In Fear and Faith

In Fear and Faith

“This isn’t an easy assignment,” said God, “but this is how we decide these things.  When you died we couldn’t place you in Hell or Heaven, so this is how we determine your fate.”  David  kept his eyes focused on his shoes.  His polished leather loafers reflected the sterile light shining down from him.  Eye contact was hard enough for him to maintain, let alone keeping it with God.  He hid behind his glasses, but His attention on him made him nervous, paranoid.  His sweater vest was getting too hot.  He fished through his pocket and found chapstick and hand sanitizer to squeeze.  His knuckles started to turn white from the pressure, hidden in his slacks.

David stood before a dark, polished mahogany desk.  The Guardian Angel Assignment office was busy at this hour, with phones ringing and halls bustling with flying social workers.  David nervously turned his attention to them while God shuffled through a slim folder and rubbed his forehead with his thumb and index finger.  He looked at their HALO badges and thought about the power he used to have, too.

“You need to stand up for yourself, David.  The only way you can protect him is if you have a voice.  He needs you just as much as you need him.  I know you have a good heart, but you need to prove to us you deserve to be here.”  God stretched His arm over the desk, tapping David with the folder.  “I’m sure this job will provide much more satisfaction than your health inspector job, and we would love to make you a permanent part of the team.”

“Thanks,” said David.  “Thanks for looking out for my best interest, sir.”  He nodded hastily, slid the folder out from God’s hand, and turned to leave.

“You forgot something, kid,” said God.  He snapped his fingers and a shiny bronze badge appeared in David’s hand.  It read, “Helping Adverse Lives Organization,” HALO for short.  These words were molded in the bronze and wrapped in wings with detailed feathers.  “Now you’ve got a reputation to protect.”

“Thank you, sir,” said David  as he stepped carefully through the GAA office, excusing himself to passerbys.

Outside the gates, David sat down on a cloud.  He swung his legs back and forth, swirling  the fluffy edges.  This usually cheered him up, but the idea of being back on earth made his stomach churn and palms sweat.  The sun was setting below the clouds, sending golden light through David’s resting spot.  His neatly combed hair fell in front of his face as he replayed the conversation with God in his head.  He should have just said no, he thought.  He should have shown him right there that he could stand up for myself.  He would have been speechless.  David slapped the cloud weakly, barely disturbing its velutinous form  He almost didn’t want to open disturb the pristine folder in his hands.

David cringed as he opened it to find a freshly color printed picture.  The man in the picture had a crooked his nose.  His greasy, lifeless mohawk was a shiny brown, matching his eyes which had dark bags under them.  His smile was white and sly.  The picture cut off at his chest, showing a wife beater that was probably supposed to be white, but sweat and dirt made the color blotched with browns and greys.  It hung loosely from his wiry frame. David could practically smell his guardee.  He moved the picture to the side to read the information.

Name:  Jack Winnfield

Age: 24

Location: Henderson, NV

Occupation: Drug Dealer-Middleman

David wondered if Hell would be better than this.  Just protect him, help him.  In and out.  With that he sat up, cleaned his glasses, snapped his fingers, and disappeared.

David materialized in a cramped, musty trailer.  The sunset cast an orange glow across the small living space, glinting off shards of glass on the floor.  The counter held tipped over beer bottles, one startled David by rolling off the edge and shattering into fragments among the rest of the broken glass.  The smell of a cracked sewage pipe made David gag.  If Hell was in any way similar to this, he did not want to go.  He pulled his sweater over his mouth and frantically looked for air freshener.  Dark stains covered a torn up couch which was pointed towards an old dusty television featuring a paused game of Super Smash Bros. He imagined what kind of horrible bacteria filled those cushions and threw open the bathroom door in hopes of air freshener but no luck.  A thud behind the bedroom door drew David’s attention.  He felt his palms grow moist and his hair stuck to his forehead from the heat of the stale hot air of the trailer.  Nothing could be worse than this smell, thought David.  With that he quietly opened the bedroom door to find Jack.

“Um, hello,” said David.

“S**t!  Who the hell are you?” yelled Jack.  He was a spitting image of the picture in David’s pocket, but now his grungy shirt had blood splatters on it.  His eyes were wide and his red stained hands started to form fists.  In a burst of energy he lunged at David, wrapping his hands around his throat and bringing both down hard on the brown linoleum floor.  Jack thrashed viciously, but David just laid there nervously, hoping Jack would realize his aggression was not harming him.

