He slowly approached the tall well built man with sleeked back hair.
"Where's Jay?"
The man smiled, his name tag said 'Steve', Steve was actually unconscious in the storage room and that man was actually Nergal in human form.
"Jay got busted for bounced checks. You're Nigel, right?"
Jay worked as a clerk at the supermarket, but made his real money dealing drugs to the likes of Nigel who was one of his loyal customers.
"How did you know?" asked Nigel.
"He described me to you. Told me to hook you up. I got some new stuff, just arrived from Thailand. Interested?"
Nigel contemplated for a bit, he didn't sense anything from the man, and the craving was gnawing at him. What could it hurt?
"Yeah, why not?"
Nergal took of the name tag and store-vest and left with Nigel, he had managed to elude the psychic, thanks to what he sucked away from Billy the wannabe satanist earlier that night.
John walked into Jack's shop, pissed as hell. "JACK! Get in here!" he called as he sat at an armchair and lit a cigarette.
Jack came in, adjusting his eye-glasses and holding his omnipresent styrophome cup of Starbucks coffee.
"And a top of the morning to you too." said Jack, "Jeez. What's with you"
"The whole operation has gone to shit, I think I may be on the highway to hell again, and oh right... An Angel has pulverized my door, what do I have to be happy about?"
"Put this is your fridge."
"I figured what the chain is."
That was good news, John listened up.
"So tell me."
Jack sipped from his coffee, "After I didn't figure what it was, I sent it to my friend at the Stanford Physics Department and had him examine it; he said the metal wasn't like anything he'd seen, and that it was slightly eradiated"
"It's radioactive"
"Not really, but it had an effect that put your Angel friend out if the game."
"What else?"
"I followed a hunch so I checked out another case with a mysterious mineral. The Lance of Longings"
"The Spear of Destiny"
"Scientists had found traces of a metal like no other in the spear, I then went and called for a favor and here it is."
Jack slapped down some papers that were photocopies of an ancient texts that bared biblical illustrations showing a chain wrapped around an Angel.
"The chain of Mephisto; forged from the fires of the fifth circle of hell and the armors of betraying soldiers; Possessed only by the devil's elite."
"Then how did it get here"
"A demon might have left it here and it was found. Or more probably the devil has given it one of his human allies."
John lit a fresh cigarette.
"Why can't you just have Nigel get a reading of the place and see who it was?" asked Jack.
"They left the place clean, they made sure they didn't keep anything behind. They're good, real good."
Jack sat across the table from John, sipping his coffee.
"What do you want to do with the chain"
"Whatever, Hide it; it would be even better if you found a way to destroy it."
"I'll try, what about the other stuff"
"What other stuff"
"The saw and the box, they're in the back. Do you still need them"
"No, I kind of needed them for the birth, now that that's over I have no use for them"
"I'll hold on to them, Just in case."
"You made a holy Chainsaw?" John scoffed.
"Circular Saw actually, the blade was made from the iron scraps David had once cut"
"Nice, I'm sure it'll come in handy."
"What now, John"
"The Angel is gone, Ellie has disappeared. All we have left is trying to divine the location of the baby using the Umbilical cord. I'm not sure that'll work"
"First you have to make sure Nigel is up for it, and sober."
Nigel lay on top of a comforter on the ground, Nergal or Steve was slumped on a nearby chair smoking a role of weed.
"This is some good stuff.." said Nigel very slowly, the euphoria of the drugs was at it's peak.
"Yes it is," said Nergal as he put the roll in an ash tray, "Do you know John Constantine"
"I do... What the h"
"Don't worry about that right now, just have a little more."
Nigel was too out of it to resist and he didn't even give much thought to the matter as Nergal cut some of the white powder on a mirror and serve it to him.
John knocked on Frank's door, upon opening it the Englishman had a serious expression all over his face.
"Hey Frank"
"Hello John," said Frank as John walked in, "You want a beer"
"No thanks, so why did you call me?"
Frank tossed John a matchbox filled with tiny black objects.
"The chaps at the Auto-Shop found these hidden in my car"
"What are they"
"Bugs; Spying Mics. All hidden in my car, I've seen some when I was in the army"
"How did they get there"
"Probably certain passengers planted them, I don't know who."
"That night you thought I saw a car tailing us when we left the Nightclub"
"My thought exactly"
"Let me guess, these are untraceable?" asked John, indicating the bugs.
"Exactly, this whole thing seems more like it was some sort of covert government work."
John's mind boggled with the new information, he just wished he knew who he was against, there was something about the man with silver hair that caused him a sense of familiarity.
John looked at his watch, sundown was near; meaning that the bus time of the day was about to start.
Gabriel got off the bus and looked at the apartment building in front of her, Nigel's building. She heard John mention the address the other day, she wanted to know what had changed and she sure wasn't going to John for answers.
She rang the door bell to his apartment but there was no answer, she kept ringing in hopes he'll buzz her in.
She was wondering why Eudaemon hadn't come to visit her all day when a resident of the building stepped out the font door; she slipped her foot in to keep the door from closing and sneaked in.
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"Tell me something, Steve. How come you're not high?" muttered Nigel as his high continued.
"I'm immune to these substances"
"What gets you high, then?"
"Oh," mused Nergal as he seemed to be remembering a pleasant memory, "The eternal pleads from mercy erupting from the mouths of the lustful as they are torn to pieces over and over by the hounds of hell. The silent despair in the eyes of suicides as they are forced to remurder themselves eternally for our delight."
"That's just sick."
"Sick? That's a matter of opinion, really. What you may judge as disgusting may be very acceptable to others, take you for instance. You think I'm sick, while regard you and your kind as maggots waiting to be crushed, just worthless creatures drifting through life with no faith or purpose, scoffing at what you do not understand. I find you exceptionally revolting."
