The three days that followed my outing with Pentious were remarkably ordinary.
Well, as ordinary as three days spent administering a territory in Hell could be while regularly receiving messages from a megalomaniacal snake who seemed to have decided that my personal number was now a natural extension of his design office.
Pentious had continued sending me his plans.
A lot of plans.
After the fourth file I received that same evening, I began to suspect that he worked mainly at night.
The sixth, which arrived at three seventeen in the morning, turned that suspicion into certainty and also prompted me to mute notifications from our conversation until a more reasonable hour.
Naturally, that hadn’t stopped him from continuing.
When I checked my phone after waking up, nine messages were waiting for me, accompanied by two new versions of the cooling system, a modification to the main power circuit, and a particularly enthusiastic note announcing that he had managed to reduce the energy consumption of the servomotors by almost eight percent.
I had to admit that last improvement was excellent.
So I had ended up replying to him.
Mistake.
He had immediately interpreted my remark as an invitation to send me three additional pages.
Now, seated behind my desk with a cup of coffee within reach, I was examining what finally seemed to be the definitive version of the machine.
Pentious had kept the original modular platform, but the prototype had evolved considerably.
The chassis had been reinforced around the main joints, the cooling systems had been reorganized, and the regulator we had repaired three days earlier now occupied a much more accessible position for maintenance.
The three bypass circuits were still there.
I had resigned myself to their existence.
On the other hand, Pentious had followed enough of my remarks that the entire design had become considerably more coherent.
The maximum load had decreased, nonessential systems could be isolated independently, and he had even added several safeguards capable of automatically shutting down certain functions in the event of overheating.
I scrolled through the plans until I reached the part I had deliberately saved for last.
The cannons.
Still there.
Two pieces mounted on either side of the platform on articulated supports allowing enough rotation to cover almost the entire front of the machine.
I zoomed in on the mounting system.
Then the power supply.
Then the mechanism designed to absorb recoil.
I hated having to admit it, but they were properly integrated.
Pentious had even moved several components to prevent the vibrations caused by firing from interfering with the regulator.
I stared at the screen for a few seconds before picking up my coffee.
“Shit.”
My lieutenant, who was on the other side of the room going through several reports, looked up.
“A problem?”
“Quite the opposite.
That’s exactly what annoys me.”
I turned the screen slightly in his direction and showed him the cross-section of the platform.
“Pentious kept his two cannons despite my recommendations.
I was hoping to explain to him that they compromised the overall stability of the system and finally have a technical reason to remove them.
Unfortunately, he modified the supports, reinforced the structure, and isolated their power supply.
Unless he made a mistake I haven’t found yet, they shouldn’t cause any serious problems.”
My lieutenant examined the plans without showing the slightest sympathy for my situation.
“So that means he was right to keep them.”
I gave him an unenthusiastic look.
“It means he managed to make a useless idea functional.
There is an important difference between the two.”
“Naturally.”
I was seriously beginning to regret the development of his sense of humor.
Before I could respond, my phone vibrated on the desk.
Pentious’s name appeared on the screen.
I answered.
“If you’re calling to tell me you added a third cannon since sending the plans, I’m hanging up immediately.”
An offended silence answered me.
“I had absolutely no intention of adding a third cannon.
That would completely unbalance the platform in its current configuration.”
I was almost reassured.
“Glad to know we still share certain physical limits.
What do you want?”
His enthusiasm returned immediately.
“The prototype is finished!
Completely finished this time.
I’ve carried out all the static tests, and the results are excellent.
The regulator works exactly as expected, and the cooling modifications reduced the average temperature by almost eleven percent.”
“I saw the readings you sent me.
They are indeed good.”
The silence that followed was unusual enough to catch my attention.
Pentious had probably expected to defend his results for several minutes.
“You… think they’re good?”
“Pentious, I criticize your work when there is something to criticize.
I’m not going to invent a flaw solely to avoid making you happy.
The readings are good.”
I heard something fall on the other end of the line, followed by an Egg Boi loudly apologizing.
