Strange Epiphanies

The group exited the foyer and noting the rumpled condition of the bed in the alcove to the right, turned left into the somewhat narrow confines of the living area. Lydia rose from the white leather sectional, her hands curled into fists as her two nemeses saw her and stopped. The lead one's eyes, the demon like herself, blazed momentarily, then narrowed as she regarded Lydia more carefully.

Finally, Lorelei's head tilted slightly, then straightened as she drew a deep breath. Her eyes widened as the angel placed a hand on her shoulder and leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"You smell it, too, don't you?" Rachel whispered. "Like I smelled it when you were in that restaurant. With Brigitte. Redemption."

Lorelei nodded, her gaze still fixed upon her blonde rival. Lydia did not seem defiant. Or arrogant and malicious. She stood with her chin up, determined, offering no submission, nor any spite. She merely looked prepared to deal with anything that would now come her way. Lorelei felt Alex find her hand as he stepped near to offer his assessment.

"Babe?" He murmured. "That ain't the same woman who stepped on my dick."

Lorelei turned to him curiously and inquired, "You can tell, Alex?"

"Uh-huh," he shrugged. "Comes from hanging with you two, I guess."

"You have always had good instincts, my love. But remember what she did to you."

"Oh, I do. Believe me, I do. But get this: I got to see where I came from. I got to see what prepared me for you." His smile matched the one that she could not hide. Rachel high fived him as she moved in to hug them both. Lydia crossed her arms and waited, then wound those same arms around Doug as he moved around the trio to pull her into an embrace.

"Well, nobody's throwing around fireballs yet, so that's good, right?" He asked so only she could hear. He felt her nod against his neck, then look over his shoulder as Lorelei spoke.

"How did you escape, Lydia?"

"I took a piece of your crown from Azazel's...display. Your scouts had brought me there and I watched as you and he fought, and what you did to him after you vanquished him. I had no wish to join him as a victim of your rage, so I took the spike shard and cut Vincent's shackle from my leg after you left through Azazel's portal. Oh, and before I left, I believe Belial and Lilith were going to contend for your domains."

"It seems as much as I tried to avoid a tremble in the Balance, I managed to stumble right into the middle of one. Once I found the back door you used I tried to make my way as far away from where you and...her...and him and his friends.... I did not want you to find me. I am free now. Free to choose, just as you are. And I have chosen him." As she said her last she squeezed Doug harder to her.

Then she released him and bent to retrieve something from her purse. Stepping towards Lorelei she held out the piece of the Iron Crown in her possession. "I believe this is yours."

"You would give up that power?" Lorelei had trouble believing that.

"Of what use would it be to me now? You would know I have it, and so would she. You would not let that situation fester and I am through with running. When I emerged from The Pit back in Seattle I raged against you both for what you had taken from me. But then I realized the gift you had given me however unintended. I am grateful, as hard as that may be to believe. All my life, I have worked against someone or something. I reveled in the taking of souls and enjoying the cruelties and petty triumphs I could wreak against her and the hosts," Lydia pointed at Rachel.

"I worked against my masters just as you did and I hated you for being more successful at all of it than I was." Lydia seemed to deflate a bit before continuing. "I never dreamed of freedom like you did Lorelei, and I envied you even that. But possibilities stretch before me now that make me want to scream for all that I never knew existed. I see the truth now. The Balance? The precious Balance between Heaven and Hell?" She laughed bitterly. "That is not...."

Lydia and Doug stepped back involuntarily as Rachel leaped in front of them and held up her right hand. "STOP! Do not say another word!! You threaten their souls!!" Rachel's shout carried equal parts warning and desperation. "They cannot be told that truth!"

Lydia's eyes narrowed, a look of disgust passing over face before it fled at the sight of Rachel's anguished countenance. She blinked twice as she realized that what the angel said was true. If she revealed her insight, all four mortals' souls might be forfeit. She looked up at Doug as he looked back with curiosity and utter belief in his eyes. Belief in her. Her world shifted again. She looked back at Rachel. "I understand," she replied softly, "we cannot lose them, can we?"

Rachel shook her head, silent but for the relieved exhalation she breathed out before nodding and returning to Lorelei and Alex. The corner of Lorelei's mouth quirked and Rachel glared. "Don't you start with me." She warned.

Lorelei smirked, "I would not dream of it, my love."

Agent Nguyen, who'd been watching the exchange open-mouthed as had Amber, closed hers and cleared her throat. "Perhaps," she offered, "we could discuss more mundane things. Have you discovered anything that our task force needs to be concerned with?"

Bridger shook his head, more to clear it than respond in the negative to Colleen's question. Running his left hand down the back of his head to his neck, he responded, "This is essentially a big case of nothing to see here, Colleen. Obviously, Lydia like Lorelei, has a a...a...um," Doug glanced at both the supernaturals in question whose eyes were narrowing in a very similar manner as he struggled to come up with a substitute for murder-laden past, amongst other things that would not end up with his being on both of their shit lists.