“I’m here to help you,” said David in a calm voice.  Jack squeezed even harder on his throat, wondering why he didn’t seem to be effected by the force and lack of oxygen.  “Please, its my job.”

“Did The Big Guy send you?”

“Yeah, if that is what you want to call Him,” said David.  Jack released his grip and let out a sigh.  “Why didn’t you say so, man?  You freaked me out, sneaking up on me like that.  I didn’t even know you were here,” said Jack.  “How did The Big Guy know I was going to need help on this one?  Well lets get this body in my trunk.”

“What are you talking about?” asked David.

“You’re funny,” said Jack, “but seriously we need to get out of here and clean up before anyone else comes in.”  David followed Jack around the bed.  Already half wrapped in a beige bed sheet was a man no older than thirty, blood dripping from his mouth.  His stomach was hidden under the sheet, but blood was soaking through.  Jack hastily threw the sheet over the dead man’s face.

“Grab his legs, I’ll get his arms,” said Jack.  David grew pale and couldn’t move.

“This is not a good idea.  I don’t think you understood me when I said I was here to help you,” said David.  “You see, I--”

“There’s no time to explain.  Are you going to help me or not?  We don’t want any trouble, man.”  David thought this over for a moment.

“I guess, but can we at least use a trash bag or something?  I don’t want to touch that,” said David, still pale.

“Good idea, it will keep the blood from staining my trunk.  You’re a pro.”  While Jack went to the kitchen to grab the trash bag, David opened a window.  The rush of a cool breeze hit his face, ridding his nostrils of the rank smell of the body and broken sewage pipe.  The color in his face started to come back when Jack started shoving the body into the large black bags.  He tied them shut and wiped his brow.

“Alright guy, lets get a move on.  Quick and easy.”  David slipped on a pair of disposable latex gloves from his pocket.  “Hey you’re smart.  Give me a pair, I don’t want my fingerprints all over the place.”  Luckily, David always had a spare and gave it to Jack.

“Actually I’m wearing these to avoid blood borne pathogens, but I guess you have a point,” said David.  The bag was easy to grip for David.  The texture of the latex gloves and plastic bags gripped well.  He felt the man’s pants slide against the plastic in his hands.  The pair carried the body to the door of the trailer.  Jack took a quick look around then quietly pushed the door open.  On the count of three they heaved the limp bags into the trunk of Jack’s 95’ Crown Victoria.  After the trunk was closed, David hurriedly took out his hand sanitizer and rubbed his hands together in the alcohol like he was trying to start a fire with two sticks.  

“Good idea man,” said Jack.  “Pass that over here.  Don’t want to get caught red handed,” he said with a smirk.  He elbowed David in the ribs who laughed nervously along.  “Come on, lets clean this mess up.”  Jack climbed back into the trailer.  David looked around.  There were a couple trailers close by.  He heard a child laughing and a dog bark, and he saw a main road in the distance and considered running for it.

“What are you waiting for?  Help me out here,”  yelled Jack from inside.  David forced himself inside.  

“So much to do, where do we even start?” questioned Jack.  David’s need for cleanliness took over him.  He didn’t want to leave the trailer with it looking like that.

“Just find some alcohol wipes and wipe everything down.  I haven’t seen a place this dirty in years.  Makes me cringe.”  Jack started rummaging under the sink for wipes.  There were no chemicals under the sink, so he grabbed a bottle of vodka and a roll of paper towels.  David put on his gloves and started picking up the broken glass.  “So hazardous.  I’ll bag up those bloody sheets in a minute, scrub very hard or you won’t kill the bacteria.”  

“Screw bacteria, I’m just wiping down what I touched,” said Jack.

Jack hastily wiped down the kitchen and the bedroom.  David knew he didn’t do a very thorough job, but it was definitely cleaner than it was before.  After he bagged up the bloody sheets, he had Jack cover the linoleum floor too.  He scrubbed vigorously at the dried flecks of blood covering the floor and the wall.  While Jack scrubbed, David went outside to catch his breath.  He leaned on the dirty black car.

