Free The Rise of the Fallen (The Angelic Wars Book 2) by J.J. Thompson Page A

poor Jake and Tyler. I didn't need Sariel to survive on the
streets and I can do just fine by myself.
    A worrying thought came to
him then. Am I starting to depend on him too much? Chris didn't like
that idea one bit. You could only depend on yourself in this life. If
other people helped you, then fine. But in the end, he trusted only
one person implicitly. Himself.
    He lost himself in the clouds, watching
the various shapes as they passed by the window and disappeared.
Perhaps he dozed. When Chef's voice came over the intercom, Chris sat
up, startled.
    “We are on final approach to
Heathrow, my friends,” the deep, calm voice told them. “Fasten
your seat belts, trays in the upright position, and blah, blah, blah,
please.”
    Chris heard other chuckles join his at
Chef's announcement. He adjusted his seat, buckled up and looked over
at Natalie.
    She caught his eye and grinned. The
blanket was folded on the seat next to her and she was already
strapped in.
    Huh, I must have fallen asleep, Chris
thought.
    The plane started to nose down and he
took a deep breath. He always hated this part.
    The Heathrow airport was a flurry of
sights and sounds. Chris was hustled along by Judge Hawkes and the
others. Once they'd passed through customs, Chris watched as the
adults formed a loose circle around him and Natalie. They moved
through the hustle and bustle very quickly.
    Cars were waiting for them. The judge
said that the overseer of the British safe-house, a Mr. Mahony, had
arranged for transportation, and that their own people were driving.
He seemed to know all three drivers and greeted them by name.
    The group piled into the large Mercedes
cars and they moved swiftly and efficiently away from the airport.
    Judge Hawkes, Natalie and Chris were in
one car, while Chef was in a second with two of the staff and the
remaining three staffers were in the final vehicle. The judge
introduced their driver as Stevie. Chris and Natalie exchanged an
amused glance and said hi.
    Stevie was a tall, lean man with a mop
of orange hair and a thick cockney accent. He was wearing the
standard dark suit that all of the staff seemed to wear. He smiled,
rapidly said several things that Chris thought were probably
complimentary, and settled into the serious business of negotiating
the busy traffic.
    “How long will it take to get to
the safe-house, sir?” Chris asked as he stared out of the
window at the passing cars.
    “Depending on the traffic,
probably an hour and a half. So sit back and enjoy the ride, both of
you.”
    Judge Hawkes was sitting in the front
seat next to Stevie and they began to speak quietly and soberly
together. The driver did most of the talking with the judge nodding
several times. Chris found it hard to understand Stevie's thick
accent, but he found that he really liked it and listened to the
sound and rhythm of it for a few minutes with delight.
    “You've never been to England,
Chris?” Natalie asked with an amused look.
    “Nope. Why?”
    “Just wondered. You're obviously
fascinated by what you see.”
    “Well, yeah.” He gestured
out of the window. “Look. We're driving on the wrong side of
the road! And look at those funny little condos; they all have a
garden on the front lawn.”
    There was so much to see that Chris'
head kept whipping back and forth, in case he missed anything.
Finally, he sat back with a sigh and looked at Natalie, who was still
smiling.
    “Have you ever been here before?”
    The smile disappeared from her face.
    “Once, when we were coming back
after Angelica betrayed us.” At Chris' look, she frowned. “You
remember. I told you about it. How there was a report about a
possible angelic child on the run and I was sent to help find her? It
was a setup, of course. Well, on the way back, we stopped here for a
week or so to heal and rest up.” She looked out at the traffic.
“I like it, bad memories or not. And wait till you see the
safe-house. It's quite the place.”
    “Oh yeah? What's so