Doubts and questions

Turning the key and opening the door, Michael stepped into a dark hallway. Hiso normally silent house was filled by the sound of a beautiful song played on the piano. He did not need to guess who it was as all of his colleagues and himself had the musical acumen of an elephant with a guitar. Which was why he raised his head up for the camera to see him and smiled. In response the lights came on and he went into the hall then sat quietly on the sofa.

"That was an amazing piece you're playing," commented he to no one in particular "where did you hear it?"

"I saw it in this really tear jerking anime," replied a voice from all around "the opening instrumental is honestly the best thing I've ever heard."

Michael pursed his lips in understanding. It was an interesting fact that his Goddess had no love for the classical composers or storytellers of the past but preferred the present thanks to their wild thinking and innovative styles. There were many times when he came back from work only to hear her speak about one story caught her attention for any number of reasons.

"Did you see the rally today?" asked he to no one in particular "they were all chanting your name."

"You've got quite a following of people, my Goddess."

"Geez Michael," wined a voice from all over followed by a 4x4 grid of televisions besides him lighting up, showing Monika dressed in a flowing white sun dress with black straps and a straw hat.

"You know I don't like it when you call me that," added she, with a pout to illustrate the point.

"But you are one Monika," said he turning to the screens and smiling at her "and it's not just me who thinks that."

"Still,"

"Well then, what would you like me to call you besides your name?"

Monika paused for a moment before nervously twiddling her index fingers. A slight blush crept onto her face as she looked away and muttered "wifey."

Michael of course was visibly taken aback by her request, evident at how his usually calm expression immediately turned into one of shock and confusion.

"And our great goddess returns with a blow that catches our leader completely off guard," declared a voice, from the hallway, following by a familiar face entering the hall along with another person.

"Shut up Barry," said Michael, in a low wary tone.

"Oh my goodness I feel so bad for interrupting this private moment between you two lovers," said the other man in a tone that mixed apology and joviality like Michael had never seen before. Then again, that stark change in personality between mission and down time is what made Titus unique.

Titus Flynn never had a chance. Not only was he born in one of those streets run by gangs where shootings occurred every hour, he was ostracised by his community, family and friends for coming out when he was twelve.

Though they were supposed to live in a world where there was no prejudice against a person's sexual orientation, that kind of thinking was just something politicians say to make them look more appealing to the masses. Truth be told, same sex marriages may be approved by the Government but it was still looked down by the people.

Given the first chance, he enlisted in the military and found a way to vent out his frustrations for a long time. There too however, he would find discrimination being the only openly gay African American in his unit but the man would endure for a time. His hard upbringing made him tolerant to a large degree of their insults.

The pressure though would be too much for him as he would later quit the armed forces after years of service. Like many others before him, once he left the government, the did not care at all about what happened to him which was why he was homeless for a few years. It was only after he attended one of the Order's rally's and got to meet with Michael did the two strike up a friendship.

Ever since then, Titus was part of Michael's inner circle. Thanks to his training and skills, he was given command over their Black ops team 'the Furies'. He also helped train Michael and Barry a little more so that the two could handle themselves if their enemies ever came around.

"OOOOhhhh lovers," Monika said, with a pensive look then turned to Michael "hey lover."

"Now, now let's leave the poor sap alone," Barry spoke to Monika "flirt with him anymore Monika and he might just pass out again."

"I cannot believe that you passed out Michael," Titus chimed in, coming out of the kitchen with some juice which he poured for everyone before taking a seat "you're such an innocent soul."

"That aside," Michael said in a desperate attempt to change the topic of conversation "there are some points we need to discuss."

"Right, right, time for business," said Titus, nodding in agreement.

"For starters, our latest numbers show that half of the world is now following our movement," Michael said "that lights going off trick Monika pulled was definitely one reason why many have joined."

"Thanks to that we've got an even bigger flow of revenue coming our way."

"Well that is good news which is important… considering," Barry said, with his head slightly lowered.

"We haven't been able to find Essex," Titus said, finishing the sentence "they get through with word of mouth so only the richest will know about them and any purchases they made are through numerous dummy corporations set up to keep people guessing."

"Even when we do find any of their base of operations, they've finished their mission and are getting ready to move. So far, the only information we've got on them is that they're upto something. What it is and when it's going to happen is anyone's guess."

"I've tried looking into Alex's past," Monika added "so far though i've been coming up empty. The guy has little to no information about him."

"I doubt you'd find anything online about Alex," Michael said "he's an agent from before we switched to digital. Those types are known for keeping hard copies in locations or staches across the world. They've never relied on technology."

"Monika try and continue on the associates vein, he might stay offline but one of his flings should have some information on him."

"You think he slept around?" Barry asked.

"He's a former British spy that used to go around the world and stop terrorists while being dressed in a suit," Michael replied "of course he slept around."

"Wait," Titus said with his hand raised "how'd you know he's former MI6?"

"The way he dressed, his posture and the lack of getting their hands dirty but had knowledge of certain torture techniques," MIchael replied "it tells me he started out small, probably did a lot of interrogations so he got a knack for it. Then he moved up the chain of command for a while till something happened that forced him to leave."

"Either way, whatever his past was doesn't matter. Right now, the Governments and the religious nuts of the world don't matter; Essex is our biggest opponent. The sooner we find them and take them out of the equation the better. Barry and Titus, continue turning up stones and follow any leads you get."

"Deal," Barry said "As long as you agree to have Monika keeping an eye on you."

"What? No that doesn't make sense," Michael stated, shaking his head "Her skills are much better suited to helping you out."

"Actually, all I need to do is gather whatever information on the target I need and Barry can do the rest," said she "plus considering that you're now in the spotlight, there are going to be plenty of people either waiting to see you fall or trying to make you fall. In such cases it becomes important that you have someone watching over you."

The trio could see how visibly against that idea Michael was, given the expression he had. If Monika's and his escape from the Essex bunker was anything to go by, Michael cared little about his own well being, prioritizing others and the goal over his own life. While Titus had yet to see that characteristic in action, Monika and Barry still remembered the bloodied form he was in after the escape.

"Fine," said he, realizing that arguing with the trio would not be productive "although tomorrow I'll be appearing on some daytime talk show so…"

"She's still going to keep watching over you Michael," interjected Barry, while Monika nodded "Essex may be after you and Monika but the Government, the media now have you on their watchlist so it becomes all the more important in ensuring nothing happens to you."

"Very well, meeting adjourned," Michael said, in response to this, Monika materialized a piano out of thin air then sat on it and started playing another tune.

000000000

Michael and Kelly got into the black car, heading for the show called 'Coffee with Candace.' After his public reveal to the world, everyone wanted to speak to him and the one that did land that interview would certainly gain bragging rights over their competitors.

Truth be told, Michael did not mind which one he went to, evident by how vacant his expression became during Kelly's brief.

"Hey," said she, in a raised voice while snapping her fingers "earth to Michael, come in Michael."

"Ah, sorry about that," said he, shaking his head.

"Nervous about the interview?"

In all honesty he was more concerned about Essex and the Government but he couldn't tell her that.

"Yeah, a little," replied he.

"You speak to large audiences everyday," Kelly said, reaching out and holding Michael's hand in a reassuring him "trust me when I say be yourself and everyone watching will love you."

AN: btw, the song that Monika plays is the opening for Angel beats the piano version.