11. Talk to Me

‘Talk to me, son.’

For the first time in my life I understood the word avuncular. Uncle Uriel’s face was close to mine and I felt as though if I just said exactly what he wanted, the whole of eternity would be mine.

‘What about?’ I said.

He shook his Broderick Crawford head and tutted.

‘Gabe, Gabe, don’t disappoint me, you know what I want. You can say it, who will know?’

I wasn’t sure about who would know, but I knew that I didn’t. Know that is. Know, that is, what in Seven Heavens he was talking about.

He straightened up, clasped his hands behind his back, began pacing around the huge office.

‘I don’t want to, Gabe, but you know I will, don’t you? If I have to. If you MAKE ME!’

The spittle flew from his mouth and landed on the glass of the panoramic window.

‘You could give me a clue, Director Uriel, huh?’

The Director of the CBI swept a yellow glazed piece of pottery from his desk. It was about the size of a jelly jar and it smashed into a centillion pieces on the marble floor.

‘That was a Cheng Gho Zhi brush holder. Where am I going to get another of those, Gabe?’

I started to gabble,

‘It’s just a goddam’ job. That old guy, one a’ the saved Adam, yeah, that’s him. Find the wife, same old stuff, nothin’ unusual, in that, fer Heaven’s sake, hey?’

Uriel looked at me, both sides of his mouth turned down so far they nearly met on his chin.

‘None of us were born, Gabe, yesterday or otherwise. It’s Lilith. Lilith you damned idiot.’

‘Yeah, so what. It’s just someone looking for their woman. We all know where she is, don’t we?’

‘How in heaven’s name can an angel be so godawful dumb? Don’t you know Lucifer’s going to retire? Who do you reckon’s after his job? You think she’ll be happy to maintain the Status Quo, like Mr D has for the last few millennia? I wish to goodness she hadn’t ever been made.’

‘So what, as long as the Big Guy has an adversary, we’ve got the old Yin and Yang and the old Manichean dosey-do can go on until the end of time.’

The Director looked at me like I suppose Lilith looked at Adam when he asked her to come back to the garden. They say that Samael was quite a change from Adam’s apple. I never could understand why Samael didn’t fall after, well, you know. Some say Lilith became something else and that’s why Samael is not among the fallen angels. Still, he was a complicated guy.

‘It takes two to tango. If she doesn’t want to dance, we’re looking at the end of days, for sure.’

My mouth went dry. I didn’t think I wanted to ask him, but I did,

‘So, what do you want me to do?’

Uriel’s smile would have graced an Okie selling a used Edsel,

‘Reckon you’re just the guy to persuade Lilith.’

I felt a little sick and the director went on,

‘Course, it might mean you’ll fall. We don’t know. Samael didn’t.

It came out, I couldn’t stop it,

‘And look at him. He’s a monster.’

‘Nobody’s perfect,’ Uriel said .