Nigel was silent for several minutes and eventually said, "I hear the devil has got some really good weed"
"You'll get to know when you go to hell, very soon." said Nergal.
Nergal inched towards Nigel, who starred through the open window.
"Now tell me something, where is the Succubus Ellie? Is she with Constantine"
"Ellie? She's with John"
"Why did she seek him"
"She and the Angel went to him together."
Nergal was intrigued by the dazed psychic's statement, "What angel"
"He has the strangest name, Ed Damon or something, I called him Ed"
"She was with him"
"Yeah, those two are sort of an item," said Nigel, "I hadn't had a steady relationship in years"
"Item? What are talking about? I'm talking about the Demoness Ellie, daughter of Lilith"
"Her name is Ellie, she's really sexy, I would have asked her out but you know how it is... and besides, she's sort of committed to this Ed."
"Why did they seek John"
"Help"
"With what"
"I don't really know"
"So where do you come in"
"They asked me to show them how their baby looks like."
Nergal was furious, he'd thought Nigel was making fun of him, so he picked Nigel up by the throat and held him against the wall.
"You little shit," he barked in a demonic voice, "Do I look like someone to be made fun off? Do you expect me to believe that an Angel and a Demon could possible conceive a child?"
Nigel was slightly bough to his senses and he looked at Nergal, his face was in its demonic form, his rage must have caused his disguised to subside.
"LEAVE ME!" he screamed.
"Somehow I don't feel inclined to do so."
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Gabriel was climbing the stairs when she heard Nigel's scream, she stopped and thought he might be under the influence and thus would be useless, but the she heard a thud and went to see what it was. The front door was ajar and she saw that it was dark inside, he must be get himself loaded. She figured it would be better if she went in and stopped him before he killed himself.
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Nergal reached for a syringe loaded with drugs, he would cause the little prick a little coma and then he'd be able to read his mind and know the truth.
Suddenly he heard someone walking through the door, a feminine voice called, "Nigel, are you here?"
He sprinted to the woman staning in the dark and give her a powerful swat that sent her flaying into the kitchen.
While Nergal was disposing of Gabriel, Nigel had managed to retrieve the syringe dropped on the floor, he then felt Nergal hoist him up again and prop him against the wall.
Seeing Nergal snicker with the cruelty worthy of a Warrior of Hell and feeling great fear as he hung four feet above the ground, he made a decision out of pure desperation and buried the syringe into Nergal's face.
The demon grunted as he loosened his grip on Nigel and dropped him. He hunched over as the poison ran though his veins.
"You may be immune to weed, but an ampoule of Heroin will get to even a hell spawn like you asshole."
Nergal rose with Rejuvenated Anger and Strength, he towered over the fallen Nigel and laughed saying, "Thanks, that DOES feel nice."
Nigel was hoist up once again and Nergal started choking at him, "Where is she?"
Nigel couldn't breathe or talk as he felt life slipping away.
"What? Can't you talk with a fist from hell around your throat?"
Nigel closed his eyes and wished for a miracle.
And he received one.
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As Gabriel flew through the kitchen she knew what was in the apartment wasn't human, she landed on table and crashed into the ground with the chairs.
She felt her shoulder bruise from where the demon hit her, but she was still alive and conscious, she slowly crawled to the doorway and looked at the demon holding Nigel up against the wall, she scurried back into the kitchen, she had to do something.
She opened the liquor cabinet and took out a fifth of vodka; she ripped the seal open and stuffed a peace of cloth in it she found laying around. She picked up some matches and dragged a steel folding chair to the doorway, there was The demon strangling Nigel; it didn't look good for the psychic.
Gabriel struck a match and put it to the rag, she waited till the cloth caught fire then hurled the bottle at Nergal.
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Nigel saw Nergal exploding into flames, he let go of Nigel and staggered back, next thing he saw was someone charging with a steel chair in hand, a war cry echoed in the apartment and his savior knocked Nergal into the window, out f the apartment and sent Nergal plummeting from five floors into the floor and into the street outside.
Gabriel grabbed Nigel by the hand to get him to flee the apartment with her, as he shoulder ached.
On the outside people were gathered to see what was happening. The alarm of a severally damaged car was blaring, Gabriel and Nigel walked away trying not to attract suspicion.
"GABRIEL." echoed a voice.
Gabriel turned around to see Nergal in human form walking slowly towards them, his clothes slightly ripped but otherwise he was fine, "I heard you got sacked, It's been a while since we last met. How long was it?"
"Nergal," said Gabriel as she recognized the man, "I believe the year was 1605, London"
"Ahh, right. Gunpowder treason and plot(1), eh? I was just doing my job, then you had to deport me, and now I'm back. And now you both will die"
"Perhaps some other time."
A black car suddenly collided with the demon, Nergal rolled on top of the vehicle and fell to the ground, the driver then stopped and switched into reverse and ran him over again, then switched into drive and pinned Nergal under the front wheel.
"Get in!" ordered Frank Chandler as he rolled down the window, Gabriel and Nigel climbed into the back seat as the trapped Nergal shouted obscenities.
Frank then sped off as Nergal got up and brushed off, to the astonishment of spectators.
"Fine, run like the cowards you are," said Nergal, "You can run, but you can't hide. The best is yet to come."
(1) In November of 1605, 13 Catholics conspired to assassinate Kings James I and IV of Scotland and England by blowing up the parliament using three dozen barrels of gunpowder for their intolerance of their religion, their plan was foiled when one of them blew the whistle on the operation, could it be Nergal?