Christmas Angel

We were laughing and still talking about the movie we had just seen, a comedy.

Goodness gracious what a funny movie it was.

We planned to light some candles and when Gabriel brought me back we would make popcorn and just talk.

Thank goodness Emma has a gas stove.

Electricity or not the hand pump for the well still worked therefore Sunday dinner was still on.

The house was pitch-black and as we made our way to the kitchen.

I thought I heard a car pull into the driveway but I could not see reflections from headlights so it must have been a car driving by.

As we entered the kitchen there was a dark hulk of a shape sitting at the kitchen table..........................

Gabriel:

My beautiful Lady was an hour late and I had not heard from her.

That is not like Amy because she would call to tell me that she would be late.

Particularly with the weather being so bad; plus she was not answering her cell phone.

I had a very uneasy feeling about it; almost a feeling of dread and it was getting worse by the minute.

I was going to ask Emma permission to marry Amy on Sunday.

As I said I wanted the first time with her to be special.

I could wait until we were married.

If Emma said yes, great!

If the answer was no I would marry Amy regardless.

Yes or no it would be a surprise to both of them.

I would marry Amy in her Methodist church, Catholic though I am.

My love for Amy is stronger than any ceremony and I know how much it would please my love for us to marry in her church.

Amy:

"Well hello, Mommy what I nice surprise."

The hulk said, pleasantly.

"I didn't expect your whore to be here but it will save me the trouble.

Now I won't have to track her down"

Rodney then said as he shined the flashlight in our faces.

"Get out of my house!"

Emma exclaimed, squinting and backing up while reaching behind her.

"Is this what you are looking for?"

He laughed, slamming Emma's shotgun on the table and making us jump.

"We are going to have a little party and your little angel is going to be passed around while you watch.

The orgy will start just as soon as my partner and an old friend of Amy's arrive.

They are in the driveway and I just sent them a text."

He held up his cell phone as evidence.

"Leave her alone!"

Emma exclaimed.

"Is it money you want?"

You can have it.

I'll sign over the house to you!"

"I don't need your money, mommy dearest, it's a matter of principle.

You went against family!

You went against me, your own son."

"I'm a businessman down in Mexico now and my business it's very profitable.

I am going to introduce dear Amy to the joys of heroin and give her a job turning tricks for rich business men.

When she is no longer pretty or no longer of use to me there all plenty of dives in Tijuana that will buy her.

I closed my eyes and my thoughts went out to him "Our twin hearts beating as one; our shared blood coursing through our veins.

Our love stronger then the nucleus of an atom; Gabriel............................

Gabriel:

My heart was beating wildly in my chest as I thought of her and what she said to me that night, "our twin hearts beating as one."

I could feel my blood rushing through my veins our veins as our souls merged; our psyches touched.

God help anyone who tried to hurt her, harm her...if it was Rodney then the devil would sort things out.

I grabbed the keys to the Toyota Camry, another of Amy's suggestions.

It was the company vehicle I bought to deliver prescriptions to shut-ins or elderly customers.

I didn't have time to put my holster on but I grabbed a spare magazine and shoved the gun in my jacket pocket...good enough or so I thought at the time.

As I raced through the storm I called Emma's home phone on my cell....please my love answer if you can..........

Amy:

I knew it; I did hear a vehicle pull into the driveway and the headlights must have been turned off.

"Hail, hail the gangs all here, and were going to have a gang bang folks staring Amy Jones."

Rodney said laughing.

One man entered the house stamping his feet and shaking the water from his clothes while carrying two bottles of tequila.

He was a Hispanic man with a pock marked face and he asked.

"Is there any way to turn the lights on so I can get a good look at our new puta?"

The Mexican asked.

"No, we're the last house on the road and always the last to get our power back on.

With the transformer out it can take days; use your flashlight mi amigo."

But pardon my manners, meet my man, Miguel; he kills people."

Rodney made the introductions as the thug was shinning the light in my face and then the second man walked in carrying a duffle bag.

I had to squint from the blinding light and I could smell the marijuana on him and his reeking body odor....dear God in heaven it was him.... I was thinking "please call Gabriel" and then the telephone in the kitchen started ringing.....

