Devil Drag 4
The Devil in the Details
by Taz
Lucifer hitched himself on one of the bar stools and began to review the 30-plus message that had been left during those hours when he and Dan had been otherwise engaged.
As expected, the first call had been Amenadiel saying he'd created a Facebook account. The second was also from Amenadiel, letting him know that he already had 15 friends. The third was from Chloe, reminding to call if he heard from Dan. The fourth was an update from Amenadiel; he now had 327 Facebook friends and what was he supposed do with them? The fifth was Dr. Martin, informing him that she expected to see him and Amenadiel in her office tomorrow at three. The sixth was Amenadiel: would Lucifer please haul his arse out of the sack, and call!
After that he clicked off the phone. There was no point in going on. None of the messages was from Mazikeen. That was frustrating; Maze managed the details of their day-to-day lives, and ran Lux, so that he didn't have to.
He pocketed the phone, but before he could settle in for some serious brooding on the inconveniences attached to an earth bound existence, Dan appeared in the stairway to the upper level.
He had a towel wrapped loosely around his waist. The pale Egyptian marble that framed the stairway matched the color of his damp skin. Lovely. But there were dark circles under and his eyes. His only accessory was the holster hanging from on his shoulder.
"What did you do with my clothes?"
"Well, hell-lo, Sweet Cheeks," Lucifer said. "You know, that's a good look on you."
"I can't find my phone."
"Whoops. Do you mind if I call you Sweet Cheeks?"
"I'd prefer you didn't."
"It's better than Detective Douche, isn't it?"
"No. Where are my clothes?"
"I threw them in the incinerator."
Dan stared at him.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Sorry about the phone."
"I'm not. I'm going to shoot you." Dan took the gun from its holster and pointed it at Lucifer, sighting down the barrel. "I should have done this weeks ago. Just didn't want to piss off Chloe. Give me your phone, so I can call her, and ask her to bring me some clothes."
"Do you really want her to see you like that?"
The gun wavered in Dan's hand.
"I'll say that you kidnapped me."
"Considering that stonker," Lucifer waved a hand in the general direction of Dan's crotch, "I don't think she'll believe you."
"Then let me have some of your things."
"Definitely no."
Dan's knuckles turned white on the grip. "I will shoot."
"Go ahead," Lucifer said. "Shoot."
"Aahhggg…" Dan whipped around and began bang his head against the nearest upright. The gun clattered on the floor. "If you think… For one minute… That I won't… Walk out… Like this..."
"If you're not carried off by a pack of sex-starved cougars, someone will have called the police before you get twenty feet."
Dan stopped banging his head, he turned around, keeping his back to the stone, and glared at Lucifer. "I don't know what you've done to me, but this is your fault." His voice was husky with rage. "Did you slip me Valium?"
"There you go again. I didn't slip you anything, except…" The hand that Lucifer waved wasn't as specific this time. "Next time don't swallow."
Dan shot a look of pure hatred at him. "There is not going to be a next time."
"Pity. I hate to see so much raw talent wasted. I'm sorry about tossing your clobber, but Dan, I need your help and I can't have you bolting out of here before we have a deal."
"No deal! There is going to be no deal! You're Chloe's quote-unquote partner."
"That's just a little green eyed imp speaking. You haven't thanked me for arranging that 'tampering with evidence' charge so that it went away."
"I don't know how you did that." Dan raised a fist. "I was ready to ride the rap."
"I know. You wanted to redeem yourself. Very commendable. Points for good intentions, in fact. But Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness is still on the Top Ten list of No-No's. While I'm sure you'd have achieved redemption, eventually—there were mitigating circumstances, after all—you would have spent a few thousand years in purgatory! I don't have that much time! Dan, this is the fast track. A one-in-a-lifetime offer."
"Like the one you made Malcolm?"
"That was my brother, and you're not going to Hell. You skate Thou Shalt Not Kill on a technicality. I don't need a martyr! I need you on the job with the full use of your powers and the resources of the LAPD behind you.
"How do I know you won't try to blackmail me?"
"Because I'm not crazy, and my word is my bond. I will owe you for this. Big time."
"I don't see what can I do for you that Chloe can't?"
The phone in Lucifer's pocket buzzed. He glanced at it, then thumbed a button.
"That will have to wait. Dinner's on the way up. You'll feel better when you've had something to eat."
"I'm not staying."
"You are dogged, Detective. And that is one reason I want you on the case,"
The elevator pinged. "Don't go anywhere." Lucifer went to answer it.
That wasn't likely that Dan was going to move. It was becoming increasingly evident that he was leaning against the stone for support. His color had turned ashy, emphasizing the dark shadows under his eyes and making their color look even paler.
Lucifer gave the girl a twenty, took the bag and carried it into the dining area.
"You're going to have to let go of that wall sometime Dan." As he unpacked the food, put out wine glasses, and lit candles, Lucifer exerted his will. He called to Dan, layering the harmonics in his voice to compel attention. "I know you're not feeling your best but this will perk you up. Delmonico. Kale salad. A nice Chilean Malbec. Maybe a little rumpy-pumpy for dessert," he tempted, "if you're up for it."
"No!"
"Come and eat, now."
Looking a little confused Dan let go of the wall and sidled over to the table. He pulled out a chair and sat down, pressing a palm to his forehead as if trying to recapture a thought that had just escaped his memory.
"I don't want to do this. Why am I doing this?"
"Mmm…. Stubborn. Because I want you to." There was a pop as Lucifer pulled the cork from the bottle of Malbec. "Try some of this."
Dan held out his glass. "What's rumpy-pumpy?"
