Chapter: 15

"The Third Heaven"

Sagun or Shehaquim

The 3rd heaven is unique for many reasons. According to Enoch, hell
lies within the northern boundaries of the third heaven. Sagun (or
Shehaqim) is ruled over by Archangel Anahel and three subordinate
saraim: Jagniel, Rabacyel, and Dalquiel, and is the residence for
Archangel Azrael, the Islamic Angel of death.

The northern region of this heaven has a river of flame that flows
through the land of cold and ice, here the wicked are punished by the
angels.

The southern lands are a bountiful paradise, thought to be the Garden
of Eden, where the souls of the righteous will come after death. Two
rivers, the river of milk and honey and the river of wine and oil
flow here. This heaven if where the "Tree of Life can be found. The
beautiful celestial garden is where all perfect souls go after death
and is guarded by 300 angels of light. It was also recorded that the
entrance to this heaven is a gate of gold.

http://www.steliart.com/angelology_7_heavens.html

Chris awoke to bright light blinding him. He squinted, trying to
diffuse the pain that was throbbing behind his eyes.

As his eyes finally were able to focus and images became clearer, he
realized that the light was coming from a light fixture directly
overhead. He blinked several times to wash away the crust that
seemed to have formed on the outer rim of his eyes and looked around
his surroundings.

He saw that he was in his hideaway apartment on the outskirts of the
Vegas Strip known as Sagun or the Third Heaven to the Celestial
organization. Not many people knew of this place, especially not
anyone outside of the seven. He knew was safe here for at least a
little while until he could get his head together.

He got up from the bed he was lying on and almost fell back when a
sharp pain stab him in his right side. He looked down and saw his
blood flowing freely down his side to pool upon the white sheet of
the bed. He had been slashed by something sharp and he did not
remember how or when it had happened.

He grabbed his head in bewilderment, hoping to still the beating drum
that was now resounding within his skull. After a while it subsided
to a softly thumping rhythm that he could basically ignore and he
tried to remember what happened.

The last thing he remembered was taking his leave of Lucien via an
Ezra trick and hitching a ride with one Queen Bea, a known Madame of
the Vegas Strip.

Queen Beatice Santiago was a lean, slightly older Latina who drove a
1965 Ford Mustang convertible as her chariot to patrol her kingdom.

In fact, Queen Bea was also known for her addictions like Larabee to
exotic cars and antiques. Chris had met her a few months after the
death of his family during one of his jaunts to a private auction of
exotic cars in San Francisco.

Of course, back then he no idea who she was, even though he had heard
of the infamous Madame who practically owned the Vegas Strip industry
of prostitution outside of DeCorsia's share.

It was much later when he and Buck were invited to one of Marco's big
shindigs that he had discovered his faux pas situation of Beatice
Santiago and Queen Bea being the same person.

He also found out that DeCorsia left her alone as long as he got his
41% cut of the profits.

Since that night in San Francisco, they had remained best of friends
and as their paths crossed regularly, they always made an effort to
try and renew that night.

Queen Bea was a safe confidant as far as Archangel Michael was
concerned. As safe as Vin, Buck or anyone of the boys of his team
was. He had saved her girls more than once from the cruel and
psychotic advances of Marco and his men. Queen Bea had owed him and
in the business that they were in, you never left a debt unpaid.

Archangel Michael condition did not go unnoticed by Queen Bea. She
did not succeed in the business she was in by being dense. She saw
the blood stain that was slowly developing on the right side of his
shirt and although she never asked him about it, it still worried her.

She said, "I never asked, Mike, I will not ask now. All I will say
is that you take care of yourself and I advise you to get someone to
watch your back."

Chris looked at her hard as he was about to exit the car. "Now, why
would you say that, Queen?"

"Let's just say considering the fact that you are bleeding all over
my immaculate white car seat and that there have been some people
asking around about your whereabouts, you need to be real careful."

"And what did you tell these people?" questioned Chris, glaring
angrily at her.

"Mike, you wound me deeply," she answered touching the place where
her heart was. "I owe you a lot and if playing deaf, dumb and blind
helps to repay that debt, then so be it." She smiled at him
wickedly. "Plus, where else can I get a good lay when I want one."

Chris smiled back coldly, his green eyes dancing with
iniquity. "Well, Queen, you do throw one hell of a party," he said
laughingly as he stepped out of the car. "Take care of yourself."

