Part 9.5

Bolt stepped into the elevator at the studio and hit the button that would take him up to the set where he had a shoot in 20 minutes. He cracked his neck and waited. And waited. The elevator was moving but it seemed to just keep going higher and higher but never get to the floor he wanted to be on.

The lights flickered once and he started to feel a little uncomfortable. They flickered again and there, standing in front of him, was a demon in a red suit, a smile stretched from ear to ear as he looked up at the large demon, eyes glowing in a lengthening shadow. "Hello, Mr. Bolt." He said.

Bolt looked down on him. "Uh...hello?"

"You don't know who I am, and I suppose that's best, isn't it, my good friend? Haha! I come on behalf of a mutual acquaintance." His smile grew wider, his teeth no longer separating as he spoke around them, a high pitched noise starting just behind Bolt's eyes, "and I understand you've been very naughty."

Bolt blinked, "what?"

The lights flickered again and Alastor had grown large antlers out of his head. "Naughty." The lights flickered again and Alastor was now much larger, staring down at him with large eyes, a thin powerful, and twisted body. "Naughty." The lights flickered and Bolt was standing in a box of writing black tentacles and teeth, Alastor's hands wrapped around his waist. "You fucking animal..."

Alastor opened his large mouth and pulled Bolts head into it, the large hulking body of the demon being ripped asunder by the tentacles as they tore into him, the teeth clamping down around the throat of the large head of the demon. The body twitched with the crunch of bone for a moment, a small spasm, before it went limp.. Alastor looked down at the ground, blood covering the floor. The pieces of Bolt lay strewn about the small space, blood and meat covering everything. He took a deep breath and his smile growing wider. "Oh, dear boy." He said, looking down at the remains. "You ruined a perfectly good thing."

Ding!

The doors for the elevator opened and Alastor stepped from it onto the set of Valentino's next film, the broken and shredded carcass of Bolt behind him. "Valentino~, someone seems to have made a mess in the elevator," he said, wiping his hands clean of blood on the handkerchief in his breast pocket.

Valentino stepped out of the studio room, surprised at the Radio demon being in his work space, "what are you talking abou-" he stopped when he saw the body of Bolt on the floor. He stared for a moment and then looked at Alastor. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"

Alastor smiled at him, "oh you know exactly who I am, Valentino, and what I am capable of. Now, stop acting like a little child. We need to have a talk." He said, smiling. "A long...long talk."

Valentino glared at him. "Get the fuck out."

"Make me..."

The two of them stared each other down, that pressure and static passing between them, and then Valentino smirked. "Fine. My office is this way." He turned his back to Alastor and began walking towards one of the rooms off the set. "Come." He said.

Alastor followed, his hands behind his back. He glanced over at a few demons who were staring at him. "Eyes forward, boys. This is a face for radio..." he chuckled to himself, following Valentino into his office and sitting down in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Valentino walked around his desk and sat down. "So...what can I do for you?"

Alastor sat back in the chair. "Word has come across the air waves that your little Angel has been speaking to a living person..." he smiled at him. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Valentino lit a cigarette, "what are you talking about?"

"Don't play games with me, Valentino." Alastor said. "We both know you are not good at them. Would you like to hear a joke?"

Valentino leaned back in his seat. "Sure."

"Jesus and Moses are playing golf together. Jesus steps up to hit the ball, slices, and the ball goes sailing off into the woods. He raises his arms above his head and it begins to rain. And it rains. And it rains. And it begins to rain so hard that a little stream begins to flow from the forest and travel its way down the field towards the green, moving just alongside the hole. Then, out from the forest, a fish swims down the stream, comes alongside the hole, and spits out Jesus's golf ball into it for a hole in one.

Moses then looks to Jesus and says "are we going to play golf or are we just going to fuck around?" Alastor stared deep into Valentino's eyes. "Are we going to play golf, Val, or are we going to fuck around? I will ask again. Do. You. Know anything about that?"

Valentino smirked, "yeah, I know about the boy. What about him?"

Alastor smiled at him. "And you have threatened the boy with death, have you not?"

Valentino nodded, "I did. So what?"

"Val...Are you only this mad because Angel is looking at the boy now instead of you?"

"Fuck off. It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with my property and that fucker trying to take him away from me."

Alastor laughed, "Valentino, one again you are thinking with your little brain instead of your big brain...how very reptilian of you." Alastor stood up and walked over to Valentino's desk, sitting down on top of it. "Now, listen to me, and listen to me very closely. I have done you a favor, and I am going to continue to do you favors, but you must do something for me." He smiled at him.

Valentino stared up at him, "and what do you want?"

The smile of the radio demon stretched wider, "oh, it's not what I want that's important, dear boy. It's what you are going to do. Your little Angel has a cellphone that connects to the world of the living. Are you going to throw away an opportunity to reach out to that world for a single boy? Is that your little head or your big head speaking?"

Valentino stared up at him, "what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to forget about this little boy. Angel is yours, he's your property. He belongs to you. And if his...human...is to show up here in hell for whatever reason, I want you to leave him alone. In return, you and I will enter into an arrangement. Who knows who may pick up that cellphone the next time someone answers?" He smiled.

Valentino stared at him for a long time. "Fine."

Alastor smiled, "excellent! Now...I believe you have a shoot to get too. We wouldn't want to keep everyone waiting. People like you and I used to seal these deals with blood and sacrifice at one point in time but how about we seal this deal with a handshake?" He offered Val his hand.

Valentino took it and shook it. "Yeah...that'll work."

"Excellent! Well, I must be off. I have things to do, people to see. You know how it is. Enjoy your shoot. And Val..." he turned to look at the Moth. "Don't make me try and change your station..."

Valentino stared after him as he left the room, walking out of the office door and closing it behind him. He sat back in his seat and sighed, rubbing his temple with his fingers as he stared at the ceiling.

After a moment he took out his phone and punched in a number. It began to ring.

"Vox, it's Valentino. Alastor just came by with some...colorful words and I wanted to pass them by you."