Chronicles of Absolution: Will You Be My Angel?
Chapter 1
Brenda had never been so scared in her life. All she wanted to do was to get home, lock the door and pretend that what she was seeing right now wasn't happening. It just wasn't real. It was just a hallucination or a weirdo ass or something. Anything was better to explain what she was seeing now since what she was seeing was a sure ticket to the loony bin.
She had been on her way home from work; it was her turn to work the late shift and she wasn't happy about it but she got more hours and more pay. She needed the money and it wasn't like she had anything going on socially. She had walked since her car was in the shop and it wasn't that far anyway to the bar and grill that she worked at.
It was pretty much the usual in terms of the usual customers and a couple of new ones. The usual were harmless old men that flirted with her and she teased them back. It was no big deal and she left with a nice chunk of change in terms of tips in her purse. She now had enough to pay for repairs to her air con unit. With summer on the way she was not going to be miserable like last summer and the last few heat waves.
She had made a turn down the alley to use as a shortcut. She had used it before so it was no big deal and hardly anything happened in that town. She was diligent about her safety and had her free hand in her jacket pocket where she kept her can of pepper spray. You never knew what was going to happen and it was best to be prepared.
The attack came when she passed the dumpsters behind the local strip bar. She had barely passed when someone jumped her from behind and grabbed her. She reacted and used her limbs while trying to scream for help. She did manage to get away but somehow the guy that was after her and behind her ended up in front of her. The next thing she knew she was rammed into the wall and her back made contact with the wall.
The pain alone was enough to make her bowl over but she couldn't. Instead she was forced to look up into her attacker's eyes. She still had her pepper spray in her pocket. She just needed to buy some time. "Please, don't hurt me."
The attacker peered at her and appeared amused. "Please? Is that you begging? I like that."
When he leaned in, that was enough to spur Brenda into action. She pulled out her can of mace aimed and fired. She gritted her teeth and pushed when the pervert screamed in pain from the spray. "I bet you do you asshole."
The victory was short lived though and Brenda got the shock of her life. The attacker had been holding his head in his hands. When he looked up at her, she noticed the eyes. They were not like any eyes she had ever seen before. They were pitched black and they were cold and dead even though the skin around the eyes was clearly agitated.
Brenda had no idea what to think of what she was seeing. She tried to run but backing up and ended up falling on the ground. She was stunned speechless.
"You want an asshole? You got it babe and you have something that I need."
Brenda found herself being grabbed and the guy brought out a wicked looking knife. There were symbols on the handle and the tip was curved wickedly. She found her breath hitching until she was almost hyperventilating. All she could see was the knife coming close to her neck and that her life was going to end and she didn't know why.
The next thing that happened, she didn't expect. She didn't expect anyone to come and help her really but suddenly the guy was out of her face. In its place was someone else. Brenda couldn't see who it was since their back was to her but she could tell that it was a woman. The posture along told her that and even though her rescuer was wearing a black t-shirt, it was form fitting and she could see the feminine curves that were distinguishing of a woman.
It was funny what went through the mind at the time. Brenda couldn't help but admire the looks even though it was the backside of the woman. She even noticed the shoes which were dressy but designed to do what they were doing now and that was kicking ass. The dark hair was perfect even in the semi messy form she was wearing was perfect for the occasion.
The woman was facing the guy and she was ready to fight and that was against a knife. The guy thrust with his knife hand and missed allowing the woman to step in and deliver a punch to the face. The guy countered by hitting back. They went at it for a time with the guy pushing the woman into the dumpster and ramming her hard.
The woman gritted her teeth and pushed back. She followed through with a punch. Her reward was getting a punch across the face and she fell to the ground. Her face was near a puddle of water and her breaths made ripples in the dirty water. Brenda thought that she was done for and in effect she was too. She gasped as she watched the guy advance and say, "You think you can beat me? Stupid hunter."
What happened next, Brenda wasn't sure. The woman on the ground was still breathing and she managed to say, "And that was my goal."
The woman looked up at the guy and Brenda could see that he was visibly startled by what he saw. That didn't stop him though and his features contorted into anger and he charged forward. The woman startled Brenda when she put her hands on the ground and with astounding upper body strength, the woman lifted both of her legs in the air and delivered a kick to the guy and sent him flying back.
