A WELCOME VISITOR
By; Gerald A. Polley

People who thought being a female t.v. reporter was glamorous should follow Catherine Moore around for awhile. She sat finishing up the layout of her next broadcast knowing that probably when she got to the studio all hell will have broken loose somewhere and she would have to change everything. She noticed it had gotten strangely quiet and looked around. She saw her husband coming out of the bedroom.
"Girls decided it was time to go to bed," he remarked, "and I now see why." He pointed behind Catherine.
A six foot tall winged being stood there with plush fur on his body except around his face and the palms of his hands. "Oh! Our Father!" Catherine snapped, "Is something wrong?"
"No, no!" the winged being remarked. "Just dropped by to compliment you on keeping the pressure on our little baby killer. I don't want her to have a minute's peace, no matter how much mommy wants her forgiven." Catherine's husband spoke up. "You can be assured, master, every opportunity she gets she'll hammer that one! Haven't you paid her a visit like you paid me?"
"I virtually made no impression on her," the winged being answered. "She's so lost in herself she's not afraid of anyone or anything."
"Stupid fool!" Catherine managed. "Did I ever thank you for putting him in my charge?"
"Only about 5,000 times!" the winged being answered, "And my pleasure! Couldn't think of a better place for him. How are our treasures?"
"As adorable as ever!" Catherine answered. "And thank goodness they're not needed for your little project. Somehow we've got to get people to accept it."
"Well if you can think of a way," the winged being answered, "let me know!" He picked up a pad and a pencil and wrote down some information. "They're talking too much about the success of their financial recovery," he complained. "These families will tell people how successful it is and what some government types are demanding for assistance. Oh! I want you to play down the recent affair story, concentrate on the extortion aspect. Push that the betrayal was on the person that was fulfilling his promises. God wants that issue pushed."
"Gotcha!" Catherine answered. "You didn't have anything to do with that?"
"Not a thing!" the winged being answered. "Somebody was just damned stupid. Well, got to get going. Sorry I couldn't let the girls see me this time but didn't want to upset them by the things I had to talk about. They'll learn about the sad things in life all too soon."
"They still won't understand," Catherine sighed. "They love it when you drop by! They can't understand why they have to keep you a secret." The being laughed. "Children never do!" he complained. "I wish adults responded to me as well in this form."
"I remember the first time I saw you," Catherine's husband remarked. "I had to take a shower afterwards." The being smiled. "That's a common reaction," he remarked. "Thanks for the information by the way, on the dog baiters. Breaking up that little ring was fun!"
"My pleasure!" Catherine's husband replied. "There's some people I just want to get off the street, regret I ever knew them. Even the ones that weren't prosecuted are laying low. No wonder he's so slow to respond to their causes. He doesn't want it going public what they're involved in."
"If we have any luck," the winged being answered, 'he won't be able to keep it a secret much longer. Oh! Before I go; did you have any luck with the Chinese prostitution ring?"
"Producer wouldn't let me cover it," Catherine moaned. "But I was able to get the information to some local authorities who acted on it. It might not go to the public but they're out of business around here, anyway. Couple of 'em have been shipped home."
"Good!" the winged being chuckled. "If they give their former bosses what they've picked up they shouldn't be a problem at all in a year or so. If we could only have such success in other things!"
"You haven't been sending me any emails lately," Catherine remarked.
"Nothing we can use you for," the winged being answered. He glanced down at her and smiled.
"She's keeping it a secret," her husband remarked, "but I know." The winged being smiled again. "Take care!" he warned. "They're hitting us hard. They're managing to break through our protection but only in isolated areas, not places like this. But don't take any risks."
"Understood!" both of his companions answered. "You too?"
"Taking risks is what I do!" the winged being answered, "I can't do my job without it."
"Still," Catherine's husband put in, "there's many that wish you didn't have to take quite so many. You're not indestructable in your other form."
"That's not quite true," the winged being answered. "My other form is destructable, it can die. But I can't! However, it is a nuisance taking 18 years or so to get a new body that would be of some use. Right now I might take a short cut."
Everybody laughed. "Outa here!" the being snapped, and disappeared.