Alexander sat in his war room, staring at his maps. Suddenly he heard a voice in his head, loud and clear. Something that confused him, because this voice was completely unfamiliar to him. He looked around for a moment to see if someone had come in that he hadn't noticed and was playing a trick on him. He saw that he was still alone in his small conference room. Alex decided to focus on the voice and suddenly saw a middle-aged man standing alone in a pathologist's examination room. There were three metal tables in the small room and on the middle one was a body. The man had partially pulled back the sheet and was looking at Alexanders former body. He was praying sincerely, that's why his words were audible, something completely new for Alex. He would have to talk to Sam about this later because hearing voices unexpectedly could cause problems down the road. The man said:
"I'm sorry for what was done to you, boy, and I wish we could talk for a while."
Alexander did not know exactly why he did it, but on a whim, he disappeared from Heaven and appeared in the room on the other side of the table where the man was standing. The man was startled by his sudden appearance, dressed in black with his sword on his back and his blood-red wings visible. The only thing he was not wearing was his balaclava with the skull on it. This was supposed to be a friendly encounter after all. In one fluid motion, the man grabbed his weapon and pointed it at Alex, who said amusedly:
"Hmmm, a strange feeling. On the one hand, you don't disappoint me by reaching for your gun, G-Man. On the other hand, you do."
"Who are you, what are you, and how the hell did you get in here all of a sudden?"
Alex pointed at the body, wiggled his wings a little, and said deadpan:
"I think these give me away a bit. You wanted to talk to me..."
The man turned visibly pale and asked:
"You are..."
He just nodded, trying to make the opening easier for the man:
"As you may have heard on the tape of my conversation with your office, I am Alexander Marcus Morningstar. The name I used to have, the one on your papers, turns out to be a case of mistaken identity. Let's just say WITSEC went really, really wrong. I will admit that the prototype body I had on Earth does indeed look quite different from what you see before you now. However, I can assure you that this was my body before I was beaten out of it. May I please know who you are?"
It took a few seconds for the man to speak again, then he said:
"I'm Special Agent Frank Nolan. I'm the lead agent on this case."
Alex nodded:
"Pleasure to meet you, Agent Nolan. Maybe talking will be a little easier without your arm getting tired of pointing your gun at me all the time?"
The agent looked at him sharply. He seemed to be weighing the situation, if there was any danger. His reptilian brain was screaming at him not to put the gun down. His logic told him that his weapon could probably do very little against the creature that was facing him with its wings. After a few agonizingly slow seconds, he slowly put the gun down. Alex said:
"Not one of your neater cases, I take it?"
"Absolutely not. I can't believe I'm talking to you here. I wonder if I've had a stroke and am hallucinating."
"Nope, no hallucination Agent Nolan, just little old me. Is this a busy place, Agent? I mean, it wouldn't be convenient if people came in and out of here while we were talking and immediately wanted to put me on one of these tables to see what kind of genetically engineered chicken I am."
The FBI agent laughed. He was a good judge of character and already knew that this boy had a mischievous sense of humor.
"People do come here, and unfortunately sometimes at the most unexpected times,"
Alex grinned and asked:
"Have you ever had a piña colada or a margarita from a real coconut agent, Nolan?"
The man looked confused and said:
"Actually, no."
"I'm told it's heavenly. Do you trust me?"
Nolan looked at him sternly for a few seconds, then nodded.
"Good."
Alex snapped his fingers and they appeared on a tropical beach. A little secluded so no one could see them appear out of nowhere. A hundred yards away was a beach bar. Well, it was more like a hut with no walls and a straw roof. The agent saw that the boy had lost his black outfit and was now wearing jeans and a T-shirt with the FBI logo and the words:
"I'm with Stupid."
This brought a broad smile to his face. They sat down in the beach hut. Alex asked:
"What are you drinking?"
"After what I just experienced, I would prefer something very strong, but I have to get back to work soon, so a beer."
"You disappoint me, Agent Nolan, I had argued so passionately for a drink in a real coconut and now you want something from a bottle. Last chance."
"Okay, then do the piña colada."
"Excellent choice, next thing you know you'll be the director of the FBI."
Alex ordered the drink for the agent in perfect Spanish and vodka orange for himself for lack of tomato juice. While they waited for their drinks, Nolan asked:
"Where are we?"
