Ordo Ab Chao

Chapter VIII

Midnight

Question's Safe-house, Koreatown

Zed ran and wrapped her arms tight around Constantine the moment he walked into the door. "Well, that's a bit unexpected." He looked at Chas with a grin. "She gets possessed while I was gone?" he joked.

Zed regained her composure and immediately pushed Constantine away and quickly tried to wipe her eyes. "Shut up, John. I didn't know what had happened to you after you left the hospital."

"Tears for me too, love? You're gonna' make me feel special if this keeps up." Constantine chuckled and Chas scowled. "I'm fine. I promise. Better than I was before actually."

"Cancer gone?" Question asked and Constantine got the eerie feeling that somehow this faceless weirdo knew about his deal with the devils.

Constantine grinned. "Gone? No. I'll be fine, though, my faceless companion. You all just wait and see." He clapped his hands together. "Now on to new business. I've got a lead on Faust and we need to act on it immediately."

"Madam Xanadu?" The Question seemed to be full of information Constantine couldn't figure how he'd obtained.

"You and I are gonna have a long talk about your sources later, my friend." Constantine wagged a finger at Question. "But yes, Madam Xanadu provided me with a proper lead and that's where you and I are headed tonight."

"And what about us?" Zed stepped forward, eager to help in any way.

"It's best if you two sit this one out. Can't have you getting kidnapped. Again." Constantine's tone showed he would hear no debate on the subject so Zed fell back defeated. Chas, however, folded his arms and looked stern. "C'mon mate, there's nothing either of you can do. Stay here, sleep or whatever and we'll be back by morning. I promise."

Zed and Chas both looked apprehensive but knew there was nothing either of them could do and so they nodded in agreement with Constantine's terms after a few moments of silent contemplation.

"Good." Constantine sparked up a cigarette and inhaled deeply.

"You're never going to stop smoking those are you?" Zed grumbled.

Constantine exhaled a large cloud of cancerous smoke. "The thought never crossed my mind love."

1:30Am
Rancho Palos Verdes, California

"How do you know this is the place?" Question's faceless head turned left and right surveying the area carefully. He and Constantine were currently kneeling behind a large hedge of shrubbery and spying across a wide street at a large and darkened house.

"Crazy how the most evil things happen in the most beautiful and prominent areas, eh?" Constantine said but was more so talking to himself. Rancho Palos Verdes was one of the most beautiful locations in Southern California. The homes were dozens of acres and filled with the richest and most uppity that the country had to offer. One would look at the area and think nothing wrong could happen here but this is where Madame Xanadu's tip had led them. This was the home of the man named Donald Trump that they were looking for.

"In my experiences, all of the most despicable things are caused by those who present themselves as the most benevolent." Question's voice was leveled but Constantine got the vibe that there was more to that statement than he led on.

Constantine ignored the urge to dig for more and looked back at the home. "Then name Xanadu gave me only had one address listed. Took some digging to find, the rich have a way of hiding. Had to use some magical persuasion but I was able to find this place."

"So what's the plan?" Question asked.

"We sneak in and have a look around. Find this, Donald Trump fellow and then poke 'em till he tells us where Faust is."

"That's it?" If Question had a face Constantine could tell it would have a skeptical look on it.

"That's it. Easy as pie," he assured him.

"Nothing is ever that easy, Constantine." The Question rose from the buses and began walking towards the house. It was dark on the street and incredibly quiet. "It's too quiet," he whispered to himself.

Once they stepped onto the property of Donald Trump the hair on Constantine's neck stood on end . "Slow down, mate. There's a magical barrier around the house. Powerful stuff." Constantine clapped, rubbed his palms together and then closed his eyes. "Rumpe moras et permittit nobis ingressum!" an invisible barrier that was around the home vibrated for a moment allowing Question and Constantine to see it and then a portion slipped forming a doorway. "In before it closes."

Both of them passed through just as the hole closed. "Will they detect what you just did?" Question asked.

