Caught in the Fire

Chapter III: Celestial Repercussions

Lucifer parked his car in the precinct garage, then turned off the car, grabbed his keys, exited the car, and closed the door. He adjusted his cufflinks and straightened his wind-blown hair. It was nice having hair again after nearly a whole day of being completely bald. Sometimes he even forgot his hair was gone, which had led to him to try to comb his fingers through his nonexistent hair multiple times, or even trying to apply shampoo out of habit. At least he'd had a good laugh in the shower at his own expense. But thanks to the Detective, he was able to finally forgo the Nazgûl blanket and was free to walk around humanity undisturbed once again.

He made his way to the elevator, trying not to think about what he saw in the Lux parking garage. But of course, the more he told himself not to think about it, the more he did, and the more he felt himself being overwhelmed by fear. Why would his Father send an emissary to Earth just to punish him for killing one insignificant human? Especially one that had hurt so many people, threatened His miracle, and almost killed the Devil? Besides, what was he supposed to do—let Cain continue hunting him down while putting the Detective in danger?

Lucifer went through the precinct doors, still thinking about the voice he heard in the parking garage. He still hadn't wrapped his head around the simple fact that His Father had sent an emissary to Earth to punish him for breaking His one sacred rule. And not just any emissary, but the one who... He suddenly felt a presence behind him, and he gasped and quickly turned around, his heart beating a mile a minute, dreading to see who it was. But the figure was gone almost as soon as it appeared. He all but rushed to the elevator and pressed the button go down.

"Let me remind you, brother," he called out as he nervously waited for the elevator, figuring the emissary from God was listening, "that I'm the one who does the torturing. I'm the Devil, and you're... you! You should know that better than anyone!"

The elevator doors finally opened, and he rushed in and pressed the button to close the doors. His eyes kept darting between the panel and the open doors, until they finally closed, and he allowed himself to relax.

"All this for that bloated man-ham," he muttered under his breath.

***

Lucifer stepped out of the elevator and went down the precinct stairs, distracted. He was violently taken out of his thoughts when he was grabbed by somebody and held tight. He cried out in surprise and some mild terror, panting, and quickly glanced down at his attacker. There was Ms. López, giving him a bear hug, as usual, and he allowed himself to calm down. He just stood there awkwardly, hands raised, completely still, unable to do much else.

"Luce... ifer! Bring it here!" she cried out, hugging him tightly, while Lucifer didn't move a single muscle, "It's so good to see you! Where were you?!"

"Hello," he said stiffly, frozen on the spot, "I was... home. Indisposed." Finally, she let him go, and he was able to relax again. He adjusted his suit jacket, then his cufflinks. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Ms. López, I need to talk to the new lieutenant about Pierce's death."

"Dude, I have so many questions about that! That crime scene was totally bonkers, starting with that blade we found sticking out of Pierce's chest! Oh, man, I'd never seen anything like it! The chemical composition is like, out of this world! And those bloody feathers all over the place! Did they slaughter a chicken or something?! Holy burrito!"

"Ms. López, I have to talk to Daniel before the lieutenant slaps the cuffs on me."

"Oh yeah, she and Dan were looking for you. But we totally gotta talk later! ¡No me dejes esperando, me entiendes!"

"I won't make you wait too long, Ms. López," he replied, and walked away from her, not replying to her excitedly asking him when he learned Spanish. "Ah, Daniel!" He saw him standing next to a beautiful woman he'd never seen before, so he walked up to them to greet them. He imagined that she was the new lieutenant he'd heard so much about. "I heard you were looking for me."