Midnite was reading the papers Jack had gotten, they collaborated what John was saying.
"Question is, when is he doing it?" Asked John.
There was a long pause, till Midnite said, "Tomorrow Night."
"What"
"Tomorrow Night the earth, moon, mars and its moons will be aligned. It's an insignificant event and usually on those nights nothing happens but... Orgies and such debauchery, they claim it gives them power but there is no sense to it. It seems that Crowley had a way use for it."
"This is bad." Said Midnite.
"You're telling me?" Said John, as he fished out pack of Silk Cuts and opened it, empty. He tossed it aside.
Midnite was then reading another set of papers.
"Are you sure this is true"
"You know Moriarty, if it's on paper and it came from him; it's genuine."
"Are you saying that if and when Crowley dies he will rise as a most powerful demon?" Asked Midnite.
"Yes, and not just some half-bread. I mean a full blown Demon with powers and a ranch in hell. And we can't do anything about it. Even if we hack his corpse into dices he'll return"
"Then how will you dispose of him"
"I'll find a way."
"What kind of spells are in this book"
"Spells to transport masses into Hell, spells to allow demons to manifest on this side without them choosing to..."
Midnite took a pause and his eyes shined, he had a breakthrough, and John was thinking it too.
"He plans on turning his Damnation Army into Half-Breads"
"They'd follow him to the Jaws of hell and further, surely they'll die in combat."
"Gone?" Asked the devil, "How could she be gone?"
Lilith bowed her head to avoid the wrath of Lucifer, "It seems she's been shielded by Sigils."
A frail figure of one of the damned approached in the distance.
"Impossible! While I was on earth I could feel her move, her shield was breaking apart. Then she was blocked, but I could feel her moving. She isn't barricaded in a room carved with Sigils, Queen."
"I don't know, perhaps once the child arrives you can use it to find her"
"I needn't your Hollow suggestion."
"Our Prince."
Lilith and Satan turned to the scourged soul that has walked up to them while they were in the heat of the argument.
"You dare interrupt the Devil, Damned swine?" Asked Lilith.
The twenty years old was skinny and his eyes were full of grief, his black scruffy hair waved from the angry breaths of the devil.
"I'm one of those cursed ones, cursed to have met John Constantine." He said.
"Indeed you are cursed, and there is another one of Constantine's friends hanging no more than a hundred yards from here," said the Devil, pointing at Nigel's disfigured body as he was hung from the top of Lilith's cave, eternally being tormented by Lilith's daughters.
"You shall join him shortly. How did you die anyway?"
"It was from battling with your son." Said the young man.
The Devil seemed to relax and lost a bit of the hostility he was willing to take out of the damned man.
"My son Mammon? I guess I owe you a favor then. What's your name, damned child"
"My name is Kramer, Chas Kramer"
"And I guess your life was full of wickedness, and that's why you ended up in here even though you died to save humans. Now what do you want"
"The company of Constantine has caused me greatly, albeit I would have ended in here no matter what. I believe I would have lived a long debauched life before I would end up in here. I wish to take vengeance upon Constantine, and I have a few ideas on how you could do that."
The Devil smiled, then snickered, then laughed a laugh that brought the thunder and caused blood to rain upward into the scorched sky above.
"You want to advice the Fallen Angel Lucifer Morningstar? The light bringer? The Devil? What nerve! I sure do appreciate the laugh, tell me, damned human. Tell me your scheme before you return to the masses of the damned."
Chas told the Devil his plan, and the devil liked what he heard. He liked it very much.
Crowley was steering something in a large caldron using an ivory tusk. His Faction of Satanic Acolytes stood in a circle with him and Nergal who stood in Human form to his left.
Crowley started pouring what was brewing in the caldron into glasses of crystal, the foamy liquid was clear and had small black bits moving in it. Crowley started passing the glasses to the Damnation Army who started passing it till it reached the other the other side if him, when all had their drink, they gulped the potion in unison.
"Blindfolds." Said Crowley, the men then blindfolded themselves and kneeled down.
"Your up." Said Crowley, Nergal then morphed into demon form, the yellow tusks sprouted from his cheeks, his skin was covered with carvings and turned red.
He bared his left arm and bit it with his sharp fangs, some of his blood spilt on the floor; the demons blood was glowing red like, it a mixture of blood and fire.
Nergal then started to round the men and let drop of his blood fall into their gaping mouths, they devoured his blood and swallowed it without hesitation; meanwhile Crowley was chanting something silently in some obscure language; a tongue only spoken by those who serve the devil.
