Fallen 1: Berlin

Chapter II: Clock of Destruction

"Hey, hey, hey! Where do you think you are going and why are you dressed so casually?" Lucian rushed towards Berlin who was making his way to his garage as if he didn't see his friend. "We are meeting the new client this afternoon."

"I'm going to drive myself to work because if I have to sit for fifteen minutes listening to your whining I'm going to lose it and kill you." Berlin assured Lucian as he held up his hand and curled it into a fist. Fiery hot veins formed around it and they glowed with the hot lava that was coursing through him. The red hot molten lava veins sizzled the sweat on his skin and it wafted away as steam. A ghost smile lingered on his lips when he saw the young man gulp down hard.

"Okay, I will shut my mouth, I promise." Lucian said, obscuring Berlin's path when his hand returned to normal and he started walking again but the boy couldn't take his wary eyes from it. It was not the first time the boy saw a snippet of Berlin's true form but he was always surprised by it. 

Berlin placed his hands deep in his pockets and said. "Take Elise back home after she wakes up and has breakfast. I'm meeting my brother for sometime this morning. I'll see you in the afternoon for the meeting." 

"You have a brother?" Lucian asked in surprise and Berlin realized that the last assistant who met Cairo more than a hundred years ago was buried in the oldest part of the cemetery in a different state altogether. It was a good thing mankind had very short life spans because living with them and letting them know about his secret life was dangerous.

"Yeah. He is here...on business."

"Then you should have invited him to stay at the house. I mean it's always me and you here to the point I feel we will soon resemble this old house." Lucian looked at the house.

It wasn't an old house. Berlin just wanted it to appear that way on the outside while inside it was any contemporary fanatic's wet dream. Berlin couldn't see Cairo ever wanting to stay with him. Cairo had an explosive temper and like Bucharest, Nebraska and Ottawa--the other members of his platoon, they were all upset with him because when they made the decision to save mankind, he readily accepted whatever punishment they were going to get without consulting with the others. There was nothing worse than the inability to return home among their friends and family. The loneliness was real and each year it chipped off part of Berlin's sanity. In the beginning he used to count the years until he went back home but at one time, all the years blurred against each other. 

When Cairo called him and asked him to meet, Berlin was very surprised and it was the reason why he wanted to go and meet him. 

"Do you want to meet your maker that quickly?" Berlin arched his eyebrow at Lucian who raised his hands in surrender.

"Talk about a dysfunctional family--listen, don't be late for the meeting at lunchtime, Berlin. This is very important." Lucian turned to the Aston Martin while Berlin went to his garage and got out his Ferrari before speeding out towards the city. It's been a while since Berlin was in any contact with one of his fellow guardians and a nostalgic feeling crept down his back. He could still remember Cairo's platinum blond hair and his icy blue eyes. He had very conspicuous features that made him stand out--not to mention the large athlete body that gained him favors in the military. Berlin knew Cairo was some special operations soldier somewhere. 

It was funny how the warrior side of all of them always led them to places that felt familiar. They were always about protecting the innocent and they all found a way to compensate for that among the humans. 

Lucian never understood why he had all that money and still took assignments. It was not about the money, it was about feeling alive and Berlin felt most alive in the front line. The action wasn't much being a bodyguard but it always had his adrenaline pumping. There were also the times when he did his 'vigilante' thing that Lucian hated so much but all that made him feel normal again. 

When Berlin accepted the punishment of finding true love, he thought it was the easiest thing to do. For one, being an elite guardian had its perks. They were exceptional in appearance. They stood out and attracted a lot of attention because they were built unlike the humans. Though they resembled them, they could not be placed in the same category. They had sides that manifested when they were in battle that humans could never understand. They could command universal matter to their advantage depending on where they where. On earth, each had the ability to command one element of earth; water, fire, air and nature when the need arose. They were molded and chiseled to perfection; the divine warriors fighting for the good of the worlds.

Berlin thought within a few months on earth he was bound to find true love. Women flocked to his feet and it was fun in the beginning...until months turned into years and years turned into decades then centuries and finally time didn't make sense anymore. True love never came and all that fun died while reality came crushing down on him like boulders.  

Now, it was just bleak existence, watching as mankind discover new technology to better their lives like an old movie. As he parked his car outside the place Cairo chose for the meeting, Berlin took a deep breath. He wondered if Cairo was going to throw a punch at him again like he did last century. He hoped that with the hundred plus years that they lived apart, his anger had simmered down. 

