Zero II by Jonathan Yanez Page A

Danielle, still
looking over his shoulder at the spotless kitchen area. He stepped through a
door into a mid-size room furnished with a bed, dresser, closet and a door leading
to his bathroom. “Ange—I mean our organization isn’t too fond of
decorations, are they?”
    “Nope, but there aren’t any rules on
what you can or can’t put up.” Alan threw his bag on the bed and turned.
Danielle was smiling to herself looking around the room. “I don’t know. I kind
of like the look. There’s something about simplicity. I think a lot of people
trade the idea for material things they don’t really need.”
    Alan nodded thinking about her
statement. “So, what’s first?”
    Danielle snapped back to reality from
wherever her mind was traveling. “Oh right. After you settle in, you start your
training.”
    “Right, training.” Alan crossed his
large arms and looked Danielle up and down. “I don’t want to seem rude. I mean
you can heal people so who knows maybe you can do all kinds of other things
too, but how are you going to train me? And in what?”
    Danielle adjusted her glasses and
looked down on her slender but not necessarily athletic frame. “Hey, what are
you trying to say? I’m tough.”
    Alan opened his mouth to apologize but
Danielle threw a punch that glanced off Alan’s shoulder. Her fist was half the
size of Alan’s and felt like someone was tapping him more than trying to hit
him.
    “Just kidding,” Danielle laughed. “I’m
not the one that is going to train you.”
    Before Alan could ask another question,
the sound of the warehouse’s front door sliding open met his ears. Danielle
looked at Alan with a smile as he squinted over her shoulder to see who was
walking towards them. All he could see was a group of massive figures, descending
down the hall.
    Danielle threw a casual thumb over her
shoulder clearly enjoying the moment. “They’re going to train you. Good luck.”
     

16
Present Day
Dominic Drencher
    “And you left him alive?” Her voice
was smooth. She had a way of talking that was silky to the ears while still
being intimidating to anything that lived. It was one of her many traits
Dominic admired.
    Dominic Drencher rocked back and forth
in his new slippers, heel to toes. “Yes, your excellence, as was instructed.”
    “Good.”
    The room was dark, too dark for
Dominic to see more than a figure hugged in shadows. She sat in a tall chair covered
in darkness at the far side of the room. “What shall I do next? We have more than
enough followers. Alan Price is nowhere near able to compete with me, much less
our superior numbers. Maybe, I should have killed him altogether and just ended
the possibility of his future meddling.” Dominic paused thinking about his
brief interaction with the young man. “He didn’t even appreciate my cooking.
Everyone likes my cooking.”
    The woman spoke, clearly not amused
with Dominic’s ramblings. “No, let him train and prepare. Michael needs
somewhere to direct his attention. I will allow him to have his pet. I need you
on something else.”
    Dominic smiled ear to ear. “Oh, does
someone else need killing?”
    “No, not this time.”
    “Oh,” Dominic could hear the
disappointment in his own voice. “Killing is my favorite. What then?”
    “Dominic, are you aware of our
heritage? Of how the Fallen were first condemned to earth?”
    Dominic was aware that she already
knew the answer to her own question. Of course he knew, she had told him
herself many times before. He hated when she did that but he had no choice but
to humor her anyway. “Yes, your excellence. After the war in Heaven the Fallen
were cast out to await their punishment on earth. An understanding was met
between the Fallen and the angels to abstain from physical confrontation. And
that’s why you have people like me to do your bidding.”
    Dominic’s tone took on an air of
disdain. He couldn’t help but fill a lip rise in disgust. “And that is why
Michael has people