"You too, Mike," she said as she drove away towards the setting sun.

It was at this point that all Chris could remember was getting into
the apartment and unceremoniously crashing onto the bed still dressed
in the same clothes.

But he still for the life of him could not remember how acquired the
wound. His memory still had holes in it and it did not bode well for
him.

He knew that the others would sooner or later find his safe haven and
he knew then that Marco's men would not be far behind. He needed to
move on to his next alternative site before then. Trying to keep the
others safe and keep himself out of Marco's hands was becoming
extremely difficult.

His only regret was in the fact that he had watched as Lucien had
returned to the room at the motel only to be captured by his own men.

He knew Lucien was only trying to help, but unfortunately, he was a
liability to Chris' plans. He just hoped that the others would not
be too hard on the young man. He was a good agent once and all in
all, he was still considered a friend. The problem is that he had
returned at an inopportune moment. He would resolve the issue later.

Right now, though, he was currently bleeding all over the floor and
the bed of "Third Heaven" and the precious life giving liquid was
slowly being depleted from his body. He felt the light-headiness and
thirst increasing with every drop of blood that left his body.
Already the room had seemed awfully hot and he was sweating
profusely. He swiped at a drop of sweat that fell into his eyes and
wondered how long he would last before he would black out.

He staggered over to the one bureau in the room and pulled out a
handkerchief, which he used to press upon the wound in his side. The
instantaneous of pain crippled him and he bent over at the waist,
grabbing onto the edge of the bed. His breathing became rapid and he
felt as if he could not catch his breath. He knew he was on the
verge of passing out, but he could not afford to at this moment.

With cautiousness and precision, he walked over to the bed and gently
laid himself upon it. He thought that maybe if he rested for a
while, he could regain some of his strength. Still holding onto the
blood-soaked cloth to his side, Chris realized that he could not stay
conscious for very much longer.

But that would be the least of his problems, for he did not hear the
front door of the apartment open or the clicking of heels on the
linoleum floors that was approaching the bedroom in which he was
lying in. His green eyes so full of pain were becoming heavy and
although the mind was willing, the body was weakening. He could not
hold them open much longer.

As they were about to close, he saw the form a person appear in the
corner of his sight, just out of the way of his peripheral vision.

"Who's there?" queried Chris frantically, fearing that DeCorsia had
found his hiding place.

The person moved closer to the bed, kneeling down to become eye to
eye in front of Chris.

The blond leader gasped in shock. "Nadia?"

"Hello, Christopher. So good to see you again," said Nadia, touching
his face tenderly. "You don't look so well, dear. Looks like you got
a bit of trouble here."

"How did…did you…find me?"

"Oh, Christopher, my darling. I have never stopped looking for you,"
she answered, kissing him gently upon the forehead. "Don't worry,
Christopher. I am here to take care of you."

"No…no, you're…working for Marco!"

"That's where you are wrong, my darling. I don't work for Marco.
Marco works for me," said Nadia chuckling softly.

Suddenly, a young black man came walking into the bedroom.

"There are no others in the place, Mrs. DeCorsia."

"That's Miss Diaz, Devon," replied Nadia, glaring angrily at her
henchman.

"Yes, Miss De…I mean, Miss Diaz."

Nadia returned to Chris who was progressively losing
consciousness. "Hey, Chris," she said, tapping him gently on the
cheek. "Stay with me, lover."

Chris' hazel eyes re-focused onto Nadia's face, but it was becoming
difficult.

"Where's your handsome friend? Huh?"

"What…what are you…t…talking about?"

"Your friend and lover, Archangel Gabriel?"

"Vin? What would…you want with…Vin…for?"

"Let's just say that I need some type of incentive."

"Incentive…incentive…for what?" asked Chris, trying to catch his
breath. It was getting harder and harder to breath.

Nadia noticed how pale Chris was becoming and she knew she was
running out of time. She turned to the direction of the other men
who were busily scrounging the other rooms. "Devon! John! Sean!
Get in here quick!"

She heard faint, yes, Miss Diaz coming from outside the room as the
men hurriedly came to do her bidding.

She then turned back to Archangel Michael and said, "We will have to
discuss this later, my love. For now it seems that you're not well
and although there were times when I said I wanted you dead, that was
not true."

