55 Stupid Cards

Maybe it was because Mal hadn't expected him to ask about Arthur, but his face did show traces of surprise when asked about him.

"What makes you think I have anything to do with the two of them?" Malachi asked.

"Ah!" Lamont seemingly realized he'd forgotten something important and smacked his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry, sorry! Papa Legba is a loa in Haitian voodoo who stands at the spiritual crossroads between this world and the next.

My blessing allows me to communicate with any spirit who has recently departed, provided I know who I'm looking for."

Malachi already did not like the sound of this and contemplated whether or not he should run.

"It's very difficult for someone to suddenly go missing without a trace from a maximum security penitentiary. So naturally I was called to investigate and see if our dear serial rapist might be dead. And do you know what I found? He was."

Lamont took a slow and steady step forward while Malachi's entire body tensed up.

"But then something strange happened... Even in death, Arthur's spirit was consumed with so much fear that I couldn't get anything out of him.

He merely wailed constantly professing his apologies for touching two young girls. Care to ask what their names were?"

"Not particularly."

"Aubrey Saint and Roseline Ivers." Lamont said casually.

Truthfully, that was already enough to suspect Malachi, but then a mere few days later, they got another call about a man who had confessed to all of his crimes and begged to be taken to prison.

This time, the man just so happened to be Malachi's former boss.

Also, the story of how Malachi Saint randomly appeared in the middle of a hospital while holding the battered body of a woman was not one that went unnoticed.

"You fancy yourself to be some kind of vigilante? I'm sure that you're aware that such a thing is a crime." Seth said pointedly.

Malachi had no real defense; they already knew about everything that he'd done.

In retrospect, he should have been a bit more cautious when dealing with Derek, but Lamont's ability to locate deceased spirits was something he could not have anticipated.

The abilities and appearances of the dark angels were all highly confidential.

Even if you saw one of them out in the street and knew that they were a blessed, you would not know that they were an agent unless you saw their signature black cloaks with the symbol of wings across the back.

Malachi figured that maybe this was just an inevitable fate.

If he was honest, he did not regret killing Arthur or lobotomizing Derek and if he had to go back, he wouldn't do anything differently.

Even if he was still new to not feeling guilt, he knew that those two men did not deserve his sympathy.

"So, what happens now." Malachi said with a sigh.

"Oh, well we can't actually prove that you did anything to Derek, leaving only the murder charge for Mr. Arthur.

Butttt..."

Lamont suddenly pulled out a black card from his coat and handed it to Malachi.

On it was a simple smiley face with the words: 'You've been recruited!'

"...This is a joke, right?"

"I told you to knock it off with those stupid cards!" Seth exclaimed.

"With a name like 'The Dark Angels' we need a bit of lightness every now and then! Otherwise, everyone would think that we're all serious all the time." Lamont defended.

"We ARE supposed to be serious all the time."

"I know and that shit sucks I'm trying to change it!

Malachi could barely hear the arguing going on amongst the two men, his mind was still swimming with jumbled thoughts and emotions.

Confusion.

Relief.

Nausea.

"Can the two of you please explain what the hell is going on...?"

Finally, the two stopped arguing as they cleared their throats.

Seth: "Well it's like you read on that dumb ass card. You're-"

Lamont: "Your mother."

"Can you be an adult for one second?!"

Lamont merely rolled his eyes and did not say anything further, although he seemed like he still had something to get off his chest.

Seth sighed before finally turning back to Malachi.

"Normally, we would arrest you. But our organization feels as though that would be a waste considering your enormous potential. As such, we are willing to allow you to serve out your sentence as a field agent."

Lamont nodded as he continued his explanation. "You'll be able to continue living out your normal life, and no one has to know that the most famous man in the world murdered someone in cold blood."

"But, you will be closely monitored. If you murder someone outside of a field assignment, that's it. You're done."

Malachi only needed a moment to think about it before nodding in agreement.

The reality was that a situation like this was already a miracle and he was incredibly lucky.

He almost had to leave behind Aubrey, Sei, and Luna.

If it meant that he got to stay beside them, he would align himself with all of the gods of evil if he had to.

"I got it." He said after a brief moment of thought. "What do I have to do?"

"Nothing."

"We'll come find you when we're ready."

Both men suddenly turned around and leapt of the building, leaving Malachi alone with only the familiar night sky and lingering questions over the future.