Post by Bene Elohim on Feb 8, 2024 14:03:47 GMT -8
Lord Lucifer:
I'll make this very simple for you. Even you cannot misunderstand it.
If you think you and whatever allies you can throw together can stand up to a direct charge from the threat coming for her?
I'll have her dropped off now.
If not? Shut the fuck up and let me do what I do best.
Shepherd Martin West:
You absolutely will have her dropped off now.
Lord Lucifer:
What they do to her?
It's on you.
Shepherd Martin West:
Oh, but none of this is on you? The scoffing egomaniac dickhead whose power fantasy larp got so out of hand it put people's lives in danger? I think Penny is gonna be just fine.
Lord Lucifer:
Then you haven't been paying attention.
I'll make this very simple for you. Even you cannot misunderstand it.
If you think you and whatever allies you can throw together can stand up to a direct charge from the threat coming for her?
I'll have her dropped off now.
If not? Shut the fuck up and let me do what I do best.
Shepherd Martin West:
You absolutely will have her dropped off now.
Lord Lucifer:
What they do to her?
It's on you.
Shepherd Martin West:
Oh, but none of this is on you? The scoffing egomaniac dickhead whose power fantasy larp got so out of hand it put people's lives in danger? I think Penny is gonna be just fine.
Lord Lucifer:
Then you haven't been paying attention.
~[
Somewhere on a road in Northern California
4 PM
August 16th
]~
Somewhere on a road in Northern California
4 PM
August 16th
]~
The sun gleamed off the dark tinted glass of the three black SUV’s rolling in formation down US SR-1, the soft shining of the sun shooting off the water off to the vehicle's left side. They rolled on without sound or concern as they rounded the corners heading north.
On a lonely stretch of road a mile down sat four vans all parked on the shoulder. The man the Demons had come to fear stood dressed in a beautiful black suit and his arms crossed over his chest, watching the road as the cars whizzed by.
This opportunity was too good to allow it to pass by. The blast had left Lucifer shaken, unable to think straight, and he had given the order to have Xaria’s children transported to their fathers. There was no way Sathanas and Lord Apollyon would allow this to go unnoticed.
They knew where the Children were and the route they would take to make this delivery. Setting up a small section of road that could be easily closed off wasn’t all that difficult.
When the SUV’s rounded the corner, Sathanas lowered his head, his gaze fierce and angry as he lifted a hand and waved it in a circle without a word. On his command, the vans pulled out one after the other in front of the SUV’s, forming a line and blocking traffic in both directions.
Cars squealed to a stop on the other side of the blockade, angry drivers hopping out of their cars and screaming at the vans until the doors of the vans flew open and the men and women piled out. Some of them were holding large burlap sacks, others stun batons, and others yet brandishing actual firearms.
This was enough to get the drivers back into their cars and turning around, tires squealing as they fled. The SUV’s quickly began to back up with more vans blocked the exit in the back. There was nowhere for them to go with the front and back blocked, a sheer cliff to their right and a dropoff into the ocean to their left.
Sathanas pushed off the bumper of the only van that had not moved to block the path of the SUV’s and raised a hand to pull the sunglasses off his face. The driver's door of the SUV’s was pulled open and two men and a woman were yanked roughly from the seats and thrown to the ground beside the vehicles.
The passenger side rear door of the two SUV’s was pulled open by a pair of jacket and hoodie-clad men, while Sathanas moved to the third and reached for the handle.
‘It was smart to move them in separate cars’, Anthony mused to himself silently. If one was stopped the other two would be safe. Smart.
Demon: “Um… Sir…”
A voice from the front SUV called out confused.
Anthony didn’t even bother to look over as he slowly pulled the door open to reveal the empty backseat.
~[
Somewhere along the California Coast
4:01 PM
August 16th
2019
]~
Somewhere along the California Coast
4:01 PM
August 16th
2019
]~
How long had he kept the two men waiting? Minutes? Hours? Only God himself knew. Martin West and Johnny Blank were standing beside their cars and expecting to be reunited with their children. Their gaze turned to the only roading lead up to where the pair waited and two figures appeared over the crest of the hill.
Lord Lucifer and Xaria Linette walked side by side across the windswept dirt, but there were no children with them. Behind them walked a horde of black-robed men and women with their hoods up and the black masks of the Demons on their faces.
Between Lucifer, Xaria, and the Demons walked Zachary Sears, the red-haired Aerynn Maguire, the beautiful and elegant Sariel, and Ani. Ashley Kenyon, Maiko Adachi, Ramiel, and Ananiel were all missing.
But still. No kids.
The bearded former priest stepped forward, hot-headed as always, and leveled a hand at the approaching group.