She then turned back towards the doorway to find her three men
standing awaiting her instructions. "Devon, you and Sean pick him up
and carry him to the limo. John, call Dr. Gustafen. Have him meet
us at the house."

"Yes, Miss," replied John as went to the phone that was in the living
room. It was the last thing Chris had heard as he finally gave up to
the darkness, his strength now totally spent.

Nadia stood aside while the two men picked up the unconscious blond
agent to carry him to their car waiting outside.

Once they were gone, Nadia picked up the black bag that was lying
next to bed. She opened it up and looked quickly inside. A huge
smile came over her face. "Well, well, my love. It seems we have
been a bad boy. That would explain a lot."

She then closed the bag and went to follow the others out of the
house.

Nadia took her place in the back of the car with the unconscious
Christopher Michael Larabee, holding his head in her lap so that he
could lie down comfortable in the stretch limousine. Devon rode up
front in the passenger seat next to the driver. John and Sean got
into the other car, which was parked behind them.

"Home, James," she said with a smile at the driver. The driver
nodded back that he understood, although James was not his name. But
no one questioned Nadia.

Nadia then leaned down, kissing the blond man that was lying on her
legs and said, "We're going home, Christopher. Just where you always
belonged."

She chuckled silently as the cars sped towards the setting sun and
the Vegas downtown area.


**********************************************************************


Chapter: 16

"The Fourth Heaven"

Machanon or Machen

The 4th heaven Machanon it is ruled by Archangel Michael, "Is the
site of the heavenly Jerusalem, the holy Temple and its Altar"
(Godwin, p. 122). It is here that, according to Enoch, that the
Garden of Eden is actually housed, not in the third heaven. It is
said to house the city of Christ and is the native seat of the
angels. St. Paul's Apocalypse describes it as " It was all gold, and
12 walls encircled I and there were 12 walls inside. There were 12
gates of great beauty in the circuit of the city and 4 rivers
encircled it. There was a river of honey and a river of milk and a
river of wine and a river of oil. "

http://www.steliart.com/angelology_7_heavens.html

As Archangel Gabriel rose up to consciousness, five of his senses
came alive instantly. He eyes focused and he found himself looking
into a pair of green, mischievous eyes and realized that he was still
at Machanon, the 4th heaven, as it was referred to by the seven, which was

Chris’ ranch. No one outside of the group knew of these names. Even

Chief Travis did not know. It came in handy when they wanted to secretly

signal where to meet. They would refer to one of the heavens and each of them
would know where to go.

"Ezra?"

"Mr. Tanner," said Ezra Standish, acknowledging that the tracker was awake.

"It is good to see you have revived from your therapeutic libations."

"Ah, I guess, uh…what?"

"How was your rest?" Vin noticed that he held a cup and assumed
since it was morning that it was coffee.

"Oh. I guess it was fine. Ya got anymore of that?"

"Oh, indeed I do," answered Ezra, passing him a cup from the
nightstand besides the bed. "I wagered Nathan that you would be
waking up soon and would be in dire need of some liquid rejuvenation."

"'Preciate it." He grabbed the cup, as he sat up straighter against
the backboard of the bed. He then took a tentative sip of hot liquid
and let it soothe the ache within his throat and head.

Once he had taken enough of the healing black elixir to feel human
again, he asked the question which was currently plaguing
him. "Where is everyone?"

"Mr. Jackson, Mr. Sanchez and Mr. Wilmington are still in conference
with our wayfaring angel, Lucien Caymen. The adolescent, Mr. Dunne,
is currently working at narrowing down places that Mr. Larabee might
abscond to and keeping Chief Travis at bay. And as you can see, I am
attending to a young bull-headed gentleman with a concussion and
damaged ribs that did not want to rest."

Vin rubbed weary blue eyes and when they finally refocused on the
gambler, he glared at him knowing there was something that he left
out of the conversation.

"So, I guess that means that Lucien ain't told them anythin' about
where Chris is, huh?"

"To tell you the truth, Mr. Tanner, I do not believe that Mr. Caymen
knows any information in conjunction with the whereabouts of Mr.
Larabee. He seems to be just as much in the preverbal dark as we
are."

"Ya really think so?"

