Partners in Crime

9: Ducks

Alastor's POV

I grit my teeth as Vox walks back to us. A smile plastered on his face as if this empty room changes anything. I see Lucifer's face go red in embarrassment. Spying? Seriously? How fucking mature of you, Vox. I fail to see how any of this is supposed to make me like him more. Or get to want to be his partner. If anything it's making me want to kill him. But it would be too obvious. Wouldn't want to get caught anytime soon.

I could fake it. But Vox isn't entirely stupid. I doubt he would cut the ropes no matter how far I go. Vox likes to be in control, like most people would. If he ever sees me letting him have control, he won't let go. There's no way I'll give him even an ounce of control. But I do have a way out of here. If everything goes right.

"You seem interested in this room. You like it?" I'm checking my surroundings, idiot. This basement is about as empty as his love life. The room's smooth gray walls mirror his brain. I honestly was expecting a little more. This is the reason why I don't usually have high hopes for anything Vox does.

"Makes me want to kiss you," I say sarcastically.

"Really?" His face is full of hope and happiness. I raise my eyebrow. My wrists start to hurt from the ropes. Being a couple feet in the air by your wrists is very unpleasant.

"No." All the hope in his face drains. I hear Luci laughing behind him. I just need Vox a little closer to me and I can kick him. Vox turns to the blonde in the chair. He flips him off and walks away. He walks up the stairs, more than likely to get something. He comes back and tapes Luci's mouth shut.

"Now, where were we?" He walks up close to me. I kick him in the face. He stumbles backwards onto the probably cold floor. I hit the back of my shoe against the wall and a knife pokes out of the top. Vox tries to get it, but I cut his face. "Ow. Fuck." He steps back and holds his face, a bit of blood flowing down his skin and into his hand. I reach my leg up and cut the ropes. I guess it was a good idea when Rosie got me into yoga and a bit of gymnastics. I'll have to thank her later. I land on the concrete floor and Vox charges at me. I kick him in the chest and he falls back on the ground. Pathetic. He tries to get up but I put my foot on him, keeping him there. The small knife close to cutting his face again. I lean down, resting an arm on my bent knee.

"Since I feel like being kind and wouldn't want to waste my time cleaning up your pathetic body or calling Niffty to clean it up, I'll let you off with your final warning. Try something like this again and I will not hesitate to mount your skull onto my wall. Do I make myself clear?"

Vox looks at the knife and back at me. Fear fills his eyes. My smile only grows wider at it.

"Y-Yes," he chokes out.

"Lovely." I take my foot off of him and walk to Lucifer, who's patiently waiting in his chair. I pop the knife out of my shoe and cut the ropes. He rips off the duct tape and looks up at me like an angry toddler.

"You had a knife in your shoe this whole time?! Even when Charlie was around?!"

"I always keep a knife on me. Never know when I'll need it. Now let's leave this place." I throw the knife at one of the TV's, hitting dead center and breaking it.

"When we get back, I also have a few questions."

"And I may have a few answers." We walk up the stairs and see Velvette. She looks up from her phone and raises an eyebrow. She just shrugs and walks away. Glad I'm on good terms with her. Only one of this little group I'm on good terms with. We walk out the door and run across the street to Lucifer's house. I help him locate all the cameras in his house so Vox wouldn't spy on him anymore. We found about 8 in total. One in Charlie's bedroom, one in what Luci calls the 'duck room', two in Lucifer's bedroom, one in the laundry room, one in the kitchen, one in the living room, and one in the dining room.

"Are you okay?" I ask him. I squat down to his level. He looks petrified. I don't blame him. I wouldn't want cameras in my house watching my every move.

"What if there's more? What if he's still watching right now? What if-"

"Luci, dear, we checked everywhere. I can assure you we got all of them. I know for a bit you're going to be a bit paranoid about it. But I promise you we got all of them."

"I-I don't know." He looks down and plays with his fingers. I would frown if I could. Let's not let this ruin our whole day! It's only noon. I put a finger under his chin and bring his eyes back to mine.

"Why don't you tell me about your ducks? I would love to hear you talk about your little creations. Maybe I can make a few of my own with your guidance if you want."

"Really!?" His face lights up. His smile returning to his face. There we go. There's the smile I want to see.

"Of course, dear." He bounces with joy and drags me to his 'duck room'. He talks for hours about his duck collection. I listen to every single word. He looks so joyful while explaining them. He tells me a few interesting duck facts.

"Did you know that ducklings can communicate with each other while still in the egg."

"I did not know. But how?" I tilt my head in confusion.

"Peeping and clicking sounds. What time is it? I'm getting hungry."

"Time to get some food in your little stomach." We walk to the kitchen and Luci looks at me with puppy dog eyes. "You want to help?" He nods, bouncing a little. "Alright."

"Yay!" I pull in a stool for him so it's easier to reach. We agree on making blueberry muffins even though it's not a meal. But Lucifer is persistent. Crazy little man. I also don't want to ruin his happy mood. I grab all the ingredients out, placing them on the counter. I feel something hit the back of my head. I turn around and raise an eyebrow at the little man.

"Why did you throw a blueberry at me, dear?" I ask. "They're for eating."

"It slipped?" I grab a handful of flour. He watches me, slowly realizing his situation. "Hey hey hey wait a minute. Wait a min-eck." The flour hits his face. Some into his mouth, making his tongue covered in it. He blinks rapidly before looking up at me. I just smile. "Jerk."

"You started it."