Ella's help

Lucifer was standing with his back against a tree watching two kids play in the garden of their house. He couldn't move and he didn't know why. The children,a boy with short black hair and his twin sister,almost identical to him except she had longer hair and a bigger smile,were playing hide and seek. They were running,making all kinds of noises.

Suddenly the image he was seeing changed. The young girl was nowhere to be seen and the boy was playing all alone but he had paler skin,bright blue eyes and longer black hair. Suddenly the little boy turned and Lucifer was surprised to see a small David looking at him. But he was more surprised to see himself coming out of the house,which had changed and now looked so similar to his own house.

-Lucifer,Lucifer come play with me

The little boy threw a ball in his direction but much to David's disappointment,Lucifer easily caught it with one hand and tossed it back at the child.

-No,David. I don't play childish games and besides it's almost time for lunch and you are more dirty than we take a bath.

-No. I don't wanna.

-You never do.

-Well,today I don't want to more than usual

-Do tell. Then that proves that the dirtier you are,the more you hate baths.Now come on.

-No.

The young boy turned around and started running towards a tree,in an attempt to climb it and be free of the future torture,called a bath.But Lucifer' s patience was starting to run thin.

-Come back here,young man.I swear,if you climb that tree,I wont cook you another pie for at least two months.

But David had already climbed the tree and looked at his brother from above,sticking his tongue out,feeling safe and in a position of power.

-If I am a young man,then I can decide for myself if I want to take a bath and my answer is no.

-And unfortunately for you,I am in charge of you,young man, and you will have a bath.

-No.I am staying here. And if you don't promise me to make me apple pie every day for the rest of the year then I am not coming down and when Amenadiel comes back,I will still be up here and he will get angry at you for letting me stay up here for so long. And then you will be in SO much trouble.

Lucifer normally would be furious but a careful look at the tree altered his perception of things. He didn't say anything more,he just went back inside,he got a glass of ice lemonade and sat comfortably on a chair a few feet away from the tree and waited.

A few minutes passed and the child was starting to get bored and Lucifer noticed that. He got up and went inside pretending to have something to do but in reality he hid behind the curtains,waiting,with a devilish smile across his face.

David didnt see the deceit and decided it was time to, carefully,come down now that Lucifer wasnt looking.But as he looked down at the other branches he realised,with terror,that he couldn't come down.The little boy got scared but he knew that if he called for Lucifer to help him down,defeat was quaranteed and the bath assured.

So,despite the voice of logic,he still tried to climb his way down the tree but a few centimeters from the ground,he slipped and fell.Lucifer was still hiding behind the curtains but when he saw his brother falling,he immediately came out of his hiding spot and rushed to the young boy's side who was crying loudly.Thankfully, nothing was broken but David's knee was bleeding.

-Lucifer,it hurts

-Disobedience hurts,now you know it.

-You are so mean,sometimes.

-And you are causing me more trouble than necessary. Now,it's time for your bath. And we need to treat that wound.

-No,you are putting that thing that makes it hurt more.Please.

-Fine.I will clean it with water and soap. But you are forbidden from climbing any more trees for a long time,it's late anyway and your apple pie will get cold.

-Yay,apple pie!!Thank you,Lucifer.

-Lucifer! Is it really you?

A female voice brought him back to reality,a reality harsher than his memories.

-Ms Lopez. It's so good to see you again.

-My children told me a strange man was watching them but I could never have imagined.How are you? Come inside. My husband is away on a business trip so we have all the time in the world.

Lucifer followed her inside quietly,while looking at the children one more time. The young boy reminded him so much of David that he almost ran inside before the memories had another chance to torment him.

When they sat down,each with a cup of coffee in their hands,Lucifer tried to speak first but was unsuccessful.

-To tell you the truth,I was quite surprised to see you. After Chloe died,you disappeared almost immediately.You never contacted us again. You ignored our calls,our texts.So what brings you back after all these years?

-I need your help,Ms Lopez.

-It's actually Mrs Jones now but you can just call me Ella.

-Thank you,Ella. As I said,I need your assistance. Specifically,your talents.

When she heard that,she got up quickly and went to stand in front of the big window,with her back turned to Lucifer.After a silence that lasted a few minutes,she returned to the table but now her initial joyfulness was lost and was now replaced with an obvious nervousness.

-Listen,Lucifer. Things have changed since the last time we saw each other.I don't work for the police anymore. It's true I have a more quiet life than the one I wanted eighteen years ago but I am fine with that. I have a husband and children and I don't want to get mixed up with anything that would put them in danger.

-I understand and I respect that but I would not have come here if it wasn't terribly important. My brother was kidnapped.

-Amenadiel?!

-No. My younger brother.

-I didn't know you had a younger brother.

-He came into my life shortly after Chloe's death and now he is in danger and he needs me.And I need your help.

-Lucifer,I'm sorry,I can't help you. Maybe you should go to the police.

-Oh,come on,Ella. You know how slow they are

And he doesn't have much time.You know this is true.

Ella didn't answer. She went to open the door,an obvious silent request for him to leave.

-Ella,please.

She stopped and turned to look at him,shocked. Then she signaled him to get up and led him to the basement where she still kept her laptop from her days at the Police Department.

-Okay,Lucifer. Tell me everything you know.

-First of all,he was kidnapped near the National Museum,at Columbus Avenue.

-That's a good start. It will only take me a minute to hack into the street cameras.

After a few minutes they had a clear view of the street during the time of the kidnapping and Lucifer clearly saw the two men grabbing his brother and throwing him inside the van,like a sack of potatoes,just as Charlie described.. Lucifer was growing angrier by the minute.

-Can you zoom in to take a clearer look at the vehicle's plates?

-Sure thing. Thankfully they are within the camera's range. I can run the plates to the database and find the owner of the van and let's hope it wasn't stolen.

Lucifer waited and each minute seemed like an eternity until finally the driver's license came up on the screen. And Lucifer couldn't believe his eyes. Ella was looking at him with a scared look on her face.

-Lucifer...The vehicle is registered to George, Lorenzo's son.

-That bastard. Even dead he brings me trouble through his offsprings.Thank you,Ella. I own you one. Now I know what to do.

As he turned to leave Ella stopped him.

-Lucifer,wait.Go find Dan. He recently got demoted for putting a coworker of his in danger and is now working as a patrolman for the LAPD. He still has connections to the underworld and he will surely be able to help you.I know you two don't always see eye to eye but trust me when I say that he is what you need right now.

-Okay,I trust your judgment. I can't thank you enough for your assistance. I promise you,you and your family are in no danger.

-At first I was hesitant to help you but you said "please". For you,to put your ego to the side by saying something like this,means that your brother truly means much to you.I hope you find him and that he is ok.

After that Lucifer left her house,with his heart content for the information he managed to acquire but also full of regret because he had a feeling why Lorenzo's kid was after David.

It was because of Lucifer.