Gabriel:

I'm almost there...what are those red flashing lights up ahead?

I had to stop and the Sherriff deputy turned me back advising me that the road was closed off on both ends because of the storm and power lines were down all over the place.

I drove away and stopped when I was out of his sight.

I then got out and ran with my cell phone to my ear; ringing, ringing and then finally she answered "hello...................

Amy:

Rodney got the candles and holders out of the cupboards and lit them as the other two were passing a bottle back and forth. They tied Emma to a kitchen chair with the rope from the duffle and then they duct taped her mouth.

They were arguing who would have me first and how.

I was surprisingly calm and was thinking "discipline, Amy; Gabriel was on his way"....and then the telephone started ringing and they stopped and looked at one another.

Rodney pointed the shotgun at me and then at the telephone.

"Answer it and make it short and sweet."

I answered it "Hello?"

"Amy, are you alright?"

"Oh, Hello, Mrs. Landers..... No, Emma can't come to the phone right now."

"Are you in danger?

Is Rodney there?"

"Yes, it's good to hear from you too...... Yes, of course we can pick you up on the way to church tomorrow morning

You know how much we enjoy your company.

"How many are there, Amy?"

"No just the three of us.......I think the sermon will be Proverbs 31:25 31:26."

"I'm in the driveway now out of sight.

Don't be surprised by anything that happens; I love you brown eyes."

I was ready to save goodbye when Spike; can you believe it that was the dirty pothead's name.

Spike snatched the telephone and put it to his ear.

Rodney shook his head and was frowning.

He put his finger to his lips and held his hand out for the telephone.

Spike gave him the phone and then Rodney covered the mouthpiece with his hand.

"Relax it's just Susan Landers, our new whore's old Sunday school teacher.

Let her finish the call or the old biddy will get suspicious."

Rodney then handed me the phone while giving me a mean look and then took a swig of tequila............

Gabriel:

There was a momentary silence on the phone and it seemed like an eternity....did they suspect?

"Do they know I'm here?"

I asked.

"No, everything is fine"

My clever lady said

"It must be the storm...........I love you too Mrs. Landers see you soon."

I slowly made my way to the house and then glanced quickly into to the kitchen window; all accounted for.

And then I quietly walked around the house looking for a way in.

I climbed a large elm tree and swung myself onto the roof of the second story porch.

I entered through a bedroom window leaving it open for a quick getaway................

Amy:

They decided that Spike would go first.

Rodney held my arms and cruelly twisted them while Spike pulled a large knife out of his pocket and grabbed my long ponytail.

"It seems that you are not a fat pig anymore but you are still a whore.

You know you want me so why fight it.

Be a good little slut and stand still while I cut all of your clothing off and then cut off most of your hair.

"I was going to have it cut short regardless, slut."

Rodney explained, twisting my arms.

"Short haired blonds are all the rage now."

Miguel was taking a swig of tequila when suddenly he started choking and coughing and everybody jumped including me.

Gabriel got in the house somehow and let loose, bellowing and trumpeting like an elephant while stomping his feet and it was much louder than I ever heard him do so before.

When they recovered Rodney said to Spike

"Check it out."

"Why me, man; you guys both have guns?"

Spiked replied.

"Miguel is taking her out to the van....."

Gabriel let loose again but this time even louder and they all jumped again except for Miguel.

"Hey man, that motherfucker is crazy....."

Spike started to say.

Rodney interrupted him, sneering.

"Listen you asshole if you want to work for me you had better grow a set of balls!

Think of the fringe benefits, the warm climate, all the pot you ever dreamed of and the free whores."

"What if he has a gun?" Spike asked.

"Take the shotgun you pussy."

Rodney said, letting go of my arms and picking it up from the table.

He shoved the shotgun into Spike's chest and forced a laugh.

"I can't believe you are afraid of a pharmacist..........

Gabriel:

I heard Spike coming up the stairs stamping his feet shouting and howling like a coyote on estrogen.

"I'm going to kill you motherfucker."

I slipped out the window and closed it quietly before climbing back down the tree.

The wind had picked up now and the torrential rain was coming down in sheets accompanied by deafening thunder and blinding lightning.

