Angels of War (Angels of War Trilogy Book 1) (31 page)

“Betray us and I’ll kill you,” Jason said.

They drove off. For several blocks, the driver turned corners to escape. He remained silent, his face tight in concentration as he did his best to take as many back streets as possible.

Jason reloaded his weapon as they neared Hell’s Cathedral. “Who are you?”

“I’m Colonel Linel. The gunfight and explosions drew my attention, and you guys came around the corner running. I figured you needed help.”

Jason’s eyes narrowed. “How do you walk around here with no mark on your forehead?”

“I’m a member of the local and new resistance set up in the wake of this invasion. We live underground and move as silent as possible. We got the word about the soon to be fight in Denver. We figured while you guys are fighting in Denver, we’ll start fighting here once our numbers are up and going.”

Jason nodded. “I need to get my men to our Hummers.”

“You want to die today, trooper? Chinatown is swarming with those assholes.”

“What’s your plan?”

“Let me check your forehead,” the colonel said.
 

“I’m marked. My name is Jason Aries, 5
th
Special Forces.” Jason pulled off his balaclava.

“Why are you marked, Jason?”
 

“…to get close to the enemy and slow them down, Colonel Linel.”

“Okay. But I can’t trust you all the way, so I’ll take you to my safe house for the moment.”

“A man is shot and he’ll die if we don’t get him help.”

“I’ll call someone to help him.”

“Thank you.”
 

“Good. Baby steps, baby steps.”

The man made several more mad turns. The cathedral sat behind them as they sped underneath Highway 110. After a few minutes, the colonel pulled into a tight alley littered with trashcans.
 

“Is this your place?”

The colonel stopped the truck. “For now, Sergeant Aries.”

Jason jumped out the front passenger seat and rolled up the rear door. His men lifted their rifles, preparing to engage in another gunfight. A soldier cradled the shot team member in his arms and shook his head.
 

“He’s gone, sarge.”

Jason frowned. “Okay. Let’s get off this rig and follow this guy inside for now. Keep your ears and eyes open.”

The troops exited the truck and followed the colonel to a side door. Jason ordered two men to carry in the dead soldier. The other team members paused at the door with their weapons raised. Colonel Linel seemed nonplussed about how they treated him.
 

John John shoved aside the colonel and Mikey tried the doorknob. The knob turned and Sergeant Kalowski kicked the door open and went in along with the three others as Jason trained his weapon on the colonel.

Jason motioned with his M4 rifle and directed the colonel from the doorway. “Don’t take this personal, colonel, but the last few weeks been rough on my boys.”
 

“None taken, sergeant.”

Sergeant Kalowski stuck his head out the door. “Clear, sarge.”

Jason relaxed his weapon. “Get in guys. Colonel, we need to talk about this resistance.”

The men entered the warehouse. Jason ordered his soldiers to rotate guard duties. He went to a far corner within the warehouse and hunkered down. Aries removed a satellite phone from his pant leg pocket and adjusted the short, thick antennae.
 

“The Black Army is moving out. We only damaged two trucks. Their army filled Dodger Stadium, plus standing room only. I estimate close to sixty to seventy thousand human troops, and a hundred thousand of those dead Roman soldiers. And, your airstrike on LAX failed.” Jason closed his eyes. “May God be with you.”

56

Joan and President Wallace listened to the Special Forces sergeant send his final transmission over the secure radio. Several generals joined the two. All huddled in a tiny room aboard Air Force One parked at Denver International Airport.
 

“Sergeant first Class Jason Aries, out.” The voice echoed over the speakers.

President Wallace reached forward and flipped a switch on the receiver to kill the connection. He confronted Joan and his generals. “We better be ready.”

Joan’s stomach fluttered. “We are, Mr. President.”

Wallace frowned. “Those animals should get here in two days.”

General Black shook his head. “No, Mr. President. The enemy moved a bulk of their human troops before we left Virginia. They disguised themselves as fleeing civilians. The Black Army should be here by tomorrow morning.”

“Dammit, Black.” Wallace bolted up from his chair. “Why didn’t you tell us this earlier?”

