Lucifer's resolve

Lucifer straightened his Jacket before walking over the two guards who laid on their backs groaning as he stepped inside the wide-open doorway to see startled expressions on the faces of the board members.

"Dr. Bates, Henry." Dr. Simon dropped his champagne as he stuttered. "I must say, I'm quite shocked seeing you here. And standing on your feet too, it's nice--"

"Oh, shut that hoard of lies you call a mouth, will you?" Lucifer retorted as he went to sit at the other end of the table. "I know you are not glad to see me here, none of you are... in fact, you're all frightened to see me."

"What? Why should we be?" Dr. Cortez asked glaring. "You're the one going down for all the people that died on your watch."

"That's not what your bald friend with the scar on his nose said."

Lucifer's grin sent cold shivers running down Dr. Cortez's spine. He was right, someone had gotten to Skullz and even his bodyguard wasn't enough to prevent this man from getting to him.

"I can see what happened here," Lucifer said crossing one foot over the other as he placed them on the table. "You have always seen Henry, this body, as a rival and he began to surpass you, didn't he? So, you decided to bring him down with this scheme... What I'm still wrapping my head around though, is how he managed to beguile you, do-gooders, into this; greed, I guess." Lucifer paused as he sat back properly. "More importantly, I want to know how you manage to bring me here."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Dr. Cortez asked, looking confused.

"Cortez, come on, there's nothing left for you to hide. Did you seek the help of some demon while trying to sabotage the project or was it something you stumbled upon accidentally?"

"You're speaking nonsense!" Dr. Cortez interjected then faced the board members whose faces screamed terror. "He's saying nonsense." He could feel beads of sweat drip from his fingertips to the desk as he spoke. His heart was racing fast too. The Henry sitting across from him didn't look like Henry he knew at all.

"What do you want from us, eh?" Dr. Cortez flashed a dreadful stare at Lucifer. "It's your word against ours; no one is going to believe you."

"Then it's a good thing I recorded everything you just said," Tony said striding into the office, announcing his presence. "You just testified that all Dr. Bates said was true, and now we have proof." He waved Skullz's cellphone in the air then turned to Lucifer. "We got them, Dr. Bates." He said with a soft smile.

Lucifer frowned in displeasure. "Well, that's good for you." He said rising to his feet. "But I haven't gotten my answer yet."

Meanwhile, the four men Lucifer had brought down were slowly recuperating from their bruises although they were still too weak to get up.

"We need back up." One of the men outside radioed with a deep groan.

In no time, the elevator dinged open and a couple more guards, six in number trooped into the hall and marched straight for the office.

"Stop right there!" One of the men ordered.

Seeing the large automatic rifles each man carried in their hands, Tony quickly jumped behind a chair. "Shit!" He cursed as he cowered behind the chair, seeming to know that something terrible was about to happen.

Lucifer on the other hand didn't flinch. Instead, he moved a step closer to them.

"Are we going to this again? You think that is going to stop me?" He demanded.

"What are you waiting for? Shoot him!" Dr. Cortez's lips quivered as he yelled, his heart still racing. Beads of sweat were beginning to gather on the forehead of the rest of the board members.

"You mortals are really something--" Was all Lucifer could say before the guard in front fired his side-arm. The shot did not deal any real damage to Lucifers temple but was enough to make him grimace as the bullet ricocheted.

Wow, that hurt. He said surprised. But you ruined my jacket. He said with a frown.

His facial expression changed suddenly as he charged at the guard. Grabbing the gun from his hand then bending it on one knee, he tossed it to the side and sent a jab to the stunned guard's throat. The man went down on his knees straight away, holding his neck with both his hands as he coughed profusely.

The rest of the guards opened fire almost immediately after, tearing echoes through the whole room as everyone sought cover under the oak desk and trembling in fear- all but Lucifer who was able to evade their shots with profound ease as he advanced to them one after the other, disarming them of their weapon first and then flinging them wayward.

