Chapter 2
"Off Duty"
Traffic was unusually light that afternoon on the interstate as Cody Martin drove home to the Tipton in a rather roundabout way. He was feeling dull, even a bit empty and craved some excitement. Now with fifteen miles ahead of him and his brand new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, a gift indirectly given to him by Strange just like Zack's Mustang GT, Cody was ready to have a little bit of fun before his exit came up. Glancing around him at his fellow drivers he smirked at the thought of them all just cruising along at sixty five with an open road before them. Cody reached over to his stereo and pressed 'Play' before dropping his right hand on top of the shifter and putting the Lancer into Sport Mode.
I must have dreamed a thousand dreams
Been haunted by a million screams
But I can hear the marching feet
They're moving into the street
White smoke appeared behind the car from burning rubber as it leapt forward in response to Cody pushing the gas pedal against the floor. The engine roared happily at being freed from the mundane pace of the highway speed limit and he felt the acceleration push him into his seat. He shifted as both speed and rpm's climbed rapidly.
Now, did you read the news today?
They say the danger has gone away
But I can see the fire's still alight
They're burning into the night
With one final shift, Cody's right hand rejoined his left on the steering wheel as he concentrated on driving, letting the competing noises of air passing over the car, the stereo blaring and the engine screaming at high rpm's in its top gear wash through him. People literally had no time to react as he blew past them at over one hundred forty miles per hour and still climbing. His heart was hammering in his chest as he navigated past slow moving traffic in the right lane by passing on the left and then had to swap over to the far right lane and use an exit only lane to swerve around a slow moving pack of cars all pacing each other rather than riding in the right lane like they should and leaving the left open for passing.
There's too many men, too many people
Making too many problems
And there's not much love to go around
Can't you see this is the land of confusion?
Those last set of lyrics were so true in present day America. It was surprising that the county hadn't fallen apart yet with the aftermath of the economic recession still impacting millions of Americans nationwide. Most of the problem was coming from the poor leadership of politicians everywhere and how mired the country was in complacency, tradition and various conflicting laws impeding progress. Cody felt the Lancer wobble slightly as he shot through the middle lane between two tractor trailers at one hundred fifty five miles per hour now.
This is the world we live in
And these are the hands we're given
Use them and let's start trying
To make it a place worth living in
The engine whined in protest as Cody let off the gas and let the car coast for a moment. He had been so self absorbed in driving and hadn't really been listening to the stereo until one of the lines shocked him back to reality. 'To make it a place worth living in…' was the line he recognized. The Strange Man had said the very same thing to Cody and his brother when he came to them to deliver onto them their first mission. He let his mind wander back to that event as the Lancer bled off the last of its triple digit speed.
Oh, superman, where are you now?
When everything's gone wrong somehow?
The men of steel, I hate these men of power
I'm losing control by the hour
"The world is crumbling around you and it will have to come crashing down before progress can be made. This existence is going to get a lot worse before it gets better, but if you serve me faithfully and loyally then together we can make it a place worth living in." Strange had told them, managing to get them alone for a moment, over a year ago on the twin's seventeenth birthday when they had been out celebrating with their family and friends. Cody pondered his choice of words there and wondered if there wasn't a hidden meaning in the song. Strange always did this to them, leaving them hints and clues as to what his grand scheme was but never outright telling them. He had a few ideas…maybe he should have another long talk with Zack about their suspicions.
This is the time, this is the place
So we look for the future
But there's not much love to go around
Tell me why this is the land of confusion
Cody merged over into the exit lane that would lead him back to the Tipton still in excess of ninety and glanced up in the rearview mirror as something caught his eye. The flashing red and blue lights of a Massachusetts State Trooper closed in on him. He simply smirked, feeling like a bad ass, as he down shifted and brought the Lancer down to a more acceptable speed for getting off the highway. There was nothing to worry about.
"Go away…" He muttered, applying some brake and downshifting again as the end of the off ramp neared where it merged into a main city street. Amazingly the Trooper's lights turned off and the car moved back out into the traffic of the highway as the law enforcement officer suddenly found something more important to do. Working for Strange was definitely a good thing for two teenage boys with high powered cars and a desire to play with them from time to time. He and his brother would often race, pushing their vehicles and driving skill to the edge when they were bored.
I won't be coming home tonight
My generation will put it right
We're not just making promises
That we know we'll never keep
On that slightly disturbing note, Cody turned off the stereo and let his mind wander a bit as he ended up in a traffic snarl less than a mile from the Tipton. He wondered what this next mission would be and whether or not it would help the twins add another piece to the massive puzzle Strange had handed them. Would they some day learn who this man was and who he worked for? Would they learn what purpose all of their missions had? Most of all though Cody wondered what was going to happen to him as he felt the muscles in his arms contract and expand suddenly of their own accord, making him grimace in discomfort.
