Chapter 9
Lucifer's Pov
The evening was painted with a sleepy orange, yet it felt cold to me, yet it probably felt colder and darker than any evening, or even when I was staying in Hell. The streets of L.A was crowd with families and couples, my mind pictured the detective and her little offspring together happily. But now that picture was splitting apart in blue flames. I could imagine the urchin non-stop questioning Maze about her mother, and I wouldn't blame her. Her tiny mind must be drowning in pain for not knowing where or why her mother was nowhere to be seen. My compassion grew for the child, and a little for Maze if she listens to the child's long questionnaire. The problem was I couldn't imagine the detective, where she was, what was happening to her, or how she must be feeling right now, I still couldn't imagine.
Daniel and I drove through the streets heading to a CCTV control building where they kept all eyes on the streets of L.A. Daniel ordered check on any of the CCTV cameras that were views parts of the High Street, "L.A.P.D. We need to see your CCTV footage now."
One of the workers kindly lead us to the control room, dark but brighten by lots of computer and camera screens. "Can you go back to last night by the High Street?" Daniel commanded, and the workers did as they were ordered.
Rewinding the cameras back to last night, they showed all the angels from each camera that was based in the High Street like watching a large T.V screen which was split in multiple squares. Our focus on the screens as our eyes switched to one camera shot to another, trying to find another unordinary.I locked my eyes on every screens one by one, until I spotted a black car driving in one of the camera. My eyes went narrow in suspicious, "Daniel" I alarmed his name to get his attention, but he finally walked over to my side.
"What is it?" he wondered about my suspicious.
I pointed to one of the camera shots with the balck car, Daniel checked in notes about the description of the car from the suspects. He positively commented, "That's the one. That's the car"
We continued watching the CCTV video and other ones from different camera that were close to the target area, after a minute or so, the balck car was finally revealed once again. This time the black car stopped just outside of a small church. It stood there still and in silence, until a door was open. Daniel and I leaned in forward like our view can be seen closer and clearer, yet the imaging was small and blurry. Two doors were from each side of the car, two men slide out in black clothing. I knew in that moment it was them, those bastard priests. We all knew it was true now from they walking to the back door of the car, opened it and carried a nice woman out. My heart skipped a beat, dropped into freezing water, they were carrying the detective, my detective, unconscious to the church. My mind roared in rage thinking, "How could any of those stupid humans around not stop them?!" Yet, another side of my mind argued as I correctly remembered what Daniel stated from the crime scene before, "Most of the suspects believed she was drunk, so they thought the priests were helping her."
"Can you give us that location?" Daniel ordered from one of the controllers and they wrote down the address and handed it to him, he kindly replied "Thanks."
Daniel lead us out of the building and walked back fast to the car. I could feel the rush from Daniel as he was pressing the gas petal deeply, see the anxiousness and frustration beating fast throughout his red veins. While he was driving, Daniel unlocked a draw in front of me and revealed a gun inside in. "Right, if those psychos are in there, then you will need some protection" Daniel pointed.
"As much as I appreciate your caring offer Daniel" I responded by shutting the draw, "I much prefer going in calmly and not harm."
"Look man, I know you haven't used a gun before, but this is serious and knows what could happened."
"Well, guns are much useless for me anyway" I corrected, Daniel should understand how I could get through these situations without weapons, because why would eth Devil need weapons. I'm bloody immortal, ten times stronger, faster, and many more than humans.
Daniel's voice grew louder, "Lucifer, this isn't a joke!"
"Well, of course it is. You, a mortal, offering the Devil protection" I laughed, "There's something you don't hear everyday."
"Look if Chloe's down there, then we need all the supplies we could get" Daniel pointed, but unfortunately he was right. If these priests knew things as much as Pierce knew, about me as the actual 'Devil' and the detective making me vulnerable, then they may use that strategy to go against me. Still, the detective and I have been in many dangerous cases before and I never used a gun. Hurting humans yes I can do, but a gun is a symbol to kill, that I could never do.
"We're here" Daniel drove up in front of the church exactly how the black did before.
I pushed the car door open, my fingers holding over the top, sharp edge of the cold, metal door while my eyes furiously stare at the sight of the chruch. Painted in natural brown, yet darkly shadowed away from the sun's warming light. I walked in first before Daniel, the smell of melting candles was the first thing that hit me when I took a step in this holy crap place. My eyes scanned around the quiet hall, the sun's light shined through the colourful glass windows while lighting over the cold, wooden, grey pews.