The woman was on her feet and ready for the incoming attack. She charged and actually leapt onto the nearby wall and pivoted off it like she ran against the wall. She followed through with a kick to the head of the guy and knocked him over. He fell and splashed into the puddles of dirty water. The woman advanced but suddenly jumped back and Brenda thought that she had heard the sound of cloth ripping.
The woman didn't take any crap and blocked the next thrust. Brenda watched as she grabbed the guy by the arm and wrenched the knife out of his hand after twisting the wrist. There was the unmistakable sound of bones crunching in that movement and Brenda thought that something was broken but the guy did nothing more than grunt in anger. He did deliver a kick to the woman in the chest and she fell against the dumpster. Then Brenda saw something that made her think she was being delusional.
The guy waited until the woman got up and then made a slight waving of his hand. The woman moved her head in an inquisitive manner and taunted, "Oh. Did you mean to do this?" She made a gesture with her left and Brenda blinked as she watched the guy fly through the air and into another dumpster.
It was followed with the guy coming out and they locked limbs and struggled. The guy's nails were digging into the woman's neck but to Brenda it seemed that she had very good upper body strength. Then the woman pushed the guy away and pulled out a gun just as he did. She fired a couple of shots and they hit the guy. Brenda couldn't help but gasp as he dropped to the ground and his gun clattered to the ground and the woman stared at the body just as the first sounds of thunder started indicating the rainstorm that was predicted coming.
Brenda slowly got up from where she had fallen and walked towards the woman who was putting the gun away in a holster on her belt and looking at the body. "Is he…?"
"He's dead," the woman said as she kneeled and continued to examine the body. "You should go."
At that moment the rain started to fall thickly. Brenda pulled out her umbrella that she had dropped and opened it. She picked up her purse and things that she dropped and checked them. She was about to and had taken a few steps down the alley. She stopped when she was near the woman and noticed the cut on her upper arm. It looked nasty. "You should get that taken care of."
The woman had stood and glanced at her arm before shrugging it off, "Later. You should go now. I have to take care of this."
Brenda recognized it as a cue that she should leave and the fact that her rescuer was going to dispose of a body… She didn't move as she watched the woman lifted the body and walked over to one of the dumpsters and dropped him in and blinked. Her speechlessness was silenced when she noticed the woman grimace and put a hand over the cut on her arm. It probably was the stupidest thing but it was the right thing.
She jogged to catch up to the woman as she started down the alley. "Wait." It surprised her when the woman stopped and turned to look at her. She was caught off guard by the eyes. They were the most unusual and on the prettiest of faces. She pointed at the cut, "You should have that looked at. I can clean it up for you. My place is just down here and around the corner."
It was about twenty minutes later that Brenda was getting a bowl of hot water and a towel along with some antiseptic. The cut was deeper than she thought and it looked nasty but the woman was holding it together pretty well. Certainly that was the case when Brenda wrung out the wet towel and put it on the wound and tried to clean it off. She noticed the woman's lip curl from the sting. "Looks pretty deep here," she chuckled out.
"It'll heal," the woman replied.
Brenda raised a brow at that and continued to clean it off. It looked red and nasty when she finished cleaning but there were no signs of it being infected. She picked up the antiseptic and said, "This might sting a bit."
"Usually does."
Brenda thought she was setting herself up for disappointment if she hoped that she was going to get more than short sentences from her rescuer. Still there was always a chance she hadn't said the right thing. She decided on the one thing that usually was touching, "Thank you… for saving me."
The woman had been staring at nothing in particular. She turned her head to look at Brenda and the stern look softened. It was a relief to Brenda since she thought she was dealing with one of those tough types. Certainly she acted like it and it made Brenda believe that the woman may have been in the service or something.
It was softly uttered when the woman uttered, "You're welcome."
Brenda finished by putting a clean square piece of gauze over the wound. She still wasn't sure about it since it looked pretty deep. Yet something told her that she shouldn't press about it; that while she was curious about it, she probably wouldn't like where it was going. "There. Is there anything you need? Something to eat or… maybe a beer or something?"
At that time, the woman started looking around the apartment. Brenda kept an eye on her since she wasn't sure about what she was doing and she hoped that the woman wouldn't get into anything too private.
"Beer is fine."
Brenda went and grabbed a beer. She usually drank one after a really hard day and it wasn't the light stuff. She brought it out and found the woman on a stool and looking through a vent she had opened. "What are you doing?"
