"Good afternoon miss."
Tony intended to spark a friendly surprise but Hannah's reaction- jumping on a slight tap on her left shoulder from behind also startled him as well.
"Oh, it's you." She said with a big smile, trying not to make him feel more awful than he already felt for scaring her.
She wondered how someone his age could be so sensitive about such little things. Tony was different from all other men she had met- intellectual, sweet, innocent. Somehow all of it made her heart flutter. She switched the cardboard prototype resting on her right arm to her left.
"Shouldn't you be hanging around Mr. Devil?" She made air quotes with her free hand and let out a slight chuckle which seemed to ease Tony a bit more.
Tony smiled. "Well, Mr. Devil has been in the conference room with the rest of the board for the past three hours, leaving me to wander around doing nothing." He explained. "Glad I ran into you though... Is that the particle accelerator model for NASA's space rocket?"
"Yup, mechanics division newest baby. I see you know your inventions."
Tony scoffed.
"I typically grew up on this stuff." He bragged. "But not my college roommate though. Somehow, he could seem to grasp the fact that to escape velocity here on earth, a particle would have to be traveling at--"
"11.186 kilometers per second!" Hannah and Tony both echoed in a resounding unison that matched the elation on their faces. Hannah would have proceeded to hug him if not for the design she bore in her arms.
"You've got a great mind, Tony- probably as good as Dr. Bates. Why chose to remain his assistant when you could do a lot more?" She inquired instead.
An awkward silence loomed over Tony as he stared back the brown eyes that were practically peering into his soul through the big pair of round glasses that shielded them. For three years he had asked himself the same question and not once had he provided an answer.
"I guess I've grown attached," he said, breaking the silence with a weak smile.
Hannah took the hint immediately but felt it was too late to reply as her swayed gaze spotted Lucifer approaching from behind, looking as jovial and light-hearted as he had been all week.
"Speak of the devil," she remarked, causing Tony to turn around.
"Ah, there you are, Ash," Lucifer heaved a grateful sigh. "I thought it'd take forever to find you... Now come on, we've got work to do." He added, grabbing Tony by the arm before he could respond.
To his surprise, Tony stood his ground.
"Hold on, what's going on?" Tony asked, pulling his hands back.
"Really? You want to this now?" Lucifer raised a brow.
Tony took a glance at Hannah. There was no mistaking the word her eyes were screaming at him. He turned back to face Lucifer and gulped just as a blaring warning of who he was challenging flashed in his head.
"Yes."
Lucifer sighed and shook his head. "What is it with this kid today?" Lucifer said to Henry, squeezing the brows on his forehead with two fingers. There was no reply from the dejected doctor.
"Good afternoon, Dr. Bates," Hannah said to remind Lucifer that she existed.
"Good afternoon, Hailey."
"It's Hannah sir."
"That's what I said." Lucifer cut back and returned his gaze to Tony. "Now Ash, I was planning on giving you the details on our way but I guess it doesn't matter after all." He paused to ensure he had Tony's full attention; he did. "We've got bad news-- two actually."
"Wait what?" Tony mumbled in shock.
"The company is on the brink of financial doom and we need to come up with a huge sum or risk losing it to another organization."
"Oh shit," Hannah let out with her eyes wide.
Tony realized immediately how wrong he was. A mere intern like Hannah should never be a part of conversations of such manner- but of course, Lucifer couldn't have known.
"I'm so sorry Dr. Bates," he said stepping forward. "We can go now... Catch you later, Hannah."
"Oh, now he wants to leave," Lucifer sneered as he studied Tony's jumpy countenance.
"But wait!" Hannah dragged, "He said he got two bad news. What's the other?"
"Oh, right," Lucifer snapped his fingers. "Dr. Cortez is out of his prison cell and has been cleared of all charges relating to the explosion."
Tony and Hannah's eyes got wide in shock were immediately aback by his statement.
"But that's impossible... I mean, he confessed." Tony stuttered. "And the cops were right there."
"I warned you about their incompetence, didn't I?" Lucifer said with a smirk. His gaze shifted to Hannah. She was unusually silent and she could sense a whiff of fear around her.
"Don't worry, Hannah. I'll kill him myself this time," He assured.
Hannah only managed to force a smile because he said her actual name. After all, Dr. Bates was only joking about the killing part, as well as his recent impersonation of the devil.
"Thank you." She said finally.
"Alright then," Lucifer said then turned over to Tony. "Let's go meet my friend."
** ** **
The Leviathan clubhouse wasn't much of a hit during working hours but for some reason the lights were much dimmer, snatching the attention of the few customers scattered around the scanty bar towards an elevated stage at the far end of the bar.