When we finally reached to the end near the alter, Daniel suggested, "You go left. I go right. Call me if you find anything."
I agree and followed his order. My feet slide around to the left, and continued walking down passing some tall, balck candle holders. Half of the candles were lightened and a few were already halfway down to the bottom. Strolling around the corner till Daniel vanish from my sight behind the white curtains and columns. Besides disgusted with the thought of priests, standing in a church in the name of my dad makes me want to spit in his name. But, I remembered Linda suggestion about my father, how he may not be part of all of this, yet some part of me keeps screaming "It's true, he's doing this to torture you!"
I sudden felt a chill by the side of my body, it didn't come from the door, too far away. It didn't come from any of the glass windows, because none of them were opened. My head twist to the side now my view was a large, pale wall, but a wooden door was silently close by in front of me. My curiosity got the better of me as I stepper forwards towards it. My strong hands gripped on the balck handle and pulled the rough door open. My eyes glanced through the dark shadows that was trapped behind the door, rolling over the deep steps that was leading down to a spooky basement. There were only a few wall lights flicking like switching a torch on and off.
"Hello..." I wickedly grin at my new discovering, hearing my sly voice shortly echoing down the stairway.
Straight away I skipped down the dark stairs, the lower I was the greater my instincts were about finding the detective. Once I finally reached down to the bottom floor, I felt coldness in the basement like I just jumped into the season of winter. Fearlessly, I began exploring through the hallways but every time I took a step I felt the hallways becoming darker. After turning some edgy corners, I felt another sudden chill, but this one felt serious like I got shot by a bullet again in the chest. My gaze shifted to another door, I reached for the handle but I already felt a small, sharp pain twisted in the palm of my hand. I shortly hesitant but grabbed the handle and twisted it around to open the door.
Opening the door slowly and my first glimpse of the room was a complete mess. I took a step further in the room, looked like it was designed to be an insane room. There were a table and two chairs in the centre of the room. All of the walls were covered pages, half of them were ripped from the bottom half pages and those ones laid dead all over the floor. I picked one up and was shocked to see that there was a big picture of an art stereotypically based my horrific devil form, as me eating some helpless humans and some being tortured by my demons. I scanned around noticing how all of the ripped pages with covered with images of me in the most terrifying forms or doing the most disturbing things.
"Oh no" those words escape my mouth. Scared to realised that if these priests told the detective everything about me, what if they were showing her some sides of me that I never wanted her to know. In that second, I knew this was the place where the detective was taken and placed. I could already hear her screams of fear, echoing loud within the room and louder in my mind. Visualising how she would ripped the pages apart after forcefully knowing the truth about me, like she was trying to get ride of the truth. Imagining her cries and her tearful sobbing as her heart was darkly poison with thoughts of my monstrous form. My hand swipe over my speechless mouth as I was clueless to think about what she must be thinking now. My detective, lost and alone, trapped in a pool of confusion, probably thinking of me as this stereotypical monster, who I was cruelly described by humanity for years and years and years.
"I have to find her" I sadly whispered to myself, like I was talking in my sleep from being trapped in a nightmare. I know the detective knows the truth now, but maybe there's a chance for her to see that all of these monstrous images of me are not who am I. At least not any more.
"LAPD!" my ears pricked up at the shouting from Daniel echoing long through the dark hallways, along with powerful gun shots. I reached out of that insane room and raced down through the hallways following the sounds of the gun shots. My ears caught the small sounds of manly moans and cranky cries. For once in my immortal life, I was actually worried about Detective Douche.
The beating music of punching and hitting was closer, as I reached to another room where it was more like a study area; books and files spread across three table. I saw Daniel punching another man, a bit younger, but wearing a black priest-like clothing. When the priest was finally knocked down, Daniel kneed down fast and handcuffed the priest. I walked up to him in a disgraced look, "Why didn't warn me for background?"
"I can take care of it" Daniel childishly replied back in a second, he looked up to me then back down on the priest, didn't bothered see at my reaction.
"LAPD!" someone else was creeping through the hallways. It was the SWAT team charging in with their bright torches shining ahead while attached to their long guns. Daniel got up same as the priest, he walked up to one of the SWAT leaders and commanded, "Take him back to the station."
The SWAT team did as they were told, as I sarcastically chuckled at Daniel when he turned around to face me, "Why did you called the SWAT? We could just keep punching the bastard and force to tell us everything!"
"We need to get him back, then we can question him" Daniel explained.
"Typical" I whispered underneath my breathe, obviously Douche heard me.