Depending on your point of view it was either frightening or exhilarating....I chose exhilarating.

I could see Rodney looking out the kitchen window.

Miguel was tying Amy's arms behind her back with the remaining rope left in the duffle bag.

It was time to dial 911 while they were distracted looking for me.

I removed the wet cell phone from my pants pocket; great, the screen was blank.

Damn it, it must be the rain and to make matters worse my pistol had fallen out of my pocket and could be anywhere.

I had to stop them from leaving but how?

Where was John Wayne when you needed him..........

Amy:

"He's not up here."

Spike called from the top of the stairs.

"What do you mean he's not up there, we all heard him?"

Rodney called back.

"Did you search every room?"

"Yes, under the beds, everywhere."

Spike answered.

"Then come on back down."

Rodney ordered.

Then turning to me he grabbed my face squeezing cheeks together while shaking my head from side to side.

"It appears your boyfriend turned tail and ran.

He abandoned you just like your real mother did.

"Did your case worker ever tell you that your biological mother was a heroin addict and a whore who sold you for a fix?

I had to grease a lot of palms and pay some hefty bribes to get the records unsealed but it was worth it.

Do you think that he will still want you when he finds that out?

Or when he finds out that you were gang banged and raped.

I promise we are going to made good use of your mouth, your asshole and your cunt and not necessarily in that order.

Like mother like daughter, Amy."

When Rodney let go of my face I looked up meeting his eyes and defiantly smiled at him.

I didn't know and I didn't care now.

I was Emma's daughter and she was my mother.

Rodney brought his hand back over his head and said

"I'm going to slap that smile off......

A brick came crashing through the window, and then another brick, and then another.

They were the bricks that bordered Emma's bushes and flower garden.

Gabriel trumpeted and bellowed like an elephant for a third time; mocking their ability to find or stop him.

Good, the police should be here any moment now.....

Gabriel:

I managed to flatten all the tires on their van and puncture the radiator with the Victorinox Swiss Army Knife that Zeta gave me for Christmas one year.

God bless her!

I also removed one of the distributer wires on the Jeep to keep it from starting.

And it is not like they can call for a taxi on a night like this with the road closed and the nearest house is almost a mile away.

Damn I sure botched things though.

What will Amy think of me now?

Fortunately neither she nor Emma is hurt.

I hope one of the bottom feeders come outside.

At least I will have the advantage of the dark and the weather; focus, Gabriel, focus......

Amy:

Spike came running down the stairs and into the kitchen and even with the shotgun in his hands looked scared.

"You idiot, you let him get away?

Give me that damn shotgun."

Rodney snatched it away from him.

"Now give Miguel your knife."

He ordered.

Like a whipped puppy Spike did as he was told.

"Miguel! Kill that brick throwing son of a bitch and cut off his balls.

Then bring them to me.

Then we will see if this puta is still laughing at us."

"Si with pleasure"

Miguel said laughing and he was not the least bit shaken.

"Señor Elephant has the big balls but not for long"

Miguel opened the second bottle of tequila and took a long swig and then handed it to Rodney who took a swig as well.

They did not offer it to the disgraced Spike.

Miguel then went to his duffle bag and removed a 12 Gauge double barrel shotgun.

The barrels cut back to twelve inches and the stock sawed off at the pistol grip.

I noticed that it had double triggers, one in front of the other.

Taking his time.... he pushed the side lever to one side... opened it and looked down the barrels...

He carefully inserted two shotgun shells.... closed it gently until the barrels locked in place.... he then sighed and kissed it.

Turning to me he said

"I'm going to cut off his balls and make a necklace for you to wear around your neck, puta."

Picking up a flashlight from the kitchen table Miguel walked out the back door.....................

Gabriel:

Miguel's flashlight wasn't of much use in the pouring sheets of rain as the beam was reflected and dispersed in all directions.

He did a very thorough search of the grounds however, noticing the flat tires and leaking radiator and I could hear him cursing in Spanish underneath his breath as I tried to remain hidden.

If I could just keep from getting shot and get the shotgun away from him....yes that's it....almost there...just a little closer....I then leaped from the tree

The best case scenario was landing squarely on both his shoulders with my feet and driving him to ground and breaking his back.

