Part 50.
03 stared at Gabriel with flat, skeptical eyes. The bullet she had caught and placed in his palm sat cold and heavy in his coat pocket, a tangible impossibility he was still struggling to reconcile.
"That was impressive," he conceded, his tone betraying no admiration. "But it does not make you an angel. Party tricks and glowing eyes. I have seen hypnotists do similar things."
Lilith let out an awkward, strained laugh. She placed a hand on Gabriel's shoulder, her tone taking on an almost defensive quality. "My dear 03, I assure you, appearances can be deceiving. Gabriel here, despite her rather… intimidating demeanor, is one of the most honorable and trustworthy beings in all of creation. An Archangel of the highest order. Truly."
03 scoffed, a sharp, dismissive sound. He crossed his arms and allowed a mocking smirk to curl his lips. "That is bullshit." He glanced at Lilith, then back at Gabriel. "You are wasting my time. I do not work for delusional clients, no matter how much they pay."
Gabriel's expression remained placid, but her eyes sharpened. She spoke, her voice cool and measured. "I will pay you one million dollars for every completed order."
The air in the room shifted.
03's smirk froze. His arms slowly uncrossed. Even Lilith, the Mother of Sin herself, blinked rapidly, her crimson eyes widening in genuine surprise. The silence stretched, thick and heavy.
03 finally broke it, his voice carefully neutral. "Are you dead serious?"
Gabriel raised a single, elegant eyebrow. "Do I appear to be a being who indulges in idle humor?"
He stared at her for a long, calculating moment. Then he nodded slowly. "We discuss terms."
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An hour later, the negotiations concluded. Gabriel and 03 departed the club together, stepping out into the cool night air. Lilith watched them go from the entrance, a faint, knowing smile on her lips. Gabriel did not look back.
Inside the sleek interior of Gabriel's limousine, heading toward the penthouse, Gabriel pulled out her phone. Her fingers moved swiftly across the screen.
[Thank you for your efforts, Lilith.]
The reply came after a few moments, accompanied by a soft chime. Gabriel opened the message. Her thumb hovered over the image preview. She opened it.
The photograph was immodest. Lilith, bare, her black hair artfully draped, one elegant finger pointing directly at a vivid, red-purple mark blooming on her pale chest. The kiss mark was unmistakable. There was no caption, only the image.
Gabriel's lips twitched into a smirk. She did not save the photograph. She simply turned her phone off and gazed out the window at the glittering city lights racing past, her expression unreadable.
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Around midnight, in the vast, moonlit living room of Gabriel's penthouse.
03 stood rigid, his professional composure barely concealing his incredulity. He had just listened to Gabriel outline his primary objective. His mind, trained to process and compartmentalize, struggled to accept the reality of her words.
"You want me to watch a single man," he stated slowly. "A civilian. Because, starting tomorrow, assassins will be sent to kill him."
Gabriel nodded, her expression absolute.
"And you require the second greatest assassin in the world to simply… observe."
Gabriel's gaze did not waver. "And intervene when necessary. His name is Cain Baltazar. His life is now your sole priority."
03 leaned back against the polished marble counter. His pale blue eyes studied her with renewed, clinical interest. "Why? Why is this one man so important that an Archangel hires a human killer to protect him?"
Gabriel's voice was calm, factual. "He has awakened a Mark. This Mark is the signal that initiates the final preparations for the Rapture. If he dies, that process halts. Heaven will wait another thousand years, perhaps more, for another soul to awaken it."
03 was quiet for a long moment. Then he spoke, his tone flat and devoid of emotion. "I am an atheist. I do not believe in your Bible, your Rapture, or your prophecies. But let us operate on your logic for a moment." He paused. "If this man's death delays the end of the world indefinitely, why not simply let him die? Repeatedly. Forever. Is that not the most logical solution?"
Gabriel inclined her head slightly, acknowledging the point. "It is logical," she agreed. "But I do not wish for him to die."
She paused, her gaze drifting toward the vast window overlooking the city. When she spoke again, her voice was softer, less certain. "He means something. Not just as a tool. Not just as a key. I have waited a very long time for a way to end the endless war, the endless cycle. He is the key to that. He is my plan."
As she spoke, a faint, almost imperceptible flush crept up her cheeks. 03 noticed.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his earlier mockery replaced by something more analytical, more personal. He spoke from experience, the weary wisdom of a man who had seen too many clients lie to themselves. "This Cain Baltazar. Does he know you like him? Or are angels, or whatever you are, incapable of that particular feeling?"
Gabriel flinched, a minute crack in her armor. She immediately deflected, her voice sharp. "I do not know what you are implying. I simply value his life. His continued existence is beneficial to the effectiveness of my long-term strategy." She turned away, gripping the edge of the counter. "And besides. He has already loved someone. He has not moved on from her. And we are not incapable. We can fall in love. It simply requires… exposure. The accumulation of human experience. Humanity."
03 smirked, a knowing, almost pitying expression. He crossed his legs and produced a sleek black pen from his inner coat pocket, twirling it absently between his fingers. "Ah. So you are a backburner, then."
Gabriel stiffened.
"A backburner," he continued, his tone light and mercilessly teasing. "Waiting patiently on the stove. Ready to be used, but never the first choice. I did not expect an angel could be a backburner too."
Gabriel shot up from her chair with a velocity that should have been impossible. In the span of a single heartbeat, she was across the room. Her hand closed around the collar of his coat, and she lifted him effortlessly from the floor. His feet dangled, toes scraping uselessly against the polished marble.
Her violet eyes blazed with celestial fire. "I do not appreciate such words," she said, her voice low and venomous. "I am your employer. You are here to perform tasks. You are not here to interfere with my private life."
03, suspended in her grip, remained remarkably calm. He held his hands up in a placating gesture. "My apologies. I overstepped." His voice was steady, sincere. "I will not speak of your personal matters again. I will protect the boy for as long as you uphold our agreement regarding payment."
The glow in Gabriel's eyes dimmed. She released him, and he dropped the short distance to the floor, landing silently. He straightened his coat, his expression carefully neutral.
Gabriel turned away from him, her breathing slightly uneven. "I do not have Lilith's patience," she said curtly. "I hired you to complete tasks. Only tasks."
She walked toward the expansive glass doors leading to the penthouse balcony. Without turning, she called out, "Raphael."
The air in the living room shimmered. A vertical line of light split the space, and Raphael stepped through the fold as if emerging from a doorway. He was immaculate as always, a bottle of deep red wine cradled in one arm and a single crystal glass in his hand. He approached Gabriel without hesitation, his footsteps silent.
He poured a measure of wine into the glass and handed it to her. "My Lady," he said softly. "What do you require?"
Gabriel took the glass, her fingers curling around its stem. She stared out at the sleeping city, the millions of tiny lights that marked the lives of countless unaware humans. Her voice was quiet, absolute.
"Dispatch ten Watchers. Position them around Cain Baltazar's residence. They are to observe only." She paused, her grip tightening on the glass. "They will not engage. Not with any threats. Not with Lucifer. They watch. Nothing more."
Raphael bowed his head. "It will be done, My Lady."
Gabriel sipped her wine, the taste bitter and warm. Behind her, 03 watched in silence, his expression unreadable, his pen still spinning slowly between his fingers.