"What?" he questioned.
"You went off alone, with no thought of danger and called me as a partner" I excused of his Douches' behaviour.
"You really don't see the irony, do you Lucifer?" Detective Douche commented.
I raised my voice in a serious tone, "All I see, Daniel, is that I can't rely on you as my partner. So perhaps I should find someone steady, someone responsible, someone who I can actually trust as much as I can be trusted..."
A deep silence was stuck sharply in my throat. I just realised that my speech sounded exactly like the detective, over the passed three years I joked around her whenever she's serious about a case, or whenever she was denying my gorgeous charms, or how I made every case about me and my personal life. I was pissed off when Daniel ignored my company, now I see the detectives' point of view of me in our cases, how she struggled with my behaviour. No wonder the detective would wanted to be with Pierce, he acted kind, caring, and honest to her, I could see why she would go with that immortal hypocrite.
"Oh, I get it now" I breathed in grief, while Daniel looked puzzled at my sorrow reaction.
"Espinoza! Lucifer!" speak the immortal hypocrite, Pierce entered inside the room and stood by the door entrance right behind me. He noticed Douches' puzzled face and my sadly surprised face, he wondered, "Have I missed anything?"
"No" Daniel answered for us, as he walked pass Pierce before added something about me, "Besides his usual self."
Once Daniel left the room, I felt Pierce's gaze on my back then his voice broke the silence, "Lucifer? We need to talk."
Those blazed in hellfire in my mind, an eerily yet angry grin grew on my face, "Oh yes, I think we do."
I turned around and walked straight towards Pierce and my fingers gripped on his shirts. Pulling him along through the dark shadows again, I lead him tripping steadily to the insane room. I open the door wide and revealed the room to his blue eyes, within a second I watched his eyes widen in shock.
"Oh, did you think that those friendly priest of yours, would just abducted the detective for a nice brunch or something?" I sarcastically growled close by Pierce's ear.
Pierce tried to make an excuse, "I didn't know they were going to..."
"Going to torture her by showing her my true self. Yes, I think that's just right" I finished his sentence in a low, angry tone.
"I didn't know" Pierce growled back to me.
Our eyes meet again, I saw the annoyance in the centre of his eyes as he saw the same in mine but unknowingly my eyes blazed red again. Pierce looked surprised as he leaned back a bit. He whispered, "Strange."
"What?" I questioned.
"He lost your devil face, yet your eyes still glow red" Pierce pointed correctly.
I had wondered about that, even though I lost my devil face I still felt my eyes glowing red in hellfire, but that's just it. I revealed them in front of Miss Lopez's brother, Jay Lopez, and Jeremy Bell who murdered Kevin Winstead and who I thought came as an angel to save the old lady. We both wondered but Pierce was the first asked, "Why?"
"Truthfully, I don't have the faintest idea, myself" I answered.
"Anyway, I'll get this room secured" Pierce stated, "No one needs to know what happened here. It'll just raise confusion for the team."
I hate to agree with Pierce but he was right, if the team see this insane then they'll question about why the detective was put in there, or why are there horrific pictures of me. Pierce was the first to leave, and I followed behind after I took a one, long stare in the insane and mirrored me the insane thoughts the detective must have about me. A small frown anxiously melted on my face as I walked away from the room and rushed up on the stairs out of the dark basement.
"I want the forensic team here and now!" Pierce roared his commands as they repeated themselves down in the chilling hallways.
The SWAT team were waiting outside the church keeping the people away from the building and the area around it. I happily left that crappy church felt the sun's warming light touching my worried face. Daniel was discussing with other police offices about the young priest, same with Pierce on the other side. However, my mind was on the detective understanding that she knows that I'm the Devil. She only sees how the monstrous side of me, the cruel, the bad, the evil, all of it. Yet, that's not what's troubling me, it was the reason that I could finally see why she chosen Pierce over me. Was the fact that I wasn't there for her, never revealing the truth to her earlier when I should have. My mind made me wondered away from the police for I needed some time alone.
Unfortunately, Pierce walked up behind and yelled to get my attention, "I haven't finished my talk yet with you."
"Oh, but I am with you" I growled back in a dark tone.
However, Pierce wasn't done with me as he gripped my jacket from behind and pulled me along to a small, clean alleyway. I pushed myself off from him and revealed my disgusted look, I angrily shouted, "What on Earth are you doing?"
"We. Need. To. Talk!" Pierce repeated himself as his voice was hard as a rock.
