Chapter Ten: Dense

To his dismay, Garfield was not surprised the car ride to the headquarters was dead silent. Everyone in the car was speechless. Garfield didn't make eye contact with the other Messors, and stared out the window to watched traffic pass. Once they approached closer to the building, Garfield could hear mumbled whispers behind him. Cleaver reached the garage and parked the vehicle in its designated spot. The Messors exited the car and Garfield slowly drifted behind them. The elevator ride to the operations room was as silent as the car ride. The Messors reached the common room and sat around the couches. Garfield only paced around the room waiting for the rest of the team to return.

He paced slowly trying to calm himself down. The man had a feeling of anxiety, but it did not derive the impending argument between Raven and him. It was mainly brought on by Garfield's change. Yet again, he felt powerless and inferior since something took over his body. This situation, however, the man was more fearful. The thought that he killed a demon by simply snapping its neck made him shiver.

Suddenly, the doors to the room opened revealing Dante and Trent. Trailing behind the men was an angry Raven. Surprisingly, she her appearance was calm, but Garfield could feel her anger surrounding her body. There were a few spatters of fresh blood on her trench coat and heels. The woman didn't even bother wiping trickles of blood on her right cheek. Everyone hastily stood up and the woman situated herself in the middle of the room. Unfortunately, Garfield stood right across form her. She glared at him with intensity trying to strike fear in him. The man swallowed and cleared his throat.

"Listen I," Garfield spoke but was cut off by Raven's hand in front of him.

"You couldn't even follow a simple order, could you?" the woman asked bitterly.

"Hey this wasn't my fault. If I would have had an earpiece or if you were there . . ." the man raised his voice and again was interrupted by the woman.

"And now you blame me for this?" Raven raising her voice and began to slowly clap taunting the man, "Bravo, Garfield. That's so immature of you since you have no one else to blame but yourself. Way to go. Since it was I who was supposed to go fetch the targets, unharmed, and safely bring them to someone who can properly dispose of them. I guess my job as commander of this group has been demoted to a rookie who can't even control himself or yet, finish a simple task."

Garfield could feel his control slipping. "Oh yeah, like I'm not the one that loses control! We all do. Just look at yourself, you're losing control now. I can see your hand shaking." She didn't realize, but her right hand was trembling from anger and frustration. "I was simply doing my job, but you are the leader and you should have been around to back me up. The situation probably could have been helped."

"Oh yes it could have been helped, ifyou were to follow my instructions completely. I wouldn't have had to kill my informant and kill the demon woman he used as a shield. I wanted the men alive and, in the end, they're both dead and an innocent demon girl got killed because of it."

"Would it have made any difference? I didn't know there was such a thing as an innocent demon." Garfield retorted. Instantly, Raven's eyes widened and the group the Messors gawked and backed away slowly.

The woman inhaled a deep breath, and leaned forward. "Excuse me?What did you say?" She said under her breath.

"You heard what I said. That demon girl would have gone and killed someone by now. At least she won't hurt anyone. Who knows what the demon could have done? I don't even know why you even hesitated killing the demon. All demons I have known are savage. I would have just killed her then and there." Garfield yelled.

"You've got to be the most ignorant man I've ever met. I can't believe you would even consider killing an innocent demon. She wasn't going to do anything and she wasn't on the hit-list." The woman shot back.

"She would be in the future. You just helped finish the job. Sooner or later, all demons, 'innocent' or not, are going to be on the Messor assassination list."

Raven snarled under her breath, and made a beeline towards the man in front of her. She picked him up from the ground by his throat having him hanging a few inches off the ground. The woman scowled at the man in her grasp. Her eyes transitioned to crimson red, and bared her teeth exposing her sharp canines. Her forehead was furrowed and her nails dug into the base of his neck. Garfield could feel her demeanor changed as rage seemed to fill the air around this woman.

Under a deep, raspy voice, the woman said, "Without a moment's hesitation, I could kill you right here, right now."

The man panicked from the woman in front of him. She terrified him more than the demon he ever faced. Before she could cause harm, Cleaver and Trent grabbed the woman and yanked her away from the man in her grasp. As fast as they grabbed her, Trent quickly released his grip and staggered away from the woman. Garfield fell to the ground but picked himself up.