How could this be happening, he thought.  If God finds out what will he do?  Just help Jack stay out of trouble and nobody will have to know anything, he thought.  David applied his hand sanitizer again while finding relief in the cool evening air.  Jack hastily left the trailer with a trash bag and a vodka soaked paper towel.  He wiped down the door handle of the trailer and threw the towel in the trash bag.  He tossed it in the trunk with the body then hopped into the driver’s seat.  David remained outside, hoping this was goodbye.

“Come on, man.  Your job isn’t done yet.  I can’t carry this guy around by myself,” said Jack.  David put his face in his hands and tried to rub the stress away.  Jack turned on the car and roared the engine.  He cringed at the sound of the car, and somehow made his way inside it.

Jack whipped the car away from the trailer and hopped on the highway.  “Wow that was great.  How did you learn to cover up a scene like that, man?” 

  “Well, that’s what I tried to tell you earlier.  See, you’ve mistaken me for someone else.  I am here to help you, but not in the way you think.  I’m here to guide you in the right direction.  I am your guardian angel,” said David.  Jack let out a laugh that sounded like a dying hyena.  It sent bits of spit onto the steering wheel.  David stared at the drops of drool and wrinkled his nose.  “I’m serious, see, here is my HALO.”  He reached in his back pocket and showed him the bronze badge.  Jack gave him a look and snatched the badge out of his hands.  He inspected it closely, feeling the ridges of molded feathers.  He laughed again, spraying the badge with more spit.  He tossed it into David’s lap, shaking his head.

“Man that’s funny.  I guess if you want to think of yourself as some divine power knock yourself out, but helping clean up after bad drug deals is kind of the opposite, don’t you think?”  David wiped the spit off his badge with hand sanitizer and a tissue.

“It’s true, I’m an angel and I am here to help you,” said David.

“Does that mean you’re dead?”

“It means I’ve already died.  Thats why your little attempt to kill me back there didn’t do anything.”  Jack turned his eyes from the road quickly and punched David directly in the nose.  No blood left his nose, no sound of crunching bone.  “Well that was mature.  Although, I guess if that is the only way you will believe me then it is for the better,” said David.  

“Wow that’s crazy, did you even feel that?” asked Jack, waiting for David to rub his nose or start whimpering in pain.

“Of course not, I’ve already died. Now do you believe me?”

“Trippy, man.”  The sun stretched its last rays over the dirt and the dirty Crown Victoria’s headlights bounced along the desert road.  The two sat in silence.  David felt awkward and embarrassed, while Jack mulled the situation over in his head.

“So The Big Guy didn’t send you?” asked Jack.

“God sent me.”

“But not my boss?”

“Well, no, but some people refer to God as The Big Guy, so I assumed you knew this was going to happen, I guess,” said David.

“So let me get this straight.  You, Elwood, are on a mission from God, and the first thing you do is help clean up a crime scene?”  David’s face felt warm as he replayed the events in his head.

“It looks that way but I just didn’t get a chance to explain.  I mean we both understood that I am here to help you, but that must have been lost in translation.”  Silence fell over the car.  David could feel Jack judging him, making him shift uncomfortably in his seat.  The sun had finally set behind the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

“So how did you die?” asked Jack.

“It is kind of personal,” said David.

“Oh come on, I’m your friend.”

“Well it is also a long story.”

“Perfect, we have plenty of time.”

“Okay, well, when I was alive, I was a health inspector.  The last restaurant I inspected wasn’t crawling with hazards, but it was still unsafe.  They let dairy products sit out too long without being refrigerated, they stored raw meats on the top level of their fridge, and they weren’t properly storing and labeling their chemicals.  It was owned by a Brazilian family, and they didn’t speak very good English.  I tried to explain to them that they had to shut down their restaurant until they could meet all health standards, but they just didn’t understand me.  They thanked me for visiting, and begged that I eat with them as a way of saying thanks.  I sat down with them and tried to explain that they were violating multiple health codes., but they just gave me a plate of food.  I didn’t want to be rude, so I took a couple bites but I got out of there pretty quick to call my supervisor.  The next morning I felt so sick I couldn’t get out of bed.  I was sweating and throwing up, I felt so gross.  I couldn’t get up to use the bathroom or take a shower I was so weak.  I decided I would try to sleep it off, but when I woke up I was in Heaven.”

There was a moment of silence.  David assumed Jack was being sympathetic.

“Wow.  Wow,” said Jack, shaking his head.  “That has got to be the most embarrassing death ever.”  He started laughing so hard that the car swerved.

