“Wait a gorram second,” Simon said. “What?!?”

“During ‘Nam,” Blake explained. “I was the C.O. of…”

“C.O.?” Angela asked.

“Commanding Officer,” Blake replied. “I was the C.O. of an experimental unit. None of us were, per se, normal. We all had experience or abilities relating to the supernatural. Our company was nicknamed Sword & Stone.”

“What does this have to do with The Vatican?” Simon asked.

“Or with these infected folks you were talking about?” Angela asked.

Blake snorted. “After ‘Nam, the Vatican head hunted — that is, recruited — my unit. Or, at least, most of us that, you know, survived.”

“Why?” asked Simon.

”’Cause they wanted a Black Ops team to hunt monsters, Simon,” Blake replied. “And they wanted distance and deniability.”

“And…” Angela started.

“And two of them are coming here to help with problems,” said Blake.

“And why didn’t you do this last time we were in trouble?” Simon asked, a tad outraged.

”’Cause I thought we had an archangel on our side and didn’t need more help, okay?”