Chapter 11: Devil Man Calling

Higher Hell

 

Chapter 11: Devil Man Calling

 

　

“Thank you, Father. We really appreciate all you’ve done for us.”

“No problem, no problem. Thant’s what I’m here for.”

Gabby and Father Don were all smiles as we got ready to leave. It was seven a.m. and there was enough bright sunlight and morning traffic that we figured it would be safe to go out now.

“You’re going straight to the police to report the man who attacked you, right?”

“Of course. We’ll go there right away.”

“Good. Take care, and God bless you. Oh, and Cas, I hope you think more about what I said last night.”

“Yeah. And you think about what I said.”

Father Don chuckled and nodded.

“Fair enough. Good bye.”

Gabby and I stepped out of the church and started walking down the sidewalk.

I sighed.

I made it.

I spent the night in a church and nothing happened to me.

Still glad I’m out of there though.

“You and Father Don talked last night?” Gabby asked. “What about?”

“God.”

“Oh, boy! Bet that went well. Wish I could’ve seen that!”

“Heh heh, yeah, he didn’t have a clue. If only he’d known he was talking to somebody who’s actually been to Heaven and Hell. Somebody who’s talked to both God and Satan in person.”

“You didn’t fuck with him too bad did you? Hope you didn’t destroy his faith or anything.”

“Nah, nothing that bad. Nothing I could’ve said would’ve made a difference anyway. Not unless I’d shown him what I really am. But even that probably wouldn’t change his mind.”

As we walked, it became obvious we were just heading for the apartment. We even passed a couple cops standing on a corner drinking their morning coffee, but Gabby made no attempt to talk to them. She didn’t even look at them.

“We’re not going to the cops are we?”

“No.”

“So you lied to a priest? Thought you weren’t supposed to do that?”

Gabby shrugged and smiled slyly.

“Guess I’ll have to go to confession again.”

“Why’d you do that last night anyway? Didn’t seem like the time or place for that sort of thing. Well…right place, I guess, but you know what I mean.”

“I felt guilty about the way I’d been towards my father the other night. Plus, I knew that would get him off the topic of why we wanted to hide there. Make him forget about the police.”

“Why aren’t we going to the cops? They could probably find that fucker and catch him couldn’t they?”

“You don’t understand, Cas. My last name is Bianco. My father’s made that name into a red flag to any cop in this city. If I go to the police, they’ll be all over me trying to get at my Dad. They wouldn’t do shit about that guy. They’d just start stalking me too, hoping to catch me or my father doing something wrong. Anything. The cops wouldn’t care about anything else.”

“Hmm. Hadn’t thought of that.”

“Well, I have a feeling they wouldn’t be able to help anyway. There was something about that guy last night. Something wasn’t right about him.”

“Of course not, he’s a fucking freak.”

“No, I’m serious. You didn’t notice something, I don’t know, animal-like about him?”

I shrugged.

“Eh, he’s just a crackhead. And a perv.”

“He wanted to kill me, Cas. If you hadn’t been there, I think he would’ve ripped me apart with his bare hands.”

“He was probably fucking high.” I said.

Gabby shook her head. By the look on her face, I could tell she was reliving the whole event in her head.

“Maybe. But I just had this horrible feeling when I was face to face with him that he was something pure evil. Way more than anything I would’ve imagined from Hell before I met you. Before I learned what demons were really like, I would’ve thought for sure he was one.”

“You’ve just had too much supernatural shit happen around you lately. If he’d been a demon, he’d have been there to talk to me, not attack you. He’s just a fucked up Human stalker. Probably pissed about seeing you with another guy. You never know what a nutcase like that’s gonna do.”

“Yeah, I guess not.”

“Don’t even worry about that guy. I’m staying close to you 24/7, and I’m gonna put an end to that guy before-”

I didn’t want to say it.

Why couldn’t I say it?

It should be obvious to her already anyway.

“Before what?”

I stuffed my hands in my pockets and walked along staring at the ground.

I didn’t want to admit it. That our time together was almost up.

“Cas? Before what?”

“Before I have to go back to Hell.”

She didn’t say anything for a while.

“I guess I always knew you wouldn’t be here long. It sucks though. I’ll miss you, you know.”

“Yeah. I’m gonna miss you too.”

“You think your mission’s over then?”

“Well, like I told you, before Gamygyn died, he said my mission was changed. And then the other demon that was with your Dad said I was supposed to wait for my new mission to just sort of fall into my lap. I don’t know what the Big Guy expects me to do.”

I wasn’t looking forward to facing him anymore than I was looking forward to leaving Gabby. He’s gonna be sooo pissed at me for all the trouble I’ve caused and all the time I’ve wasted.

The longer it takes before I go back to Hell the better!

Never thought I’d feel that way when I came to this World!

 

Gabby was starving by the time we reached the apartment. We each grabbed a bowl and spent the whole day watching movies from her DVD collection and chowing down on that ‘magically delicious’ shit.