Pentious quickly regained his composure.
“In that case, you will certainly be delighted to learn that tomorrow I will conduct the first full test under real-world conditions.
I found an old industrial area far enough from inhabited districts that Vaggie cannot claim I am endangering the hotel.”
I immediately noticed one detail in his wording.
“Vaggie already knows.”
“Charlie was present when I explained my testing schedule.”
That answered the question.
“And Charlie is coming too, I assume.”
“She insisted on being present for this important stage of my personal and scientific development.
I explained that it was primarily a technical test, but she seemed to believe that made her presence even more necessary.”
I smiled slightly.
That certainly sounded like Charlie.
“Send me the address and the time.”
Pentious went silent again.
“You’re coming?”
“I’ve spent several hours examining your design and part of a day recovering the component that allows your machine to function.
Of course I want to see whether it lasts more than ten minutes once it leaves your workshop.”
His satisfied laugh echoed through the phone.
“I knew you would eventually recognize the historical importance of my project.”
“Don’t ruin the moment.”
I hung up before he could continue.
My lieutenant waited a few seconds.
“Should I prepare the car for tomorrow?”
“Yes.
You’ll come as well.
I want a second opinion on the prototype’s performance and, considering how my recent outings with residents of that hotel have developed, I now prefer to treat the possibility of an incident as statistically significant.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“Should I prepare an administrative category for this one?”
I threw my pen at him.
He caught it without difficulty.
The next day, we left the domain late in the morning.
Our driver took us to an old industrial area outside the most densely populated sectors of Pentagram City.
As we continued, the buildings gradually gave way to large abandoned warehouses, disused railway tracks, and several facilities that had been deserted for long enough that no one seemed to remember their original purpose anymore.
Pentious had chosen a vast lot surrounded by old industrial buildings.
When our car entered the area, I immediately spotted his machine.
Even from the other side of the field, it was impossible to miss.
The prototype was roughly ten feet long and almost six and a half feet high.
Its chassis rested on six mechanical legs wide enough to maintain stability over uneven terrain, while two articulated arms were folded against its sides.
The infamous cannons occupied the upper section, mounted on their mobile supports.
Around the machine were several crates, measuring equipment, and a small army of Egg Boiz busy moving equipment with extremely variable levels of efficiency.
Pentious stood near the control panel.
Charlie was with him.
Vaggie as well.
And sitting on a crate, calmly smoking, Angel Dust already seemed deeply satisfied to have found entertainment for the day.
Our car stopped nearby.
The driver got out first and opened my door.
My lieutenant exited from the other side before joining me.
Charlie spotted us almost immediately.
Her face lit up.
“Tanya!
You came!”
I approached the group.
“I told Pentious I would.”
“I know, but it’s still great!
He’s been working on this for several days and he was so excited to show you the result that he checked his phone every ten minutes this morning.”
Pentious spun around abruptly.
“Charlie!
That information was absolutely unnecessary.”
She gave him an innocent smile.
“But it’s true.”
“That is not the point.”
I immediately noticed Charlie’s expression as she looked from Pentious to me.
She was smiling far too much.
I knew her well enough now to understand what that meant.
“Charlie.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t say anything.”
Her smile widened.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Keep it that way.”
Angel burst out laughing from his crate.
“Fuck, she’s starting to know what Charlie’s thinking just from her smile.”
Vaggie crossed her arms.
“It’s not particularly difficult when Charlie makes that face.”
Charlie turned toward her with a betrayed expression.
While they began arguing, Pentious was already pulling me toward the prototype.
“I incorporated all the modifications we discussed.
Well, almost all of them, because I maintain that the third bypass circuit provides considerable flexibility and removing it would have been a long-term mistake.”
“I’ve given up trying to convince you on that point.
Show me the regulator instead.”
He immediately opened a side panel.
The internal arrangement matched the latest plans.
I spent several minutes checking the main connections while Pentious explained the changes he had made since his last message.
