Bows and Eros

Chapter 3: Following Orders

We went back to purgatory before I spoke; I  was still scanning the message I'd received.

"What does it say," Gabe asked, impatiently waiting. 

"I can't believe it," I said. "It Jeremiah Ashmore. Do you know who he is?" 

"I stray away from following mortal activities," Gabe said. "It seems tedious once you're on this side." 

"Ashmore is the vice president of America," I said. "And he is one of my targets." 

"So...don't vice presidents deserve love?" 

"He's married," I said. "And his intended love is not his wife. From what I can guess from the picture, it's some white house aide." 

"Wow, that's sketchy," Gabe said. "But you don't need to feel guilty, just follow orders."

"But in addition to breaking up a marriage, I am being asked to betray my country. I can't be responsible for causing the next Monica Lewinski!" 

"It's not up to you," Gabe said. "You're not god, Macy. You're just doing a job. Besides, it's not like your arrow removes free will. You merely put the ideas in his head. If Ashmore loves his wife, no amount of love juice will change that." 

"Really, you can resist fate?" 

"Yes," Gabe said. "I once witnessed a girl, just fifteen years old, survive several rounds of chemo. She was meant to die, but her determination and love was so strong that fate rewrote her storyline." 

"And then she died by accident," I said, frowning. "Do you really think Ashmore will stay faithful?" 

"No," Gabe said. "But he'd probably cheat on his wife of his own volition anyway. Just follow orders, and know the blood is not on your hands." 

"Ok," I said. "I guess so. So I just push send, right?"

"Yes, and I'll be with you the whole time." 

"Why do you care?" I asked. "I mean, aren't you a free agent now that I've got my orders?" 

"I like your company," Gabe said. "And the afterlife can be lonely. You would be lonely without me." 

"Thank you," I said. "Let's go wreck a marriage and embarrass my country!" 

"It's just an arrow, the rest is in humanities hands." 

"That's what I'm afraid of," I said as I pushed send, finding myself in the white house, completely invisible.

***

We'd been watching the vice president make phone calls for hours, time ticking away. Despite my initial impressions, it was nice to have Gabe to talk to and laugh with. 

"I still can't believe we're in the white house. Its surreal." I whispered. 

"You don't need to whisper," Gabe said. "We're virtually ghosts, remember?" 

"Right," I said, a little louder. "Being the vice president is boring. Half of his phone calls are in Japanese." 

"His accent is awful, by the way." 

"When did you learn Japanese?" I asked, quirking a brow. 

"In the Victorian age," He said. "It's a long story. But look, the secretary is coming in."