"Dominican Republic, this beach is called Playa Ricon. Trust me, it's one of the last places that hasn't been overrun by the hordes of mass tourists."
A friendly lady brought their drinks and Alexander took two gold doubloons in perfect condition from his jeans pocket and placed them on the table:
"Señora, I found these while snorkeling this morning. Would you prefer American dollars or these coins?"
The woman's eyes widened and she stammered:
"I can't possibly redeem these. These are worth a fortune."
He looked her straight in the eye, smiled, and said quietly:
"You have a grandson who wants to go to college, don't you? Would this pay for our drinks and his education?"
"You mean..."
"Yes, put them away. Oh yeah, make a second of this vodka mix, I got thirsty from snorkeling."
The woman didn't know how quickly she had to start preparing the next glass, a large glass.
The agent had watched the interaction between the woman and Alex and was beginning to get a better idea of the boy sitting across from him.
"It seems to me that you are not a ghost. Are you an Angel then?"
Alexander chuckled for a moment and answered:
"No, not a ghost, not a spirit, not a wandering soul. I do, however, live in Heaven."
"An Angel?"
Alexander got a grin on his face and said:
"The wings are a bit on the nose, don't you think, but no, not an Angel. There is more between Heaven and Earth than dreamed of in your philosophy, Horatio..."
Agent Nolan began to recover from his initial shock:
"So not really an Angel, but not a Demon either, since you live in Heaven, as you say yourself."
Alex's smile widened a bit as he replied:
"I love that movie with Jimmy Stewart at Christmas, 'it's a wonderful life'. That the souls of good people become Angels after death is a little story to comfort the little ones when they are suddenly faced with the loss of a loved one, Agent. If it were not so, there would be almost a hundred billion Angels flying around in Heaven right now. It would be a little crowded in the sky, don't you think? But now that you said it, I have a question. Why should it be impossible for Demons to live in Heaven, Agent Nolan? Isn't it a little shortsighted or discriminatory to categorize a person purely by species or based on what you might have heard or read somewhere? I know at least one Demon who would take great offense to that. Do you act like that in your life as a cop? Hey, that guy's Black, so there's no way he's innocent..."
"No, of course not!"
Was the appalled response of the FBI-agent.
"Then why do you assume that a Demon by definition must be evil and doesn't belong in Heaven? I can assure you that if I were to tell God that I had talked to someone who said that Celine, by the way, that's the Demon I'm talking about, doesn't belong in Heaven because she's a Demon... God wouldn't like that very much, Agent Nolan. He is particularly fond of this Demon. He sees her as immediate family, a daughter so to speak."
"I didn't mean it like that, sorry..."
Alexander looked at him with a warm smile and said:
"It doesn't matter Agent. I understand where it comes from. The Bible says that all Demons are evil, so that must be the case. It can't be otherwise because man believes that God Himself wrote the Bible and gave it to mankind or some crap like that. Let me ask you this, have you ever been involved in a shootout where a suspect died or do you know a cop who has?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
Alexander produced a cigarette:
"I've heard that shooting someone is murder. So why are you still allowed to work for the FBI and why aren't you in a supermax? Same basic agent. You could say that Demons are the strong arm of the law in Hell. Some are appointed to protect certain innocents. So if they have to kill to save that innocent, it is exactly the same as what happened to you."
The man had to think for a moment and finally said:
"Okay, I stand corrected. But you still haven't answered my question."
"I am a Nefilim agent. Half angel, half human."
Agent Nolan frowned and asked:
"God wanted all the Nefilim gone, didn't he? He sent the flood to do that, right? But we found the body's of your parents. Neither seems to be an Angel."
Alexander laughed out loud for a moment:
"You see, you have read the Bible carefully. Agent, I can assure you that God did not send the flood, and certainly not to wipe living things off the face of the earth. Let alone most of the human race just to wipe a species off the map that He would not want. The Flood is nothing more than a natural phenomenon. Double misfortune for mankind, a period of very intense solar activity, and at the same time a meteor paid a visit. As a result, the sea level rose tremendously within a few weeks. If the angels are His children, and I can assure you, He sees every Angel as a son or daughter. This God loves His children, agent. Do you have children, perhaps grandchildren?"
The man nodded gently.