He wasn’t even really trying to convince me of his competence anymore.
We were simply talking about the machine.
And I noticed Charlie continuing to watch us from a few yards away with an almost irritating satisfaction.
When I closed the panel again, Vaggie had moved closer.
Her gaze settled on the two cannons.
Then on me.
“Tell me you also think those are completely unnecessary.”
Pentious immediately looked offended.
I looked at the weapons.
It would have been so easy to say yes.
Unfortunately, I had spent far too much time on those damn plans to lie.
“Necessary?
No.
Properly integrated into the system and well designed enough that they no longer compromise its overall function?
Yes.”
Pentious’s face lit up.
Vaggie closed her eyes.
“Why did I ask the cannon fan?”
“Because you hoped I would provide you with a technical argument for removing them.
I had the same hope until two days ago.”
Pentious placed a hand against his chest.
“I am surrounded by enemies of progress.”
Angel finally stood from his crate and approached the machine.
“I think it’s missing something.”
Pentious immediately became suspicious.
“What?”
Angel slowly walked around the prototype.
“A massage function.
With all these mechanical arms, seriously, you’re missing out on a huge market.”
Pentious turned red.
Vaggie ran a hand over her face.
Charlie tried not to laugh.
I decided to look elsewhere.
The day was going to be long.
The first test began about twenty minutes later.
Pentious had prepared a relatively simple course involving several obstacles, loads to move, and different areas intended to test the platform’s mobility.
I positioned myself near the measuring equipment with my lieutenant while Charlie, Vaggie, and Angel stayed at a reasonable distance.
Pentious activated the machine.
The regulator gradually rose in load without any abnormalities appearing.
The six mechanical legs fully deployed and the platform began to move.
I watched the readings.
Power consumption was slightly higher than the simulations, but remained perfectly acceptable.
Pentious guided it through the first series of obstacles.
The machine automatically adjusted the position of its legs, compensating for uneven terrain with a smoothness I hadn’t expected from a prototype.
My lieutenant leaned slightly toward the instruments.
“Stabilization is correct.”
“Even better than expected.”
Pentious heard us.
I saw his smile from across the field.
I immediately regretted speaking loudly enough.
The following tests nevertheless confirmed that first impression.
The platform transported several crates, manipulated loads with its articulated arms, and continued operating despite repeated configuration changes.
The regulator held.
So did the cooling system.
After almost forty minutes, the temperature remained well below the critical limit.
Pentious eventually came back toward us.
“Well?”
I checked the values one last time before looking up.
“Do you want the pleasant version or the useful one?”
He hesitated.
“Both.”
“The useful version: your locomotion system is consuming approximately five percent more than your simulations predicted, and the rear-left joint is compensating slightly too much on sloped terrain.
You should probably recalibrate the sensor before your next test.”
Pentious immediately nodded and wrote down the information.
I continued.
“The pleasant version: everything else is working remarkably well.
The regulator is stable, the cooling system is doing exactly what it should, and your modular system is handling load changes without any significant drop in performance.”
Pentious remained silent for a second.
Then his smile became enormous.
“I KNEW IT WOULD WORK!”
He raised his arms.
“EGG BOIZ!
PREPARE THE CANNONS!”
Vaggie spun around.
“Why did it have to end like this?”
I smiled.
“Because we made the mistake of telling him everything else worked.”
To my great irritation, the cannons also worked perfectly.
Pentious had installed several metal targets at the far end of the field and started with reduced charges.
The first shot made the platform tremble slightly, but the stabilization system absorbed the movement almost immediately.
The second was even better.
After a few adjustments, Pentious managed to fire both pieces almost simultaneously without causing any serious anomaly in the regulator.
I looked at the readings.
Then at the cannons.
Then back at the readings.
Vaggie stood beside me.
“So?”
“Don’t make me say it.”
She studied my expression.
“They work.”
I sighed.
“Perfectly.”
Pentious heard us again.
“OBVIOUSLY!”
Angel applauded.
“Go on, Snake Boy!
