It was Sunday, and the park was crowded with weekend warriors all running, biking, or skating their way to health. Everyone was happy except for the man and woman who watched the mass of people vigilantly as if expecting a surprise attack at any moment. They sat on a bench near the edge of a green lawn bordered by trees. The man nervously slapped his leg and nudged his companion. "Dereen, I can't believe we escaped Hell. It was much easier than I thought."

The woman nodded her head, "I told you we could do it. The barrier has gotten weak just like our former ruler."

He followed the direction of her stare. "Is that our absent King?"

She growled softly, "Yes, Brandt, that's him. He's tall, dark, with the face of an angel unless he's angry." She shifted slightly on the bench, "Watch and learn."

Across the lawn, Michael sat on the grass with his back against a large tree trunk. He sipped his diet soda and watched the world through mirrored sunglasses while people tossed balls back and forth and children played freeze-tag. He smiled brightly at Chloe, who sat next to him on the grass, "What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning. Do you come here often?"

Chloe smiled, "No… I'm usually working, but Trixie loves it here." She reached out to touch his arm lightly, "Thanks for suggesting this."

He started to answer her, only to find his arms full of giggling child, as Trixie ran up to give him a hug.

The female demon on the bench sat up straighter.

Her companion looked at her in horror. "What is he doing?"

She shook her head in amazement, "It looks like he's hugging a child."

Dereen stood up, "Well, that is interesting. I think we just found our method of revenge." She walked away, circling behind the trees as Brandt fell into step next to her.

He smiled anxiously, "So we take revenge and then go back to claim Hell as our own?"

"That's the plan. Just make sure the Devil doesn't see us. It's enough to cause him pain. No need to make ourselves targets of his wrath."

Unaware of the danger, Chloe and Michael watched Trixie run off to do somersaults. Michael laughed, "She's a wonderful child."

Chloe smiled at him.

He reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

Her smile vanished as she remembered Lucifer once doing the exact same thing, in a gesture she mistook for love. She turned away from Michael to pull herself together and check on Trixie. A rush a fear went through her when she only saw strangers. Chloe stood up and ran to where she had last seen her daughter.

Michael sensed her alarm and followed her to the edge of the park. They both saw Trixie pushed into a car. Chloe memorized the license plate as the car drove off.

She immediately called Dan. "I need you to trace a license plate." She rattled off the number. "The car is headed north out of town and I need eyes on it now."

Dan started to argue, but Chloe cut him off. "They have Trixie."

Her next call was to Lucifer. "It's me. Trixie has been kidnapped. Please help."

Lucifer was silent for a moment, "Of course. What do you need?"

"I'll pick you up at Lux in two minutes."

"I'll be out front."

Michael and Chloe ran to her car. Michael jumped into the back seat, knowing Lucifer would want to talk with his partner. The trip to Lux was fast. Chloe gave a relieved sigh when she spotted Lucifer as he waited by the curbside. He was in the passenger seat even before the car came to a complete stop. He glanced at his brother in surprised anger before he turned his attention to Chloe, "What happened."

"We were at the park…"

Lucifer clenched his jaw as he realized whom she meant by 'we'.

She continued without noticing his annoyed appearance, "A man and woman took her."

Michael grimaced, "Not exactly. Lucifer, they were demons."

Chloe jerked the steering wheel in panic but quickly corrected her driving, "Like Maze?"

Lucifer gave her a worried look, "No. Maze is a kinder, gentler version of demons strong enough to claw their way through the dimensional barrier."

Michael pushed his hands through his hair, "This is bad."

Meanwhile, Trixie stared out the car window wondering if she should jump out. The car was moving too fast, so she decided to scare them instead. "My mom is a police detective. You are going to be in so much trouble."

Brandt, looked back at her, "Little human, we don't care about your mother. It's Lucifer's pain we are after."

Trixie frowned, "You talk funny. You sound like Maze."

Dereen glanced in the rearview mirror, "You mean Mazikeen? Is she here?"

"Yes, and she will kick your butt for taking me."

The two demons laughed in disbelief. "Be quiet now. It will all be over soon."

Trixie sat back to think and wait for a chance to get away.

Two cars behind, Dan doubled-checked the plate number his ex-wife had given him and cursed in amazement, "shit." He called Chloe a few seconds later. She put him on speaker, "You are not going to believe this. I was out on the road and spotted the plates you asked me to run, I'm following them north on the coastal highway. I can see Trixie sitting in the back seat."

Chloe made a fast lane change to merge onto the highway, "We're coming."

"Okay, I'm at mile marker 52 and they are slowing down. They are turning into a cliffside park. I'm going in."

Chloe shouted into her phone, "Dan, don't do anything stupid!" She slammed her phone down onto the seat next to her leg as the call was disconnected. "Damn it."

Lucifer arched an eyebrow, "Agreed."

Note: I've got some action coming right up and I hope you all like it. Please do leave a comment if you enjoy the read. Like Lucifer, I'm often clueless and insecure (about my writing…)