Monday morning was bustling at the precinct, for which Chloe was grateful. Today was the first weekday of summer, and Trixie was staying home all by herself (Chloe insisted she text if she needed anything and to check in at least twice throughout the day). Just leaving the house that morning gave her anxiety, which meant that she needed a good distraction to get her mind focused back on finishing the paperwork for the last case. That's how she found herself in the lab with Ella, who was tying up loose ends with the case's evidence. Not that Chloe could even begin to pay attention to the topic at hand.
"Going back to the evidence, it's clear now that the waitress did it," the spunky woman was saying with one of her 'I should have seen it!' stares and a triumphant flourish of the last evidence bag as she reintroduced it to the table, "so I think this should help wrap it up."
"Makes sense, thanks Ella – hey, can I ask you a question?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself, and Chloe inwardly winced at her own boldness. She didn't normally broach the subject of religion with Ella, mostly because before she hadn't really believed in any of it. This time, now that she was a firm believer (thanks entirely to Lucifer's other side), she realized their conversation could be an interesting one.
Ella smiled at her directly, perking up again.
"Of course, Chloe," she answered with a knowing look. "I'm here for you!" The other woman's eyes seemed to all but scream 'talk to me about Lucifer, I know you want to.' Chloe cleared her through uncomfortably and dived in before she changed her mind.
"Okay. Um, well… what do you think about Heaven and Hell?" She cocked her head as she said it, holding her breath as she waited for the answer.
Ella looked taken aback by the seemingly random topic, blinking a few times while processing. The topic indeed would have been random if not for Chloe's every other thought tracing back to her fruitless church visits throughout the past couple weeks and her waning determination to help Lucifer solve his Hell problem for good.
"Well, I believe in them," Ella started, gesturing with one gloved hand and smiling uncertainly. "I mean, that's a huge part of Christianity. Heaven for the good and Hell for the bad and all."
"But what do they mean to you?" Chloe pressed on. "I mean, what do you see them for? How do you get to Heaven? Or how do you end up in Hell?"
"Feeling religious today?" Ella teased lightly. She grinned but looked up to the ceiling, deep in thought while her fingers pulled at the gloves, snapping them off her hands. It took another moment and her beginning to clean up the lab for Chloe to receive a clearer answer. "Here's what I think – Heaven is the goal, right? We all want to go to the better place when we die. But do we all think we're worthy enough? Have we done enough good to earn our way up there? I think that can get people caught up. I've seen lots of people struggle with feeling guilty for not doing 'enough' to get into Heaven. And I think the purpose of Hell is to punish those who don't feel that guilt. Like Hitler. I bet he's in Hell, because he probably didn't feel guilty about what he did. Does that make sense?"
"It does," Chloe said slowly, leaning on the table. She should have known Ella would have answers: this was already sounding better than any of the church opinions she had gotten before now. "One more question then, and then I'll stop bothering: what if the guilty feeling people end up in Hell, too? What do they do?"
"That's a…specific question," Ella laughed and tilted her head quizzically, reaching to grab the cardboard evidence box. "Here, hold this." Chloe complied, getting a good grip underneath the box and watching as her friend piled items inside.
"I mean, there has to be a way for them to forgive themselves, to realize the guilt is not how they should be feeling, right? Forgiveness is tough, but I would think that's what they need to do. Forgive themselves."
"Forgive themselves…" Chloe echoed, mulling this answer over. Forgiving themselves? Could that be the answer? It seemed such a simple thought, such an easy solution, and yet it couldn't be that simple. Right? She set the box back on the table and Ella slapped the lid on with a satisfying sense of finality.
"Thank you so much for answering, Ella," she gratefully supplied, smiling at her friend. Her insights had given Chloe clarity in multiple situations before, and she was always thankful to have Ella Lopez in her life, professional and personal.
"There he is!" Ella exclaimed excitedly, breaking Chloe from her well of thoughts. She was gazing wondrously past Chloe's left shoulder, and Chloe turned to see where she was looking.
