“This is the delay in Lucifer’s plan.â€? Blake noticed Simon’s stare. “When I was fighting Azrael, Lucifer showed up. What’s-her-name released him by opening Hell, and… I have some of his blood in my tats, so he came to me. Anyway, he said… he called me his friend and… we talked about David Bowie. Look, kid, maybe you had to be there. But, he said we had five years… that his plans had been delayed. He said he’d been outmaneuvered by the guy upstairs.â€?

“What’s-her-name was a part of the plan,” Blake went on, “But she did more than Lucifer bargained for. She was a loose cannon. Whatever Lucifer’s up to, he thought he could count on the Apocalypse. But it’s been taken out of the game.”

“There’s a David Bowie song in a second-season episode of the new Doctor Who,â€? Simon replied.

“What? What the hell does that have to do with anything?â€? Blake shouted. The newspaper guys stopped and stared for a bit before shrugging and getting back to work.

“It doesn’t,â€? Simon sighed.