A/N – Thankyou as always for following this story and the lovely comments.
Something strange is happening from this point forward, seems like a plot may be occurring! Like you I am shocked tooJ, let's see where this goes.
The crime solving team had made little progress on the case so far, Lucifer knew his Detective wouldn't give up until justice had been done, probably doing boring police type things to find the next lead but until then he was surplus to requirement, which he was extremely grateful for, "the Devil doing paperwork!" Ha preposterous! He mussed to himself during his elevator ride to his penthouse. If Chloe found something, she would call and he would immediately jump into action, but one couldn't be 'a handsome Devil cop' 24/7, he did have other responsibilities to attend to.
Other the past few days every time he entered his home and he had been met with two laughing or giggling woman, probably planning his downfall somehow, his ancient paranoia would rise slightly, however it was easily pushed down and ignored after taking one look at their smiling faces filled with mischief, he guesses that Linda would call it progress, he should probably ask her at his next session. The sight of the two did warm his heart, his huffing and moaning, occasionally verging on whining was evident of that, so he braced himself for what was to come.
Silence greeted him as he walked out of the elevator, taking a quick glance around, he guessed that his house guest and Ella were out, so he went to the bar and poured himself a drink before sweeping into the room, he felt his sister presence before spotting her standing on the balcony so he went to join her.
They stood there in silence, Lucifer watched her gazing up at the sky, it was familiar and he too often did that, a painful reminder of home but one he could never hate especially as he was the one to have filled the sky with light in the first place. He was proud of his achievement and it was probably what had started him start questioning his father's rules in the first place,
"Beautiful isn't it?" He casually asked and he stepped onto the balcony, Cassiel had been so lost in her thoughts, she jumped slightly before turning her attention to Lucifer, he gave her a gentle smile,
"It really is! I never thought I would see them from this perspective, it is a little humbling if I am honest."
"It was some of my best work!" He had a warm but cheeky smile on his face, he was lightly teasing her but it was kinda nice,
"Thank you and I don't mean just for the stars but for… well everything else you have done for me! Saving me, taking me in and well everything else." Lucifer studied her face, looking for the 'but', however it never came and all he saw was genuine gratitude,
"You are quite welcome!" It was a simple response but he felt a little uncomfortable at being thanked, he still wasn't used to it. Changing the topic, "I was expecting you to be with Miss Lopez?" He asked, a little surprised by her absence.
Cassiel smiled, "Ella will be back soon, she said she was going home to get changed, maybe swing by and catch up with Chloe and then be back so 'we can hit the town'" shaking her head slightly in confusion, "I'm not sure why we should be striking buildings? Why is this fun?" She queried,
Lucifer was chuckling, "I believe Miss Lopez has forgotten that you are not used to human expressions and that not everything is quite as literal as suggested," His patient and understanding tone made he feel a little less silly, "She probably was suggesting that you two go out and have fun for the evening, maybe do a little dance, maybe make a little love and pretty much get down tonight!" He knew Cassiel had zero understanding of the reference he was making and was evident his teasing tone once more, "maybe that is why she has gone to see the Detective, the more the merrier and all that, hmmmmm." That made sense to Lucifer, foursomes, were always more fun than threesomes,
"That does make more sense." Cassiel nodded in agreement, "but what do you mean about 'making love'?" she asked with full sincerity,
Lucifer nearly chocked into his glass, "Ask Miss Lopez!"
"Ok, I will."
The two siblings stood in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before she spoke up again, "When Amenadiel returned to the Silver City after his absence, he was telling us all about how we angels control our own destinies, and our own selves could make decisions independently of father's wishes. Some of us were curious about this so we asked questions, do you think me questioning fathers Will caused me to fall? Like I didn't feel that I deserved to be in the City any longer, so I made it that I shouldn't be?" They were brave questions and Lucifer respected that, he had been expecting them to come at some point, however, to his surprise, they weren't filled with desperation, maybe with a little bit of realisation but they were solid questions none the less. He had considered that possibility himself.