Dr. Cortez, like the rest of the board members who had their heads under the table, knew that after Lucifer was done with the guards, he would be next. He had to escape at once. His knees still shaking, he began crawling towards the emergency stairway, hoping that Lucifer wouldn't notice. Dr. Simon saw him going and decided the same and just as he sneaked along, a few of the board members followed behind too.

"Oh, I didn't forget about you guys," Lucifer said dropping the last of the guard with a smack and kicking him aside.

The men jumped up in fright, trying to scramble away as soon as they heard his voice but to their surprise, they weren't able to move a muscle. They tried struggling but it was like they weren't in control of their bodies anymore. Frozen like a statue and then their eyes fixed on Lucifer, a wicked grin drawn on his face as he held out his hands partially. He was controlling them like a puppet.

"Now, where were we?"

"Henry, please." Dr. Cortez pleaded. "I don't know what you want from me."

"Just tell me the demon you sought out, and I will deal with this myself when I get to hell," Lucifer replied.

"I don't know what you're saying, man." Dr. Cortez cried as he struggled.

"Please, Henry just let us go." Dr. Simon added. "I swear to you we will confess to everything."

Lucifer sighed. This wasn't heading anywhere to him. He would have to get back to hell if he wanted answers.

Suit yourself. He said intending to kill them when suddenly, he felt a dribble from his nose.

Blood.

They let off a blaring thud as they hit the floor, unmoored from Lucifer's grip and no longer incapacitated.

"I'm bleeding." He said surprised as they all scrambled on all fours out of the room. As he touched the smear on the bridge of his nose, he realized that all his show of strength and speed had been taking its toll on Henry's body all this while, although it didn't give any sign until now. Also, there was the gunshot that was surprisingly painful too.

All of these meant there was a limit to his powers while in Henry's body.

He turned around looking for Tony, only to find him still cowering behind the chair.

"Wh- Who are you?" Tony asked shaking.

"I'm the devil, boy," Lucifer replied giving off an ominous glare.

Tony's eyes immediately widened in terror. Everything, from the metaphors to referring to himself in the third person was starting to make sense. He had been walking with the devil all day!

"Please, I beg you, don't kill me. My mom and my cat need me right now." He cringed with his head bowed.

Lucifer smiled softly. "Look at me. He ordered. Are you afraid?" He asked as Tony set his gaze on him.

"Yes." Tony gulped.

Lucifer smirked again. "Good, what's your name again?"

"Tony, sir,"

"Ugh, Tony, that's boring." Lucifer sneered. "Henceforth, I shall call you Astaroth- Ash for short, after one of my favorite demons in hell. And you will be my assistant throughout my stay here on earth."

"Wait, what?" Tony asked looking puzzled. "You want to stay?"

"Yes, I do," Lucifer answered.

The idea of his present vulnerability excited him and he felt a sudden urge to see how the ordeal plays out.

"I want to experience what it's like to be human- to have things out of my control, to feel pain. I'm starting to enjoy the thrill and you're going to help me."

Tony blinked, trying to make sense of what he was hearing.

I must be dreaming! He thought to himself.

"And don't you worry," Lucifer continued absently. "There's a lot of benefits that come from serving me; riches, fame, power, whatever you want."

"I don't have a choice here, do I? Tony asked.

"No, you don't."

Tony remained silent for a while then looked around the almost empty room. "What about the board?"

"Those puny rats, I will kill them another time." Lucifer shrugged.

"No, we don't have to kill them. I have proof that Cortez was behind the explosion, we can just go to the cops. Don't you want the truth to be revealed?"

"No, I don't care about your affairs really," Lucifer replied bluntly. "But if you want to do it then go ahead." He added as he helped Tony up. "So, tell me, does Henry have any family? A house he goes back to, a mistress maybe?"

"Yes," Tony replied as he remembered something. "Miss Lila would be home by now."

"Who's Lila? The mistress?"

"No, no, she's your- Dr. Bates fiancée," Tony said wondering if he would ever get used to seeing another person in his boss's body.

"Mhm, fiancée huh?" Lucifer said grinning. "Take me there."