“How are you doing?” Gabriel ran out to meet John.
“We have little time.”
“Eve project runs again.”
“Lemme guess. There’s no one to protect,” he handed her Candy’s status card.
“All who have permission, follow me to the Info Center,” she commanded.
All took their places, and the assistants brought coffee with snacks. Candy sat like a ghost. Her expression doesn’t look so good. She was moving away from everything experienced, having felt safe. On the contrary, John’s face was full of determination to clear up all things today and not put them off until tomorrow and certainly do it before dinner, which would relax him.
John briefly brought everyone up to speed, having based on the results of their visit to Suicide Channel.
“The Council prepares mediums for passaging Angels into our world.”
“There are no guarantees that only Angels,” John added.
“That’s right, John, but more about that later. At the moment, they have captured more than a hundred mediums from West Coast.”
“The Council has moved them to a new place,” added Gabriel’s right hand. “We must do our best to find where they’ve been hidden.”
“We need intel. Among the stolen data, there was no word about the escape plan.”
“I know who’ll help us,” John talked about the case with the assistant who gave him the code.
“Our actions won’t go unanswered on their part. You should be ready for…”
“Do not worry,” the second in command reassured Gabriel, having predicted the course of her thoughts, “I’ve already ordered to increase the security level. By morning, we’ll gather everyone and everything we’ve got at the headquarters.”
“It’s time to think about your allies,” Candy said. “I don’t want to die again.”
“Andrew, most likely Angela and Midnite are with us. By the way, I need to talk with him,” John stated.
“Balthazar?” Gabriel asked.
“C’mon, Gab! He’s as guilty as sin! Dealing with him, I’m always aware of who he’s and what the consequences will be,” John paused, pondered, and continued. “We’re up shit creek, and he’s sitting on the side all in white, watching who’ll win.”
“You’re right.”
“Drop the obsession! He still hasn’t made his bet. We have different value systems and goals. If Balthazar fights for power, but we’re for survival. When he loses something valuable, and someone adds insult to injury so that he decides to take revenge, then yes. Although he complains that the Council is dissolving his influence at the state level,” John finished the thought.
“He’s not the first time to engage in intrigue. In general, the situation is clear. Get ready for an attack and look for mediums. Thank y’all. John, can I have a word? Candy, honey, go relaxing. You’re all out of the face. You went through a lot today.”
They stayed together. She walked around the table, went up to him, and leaned on the table. John sat motionlessly.
“Do you understand that there’s no choice? I need access to Heaven.”
“But John…” she tried to protest, having got sentimental.
“What “but”? I’ll go to the informant then to Midnite.”
“What’s the reason?” She asked curiously.
“I wanna talk with Mammon.”
“What’s the heck? Are you out of your mind?”
“We need allies… Any.”
“First, ask Balthazar for a meeting. Secondly, all of a sudden, this is Mammon’s business. This has happened more than once.”
She walked around him, having gone up behind and leaned on him, begging him for a few kisses.
“The last thing I need is losing you before the big fight. Today I was worried, having realized that this was exactly that Megan.”
“If Mammon decides something, then Balthazar will be much more appeasable. Don’t forget because of whose quota he’s been hanging around on the Earth for more than thousands of years.”
“Maybe. I recognized your informant’s phone number,” she put a piece of paper with numbers in front of him and took out her phone. “Hurry up. She’s waiting for a call.”
“We’ve delivered mediums. Everything’s fine,” Megan reported to Rick about the evacuation status.
“Thanks. It’s nice to deal with you.”
“Rick?”
“Yes.”
“Are the mediums ready? Ready! Cops congress is according to plan, right? There’ll be many of ours.”
“Like the followers of Short Way.”
“So… What the hell are we waiting for?” Megan began to lose her temper. “We can’t wait any longer. They’d soon begin to search if they haven’t already begun.”
“We must not show it. We just have to lie low for a few days.”
“We can’t sit back! Our enemies can unite. They knew too much, plus Constantine, damn him. He must be eliminated despite the ban and risks. He’s still able to interfere with us!” Megan insisted, having made it clear that solving problems can’t be delayed.
“How to interfere? Just how? The Angels covered us with the tacit consent of Lucifer. Who can stop us? We’ve planned and implemented everything step-by-step for several years. They don’t know where mediums are, and this is the clue. At the same time, half-breeds we’ve hooked will ensure control paralysis,” Rick tried to calm her down.
