" Yes, Decker, Lucifer is the big bad Devil..."
Alexander was about to continue his story when Gabriel stood up at the bar and said:
"I have to get back to Alex. The old bastard seems to be losing his marbles. You should also start moving before he does something drastic. Right now the rumor is that he wants to burn Lux to the ground and kill all the innocent patrons and staff, not to mention the surrounding area. You know that lunatic is not exactly precise when he strikes. Instead of just Lux, it might as well be a few square miles leveled! If he senses that Luci is no longer here, he will continue his search instead of striking wildly."
Alexander nodded:
"You know the story?"
Of course, Gabriel knew the story. But he also knew that this was the reflex of an army leader. To have another person repeat your plan, not only to know that your subordinate understood the plan but also to check for the umpteenth time that there were no mistakes in the plan. Gabriel said:
"I am going to go back and report that Lucifer has gone completely berserk due to the betrayal of Decker and Amenadiel, and has dragged everyone, including Amenadiel, into Hell. Mikey will have to follow him and try to get him back. But with Hell completely sealed off, not even the entire army of Heaven can get in. This will make him forget Plan A and B and go to Plan C, imploding the universe itself, because that is the only way left to wipe Lucifer off the map. This will give Mikey time to do his thing and give us all time to execute our own plan."
Alexander nodded his agreement and said:
"I already closed down Hell, so you are covered there."
Before Gabriel unfolded his wings and disappeared he whispered very softly in Alexanders ear:
"Pietro? Peter of Rome…"
Alexander winked at him after which he said:
"Okay people it's time, we need to get to a safe place."
Again Chloe yelled out:
"I'm not going anywhere; I'm going home with Trixie!"
Before Alexander could say anything, Chloe was grabbed by Crowley:
"You still don't get it, do you, Decker? You are a small, pathetic human being. Any of the Demons or Angels present here could crush you under their boot like a bug. If I crushed you right now, I would feel the same as if I stepped on an ant. So shut up. You are our temporary unwelcome guest. When this shit is over, you can go back to your miserable existence and spend the rest of your life waiting for your little cell in hell. Believe me, the Demons can hardly wait for your arrival, since you are the one who twice plotted to kill their King. It will not be a pleasant ride for you."
As she heard these last words, Chloe's face turned green as she finally began to realize what might be in store for her.
"But, but I was doing what the Church wanted, we were doing God's work so He will protect me."
Alex sighed and softly said:
"Oh, Decker dear. Did you not listen to what the Cardinal had to say? The Church is staying out of the fight between Godfry and Lucifer, so you can't say you were doing the Church's work. But just in case you were deaf or too stupid. You have Godfry's favorite angel beside you. Let us ask him about your fate and how much Godfry cares for you."
Alexander asked with a dangerous smile around his mouth:
"Amenadiel, will you tell the miracle what Godfry thinks of her, what her reward would be if she had succeeded in killing Lucifer, and what he thinks of her now that she has failed?"
"Father is furious that his plan failed, that his miracle did not work properly. Therefore, he has forbidden her access to heaven."
"Come, come Amenadiel, this is only a fucking part of what I have asked you. What would have been her reward had she succeeded?"
"None, she would go to hell at the end of her life for violating the commandment; thou shalt not kill, no exception possible."
Alexander looked Decker straight in the eye:
"You see Decker, you were a pawn on his chessboard and no matter what you did, you would end up in Hell."
The color on Chloe's face changed from green to gray and it looked like she was going to faint. Celine came to stand beside Alexander and said:
"It's time, boss."
He nodded and snapped his fingers. One moment they were in Lucifer's Penthouse, the next they were sitting in a spacious antique rattan lounge on a terrace. Immediately behind them was a very spacious, Mediterranean-style villa. There were four small couches around a huge coffee table, two to a couch. On the first couch sat Crowley and Aziraphael, on another Ella and Lucifer. Daniel and Trixie, who seemed to have calmed down a bit, got the third, and the fourth was for Linda and the baby. Alexander was given a spacious seat with the same but empty seats to his left and right. Amenadiel, Eve and Mazikeen had to make do with an ordinary wooden chair. Only Celine and Chloe were standing. Alexander turned to his bodyguard:
"Celine dear, would you please take Decker to the guest-house?"