"Not on your life. I'm the best mate. The very best." The door opened and out ran several armed guards pointing rifles at Question and Constantine.

"The best huh?" Question shook his head.

1:30AM
Koreatown, California

Zed and Chas sat in a small restaurant eating noodles and soup. It was late but like most places in Southern California this location was open 24 hours. A blessing since Question had no food whatsoever in his hideout and the two of them were starving. They ate mostly in silence but it was clear what was on their minds.

"You think John's OK?" Zed finally asked.

"Usually is." Chas slurped the soup from his spoon. "Never had Korean food before we got here. Actually pretty good."

Zed smiled, "I know right! Makes me think about all the other stuff I haven't tried yet." She stared blankly into her soup for a moment.

"Also makes you think about if you'll live long enough to experience any of those things doesn't it?" Chas was looking up at her from his spoon.

Zed nodded. "Yeah. It really does." she put her spoon down. "We got kidnapped twice in the past few days. By demons and voodoo priests."

Chas laughed, "I don't know if Papa Midnite is technically a voodoo priest but that's a very apt description." They laughed together for a minute and then the silence returned. "So you thinking about leaving our little coven and going back to a normal life?"

Zed snorted. "A normal life? Please. I couldn't do that even if I wanted to. There's no going back now, Chas."

Chas ate more. "I had the same realization a few months after first meeting John. It's not an easy life but it has its moments. We do some good and I help keep my friend from completely going over the deep end."

Two men dressed in all black both entered the small eatery. The groups looked at each other for a brief moment and then the two men went to order their food so Zed and Chas went back to their eating. A small TV hanging in the upper corner near the door was on and everyone listened to a report on the news about a string of random kidnappings that was happening in Los Angeles.

1:45Am
Rancho Palos Verdes, California

Constantine and Question watched as the last two guards fought it out in front of them. They were soaked in blood from their heads to their toes and punching each other repeatedly giving off bone crunching sounds.

Constantine and Question were unstained and hadn't lifted a finger to defeat the dozen or so men. As soon as the guards drew down on them Constantine invoked a magical dominance spell and ordered the men to kill each other. Several died of gunshot wounds as the group opened fire on one another but when the bullets ended the men began to beat each other to death with whatever was on hand.

Constantine smoked a cigarette, "Well c'mon then, Question. Our host is likely expecting us now." He walked past the two fighting men just as one got the upper hand and began to pound away at his weakened foes face.

Question closed the door behind them. "There wasn't a more quiet way of doing that? You're going to get us killed."

"Yeah but in the heat of the moment I just did the first thing that came to my mind," Constantine admitted.

"We're splitting up." Question said abruptly. "I'll find you when the time is right."

"Now hold on just a minute you don't get to-

Question walked off around a corner and when Constantine went to follow the faceless man was gone. "Bastard spies and their sneaking off. I could find you ya' know!" he half shouted. He could tell that Question wasn't pleased with his lack of a plan and his execution of the guards but they were gone and he was alive so Constantine viewed that as a win.

"Right. So now where to?" he asked himself as he looked around. The interior of the home was massive, much more so than it looked from the front. There were stairs heading up as well as two halls heading off straight ahead and rooms to the left and right. It was beautifully decorated with paintings, plants and antique and expensive vases, desks and other items. Constantine was certain he could snatch one or two items and net a pretty profit if he wanted to.

He started walked towards where he sensed magic coming from and lit a cigarette as he gazed at the home. He wasn't sure if it was magically extended or if the property was truly built this large but he knew it was too big for sure. Either that or the owner was too comfortable in his own power. Nobody had come since the guards had been slaughtered outside and he had a feeling that nobody would. Either they were too busy doing whatever it was they were doing or they simply couldn't hear the ruckus because of the size of the home.

