Earth Angel Vs The Devil

Author's Note:

Thanks for the warm reception of my first two stories. I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment. Even the Anonymous trolls are fun to read. I hope you enjoy this one. Again, like my first two, this one contains no sex. I just haven't figured out how to write that yet and I may never get the nerve.

Also, for this story, fellow Literotica writer Omegaman56 has graciously allowed me to borrow a construct from his story An Agency of the Government. Please check it out. It's a good one.

An Agency of the Government

Thanks,

OldHistoryGuy

*****

Chapter One

I spotted him right off. He was no silver-haired, Armani-suited swindler like Swaggart or Falwell. He was a spike-haired, goateed, fake-tanned hipster in Dockers, Hawaiian shirt, linen jacket, and Topsiders without socks. But he was still a Pastor Pussy Hound.

My wife and I were waiting in line to shake the new preacher's hand on our way out of church. The queue moved slowly out the front door as God's Appointed stood with his blonde bombshell wife and greeted his new congregation. I noticed the typical glad-handing with the males - just looking for the next hand, but with the females...oh my, his face lit up and his enthusiasm doubled. I was looking forward to seeing his reaction to my wife Allie, who really is God's gift to men.

I wasn't disappointed. When she stepped up and offered her hand, I thought he was going to stroke out on us. His eyes got big, his smile split his head, and his face even flushed through his tanning-bed skin. "Unctuous" doesn't even begin to describe his brief conversation with Allie, which he tried mightily to prolong by holding onto her hand, as he nodded perfunctorily to me. I finally managed to extricate us from Pastor Rick and his wife Christy, exiting to his solemn declaration that "he looked forward to working with us in the fields ripe unto harvest." My alarm bells went off. Troubled waters lay ahead.

I was not surprised by his reaction to my wife. She is perhaps the most beautiful woman alive. And not just by my reckoning - everyone who sees her agrees. Every man who's married a pretty wife knows how men's eyes turn to her when she walks in a room. Allie turns men's AND women's' heads. And it's more aesthetic than sexual - she's extraordinarily beautiful - tall, long legs, long auburn hair, sparkling green eyes, porcelain skin, slim waist, voluptuous figure. If you remember your old actresses, she looks a lot like Maureen O'Hara.

As for me? I am extraordinarily average: average height, average weight, average looks. There is nothing striking or imposing about me. I am a cross between Clark Kent and Peter Parker without the superhero tendencies. And, I am an accountant.

What is she doing with me, you ask? I ask myself that same question every morning when I wake up beside her. We met in church, dated six months, got engaged, then married three months later. In those nine months total, I came to love Allie more than life itself. You see, her looks were just the tip of the iceberg. I discovered that my wife was even lovelier inside. She was brought up by very devout parents, who believed in a loving, gracious God, so Allie grew up to be the most welcoming, accepting, and least judgmental person I've ever met. She was home-schooled all those years, so she was also the most innocent, naive, and gullible person I'd known. And, I never wanted to change that. I wanted her always to believe in goodness and light. And I would protect her from evil and darkness.

"Well, what did you think of the new pastor?" I asked on the ride home.

"I thought he was great! I really liked the sermon - it was very positive and uplifting, and I liked it when he called all the kids up front for a children's sermon. And when we met him and his wife at the door, I thought they were both very nice. But they're a lot younger than any pastors we've had before, so that may take some getting used to. What did you think?"

"Not bad...I thought the message was okay - a little light on the scripture, but he's a good speaker. Talked a little more like a coach than a preacher, though. But I'll get used to it. Just like I did with the contemporary worship thing - you know, the 7-11 music - 7 words repeated 11 times."

She rolled her eyes at me and groaned, and we held hands the rest of the way home.

Chapter Two

It didn't take long for the serpent to raise his ugly head.

Two days later, Tuesday afternoon, my home security system pinged my work desktop. I opened up the remote camera view app and saw a strange black Toyota SUV pull into my driveway. I watched as Pastor Rick walked around to open the passenger door and then escorted my wife to our front porch. Taking her two hands in his, he pulled her into a hug, then turned and went back to his car. He paused to wave to her, before backing out into the street.