That Tim Burton’s fucking brilliant! We watched a bunch of his flicks. He should make a movie about Hell. He’d totally be able to capture the combination of horror and ridiculousness of the place, I’m sure of it.

Gabby said Edward Scissorhands reminded her of me.

I didn’t see it.

I felt more like Beetlejuice.

Heh heh.

I’ve known demons like that. The kind of jokers that do possessions just to fuck with people.

Those guys are a riot.

About halfway through Corpse Bride, there was a knock at the door.

“Who the fuck is that?” Gabby asked herself, annoyed, as she got up and went to answer it.

She cracked the door a bit and peeked out.

“Hello?”

I could hear the deep voice of a man speaking in a hushed tone. Too quiet for me to hear what was being said.

“I don’t want to fucking see him.”

Anger was rising in Gabby’s voice. I got up and went to check out what was going on.

There was a big muscley looking guy with a goatee, a tight fitting gray suit, and sunglasses standing in the hall.

“Your father said it’s very important that he speak to you in person. I’m supposed to take you to him right away.”

“He just saw me the other night. What the fuck does he want?”

“I don’t know,” goatee man said, obviously feeling awkward. “He said it’s very important that you come now.”

Gabby sighed and shook her head, aggravated.

“He better be on his deathbed or something. Cas, you’re coming with me.”

“You bet I am.”

 

It was my first car ride.

I didn’t like it.

It was cramped, and I really didn’t like being stuck in that metal contraption totally at the mercy of this big, goateed dude taking us to see Bianco.

I felt trapped.

I would’ve much rather walked.

Gabby just sat there silent, arms folded, steeling herself for the confrontation to come with her Dad.

It felt like we were on our way to see the Big Guy in the Throne Room.

Might as well be.

Bianco had made a deal with the Devil. He had murdered. He’d lied, cheated and stole his whole life. And now he was marked by Satan himself.

As far as Gabby was concerned, he was the Big Guy.

How did such a scumbag produce such a good kid?

Must’ve been her mother’s doing.

I was curious about Gabby’s mother. She really hadn’t told me anything about her other than the fact that she had died in the building we were headed for.

I had an image of her in my mind as an older, more conservative version of Gabby. Gabby didn’t look like Bianco at all, so it was easy to imagine her the spitting image of her mother.

But if she’d been that much like Gabby, how the hell did she end up with a guy like Bianco? Guess there’s no accounting for taste.

When I’d first come to the World of the Living I’d been totally indifferent towards Bianco. He was just another Human. Nothing special. Just a soul condemned to Hell. Didn’t mean a thing to me either way.

But now that I knew him and knew Gabby, his daughter, I hated the guy. I wished it was still in my hands to take him to Hell, just for all the pain he’d caused Gabby.

We pulled up in front of the Trafalgar Building.

Finally! I can get out of this damn tin can.

I’ll never like riding in cars.

Gabby got out and marched into the lobby with me following close behind. The last time I was here, I’d seen the Freaky Guy, so I was keeping my eyes peeled for any sign of him.

Wonder if he knows Gabby’s father lives here?

Probably not. She hadn’t even been here in years by the sound of it. Gabby and her Dad didn’t exactly have much contact, after all. I doubted very many people even knew they were related.

We stepped into the elevator and Gabby hit the appropriate button. Seconds later we were stepping out into that museum-like foyer.

The fountain in the middle of the room tinkled lightly like gentle rain.

Gabby didn’t seem to notice any of the room. She walked across the tiled floor like she was going into battle.

The doors were fixed.

Bianco worked fast.

Probably called somebody to replace them as soon as we’d left the other night.

Gabby didn’t knock. She let herself in and I followed.

Bianco was standing at a small bar at the back of the room. He was just pouring himself a drink from a crystal decanter when he looked up to see us enter.

Gabby didn’t waste any time.

“What do you want?”

Bianco took a sip of the amber liquid, smacked his lips.

“Is that anyway to greet your father? I see you brought your pet monster with you. You think you need protection from your old man?”

“Everybody needs protection from you. Your messenger boy said you needed to see me for something ‘important’. So what do you want?”

Bianco pursed his lips for a moment as he looked at his defiant little girl, then gestured to a chair with his glass.

“Sit down. Would you like a drink?”

“No, I don’t want a fucking drink.” she spat.

“What about you, demon? Care for a shot?”

“Fuck you.”

Gabby was getting impatient.

“Don’t play games. What the hell did you drag me over here for?”

Bianco poured himself a little more from the decanter and leaned back against the dark gleaming wood of the bar.

“I had a visitor this morning. An old friend. He told me he met the two of you last night.”

Gabby tensed.

“What?”

“Father Buchanon. I’ve known Don since before you were born. He knew you as soon as he saw you in the church.”

Gabby’s pale pretty face was turning red. She looked pissed as hell, but she managed to keep her voice even. Her hands were clenched.

It was taking all her effort not to explode at him.

“What did he tell you?”

Bianco drained his glass, set it down.

“Why didn’t you tell me you have a stalker?”