He also found it strange that there were no magical defenses inside he could sense but that was all to the good and made his job easier. Constantine's instincts led him to a large wooden door that had no knob or any way to open it. He could sense the door was sealed by blood magic and that meant only something similar would have any affect on it. That or some really powerful magic that he didn't feel much like working at the moment. Dozens of esoteric symbols were carved into the door, all of which he knew held evil meanings and backgrounds. A few were from protection but were meant to protect evil from the forces of good.

Lucky for him, Constantine was anything but good.

He could sense the magical leaking from the door and knew he would have to invoke a pretty powerful and delicate spell to open the door without alerting those that were on the other side.

"This would be a lot easier with some-

"Hey! You! Stop right there!"

Constantine turned and saw two guards running towards him with weapons drawn. "Luck be a lady tonight." Constantine held up his hand and froze the two men in place. Their faces twisted up into fear and agony from trying to struggle against his magical hold.

Constantine exhaled cancerous smoke as he smiled, "Sorry about this gents but I need a bit o' blood to knock this door open real quiet like. You both don't mind helping a bloke out, yeah?" The men struggled and grunted but couldn't actually speak. "Good. Go to sleep." both of them folded down onto the floor snoring softly.

Constantine kicked their guns away mumbling, "Bloody useless things," and then rolled up the sleeves on his jacket. He gave both the sleeping men a few swift kicks to their faces to making them both bleed a from their lips and noses.

He stood between the door and the bleeding guard's men with one hand pointed down at them and one aimed at the door. "Aperiesque ostium sanguine. Me per ingressum sanguinis patitur!"

The blood from the men began to swirl and stretch itself like melted cheese from pizza towards Constantine's hand while glowing brightly. It suddenly shot forward and struck the wooden door, expanding until it covered the entire surface, still pulsing and glowing randomly.

"That ought to do it." Constantine walked towards the door and held out his hands then pushed it open. There was a small groan of resistance from the door but it opened quietly and Constantine walked into the darkened stairwell. Torches were lined down into the descending spiral of stairs and Constantine tried to tip-toe down them so as not to have his footfalls echo so much.

The temperature was cooling a bit as he descended the spiraling staircase but he could also feel the heat from the torches and the humming pulse of magic being used as he neared the bottom of the stairwell. This Donald Trump fellow most certainly had spent a fortune having this extension added underground to his property as it was much too deep to have come with the home originally.

Constantine reached the bottom and found a single hallway leading straight ahead with torches lighting the way. He finished his cigarette and tossed the butt carelessly down to the ground then walked swiftly towards the door at the end of the hall. Without preamble, he pushed the door open and walked into the room only to be blinded by a white light.

"Bloody hell!" he rubbed his eyes and his vision quickly returned to see he was surrounded by men in hooded black robes. They were all unarmed except for one who had a large carving knife gripped tightly in his hands.

"Brothers! Our master has sent us another sacrifice! Hail be to, Lucifer!" the knife-wielding cultist exclaimed.

"Hail be to Lucifer!" the others repeated.

Constantine opened his mouth to say one of his trademark witty comments but something hard struck him in the back of the head and everything went dark.

2:00AM
Koreatown, California

"Those guys keep looking at you." Chas finished his meal and put down his eating utensils.

"Could be because I'm hot," Zed giggled but when Chas didn't smile she nodded her head and stood up. She carefully wiped her mouth and then drank some water before approaching the two men with a charming smile. "Well hello, gentlemen. What's got you both out so late?"

"Hunger." the man on the left grumbled without looking up from his food.

"And you?" the other asked.

"Same as you guys," Zed replied in the most flirty voice she could muster. It made her stomach turn to even be stooping this low but she wanted to see if she could get a reading on these men.

"That scrub your boyfriend?"

Zed glanced at Chas and giggled. "Him? No. Just a friend..." she mustered the cutest voice she could. "...I don't have a man."

