2Vile dangled, held only by the grip on his expensive jewelry.
Lucifer looked down at him.
"I didn't put a hit on her!" 2Vile shouted.
"Why should I believe you?" Lucifer asked.
"Because I loved her!"
That gave Lucifer pause, though only briefly.
"People in love are often quite creative when it comes to violence," he said. "Or attempts at it."
"Girl made me crazy!"
Lucifer lowered him a little further, just enough to remind him gravity still existed.
"That does tend to happen," he said casually. "Does not excuse beating her."
"Hey, hey, we worked that out," 2Vile rushed. "I only hit her once. She was cheating on me."
Lucifer lifted him back up slightly, studying him with sudden focus.
"With whom?"
"I don't know! Some rich married guy. She never told me."
"Anyone she trusted?"
"Her therapist. Dr. Linda. Beverly Hills. Saw her all the time. Fake name and everything."
Lucifer's gaze sharpened. 'Finally, Linda. Things are going great so far.'
Then something shifted in 2Vile's face. The anger drained, replaced by something messier.
"Man," he muttered, "sometimes I get tired of fronting. I just wanted to marry her. Have a kid. She was the one."
Lucifer's expression went flat.
"And yet here you are," he said quietly. "Instead of being with her when she needed you most."
That landed.
2Vile broke into tears.
The crew went silent in horror as their boss started crying like a man suddenly realizing consequences were real.
Lucifer watched him for a moment, unimpressed but not unkind.
"Interesting emotional range," he said. "You should use that emotion in your music. Or at least change your name. What did your mother call you?"
2Vile sniffed. "Percy. Percy Wallace."
Lucifer paused.
Then sighed, "Never mind. Good luck with what's left of your short-lived career."
He dropped him back onto the balcony and turned away.
That was when the voice cut in.
"Guns down! On the floor!"
Chloe Decker.
Lucifer turned just in time to see her enter, weapon drawn, expression locked into professional focus. Two rookies trailed behind her, and the entire room froze under her command.
Lucifer's face lit up.
"You sly dog," he said. "You did listen to me."
'What's this lunatic doing here?' Chloe barely glanced at him. "Ran the victim's phone. Your drug dealer was the last call."
2Vile exploded instantly. "Oh come on!"
Chloe ignored him and stepped further inside, kicking weapons aside as she moved. "Talk to me about Delilah."
Lucifer tried to interject. "Yes, yes, we have already covered this."
She shot him a look that could have stopped traffic.
He stopped talking.
Chloe turned back to 2Vile. "Why did you call Eddie Deacon two days before the shooting?"
"Because he hooks me up sometimes!" 2Vile snapped. "He met Delilah through me. That's it."
"The hit?"
"I didn't put a hit on her!"
Chloe's gaze narrowed. "That still makes you a suspect."
2Vile gestured wildly. "So everyone on his phone is a suspect now? You gonna arrest half Hollywood?"
One of his crew suddenly leaned forward. "Wait. Aren't you that chick from that film?"
The room shifted.
Lucifer perked up immediately. "Oh? Which film?"
The crew member pointed. "You used to be an actress or something, right? That teen
movie... I forget what it's called..."
Chloe tried to hide it, but she's literally dying right now. And Lucifer saw it.
Lucifer said, "Of course! Hot Tub High School! That's where I know you from!"
Chloe cut in instantly. "Let's just stick to my question, shall we?"
Lucifer ignored her and continued, "The one with that famous nude scene! Coming out of the hot tub. It was a complete Fast Times rip-off, but you were like, the new Phoebe Cates. That was quite a nude scene."
Chloe put her hand on her gun. "I've got way too many bullets in here for you to still be talking." She then turned toward the rapper. "Come on. You're under arrest."
"That is a waste of time, Detective," Lucifer said smoothly. "I've just dangled him down the balcony. He is absolutely not our shooter. If he were, he would have told me already. Trust me."
Chloe blinked once.
"You did what?"
2Vile, still half-dragged out of his balcony meltdown, pointed at Lucifer in immediate outrage. "Yeah, isn't that illegal or something?"
Chloe did not even look at him.
"Uh, yes. It is," she muttered, already reaching for her cuffs instead of her gun. "Alright then. You. Come with me."
Before Lucifer could protest, metal snapped around his wrists.
For a brief second, silence settled in.
Then Lucifer smiled.
