Chapter 17 – The Queen's Elbow

The park at Kensington Palace was large and open; it was easy to have a private conversation without appearing clandestine. Aziraphale arrived at dusk. Looking at the statue of Queen Victoria near the pool, his eyes followed the elbow of the arm holding her scepter to see Crowly draped on a park bench nearby. He looked as if he were asleep, but he was making sure this particular bench appeared empty on CCTV. As Aziraphale approached, Crowley moved his body to clear half the bench for the angel. "Acting Supreme Archangel" he oozed the greeting with faux courtliness. "Former Demon" Aziraphale spoke with icy disdain in the tone of a self-important prig. They both chuckled but weren't ready to let their guard down with each other yet. They kept their eyes focused across the pond on HRH as she became a shadow in the darkening sky.

Crowley asked, "How is He doing?"

"He's afraid to hope".

"Wise man."

"But I think our talks have helped him see how he can return without destruction. He appears to be planning how he will argue his position to the Almighty. If I could give him an incentive, I believe we could make our move in just over a month. He needs to build his confidence."

"Make it 6 weeks, the snow is still falling in their valley. She will be ready when he is. The carvings helped put her in a more positive frame of mind, so I thought this might help…" Crowley pulled the Da Vinci sketch from his pocket and held it out to Aziraphale.

"How precious! Da Vinci must be near the end of his penance by now. This will do the trick nicely." Aziraphale formed an envelope and carefully put the sketch into it and then his pocket.

Crowley shifted to face the angel. "We'll have to pick our moment carefully. We've got to move him out and then both of them up and through without getting noticed or setting off alarms. And they need time to adjust; They are going to see each other for the first time in 2000 years.

"A full day at least – could you use your 'gift' to give them time? Aziraphale relaxed and turned towards the former demon.

"I can stop time in Purgatory without much notice, but it would set off alarms if I did it in Heaven or Earth. Hell's not paying attention – it's an election year in the States."

Aziraphale nodded, "That should give them time to adjust. I'm going to pick that day for a "Rapture Practice Drill" (holding his hands up to frame that title). I'll have everyone stay at their designated stations for the morning. We'll get to Purgatory without detection because they'll be at the Departure gate, which is located at the opposite end of the Terminal. Then I'll send them to their departments for de-briefing when we get ready to move to the portal. I'll tell Michael to compile all briefs before she reports to me."

"Your bureaucratic skills are almost diabolical" said Crowley, with a smirk.

"I couldn't do it without a man inside."

"Inside man, you mean. Speaking of inside- are we sure Muriel can do this?"

"Muriel is more observant and sure-footed than you give her credit for. As long as she's not second-guessing herself – no sarcastic remarks or alternate plans to throw her off and we'll be fine. Her assignment is straightforward. And I have my assistant, Raph, to help cover for us upstairs. I think you'll like Raph, he thinks they're idiots too."

"Hmph", Crowley responded, while thinking of ways to make Raph less likeable in Aziraphale's eyes.

It was getting dark. Aziraphale dared ask, "Now that we've sorted that, shall we take a small tea before I go back? There's a nice little place behind the Royal Albert Hall, and I miss having a decent tea."

"Only if they have savories." Crowley rose from the bench.

And for a moment it felt like old times.