NEW NOTE: This story is not new. You may have read it. It is being reposted
by popular demand.
(a/n ok a new story. I don't own any of the Angels, Bosley, Charlie, or Anthony aka Creepy Thin Man. I do own all the bad guys and prospective bad guys. Lufthansa from what I can tell doesn't have its own counter at LAX, they are more than likely checked in by United as a code share but for this story they do. Reviews are welcome, good or bad I live for them.)
*-*-*-*-*
The rain fell steadily as the two men stood in the middle of the park. The swings blew back and forth their chains squealing in the gusty wind. The one man sat on the wooden beam between two of the see-saws, "I wish he would get here. I'm tired of waiting. Hell I wouldn't have even agreed to this had I known it would be a hurricane. Did I ever tell you I hate rain? Doesn't matter a few drips, light drizzle, or this shit we are out here standing in."
The other man remained silent under his black umbrella. He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a cigarette. The talkative man pulled out a lighter and lit it for him. "Those things 'ill kill you ya know?" The smoking man just looked at his companion with eyes of blue ice. He could have cared less about Karl Mills aka: the talkative man, he was with him only because he had been requested to be by the person they were meeting. Normally he wouldn't have gone out for a mysterious rendezvous with a prospective employer but it had been awhile since he had a decent job. Plus he figured his job would eventually finish him off a lot sooner than the cancer sticks.
Karl looked at his watch, "Bastard's, late. I'll give him another five minutes. If he doesn't show I'm out of here." Suddenly the quiet man tossed his cigarette on the ground and ground it out with the toe of his wingtip. The action made Karl look up and notice the dark figure walking across the baseball field toward the play ground. "Do you know his name," asked Karl. His silent companion just shook his head, "no".
Their mysterious employer came closer through the drenching rain and stopped near them under the sodium street light. The two men looked at each other and joined him. Karl held his trench coat together to keep dry. "Mr. Mills, I see you didn't bring an umbrella," said their employer whose voice surprised the men. Their employer was a woman. "She lowered the hood of her jacket and opened an umbrella. Her blond hair looked pinkish in the light. "These, she said reaching into her cognac brown leather purse and pulling out two padded envelopes, "contain your assignment. You are not to discuss what is on either disk with the other. Will that be a problem for you Mr. Mills? I know our friend here will keep quiet."
"Uh...no," said Karl.
"Good. I'm pretty lenient as long as you carry out the job by the date specified. If it takes you longer then you need to worry. Am I understood?"
Both men shook their heads in the affirmative and their employer started to walk off. "Uh.Miss," began Karl.
She turned and snapped her fingers, "You know you are right Karl, I may call you Karl correct? Karl," she continued without letting him interrupt. "I did forget to mention pay. It is also on your disks. That is also not to be discussed. If you choose not to take the job instructions are on the disk for that as well." She turned and finished walking away.
"Thirty damn minutes waiting in this frigging downpour for that? Who the hell does she think she is," ranted the talkative one. His silent colleague just stuck out his hand, verified the rain had stopped, lowered his umbrella and walked away.
*-*-*-*-*
"Hey guys," called Dylan as she walked into the Charles Townsend Agency and threw her purse on the sideboard behind the couch.
"Hi Dylan," answered he co-workers and best friends, Alex, Natalie and Bosley.
"Must have had a power outage last night, my alarm was flashing this morning. Am I late?"
"No Dylan you are right on time," answered the voice of their boss, Charlie.
"Good Morning Charlie," said the three young women in unison making themselves comfortable on the couch.
"Mornin' Charlie," said Bosley.
"Well we have a new case for this week and I think you'll like it. First of all how is your German?"
The four members of Charlie's team looked at each other. "Gehen wir nach Deutschland," asked Dylan.
"Yes you are. I'd like to introduce you to Ms. Katja James." Just then a lovely young woman walked into the room. She was wearing an expensive designer suit and her blonde hair was piled in ringlets on top of her head.
"Hello," said the woman shaking the angels' hands.
"Ms. James", continued Charlie "Has received death threats due to her impending nuptials with Graf Andreas von Buchholz.
"How awful for you," said Natalie resting her hand on the woman's arm.
"They are not for me but because of me apparently. You see the death threats are made about my fiancé. If I go through with it and marry him they, whoever they are, say that he will be killed." Ms. James pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes.