He turned to the detective with a wicked smile:
"Oh yes, Decker, the guest-house is fully equipped, but there is no way you could get out of there even if your life depended on it. So if it should accidentally catch fire and you must get out in a hurry... oopsie..."
Celine gave a vicious tug to Chloe's arm, who could do nothing but follow her, her face contorted in pain. Ella sat up on the couch next to Lucifer with her eyes closed. She took in the smells, sounds, and atmosphere before speaking:
"We are a long way from LA I can sense."
He smiled brightly and said:
"To use a phrase from one of my favorite movies, Kansas went by by!"
"The Matrix, I know that one..."
"You see, Miss Lopez, you and I are going to be very good friends."
Those present heard the sound of a pair of large wings and the next thing they knew, an angel had arrived wearing an outfit that resembled some kind of uniform and black eagle-like wings. On his chest piece was a golden lion and a silver dragon. Lucifer's mouth fell open, almost hitting the ground. He could not utter a word, so great was his surprise and shock. The newcomer laughed softly at him and said:
"What's the matter Luci, aren't you happy to see your twin brother?"
Lucifer felt dizzy. He thought he had seen it all with Gabriel and Rae Rae, but now his twin brother had appeared. Ella, who had seen Lucifer turn deathly pale, took his hand. Michael gave his brother a moment to recover and turned to Alexander:
"Gabe is talking the old man down and in the direction you want him to go, that Lux is not worth wasting energy on. But his drive for destruction is greater than we originally thought. Not only the universe must suffer, but also Hell and the part of Heaven reserved for the humans souls. He wants to wipe out every trace of humanity, that what he created with Mother and start over from scratch."
And with this bombshell, everyone was stunned. Lucifer, who had first wanted to shout at his twin, suddenly had other things on his mind. But Alexander's next words, spoken with the same passion as if he were talking about the weather report, caused the mouths of all the uninitiated to drop open until their faces hurt.
"We've taken that into account, Michael, and it doesn't change the plans."
For the first time that night, Lucifer's temper broke through, proving that he was slowly returning to his old self:
"What do you mean, it doesn't change anything? Haven't you been listening, he wants to destroy everything so that there is no trace of humanity left! Not to mention most of my brothers and sisters!"
Instead of Alexander, it was Michael who replied:
"Ah, still the same old Lucifer. Never think before you let your temper speak."
The red glow in Lucifer's eyes lit up and he wanted to give his brother a verbal thrashing, but Michael continued speaking in a calm tone:
"Tell me, little brother, how are you going to be upset about what has been destroyed when the universe has imploded and therefore you have been destroyed as well, since you have been banished from Heaven? You can hardly go cry for the manager..."
Lucifer's mouth opened and closed like a fish. He wanted to say something but quickly realized that he could not come up with an answer. At that moment, Celine appeared out of nowhere. She and Michael hugged each other tightly and he gently planted a kiss on her mouth with a warm look in his eyes. If the evening had not been confusing enough for Mazikeen, Amenadiel and Lucifer, this was perhaps the breaking point. The Archangel Michael, commander of the forces of Heaven, kissing a Demon with a gentle smile? With a warm feeling that just radiated from him. The evening didn't have to get much weirder. Alexander pointed to the chairs to his left and right and said:
"Please sit down so we can continue. Because we still have lots of ground to cover."
Michael sat down to the right of Alexander and Celine to the left. To the humans this did not mean much, but to the Angels and Demons present it was an obvious message regarding the balance of power. The General to the right and the Advisor to the left of their Leader. Lucifer asked, completely confused:
"Michael? What are you doing here? I thought you hated me. Especially after all I yelled at you when you threw me into Hell."
