Michael didn't know whether to be angry, confused, worried or impressed when Lucifer smirked at him. It was a look he'd only seen reserved for his younger brother's greatest enemies - Like, Pierce - But it was a look that his younger brother had never been able to really throw at him. Maybe a part of him was impressed that his brother seemed to finally be manning up, but the rest of him was pretty pissed. Seemed Lucifer still needed to learn his place - And after the other day, you'd think he had. But Michael didn't have the time to mess with him right then, and he was going back with Chloe…

And, much as he hated to admit it, she was actually kind of scary. Even though, of course, Michael knew she couldn't hurt him - Though, he wouldn't put it past her to somehow find a way to do so. And she was Ella's friend, and a human, and, well, Michael had nothing against the humans. Except for one, annoying… Immortal one.

After he and Pierce had finished fighting, they'd driven all the way to where the gang hideout supposedly was. There, they met their supposed leader - Thomas, he called himself. He answered their questions with a complete face made of stone, his voice a pure monotone. The weird thing with him, honestly, was that Michael couldn't sense any emotion coming from him. It was all blank. Dull, empty. It kind of scared the archangel, to be honest.

Long story short, Thomas had told them that, yes, he'd been paid to have Alexander Miles killed by Jackson Steve - But that the guy that had paid him had pretty much dropped off the face of the earth once the job was done and nobody had heard from him since. Thomas had told them that Jackson had disappeared after dropping by to say the job was done. But, without a search warrant, Michael and Pierce couldn't go in to see if he was lying or not. Thomas had told them to leave, and he'd gone inside and locked the door on them. Michael had wanted to just break in, but Pierce had stopped him and dragged him off.

So now they were left searching for Jackson with absolutely nothing, and it seemed even more impossible to find the guy who'd paid Thomas in the first place. And it was extremely frustrating. But… He had to push through it. His Father's orders. Besides, he got to see Ella every day, and that definitely more than made up for it… She really was a joy to be around. Pierce, Lucifer and Chloe? Not so much. Well - Actually, he didn't have much against Chloe, though she clearly didn't like him.

He sighed and sat back, but looked up when Pierce approached, raising his eyebrows at the man and leaning forward once more. "What do you want…"

Pierce gave him a frustrated look and cleared his throat before speaking. "Just to tell you what I've figured out. The gun used to kill Alexander Miles was found at another crime scene - Liam Hostwell, guy was stabbed. I'm thinking the same dude that killed Miles, killed Hostwell for whatever reason."

"Mm…" Michael sighed, nodding. "Okay. So the cases are connected."

"Yeah. I'll have Lopez check the gun for f-"

"I was summoned?"

Michael blinked, face lighting up instantly as he turned his head to watch Ella approach. The girl was grinning, eyes sparkling brightly as she skipped up to the two. Pierce narrowed his eyes, studying Michael for a moment before turning to Ella, giving her a nod. "Check the gun found at Liam Hostwell's house for fingerprints. See if you can match them to a Jackson Steve."

"Okie dokie," Ella hummed, then turned and grinned at Michael. "I'm heading home, you want a ride, Mike?"

"Hell yeah," Michael responded, jumping up instantly and winking at Pierce. "You don't need me, right, buddy boy? No? Good." With that, he headed over to Ella, ruffling her hair playfully and heading off. Ella gave a quick "goodbye" to Pierce and followed, reaching up to mess Michael's hair up in return.

"Hey," Michael chuckled, ducking his head and reaching up to fix his hair. He gave Ella a warm smile, which was returned easily. "Man, it's nice to see you. It's been way too long."

"You just saw me this morning, angel boy," Ella snorted, pausing and pulling him to a stop to look around. "Okay, no one around."

"Hold on tight," Michael murmured, wrapping one arm around Ella, and the girl wrapped both around him. He spread his wings out, and Ella frowned slightly when she saw the blood on them, her eyes widening. But Michael gave her a slightly comforting smile. "Got into a fight, El. I'm fine," he promised.

"Would a band-aid work on angel wings?"

"Doubt it." Michael took a deep breath and held her close, closing his eyes, giving a gentle beat of his wings. When he opened them again, they were standing in Ella's living room - Or, he was standing, because he was holding Ella. She grinned up at him, and he set her down with a smile. "Easier way of transportation, isn't it?"

Ella laughed, rolling her eyes. "Definitely."