"I understand that parents go a little crazy when they become grandparents. That they worship their grandchildren, for lack of a better word. Do you think a God who loves his children so much would want to kill his grandchildren? Was there ever a flood? Yes, but like I said, no divine intervention whatsoever. And if God hated the Nefilim so much, I don't think he would allow me to live in his house, sit at his table every day, and have his youngest daughter as my girlfriend."
With this bombshell, the agent's eyes widened and his mouth hung wide open. Alex, however, gave him little time to digest the latter:
"What those two you found regard, those are not my real parents. It's a bit complicated. DNA will say it is the case. Just let's say that my soul ended up in the body of a baby that would be stillborn and that's the reason they ended up with a living child instead of a dead baby. Trust me those two are closer to Demons of the worst kind than Angels. Well, they can exchange notes with some of the Demons now that they are where they are..."
The eyes of the agent went wide and Alex asked:
"What did you want to talk to me about, Agent Nolan?"
The man had to shake his head for a moment, take a big swig, and then said:
"Molly..."
Alexander nodded sadly:
"She was special, that's for sure. When she walked into a room it was like the sun was rising in that room, that's how contagious she was. Until that fucking animal who was supposed to be her father raped her and then forced her to have an abortion. Not that I'm saying she should have had the baby, not by a long shot. But being forced to have an abortion can be just as much rape if you ask me."
Now it was Agent Nolan who nodded briefly:
"We went through the medical records. Molly had a record of an abortion, but no record of rape or who the father might be."
Alexander let his cigarette disappear into thin air and asked:
"I take it you had a conversation with her father. That his answer to your questions was: I know of no such thing and please direct any further questions to my lawyer."
The agent did not answer, only nodded.
"This chat you wanted to have with me wouldn't happen to have anything to do with whether or not I have any additional information that might help you put that son of a bitch behind bars? Because your biggest problem is the lack of a body, considering that the fucker did not know how fast to have Molly cremated."
Again only a nod. Alexander produced a new cigarette:
"Do you have a business card for me, Agent Nolan?"
The FBI agent looked at him for a moment, not understanding, but pulled out the card anyway. Alexander took it and put it away:
"I'm going to talk to that asshole in a minute."
"What are you going to do with him? We already have five dead bodies in the fridge and I don't want any more bloodshed. We didn't know, don't even know how to get those five in a logical way anywhere near where they were found. The law's of physics just seem to say fuck you in this case. Now I know why and how they got near the grave..."
He looked at Alexander sheepishly for a moment, and Alexander said with joy in his eyes:
"My grave, Agent Nolan..."
The FBI agent nodded and said quietly:
"Man, I can't believe I'm having this conversation myself. Anything you say about this I will never, ever be able to use in my report. The sword that you had on your back tells me that you are responsible for their deaths."
"Absolutely."
"You're what? Thirteen, and you killed five people. I don't understand how a child can do that, how a child can be driven to the point where such a thing is possible."
"As an FBI agent you should know that such a thing is easier and happens way to often n the world. Read up on the history of most serial killers and you see a pattern evolving before your eyes. Do not get me wrong agent I'm not using it as an excuse for what they became. They and only they are responsible for that because they made the choice to become what they are. I'm only saying that more serial killers are made than that born. Have you read my autopsy report, Agent Nolan?"
The man merely nodded and Alexander drained his glass in one go before continuing:
"I remember on my last night on Earth, before it got foggy, he wanted to beat the crap out of me again and I knew she would watch again without doing anything to help me. Something just broke inside of me. I refused to be afraid of him anymore and decided to see them both for the pieces of shit they were. I was well aware that this would be my death sentence. But I chose death over that existence. The problem, Agent Nolan, was that dying was not the solution. That they even haunt my thoughts and dreams in Heaven."
"Is that why you killed them? Revenge?"
Alexander was silent for a few seconds:
"Not just revenge. That definitely played a big role, but it was not the main factor. I thought that by sending them to hell I would find peace in my mind and soul. For others, revenge can be a solution, and after what I went through, I am the last one to say that revenge is not okay. If nothing else, it made me realize one thing. A serial killer can have different motivations to kill in order to temporarily appease something dark deep inside them. I know I have to do my best not to become a serial killer, Agent Nolan. There is a beast inside of me that wants to be unleashed, and my motivation is revenge and causing as much pain and suffering as possible to other monsters, like Molly's father. I found out that it didn't bring me what I hoped it would. Apparently, those two fucked me up so badly, and it goes so deep, that killing them and knowing that they're now rotting in the deepest circle of Hell isn't enough."
