City of Sin
Temptation I
***Once more, I own nothing of the show Lucifer or comics etc. ***
Warnings: Graphic sexual content, language, and violence… that's about it, fairly tame compared to my recent works.
This story inspired by a prompt sent in from Horus1251
*Follow me on Twitter at AngelSlayer135 for, hopefully, more frequent status updates.
***CoS***
Smoke from the cigar floated upwards, filling the air around him with a mild scent of strawberry. The man smoking paused, before taking it from between his lips and glancing at the golden label along the side.
Morningstar
He idly wondered how Maze always seemed to know what flavor he was craving at the time. He had not enjoyed such a taste in a long while, and it almost was enough to take his mind off the corpse cooling on his floor.
Almost
The Devil let out a deep sigh of annoyance. It was late in the evening, with the stars outside hidden behind the veil of clouds that felt endless in the city he called his. Perhaps a bit of rain was due? He had not heard that lovely pitter patter, had not watched the ants scurry about from his balcony in well over a week now.
What better occasion than death to make the sky weep?
Mazikeen stood nearby, her body tense and ready for his order, as she always was. The question that followed was simple, what to do with the body? He could have it disposed of, as he had so many before, but it just felt like such a waste.
Taking a moment to inhale deeply on the cigar still lit in his hand the fallen angel held in the flavored smoke for a few moments before letting them slowly back into the air. Perhaps he was growing a bit too bored with the world. After all, when one owned, either directly or indirectly, most of the planet there wasn't much excitement to find.
Anything he desired he could have in the snap of his fingers. Maybe it was time for something new, something different.
"Maze" She perked up immediately, her eyes focused in a way that only a demon from Hell could accomplish. "Contact the police. Let's find out what LA's finest can do."
***CoS***
Officer Decker let out a sigh as she knelt near the victim. The girl was young, too young. She had too much life ahead of her to end up dead on a floor in a club. Then again, wasn't everyone too young for such a fate?
"Any signs of injury?" She inquired from the nearby investigator, who had been processing the body before moving it to for a more thorough examination at their lab.
"Nothing so far. No signs of trauma or bruising but it is a bit difficult under these lights."
Chloe nodded, she supposed that it was a bit unfair to assume that every crime scene would have bright lighting that accommodated them. Still, it would have been nice to have rather than the sparce 'mood lighting' that they had available now.
Before she could continue her questioning a voice interrupted from the entrance, "Open and shut case here Chloe."
Gritting her teeth and resisting the urge to tell her ex where he could shove his assumptions, the blonde looked over her shoulder to where the other detective strolled up, his creep of a partner not far behind. "I thought you were on another case Detective Espinoza, why are you here?"
Maybe it was the douchey jacket, maybe it was the way he swaggered up like he was some big-shot celebrity, maybe it was the creepy way Malcom always stared just a little too long at her, maybe it was the fact he assumed everything could and should be as easy as possible, hell maybe it was just his awful smelling aftershave that he seemed to dunk himself in every morning. Regardless of the reason, the appearance of the man always pushed Chloe into a worse mood than she was in.
"Come on Chloe look at the facts. Some party girl lying on the floor of a club. She probably did a bit too much of a bad thing and ended up overdosing. We see this five times a week at least."
"Too bad, she's a cute one. I bet she would have been fun in the sack."
The female officer leveled a glare at Malcom, who shrugged it off as he always did. How someone like that managed to keep his job was beyond her understanding. "How about we keep it respectful towards the deceased for a change hm? As for your theory, maybe you're right, maybe not. I for one am going to give her the benefit of the doubt and the respect she deserves and investigate her death rather than just moving on without a glance back." This time it was her who continued before they could make a comeback.
Turning towards one of the uniformed officers she made a quick glance around the room. "Could you see if there are any security cameras in place covering where the victim might have fallen? Also, I want a list of any staff that was working tonight for future interviews along with the names of anyone who walked through the front or any other door if they have it."
Shifting uncomfortably, the cop cleared his throat before answering her upraised eyebrow, "Well it's just… uh… we can't exactly walk in and start making demands like that."
