Chapter 5: Troubling Meetings
After freshening up a bit, Jericho was sitting down in Stolas's garden on another summoned bench, still reeling from everything he had told him. Jericho had known Blitzo was an imp, having heard Octavia complaining about Aunt Stella shrieking about it often enough. He knew that Stolas was helping Blitzø with his assassination company. Octavia had filled him in on the particulars about their monthly "arrangement." But with everything Stolas was bringing him up to speed on, he wished he didn't know anything. Lending his priceless and incredibly powerful book of spells to anyone was bad enough, but to hear that it almost fell into Alastor's hands of all Demons, it was truly scary to think about. Jericho looked up at his uncle standing beside him.
"Well, Jeri," Stolas said with a smile, "Do you think you can keep all of this a secret?"
Jericho shook his head and said, "I don't think you expected me to say anything else."
Stolas laughed and put his hand on Jericho's shoulder, "Yes, I'm sorry, Jeri. I know you will."
Jericho put his hand on Stolas's and said, "Like we said, I could never let family get hurt. But do you think anyone else knows about your book?"
Stolas shook his head, "I'm not certain. The only Demons who know are either dead or have been sworn to secrecy. I've told Blitzø that we need to be careful, but it seems my little imp has trouble staying out of… well, trouble."
Jericho asked, "Do you think one of his employees might have-"
"Certainly not, Jericho," Stolas said quickly, "I've met them myself and while at least one of them gets tired of Blitzø's antics, they are all very loyal to him."
Stolas turned and walked towards the mansion. He stopped and looked up towards Octavia's room and said, "There's too much at risk for guesses, Jeri. If the Radio Demon is finally making a move towards some grand scheme, we must be careful."
"Is that why I'm going to be working with Blitzø?" Jericho asked, "To keep an eye on the book?"
"Yes and no," Stolas said turning to Jericho, "I trust Blitzy and his employees are taking good care of my grimoire, but it wouldn't hurt to have an extra set of eyes on it. And of course, I think this will be good training for you."
Jericho asked, "What do you mean?"
Stolas said, "The reason for Blitzy's call was to ask if I knew of a powerful magic caster to help with their job for Alastor. I think it'll be good hands-on training."
After some thought, Jericho said, "That shouldn't be a problem. I mean, I'm not going to be doing any killing, am I?"
Stolas shrugged and said, "It's up to Blitzy, I'm afraid. Honestly, I don't know the full details of the job, so I don't know what he needs you for. Protection magic, maybe?"
Jericho nodded. He had some doubts about taking a job from his Uncle's… lover? Anyway, he decided to chalk it up to giving his uncle a hand rather than getting a job. Hell, it could be good training for him. Using spells out in the Mortal World. It sounded kinda fun. He did wonder if he'd get along with his coworkers though. Stolas summoned a watch and checked the time.
He said, "Well, it's time to go. One should be early to a job interview, after all."
He summoned a portal and stepped through. Jericho followed, finding himself in the lobby of a run down office building. He looked around at the shabby wallpaper and the broken furniture and wondered if Stolas had brought them to the wrong place. Stolas walked toward the elevator and pressed the button. He and Jericho went inside and Stolas pressed the fifth floor button. As the doors closed, Stolas sighed happily.
"I don't often get the chance to see my Blitzy during the day. I can't wait to see him," he said.
"This is supposed to be my job interview, Uncle. Remember?" Jericho said.
Stolad nodded and said, "You're absolutely right, Jericho. We are here on business, so we must act professional."
The elevator doors opened and they walked down the hall. They stopped at the I.M.P. door and Jericho knocked.
"Oh, thank fuck. That's probably Loona with the drinks," a crass sounding voice said on the other side of the door.
The door opened and a fairly tall imp opened the door. Suddenly, before Jericho got the good look at the imp, Stolas lunged and scooped up the imp into his arms.
Stolas cried, "Oh, Blitzy! I'm so happy you're alright! My poor frightened imp, did he hurt you?"
Jericho had trouble holding back his laughter as Stolas began kissing the flailing imp in his arms over and over. "Yeah, that's professional all right," Jericho thought.
