Who We All Fear: Chapter 1 – Divine Intervention

Chapter 1 – Divine Intervention

Meridian, the City of the Afternoon Sun, has my particular attention out of every place in the world.

An angel comes to me asking, “Owen Dessous, is about to be killed by Alexis whom his crime family hired to kill him. Will you allow this?”

“I’ll allow him to be attacked, but he will survive,” I command.

Alexis shoots Owen in the chest under an overpass while he is joking and laughing with his homeless friends. His friends carry him off to a hospital that will save his life while the others stand in front of him to prevent Alexis from shooting another shot. Meanwhile, the commotion has stirred the scum of the overpass who see Alexis as prey and start to surround her.

Another angel comes to me and says, “Those men and women want to drug Alexis and have their way with her. Will you allow it?”

“It’ll happen and she’ll die this day,” I command.

What I allow to happen, happens even though I abhor it. For Alexis’ employers, it didn’t matter if she reported back to them with the success of her hit since they’re at a breaking point thanks to Owen selling them out to the authorities, and their high-ranking members were arrested or killed in a gunfight with the police. Now, the remaining people loyal to the Dessous family are using all their resources and connections for one last bank robbery before they leave Meridian for good and disappear to where they can’t be found. During the robbery, the family separates into two areas where the bank keeps their money. In one section, two undercover agents of the government keep watch as the family fills their bags with money and gold.

“My Lord,” an angel says as he appears before me. “Zack and Lian are tempted to kill those criminals. Should this happen?”

“It shall,” I command.

Zack and Lian are overcome by their temptations and shoot every member of the crime family. They expose their true identity to the employees of the bank.

“Give us four hundred each and we’ll make sure the rest of the criminals don’t leave this place alive,” Zack says.

Under pressure and thankful for their help, the employees do as Zack says, but before Zack and Lian can take care of the rest of the criminals, the police snipers arrive, and not knowing who the two agents are, kill them since they see them taking money with guns in their hands and know that the people have already been killed. Knowing that the situation is bad, the allies of the Dessous in the police arrive and start firing on their own, however, none of the law-abiding officers suffer fatal injuries from being shot and kill those who turned on them thanks to my intervention. Without anyone else to get them out of this, the remaining members of the Dessous family fear for their lives, and the greed in their hearts makes them want to fend for themselves while others call them traitors. This leads to them killing one another and the end of the Dessous crime family.

This entire affair that happened within Meridian was just a small part of the larger picture happening in it with many more crimes and scenes of murder and betrayal happening in it. Owen is one of the only truly virtuous men in this short story since he has repented of his sins and done things to make amends. My justice can no longer be abated by the prayers and penances of the faithful, so I must now involve myself further in its affairs. After hearing what happened to the Dessous family, the Soleil crime family seeks to take their place of power in the criminal underworld. They meet inside an expensive casino hotel that their family owns and gather the family's decision-makers.

Tete walks into the room that falls silent at the sight of his presence. He sits at the front of the meeting room table and looks over the reports that his family has prepared for him.

With everything in hand and an idea in his head, Tete says, “With the unfortunate deaths of our valued associate, the Dessous, their businesses and the few that remained loyal to them need someone to care for them and we will be those people. Benir, take care of Owen Dessous. He may be in the hospital on his deathbed, but we want to make sure he doesn’t speak any of our secrets.”

“He’s requested a priest to give him his last confession and taste of the Eucharist just in case he does die and I’ve already volunteered. He’ll be dead after I leave this room,” Benir says.

“Couteau, I want you to be my wife’s bodyguard at today's party for our disgruntled guests.”

“My knives are sharp and plentiful just in case something happens,” Couteau says while feeling the scars from past fights on his arms.

“I’ll make sure they fall in line with their new boss, my love,” Soins says with a bow of her head and a smile on her face.

“Good. With that done, we should have a majority of the city under our influence by the end of the day-”

The light in the room suddenly decreased as if the power went out, and yet, the lights in the room still shine. Even though the guards in the room are on high alert, the members of the family sit calmly in place.