Blow up something bigger!”
“Don’t encourage him!” Vaggie shouted.
Charlie was laughing.
And for several minutes, everything went remarkably well.
That was precisely when the ground shook.
Not because of the cannons.
The movement came from much deeper.
I turned my head toward the abandoned buildings north of the field.
My lieutenant had already placed a hand on the hilt of his blade.
Vaggie noticed our reaction.
“What?”
A second vibration ran through the ground.
Strong enough that this time, everyone felt it.
The Egg Boiz stopped.
Pentious looked at his instruments.
“That isn’t coming from the machine.”
“No,” I replied, watching the broken windows of an old warehouse.
“And I think we’re about to find out what is causing it.”
A massive crash echoed from inside the building.
Part of the wall collapsed.
The creature that emerged was large enough to explain why no one had bothered salvaging certain facilities in the area.
It moved on four massive limbs, its body covered in dark, almost mineral skin crossed by several reddish lines.
Its head vaguely resembled that of a reptile, assuming one accepted that a reptile could possess a jaw wide enough to swallow an Egg Boi without even slowing down.
Angel looked at the creature.
Then at Pentious.
“Was this part of the test?”
Pentious looked deeply offended.
“Of course not!”
The creature let out a growl powerful enough to shake the remaining intact windows.
I looked at the buildings.
Then at the impact marks left by Pentious’s shots.
“The vibrations probably woke up something living beneath the complex.”
Vaggie immediately drew her weapon.
Charlie stepped forward.
I extended an arm to stop her before she positioned herself directly in front of the creature.
“Wait.
It isn’t attacking us yet.”
The beast was striking the ground and growling in our direction, but it hadn’t charged.
Its behavior looked more like a territorial display than hunting.
Charlie understood immediately.
“We’re in its home.”
“Probably.
And we just spent almost an hour firing cannons over its head.”
Angel shoved his hands into his pockets.
“So technically, we’re the asshole neighbors.”
“For once, your analysis is remarkably accurate.”
Pentious, however, was looking at his machine.
I already knew that expression.
“No.”
He turned toward me.
“But I haven’t said anything yet!”
“You want to test the cannons on it.”
He hesitated.
“Only if it becomes necessary.”
Vaggie pointed her weapon at him.
“It does not become necessary.”
The creature chose that moment to charge.
“Too late,” I said.
Everything happened very quickly.
I deployed my barrier in front of the group just as the creature reached our position.
The impact was much more violent than expected.
My feet slid several inches backward across the ground, but the barrier held.
Charlie grabbed Angel by the arm and pulled him to the side while Vaggie leapt in the opposite direction.
“Pentious!
Move your machine!”
He was already moving.
The platform backed away using its six legs while the Egg Boiz ran toward the nearest buildings.
The creature struck my barrier a second time.
I reinforced the magical structure and waited until it pulled back before letting it disappear.
Vaggie passed over me.
She struck the creature on the side of the head with enough force to send it several yards off course.
I immediately aimed my weapon at the beast, then decided against firing.
We still didn’t know how resistant it was, and I had no desire to waste angelic-steel ammunition on a territorial animal.
Instead, I materialized an automatic rifle.
“Left!” I shouted to Vaggie.
She understood immediately and changed direction.
I fired several bursts into the ground in front of the creature, forcing it to turn toward her.
Vaggie used the movement to strike one of its rear legs.
The coordination wasn’t perfect, but it was natural.
Vaggie knew how to fight.
Not simply defend herself or protect Charlie.
She genuinely read the terrain, understood openings, and didn’t need every movement explained to her.
The creature spun abruptly.
Its tail struck toward Vaggie.
I projected a barrier between them just before the full impact.
Vaggie was still thrown back, but remained standing.
She glanced briefly at me.
“Thanks.”
I simply nodded before returning my attention to the beast.
Nothing more needed to be said.
A much heavier shot thundered behind us.
One of Pentious’s cannons had fired.
The projectile struck the ground just in front of the creature and exploded close enough to force it backward without hitting it directly.
