Parker (20lbscrazy) wrote in valloic, @ 2020-08-19 08:57:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, ₴ inactive: lucifer morningstar, ₴ inactive: parker |
Who: Parker & Lucifer
What: Attempted thievery
Where: Lux
When: a few weeks ago
Warnings: none
Status: complete
This place was weird and different and Parker wasn’t entirely sure what to think about the whole situation. It was interesting though and there were a lot of places and things to case investigate. She wished that some of her team was here, especially Eliot or Hardison, but they weren’t so she was on her own for the first time in several years, which meant she easily slipped back into her old ways.
Mostly she’d stuck to picking pockets and lifting small items here and there. She was bored though and a bored Parker was never a good thing.
Tonight, she decided to check out one of the nightclubs around and ended up at Lux. It was way fancier than McRory’s, not the kind of place she would frequent outside of a job, though there were plenty of interesting things inside that might be fun to steal. Her eye fell on one particular item, a wooden box with carved symbols on top that she didn’t recognize. It probably wasn’t terribly valuable and she didn’t think it would be missed.
After confirming that no one was paying attention, she slipped into the shadows to retrieve the box and headed towards the door of the club.
*
Lux didn’t take long to find its footing in Vallo. The city was not Los Angeles but host to its own brand of unique energy that still found appeal and curiosity in what the club offered or could offer. Lucifer stood at the top of the staircase overlooking the ground floor of the club, bodies moving in time to the music, groups congregating on couches and chairs, a constant flow of people at the bar. The brief hiccup of setting up in a new city seemed to be past but the crowd lacked familiar faces that he found himself missing.
Lucifer drained the rest of his drink in a gulp and turned to head down the stairs when he spotted the young woman slipping away. Suddenly a refill became much less interesting. He left the glass sitting on the rail and followed after, slipping clear of most of the crowd before angelic reflex kicked in. Settling against the doorway, he waited until the blond appeared again.
“Well done. I’ve had very few people try to steal something from me and fewer still make it this far,” he stated. “I would not open that box however. Pandora already did and most of what was in it supposedly escaped but don’t want to chance there might be something else in there. Release an invasive demonic species into this brave new world and all that.”
*
Parker didn’t get caught. Ever. Unless it was required for part of a job. And then she was usually really bad at it. So it took her a moment to realize that the voice speaking was directed at her and that she had, in fact, gotten caught attempting to steal. She glanced down at the box and then up at the man who spoke. He sounded oddly calm about the whole situation.
“How did you catch me?” she asked. That was a far more important question than who Pandora was or what he was keeping in the box. Had years of working for the good guys somehow dulled her skills? Or was it something about this place? There were people here who could do magic so maybe there were people here who could read minds. The thought of that made Parker frown. She didn’t want anyone to know her thoughts.
*
“Well, I’m sure you’re used to stealing from humans and I am not.” The remark was meant to be somewhat reassuring as the poor thief did seem to be quite talented from the little he’d seen. “I don’t believe we’ve met face to face or online as some prefer around here so it’s understandable that you may not know who you were stealing from.” Lucifer pushed away from the doorframe and strode towards her with his hand extended for a handshake. “Lucifer Morningstar, also known as the Devil.”
While some may have been angry with the attempted theft, Lucifer found it amusing. Ideally it wasn’t usually well thought out to steal from him but that ire was reserved for those he actually knew sneaking behind his back, trying to play him for a fool. This certainly wasn’t that case and he was curious, why Lux and why that box. “I was quite serious about that box though. There was never any confirmation if anything remained in it so I wouldn’t open it.”
*
The devil. Parker had never been religious, though some of her foster parents were through the years, before they stopped trying to place her at least, and all she really knew about him was that he was supposed to smite people who did bad things. Like stealing. “Are you going to smite me?” she asked, glancing down at the box in her hands and worrying about what might be inside it. Carefully, she held it out to him, deciding that it wasn’t worth trying to make a run for it, and assuming that was why he was holding his hand out.
Something about the way he spoke and carried himself made her think of Sophie. Was the devil a grifter? If so, maybe he wouldn’t care if she was a thief. Then again, his actual words sounded more like something Nate would say. “Why are you in a nightclub?”
*
“Am I going to smi - come now, no one smites anyone these days. It’s small dick energy as I believe the kids say these days.” Not to mention smiting wasn’t his father’s style, more manipulation and punishments with a sharper edge. He wasn’t expecting her to hand over the prize she’d so easily absconded with when he extended his hand for her to shake, hesitating for a moment before he gently took it from her. “Not that I see any worth in smiting someone interesting over a wooden box if I did do that sort of thing. Which I don’t and haven’t,” he added, holding up a finger in emphasis.