"The yelling didn't bother me that much, Luci. But I almost got my fucking wing ripped off. That was not very pleasant and took decades to heal, I was a very regular visitor of Raffa place in the infirmary. You can tell everyone who wants to hear it, and you can shout it from the top of Mount Everest, that you were thrown into hell, but that's not the whole truth, is it? Tour punishment was fallen as an Angel not being thrown in Hell, I carried you towards Hell. With a broken wing, I couldn't hold you any longer and then you literally fell into hell and right into the worst possible place. And hate is a strong word brother. Yes, I wanted to hit you on the head with a baseball bat once in a while. Do you know why? Because you have no patience, you never plan anything, you never think anything through and you rush headlong into everything without thinking of the consequences for yourself and for others who follow you. Oh yes, Lucifer, you are noble, no Angel can deny that. Nor can any human with two brain cells. You took all the blame for the rebellion on your shoulders and begged Father and Mother to put all the blame and therefore all the punishment on you. Do you know why they agreed to your request so quickly?"
Lucifer began to suspect the worst and could only shake his head slowly.
"Because they dealt with you first, and once you were out of the way, they just as quickly forgot their deal with you. It wasn't just Father punishing you and Mother standing by, as you always thought. No, they did it together. What followed on the other hand was all Father. Mother could not stop him and their fights about it ended in her being send to Hell as well. Only difference to your banishment? You became King, because Hell needed a King and only a Celestial could take the throne of Hell. She became a prisoner. The others who joined your rebellion were the first to be killed, one by one, in his mad purge of the Heavenly City. But the worst fate was reserved for our favorite little sister, Rae Rae. He made her the Angel of Death, the only one. It was an easy job in the early days of mankind. You know her power, she used to drive us nuts with it when all was still peaceful. She can practically be everywhere at the same time. She can kind of duplicate herself, still do not know how, still not interested in the how because it gives me a damn headache thinking about it! So she had time on her hands to fool around as she usually did and flutter through the Silver City like a deranged butterfly. With the population growth on Earth that job became harder and harder, she had less and less time. Father of course knew that the human population would explode and that her worked would become damn near impossible. Why do you think he made her the only Angel of her kind? How many humans are there now? About eight billion? Let's say 1% of them die every year, 1% of them are destined for hell, that's still 800 thousand souls, and with how many of them does she have to personally intervene to take them to hell because they're stuck? Not to mention those who are stuck and need to go to heaven. No, Rae Rae works constantly, 24/7 as people would say. She works herself to death, literally to death! And the old man does not care if the souls that are stuck and destined for heaven get there or not. Not his problem, he says. That's Azrael's problem, and she has to find a way to fix it. You know our sister. You are her big example, the one she wants to live up to, proof that she is worthy of you. For fuck's sake she is just like you, she will never give up and she will never abandon a single soul. That is why she is destroying herself because everyone in Heaven is strictly forbidden to lift a finger to help her."
Lucifer's mouth dropped open. He did not know what to say or how to react. Two tears slowly trickled down his cheeks. The steely toughness of a general came through in Michael's next words:
"This is one, but only one of many reasons why we do and must do what we do. Victory or death, there's no third option but!"
Alexander regained control of the conversation when he changed the heavy subject back into something lighter:
"We are in Belize. I bought this property, which is very, very large, years ago. There used to be a fairly large Inca community here and so it never got his attention because the original inhabitants never worshiped him. If people did not worship him the way he wanted them to worship him, then very soon that community no longer interested him. His attempts to steer them towards a belief in one God him, whatever name they would give him, did not work. They just resisted his attempts. Their habitat became like a black spot on his radar because he did not give a damn about them. After I bought it about fifty years ago, I slowly turned it into a blind spot for Heaven by slowly and gently weaving some wards that are invisible to him around the whole place. After the Inca disappeared and the settlement was slowly taken over by nature, man lost interest in the area. There are no natural resources to speak of or to be commercially valuable enough to peak some company's interest. like oil, gas, gold or other valuable substances. The nature and the ruins are protected heritage and thanks to Anthony there are more than enough guards walking around to protect and secure everything and some government officials get a nice bonus just to make sure nobody gets to nosy or interested in what's going on here. At night there are some demons who are allowed to hunt local poachers as a reward for doing a good job in hell. They are forbidden to actually harm the poachers or smugglers, but they are allowed to play with them a little, some bumps, bruises and broken bones and give them a hell of a scare. Believe me, they do their damnedest in Hell to qualify for this reward. So much so that I had to seriously expand the area in which they are allowed to operate. Pretty much the entire Amazon jungle, pieces of Asia and the dark jungles of Africa are now part of their hunting grounds."
