CHAPTER 1

It was past 9 o'clock at night when the silence of those deserted streets was broken by the sound of footsteps. She walked in a hurry, trying to escape from the cold howling wind, and eager to find a shelter from the darkness that surrounded her. Heavy clouds had covered the moon and the stars, which that innocent angel used to gaze at for long and peaceful hours. They were like old friends that had always greeted her along the centuries and also a gentle reminder that a higher power watched over all the creatures on Earth. Night and day, throughout eternity.

And even though she knew that, Monica couldn't avoid the nervous sensation that took control of her whenever she walked along that path heading to her temporary home - a small but cozy apartment a few blocks from there. The little angel had passed by those narrow and empty alleys for the last two months, while she was helping a widow recover her faith and joy to live. Monica managed a short smile when she thought that now her assignment was practically accomplished. Mrs Lancaster was more confident and learning to let go of painful memories. Very soon, perhaps on the following day, Monica would reveal herself as an angel of God and deliver His message so that the woman could move on with her life.

Being geographically challenged, the little angel found it difficult to get her way back home right when the assignment started. Sometimes, she would heave a sigh of relief when her beloved Andrew showed up in the corner of Mrs Lancaster's house and walked her to the apartment. And it was exactly the memory of the angel of death's green eyes gazing at her and his loving arms wide open for her that warmed her heart in such a cold and silent night.

After another turn, in another deserted street, she fidgeted with the ring Andrew had given her a while ago. They didn't know when they would be granted with the wedding blessings and therefore be joined forever under God's eyes, but just the thought of it caused a wave of joy to fill her soul. As time passed, Monica learned to deal with and understand his protective feelings, maybe due to their latest and painful experiences, maybe due to the mere fact that their love had grown stronger.

Unfortunately, however, Andrew couldn't escort her along those streets everyday, as much as he wanted to. So Monica had to learn the way back to her temporary home, as she made it daily. That knowledge allowed her to walk faster along the narrow streets. She knew her loving father was taking care of her but she also knew that evil was lurking around and being in human form caused her to be more vulnerable to it.

And when she turned around the corner, her fears were materialized in a terrifying image, which caused her human body to freeze: there were two men just a few steps ahead of her. At a first moment, they seemed to be talking in a low voice but in the next second, Monica saw when one of them pulled up a gun and pointed it at the other.

"No!" she shouted, with her heart pounding loudly in her chest, but before she knew it, two gunshots broke the silence of the night, causing her body to tremble with sheer panic.

The victim, a man in his late forties, fell on the ground, his chest covered with blood. His aggressor waited a little and then shot one more time, and then turned his eyes from him to stare at the frightened little angel who had just witnessed a horrible crime. Monica's first impulse was to rush to the man lying on the street and try to help him, but the image of his attacker coming towards her stopped her from moving. As he came closer, she thought the worst: she had seen everything and possibly would have the same destiny of the other victim. She thought about her dearest Andrew and Tess, and how someone's fate could change in a blink of an eye.

"No! Please, don't..." Monica begged, as the man approached her. He was wearing black clothes and gloves, and his face was hidden under a dark mask. But contrary to what she had thought, he didn't shoot her. The man shoved her abruptly on the ground and her anguished cry didn't stop him. Then he took her hands and forcefully made her hold the gun he was carrying with him. There was some blood on the gun and on his clothes, as the shot had been too close to the victim, and moments later Monica's hands and clothes were also slightly dirty with it.

"Please... let me go... he needs help..." her pleading was heartbreaking. He grabbed her face with one hand and she could hear his laughter, muffled by the thick fabric of the mask he was wearing. "Good girl..."

His voice caused a shiver to run down her spine but much to her surprise the man did let go of her and stood on his feet; running away from her and disappearing in between the shadows of the night.

With trembling hands, Monica looked at the gun and in her hands and clothes dirty with the other man's blood, and immediately dropped the evil weapon on the ground, horrified with the fact it could take a life away. Then, still shocked and with her heart beating faster, she walked up to the other man lying on the ground. He was still breathing.

"S-sir?" she called, kneeling right next to him and reaching for his hand. A closer look revealed he was wearing an elegant dark suit and expensive shoes. He had his eyes closed and could hardly breathe. "C-can you hear me?" she insisted, but he moaned as he opened his mouth to try to speak something. "I'll... I'll try to find help..."

"Monica?"

Another voice in the deserted alley called her attention and when she raised her head it was Adam that she saw. The angel of death was in his angelic form, and the expression on his face was a sad and also a confused one.

"Adam... Please, don't tell me..."

"What are you doing here?" he wanted to know, kneeling right next to her.

"I... I was just passing by and I saw it... I saw it when this man was shot..." she explained, tears falling down her cheeks as she knew what her co-worker was doing there. "I thought I could help him..."

"Oh, Monica... I'm so sorry..." the angel of death said, gently placing a hand over her shoulder.

Monica nodded her head in understanding. "Oh, Father... please, have mercy on him..."

But her whispered prayer was suddenly interrupted by another voice, now a threatening one. "Freeze!"

In a heartbeat, Adam was gone and the gentleman lying on the ground was no longer breathing. It was then that Monica saw a police car parked in the corner, and two policemen coming closer to her. They were holding guns and pointing at her, ready to shoot at any moment.

That image was almost as frightening as the one she had just seen minutes before.

"Put your hands where I can see!" the policeman ordered.

"I... I was trying to help him... This man... he needs a doctor..." she tried to speak, but once they were closer and aware she wasn't carrying a gun, they pulled her to her feet and one of them took a pair of handcuffs from his pocket.

"You're under arrest, madam!" he said, not missing how her hands and clothes were stained with blood.

"What? No, there must be a mistake, I was passing by, this man was shot and he needs help-"

"He's dead!" the other policeman said, as he pressed two fingers against the man's jugular.

"Oh, Father..." Monica whispered, feeling sorry for that poor soul, and then she spoke in a loud voice. "Someone shot him... I saw it..."

"Lady, if I were you I'd keep my mouth shut as you're already in a big trouble!"

"No! I saw it! His aggressor dropped the gun over there!" she pointed at the exact spot where the shooter had knocked her down and one of the policeman rushed to there.

"I found the gun, Harry!" he said.

"He went away after he knew this man wouldn't survive!" Monica tried to explain, but the two policemen weren't willing to hear an explanation.

"Please be silent, madam. We'll take you to the police station and there you'll be able to explain how you ended up here, with your hands and clothes all dirty with blood and next to a dead man."

The policemen escorted her to the police station, not giving attention to what she was saying. They also picked the gun used in the crime with the help of a plastic bag so as to preserve any fingerprint. They left the crime scene after the ambulance had arrived to take the body away to the city morgue.

The local police station was not far and when she arrived there Monica was finger printed and photographed and sent to a cell, which she would share with a few women. They also noticed the blood on Monica's shirt and elected to keep some distance from her. As the little angel was shoved inside the cell, she grabbed the bars and cried. How would she prove she was innocent? Who would confirm her story? She didn't even know who that man was and his murderer was nothing but a face hidden under a mask. His voice, however, kept on playing on her mind and she fought to get rid of it. The gentle, warm-hearted angel of God had already been exposed to too much evil lately.

Tears soon fell from her sad doe-like eyes and she thought about the only one who she would like to see at that moment. The one angel that - Monica was sure of it, had been created by God not only to help the humans but also to be by her side and fill her heart with joy and much love.

But Andrew wasn't there. She had last seen him a week earlier, and she closed her eyes at that sweet memory. She desperately needed it right now as it was all that she had.