“I’ve planned, not you! Constantine knows that he will go to Hell after death. John doesn’t play by the rules. He gets no authority. He’ll go all the way to stop us. That’s why he’s so fucking dangerous and must be killed.”
“The Deal…”
“Screw it! We have to kill him! If you don’t wanna do this, I’ll do it by myself!”
“Leave John alone! Are you going crazy? His death will show everyone that we crossed all the red lines.”
Megan didn’t think so. Last few months, Rick did everything to prevent her from settling old scores with Gabriel. She caught herself thinking that from an initiator and associate, he turned into a brake on the whole process. If before she somehow handled all of this, now, when John has found out everything, and Gabriel stood on her ears from the fact that Megan had taken mediums from the Eve project from under her nose, the time has come for decisive actions.
“Okay with John… but Gabriel! If she shares intel with Balthazar and, knowing their past, this will be so, and they’ll decide to act together. Damn it! Even if Balthazar decides to act alone, in a few days, they’ll dig through the whole California from the ocean to the mountains, from North to South and find mediums,” she kept insisting.
“They won’t find them. You may be calm about this. They haven’t got this data.”
“At the same time, Gabriel herself also should not be written off. Don’t forget that she has Candy, who’s shown herself as the strongest medium in the group. It’s hard to imagine what they’re capable of together. Something needs to be done with them.”
“Relax and do your job!”
For her, his words were the last straw.
“All leave to chance? I’m quitting! Damn it all!”
“Wait!”
“Go fuck yourself. I’m sick and tired of it. I’ve begun this venture without you, so I’ll finish it myself!”
She went out, having slammed the door. Rick punched the window and cursed. “Well … at least she won’t do anything I don’t know. She wants to payback Gabriel and kill John. Let it be.”
John called Mary.
“It’s John. I need info. Where are they?”
Megan came to a smart door lock and entered a code. Without waiting for an alert, she went inside, having known that she had entered it correctly. Having crossed a threshold, she froze from the accumulated memories, looking around. Everything looked as if the hostess had not left this apartment. Two long years have passed since she left her office to move with Rick to Suicide Channel. For her, this place was a refuge where she was able to hide from Gabriel’s bloodhounds and where she felt safe. She praised herself for not telling Rick about its existence.
Her beloved cat Oscar ran out to her. The neighbors took care of him during her absence. Despite the fact that he was not thoroughbred, she loved and missed him so much.
Having picked him up and slowly stroking under his contented rumbling, she set about developing an action plan. She planned out an attack on Gabriel and Balthazar a long time ago, but for it to succeed, it was necessary to “occupy” their special forces with something. She got up and began to pace from side to side, having been in thought. Having pulled a bubble gum pack out of a jeans pocket, she threw a stick in the mouth and, chewing, began inflating the bubbles and burst them loudly.
“It’s for sure! How haven’t I thought about this before?! So… we’ve got a mole…”
The idea came up that would allow her to liquidate the special forces of Gabriel and Balthazar, get rid of Rick in order to regain full control of Council, and at the same time by checking how loyal recruited half-breeds were personally to her, but the most important thing was to get John out of the game.
Despite being free to act regarding John, she had to coordinate her actions with Raguel.
“Come in. I’ve got the info,” Mary dictated the address.
“John, there could be dangerous!” Gabriel took care.
“Yes. When was it different?!”
When he was about to go, he got another call. It was from Angela.
“Gab, John, are you watching ‘the box’?”
“Nope. Something important?”
“They started to bring you down on all channels… Because of the video from the cameras while you were fighting.”
“Balthazar’s channels?”
“He’s not yet. I’m calling because I wanna know how close you and John are to solving the problem.”
“After all, you’re also a medium, but for some reason, you weren’t taken in.”
“It’s just that simple. John would be the first who knows about my loss.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re safe at all.”
“Gab, when?”
“I think the time is less than a week. When it starts, what will you do?”
“Any advice?”
“Shoot back and run to Gab’s office. Now everyone’s at risk. When I find out everything, they’ll play roughly,” said John.
“Are we in the minority?”
“Even worse. We’ve got no allies, and I’m far from a clear understanding of who can betray. I’m going to Hell to check the prisoners. Wanna me to cheer someone?”
“Hah, Jooohn! No thanks. Take care of yourself.”
“The amulet is on you?”
“After Candy’s case, I’m not taking It off.”
