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Authors: Scott Speer
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motioning for Maddy to walk in.
“Mr Kreuz will see you now,” Sadie said. Maddy took a few timid steps in, and Sadie pulled the door shut, leaving Maddy alone in the room.
From behind a tremendous cloud of smoke, a shorter, somewhat portly Angel emerged, cigar first. Maddy realized she hadn’t ever seen an overweight Angel. In fact, he might have been the most un-Angelic Angel she’d ever met. Louis Kreuz wore a sleek herringbone suit and gold tie and had a thin moustache. He stomped towards her.
“You must be the Godright girl,” the man said loudly, brashly, putting his hand out to shake. “I read about you. You’re famous.”
Maddy timidly put her hand forward, and it disappeared in his meaty paw as he shook it up and down.
“I’m Louis. But you probably already know that. If you were dumb, you wouldn’t be going through Guardian training. We’d just jump you straight to Archangel.” Louis Kreuz laughed heartily at his punch line. The phone on his desk beeped and a light flashed green, indicating a call was coming through. With irritation he turned his head to the thick oak doors. “NO CALLS, YOU NITWITS!” he shouted at the assistants through the doors.
Maddy took a second to look around. She found herself in a plush, oak-lined room. Just outside the two large windows that swung open on to a garden, glorious purple and pink flowers flourished. Their scent wafted into the room, mixing with the cigar. Old, silver-framed photos of Louis Kreuz with practically every famous Guardian ever lined the walls. Memories from Angel City’s Golden Age. They were all signed: “With love always, to Louis”, “Louis, where would I ever be without you, darling?”, “Louis: you still owe me $10, you lug!” Maddy even saw a picture with Jackson’s Aunt Clara, the former “Pearl of Angel City”. Jackson had told her once there had even been rumours of an affair between the two of them, which the newspapers, radio and news-reel films at the time had been as eager to exploit as the blogs and ANN would be today.
Kreuz looked at Maddy. “You mute?”
“What?” Maddy started.
“You mute? You haven’t said nothin’.”
Maddy’s face flushed. “Well, I just want to tell you what a great opportunity it is— ”
Kreuz’s face turned serious. “Save the canned lines for the interviews on ANN. You think you’re ready to become a nominee?”
Maddy gulped. “Yes,” she said firmly.
“Well that’s good. Because I don’t. In fact, I told them as much when they sent you along to me. What’s a half-Angel, half-human who’s never had a day of training and hasn’t even got her wings yet going to do here? But they insisted. And everybody’s got a boss. Including me. Only difference is mine goes by the name Gabriel, he’s on the Council of Twelve, and he started a little thing I like to call Protection for Pay. You mighta heard of it.”
Maddy was at a loss for words. She tried to stare at the same spot on the carpet, wishing she were literally anywhere but there at that moment. While she had found courage in the conference room at the NAS with the pretentious Archangels, this direct attack from Kreuz left her feeling small and wounded.
“You’re coming in so late in the game, I don’t even know where to start. These other Guardians, they practically started trainin’ in their mothers’ wombs. And now they want to fast-track you over a couple years?” Kreuz snorted.
“I. . .” But Maddy trailed off. He was right. She was starting training incredibly late, although she knew she wouldn’t be Commissioned for at least two years at a minimum.
The short, powerful man looked at her, taking a large puff off his cigar before blowing out an enormous cloud of thick grey smoke.
“That ain’t to say you can’t do it. Just know I’ll be watching you. Closely.”
With that, he walked across the office and back around to sit at his enormous walnut desk, where he began checking emails on his
“Mr Kreuz will see you now,” Sadie said. Maddy took a few timid steps in, and Sadie pulled the door shut, leaving Maddy alone in the room.
From behind a tremendous cloud of smoke, a shorter, somewhat portly Angel emerged, cigar first. Maddy realized she hadn’t ever seen an overweight Angel. In fact, he might have been the most un-Angelic Angel she’d ever met. Louis Kreuz wore a sleek herringbone suit and gold tie and had a thin moustache. He stomped towards her.
“You must be the Godright girl,” the man said loudly, brashly, putting his hand out to shake. “I read about you. You’re famous.”
Maddy timidly put her hand forward, and it disappeared in his meaty paw as he shook it up and down.
“I’m Louis. But you probably already know that. If you were dumb, you wouldn’t be going through Guardian training. We’d just jump you straight to Archangel.” Louis Kreuz laughed heartily at his punch line. The phone on his desk beeped and a light flashed green, indicating a call was coming through. With irritation he turned his head to the thick oak doors. “NO CALLS, YOU NITWITS!” he shouted at the assistants through the doors.
Maddy took a second to look around. She found herself in a plush, oak-lined room. Just outside the two large windows that swung open on to a garden, glorious purple and pink flowers flourished. Their scent wafted into the room, mixing with the cigar. Old, silver-framed photos of Louis Kreuz with practically every famous Guardian ever lined the walls. Memories from Angel City’s Golden Age. They were all signed: “With love always, to Louis”, “Louis, where would I ever be without you, darling?”, “Louis: you still owe me $10, you lug!” Maddy even saw a picture with Jackson’s Aunt Clara, the former “Pearl of Angel City”. Jackson had told her once there had even been rumours of an affair between the two of them, which the newspapers, radio and news-reel films at the time had been as eager to exploit as the blogs and ANN would be today.
Kreuz looked at Maddy. “You mute?”
“What?” Maddy started.
“You mute? You haven’t said nothin’.”
Maddy’s face flushed. “Well, I just want to tell you what a great opportunity it is— ”
Kreuz’s face turned serious. “Save the canned lines for the interviews on ANN. You think you’re ready to become a nominee?”
Maddy gulped. “Yes,” she said firmly.
“Well that’s good. Because I don’t. In fact, I told them as much when they sent you along to me. What’s a half-Angel, half-human who’s never had a day of training and hasn’t even got her wings yet going to do here? But they insisted. And everybody’s got a boss. Including me. Only difference is mine goes by the name Gabriel, he’s on the Council of Twelve, and he started a little thing I like to call Protection for Pay. You mighta heard of it.”
Maddy was at a loss for words. She tried to stare at the same spot on the carpet, wishing she were literally anywhere but there at that moment. While she had found courage in the conference room at the NAS with the pretentious Archangels, this direct attack from Kreuz left her feeling small and wounded.
“You’re coming in so late in the game, I don’t even know where to start. These other Guardians, they practically started trainin’ in their mothers’ wombs. And now they want to fast-track you over a couple years?” Kreuz snorted.
“I. . .” But Maddy trailed off. He was right. She was starting training incredibly late, although she knew she wouldn’t be Commissioned for at least two years at a minimum.
The short, powerful man looked at her, taking a large puff off his cigar before blowing out an enormous cloud of thick grey smoke.
“That ain’t to say you can’t do it. Just know I’ll be watching you. Closely.”
With that, he walked across the office and back around to sit at his enormous walnut desk, where he began checking emails on his
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