"I'm sorry for you, Alexander. I wish I could have been there for you when you were alive."
He nodded, made sure the barmaid would not look in their direction for a few minutes and snapped his fingers. He was back in his black outfit, sword and all, and pulled the balaclava with the skull over his face:
"Thank you, Agent Nolan, for your kind words. The world needs more people like you. It was nice having a drink, maybe we should do it again sometime. But first let's get justice for another victim, Molly."
"What are you going to do with him, Alexander?"
Alexander got a hard, mean look on his face and his eyes glowed with ice:
"Don't worry, it's what I said, Agent, I'm going to talk to him. The rest is up to him. I will give him a chance, whether he uses it or not is his free choice, free will you know, and depending on that he will come out on the other end of the conversation more or less unscathed. The more he is willing to cooperate, the less damage... If not? Well, if you want to look for him, tell your friends to dig really, really deep!"
The agent pondered Alex's words and then asked quietly:
"I am a Christian Alexander. You live in Heaven and if I am to believe you know God personally."
He nodded:
"Indeed, Agent."
Although Agent Nolan could not see the smirk on his face, he could see the fireworks in his eyes:
"I told you, his youngest daughter is my girlfriend. What point are you trying to make?"
"The commandment, thou shalt not kill."
"Ah, you wonder why God didn't punish me after I sent those five bastards to hell. After I did it, He wasn't very happy, I can assure you. After He saw what those five were all responsible for, He gave the Demons in the ninth circle of Hell a free hand over their souls. Believe me, they will be toys for those Demons for a long time. The commandment, however, is not quite correct, Agent. The text as we know it today is the result of a mistranslation. Whether this is due to a lack of knowledge of the original language or whether it was intentional, I will leave in the middle. The original commandment is, thou shalt not murder, not thou shalt not kill. If it was indeed thou shalt not kill, then your soul was now destined for hell, Agent Nolan, because according to your own words, you killed a criminal in a shootout. If the commandment was Thou shalt not kill, then everyone who has killed in self-defense and every cop, and every soldier who has ever killed would be damned. God would have damned some of his Angels and even himself if you take the Bible literally. Something I would almost take you for, Agent, based on what you said. Whether you go to Heaven or Hell depends on how you live your life and the actions you take based on your free will. So stop worrying about your destination based on a mistranslated commandment. Let me give you some advice, live your life based on the following eight letters and I can assure you that you will get to Heaven; DO NO HARM!"
Alex could almost hear the man thinking after these words. He said:
"Good, I need to have a chat with someone. Do not worry, you will reappear in an empty stall in the bathroom at the station. Keep your cell phone close because no doubt he will call very soon."
With that, Alex and Agent Nolan disappeared from paradise.
Across town on a small farm, Molly's father was working in his barn. Alexander appeared out of nowhere, his blood-red wings stretched out to their full width. The man lost all color in his face, fell to his knees, and began to pray. Alex snapped at him:
"You fucking piece of shit! Do you really think that God will answer your prayers, that he will want to help you after what you have done? How dare you call on the Heavenly Father! God himself has daughters; do you think there is an ounce of compassion in him for a piece of shit like you? Why do you think I'm here?"
Alex grabbed the man by the throat and ignited his eyes with Hellfire. The man saw the fate that awaited him after his death and began to scream. He felt no pity for him and hissed at him:
"We can do this one of two ways, and I give you the choice. First choice, and this is the way I absolutely prefer that we do it."
He let go of the man and drew his katana in one motion.
"Please refuse to cooperate. I beg you to refuse to cooperate. Just give me the slightest excuse! That will allow me to very slowly beat and kick you out of your bone bag and only chop off your head at the very last moment. And if you ask yourself, who am I? When you arrive in Hell, after I have sent you there, tell the Demons that Alexander, their Prince, the Angel of Vengeance sent you! God, what a wonderful welcome you will get!"
He gave the man a series of punches and kicks, making sure that the pervert had at least a few broken ribs, a completely shattered knee that would never allow him to walk normally again, and that most of his teeth were broken, as well as his nose. He snarled like a predator:
"Are you left-handed or right-handed? With which hand will you sign your confession?"