The imp, whom Jericho guessed was Blitzø, continued trying to break free from Stolas's hold.
He shouted, "God fucking damnit, Stolas! Put me down! You know I hate it when you do this shit!"
"But I was so worried about you, Blitzy," Stolas said, lowering Blitzø back down, "You know I worry about you. Ever since those dreadfully stupid humans-"
"Hey, I told you that kinda shit wouldn't happen again and it hasn't. So, stop your fucking worrying. Anyway, what are you doing here so early? You said an hour."
Stolas ran his hand through his plumage and said, "Well, this is technically a job interview and one must always be slightly early for-"
"I called you twenty minutes ago," Blitzø said, crossing his arms.
Stolas said, "Well, maybe I was a bit anxious to get here."
Jericho laughed as Blitzø ran his hand over his face.
"Whatever, Stolas. Let's just get inside," he said.
Stolas and Jericho followed Blitzø inside. Jericho looked around the office and saw it was in a little better shape than the rest of the building. The striped purple wallpaper was torn in some places, but at least it looked new. The furniture was a little shabby, but it looked okay. A desk with a computer and chair was on one side, a chair and a couch on the other, with a coffee table and an empty aquarium for some reason. He turned to see two more imps, one boy and one girl, leaning against one another and holding hands on the couch. They looked up and the girl imp smiled when she saw Stolas and Jericho.
"Oh, well, hello there," the girl imp said with a Wrath ring drawl, "Who might you be?"
"It's Stolas, Mils. You've seen him before," Blitzø said, sounding annoyed.
The boy imp pointed to Jericho and said, "I believe she was asking the Hell Hound, sir."
Blitzø turned quickly, "What Hell Hound?"
Then, he finally noticed Jericho, who gave a smile and a weak wave. Blitzø stared at him with a confused look on his face. Stolas put his hand on Jericho's shoulder and said, "Everyone, this is my nephew. Lord Jericho, son of Marquis Niberius of the Ars Goetia."
"Hello," Jericho simply said and waved at them too.
Stolas said, "Jeri, these are Moxxie and Millie, Blitzy's employees."
Millie jumped up from the couch and stood in front of Jericho.
"It's a pleasure, Jericho," she said, holding out her hand.
Jericho bent down to take it and said, "Likewise, ma'am."
He shook her hand once and turned to Moxxie and did the same. Stolas turned and said, "And this sexy little one is Blitzy."
Jericho looked at Blitzø and saw he still had that confused look on his face. Jericho walked forward and held out his hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Blitzø. I've heard a lot about you," he said.
Blitzø didn't move. He only stared at Jericho for a while. Jericho was getting kinda weirded out. Suddenly, Blitzø shook his head and walked past Jericho and Stolas towards the door.
"Stolas, come with me out into the hallway," he said.
Stolas asked, "Is something wrong, Blitzy?"
"Just come the fuck out here!" Blitzø shouted from the doorway.
Stolas shrugged his shoulders and did as he was told. As Blitzø closed the door behind them, he shouted, "What the fuck, Stolas?! A Hell Hound?!"
Jericho grimaced. He turned to Moxxie and Millie and asked, "I hope that neither of you has a problem with Hell Hounds."
Moxxie rolled his eyes and Millie giggled.
She said, "Blitzø got a problem with you, but it's nothing to do with you being a Hell Hound, sweetie."
Jericho said, "What do you mean? What pro-"
Jericho jumped as Blitzø suddenly shouted from the hallway, "I don't want him putting his STD ridden paws on my daughter, Stolas!"
"Blitzy, please calm down and lower your voice! He will hear you." Stolas shouted back.
Jericho looked back and forth from the door to Millie, "The fuck?"
Before Jericho could say anything else, Millie grabbed his hand and pulled him to the couch.
She said as he sat down, "Ya see, Blitzø's got an adopted daughter named Loona. She's a Hell Hound too."
"And he's very protective of her," Moxxie said, sitting next to Jericho, "Not that she needs it. She'd as soon bite your head off as look at you."
