"That's merely a cover" Bunny waved a submissive hand "It started with bank robbing, as their jobs escalated to higher stakes, they needed an excuse to tell the feds a legal way where the money came from, why they all came together and lived together" Somehow it was ridiculous, but in other ways, the cover of a cult was a genius. Any strange behavior on their part would be automatically routed to religious necessity, cults didn't appear in the news very often, it was usually only when they were about to disintegrate in a horrific fashion that they attracted a huge amount of the public's attention. Cults were everywhere, there were people all over the world involved in their activities, often being overlooked on the fringe of society because they weren't the norm that the public urged them to be.
"They started transporting drugs from South America across the border to the United States and Canada, flying them to Europe where the demand was. They started smuggling weapons too, and eventually they started expanding. There are chapters of Hell's Heaven all over the place now" A criminal organization, spluttering across normal society as a cult. The police were looking for criminals, they would never catch Hell's Heaven members in their activities if they weren't actually labeled as criminals, rather, it would be people expressing religious freedom.
"Max leads them all? all the chapters?"
"Heavens, no!" Bunny retorted "Way too much work for one man" She shook her head, appearing amused by Harmony's naivety.
"Each Chapter has their own leader that deals with whatever they are doing on a daily basis, Maxwell is the one for the New York chapter. But, I wouldn't say Max is powerless either, he is a descendant of an originator, Satan's opinions and demands do hold weight with the others"
"Satan?" she asked for clarity. Spike had called him that too.
"It's just what he's called around her, it's a play on the name of Hell's Heaven. Technically he's Satan, the leader of hell...not that Max doesn't live up to the name, he can be very unforgiving and cruel when he wants to be" Bunny sighed, getting up from the couch "Hey, why don't I show you around?" alarm bells went off in Harmony's head. She was supposed to be getting the fuck out of here, not taking a tour of the place.
"B-but-"
"Look, girl in the nightgown-" she doesn't know my name "You have two options here-" she made sure Harmony's attention was focussed directly on her before she started to speak "This place is locked tight, every entrance of escape is also a way for an enemy to enter, they kept that in mind when the place was built" Harmony's shoulders fell, putting her face in her hands "So, either you keep trying to get out, most likely unsuccessfully, by getting past guards and climbing through locked vent grates-"
"Or...?" Harmony sighed
"You tell Maxwell you never intended to escape, you just went on a stroll. I'm sorry, there's not much else I can do. Maxwell may be my childhood friend, but he's also my leader, giving you any more guidance than this would label me a traitor, and traitors don't live very long" Harmony's eyes widened, that hadn't even occurred to her. How could she be so foolish to ask for help, it would be putting someone else's life in danger. She never wanted Bunny to risk her life to help her.
"Let's say I take your advice-" Harmony claimed "That I don't try to escape, what if he catches me in the building with you?"
"Don't worry about that. Maxwell wouldn't hurt you, especially not in front of me. I'll vouch for you, tell him you came to visit me in my place and he'll let it go"
"But, how can you be sure?" Harmony still wasn't wholly convinced. It felt like a foolish endeavor to walk around this place and wait for Maxwell to find her, hoping he gave her a moment to explain herself before pulling out a loaded pistol and splattering her brains across the nearby walls.
"I probably know Maxwell better than anyone else-" Bunny responded simply "He won't hurt you, trust me" Bunny got up, grabbing a few things before she headed for the front door, holding out an encouraging hand for Harmony to take. Harmony let out a heavy sigh, forcing herself up off the loveseat and heading for the door with Bunny. They got into the elevator, and as they went between floors, Harmony's hands were still fidgeting, the logical aspect of her mind not clouded by curiosity and the buttered words of someone who was basically a stranger, she was terribly frightened for the moment that she would be forced to come face to face with Maxwell.
"This place is pretty diverse" They got off on the first floor "A gym, restaurant, clothing, a doctor's office...basically everything you could ask for" They walked on the tile floors, passing numerous larger stores with their own purposes. There were other people walking around too, minding themselves with bags, and dressed in dark clothes.
"I'm assuming the clothing stores are limited in their color options" Harmony tried to joke half-heartedly. She was attempting to use humor as an escape from her inner impending doom looming at the thought of seeing Max again. Bunny let out a laugh at her joke, nodding her head "It's rule here, dark clothes only, except for people on the property that aren't initiated into the gang, they have to wear a piece of white somewhere on their body to signify their position"
"Here-" Bunny reached out, pounding at a set of rather large, wooden doors down the hall of this sort of shopping district where they stood. "Maybe this will clear up a few things" She guided Harmony towards the heavy doors. Bunny opened them just slightly, creating a wide enough gap for both of them to peer inside. A church? It looked like some sort of service was going on, but all the people in the seats were wearing dark clothes, like a funeral. "It's a baptism" Bunny whispered in her ear, watching an older man in dark robes lift a small child in a soft blanket of a similar shade.
"You do baptisms?" Harmony whispered back, watching the older man hand the child over to its waiting parents standing to the right of the front stage.
"Hell's Heaven is a legitimate religion, they meet every Sunday...even the public are allowed to join in, there are thousands of members that just see this as their religion, that have no idea it's a cover for criminal activities" Bunny spoke softy. There was a display of Jesus on the upper wall, hung on the cross by wires with sharp barbs. But, the statue's eyes were bright red, like the color of a cool flame. "Hell's Heaven is just a variation of Christianity, but rather than the savior that regular Christians believe him to be, with us, Jesus is a demon that was sent to earth to atone for his sins. He was hung on the cross because the Romans discovered he was demonic, exorcizing his spirit back to hell, that he was able to resurrect and perform miracles because he was never human, to begin with"
"Quite the intricate lie" Harmony responded quietly
"A text has an infinite number of ways it can be interpreted, the originators merely took advantage of that" Bunny gently closed the door, cutting off their view of the impending ceremony. "
"This place isn't just a bed of criminals" Harmony lifted her head, sighting Bunny's own "This place...it's a family. We look out for each other, and more often than not, the people here don't have any other family to rely on" Harmony glanced down at her feet, the conflict bubbling within her. This was a place for people like her. She was reminded of her mother, Harmony missed her terribly. Her mother would always be the one person that Harmony would forever regret running from. She had never wanted to leave her Mother, but it simply had to be done. She wondered if her mother thought about her, maybe even cried about her sometimes. It would always be Harmony's greatest shame. If life had gone differently, Harmony may have even been one of those lost people that wandered into this place, making it her home just like so many others had.
"You know, there's a party tonight-" Harmony glanced up, her eyes widening "It's a pool party, you should come!" Harmony certainly didn't think it was a good idea, but she hadn't thought any of this was a good idea from the moment they left Bunny's apartment. She was still in a trembling state at the thought of Maxwell catching her
"Is Maxwell going to be there?"
"It's for higher-ranked members, so yes" Bunny nodded her head. She placed her hand reassuringly on Harmony's shoulder.
"I really don't know if that's a good idea" she tried, her voice weak
"Honey, if Maxwell wants anything to do with you-" she tapped her on the back, giving her a cheeky smile "He'll have to go through me first"
YOU ARE READING
His Angel
Romance"You have a name, don't you?" his voice was deep and irritable, but rather calm. Her eyes lifted just slightly, now staring at the edges of dark hair that hung an inch or two from his shoulders. Her lack of answer seemed to annoy him further, she co...
