For the Hellblazer prompt thing: āMust be a day ending in y.ā with John saying it and Corrigan being involved somehow. Thank you very, very much in advance!
Jim frowned down at the shorter man.
āThis is dangerous, Constantine.ā
Constantine snorted, not even bothering to look up from where he was rummaging in the battered leather doctorās bag heād produced from the back of Zedās truck. (Jim wasnāt sure if John couldnāt drive, or if he just liked having people ferry him around, but heād never seen him not escorted by either Zed or their tall friend Chas).
āSoās crossing the road, mate. Donāt āspose youāve got any virginās blood lying around the place have you? I seem to have run out.ā
āIām serious! This isnāt some⦠some fairytale. This is the mob. They will try to kill you!ā
āWhat, people trying to murder little old me?ā John emerged from his bag and gave Jim a smile that probably worked wonders on the more niave young women. āMust be a day ending in a y.ā
Jim shook his head, torn between disgust and amusement. His every instinct told him that John Constantine was not to be trusted, that heād committed crimes which heād never faced justice for, but at the same time, heād seen how many people the man saved. He walked a thin line between sin and virtue and Jim didnāt doubt there were monsters waiting on both sides to catch him if he stumbled.
āItās not only your own life youāre risking,ā he pointed out. Constantine seemed to be genuinely fond of Zed, in an odd way, and Jim hoped pointing out the risk to her will allow him to appeal to Constantineās better nature.
āSheās a big girl. I gave her the chance to leave, she didnāt take it. Anything happens to her, itās on her head.ā
He closed the bag with a decisive snap and turned to actually meet Jimās eyes. He looked deadly serious, but the man was a con-artist down to his bones and Jim had been a policeman long enough to spot it.
āIām not so eager to die as you seem to think, Sonny Jim. I know whatās waiting for me in the dark, and I might deserve it, but that doesnāt mean Iām anxious to face it. If I thought I wouldnāt walk out of this alive, I wouldnāt be going in in the first place.ā
That was a lie, Jim could see it in his eyes, but he said nothing. Like Constantine said, he had had the option to leave and didnāt take it. Anything that happened after was on his own head.