Millie sat on the other side of Jericho and patted his shoulder, "Loona can be a bit on the temperamental side, but don't worry though. We all fight from time to time, but we're one small crazy family here. I'm sure you'll fit right in."
Jericho relaxed a little, "I hope you're righ-"
Suddenly, the door burst open and Blitzø stood in the doorway. He glared at Jericho and stomped over to him. Jericho quickly stood up as Blitzø stood in front of him.
Blitzø poked Jericho in his chest and said, "Let's get a few things straight right off the bat, kid. First, I'm only doing this cause Stolas says you're the best choice for the job. Understand?"
Jericho nodded, "Yes, sir."
"Second, don't call me 'sir!" Blitzø said and pointed at Moxxie, "Only he can call me 'sir.' He's earned that right."
Moxxie raised an eyebrow, "I've always called you sir."
Blitzø grabbed Moxxie's face and pushed him off the couch, saying, "Shut up, Mox, adults are talking."
He turned back to Jericho and said, "And third, if I hear you've put one paw on my daughter, I'll skin you alive and use your fur to wipe my ass! Understand?!"
Jericho glanced at Stolas, who was smiling at Blitzø and shaking his head. He looked back at Blitzø and said, "I Understand, s- er… um, what should I call you?"
"Boss or Blitzø. Either one," Blitzø said and turned to Stolas, "You better be right about this, Stolas."
Stolas walked up to Blitzø and bent down and nuzzled his head with his own.
"You know I only let you have the best, Blitzy," he said.
Blitzø blushed and pushed him away. Stolas chuckled and turned to Moxxie and Millie.
"I trust you little ones are all right as well," he asked.
Millie took a deep breath and said, "Mostly, your highness. Just jittery nerves after… he was here. Anyway, I'll feel better once Loona gets here with our drinks."
Jericho said, "I thought I saw a soda machine in the lobby. Is it broken?"
Blitzø said, "For fuck sake, kid, after staring down the Radio Demon you think a little soda-pop is gonna calm us down? My Loona's out getting us some booze."
Jericho asked, "Um, are you sure you want to drink at work?"
Moxxie said, "Normally, I'd be against it myself, but after our encounter, I could use a Raisedberry daiquiri or two."
Jericho shrugged and sat down next to the imp couple with Blitzø leaned on Loona's deck and glared at him. Stolas walked forward and patted Blitzø's head. Blitzø batted the affectionate owl's hand away.
He growled and said, "Anyway, kid, welcome to I.M.P."
"Happy to be here," Jericho said with a nervous grin.
Stolas rolled his eyes and chuckled. He stepped forward and said, "Well, it's not the first meeting I imagined, but it was nice nonetheless. Do you think you will need anything else, Jeri?"
Jericho said, "No, thank you, Uncle Stolas. I'll call you when I need a portal back home."
Stolas bent down and ruffled Jericho's fur on his head with a smile. Jericho laughed as Stolas said, "Of course my boy."
Stolas turned to Blitzø and said, "Please be kind to the boy, Blitzy."
Blitzø crossed his arms and grumbled, but nodded and muttered, "Fine."
Stolas ran his hand over Blitzø's head and smiled at him. Blitzø smiled back for a brief second before batting his hand away. Stolas turned and opened a portal back to his garden. As he stepped through, he said, "Have a pleasant day everyone and good hunting."
As the portal closed, Stolas thought, "Well, that solves one problem. But what to do about Alastor?"
He walked back towards the mansion and came to his living room. He sat on his couch and thought hard about what the cursed Radio Demon was up to. He glanced at the portrait on the wall, the one he had been meaning to replace. He didn't tell Jericho, but there might be one person who might be… embittered enough to tell what they knew. And in truth, Stolas knew Stella wouldn't say anything while they were still married, but now that they had been separated for a year, he couldn't say for sure if she wouldn't tell anyone. In fact, they had barely spoken in this whole year. Stolas knew nothing of the life his ex-wife had been living.
He thought, "Perhaps I should call her and see if… no… I'm being silly. Stella wouldn't tell Alastor unless she had something to gain. And she swore if she had any more problems with me, she'd tell me. No, no. However Alastor heard about the grimoire, it couldn't have been from Stella… could it?"
