Fallen

Chapter 18

Gavin

I don't know how long I stayed up in the clouds, but it was more than a moment judging by how the moon had progressed in the sky. Part of the time had been wallowing despair, another part had been in taking out my rage, probably causing some storms somewhere and throwing some turbulence into some peoples' flights, but I'd had some rage to vent before it turned inward and became poison.

After I was done with my privacy session, I descended back into the city. Part of me wanted to check in with the others, but I doubted that would get anything anywhere. If they were smart, they were resting at the church, if they weren't, then they'd be pressing whatever lead they had. I hoped the USB I'd pulled from Ruby's room at the Dog had been worth it, but I had a nagging feeling that it wouldn't give us anything. I don't know why I had that feeling, but I couldn't shake it. I just hoped that I was wrong. Either way, it would take a little while for Toby to get it back to the tech nerds to take a look at it, so I had some time to kill and a bone to pick.  As soon as I landed, I tapped into the angel communication network. It was time to get somebody's attention.

"Congratulations!" I shouted to begin. "All of you have been awarded the slacker of century award! If any of you have the energy to get off of your royal, self-entitled, dumb, dry humping a nun ass to come retrieve it, then you know where to find me. And please, please, please, don't send some idiot with a rulebook shoved so far up his pipes he can taste Michael's oddly shaped foot.  I'll be waiting,"

I finished my rant, fairly certain that I'd at least get a crackle of divinely induced lightning. I thought about going over to Sam's, but threw that out the window. Sam's was my happy place, and I didn't need any angel stinking it up. So I headed to another spot that I knew was considered neutral space. A cozy little place just around the corner from where I'd touched down. The people there were quiet, and they even had name tags stuck out to tell you who they were, and there were always plenty of flowers to liven up the place. To clarify, I was talking about a cemetery.

The Jackson Memorial Cemetery, a funny title to give a cemetery, was one of several small cemeteries in the enormous city. Like all cemeteries, it was considered neutral ground in respect for the dead. Of course, I'd added my own little touches to this cemetery. A few extra scratches on a few gravestones wouldn't be noticed, but they would make one hell of an ace if somebody decided to get fresh. I flew there in an instant, taking a seat on one of the several benches, I never knew why they were there, but they were, crossed my legs and waited. The night passed slowly, and still no reply from the great watchers. I was seriously considering going on another rant when I felt somebody enter my space. Of course, they manifested right in front of me, so it wasn't too hard to tell who it was, and it was one of my least favorite angels in all of creation.

"I thought I asked for someone without a rulebook shoved up their anus," I said casually. Ruth glowered at me, her expression showing that she wasn't finding me funny. Too bad. I always thought I was quite the comic.

"How could you?" she asked, her voice coming out choppy and filled with hurt. I couldn't imagine why. "That message went out to every angel in heaven! Every angel!"

"Good, that was what I was aiming for," I replied, leaning back on the bench. Ruth actually shook in anger and what I was guessing was humiliation.

"My captain heard it! The generals heard it! Even the Archangels heard it!  Why couldn't you just call me directly?"

"Because I didn't want to talk to you," I replied evenly, growing serious. "I just wanted to get some attention from somebody who would listen, and you don't exactly fit the bill."