Chapter 32
Floating.
That's what it was doing...floating.
It is said that nature abhors a void; It loathes emptiness. Despises it. All spaces must be filled with something, even just a single atom.
The soul is much the same.
It did not know how long it had been flitting about aimlessly, searching for a vessel. A form. Something to inhabit. Everything around it sought to capture it, to pull it into itself: the walls around it, the ground…
The trees.
When did it encounter trees?
All that it knew (if it could perceive the idea of knowing) was that it wanted to take form (if it could perceive the concept of forms). But at the same time (if it could perceive time) it did not want just any form.
Something within it demanded...no, commanded that it must have a form that can move. That could remain solid.
And solid was something it was losing in every waking moment. Every nanoangstrom of movement threatened to pull it apart, to unravel its existence (if it could perceive existence).
But it wanted to move.
More than anything else, it wanted to live.
So onward it floated, looking for a vessel. Hours. Days. Weeks. Months.
Until it found one.
The gravity it felt from this potential vessel was all powerful, all encompassing. Not from the vessel's power, but from its drive.
It's hunger.
I wish to live. I shall live.
...And then she hit the ground.
"Alright people, pile in!"
Vaggie's voice rang over the din of the lobby as the guests began pouring in through the doors and out of their rooms. By 7:00 PM, most if not all of the guests had already made their way back to the Hotel. Lucille and Fern had obviously arrived early, but they were later joined by the likes of Krol (who had snuck out of the kitchen after his nap), and even Angel Dust who, surprisingly, had actually made it back much earlier than he said he would be.
But the Imps noticed a rather obvious absence.
"Where's Fye?", Viola asked as Angel made his way into the lobby.
"He said he wanted to make sure his other pals made it home safe.", he answered. "I tell ya, that crew drank me under the table. Seriously: how can such little bodies soak up so much liquor?"
"...Right.", Viola answered. "So he's fine?"
"Yeah, he's just peachy. Cherri even went with him just to make sure."
Viola sighed, rubbing the bridge of her flat nose.
Why does Chay hang out with this moron?
The conversation was interrupted by Vaggie's loud voice.
"Listen up, buttercups!", she yelled from the stairs. "It is now 7:10 PM. Now, that is admittedly a little later than we had planned for this briefing but...well, Angel happened."
"You know you still love me, bitch!", Angel yelled from the back.
"Seriously reconsidering it, Angel.", she yelled back. "Now then, I'm going to keep this brief so that Baxter can give the breakdown on our security systems, but I will say this: at 11 PM sharp we go on lock-down. Nobody comes in, nobody goes out. I know some of you will probably be going back out for a couple of hours and you're free to do so, but if you're not back before 11 you are shit out of luck. And don't think you can crawl in through any of the airducts or anything because we already added new grills onto them...which reminds me-"
She turned to Viola and Lucius, who were sitting off in the corner.
"Big thanks to Viola and Fyewackett for helping us fix that. Good job, guys."
Viola waved in response. She was greeted with enthusiastic clapping, much to her surprise.
"Alright, so before I give Baxter the floor, does anybody have any questions?"
A voice from the crowd spoke up.
"Yeah, where's Charlie?"
"She's in her office securing her files. Any other questions?"
"Yeah, me again.", the same voice asked. "Where's Lucifer?"
"He's with Baxter inspecting our security. Speaking of which…"
She palmed her hellphone.
"Any more questions? No? In that case…"
She pressed the call button.
"Alright Baxter, you have the floor."
The intercom systems buzzed to life all over the Hotel.
"Thank you.", Baxter's digital crackly voice said. "To begin, I wish to reemphasize what Vagatha said about the lock down. At 10:59 PM, our automated shutter system will begin activation. By 11, it will have completely covered up every single opening in the building. That includes doors, windows, and otherwise. It will not deactivate until noon tomorrow, so again: if you are not here before then, you will be locked out of the building."
"Now, I would also like to explain the security. Of course, you are all familiar with Protection Mechanism Sigma, and it is still very much operational. However, I have also taken the liberty of installing some new mechanisms as well: some of you may have seen Protection Mechanism Alpha, which we used to destroy the Heaven drones. It is also still operational and can be released at any time. Furtheremore, I have also been given word from His Highness-"
"Hi everybody!", Lucifer's voice crackled through.
"-That he will be aiding Her Highness in strengthening the wards that currently protect the building. Now, I will repeat one more time: at 11, we are on lockdown, and the automated shutters will not deactivate until noon tomorrow. These systems cannot be activated before then, nor can they be deactivated before the appointed time, not even by me. So everyone remain calm, stay vigilant, and hopefully we will all get through this unscathed. Maybe…."
Baxter cleared his throat.
"Do you have anything else to add, Your Highness?"
"Deuces, bitches!"
"...Quite. That is all."
The intercom clicked off.
Phew
Baxter sighed with relief as he leaned back in his chair.
"Good work, Baxter.", Lucifer said as he patted him on the shoulder.
"Thank you, Your Majesty.", he answered. "But now I'm afraid the real work begins now. I've got a long night ahead of me."