"Yes. I do, Mr. Tanner. I think Mr. Caymen has under estimated Mr.
Larabee's resourcefulness. I think we all have. We have been trying
to find a man we know and he no longer exists," answered Ezra,
looking thoughtfully into the blackness of his cup.

Vin knew that Ezra was talking about how Chris had changed. Vin knew
you could not track something that changed its nature so quickly and
efficiently. It was just impossible.

"So, Ez," started Vin as he took another sip of his coffee. "What do
ya have in mind?"

Ezra smiled, as a ray of sunlight from the window seeped into the
room, alighting his gold tooth like a jewel.

"Well, my dear distinguished Mr. Tanner. I think that we should join
our companions in their conference with Mr. Caymen. I have something
that I think will persuade our errant seraph to see things our way
and assist us in our pursuit of our absconder, Mr. Larabee."

"And why Ezra, would ya think Lucifer would be of any help to us,
considerin' he knows as much as we do about the whereabouts of Chris?"

"Let's just say that Lucien or Lucifer, as you like to call him,
probably has more insight into the realm that our illustrious leader
has decided to escape to. Just look at the motel he was residing
at? Our Mr. Larabee would not be caught dead staying at the
habitation that we just came from, unless he was on a stake out or
undercover. And he most certainly would not, if he was in his right
mind, associate with Devil's Own."

"He would if he had another reason."

Both Vin and Ezra turned to see Buck leaning casually against the
opened bedroom door.

"And what does that suppose to mean, Mr. Wilmington?"

"It means that you don't know who really Lucien is," said Josiah, as
he also entered the bedroom, taking a stance next to the chair that
Ezra occupied.

"And, who might that be…?" queried Vin.

"Lucien is Chris' half brother!" shouted JD, who came running out of
breath into the room. He had almost knocked Buck down trying to plow
through the two big men who stood in front of the doorway.

"What?" Ezra was shocked by this revelation.

"Ya not serious?" questioned Vin.

"JD's right," replied Buck. "Although I still don't understand how
you found that out, considering it's not common knowledge. But,
yeah, Lucien is Chris' half-brother. Chris' father had an affair
with another woman and Lucien was the result of that relationship."

"Wow!" said JD, his mouth open in astonishment.

"JD, close your mouth, boy. Ya starting to look like you got
lockjaw," came Buck's comment as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Ya knew this, Buck, didn't ya?"

Buck knew Vin was making a statement, not a question.

"Yeah, I did, Vin. I met Lucien about five years after me and Chris
became good friends."

"Five years after?" inquired Josiah. "Why five years?"

"Well, Chris didn't know about Lucien until that time."

"He didn't?" JD was curious as to how Chris did not know that he had
a brother out there somewhere. He, being an only child, had always
wished for a sibling. Not to be alone in this cruel world. But his
mother had just lived long enough to give birth to JD.

But then he remembered that he was not alone. He had six companions
who were more than friends. In fact, he could say he had six
brothers who watched each other's backs and that was enough family
for anyone.

"He did not know about Lucien until he was fifteen years old."

Now it was Josiah's turn to interrupt. "You mean the relationship
went on that long?"

"From my previous conversations with Chris, it would have probably
gone on for longer, had it not been for the death of Marie Caymen,
Lucien's mother."

"How did she die, Buck?" asked Vin. He knew he was asking Buck a lot
by recounting Chris' secret past. But he needed to know everything
in order to help his friend. They all did.

"Don't know, Vin. Chris never told me. All he said was that he had
found out he had a brother. The reason why I know that Marie
Caymen had died was because Chris' father took him to her funeral to
be introduced to his half-brother Lucien."

"Oh, lord. How could his father do such a thing to such a young
boy?"

They turned to find Nathan standing in the hallway.

"Nathan? Who's guarding Lucien?" asked Josiah surprised.

"He's handcuffed to the bed frame. Unless he can find a saw he ain't
going anywhere. Besides, Ariel's in there with him," answered
Nathan, smiling broadly.

"You know you are a very cruel man, Mr. Jackson."

"As long as he behaves himself, there should be no problems, Ezra. I
came here to tell you that we could hear every word in the next
room. In fact, Lucien was getting pissed off, although I don't
understand why."

"It might be because he's hearing Buck recount his family secrets,"
declared Vin. Vin also assumed that Lucien was upset about the
secrets of his family being discussed without his family's knowledge
or consent, which meant he was more like Chris than he was willing to
admit.