The man stuttered:
"Re...right, I'm right-handed."
"Lovely!"
His heavy boot came down violently on his victim's left hand. Almost every bone in that hand was shattered. Even the best surgeon would never get it right again. Alex doubted Fuzzie could, or would want to. A final blow closed one eye for a while. Then he grabbed him by the throat again and said with venom:
"Or you take the last and only chance you will ever get. And you better thank God every morning and every night for the rest of your miserable little existence, because you owe this chance to Him alone!"
He pulled out Officer Nolan's business card and shoved it between the man's broken teeth.
"Call the number on the card and say you want to turn yourself in, confess everything, every fucking little shitty thing you did in your life, every fucking detail you did to Molly, leave nothing out of your confession, NOTHING! Refuse a lawyer, plead guilty, no appeals, accept your punishment! If you even dream of appealing your sentence, I'll know because I've put a marker on you. The next thing you know, I'm coming to take you out of your little cell on Earth and take you to a special cell in the deepest caverns of Hell! Every fucking day you will be raped by a giant Demon with the dick of a bull! Say not a word to anyone about what happened here or about me. When they ask you why you want to confess and plead guilty, tell them that Saint Alexander appeared in your dreams to tell you to face your sins and that you fell out of your bed in terror. Do not wait to call, do it immediately after I leave, or I'll be back in a flash! Do you understand?"
The pleading man nodded beyond frightened as tears ran down his cheeks. Alexander threw him hard to the ground. He drew the tip of the katana across the man's face so that the blood lust of his sword would be tempered and leave a scar. Every time the man would look into a mirror, he would be reminded of Alexander. Before he disappeared, he kicked the sniveling man hard in the balls and said:
"Remember, there is no man, no army on Earth that can stop me from coming to claim your soul if you do not cooperate! Believe me, God will turn his back on you if I have to return!"
Alexander disappeared from Earth and appeared directly in his room in the palace. He tore the balaclava from his face, ran to his bathroom, and gagged violently. With a wave of his hand, he turned on the shower and sat under the hot water with his black clothes and everything. He began to cry, hiding his face in his hands. The Goddess had gently entered the bathroom and watched the scene for a moment. Almost whispering, she asked:
"Have you learned anything, Alexander?"
He asked:
"Do you know what happened, Mom?"
She nodded quietly:
"For your own safety, you have my marker, son. The throne showed it to me."
Without looking up, he said:
"Yes, I learned something today... Those two pieces of shit were not just monsters. They caused a monster to live inside me now. Beneath the surface dwells the literal Antichrist, shaking at the bars of his cage to be set loose. He wants to be unleashed upon the world. He wants violence, destruction, vengeance, and blood. I had to give the utmost of myself to keep him locked up. I wanted to kill Molly's father so badly that I could literally taste it."
Slowly, he raised his head and looked into the Goddess' eyes. Almost inaudibly he said:
"Mom...I don't know if I'm a good person, Mom. I thought I was a good person. I always tried to do good, to help others. But now I'm not sure."
He began to cry again:
"I don't know if I'm worthy of Samantha, Mom. Not with what's inside of me."
Salome felt that he was very deep and doubted himself enormously. She asked:
"What makes you think that, Alexander?"
"There are times when I am sure that humanity is not worth saving. There are times when I don't want to save them. That the whole species can go to damnation for all I care. On Earth, I lived in a small town, and Molly and I were far from the only ones. How many of these bastards are out there among the eight billion people on this fucking planet? Why not just burn it down and be done with it?"
The Goddess stopped the water and manifested a robe and towel for Alexander. Docilely, he made his equipment disappear, dried himself, and put on the robe. It did not take long for blood stains to appear on the white fabric. His old injuries had reappeared. But the goddess said nothing about that, that could wait a while. She said:
"It is true, Alex, that there are an incredible number of these figures walking around. But there are also an incredible number of children like Molly and you who are absolutely worthy of being saved. At that first meeting, you surprised everyone by saying that you wanted to save enough people in both universes so that humanity could start over. I believe you have come to a crossroads, my boy, where you must choose. You can take revenge through destruction or you can take revenge through creation. The choice is yours alone."
It seemed like he was really tired when he said:
"I have no idea right now, Mom, no idea at all."