Ella listened intently and saw a mischievous smile on his face while talking about the Demons who came to play on Earth. She asked:
"Isn't that dangerous, demons roaming free on Earth? Surely that was a serious problem in the abandoned nightclub?"
Alexander grinned and replied:
"That depends on what circle the demons come from, Miss Lopez. Dromos was the Leader of the ninth and worst circle, and his influence reached down to the fifth circle. The demons who came to reinforce him were all from Circles 5 through 9. But he was not the biggest problem. Lilith had her claws into him and steered him. Dromos was just not smart enough to come up with the idea to replace Lucifer with another Celestial, a new born child that Lilith could mold to her wishes so she would be the de facto queen of Hell. I cannot take her out, not just yet. Godfrey must be managed first then I will make some time for Little old Lilith. The demons that are allowed to roam freely here are those from Circles 1 and 2. In the rest of the Amazon, in Africa and Asia, they are only allowed to work in pairs. Any demon from Circle 3 or 4 is paired with a demon from Dis. Hells equivalent of the Silver City and the inhabitants of Dis are completely loyal to me. If anyone tries to color outside the lines, it is immediately reported back to Bearus, who immediately drags the demon back to Hell. The result is a demon who is very unhappy for a long time because he or she is on Bearus' shit list and has lost the privilege of having fun on Earth for a long time. Belios, Bearus, and I started this project about twenty years ago. In the very beginning, it happened twice that an over-enthusiastic demon had to be dragged back to Hell to serve as an example. Since then, they've all played by the rules pretty well, because a night on Earth is something they damn well like. Result: happy demons in Hell who don't do idiotic things out of boredom. Nice side effect on Earth: much less successful poachers and so the population of certain endangered species is slowly recovering. Right here in this place we have a healthy population of jaguars who are very friendly. A nice side effect of the wards. But we digress a bit. Only four angels know of this place. The same goes for Hell, only three demons know of its existence. The demons roaming the jungle have no idea what this place is. Crowley, Azi, and Celine, of course, are on the inside. As for the rest, no one, well, until now, now that you know, too. Something that was never intended. I was here for a short vacation and to confer with the leaders of the revolution. Therefore, I was unaware of what Dromos was up to until it got out of hand. His rebellion ensured that we are now in the shit and forced to act. But that's all in the past. Everything is in motion, and we can't turn back now."
Out of the house came a man and a woman with two carts. On them were a variety of appetizers. As soon as everything was on the table, Alexander thanked them in perfect Spanish and asked them to refill from time to time. He took a few sips and looked mischievously at Ella:
"The name I have given this property will absolutely win your approval and tickle your wonderful sense of humor, Miss Lopez."
She could hardly wait for the revelation and sat wiggling next to Lucifer.
"Well, Miss Lopez and everyone else, welcome to Casa Diablo."
As Ella laughed out loud, the sip of whiskey Daniel had just taken shot out of his nose and Linda sat giggling. The name also drew the approval of Lucifer, who sat there with a broad smile. It had not escaped Ella's notice that Alexander addressed her by her first name when he had something serious to ask or say and switched to the name Miss Lopez when his words were a bit mischievous.
"This unfortunately brings us to the three remaining traitors. Let us begin with the least of the three, for she was also a plaything of Godfry and Amenadiel. Eve..."
He looked at her sternly and asked:
"Eve, will you volunteer to tell the truth or do I have to force you?"
She nodded with a guilty look in her eyes.
"Fine but know that if I catch you in a lie or a half-truth, I have a cell in hell for you, between those of your two sons! No second chances, right now with VIP transport straight down."
He let his words sink in with Eve for a moment before he began his questions.
"You appeared out of nowhere in Lux in your human body. You told Lucifer there was a back door to heaven. That was a lie, wasn't it?"
She replied in a small voice:
"Yes, there is no back door."
