Paradise Hacked (First Circle Club Book 2) (11 page)

Barachiel suddenly appeared on the platform. "What are you two doing? You shouldn't be here!"

He had never met the angel in person. It had the appearance of a woman, but he knew angels actually had no real gender. Its face was so exquisitely perfect, it looked computer generated. It was wearing a shimmering green dress which flowed like water. Giant, white, feathered wings were big enough to serve as the wings on a light airplane. The angel's voice resonated like a grand piano.

"We're investigating. We came to talk to that person." Virgil nodded towards the old woman.

"I gave you permission to check the passages," Barachiel said, "not use them!"

"Sorry. That wasn't very clear. We're already here, so we might as well interview the witness."

"Then let's get this over with." Barachiel turned to the old woman. "Did anybody come through here in the last few days?"

"No," the old woman replied in a quavering voice.

"Good." Barachiel gave Virgil and Lisa a stern look. "Now go back to Earth,
please
."

"OK," Virgil said. "Calm down."

He turned around and looked over the edge of the platform. He saw an infinite space of blue emptiness.

"Just jump!" Barachiel said. "The passage is directly below."

"But...," Virgil said nervously.

"Go."

"Together," Lisa said. "Three... two... one... jump!"

They leapt off the platform simultaneously and dropped like stones. The blue soon darkened until it became a black night sky full of stars. He saw city lights below. The ground was approaching very quickly.

Virgil realized he didn't have a parachute.

"Oh, crap," he murmured. "This is going to hurt."

He tensed. His body was durable enough to survive even a free-fall impact, but healing might take a while.

Just before he struck, something snatched him out of the air. Instead of a violent thud, he experienced relatively gentle deceleration. He realized he had landed in the seat of the Rocket to Heaven ride. Lisa was beside him.

The cage came to a stop on the ground. The old man opened the door, and Virgil and Lisa climbed out.

"What a rush!" she said.

He could only nod in agreement.

"What happened?" Sara said.

Virgil told the brief tale.

"I wonder why Barachiel was so rude," Alfred said.

"I have a good guess. It was worried about Lisa and me not leaving. Once a soul gets into Heaven, he has a right to stay."

"Oh," Lisa said. "I didn't realize. I should've stayed!"

"You would abandon the mission?" Virgil said. "You would bail on your friends?"

"We're talking about Heaven! That's the big prize, right? It was in my hands! I just needed to refuse to leave."

"The first level isn't so great," Sara said. "It's just very pleasant."

"It's a hundred times better than Limbo," Lisa said. "I would do anything to avoid going back there."

"That selfish attitude is what kept you out of Heaven to begin with."

"And you have more integrity than that," Virgil added. "Stick with the team, and I'm sure it will work out for the best."

Lisa looked back and forth between Sara and Virgil. "Maybe."

"Let's get back to work. We need to make contact with Barachiel and find out the location of the next passage."

"I have a jug of distilled water and a silver plate in my shack," the old man said. "I'll get it."

* * *

Virgil parked the car on the side of a residential street in Northbrook, Illinois. The big, stately homes made him feel like he already had one foot in Heaven. He took a moment to admire the immaculate lawns and mature, healthy trees. The spacious lots were a far cry from the compressed townhouses of Chicago.

The team got out of the car. Virgil checked his watch and saw it was already three in the morning. He wasn't sleepy, but the amount of time spent on this adventure was frustrating him.

Sara was carrying a piece of paper with some written notes. She read from the paper, "We're looking for a golden willow tree."

Everybody looked around. Street lamps provided more than enough light.

Alfred pointed. "There."

The four of them jogged over to a willow tree with unusual yellow leaves. The rest of the trees on the block had shed their leaves in preparation for winter, but the willow tree was still flourishing.

"Now find the alley," Sara said.

Virgil quickly spotted a bronze gate between two houses. An alley beyond had tall fences on both sides. He opened the gate, and the rest of the team followed him into the alley. It had a dirt surface which was free of weeds and litter.

"Now chant 'holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts' while we walk," Sara said. "Follow me."