It was him. The man who kept stopping by when she wasn't available. Middle build, middle height, curly brown hair, smooth, olive skin. His eyes seemed to search around, unaware of the people who all seemed to be staring at him. Chloe looked back at Ella to find she was smiling wistfully at him herself. What the hell?
The man spotted her and his face lit up; not in an excited way but more in a curious but enlightened way. He waved at her, and Chloe glanced back at Ella to make sure the wave was being directed her way. She tentatively waved back, propelling her feet out the door and leaving Ella to her swooning.
She supposed he was handsome. He wore comfortable, loose-fitting clothes that looked more appropriate in some stereotypical 90's Egyptian movie than here in downtown LA. But the man looked comfortable in his skin, and she supposed that counted for something. As she stepped out of the lab, she offhand noticed that this floor of the precinct had suddenly much more quiet, much less busy, and once again, abnormally happy. Her internal deductive process realized this definitely meant something was not quite right, and it definitely had to do with the man in front of her.
"You must be Detective Chloe Decker," the man said matter-of-factly as she approached. His voice was calm, baritone, and oddly soothing. Chloe nodded cautiously.
"Can I help you?" she asked uncertainly. The man smiled, extending a hand.
"I am Michael," he introduced calmly. "I was hoping to speak with you." Chloe accepted the hand, noting the smooth, cool skin as she shook it.
"Let's go in here," she gestured to the interrogation room. Away from all these prying eyes, she added mentally. She could practically feel Ella's gaze over her shoulder and at Michael's face.
Michael…she blinked in surprise for a second. Michael? Was this…
He obliged her outstretched arm's direction to the interrogation room and glided across the floor, opening the door and stepping inside. Chloe followed suit and shut the door behind her, feeling the connection instantly cut from those who were watching the newcomer.
She didn't even let him get a breath in.
"Michael? Are you…are you another brother?" she asked, words rushing out of her mouth. She could see it, inwardly. The calm demeanor, the looking out of place but fitting in extremely well. It was a combination that Lucifer had pulled off in their years of work together over and over, fitting in as a human but also keeping his individuality.
This question seemed to catch Michael off-guard, before he quickly composed his face and gave a curt nod. The pleasant expression was still there, but something underneath it felt off to her.
"I suppose you could say I am," Michael answered. "If, of course, you're referring to my fallen brother." He picked a speck of invisible dust off his tunic and flicked it away. "He has not been a part of our family for a long, long time."
Michael, the archangel, was standing in front of Chloe. From what little she knew about him, he was supposed to be God's greatest warrior. He stood for good in every story she could think of, but that was about as far as she got with knowing the angel in mythology.
"I have been trying to speak with you for some time now, Detective Chloe Decker," Michael said.
"Oh, I know," she said, half-scoffing. "Every time you're here, the precinct is all weird. What is that? Do you…do you have mojo like Lucifer does?"
Michael frowned.
"Mojo?" he repeated. "I am unfamiliar with the term."
"You know, like his desire shtick," she explained. "He can get people to tell them what they desire. Do you do the same thing…but make people feel happy?"
"I suppose I do," Michael replied. He raised an eyebrow to her. "But not with you, it would seem."
"Lucifer's doesn't work on me, either," she said. "I thought…he thought it was because I made him vulnerable. But I don't even know you."
"Please discontinue from using my no-longer-brother's self-given name, it's sacrilegious."
His tone was sharp and swift, and she blinked. The underlying mood of the room rose to the surface a bit more.
"What are you doing here?" she blurted out. "What are you doing in LA?" The question was harmless enough, and it had her absolutely perplexed. Why was he here, at the precinct, wanting to talk to her, of all people?
This question exposed more of the underneath expression, which she now realized was a combination of danger and distaste; her stomach was in knots from this mood. Michael frowned at her again before giving her his simple answer.
"I am here because Samael has been disobeying his orders for some time now, and you seem to be the root cause."