Standing, the blonde crossed her arms, attempting an annoyed glare in the limited lighting of the room. "And why is that?"
Another officer stationed nearby, one much older and fatter than the one she had first addressed, answered. "Because this is Lux, not some seedy ghetto bar."
"I don't care if it is the United States Capital Building. We have a body on their floor. I'll have this place searched top to bottom if it gives us answers."
Before a retort could be made, and by the look on the older man's face there was probably going to be one with more than a few sexist terms or ideas mixed in, another voice called out from behind them.
"Now now I'm sure that won't be necessary, detective… well I didn't quite catch your name." The tone was smooth and confident, like silk, but with a confidence lacing through it that had shivers running down the females back. Turning, she beheld the absolutely gorgeous man striding up towards them, hands in his pockets, clad in a suit that probably cost more than she would make in a year, and a darkness in his eyes as he drank her in.
It was a similar manner to what Dan's partner would do, but instead of feeling like he was thinking of following her back to her house it was more like he was slowly undressing her in his mind, taking his time with every article of clothing, with every inch of skin.
Biting her tongue to force away the images, Chloe refocused on the man, who was now closer than what would normally seem appropriate for a conversation. Fuck, he even smelled like sin and power.
This time it was she who cleared her throat, before extending a hand for a professional greeting, "Detective Decker, LAPD, and you are?"
"Morningstar," He purred, taking her hand in his as his fingers slowly trailed over her skin, lingering for just a moment before releasing her.
Chloe swore she heard a growl from behind her, indicating that Dan was being his usually 'get your hands off my wife' overly macho self. Funny how he and Malcom would flirt with practically anything that had boobs yet the moment someone even looked in her direction it was suddenly 'she belongs to me, back off'.
If the man noticed, he certainly wasn't acknowledging it, "I am also the owner of Lux. I couldn't help but overhear your… demands and threats that followed."
Shit
She had no problem with following through with court orders and warrants if need be, but it was always much easier, and better for the investigation, if the owner just cooperated from the start. Making threats wasn't a good way of earning that assistance.
Once more her annoyance at Dan might have cost her precious time.
"Mr. Morningstar I…"
He raised his hand, as a king might do towards a subject. Yet despite being slightly put off by the gesture she swallowed her pride and fell silent, "I will ensure that you have full access to our camera footage and the employee roster. I'm afraid that tonight wasn't a closed event, however, so the guest list was more of a 'open acquaintance' gathering."
That… had been unexpected, and she slowly nodded in appreciation, "I uhm… thank you, for your cooperation. Also, I apologize for the comment earlier it was…"
"Nonsense, you were on edge for very…" For the first time since his arrival the man's eyes flickered off her and towards the other two detectives, before returning a moment later, "understandable reasons. If you would like those videos now, I would be happy to be your guide."
"Now you listen here…" Dan began, annoyance evident in his voice.
"Detective Espinoza" She quickly interrupted, cutting him off from any potential damage he might cause with whatever nonsense he was thinking. "If you and Detective Graham plan on staying I would appreciate it if you followed up with the techs checking the scene, especially any beverage containers."
Dan looked ready to explode, if the shade of red his face was currently taking was any indication, before he turned and stomped off, more like a child have a temper tantrum than an adult at the scene of a potential crime.
With that she turned back to their host, who smiled in response and gestured towards a nearby door.
***CoS***
Never in her life had Chloe ever been to such a fancy back hallway. Normally these sorts of passages were dimly lit, stone walled, and smelled of either mildew or whatever drug of choice was currently making the rounds in the city.
This one, however, was brightly lit with paintings lining the walls on top of a peace-inducing paint color. Even more unusual was the scent that permeated through, not of burning alcohol or irritating smoke like she might have thought in the best of cases but something fruity. It was almost like walking through the strawberry patches of her youth when she would visit her grandmother on her farm.
"Detective?"
His voice roused her from where she had, apparently, halted in her steps. With an embarrassed apology she quickly caught up to the man, who opened a door near the end of the hall with a security card and offered her first admission.
