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“Please hold for President Linden.”
CHAPTER TEN
The morning sun cut hard against the besieged metropolis. The early blazing rays illuminated a cityscape raging with fires and thick, black smoke filling the sky and reminding the citizens of the previous days’ terror.
Maddy looked out at the city through the tinted bombproof windows of the armored black sedan. The sun and its glare had been muted to a cold gray, and the air-conditioning was so intense that Maddy felt like she’d catch a cold as they drove. For a few blissful seconds, the demon war felt like a distant dream as she watched the palm trees pass outside. She was being escorted to a meeting with Ted Linden, president-elect of the United States and president of the Global Angel Commission, which, as of a few days earlier, was in charge of co
ordinating the international defense against the demons.
Four Marine Humvees armed to the teeth with turreted guns and grenade launchers flanked the sedan as it drove down the abandoned Angel Boulevard. They weren’t taking any chances.
Maddy idly looked up at the billboards still glittering with images of the beautiful Guardians, which now seemed like ancient relics from another age. She couldn’t help feeling a small pang as she saw Emily Brightchurch’s face splayed across one of the most prominent ads on the boulevard. There was Emily, nearly naked in just her underwear, pouting at the camera, covering her chest for decency with one free arm.
In gigantic, dripping, terrifying red letters, a vandal had spray-painted NO HOPE.
Maddy turned away.
The man on security detail sitting in the passenger seat reached into his inner suit pocket and pulled out a piece of black cloth. A blindfold.
He leaned forward and gestured with it. “For safety.”
Maddy nodded, took the blindfold, and lightly tied it around her head. Through a tiny gap she could still see a sliver of sunlight, which brought her some comfort. But then the man reached back and pulled the fabric even tighter until everything was blackness.
“Apologies, Ms. Montgomery.”
Soon she could feel the sedan pull in somewhere and park, and Maddy was led into what felt like a flat, open space. Gusts of wind whipped and rippled against her body.
“We’re taking a chopper,” the security guard said as he took her by the arm and guided her onto what she imagined was a Black Hawk helicopter.
Maddy could hear what sounded like two fighter jets tearing across the sky, so deafening that she knew they must be nearby.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, cocking her head to show concern.
“Don’t worry, miss. Those birds are just here to provide air cover,” a young soldier’s voice said. “We’re just fine.”
Maddy wasn’t sure the soldier sounded fully convinced himself, but she nodded from behind her blindfold anyway. She had seen all too clearly how easily the demons were able to cut through the military’s air defenses. With a chill, Maddy imagined what would happen if one of the Dark Ones decided to come for the helicopter. They wouldn’t have a chance.
“It’s risky flying in broad daylight,” the suited man said, alerting Maddy to the fact that she wasn’t the only one with danger on her mind. “But we haven’t seen any demon scouts in over twenty-four hours, so intelligence thinks we have a window.”
“Do you, uh, do you maybe, uh, know what they’re waiting for, miss?” Maddy recognized the nervous voice of the young soldier. “Like, as an Angel you can tell?”
Maddy shook her head sadly. “I wish I could.”
“They’re overconfident,” the suited man said, most likely trying to bolster everyone’s morale. “We’ll take advantage of this. You’ll see. They’re making a fatal error.”
Maddy once again nodded in agreement, but her effort was pretty halfhearted. She wanted to believe they could somehow figure out a way to match the demons. . . .
But if she was being honest, she couldn’t think of how they possibly could.
A terrific whine sounded outside, and Maddy heard the steady thrum of the helicopter rotors as they began spinning and spinning. Gusts of warm wind blew in through the open door of the helicopter, sending her brown hair streaming everywhere. The helicopter shook with force, and then suddenly she felt it lift off the ground.
They were in the air for an hour, and Maddy had to wear the blindfold the entire time. It only took a few minutes of temporary blindness to make all her other senses that much stronger. Her hearing captured all the tiny details of human movement inside the helicopter and the mechanical din of the engine; her sense of touch tingled with the feel of the smooth metal under the seat contrasting with the rougher, detailed texture of her jeans. During the flight, the security guard offered Maddy a candy bar, but she declined—she felt the sugar might be so intense on her taste buds that she’d go into shock.
“Suit yourself,” he said. “But you’re missing out—it’s got peanut butter.”
Finally they arrived at their destination. The helicopter landed with a soft bump, and Maddy was escorted off. Outside, the air was hot and her mouth felt instantly dry. Maddy could tell they were somewhere in the desert.
“This way, miss,” her escort said, leading her by the hand into a building. Inside it was instantly at least thirty degrees cooler, and Maddy had never been so grateful for air-conditioning in her life. As they walked she heard a hallway door open, then close after her once they’d crossed the threshold. The security guard seated her in a chair, then finally pulled off the blindfold. She opened her eyes and blinked twice, first to adjust to the light, then to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Sitting at his desk in front of her, in a nondescript room lit more by the glow of numerous computer screens than by the single window, was President Ted Linden.