"Do you know who might be doing this," asked Dylan.
"Actually no. Andreas was never much for dating so I doubt it would be an ex-girlfriend. In fact due to his hypersensitivity to light he barely gets out at all."
"How did you meet if you don't mind my asking," queried Alex adjusting on the couch to get a better view of their client.
"No not at all. I am an artist. I paint murals. Since the Graf."
"Pardon me," said Bosley cutting in, "what exactly is a Graf? Is that like that tennis player?"
Ms James gave a small chuckle. "A Graf is what we would call a Count. Steffi, the tennis player just happens to have the last name Graf."
"Gotcha."
"So as I was saying, since the Graf has this sensitivity to light he hired me to bring outdoors in. He requested that the ballroom of his schloss- that's a palace, be redone as a tropical rainforest, and one of the large sitting rooms as a flower garden. I was discussing the preliminary sketches with him when he asked me to dinner. We had such a wonderful time things progressed from there. After the ballroom was complete and just before I began the sitting room he asked me to marry him."
"How romantic," sighed Natalie.
"Yes it was. And everything was going so well until about three weeks ago."
"What happened then," asked Dylan.
"That is when I received the first of the letters." Ms. James reached into her handbag and pulled out four envelopes tied neatly with a red velvet ribbon and handed the stack to Dylan.
Dylan untied the small bundle and handed each of her friends a note. "Cancel the wedding if you don't your groom will be sorry," read Dylan out loud.
Natalie read the simple statement from the letter in her hands. "Too young to die don't you think Katja?"
Alex then opened hers, "'White for the bride, black for the groom, red for his blood'. Creepy so what does yours say Bosley?"
Bosley went an ashen color. "What is your choice of his fate? Being thrown from a horse breaking his neck? Poison? Gunshot? Knife in his back? Sword in his chest? Since you are killing him you may choose the method of execution."
Dylan swallowed hard when Bosley read "Sword in his chest." After a year she still hadn't gotten away from the visions of the Creepy Thin Man, Anthony she corrected, and the night they stopped ex-angel Madison Lee from stealing and selling the HALO rings. His stricken face as he tumbled over the edge haunted her as much as the kiss that they had shared.
"Have you told the Graf, about the letters," asked Alex.
"No. I was hoping I wouldn't have to. You see Andreas would want to go ahead with the wedding regardless. Knowing that I was hoping that you," she said looking at each angel, "could find out who was doing this and stop them before the wedding."
"When is the wedding," asked Nat.
"Two weeks. And since I don't have any real friends in Germany, I would like you three to be my bride maids. I know we don't know each other but at least I feel I can trust the three of you."
"We would be honored," exclaimed Nat bouncing up and down on the couch.
"Good." Ms. James looked at her watch. "I have another appointment. Charlie," she said with a tone of affection, "I'll be contacting you with the plane tickets for the ladies later today. And thank you for helping. I know that we parted last time on a bad note"
"Anything for an old friend," said Charlie. And with that Katja James, their new client showed herself to the door. "So Angels, and you too Bosley, I would suggest packing a jacket Hamburg gets chilly in the evenings in summer."
*-*-*-*-*
The Thin Man walked into LAX and looked around at the bustling masses of people. "This is the final boarding call for United Airlines flight 234 LA to New Orleans. Please proceed to gate 54B," called the disembodied voice of the loud speaker. He spotted the check in counter for Lufthansa and approached with his suitcase in hand. The line was long due to security check and he was glad he had sent his sword along ahead by mail. He felt naked without it in his hand; it always gave him a feeling of security, comfort.
He reached into his pocket and felt around; he found what he was looking for, a lock of hair that shined like rose brass tied with a ribbon. He carried it on occasions like today when having his weapon of choice wasn't possible; it gave him the same confidence his saber did. He took it out and sniffed it and sighed. He thought often about the angel often after the fall from the roof. The taste of her tender lips and way she had smiled awkwardly at him. He wanted to go to the angel and let her know but he hadn't, two different worlds is what he told himself is what would keep them apart.
"Good morning sir," said the perky girl at the business class check-in counter, awakening him from his daydream. He handed her his ticket and passport. "I see you are flying with us via Frankfurt to Hamburg Germany." He just stood there glaring at her in his silent manner with cold eyes. "Okayyy," said the girl more to herself than him. "Would you prefer a window or and aisle?"
