Walking in and asking a random stranger for the location of their target was surprisingly easy. No further questions, just say you are looking for them, and they will just tell you. If only the residents had warned them about the elevator.

  Irene and Howard glared at the floor indicator for what felt like half an hour while the metal tube they set foot in slowly rose through every floor. The situation didn’t help, given that the room the target was located in was on the top floor. What made their predicament even worse was that Irene and Howard were unable to exit on any other floor during their ascent. They prayed that someone would take the elevator, but it was clear that no one was dumb enough to make the same mistake they had just made.

  Both men wanted to lose their minds and crash out with every passing second. Go animalistic in a confined space for their time to be wasted. But with every annoying ding from the floor indicator, they go back to reality and remind themselves that they are not monsters. Though Howard wouldn’t mind letting loose every now and then to let out some steam.

  Then, after what felt like an eternity, the elevator door finally opened. Two hunters, two trained killers from different parts of the world, readied themselves to confront an unwelcome visitor. They would need to ask a few questions, but the end result was the same. Kill.

  Howard stood by the wall to stay out of her sight while Irene knocked on her door. ‘Who is it?’ She said from the other side.

  ‘It’s John,’ Irene responded with his revolver behind his back. ‘You accidentally dropped an earring in my car. I’m here to return it.’

  She believed him and thought it was a sweet gesture, a nice thing from a stranger who shared his life story. But as she opened her door, he planted his revolver to her forehead and pushed her back into her flat while Howard got in to close the door behind them. Al’Gazel didn’t dare raise her hands or make any sudden movements besides following wherever Irene wanted her to go. Which, in that case, would be to her couch to sit down.

  ‘Al’Gazel,’ Irene sternly said to her while Howard searched her apartment. ‘You are here without the authority of the Order. Under my authorisation, you will answer my questions. Failure to follow them will result in your immediate execution. Do you understand?’

  The demon woman nods, keeping silent so as not to raise the ire of the monster slayers of the Order. She was already familiar with the Order and their harsh methods of dealing with people like her. It was wise to comply at every opportunity and answer any questions they might have.

  ‘When did you arrive on Earth?’ He asked.

  ‘Second of April, 2015.’

  ‘Only two days ago? Why are you here?’

  Al’Gazel took a deep breath, her eyes darted to Howard as he thoroughly searched through her belongings. ‘I came here because Hell wasn’t safe. I even have permission from the Order to come here as a refugee.’

  As she said that, Howard and Irene stared at her with a worried look. ‘Permission?’

  ‘Yes, I can tell you where the documents are if you want?’ She pointed to her office table, located near the kitchen, with a cheap computer on top. Howard walked over there, searched through the drawer and found the paperwork confirming her status before handing it over to Irene.

  Irene groaned, lowering his gun as he read through it himself. ‘Jesus, you really are legit.’

  ‘Is that meant to be surprising?’

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  ‘Yes!’ He responded, ‘we never get sent to deal with demons only to find out that they are here with legit paperwork.’

  As he rubbed his eyes, Howard walked over to Irene with a grin and handed him a plastic box. ‘Yeah, fuck you too.’ Irene humbled before he snatched the box out of Howard’s hands.

  ‘Is there going to be a problem?’ Al’Gazel asked Howard, but he just shrugged, as that was his only way to communicate with her. Basically saying that he wasn’t sure, indicating that the mistake was the first time that something like that had ever happened.

  Meanwhile, Irene walked out of the living room and into the bedroom to speak with Crystal. ‘We have a problem.’

  ‘Did she escape?’

  ‘Worse, she is an actual refugee, and she has proof that she got here with the Order’s permission.’ He looks through the paper. ‘It has the Order Diplomatics stamp of approval as well as an authorised signature. So you need to contact the higher-ups and see if she was being legit to authorise it.’

  ‘But what if she…’

  ‘Don’t care!’ Irene interrupted, saying one last thing before taking his earpiece out. ‘Go to our higher-ups and ask if she is legit.’

  When Irene walked back into the living room, Howard and Al’Gazel, still in her human form. It became clear that they all would be waiting for a very long time to get any confirmation. An awkward moment for everyone involved, two demon hunters realised they might’ve done something by mistake. And a demon who had to watch for the first time about how the Order Horrifica might not be the perfect defender of humanity.

  However, with a slight chuckle, she noticed that while not perfect. The Order was indeed made up of people, flawed and all. An example of humanity. ‘We are going to be here for a while,’ Al’Gazel pointed out. ‘If we are going to wait. How about we share pizza?

  Howard and Irene looked at each other and nodded along. ‘Yeah, that’ll be nice. I think we are a bit famished ourselves.’ Irene said. ‘We’ll split the bill. As a formal apology from the Order Horrfica for this mistake.’

  Al’Gazel smiled as she reached for her phone. ‘I suppose we all make mistakes, and I can understand humanity being this jumpy with a new demon lady in town.’

  ‘Fair point. But tell me, how did you get permission to be here?’

  ‘I’m an accountant. And I sold information to them about my kingdom to get a place here.’

  Irene folded his arms, disappointed that there was no loyalty to her species. But at the same time, he understood why she would do something like that. So he decided not to pry any more information out of her. Not when the Order had made a grave mistake and almost killed her. An apology was in order, but he didn’t have the words to give a proper sorry. The best, and only thing he knew to do, was to follow protocol.

  ‘Fair enough,’ Irene responded. ‘In that case, I’ll have the meat lovers while Howard will like the pepperoni. He likes it simple. And again, I’m sorry.’

  ‘Don’t be. I suppose even in a better world, no one can escape their home. Not truly at least.’

  He raised a brow. ‘What made you say that?’

  ‘Because I believe you understand what it is like to leave your home.’