I shut down my computer, cut the lights, and closed the office door behind me. I was going home - the game was afoot.

When I got there, I knew I needed to get Allie to tell me about her day - she was unaware of the security system and I wanted her to stay that way for now.

"You're home early. I'm glad! Now you can run me back to the church to get my car. It wouldn't start when I left work, but Pastor Rick graciously offered to bring me home. He was going by to visit some shut-ins in our neighborhood, so he dropped me off. I think it's just the battery on the car - it made that clicking sound when I pushed the button."

"Ok, honey - sorry you had trouble with the car. I should have replaced that battery last time this happened. Let me grab my Fat Max and we'll go get it. And forget cooking anything - on the way back, I'll pick up a pizza."

Sure enough, it kicked right off with the jump start box, and I drove straight to Advance Auto to get the battery replaced. I then stopped by Little Caesar's for one of their Hot and Ready pizzas. While we were eating, Allie went on and on about how nice Pastor Rick was to give her a ride home. I nodded and harrumphed, but said nothing to deflate her gratitude. But inwardly I was kicking myself for forgetting that Allie, the Church's Assistant Children's Minister, would be regularly exposed to Pastor Pussy Hound.

Chapter Three

Yes, Allie, though naive, innocent, and gullible, was no dummy. She had attended college, majoring in Christian Studies at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. After graduation, she started work at the Church in the Valley in Huntsville, Alabama. I got my accounting degree at the University of Alabama, and after my four-year ROTC commitment to the Army, I began work for a government agency in Huntsville. Looking for a place of worship, I ended up at Valley, where I met Allison. She had become a valued member of the church staff; she loved her work, loved her church kids, and looked forward to having her own. She was 24; I was 28. After three years of marriage, we were on the glide path to parenthood, if our serpent didn't get in the way.

I began to show more interest in Allie's work. I began questioning her daily about the details of her job, listening for any mention of Pastor Rick or his wife. For a few weeks, I randomly dropped by the Church to check in with Allie or take her to lunch, never making contact with the pastor. And, with the help of an IT guru co-worker, I got into the Church security system, so I could remotely view the camera feeds at any time. And because of the many child abuse scandals going around, the Church had cameras in every room a kid might wander into, including Allie's office. I didn't like the idea of invading her privacy, but I was in protection mode.

And, it wasn't too long before the snake slithered out of his hole. As Easter season approached, the whole Church was preparing for the annual Living Cross program - a presentation of the Easter story with over a hundred choir and cast members. Since the cast included a large number of kids, Allie was appointed the Co-Director. This meant she would have to work closely with the Pastor, who was going to narrate the production. I was sure that his idea of "working closely" would not agree with mine. I attended the first couple of rehearsals in person, but I felt conspicuous. I didn't want to arouse any suspicions, so, I resigned myself to watching hours of sessions through the Church security cameras. After a week of that, the only thing I had noticed was that the pastor was very "handsy" with my wife. He was that way with all the ladies, but doubly so with Allie. If he was near her, if he was talking to her, he was touching her somewhere - a pat on the arm, a hand on the shoulder, a grip of her hand. One time, he tucked a wayward lock of hair back behind her ear. Another time, he picked a piece of lint or string off her sweater above her breast. Seeing that, my blood pressure about tripled. He also began dropping by her office to "encourage" her daily. Allison, however, never noticed any of this. She innocently ignored it; she couldn't bring herself to imagine sinister motives in her pastor.

I could. And, I resolved to do something about it.

Chapter Four

As Palm Sunday approached, Allie and company were completely engaged with rehearsals, and stress levels were off the charts. Allie stumbled home completely drained and barely slept.

"Honey, I know the performance is coming up, but if you don't slow down and get some rest, you're going to collapse."

"After dress rehearsal tonight, just three more days, Matt! Yes, I'm exhausted but I can see the end and I've got to push on through - can't collapse until Monday."