We stood in the alleyway where there were door entering by the side leading to the side of the church. Pierce started his conversation with a small chuckle, "I get it, you hate me for what I did, to you and Chloe. But, you are as bad as being a coward."
"I pegged your pardon!" I snarled.
"You wanted to get rid of me, so you begged your big brother to scare me away" Pierce revealed.
I released what Pierce was talking about, I remembered Amenadiel told me that he will also sort a plan by himself. A cocky grin grew on my face as I strongly argued, "In case you must know, I never asked my brother to do any of the sort. He volunteered himself."
"Including Charlotte?" Pierce added.
"Charlotte?" hearing her name raised my eyebrows in confusion, I'm aware that she knows of our secret but surely Amenadiel wouldn't asked Charlotte for help.
Pierce fully explained, "She was following me a few days ago. As for Amenadiel, I knew what he was doing. Trying to scare me away from Chloe. But it came in handing that he told me she was a 'miracle.'"
A pitch of hellfire blazed within me, as I still remembered that hatred and rage for father for he put the detective in my path. He creature her just to manipulate me. Yet later on, I didn't really care about that anymore. Now, I didn't believe that dad controlled the detective's feeling, because if she was meant for me, why did she fall for Dan then or right now for Pierce. The detective is own person, her soul, and no one can control or harm her. I relfected back my stare at Pierce and sarcastically replied with a sly smile, "Well congratulations! Would you like a metal or something Detective Cain?"
Pierce took in a calm breathe for he hated me using his real name, especially when we are close to some crowd. He shocked his head thinking as this was a whole joke, he shortly chortled, "Why are you even doing this anyway?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You said it yourself, that you and Chloe are just partners and yet you can't let her be with someone else. Someone who she really cares too" Pierce complained.
"Only reason I'm doing this, Cain, is because she doesn't know who you truly are and what you were doing, which lead the detective getting badly hurt!" I loudly responded my answered, as I took a step closer to him.
"Okay, I admit I was too fast with the proposal" Pierce finally got the bloody idea in his stupid mind, however he continued to argued, "But, I broke up with her because I didn't want her to get hurt when she dies and I can't!"
"Well, mission accomplish. You broke her anyway" I showed two thumbs up with a huge, fake smile.
"Like I said before, now I can die I want to be with her" Pierce repeated his reason.
"Well, the detective won't be fooled by your misleading tricks again. The detective deserves someone better than you" my voice growled in a disapproved tone, turning around to walk out of the alleyway and to finish this ridiculous conversation.
Before I had the chance to take the second step, Pierce shouted his thoughts, "Like who? You?"
My entire body froze, I regretfully hesitated especially now I showed it to Pierce. Because I didn't want to admit but he was right, I want the detective to choose me over Pierce. I want to tell her the truth, to show her the truth. Not because I wanted to prove myself that I was right all along, but because she deserves the truth, about who I am, about how I really feel. Until, my ears pricked up as I heard Pierce slowly laughing to myself. I turned around half-way in suspicious with my narrowed eyes staring back at the idiotic mortal. Pierce revealed a small, yet eerily grin as he laughed, "You still don't get it, don't you?"
I turned around fully facing him in a straight position, my calm was calm and my voice was steady as I was predicted to ask, "Get what?"
"That you may not lie. And, you always try to get your word" Pierce took a step closer every time he said a sentence, and the last one came in shock, "But the one thing, you can't admit, is that you are truly a hypocrite."
Silence was stuck in the middle of my throat again, nonetheless I managed to slip some words out of my mouth, "Excuse me?"
Pierce make it clear, "You're right, I hurt Chloe, but what you're doing is the exactly same thing."
I kept think that Pierce was making this more confusion for both our sakes, I wondered, "In what way?"
"If you get to be with Chloe, what happens then, huh? You're immortal, you will live an eternal life, while Chloe will live and die of old age. You'll just hurt her as much as I could have" Pierce featured his reason to my face.
Yet, I giggled as my first comeback, then my tone changed to seriousness "I would never hurt the detective like you would have done."
"Then how about when she dies. Chloe will, obviously, go to Heaven. And, we both know you can't go up there" Pierce was cutting deeper into his point, but it was secretly breaking my heart slowly and painfully, he added, "Would you rather have Chloe in hell so she could be with you?"
"Absolutely not!" I roared my answer straight after he asked that outrageous question.
