His gaze returned to Snakebite. “You, however, now have a mission. It seems one Poisonous, a lust nymph, has broken protocol, and left for Earth to walk among them in human form, wreaking havoc. The idea has its merits, but she was made to live with a member of the Light, a former angel who escaped my clutches, and gained redemption. The worst part is, the Light is affecting her, and she, if something isn’t done soon, will end up being made a member of the Light herself.”
“May evil prevent it, my Lord,” said Snakebite.
“Actually, you will prevent it. I want you to do the same as she has done, and walk among them in human form, forming a close relationship with her. Keep her from seeing the Light, and make sure she ultimately is sent to Hell for her insubordination. Have I made myself clear?”
“Very clear, Sire.”
“Then go, and do as you have been instructed.” His glare fixed itself on Snakebite, burning into him with great ferocity and menace. “And do not fail, or you will burn in Hell as well.”
“Yes, Sire.”
“Now go!”
* * *
Tuesday, September 9th
Snakebite decided to have the human name of Sam Bittenbeidter. In human form, he cut the figure of a well-dressed, well-to-do gentleman. Young women gave him the eye as he walked the streets of D.C. He let them ogle him, gave them a friendly acknowledgement and continued walking. He had a mission, and he intended to find her, and influence her for evil.
He knew where she lived, from intelligence gained by demon spies. He walked towards “The K” in the Metro View condominiums. Her scent grew stronger as he approached the condo complex. As luck would have it, she walked through the front door of the complex, and headed towards Seventh Street, apparently for the Metro at the Mt Vernon Square/7th St-Convention Center Station. As she walked closer to him, he smelled small traces of The Light in her, but approached her anyway. Stopping her, he said, “Pardon me, but I was wondering if you could direct me to the Mt. Vernon Square Metro Station?”
She eyed him up and down, and then smiled, exuding interest in him. “Sure. Just follow me. I was on my way to a rendezvous with another gentleman, but could always use the company of a handsome man like yourself.”
Her flirtation impressed him, so he stepped us his game to match hers.
“Well,” he said, “I must admit that being escorted by such a delightful member of femininity is indeed a pleasure. Allow me to extend my arm, so the lady may be escorted by this gentleman.”
She paused for a moment, and then said, “Sure. I like men who treat me like a lady.”
He and his mark walked hand in arm towards the Metro Station, exchanging pleasantries.
“Where is your destination?” he asked.
“The Flats at Union Row, in walking distance of the U Street/Cardozo station. A good friend and lover lives there.”
Her remark may have been meant to evoke jealousy in him, but he was not afraid of someone bragging of their sexual liaisons.
“I can see why you and he are friends and lovers,” he remarked. “Someone as attractive as you should have many admirers.” He looked up at the station sign, and realized she had reached her destination. Before she left, he asked, “May I call upon you again? I would like to have a chance to get to know you better. Maybe I should start by asking you your name.”
“Sure,” she said, without hesitation. “I’m Perri. Here’s my number. Call me sometime.”
“I will do just that. My name’s Sam; Sam Bittenbeidter. I look foreword to better making your acquaintance. Here’s my number as well, just in case you should decide that an encounter would be good.”
“Thanks.”
As she got up and walked away, the smell of the Light had dissipated somewhat. “This bodes well,” Sam said. “You can always win a Lust Nymph over by appealing to their libido.” He got off one stop later and returned to the demons dwelling place. “I need a plan and a strategy. More importantly, I need to find an abode in which to live.”
* * *
Sitting next to Roger on his couch, Poisonous recounted her meeting with Snakebite. “Roger, sweetie, I just met the most fascinating man. He’s a gentleman, and he seems interested in me. Better yet, her approached me, and not the other way around.”
“Well, Ms. Perri; you seem to be a very popular woman. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks. Now I need to discuss something with you about business transactions.”
“Does this involve the Dark Web?”
“Yes, sweetie, but I don’t need to know what you’re doing. I just need some advice on closing the sale. I have made many deals, and most have proved quite profitable. Others have proven disastrous. Why, some double-dealing fraud tried to cheat me out of my money by putting a Cancel Payment on his transaction. Do you know how I can avoid such bad transactions on the Dark Web?”
“Well, all I can think of is that you make your transactions in bitcoins, which are cashless, moneyless ways to store money. If you move these from one person’s ‘wallet’ to another, no bank is involved, and transactions can’t be cancelled. Moreover, Bitcoins are completely virtual coins designed to be 'self-contained' for their value, with no need for banks to move and store the money.
“Once you own bitcoins, they behave like physical gold coins: they possess value and trade just as if they were nuggets of gold in your pocket. You can use your bitcoins to purchase goods and services online, or you can tuck them away and hope that their