“Huh. It’s probably another short power outage. Calm down, everyone. It’s simply the cost of running a casino that never sleeps,” Tete says.

“It will cost you more if you go through with your plans and continue your life of sin and crime,” I say in the dark.

“Who’s there? Show yourself and I’m sure we can make a deal, or you’ll at least leave this room with your life.”

“You may know me as Veritas.”

“I’ve never heard that name, so you better leave or talk civilly here because I have no time for no-name heroes and vigilantes.”

“I have no time for your sinful behavior and thoughts and will not allow it to continue any longer. Cease and repent now or your family will face my judgment just as the Dessous family did.”

I allow the light to come back into the room.

“There’s no one here,” Soins says.

“They could be invisible,” Couteau says as he calmly flips his knife and looks around the room, ready to throw it.

“I don’t know of any superhumans, heroes, or vigilantes who can turn invisible,” Benir says. “He’s probably all talk and just another nobody looking for fame and fortune.”

“Regardless, we should keep an eye out for him. We’ve been able to avoid trouble with hero and vigilante associations because we’ve shown ourselves to be honest businessmen. Let’s continue it and if this mysterious character reveals himself again, we’ll deal with him,” Tite says before dismissing the meeting.

Benir heads to the hospital where Owen is being cared for, and while he is ascending the elevator, I speak to his conscience.

“You are a priest, not a murderer,” I say.

Looking around and trying not to be startled, Benir says, “You won’t stop me, invisible voice. You don’t know me.”

“You worship me at the altar and have dedicated yourself to me. You will listen to me for the first time in your life or pay the price you know is damning.”

“I dedicate myself to my family.”

“They are not your God. I am.”

“You are nothing, but a nuisance and all talk. Do something if you wish, coward. I’ll kill you if you do.”

The elevator stops at the floor Owen is at. Going into his room, Benir sees that Owen is barely conscience enough to confess his sins and receive me in the Eucharist. At first, Benir plans to kill Owen, but I forcibly change his mind and make him think he’s doing what Owen wants for appearances. Then, Benir takes out a silenced pistol, puts Owen’s pillow over his face, and shoots him point blank in the head, killing him.

“See? You can’t do anything,” Benir whispers to me, sealing his fate.

He tries to go back down the elevators, but I have made them temporarily malfunction to force him to take the stairs. As he tries to, I cloud his mind so he doesn’t see the slip hazard sign near it, falls down the stairs, and cracks his head so hard that he dies instantly. Both men are brought before me. Owen, a lifelong criminal who repented and did penance in the final days of his life, receives Heaven while Benir, a priest who spit in my face every moment of his life, receives Hell. Turning to the rest of the Soleil family, they are starting their party in the basement of their casino.

Many powerful and influential men and women are attending the party from the poorest gangsters and hitmen to the wealthiest police commissioners and politicians. In one room, Soins is the center of attention. She is craved, not only for her beauty but also for her smarts since she can deduce what a person likes and always finds a way to get it for them so that they fall under her influence. The men and women are here to ask her to talk for them and are willing to do whatever she wants. I dim the lights of this already dark den of sin and make my presence felt.

“Calm down, everyone. It’s just the power,” Soins says in her sweet voice.

“It’s not the power. I am here again,” I say.

“Veritas. My husband may not have convinced you to stay out of our affairs or join us, but I’m sure I will. Let me see you, touch your hands, and share a drink with you.”

“You will cease this debauchery and get your husband to do the same or your family and associates will perish today.”

“Turn on my family? I don’t think I will, especially when we will be the most powerful family in Meridian.”

“Power in the hands of men is a fleeting thing. You boast of your control and influence over men and women, but I hold the key to all. Observe.”

The men and women of the room move in all directions according to my commands, throw aside expensive bottles, rip up and burn the cases of money they brought with them, and walk out of the room and out of the building.