The interior was exactly how she imagined a security room would be. Dimly lit, dozens of monitors forming a semicircle on a centralized desk, and the soft whirl of computers and air conditioning being the only break from the silence.
"All yours' detective." She had contemplated asking him to vacate the room, as was usual procedure when searching for sensitive information, but there was also the chance he could be, perhaps unknowingly, helpful.
As she sat down, the blonde glanced up towards the man, "I was wondering if you might be able to help identify any potential witnesses, if you wouldn't mind."
His eyes seemed to flash with excitement, "Why of course, I would be delighted."
Giving a small smile in response, she began with the rough time of death. A few minutes of scrolling found the victim, and from there she began to progress back a minute, the system lacking a full 'rewind' feature. "I want to trace her steps and look for any changes in behavior," she explained, eyes narrowing as she scanned each screen to locate the deceased.
It could be difficult, the woman realized, attempting to follow a single person in darkly lit club rooms with flashing lights and a mob of people surrounding her.
All the while the club owner stood nearby, studying her face while occasionally glancing at the digital images on the off chance something interesting might pop up. This would occur roughly ten minutes later while Chloe was playing 'Where's Waldo' with the victim. She had just managed to locate the girl when something caught her eye from the corner of the screen. Without stopping to really consider the atmosphere and what the movement suggested she switched to another camera to follow up. It was a woman, though not the deceased, laying across one of the couches. It looked as though she had her face in another individual's lap, her head moving up and down and… oh…
Oh…
She sat, transfixed, on the movement. This wasn't in some shady corner or in a locked room, the pair were maybe twenty feet from the dance floor.
What if someone had looked over? What if another had recognized her and called her out? What if they had made some obscene comments or…
Chloe flushed an even deeper shade of red a moment later when she realized she was still staring, and that that the man in the video was the one barely five feet from her. Hopefully, she could just minimize that feed before he noticed.
"Well that certainly makes for an interesting point of view hm?"
If it had been possible to crawl under the desk and die of embarrassment, the blonde detective would have done so in a heartbeat. "I uhm… I'm sorry I didn't realize that…" Shit, what the hell was she supposed to say? 'Sorry I'm too boring to realize when someone is giving a blowjob on camera, then when I did realize I chose not to look away because it's been a few years and I'm beyond pent up?'
Yes, that would be a lovely conversation to have with a stranger during a murder investigation. Yet despite the, more than warranted, teasing or comments that could have followed the man merely chuckled. "No reason to apologize. I know where all the cameras are in my club after all and those who enter are told they are under recording. If either of us were concerned, then we would have enjoyed each other elsewhere."
"I uhm… yeah I guess so…" Still, the thought of being exposed, for either person, in such a public place was…
Terrifying?
Exciting?
Chloe wasn't quite sure, but she did know that she wanted the conversation to end, and quickly went back to her task.
It took another half-hour of scanning through recorded video and images before the detective finally found what she was looking for. Zooming in, she leaned forward in her seat, drawing the man's attention who had become interested in her shift in expression.
"You found something?" He practically whispered, and the blonde fought the urge to either shiver or turn and answer him, knowing how close he was to her face.
Instead, she merely nodded, "She sets her drink down for a second, and then this guy…" she uses the mouse to circle around a man's face who was standing next to her, "says something to distract her. It was probably something normal too, maybe a compliment or accidentally mistaking her for someone else. That's when one of the others slips something into her drink." Chloe wanted to lean back and rub her eyes, but with Morningstar's proximity it wasn't possible without leaning into him. "A second, maybe two for the whole thing. This wasn't an accidental O.D. or a roofying gone wrong. She was targeted with precision. Someone wanted her dead."
"And they used my club to do it."
There was something in his tone, something dark and twisted, that had the hairs on the back of her neck standing up.
***CoS***
Frustratingly, the two accomplices had stayed just out of camera range to remain unidentifiable, at least from the footage they had found. The owner had immediately offered to make copies of the entire night for her to take back for analysis, earning her thanks.
