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Lindsay boarded the plane to Las Vegas and found her seat. Dino wasn’t far behind. He stopped to grab a magazine to read before boarding. Arthur and Adrian stood next to the flight attendant as she welcome passengers aboard.
“I don’t know how humans stand to fly in this tin can,” Adrian said shifting his body.
“True. We’ll move to the outside and sit on the wings as soon as I know Dino and Lindsay have seen each other again.”
“How could they not, it’s so cramped in here,” Adrian grumbled.
Dino gave his boarding pass to the flight attendant and found his seat when he saw her. There was the lovely woman again. What luck. She’s going to Vegas too, and on the same plane. I gotta say hi.
Dino flashed his best toothy smile as he approached Lindsay’s seat.
“Well, hello again. You know we can’t keep meeting like this, or people will talk.”
Lindsay looked up and her mouth slightly dropped open. She gave Dino a pretty smile, approving of his witty humor.
“I can’t believe this. Are you going to Las Vegas too?”
“Yep, moving there. Got a new job. How about you?”
Before Lindsay could reply a heavy-set man in a t-shirt that was too tight for his round belly growled at Dino. “Hey, move along, buddy. Pick up the chick on your own time.”
“Better get to your seat,” she said.
Dino ignored the rude man. He gave Lindsay another one of his charming smiles and winked. “Catch you later.”
After putting his backpack in the overhead compartment, Dino plopped down and buckled his seat belt, pondering how strange it was he kept running into the same woman. It must be fate.
The two angels left the confines of the plane and sat on the wing watching, unseen by mortal eyes. Arthur used this as a teaching moment for Adrian.
“No, it’s not fate. It’s in the plan.”
“What do you mean, Arthur?”
“Fate is something humans say when they don’t understand the Father’s true purpose for their lives. Fate denotes something that is unchangeable, uncontrollable in the future. You can’t change something that doesn’t exist. The future is not set. It doesn’t exist yet for humans.”
“Sort of like rolling the dice and hoping for the best, but worried you’ll come up snake eyes,” Adrian said.
“I suppose you could look at it that way.” Arthur disapproved of his brother’s interpretation slang. “You really take this Las Vegas Angels stuff seriously, don’t you?”
“Well, as one of the Son’s wise apostles once said: ‘I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.’ Using the jargon and customs of the place where we are at works for me.”
It impressed Arthur. Adrian had matured more than he thought. “What I’m trying to teach you Adrian is fate’s what happens when humans don’t take responsibility for their lives, like Dino who is running away from his destiny.”
“What is Dino’s destiny then? Are we supposed to show it to him?”
“Yes, as much as we are permitted to do so. Destiny happens when humans commit to growing, learning, and taking chances. That determines their fate. Dino can change his destiny by embracing the Father’s plan for his life. He has the free will to do just that. Destiny brings opportunities, and free will determines whether Dino takes advantage of those opportunities.
“And what about Lindsay? Is she running away from her destiny?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so brother. She thinks she is destined to be with Preston because of the awful deal she made. We were sent to change that unholy agreement. We will show Lindsay the courage she needs to break free. Once doing so, she can have the life she’s been hoping for with the right man.”
“Dino?” Adrian was still having a hard time keeping track of things.
“Yes. Same goes for Dino. He’s got to forgive himself. What happened was not his fault. The past is the past, let it go. Dino needs a woman like Lindsay to overcome his doubts and fears.”
“Oh, I hope so. They have such loving hearts,” Adrian said, staring inside the plane’s window. “Too bad they hide their love away.”
“According to our instructions, these two people can find one destiny together therefore fulfilling the Father’s plan. However, evil people must be stopped for that to happen. I know now why Ciro is here. Those people under his control will do a great deal of harm to this couple and others. Dino and Lindsay are the wrench in the works which can blow up Ciro’s plans. He has a strong foothold in Las Vegas with Jonas Beckett and to lose it would be unbelievably bad for Ciro’s position with his master, the Evil One. Failure means demotion from the hierarchy of demons. Ciro won’t let that happen. He likes his power.”
