The Word | Sic Transit | Credits
[Begin 1/9/99]
Shilom, Appoggee, Reziphel, and Zenaniel return to Shilom's 7th floor apartment, a swanky affair on Park Avenue across from Central Park, close to 72nd St. Shilom/Janet has 4 messages on her answering machine:
Appoggee inhabits a cab driver, Vinesh Gupta, and just about wrecks the cab before pulling over. Reziphel runs down the stairs with his bike, puts the bike in the cab's trunk, and takes over the driver's seat.
Shilom/Janet checks in at work, and then calls Portia. Portia also works in the FBI building, though Janet has never met her. She is also in service to Dominic. The two agree to meet at noon at the Wong Kee on Mott Street in Chinatown.
Before they leave, Janet calls Rosa and asks her to reconsider quitting. Rosa reluctantly agrees to stay on, but insists that there be no more pigeons.
Reziphel drives them all to Herald's
Pawn Shop in SoHo, where Zenaniel buys a new sword and scabbard for
$400. Nothing fancy, but good quality. Reziphel trades in his switchblade
for a butterfly knife.
Portia, a Cherub of Justice, introduces the celestial as Malleus, a Seraph in service to Michael. They order food; Malleus is impatient to be moving so they get it to go.
Portia shows the others the morning paper, which the angels had seen earlier at Shilom's apartment. The headline reads "Citywide Manhunt for Cop Killer!" Portia tells them that an angel and a demon were killed last night. Both vessels were found near a small derelict club on the Lower East Side called No Dinero. The demon had a role as policeman, and the city is up in arms about his death. Portia tells them they are to postpone their current case to investigate the murders and find out who is behind them, as it is urgent that the situation be resolved quickly. She directs them to Ahazia, servitor of Zadkiel and Seneschal of the People's Garden, on Fourth and Avenue B in the Lower East Side. Portia has other things to attend to, but Malleus will accompany them, as he also has been sent to investigate.
Malleus joins the others in the cab, and they drive to the People's Garden.
At the tether, they meet Ahazia and Invictus, an Elohite of Lawrence. Ahazia is convinced that the angel Alexius was killed by the demons of Mammon, who has a tether somewhere in Chinatown. She is very upset, as Alexius was a good friend and colleague of hers. Zadkiel's angels have been trying to preserve the neighborhoods of the Lower East Side from Mammon, the Prince of Greed. Mammon works through the Equality Corporation, a development corporation working to gentrify the area. The corporation buys older buildings, fixes them up, and brings in rich people who drive out the previous neighborhood residents by raising the prices of rents and services. There has been a long-standing dispute over No Dinero, but the situation has never before involved violence.
Invictus counsels caution and a careful investigation of the situation.
Malleus is all set to kick some demon butt. He storms off and starts
questioning passersby. His methods are not subtle. Appoggee, as a
pigeon, follows at a discreet distance. Later on, Appoggee sees Malleus
single-handedly beat up a group of six skinheads. He seems to enjoy his
work.
The four angels drive over to No Dinero, a run-down club on Rivington Street between Suffolk and Clinton. It is currently hosting the art show "Art Eviction", which features works created by the victims of the 13th Street evictions of May 1995. The building is in bad repair; the ground level is shaky enough that the art show was moved to the basement. There are three levels of apartments above the ground floor, which was once a theater. Volunteer squatters occupy the apartments and send out word if the police come by. The building's lease was terminated three years ago, but so far, CAN and No Dinero's collective have kept it from being torn down by the Equality Corporation.
The art show, reached through an outside stairwell, is being tended by
a young bored-looking woman, who asks for donations. The exhibition
stretches through three basement rooms, and the art is average at best.
Though crude, several of the pieces appeal to Appoggee because of their
raw emotional power. The show catalogue lists the names of the artists,
and a dealer who can be contacted if someone wants to buy any of the
artwork. Shilom jots down the names of the three best artists and puts a
call in to find out their current whereabouts.
Zenaniel's resonance picks up that the woman manning the donations desk poisoned a police dog within the last year. He upsets her with some blunt observations about harming animals, while Rez finds the boiler room and turns up the heat on her. They leave her shaken and soon to be uncomfortably warm.
As they leave the exhibition, they see fliers advertising a punk rock show to benefit the 13th Street Squatters Defense Fund. The show is here at No Dinero tomorrow night, and features such bands as Adverse Possession, the Ex-Teenage Rebels, and Christian Abortion and the Coathangers.
Just outside a woman named Elaina offers to draw their portraits for $3 each. She is dirty and emaciated, and has all the marks of heroin addiction. She quickly and badly sketches Shilom, and then asks for $5. Shilom offers her $20 for some information about the killings. She takes the money but has very little to say. When pressed, she becomes foul-mouthed and abusive. She heads for a nearby alley, where Appoggee-as-pigeon sees her buying her next fix and setting up a rig. The pigeon knocks everything over, and Elaina is left swearing and cursing.
A thirtyish black woman wearing a T-shirt that says "Lawyers Against Apartheid" and a kente vest approaches them, saying not to give Elaina any money, as she'll only spend it all on heroin. She introduces herself as Angela Nkrumah, and explains that Elaina is a frequent sight around the neighborhood, and not likely to change her ways. The angels ask her about the killings. Angela says that the cop was crooked, and involved in the sweatshop protection racket. His death was a plot to cover up the city's involvement in the sweatshops. "It's just like the corporations behind the African genocides. You can never trust The Man." When the angels start asking more detailed questions, she asks whether they are cops. Zenaniel tells her that Shilom is an FBI agent. Angela immediately tries to leave, but Shilom holds onto her long enough to convince her to take one of her cards. Angela makes no promises about calling Shilom/Janet with any information she might hear.