"You still did not answer my question, Buck."

"Well, Nate, to tell the truth, Chris and his father never got
along. His father was always in the streets, trying to pawn his get-
rich-quick schemes to anyone who would listen, while in the meantime,
Chris' mother was slowly dying inside out from drug abuse."

"No wonder Mr. Larabee is so guarded about his past. It would seem
that his childhood was not as paternal as he makes it out to have
been," noted Ezra. Ezra knew about not having such a supportive home
life. His mother had pawned him off to relatives, one after another,
while she worked her confidence jobs.

"It was the reason why Chris and I hit the streets. You come home
to a drug addictive mother and no good father all the time, why
bother living at home. Lucien was the lucky one. He had one decent
parent at least for part of his life. Marie Caymen from what I was
told was the most gentle, loving, caring mother any son would wish to
have. Unfortunately, she was Lucien's and not Chris'."

JD turned with, "And Chris grew up with this all of his life?"

"Did Chris' mother know of the indiscretion of her husband?"

"No, Ezra. She never did. She was too high most of the time to even
know she had a son who was in the streets most of the time. When
Chris' mother finally died on an overdose of heroin, he was really
screwed up then. He took to the streets like a fish to water. He
never forgot about his baby brother and made provisions for him. He
even paid his way through college, unfortunately, it did not keep him
out of trouble and he ended following our path to crime."

"But you and Chris changed. You were given a second chance by the
Chief."

"Yes, we were, Josiah. But Lucien's second chance was given away
when Nadia entered our lives."

"Ah, yes," nodded Ezra in deep thought. "The infamous Nadia Diaz,
now Nadia DeCorsia."

The others turned to look at him in astonishment and disbelief.

Ezra looked up at them with innocent eyes. "What?"

Vin gave him a Larabee glare. "Nadia Diaz is related to Marco
DeCorsia?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you about that?"

"No, you didn't, Ezra," said Josiah, annoyance crossing his face
slowly. None of them knew about Nadia being related to DeCorsia.
This was bad. Chris was related to the devil's own and now Nadia was
related to one of the worst demons of hell. It could not get any
better as far as Josiah was concerned.

"I apologize for my omission of the fact that Nadia Diaz marital
status was one to, Sergio DeCorsia, Marco's brother," explained Ezra
quickly. "But of course, you know, he's dead."

"And that means what…?" probed Buck.

"I do not…exactly…know. In fact, I'm a little confused," responded
Ezra.

Vin was stunned at that fact that anything could confuse Ezra. "Well,
we need to find out and fast. I have a feelin' that Chris is in the
middle of it all somehow." He then started to raise himself off of
the bed, but was quickly pushed back down by numerous hands.

"Oh, no, you don't, son," said Josiah.

"There ain't no way I'm letting you get up out of the bed right now,
Vin," stated Nathan authoritatively. "You need to rest and heal."

"But Chris needs help more than I do. Nate, can drug addictiveness
be hereditary?"

Nathan looked at the others, one by one; each of them knew what Vin
was thinking.

"Nathan?"

"Well, Addictive disorders or diseases tend to be hereditary.
Currently there are ways being researched in order to isolate the
genes that influence vulnerability to alcoholism and substance
dependence. So far though, there has been no real evidence or
breakthrough as of yet. But you know, Vin, addictive disorders can
come from other areas such as personality issues and environment
issues."

"But wouldn't ya say with Chris it's probably hereditary considerin'
his mother?"

"I can't say that, Vin. He could be more disposed to its influence
because of his environment as a child, but since we don't have Chris
here, it would be guessing. He would need to be evaluated."

Vin understood Nathan's hesitancy at labeling Chris' condition. The
man was a highly respected agent in the organization. He was also a
parolee based on what Buck had told them which meant his drug use
could put him back into prison.

"Tell you what," interrupted Buck. "Why don't we find him first,
huh?"

Vin knew Buck was trying to change the subject and Vin decided to go
along with it, for time being. But sooner or later they needed to
deal with what could have caused such a drastic change in a person in
the first place.

"Ya right, Buck. We need to find him and fast."

"I believe another in depth conversation is in order with Mr. Caymen,
don't you think so?" suggested Ezra.

"Yeah, I think you just might have an idea there, son," replied
Josiah, as he turned and headed for the door.