"Mr. Morningstar, thank you again for all your assistance in this investigation, and I apologize if I have made you uncomfortable or upset you in anyway."
He merely smiled back, "I want justice served just as much as you do detective, and please call me Lucifer."
The woman frowned, something about that name… it tugged on the corners of her mind, knowledge she couldn't remember, a face she couldn't put a name to. She knew it was going to drive her nuts until she could figure it out. "Well thank you again… Lucifer, for all your help today."
"My pleasure, although if it isn't too much trouble, I'd like to ask you a question. Nothing too prying just something I have been curious about."
She nodded slowly. Was he going to ask her something personal or about the case? Maybe it was what her own first name was, it would be common curtesy to give hers back since he had given his after all.
Instead, his eyes seemed to glow as he took a step forward into her personal space, "What is it you desire most?"
***CoS***
Chloe Decker didn't want to seem rude, didn't want to immediately push the man back or take a step away from him, especially considering the fact he could still withdraw his offers of assistance. Still, she didn't like how close he was, even if he smelled amazing, and didn't appreciate how forward he was being with her.
So, she shifted backwards a bit, changing her posture to just a little less relaxed than before, "Well… obviously I want justice for the victim. I'm also looking forward to the food I've had in my slow cooker all afternoon and a good night's rest." The police voice in her head warned her not to give too much information, not to leave any room for him to invite himself in, or her out, of her personal life. Hopefully, he would just take the hint and back off.
Lucifer, for his part, blinked in surprise, before quickly raising his hands in mock surrender, "It appears it is my turn to apologize. I'm used to conducting business with some very aggressive and powerful people and it shows when I don't intend it to. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable."
The blonde let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Okay, so he wasn't a creep or murderer, most likely, just not used to dealing with people who didn't fall over themselves trying to impress him or needing a bit of intimidation to get a point across.
She could relate to this, especially in her own professional life.
By the time they had returned the crime scene techs had removed the body and had begun finishing up on documenting the scene. The remaining two detectives, however, were being considerably less helpful.
Her ex-husband was pacing around the area, occasionally scowling at either a person or just the area in general. Malcolm had taken a seat at the bar, unsurprisingly, and was eying the selection of alcohol lined up behind, as if wondering how easy it would be to steal one.
"Looks like she was drugged." Chloe announced as she entered the room, earning a sigh from the man she had put up with for far too many years.
"Jeeze Chloe this again? Not every crime is some big conspiracy theory." The man's comment earned a condescending laugh from his partner.
She forced a smile, not wanting their 'host' to know just how bothered she was by the comments, "No, but when we have camera footage of someone slipping a substance into the victim's drink shortly before she died it does tend to earn some suspicion."
"Or the guy just wanted a good time, ain't nothing wrong with that."
Before the blonde detective could tell the creepy man exactly where to shove his misogynistic opinions when the club owner, whom she had temporarily forgotten about, interrupted. "I can assure you that such behavior is not acceptable in my territory and I do so hope the one responsible can be brought to justice." There was an unspoken, 'for his sake' added on, but Chloe opted not to comment on it.
Especially when the comment had shut the drunkard up.
"Should you require any further assistance you may reach me here." A business card was produced from Lucifer's coat pocket and extended halfway between him and the detective, offering but not forcing the object. Despite the previous interaction Chloe took him up on his offer, noticing that it was finely textured with the name 'Morningstar' etched in gold writing on the front.
It was a nice gesture, which meant that Dan just had to act like an asshole and ruin it. "Hey!" he declared, stomping over like a bratty child, "We don't need your help, especially flaunting around here like you…"
"Own the place?" The gorgeous man interrupted with a smirk, causing the man's face to light up red with anger.
"Detective Espinoza is just having a rough day. We appreciate your help and cooperation Mr. Morningstar." Chloe quickly cut in, hoping to prevent any damage of relationships, especially during the middle of her case.
Said man promptly turned his attention back to her, charming grin widening as he did so. "But of course, my dear detective. Anything I can do to help, do not hesitate to call."
