Nightside 09 - Just Another Judgement Day

But... not just yet. We don’t need a panic. Or people taking advantage of the situation to settle old scores. We’re hoping you can . . . do something, before matters get out of hand.”
    I looked around the table. “What, exactly, do you want me to do?”
    “I would have thought it was obvious,” said Julien. “We want you to find the Walking Man and stop him from bringing death and destruction to the Nightside in general, and us in particular. He was quite clear in his letter that he intends to kill the new Authorities to send a message to the rest of the Nightside.”
    “How am I supposed to stop the wrath of God?” I said. Not unreasonably, I felt.
    Larry Oblivion smiled. “That’s your gift. We’re confident you’ll . . . find a way.”
    I suppose I asked for that. “What’s the fee?” I said.
    “One million pounds,” said Julien. “And...we’ll owe you.”
    I nodded. “Sounds about right.” I looked from face to face. “You’re all powerful people. And you know even more powerful people. Some of them so powerful they aren’t people at all. So why put your faith in me?”
    “Walker recommended you,” said Julien. “And you do have a reputation for winning out against impossible odds.”
    “You of all people should know better than to believe everything you read in the papers,” I said. I sighed, heavily. “All right. But let us be very clear about this. What exactly do you mean, when you say you want me to stop him? Do you mean reason with him, overpower him, or kill him?”
    “You are authorised to use any and all means necessary,” Julien said carefully.
    “Hell, you can try bribing him if you think it’ll do any good,” said Annie. “Do whatever it takes, we’ll clean up the mess afterwards. If you’ve tried being reasonable, and he doesn’t want to know, feel free to stick a gun up his nostrils and blow his bloody head off.”
    “Love to,” said Suzie, and we all looked at her.
    “I’m still worried about the whole unstoppable, invulnerable, wrath of God bit,” I said.
    “This from a man who’s fought angels from Above and Below,” said Larry. “At least, according to him.”
    “I know my limits,” I said, matching him stare for stare. “I can find the Walking Man. I can talk to him. I can use all kinds of tricks to confuse and divert him . . . but after that, your guess is as good as mine. We’re in unknown territory here.”
    “Scared?” said Count Video.
    “Bloody right I’m scared!” I said. “When the angels came here to fight their war over the Unholy Grail, their powers were strictly limited by the nature of the Nightside, and they still killed thousands of people and wrecked the place! And now Walker tells me the Nightside’s nature has changed, and we don’t even have that protection any more. If I had any sense, I’d go home and hide under the bed until this is all over. As it is . . . Look, when we talk about the wrath of God, we should be bearing in mind what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities destroyed by God for the sinfulness of their inhabitants. And I’ll bet good money they weren’t up to half the stuff that happens here on a regular basis, half price at weekends.”
    “He’s still just a man,” said King of Skin. His voice was deep and rich and irredeemably sleazy. “Every man has his weaknesses.”
    “I’ll be sure to mention that to him,” I said. “From a safe distance. Come on, I’m good, people, but even I can’t go up against the direct will of God. Just saying that out loud is enough to make me nervous of a plague of boils on my nether regions.”
    “You do have a Biblical background,” Julien said carefully. “Your mother was Lilith, first wife to Adam.”
    “Yeah, right—the one who rebelled against God’s authority, got kicked out of Eden, went down to Hell and slept with demons, and gave birth to monsters,” I said. “Really don’t plan on mentioning that connection to the Walking Man, thanks all the same.”
    “It’s only a parable anyway,” said Suzie, unexpectedly. “A simple way to comprehend a much more complex reality.”
    We all looked at her for a moment. Suzie can always surprise you.
    “Jessica Sorrow,” I said. “The Unbeliever...It seems to me that you’re the only one here with a strength of belief, or rather unbelief, to match the Walking Man. Maybe if we put the two of you together, you’d . . . equal out.”
    “That was then,” said Jessica, fixing me with her