Caught in His Spider's Web

Chapter 7: The Interviews

Vox snaps his fingers. Jolts of electricity flash, zipping in all directions, transforming into various objects. Several chairs appear next to a wooden podium that Vox seats himself behind. The background changes to a deep blue with an abstract shape pattern, the floor becoming polished wood. Angel takes a seat next to Vox, Husk sits next to Angel, and the three cherubs each share a seat at the very end.

Vox talks to the men behind the camera, making sure everything is set for the live broadcast, before a countdown begins. A musical sting plays and Vox looks right into the camera. "Welcome back!" he says in his showboaty affect. "On today's show we are having a conversation with an infamous overlord, you know him, you love him, you've probably fucked him, it's Angel Dust! Angel, thank you for joining me on today's episode!"

"Happy to be here, any excuse to talk about myself!" canned laughter plays.

"And these must be your minions?" Vox says, motioning to Husk and the cherubs. Husk being referred to as a mere "minion" is deeply irritating.

There is some general chatter, introductions as though anyone in Hell really needs to be informed who Angel is, as well as introducing Husk and the cherubs.

"What is your job under Angel?" Vox asks Husk.

"Bodyguard," he says, flatly. He doesn't smile, he doesn't show interest. He doesn't like Vox, he doesn't like the Vs as a brand, he doesn't like any of this. He wants to be in his room, some painkillers for his head in his system, and a pillow draped over his head while smooth jazz plays so he can have some semblance of peace.

"Yes, purchased from Alastor, correct?"

Husk nods.

Vox looks at Angel. "Making deals with The Radio Demon, how cocky! And after you accepted an interview on his radio show! Playing both sides, eh?"

"Hey, your beef isn't my beef. Besides, I'll fully admit I'm a player!"

"And who are you?" Vox asks the cherubs.

"We are disenfranchised angelic beings given new purpose by our wonderful employer, tasked with bringing happiness to him and all of his subjects with the joy we inherently inspire in others through our good deeds and impeccable people skills!" Cletus says.

"Uh huh, could have just said 'we serve Angel and the souls on his chain,' full stop, but whatever," Vox mutters, quickly.

"So, Angel, for those unaware, last night you and your team raided a compound located on your territory that a rival overlord was squatting in. There were some nasty things coming out of that complex, can you elaborate?"

Angel explains what the breeding complex was.

"Yes, Marcus Shepherd is a nasty, nasty man. Were you aware of who he was before you confronted him?"

"I've heard of his misdeeds here in Hell, that's about it."

"Well," Vox says, "we reached out to the team responsible for liberating those poor creatures and they gave us access to Marcus Shepherd's hellish file."

When a sinner enters hell, a detailed itinerary is magically generated and filed away in a massive labyrinth of cabinets in a designated room of Lucifer's palace.

"According to his file, Marcus Shepherd used to operate a sheep farm back in the eighties when he was alive. He always took a liking to disenfranchised men, the homeless, the jobless, those suffering with addiction, and would hire them on to work on his farm. He would then proceed to use money, drugs, or threats of reporting to the police to keep these men on the hook, allowing for him to do deplorable things to them. His farm was rife with physical and sexual abuse; his victims often rented out for sex to friends and clients. Were any of his victims to speak out, he would kill them using the penetrating captive bolt pistol he used on his livestock to kill them. It's his signature weapon down here, though magically altered. This was all his foray into human trafficking, establishing his taste for it, and he's dabbled in all forms of it since falling to Hell. He keeps avoiding capture and destroying evidence before Lucifer's team can capture him. You're the closest to having gotten him in years."