***CoS***
Lucifer stood at the window, looking down through the rain and darkness at the blonde who was finishing up with handing out orders to those around her. She was interesting, far more than any he had encountered before, especially any humans.
"She's cute." A voice purred from behind him, his lieutenant walking in with the usual sway in her hips. He merely nodded in agreement. Detective Chloe Decker was a very attractive woman, and if it had just been that he would have invited her back, seduced her, and kept her number for the occasional future hookup.
But it wasn't just her looks that had earned the Devil's attention.
"Are you going to fuck her? If not, I wouldn't mind an evening or two with her between my legs." The image created had the fallen angel chuckling deeply, and arousal igniting in his veins. Maze was always talented in ways of the flesh, much to his own delight and to the delight of more than a few others.
Still though, there was more than just wanting the detective on his bed, legs spread, and moaning his name. "I find her fascinating, and I intend on pursuing her."
The dark-skinned beauty blinked in surprise; 'pursuing' was a term she had not heard from her lord in longer than she could recall.
She had been preparing to inquire further when he beat her to it, "She ignored my inquiry."
For anyone else this would have been ignored, but Maze knew that Lucifer didn't use that term lightly, "But… no one has ever been able to do that. Even your siblings have a hard time doing so."
"I know… that is why I want to learn more about my dear detective Decker."
***CoS***
"Chloe, Chloe, Chloe, Chloe, Chloe!" The excitable lab tech practically squealed as she ran up to greet the blonde. "Is it true? How was it? Was it fun? What color were the walls? Did it really have the SR950 with octa-core setup and a…"
Said detective immediately covered the girl's mouth with her hand. If she didn't Ella was likely to continue ranting for the next hour or so and they would never get anything done. "Slow down for a second. Work first, questions later remember?"
The pout was very evident on the other woman's face, who sighed before rolling her eyes and gesturing towards a nearby computer. Removing her hand, Chloe followed her over and watched as information began streaming down the monitor. "Okay, so it looks like your hunch was right, as usual. Our victim had traces of Ricin in her body."
Chloe frowned, "How fast does Ricin kill?"
"Normally? It takes a few days, but it takes such a small dose that should a larger one be ingested, the timetable will be off. Hard to say though, we don't exactly have a lot of testing done on it."
She nodded at the technician's logic. More poison, faster death. If their victim had been inebriated when her drink was spiked it was possible that she didn't even notice the poison. It didn't sound like a terribly exotic substance, but the detective was still hoping there might be a database, or some sort of control placed on it.
Belatedly, she realized that her coworker was staring at her with excitement once more. "Sorry, what?"
Ella rolled her eyes in the usual fashion, "I said that you got your update so spill! I heard you were at Lux, The Lux, and that you even met him!"
"Him? Oh, you mean Mr. Morningstar?"
Again, the smaller girl squealed in delight, and Chloe forced a smile onto her face despite her own confusion. What exactly was the big deal about that place anyway? Sure, it was nice inside, far nicer than she thought it would be, but it was still just a club.
"So, what was it like?"
The detective considered the question. Clearly the lab tech hadn't been out much if she was so excited about something as trivial as a club, maybe she should embellish just a bit? "I mean… I don't exactly go to those kinds of places very often Ella but uh… it was really… nice."
The excitement in the other girl's eyes seemed to dim a bit, "Nice? Chloe you were inside one of the most exclusive locations on the west coast, hell maybe on the continent and all you can say is it was 'nice'? Let me guess, Morningstar was just 'a guy' too, right?"
Okay, so maybe her plan hadn't gone exactly as she thought it would. "I mean he was, very helpful with the investigation and… intense."
Some of the light returned to her coworker's face, "Intense huh? I heard he is a little more than just 'intense'. Word on the online vine is that he is practically sex walking, like he looks at someone and a few minutes later they are going at it sexy. I mean I heard if he so much as touches your skin it is like fire and you start shivering and moaning and…"
"Ella!"