Martin: “Where is she?!”
The former Maverick, now Blank, stepped forward as well.
Johnny: “And the boys!”
Lucifer let out a little laugh and reached up, pulling the inverted cross glasses from his face, his lips curling into a smirk.
Lucifer: “Nowhere near here. Though, I do thank you for your ignorance and arrogance. It sold it in a way I couldn’t have by myself.”
Martin: “Sold WHAT?!”
~[
Somewhere on a road in Northern California
4:08 PM
August 16th
]~
Somewhere on a road in Northern California
4:08 PM
August 16th
]~
All three of the SUV’s were empty, save for the driver. The wheels began to turn in Anthony’s mind as he stared into the empty interior of the vehicles. Behind him, a black-haired woman slowly rose up from a crouch at the top of the cliff above them.
The yellow Camaro had ridden a half a mile behind the convoy. When they got the report that the vans had pulled out into the road, blocking the path, they pulled off onto a side road, rolling up onto the cliff face to the group’s right.
Ashley Kenyon and her blue-haired lover Maiko Adachi slid from the car and made their way to the cliff edge, looking down over the scene below.
They watched as the Demons pulled the drivers out and as Anthony and the two others pulled the rear passenger side doors open to find no children in the cars. Anthony slammed the door shut with a scream of frustration.
The sound of a ringing phone brought the group's attention snapping around back to the SUV sitting in the middle. The jacket and hood clad Demon reached into the backseat and found an old school flip phone sitting in the center of the seat.
Demon: “Sathanas, Sir!”
He withdrew the cell phone and brought it to Anthony, who met him between the two SUV’s. Anthony glanced down before flipping the phone open and lifting it to his ear. High above them, Ashley held the phone to her ear with one hand and held a small square object in the other.
Anthony: “You think you are clever, don't you?”
A little smirk appeared on the full lips of the black-haired woman as she answered.
Ashley Kenyon: “Lucifer sends his regards.”
And she pressed the button in her other hand.
Below them, it was pandemonium. The three SUV’s blew with such force they were lifted off the ground as fireballs rose from each of them. The Demons were launched backward, some of them over the cliff left to free fall hundreds of feet to the water below, while others yet slammed into the wall to their right.
Anthony, who knew enough to turn and sprint toward the van, was thrown forward, off his feet and slammed back and side-first into the side of the van.
~[
Somewhere along the California Coast
4:10 PM
August 16th
2019
]~
Somewhere along the California Coast
4:10 PM
August 16th
2019
]~
Martin West: “Where. Is. My. Daughter.”
Each word came out through clenched teeth. The words no sooner came out than a loud concussion shook the tense silence of the meeting. A half a mile to the west a huge fireball rose into the horizon. Martin and Johnny both looked over in shock, but Lucifer only smirked.
Lucifer: “Safe. All of them are.”
Johnny: “What the fuck does that even mean?!”
Lucifer: “It means they are safe.”
Before either man could say anything else, as he saw the tempers begin to rise, Lucifer lifted a hand and waved it before his hand, his own now rising.
Lucifer: “I tried it your way! This isn’t a Father damned GAME. Do you understand that?! This isn’t about Cred. This isn’t about some fucking FANTASY. You don’t want to believe the whole “titles” thing?! FINE! There is another...PERSON out there who wants to harm me and Xaria and will use the children to do so.”
Martin West: “Which is exactly why she belongs with…”
Lucifer: “YOU CAN’T STOP HIM!”
Lucifer screamed, much to Xaria’s surprise, but it seemed to be enough to get the men’s attention.
Lucifer: “Call the police, I promise you he’s got at least one guy high enough on the payroll paid off so your report? It goes Father damned NOWHERE. You wanna hire guards to keep them safe? He’s got a weapon at his disposal that took out an entire team of them all at once when they were sent to apprehend him. He will cut through whoever you hire like a hot knife through fucking butter.”
Lucifer took a deep breath, breathing it out through his nose.
Lucifer: “You don’t like me. Well, guess what, gentlemen? I don’t give a flying fuck. I have one mission in life. ONE. To ensure that the predators of this world do not bring harm to the innocents of it. No more and no less. I am damn sure not going to let someone come between that because they don’t believe it.
I’m going to go back to Hell. They are already there, escorted by my sons.”
Johnny: “No, YOU don’t get it, Lucy. And don’t correct me, because I’m gonna call you whatever I goddamn, please. Those are OUR Children, and if the only reason you brought us here was to scoff and call both of us idiots, then you can go fuck yourself. I had a sister die trying to prove herself to a man she believed was the Devil. You don’t get to sit here and judge for me my concern.”