Eyes were on him as he made his way through the restaurant. A young girl who was at the reception area gasped out softly when she looked at him and knocked over a vase with her left hand absentmindedly. Berlin swiftly moved forward and caught the vase before it reached the ground and replaced it on the receptionist's desk. The more she stared at him, the pinker her cheeks became. 

"Good morning." Berlin smiled at her but she suddenly stopped breathing and her face started losing color as her eyes rolled back before she fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Berlin never got used to that. He rolled his eyes as a fellow worker came over and tried fanning her. "Not again." he groaned softly as he tried to shake her.

"I think she has a sugar problem." Berlin said and turned to the hall where people were sitting, chatting away while they had their breakfast. He noticed Cairo sitting in one of the exclusive glass-encased balconies overlooking the city streets. The buzzing noise of traffic and people outside was muted by the glass and it was private enough to allow them to speak about anything. 

Cairo gave Berlin a little wave but his eyes were cold and the little quirk of his mouth did nothing for his grim face. Berlin sighed and made his way to his brother, readying himself for another confrontation with him.

"You look like shit." Berlin greeted him eyeing the expensive leather biker jacket he wore over his grey T-shirt. His platinum hair had grown longer and locks came around his chiseled face giving the illusion that he was a sweet guy when in fact...he was the most dangerous of them all. Pair him up with Bucharest and the duo could set the entire world on fire in a day.

"I must say the city life is good for you. You actually have some blush on your cheeks--" He turned to the receptionist who was being carried off by the other workers and his silver eyebrow arched up. "That's the second receptionist fainting today."

"Sugar level is a problem on this side of the world. People work longer hours and eat very little." Berlin settled in front of his brother. 

He flashed his gleaming white teeth at Berlin in a wolfish smile that had no amusement and Berlin knew something must have happened. "Every time I see your ugly face I am reminded that you f****d up real bad. If I had my ax, I would have hacked that black heart of yours from your chest."

Berlin entertained a smile when he saw the light blue fiery veins glow around Cairo's neck and noticed the way the espresso in his cup warped in the middle before snapping back and slurping on the sides of the cup. The soldier was worked up, he could tell but his fury wasn't as bad as a hundred years ago. Berlin recalled them bringing down a fifty story building that was still under construction so there were no causalities in their brawl. No one understood how it happened but the client blamed the construction company for a faulty structural system.   

Each elite guardian was given a divine weapon that fed them power straight from the well of life and they were tailor made which meant no one could use them or try to tame them other than the rightful owner. These weapons were linked to the very lifelines of their wielders. Berlin was the leader and he was given a sword, Cairo had a double headed ax, Bucharest got a double headed spear, Ottawa had twin guns and Nebraska was awarded with a indestructible yet flexible metal whip. However, the moment they went against the Power, these divine weapons were locked away--only to be released once Berlin and his team completed their punishment. 

"Yet, you crossed the seas to see me." Berlin said as a waitress came forward and took his order. Both males watched cautiously in case she decided to take a nose-dive to the floor as well but this particular one was able to remember how breathing worked. She took Berlin's order and bee-lined her way to the open-plan kitchen.

Cairo sighed and settled back on his chair before sipping his cup of espresso. "I crossed the seas for a good cup of this stuff. Much more pleasurable than any f**k I have had so far."

So, they were all developing bad habits. Berlin thought quietly. "Really?"

"Yeah, that and the fact that the clock of destruction has wrung its first bell." Cairo said it so casually that Berlin would have missed just how important that information was if wasn't paying attention.

"What?" Berlin's eyebrows snapped to his forehead. 

Cairo turned grim again as he placed his empty cup of espresso on the table and called the waitress for a refill. "You didn't happen to see the earthquake that took place in the south on TV, did you?"

Berlin remembered watching something like that on the television. A large crevice was created due to an earthquake and fires that almost burnt down all the forests erupted from it. "Yeah."

"The first horseman was brought down a few months ago. I was there when it happened." He reached across the table and clasped Berlin's hand, showing him what he saw.

Berlin was pulled into Cairo's memories, the smoke choking his throat and his eyes tearing because of it. Animals fled for their lives as the fires roared, consuming everything in its path. Berlin's heart stuttered in his chest when he realized he was standing in the middle of the place where the fires started. The stone was completely melted and turned into a black crystal radiating in all direction for about a hundred meters producing deep cracks in the earth. The bushes behind him moved and a jaguar leaped over him, darting away from the fires. That was when Berlin saw the naked male standing in the flames, his hair red like the flames around him and his skin bronze glowing in the fire. His red eyes narrowed at Berlin and one side of his lips curled in a venomous smile before the flames swallowed him and he vanished.

