65. Time is on My Side

My watch read 8.45. It was a retro Casio. The full plastic. They cost a solid fifty dollars at an airport shop by that time. I remembered when they came out in the stores in the 70s. They’d cost fifty dollars then too, but not for long. James Bond wore one in one of the jokey movies. Soon, they were the go-to watch for low level villains and cops in all the TV shows. The real bad guys had Patek, Tag and all that, and so did all the spies, even the ones undercover as tramps. Movies and TV aren’t real life, but oh boy do the Earthbound try to make real life like them both.

Sam still wasn’t back. It would be no skin off my schnozzle if she didn’t make it inside the perimeter before the guest of honour arrived at the party, but there would be no lockdown before the rest of the G-men arrived. They’d get there before the TV crew. There would be one: this being a better photo-opportunity for FLOTUS than giving out some dumb book prize. The rest of the government goons would arrive at nine o’clock. TV at a half-of-nine, motorcade at a quarter to the hour before the big show at ten. With any luck Mr D wouldn’t get in after nine, not even dressed as Buttons the Clown.

Somebody equally unwelcome arrived on the hour in a Command and Control Vehicle with no markings on the side, but a big enough satelitte dish to contact Japan via the Moon. Uriel stepped out from the back of the van. His hulking frame dwarfed those of  the Celestial Bureau Agents who’d accompanied him in the vehicle. Were the FBI and Secret Service close behind? Who knew? Maybe Uriel had put them away for safe-keeping or maybe they were running late in traffic, though there are only green lights for The First Lady’s motorcade from D.C. to Dell Rapids, SD.

Hierarchies only work if the guys at the top are confident they have never made a mistake and never will. It’s mostly always guys, history isn’t very kind to females at the top, unless they play real nice: those as don’t - well most of those have been Lilith anyway. Don’t blame me, us ethereal beings have to stick to all the stuff you believe in. Right about now I was considering letting Lilith/FLOTUS get away with whatever plan she had.

I watched SSA Washington get into a schlong-schwinging contest with Uriel. My rooting for the underdog didn’t help at all. I stayed by the perimeter railings, hoping not to be noticed.

Hope springs eternal, they say, a pity the Earthbound have no idea how long Eternity is. It was only five minutes before I was clocked and ten seconds later Uriel’s head from a heroic bust was looming over mine.

‘Gabriel? That is you? Of course, it would be. You’ll be a good boy now, and stay out of the way. I can put in a good word for you later.’

‘With who?’

‘Whom, sonny, whom.’ Uriel’s head was still in my face, so I said,

‘Whom with?’, but whoever said a smart mouth means a smart guy?