Stolas shook his head and continued thinking. Then, he suddenly noticed the most delicious smells coming from the kitchen. He practically hummed as the mixture of spicy seasonings and succulent meat frying surrounded him. Whatever Gerald was cooking for lunch, it wasn't like anything Stolas has had before. He couldn't contain his curiosity anymore. Stolas stood and walked into the kitchen. As he did, he saw someone go into the pantry. Stolas looked around the kitchen. A cutting board was on the counter top with several different vegetables cut up and ready to be added to whatever was cooking. The stove top had two pots cooking away and a pan with some kind of meat sizzling inside. He noticed the oven was on and wondered what could be cooking in there. Stolas walked to the stove and began stirring the cooking meat. He looked over the other pots. One was a kind of stew with sausage and shrimp mixed in, while the other seemed to be a vegetable dish of some kind.
Stolas heard the pantry door open. Without turning away from the stove, he said, "Gerald, this is delightful. Whatever is this?"
"Jambalaya, your highness! My mother's recipe," someone who was definitely not Gerald answered, "With fresh collard greens as a side dish. I also have corn bread in the oven."
Stolas's heart almost stopped. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't be here! He must be hearing things. But as he was trying to convince himself of that, Stolas heard the staticy voice say, "Now, I don't mind a few extra hands in the kitchen, but if you don't keep stirring the chicken it will burn."
Stolas looked and saw he wasn't imagining things. There, standing in his kitchen as though he belonged there, was Alastor, the Radio Demon. He was wearing a red apron instead of his red jacket and his sleeves were rolled up. He took the spoon away from Stolas.
"Why don't you let me handle this, your majesty?" Stolas took a step back as Alastor smiled, "We can save our talk until after we've eaten. "
"Talk about what?" Stolas asked.
Alastor's eyes began to glow as he said, "Why, my dear prince, our new business arrangement, of course."
Meanwhile, back at I.M.P. headquarters, everyone had been sitting in silence since Stolas had left. Moxxie and Millie were still sitting next to Jericho, who was still nervous about Blitzø's almost murderous glare at him.
Deciding to break the crushing awkwardness, Moxxie said, "So, uh, Jericho. Is your name taken from-"
"The City of Jericho, yeah," Jericho answered.
Millie asked, "No offense, but why would your dad name you after a city from the Bible?"
"Maybe if I yell at him enough, he'll crumple like a sand castle," Blitzø said.
Moxxie said, "I'm surprised you know enough about history to make that joke, sir."
"Fuck off, Moxxie. I know basic shit," Blitzø said, "The Canaanites were Ba'als biggest worshipers until the Israelites wiped them out. Everyone knows that."
"And Jericho was the first major defeat of the Canaanites and God's first step in separating Demon's from their human worshipers," Jericho said, "And a time when they took a page from our book."
"How so?" Moxxie asked.
"Well, demons had been giving humans 'forbidden knowledge' for hundreds of years. At Jericho, the Angels shared some of their own; acoustics," Jericho said, "It was how they brought the walls of Jericho down. I've recently been studying Mortal interactions with Demons and Angels. It's really fascinating, actually."
"Yeah, don't care," Blitzø quickly said.
Jericho lowered his ears. Moxxie groaned and turned to Jericho, "So, why did your father name you after the site of such a large defeat?"
Jericho smiled at Moxxie, "Because before that, Jericho was the biggest city in the Canaanites ever built. It was one of the biggest centers of Demon power on Earth. At that time, Ba'al was known as Bael, the Canaanite God of fertility and weather and he had a large temple there. In Hebrew, one of the meanings of 'Jericho' is 'City of the Moon.'"
"I can't help but notice that I said I didn't care," Blitzø said.
"Well, then you don't have to listen, sir," Moxxie snapped back, "Go on, Jericho."
"I-uh… I don't want to cause any problems," Jericho said, nervously. He realized he had kinda been tooting his own horn.
Millie patted him on the shoulder and said, "You aren't causing any problems, Jeri. Blitzø's just being a little defensive."
"No, I'm not. I really want him to shut the fuck up," Blitzø said.
