We Are War

6. Knock knock, get the door it's depression

The command centre, which was also the base where Valentine worked from and got all of his assignments from, was an old airport – long abandoned by humans and taken back into action by angels and modified so they could have both personnel living on the grounds when they were needed and they had a place for the planes to take off and land. The doors were always open but there was to warrior angels posted at the door, checking everyone when they went in, checking to find out what was their business. Genesis was also checked for his business in the area as he reached the doors, he was cryptic, he told them he was getting something for Valentine from the wolf's locker in the building and they let him in without asking anything further. Most of the angels knew who he was and they had seen him with Valentine – they had no reason to deny his request into the building. Despite being a werewolf and often times overlooked and disliked by some angels here Valentine was respected - and trusted, which sometimes seemed like a poor judgement from the angels part. However Genesis wouldn't complain as no one paid much mind as he walked around the building, searching for the right locker room and looking around to make sure he had a clear way out. He didn't know anyone here so they had no reason to engage him into discussion, and he wasn't on a blacklist so he was allowed to walk around.

The building had a lot of happening in it even if to an outsider it looked like it was desolated, Genesis knew there were courses going on in the classrooms, angels to learn how to blend in the human world and how to deal with human military forces, since they were sometimes forced to cooperate on missions, there were debriefings and briefings in different rooms and there were of course some elder angels and team leaders in their own offices preparing for the missions they were about to lead.

He found the right locker room and he found the right spot, Valentine had given him the keys to the locker so he didn't need to break in, which wouldn't have been an issue either since picking locks was part of the skill set he had been taught years ago. It felt kind of like intruding into the were's personal space as he opened the door, and he was kind of surprised by what he saw as well, the werewolf never came out much to care for decorations – neither of them were, but... inside the locker door there was picture of them together, taken years ago, pictures of his brothers, parents and some friends. Angels were solitary beings and Genesis didn't completely understand as to why pictures were so valuable for humans, he could remember the people he cared of, but he supposed being able to glance at the pictures of one's family would make it easier to get through the tours. He also knew Valentine suffered from depression so he assumed seeing pictures would help with those feelings of emptiness and despair. There was also a lot of study books on the top shelf, language studies, that didn't surprise Genesis one bit. He found the suit he was looking for hanging neatly in the locker and Genesis folded it up and stuck it into the shopping bag he was carrying. Angels didn't eat, but he would do the groceries for Valentine, and if he was carrying a bag full of food angels would be more uninterested in what was in it, no one would dig in too deep into it.

He closed the locker, making sure it was locked and no one was around, before returning to the corridor again and silently greeting some more warriors going by to wherever they were headed. It wasn't as busy as Genesis usually saw here, but he usually came around after a big mission or before one, to make sure Valentine was alright. His wolf boyfriend was reckless and if it had been possible Genesis would've surely had some gray hair from worrying for the man's life so much on occasions. Now however he walked back down the quiet corridor there were no one else around, but he stopped at the sight of a map in an empty briefing room. Something caught Genesis' eye on it and he checked if the room was clear, which it was so he entered. It was probably against the rules to enter secret facility and even more secret war planning room without a permission but he was already here stealing high tech armour so this was little compared to that.

There were stacks of paper on the table in the room, with the wall behind it covered by bookshelves, they were full of folders and files. None of that interested Genesis, instead he walked up to the map on the wall, frowning at it, it was a poor image map of the city Ezekiel should be in. And Genesis had been on active duty for long enough to be able to read all the markings on it with one glance and no isse. He put the bag he had on the table, sorting through the papers that had been left out, reading through them as quickly as he could before anyone could come in, he could hear people walking in the hallway again. He didn't care to leave the papers in neat piles, they were mostly scattered around when he got in so no one would notice any difference when he was gone. The warrior found the paper he had been searching for, reading it through in a haste, memorizing every bit of it before slipping it back under some other papers, grabbing his bag and slipping out of the room. He got three steps away from the door when the two angels noticed him, but again they simply courtly nodded as a greeting, glancing at his bag and after figuring it had food in it they didn't hide the frown. The warriors didn't need human food, they found it highly displeasing to be around, and having some meant the person was in doings with humans or other creatures more than any respectful warrior wanted to be.

There was a haste to Genesis' step as he headed outside, and he was digging out his phone when he gave his goodbyes to the two guards at the doors, they didn't ask anything about his bag or his need to hurry out, they knew he was in active duty, he could be called in on the lines anytime they needed him, running for a job was normal thing. Valentine was on his speed dial, he pressed on the call button as soon as he was outside the perimeter fence, the further away the less there was a chance someone would listen or hear his conversation. The werewolf picked up on the third ring and Genesis could tell by the sound of his voice he had been asleep, he felt slightly sorry for waking the man up, but what was done was done now.

"Do I need to bail you out?" Genesis assumed that was a joke, but he ignored it.

"We need to leave now", his words cut the wolf's yawn in half.

"Come again?"

"They're going to bomb the city, leave nothing standing – they're not risking it to become even bigger hotspot for demons to settle in", the dirt road was crunching under his combat boots as he walked down towards the nearby forest, he could take off flying from there, without risking humans seeing him spread out wings – it seemed most humans couldn't stand seeing it and keep their sanity intact. He could hear on the other end of the phone Valentine was getting up and grabbing things, they both had bags ready packed right by the door so when this kind of thing happened they could simply grab them and walk out without needing to figure out what they needed on the go. Valentine would surely grab both of the bags on his way out of the house.

"Okay, meet me at the airport, I'll get us a flight – and I'll round people up. I haven't got to Haniel yet, can we get him to meet us in Europe?" Genesis heard the door get locked through the phone, and he took to the shortcut that went through the field into the forest. There was still much to do but they didn't seem to have any time for it, and meanwhile he'd have liked to still go and ask Uriel or Remiel for help he didn't think this was the time to voice out that opinion again.

"I'll go personally get him, get on a flight and give me the address when you've landed", that was the plan that made the most sense, Genesis wanted to speak to Haniel before getting him into as much trouble as they were planning to get into. He didn't like dealing with things over the phone, it didn't seem safe and it felt very detached, humans liked to come apart instead of being close it felt like. They had their phones and their computers and they never went anywhere without them, Genesis, just like his fellow warriors, lived mostly without any electronic devices, seeing someone face to face and discussing things was far more comfortable than calling someone.

"Alright... be safe", Genesis nodded, without even realising he did so, he often got distracted from the reality while speaking in the phone with Valentine, love was such a hindrance sometimes.

"You too", he hang up, pocketed the phone and took off to the sky.