“Oh,” said David, surprised.  “I didn’t think so.  I thought it was tragic, in a way.  Please pay attention to the road.”

“No man, that s**t is lame.  That is one boring way to go out.  Don’t you think it’s funny?”

“Yeah, I guess it is,” said David. 

“But that makes no sense.  If you didn’t close down the restaurant, you put so many people in danger to suffer the same terrible, embarrassing fate you had.  That doesn’t seem like a very Godly thing to do.”

‘Well, that is why I am here, I guess.  I’m assigned to you so God can figure out if I belong in Heaven or Hell.” He leaned his head against the cool window and watched the dark twisting shadows of cacti appear and disappear with the headlights.  “How I died isn’t important though.  What is important is that you are in need of my help and guidance.  I was sent here because you are headed down the wrong path and you need me to steer you in the right direction.”

“I don’t want your guidance, man if it means going out like you did.  No offense, but I really don’t think there is anything you can teach me that I would use,” said Jack, scoffing.

“Well whether you like it or not, I’m going to have to put my foot down.  Now you listen to me.  You are going to stop messing around with drugs and killing people, and start being a good person,” said David. “I don’t want to go to Hell, if it is anything similar to what I have endured today.”  He felt his heart beating and it felt like his hands fell asleep.  He breathed deeply and glared at Jack.

“Alright, alright, calm down man.  But we have to finish what we started.  I mean, if I leave this body in my trunk then things aren’t going to end well for me.”

“Well why don’t we just tell the police?  Maybe you should tell the truth.”

“No way, you don’t want me to get in trouble.  You’re supposed to look out for me, you know?  Protect me,” said Jack.  David looked down.  He played with his HALO, mulling over the situation.

“I guess so,” said David, defeated.  “I can’t believe what I’ve gotten myself into.  Although I can’t say this was entirely my decision.”

“Atta boy,” said Jack.

“Also, my name is David.”

“Alright, man.  It’s a real pleasure,” he said giving him a  crooked smile.  Cars were sparse on the road.  Occasionally headlights came in to sight and passed as easily as they had entered.  Every time a car approached David was sure something would go wrong.  They would get a flat tire and have to open the trunk to get the spare, or a deer would leap in front of them, causing Jack to swerve and leaving them stranded on the side of the road.  He wondered if God was watching him. He hoped He wasn’t watching him.

“Almost there,” said Jack, interrupting the silence.  David didn’t know where “there” was.   All he could make out was the slight difference in color between the sky and rock cliffs in the distant.  The stars looked like they were part of the looped background of a Scooby Doo cartoon.  They popped in an out from behind the edges of the cliffs in an anticipated rhythm.  Jack suddenly turned the steering wheel to the left, putting them on a dirt road and slamming David’s head into his window.  The car rattled and the headlights bounced as they flew down the dirt road.  Dust spiraled out behind them.  David couldn’t avert his eyes from the road flying past.  He was sure the car would rattle so hard it would explode, or there would be a cliff waiting for them at the end of the road.  The image of Thelma and Louise flying off a cliff, greeting their fate with open arms echoed in his mind.  He hoped that was not waiting for him at the end of this road.  He wondered whether he was more like Thelma or Louise, or if that was even questionable. 

David looked at Jack, wondering if he was going to slow down.  Jack turned and smiled at him, then turned his attention to the radio.  He turned it on with a click of the volume dial, but there was only static.  He jammed buttons with his fingers, forcefully searching for any sort of noise to fill the silence.  He clicked off the radio.

“We’re here, anyway,” he said.  He slammed on his brakes, jolting David forward in his seat.  The tires slid across the dirt road.  David grabbed at anything that could brace him.  He found the center console and the back of his headrest.  The light from the headlights seemed to cut off like the road was going to end.  They were headed towards the edge of a cliff, thought David.  He tried to close his eyes but he couldn’t look away.  He felt his muscles tighten and tried to push back into his seat, he tried to get as far away from the edge as possible.  He felt the tires sliding across the dirt, trying to grab on to anything they could.  As quickly as it had started, the sliding stopped and the car jolted to a halt.