There was a pause as Johnny considered his next words carefully. He stopped and pulled Martin back, the two of them exchanging a few words out of Lucifer’s earshot. Afterwards, Johnny looked back at the pair.
Johnny: “What you can do is tell us how to help... and I don’t wanna hear any bullshit about how we’re out of our depth or whatever. If you don’t recognize that we have stakes in this just by virtue of being fathers, then…”
Martin: “...then we’ll really know you mean it when you tell us you aren’t human.”
Xaria frowned and looked away for a brief moment. It was difficult to hear this, all of this. Lucifer sucked in a deep breath through his teeth and looked across the swirling dirt at the men. His eyes intense and boring into them as if judging them.
Lucifer: “You two do understand this isn’t a game, right? This isn’t some bullshit story being played out for the audiences of your shows? I’ve lost two dozen people just so far. Dead. Not dead and moved on to another job. In the ground. Dead.”
The two men looked at one another and then back at Lucifer. Neither of them wavering, neither of them even blinking.
Johnny Blank: “How. Do. We. Help?”
Lucifer stared again at the men and then cast a backward glance at the group standing behind him. They all stood shocked and dumbfounded, as Lucifer looked back and nodded.
Lucifer: “Go home. Speak to your other halves. Find out if they feel the same way. One of us will be in touch.”
Lucifer began to turn, but Martin stepped forward, grabbing his wrist.
Martin West: “And the kids?”
Lucifer said nothing, simply glanced down at the hand on his wrist and stared. When Martin finally released his hold, albeit reluctantly, Lucifer looked up and flashed that sadistic smirk.
Lucifer: “Ananiel and Ramiel took them two hours ago. You didn’t think I’d have agreed to this if there was even a chance something could be done about it?”
The hotter headed of the pair lashed out without warning and slugged Lucifer clean in the mouth. Xaria’s eyes widened, shock, pain, and sorrow rising to her face. Instantly, the black-robed and masked figures and the line of “Angels” in front of them darted forward, ready to end the threat, but Lucifer lifted a hand.
He wiped a small trickle of blood on the back of his hand, that smirk never leaving his lips. He clicked his tongue and waved a finger at Martin.
Lucifer: “You’ve got spunk. I think I like you.”
Xaria looked on in shock as Lucifer turned and raised a phone to his ear. She cast a glance at Martin and Johnny, who were both deep in conversation with one another then turned and followed after him.
Lucifer: “Report…”
~[
Somewhere on a road in Northern California
4:20 PM
August 16th
]~
Somewhere on a road in Northern California
4:20 PM
August 16th
]~
Ashley rose from her crouch staring down at the carnage and watched as the Van doors yanked open and the unconscious Anthony was pulled up and into the van. The force of the blast had thrown a couple of the other vans blocking the road backward creating enough of a gap for the van to speed through and off.
Ashley and Maiko slid back into the camera and Ashley made her way back the way she had come and out onto the street. People were standing beside their cars staring at the wreckage of burning SUV’s and Maiko glanced over at her lover.
Maiko: “Hoods and Masks.”
Ashley slowed the car to a stop and the pair pulled their white hoods and white masks on. Both of them, their tattooed arms covered in sleeves and their tips zipped up to hide the ink on their breasts and chests slid out of the car.
As they did Ashley’s phone rang and she pulled it from her pocket and lifted it to the ear hole of the mask.
Lucifer: “Report...”
Ashley counted the figures sprawled on the ground silently than answered.
Ashley Kenyon: “Eleven…”
She glanced behind her at the cars and people standing outside them videoing the carnage.
Ashley Kenyon: “And some gawkers with video. Alistair is gonna have his work cut out for him.”
Lucifer: “And the target?”
Ashley Kenyon: “Negative. The blast blew him clear and Valdy’s Demons were able to scope him up. But he felt it, Lucifer. He knows it’s game on now.”
The dial tone told her all she needed to know about how he took the news. As she slipped the phone back into her pocket, two black utility vans pulled slowly past the break in the line of vehicles. Before they had even come to a stop, Maiko pulled a handgun from the line of her jeans and pointed it at the cliff beside the gawkers, squeezing off three loud cracking shots that hit the cliff.
The effect on the looky-loos was instant. They got back into their cars and took off the other direction in a hurry. Ashley and Maiko stood, overseeing the black-robed figures as they pulled the unconscious, or worse, hoodie-wearing Demons into the vans and the doors slid closed with a loud slam.
The two slid back into the car and followed the vans back out heading the way the SUV’s had come.
When the police and fire arrived they’d find three vans registered to a corporation that didn’t exist and three charred SUV’s registered to a man that had died twenty years before. No drivers. No bodies. No weapons.
Just the wreckage of the cars.