“Very well. If you get something, let me know! See ya round!”
Angela smiled. She was flattered that even in the maelstrom of events, he wasn’t indifferent to her fate.
Gabriel turned on one of the channels. There, just at that moment, a reporter interviewed Megan in the background of the destroyed buildings of Suicide Canal.
“… she calls herself Gabriel. So, she crossed the Rubicon quite a while ago. A few years ago, I worked for her at BWC pharm, and my only desire to leave was enough for her to send her thugs for killing me. Then I managed to escape to show that I didn’t pose any threat. I got a job for Rick Sanchez on Suicide Channel…
But that didn’t stop her. Today, she sent her fighters to attack our company in order to kill me and to spread fear among the rest. We’ve already handed over the records from the surveillance cameras to the state prosecutor, and we’re giving all the necessary evidence in order for justice to prevail.”
“Piece of shit! Bitch!”
“An old friend?” John asked.
”Not a completely fired employee.”
The assistant who came in found Balthazar deep in thought. In his hands was the yo-yo with which he accompanied the course of his thoughts. “It seems that Gabriel isn’t lying, and she was quite sincere with me. Where did my determination go? I need to strike for sure! Only the crushing of the Council will bring back the followers under my control.”
“Your double espresso is ready-to-go, sir.”
“Thank you. Tell me, Si, when you’re chasing two hares …”
For a second hesitating, he answered.
“You’d shoot at both. Wounded animals don’t go far.”
“Thanks, Si. You’re wise.”
“At your service, sir.”
He headed for the exit. Balthazar couldn’t stand it so as not to ask a personal question.
“You’re one of the few people who know who I’m. Why?”
“That’s because of greatness and scale of personality. I wouldn’t serve mediocrity.”
“What about people?”
“I’m sure that without you, we will find many reasons to do terrible things. You’re just a little worse than we are.”
“For sure?”
“Demons, according to our religion, are Genies and other inhabitants, live in Hell, and exactly Hell is their native home. People? They don’t care. They’re free to do any horror, and they wanna do it until another exorcist sends them back.”
“Go on.”
“You’re different. For you, in those thousands of years, the Earth has become a home. Just don’t say that when you were sent to Hell, you didn’t miss people…”
“Indeed.”
“… for freedom, not to be a servant, albeit powerful… for ambitions, passions. Your existence is directly related to the need to stay here. If there are no people, you’ll again run around Hell, telling “As you wish” to Lucifer and Mammon.”
Balthazar hissed menacingly. Si clearly got into a sore spot and withstood a diplomatic pause.
“You have become such a human.”
“Thanks, Si. I understood you.”
He went out. “If he took off his courtesy mask and started talking, then he said what he thinks.”
“I’ll not give this world to anyone! Fuck the Council! It’s time to finish them!”
The stolen intel was enough to act immediately. Unlike Gabriel, he had the power to do so. He came and flipped over the little table in the center of the room.
“Hell no! After all I did, I won’t pass power to Lucifer or Mammon.”
Without hiding his essence, he roared.
“Everyone, come here! You’ve got half an hour to get ready,” then he added simply out loud. “Yeah. The time has come! Let’s take care of rabbits.”
John’s flair didn’t fail this time either. The venue was an ordinary-looking three-story building on the outskirts of Northern LA, a few blocks from where he lived. The company car was parked at the front door.
Having gone inside and being hidden from people’s gazes from the street, he was immediately attacked by three half-breeds. From an unexpected blow to the chest, he flew off to the wall, having been on the floor.
“Hello, Constantine. Where are you goin’?”
One of the attackers was a girl. She came and squatted. At this time, John quietly managed to put on silver brass knuckles.
“Remember, you sent a half-breed …”
She didn’t manage to finish having got a well-aimed knuckle-blow in the temple.
The next two blows sent her to meet the friend in Hell. Having not expected such a turn, they rushed towards him. John took a bottle of blessed water from a side pocket and threw it into one striker’s head. With the cries of a wounded beast, he began to writhe on the floor, having crumbled into dust.
“Fuck.”
“I’ll crush you fucking piece of shit!”
A hand-to-hand fight ensued between them. John missed a few hits in the chest and began to lose pace. At some moment, he heard a female scream.
“Get down!”
Common sense dictated that advice should be followed. John abruptly jumped sideways. The attacker was still able to kick him, from which he again rolled on the floor. At this very moment, someone assaulted the attacker with a basin of water. From the cry, it became clear that the water was lit.