“Sir, we tried to confirm the reports. So many people fled the area. We considered the traffic a mass evacuation of locals. Instead, we discovered half the Black Army moving out, hidden amongst the fleeing civilians. We didn’t know.”

President Wallace shot Joan a hard stare. “Did you foresee this happening? You’re an angel.”

Heat flush underneath Joan’s brown skin as she held the man’s tired red eyes. “I didn’t.”

General Black took a large envelope from a soldier. He opened the package and emptied the color photographs on the table. “The Air Force shot these by drone within the last few hours. The pictures display several thousand vehicles and people going in the same direction fleeing California.” He shifted a few photos around. “The unorganized mass broke up, either going north, or south to Texas. This one group right here kept a steady direction. East…right up our asses.”

Joan studied the pictures. On each photograph, the convoy thinned out, certain others clustered together. In the last photo, the vehicles sat in neat convoy rows.
 

President Wallace shook his head. “Heaven help us. I’m scheduled for a briefing. Black, take charge.”

Frustrated, Joan turned on her heels, walked from Air Force One, and down the stairs to the hot tarmac. Military C130 cargo planes sat parked in several areas. Troops with duffle bags and backpacks departed from a few C130s.

The angel crossed the tarmac. Heat waves shimmered and rose from the ground as she eased her way through the busy troops. Not far from the main area sat a huge hangar with its massive doors closed and Delta Force soldiers posted outside.

Joan reached the hangar side door and the soldiers saluted her. She returned the salute. “Are the troops ready, sergeant?”

“Ready, ma’am,” the sergeant said.

Joan entered the hangar. Once inside, a strong voice called the Guardians to attention. The ten thousand troops took to their feet in unison inside the large air-conditioned hangar.
 

“At ease,” Joan said.
 

The troops relaxed and remained on their feet. Joan needed their faith to remain strong as they prepared both hearts and minds for battle.

With a smile still on her face, Joan walked amongst the Guardians. She talked to groups and individuals alike. General Temeculus pulled a fast one and she believed a rat wallowed in their nest.

“Rest up people, tomorrow we fight,” she said. Some smiled and nodded towards her, some cried, but no one complained about the new battle day.
 

Joan spent five hours with the Guardians before she stepped outside into the sunlight. She chose to keep the soldiers hidden. The news media ached for live footage and pictures. A few perched on the outskirts near the airport with their super lens cameras. President Wallace allowed them this. But warned the reporters to expect their aircraft blown from the sky if they flew over the Guardians hangar.
 

Joan focused on the fight ahead. Roaring jet engines reached her as more aircraft took off and landed in an almost constant stream. More troops arrived. They gathered outside the muster area, inside the airport terminal, and either worked or rested.

Joan hiked around the airport until she found a quiet spot behind an old hangar with two pristine World War 2 Mustangs parked inside. She leaned her back against a wall and slid down until she sat on the concrete floor and crossed her legs.
 

She considered herself strong enough to handle the stress and responsibility God placed on her. She never expected Armageddon to happen so soon. Such a necessary and hard spiritual experience with beautiful results remained God’s ultimate faith tester.
 

Joan replayed the plane crash and her family’s death in her head. No matter how much she tried to put them aside, or how she tried to perceive their deaths as a small tragic experience compared to the entire picture, she fought with difficulty to detach herself from her two loves. And, from all the good memories they shared.

She closed her eyes and realized their deaths cultivated the strength needed to tackle the problem she faced. She loved Charles and William. Shame washed over her at her foolish weakness for wanting to forget them to extinguish her pain. Her mind pictured the old cross in her office. The vision lingered along with the crash and flames in the Florida Everglades. Her son’s eyes, big and fearful, hung ghost like in her mind, accusatory, forcing her to strengthen her faith.

She opened her eyes and took in the blue skies and the fat clouds outside the hangar. Her heart opened and strengthened inside her. Love shone with a golden light from outside her body. Her muscles hardened, her resolve toughened.
 