I retreated to my home office and camped out in front of my monitors to watch every minute of the dress rehearsal. The first hour was uneventful, and I was amazed at how well my wife "herded her cats" and got such performances out of the children. Midway through the crucifixion scene, however, one of the crosses twisted out of its bracket and conked one of the twelve-year-old boys on the head. Unfortunately for the production, he was playing the principal child character - the kid to whom the pastor was telling the story. I watched Allie come apart - first, out of concern for the boy, Jonathan, who was concussed and needed stitches, and second, out of concern for the production, which was now missing a main character. Sobbing loudly, she ran to her office. Pastor Rick jumped up and followed her. Switching my view to her office, I watched their exchange closely. As she sat sobbing on the front of her desk, Pastor Rick, or Prick, as I should call him, stepped up closely and began rubbing both her arms. Feeling overwhelmed and seeking comfort, Allie collapsed into his embrace and buried her face in his chest. He ate it up. I know, because I was watching him. He buried his nose in her hair and kissed the top of her head several times, while clucking and shushing. As she quieted, she pulled back from him and he bent down and lightly kissed her on the lips. Her eyes widened and she placed her hand over her mouth, but she said nothing.

"Don't worry. We'll find a solution. Now, let's go back out there and figure it out," he said.

And they did - they plugged in Jonathan's ten-year-old sister, who had memorized the part from listening to her brother rehearse, proving that she was smarter than him, or any other boy alive. The production went off without a hitch, to the acclaim of the Church and the community.

Naturally, Pastor Rick was pleased with this success and his role in it. He decided to reward the other directors and leaders by taking them to lunch on Tuesday after Easter. Allie was exhilarated. The narrowly-averted disaster had brought her from the lowest low to the highest high. She said she couldn't remember when she last felt so alive.

I had noticed.

"You're certainly riding a pink cloud, Lady."

"Yes, I am, Matt. I'm so happy the play went well and I hope it was a blessing to everyone who saw it."

"Well, your direction was apparently top-notch because the kids were terrific - they were really the best part of the show."

"Thanks, honey, but I couldn't have done it without Pastor Rick - without his support. And if he hadn't fixed the Jonathan problem, I don't know what we would have done."

"That's true, Allie, but don't sell yourself short. You were a great part of the show's success. Now, I've got to get to the office. Aren't you going in?'

"Yes, but a little late - first I'm going to buy a new dress - Pastor Rick is taking us all out to lunch to celebrate the success of the play and I don't have anything really nice to wear."

"OK. Well, you deserve a good lunch and a new dress. So, y'all have a good time! Where are you going, by the way?"

"I'm pretty sure we're going to that new steakhouse Brown's."

"Oh, that sounds good. Enjoy your lunch."

I headed out to my car and drove to work. Along the way, I thought about ways to get eyes on their lunch. It wouldn't surprise me if it turned out to be a ruse in which nobody showed up but Prick and Allie, after which he would whisk her off to some motel. But just in case, I needed some spies at that restaurant. I found them in Alex and Maddie - two co-workers who would gladly allow me to buy them lunch at a fancy steakhouse in exchange for a little espionage. Allie had never met them, so no danger there. I gave them photos of Allie and the Prick, so they would recognize their prey.

My agents didn't return from lunch until after two o'clock. Alex started the after-action report:

"Man, is that guy long-winded...I didn't think he'd ever shut up. And full of himself...you know, we've got iPhone video if you want to see it, AND we borrowed one of those new directional mikes from Operations, so we've got audio too, if you want to hear it."

"Is there anything worth seeing or hearing?" I asked.

Maddie chimed in, "There's nothing earth-shattering or mind-blowing - no smoking guns or anything. But the guy is definitely interested in porking your wife, and she's enamored with him. I mean, I'm pretty sure nothing's going on sexually there, yet. But he can't keep his hands off her - he made sure she sat next to him, and I think he was trying to play footsy under the table. She hung on his every word. That was about it for the physical contact, don't you think Alex?"

Alex: "Yeah, that's a pretty good description. Just watching a minute or two of the video will confirm that. But the audio is a little different. Toward the end of the lunch, Preacher Boy was trying to isolate your wife for a private conversation. We picked up some of that with the new mike and recorded it with my phone. Here, let's just listen to it."

With that, he grabbed his phone, started the Voice Recorder app, and selected the file. The Pastor's voice came in loud and clear, "Allie, as good as the play was, I can't help but think we can make improvements for next year. You know, figure out ways to edit or augment some scenes for dramatic impact. You know what I mean?"

