Prison of Blood and Lies

Five

“I’m not quite sure I’m ready to commit to this arrangement. I have so many questions.“

“You haven’t even heard what I have to offer yet.“

“OK?“ I asked, unsure of where this conversation was headed.

“What I will give to you is information about people who are putting our secret at risk. All I need from you is to track them down and bring them back here. Once they’re here, you and I will get the necessary information from them so that we can stop anyone from showing to humans who we truly are.“

“So what is in return for me?“ I asked. He wasn’t doing a very good job of convincing me that I had anything to gain from this relationship. “This all seems a little one-sided, if you ask me.”

I was ready to leave. The angel had been wasting my time. I stood from the chair.

“Will you let me finish?” he snapped.

The chair creaked as I lowered myself back into it.

“You better not be wasting my time. I have work to do. Get to the part where I benefit.” I motioned for him to hurry up with my hand.

“So impatient.” He stood from his leather chair and paced across the small office. I suspected that this was an act just to spite me.

Finally, he spoke. “Before we go on, would you mind telling me your story?”

“I thought you had your sources. You knew my name and you knew what I am and who I’ve been talking to. If your sources are so great, why in the world do I need to tell you anything about me?” I tapped my foot on the tile floor. I didn’t know what to expect out of this meeting but I really wasn’t expecting whatever this is.

He stopped pacing to look at me. His eyes squinted and for a moment, I thought he was angry with me. The expression on his face turned to a smile and I wasn’t quite sure if I’d really seen the anger or not.

“Alice, my sources can only tell me so much. And, besides, sometimes sources can get information wrong.”

He put his hand on my shoulder and I moved out of his grasp. The sudden touch made my breath hitch in panic. He carried on like nothing happened.

“So, please, if we are to be working together, I’d really appreciate getting to know you better.”

Still trying to recover from the unwelcome touch, I took several deep breaths. I wasn’t sure if I could trust him.

I stayed silent for several long seconds.

“You already know so much about me. Why don’t you go first, Gemba. I don’t know the first thing about you.” I stalled.

He smiled. “There really isn’t much to tell.”

“Please, I’m interested. How does an angel wind up on earth doing cleanup duty after a bunch of supernaturals?” This should be food. Policing vampires didn’t seem like very angelic work. What did I know about angels, anyway?

“It’s quite a long story. The short version is that the man upstairs and I had a disagreement in the beginning and I was cast out of heaven. I’ve been here making the best of it ever since.”

The beginning? Did he mean?

“The beginning? You mean creation beginning?”

“That’s what I meant, yes.”

“What was the disagreement about?”

“Uh-uh,” he tutted. That one’s personal.”

Fair enough. I couldn’t expect him to dump his life story on me. I certainly had no plans to share any more than I needed.

“Alright, it’s your turn.”

I fought back tears. Talking about it meant that I’d have to think about it.

“Well,” I hesitated.

“Go ahead,” he urged. He watched my face eagerly.

I twirled a strand of hair around my finger and took a deep breath.

“I was married. Pregnant with twins. Happy.” I paused to swallow back the flood of emotions that threatened to burst forth.

“My husband was murdered. I was kidnapped and murdered. Only, I came back as this.”

I motioned up and down my body with my hands. “A monster.” I shook my head and looked down at my feet. The hungry way he listened to my torment somehow made it worse.

“It wasn’t over then. I was kept. They drugged me and sold-“ I stopped again and wiped a tear off my cheek. I realized then that this was the first time I’d talked about what had happened to me.

“They sold my body to the highest bidder. Over and over and over. My babies. They died. The birth was awful. I-I escaped somehow and here I am. That’s it.”

I heard him take in a small amount of air in through his mouth. The office fell silent for a moment. The only sound was the gentle blowing of the air conditioning vent above us.

Finally, he spoke, “I am so sorry that happened to you.” He stopped pacing and moved back to his chair. He leaned across the desk and tried to grab my hands in his. I dodged his grasp and folded my hands in my lap.

“How did you escape?”

“I don’t want to get into that. Please, can we just talk about your proposal?”

“You’re safe here. You can tell me,” he pressed.

“No. It was horrible. I can’t go there. I don’t even want to think about it.” I tried to focus my thoughts on anything but the night I won my freedom and made my first kills. Once my mind started down that dark path, it was difficult to stop.

“The particulars, please. No more personal questions.”

Gemba nodded and clicked his tongue.

“I am going to help you get your revenge on your murderers and a steady supply of food - meaning blood and lust. You can keep any cash you find. Also, I’ll allow you to stay here. You won’t need to stay in those flea-bag motels any more. There are a couple offices that could easily be converted into a place to rest your head. You could take your pick and I’ll make the arrangements.

The thought of sleeping in an abandoned bottling plant turned prison was not particularly appealing. On the other hand, this place seemed cleaner than the motels I’ve been staying in. I hadn’t seen a roach yet.

I could also stop luring men in by pretending to be a prostitute. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad deal?

A thought wrestled its way up from the back of my mind. This is too good to be true.

“That’s all very generous of you, but what’s in it for you? How do you benefit from helping me?”

“I already told you. I want our secret safe and these monsters off the street.”

“I’m still not a hundred percent sold. What if I’m not strong enough to take down someone like me? You mentioned being short staffed. I assume your previous help was killed?”

He nodded. “That’s right. I’m not going to lie. This is a dangerous job and you’re going to have to get better - hone your interrogation and fighting skills. The angel in me wants to help you get justice. Is that so hard to believe?”

Since my resurrection, I had no idea what to believe any more. Without an aura surrounding Gemba, I couldn’t know for sure. In my heart I thought that he might be the key to vengeance.

“One case. We’ll see how it goes. And I’ll make a decision after.”

He narrowed his black eyes at me and paced around the office a bit more.

“Deal.”