"No. Heaven shouldn't know about Belial's desertion," the demon argued. "Last thing he needs is the other side coming after him, too, even if he's invisible to them as well. That's the only thing protecting him now."

Crowley wracked his brains for a creative and plausible explanation. "What if you overheard the Antichrist telling someone else where to find him and get the valuable information he held about Hell's plans? Then, taking the initiative as you knew yourself to be at least his equal, you followed immediately, worried that you'd miss the event if you went through the usual channels. There you found him, but your cover was blown somehow and he fled. I felt the shock and followed the trail, finding only you at the end of it. We battled, I lost, his trail is cold, back to square one."

He raised an eyebrow, challenging Gabriel to find a hole in his construct.