The Rise of the Fallen (The Angelic Wars Book 2) (20 page)

Chris
shuddered at the grim news. “So you think that they've been
attacked? Like the Nest?”

“
I
don't know, Christopher. I truly do not know. I have dispatched
agents from each country to check on their respective houses.
Agents,” he continued in a confidential tone, “that no
one but I know about. They were hand-picked by me years ago as a
precaution against future problems. I learned from my father to
prepare for the worst and hope for the best. They will report back to
me soon and then we shall see.”

The
judge hesitated. “I'm also sending Davidson to check on one of
the safe-houses. It is in a remote location in a rather small,
turbulent country. Unfortunately, I do not have anyone in the
vicinity to see if there's a problem, and Davidson has been trained
in covert operations. So I'd prefer that you don't mention the reason
that he is missing, should the subject come up.”

Chris
nodded.

Judge
Hawkes folded his hands again and Chris saw how white his knuckles
were.

“
I
haven't passed this information along to anyone else yet on the off
chance that there is no emergency. I don't want to start a panic.”
He smiled wryly. “Until I absolutely have to, of course.”

Chris
chuckled at his grim humor. “I won't tell a soul, sir. You have
my word.”

“
I
know that. Which is why I've told you. I need you, and Sariel, to be
ready. For what, I cannot say. But this time that we now have is
simply a reprieve. I think that part of your premonition may be
correct. Things may be about to get very bad indeed.”

The next morning, Chris
was surprised by a knock on his door. He had just finished getting
washed and dressed and was thinking about heading down for breakfast,
so he opened the door with a touch of impatience. His irritation
immediately drained away when he found both Judge Hawkes and George
standing there, stone-faced.

He was about to speak when
the judge quickly held up a hand and slipped into Chris' room,
followed closely by George. Chris closed the door and turned to watch
the two men, completely mystified.

George glanced at the
judge, who waved him forward. He pulled a small, black metal box out
of his pocket and proceeded to walk around the sitting room, holding
the box out from his body and watching a small flashing red light
that glowed at the end of the device.

After he had walked
completely around the room, George looked at the judge and shook his
head. The judge motioned him toward the bedroom and then stood
silently with his arms crossed. Chris tried to speak again and this
time Judge Hawkes shook his head. He was still looking quite grim.

So Chris was forced to
stand beside the judge and stare in confusion at the entrance that
led into his bedroom. He saw George pass the opening twice and then
he returned to the sitting room and held up one finger. Judge Hawkes
pointed toward both the bathroom and the office doorways and George
quickly went into the office. After a few minutes, he exited with a
head shake and then entered the bathroom

This time he returned much
more quickly and held up two fingers. The judge nodded, opened the
door and George hurried out. After he had closed the door, Judge
Hawkes looked at Chris and finally spoke.

“
Sorry about that,
Christopher. Please, have a seat and let me explain.”

“
Um, sure thing,”
Chris said and sat down on the couch. The judge sat down beside him
and pulled out a small tablet. He propped it up on the coffee table
and touched the screen.

“
Sometimes pictures
speak more loudly than words. Watch closely, please,” he said
and Chris leaned forward, eyes glued to the screen.

He recognized the hallway
outside of his rooms. “Is this the tape from the surveillance
camera?” he asked.

“
It is. Please keep
watching.”

Chris had no idea what he
was supposed to see. All the image showed was the empty hallway. Then
he sucked in a breath. It was Jamie. He walked into view at the far
end of the hall and moved steadily toward the camera. When he reached
Chris' door, he stopped and stared at it for a long moment. Then he
looked up and down the corridor, pulled something small and shiny
from his pocket and inserted it into the keyhole. A moment later, he
disappeared through the door.

Chris felt a coldness in
his stomach and actually groaned quietly.

“
Damn it, Jamie. Not
you too,” he whispered.

The judge picked up the
tablet, turned it off and rested it on his lap.

“
I'm afraid so. When
George called me to tell me what he'd found, we assumed that the
young man had either searched your rooms, or bugged them. Perhaps
both. As you saw when George swept the rooms just now, we were
correct. He's gone to isolate the bugs so that we don't tip off our
mole just yet.”

The judge looked at Chris'
face and then reached out and shook his shoulder gently.

“
I am so sorry,
Christopher. He seems like a nice young man. His parents will be
devastated by this betrayal.”

“
But why?”
Chris asked plaintively and searched the judge's face for answers.
“Why would he do this? It can't be for money, can it?”

Judge Hawkes slipped the
tablet into his jacket and sat back with a sigh.

“
No, probably not.
His parents have been with me for a number of years and are very well
compensated for their efforts. All of my staff are. It is probably
something else. Perhaps Jamie has a drug habit or perhaps they have
evidence against him of some misdeed. His motivations aren't
important right now. The fact is that he works for the enemy.”

There was another knock at
the door and Chris jumped up and opened it. George walked in with a
tight smile and stood near the doorway.

“
The bugs are locked
in a secure place, your honor. Soundproof,”

“
Thank you, George.
I was just filling in our young friend on the details of this sad
mess.”

Chris sat down again and
waited for the judge to finish.

“
We managed to get
Jamie's cellphone away from him. George here could always have a
successful career as a pickpocket if he ever leaves my service.”

Chris cocked an eyebrow at
George, who just chuckled. The judge continued.

“
Ghost confirms that
it is the same phone that was used to send the text message about
taking out the Angelics. There is no doubt now; we have our second
spy.”