The girl's attention redirected from her ranting, a bit of confusion now present, as Chloe gestured to where she had been stroking her upper thigh. "Oh… oh shit sorry! I… I didn't mean to…"
But the blonde merely snorted and shook her head, "It's fine Ella, I promise. He was rather direct though, got a bit close at one point and…"
There was the squeal again, "And!? What happened? Did he kiss you? Did you have 'alone' time with him? Did you two…"
"Ella!" again the other was interrupted and fell silent, "Nothing happened. He just got a bit close that's all."
Letting out a sigh her 'friend' nodded, "So… are you going to go back sometime? Aren't you just a bit… curious?" Chloe was silent, but in her mind a seed of doubt that had been planted began to take root.
***CoS***
It was dark in the precinct, with the normal staff having gone home and only a skeleton crew working for the normal emergencies. Them, and Chloe Decker. She had opted to stick around and continue going through security footage of the event to try and find a decent picture of either suspects' face.
Thus far it wasn't going well and combined with the time she had spent earlier in the day doing the same thing it wasn't that surprising when she began feeling the eye strain. "So much for a nice quiet dinner at home and going to bed early…" Chloe grumbled, leaning back in her chair to rub wearily at her eyes. The only perk thus far had been that she wasn't being bothered by coworkers as she might have been normally.
It was almost nice having most of the precinct to herself.
Returning to the screen she glanced over it one more time before freezing. In the corner she could just make out a certain couch, and a certain couple doing a certain activity.
For some reason she felt the urge to rise from her chair and glance around the room, as if she weren't already aware that there was no one else nearby, before sitting back down and changing to a different camera. This one had a different angle, one which had a far better view of the event.
"What the hell am I doing…" The blonde mumbled to herself before clicking 'play' and watching the action. She felt dirty doing this, like she was spying on the man and his partner without their consent. Maybe spending the limited amount of time around Malcom was starting to influence her, the thought making her gag a bit as she grabbed the mouse and prepared to exit out.
Just as she reached the icon, however, Lucifer's hand went to the head still bobbing on the screen and pushed it down forcefully.
Her hand stilled. The man had waived off her apology when she had first found the images after all. What kind of person could be so… unashamed as to potentially be exposed in public like that? Maybe he was well-endowed like some of those cocky guys claimed to be? Chloe didn't always understand the logic of men, but she did know that such a thing was usually a confidence boost to them, despite the unimportance of it.
Hadn't she seen the same thing with certain women who showed off their own assets when they were blessed with large breasts?
Would it really be so bad to do a small investigation?
Glancing around one more time, and double checking to make sure that the door was closed, Chloe scooted her chair up and zoomed in on what now consumed her thoughts.
Up and down the girl's head bounced in the man's lap, and she could just make out his fingers tightening in her hair. It was demeaning, aggressive, and erotic all at the same time.
Without realizing it, her unoccupied hand traveled south along her body, fingers trailing up and down her thigh as her attention remained focused on the screen.
The faceless girl's pace increased, and for a moment the man tipped his head back in what the blonde could only imagine was a moan of appreciation. Her own legs spread, tongue wetting her lips as she leaned backwards for easier access.
Lucifer's hips thrust up, and the digital man held the girl's head down for several moments, in an act that Chloe was certain had the girl choking, before letting her up. In that moment, her eyes widened as she took in exactly how large the man truly was. Her own fingers found the junction between her legs. An idle thought slipped into her mind that it would be so easy to just slide her hand into her pants and…
From outside of the room a door slammed, and Chloe practically jumped up from the chair, banging her knees in the process and biting out a curse of pain. The detective glared at the door, just waiting for whoever had interrupted her to enter and apologize.
Instead it was silence that ticked by, and she finally fell back into the chair, shaking her head in disbelief at what she had been doing moments prior. With her own shame now returning she quickly exited and logged off the terminal before grabbing her purse.
For a moment she hesitated at the door, before grabbing her coat and putting it discreetly in front of her body just in case someone noticed the dampness now present on her crotch.
Her sleep that night was fitful, with dreams being dominated by a dark-haired man with burning eyes.
***CoS***