Millie turned to him and said, "Aw, come on, Blitzø. Don't be like that. After all, he'll probably be family soon."
Blitzø bolted out of his chair and shouted, "There is no way in the Seven Rings that Loona's gonna marry this asshole!"
Millie put on a smug smile and said, "I was talking about you and Stolas."
Blitzø's face turned redder, "W-wha, wait what do you mean? Stolas and me aren't… uh,"
Millie shot a quick wink at Jericho and said, "Aw, come on, Blitzø. We've seen how exciting you get around the full moon."
"Uh-huh. And don't forget all those 'secret dates' you both are going on," Moxxie said, smiling.
Blitzø continued, "Wha-da, n-n-o, Stolas and-we're not, um."
"Oh, come now, sir. There's no need to hide it from us," Moxxie said and then he turned to Jericho, "Stolas must have told you something about it, right Jericho?"
Jericho looked at Moxxie who winked at him too. Jericho finally understood what was going on. He sat back on the couch and said, "Well, not really. But you should see how excited he gets when Blitzo calls him."
"Really?" Millie squealed.
"Oh, yeah," Jericho said, " Practically bounces around the room."
"He does?" Blitzø asked, but as his face grew redder he said, "Uh, I mean, who cares what Stolas does? I just- And we- Oh for fucksake!"
Suddenly, there was a loud pounding on the door and a voice yelled out, "Yo, Blitzø! Open the door! My hands are full!"
Jericho was stunned. He sank down lower on the couch to hide as Blitzø got to the door. He really hoped he hadn't recognized that voice, but if he had… Oh, Satan it won't be good.
"Unholy shit, Loona, did you clean out the liquor store again?" Blitzø said.
"Naw. A robbery was going on and one of the fuckers pulled a gun on me. After I ripped off his arms, the guy behind the counter let me take what I wanted," Loona said, walking behind Blitzo with five bags of bottles and 6 packs in each of their hands.
Jericho's worst fear was confirmed when he saw her set her bags down on the desk. It was her. The girl from the party. He hoped he might be able to slip away in the brief second she didn't notice him. Moxxie ruined that idea when he asked, "Did you remember to tell them I wanted extra lime?"
She opened up a tied back and pulled out a styrofoam cup, "Yeah, yeah, flabby, I got it right he-"
Then she turned around and saw him. Jericho watched a look of shock and confusion pass over her face. He nearly pissed himself when her look turned into pure rage.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" she screamed, throwing the drink at Jericho.
Moxxie's quick reflexes let him catch his drink before it hit Jericho. He and Millie jumped out of the way as Loona charged Jericho. She pinned him down to the couch and shouted, "What, you followed me home, you sick fuck?!"
"What?! No!" Jericho said.
She pulled him off the couch and pinned him against the wall.
"Then, how do you know where I work?" she demanded.
Jericho raised his arms in defense, "I didn't! I swear!"
"So do I, shithead, but that ain't gonna get you out of this," Blitzø said, taking a swig from one of the bottles, "Kick his ass, Loonie!"
Millie said, "Blitzø, don't say that!"
Millie jumped in and tried to pull Loona off of Jericho. Moxxie put his drink aside and did the same.
Moxxie shouted, "Sir, please tell her to stop! Someone could get hurt!"
"Besides, how will my Uncle feel if I'm dead!" Jericho shouted.
Blitzø groaned and said, "Their right, Loona. Let him go."
"Fuck, no Blitzø," Loona said, growling, "Not until this fucker tells me what he's doing here."
Blitzø said, "Stolas brought him. He's our magic guy."
"What?!" Loona said, "Aw, no. Not this fucktard! He's going to get us killed!"
Millie said, "Now, that ain't fair, Loona! We haven't even seen him in action."
Loona said, "I have. This jackass ruined my night last night."
"Hey, I was just trying to help!" Jericho shouted, feeling his anger rising.
"I didn't need any help!" Loona shouted back.
Jericho finally pushed Loona off and said, "You were surrounded by fou- er, three guys! What was I supposed to do, ignore someone in trouble?"
