Transmission from the Trickster

Chapter 31

"You can't kill Lucifer!" Gabriel practically yells it, as if it's so far outside the realm of possibility that he shouldn't have even entertained the thought.

"Why not?" Jack asks. "We've killed angels before. Why shouldn't he be next?"

"Well, for starters, he's not just an angel, he's an archangel," Gabriel says, his tone conveying the fact that there's a long list of reasons not to kill him, and he's going to name them all until they agree with him. "None of you will be able to kill him. Hell, I doubt Jack could even kill him — at least, not yet."

"Well, it's worth a try," Mary says.

"No! No, it's really, really, not worth a try!" Gabriel protests. "It's not going to work. If anything, it's just going to get you all killed."

"Then help us," Sam says. "You're an archangel. You've got the archangel blade. Why don't you suit up and take him down with us?"

Gabriel gapes at him. "Because I — that's — no!"

"Don't tell me you're still wrapped up in this whole 'family' thing," Dean deadpans. "He killed you. You're not just going to let that slide, are you?"

Gabriel shoots him a glare. "I'm not 'letting it slide.' I'm saving my strength for what really matters, and what matters isn't some stupid feud between brothers."

"Then what does matter?" Ketch asks. "If you're willing to let the devil wander free —"

"Contrary to popular belief perpetuated by my father in his pettiest moments, Lucifer is not the worst thing in the world," Gabriel interrupts. "There are worse people out there, people who deserve the hell I can bring."

Sam scoffs. "Seriously? You once killed a guy just because he didn't believe in wormholes, but Lucifer, who's been nothing but trouble since the moment he stepped out of the cage, you're just going to let him do whatever the hell he wants?"

Gabriel looks over at him, looking not just angry but almost seeming betrayed. He stands up, shoving his chair away. "I'm not going to kill Lucifer for you. If you want him dead so bad, try to kill him yourselves and see where that gets you. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

He disappears with the flap of his wings, and there's a faint thud from somewhere else, so quiet that Sam can't tell where it comes from, or even if it has anything to do with Gabriel at all. It almost sounds like a crash landing, but he can't be sure.

"Where's he going?" Dean asks, sounding both frustrated and annoyed.

"No clue," Sam replies. "I'm gonna go check the library. That's where I usually find him."

Dean gives him a halfassed nod agreement, but he must have known Sam would do it anyway, with or without his permission.

To say he's surprised not to find Gabriel in the library is an understatement. He's become so accustomed to knowing exactly where the angel is and where he goes when he wants an escape, and not seeing him there is is strange, to say the least.

"Gabriel?" Sam says quietly. When there's no response, he says it again, louder this time, but again, there's no answer. He sighs. "If you're in here hiding somewhere, I'm sorry for getting testy with you. Can you just come out and we can talk? Just us two? I won't make you do anything you don't want to do. I just want to talk."

He stands there for a few moments, but eventually, he has to admit to himself that he's wasting his time. Gabriel's gone. They really went too far this time. And, the worst part is, he doesn't even know why it's too far. He's not sure why this us any worse than any of the other time Gabriel disappeared so he didn't have to deal with them. Maybe it's not. Maybe he's just taking a breather, this time without Sam, and he'll be back in a few minutes. That's possibly, right?

But he knows it's not. Gabriel gave up trying to deal with them, and he's not coming back. That's the only logical explanation for any of this. He's gone. Now the question is, how does he explain it to Dean?

He purposely walks slowly, just so he can hold off talking to Dean, but he can only procrastinate so long before he's back to the war room, where everyone is waiting expectantly. Sam hesitates. How's he supposed to break the news to them?

"Well?" Dean asks.

Sam just shakes his head. "He left."

Dean scoffs. "He left? The hell do you mean, he left?"

"I mean he's gone," Sam says. "He's not in the library, so I don't know where he is. He could be back in Monte Carlo by now."

"No, he can't be," Dean snaps. "He can't just up and leave like that."

"Well, apparently, he can," Sam replies.

Dean slams his foot into the leg of the table. "Son of a bitch!"

"So, what do we do now?" Mary asks, looking between Sam and Castiel for some type of answer. "We're not just going to let Lucifer go free, are we?"

"Without Gabriel, we may not have a choice," Castiel replies.

"No, we have Jack," Dean says, seeming to have calmed down a bit. "Jack's supposed to be stronger than him, right? Let's test that theory."

"We're not using Jack to kill Lucifer!" Mary says immediately. "I can't believe you'd even say that!"

"Well, somebody's gotta kill him," Dean says. "Right now, Jack's all we've got."

"Then we wait," Sam says. "Gabriel will come back. He has to."

"Why?" Dean challenges. "What would make him want to come back here? There's nothing for him here, and god knows he couldn't care less about saving the world. He's gone, Sam. He's not in the cards anymore. That's why we've got a plan B."

"Maybe we should let Jack choose," Ketch says. "You know, since he would be the one making the kamikaze attack."

Everyone looks at Jack expectantly. Jack seems conflicted at first. He looks between Dean and Mary, torn between the two, before finally saying, "Let's find Lucifer."