Chapter Fifteen

Why in the Almighty's name did he think letting Zia explain was a good idea? "Your comrade is the lowest sector's ambassador?!" Jeremy yelled straight into his ear. God, he could be such a lecher sometimes. "I've heard that she's a knockout! Have you tried anything?" Yet again, the desires of man never ceased to amaze him. It was like they were trying to get themselves damned! Aeron sighed as he hurried back out onto the balcony. If he stayed inside, there was a chance that Zia would overhear this horrible conversation.

"Could you please stop goofing around and pay attention?! We've got a serious problem here!" Aeron yelped. If the Demons were mobilizing, they had to step up their game. "At this rate, things might get ugly before we even make it to the summit. Can you deploy some reinforcements?" For a second, Jeremy became as silent as a corpse.

"The Templar himself is asking for backup?! Now I've heard everything." After hearing the operator's relaxed response, Aeron nearly broke his transmitter. "Either way," Jeremy sighed, "reassigning extra judges and guards will be difficult. They invited you to attend the summit personally, after all. Unless you have a plan, I can't just send more without causing a diplomatic incident." Now that was an issue. He could easily fend for himself, but the rest of the ambassadors were a different story. Why couldn't this be a simple rehabilitation mission? Then he could blow all the Demons away and be done with this mess.

"If only that were it," he thought with a sigh as he turned towards the guest room. "Any orders on how to deal with Ms. Lombardi?" Judges and ambassadors were, for the most part, separate entities. If this information did indeed lead to an assignment, he'd be the one to carry it out. In other words, he'd have to cut Zia from the equation.

"You're not getting out of this that easily, my friend. That diplomat has helped you already, and in my mind, that makes her an ally." Aeron couldn't help but groan.

"Are you saying that you want me to work with her?" He already knew the man's answer. When it came to women, Jeremy was a hopeless romantic.

"I'm only suggesting that you should at least try to be social." Aeron scowled. That idea helped absolutely no one. "Listen, I know you fancy yourself as more of a lone wolf. Don't try to deny it. I'm just saying that working with someone that isn't a part of the Bureau might be good for you." Aeron was shocked. A mortal was lecturing him, an Angel, on morals. The irony of the situation was palpable. However, even though Jeremy's heart was in the right place, his brain certainly was not.

"You know how suspicious it is for me to even talk to her? If we aren't careful, we could cause a row with one of the other ambassadors," the frustrated Cherub hastily whispered into the receiver. Never doubt a mortal's capacity for irrational thought. Even in Heaven, the chess game of politics stained every facet of the Almighty's government. Zia knew this fact well. "I'm sure the Minister wouldn't appreciate us angering the high-ranking diplomats. He'd have us working overtime for the rest of eternity."

"Since when did you care about working overtime?" Jeremy scoffed as he gulped down the last of his drink. "I mean, for fucks sake, you live in The Courthouse!"

"I don't need you judging me about where I choose to rest my legs. With how busy you are, you practically live there as well." The pair laughed as Aeron watched some of the Demonic patrols below comb through the forest. "Anyways… things aren't looking too good here. If you want me to work with Ms. Lombardi, we'll need to find a safe space to chat first. My room is out of the question. So, do us a favor and get us out of this, Mr. Operator." Jeremy always prided himself on his intellect. Now it was time for him to put it to use.

"Don't underestimate me, Templar," the man said as Aeron heard him dial another number into his transmitter. "Remember who you're dealing with." Aeron had a hunch that the Bureau's jester was up to another one of his underhanded tricks.

"I'm guessing that you will not tell me what you're planning, right?" Aeron mumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Jeremy's maniacal laughter told him all he needed to know. "How the hell did someone like him ever manage to make it into Heaven?" he thought as he rolled his eyes. After all this time—he still had no idea what went through that man's head.

"My friend, did anyone ever tell you that you worry too much?" Jeremy joked as Aeron watched some locusts fly overhead. "You and Ms. Lombardi will get all the alone time that you need tomorrow. Just trust me on this." Aeron sighed as he tore off his transmitter. He could only take so much of Jeremy's crap. Without the operator's constant badgering filling his ears, a crushing silence overtook the penthouse.

"I hope you can deliver on those promises," Aeron thought as the Demons scurried about down below like a swarm of ants. This entire situation was starting to spiral out of control. "Well… I guess now I should probably take Ms. Lombardi back." The devils were out in force tonight. If they didn't do something fast, it wouldn't be long before they discovered that Zia had disappeared from her quarters. "Hey!" he yelled as he knocked on his suite's guest room entrance. "I'm coming in! We need to talk about our plan!" When she didn't respond, Aeron just rolled his eyes and opened the door. "You've got to be fucking kidding me," he thought when he finally found the ambassador lying unconscious in bed. She'd fallen asleep! "If Jeremy were here, he'd tell me to let her rest," Aeron thought. That's what a proper gentleman would do, but fuck that—he had places to be. "Ms. Lombardi, it's time to wake up!" he announced as he whipped out his gavel and pressed it against her forehead. "A plague of nightmares ought to do the trick." The smile across his lips was horrific enough to give even the most sadistic abominations the shakes. "No hard feelings, all right?" he thought as he pulled the trigger. Ten seconds later, the sleeping beauty was wide awake.

"Shit!" the shocked ambassador cursed as she fell to the floor. "What the fuck was that?!" Her frantic mumblings would have alerted the entire building if they weren't in the penthouse.

"I woke you up. Now come on!" Aeron yelled as he passed the diplomat her coat. "We've got to get you back to your room!" The poor woman barely had time to think before being rushed out of the suite and onto the balcony.

"Are we going to fly?" Her room was just a few floors down, after all. If they were quick, the Demons wouldn't spot them. However, Aeron had other plans. "Wait… what are you doing?" she asked the judge as he fiddled with his gavel.

"Give me a second, I'm thinking." Something like this would require finesse and precision. After a few moments of silence, Aeron opened his eyes and placed a hand on Zia's shoulder. "Okay, I need you to jump off the balcony," he told her. Zia thought she misheard him. Did he say what she thought he said?

"What? Aren't you an Angel? Can't you, you know, float me down?" Aeron laughed at the ambassador's suggestion. Technically he could do that, but he didn't want to. Even though he had wings, that didn't mean he was comfortable being some glorified taxi.

"God, she's so stubborn," the grinning Angel thought as he lifted Zia into the air and tossed her over the railing. "Try not to die."

Six years ago...

I never get used to it, no matter how many times I see it. Of course, I'm talking about the dead. I'm responsible for Heaven's lowest level. So, I get to see every new soul that crosses the gilded gates. Usually, I'm happy for them. After all, unlike me, God ushered their souls straight into his garden. However, even though they passed the Almighty's test, many of them still suffered. Several fell hook, line, and sinker for the Bureau's recruitment campaigns. Those poor fools would soon be sorted, shoved into transports, and sent off to become the Minister's newest pawns. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen families separated. Some spouses have been gone for so long that they forget the faces of their significant others. And, in some extreme cases, even their children. It's heartbreaking, this system that God has set up for his creations. Even in death, none of us are truly free.

For obvious reasons, the lowest sector suffers the most because of this system. The jobs we have here are simply atrocious. Many are left with terms in the upper hundreds of thousands, with no way to pay them off. I want to change this, but I'm not sure how. This discrimination has grown for thousands of years. So, removing it has been a challenge, to be honest. I need an endorsement from someone in the Bureau, an official spark to get my movement started. I require an Angel, but the odds of me meeting one down here are slim to none.