An Ancient Business

An Ancient Business



I am in the business of souls- the unblemished, the tattooed, the
brittle, the ones that are built like slabs of granite, I take them all
in.


Its an ancient business, and we its practitioners have
altered strategies over the centuries to have the edge on the
competition. The tide turned in favour of my company when we took
Emperor Constantine. Having the might of the Roman Empire made our work
easier.


I was sitting on a rattan chair in the Wintergarden food
court, having a strawberry milkshake when a demon introduced himself to
me as Rex Mundi.


"I thought Raphael chained you up in Egypt all those years
ago," I said.


"I escaped," he said sitting down in front of me. "That was a
good set-up, killing all those prospective grooms of Sara until Raphael
ruined my game by telling Tobias to burn that fish
liver."


Demons could not stand the smell of burning fish
innards.


"You know how it is," I said. "We fight through any means
necessary."


"I thought your kind were bound by strict rules." He lit a
cigarette.


I smiled. "The devil doesn't have a monopoly on guerilla
warfare."


"OK, let's cut the bullshit. You know my target is that guy
over there slouched over a bottle of Coke and a
notebook."


"But you will not have him," I said, looking straight into
his eyes.


"Hell, we will. We got big plans for the boy. He contains
enough rage to destroy a planet." Only the rules of discretion
regarding public confrontation set by our superiors stopped him from
ripping into me.


But demons have never been good at following rules. Then
again, there was a sushi bar near us. I wondered if I put some raw tuna
flesh against a cigarette lighter if that would be enough to drive Rex
away.


"You will not have him," I repeated.


"What makes you so sure?"


"Because now he knows that the secret to staying
safe."


















"Bull fucking shit, I don't believe you," he stood up, and walked to
where his target was sitting, had a penetrating glance at the
notebook.


Then he looked at me. I saw ballistic missiles slamming into
palaces in those eyes, and machetes slashing into leg tendons. But I
also saw defeat.


He crossed Elizabeth Street and was gone.


I finished my milkshake, cast a glance at the unshaven man
that was Rex's target. I got up and walked towards him.


I wanted to tell him that he will be somebody someday, that
he will find his place in the world. But I just let him continue
writing a love letter to a nurse in London.
past on my way home.


There was no trace of Rex in the human traffic I encountered
on my way home.


"Hello, Father, we won again," I said as I went through the
door of the cathedral.