"Then who brought or sent you back to earth?"
"Amenadiel at God's command."
"Why?"
"God knew that Chloe's influence on Lucifer would cause him to be unable to distinguish between what was real and what was her influence. After he found out that Chloe was a Miracle he would doubt everything about her feelings for him and his feelings for her. But our history, and the fact that I never put anything before him and didn't care if he was the Devil or not, made sure that I had immediate access to him. That he trusted me. He himself believed that he was in love with her but that her feelings for him were fake so God could get at him. But he kept being drawn to her. God knew That sooner or later he would show his true face and then he would send Kinley into her path with the prophecy Amenadiel had placed in the Vatican archives shortly after her mother's blessing."
Lucifer blushed and growled:
"Is there no one who has not betrayed me?"
Alexander smiled gently at him and said:
"Yes, there is one sitting right next to you and then you have Daniel and Miss Beatrice. Of course Doc Linda too. She may have made a mistake but she would never betray you Lucifer."
He winked at Trixie who had to giggle a welcome sound after all she had heard about her mother and how emotionally she had reacted to it.
"And of course, there are a few thousand of your brothers and sisters who have remained loyal to you, including Michael here."
When Lucifer tried to object, Alexander simply raised his hand:
"That is something for later, Lucifer, and you will understand why."
He turned back to Eve:
"What was all that good for?"
"To make Chloe believe that I was Lucifer's first true love. That if we were together again, he would start the Apocalypse. That once she was put in the path of that mad priest, the end of Lucifer would be ushered in. Because Lucifer and I could never be together again, or the Apocalypse would break out."
"What did they promise you in exchange for your part in this masquerade?"
"The freedom of Abel and Cain."
"Godfry would never break his own rules, so even if you had succeeded in your mission, your sons would remain where they are now. Just another lie, taking advantage of someone's weakness. You believed him because, as a mother, you would do anything to save your sons. You were a pawn. That your role in this umpteenth shit story almost cost Lucifer his life, I'll blame you for that for some time to come. But this is a feeling that will pass in time, provided there are no more games to play! As for Cain, after all the crimes in his miserable existence and the hundreds of deaths he left behind in his mad search for gold right here in South America, there is no chance that he will ever enter Heaven. For Able, I am willing to have his record reviewed by Zadkiel as the highest ranking of the angels of Justice and put in a good word for him. That is all I can and will promise! Do you understand?"
With tears in her eyes, Eve nodded.
"When all this is over, Eve, you will return to heaven. Your existence there, doing whatever you want, will be over for a long time. It will be your job to help reform and heal the souls damaged by Godfry's behavior. This will be your only chance for a fresh start in Heaven. Don't waste this chance because there will be no second one coming, ever!"
She nodded and otherwise remained silent. Alexander's eyes fell on Mazikeen:
"Tell me Mazikeen, what gives you the right to betray your King?"
She knew she was in so much trouble she couldn't get out of it.
"I had no right to betray Lucifer."
"For starters, you lost the right to call him by his name. So let's try again, shall we?"
"I had no right to betray His Majesty the King, My Lord."
"Then why did you do it not once, not twice, but three times? He dismissed you from his service so that you could build your own life, to give you freedom. And in gratitude, you stabbed him in the back at every opportunity?"
"He had to go back to hell, My Lord, the Earth and the people made him weak, vulnerable. Even if he released me from his service he is the King and I have sworn to protect My King."
"So your betrayal was simply to save your King from weakness, from himself? Betrayal to protect your King, which sounds a bit contradictory to me."
"Yes, My Lord, the longer the King was on Earth, the weaker he became, especially in the presence of Decker."