“We’re here,” said Jack, with a cheery note.  He swiftly got out of the car and popped the trunk.  David stayed molded into his seat and kept a death grip on the console and headrest.  His eyes were wide and glued on the edge they came so close to.  “Hey man, come help me out back here.”  Jack’s call broke David’s focus on the ledge.  He unbuckled his seatbelt and swung the door open with too much force.  He put his weight on the door to hoist him out of the car.  His knees were wobbly and his legs felt weak.  He leaned on the car for support as he made his way to the front.  He tried to hold on to the hood of the car to look over the edge, but there was nothing to grip.  He tried to carefully look over the edge, but his shaking legs made the rocks and dirt beneath his loafers slide around.  Shaking, he took a breath and leaned forward.  He couldn’t see anything over the edge, just darkness.  Slowly David’s eyes adjusted to reveal only a two foot drop.  He exhaled and felt his shoulders relax.  He turned with a slight smile to face Jack.  His features were squished together.

“What the hell was that,” Jack cried.  He spewed spit and drool as his laugh burst out.  This time he actually took the form of a dying hyena, falling to his hands and knees.

“Are we going to finish this or what,” asked David, although he still felt hot and weak.  Jack remained on his hands and knees, trying to catch his breath between cackles.  He took heavy breaths which helped him gather his composure.

“Yeah, let’s go,” said Jack, wiping a tear from his eye.  They put on fresh pairs of latex gloves and got the body out of the trunk.  Jack led the way, walking backwards towards the ledge.  His long legs stretched down the two foot drop easily, but David slipped down the edge, getting dirt on his slacks.  The body seemed heavier now, but David followed Jack’s weight as he shifted it from side to side, rocking the sagging body back and forth.  This made the trip a little smoother.  They followed the path laid by the headlights.  Their shadows stretched across the empty desert, cutting off at another drop.  They laid the body down by a further ledge, David more softly than Jack.  Jack ran back to the car while David looked over the edge.

This time David could see exactly what was below them.  The reflection of the moonlight made the waves ten feet below him shimmer as they splashed against the steep rock face.  A fate down there didn’t seem too bad to David.  There didn’t seem to be any sharp rocks and the waves weren’t very violent.  He tried to make himself feel better about what he was going to do.  It helped to know that the man in the trash bags was a dead beat druggie.  Who knows how many health codes he had broken with needles.  He didn’t even want to imagine the disease ridden and bacteria covered surfaces he snorted coke off of.  His stomach churned at the thought as he watched the bags flap in the breeze.  The rattling of chains turned his attention to Jack.  The light from the headlights made his figure dark and distorted, but the golden light highlighted his stumbling silhouette.  He waddled over to David and dropped two cinder block in front of his feet. 

“I thought you were supposed to be helping me,” he said with a smirk.

“Oh, yeah.  I’m sorry,” said David.  He scrambled to lead a chain around the body’s legs while Jack wrapped his around the torso. David’s chain wrapped neatly up the calves, never overlapping.  He was secretly proud of his work, especially after he looked at Jack’s, which was haphazardly tied to the torso.  Jack set his chained cinder block on the body’s chest.  David’s chest felt the same weight.  He stood there for a moment, just watching the bags flap in the wind.

“Ready?” asked Jack, grabbing a hold of the arms.

“Now or never, I guess.”  David placed his cinder block on his chains and gripped the body’s ankles.  They hoisted the body up, which sagged even lower with the excess weight.

“On three,” said Jack.  They build up a swing.  “One,” with each number David felt worse.  “Two,” it was time he stood up for himself.  For what was right.  “Three,” said Jack.  David held on tight and used all his power to stop the body from flying into the water.  This was his moment.  His moment to show Jack what was right, but the weight pulled at him and he knew his fate after it was too late.

When David let go of the body he was already off the ledge.  He could barely let out a scream before he was engulfed in the water.  The water was warmer than he anticipated.  He almost wished that he could stay down there forever.  The muted roar of water in his ears made him forget his problems, if only for a moment.  He wished he tied a cinder block to himself.  He wouldn’t have to face Jack.  Or God, for that matter.  He was static for a moment. He looked below searching for the body, even though he knew it was a lost cause.  He turned towards the moonlight and swam to the surface.

David didn’t bother looking up towards Jack, he figured he was laughing.  Sure enough, Jack’s cackle echoed over the water.  David looked at the wall and decided on the best place to start climbing.  As if the rocks weren’t steep enough, he slipped with almost every step.  Water squished out of his loafers, making the rock slick.  His sweater vest held water like a sponge.  Now it felt like a cinder block was tied to him.  Luckily the wind was warm and the air was dry.  As he climbed, Jack’s laughter became louder and more clear.