Lucifer beckoned for her to follow him. “Because it’s my nightclub, Ms…” He turned to face her. “What do I call you? Ms. Thief sounds a bit demeaning and from what I’ve seen, you certainly are not one to be demeaned.”
*
“Parker,” she replied, not really stopping to think that it might not be a wise move to give her name to the actual devil. “Just Parker. No Ms.” And no clarification if that was a first name or last name. Or an alias. No one needed to know those things.
The club was nice and she was a little surprised that he owned it. She figured he’d be too busy ruling Hell for something so trivial. “You think I’m interesting?” Most people thought she was weird, even her own team did a lot of the time. “Why?” Parker wasn’t good at small talk or getting to know people, in large part because she was so blunt.
*
“Just Parker. Of course only one name. It suits what little I know about you.” Parker was skilled, of that there was no doubt, and a singular name spoke of reputation which meant she had some time in the profession.
Lucifer didn’t glance back to see if she followed, allowing her the choice to do so or leave. At least until he got to the top of the stairs, stopping to turn and answer her question. “Some humans just are interesting. You are interesting. You came into my club and made it farther than most would with something of mine,” he explained. “When you’ve been alive as long as I have, you’re drawn to interesting.” Vallo certainly didn’t have any shortage of it.
The trip back inside the club allowed him to grab two glasses and a bottle from behind the bar, deftly avoiding the bartenders serving clubgoers. “While I should probably take this upstairs, would you join me for a drink, Parker? Somewhere a little less noisy.”
*
Curiosity won out over good sense and Parker followed him. When he stopped and answered her question, she nodded. It made as much sense as anything else. She wasn’t much of a drinker, but spending as much time in McRory’s as she had and around Nate, she recognized that the bottle he grabbed was high quality.
“Sure,” she said. It probably wasn’t the best decision she ever made, following the devil to a private location. It also definitely wasn’t the worst. “What’s upstairs?”
*
“My penthouse. You don’t strike me as the type to want to bump and grind and I don’t want to practically yell our conversation to be heard over the music,” Lucifer responded. “I’ll even let you look around for exits first if you’d like.” Granted one of them would be jumping off the balcony but in this place, she could easily sprout wings or float.
To keep out the club, he tapped a few numbers into a keypad near the elevator door and waited for it to slide open. One foot in front of the door’s path to keep it open, he motioned for Parker to enter. “Ladies first.”
*
Since he made no effort to cover the keypad as he entered the code, Parker watched and made a mental note of it. If he had such cool things in the bar, out for the public to see, she imagined he had much cooler things in his penthouse.
“I don’t want to have sex with you,” she said, misunderstanding his reference to ‘bumping and grinding’ and thinking he was making a pass. “I just want to see your stuff.” And see if there was anything worth potentially stealing. The fact that he’d caught her once and was the actual devil was not much of a deterrent to Parker.
Still, she walked past him through the doorway and into his living space, which, on first look was easily as opulent, if not moreso, than the club downstairs.
*
It wasn’t often that he was turned down for sex when offered outside of Chloe and her miracle resistance to his charms but he hadn’t got the feeling that Parker was there for that either. It wasn’t foremost on his list of things to do either. He placed the box on the small bartop that ran along the wall of the penthouse closest to the elevator and put the two glasses down, making no effort to hide his smile of amusement at her bluntness.
“I meant dance but that is also noted, Parker,” he replied as he poured out two fingers of alcohol in both glasses and turned to offer one of them to Parker, “though I should add that I didn’t bring you here for sex either.” Had he since he’d been in Vallo? A few times. The ghost of the detective’s presence haunted him however and made the encounters not quite as fun as they usually were.
Lucifer motioned to the penthouse. “As you can see it’s quite modern but there is a safe hidden in the wall of my bedroom with some rather ancient yet valuable artifacts far outdating indoor plumbing.” He tilted his head towards the open space in the wall, steps leading up to an unmade bed. “Just up those and to your left. It resembles the interior of a Sumerian temple but you strike me as someone smart enough to figure her way through it and the safe.”
*
To Parker that sounded like a challenge and it was one she was fully prepared to accept. It was too bad she didn’t have any of her gear here and would need to obtain the items necessary to pull off a heist like this. Having Hardison around to hack things would help too, but she did just fine on her own before she joined the team, so she’d manage without him.