"So, what's the chances then, Lucifer?" Pierce an eyebrow as he was blowing his own trumpet, proving his own knowledge over me, "You'll get to watch her die, turning to ashes and dust, while you keep living, moving on. You can spend part of your life with her, but if Chloe spends her entire life with you, knowing she will never die with you or see you again. Then asked yourself this..." Pierce took a step close till his face was inches away from mine, he ended in a whisper, "What kind of life are you giving Chloe then?"
His words sharply sealed my lips for I had no words to say. My breathing stopping, my heart beating stopped. Pierce huffed to himself like a mentor disappeared at a student's mistake, yet he didn't add any more for his argument but gave a simple order, "We need to keep looking for her."
Pierce walked pass in silence, before I turned around and started to yell the last words, "That's just is..." But, Pierce ignored me and continued walking out of the alleyway back to the police group. He knew what I was about to shout would be worthless, and I would agree. I would just yell out more excuses as usual, wanting to right as always. I shut my mouth straight away and huffed annoyingly to myself. Thinking of walking back to the police, but I still wanted some time alone. So, I turned back around and walked the opposite direction towards the other end of the alleyway. Passing some large and small pin boxes, as I could hear some sirens alarming form behind me, and the loud cheers of happy humans up ahead of me.
Once, I reached out of the alleyway and entered in the chill street. I took a deep breathe in then out, hoping to calm my nerves down but it didn't. My mind was badly disturbed by Pierce's point, because his words did ring true and began haunting in my mind. I didn't know what to think, because honestly, I never thought of it that way before. Although, it leaded me to wonder another unexpected theory. Since I met the detective and I began to develop some certain feelings for her, I never wanted to show the detective the truth because she might run away in fear, but now I'm thinking another reason. Perhaps, I didn't want to show her my true self, was because if she did accepted me as the devil, what kind of life will I push her in. Life where accepted everything, hell, heaven, God, Goddess, angels and demons, and many more... If I ever get stuck back in hell again, will she wait for me, for days, or weeks, or mouths, or possibly years. When she dies, will she go to hell to stay with me. No, I will never allow her to do such a thing.
I walked down the streets quietly, my eyes were low gazing sadly at the rough ground. I ignored any eyes contacts at me, including from beautiful women who use it to seduce me. Frankly, after a difficult case like this I would delight to have sex anyone just to give myself a bit of bliss, but my mind was only focusing on the detective. I continued walking away from the church area, always leave for the forensic team to do their boring work. Finally, I stopped by a quiet, and not so busy bar called 'The Bungalow.' Thought I needed a few drinks for the painful sorrow.
After hours of drinking and texted Daniel where I was, as he understood my time-out for the case. One of the barmen came up to me on the other side of the counter and asked, "Rough day, sir?"
I look up at him as the young barman welcomed me with his kind smile while he was cleaning a glass with a tea towel. I look up at him and returned a small smile of mine, "You have no idea." I took a large sip of whiskey to finish a glass, I looked up in wonder, "You could tell?"
"Well, I could rate how rough from the fifteen glasses you have drunk in the last few hours" the barman pointed with his eyes staring down at the noticeable glasses laying in front of me. Some were used again and again.
I huffed quietly to myself with a small grin, then by the corner of my charming eye I noticed a black piano standing on a small stage on the other side of the bar underneath the colourful stage lights. Like a trophy gratefully standing up in glory. If I was back at Lux or up at my penthouse I would usually play on my piano. I looked back at the barman and asked as my finger pointed directly at the piano, "Who plays the piano?"
The barman looked at the piano then back at me, "Anyone. We get some bands to play. But, anyone is allowed to play up there."
"May I?" I asked.
"Yeah, of course, just tell me whatever you want to play and whenever you feel like it" the barman explained.
After half an hour, the bar was getting filled slowly, while I ask the barman before to sign me up for me to play a song on the piano. When it was time for me to play, I got up form seat by the counter and walked over to the small stage. The kind barman sorted a microphone for me to sing in, after walking up on five steps, I reached to the piano and settled myself comfortably on my seat and my locked down on the steady keys.
The barman stood in front of the piano, grabbed a microphone for himself to speak, "Ladies and gentlemen! Can I get your attention please!"
Within a second, all eyes were locked on the stage, as the barman continued, "Let's give a warm welcome to a famous pianist of L.A. Lucifer Morningstar!"
After shouting out my name, everyone in the bar clapped their and cheered out loud. I helded up a smile for the crowd then slowly faded it away when I turned to face down on the piano keys. I lowed my hands down slowly towards the keys. My fingers rested on the cool, white surface, after taking in another deep breathe I softly pressed down four keys at the same time.
The music was about the start...