"Is that right?" the man on the right turned in his seat and placed a hand on Zed's leg. That was just what she wanted. Her eyes rolled back for a moment and she was struck with a vision of the two men kidnapping several people and taking them to an expensive home in the hills delivering them to a woman whose face she couldn't make out.

"What the fuck's wrong with this bitch?" both the men stood up.

"Junky whore!" the other man said and they turned and rushed from the eatery while Chas made his way to Zed.

"What did you see?" he asked her.

"We've got to catch up to them and question them. They're involved with the kidnappings the news was talking about earlier." Zed rubbed her head.

"Let's get 'em then." Chas grabbed his jacket and handed Zed hers then they left and followed the men down the street.

Chas crossed the street while Zed followed the men in an attempt to catch up to them. The two men were making their way to a car they had parked and Zed called out to them, "Hey! Wait! You guys sure you don't want to have some fun!"

The two men paused and looked at each other. "I've fucked worse," she heard one say to the other and it made her sick to her stomach but the hesitation was what she had wanted. The two moved from the car and walked towards her. "Where's your little friend?" one asked.

"Right here!" Chas came from behind and drove his fist into the side of one man's head knocking him completely unconscious. The other turned but he caught a swift kick to the groin and a fist to his belly that curled him up on the ground gasping for air.

"Nice work, Chas!" Zed said feeling at ease. She had not known how they would subdue these men.

Chas removed brass knuckles from his fist. "Don't thank me. Saw these in Question's apartment and decided I'd take em with us just in case somebody tried kidnapping again."

Zed smiled. "Speaking of kidnapping." She leaned down to the groaning man. "You're gonna tell us all about the lady you and your friend have been taking the missing people to or else we're gonna making your life a living hell."

2:15AM
Rancho Palos Verdes, California

"My fucking head's ringing like a church bell on Sundays..." Constantine groaned and slowly began to regain consciousness. The room was spinning and his vision was still blurry but he could feel his hands were bound and not by natural means. The rope used was magical in some aspect, he suspected that whoever had captured him had known what he was capable of.

"Our second sacrifice has awakened," a voice said in a barely audible whisper.

"Sacrifice huh?" Constantine shifted and felt a wall behind him. He struggled and managed to lean his back up against it. His head still rang but his vision was clearing and he was able to see where he was. "I don't think your supposed master is gonna be too happy if you send me to 'em."

The room he was in was large and round and carved from what looked like natural stone. Esoteric symbols of various origins were all around the walls, roof, and floor. Some were satanic in origin and others were more mystical than anything. In the middle of the room was a raised platform upon which a naked pregnant woman was lying on her back. From the blank stare in her eyes, Constantine knew she was drugged and likely in a mystical trance of some kind.

"You bunch of cultist shits are in some deep shit now." Constantine was beginning to feel more like himself and was starting to weave subtle magics to free himself.

Someone backhanded him and knocked him back down to the ground. His head slammed hard against the rocky floor knocking his senses back out of order. He spat out some blood. "You're gonna regret that, cocksucker," he grumbled while trying to regain his senses.

"Silence!" the obvious leader shouted angrily. "The time has come!"

All the other robed cultists gathered around in a circle around the raised platform and began to chant in unison while the leader stood with spread arms brandishing his knife. Constantine knew what was about to happen but his head was still hurting and his spell of freedom had to be restarted.

"We commit this new life to you, our lord! We commit this new life to you!" the leader bellowed and the others picked up the chant.

"No! Damn you no!" Constantine screamed.

The cult leader plunged the knife down into the pregnant woman's belly and she didn't even move or utter a single noise. Constantine closed his eyes as the sickening sound of flesh being cut filled the air and he knew the cultist was pulling the baby from the mother's womb.

"I'm gonna send the lot of you to meet your supposed lord a lot sooner than you'd think," he swore while taking deep breaths. The smell of death was starting to gag him.

"Bring the next sacrifice."

Constantine was hauled up to his feet and carried towards the platform. The bodies of the woman and baby were being carried off and tossed into a corner and he was laid down in the bloody spot the woman was just in.