When Cairo released his hand, Berlin took in a deep breath and fought away the wave of dizziness that occurred afterwards. 

"That's...." Berlin's throat closed off just thinking about the individual in the flames. 

Cairo nodded as an air of foreboding sank down around them, engulfing them in its misery and wailed like restless spirits. "War...yes."

"And he saw you?" Berlin asked with a frown.

Again, Cairo nodded. "Yep. He wasn't expecting a welcoming bandwagon. You can only imagine his disappointment when he saw me there."

"You tried to f**k his sister--how do you think he will react when he sees your face, Cai?" Berlin gritted his teeth but Cairo merely chuckled softly as the waitress brought him another shot of espresso.

"Uh--sir, are you okay?" She asked in concern.

He shrugged his shoulders in confusion. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

The waitress bit her lower lip and said. "Because that is your tenth shot."

"Yeah, this is good stuff. Keep it coming." Cairo smiled at her and the girl started doing some breathing exercises as she placed Berlin's order in front of him and quickly excused herself, dashing away like a scared child. 

"Where is he now?" Berlin suddenly lost his appetite as he looked down at his cup of coffee and his croissant. If the four horsemen of the apocalypse were being brought down by the Power, it only meant that they were running out of time to find true love and save humanity. 

Cairo shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I think he is sightseeing somewhere--don't know. I contacted the others to be on the lookout. From the strategy I remember, the next Horseman will not show up for the next fifteen years which means we have some time."

That didn't make it any better because human years rushed over like water under the bridge. If they had been on that earth for more than two thousand years, fifteen years was just an eye-blink away. "We need to find him--"

"Nah, you need to find him and I need to get back to work." Cairo suddenly got up and stretched his large body languidly. "You are our leader and you should come up with a strategy to bring War out from wherever he is hiding, like the way you decided to ground us here all by little yourself."

"Cai, I have apologized for that, so many times." Berlin groaned softly.

"Your apologies aren't getting us any closer to going home. I hope the guilt you feel keeps you awake every night for the rest of your miserable existence." Cairo grinned maliciously and saluted Berlin before going around him.

"Sir, your bill!" The waitress came running to him.

"He'll pay for it." Cairo pointed to Berlin and walked out leaving Berlin to pay for his ten shots of espresso. Soon, Berlin heard the firing of a bike before he saw Cairo racing through the traffic before disappearing in the slow moving cars around him. Berlin needed to put his neck on the line and contact the rest. With a sigh, he paid the bill and went out.

                                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sage quickly collected the button that fell off the cuff of her pink office-shirt and pushed her way between the people who lined up to get their coffees that morning. It was always a nerving task to get through without spilling the coffee on her clothes but that morning she managed to get to the other side without an accident. 

Her friends had officially removed her from the discussion group online because she arrived too late for the dinner and found them gone. She tried to explain but none of them understood in just what situation she was in. They told her the only way to apologize was to take them out and treat them to a good dinner. Sage didn't have that kind of money at the moment so she had to put them pending and re-evaluate just what kind of friends she had.  

Her phone trilled and she quickly answered it because it was from the number of her mother's hospital.

"Zoe." Sage answered swiftly as she made it to the streets that were blaring with horns as cars moved up and down the roads. She moved with the sea of people that were waiting for the pedestrian light to go on so that they shuffled to the other side and go about their businesses. Different perfumes and food scents tickled Sage's nostrils as she found herself sandwiched between a couple of tall people. 

"Hey Sage. How are you doing?"

"Great!" Sage smiled hoping Zoe heard the happiness in her voice even though it something she had to master for a long time. "How are you? How's mom?"

"We are all doing great. Your mother asked for water yesterday. She showing great progress because this morning I found her brushing her teeth all by herself!"

Sage's mother went into depression after her father died because she too was harassed by Robert to the point she just retreated to the furthest corner of her mind. She refused to talk to anyone and just sat in her wheelchair looking out the window. Sage was fortunate that the owner of the place where her mother was being treated was someone she knew and she assured Sage that her mother would be in good hands. They made a payment plan that suited Sage and Sage had never been late for her payments. 