He picked up a pen that was lying on the counter and wrote on his ticket envelope, "aisle". He hated being trapped against the fuselage The check-in girl whose badge he noticed proclaimed her to be Lydia, looked at her computer then back at him, "I am so sorry sir. All the aisles in business class have been taken so I will have to put you in a window for the flight to Frankfurt but I have you assigned to an aisle the short flight onward"
Why did she bother even asking he wondered? So what if he was comfortable on the short flight?
"I'll make sure your bags are checked through to Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel," she chirped as she printed out his boarding passes and tagged his bags, holding up the labels for his inspection. She stapled the tickets to the boarding passes and stuffed them in the envelope and wrote the gate number on the outside. "Your flight will be leaving from gate 24. Have a nice flight." As he left he heard her say to her co-worker, "Wow what a weirdo, cute but weird."
He removed his black blazer and tossed it over his arm and looked in the envelope that Lydia gave him. He found what he was looking for his pass to the business class lounge. He could have a final cigarette there before boarding commenced. He headed that direction never noticing the group of four who entered the terminal.
"This is so exciting," cried Natalie as the angels and Bosley arrived at the airport. "I have never been to Germany."
"Relax Nat," said Alex pushing her sunglasses onto her forehead. "It's just like any other mission."
"It's weird how you can be excited about going to Germany yet you treated Mongolia like you go there everyday," laughed Dylan.
Nat beamed her smile, shrugged and said, "Maybe but they have Black Forrest Cherry cake and no yaks milk."
"Yaks milk is good for you," laughed Alex.
Bosley follows pushing a luggage cart with all the baggage on it panting and out of breath. "Can't you girls pack lighter? What'd you do take everything from the costume warehouse?"
"No just our regular clothes, plus the frilly bridesmaid dresses. Why can't brides ever choose something that doesn't have layers of lace and hoop skirts," inquired Dylan.
"Hey, there is the ticket counter," said Alex pointing to the right.
"What a line," said Bosley
"Yeah, too bad our client couldn't have sprung for business class tickets for us," said Dylan, "Look how short the lines are on those counters."
"Oh well maybe next time, lets check in," said Nat and they headed for the Lufthansa counter."
(a/n ok a new story. I don't own any of the Angels, Bosley, Charlie, or Anthony aka Creepy Thin Man. I do own all the bad guys and prospective bad guys. Lufthansa from what I can tell doesn't have its own counter at LAX, they are more than likely checked in by United as a code share but for this story they do. Reviews are welcome, good or bad I live for them.)
*-*-*-*-*
The rain fell steadily as the two men stood in the middle of the park. The swings blew back and forth their chains squealing in the gusty wind. The one man sat on the wooden beam between two of the see-saws, "I wish he would get here. I'm tired of waiting. Hell I wouldn't have even agreed to this had I known it would be a hurricane. Did I ever tell you I hate rain? Doesn't matter a few drips, light drizzle, or this shit we are out here standing in."
The other man remained silent under his black umbrella. He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a cigarette. The talkative man pulled out a lighter and lit it for him. "Those things 'ill kill you ya know?" The smoking man just looked at his companion with eyes of blue ice. He could have cared less about Karl Mills aka: the talkative man, he was with him only because he had been requested to be by the person they were meeting. Normally he wouldn't have gone out for a mysterious rendezvous with a prospective employer but it had been awhile since he had a decent job. Plus he figured his job would eventually finish him off a lot sooner than the cancer sticks.
Karl looked at his watch, "Bastard's, late. I'll give him another five minutes. If he doesn't show I'm out of here." Suddenly the quiet man tossed his cigarette on the ground and ground it out with the toe of his wingtip. The action made Karl look up and notice the dark figure walking across the baseball field toward the play ground. "Do you know his name," asked Karl. His silent companion just shook his head, "no".
Their mysterious employer came closer through the drenching rain and stopped near them under the sodium street light. The two men looked at each other and joined him. Karl held his trench coat together to keep dry. "Mr. Mills, I see you didn't bring an umbrella," said their employer whose voice surprised the men. Their employer was a woman. "She lowered the hood of her jacket and opened an umbrella. Her blond hair looked pinkish in the light. "These, she said reaching into her cognac brown leather purse and pulling out two padded envelopes, "contain your assignment. You are not to discuss what is on either disk with the other. Will that be a problem for you Mr. Mills? I know our friend here will keep quiet."
