Chapter 7

"What do you want?" Andrew demanded as he looked Gregory up and down for some clue as to why he was here. But he found none and the demon only chuckled with such an evil in his voice that it forced a shudder to creep up the angel's spine. "Andrew, I'm going to be straight with you." He told him solemnly with a sudden serious tone in his dark voice. "We know where Monica and Eliza are. Now, if you come with me now, they won't be hurt." He lied so abruptly that Andrew's mind suddenly spun away into a whirlpool of thoughts, denials…and prayers.

Andrew cared for Monica more than he could ever explain. She was his best friend and now that she had a daughter, Eliza meant just as much to him as Monica did. If what Gregory said was true, he realized he had no choice but to go with him. He didn't know what he would do if something were to happen to Eliza or Monica. Suddenly feeling incredibly frightened for his friend, Andrew managed a small nod. He would have to go with the demon, but just then another thought occurred to him. He froze in place and held up a hand of warning. "You have to promise me they'll be safe from any harm." He commanded in such a firm tone that it caused Gregory to draw back ever so slightly. But after some serious consideration on this subject, the demon nodded quickly. "You have my word." He told the angel, though he was untrue yet again. For at this very moment, both Monica and her daughter were being tracked down by the devil himself. Of course, Gregory had been given orders to get Andrew out of the way and so, he was doing his job. All he had to do was get the Angel of Death out of the house and away from any potential help and then he would get rid of him.

Andrew hesitated yet another moment as he realized demons were nowhere near as true to their words as angels were, but considering the circumstances, he had no option and he had to trust Gregory, as much as he hated to do so. He thought of his best friend and that little girl and his heart swelled at the very thought about how much he loved them. If he could help it, he would never let anything happen to them and that was a promise to himself. He didn't particularly care what happened to him once he went with Gregory. The Father would watch over him. He was sure of it. He just had to make sure nothing happened to Monica or Eliza. That was all that mattered to him now…

Monica and Eliza made their way back from the zoo along the sidewalk hand-in-hand. They had a magnificent time together and Eliza seemed to be slowly getting over parents' death. No matter how difficult that seemed. But she was taking to Monica surprisingly well and that was enough to make them both very glad to have each other now.

But as they made their way down the road toward the house, Monica caught a sideways glimpse at a convenience store up ahead. Suddenly recalling that Andrew enjoyed reading the newspaper – for reasons beyond Monica's comprehension – she realized there must have been a paper stand in the store and thought it would be a kind enough gesture to stop in and get him today's edition. After all, he had been reading papers from past years lately – again, for reasons beyond Monica – and she thought it would be nice for him to be able to read something recent. Sure, Andrew was a little strange sometimes – and so was she for that matter – but she loved him.

"Eliza hold on, we're just going to stop in here a minute okay Hon?" She confirmed with her daughter momentarily as she motioned to the convenience store before turning in, followed closely by Eliza, who nodded carelessly. She was more than glad to go anywhere with Monica now. She trusted her and was enjoying spending time with the mother she hadn't seen in eight years.

Upon entering the corner store, Monica glanced around until her eyes fell upon the newsstand in the far corner and she approached it with Eliza close in tow. Snatching the top paper off of the stand, Monica turned and approached the counter, dropping it on the countertop to pay for it as she reached into her jeans pocket for the few coins she needed. As an angel she didn't generally carry a purse. Occasionally she did, but on a day like today, she preferred to just keep anything she needed (which wasn't much) in her pockets.

The man behind the counter flashed her a friendly smile as he took the coins from her and dropped them into the register. But just then, something happened no one had been expecting on a day like today. It caused panic and confusion to arise from the three people in that store as a fourth entered abruptly, dressed completely in black, including a black hood covering his face and the cold silver of a handgun glinted in his grasp.