"And just where do you think you're going?" asked Nathan.

"To have a conversation with a devil," he replied, walking out the
door towards the guest bedroom.

Vin and Buck both started to rise from the bed, but they suddenly
stopped when they noticed that Nathan was glowering at them angrily
from his position near the door.

"And you two?"

"You let Josiah go," said Buck giving his best childish moan.

"Mr. Wilmington, I think it best you and JD get in contact with Chief
Travis. I'm sure he's wondering what is going on with Mr. Larabee
and it would prevent you from damaging our only lead into locating
our lost soul."

"Ezra, now why would you think that I would…?"

"Ah, ah, ah, Mr. Wilmington," said Ezra, shaking his finger at him.

"Alright. But I don't like it!" He and JD then walked out of the
room towards the living room that was designated as the war room.

"And as for you…" started Nathan as he walked towards the bed and
Vin. "It's time for you to get some rest. We'll wake you as soon as
we have anything concrete." He fluffed up Vin's pillow and gently
pushed the young sniper back on to the bed.

Vin knew he was not going to win this argument. He knew that his
friends were only trying to make sure that he stayed healthy. But he
also knew that his best friend was in trouble and that worried him
more than his own pain. He would go along with them, but there was
no way that a bunch of city boys were going to keep a good country
boy down.

*********************************************************************************************

Chapter: 17

The Fifth Heaven

Mathey or Machon

The 5th heaven Mathey is the seat/home of God, Aaron, and the Avenging Angels.
The beautiful southern region is where God can be found while the northern boundaries are said to be ruled by Metatron's twin brother Archangel Sandalphon or Samael (Camael, Chamuel). This region was like a great void of fire and smoke, which had no firm ground above or below.

A terrible desolate place where it is said the fallen Grigori (watchers) angels who sinned and cohabited with woman were imprisoned;

In the southern regions, on the other hand, reside the ministering angels who endlessly change the praises of the Lord.

http://www.steliart.com/angelology_7_heavens.html

* * * * *

Lucien’s subconscious slowly became aware of something wet and sticky dripping upon his face. He tried to raise his right hand to swipe at it from where he lay, but for some reason he was unsuccessful in his attempt.

As his mind now became clearer, he realized that it would probably be best if he opened his eyes so that he would be in a better position to judge his current surroundings.

As his blue eyes opened and became focused, they came to rest upon the ugliest face he had ever seen. Of course it belonged to a Doberman by the name of Ariel.

“Ariel, you mangy mutt, get off of me!” exclaimed Lucien, pushing the huge dog off the bed.

The Doberman seem not to have any inclination to move off the bed, but further ingrained himself into Lucien’s ribs.

“I don’t know why Michael ever adopted this dog!” said Lucien to no one in particular.

“He protects outcasts and underdogs,” said a deep voice off to the side of the room.

Lucien craned his head to look on the other side and found Josiah Sanchez sitting in a chair on the other side of the bed.

“What do you want, Josiah?” asked Lucien, rubbing his eyes.

“How was your rest, my son?”

“I’m not your son.”

“No. You’re not. But you are Chris’ brother.”

“Well, I knew it wouldn’t take Buck long to blab to the whole world.”

“It wasn’t exactly Buck. You see we have JD and JD is very good at what he does, especially when it comes to retrieving information. Especially, when it comes to information that is very sensitive and off limits. It was one of the reason why he was sent to Juvie when he was younger,” responded Josiah, a small smile forming on his face.

“And where did Michael find you, Josiah?”

“That my dear, Lucien, is another story.”

“I figured as much. Michael has a bad habit of picking up strays,” replied Lucien snidely.

“Those strays are what keeps Chris going, Lucien and you were one of them, if you remember.”

“I remember, Josiah. I also remember that he choose his friends over his own brother! I remember the pain of betrayal and I remembered the agony of watching your only kin throw you to the wolves!” yelled Lucien angrily.

“You still holding Chris responsible for your indiscretions, Lucien?” asked a male voice off towards the doorway.

Lucien and Josiah turned to see Archangel Buck “Chamuel” Wilmington leaning up against the opened bedroom door.

Buck glared at the younger version of Archangel Michael. He and Lucien were like oil and vinegar. They never could agree on anything and when it came specifically to Christopher Michael Larabee, it was all out and out war between the two.

