Mercy and Justice in Both Hands: Chapter 2 – Mace and Guillotine

Chapter 2 – Mace and Guillotine

Back at the Dominion office, I see Polina and Raziel waiting for me. Polina is a red-haired, red-eyed image of what a cop and by-the-book hero looks like, while Raziel is a blonde, yellow-and-orange-eyed modern-day knight in up-to-date crimson armor. Seeing Polina cross her arms, Raziel does the same to look as serious as she is.

“What are you Boy Scouts up to? You helped your quota of old ladies cross the road?” I joke.

“You should be telling us what you’re doing and getting our approval before going out and shooting up the city again. How many times have you done it so far this year, Kane?” Polina asks.

“I’m not going to waste time while crime happens under our noses and the innocent get hurt and killed.”

“I understand, but procedure is procedure. You set the example that heroes and vigilantes can dispense justice at will. That’s not how we operate. We need to be orderly about this; otherwise, we’ll be inviting anarchy and chaos into the streets.”

“Timeo gave me my responsibilities and the authority I need to do what I need to, and God gave me the power to see His judgment on souls. Trust me. I’m doing just fine, and if people get the wrong idea and cause chaos, then I’ll handle it.”

“You’ve already handled enough for today. I suggest taking a break.”

“That’s fine with me. I need to wait for the other cops to finish their investigation so I can continue my own.”

“I’ll come with you,” Idelle says.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. My brother told me to spend time with you on and off work.”

“Yeah, I think you should keep an eye on him, too. Make sure he doesn’t cause more trouble,” Polina says.

Polina and Raziel let us walk by so we can head into the office and change our clothes. I take off my tattered outfit and put on a fresh red and black hoodie, black shirt, black pants, and black boots. When I leave my room to find Idelle, I see her waiting for me, not too far from the changing room I was in. I was going to say something to her, but seeing her in civilian clothing is always strange to me. She wears a short-sleeved dark pink jacket and a light pink dress, both of which were made by her adoptive parents, and a pair of black trim boots. It’s cute, really, even though the red blotches on her skin show due to not being covered by armor or her bodysuit like they usually are.

She tilts her head and asks, “Are you alright? Do you want to tell me something?”

“I’m fine. Let’s head out and take a walk around the city. I know some nice places we can go to,” I say.

“Lead on.”

The first place that I take Idelle to is an ice cream and dessert shop I frequent.

While we sit and wait to be served, Idelle says, “You strike me more as a man who likes beer or at least wine like Timeo does.”

“I admittedly was a beer guy, until Timeo kept taking me and the others out for ice cream. Drinks are good for cooling nerves, but ice cream is tastier and can do the same if enjoyed with a friend,” I say.

Idelle and I look at the menus we’re given, I tell her the best items on it, pick one for her since she doesn’t know what to choose, and dig in once we get our order. At first, Idelle tepidly tastes the ice cream. After one taste, she finishes it under what must’ve been twenty seconds. She then looks at me, a bit embarrassed, since she finished hers so fast, and I’ve hardly put a dent in mine.

“Haha, is this your first time eating ice cream?” I ask.

“No. I just didn’t expect it to taste this good,” she says.

“Ah. You have some on your face,” I say as I take my napkin and clean her face.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s fine. Do you want another one?”

“Yes-if that’s fine with you.”

“With the salary we have, we could probably buy the store. Eat and enjoy as much as you want.”

By the time I finish my one ice cream, Idelle finishes five of them, and always manages to leave some on her face, which I keep wiping away.

“I’m sorry for being so messy.”

“It’s cute, really.”

Idelle blushes a bit and asks, “You think I’m cute?”

“I do. You don’t have to sound so offended by it.”

“I’m not. I'm just not used to hearing it outside of my family. You can’t blame me for feeling surprised because of the snakes on my back and all these red scars on my face and body, results of horrible experiments by my blood-related parents.”

“You make the most of it, and the scars add a lot to your appearance. I don’t see why anyone would think you’re scary or ugly.”

“Thank you.”

Idelle’s white snake slithers over to me and coils around my arm while looking at me, and her black snake seems to slump down as if struggling to stay awake.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. The snakes can act on their own, sometimes. I don’t know what’s gotten into them,” Idelle says while pulling her white snake off me.

I shrug it off as we leave the ice cream and dessert shop and head to a newly created art park supported by the Travail family, Timeo’s wife’s family. With the city now as safe as it is, parks like these have been built to promote local artists and provide a relaxing spot for friends and families. Idelle’s white snake keeps wanting to wrap around my arm. Since we’re walking together, a child mistakes us for a couple, which we both deny.

“If that’s the case, does that mean he’s available? I’d love to have the honor of being the wife of one of L’Obscurité’s apprentices,” a passing woman asks.

As the woman and her friends eye me up, Idelle’s snakes snap and hiss at the women, scaring them away.

“What was that about?” I ask.

“I don’t know what they’re doing. They’ve been acting really strange all of a sudden. I’m sorry,” Idelle says.

“It’s okay. I get people approaching me like that all the time, and I ignore it.”

“Hmm. It may sound selfish of me, but I wish more people approached and liked me, outside of my hometown of Poca Bellezza.”

“They don’t? Seriously? No one is a fan of the older sister of John Elio?”

“Not really, no.”

“Well, consider me your biggest fan then, if no one else will be.”

Both of Idelle’s snakes are wrapping themselves around me now and tightly squeezing me. Idelle helps me loosen their grip until they come off. Wanting to go somewhere else, I chose for us to go to one of Lancetto Affare’s high-rise dinner restaurants. Timeo’s best friend, or rather, his brother, as he calls him, has dozens of nice places to eat, in addition to buildings for politics, religion, and business. Given our status, Idelle and I are given a mostly private table on the balcony that overlooks the city.

