Survivor's Guilt

XIV (Walking on Sunshine)

Finding Arthur "Cookie" Rosinov is the equivalent of tracking down a needle in a United States of America-sized haystack. I enlist the help of Johnny and Otto, going so far as to call in a favor to Josiah. Rocklahoma had been a blast after I showed the Prince of Wrath I wasn't going to be intimidated by the forces of Hell. Lilith made no move to interfere option to watch with an amused expression on her face.

We have a day off, normally I'd be spending the time with Spencer. Ricky and Patrick grabbed me from the merch crew. We join Joe and Dan on a wild journey of hitting various stores and taking funny pictures. Our journey takes us to a sports bar with a table in the back to avoid fans hounding them. I check my phone before putting it back in my pocket.

No hits yet on Cookie's whereabouts. I could contact Elaine and ask if she has seen or heard from him. I also know that if Cookie doesn't want to be found you won't be able to track him down. He taught me that and it was the reason why Carolyn could never locate me.

"We gotta address the elephant in the room, Koala."

Ricky's voice makes me jump a foot in the air. I'd been in my own head since we arrived at the sports bar. I barely notice and drink from the Dr. Pepper they ordered for me. I'd been expecting my demonic roommate to give me a heads-up. Instead, she lounges lazily in her prison smirking at my lack of awareness.

"What elephant would that be?" I finally take a deep drink of my soda.

"Spencer, what's up between the two of you?" Patrick points a salsa-covered tortilla chip in my general direction.

I bite my lip. This was the part I'd been dreading. The part where I'd have to tell them their bandmate was once again possessed by a demon. They'd been in his corner before, could they do the same a second time? Dan places a hand on mine giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Sathanas is possessing him again." I look down.

"What? Why?" Joe raises an eyebrow. There's fear in his eyes. They remembered the first part of the tour and the time before that.

"I'm not sure, I think it's due to Lucifer being on tour with us." I give them the answer that makes the most sense. There was power in the numbers four and seven. If all the princes were here with the horsemen, we were looking at a full deck of cards. We had to be ready with a full deck of our own.

"Do we have any idea who it is?" Ricky asks the question that's been on my mind every morning since I discovered our new foe's sinful identity.

"He's possessed Chris and Vinny temporarily," I answer giving them the information I had.

Truth be told, I'd been talking to Otto trying to get him to give me a hint. Something to go on. He refused, telling me he already told Spencer a clue he should not have given him. I was heavily considering utilizing Lilith's authority over him but decided against it. I didn't want to become reliant on my connection with her. Spencer had with Dev and it was how he wound up in the situation he was in.

"So, we don't know who is when he could be anyone?" Dan sighs heavily. "What's the plan, Cap?"

My eyes widen at the use of my nickname. I have the beginnings of a plan. One that relied heavily upon us finding Cookie. That much I could tell them. I place my order with the waiter and collect my thoughts.

"Arthur Rosinov."

"Bless you," Patrick replies.

"I...didn't sneeze, it's the name of a retired Black Ops operative I used to spend my summers with," I explain.

"Okay, are we looking for him? If so, why are we?" Ricky leans forward.

"Before every mission, he would consult his deck of tarot cards. He said they always guided him during his missions. His team became uncomfortable when he consulted them, so they hid them. The one time he didn't consult with them, he got injured, and that injury ruined his career." I begin. "My plan is to find a way to exorcise the princes and trap them in something."