The Goddess nodded silently, smiled warmly, took him in her arms, and asked:
"Would you like me to have Samantha come and help you with your wounds?"
He shook his head:
"No, not this time. I'm going to talk to Fuzzie..."
With that, Alexander disappeared from the suite and appeared in the infirmary. The Healer saw the blood stains on the white robe and beckoned him without a word into the same small room where he had begun his existence in Heaven. As he lay on the bed and Fuzzie began to heal his wounds, the Healer asked:
"Do you want to talk about it, Alex?"
He thought for a few seconds and told him what had happened since he had received Agent Nolan's prayer. He had no secrets from Fuzzie and was not going to start now. The Healer listened intently. He understood very well that he was not supposed to say anything here, just listen. Fuzzie could tell that Alex was about to hit emotional rock bottom, doubting himself and everything, so he asked:
"Has this agent prayed yet?"
Alex just nodded.
"So the girl's father will not escape his deserved punishment?"
This time only a slight shake of the head. Fuzzie worked on the last wound on Alexander's back and said:
"Find Samantha and go to Chamuel together. Have Cham take you to the girl, Molly. Tell her that her father will be punished. Punished on earth by his fellow human beings and punished in the afterlife. She may be in paradise, but sometimes even souls need closure to find complete peace."
Alex looked at him for a moment. He nodded gently and snapped his fingers. He was dressed again in his usual jeans and cowboy boots, but this time in a long-sleeved shirt.
Half an hour later, he appeared with Samantha and Chamuel at a small, cozy, warm-looking farmhouse. He saw Molly sitting on a bench with who Chamuel said was her grandmother. The woman seemed to be no older than her mid-twenties. Something Alex would have to get used to since souls assumed the age they felt most comfortable at upon arrival in Paradise. The two stood up and looked around strangely as they saw three angels suddenly standing in their little garden. For the first time since his return to Heaven, Alexander found his warm smile and stepped toward the couple. He said softly:
"Hello, Molly."
She looked at him strangely, not quite knowing what was happening. He said:
"I see you don't recognize me, which is not strange. Maybe this will help."
He rolled up his sleeves and the girl's eyes widened as she saw the scars and burn marks. He and Molly had been very close friends for years, and she had seen those scars and wounds more times than she cared to remember. So close that for a moment there was puppy love. Not really in love, but close enough emotionally that they shared everything. Which was why Alex knew what had been done to her. She asked hesitantly:
"Alexander?"
He nodded.
"You're an Angel?"
Before he could answer that question, Samantha jumped in to avoid the whole son of the Devil thing for the time being. She said with an equally warm smile:
"Indeed, Molly."
"But how?"
He had a smirk on his face. Something so typical of him that she no longer doubted him, no matter what face he had now.
"Alex, what are you doing here?"
"I have news for you Molly. Your father has confessed everything to the FBI. No doubt he will be behind bars for a long time and when his time comes he will go straight to hell. There is absolutely no way he can avoid that."
The girl pondered his words for a moment and asked:
"Did you take care of this Alex?"
He nodded and said:
"Don't ask how, just don't."
She shot towards him and grabbed him tightly. She started to cry quietly and he let her for a moment. After a while, she said softly:
"Thank you, Alex. This is Heaven and I know he is a bad man and could never go to Heaven. But sometimes I was still afraid that one day he would be standing here in front of me. I needed that reassurance."
Sam and Alex stayed with Molly and her grandmother for another hour, and the depressed mood soon gave way to lightheartedness. Samantha was not only glad that she had come with Alex to support him. After a few stories, Molly told about Alex that made her laugh out loud, she was also glad to have gotten to know the girl. The more she learned about Alex and his antics, the more she admired him. From Molly's stories, she quickly realized who Alexander was to the other kids at school and in town. Someone who was always there for others with a genuine smile and a warm word. That his mischief always brought light into the sometimes oppressive darkness in the lives of others who had it anything but easy. The son of the Morningstar was spreading light in his own limited way while trapped in a human body. So Samantha immediately decided to go back to Molly on her own to talk to her in more detail. In the back of her mind, the idea of ignoring her parents' rule that human souls and the Heavenly City should remain separate was already forming. If she ever became the Goddess, she would begin to follow Alexander's example. His goal was to become God, so he made his own rules and experimented with his authority.