After nearly thirty minutes of silent hum like chanting one of the men fell on his face, dead. Another made a chocking sound and fell too. All the men died, some died silently, and others screamed bloody murder before they croaked.
"When shall they rise?" Asked Nergal.
"By Dawn, by the alignment tomorrow they'll be in full bloom"
"Good," said Nergal.
"Hungry?" Asked Crowley.
"Famished. What's fir dinner"
"The chef has prepared Shark for you"
"Delightful!"
The following Evening, it was the day when Crowley would perform his spell and John would launch his attack.
John had the blue print of Crowley's mansion pinned to the wall, he stood against it, studying it, memorizing it, visualizing himself breaking into it and exacting his revenge.
He was in the basement of Jack's shop, where all the relics and demon fighting weapons were stored. He lit a cigarette and started sketching on the map with a pencil.
"Planning a war, are we?" Gabriel said as she walked in.
"What are you doing here?"
"Seeing as how I was out of work and soon to be evicted, I thought I'd get drunk."
'Yeah right, that would be a sight!'
"Then I thought that seeing would be stomach turning enough, and I wouldn't have to pay.
"I'm glad you thought of me."
John went to a cabinet and took out a small wooden box in which copper objects were wrapped with straw. He took it to a table and started assembling the Ace of Winchesters, the Holy Shotgun.
"Listen John, he needs his men to die for the spell to work, why help him"
"If I don't he'll hire someone to kill his men, or have them fight each other."
"You think you can defeat his army, dispose of Nergal and still make it in time to stop Crowley without turning him into a demon and walk out with the child, alive?"
"It sounds bad when you put it that way."
"Good thing you have me." Said Frank as he walked in.
"What brings you here?" Asked John.
"Listen to the lady, John. You will die." said Frank as he rummaged through the cabinet looking for a weapon, "Okay, you get that little number in your hands, what do I get"
"Frank, look"
"I know how to kill people, John. I was in the army, remember"
"It's not that"
"Look John," snapped Frank, "They ruined my cab, they beat us up, they killed Nigel, and they almost Killed Jack. Like it or not, I'm going in there with you, Get me drift?"
Gabriel smiled at the British Cabby's bravery and loyalty to his friends, perhaps these humans were worthy of god's love after all.
"No where Is mine?" Asked Frank.
"Look into that box in the corner." Said John with an amused smile.
Frank went to get the box while John continued working of the Shotgun, as soon as it was done John went to look for some of the Dragons breath which powered the weapon.
"I believe you're looking for this."
Midnite sauntered into the place, he tossed a copper tube to John who caught with ease and installed it into the weapon.
"I assume you need ammunition so I brought these."
Midnite laid out several rounds of ammunition suitable for the shotgun, the three looked at the Towering Jamaican Warrior.
"Glad you made it"
"You didn't think I'd miss this, did you"
"The more the merrier." Said Frank as he opened his box, it contained an iron crossbow; under the rim was a battery of silver arrows.
Gabriel shifted her eyes between them, the Exorcist, the Witch Doctor and the Cabbie; suddenly they were all looking at her.
"Alright," she said, "I guess four can die just as easily as three."
They didn't expect her to be so eager to join the battle.
"You think I'd trust you three to do this?"
"You'll need this then." Said John as he handed her the shotgun.
"How reassuring." She said as she struggled to hold it.
"Everyone pack up on these." Said John as he took out a crate filled with spherical ampoules of Holy Water.
Everyone stuffed as many as possible in their pockets; Gabriel also took the cross-carved brass knuckles and stuffed it in her pocket.
"What's the plan?" Asked Midnite.
John was about to speak when Frank interrupted,
"I say we just charge the place, pakin' serious heat, and do like Al Pacino in Scarface!"
"Thank you Frank. But I had something more subtle in mind."
John leaned forward to Explain, "Now here's what I was thinking."
Frank parked Midnite's Black Mercedes outside Crowley's mansion; they got out wielding their weapons. Midnite had his magic only, John had a gun and a blessed dagger as well as a black duffel bag hanging from his shoulder, Frank had the crossbow and Gabriel had the Shotgun.
John led the way, his trench coat blowing in the air as his head to the gate, "Remember," he said, "They're like newborns; they're strong but vulnerable; so they should be easy to kill"
"Easy?" Asked Frank.
"Only In comparison."
Two men saw them coming, or two half-breads saw them coming would be more accurate, they charged at them with all they had.
"And so it Begins."