As luck was not mine that night it I only caught his left shoulder from behind knocking him to his knees.

I heard his collar bone snap and I may have possibly dislocated his arm as he went down with a grunt.

I rolled to one side and was jarred myself from the impact and I was thinking.

"Damn I am too old for this.

I think that I may have sprained my ankle...well so much for that idea."

Miguel came up on his knees with a look of surprise on his face.

Then he smiled through the obvious pain and tried to stand but couldn't.

His left arm was handing to one side, useless and obviously dislocated.

He picked up his shotgun that was stuck in the dirt with his right hand.

He then brought the trigger guard it up to his temple with the barrels pointed up into the air as if saluting me.

I looked him straight in the eyes and asked for no quarter.

Both of us were in pain and Miguel was hurt far more then I.

We stared and then came to a final silent understanding.

"I think that I shall let you keep your balls, Señor flying elephant."

He said quietly.

"I will take your pretty Lady as my own and I promise you no one will ever abuse her."

Sighing, Miguel brought the shotgun up in front of him like a pistol, aimed and touched off both barrels.........

Amy:

I noticed that Rodney was good at giving orders and not good for much else...perhaps he was afraid for all his bluster.

He certainly was a tough guy when it came to women and cowards like Spike.

I noticed the deference that he showed Miguel even though he employed him and gave the orders.

Rodney was afraid of him; I certainly was.

I know this sounds simplistic.

Miguel is a very bad man.

The opposite of Gabriel who is a very good man yet they both smell like testosterone.

That being the case I would never take up with a killer like him.

They have a way about them because they are both men's men; one good, one not.

Many women are attracted to men of Miguel's type and primarily for the sex.

Certainly not for love; they end up in poverty as addicts, as whores or worse.

Dead at an early age with very few finding redemption.

Spike simply reeks.

And Rodney...well Rodney has no smell to speak of....he just a big blank hulk.

He was now was looking out the kitchen window with a death grip on Emma's shotgun.

Spike was trying to drink himself into a stupor.

When Rodney noticed Spike drinking he walked over and then snatched the bottle from him.

"Go outside and help him look.

Maybe the cold rain will sober you up."

"But what if he has a gun?"

Spike asked a second time.

"If he had a gun he wouldn't be throwing bricks, stupid.

Obviously he doesn't have a gun or can't call the police for some reason because they would have been here by now."

Spike was just walking out the door with the flashlight and a large kitchen knife when we heard the explosion.........

Gabriel:

The concussion from the back pressure of the shotgun as the barrels exploded from the mud obstructed bores was deafening. The bulk of the metal hot fragments, wood splinters and deformed lead shot were directed back at Miguel.

I was peppered with the smaller metal fragments and a smattering of #4 lead shot or so I thought.

I felt myself and then assured myself that none of the pellets or metal fragments penetrated more than a 1/8 of an inch deep.

Thank God the blast missed my eyes.

I must have looked like a bloody mess being sprayed with the blood from Miguel's neck and lower face now a bloody ruin.

When I opened my eyes he was lying on his side; dead.

I wanted to throw up but could not afford that luxury and I choked back my bile.

Amy was safe for now.

I could feel it and I meant to keep it that way because that was all that mattered.

My heart was pounding with the adrenaline racing through my veins.

I stood up impervious to the pain; my love for Amy and the joy of still being alive to marry her was all that I needed to sustain me.

The rain had started letting up when Spike came running up and shined the flashlight on us.

We must have looked like ghoulish and nightmarish figures in the diffused and reflected light.

I was covered in gore and blood, mine and Miguel's.

I unconsciously had wiped my mouth and face a few times smearing things around a bit.

And with Miguel's lower face missing.

It may have looked to Spike as if I just ate it.

Spike was frozen in place with his mouth wide open.

I watched the large chef's knife drop to the ground from his nerveless fingers.

He looked up at me and I smiled and said to him matter of factually

"You're next."

Spike, what a joke he is; he screamed like a little girl and bolted in the opposite direction of the house.

I could hear Rodney calling out from the house to them and I could vaguely make out his shape in the open doorway holding the shotgun.