A short time later, he actually came out of the house wearing a tracksuit. He plopped down on a seat across from the sofa where the three women were sitting. Jules and Samantha, with Max in their midst, had also joined them. Apparently, they didn't want to miss a moment of this show. Jon hadn't cooled off yet, because he said:
"Red, did you check this Prada assassin for hidden weapons?"
"Your suits are perfectly safe love."
Domino looked at him worriedly:
"Are you really the Antichrist?"
"That's right, the son of Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub, old scratch, I'm the Crown Prince of Hell, the Prince of Light et cetera et cetera. I do indeed have a deal to present to you, and no, I don't want to claim your firstborn. Your soul you can keep, because I don't know what I'm going to do with it, except put it in an aquarium."
The woman closed her eyes very tightly, took a few deep breaths, opened them, and then asked softly:
"What kind of deal do you want to make with me?"
"If you accept, you will work for me, exclusively for me—no side jobs! No more dealing with the underworld; it is better for your health and that of your baby. Yes, I want to use your unique skills, but this time for a good cause. Your work can help innocent people rebuild their lives in safety and anonymity. You can choose to stay with us for a while, where I can protect you. Or you can go into hiding somewhere because you can also do your work through the Internet."
He snapped his fingers, and a folder appeared on the coffee table.
"It contains all the information you need to access a numbered bank account. Not even the NSA, with all their knickknacks, can figure out who has access to that account. It has ten million in it. If you decide to go into hiding, I advise against choosing a tropical destination. I would avoid Australia and the Bahamas like the plague. The gentlemen of the underworld seem to have developed a taste for luxury. My advice would be either Amsterdam or one of the Scandinavian countries."
She said with a worried look in her eyes:
"These kinds of deals always come with a but. So I'm just asking in advance. What happens to me if I say yes and then just disappear with the money?"
"Nothing. I do not build buts into the deals I make. I'm the Antichrist, not some kind of Mafia Don. What I propose is what I mean: no fine print, no extra conditions, no mysterious ways of working. What you hear is what you get!"
"Nothing? You wouldn't come looking for me or anything?"
"Domino, I don't have to look for you. I always know where you are, even if you are crawling under a rock on the other side of the universe. I have put a marker on you. Not to find you or control you but for your own safety. Nor should I come to find you to punish you."
He lit a cigarette and looked her sternly in the eye:
"Let me put it this way, Domino. How many criminals have you helped to get a new identity? Bad people who then continue their life of crimes? Human justice could easily prosecute you for aiding and abetting. And if they really like you, they can throw the book at you as a conspirator before and after the fact. Why? Because it is thanks to your work that they could disappear after a crime and thanks to your work that they are able to commit new crimes! Think for a moment about the criminals you helped and the kinds of crimes those types usually commit, and then do the math to see how long you would be a guest of Uncle Sam. I'm pretty damn sure that your baby would be graduating college and you would still be behind bars if the justice department throws the book at you. But that is only the beginning. When human justice is done with you, that is the point where Celestial Justice begins. What do you think will happen to your soul when you die and you are judged for what you did while you were alive? No, all I have to do to get my pound of flesh is to ask one of my Father's associates to tell me that you have arrived. Then make some popcorn, manifest a lawn chair, and enjoy the show."
Everyone clearly heard the young woman swallow. Almost inaudibly, she asked:
"What happens if I don't take the deal?"
He stood up:
"Nothing. I have no idea why my father thought it was a good idea to save you because you are a criminal with a lot of misery on your conscience. Despite him being the Devil and me being the Antichrist, we are not exactly big supporters of the criminal lifestyle!"
He snapped his fingers, and two gym bags appeared at her feet.
"I have done my part; you are alive. You're not the only one with the skills I need. Inside is ten million. Take the deal, stay right here, slide in for dinner, stay the night, and think about which option you want. Don't take the deal, and the money at your feet is yours. Call a cab, and I'll even help you load it."