I turned my head.
Pentious was controlling his platform from a position roughly thirty yards away.
“I reduced the power!”
I looked at the crater.
“Your definition of reduced remains concerning!”
“But effective!”
On that point, he was right.
The creature turned away from us and charged the platform.
Pentious didn’t panic.
He rotated his machine, used all six legs to perform a surprisingly fast lateral movement, and fired the second cannon at a metal structure near the creature.
The noise and debris forced it to change direction.
The prototype had just gone from controlled testing to real-world use without preparation and it was still functioning.
I couldn’t help being impressed.
“Tanya!”
Charlie’s voice caught my attention.
The creature had changed targets again.
It was now heading toward the Egg Boiz.
Charlie placed herself between them, and for a fraction of a second, something changed.
I had already seen her use her powers.
But not like this.
Her features shifted slightly as a much greater energy unfolded around her.
The enthusiastic woman who spent her time trying to convince everyone that every soul could become better disappeared behind something far older and infinitely more dangerous.
Charlie raised her hands.
When the creature slammed into her, she barely moved.
The ground cracked beneath her feet.
The beast stopped dead.
I remained motionless for a fraction of a second.
So that was what she was hiding behind the songs and rehabilitation projects.
Charlie violently shoved the creature backward.
Several tons of infernal flesh slid several yards away.
Angel whistled.
“Holy shit, Princess.”
Charlie looked almost embarrassed.
“Sorry!”
I looked at the crater beneath her feet.
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Reflex.”
Even Vaggie gave a small smile.
I suddenly understood much better why the smarter Overlords carefully avoided pushing Charlie to her limits.
She probably had no idea exactly how much power she possessed.
Which could be even more dangerous than knowing.
We could have killed the creature.
I could have opened several portals above the field and turned the area into an artillery zone.
Charlie clearly possessed enough strength to break something important, and Pentious would have been delighted to discover how far his cannons could be pushed.
But nothing justified such an escalation.
The creature hadn’t come looking for us.
We had come into its territory.
I eventually noticed that it repeatedly retreated toward the same warehouse every time we pushed it back.
Something was in there.
A nest, probably.
I quickly joined Vaggie.
“It’s protecting something.
Watch its behavior: it always goes back toward that building as soon as we stop pressing it.”
Vaggie observed it for a few seconds.
“A nest?”
“Probably.
If we keep advancing, it will keep attacking.”
Charlie had joined us.
She immediately understood what I was suggesting.
“Then we back off.”
I nodded.
“We move the machine and the equipment south.
Once we’re far enough from its territory, it should stop following us.
If it doesn’t, we’ll reassess.”
Pentious came within earshot.
His expression clearly showed that part of him would have preferred a much more explosive solution.
He nevertheless looked at the creature.
Then at his machine.
“Very well.
But only because the data already collected is more than sufficient to confirm the cannons’ performance.”
Angel burst out laughing.
“Sure, big guy.
You’re letting it live for science.”
Pentious ignored him with remarkable dignity.
The withdrawal took about ten minutes.
I maintained several barriers between the creature and the group while Vaggie stayed close enough to intervene if it charged.
Charlie carried two crates by herself that three Egg Boiz had struggled to move earlier, once again confirming that her relatively harmless appearance was particularly deceptive.
Pentious used his platform to carry the heaviest equipment.
As we moved farther away, the creature slowed.
Then stopped entirely.
It remained near the old warehouse, growling in our direction.
We continued backing away.
Eventually, it disappeared inside the building.
Once we were far enough away, Pentious finally shut down the prototype.
He immediately rushed toward the machine and opened several panels.
I joined him.
“So?”
He checked several connections.
“The rear-left joint took a hit.
The compensation system absorbed almost all of it, but the sensor will need recalibration.
I also lost part of the side armor.”
I leaned down to inspect the damage.
The chassis was dented.
One plate had been torn off.
But the regulator was still functioning.
I looked over the readings recorded during the fight.
No major overload.
