Free Angel of Chaos (Imp Book 6) by Debra Dunbar Page B

analysis didn’t reveal anything significant.”
    That’s where the burrito scale came in. It was all bullshit, but, thankfully, the angels were too busy with rapid mind–speech over the debt judgment and FICO score to notice.
    “All in favor?” Gabriel announced as everyone, including my own angel, raised their hand.
    “Wait. What are we voting on? All in favor of what?”
    Gregory stepped firmly on my foot, and I bit my tongue. Whatever the hell was going on, I trusted him. Kind of. He might be dipping his toes in the waters of sin, but I doubted he would dive under unless I was in mortal danger.
    “Then it’s unanimous,” Gabriel said with a smug smile.
    “How the fuck can anything be unanimous when I didn’t vote? And what were we voting on anyway?”
    “The humans clearly are striving for higher vibration levels. You, as the most knowledgeable among us on human practices, are in an excellent position to ensure their salvation. So you are now responsible for any human with a FICO score of less than five hundred and eighty. The goal will be to raise the overall average score to seven hundred within the next century.”
    What. The. Fuck. “No problem. I’ll just kill everyone with a score of less than seven hundred, and we’ll achieve our goal in record time. I might need to bring over a–few–hundred demons to assist me, but we’ll get it done before the weekend.”
    “That’s a lot of four–nine–five reports, little Cockroach.” Gregory had a smirk on his face that I wasn’t trusting one bit.
    “I’m not the right person to head up this committee, or project, or whatever the fuck it is. I don’t give a damn about vibration levels. Look at me — I’m an imp. My vibration level is in the shitter. I think anything over a six–hundred FICO score is a waste of time.”
    A few of the angels seemed to seriously consider my statement. The rapid–paced mind–speech returned, and I struggled to keep up.
    Imp.
    Iblis.
    Angel.
    Erratic and unreliable.
    Limited resources.
    Time consuming issues in Aaru.
    I finally gave up, assuming they’d communicate whatever their thoughts were once they were finished discussing. It took a while — long enough for me to refill my coffee and poke at the over–ripe strawberries and cantaloupe the hotel staff had set out for us.
    “We’ve discussed and decided that you make a valid point.” Gregory’s mouth twitched at the edges as he said this. I totally needed to get him alone after the meeting and find out what had really gone on. “Still, you are clearly the most knowledgeable when it comes to humans. We’ve temporarily assigned you to rehabilitate the humans and raise their vibration levels. You’re also assigned the Fallen ones — the lost causes that we have no hope of turning around. That assignment is a permanent one.”
    Temporary wasn’t that bad. All I had to do was really suck at the job and they’d jump to relieve me. I was more worried about these fallen ones — what the fuck was that about? “And what exactly am I expected to do with these lost causes that I’m permanently assigned to?”
    Gregory shrugged. “Whatever you like. If you feel they are worthy of reform, then you can attempt it. If you wish to do otherwise, that is your choice. Punishment is sometimes a great deterrent to others who may be wavering on the edge of a bad decision. How you handle these individuals is up to you.”
    I shot him a quick glance, wondering about his transgressions and whether he considered himself wavering on the edge of a bad decision. I hoped not. I wanted to meet Gregory halfway. I couldn’t deny what I was, but I was willing to compromise a bit to make this thing with him work. I hoped he would do the same. Chips and coffee were all well and good, but I needed a bit more sin from him to feel like we were truly the lovers I wanted us to be.
    “How do I know who these fallen are? Which are considered mine, and which are still under the Ruling