that the monitoring team can peak through.

Arthur also got rid of the bugs set-up by the MI-7 inside the mansion a long time ago.

Irene still can feel the chilling touch of the wind and the warmth of Arthur’s hands with hers, and as soon as her feet landed on the ground of the study room, Arthur let go of her hand, but she was too afraid to open her eyes.

“Irene, you can open your eyes now.” Eddie noticed the stunned lady, unmoving from her spot and shaking to her core.

“Something has changed, we’re no longer in the studio, right?” She chose to close her eyes to the truth, but nevertheless, Arthur wanted her to see what they were doing and possibly help.

He was on his way to the other table on the south side of the room, but spotted Irene’s erratic response.

He slowly walked towards her, and whispered to her ears, “I need you. You can either open your eyes and help, or I can bring you back to your hotel and you can forget everything about the case.” His breath touched her ears and as it tickled and tingled, Irene recalled the times she was laughing and happy with everyone solving the case.

“If I open my eyes, right here and now, promise me you won’t make me forget.” He backed off, as she was determined to either push through their plan, or forget everything, every connection to Arthur.

The silence in the room swallowed the two of them, while Jackson and Eddie stood afar from the two.

Arthur considered her offer, he inhaled, and sighed, but in the end, he agreed, “I promise.” He held out his warm hands, and brushed her cheeks, and she opened her eyes slowly and gently to his face looking at her in the eye.

The two smiled sweetly at each other. “You’ll explain this to me, later?” Irene asked, out of respect, and out of wonder, and Arthur nodded in agreement.

“Come on. Let’s do this.” Arthur held Irene’s hand, and walked with her towards the computer at the other office table.

“I have the plate number, all we need to do is trace it using dad’s access.” Arthur gazed at Eddie’s, Jackson’s, and Irene’s eyes. They’re all ready for action.