No shutdown.
Even after several abrupt changes of direction and two shots fired while the platform was moving.
Pentious was waiting for my verdict.
I deliberately took a few seconds before answering.
“Your prototype just underwent a much more interesting test than anything you had prepared.”
He looked up.
“Meaning?”
“A controlled demonstration proves that a machine works when everything goes according to plan.
What just happened shows that it keeps working when nothing goes according to plan.
You took impacts, changed loads several times, used your cannons while moving, and pushed the locomotion system far beyond the intended course.
Despite that, the regulator remained stable and no essential function stopped working.”
I lightly tapped the damaged chassis.
“It’s a good machine, Pentious.”
He didn’t answer immediately.
His smile was far less theatrical than I had expected.
“Thank you.”
I then looked at the torn plate.
“However, reinforce this mounting.
It’s bad.”
His expression immediately returned to professional focus.
“I was actually thinking of doubling the support and changing the angle of—”
We spent the next ten minutes examining the damage.
While Pentious, Charlie, and several Egg Boiz prepared the platform for transport, I moved slightly away from the group.
Vaggie joined me a few minutes later.
For a moment, we watched Pentious explain to Charlie that the damage was “purely superficial” while an Egg Boi was picking up an entire plate that had fallen off the machine.
Vaggie eventually spoke.
“You fight well.”
I turned my head slightly toward her.
“So do you.”
She gave a small smile.
“I thought you’d go straight to your big magic cannons when that thing charged us.”
“In an area where Charlie, Angel, Pentious, and about twenty Egg Boiz were running in every direction?
That would mostly have been an excellent way to turn a manageable problem into a catastrophe.
I prefer using the amount of force required rather than the maximum amount available.”
Vaggie nodded.
I noticed she seemed to be searching for how to phrase what came next.
“I’m going to ask you something, and I’d rather you be honest.”
“That’s usually simpler.”
Her gaze moved toward Charlie.
“What exactly do you want with her?”
I followed her gaze.
Charlie was now helping an Egg Boi secure a crate.
The question didn’t surprise me.
In fact, I was almost surprised Vaggie had waited this long.
“At first?
Curiosity.
The Princess of Hell deciding to open a hotel to rehabilitate sinners before sending them to Heaven was strange enough that I wanted to meet the person behind the idea.”
Vaggie remained silent.
I continued.
“Today, the answer is different.
I like Charlie.
She’s sometimes exhausting, far too optimistic, and has a worrying tendency to believe that a sincere enough conversation can solve almost anything, but I genuinely like her.”
I looked directly at Vaggie.
“That doesn’t mean I believe in her project.
I don’t intend to move into the hotel, seek redemption, or become a benefactor of Pentagram City.
I have my own domain, my own responsibilities, and goals that have nothing to do with hers.”
Vaggie crossed her arms.
“And you don’t expect anything from her?”
“Everyone expects something from their relationships with other people.
Even Charlie.
The difference is that I’m not preparing a contract behind her back and I have no intention of exploiting her trust to obtain her soul, her title, or her father’s influence.
If one day I need something from her, I’ll ask directly and she’ll be free to refuse.”
Vaggie studied me for a few seconds.
“That’s almost reassuring.”
I smiled faintly.
“Coming from you, I’ll consider that an enormous compliment.”
She gave a small laugh.
Then her gaze moved toward my lieutenant, who was helping our driver prepare the car.
“And for what it’s worth, thanks for the barrier earlier.”
“You probably would have survived without it.”
“Probably.
But it would’ve hurt.”
“In that case, consider us even.
You stopped that thing from crushing me a few seconds earlier.”
She nodded.
Nothing else was necessary.
We weren’t suddenly becoming friends.
But something had changed.
And that suited me perfectly.
By the time we finally left the field, Hell’s sun was already beginning to sink behind the buildings.
Pentious had managed to get his prototype transported despite the damage and was still talking about the improvements he intended to make.
Angel had settled himself on a crate and was telling anyone willing to listen that the machine needed a much sexier name.