The team murmured the chant as she led them through the alley. They came to other alleys behind the homes, and she went left or right according to her notes. A few times it seemed like they had made a complete loop. Virgil's nose was blind to ordinary scents, but now he could smell the aroma of fresh baked cookies. He knew they were approaching Heaven.

The sky began to brighten as if dawn were approaching. The fences on the sides of the alleys transitioned to polished bronze instead of wood. The air became hotter and thinner. Virgil saw a boundary up ahead where the dirt path became gleaming silver, and he knew that was Heaven.

Barachiel appeared at the border with an expression of concern on its perfect face.

"Stop," the angel said. "That's far enough. Have you seen anything suspicious?"

"No," Virgil said, "but this passage is unguarded. There is nobody to talk to."

"Then move on. I'll give you the location of the next one."

Lisa continued to shuffle towards Heaven, taking small, uncertain steps.

"I told you to stop," Barachiel said.

"But I want to get into Heaven," Lisa said.

"I'm sure, but you have a sinful soul. You're not allowed."

"Are you going to stop me?"

Barachiel became visibly angry. Seeing the expression on the face of an angel was strange and disturbing. Virgil was reminded that angels and demons sprang from the same source.

"The purpose of the Celestial Contract is to create justice," Barachiel said. "The good shall be rewarded, and the wicked shall be punished. You were more wicked than good in life. If you force your way into Heaven because of a loophole, the validity of the Contract is called into question. You're not just cheating. You're attacking the foundation of our reality. You're spitting upon the Lord's noble intentions. The ultimate consequences are unknowable. This is why Corporal Hartmann's presence here is so distressing. I'm begging you. Don't purposefully compound the damage."

Lisa stopped walking and lowered her eyes. "But it's not fair. I wasn't that wicked. I made a few mistakes, and now I'm cursed forever? I can never bask in God's love? I have no hope of redemption no matter how hard I try? Where is the justice? Where is the Lord's famous forgiveness?"

"You get a little time on Earth."

"Just until the mission is over, then it's back to Limbo for the rest of eternity!"

Barachiel's expression softened. "The rules are what they are, my child. My role is merely to enforce them. Please do not become my enemy. Accept your responsibilities."

"Can I just visit Heaven one more time?" Lisa said. "I won't stay. I promise."

Barachiel paused. "You swear this isn't a trick?"

"I swear."

Lisa took another step forward. Virgil ran over and grabbed her arm.

"Hey," he said. "This isn't a game. Don't get cute."

She pushed him away. "Stop it. I won't break my word."

She walked to the border and took one more dramatic step onto the silver path. The light of Heaven made her skin glow orange. She grinned.

"Satisfied?" Barachiel said.

"It feels tingly and warm," Lisa said, "like a hot bath after being outside on a cold day. Hell is also hot, but it's a nasty, stinging kind of hot. This is nice."

"Can you please leave now?"

Lisa looked at her teammates. She reluctantly walked across the border and returned to Earth.

Barachiel's face showed great relief. "The next passage I want you to check is in Rockford," the angel said.

"That's two hours away," Virgil said.

"Indeed. You'll have to climb a tall tree...."

* * *

A single sunflower was growing through the fence on the path to Heaven, but nobody noticed the weed. The seeds formed an abstract face which had watched the brief drama. If Lisa had chosen to stay in Heaven, the shockwaves would've travelled all the way to the Throne and to Satan's Pit. She had been formally judged and sent to Hell. Becoming a resident of Heaven instead would've cracked the bones of reality. Even the wise and mighty Barachiel had underestimated the importance of the moment.

So close,
the face thought.
So very close.

* * *

Colonel Knox was watching his men install decorations on the rooftops of Chinatown. They were all Special Forces operatives, but they were doing a fairly good job of pretending to be workmen. They wore jeans, work boots, heavy jackets, and orange vests.

The Chinese decorations had arrived in Chicago ahead of schedule, and they were perfect. The technicians back in Washington had done a fantastic job. There were red globes, dragons, parasols, and wood carvings. Gold paint formed intricate designs. Each item contained a tiny, almost invisible camera.