There was several times where Lucien tried to see what his brother saw in Buck Wilmington. He knew they shared a mysterious and dark past, but he did not know what that past consisted of. He did know that his brother was fond of Wilmington and he knew that nothing he could do or say would change that. He also knew it did not only apply to this tall moustache man, but to all of the seven of his group. But secretly, Lucien only wished it applied to himself too.

“Indiscretions? I think not, Buck. I consider them my brother’s faux pas.”

“You know, Lucifer, one day you will admit your mistakes. When you do, I think your brother will be willing to take you back into the fold.”

Lucien laughed loudly. “You think I want back into the fold, Buck? To become an Archangel again after I was pushed out of paradise?”

“I believe that your statement is inaccurate, Mr. Caymen,” responded Ezra as he stepped in the room and into the fray of the conversation.

“And how’s that, Ezra?”

“You were never pushed out of paradise, Mr. Caymen. You deemed it more beneficial to join Miss Diaz in Hell,” answered Ezra, taking a stance to the side of Josiah’s chair.

Lucien snickered at the comment. They thought he had left with Nadia on his own accord. At this point, he also determined that his brother must also think the same thing. Very well, then, if that was what they thought, then so be it. He would not waste his energy trying to justify his actions to them nor to his brother. His only concern at this moment was saving his brother’s life, no matter how much he thought his brother hated him.

“Whatever,” replied Lucien dispassionately. “Now, why don’t you three get to the point before tomorrow. My current position is very uncomfortable at the moment.” He pulled on the handcuff and rattled it to make sure that they understood his meaning.

“The point is we want Chris Larabee and you are our only lead as to his whereabouts,” explained Josiah.

“And what makes you think I know anything?”

“Because you have seen the inner sanctum of the DeCorsia family. You have been deeper than any of us, including Chris,” stated Ezra.

Lucien smiled peevishly at the trio. “Sorry to burst your bubbles, but that is not true.”

“It’s not true that you have information on the world of DeCorsia?”

“It’s not true that I know more than Michael…Chris, when it comes to the DeCorsia family.”

Josiah, Buck and Ezra looked at the young blond confused.

“Michael is an expert when it comes to DeCorsia. What do you think he has been doing these past few months, huh?”

They turned to each other, not knowing how to respond to Lucien’s insinuations.

“Michael has been back lot dealing with the DeCorsias. He is very close to the father of the family.”

“But he and Marco are enemies,” said Buck, surprised by this information.

“Yeah, duh, so what! Marco and his father are enemies but it doesn’t stop them from doing business. Michael has been playing the game and from what I have seen, he plays it really well.”

“I don’t believe you! Chris would never get in bed with these guys. At least not without a good reason!” exclaimed Buck, pacing the room angrily.

“Buck, calm down,” said Josiah.

“Listen Josiah, do you understand what he’s saying about Chris?”

“I heard him, Buck, but you need to calm down. Getting all riled up will not help Chris in anyway.”

“Josiah is indubitable correct, Mr. Wilmington. This will in no way aid in our quest to find our lost Mr. Larabee,” interrupted Ezra.

“I don’t give a rat’s ass, Ezra. I just want to find Chris. I promised Sarah that I would take care of him and right now I’m doing a poor piss job of it,” explained Buck, his eyes showing how the missing blond was breaking his friend’s heart.

Lucien saw the pain and anguish in those eyes and realized that maybe there were other people who cared about the older blond Archangel. Michael was his brother, but he was also in some way a brother to these men. The ice-cold heart of the disgraced Archangel opened to the light. He decided he would assist these men in finding his brother and after they had retrieved the wayward Archangel, he would then plan his next steps in the process of turning his brother to his cause.

“What do you want to know?” he asked reluctantly.

“Tell us about Nadia Diaz and how she fits into the DeCorsia family business,” requested Josiah.

Lucien sighed and then took a deep breath to relate to them what he knew about Nadia Diaz and the DeCorsia family business. He especially did not like relating to them the actions of his naughty brother for he knew it might change the way they looked at him when he returned.

* * * * * *

Queen Bea was glad about her decision to not leave after she had dropped Archangel Michael off at the two-story apartment on Desert Drive. She knew the other apartment in the building belonged to one, Buck “Archangel Chamuel” Wilmington, the Vegas madam’s best friend. She also knew that he was not home. If he was the thin, Latina woman would have been invited into the building without preamble.