Without waiting for an answer, he turned and left for his office. There was silence for a moment as everyone understood that there was more at play than his anger over a tailored suit. Elise said:
"I'll let him stew for a while to get his thoughts in order, and then I'll talk to him. I think I have a very good idea why he is so irritated."
Domino said:
"I'm afraid, Elise..."
"Afraid of Jon?"
"Not really, I can feel that he's not really a bad guy."
"The picture of the future he painted?"
She nodded shakily.
"I knew I was doing the wrong thing, but I refused to think about the consequences. I had to fend for myself since I was pretty young, and everything was about survival and making money. I found out very soon that I had a talent to make false documents, so that was my ticket out of poverty. But with the passing of time I became better and better at what I do, and the people I worked for became more and more dangerous. Somewhere along the way, I forgot to look at the consequences of what I was doing and focused entirely on the money. I did indeed help some very dangerous characters."
Elise took her hand:
"Honey, let him cool off for a moment. This is not about you. There are much bigger things at work right now. I can tell you that if he puts a marker on someone, it is to protect them. Believe me, he will be damned if he lets your soul go to hell."
Half an hour later she walked into the small office. She sat down on his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and snuggled against him. Without opening his eyes, he took her into a tight embrace. He said:
"I must apologize to Domino."
"Yep."
There was a moment of silence until she asked:
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No. But Maggie was right this morning. I have to stop eating everything. I have to learn to allow myself to open up to you, to lean on you when things are hard, to realize that sometimes I can't do it alone."
Again there was silence for a few minutes, and then he said quietly:
"The contradictions and ambiguities are starting to drive me crazy, Elise. The damn thing is that the only one I don't have to question is that bastard Michael. His motives and ultimate goal never change. War and destroying Dad and me. He's so blinded by his hatred that he doesn't even see that he can't destroy me or my dad. Because to kill my dad, he has to go through me first, and that will never, ever happen. It's my dad, grandpa, and grandma who are driving me crazy now."
"How love?"
"One moment my dad seems to be completely focused on the war and finally being able to end it with Michael. The next moment, he's more or less ordering me to keep my group of Demons out of the line of fire when all hell breaks loose. And now a little criminal destined for Hell. Why did I have to save her? What's the message?"
"What about your Grandfather and Grandmother?"
"Da fuck I know, Red? They are playing high stakes, and they are using Cas and the rest of my group like a goddamn sky-high bet. If I want to save them, I have no choice but to go all in. Blind, because I have no idea what cards they might be holding. This is so incredibly contrary to their nature that I can't wrap my head around it. The only explanation I can come up with is that they, too, are under pressure. There must be something that frightens even them. What that might be, I have no idea. They are the God and Goddess; what on earth could scare them? The more things I see that make no sense at all, the blurrier the whole picture becomes. Instead of getting closer, I seem to be getting further and further away. More and more is being thrown at me, and I just can't get ahead!"
"Your grandparents have their general; your father has his generals. I think it's time for you to have your own generals. Call Rae Rae and Zelo love."
He nodded and fired off a prayer:
"Rae Rae, do you want some tequila? I think we need to have a serious talk."
She replied almost immediately:
"If you have a really good bottle, I might be persuaded."
"I have some, at least if you didn't steal them from my stash too, you little pest!"
He heard her giggle and say:
"When, big brother?"
"We go to dinner at seven. Be on time, absolutely punctual to the second this time!"
"I'll be there, Jon."
His second prayer was for Zelo:
"Zelo, Elise, and I would like you to join us for dinner."
"When am I expected to arrive?"
"Seven o'clock, but be absolutely punctual, Zelo!"
"Will do, boss."
He opened his eyes and looked closely into hers.
"Elise, at five to seven you will take the children, Liz and Domino, inside, and you will not come out until I say so."
Alarmed, she asked:
"What's going on, Jon?"
"I'm going to have to scream in black for a while..."