“It’s none of your fucking business! And Father Don had no business running to you and blabbing about it!”

“You may not like it, Gabriella, but I’m your father. And I have people. If you’re having problems with a stalker, if you’ve been attacked by this pervert, I can have him dealt with.”

“Oh, I know you have ‘people’. Father Don’s probably on your payroll too, isn’t he?”

Bianco didn’t speak for a moment, he just stared at the carpet.

Guess that meant Father Don was on his payroll.

Nice.

And I’d actually felt sorry for the bastard for being so lonely.

“Let me help you, Gabriella.”

She was on the verge of exploding now. It was like a bomb ticking away in the room. I could see it building in her face as it got redder and redder. I could hear it rising in her voice.

“I don’t need your help. I don’t want your help. I just want you to leave me the fuck alone!”

There she goes.

Mt. Gabby’s ready to spew forth all the emotional lava that’s been building up at her old man.

And I’ve got a front row seat.

This should be good.

“I don’t need your criminal fucking thugs to protect me! In case you forgot, I have a goddamn demon with me! You think you can protect me better than Cas? Are you that fucking arrogant? Oh, yeah, of course you are! You’re Joseph Bianco! You’re the most powerful man in the city! You own politicians and priests and who the fuck knows who else! You even make deals with the Devil himself! But you’re still just another crook. And Mom hated that about you! It was your so called ‘buisness dealings’ that pushed her away! It ate away at her! It infected her like a disease! It killed her in the end! IT’S YOUR FAULT SHE’S DEAD!”

Gabby grabbed a glass ashtray from the table beside her and hurled it at the wall, just missing Bianco. It shattered, covering the thick carpet behind the little bar with jagged shards.

Just like her heart. Shattered to pieces by this evil little man. Her father.

Tears were streaming down her face.

I’d never hated Bianco more than I did now.

Bianco took a deep breath, sighed. He seemed to sag a little. He suddenly looked much older. He looked like someone who’s given up.

He was realizing he’d never fix this. No amount of his money or power or influence would mend the rift between himself and his only daughter. Defeat showed in that well tanned face.

“She was the one good person in your life, and you had to drag her down to your level. She didn’t deserve you. You might as well have killed her yourself!”

Gabby spat the words through a supressed sob.

Bianco looked stricken. Some of the color drained from his tanned features. But he also looked…

He looked angry.

“Enough.”

He’d said it softly, but there was steel behind it.

“That’s enough canonizing your ‘saintly’ mother. You never knew the whole story. You didn’t see the other side of her.”

Gabby gasped.

“Don’t you dare try to blame her for your failings!”

“My failing’s were her failings!” Bianco barked, his voice rising with anger now, too. “Dragged her down to my level, did I? She was no better than I was! Am I a criminal? You bet your ass I am! I’m The fucking criminal in this city! I’ll admit it to you, are you happy? But your mother was right there beside me. Your mother was just as bad as I was, as I am. So don’t try to throw her back in my face like she was the Blessed Virgin herself! You don’t have a clue what or who you’re talking about!”

Gabby stood, stunned and shaking, like she’d just been slapped.

Slowly, she shook her head, those two purple locks swaying against her wet cheeks.

“Liar.”

She had barely breathed the word. She was too shocked to even shout anymore.

“You’re lieing.”

Bianco smirked, shrugged slightly.

“Believe what you will. If it makes you happy to see her memory through rose colored glasses, then go ahead. I want you to be happy, I really do. I want you to be happy and safe, always. You’re still my daughter, and no matter what you think of me, I love you.”

He looked away. I sensed a tension in him, as if he knew that just being who he was had made it virtually impossible for her to be either safe or happy.

Gabby wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. She spoke softly, not looking at her father.

“I don’t want your help. And I’ll appreciate it if you don’t send your people to my house ever again.”

Bianco nodded, still not looking at Gabby, his mouth tight and drawn.

Gabby turned on her heel and walked fast for the door.

Her father looked up to watch her leave. I sneered at him and moved to follow her out, but he had suddenly reached out a hand and grabbed my arm.

I looked at him in surprise and saw an odd expression on his face. A mix of nervous fear and a ferociousness.

He spoke in a hurried, forceful whisper.

“Protect my daughter! Do whatever you have to, but protect her at all costs! There are much worse things than stalkers out there, and you know it! You care about her. I can see it. She’s your friend. Save your friend!”

He let go of me and I looked at him, totally confused.

I’d heard that before somewhere.

Hadn’t I?

I left him standing there amid all his expensive worthless stuff and hurried to catch up with Gabby.

Bianco’s last words kept buzzing around my head.

He was truly worried about Gabby. And he wanted me to protect her. He was relying on it.

Save your friend?

That was a strange way for him to put it, wasn’t it?

Save your friend.

That’s it!

Gamygyn!

Gamygyn had said those words as he was lieing in the alley dieing.

Save Gamygyn.

Save Gabby.

Everybody needs me to help them.

Sigh.

But who the hell’s gonna help me?