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The doorbell rang, and even though John was working on getting a bottle of wine open, he pauses.
He hadn’t been expecting anyone, and so it threw him off guard. In fact, he would lie if he weren’t worried when he heard it ring. He also wouldn’t lie when he said there were many people that knew where he lived- for all of his high priority clients, he always made sure to make himself sound accessible. Even if at times he weren’t always, be it high out of his mind on whatever drug he’d gotten ahold of, or in bed with the latest pretty thing that had walked by him.
So, his first ideas were that it was a client. Most called ahead, but it wasn’t unheard of for them to show up in… a predicament. John didn’t normally ask a lot of questions other than the ones he had to in order to get his job done.
It was a man at the door, and John let out a sigh when he saw it was someone he didn't recognize. His thoughts went to the worst types of things. The man was wearing clothes that made him think he… could possibly be some sort of cheap lawyer that perhaps someone had hired to go against him? It wasn’t the first time someone had showed up to John Seed’s house in order to make some shady under the table deals with him.
Opening the door, he decided to get to the point at the man. “Can I help you, sir?” He asked, one of his hands moving absentmindedly to the small stack of business cards he’d set at the door for just this occasion.
“I need to talk to you.” The man said quietly. “May I come in?”
John let out a small hum, and he thought about the cocaine stacked neatly on his coffee table. (It was Friday, after all. He had all weekend to himself.) There was no way the man wouldn’t notice that if he came into his home.
“Ah, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I’m currently busy.” He says, lightly. He grabbed one of the business cards at his side table and slid it up to the man. “Here is my card, I would be happy to talk to you during my regular business hours. They're printed on the back.” Now John gave the man a smile, one that had brought many to their knees before him in order to hopefully finish the conversation.
The man’s eyes fell to the way John was extending his hand out at him, at the card in his hand. He didn’t take it, remaining stiff for all but his head. He looked back up at John, expectantly. “Unfortunately, this cannot wait, John.” He said, tilting his head. “I know you’re a man of faith, so I will not hide this from you. I am an angel of the lord, and I need to speak to you.”
John believed in a lot of things. John Duncan still had the fear of God in him, there wasn’t any amount of college or therapy that could help heal the scars that had been given to him by his late parents. However, just… nothing about this made any sense. He is religious, yes, but he is also a smart man, and he hadn't made his way to the top by being gullible .
John’s hand fell, and he set the card back on the side table. Maybe it would be best not to give this person his card.
“ You’re an angel?” John asked, looking at the man before him. He pursed his lips, and his eyes looked down at the outfit the man was wearing. “Now, my apologies, it has been awhile since I’ve cracked the Good Book,” He snarked, miming a book opening with his hands for emphasis. “but I don’t really remember the part about angels wearing shitty off the rack suits.” He continued, rolling his eyes now, and finally went to close the door in the man’s face. “I hope you find help, it sounds like you need it. Please refrain from contacting me in the future.”
A hand shot out, and John doesn’t like to consider himself a weak man by any means, but the hand seemed to be… incredibly strong. There was real force behind it, and John feared if he pushed back any harder it would crack his expensive stained glass, so he let the man take control, John’s hands falling away.
“The only one that needs help is you , John Michael Seed .” The man said, pushing his way past the opening.
Hearing his name- his full name- really had John confused. He hadn’t gone by Seed in years, God knew that he had tried to forget as much of his past as he could. “It’s Duncan.” He said hollowly, like it wasn’t something he’d hadn’t had to correct in a very long time.
The… man(?) stepped past him, and made his way into John’s home.
There were lists and lists of laws this man had broken by forcing his way into John’s home, and if John weren’t so caught off guard he might start telling them to the man’s face, but… something told John that maybe he had misjudged the situation.
The man turned towards him once John had closed the door, and there was a flash of lightning outside that managed to light the inside of his home through the wide windows he had at the front of the house and the stained glass of the door. Behind the man were shadows of wings, large, wide, and… angelic.
This … being wasn’t lying when he called himself an angel.
John tried to embody the suave persona he’d created for himself since becoming a lawyer, but that was kind of hard to do when his hands were shaking. John felt his knees buckling, and all at once he felt like he were back in the biblical times, when other men like him had met angels.
John’s head went to the ground before the man, all of the prayers of his youth flashing up in his brain as he thought of how to best apologize to this angel who he’d just insulted . “I’m sorry. I’m so sorr-”
"Get up." The angel said, his voice curt. It struck true fear in John he hadn't felt in years. "We need to speak about your brother, John."
His brother ?
John did as the angel told him, standing back up on shaky legs and using the wall to stabilize himself and keep from toppling himself back over. "I don't…" John paused, and realization hit him all at once. "Which one?" John corrected himself, but still needing to clarify what it was this angel wanted from him.
" Joseph Seed ." The angel said, and when he moved to place a hand on John's shoulder John is very proud that he didn't at all flinch. "We need to talk about his plan for you, John."