"You were in a fight at that party?" Blitzø asked.
Loona crossed her arms, "Everyone else was."
"Well, I'm not everyone else!" Jericho said, "If I see someone in trouble, I help them. Forgive me if I wanted to do the right thing."
"Smashing a beer bottle over Vortex's head was not the right thing!" Loona said.
"You did what?" Blitzø asked.
"I had no way of knowing he was your friend! All I saw was a big ass hell hound come up behind you. If he had been one of those guys' friends, he could've killed you! Why not try for a bit of gratitude and stop acting like a bitch!" Jericho said.
Loona growled, "What the fuck did you say?!"
"I said try for a bit of gratitude. As in, be grateful some actually wanted to help you!" Jericho growled back, "Oh, yeah. And I called you a bitch!"
Loona had had enough. She threw a hard right at Jericho, but he ducked in time.. She dove at Jericho, only for Millie to leap onto her to try and keep her off Jericho. Moxxie did the same to Jericho. It didn't stop Loona from trying to grab Jericho again. Jericho stopped her by lifting her and Millie into the air with a levitation spell. Loona was surprised, but it didn't stop her from trying to reach him. Suddenly, a gun shot rang out, stopping everyone in their tracks.
"Alright, that's enough of this shit!" Blitzø shouted.
Everyone turned to see Blitzø holding his smoking flintlock pistol, looking more serious than any of them had seen him look.
Tucking the gun back into his jacket, Blitzø said, "Kid, putting down. Mox and Mils, get off them. Lonna, back off and try to calm down."
Everyone did as they were told. Millie pulled Loona over to her desk while Moxxie and Jericho moved to the couch. After everyone had sat down, Blitzø started to pace in front of them.
He said, "Okay, rocky start aside, we have our magic man."
Loona shout, "But Blitzø, he-"
"I'm not speaking as your father here, Loona," Blitzø said, turning to her, "I'm speaking as your boss and I say he stays. Look, Stolas said he's the best guy for the job and I trust his judgement."
Loona growled and turned away from Blitzø still fuming. Blitzø turned to Jericho and said, "But remember this, Stolas's acknowledgement aside, you fuck this up and I'll let her go off on you."
Jericho glanced at Loona and saw her smug smile as she cracked her knuckles. He narrowed his eyes and turned his attention back to Blitzø.
Blitzø took a deep breath and said, "Okay. This job's dangerous enough because of who gave it to us. Alastor's scary as fuck and he wants this to go smooth. So, this ain't gonna be our usual 'quick shot and done' job. We need to plan our moves and be careful not to cause any problems. We need to be calm and professional. Can everybody do that?"
Moxxie and Millie nodded at once, but Loona was still glaring at Jericho. He looked at her and his lip curled into a sneer, but he nodded. Blitzø looked at Loona who shot him a sideways glance. She turned away and groaned, but she nodded.
"Perfect," Blitzø said, snatching a bag of booze, "Grab a drink, let's head to the conference room and sort this shit out."
Blitzø turned and headed back toward the conference room and Jericho stood to follow him. Loona stepped into his path and growled.
"Two things, fucker," she said, "If you come near me, I"ll rip your dick off and shove it down your throat."
Jericho crossed his arms, "And the other?"
She closed in on him and said, quietly, "If anything happens to them because of one of your fuck ups, nothing in Hell, Heaven, or Earth will stop me from killing you."
With that, she turned and headed toward the back. Jericho rolled his eyes and thought, "Why the Hell did I ever think she was beautiful?"
Jericho slowly made his way to the back too. Then he doubled back and grabbed a bottle from one of the bags, then he went into the back. Millie watched both of them go. She sighed and shook her head. She turned to Moxxie and he was sipping his daiquiri.
"Hmm, extra lime," he said, with a smile.
He turned to see Millie glaring at him. He grinned sheepishly and set his drink down. Millie stopped glaring and stepped forward and caressed his cheek. Moxxie put his hand on her and leaned into her touch. Millie lowered her hand and headed towards the back. Moxxie began to follow her, but turned around for his drink. Taking another sip, he walked into the back.
End of Chapter 5.
