I stood in front of the door to Heaven, feeling extremely nervous about being back here like this, especially knowing what had happened to my sisters. At the moment, I wasn’t staring at the pearly gates, but the rusty gates instead.

The last two days had been very busy as Lisa and I had made our way back here, taking much longer than it had for me to get to Hell Town in the first place. We’d spend most of the previous day in the air and had landed at a distant airfield late in the evening. The airfield was about an hour from the base, so first thing in the morning we’d continued our journey via city busses, eventually arriving at base and easily hopping the security fence. From there, all we had to do was sneak into the fenced area behind Heaven where we wouldn’t be seen.

“It feels weird sneaking in through the back door like this,” I told Lisa.

“Imagine how I feel,” she told me quietly. “I’ve wanted to come back here for a long time, but not like this.”

I unlocked the door with the access code and then went inside, with Lisa following right behind me. I didn’t bother asking Lisa why we’d come back to Heaven when our sisters were somewhere else entirely. She’d given me enough of the plan on the trip here to answer some of my questions, just not all of them.

Once we were inside, Lisa immediately began wandering from room to room, peaking her head in and nodding to herself. “Not much has changed,” she said before going upstairs to the main living area. Once up there, she took one look around the main common area and stated, “The furniture got moved around.”

Then Lisa raced down the hall to the bedroom that I’d been told had once been hers. I didn’t bother following and merely waited. After several minutes, she came back with a strange look on her face.

“Most of my stuff is still there,” she told me quietly. “Everything but my good shoes and clothes.”

I smiled faintly as I watched her, imagining what it would have to be like for her. “I know this is a homecoming for you,” I told her carefully. “But it isn’t much of a home without the others.”

“True,” Lisa agreed with a scowl.

A few minutes after this, we went back downstairs and to one of the storage rooms. There were boxes of random objects stored there, some of which made no sense at all. There was sports gear, a large toolbox containing enough tools to satisfy a mechanic, bicycles, and even inflatable plastic pool toys. However, hidden among these random distractions were some items that had been stored there for specific purposes.

Rebecca had always believed that the angels situation might not be stable, that someone might try to capture or eliminate us because of the angel strain in our systems or what it allowed us to do. However, she’d also believed that we were the best chance of fighting the demon threat and had been determined to do so as long as she could. So while we fought demons as Angel Squad, she’d set some contingency plans in case our situation changed. Unfortunately, she’d expected a little more warning than what we’d received.

Every storage room in Heaven had a few items that might be useful, though we also had a storage rental off base which contained lot more. That storage rental contained a nice collection of weapons, though that wasn’t really what Lisa and I needed quite yet. For now, what we needed most was on base, which was why we’d come to Heaven instead.

I pulled some uniforms out of storage and handed them over to Lisa. These weren’t the normal Angel Squad uniforms but those of an ordinary enlisted Army soldier. It would be easier to move around base in those uniforms since almost no one would pay attention to a couple of privates. I retrieved a few more items from where they were hidden, then Lisa and I went back upstairs to change.

It didn’t take long for Lisa and I to get dressed in the uniforms. In fact, it took me about the same amount of time just to get my hair up and into a bun so that it would look professional and appropriate for the uniform rules. Since Lisa and I were both in uniform, with our hair done up like this as well as being covered by our caps, the only way anyone would be able to tell us apart was the fact that she was still wearing her glasses.

“I don’t like that we need these,” Lisa said as she held up the two Army issue 9mm pistols and handed one to me. “But considering the circumstances, its better safe than sorry.”

“Agreed,” I responded, wishing that I didn’t have to agree with her. I put my gun into the holster on the back of my belt, knowing it would be covered and hidden by my uniform as long as I was careful.

Lisa and I left Heaven and started towards the administration building. Since two identical women who were walking side by side were bound to draw attention and that was the last thing we wanted at the moment, I went first and she followed about twenty yards behind me.

I was nearly to the administration building when I saw a very familiar and angry looking soldier come out the doors. I immediately looked down, using my hat brim to hide my face as he came towards me, but it didn’t work.

“What?” Gene exclaimed, pausing to stare at me. “You’re an angel…”

“Please Gene,” I started, not wanting him to give me away.

“Monica?” he gasped, his eyes going wide. Then he suddenly threw his arms around me in a hug, “I thought you were dead…”

“I’m still alive,” I admitted, relieved to see him again but worried that he was going to give me away.

Gene stared at me for a moment, obviously relived but also confused. “Why are you dressed like that?” Then he paused, his expression going grim. “Of course. That ridiculous quarantine thing…”

“Are you going to turn me in?” I asked quietly.

Gene looked offended for a moment and responded, “Of course not.”