"And now you've mucked up my favorite coat. Oh, there will be hell to pay," Constantine promised.

"Your magics won't free you from your bindings. We were prepared for the arrival of a powerful mage. A vision foretold of it," the leader sneered before tossing back his head. "And now we commit to you, our lord, this putrid magicians life! May it be a succulent desert for you to feast upon!"

The rest of the room picked up the same chant as before and Constantine began to feel sweat beading on his forehead. He wasn't going to finish his spell in time, the magic on the ropes binding him was much stronger than anticipated.

The knife started coming down but a gunshot rang out and the knife was flung off into the distance. Constantine exhaled the breath he was holding and sighed in relief. "Took the bastard long enough..."

Question opened fire on the cultists in the room taking them out with precision shots. Five of them fell to the ground with holes in their heads and the others began to scatter and scream as they were unarmed.

"Kill him! Kill him! We must not fail at our ritual!" the leader scrambled to find the knife he had lost while the other cultists turned and threw themselves headlong at Question like raving lunatics.

He shot two in the head and a third twice in the chest but the fourth reached him. The Question easily ducked under the cultists punch and shot him several times in the gut before rolling out of the reach of the others. His gun was quickly reloaded and he began firing on the remaining cultists easily killing them all.

"Don't kill the one with the knife! I think he's the guy we're looking for, mate!" Constantine finally managed to get the ropes free and got off the platform.

The leader then rushed him, swinging his knife like a madman in an attempt to stab or slice the faceless super spy. The Question was too skilled and easily disarmed the man then drove the butt of his pistol into the man's temple knocking him to the ground.

"Where in the bloody hell were you?" Constantine demanded while rubbing his chafed wrists.

"Making sure the rest of the home was empty like you should have before you came down here," Question said matter-of-factly.

"How'd you get in?" The door through which Constantine had come in hadn't been opened.

Question pointed up to a vent that was several feet off the ground. "That's why we scout things. There's always an easier way in."

Constantine nodded his head silently agreeing that maybe his way hadn't been the best. "Right well let's see what this fuck knows and get out of this hell hole. If you don't mind." Constantine grabbed one arm and Question took another and they hauled the leader over to the platform where they laid him down.

"Donald Trump I presume?" Constantine asked the barely conscious man.

"How the hell do you know me?"

"Unimportant," Question said flatly. "We know who you are and we know you secretly work for Felix Faust."

Fear became apparent on Trump's face. "W-who are you people?"

"Equally unimportant. What you should be worried about is what we're gonna do to ya' if you don't tell us what we want to know and quickly." Constantine leaned close to Trump, "I've got a special hatred in my heart for baby killers."

Trump was visibly shaking, sweating and Constantine could smell urine which meant he'd pissed himself at some point. "Al-alright. I'll tell you everything you want to know! Just please, please let me go. I've got a family. Children. I don't want to die!"

Constantine lit a cigarette and looked at Question who said, "Start talking."

"Faust is gathering up souls and life force as well as magic. I don't know why but he promised the more I sent his way the greater my reward would be in the end. I've only met him once but I kept records of all our conversations and exchanges in my study upstairs. Everything you'll want to know is there now please let me go. Please."

Question sniffed the air and Constantine asked, "Did you shit yourself?" Trump began to cry and Constantine just shook his head. "Bloody cowards I tell ya'."

He and Question started to leave the room and Trump sat up, sniveling and struggling to breathe. "Th-thank you...for not killing me."

"Wouldn't soil my hands with your cowardly dirty life," Constantine replied. "You'll kill yourself."

"What?!" Trump was confused.

"Beat your head against that platform. Harder each hit." Constantine grinned as Donald Trump stood to his feet, turned and began to slam his head against the bloody slab of stone.

"You're a cruel man, John Constantine," Question said as the door to the room closed behind them.

"No more cruel them most," was Constantine's reply.