God's Gone AWOL

[4] Searching with Smythe

[EPISODE 4: The Bedazzled Bimbo]

With a furious spray of red, Xander's knife slashed across the throat of the final angel. The body hit the ground, where it lay among five of its already deceased brethren. Blood pooled in patches here and there, staining the concrete. Such a sight was brutal and painful to the eye, but it was the only sight Xander had ever known.

He was born into the battlefield, it was his intention to eventually die on the battlefield.

"Wow," said a familiar voice behind him. "This seems like a rather violent method of venting one's anger, doesn't it?"

Xander turned around. He wasn't sure how long Smythe had been there, but he sure hoped she hadn't seen the worst of the battle.

"They attacked me first." He sheathed his knives, "It's not my fault Heaven keeps picking on me."

Ever since the incident in the church, it seemed like Heaven really had it out for him. Every time he set foot on Earth, some feathered fiends would come charging at him. It had only been a couple of days and he had fought off at least a dozen angels. And for once in his life, he wasn't actually looking for the fight. The fights were all looking for him!

"Well I guess I can't even say anything since this isn't technically a crime anymore," she sighed, "But still..."

"What?"

"I dunno. I thought over the course of the last eighty-something years, everyone would have calmed down a little. But I guess killing each other is in our nature. Maybe it can't be helped,"

Her hands were clasped neatly behind her back. Smythe had never been much of a soldier as far as Xander could remember. She was much more academically-minded than he was, using her talents for strategizing and organizing to better their war efforts, instead of fighting personally. She didn't even carry any type of weapon on her person —a rare thing for a demon.

"You're not here to partake in the fighting, I'm gonna assume," he said,

"Nah," she replied, "I'm here to tell you we found your sister... sort of,"

Xander raised an eyebrow.

"What does 'sort of' mean? She didn't get herself killed again, did she?"

"Not yet,"

Well that didn't answer anything.

"Now I'm just more concerned," said Xander,

"We borrowed some human security cameras here and there, and we think we found her. But..."

"But??"

"She's with Atticus pash de Ophaniel,"

Xander frowned.

Since Earth was such a common territory for both angels and demons, of course each side would be monitoring the playing field in their own respective ways. By Xander's understanding, the angels were rather old fashioned; documenting and making all their reports in person. They were too stubborn to change with the times. Whereas demons were just unapologetically lazy; using the surveillance equipment set up by the human race to do all the work for them. But either way, a lot of important happenings could slip under the radar. Hence the fact that they hadn't found any trace of Bentley until now.

Deep in the inner-city of Hell, in one of the gleaming black buildings that decorated the skyline of the downtown, Smythe presented the evidence she had found. The footage was displayed on a collection of assorted television screens, plugged in a mounted on the wall rather improperly, like a puzzle with mismatched pieces. Xander could make out the familiar demon dressed in red, accompanied by a unremarkable little angel dressed in ivory. They were standing together in front of what was apparently a hotel entrance somewhere on Earth.