Love Never Fails

31. LOTUS

Sam, Dean and Alana, in their FBI suits and dress, were walking down the hallway of a morgue. Spencer was in Alana's arms. They showed their badges to a doctor who was coming out of a room.

"Your colleagues are already inside," the doctor informed.

Sam and Dean exchanged questioning looks, while Alana frowned. simultaneously putting away their badges and entered the room to find Castiel and Crowley. They were standing next to an autopsy table, where a body laid covered by a sheet.

"Agents," Castiel and Crowley said.

Dean frowned. "Okay, this has gotta stop. All right, give me that." Dean pulled an FBI badge off Crowley's jacket lapel.

"Armani!" Crowley protested. "As opposed to you and Lady bringing a child?"

"Okay, enough. Let's have a look," Sam said as Alana stepped back.

Dean pulled the sheet down to reveal the face of the body on the table. It was an older man with his eyes burnt out.

"Ooh. Looks like somebody forgot to put on his sunscreen," Dean commented.

Alana frowned. "Was that comment necessary?"

"This was Wallace Parker, the very powerful CEO of almost everything," Castiel informed.

"And apparently, Lucifer's latest vessel. Wasn't strong enough to hold him."

Sam covered the man's face again.

"Lucifer's not content with slutting it from one random vessel to the next." Crowley told them. "He's moving on to blue chips — celebrities, captains of industry. He just got a lot more dangerous."

"I agree with Agent Zappa," Castiel said.

Dean looked at the angels. "Oh, will you stop?"

Alana gave a small smile. "Nice work, Agents."

BUNKER

Sam, Dean, Sylvie, holding Claudia, and Alana, holding Spencer, were drinking beer and iced tea in the library of the Bunker. Maren sat on her father's lap with a sippy cup of apple juice. The older kids were gathered around the table.

"So, find anything?" Dean asked. "Anyone powerful or respectable who suddenly changed... or exploded?"

"Well, this is pretty interesting," Sam noted.

His laptop showed a news article with the headline 'Record Donation to Dioceses'. He clicked on a picture and turned the laptop around so Dean and Sylvie could see. "This is the Archbishop of St. Louis with Wallace Parker."

The picture showed a man in a suit holding a check and shaking hands with the priest in the red robe with a large cross around his neck.

Dean rested his feet on the table. "So?"

Sam met his eyes. "So, that was him three days ago." He scrolled through a few pictures.

Sylvie pointed to a picture. "And this... is him last night at the opening of a food kitchen. You two notice anything missing?"

Dean scrolled back and forth through the pictures before he said, "Yeah, the big mother of a cross around his neck."

"Exactly. And this morning, his office canceled all further public appearances without comment," Sam said.

"Okay, so you two are thinking that, uh, Lucifer blasted out of Parker and into his buddy the Archbishop here."

"Worth a shot."

"Yeah," Dean answered.

---

It was nighttime and raining. The Impala pulled up to a building with a sign that read 'Archdiocese of St. Louis'. They exited the car and walked up to the door.