Lux was in full swing even thought it was only mid-afternoon. Maze watched from behind the bar as a slightly dishevelled Lucifer escorted another gaggle of people into his private elevator and the door closed. It was practically an open house up there at the moment. It had been for the last week since Decker had gone to see him alone for the first time since she learned the truth. Maze didn't know for sure what passed between them but afterwards Lucifer hadn't left the penthouse for two days. When he'd finally emerged he had coldly asked "Why aren't you working?" with a curt nod towards the bar before leaving. He'd come back several hours later with half a dozen people who were either swimsuit models or gymnasts, or both, she hadn't been sure, he'd barked a drinks order in her direction then taken his new 'friends' up to the penthouse without another word. Maze had known what he really meant: she was, at least partially, back in his good graces.
She had done as he asked in tracking down the murderer of one of his stalkers, some desperate woman who'd promised to steal something from him in exchange for money then been strangled in the killers attempt to clean up loose ends. They had been able to prove to Decker that he wasn't involved in the woman's death and manipulated a confession that ensured the murderer would be punished for his crimes whilst concealing the fact that he had succeeded in the theft.
Maze had been slightly impressed by the human's plan. To try and get out of owing Lucifer a favour the man had orchestrated to steal the Hell Forged Blade he had used to kill Cain. Rightly assuming that the police reports into the death of one Marcus Peirce was a cover up and the murder weapon could be used as leverage against one Lucifer Morningstar. Such a shame he was unknowingly playing with the actual Devil. Maze's lip twitched at the memory of the look on the man's face when Lucifer had shown him who he was really dealing with. It had been delicious and just like old times.
Then Decker had gone and ruined it with what ever she had said to him. Now he was indulging himself like she hadn't seen in centuries and Maze had no idea how long it was going to last. Linda had been disturbed when Maze had described everything, and everyone, he had been doing. Maze has assured her she would keep him safe and he was just blowing off steam after whatever had happened between him and Chloe. Linda hadn't been overly convinced, suggesting that she should try talking to him or at the least convince him to come back to therapy, so she could help him work through whatever had happened.
Maybe she was right, but Maze knew she had to tread carefully. She had only just managed to claw her way back into Lucifer's life. It hadn't been easy and if she said or did anything to piss him off he could easily throw her back out again, especially in his current mood. So, instead she settled for providing him a steady stream of men, women, drugs, booze and anything else he asked for and made sure to know where Decker was at all times. She didn't want to have to worry about him turning mortal and suddenly overdosing in the middle of a drug fuelled orgy or anything. Beyond that all she could do was wait until he got some of it out of his system and came up for air. Only then would she do as Linda suggested and try to talk to him.
In the mean-time, she had her own things to deal with. Namely the drunk guy hanging onto the end of the bar who kept trying to hit on her. She wasn't interested, he wouldn't leave and previously she would have broken his fingers by now. However, Linda kept insisting violence wasn't the answer. At least not to everything. She had been right that human emotions could make her strong so Maze was curious to see if she could be right about this as well.
She had started off by ignoring him but it seemed like he just assumed she hadn't heard him and shouted louder over the music. When he became more insistent she gave him a blatant 'No, thank you' before smiling and walking away. That had shocked one of the bar tenders so much he had almost dropped a glass. She realised that all of the staff were occasionally casting glances at her with bemused looked on their faces, clearly confused as to why this man was still standing. Maze was wondering that herself but she was determined to see her experiment through. At first it seemed Linda could have been right as the man had gone away … at least for a little while. Now he was back and Maze gritted her teeth to stop herself from punching him in the throat.
"I see you're still on your own" He leant over the bar and leered at her as she loaded the latest tray of drinks. She vividly imagined smashing the end off of the beer bottle she was holding, ramming it through his eye and listening to him scream in agony. Instead she carefully placed the bottle on the tray and handed it to the waitress.
"I'm not interested" She said with a glare that had sent dozens of humans running in fear. However it would appear this one was too drunk to hear his base survival instinct screaming at him. As she stepped out from behind the bar he followed her.
"I like a woman who plays hard to get" he slurred in what he probably thought was a seductive tone. 'Cocktail stirrer through the ear directly into the brain. No, too fast, through the throat? Maybe the stomach?' She couldn't decide which would be more satisfying. 'Linda would be disappointed'. She considered how her friend would react to hearing she had skewered a man for trying to flirt with her. She sighed as she realised how upset she would be. She was always so insistent that non-violence could work.
"I said no" She repeated coldly and turned to walk away. He slapped her across the arse. The sound of his hand hitting the back of her leather trousers seemed to reverberate through the corner of the club. Maze froze as ever muscle became ridged with fury. Thousands of years worth of instincts flared up to do battle with more recent, human ideals. The man laughed.
She turned sharply, grabbed the back of his head and slammed it down onto the bar. He instantly went limp and slithered down the bar with a groan. Maze took several deep breaths of release and leant against the counter top at the feeling of elation that ran through her body.
"Oh, that's sooooo much better" She laughed as he finally flopped onto the ground and rolled onto his back. His stupidly drunk face now slack and drooling onto the floor. So maybe violence wasn't the answer every time, but it sure felt good. Maze looked up to see all the staff paying excruciating attention to their current tasks and trying their hardest not to look in her direction. One of them glanced up enough to catch her gaze and she pointed at him. "You! Get this thing out of here" The barman jumped to obey as she walked back to the bar and pulled her jacket out from under the counter.
"If Lucifer comes back down call me. I'm going out" she ordered before turning and stalking towards the exit. She hadn't intended to leave until the morning but if Lucifer was going to spend the whole day upstairs she had time for her own errand. Something she had been pursuing for months. It had taken longer than expected to find a time when her target was going to be easily accessible and she still had a few final preparations to make.
Everyone got out of her way as she left and she smiled at the submission she saw in their eyes. She glanced briefly at the elevator as she got to the top of the stairs. She wasn't concerned about him hurting himself, that was impossible as long as he wasn't mortal and Decker was miles away. Maze had both her blades with her so there was nothing on this plane that could permanently damage him whilst she was out. However, watching over him in his current state was starting to become rather tiresome given that she hadn't yet earned back the right to join in. She'd been so busy catering to his every whim she had barely been able to get laid. She wondered if punching him in the face would snap him out of it faster but she knew he was unlikely to stand still longer enough for her to try. Maybe if she tied him down first? With chains, big chain… chains so heavy even his celestial strength wouldn't be enough to move them no matter how much he pulled against them. The mental image of Lucifer restrained and letting her hit him caused such a wave of titillation that if she were human she would have blushed. Instead she smiled inwardly at the thought and packed it away for later. Maybe if she asked in a couple of centuries and he was in a playful mood she'd get to see what that felt like for real.
In the mean time she shook herself out of her thoughts and headed for the door. The job she had been working on was important, bigger than any of the measly bounties that had been coming her way recently. It had taken weeks of stalking to figure out where her target was going to be, she had had to be so careful to make sure she wasn't detected. Bribes and threats had got her timetables, floor plans and access to the building. All she needed was one last thing and as long as Lucifer stayed where he was she could go and collect it now rather than having to wait until the morning. If she was honest with herself she preferred it this way round, it would give her time to test it out to see if it was good enough for what she had planned. She thought of her targets reaction when they realised all the trouble she'd gone to just for them. She smile, she had someone to see.