“So...what’s Ciro’s plan?”
“That my dear Adrian is what we must find out. All I know is Ciro’s master has ordered him to follow through with it or else. It will catch Lindsay and Dino in the middle.” Arthur rubbed his chin, thinking. “I suspect Preston is also involved but to what extent I don’t know. There’s more to him than he’s given credit. I fear he is leaning toward a life like his father’s, but he hasn’t succumbed, yet. That’s all I know for now.”
Although angels are immortal, they are not all-knowing. They too must wait for the future to unfold, unless permitted to know some of it when appropriately needed.
The plane taxied out of the terminal and lifted upward into the sky. Still perched on the wing were the two angels enjoying the ride. At cruising altitude, the pilot came on the intercom and welcomed the passengers. The seatbelt light went off and the flight attendants passed out drinks and snacks.
Adrian was still pondering the words his brother said when Arthur disturbed his train of thought with a poke of his elbow to the ribs.
“Hey, watch this. Let’s have some fun.”
Adrian raised a suspicious eyebrow. “Are you sure? Usually, you frown on fun.”
“No, that’s not true, my friend. I like fun when it’s suitable. You’ve taught me how to be a little more flexible. Those two need to know each other’s names. It’ll help to get things rolling.”
“Hm-m-m, okay. What do you want to do?”
“Watch,” Arthur said, then spoke to Dino’s thoughts. “Do something out of the ordinary and get the pretty girl’s attention. You know you’re dying to know her name.”
The beverage cart moved up the aisle and stopped next to Dino. He ordered one of the little bottles of whisky and a Coke. A thought struck him, much to Arthur’s credit, and he bought a small bottle of red wine too. His instructions to the attendant were simple. She smiled and glanced at Lindsay, then agreed.
As the angels watched, Lindsay fought within herself. She wanted so much to look back over her shoulder to see where Dino was, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Her attraction to him was unusually strong. He might get the wrong idea.
When the attendant came to Lindsay’s row, she handed her a small bottle of wine and a plastic cup. It surprised the young woman. Lindsay shook her head and pushed the bottle away.
“You’ve got the wrong person. I didn’t order this.”
The flight attendant sat the bottle down on her tray. “I know you didn’t, but the gentleman in 14C did. I think he wants to meet you.” The attendant glanced back at Dino. “He’s really cute.”
Lindsay looked over her shoulder, and Dino toasted her with his glass of whiskey. She returned the gesture. He could read her lips saying, ‘thank you.’
“Is this normal for men to buy women drinks on a flight?” Lindsay asked the attendant who was grinning. She enjoyed playing cupid.
“Well, it’s normal for a Las Vegas flight. Anything goes. Take a chance.” The flight attendant winked. “I sure would.”
Lindsay agreed with the flight attendant. “Yeah, you’re right; he is cute.”
Once again, Arthur spoke to Dino. “You broke the ice. Now go talk to her.”
Adrian was chuckling, quite fascinated. He liked this fun idea of Arthur’s.
Dino took a deep breath, swallowed the last of his whiskey for courage, and rose from his seat. Well, here goes. He rested his hand on the back of her seat and looked down with a big, toothy smile.
“Hi... again.”
“Hi. Thanks for the wine. How did you know I needed to relax?”
“Just a hunch. I saw you dig your nails into the arm of that seat when we took off. You don’t like flying, do you?”
“That’s a pity she doesn’t like it,” Adrian said to Arthur. “It’s fun to fly. I love it.”
Arthur frowned at him. “Sh-h-h. Listen.”
Dino’s smile was slightly crooked with deep dimples. It was hard to resist him. Ebony hair fell over one sparkling blue eye and he raked it away with his hand. Lindsay felt uneasy. This handsome man made her all-tingly inside. She couldn’t take her eyes off his face.
“Yes, it frightens me just a little. Silly huh?” she giggled.
“No, not really. Lots of people get nervous about flying.”