Cleaver kept a loose grip on Raven's shoulder and her appearance began to transform back to her normal self. She glared at Garfield and he could feel her anger slowly fading. The woman exhaled and growled under her breath. Her fist clenched and she swiftly punched Garfield in the cheek. He would have to admit, she almost shattered his cheekbone. Garfield staggered and stumbled, but did not fall to the ground. He stared in surprise and the woman stood in front of him. The hand that punched him was lightly bleeding. She raised her upper lip in a soft growl and turned around. The group moved in order for her to exit the ops room. When she stormed out of the room, trickles of blood fell on the ground staining the carpet.

After the door closed, the Messor team glared at Garfield as if he were an insect. The man rubbed his cheek where Raven punched him. He was so confused at the moment and his heart continued to race. Some of the Messors scuffed and left the ops room in a different direction where Raven went. This only left Cleaver, Dante, and Garfield alone in the ops room.

"What did I do?" the man asked still rubbing his cheek.

"You should think before you speak." Cleaver spat crossing his arms.

"What do you mean by that? She was doing the same thing. I was only defending myself." Garfield shot back.

"She was right, you really are ignorant." Dante spoke to Cleaver.

"She had me cornered! What else could I do?" Garfield defended.

"You could have had some sympathy for the woman." Cleaver spoke. "She had to kill an innocent person."

"It wouldn't have made a difference." Garfield said bitterly to the men in front of him. "I don't know why she's so defensive about it."

Cleaver and Dante looked at each other and gave each other disapproving looks. Cleaver shook his head and Dante did the same.

"You are one dense man, Mister Logan." Cleaver stated.

Garfield raised an eyebrow and gave the man a questionable look. "I don't understand what you mean."

"Point proven," Cleaver said smirking finding the man's ignorance amusing. "You can't even get it through your thick skull. You've known her for how many weeks and you haven't even figured it out?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Garfield asked with a confusing look in his face.

Cleaver sighed and looked and Dante. The man nodded and Cleaver resumed his banter with Garfield. "You are ignorant and dense. You do know what Miss Raven is?"

Garfield crossed his arms. "A bitch who acts like something's stuck up her ass."

It was evident that Cleaver was getting irritated and frustrated. "Okay. Let me make this clear. Raven, is part demon."

The man was stunted. His prediction a few weeks ago was correct. How could he not have noticed? That explains her attitude towards everyone. Even her demeaning and aggressive behavior. She fits most of the description of the demon profile. This makes no sense though."Wait, if she's a demon, why is she hunting demons?" he asked.

Cleaver leaned against one of the couches ready to explain. "I didn't say she was a full demon though Logan. The woman is only half-demon."

"Then what's the other half?"

"You can't be that dense?!" Dante shouted from the other side of the couch.

Cleaver kept his calm composer. "Miss Raven's father is a full-blooded demon, and her mother was human."

Now Garfield felt more guilt build up inside him. She was only part demon and the other half was human. How could he say such hurtful things to her when he didn't even understand who she was? It must have been painful for her to kill one of her own kind who did not commit a crime. He couldn't imagine walking in her shoes moments ago. He no longer condemned her behavior, but only condemned his behavior.

"You see Mister Logan, Raven is passionate when it comes to demon hunting. She has one goal in mind she pursues each time she fights her own kind. Her pursuit of Trigon the Terrible's demise."

"That explains it, but why specifically him?" Garfield asked.

"He is her father." Dante said blankly. Yet again, Garfield was stunted and speechless. Not only was she a half-demon, her father was one of the most dangerous demons in the Messor world. It seemed strange that her father was a feared demon and she was his offspring. He never expected this and his guilt only seemed to build up within him.

"I know you may be wondering why she wants to kill him. I will simply explain." Cleaver said. "The demon murdered her mother right in front of her."

Instantly, Garfield felt his stomach drop. Now he felt that his actions earlier were unsympathetic. No wonder the other Messors looked at him like he was an insect. Garfield felt like crawling into a corner, but he knew he had to make amends to her. If only she could forgive me after what I didGarfield thought.

"Now I feel like shit." Garfield admitted. "I have to talk to her. I can't imagine what's going on in her mind right now."

Dante shook his head and sighed. "It probably wouldn't make a difference." He taunted. Cleaver looked at the man and scowled at him.

"Not cool Dante." Cleaver spoke and turned his attention to Logan. "You are right and now that you have that information imbedded into your thick skull, I implore you to apologize." Garfield nodded and headed to the door, but Cleaver stopped him. "You may find her on the roof. She usually goes up there to meditate and calm herself down. Good luck." Garfield nodded and quickly ran out the door.

"He's dead." Dante muttered. Cleaver only sighed and rubbed his forehead.