Part 37

Alex and Angel didn't have the heart to try anything other than resting in the back of the trucks. Alex pressed up into the wall, eyes forward and away from the world around him, Angel leaning on his shoulder with his eyes closed. He pretended to be asleep, but his breathing was too ordinary.

Outside, Alex, Angel, and Carmilla could already see groups of people mulling around in small parties trying to find him. A reward from an overlord was no small thing like a few dollars, a bottle of booze, or even a good weapon. It could be power, souls, territory, or the beginning of one's empire.

Black claws ran through Angel's hair, "how bad is it going to be, Miss Carmine?" Alex's voice was slow and steady, the overlord's red and white eyes falling onto him as they moved through the night.

"It depends on a lot of things now, boy. Much depends on what Valentino thinks and decides, where it goes, what you do, what the prince of hell has to say about the whole situation." She crossed her legs and arms as she looked out the window, "I can't imagine how Lucifer will react to this. I wonder if he will be coming to talk to me about this."

"And why would he do that?"

The dark eyes of the overlord traveled from the boy to the wrappings around his wrists "because I crafted them." The fact made Angel and Alex turn and look, "My tools and spells made the threads as potent as they are now. While it doesn't seem as influential to an average citizen of hell, the three of us know better.

Leaning back and stretching his arms, Angel chuckled, "Yeah. Alex beat the shit out of Brutus outside of a bar about a week ago. You can't be doin' that less you got some serious punch."

The lizard glanced over at him, "you knew about that?"

"Are you kiddin'? The big guy came in, all burned and bruised around his neck. Ain't no one going around bustin' up Brutus like that. That's why he's the big guy." He closed his eyes and leaned back onto his boyfriend's lap, "Ah, you did good, Babe. Valentino was going off at the guy for being unable to control himself." Angel did his best Valentino impression, which wasn't bad, his voice dripping with arrogance and smugness, "Ohhh, now your merchandise is gonna' suffer." He smirked at Alex's little laugh and blushed when the boy stroked his head.

But the smile faded, and he looked at the overlord, "So what now? It's going to be hard with another overlord looking for me. And everyone else, for that matter."

"There is little room in hell to be safe now. Those who want the reward will come for you. Those that don't care about the reward but want the sutures will come for you. And those who want neither and just wish to have a reason to kill something will come for you. I am afraid your time, however long you were hoping to have, has been cut in half."

"But-"

"Enough." Alex cringed a bit, hearing the woman speak a bit more seriously to him now, the faint glare from her eyes focused on the street below. We have one job now. You will need to learn how to use those sutures and finish your job. If Valentino dies, then there is no reward. After that, it is your own concern. My duty of care in this endeavor starts and stops with Valentino's death."

"I should have seen this coming...I knew Valentino wasn't going just to let it lie, sell my..." he paused, looking out the window, "I can't believe he sold that recording of us." He choked a little, stunned at the sheer insanity of the idea, "that's some, like, cartoonishly evil shit. How...how many people in hell have watched him rape me?" He glanced down at Angel, "has he ever done that kind of shit to you?"

"You need to understand, Alex, this is hell. There really aren't many lines to cross down here. He has done some shit with me. Not THAT, but...he has done some stuff. There are a few projects out there I'm not proud of."

At that thought, the sutures around Alex's wrists began to glow, uncoiling around his wrists. Carmilla took note of it, "fascinating seeing them work again."

Angel tried to push them up with his hand, looking back over his shoulders at them, the faint glow growing a little stronger. Then he turned his attention to his lover, "Why are they doin' that?"

But it Was Carmilla who answered, "Because he's thinking of you."

Both of them turned back to look at her.

"With very little instruction, the sutures will respond to him based on the strong feelings of defense. Alex, what were you thinking of just now?"

With a glance, the lizard looked down at the face of his adorable spider. "I was thinking of the material Valentino made with Angel that he isn't proud of—the things he put him through."

"And they respond in kind, ready to do what is necessary to protect him. It seems you have learned to use them already. I was afraid for a moment they might not respond. Interesting."

A faint touch drew the boy's attention back to the Angel whose eyes were shimmering as he leaned into the lizard, "I'm gonna' kill so many fuckin' demons for you. No way anyone's goin' to mess with me now. No more Val or stupid pornos I don't want to shoot anymore and-" Angel bit his lip, "uh, I mean-" his cheeks flushed a little pink, "you, ah, like...no more-" he couldn't even think straight. He had started to enjoy this part of the relationship and couldn't get through a single fucking sentence without butchering it, but he took a slow breath to compose himself, "Just you and me now."

The overlord rolled her eyes, "For hell's sake, you two. Get a grip. We are far from done here. Valentino has offered up a reward for your capture, boy, and you're making eyes at a spider. And you," she looked at Angel, "how do you even plan on assisting? Are you just going to follow behind and shoot anyone who looks at him sideways?"

With an awkward glance back to her and the cute little kiss on Alex's nose, Angel smirked, "And do anything else for him that needs doing, sure."

Carmilla leaned back in her seat, staring off into nothing, "I can't believe Alastor put his faith in you two. What does he see in you, Alex?"

The question was met with only more confusion from the lizard, "Alastor? I haven't seen him since I left the tower a few days ago. What does he have to do with this? What does he have to do with Valentino?"

Carmilla stared at the two of them with anger and disappointment. " You mean he hasn't spoken to you two?"