The woman didn't say anything at first but continued to fiddle with the wiring she had found. When she finished she had a slight smile on her face and said, "That should do it." She took the proffered beer and said, "Thank you," and headed towards the door and left. The woman was polite enough to close the door softly but not before she said, "Just make sure that the vents are open when you turn the air con on." Then she was gone.
"You're welcome?" It was all Brenda could say and she spent the night mulling over what had happened since it was the strangest thing apart from seeing a person kill another. In any case it was nothing she was going to talk about but she was grateful and surprised that nothing about it was reported in the news that morning.
The rain was pouring still and there was always the risk of chills but the job had to be done. Angela went back to the dumpster she had dumped the dead body in and checked on it. Pulling a vial out of her pocket she made a slight face at it before putting it back in her pocket. She instead opted to pull out the bullets, a messy business but it was more along the lines of her human side.
"You don't have to do that."
Angela grunted as she pulled out the only bullet in the body. The other had been a through and through. "In the interest of preserving anonymity Cas, I'd say that it is necessary. Not all of us have angel mojo like you."
Castiel stood and watched as Angela pulled out the bullet and held it up. The rain was soaking and chilling her to the bone but it wasn't important at the moment. She looked at it and watched the blood wash off it. It could be recycled again and she knew that it wasn't the bullet but the gun. Castiel then said, "You just had to call."
"And is that similar to you dropping in and telling me some interesting and compelling news?"
Castiel looked at Angela with a puzzled look but one also full of understanding. He knew that her statement was laced in sarcasm and quite possibly had something to do with why she was out here in the middle of the night and in the middle of a rainstorm.
"Now come on Angela. You know that this is just one of the things you do on a regular basis but now more like us," Zachariah's annoying tones entered.
Angela turned and pocketed the bullet. She put her hands on her hips and replied, "A thing which I don't get. I'm no guardian angel. That's a department in your company."
"You are the earthbound angel," Zachariah replied with a shrug. He was under an awning nearby so he wasn't getting wet. "It is only naturally that you return the services rendered unto you."
Angela couldn't help but scoff at that, "Oh really? If anything you guys owe me considering that there are two Essentials that were saved and at heavy costs and I am in pursuit of the hell bitch that wants to see it through to the end and found promising leads without your help. What do I owe you?"
"For starters your attitude needs adjustment," Zachariah replied. The cheery face had turned into a serious expression. He didn't have a problem dishing out punishment if necessary.
"And the last of the feathered dicks that said that to me ended up being a bigger dick than you," Angela replied not at all fazed by the show of bravado. True they could smite her where she stood but she wasn't going to be anyone's doormat just because. "And because of that, he's gone."
"Uriel's betrayal was unfortunate and thankfully taken care of. Nice job by the way and then your work in guiding Dean back onto the path of the hunter… Outstanding," Zachariah replied. He looked every bit the executive in a suit that he wore when he first met Angela.
"Like I had much of a choice considering you altered my memories or rather didn't give me the benefit of them and watched me run around like a chicken with its head cut off." Angela put her hands on her hips and stared at the angel. She wasn't angry with Castiel; she was never mad at him for very long and never had been seriously pissed at him.
"And yet you did very well and didn't lose it when you discovered your talents."
"And that makes it so much better," she deadpanned, "Considering that they could have attempted to kill me."
"Don't be that way Angela. Your contribution helped Dean realize that he is a hunter. It's in his blood…"
"Oh don't I know it," Angela replied as she rolled her eyes. There were some things that even the angels weren't completely aware of or they just didn't know and like hell was she going to reveal all her secrets. "And by sticking me in the mix proved some point right?"
"As it was explained to you, Sam and Dean were not behaving as they should. They were obsessed with looking for you, well Sam was and Dean was more looking at you like he should know you. Something had to be done to make sure the point was driven home."
"And it would have been made if you let me do all the talking."
"And I can see that has gone very well for you," Zachariah countered, "Considering you can't even bring yourself to mention all the good times you've had."
Angela shot a sharp look at Zachariah. It was no secret of the things she had done. It wouldn't have surprised her if he had been spying on her to find out what she had been up to. She narrowed her eyes as the rain continued to pour down and said, "I am well aware of what I did and they know that I've done things I'm not proud of but if you're going to try and use that as a means of getting me to do your candy assed bidding… you've got another thing coming."