Allie answered: "Sure, I agree with you. One thing I know we need to do is to include understudies in the cast. If we had done that this year, Jonathan would not have been an issue."

"You're so right about that. Thankfully, with God's help, it turned out for the best. But don't you think we need to get together, while it's still fresh in our minds, to discuss these things and brainstorm a little bit?"

"That's a great idea! When and where do you want to get together? You should decide, since your schedule is so much busier than mine..."

"Okay, how about I take you to lunch on Thursday, and then we go back to your house for our discussion? If we meet at the church, I'll be constantly interrupted and we won't get anything done. We'll drive separately, so you won't have to come back to the Church."

"Oh, all right, Pastor Rick. 11:30 Thursday. Where?"

"Why don't we try this new Italian place next door?"

"Great, I love Italian."

Alex shut off the player and sat back. "I won't show you, but if you look on the video where Preacher Boy sets this up, he's got a smirk on his face that just won't do. He means to have Allie and I'm thinking Thursday's the day. It may be that time, Boss."

"Thanks, Alex, Maddie. You're good friends. Now, give me back my credit card and the receipt, and get the hell out of here. I've got this the rest of the way."

I took the back stairway and walked up to the second floor SCIF - that's the safe room, the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. I stuck my face to the scanner and opened the door. I sat down at the conference table and picked up the red phone. I entered the required ID numbers on the keypad, then simply said the words "requesting sanction."

Three minutes later I received a call on the same phone. I described the situation, gave them the requested information, hung up the phone, and went home.

Chapter Five

When I got home, Allie was still on a cloud.

"How was your lunch?" I asked her.

"It was great. That's a nice restaurant. We ought to go there sometime - but only for a special occasion - it's really expensive."

"Anything else happen? Who all was there? Was it just you and the Pastor?"

"No, of course not. There was me, the other co-director Myra, Bill McKinney - the choir director, Jo-Lynn Reed - she did the costumes, you know, and Barry Vines - he built the sets, and the Pastor. That was all of us."

"Are all of you coming back next year to do the same jobs?"

"Oh, I don't know about that. Bill and I are on staff, so we have to do as we're told, but I don't know about Myra, Jo-Lynn, or Barry. They're all volunteers."

"Whatever happens, I'm sure you guys will figure it out. Just like you did this year. Oh, are you wearing your new dress? It looks beautiful on you. Did the Pastor like it?"

Allie blushed. "He said he did. The others complimented me too. That was nice, but I really only care if you like me in it."

"Honey, I love you in it. I also would love you out of it." I winked at her and she blushed again.

Next day, I rounded up Alex and Maddie again, arranged another lunch date for them on Thursday at the Italian place. This time, they would carry a microphone and transmitter, while I would be sitting outside in my car with a receiver and recorder. Why did I need to listen to more of this? Because I wanted to confirm this guy's evil intentions.

My agents and I were all in place at 11:25. Alex and Maddie entered the restaurant, but before being seated, Alex excused himself to the Men's Room, while Maddie waited. We established our communication links with each other and confirmed that the microphone was transmitting to my devices. Alex rejoined Maddie just as Allie and the Pastor were being seated. Maddie watched and requested a table on the same side, giving her a clear line of sight to Allie.

Their conversation came in well through my earbuds. They started out with typical co-worker lunch talk about happenings at the Church, stresses in dealing with parishioners for him and parents for her, and the normal interactions with their waiter. Meanwhile, Alex or Maddie provided occasional tidbits about what was going on visually. Alex piped up in my ear, "waiter just took the salad bowls away and the pastor has taken her hand across the table, and now he's slowly stroking her arm with his other hand. Allie hasn't reacted; she's still looking at him and listening intently."

The conversation then got interesting.

"Allie, I have to say - the nicest thing about coming to Valley has been discovering you. You truly have a servant heart. I've never met anyone more dedicated to the Lord's work. It has been a pleasure getting to know you."

"Thank you, Pastor Rick! That's so sweet. But I feel like you deserve some credit for that - I have been so inspired by your leadership and your support. In just a few months, you have turned our church into a house on fire for God. I'm so glad we found you and Christy. "