"Uh...no," said Karl.
"Good. I'm pretty lenient as long as you carry out the job by the date specified. If it takes you longer then you need to worry. Am I understood?"
Both men shook their heads in the affirmative and their employer started to walk off. "Uh.Miss," began Karl.
She turned and snapped her fingers, "You know you are right Karl, I may call you Karl correct? Karl," she continued without letting him interrupt. "I did forget to mention pay. It is also on your disks. That is also not to be discussed. If you choose not to take the job instructions are on the disk for that as well." She turned and finished walking away.
"Thirty damn minutes waiting in this frigging downpour for that? Who the hell does she think she is," ranted the talkative one. His silent colleague just stuck out his hand, verified the rain had stopped, lowered his umbrella and walked away.
*-*-*-*-*
"Hey guys," called Dylan as she walked into the Charles Townsend Agency and threw her purse on the sideboard behind the couch.
"Hi Dylan," answered he co-workers and best friends, Alex, Natalie and Bosley.
"Must have had a power outage last night, my alarm was flashing this morning. Am I late?"
"No Dylan you are right on time," answered the voice of their boss, Charlie.
"Good Morning Charlie," said the three young women in unison making themselves comfortable on the couch.
"Mornin' Charlie," said Bosley.
"Well we have a new case for this week and I think you'll like it. First of all how is your German?"
The four members of Charlie's team looked at each other. "Gehen wir nach Deutschland," asked Dylan.
"Yes you are. I'd like to introduce you to Ms. Katja James." Just then a lovely young woman walked into the room. She was wearing an expensive designer suit and her blonde hair was piled in ringlets on top of her head.
"Hello," said the woman shaking the angels' hands.
"Ms. James", continued Charlie "Has received death threats due to her impending nuptials with Graf Andreas von Buchholz.
"How awful for you," said Natalie resting her hand on the woman's arm.
"They are not for me but because of me apparently. You see the death threats are made about my fiancé. If I go through with it and marry him they, whoever they are, say that he will be killed." Ms. James pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes.
"Do you know who might be doing this," asked Dylan.
"Actually no. Andreas was never much for dating so I doubt it would be an ex-girlfriend. In fact due to his hypersensitivity to light he barely gets out at all."
"How did you meet if you don't mind my asking," queried Alex adjusting on the couch to get a better view of their client.
"No not at all. I am an artist. I paint murals. Since the Graf."
"Pardon me," said Bosley cutting in, "what exactly is a Graf? Is that like that tennis player?"
Ms James gave a small chuckle. "A Graf is what we would call a Count. Steffi, the tennis player just happens to have the last name Graf."
"Gotcha."
"So as I was saying, since the Graf has this sensitivity to light he hired me to bring outdoors in. He requested that the ballroom of his schloss- that's a palace, be redone as a tropical rainforest, and one of the large sitting rooms as a flower garden. I was discussing the preliminary sketches with him when he asked me to dinner. We had such a wonderful time things progressed from there. After the ballroom was complete and just before I began the sitting room he asked me to marry him."
"How romantic," sighed Natalie.
"Yes it was. And everything was going so well until about three weeks ago."
"What happened then," asked Dylan.
"That is when I received the first of the letters." Ms. James reached into her handbag and pulled out four envelopes tied neatly with a red velvet ribbon and handed the stack to Dylan.
Dylan untied the small bundle and handed each of her friends a note. "Cancel the wedding if you don't your groom will be sorry," read Dylan out loud.
Natalie read the simple statement from the letter in her hands. "Too young to die don't you think Katja?"
Alex then opened hers, "'White for the bride, black for the groom, red for his blood'. Creepy so what does yours say Bosley?"
Bosley went an ashen color. "What is your choice of his fate? Being thrown from a horse breaking his neck? Poison? Gunshot? Knife in his back? Sword in his chest? Since you are killing him you may choose the method of execution."
Dylan swallowed hard when Bosley read "Sword in his chest." After a year she still hadn't gotten away from the visions of the Creepy Thin Man, Anthony she corrected, and the night they stopped ex-angel Madison Lee from stealing and selling the HALO rings. His stricken face as he tumbled over the edge haunted her as much as the kiss that they had shared.
"Have you told the Graf, about the letters," asked Alex.