Idelle’s eyes widen as she points out, “They have milkshakes here…”

I laugh and say, “Go ahead and get it. It’s not a sin to have dessert multiple times in a day.”

Sure enough, Idelle finishes multiple milkshakes before finishing her meal, and I finish mine. As we sit and enjoy the view from the seats overlooking the city, we relax and watch the sunset.

“Kane, do you think you’ve made the most of your life? That you did the right things, or at least tried to, while also making up for your mistakes?” Idelle asks.

Confused by the sudden question at first, I take a second to think before saying, “I do. Why?”

Idelle looks at me, dead in the eyes, and asks, “Your powers allow you to see if God wants someone dead or alive, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am. I spent many years talking to a spiritual director about it and honing the power.”

“What do your eyes say about me?”

“That you deserve to keep living.”

“Truly?”

“Yes. They tell me you deserve to keep on living because you’re a repentant soul who always makes up for her mistakes, and that you need to be there for the people you love and protect like your brother, and…someone else?”

“Who is that person?”

“I don’t know. I’m not getting a clear answer. My powers only allow me to know so much. I can’t access people’s memories like Timeo does.”

“Hmm.”

“Was that not a good answer for you? What’s come over you?”

“It’s just that…I don’t feel like I deserve this. My sins keep taking control of me now and then, and all I do is kill and hurt people. It’s all I’ve ever done, especially when I worked for my blood-related parents.”

“I’m in the same camp as you. It’s all I do, but we kill and hurt the right people. It’s what separates us from the scum of the earth.”

“Really? Who are the right people to hurt?”

“Those who sin against God, break the law, and hurt others for their own gain. To be honest, that casts a wide net over humanity since all have fallen and are unworthy of mercy, but the difference is that we’re not defined by or let our sins control us. We accept the mercy of God and are given mercy as a result, in contrast to those who spit on God’s offer day in and out. We do our best to fight against it from within and without, and that’s what makes us virtuous.”

“I see.” Idelle hugs my arm. “Thank you, Kane.”

“For what?”

“For everything, today.”

“Anytime.”

“Can we do this again sometime then? Maybe later this week in a day or two?”

“Haha, sure.”

While walking Idelle back to the Dominion office, we see movers taking items out of a now-closed hero association office. Idelle wonders what they’re doing, and I explain to them that their hero association was in opposition to the Dominion when people were choosing sides between them and Nexum, and they chose the wrong side. Looking at them, I see they are judged to die because they mean to use what they’re taking out of the office for nefarious reasons.

Telling this to Idelle, she asks, “Shouldn’t we stop them?”

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t want to cause trouble for Polina. Besides, we’ve already passed by others, I’ve had an itch to shoot,” I say.

“Aren’t these people a greater threat if they’re taking robots, armor, and weapons? Even if they’re legally doing so, they’re going to be a problem later. Were the other people we passed by as dangerous as these?”

“No. These people are significantly worse because of what they have planned.”

“Then we should stop them, right? When has potentially getting into trouble stopped you from doing the right thing anyway?”

“Heh, you’re a good kind of bad influence on me, Idelle, and I like it.” I manifest my guns. “Let’s do it.”

Idelle and I engage the criminals, me shooting at them from a distance, while she gets in close, either injuring them for me to finish judging or killing them outright. We go from room to room, breaking down doors and walls to erase every bit of filth from this building until it’s wiped clean, save for the bodies and bloodstains left behind from our fight. By the end of it, Idelle and I are a bit roughed up, but not seriously hurt.

“That was quite a way to end the day,” I say.

“I’m sorry I suggested we do it. I just thought it’d be the right thing,” Idelle says.

“No, you were right to. I got information from reading their souls that relates to the criminal trails I’ve been following, which will give us a clear target for tomorrow. Who would’ve thought that criminals would be patient and work together for a common goal?”

“Is that what you found?”

“I’ll explain more tomorrow. Let’s just rest until then. Would you like to come over to my house to rest so you don’t have to sleep at the office?”

“Yes-I mean, if you’ll allow me.”

“Of course you can. Do you need a moment to get your things-”

Idelle uses her superspeed to run back to the office, get her bags, and is back to where I am in seconds.

“I’m ready.”

“Okay then.”

I call my contacts to let them know about the mess Idelle and I made, and then arrange a personal taxi to get us both home. Back at Timeo and Darcy’s mansion, I see Raziel in an apron making dinner. He says he’s made some for me and didn’t expect to see Idelle with me.

“She’s staying with us so she doesn’t have to sleep in the rooms in the office,” I explain.

“That’s nice of you, but you remember what mother said about letting girls stay with us,” Raziel points us.

I still can’t believe Darcy, Timeo’s wife, adopted Raziel and me into their family, even though we’re only roughly ten years younger than them.

“She’s off with Timeo somewhere in the world, probably with their tenth child. Also, Darcy used to forcefully stay with Timeo when they weren’t married, Idelle is going to stay in one of the guest rooms, and it’s not like I’m in the habit of bringing any girl to the house that neither of us is familiar with.”

“Tenth child? I thought they just had their eighth last year?”

“Knowing her, I wouldn’t be surprised if they come back with an eleventh and some other adopted children around our age.”

“I can’t say you’re wrong about that. Idelle, would you like something to eat too? I can make you something.”

“Yes, please. Thank you for your hospitality.”

Raziel, Idelle, and I eat our dinner and then head off to our separate rooms to rest for the night. Today was probably one of the best I’ve had in a while, thanks to Idelle. I think I’m already catching on to the other person she’s supposed to be there for.