"Like trifle, only with more cream." Lucifer smiled brightly.
Although the meal could not be described as wholly successful, the steaks were excellent.
Dan was starving, but he found he had to concentrate on each bite, chewing and swallowing. It was better if he kept his eyes on his plate and didn't look directly at Lucifer. It was the candlelight. He'd become distracted by the sight of Lucifer's hands—Lucifer ate the old fashioned way, with the fork in his left hand—and feel them exploring some part of his body—arm, shoulder, leg—inciting an effervescent, urgent longing.
And when he looked at Lucifer's face…
And then Lucifer would smile, and he'd realize he'd been holding a forkful of kale half-way to his mouth.
The only good thing was, in the end, he was able to finish the meal.
It was Lucifer who kept up the conversational end.
"…and now she's pissed at both of us and flitted off who to knows where. Is that fair? I'll have to cover her shift tonight, and if she doesn't come back I'll have to promote—Angie? Augie? Oliver? Anyway, the assistant manager. One more thing on my to-do list.
"Sucks to be you," Dan said.
"Oh, good, you're feeling better."
"Can we get this over with, so I can go home?" Dan set his knife and fork on the plate. "What do you want me to do?"
Lucifer folded his napkin and lay it on the table. "I need your help locating a missing person."
"Go down to the station and fill out a missing person's report."
"I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Reasons."
"Of course there are. How long has this person been missing."
"Since yesterday."
Dan gave Lucifer a look.
"Has it occurred to you that this person is just not returning your calls."
"Believe me, she has never returned a call from me in her life."
"It's a woman. Color me surprised. Lucifer, people disappear for lots of reasons. And most of them come back.
"This woman does not want to be found, and it's urgent she be located. You'll have to take my word for that."
"Who is she?"
"My mother."
"And here I though knew you only had Daddy issues."
"Very funny."
"Your mother's in the states?"
"So My Father thinks. At least that's the impression I got. Somewhere in North America."
"Great. Big Continent. Look, this is all more than a little vague. Could you maybe explain. A little more information. Details."
"My mother has serious issues. Personality quirks that haven't served her well for a long time. She has been under care. In custody, you might say. Recently, though, due to an appalling lapse of judgement on the part of my brother, who was responsible for keeping her safe, she was able to escape and has apparently lit out for parts unknown."
"Is she dangerous to other people?"
"Extremely."
"This brother…?"
"Remember? Yesterday?"
Dan pressed his palm to his forehead. "The lawyer! Canaan. That was him in my office, with you!"
"He's not a lawyer."
"Don't tell me things like that! I still don't see why you aren't having Chloe help you with this."
"As I said, dogged. I like that about you. I can't ask Chloe because she's a mother."
"You do realize that's my wife you're talking about?"
"No! I mean it literally. Your daughter Trixie. Chloe's her mother. My mother's issues center around children. She loves them but she is dangerous to them. If Chloe were involved, and my Mum discovered she had a child…and she would. She has a preternatural sense for these things. You're very protective of Chloe, and I wouldn't see her hurt for the world."
Man and devil stared at each other.
"Get get me something to take notes," Dan said.
Lucifer fetched one of the Lux branded notepads, and a pen.
"I know I'm going to regret this, but let's start at the beginning," Dan said. "Your mother's full name?"
"Lamia Mother of Demons."
"Lamia Mother of…?" Dan looked at Lucifer. Lucifer's eyes, were fixed on him, glowing like polished cabochon garnets with red glints in their depths. "How do you spell that?"
"L-A-M-I-A," said Lucifer. "M-O-T-H…"
"Got it. "Height?"
"Five-foot four or twelve-foot six. Depending."
"On what?"
"Her shape."
"Hair color?"
"She prefers dark red."
"Natural hair color?"
"Naturally she has no hair."
"Eyes?"
"Gold with vertical pupils. Usually."
Dan chose not to ask what the alternative was.
"Any outstanding features—scars, marks or tattoos?"
"She has two inch fangs, when she's in human form, and there are light scales on her neck and back. She has a Phoenician anchor tattooed on her left thigh, and really first-class bristols."
Dan stopped writing. He looked thoughtfully at Lucifer.
"Cherry bombes." Lucifer bounced a pair of invisible melons at chest height. "Boobs." Then, finally, Dan's expression got through to him. "We're a very dysfunctional family," he said.
"No shit," said Dan, throwing the pen down. "I can't put out a BOLO on a snake woman!"
"You'll be looking for missing children. Kidnappings. Parental Abductions. Runaways. Clusters of missing children."
"Oh, my God!" Dan buried his face in his hands. "Is there any wine left?"
"I'll open another bottle," Lucifer said.
Dan heard him get up.
An horripilating wind was blowing through the room, making the candle flames gutter, and the shadows on the wall dance.
He jumped at the sound of the popping cork, and when Lucifer set the glass in front of him, he looked up. Lucifer was looking down. Dan saw the skull skinned raw, dry red muscles, and the horny extrusion of deformed bone. He remembered those raw skinless lips, kissing him. He stood and threw himself into the arms of Lucifer, his rock and refuge from insanity.
Amenadiel found them on the couch.
Dan was asleep, his head cradled in Lucifer's groin.
Lucifer was stretched out, lounging with an arm behind his head, smoking. His shirttails were out and his trousers were unzipped. His prick lay flaccid, where it had dropped from Dan's mouth.
"Brother, you should be ashamed of yourself," Amenadiel said.
"You're supposed to be the better angel," Lucifer said. He stuck the cigarette between his lips, and caressed Dan's head. "Turns out, he's one of the complicated ones, after all."
Finis
06/16/2016