Chapter 18: November 25th – New York – Evening

 ALMOST DONE

Chapter 18: November 25th – New York – Evening

                Joseph wakes up feeling groggy. His arms and legs are bound together by sheets from his bed and he is leaning on his bed in the recovery position. He is still able to look around, and realized he is still in his hotel room. Anything that could be used as a weapon like guns or a set of keys has been stripped from him. Joseph then realized what had happen, he sat Thomas and he pulled a shotgun and shot him. The shotgun must’ve came from Jane Brockbank’s vehicle which means it was non-lethal, and that’s why he’s still alive and not in hell. So far things have been going well for Joseph in his first direct encounter with the supposed Angel of Death.

Walking out of the bathroom is Thomas Worthington, naked and with his wings out. His wings scrape along the drywall as he walks into the main room of the room. Joseph couldn’t help but take a look at his scarred up body. Fresh scars can be seen on the back of Worthington’s legs due to his wings bending backwards and the bottom of them scratching his calf. His back looks twisted, a bit hunched. Joseph didn’t think Thomas was all that impressive, he didn’t live up to other people’s stories of him. Thomas had Joseph’s gun in his hand, pointing at Joseph, a smile reaches upon Thomas’s face.

                “You have one chance to leave this world with a painless death. Just tell me where she is and I’ll end this right now with a bullet between your head.” Thomas moved the gun as if he was a gangster threatening to shoot someone, shaking the gun and waving it at Joseph. Joseph naturally wasn’t scared of Thomas, while his wings and scars my look menacing, it wasn’t Abbadon.  Joseph walked into the realm of hell to chase after criminals, a white boy with issues and a butcher of a body modification no matter how extreme it is won’t scare him.

                “Who’s she?” Joseph asked, he knew he meant Naomi but he needed to buy time. He wasn’t sure how long he was out for, but he hasn’t heard the calvary arriving yet.

                “Naomi, my Asian princess. My angel of light to my angel of darkness. She would’ve wanted to become like me. I want to know where she is, so I can take her away from this world, take her away from that stupid strip club. I just want to help them ascend.” Thomas preached to Joseph.

                “Just like you helped Kendra? You shot her in the woods.” Joseph asked, he started to untie the notes in the sheets. Sheets are lousy for tying people up. Thomas shook his head.

                “No… Kendra wasn’t pure. I thought she was, but it was too late. I had to pass judgement on her. Doctor says I need to find more like me.” Thomas tried to explain his justification for killing O’Healy’s daughter, it just made the situation worse. Joseph shook his head.

               

                “You’re sick.” Joseph said aloud. Thomas fired his gun at a nearby wall. People in the hotel screamed after the sound. Doors can be heard opening in the hotel room, but Joseph didn’t see anyone poke their head in to see what’s going on. Again Thomas asks that same question.

                “Where is she?”

“At the police station. Weren’t you watching us? I brought her there, she hasn’t moved yet. She’s just down the street. She’s waiting for you down there, but so are hundreds of my friends downstairs.” Joseph begins laughing, the phone on his bed is still on, which meant that O’Healy is still on the other line.

“What? So soon?” Thomas wasn’t dumb, he knew the gunfire would attract cops. He walked to the window and below him he could see tens of police cars out front with more circling the building. He didn’t think they would be here so soon. The laughing of Joseph made Thomas agitated. Thomas turned around, leaning in on Joseph and pointing a gun right at his face with the end of the gun resting on Joseph’s forehead.

“Well if they’re here so soon, I don’t need you then do it?”


            “You do need me, how do you think you’re going to get out of here? Why do you think they didn’t just raid my room? They think you have hostages, which you only have ONE OF.” Joseph yelled the last part so O’Healy can hear on the other end. Thomas caught on was going on and took the phone ending the call. Thomas wasn’t pleased at all.

“You sneaky devil.” Thomas says standing up.

“You don’t know the half of it.”

“Turn around.” Joseph did was he was told and Thomas undoes the sheets that binds him.

“March up towards the roof, if you deviate or walk too fast I will shoot you.” Thomas threatened. Joseph wasn’t sure if Thomas is buying time by moving to a different area. Joseph got up from the bed and walked slowly with both hands in the air, Thomas followed with his wings scrapping against the wall.

It took Joseph a few moments to find the staircase that led to the patio roof. The angel had no troubling following him. Joseph thought about running or attempting to attack the man but the wings on his back look sharp, and doesn’t seem to be something one wants to mess with while grappling down the stair case. The Patio on the roof of the hotel looks nice, a small pound where fish can swim around, a bench for people to sit at to look at the skyline of New York or the fish in the pond, smoking area for those on the upper floors, and one of the telescopes that need a quarter to fit in so people can view the city up close by being so far away. Grass and plants surround the area, and Joseph walks towards the middle of the roof, a nice clearing.

“So what now?” Joseph asked, looking at Thomas who is looking like a more inexperience amateur as this process goes on. Joseph started to think maybe the forensic geek is right, that maybe it was the program giving all the information for Thomas to do, a step by step guide because he doesn’t seem to know what he should do despite doing things like this all along since he started shooting up Gods Divinity United and the Horizon church.

Thomas looks to Joseph, raising the gun again. “I send my last message. I kill you, and then myself. I’ll live on though in the net. Everything about me can be found on there, I will live on.”

If things couldn’t get any tenser on the rooftop between Joseph and Thomas, Paul O’Healy along with Mach and Kwok behind him rush upstairs to the roof. In between Joseph and the new comers, Thomas turns around to face the three men all of them carrying their own guns. Kwok and Mach carried 9 mm while Paul is able to carry around his revolver back in the day. The Angel dropped his weapon on the ground and raised his hands up, giving up.

                Thomas falls to the ground as a sharp pain from his back shoots up his spine causing him to fall to his knees. He places his hands down for support, but mistakenly places his hand over the gun he just dropped. Joseph saw from the photos that the bits were drilled into his back, a direct kick to Thomas’s back should drive him insane with pain. Paul pulled the trigger as soon as Thomas’s hands touched the gun regardless if he was gripping it or not. The bullets, all six of them in Paul’s revolver found their way into Thomas’s body, killing him. Revenge over justice.

                Agent Mach is the first to react to Thomas killing the angel. “What the fuck, he gave up. He was going to be taken into custody. We needed him alive. People wanted justice not murder.” Paul O’Healy shook his head.

                “Honestly it looked like he was grabbing his gun, what do you think Kwok?” Paul O’Healy turns to Kwok with that question. Agent Kwok shrugs.

                “Honestly? It’s too close for me to call it.” He gave a cop out on the roof answer. Agent Mach frustrated went back downstairs calling for back up and forensic teams to clean up the place. Joseph watched Paul with a smile on his face. Paul O’Healy looked up at Joseph.

                “We’re even now. Thanks.” Joseph smiled, shaking Paul’s hand. He had one more stop before he could head on home to Montreal.