"That you do, Bax.", the King responded in kind. "That you do. I'll make sure Coi supplies you with plenty of coffee. In the mean time, I'm going to make some calls with the rest of the Family just in case."
Baxter looked up at Lucifer (a sensation Lucifer found pleasant, for once).
"What other family? Charlie's right here and Lili-"
"No, not them. I mean the other Sins…"
Lucifer pulled out his hellphone and scrolled through his contacts.
"I'm not expecting anything dramatic, but I think it might be prudent to let them know what our status is before the Extermination begins. Plus….I may have not really... spoken with any of them for a while…"
Baxter reached down and sipped his draining coffee cup.
"You're thinking of holding court again, aren't you?"
Lucifer nearly dropped the phone.
"What?! Court? Me? Pfft, N'awwww...it's not...like...I...haven't held court in over a decade or anything! Seriously! No, this is just a friendly chat among family is all."
Baxter shook his head. "It's your call, Your Majesty. All I'll say is: if I've learned anything during my time in this place, it's that loyalty is a commodity that's infinitesimally rare down here. Rebuild those bridges while you still have the chance."
He put his cup back down on his desk.
"If for no other reason, for Charlie's sake."
Lucifer chuckled. "You really have taken to this place, haven't you?"
Baxter turned back to his computer.
"I have work to do, Your Highness."
It was now 9:03 PM.
Pentagram City was getting rowdy.
One would assume that, being Hell and filled with Sinners, that the Pride Circle would be nothing but a nonstop chaotic bloodbath of violence and depravity every day of the year. The truth was more complicated than that: it was absolutely true that violence was common, including territorial conflicts that could happen at the drop of a hat. It was also true that the most base kinds of appetites could be easily sated for the right price, from hard drugs in vending machines to carnal indulgence in brothels (many of which were in no way consensual).
But it was also true that even the most vile of villains needed some sense of normalcy in their lives. They needed food to eat, a place to sleep, and otherwise peace in the stormy tempest of the afterlife. Even as far back as the chaotic forming of Hell, Lucifer realized that nothing could function unless some degree of order was established over the nihilistic anarchy of the void. Because of this, PC normally was only slightly more than chaotic on any given day.
Except when the Extermination was nigh.
"What do you see?", Chay's voice asked from the hellphone.
Lester, watching from a rooftop nearby, peered down at the barely-controlled chaos unfolding underneath.
"I can see the Vee Tower from here.", he said. "So far, I see a lot of trucks with roses on them. I also see what appears to be territorial violence taking place across the street."
"Those trucks are definitely WUL.", Chay answered back. "Can you see how many of them from your end?"
Lester's eyes scanned the parking lot around the tower. "I count about 23 in total. Should I get closer to see if there are any guards?"
"That would be helpful, yes.", she answered "From down here it's looking really crowded...hold on just a sec."
Digital sounds of gunshots briefly erupted from the phone, before falling back to silence.
"Sorry, had to duck away from a fire fight. Any sign of the Vees themselves?"
Lester reached into his cloak and pulled out a pair of binoculars.
"I shall see…", he answered.
He put to the binoculars up to his eyes and looked around the parking lot near the tower. He saw a few demons in, he assumed, WUL uniforms guarding the area. Some of them were unloading what appeared to be weapons from the back of a truck.
But no sign of the Vees.
"I do not see them. However, I do see some WUL operatives arming themselves."
"How many?"
"Not many. I count 13."
"That means most of them are inside the building.", she answered. "I'm going to try and go around the back and see if there are any other entrances."
"There is another building that is nearby. Shall I go there for another view?
"Good idea, but be quick. We're running out of time and we need make our move soon."
"I see a ledge that can get me a view through the windows."
"Perfect. Let me know what you see."
"Acknowledged."
He gave himself a running start and hopped to the next rooftop, then the next one after that.
"The perimeter is secure, sir."
Bodfish was puffing on a clove cigarette has he conferred with his men. He consulted the reports that his subordinate had just handed him.
"Hmm...yes. Jolly good. And our men inside?"
"12 to a floor, sir. We've also activated our security drones to survey the exterior."
"Splendid. Then everything is going exactly on schedule. How are Mr. Vox and company?"
"Agitated but otherwise calm, sir."
"Very good then. Hmmm…"
Bodfish grew quiet, sniffing the air lightly.
"Sir?"
"I could have sworn I just heard something…"
He turned around to look at the front door. It slid open as some of his men stepped in and out of it.
His eyes narrowed.
"Sir?"
"Ha-hm. Never you mind. Just keep on the look out for possible troublemakers."
"Yes sir."
"Very good. Dismissed."
The subordinate saluted with a click of his heels and walked away.
Bodfish turned around to survey the building. He could see his men walking around through the windows, like ants in a glass ant farm.
He looked back down at the doors, now closed and silent.
A smile crept up his face.
He pulled out his hellphone and dialed.
"Yes?", the other voice answered.
"She's here.", Bodfish answered with a puff of his cigarette.
"Right on time.", Flynn answered.
CHAPTER 32 END