~~~ Chapter Notes ~~~
This piece is part of a series. The story will make more sense if you read it from start to finish.
All of the chapters in this series have been completed. They are submitted to Literotica as a bundle. They should appear at a rate of one per day.
~~~ Heaven ~~~
We packed up all of our gear, and checked the time. It was just before midday.
We exited the pocket-room and I stored it away.
Angel took us to the portal nexus, checked a directory, and led us towards the gate to NOLA.
~~~ New Orleans ~~~
We stepped through the transfer-gate and found ourselves on the east side of the city of New Orleans - at the edge of the wildlife refuge. Since that's where we'd been directed to search for the outpost, we headed that way.
Once again, we decided that walking was for newbies - and took to the sky. It also made it a hell of a lot easier to spot the outpost.
Claudia held my hand as we flew through the air.
"Aren't angels supposed to have wings or some shit?" she asked, giggling.
I looked over at Angel.
"I'll talk to the quartermaster," she said.
"Sweet!" Penny gasped. "Seriously?"
"I think it's just an accessory," the blonde answered.
"We should go now," Claudia complained.
She stuck out her bottom lip and pouted at me.
"My cock would feel really good - rubbing back and forth across the top of that," I told her, smirking.
"I'll suck you dry right now - in mid-air - if we can go get wings," she countered.
I laughed and shook my head at her.
She let go of my hands and crossed her arms over her ample chest.
I focused my intent on her and buzzed her nipples out of spite.
"Oh!" she gasped. "Cheater!"
We flew over the wall of the outpost and settled to the ground in the open courtyard.
A junior officer hurried out to meet us.
"Ben Lamplighter?" he asked.
"That's me," I replied.
"The commander will be here in a moment," he said.
"At least *somebody* knows who we are," I grumbled.
An officer-looking fellow came towards us. His steps were not hurried - but he moved quickly across the compound.
He extended his hand when he was close enough to reach for mine. I met his and shook it.
"Sleeper Agent Benjamin Lamplighter?" he inquired.
"Yes, sir," I replied.
"The General says you're going to look into our little problem," he said.
"That's what I was told," I confirmed.
"You're welcome to base your operations from here but I'm told that you're fairly well equipped - especially for a Sleeper Unit. You let us know what we can do for you but, otherwise, we'll just stay out of your way."
I wondered if it was laziness or fear that kept him here.
"New Orleans is a special place," he said, looking into my eyes. "Lots of dark stuff around here. This outpost and the portal used to be down near Jackson Square. The brass finally figured out that we were situated too close to the action. That's when they moved us out here. It still gets sketchy a few times a year."
I nodded, reevaluating my earlier assessment.
"The humans around here - lots of them are empathetic to demon activity," he continued. "We generally try to spare them - but they tend to interfere here more than other places."
"I appreciate the heads-up," I told him.
He nodded and said, "I'm sure you'll figure it out. Your crew is building quite a reputation. If shit gets ugly, fall back to us. We've got a little more firepower than other places."
"Thanks," I said.
I definitely appreciated his words. We had rescued outposts in Chicago. It was a different kind of a deal here. The longer I looked into his eyes, the more I saw there.
"If you and your team would join me in the mess hall, I've got my team copying our most up-to-date map of the area," he said. "I'll go over it with you and tell you what I know."
"Sounds good," I replied.
"Okay if my junior officers join us? If you have questions, they may have the answers. They take turns running patrols."
"That would be awesome," I told him. "Thank you."
He nodded and headed off. He said something to the first person who had met us and the younger man returned.
"If you'll follow me," he said. "I'll take you to the officer's mess. The food isn't great - but it's better than the grunts get."
The girls were already gathered around, listening to all of the conversations.
"Lead on," I told him.
The meal was filling - if not overly appetizing.
The officer joined us halfway through and quickly gobbled down everything on his tray.
When I looked at him, he smiled and said, "Best not to dally. I've had more than one meal interrupted by a call to arms."
The man waved a junior officer over - and a couple kitchen staffers. The staffers cleared away our trays. The officer stretched a map out on the surface. Other officers gathered around us.
For the next several minutes, the commander pointed out various markings on the map and told us what was at that location. As he went through it, he called on his junior officers to give their latest findings for that area - enemy (and empathetic human) activity, movements, sightings - any information that seemed useful.
We'd just wrapped up the conversation when an alarm sounded, informing us that humans were attacking - being herded towards the outpost by demons.
"This should be enlightening for you," the commander said, rising.
One of his attendants brought him a jacket and his firearm.
"Join me on the wall?" he asked.
The junior officers had sprinted from the room as soon as the alarm sounded - heading to get their units into position.
We left the mess hall and headed for the stairs. The commander broke into a jog, and we sped up to keep pace with him.
On the west wall, we got our first look at the attackers. A couple hundred humans - with Molotov cocktails, pitchforks, torches, and broken bottles in their hands - were being herded our way by a couple dozen demons.
They were still a half mile away but were moving quickly.
"Snipers?" I asked the commander.
He shook his head and said, "We've got a couple guys that are decent shots - but we only have standard rifles. We'll have to wait until they get closer before we can try to take out the demons. They'll hide amongst the humans to make it harder."
"When they get to the walls, though ...?" I asked.
He nodded and said, "We'll kill them - they're just cannon fodder - buried among the sheep. They'll do a little damage, maybe kill or injure a few of us, and - when the demons are dead - the humans will lose focus and wander home. Tomorrow, they'll hit us again."
"Who drives the demons?" I asked.
The commander pointed off to the edge of the refuge. A handful of demons were there - mounted on some kind of devil-dog or hell-hound - overseeing the operation.
"Chaney," I called. "Can you hit them from here?"
She shook her head and said, "If I overshoot, I'll be throwing slugs into the city."
"Anybody up for a meteor strike?" I asked my group.
I got lots of smiles as my reply.
"Archers stay here and support the commander," I said. "Melee units, we're going airborne - come down like fire from Heaven and wipe those bitches out."