"You know very well who, baby." Tess replied in a choked voice as the five of them continued to stand around discussing the matter in the park. From here Sam took over, as Tess was nearly too choked up to say much more. "He has been threatened by our Monica for a long time now. He's never won over any of her cases. She's becoming better and more experienced all the time. It was only a matter of time before he did something about it." Sam informed them all quietly. "Now, the question is, what are we going to do about it?" He added purposefully as he glanced around at the others, who exchanged clueless glances of their own.
But it was only moments before knew the answer. There was no way he was just going to sit around and let something like this play out. "Well, we're going to go and find her. We have to get her out of there." He commanded firmly as he glanced around him with his emerald eyes, as if knowing he had to do something right away, but didn't know what. But Sam was quick to correct him on that matter as well. "Well, hold on now, Andrew." He took a deep breath to compose his thoughts before continuing. "We should just go somewhere for drinks and think this over before we do something irrational." Sam suggested logically as he placed a comforting arm around Tess' shoulders.
But Andrew was clearly not content with this decision, as he jumped at the chance to rebel against it. "No." He retorted simply and firmly, as though he was not giving in this time. "No, we can't just 'go get a drink'. Monica is in trouble and we're going to help her. I mean, who knows what they could be doing to her right this second." He reasoned, his voice growing louder and more urgent every minute as he was reminded, once again, of his beloved friend in grave danger. He thought of all the times he had seen her laughing and smiling and having a good time. He just couldn't bear it if he never saw her like that again. Gloria suddenly looked a little puzzled, but at the same time, very concerned. "Well, there's no real rush, Andrew, right? I mean, they wouldn't actually hurt her…would they?" She confirmed, almost nervous to learn the answer. But Andrew only sighed and shook his head sadly. "Gloria," he began in a voice barely audible, "they are not like us. They will fight dirty. Trust me. They're not ones to play by the rules." He told her confidently. Sam nodded in understanding but sighed in slight disagreement.
"I can see your point, Andrew, but just the same, I insist that we think about this and plan it out before we do anything." He argued softly, even though it was quite clear he was worried about their dear Monica as well. Andrew sighed, finally realizing that there was no point in arguing with the experienced angel. They would just have to go and talk this through, no matter what was going on with Monica right this second.
Monica groaned in obvious pain as she forced herself into a sitting position on the hard, cracked and polluted asphalt of an abandoned alleyway. Her entire body ached and she felt as though she had just been dropped off the cliff. Quite suddenly, it all came screaming back to her. She recalled what had happened the night before. The shadow. The fear. The pain and Satan himself. It was clear enough what this place was. It was dark and smelled of smog and garbage.
For a moment Monica was sure she was alone as she began to stand, but it wasn't long before a voice so full of evil and hate sliced through the darkness straight to her ears. "Well, Miss Monica, I suppose we meet again." Kathleen sneered spitefully as her hateful eyes shone crimson in the smoky blackness of the alleyway.
Monica turned to face the fallen angel she had come across so many times before, although the last time she was sure she had gotten through to her old friend. She supposed now she was wrong. "Oh, Kathleen," she whispered with a dreadful shake of her head, "you know as well as I that you might as well just let me go. The others will be coming for me soon enough anyway. Kathleen we were best friends. Please, just let me go and save us all some trouble." She reasoned with her former friend, a gentle, calm tone in her distinct Irish lilt, even though inside she was raging with fear and dread.
But, just as she suspected, Kathleen only laughed reluctantly, a sound so evil that it struck fright straight into Monica's tender heart. "Oh, Monica, Monica, Monica." She chuckled hatefully. "I'm only going to enjoy this." With that she reached behind her back and drew forth a jagged, silver dagger. Monica started a little at the sound of the weapon being unsheathed, but quickly reminded her body to calm down. "You know you can't kill me." She reminded in a quiet voice as she stepped back cautiously. But again, Kathleen only laughed as she took another step toward the angel. "Ah, but that's where you're wrong." She corrected with a savoring grin. "Maybe I can't get rid of your soul, but I can take down your human body first and then…you're ours." She took another step toward her former friend, knife at the ready.
"I'm not afraid. The Father's on my side." Monica assured, desperately hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. Kathleen smirked smartly. "Oh, you'll be afraid when I'm finished with you." She then took one more step toward her. Monica sighed and shook her head sadly. The very situation only reminded her of how good a friend Kathleen used to be to her. She decided perhaps now would be a good time to remind Kathleen of the same thing. "Kathleen, you and I used to be such good friends. I thought you went back. What happened?" She ventured desperately, but even before the words had escaped her lips, Kathleen silenced her as she grasped her old friend's wrist and twisted it painfully.