"That's amazing, Zoe!" Sage exclaimed as the pedestrians started moving through the corridor but someone pushed Sage's hand as she rushed past her and the coffee went flying across the sky to the nearest car's windshield "Oh f**k!" she exclaimed and cringed before saying, "Uh--Zoe, can I call you back later?" she hung up and ran to the red Ferrari that was messed up because of her. She picked up the scattered tissues on the ground and tried to clean the whipped cream from the windshield but it looked as if she was making it worse.

"I am so sorry!" She cried as the front door opened and the man stepped out scowling at her then at the windshield. "I--I--" she stuttered as she bent down again to retrieve more tissues. 

"Stop." The man said softly but Sage was too worked up to even hear as she continued wiping the windshield. Car horns blared in all directions causing her to yelp in surprise when she discovered that the lights had allowed the cars to move. 

One white car passed so close to her that she to hop out of the way almost making acquaintance with the wet road but the man caught her and steadied her. She turned to him, gnawing on her lower lip and quickly held out her business card. "Please, take this and take your car for a wash then call me."

When she looked up at him, she saw the way his beautiful mouth turned up in a ghost smile and the way one of his neat eyebrows arched up. He had the darkest eyes she had ever since and looking at them was like drowning into a very deep lake. His face looked as if it were one of those people you saw in magazines and were sure that they were a hundred percent edited to look perfect. He was tall and broad, dressed casually in dark jeans and a white t-shirt underneath his brown leather jacket.

More horns blared and people pushed down their windows before they started shouting out obscenities her way. Sage shrunk further in her skin. Just when she thought her day was going well, all hell broke loose! Not mention that Robert and Charli's coffees were now decorating that very expensive car and the owner was about to dry her entire savings account by taking it for a wash. 

"Please take it." She blinked away the tears and pushed it to him. If he took that card and did in fact call her for the payment, it meant she was not going grocery shopping that week and she had to survive on canned soup and bread but she needed to take responsibility for her actions. Who told her to talk on the phone while she crossed the road?

The man pushed the business card back to her and said. "Get off the road before you become a coffee on someone else's windshield."

"But your car--" 

"Is fine. Nothing's broken." He assured her as the lights went red again and more people cursed at them. People crossed the road while muttering elatedly at the scene where Sage was. "You are not wounded, are you?" he asked her.

"I am..." she answered and saw the way his frown deepened then pointed lightly to her chest. "My ego is wounded, sir."

Amusement glittered in his dark eyes and had Sage struggling for air. The man reached forward and took the card from her. "Fine...I will call you once I clean my car." He said then softly nudged her towards the pedestrian walkway. "Get going before someone decides to run you down."

"Thank you, sir." Sage answered and quickly ran across the street. She winced when she saw the Ferrari speed off with cream and coffee on its bonnet and windshield. When the car vanished she realized that she needed to cross over to the other side again and get a new order for Robert because the man turned into a raging monster if he didn't get his coffee in the morning. Frustration throbbed against her temples because she had to use her money to pay for the coffees. She felt like screaming as she waited impatiently for the pedestrian lights to turn green again.

A few minutes later, Sage made her way through the corridor towards Robert's office she could hear him berating someone in his office. A shiver ran up her spine because Robert had the habit of turning blame to the next person who entered his office. As she braced herself for her share of the man's anger that morning, Charli popped in front of her and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, eyeing Sage knowingly. 

"You're late." Charli said as she took the coffees from her.

"I had a little accident." Sage explained and Charli hummed softly.

"Explains the stain on your shirt." She point to the coffee stain on Sage's sleeve. "One moment." She moved to her desk and removed some bills from her desk then went to Sage and gave it to her. 

"No, I couldn't, Charli but thank you--"

"Take it." Charli used her no-nonsense voice and Sage found herself taking the amount.

"Thank you, Charli." The woman smiled softly and ran her hand through her light brown hair then said. "I saw what happened. You are lucky that man didn't sue your ass."

And Sage was forever thankful. His dark eyes were still very vivid in her mind and the way he handled the situation like a gentleman blew her away. "But I think I will be paying for his cleaning services."

"I doubt he is as petty as Robert." Charli assured Sage and Sage almost kicked at herself for cornering him into taking her card. "And speaking of the devil, better get to your desk while I take this to him."

"Thanks a million, Charli." Sage blew her a kiss and let the fashionista personal assistant take the coffee to her boss while Sage went to get started on her work unable to take the gentleman in the streets from her mind.