At the top of the rock wall, David took off his sweater vest.  He wrung it out and waited for Jack to collect himself.  His button up shirt hung heavily from his weak arms.  He tried to act like he didn’t care that Jack was laughing. 

“That was the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen, man.”

“I think we’re done here, Jack.”

“I take back what I said earlier about you,” said Jack, putting a hand on David’s shoulder.  “That would be the lamest way to die.  You just disappeared right over the edge with him,” he laughed.  “You crack me up, man.”

“Yeah for all the wrong reasons.  Come on, lets get out of here before anyone sees us.”  David walked firmly to the Crown Victoria, sloshing with every step.  He rolled his window down with the sticky hand crank.

“What are you waiting for?” Jack stood at the edge of the dropoff.  The sweat stains on his wife beater almost disappeared in the shine of the headlights.  They white washed him, making his skin seem almost transparent.  

Jack was looking down into the water.  He held up a hand and pointed his index finger up.  “One sec, guy,” he hollered over his shoulder as he lowered his hand.  David’s eyes caught the glimmer of a yellow stream falling between Jack’s legs.  Of all the places, he thought.  After a moment Jack finished and jogged back to the car.  He plopped into the driver’s seat and grabbed David’s face. 

“Lighten up, man,” said Jack, looking into David’s eyes.  He playfully pushed David’s face towards the road.  David took out his hand sanitizer and rubbed it on his face.

“That’ so disrespectful.  First of all you kill someone, and then you go ahead and pee on the terrible place you put him to rest.”  Jack started the car and whipped it around.  His foot was heavy on the pedal.

“What’s even funnier, is that means people are going to drink my pee now,” said Jack.

“What? What is that supposed to mean?”

“That was the Hoover Dam, man,” said Jack, once again coughing up spit with his laugh onto the steering wheel.  A wave of nausea swept through David.

“How could you do that?  Millions of people can get poisoned from that.  And there is a dead body in there?  We need to turn around right now.”

“It’s fine, man.  They obviously sanitize that s**t before giving it to people.  If it will make you feel better on the way to The Big Guy’s house we can drive over the bridge and you can look at the dam,” said Jack.

“No, we are not going to your drug dealing boss’s house.  We need to turn around and fix this.  I’m about ready to call in the real “Big Guy” if you catch my drift,” said David.  Jack could tell he was serious.

“Alright, alright, calm down.  How about this.  Tonight we go to The Big Guy and tell him I quit.  Tomorrow you will be in charge and ‘reform’ me, or whatever it is you plan to do.  We can move the body then, if we can even find it.”

“Well why don’t we just do it now?”

“It’s too dark.  Besides it probably sunk too far now and it would be impossible for us to get it.  We will just let the police know in the morning, yeah?”

“I guess,” said David.

“Atta boy.”  Jack turned on to the paved road they started on.  David pulled out his HALO.

“Shoot,” he said.  He knew they were sensitive to water, but he did not expect the bronze to rust so easily.  The indentations accenting the feathers held the water in its crevices.  He examined the creases closely and saw the bronze turn to rust before his eyes.  David wondered why Heaven hadn’t come up with a solution for this by now.  He didn’t have a dry piece of fabric on him to wipe off the water so he held it out the window.

David stared off into the distance and thought about what the two would do tomorrow.  First on the list would be to tell the police they saw someone dump a body in the lake.  Jack is right, he can’t become a better person if he is stuck in jail, but that body also needs to get out of there before people get sick.  After that they would work on hygiene.  Jack needed a shower and an acceptable haircut.  Next would be wardrobe.  It is very hard to get a job when you look homeless.  Then they would clean Jack’s apartment.  Granted, he didn’t know what his apartment looked like, but he felt it was safe to assume that he would be wearing gloves the entire time he was there.

As David planned their future together, Jack drove steadily down the dark and empty highway.  They drove past a few lonely towns.  The lights from the Las Vegas Strip lit up the desert in the distance but they exited the highway before reaching them.  They turned into an upscale neighborhood where the lawns had grass instead of rocks, and palm trees lined the gated driveways.  Spanish style homes lay on both sides of them as they drove down the freshly paved road.  Jack carefully pulled onto a drive and stopped before a lavish cast iron gate.

“Wow this is where The Big Guy lives?” asked David.