Twenty minutes later Cody rode the service elevator up from the Tipton's underground parking garage pleased to have gotten a prime spot for a change. His 'strange' luck didn't extend to getting a good parking spot, or even a spot at all apparently. The service elevator deposited him into one of the guest lounge's just behind the main lobby. The Tipton's main elevators didn't go down to the parking garage so as not to inconvenience the guests staying there with extra wait times, the majority of which didn't bring their own vehicles or simply used the subway to get around rather than have to deal with Boston's notorious traffic.
Cody hitched his backpack higher on his shoulder and made his way into the main lobby. The brilliant sunlight streamed in through the hotel's large windows and the revolving door at the center of the main entrance warped and bent the light as it spun lazily in circles, making quite an interesting display of color on the lobby floor. It wasn't much past four o'clock he noted, seeing that Nia had just come on shift at the Tipton's candy counter. It wasn't named appropriately since the place also sold newspapers, magazines, drinks, other snacks and many more types of amenities that guests would want to buy.
"Ah! Cody Martin, you have a package." Marion Moseby announced from the check in desk where he managed the day shift in the lobby and the entire hotel as a whole. The Tipton's general manager had been an unfriendly man when the boys had first met him, due in part to their own rambunctious antics as children, but he had softened over the years as Zack and Cody grew up into more mature people and pursued interests other than causing havoc within his hotel. He went over and retrieved the white cardboard envelope package which was complete with the 'FedEx Ground' in the corner without even bothering to glance at the sender's information in from of the other man.
"Thanks Mr. Moseby. See you tomorrow!" Cody thanked the manager and crossed the lobby to the elevators. He exchanged a short polite conversation with Nia while waiting for the elevator to arrive. When the thing finally arrived and the doors closed on him as he rode up to the twenty third floor did Cody finally glance at the sender's information.
Mr. Strange
666 Strange Lane
Strange Place, Nowhere, 12345
"So original…" He muttered under his breath as he stepped off onto his floor, tucking the envelope under his arm as he fished his room key card out of his wallet. Cody entered the suite immediately taking notice that his mother and brother weren't there. He dropped his backpack next to the dinner table and carried the envelope into the kitchen with him. Briefly examining it confirmed his suspicions that it was more than just your ordinary shipping envelope and that it had powerful magic imbued in it. Cody still didn't understand how Strange's magic worked, but now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
He pulled out a sharp steak knife from a drawer under the counter and held it in his right hand. Cody carefully pressed the tip into his left index finger wincing as he felt the minor pain of drawing his own blood. Setting the knife back down, Cody ran his bloody finger along the envelope seal like Strange had shown him how to do leaving behind a smear of red blood on the white cardboard. The seal instantly started smoking as Cody's blood burnt through the magic in the package until the spell lifted and it was safe to open. He quickly cleaned off the knife, returning it to its drawer, and sucked on the small cut tasting the coppery flavor of his own blood before withdrawing the miraculously healed finger.
Cody dumped the contents of the envelope onto the counter and quickly sifted through them. The first thing that caught his attention were a pair of plane tickets. Apparently he and Zack were flying to Washington D.C. at the end of this week on Thursday night with a return flight of Sunday night which would effectively eat up their entire three day weekend. He rolled his eyes knowing how thrilled Zack would be.
Also included in the contents of the package was a slip of paper with a time and an address written on it, a map of the District of Columbia (as if Cody wasn't going to Google Map the address right away and check out the satellite view), a rental car conformation receipt and a newspaper clipping. The article was about a popular, yet somewhat eccentric elderly religious leader who didn't really hail to any particular faith. Apparently he was scheduled to address a large group of people who followed his unorthodox beliefs about the end of the world soon approaching and how real angels and demons walked among mankind in secret.
He quickly gathered together all of the contents and put them back in the envelope which he tossed in the top drawer of his bedroom nightstand. Cody went back out into the kitchen, grabbed a fresh Mt. Dew and sat down at the dining table. He pulled his backpack over to him and immediately dove into his homework in order to take his mind off their next mission.
Zack and Cody had done a lot for Strange in the year that they had worked for him, including influencing people to attain positions of power, blackmail people in power to make them step down, pick up or deposit packages they weren't allowed to open and occasionally steal items. Through all of this Strange had assured them that they would be safe from repercussion, much like Cody had avoided getting in trouble with the State Trooper this afternoon, so long as they served him loyally. He had always assured them that what they were doing was for the greater good and so the twins had dutifully carried out the work that he assigned them.
Besides his mysterious powers and frightening demeanor, Zack and Cody served him because they owed their lives to him. They should be dead right now, but instead they were enjoying a good life with all the creature comforts, loving family, friends and opportunities that they could ask for. Not to mention that their missions were often interesting and took them many different places around the United States.
But this was the first time that Strange had asked something like this from them. There was no doubting what the black 'x' made by a sharpie marker over the image of the religious leader's picture in the news paper clipping meant. Strange was asking them…no, Strange was ordering them to kill him.
A/N: What is going on here eh? I'll leave it all to speculation for now, let me know what you think of this chapter by leaving a review!
I've updated this so quickly because from the traffic I've been getting, Angels and Demons is my top story with over double the amount of readers than Reflections In Time (which I will still work on).
Well, stay tuned folks. There's more to come!