“Amen.” He stood and pulled on his jacket, zipping it up to hide his bare chest. I felt a small amount of disappointment at the sight and then promptly ignored it.
There was a nurse checking Sterling’s vitals when we walked inside. She told us to keep it brief and make sure not to agitate him before she left.
He looked to be over six feet tall, with broad shoulders and a bit of a beer gut. He had started to go bald on top, but everywhere else the hair was brown and curly. Relief spread across his face when he saw Michael.
“Hey. Talked to the cops?” he asked with a hint of a Boston accent.
Michael nodded. “Yeah, they’re gonna leave someone on this floor for the next couple days, just to be safe. Can you tell us what you saw at the breakin?”
Sterling shook his head. “You’re not gonna believe me.”
Michael offered the guy a smile. “Try me. I’ve seen some weird stuff in my time, and so has she.”
He nodded to me. I stepped forward, not wanting to be impolite. “I’m Jordan. Nice to meet you.”
Sterling raised an eyebrow. “You’re the girl who helped catch that bitch?”
“Guess you could say that.”
“Thanks. I owe ya one.”
“No problem. So what did you see?”
“Three of ‘em. Two men and a woman. Highly trained. See, it was my birthday and so a couple of the guys stuck around to keep me company since I got stuck with a graveyard shift. We were playing cards, shootin’ the shit and whatnot, when the security feed went offline. The whole system just crashed. At first, we thought it was a blackout, but then when we went to go check, the lines were cut. They took out my buddy Jim when he went to check the electricity. Brooke and I went to check on the exhibits, and that’s when we found the other two. My superiors tell us we’re supposed to hang back and try to contain the situation without engaging, but we thought we might get a raise if we caught these guys on our own. Brooke went in with his nightstick on the guy. He…”
Sterling closed his eyes and his voice wavered. “…didn’t make it. I thought I had the girl on the ropes, so I hit her with my taser. She laughed it off like it tickled or something. Threw me against the far wall and then shot me in the shoulder. They were about to finish me off when the cops showed up. When the uniforms saw me on the ground, they opened fire. None of them were close enough to see, but I was. The bullets…they hit. I saw the blood. But it didn’t stop them. They just left.”
He glanced at Michael. “Of course, the cops said it was the shock from all that pain that distorted my vision. Made me remember things wrong. Maybe that’s true. But I still ain’t gonna forget it any time soon. Print whatever the hell you want in your article. I don’t care either way. I’ve still gotta bury my friends.”
I laid a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I’ve seen someone I care about die, and it’s not easy. Make sure you get some help, okay?”
He nodded. “You guys had better beat it. I could use some sleep.”
“Alright. Thanks for your cooperation, Mr. Sterling. Stay safe.”
We waved to him and the nurse before leaving. There was an older lady doctor in the elevator when we walked in. She studied the looks on our faces before speaking.
“Long night?”
Michael and I answered in unison: “You have no idea.”
The fight with the demon left me drained, so Michael dropped me off at the apartment to rest before getting ready to track down the fence.
Unfortunately, Michael’s theory proved true. He couldn’t heal the cut with his energy, meaning it would remain until his body naturally repaired itself. Definitely a bad sign. We’d have to find those weapons and quickly if we wanted to keep the other angels safe.
I hopped in bed with a novel and read for a while. I didn’t remember falling asleep, but apparently Frankenstein had enough dark charm to send me off for a short nap. Judging by the dim streetlight peeking in through my window, I guessed it was sometime after seven o’clock. An eerie sort of twilight had fallen across my room and the young white boy standing at the foot of my bed.
“Whoa!” I shouted. “Who the hell are you?”
The boy blinked his large brown eyes at me. “Jacob.”
I tried to breathe normally and tilted my head so I could see next to my bed. The boy had no feet. Ghost. A huge sigh escaped me. I let go of the gun and slid my hand from beneath the pillow.
“Well, congratulations for scaring the crap out of me, Jacob,” I told him, pressing a hand to my chest as if it would help my heart stop racing.
Jacob gave me an apologetic look. “Oh, um, I’m sorry. I dunno why I came in here. I just sort of…did.”
“You’re a ghost, kiddo. You didn’t find me on purpose. It’s sort of like an instinct.”
His eyes widened. “I’m…dead?”
“Yes,” I said. “I’m sorry.”