“Is there anything dangerous in there?” she asked, her gaze shifting back to the box on the bar when she picked up the glass. She still wasn’t entirely sure how the wooden box could cause problems though she took his word for it that opening said box would be a bad idea. If there was anything else in the safe that might cause a similar issue, she wanted to know.
*
“I can promise absolutely not. Just your standard paper money backed by the various financial establishments, coins of various metals, and the gold bars which never go out of style. Oh and some jewelry. Do you like crowns? I think there’s one in there on the top shelf, came from Mad King George. He got so bloody angry when he found he couldn’t bribe his way out of damnation that he threw it at my head.” An idea occurred to him then, a smile appearing as he settled on the edge of his bed to watch her appraise the safe.
“If you can get in there in less than half an hour once you have what you need, you can keep it,” he added, arching an eyebrow. “Was never one for crowns anyway but it seemed wrong to let the demons have it.”
*
“I like money better than stuff,” Parker said. “Give me two weeks to get the right equipment though.” That was probably pushing it, but she enjoyed a challenge and it would give her something to focus on, which meant she wouldn’t be bored for a while.
She wasn’t going to question why the devil was willing to let her steal from him. It didn’t matter. He had money and other treasures and she wanted them.
*
Two weeks. Lucifer made a mental note to trade in a gold bar or two for cash for Parker to open the safe to. His well of financial means was no longer endless but the prospect of having to survive as a normal mortal club owner did thrilled him. “Two weeks from tonight then. I’ll meet you at the backdoor with your equipment to avoid prying eyes and then the challenge begins.”
He knocked back the rest of his drink and rose from the bed’s edge. “So how does one like yourself keep busy here, Parker?” As he stepped down into the penthouse’s main living quarters, he glanced back at her. “Trust me, I won’t tell a bloody soul. It’s the stories I’m interested in,” he assured her as he headed back to the bar for a refill.
*
Parker grinned. She was looking forward to this more than anything else since she’d arrived here.
“Honestly, I’ve been really bored,” she admitted. “I’ve done some easy grabs, but nothing really interesting. I did turn into a mermaid and check out the kingdom under the sea. That was fun.” Other than that, she’d mostly just wandered around, poking into things and trying to figure out why she was stuck in this place.
If he wanted good stories, she could tell him about some of her jobs back home.
*
“Ah right, the mermaid thing. You wouldn’t believe I stumble over new things all that often anymore but that certainly was for me. I think I preferred legs after the experience was done and over with however.” Another healthy amount of liquor was poured into the glass and he stopped the bottle again to lean against the bar.
He nodded towards the balcony looking out over the city, a casual invite to come with him. “So tell me, Parker. What did you consider a challenge back home? The biggest and the best?”
*
The first thing Parker thought when she followed him out onto the balcony was that she really wanted to jump off of it. It wouldn’t be anywhere close to the highest thing she’d jumped from, but she missed that thrill.
“The best? Was the time that we beat the Steranko,” she said, launching into the story about how the security system actually learned from them and got smarter, which made it nearly impossible to circumvent. It had taken every trick her team possessed to overcome that obstacle and get her out of there. It was when she realized how much they actually all cared about her, the fact that they went that far to save her.
*
“That scientist and security officer would each have a spot in Hell for punishment wherein they relieved their failure over and over and over…” Lucifer lazily spun a finger in the air as he repeated the word, smiling as only the Devil about to give out punishment could. Someone who put their greed over the lives of millions, possibly billions, they deserved the worst.
“Well I can’t give you a Steranko but I can find something more challenging than that safe in there.” An idea half-formed came to mind and Lucifer grinned. “Two weeks,” he stated, holding up two fingers to accompany his words, “two weeks and we’ll come back here for you to do your thing. Break into that safe and I’ll give you the promised reward as well as a packet indicating your next challenge. How does that sound?”
*
“Sounds awesome,” Parker said, her eyes shining bright with excitement. This was what she lived for and having someone willing to indulge her desire to steal things was a delightfully unexpected surprise.
She glanced over the balcony, trying to judge if she could safely jump off without gear and decided against it. “I’m going to go home now. But I’ll be back.”
*
“In two weeks,” Lucifer repeated, leaning against the railing. “I’ll be looking forward to it, little thief.” He took another drink before he tilted his head towards the elevator. “I’d offer to show you out but you probably have half this building mapped out in your head already.”
A wink followed his statement. “Leave the box on your way out.”