Knox was the foreman for the installation. He had expected some trouble from the residents, but so far, no serious interference had materialized. Apparently, the locals were used to their buildings being adorned for no obvious reason. The work merely had to appear legitimate. Tourists were taking pictures of the nicest decorations.

Knox turned to Major Weber who was also supervising. "This is going well."

"Yes, sir," Weber said. "If the aliens are in the area, we'll spot them soon enough."

The two men had put on cheap civilian suits and were wearing orange hardhats. Knox carried a roll of blueprints, and Weber had a tablet.

"The next step will be locating their home base," Knox said.

"I'm assigning twenty of my men to this operation, sir. Captain Kyle will lead them. Will that be enough to take down aliens?"

"I honestly don't know."

"Maybe we should ask Washington to send more guys," Weber said.

"They'll ask why. I don't want to let them know we're chasing aliens until we have conclusive evidence. We don't want to look like paranoid fools."

"But we requisitioned the decorations, sir."

"And I wasn't entirely comfortable with that," Knox said. "We'll stick with the resources we have for the time being."

He watched his men lift a Buddha statue using a rope. At this rate, the work would get done by the middle of the afternoon.

Knox smiled with satisfaction.

* * *

The sun was getting low on the horizon as Virgil drove into Chinatown. He was deeply frustrated. In terms of mission objectives, the long trip had accomplished nothing. They had spent thirty hours on the road, touring Illinois, Northern Indiana, and even parts of Wisconsin. They had visited eight passages to Heaven without discovering a single useful clue.

"What a waste of time," he muttered.

"At least we saw some interesting things," Alfred said. "Memories that will last a lifetime... or an after-lifetime."

"But we're right back where we started with no leads."

"Not quite true. We have a much better idea of what it would take to sneak into Heaven. For one thing, we know it didn't happen by accident. Hartmann had supernatural help."

Virgil sighed. He was growing weary of diabolical conspiracies.

He was driving along South Archer Avenue which ran through the heart of Chinatown. On the right, he saw a big restaurant, an acupuncture clinic, an herb store, and a tea house. The chilly weather had cut down the tourist traffic, but a few people were looking around with curious expressions.

Virgil noticed fresh decorations on the buildings, and he was barely curious about the reason. The Chinese residents were always celebrating some inscrutable holiday, but he cynically suspected it was usually meant to encourage tourists to spend money. No culture could have so many real holidays.

Virgil turned left and worked his way around a mall. He arrived at a private parking lot where the team had a reserved spot. The rent on the small patch of asphalt was exorbitant, but the convenience was worth the price. Parking spots in Chinatown were always in short supply. Virgil parked and turned off the ignition.

"Now what?" he said in the sudden silence.

"We have to call the Office of Experimental Aero-Physics again," Lisa said. "Maybe we can get them to come out a second time. Then we'll capture and interrogate them."

"That may not be so easy if they're Special Forces operatives in disguise."

"You and I can take them."

Virgil pressed his lips together. She was probably right, but the fight would be nasty.

"I have a better idea," Alfred said. "Let's take a break for an hour or two. We've earned it. We'll meet again later."

Virgil nodded. He wasn't physically tired, but he could use a mental break.

He decided to visit Mei. He got out of the car and looked up at a red paper dragon hanging on a wall.
Nicer than the usual cheap, crappy decorations,
he thought.
I wonder who paid for it.

Chapter Seven

The phone on Colonel Knox's desk rang.

He grabbed the handset. "Yes?"

"We found them, sir!" a man answered. "Come to security, please."

Knox hung up the phone, jumped out of his chair, and jogged out of his office. He ran up the stairs of the house taking two at a time. He arrived at a spare bedroom which the Unit had turned into a makeshift surveillance control room. All the video feeds from Chinatown came here. A stack of computers in the corner performed facial recognition in real-time.

Four men were sitting at consoles. Knox went to the leader of the surveillance team and said, "What do you got?"