I let out a sigh of relief at that and told him, “Thanks. I’m just trying to stay under the radar until I can figure out how to get my sisters out.”

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” he said, looking completely sincere in his offer. “What happened to Angel Squad just isn’t right.”

I nodded at that, then looked around nervously. “I can’t stay out here in the open like this,” I told him. “And don’t have time to talk at the moment.”

“I understand,” he told me, bending over and giving me a kiss. “Be careful.”

After Gene was gone, Lisa came up to me and said, “He’s cute.” She grinned as she said it and added, “I seem to remember seeing him somewhere before…”

I blushed at that, suddenly remembering the wet dream that I’d shared with Dani. It seemed that Dani wasn’t the only one I’d been sharing that dream with.

“How come the others didn’t realize you were still alive from the dreams?” I asked her, trying to change the subject.

“I’ve been hiding from them in my dreams too,” Lisa admitted. “And when they did see me, they just thought I was part of their dreams.” She let out a sigh and said, “I was planning on contacting them once I was finished with the omega strain, but I couldn’t think of how to do it…”

“In other words,” I pointed out wryly. “You were afraid of facing them after what you did.” Lisa didn’t bother to deny it.

A few seconds later, I went into the administration building while Lisa hung back a little. I already knew where I was going and went straight to Hannah’s office.

“Just a moment,” Hannah said, staring at her computer and not looking up at me.

“Excuse me,” I said, trying to stay calm though I felt angry. “What paperwork do I need to fill out after I’ve been in a helicopter crash, had to fight off a demon, then had a bomb dropped on my head?”

Hannah looked up and stared at me with a look of shock, blurting out, “Monica?” When I nodded, she exclaimed, “Oh my God,” and nearly jumped over the desk to give me a hug.

I was still angry, but Hannah’s relief at seeing me alive was obviously sincere. “What happened?” I asked her grimly.

“General Lawrence contacted the pilots directly and ordered them to change course without delay,” Hannah said, looking as angry as I felt. “And then…” She paused to shake her head. “He ordered Angel Squad locked up in quarantine so they could be studied.”

“I heard about that,” I said coldly.

“The colonel is furious,” Hannah quickly added. “He’s been trying to get Angel Squad released, but…”

“But General Lawrence is his superior,” I stated bitterly. I liked Colonel Roberts, but he was a military man and wouldn’t disobey orders from his direct superior.

“The colonel didn’t know the general was going to do that,” Hannah insisted. “He would have fought it if he could, and now he’s doing everything he can.”

I scowled at that, wanting to take my anger out on Hannah, but I couldn’t do that. She’d been a good friend to my sisters and I and this wasn’t her fault. Just because she was an officer, that didn’t mean there was anything she could have done.

“There’s more,” Hannah told me grimly. “Doctor Merrit was put in charge of the experiments.”

“Of course he was,” I spat out bitterly.

I suddenly realized that Dr. Merrit knew this was coming. He knew that sooner or later we’d be his guinea pigs and he’d be able to use us for his viral research. That was why he was so cold and distant to us. In his mind, we were already his guinea pigs.

“I need to talk to the colonel,” I told her.

Hannah stared at me for a moment before responding, “Of course.” She went down the hall with me right behind her, stopping at the colonel’s office and saying, “Sir, there’s someone here to see you.”

I stepped into the office and stared at Colonel Roberts who sat on the other side of his desk. He had looked grim and angry, but when he saw me, his eyes went wide in stunned disbelief.

“It’s Monica,” Hannah told him excitedly. “She’s alive…”

“I see,” Colonel Roberts said, standing up and staring at me for a moment. “You have no idea how glad I am that you’re alive,” he told me. “Close the door. We have a lot to talk about.”

Just then, Lisa stepped into the doorway and said, “I think that’s my cue.”

Hannah and Colonel Roberts both jumped at that. Hannah blurted out, “Another angel…” She paused, looking confused. “But all the angels are accounted for.”

“Hello Carl,” Lisa greeted the colonel, closing the door behind her. “It’s been a long time.”

“Lisa?” Colonel Roberts asked in stunned disbelief.

“In the flesh,” she responded with a wry smile.

Colonel Roberts hesitantly reached out to touch her, gasping, “You’re alive…”

Lisa nodded at that, then took a deep breath. “We need your help. We need you to help save our sisters.”

“I’ll do everything I can,” Colonel Roberts told us with a shake of his head. “Unfortunately, there isn’t much I can do.”

“Then it’s a good thing I come bearing gifts,” Lisa responded with a smirk.

Colonel Roberts scowled for a moment then cautiously asked, “Okay Lisa…what kind of gifts?”

Lisa just grinned at that and answered, “Leverage.”