Vaggie was trying to ignore him.
Charlie, meanwhile, simply seemed happy that nobody had died.
Before I got into my car, she came over to me.
“Thanks for coming.”
“I wanted to see the prototype.”
Her smile returned.
That damn smile.
I knew exactly what she was thinking.
“Don’t start.”
“I didn’t say anything!”
“Your face says enough.”
She laughed.
“Okay, okay.
But you had fun.”
I looked behind her.
Pentious had just started arguing with Angel because the latter was apparently proposing they name the machine The Penetrator.
Vaggie was already threatening Angel.
Two Egg Boiz were trying to reinstall an armor plate upside down.
My lieutenant waited beside the car with the supernatural patience that several decades spent at my side had probably forced him to develop.
I looked back at Charlie.
“The day was interesting.”
She smiled even more.
“I’m taking that as a yes.”
I didn’t give her the satisfaction of answering.
On the way back, my lieutenant remained silent for a good part of the journey.
I knew the habit well enough to know a remark would eventually come.
It arrived about twenty minutes later.
“You’re spending more time with the hotel residents than you used to.”
I watched the landscape pass behind the window.
“Is that an observation or a particularly awkward attempt to make me admit something?”
“An observation.”
I smiled faintly.
“You’re becoming almost as bad as Charlie.”
He waited.
This time, however, I didn’t feel the need to deny it.
“I still don’t believe in their project.
I don’t think a few trust exercises and songs will be enough to turn centuries of criminal behavior into a ticket to Heaven, and I certainly have no intention of spending my days helping every sinner who crosses my path for free.”
I turned my head slightly toward him.
“But some of the people in that hotel are interesting.
Pentious is a genuine inventor despite his ego and obsession with cannons.
Vaggie is far more competent than she usually appears when she spends all her time preventing Charlie from throwing herself into problems.
Angel is…”
I thought for a few seconds.
“Angel.
I still haven’t found a better category.”
My lieutenant made a slight movement that looked dangerously close to silent laughter.
I continued.
“And Charlie possesses far more power than her everyday behavior would suggest.
I obviously knew she was Lucifer’s daughter, but knowing something theoretically and watching her stop several tons of infernal creature with her bare hands are two different things.”
I briefly remembered her expression during the fight.
That almost instantaneous transformation.
Then the fact that she had apologized immediately afterward.
Strange woman.
“That doesn’t change our priorities,” I added.
“The domain remains our responsibility and I’m not going to start organizing my schedule around the Hazbin Hotel.
But I also have no reason to avoid people I find interesting solely to maintain an artificial distance.”
My lieutenant tilted his head slightly.
“Understood.”
The conversation could have ended there.
My phone vibrated.
I took it out.
A message from Pentious.
I opened it.
He had already sent a photograph of the partially dismantled prototype, accompanied by a list of modifications he intended to make to the armor.
A second message arrived before I had even finished reading the first.
Then a file.
I stared at the screen.
My lieutenant turned his head slightly toward me.
I showed him the phone.
“However, I may have to explain to him that ‘send me the final plans’ does not mean ‘turn me into your personal design department.'”
My lieutenant remained silent for a few seconds.
“You’re going to read the file?”
I looked at him.
Then at the screen.
I deliberately locked the phone and put it back into my pocket.
“Tomorrow.”
This time, I clearly heard him laugh.
I turned my head toward him.
“Enjoy it.
I can still make you walk back to the domain.”
He immediately regained his composure.
I settled back into the seat as the car continued along the road.
Pentious had successfully tested his prototype.
Vaggie and I had discovered that we could work together without strangling each other.
Charlie had just reminded me that a gentle personality had absolutely nothing to do with how much power someone could possess.
And I had spent an entire day away from my domain to attend the test of a machine built by a resident of a hotel whose project I still considered profoundly unlikely.
Three days earlier, all of it had started with a simple spare part.
In Hell, I probably should have known that no sentence containing the word simple survived contact with reality for very long.