When Azazel came to the library to speak to Kate, it was not because of Gabriel. At least not because of him personally. Gabriel was at fault for the forced restructuring of the FBC and RICA, which was something everyone had hoped would simply happen without much direct input and only a bit of oversight. RICA complied without issue. The new office near the library was still under construction, but Clementine had successfully pushed the entire institute in the right direction.

Her FBC counterpart tried the same thing but was stopped just last week. Pretty much everyone at the library had ignored the fact that United States government had recently undergone an election, putting someone deeply incompetent and malicious in charge. Someone who embodied all the worst aspects of the archangels in human form. Of course, the people in charge of reforming the FBC to the demons’ demands were fired and replaced by loyal sycophants. People with the single goal of making profit from something that was forbidden from being profitable. Even without the recent events surrounding the two agencies, this was bad. Azazel, Clementine and Kate had met in one of the library conference rooms to discuss further steps to mitigate the near unavoidable damage that the changes in the Federal Bureau of Control would bring.

“I feared this would happen.” Superintendent Clemetine rubbed her face in exhaustion.

“Now you see why I want us to work together even closer.” Azazel sighed.

“Yes. And miss Crowley, sorry, Kate will remain my contact person?”

“Yes, that’s the plan.”

“Good. The FBC is getting dangerously close to what the Reichsokultamt used to be some eighty years ago… This is bad.”

“The pandemonium agrees. While this is too early for us to have suggestions for closer cooperation, but I am open to whatever you come up with.”

“There is one thing I can do, no matter what you do, and one thing I want to officially request.”

“Go ahead.”

“After the Arakiel incident, several agencies, including the German Bundesamt für Extranormale Phänomene and their French equivalent wanted to create a centralized European forum to exchange information about anything magical. My predecessor didn’t agree with that and nothing came of the suggestion. I want to lobby for this forum and even closer cooperation with the other agencies.”

“You would drag the other agencies onto our side. Even if you don’t tell them, every piece of information they share with you will be shared with us and everything you share with them will be monitored by us. Their neutrality will be gone.”

“I don’t see that as a negative. There is no neutrality if one sides wants to destroy and enslave.” Clementine didn’t know about the original template, but she knew about God’s attempt to subjugate humanity during the third war.

“I agree, but I need to make sure that you are aware of the consequences.”

“I am. As for my request, I would like access to your intelligence on the FBC. Of course, it will be handled with utmost secrecy and will only be shared at your discretion, but I need a way to keep this country safe. To keep humanity safe. The FBC has something the Reichsokultamt never had: they have knowledge of the truth, they aren’t just poking around in the dark with an Atlantean artifact they don’t know how to use. They have a direct line to the heavens.”

“I know and I will grant that request, but in return I have to ask that you don’t act against the FBC without our permission. I trust you as a person and the RICA you are rebuilding. I don’t ask this because I think you will do something not in our interest but because I cannot afford the FBC getting the upper hand. They cannot be allowed to believe that they can assert control anywhere. Sadly, the existence of the FBC is guaranteed by the Treaty, but I will do what I can to reduce their impact and resources as much as possible.”

“Thank you, that will hopefully make our work easier or entirely unnecessary. Kate?”

Kate nodded. “Yes?”

“You have someone here who might be the perfect specialist for feeding the FBC with misinformation.”

“Sarah.”

“Yes. With your permission, I would like to work with her to control what the FBC learns. High Inquisitor, we need a mole in the FBC if possible and I have a plan on how to do that and have a demon present during a discussion between only humans.”

Azazel raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”

“I will personally meet the new head of the FBC but I want to be accompanied by a Shadow. They can vet my choice for the mole and make sure they are loyal to us. And they have the power to get us out of there if something goes wrong. The mole and Sarah can work together to control what the FBC knows and believes.”

“A good plan, I support it. Kate?”

Kate took a second to think. “I will have to ask Sarah, I won’t order her to do anything. She has to volunteer.”

“And I will need to find a Shadow. We currently don’t have one in the inquisitorium.”

Clementine nodded. “I will be ready whenever you are. Even if Sarah doesn’t agree, I have other ideas how to keep the FBC in check using human means. Until then, I need to prepare my people and talk to the other European agencies.”

“Good luck and talk again soon.”

“Thank you. See you both around.”

Kate and Azazel took a few moments to let everything sink in after Clementine had left. Eventually Azazel spoke up.

“Gabriel’s interrogation is next Wednesday. I will come pick you up.”

“Where will it be?”

“There is a prison in the Deep Abyss. It was built for demons and never used, but it is shielded by multiple layers of the same defensive spells used here and multiple layers of anti-teleportation fields. It will be a forty-minute walk from the nearest entrance to the cell Gabriel is in.”

“Alright. I didn’t know we had a prison for demons, but it makes sense. How else do you punish someone immortal?”

“Most punishments are either death by various annoying means or temporary house arrest. If the harm done was destroying something, the perpetrator has to fix it as well. Generally, the harmed party gets to suggest a punishment that a council of justiciars then discusses and implements.”

“That sounds reasonable. The death bit is mildly amusing though. Death as a mild punishment sounds crazy.”

Azazel chuckled. “It does. It’s the reason why we can’t apply demonic law to mortal crimes. The suggested punishment for disregarding library rules is decapitation. Most humans don’t survive that.”

“That is hilarious! What did Abatur and Ptahil get?”

“Since humanity was the harmed party, I asked some of the demons who used to be Atlanteans. The general consensus was a century of limited movement, about a decade of house arrest and a detailed public report on everything that they have done, seen or talked about back then. Most of the old human-born demons only want the truth and a slap on the wrist. A gesture that they had done something wrong, not some big punishment.”

“I see. What does that limited movement mean?”

“No teleportation without supervision and they will be tracked wherever they go. They aren’t allowed into the border world except the library and aren’t allowed to offer public services or goods without supervision.”

“That seems fair.”

“I think so too. Ptahil insisted on something harsher since she had done more than her sister, but the justiciars disagreed. The punishment is supposed to be symbolic, another decade of house arrest doesn’t matter.”

“Hm… I don’t know, but being used to human justice makes this feel rather strange.”

“It does, doesn’t it? But there is a reason that prison was never used. Demons are kind by nature. They don’t harm each other out of some psychotic need for violence or superiority. Most demons who intentionally do something criminal regret it quite quickly and change. We all have lapses in judgement and there is no need to punish someone beyond clearly showing that whatever happened was wrong and it needs to be made right. Ptahil already worked on the treatment for her sabotage, that was enough additional repentance for the justiciars and I agree with them.”

“The more I learn about us and Hell, the less I like humans…”

“That is deeply understandable.”