"Then you would be prudent enough to show more respect than you have in the past."
"Like that's going to happen when I've been screwed over by you guys multiple times. So excuse me for not being receptive of you whenever I catch a whiff of you within three feet." Angela lifted the lid, "Now if you'll excuse, me I've got a body to dispose of."
"What body?" Zachariah gave a smug look.
Angela looked into the dumpster. The body she had just seen moments before was now gone. There was nothing to indicate that there was a dead body; no blood or anything. She looked back at the angel and glanced at Castiel. That angel looked like he was guilty of something. She knew this wasn't his fault since she insisted that he follow along for now. She looked back at Zachariah and said, "So you're good at clean up too."
"Well we don't want to put you under any more pressure since your charge actually saw you and surprisingly decided against reporting you." Zachariah frowned in a puzzled fashion, "I wonder how that is so."
"Why not ask Cas here?" Angela gestured towards her angel, "He would know since I am his charge and I haven't ranted and raved and been thrown in the loony bin for seeing real angels." Her voice held a bit of sarcasm in it as she crossed her arms over her chest. She was thoroughly drenched from the rain but it didn't much matter now. "Quit wasting my time with things you should know."
"It isn't a waste of time," Zachariah answered, "You see Angela, the guardian-charge relationship is one we are familiar with but you are different. People you've helped are willing to charge in when you ask for a favor. They deny your existence or make it so that you are not implicated. Not even a low level angel has been that successful."
"Maybe it's because when I help them, I'm not an asshole about it," Angela replied not amused at all. "Sometimes it's not always about the bigger picture since most people don't understand that." She shuffled on her feet slightly, "Besides, they are receptive to someone who never expects a return favor. If you knew me, then you'd know that I don't do things to have people owe. I do it because I want to. You should try that."
"Surely you demand some form of payment…"
"Nope." Angela gave a single shake of her head and a slight smile. "It's called being human."
Zachariah took in her expression. He knew that she would concede to talking with the angels but as she was fond of pointing out, she didn't have to be nice about it. It was a start since his superiors still wanted to have her in the game doing some form of their work.
Angela knew that her manner towards Zachariah was not the most pleasant and his superiors did have the power to make her life miserable if they chose to. It was the underlings like Uriel and Zachariah that were scared of their superiors and of her. She had done this job at the behest of Castiel and considering that they were still in town after a medical necessity. "Seriously, it's not that hard though it may be hard for you…"
Zachariah shot her a look before saying, "I'd be careful what you say here. There are others higher up that will only tolerate this so far. I would hate for you to lose your standing as you have with the Centurion. Certainly it would be hard on Sam and Dean…"
"Don't even go there, dickhead," Angela replied as she raised a warning finger. "I'm not gonna pretend that I don't know that there is a fate out there for me but let hell rain down if you fuck with it. People aren't toys to play with."
"You are hardly a person," Zachariah countered, "You are the Malachi of Absolution; the earthbound angel destined to be the protector of man. All the while you travel with two men whose destiny touches yours and in the process you get what you want… absolution."
Angela had looked at Castiel. He was looking apologetic at her. It wasn't his fault. She looked at Zachariah, "You are an ass, Zachariah." She straightened up. She knew that they could do what they want to harm the very people she cared about. Sam and Dean were first in her book but there were others like Eli, Jo, Ellen and Bobby; the people she had touched that were at the mercy of the dickheads and they could use them to get her to comply. "I am not a 'heavenly being' with little to nonexistent feelings like you. And I still have no clue as to why I was chosen for this."
"Irrelevant at the moment but you have hit on the reason why this job."
"Please do tell," Angela replied with a slight sneer. "What do you have for me?"
"Just making it official that you are what your own name implies," Zachariah replied.
Angela listened to what the angel had to say. She didn't quite agree with it but she got the gist of where it was going. She also realized that by helping the young lady earlier, she had set herself up to be in a position like Castiel, a guardian angel. It didn't make sense to her and continued to plague her thoughts as she unlocked the door to the room that she was currently sharing with the boys.
A/N: Welcome to 3.18 Will You Be My Angel and looks like Angie is going solo for a job and having private discussions with angels. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place. Keep watching for more Will You Be My Angel...