“I know right?  He should spread his wealth to me.”  He rolled down his window and leaned toward a speaker that was supposed to look like a rock, but it looked more like an old squished cardboard box painted grey with some attempt at artistic rock detail.

“Yes?” asked a hollow voice.

“Hey its Jack. Jack Winnfield.”  He sat there for a moment, not sure if he was going to get a response. The iron gates silently swung open and Jack pulled up the drive.  He parked in a small spot between two Jaguars.  It was a tight squeeze, but this was the closest available spot to the front door. 

“Did he know we were coming?  Do you think he will be mad?” Asked David.

“Hey, don’t ask questions.  In fact when we get inside don’t say anything, okay?  Play it cool.”  Jack opened a large wooden door and walked in first.  The entry way was dark, but a room towards the back of the house was lit up.  A warm glow trickled from the room into the hall.  Jack and David followed the noise of laughter into the warm space.  They stepped into the room to find two large men with AK-47s standing on either side of the door.  Both men looked the pair up and down.

The room held two shiny leather couches facing a large plasma TV on the wall.  One couch held two neatly kept men.  Both were clean shaved with combed hair.  They wore similar similar suits but in white and another in a metallic grey.  Looking at them David wanted to ask what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France, but decided it was probably not the best idea.

The other couch held an enormously fat man.  There were two women with him, but they sat on either arm rest to avoid being engulfed in this man’s rolls.  His hair was either slicked back or immensely greasy.  David couldn’t decide if he used too much hair gel or if he couldn’t muster the strength to shower very often.  He then wondered where this man got his clothes.  There must have been a Big and Tall Outfitters nearby, because this guy was big.  

“Hey, Big Guy,” said Jack, with a wide smile.  He approached the giant on the couch, hand outstretched for a shake.  “How’s it going?”

“You know I take offense to that you little s**t.  Put your damn hand down, and tell me who the hell that dope is.”  His speech was hollow and slurred like the words echoed through his goiter and got stuck on his tongue.  David was still in shock from the mass in front of him.

“Oh he’s cool, man.  That’s David.  He is my guardian angel.  Look, I think he should work for you.  He helped me clean up a place after I killed a guy and let me tell you, he is a gem.  He won’t say no and he does a real thorough job,” said Jack.

“You’re kidding me.  You’re telling me that this guy came down from Heaven to help you out?  What did you do to deserve help you lying s**t?” Asked The Big Guy.  Jack quickly walked over to David and felt in his pockets.  He pulled out his HALO badge and flashed it to The Big Guy from across the room.

“Is that a f*****g badge?” slurred The Big Man.  “He’s a f*****g cop!  Shoot him you b******s.”  Jack ran down the hall.  David blocked the hallway in an attempt to help Jack escape.  Both of the large men turned towards David and opened fire on his stomach.  The bullets flew right through him.  He felt the wind of the bullets fly through his stomach.  He hoped his stomach would stop the bullets but he heard Jack scream in pain.  He turned to see Jack fall on the floor with blood seeping through his shirt.  David ran over to Jack and fell to his knees.  He flipped him over to see if he was still alive.  The men had stopped shooting and approached David with their guns pointed at him. 

Jack’s eyelids fluttered.  Drops of blood clung to his eyelashes and David could see blood collecting in his mouth.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen, Jack.  I just wanted to help you be a better person.”  Jack coughed, sending blobs of spit and blood onto David’s shirt.  David tried to wipe off his shirt with his hands.

“I can’t believe you let this happen, man,” choked Jack.  His eyes moved to the hulking men behind David.  David looked at them as well.  He grabbed his badge out of Jack’s hand, covering it with bloody finger prints.  He felt compelled to clean up the blood, but he didn’t mind if these goons exposed themselves to blood borne pathogens.  He took one last look at Jack’s dying body, snapped his fingers, and disappeared.

He materialized in front of the GAA office.  His shoes felt like they were filled with water again as he trudged inside the building.  It was still bustling with social workers.  He passed a few and let them get out of his way.  They stared at his clothes.  They stared at the dirt and blood caked onto his shirt.  They smelled his sweat and Jack’s blood as he walked by.  More and more social workers stopped and stared until the office was quiet, except for a few ignored phones.  God sat at his desk silently filling out paperwork.  God raised his head to the sound of sobs.

“I guess I don’t belong here,” David said, with blood on his hands and rust on his HALO.