The elusive faith she chased after rose and crystallized inside her like a gigantic diamond. Her mortal self and all the human frailties she once struggled with melted until her true angelic being came to a complete circle.
 

Joan knelt to pray. She folded her hands together as a plump Cherub floated down from the skies and landed next to her. Its fat lips whispered a few words in her ear, frowned and floated towards the heavens.

Joan gritted her teeth. She said a prayer and lifted her head towards the skies, heartbroken and distraught. Tears rolled down her brown cheeks, the betrayal whispered by the Cherub broke her heart.
 

Joan stood. Her eyes scanned the Denver cityscape. The spires gleamed from the sunshine. Beyond Denver, the lofty Rocky Mountains sat high against the crystal blue sky. Two weeks ago, people within the city lived ordinary lives and they would return to live ordinary lives again. She stretched her wings, took two steps, and flew towards the city.
 

Joan landed on a street near Mile High Stadium minutes after she left the hangar. Joy pulsed through her at how many locals decided to stay and defend their homes. Urgency held the air. Citizens and soldiers placed sandbags and concrete barricades around buildings and houses.
 

Joan arrived to the stadium after she surveyed the defenses and found them strong and good. She entered the tactical operations center located in a large theater like conference room. The place boiled with frantic activity. She used her telepathy to call her angels to meet her.
 

Joan smiled as Maria worked her way through the crowded front entrance. She approached Joan as the other angels began to filter into the center.
 

“Joan, I’m here,” Maria said.

“Thanks for getting here so fast. Temeculus is on his way.”

“What now?”

Joan spotted Juggernaut, Daisy Lane, Owen, and Okura enter the crowded theater and walk towards her. “Once everyone is together, Maria.”
 

Maria stood close to Joan. “I need to talk to you later.”

Joan picked up on Maria’s shaky voice. “Okay.” Joan discerned what bothered Maria, even before the angel told her.
 

57

Once President Wallace entered the building, the entire theater fell silent and everyone stood. He shooed away his security detail and settled himself at the round table. Displayed on the screen behind him sat a computer generated map of Colorado complete with troop positions. He removed his black suit jacket, loosened his tie, unbuttoned his top collar, and rolled his shirtsleeves to the elbows. “Give me what you got, General Black?”

General Black seized a laser pointer from the table. “Everyone take your seats.” The crowd sat. “Scouts are in their sectors along the Rocky Mountains and further west into the plains.” The picture on the huge screen changed to display Denver.
 

“The enemy must enter the city through this corridor in an attempt at a direct attack. We set up several kill zones to whittle the human forces down. The Guardians will take on the Black Army undead Romans. We fielded enough soldiers to push back Temeculus’s forces and retake Los Angeles.”
 

Joan absorbed the information with a divided mind. The rest concerned hospital positions, gun emplacements and reinforcements. She glanced over at Maria and the two went outside where the skies turned a dark red from the late afternoon sun.

“What’s wrong, Maria?”

Maria stared west where the sun began to lower for the day. The entire western sky washed in deep blood red and black, like a dead body after battle. “Okura is the problem, Joan.”

“Why?” Joan became aware of Okura’s betrayal hours ago. She needed confirmation from someone on the ground and not in Heaven’s eternal bliss.

“Since arriving from Hell’s Cathedral he’s been questioning our ability to win this fight. I’m uncomfortable with his attitude.”

“We’ll keep an eye on him.”

Maria bit her bottom lip. “Okura’s anger seems deeper, Joan. As if he hates what we are doing. I don’t think he appreciated leaving his family, I don’t think he understands this entire war.”

Joan fought to keep her memories at bay. “He understands,” she said. “Watching him during the battle will be difficult.”

“True.”

“Where’s the Key?”

“She’s locked in a safe at one of the local banks and guarded in case regular forces breach our defenses.”

“Maria, grab Juggernaut, I’ll show you two where the door is located in the event something happens to me.” She paused in thought. “Okura is with the archers now and I will split my cavalry with Owen. Okura won’t be involved in the hard fighting. Daisy is keeping him busy with the defensive setup of the city.”