The crime scene is just around the corner from No Dinero. There are two chalked outlines, about 150 feet apart, with police tape and a policeman guarding each one. Reziphel examines the first scene, where the demon/cop was killed. He tries to use his tracking to determine where the demon was coming from but fails. He wants to get a closer look, but the police won't let him inside the tape.
As he is waiting for the others to catch up, a dog trots up to him. Something about the dog's actions make Rez think that this is not your usual golden retriever-Irish setter mix on his usual neighborhood rounds. Zenaniel uses his resonance on him, and finds that he once killed a Soldier of Hell! Shilom sings the Song of Tongues, and the dog tells them that he is Rusty. Three years ago, Eli made him a Soldier of God. He likes angels. They smell interesting, even more interesting than demons.
Shilom uses her FBI credentials to get them inside the police tape, and takes Rez along. Rez is able to determine that the demon and the angel were coming towards each other. The demon was walking, and the angel was running. Questioning the police officers on the scene reveals that both vessels were killed within a short time of each other, with the same type of weapon. Both were shot in the back of the head, execution-style. Rusty and Rez cast around for where the two celestials were coming from, but are unable to track them very far.
A large bearded and unkempt man walks by, singing "If I Had a Hammer."
Zenaniel suddenly gets a 4-minute warning. The angels and Rusty run to a nearby alley. Appoggee, in three pigeons, circles the area, and he drops the cab driver for the policeman guarding the dead angel's crime scene. The cab driver, wondering how he got into this part of town, drives away with Rez's bicycle locked in the trunk. In the alley, Rez climbs the fire escape to the top of the building. All are surprised when a hawk swoops out of the sky and attacks one of the pigeons, which falls to the ground. It comes back for a second pigeon, wounds it, and then goes for the third. Appoggee sings the Song of Form and the pigeon becomes much bigger; the hawk accelerates away at great speed towards the East River.
|
| Appoggee talking to itself |
Time and much essence is spent healing pigeons. Appoggee/Paul Lindsay, the policeman, remains on duty until 4, and then they head for East River Park. Shilom drives, and Rusty and Rez follow on foot. It is starting to get dark. The angels talk to two homeless men under the Williamsburg Bridge, asking them if they've seen a hawk, but have no luck. Rusty sniffs around but is unable to find anything.
Meanwhile, the Appoggee pigeon that is following Malleus sees Malleus attempt to rough up the man singing "If I Had a Hammer" (nicknamed Hammer Man). Hammer Man throws Malleus across the street. By the time Malleus has recovered and gotten to his feet, Hammer Man is out of his sight. Appoggee/pigeon also notices that someone is following Hammer Man. He looks homeless and unkempt; he wears a long coat and never lets Hammer Man out of his sight.
Reflecting on the strength of Hammer Man, the group decides to try to get more information about him in a less direct way. They drive to the area, and watch Hammer Man walk by. Zenaniel uses his resonance but gets only confusion. When the follower goes by, he gets nothing at all. Zenaniel blocks his retreat while Shilom, Appoggee/Paul, and Rez stop him to ask him a few questions. The man tries to walk right through them; he is evidently still trying to follow Hammer Man. He doesn't respond to any of their questions, and when they try to forcibly hold him, he brings out a piece of pipe and starts swinging. He is very strong, and doesn't seem to feel their blows. The outcome of the struggle seems doubtful.
When the fight started, the Appoggee/pigeon that was following Malleus attempted to get his attention to let him know something is up. Malleus appears, sings the Song of Thunder, and the man, along with Zenaniel and many of the people stopping to watch, is stunned. He is wrestled to the ground, where he begins to foam at the mouth and scream inarticulately. After one final series of blows he collapses. It is as if he has been defeated spiritually as well as physically.
Shilom and Appoggee/Paul are able to get him handcuffed and into the police cruiser. There is a large crowd gathering, so they drive him to East River Park, with Rusty and Rez following behind. Once there, they go through his pockets, finding little but a nasty sandwich of some sort; it looks like it was picked out of a garbage bin. He is muttering in what appears to be Latin; after singing Tongues on him, he is heard to say "I have to find him I have to find him I have to kill him I have to get him" over and over. Malleus tells them he is probably a remnant. They try to question him, using the sandwich to try to draw him out. He tries to eat it, but does not answer them. He continues to talk to himself.
After some discussion of whether he was a demon or an angel, they try repeating the names of Superiors to him. He looks up and briefly stops muttering when he hears the name Uriel. Shilom/Janet becomes agitated. She gets of the car, saying that the man he's chasing must be Thor, and to let him go.
The other angels ask Malleus if this could be true. Malleus shrugs and says that time works strangely in the Marches. Anything could happen. They uncuff the remnant and hand him his sandwich; when he touches it, it suddenly looks a lot better. He gets out of the car and shuffles towards where Hammer Man was last seen.
Reziphel asks Shilom why she's so upset. Realizing that there is an ethereal close by has already unnerved Shilom considerably, and when Reziphel continues to press her, she snaps. With her last essence, she turns celestial and flies away.
Soon afterwards, Appoggee hears a big disturbance in the symphony, coming from the west.
[End 1/9/99]
[Begin 1/18/99]
They find the Helping Hands clinic in flames. Reziphel rescues several people from the burning building, including Sara Wolfe. Elaina is found dead of smoke inhalation. Zenaniel confronts a demon named Japhia who is watching outside. They cuff her and take her along to Brooklyn, where they break into the Skinheads place. After a short battle, wherein Appoggee/policeman gets himself shot, they search the place. Next they head to the hospital to find Sara Wolfe, who refused to be checked in, and to get Appoggee/policeman's leg seen to. Reziphel plays with a little girl named Betsy, and replaces his burned clothing with doctor's scrubs. Finally they go to a donut shop.
[End 1/18/99]