Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And the ears of the deaf unstopped.— Isiah 35 v 5
In heaven, Magariel takes the noose to an artificer he knows for a more detailed examination. The noose is considered interesting. It probably wouldn't work on an Ethereal, except maybe in an Ethereal Tether, due to their somewhat different nature to Celestials. A solid Bound Discord might also defeat it. It would also prevent someone from going celestial if the owner didn't. The one thing that it doesn't give you is any control over your victim beyond forcing his form, except in as much as having a wire noose round someone's neck gives you control over them anyway!
Back on Earth the angels confer and, to Haramine's mild distress, set up the handcuffs as a trap. Atoziel idly suggests that multiple Ethereals might be involved in the business with Herald; Helophel jumps at this, then pesters Magariel for more information. Magariel is however more concerned with getting some Essence back at this point, so heads off to the nightclubs again.
During the following day, the angels are rewarded by their Superiors for a job well done. Janus is particularly pleased with having a role to booby-trap, and accedes to Magariel's request that someone should try to turn the Soldiers on Morley's staff. That should give the Habbalite even more problems. Atoziel meanwhile finds nothing suspicious in the backgrounds of the rugby players.
Helophel is told to bring Curtis and Keel to the Cenotaph offices that evening; Michael doesn't want to waste any further time on their recruitment. Slightly to his surprise, Blakely also gets a formal invitation to this induction. Apparently at Lawrence's request.
When they arrive in Whitehall, they are greeted by a more solemn than usual Jophiel, who guides them down into the inter-departmental tunnels. Curtis and Keel recognise Blakely from the plane crash, and he asks that they be discrete about his involvement. Eventually they arrive at the below-ground access to the Tether locus, where Michael is waiting. As is Laurence. This raises everyone's anxiety levels by several notches, especially Curtis and Keel when it is quietly explained to them just who Laurence is. Laurence compounds this by, with Michael's permission, stepping forward and examining the two candidate Soldiers. While he doesn't express any outright disapproval, he does admit that they are more suited to Michael's direct service than his own. [ Translation: honour is not their top priority! ]
Michael then somewhat brusquely asks the traditional questions to assure himself that Curtis and Keel are genuine and understand what is being asked of them. Satisfied, he reaches forth to open their minds to the Symphony, blowing the episode's entire special effects budget. The boys stagger a bit as they join the ranks of those few mortals who can genuinely hear the world working around them; the deep thrum of the Tether, the sheer presence of two archangels, the disconcerting twist as Michael subsequently adjusts the appearance of Helophel's vessel. It's all rather overwhelming, really, especially since their contact angel now looks more Thai than Indian. The archangels then leave, and the group disperses.
When taking his personal report later, Laurence admits to Blakely that he had attended the recruitment out of curiosity, and thought it only fair that Blakely also attend. Laurence had heard of Michael's conversation with Yves, you see, and wanted to know more about these enigmas entering the service of Heaven. Yves was obscure with him too; the Commander of the Armies of God has not taken the idea that he Doesn't Need To Know about two of his men terribly well.
Separately, Yves is talking to Atoziel, and hopes that the damage done won't impair the CI5 men too much. He looks rather sad as he says this.