After staring into space
blankly for a moment, Chris turned to the judge.

“
Do you have to tell
his parents?” he asked.

Judge Hawkes looked
surprised. “You don't think we should?”

“
Well, no. It's not
that. It's just, they're going to be so upset. Maybe Jamie can turn
this around, learn from it. I mean, if you confront him and tell him
what you know, threaten to kick him out and tell his folks, he might,
you know, have a change of heart.”

“
Now that is the
biggest load of horse-sh...” George caught himself and looked
at the judge. “Sorry, your honor.” Then he looked
straight at Chris. “Buddy, he planned to kill you. And Natalie
and the others. Didn't you pick up on that? And now you want to what?
Give him another chance? Yeah, that'll work.”

George's sarcasm made
Chris blush and for a minute he almost said something that he knew
he'd regret later. But then the man's words sunk in and he found
himself sitting back against the couch cushions, feeling completely
deflated.

“
Yeah, you're right.
Sorry, George.” The big man nodded once. “But, I don't
know. I liked him right off and that never happens anymore. I guess I
was hoping that my belief that no one can be trusted would turn out
to be wrong for once. But it didn't.”

“
Don't you believe
it, Christopher,” the judge said with some force. Chris looked
at him.

“
Most people in this
world are good. They are decent and honest and deserve your trust.
Unfortunately, in our business we run across the other kind more
often. It is a burden that we must bear, but do not let it leave you
cynical and bitter. We are fighting for the souls of humanity here,
my boy. And those souls are filled with light, not darkness.”

The judge's words moved
Chris and gave him some hope. Was he right? Was humanity basically
decent at their core? He had seen very little of that decency on the
streets.

Judge Hawkes stood up,
shook Chris' shoulder again encouragingly and walked to the door.

“
You think about
that. Mull it over. And while you are doing that, George and I and
the rest of the staff from the Nest will be rounding up Mr. Mahony,
Jamie and the other suspected informants. They might be able to share
some information about the Fallen with us, but I no longer care about
that. It's time that Valiant got a good cleaning. We'll talk again
soon.”

And with that and an
understanding smile, he left with George in tow, leaving Chris alone
with his thoughts and a mixture of confused emotions.

* * *

It took Chris over an hour
to finally find enough interest in food to head down for breakfast.
He wasn't really in the mood to eat but his stomach was not going to
take no for an answer.

He slowly made his way
through the halls and corridors of Valiant, half-heartedly greeting
the few people who passed him. When he finally walked into the dining
room, he found to his surprise that not only was Natalie sitting
there, but the other four Angelics were as well.

Everyone greeted him with
a sympathetic smile and Alysa waved brightly. Natalie motioned him
over to the large table they were sitting at, pushed him firmly into
a seat and went to get him some food from the sideboard. She ignored
his protests that he could get it himself.

“
We heard what
happened, Chris,” Patrick said simply. “The judge called
us all on our cells and told us. I didn't know Jamie except to say
hello, but I never would have guessed that he'd turn traitor like
that.”

Chris looked around and
realized that they were alone in the large room, so he didn't feel
quite so self-conscious as he might with adults listening in.

The others nodded at
Patrick's words. Natalie brought a plate back to the table loaded
with bacon, eggs, ham, home fries and toast and set it down in front
of Chris.

When he began to complain
about the amount of food, she fixed him with a steely glare and just
pointed at his plate.

“
Eat!” she
said firmly and, with an exaggerated slump, Chris began to shovel
eggs into his mouth, pouting a bit for effect. They all laughed.

“
Good, that's
better,” Natalie said with a grin. “And I agree with
Patrick. I really did like Jamie. I guess we'll never really know why
he did what he did, but I have to admit that I feel better knowing
that he and the rest are out of Valiant.”

“
They're all gone
already?” Chris asked, his full fork hovering just in front of
his mouth.

“
Oh yeah. Lord
Hawkes had them all hustled out the front door loaded down with their
belongings,” Alysa told him as she popped a bright blue bubble.
“They were to be driven to the edge of London and dropped off.”
Her expression darkened dramatically. “The security teams were
keeping a close eye on them, I'll tell you. Searched them for weapons
and everything! Very exciting stuff.”

“
Alysa, can't you
take anything seriously?” Anabelle said with a scowl.
“Honestly! Jamie was planning to kill us. Have you forgotten
that?”

“
Oh poo. I think it
was just talk. He seemed ever so nice, really. Just got in with the
wrong crowd, I'll wager,” she added with a wise nod. Anabelle
looked toward the ceiling and then turned away from her.

“
So now what?”
Chris asked after he swallowed a huge lump of fried potatoes. “Do
we just go on as usual? As if nothing had happened? I mean, that
Mahony guy is probably running to tell the Fallen everything he knows
about the Angelic Dominion and the judge and all that.”

Francis looked thoughtful,
as he usually did.

“
Maybe. But maybe
not. I'd say the smart ones in that bunch are running in the opposite
direction. Probably heading for the airport or train station as we
speak.”

“
What? Why?”

They all stared at
Francis, everyone except Alysa looking confused. She was just humming
under her breath and obviously not really paying attention.

“
Because,” he
explained, “the Fallen don't like failures. Think about it.
After all these years of feeding them God only knows how much
information, Mr. Mahony gets caught almost as soon as his lordship
returns to Valiant. If I were them, I'd think he got sloppy. And
because of that, they've lost their eyes and ears inside the
organization. No, I think going back to the Fallen is the last thing
he'll do. Or any of them if they're smart.”