Melodious tunes streaming from the bass and the piano cued in by the striking sounds of snapping fingers resonated around the room, contributing to the smooth Jazz feeling that filled the ears and souls of the audience.
They watched as four women cat walked to the center of the stage, all wearing black sleeveless lace bodysuits and high heels, swaying their hips in rhythmic sounds their fingers kept producing as they sang with finesse into their microphones.
Unfortunately, Lucifer and Tony walked in just as the singing ended and the musicians faded to the back of the curtains.
"Awww, we missed the show!" Lucifer frowned.
"Really? That's what you're thinking right now?" Henry raged. "Where's your so-called friend?"
A notable burst of applause and cheers erupted from a particular booth, drowning out Henry's nagging. It came from a middle-aged man wearing a faded brown shirt and black jeans underneath a purple fur coat. His fuzzy mustache and the gold cross chain around his neck were the giveaways Lucifer needed to identify him among the other Hispanic men surrounding his table.
"MagnÃfico! Encore, encore!" The man cheered loudly as he clapped on.
"There he is," Lucifer said with a grin. "Hey, Juan!"
Juan turned around and on seeing Lucifer, instantly forgot about who and what he was cheering for.
"Hey, Lucifer! What are you doing over there man? Come on." He bellowed.
Tony on the other hand was bewildered.
"You told them who you really are?"
"Of course not!" Lucifer scoffed. "They think it's just an alias I go by or something. Now I take it you haven't been amid drug dealers before?"
All Tony could give as a reply was a baffled silence.
"Just as I thought," Lucifer continued. "So just keep it cool and say nothing while I do the talking. Is that clear?"
Tony gave an affirmative nod.
"Good... And the same goes for you, doctor." He said to Henry.
"Aye aye, captain," Henry groaned.
Lucifer and Tony advanced toward the table just as Juan's men dispersed so that the trio could have a more private conversation.
"Lucifer, amigo," Juan said as he hugged Lucifer slightly. "How have you been man?"
"I'm alright, Juan. This is my assistant, Ash." Lucifer gestured to Tony.
Tony stuck to Lucifer's instructions, saluting with a slight nod. Juan gave him a long stare before he grunted.
"Hmm, fancy. Come on, sit. Would you like a drink?"
"Sure, a glass of vodka wouldn't be bad," Lucifer smiled.
"Oh, wise choice!" Juan commended. "And for your assistant?"
"Make it two glasses then," Lucifer answered.
"Alright... Hey, are you deaf or something?" Juan barked at the bartender. "Get this man a drink!"
At his command, the drinks were served in no time. Juan waited for Lucifer to take a gulp and settle before he continued speaking. Tony on the other hand didn't touch his drink.
"I must say Lucifer when you told me you were going to be out in three days, I thought you were a bit coco man," Juan admitted.
Lucifer laughed.
"For reals man, it was some crazy Jesus Christ reloaded type of shit- bring down this temple and I'll build it up in three days." He said with a Jewish mimicry that only he and Lucifer found funny. "But then you proved me wrong just like how he proved those folks wrong back in the day and now I can't help but be a believer."
Lucifer took another sip of his drink before he continued.
"I'm glad you now see things that way Juan, but like I said on the phone I need a favor from you."
"Yes, and you didn't want to say what the favor was until I met you in person," Juan nodded. "So, what can I do for you?" He asked resting his back and arms casually on the chair.
Lucifer allowed a little silence to linger between them before he spoke.
"I want to meet with your Uncle."
Juan felt a chill wash down his spine as he sat straight up. Suddenly the big macho Juan was nothing more than a frightened child.
"M-my uncle?" He stuttered.
"Yes, your uncle," Lucifer repeated.
"No, you don't get it, man. My uncle isn't just some random dealer you can find on the streets. He is so scarce that even his family don't get to see him except on Thanksgiving and Christmas."
"But you told me you're part of his inner circle, surely you can work something out," Lucifer countered.
Juan sighed.
"Listen, you know I can do anything for you man. But I can't just introduce you to my Uncle without any concrete reason. He'll have my ass immediately after he's done with yours."
"What if you tell him I've got an offer he can't refuse?"
"And what would that be?" Juan arched his brows at Lucifer.
"I'll only tell him when we meet in person."
"Come on man!" Juan banged his fist on the table as he spat. Lucifer on the other hand kept his composure.
"You know you need this as much as I do, Juan. You and I know your uncle already has his doubts about you after your little time in jail. You need this to earn back his trust in you."
Juan slowly tilted his head upwards and closed his eyes. "You've placed me in a tight spot man," He sighed then thought deeply for a moment, considering Lucifer's words.
Finally, he brought his head down and faced Lucifer.
"Alright man, I'll talk to him in a week and get back to you, deal?"
Lucifer gave a devilish grin and raised his glass to the air.
"Deal."