Lindsay nodded her head and accepted Dino’s attempt to calm her.
“So, it’s sort of weird how we keep running into each other... the bar, the restaurant and now the plane.”
Dino laughed. “Maybe it’s destiny or my luck is changing. I got this gig at Caesars and I met a beautiful woman. That’s like drawing four aces.”
Lindsay blushed. “Thank you. But I’m not sure you’d feel like that if you knew me.”
“I don’t think that’s true. Honestly, I would like to get to know you. You’re better than four aces, more like a royal flush.”
His witty reply made Lindsay laugh. It was odd but being with Dino made her feel happier than she had in weeks.
Suddenly Dino was tossed backward as the plane hit some turbulence. Both of his hands grabbed the back of Lindsay’s seat to keep from being thrown to the floor. Overhead lights blinked on and off. Tossed in their seats like rag dolls, the passengers voiced their surprise and fears. Outside on the wing, the two angels were tossed about too. Adrian’s hands gripped onto Arthur’s shoulders like talons.
“What was that?”
“It certainly isn’t turbulence, otherwise it wouldn’t have affected us,” Arthur said as his razor-sharp eyes scanned the skies.
Suddenly a streak of black scorched the clouds next to them. A wicked laugh was heard as it went by. Ciro was following the airplane and having his own fun. A plane full of frighten humans who thought they might die was hysterical for this fallen angel. Ciro hated humans and loved to threaten them when he got the chance. He did an about turn and once more buzzed the airplane, tossing it up and down again as if it were a toy, much worse than before. Inside, people expressed their fears and shock with screams. Arthur and Adrian flapped their wings and rose above the plane to avoid the second pass by Ciro.
Dino squatted down next to Lindsay’s seat and reached for her hands to hold, hoping to bring calm. He could see she was terrified. “It’s okay, just a pocket of air. We’ll smooth out soon. I’ve got you.”
Lindsay gripped his hand, her eyes shut tight. “I hate flying! I hate it!”
Once the plane stopped shaking, the flight attendant announced over the intercom for everyone to sit down and stay buckled up. The pilot was doing his best to climb up and out of the trouble spot. Dino stood up and tried to pull his hand away, but Lindsay held on fast. He patted it tenderly, then took her chin and raised it to look at him.
“There, there. It’ll be fine. Trust me. As much as I would like to keep holding your hand, I gotta sit down, sweetie. But don’t worry, I’m right here.”
Dino kissed her hand. Lindsay’s hazel eyes looked up at him. She drew it away slowly, trying to muster a small smile in gratitude. Trust was something she didn’t give easily, but this man made her feel secure.
“I... I’ll try,” she said, clinging to the armrest.
Dino winked. “Thatta girl. We’re gonna be fine.”
Little did Dino know Arthur was ready to make his promise to Lindsay a reality. The mighty angel grabbed one wing as Adrian grabbed the other and together with their supernatural strength, the angels leveled the plane and pushed it upward out of danger: no more bouncing around. The pilot and his first officer shared shocked glances as the plane seemed to fly itself. With Ciro gone, the angels resumed their place on the steel wing.
“My stars and little planets! Ciro is terrible. How can he do that to humans? He terrified them,” Adrian said, fussing with his wings.
The show of nastiness by Ciro irritated Arthur. He would have loved to teach the fallen angel a lesson but now was not the time.
“Ciro is pure evil. The fallen ones hate humans just as their master does. They have no regard for them than to make their lives miserable and help guide their souls to Hell. The Father loves his human children, and it makes our former brothers angry, jealous and vengeful. Ciro was taunting us, but I don’t scare easily. We will meet up with him once we get to Las Vegas. I have a few choice words to say to him.”
“Me too! I’ll show him what’s what.” Adrian chimed in, still fuming over what happened like a wet cat.
Arthur’s anger dissipated and he chuckled at Adrian’s blustering.
“Yeah, I’m sure Ciro will be quaking in his boots when he meets you.”