“So what if you can influence people like that? When I get my hands on them again, they’ll listen to me and only me!”

“Their hearts do not belong to you. You do not have as much control over people as you think.”

“Shut up and leave me!”

“Since this is what you have decided, I will leave you forever.”

With my presence gone and the doors of the room locked, the demons take root in their prey. The degenerates in the room drink themselves to death, rip one another apart, and rape those that they see with Soins being among them. Since the room is soundproof, no one outside of it in the other rooms is aware of what is happening, not even in the camera room since it is looping previous footage. Couteau is in another room trying to enjoy the party and watching for trouble while everyone is dancing. I dim his vision and senses along with those dancing and now only focused on the dancing and the smells of the relaxing fumes that the Soleil family had put into the vents.

“Couteau, leave this place while you can. You’ll find a greater use for your skills elsewhere,” I say.

Couteau reaches into his jacket, takes out his knives, and then says, “I don’t care about being useful. I just care about serving my family.”

“You don’t believe that. You don’t think they make the most of your handiwork with a knife and ability to be more deadly than even the most skilled gunslingers. This is because a part of your heart that I made longs to be under my service. You will go from being an assassin and bodyguard to a hero just like you wanted to be as a child.”

“Forget about what you heard about me and my past. I’m a hero in my way by serving my family as a killer.”

Couteau slowly walks through the crowd while keeping his head on a swivel. I call out to him while reminding him of the virtuous motives of his past to be a protector of his family and the innocent, and yet, he lets his corrupted instincts start slashing wherever he hears my voice coming from. By the time he reaches the other end of the dance hall, everyone in it is dead, slashed to bits by his knives. Lifting the veil from his senses, he turns around, sees the massacre he has committed, looks at his hands, and then screams. His screams attract the attention of the rest of the party, and when the guards see what Couteau has done, they point their guns at him and tell him to explain what happened.

“It’s not too late to change,” I say.

With a loud cry, Couteau says, “It is! Shoot me!”

Couteau then charges at the guards who are so scared that they are forced to shoot and kill him. The rest of the guests are shocked and frightened by what has happened and are scrambling to leave the basement, but I have locked the exits and these exits are blocked by a fire started by the rats who have been chewing on wires in this disgusting casino. The rats have also destroyed the wires in the camera room and servers so that the Wi-Fi doesn’t work and no one can call for help from the basement.

As Tite tries to calm everyone down, I say, “It’s not too late to save everyone.”

“Veritas! You’re the cause of this, aren’t you?” Tite says with damaged composure.

“I am. To save everyone, you must throw yourself into the fire and burn for your sins for a time. You will not die and I will snuff out the fires and open the doors afterward.”

“What?! That’s crazy! I won’t do it.”

One of the men of influence who secretly brought a superhuman with him tells his bodyguard to open the doors for him. The superhuman does since he’s supposed to be tough and resistant not only to fire but to bullets and blades, however, as soon as he enters the fire, his skin falls off his body as if it were butter and his bones turn to ash because I have taken away the gifts that I gave to him. This has frightened the crowd even more who tell Tite to do as I have said who doesn’t want to.

“He wants me to stop being the way I am and I won’t allow it!” Tite says.

Having had enough of Tite’s cowardice, they throw him into the fire, burning him alive. He runs out of the fire, worsening the problem and hastening the spread of the fire. Many people die as Tite puts out the fire on himself, and by the time he collects himself, everyone else in the room has died and he is cornered by the fire.

“It’s not too late to save yourself and your soul, Tite,” I say.

“I’m the only one who saves myself and I refuse to apologize for who I am! You can’t make me change!” he says.

“So be it according to your word.”

The fires of this world and the next consume Tite and drag his soul to where the rest of his family and allies now reside. I then allow the fires to consume the rest of the casino and bring down the building itself. Now, I set my sights on my next targets. The Dessous and Soleil crime families are just the beginning in this city called Meridian where the blood of the innocent calls out for vengeance and there is more justice to be dealt and little mercy to give.