Alexander shook his head in disappointment:
"Indeed, Decker! Was he weak before she appeared? Did other people make him weak? No, not at all. Thousand of years you two gave come to Earth for a bit of fun. In all that time nobody made him vulnerable. I distinctly remember you having a ball when some superstitious pilgrims put him at the stake and the idiot let them just for the fun of it. But this was different! He bleeds! And you know what the saying is; if it bleeds you can kill it! At the time you became aware of this problem, as his bodyguard, you should have acted. I know he even forbade you to harm or kill her because he was riding the high of experiencing something completely new after millennia. You should have called London, and you know that damn it! All matters concerning the safety of your king go through ME, not the king. THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO THAT RULE WAS PUT INTO EFFECT! I DECIDE AND NOT LUCIFER! Your bloody behavior allowed Decker to stay in his sphere of existence and prevented London from intervening because Godfry knew his toy had taken her place on the board. Mazikeen, you know that your King hates Hell, that he wanted to Leave it behind, that he no longer wanted to be king. He gave you freedom. In Hell you were bound by rules and that damn protocol I freaking hate. Now you were free to do as you wish as long as you kept yourself to the laws that your King and I laid down! And in return you would take away what he considers the greatest good? His freedom and his free will? His free choice to finally life his own life."
He Leaned forward a little and held out a finger to her:
"If you wanted to go back to Hell so badly, you could have just asked Amenadiel when he first showed up. He would have been only too happy to throw you off and remove an ally of Lucifer from the board. Instead of doing that you banded together with that zealot and betrayed your King. Worse to have your King killed! No, Mazikeen, your motives are not as noble as saving your King. Your motives, as always, are based on selfishness. You wanted to return to Hell because you hate living among humans on Earth. But you did not want to return to Hell alone, because without your King, and even more so without his protection, you are nothing in Hell. Alone in Hell you would have to bend to the hierarchy and the protocol, bowing to your mother Lilith and that thought you could not stomach. So he had to and would return to Hell so that you could regain your privileged position there. His wishes and feelings are worth shit to you as long as you get what you want!"
She lowered her head, knowing full well that Alexander saw through her, and waited for the axe to fall.
He leaned back in his seat and started to light a cigarette before continuing, but his pack proved to be empty. A shortcoming that Crowley solved with a snap of his fingers. Alexander looked at him for a moment and Crowley shrugged his shoulders:
"Well, it's not like you can die from it, hey boss."
Alexander shrugged his shoulders, because he could not argue with this logic. He turned his attention back to Mazikeen:
"I told you that you are mine and that even your king cannot save you anymore. But I also know that he still loves you and that I would hurt him if I did that to you, which is what I would prefer to do right now. What I have done to many of your siblings over the past thousands of years. So I have come up with another punishment for you. You, Mazikeen, will remain on Earth among the humans and their weakness that you so despise. You love being violent and making people suffer? Well, from now on you are strictly forbidden to use violence against humans, unless it is to protect the innocent. Oh, Please try to find loopholes in what I say, because if you do, I will immediately forget Lucifer's concern and just tear you apart with my hands and teeth and put your head on a pike outside the palace in Dis. Your primary task will be to protect Linda and Charlie. Your secondary task will be to continue working as a bounty hunter for the police and me, as I will have a job for you from time to time. But I will not make it easy. Everything Lucifer gave you, your apartment, your sports car, your big motorcycle, all paid for by him, you have lost, and you will never get another penny from him or his businesses. Your access to those and his bank accounts is gone. Maybe, just maybe you will learn something, maybe you will find a deeper insight in your King but I doubt it! But just in case I might be wrong thinking that you can never change, never become a better person I will leave a line of communication open trough Gabriel."
Out of nowhere, an envelope appeared in his hand and he threw it on the table in front of her:
"I could have send you back to Hell without the protection of your King and watch the bloodsport evolve once those Demons that hate you knew you were all on your own! I could have taking you back to Hell myself, sit back and enjoy the show when Lilith and her band of orcs slowly demolished you and made you take a knee an bow to her. I could have let you walk the Earth without a penny! Think about that and think about what it means that I'm not doing any of those things. I give you a hint, the love your King feels for you! Consider this a parting gift from your King. It contains ten thousand dollars, your starting capital. For the rest you get nothing! Take your money, take Eve, and get to the guest-house before I change my mind!"
Mazikeen knew that she had gotten off pretty damn cheap, but that there would be no new opportunity. Once Alexander had set his mind on something, he never changed it. She stood up quickly, pulled the sobbing women to their feet, and both of them made their way out in a flash.