She watched the strange black woman and the four men put Archangel Michael into the back of a black limo and drive off towards downtown Vegas. She knew it was trouble and although the Archangels never assisted in her business ventures, they never interfered and they also had helped her girls out more than once when they were backed against the wall with dangerous johns.

She picked up her cell phone and dialed the number to the Larabee Ranch.

The phone rang three times before someone picked it up.

“Yello? Larabee’s Residence, your dime, my time. Speak!”

“JD, is that you?”

“Yeah, who’s this?”

“Queen Bea, honey. I’m looking for Buck. Got some real interesting information for him.”

“Buck’s kind of busy right now, Queenie. Why don’t I just give him a message, hmm?”

“No, JD. I need to speak to Buck. It’s about Michael.”

At the mention of the name, Queen Bea heard JD dropped the phone with a clatter. She knew he was probably hurrying to get Buck Wilmington on the phone. It was not a long wait.

“Hey, Queenie, Buck here.”

“Hey, Buck. How’s they hanging?”

“Just fine, Queenie. JD said you have some information for me about Chris?”

“Si, mi amigo. Not too long ago I picked Michael up not far from Waverly and South Side. I dropped him off at the apartment.”

Buck knew the apartment that Queen Bea spoke about was the only one that she knew of in Vegas. It was their other safe house and also where he and JD currently resided.

“How was he? Did he say anything to you?”

“I’ll tell you, Buck, he didn’t look too good. He was bleeding real badly and he was pale. It looked like someone marked him but good. He was nervous and concerned about anyone knowing he was there. I mean really concerned, almost to the point of being paranoid. I’ve never seen Michael like that. It was kind of spooky and weird.”

“Thanks, Queenie. Well, be leaving for the apartment right now,” said Buck excitedly. He was about to hang up when he heard Queenie’s shout.

“Hey, Buck! Don’t hang up! There’s more!”

Buck put the receiver back to his ear again. “Like what?”

“After I dropped him off, I didn’t leave. As a matter of fact, I’m still here. I decided to stick around cause I figured that Michael seemed to be in a lot of trouble and might need some lookin’ out for.”

Buck smiled. He knew how much Queen Bea was infatuated with Chris. She thought of him as a sexy lay and would love to get into the man’s pants. But he knew that currently Chris was too obsessed with revenge to think of anything else.

“That’s nice of you, Queenie. You’re a real friend.”

“Well, so is Michael to us ladies. But let me finish. Right after Michael goes into the apartment about an hour later I see these two limos pull up. A lady and three men step out and go into the apartment. About a half hour later, they come out draggin’ Michael between them. They put Michael in the limo with the woman and then they take off. They were headed back to the Strip,” described Queenie.

“Queenie, now listen very carefully. Do you remember what the woman looked like?”

Queen Bea when on to describe the woman in detail and the men that was with her.

“Damn!” cried out Buck.

“What is it, Buck?” inquired JD, now worried about the information Queenie was revealing to Buck.

“Do you know them?” came Queen Bea’s question on the phone.

“Yeah. I most certainly do. Listen, thanks for everything, Queenie. You get yourself home, okay.”

“Si, no problemo, Buck. Take care of that man for me, si?”

“I will, senorita,” replied Buck and placed the receiver back on to the cradle.

“Buck, what did she say?”

“She said that she picked up Chris and dropped him off at the apartment.”

“Mathey?”

“Yeah. She said that Chris was bleeding bad from a knife wound.”

“Aw, Hell. We better tell Nathan then,” said JD as he started to walk towards the room that held Nathan and Vin.

“Wait, Kid,” said Buck quickly, grabbing him by the arm. “She also said that a woman and three men came and took him away. From what she described it sounded like Nadia.”

“Shit!”

“You got that right. Listen, go get Nathan and tell him to join us in the other room with Lucien. I got to tell the others this little tidbit. We need a plan fast.”

“What about Vin?”

“Leave him be. The boy refuses to admit he’s hurting and in the condition he’s in he’s not much help to us now.”

“But you know if you leave Vin out of this he’s gon’na be pissed.”

“I know, JD. But right now if I let something happen to him too, when we do catch up with Chris, he’ll shoot so many holes in me, you’re gon’na be able to blow Dixie through me,” he said smiling gently.