"No. I was hoping I wouldn't have to. You see Andreas would want to go ahead with the wedding regardless. Knowing that I was hoping that you," she said looking at each angel, "could find out who was doing this and stop them before the wedding."
"When is the wedding," asked Nat.
"Two weeks. And since I don't have any real friends in Germany, I would like you three to be my bride maids. I know we don't know each other but at least I feel I can trust the three of you."
"We would be honored," exclaimed Nat bouncing up and down on the couch.
"Good." Ms. James looked at her watch. "I have another appointment. Charlie," she said with a tone of affection, "I'll be contacting you with the plane tickets for the ladies later today. And thank you for helping. I know that we parted last time on a bad note"
"Anything for an old friend," said Charlie. And with that Katja James, their new client showed herself to the door. "So Angels, and you too Bosley, I would suggest packing a jacket Hamburg gets chilly in the evenings in summer."
*-*-*-*-*
The Thin Man walked into LAX and looked around at the bustling masses of people. "This is the final boarding call for United Airlines flight 234 LA to New Orleans. Please proceed to gate 54B," called the disembodied voice of the loud speaker. He spotted the check in counter for Lufthansa and approached with his suitcase in hand. The line was long due to security check and he was glad he had sent his sword along ahead by mail. He felt naked without it in his hand; it always gave him a feeling of security, comfort.
He reached into his pocket and felt around; he found what he was looking for, a lock of hair that shined like rose brass tied with a ribbon. He carried it on occasions like today when having his weapon of choice wasn't possible; it gave him the same confidence his saber did. He took it out and sniffed it and sighed. He thought often about the angel often after the fall from the roof. The taste of her tender lips and way she had smiled awkwardly at him. He wanted to go to the angel and let her know but he hadn't, two different worlds is what he told himself is what would keep them apart.
"Good morning sir," said the perky girl at the business class check-in counter, awakening him from his daydream. He handed her his ticket and passport. "I see you are flying with us via Frankfurt to Hamburg Germany." He just stood there glaring at her in his silent manner with cold eyes. "Okayyy," said the girl more to herself than him. "Would you prefer a window or and aisle?"
He picked up a pen that was lying on the counter and wrote on his ticket envelope, "aisle". He hated being trapped against the fuselage The check-in girl whose badge he noticed proclaimed her to be Lydia, looked at her computer then back at him, "I am so sorry sir. All the aisles in business class have been taken so I will have to put you in a window for the flight to Frankfurt but I have you assigned to an aisle the short flight onward"
Why did she bother even asking he wondered? So what if he was comfortable on the short flight?
"I'll make sure your bags are checked through to Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel," she chirped as she printed out his boarding passes and tagged his bags, holding up the labels for his inspection. She stapled the tickets to the boarding passes and stuffed them in the envelope and wrote the gate number on the outside. "Your flight will be leaving from gate 24. Have a nice flight." As he left he heard her say to her co-worker, "Wow what a weirdo, cute but weird."
He removed his black blazer and tossed it over his arm and looked in the envelope that Lydia gave him. He found what he was looking for his pass to the business class lounge. He could have a final cigarette there before boarding commenced. He headed that direction never noticing the group of four who entered the terminal.
"This is so exciting," cried Natalie as the angels and Bosley arrived at the airport. "I have never been to Germany."
"Relax Nat," said Alex pushing her sunglasses onto her forehead. "It's just like any other mission."
"It's weird how you can be excited about going to Germany yet you treated Mongolia like you go there everyday," laughed Dylan.
Nat beamed her smile, shrugged and said, "Maybe but they have Black Forrest Cherry cake and no yaks milk."
"Yaks milk is good for you," laughed Alex.
Bosley follows pushing a luggage cart with all the baggage on it panting and out of breath. "Can't you girls pack lighter? What'd you do take everything from the costume warehouse?"
"No just our regular clothes, plus the frilly bridesmaid dresses. Why can't brides ever choose something that doesn't have layers of lace and hoop skirts," inquired Dylan.
"Hey, there is the ticket counter," said Alex pointing to the right.
"What a line," said Bosley
"Yeah, too bad our client couldn't have sprung for business class tickets for us," said Dylan, "Look how short the lines are on those counters."
"Oh well maybe next time, lets check in," said Nat and they headed for the Lufthansa counter."