Although the Humanity Defence Faction had yet to claim responsibility, the general consensus was that they must have been involved in the bombing, given that for years they’d been calling for the dismantling of the NAS, by violent means if necessary.
The gleaming gate lifted silently, and Maddy drove on to the campus. Just inside, there was another pair of black-clad armed guards – the Immortals kept their training absolutely secret, and they weren’t taking any chances, especially not after the bombing. Leafy trees lined a drive that ran past a series of bungalow offices that had been built in the ’30s and kept in pristine condition. A series of gardeners worked on the immaculate lawn, trimming each blade of perfectly green grass. Monumental palm trees stood in the distance.
The front building was a giant corner bungalow that housed the training head’s office, where Louis Kreuz, an Angel immigrant from Central Europe, had been ruling the training grounds for as long as anyone could remember. At first Maddy had wondered why he had such an “un-Angelic” last name, but then she figured out it was simply German for “cross”. Kreuz was famous, Maddy knew from Jackson, both for his tirades against Angel trainees and instructors alike as well as for his astonishing success at transforming the most unlikely Angels into overnight superstar Guardians. (He was also notorious for having an expensive Cuban cigar dangling from his mouth at all times. An old joke in Angel City was that he smoked them even in his sleep, leading to considerable difficulties for Mrs Kreuz.)
Maddy followed the drive around the side of the bungalows to the parking area. Her first impulse was to park in the visitor section, but a sign directed her to an area in the small car park reserved for “Nominees in Training”.
Past the offices stood two rows of low but imposing white buildings that looked to Maddy like enormous hangars. There must have been at least a do
zen of them, gleaming under the sun. If anyone wanted to know how the Angels kept their training so secret, here was part of the answer, at least.
Maddy pulled her uncle’s station wagon into a free spot. She checked her bag one last time, making sure she had everything she needed – including a new blank journal from Uncle Kevin, along with her father’s training notebook. She got out of the car into the blinding sunshine and looked at her vehicle parked incongruously among those of the other young Angels in training: Porsche, Jaguar, Range Rover, Porsche, BMW M3 . . . and Kevin’s old station wagon with two hundred and twenty thousand miles on it. She saw he still hadn’t taken the Angel City High School honour student bumper sticker off. Maddy idly wondered if they had “My Kid Is an Honour Student at the Guardian Angel Training Academy” stickers.
A golf cart whizzed up to Maddy, piloted by a young woman just a few years older than her.
“Ms Godright? I’m Sadie. Mr Kreuz wishes to see you.” Her voice was sharp and clipped. She was so beautiful that Maddy thought at first she must be an Angel, but there was something earthbound about her that made Maddy decide she was human.
“Mr . . . Kreuz?” Maddy sputtered. “Now?”
“Yes. He specifically requested I come and fetch you as soon as you arrived on the grounds. And Mr Kreuz doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
The ride on the cart only took thirty seconds, looping around the back of the other low-slung offices to the front bungalow. Along the way, they passed two Angels Maddy would’ve bet anything were Guardians in training, a guy and a girl. She also would’ve bet anything they glared at her as she passed by.
Sadie led Maddy through double doors into the plush offices. They were as well appointed as the NAS headquarters, but much more classic, with a ’30s art deco flair. Maddy felt like she was stepping back to a more glamorous time in Angel City’s past.
A receptionist sitting at the front desk gave Sadie a hand signal. Sadie nodded and quickly opened the door to the inner office, motioning for Maddy to walk in.
“Mr Kreuz will see you now,” Sadie said. Maddy took a few timid steps in, and Sadie pulled the door shut, leaving Maddy alone in the room.
From behind a tremendous cloud of smoke, a shorter, somewhat portly Angel emerged, cigar first. Maddy realized she hadn’t ever seen an overweight Angel. In fact, he might have been the most un-Angelic Angel she’d ever met. Louis Kreuz wore a sleek herringbone suit and gold tie and had a thin moustache. He stomped towards her.
“You must be the Godright girl,” the man said loudly, brashly, putting his hand out to shake. “I read about you. You’re famous.”
Maddy timidly put her hand forward, and it disappeared in his meaty paw as he shook it up and down.
“I’m Louis. But you probably already know that. If you were dumb, you wouldn’t be going through Guardian training. We’d just jump you straight to Archangel.” Louis Kreuz laughed heartily at his punch line. The phone on his desk beeped and a light flashed green, indicating a call was coming through. With irritation he turned his head to the thick oak doors. “NO CALLS, YOU NITWITS!” he shouted at the assistants through the doors.
Maddy took a second to look around. She found herself in a plush, oak-lined room. Just outside the two large windows that swung open on to a garden, glorious purple and pink flowers flourished. Their scent wafted into the room, mixing with the cigar. Old, silver-framed photos of Louis Kreuz with practically every famous Guardian ever lined the walls. Memories from Angel City’s Golden Age. They were all signed: “With love always, to Louis”, “Louis, where would I ever be without you, darling?”, “Louis: you still owe me $10, you lug!” Maddy even saw a picture with Jackson’s Aunt Clara, the former “Pearl of Angel City”. Jackson had told her once there had even been rumours of an affair between the two of them, which the newspapers, radio and news-reel films at the time had been as eager to exploit as the blogs and ANN would be today.
Kreuz looked at Maddy. “You mute?”
“What?” Maddy started.
“You mute? You haven’t said nothin’.”
Maddy’s face flushed. “Well, I just want to tell you what a great opportunity it is— ”
Kreuz’s face turned serious. “Save the canned lines for the interviews on ANN. You think you’re ready to become a nominee?”
Maddy gulped. “Yes,” she said firmly.
“Well that’s good. Because I don’t. In fact, I told them as much when they sent you along to me. What’s a half-Angel, half-human who’s never had a day of training and hasn’t even got her wings yet going to do here? But they insisted. And everybody’s got a boss. Including me. Only difference is mine goes by the name Gabriel, he’s on the Council of Twelve, and he started a little thing I like to call Protection for Pay. You mighta heard of it.”
Maddy was at a loss for words. She tried to stare at the same spot on the carpet, wishing she were literally anywhere but there at that moment. While she had found courage in the conference room at the NAS with the pretentious Archangels, this direct attack from Kreuz left her feeling small and wounded.
“You’re coming in so late in the game, I don’t even know where to start. These other Guardians, they practically started trainin’ in their mothers’ wombs. And now they want to fast-track you over a couple years?” Kreuz snorted.
“I. . .” But Maddy trailed off. He was right. She was starting training incredibly late, although she knew she wouldn’t be Commissioned for at least two years at a minimum.