Lucifer took a deep breath and sighed, "Honestly, I don't know," he paused and took a sip of his drink, "when Amenadiel first floated that particular little theory, I laughed in his face and put it all down to 'Dads Plan', however, looking back at recent events, Amenadiel regaining his wings and well my own….. experiences, I believe that there is merit to this, when I saved mum and the humans from mum, for the first time in a millennia, I felt 'good' again! So wings restored and the lack of my Devil face was my reward! As you can imagine I blamed dear old Dad for that, some kind of manipulation, wanting me to return to my former angelic ways but I have come to realise that maybe we do have some control over our own existence." He paused again and drained the rest of his drink, he retreated to the bar to get another one, and Cassiel followed him, he offered her one and she accepted it without hesitation, clearly curious about this little story of his.
"When Eve returned, I was reminded and encouraged to be my former self and was accepted as the monster that had once been, one to be feared! For a time that was freeing and welcomed, however, thanks to Dr Linda and the Detective, I was reminded that I wasn't that being any longer, a being I did not want to be and I was better than that!"
"So what happened?" Cassiel was enthralled by Lucifer's tale,
"Well…. I once again became the physical representation or what I had tried so hard to leave behind. Thankfully I had the Detective, she helped talk me down, help me realise that I didn't have to be that….. That thing anymore." Cassiel had propped her head on her hands whilst leaning her elbows on the bar. Her Brother never lied but this was rare honesty coming from him, she wasn't sure if he ever had shown that side of him to anyone before, she guessed that Chloe had seen it but it was a rare and precious gift.
Lucifer was about to continue, when the 'ding' of the elevator interrupted him. A stocky and not unattractive man walked in,
"Oh Daniel, your timing as always is impeccable!" Lucifer greeted the man with mild irritation in his voice,
"Oh, sorry man, I didn't mean to interrupt….." He waved his hand at the two of them, one look from Lucifer made him question his assumption, he had seen that look before, it was the same look he had gotten when h had first starting Charlotte, "sorry!" He deflated,
"Mind out of the gutter please Daniel, this is my youngest Sister, who is visiting me, it's just that we were having a private little chat and you have interrupted that!" At the mention of Cassiel he had turned and smiled at her, his expression had changed to annoyance when he faced Daniel, "Daniel, Cassiel, Cassiel, Daniel, or if you prefer, Detective Douche!" He couldn't resist throwing that in,
"It is very nice to meet you Detective Douche," Cassiel greeted him innocently,
Dan groaned under his breath, "Espinoza, its Detective Dan Espinoza." He glared at Lucifer who simply waved it off,
"Oh, I am so sorry, maybe I misunderstood," Cassiel gave Lucifer a questioning look but was just grinning,
"Not your fault, your Brother is just being a dick, thought we had moved past this man!" Lucifer just smirked back at him in response,
Cassiel was confused by the interaction between the two men but Lucifer dived in, "What brings you here?"
"Have you heard from Chloe at all?" Dan asked plainly
"Not since she dropped me off earlier, why do you ask?" Gone was the jovial tone he had a minute before, he was now extremely focused on Dan's next response,
"Got a call from the sitter, saying Chloe was late and that should she stay on? I said yes but am going to head over there myself after we're done here, I know that cases can run long but this doesn't seem like her at all!" Dan was worried and Lucifer had picked up on this, "I was hoping that maybe she had come back here to decompress a little before heading home but if you haven't seen her, then I am a little lost."
Young Beatrice was the Detective's world, her first and only priority, above him, above Dan and above her own wellbeing, something was wrong and he could felt it with every fibre of his being, "I take it you have tried calling her?" Lucifer knew it was a pointless question and had reached for his own phone,
"Yeah, first thing I tried, got the machine, then I called Linda and Maze, Linda hasn't seem Chloe in over a week, Maze, well she's in South America, so no help there, I then tried Ella and got the machine too." Dan run his hand across his face, "look man, something doesn't feel right here, Chloe doesn't do this type of thing, leave Trixie hanging without a phone call or asking me to help or at least calling the sitter to let them know she is running late!" There was an edge of panic in his voice now.
Lucifer was on the same page and after also getting the answering machine he turned back to Daniel, he was worried but year and years of practice kept that from his face and his tone, "You said that you were heading over to the Detective's apartment? Well looks like you being having two more guests, "he had moved and was ushering Dan towards the elevator doors, a quick serious look over his shoulder was all it took for Cassiel was be following too.
The non-descript warehouse was dimly lit, a few flickering lights illuminated the scene.
In the middle of the vast empty space were two medical looking beds, two women were strapped down and unconscious, IV drips continued to pump drugs into the prisoner's, keeping them at bay and easily managed and contained.