"Ooh," he said softly, testing the cuffs with a small pull. "With pleasure."
Chloe yanked him forward like she expected resistance. She got none. That alone was irritating.
Lucifer simply walked, calm and unbothered, as if being arrested was an unexpected upgrade to his day rather than a consequence of it.
"Looks like someone's into roleplay."
Chloe simply shook her head at his comment.
...
...
Minutes later, outside 2Vile's estate, the late afternoon sun reflected harshly off the sleek black police cruiser.
Chloe guided Lucifer toward the back seat and opened the door.
Lucifer paused before getting in.
"At least now," he said casually, "perhaps you will listen to me. Though I still fail to understand why I am the one being arrested."
Chloe did not look impressed as she held the door open.
"Because you interfered with a police investigation," she said. "And because you have broken so many laws I have stopped counting. And because you are annoying."
Lucifer tilted his head slightly.
"I can get out of these, you know."
Chloe gave him a dry look. "Funny."
There was a soft click, then another.
Lucifer took the cuff and held it before her like they were a minor inconvenience he had politely resolved.
Chloe took the cuff, looking surprised.
"How did you do that?" she asked. "You some kind of magician or something?"
Lucifer offered a small shrug.
"Let us just say I have flexible wrists and a disappointing respect for your hardware."
Chloe narrowed her eyes.
"That makes no sense."
"Very little about me does at first," Lucifer replied. "Anyway, you're still wasting time. We should be out there solving an attempted homicide and punishing those responsible!"
Chloe said, "We? Are you insane? Get in the car. I'm taking you in."
Lucifer said, "But that's boring! Not to mention pointless. Come on, I'll help you, it'll be fun!"
"How could you possibly help me?"
"You'd be surprised. I have a certain skill set. I can be very persuasive with people. Tend to see things others cannot."
"So you're a psychic?"
"No. I can't read people's minds. I'm not a Jedi. People tell me things," He said with a confident smile.
"Really? Just... confess their sins? Just like that?" She asked with a sigh.
"No, not their sins. I have no power over people's sins. I actually get a bad rap for that. But their desires, different thing entirely. I have the ability to draw out people's forbidden desires. Tempt them. Taunt them. The more simple the human, the easier it is. The more complex? The more challenging and exciting, really. But your actual sins? The sins are on you people..." Lucifer explained his ability.
"I get it. The name. The whole Lucifer thing..." Chloe said sarcastically as she made a hand gesture. "...and desire's like, your superpower."
"More like a gift from God," Lucifer said, the truth which, by mortal standards, was really hard to believe.
Chloe gave him a deadpan look.
"Look, I'm just a people person. They feel compelled to share things with me. And why wouldn't they, really? I'm pretty awesome," Lucifer complimented himself.
"Yeah? Prove it," Chloe said, looking into his eyes.
"That I'm awesome? Isn't it obvious?" Lucifer said as he looked deeply into her eyes. "Tell me, Detective. What do you desire more than anything in this life?"
'I wonder if I have the same weakness as the OG Lucifer?' He thought.
Chloe sighs. But then her eyes suddenly locked with his, and she was mesmerized...
"I guess, when I was a little girl, I always wanted to be a cop like my daddy, so that one day, I could help people..."
Then she dropped her act.
"...and make them shut up and get in the damn car!"
'Damn it. So, she really is my weakness. Great.' He thought.
"You're not like a Jedi or something, are you?" He asked.
"Get in the car," Chloe said, looking really fed up with him.
"Wait. I know something you don't know."
"Yeah? What's that?"
"Won't say. Unless you take me with you on this. Please? Come on, I got to 2VILE, didn't I?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You're unbelievable."
Chloe squints at him. "Huh. You don't strike me as a celebrity stalker. You aren't related to her. You weren't sleeping with her, were you?"
"Surprisingly, no."
"Then why do you care about this so much? About Delilah? I heard you even put her in the best room and even paid for all the expenses at the hospital. You even assigned private guards. So...?" Chloe asked.
"Do I really need a reason to care for someone who was shot right before my eyes?" Lucifer asked.
Chloe noticed a slight change in his tone and expression. It was like a new side of him. "Fine. But if your little clue doesn't pan out," She held up the cuffs. "I'm puttin' these back on, and they're gonna stay on."
Lucifer cracked a smile and nodded. She got in the car and he got in the back seat. Both of them were growing more and more intrigued with the other...
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