“We’ll come soon for …”
“Fuck yourself!”
He turned in the direction from where help had come to and saw Mary there.
“You took the risk, but thanks.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Constantine. We ran out of time. Come to me.”
She climbed the stairs to the second floor. John followed her.
“Why do you live in such a hole?”
“It takes a lot to cure children.”
“I see.”
She entered a code and opened a door.
“Rumor has it that you don’t live in your own home too,” she supported the conversation.
“It’s true. People run for money and spend their whole lives in this pursuit. In this struggle, they don’t notice that they’re not in charge, but they’re marionettes. In a sense, I was “lucky” to find out about this before I could become one of them.”
“Wanna coffee?”
“Yes.”
“When is victory?”
“It doesn’t exist. This is an endless struggle. There’s no finish line, after overcoming which you’re the winner. Despite all my efforts, the half-breeds’ amount doesn’t get smaller. Demons, and now Angels come out from all the woodwork as if there’s a honey pot.”
“Millstones will grind you too.”
“If I leave, another comes. You won’t be left alone with the problem. Every time a defender is needed, he comes.”
“So… you’re a hero, John.”
“No. I’m a piece of shit that does what should be done and … hopes that the right things were done. This is just an illusion that I know what to do. Like you, I wander in the dark, reacting to events. HE can decide, but HE lets it go. We became the toy of which He played enough and threw it into the half-breeds’ hands.”
“Your coffee.”
“Thanks. It’s getting worse. Mammon wanted to make this world his own. Now the Angels have taken up this. We’ll not be left alone. Time’s running out. We‘ll become a subject or cease to exist. There’s not much to choose from.”
“I haven’t been mistaken in you. I wanna tell you that at the new facility where the mediums were taken, there’ll be a change of security officers soon. This is your last chance to wrest them from the clutches of the Council. Here’s the address.”
“It’s huge! Thank you.”
Having finished the coffee, he headed for the exit.
“They believe that there,” she pointed a finger up, “and there,” a finger down, “everything’s already solved, and there’d be no problems. I dunno how, but if you manage to disrupt the harmony of their ranks, it … in general … I dunno … should help.”
John, without turning around, raised his thumb up.
“The coffee is good.”
Upon leaving, he sent the received data to Gabriel.
“Everyone’s here? I’ve decided to attack the Council.”
“Do we have enough power?”
“A few days ago, you reported that they’re marginals, aren’t you?”
“At the moment, according to Gab’s data, Suicide Channel is their headquarters. There are at least three out of eight members who make the final decisions.”
“But… without understanding where they took the mediums, we just do the dirty work for her.”
“So… get this intel ASAP. Where’s Constantine?
“He’s at a meeting with the informant.”
“She knows, right?”
“One hundred percent.”
“John is a miracle,” Balthazar exclaimed.
“Not so playfully. He’ll bring Gabriel’s force for mediums.”
“Sure! We’ll grind them all into minced meat.”
“They’ll not make such a mistake twice.”
“This is bullshit! As soon as the informant wanted to open her mouth to say “a,” her brains would immediately decorate the wall.”
“Let’s think about it. What are the Council’s expectations? Ideas?” Balthazar took the initiative.
“… that Gab and John will appear to pick up the mediums.”
“Exactly! Obviously. We won’t run bald-headed.”
“Balthazar. Without killing everyone, we’ll not be able to pick them up.”
“Ha-ha-ha. Well, that’s nonsense,” he was amused by this approach.”
On the faces of those present, there was a misunderstanding of what was going on.
“To hell with them. Set explosives and destroy everyone.”
“How about mediums?”
“Why do we need them for? For Mammon to come here and send us all back to Hell? … Or even worse for Angels? It’s time to close the Eve project once and for all. I see only advantages in this: we’ll decapitate Council, remove John, kill the mediums, then we’ll tell Gabriel that Council is to blame for the murder of her people.”
“All half-breeds will come running to us, and Gab will again be left with nothing in her bunker.”
“We’ll kill her.”
“Well, you know … I don’t know. She remains some kind of a decision center, and she can always be used blindly,” Balthazar disagreed.
“At the time of the attack, begin to mess up with Suicide Channel in our broadcasting network. This will add chaos.”
Chapter 14. Story Of Rick. Megan Met Rick Chapter 16. What’s Mammon Up To?