The Angriest Angel

Chapter 25

Chase was surprised that his house was still there.  He half expected it to be burned, flattened, or destroyed in some unimaginable way.  But there were no signs of trespassing of any sort.

On the way there, Avery had made contact with people in her organization.  They arranged a stay at a hotel called The Amocular.  Chase had never heard of it, but apparently it was a five star resort somewhere in downtown Chicago.

"Come on in," he told Avery, wincing at the pain of holding the door open with his leg.  "I'll just need 15 minutes to pack and then we can go."

He was a little embarrassed at the state of his house in comparison to Avery's, but she didn't seem concerned.  It had been a while since he had a woman over, and seeing her walking through his home gave him pause.  She looked very attractive in her white blouse and skinny jeans, and he found himself wishing he had a more impressive place. 

She gravitated toward his home office, where his workstations and wall to wall computer peripherals dominated the entire space.  She meandered in with her arms folded, careful not to touch the equipment, though observing everything with interest. 

As Chase bounded from room to room throwing clothes into his suitcase, Avery eventually lost interest and said she would wait outside.

There were many things that Chase wanted to do, and he wasn't sure which was most important.  Sarah and Chambers were at the forefront.  If Chambers was trying to kill him, he wanted to know why.  Looking over his shoulder everywhere he went was not a good long term plan.  Besides, he wasn't entirely sure that the attacker with the beard worked for Chambers.  If he did, best to get this resolved; if he didn't, then Chambers may know who was behind it.

Chase had also not forgotten McClouth's compelling video.  He had questions—many questions—that he wanted to ask McClouth.  The strange UFO which hovered over that car accident—what exactly happened there?  If he were telling the truth about the brainwashing, then Avery's 'organization' might be something much more bizarre than a private firm hired by the government.

He refused to believe that Avery was some sort of botanist-alien.  That made no sense, and the more he entertained the idea the more he wanted to smack himself in the head.  McClouth had told him the aliens were like angels, beautiful and perfect.  Avery was certainly beautiful.  The woman hardly wore any makeup, and her clothes did little to show off her body, but she always looked gorgeous.

The other possibility was that the government had some sort of technology that they were keeping secret.  It wouldn't be the first time.  Perhaps McClouth's video captured that technology.  From what he could tell, everyone looked human, which meant there may be a simple scientific explanation.

To Chase, the most confusing element was their strange interest in him.  The most likely scenario was that Avery's organization wanted him because of something he knew or something he witnessed.  Perhaps they were after Chambers, or an even bigger fish.  But if witness protection was their goal, why were they letting him roam around freely, getting fired upon?

Thinking about it too much gave him a headache.  There was not enough information to conclude anything—yet.  Possibly after tonight, though.  He was curious to meet Avery's fiancé.  This whole arrangement was his decision.  Perhaps he would give away some clue as to why.

Chase finished packing his small suitcase and locked up the house.  Avery was outside, kneeling down by one of his window-wells.  The white sleeves on her blouse were rolled up, and she held something in her hands.

He set down his suitcase by the car and called out, "What are you doing?"

She smiled, but didn't turn toward him.  "You have toads in your window wells.  Come and see."