"Unique profession!" He finally blurted as Lydia turned to face him, crossed her arms and tapped her right foot rather pointedly on the hardwood floor.

"Good save," muttered Alex.

"There may be hope for him yet," Lorelei nodded back, sotto voce.

Rachel was somewhat less circumspect. "Hey, Agent Pimp-Daddy, I got a shovel if you think it'll help!" she catcalled. "What?" she asked Alex when he rolled his eyes.

Doug blushed as he tried to continue. "There's no evidence of any current criminal activity beyond her befriending a group of local sex-workers. From what I could gather from the girls I interviewed in the past week, Lydia has no direct connection to the women or their work. She isn't 'running' them per se beyond providing advice and 'training.' She doesn't extract any of their earnings beyond what they offer as gifts. Most times she refuses even those, being able to obtain funds and other necessaries through her own means."

"None of that seems to fall under any extortion parameters either; the proprietors of any establishments who comp her stuff are more than amply rewarded with increased traffic through their businesses or increased sales volume of higher ticket items, due it seems to the fact that she and her associates are customers also. The rumor that clients of her associates are raving about their interaction with the women are completely true, as far as I can tell, which has resulted in a decrease to negligible on the number of complaints for or by either party to local law enforcement. Apparently, the great increase in both skill and enthusiasm by her associates...."

"They're my friends, Douglas. Sisters, really." Lydia admonished him gently. Lorelei's lips formed an enigmatic smile while Rachel openly gawked in pleased surprise. "Stop looking at me like that," Lydia blushed at them. "A girl can change."

Doug's face also wore a grin now, "Okay...bottom line is that her friends have a much better working environment, their customers are happier, none of the local businesses are complaining. We've got nothing."

"And moving into the future?" prodded Colleen. "Can we be sure this situation will remain stable? I highly doubt the local crime heads are going to tolerate a lack of control over her 'friends' for very long."

"We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it, I guess. Right now, they seem to be laying low due to the 'busts' and yeah," as he gestured to Lydia, "that's her and the girls too, setting them up. There's also some sweetheart deals for physical protection for the girls but nothing beyond what normal security would be like at say, a strip club. If society acted the way they should, the city would be giving them medals." Doug concluded.

"I'm glad to see you actually accomplished some work here, Doug. I'd hate to have to invoke disciplinary procedures." She smiled at his look of dismay. "You've done well here, Doug, however unconventionally you went about it. It seems to be a recurring method."

Amber's mouth dropped open in outraged amazement, "Wait a minute," she started, "I got an official reaming for what happened with Jason and you're going to give him a pass?!"

"For the record, Agent Maddox," Colleen addressed the younger agent evenly, "I was not the originator of that reprimand, nor did I agree with it, seeing how that whole situation ultimately unfolded. Furthermore, I had it removed from your file as soon as the furor over that incident died down. It would sully Agent Keeley's and the others' sacrifices to blame you for Hauser's misdeeds. And you're welcome." Colleen added, as she noted Amber's disbelieving relief.

"Colleen, how...I...but...." Amber spluttered.

"Now is neither the time nor the place for that particular discussion, Agent Maddox," Colleen continued gently, glancing at the non-Bureau people present. "In any case, I believe we are done here. I trust you will have the details wrapped up in a full report for me soon, Agent Bridger?"

"Uh, about that, Colleen," Doug began sheepishly. "I'll have that report ready in a couple of days, but it will probably be my last."

"Again, Agent Bridger," Colleen said quickly, "a discussion for later, officially, in private." To the wider audience she continued, "As we have in the past, I would like to conduct after action interviews. This time, thankfully, we won't be having any that are post mortem."

"Aww man, you just had to jinx it didn't you?" Alex groaned before he could stop himself. They all turned to look back at the entrance as they heard the click and beep of the cardlock in the door being activated.

Chapter Sixteen

The hypocrisy of YouTube lay in its egalitarianism. And its easily skirted content restrictions. As long as a video was deemed "educational" an uploader could basically ignore most copyright laws and any moral compunctions. There were videos that you could watch that would give you step by step instructions on how to engage in many criminal activities, and how to train to counter law enforcement.

So it was that Diego, Pedro, Hector, and Raoul came to be stacked up at the door to Suite 229 of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, looking as precise as any tactical team might also look, preparing for a dynamic entry. The weapons they held were smuggled in hidden in the cleaning cart of the maid whose master key card they also had. She was at home, packing her family up for the new life she'd been promised back in her home country. Aiding Pedro Almodóvar was very rewarding it seemed.

Diego slid the card through the slot and kicked the door in when the mechanism beeped. He leveled the M4 at the youngish auburn-haired woman he first saw but hesitated as Pedro shouted that the girl was not Lydia. There were too many people here, and Diego concluded rapidly that everything had just gone to shit as the girl screamed "GUN!!!" before whipping her blazer to the side revealing a duty style holster from which she was going to draw an all black pistol.

Everything seemed to go into slow motion then. He brought his rifle up again to center the girl with its silhouette just as a raven-haired woman caught him by the throat and flung him into the back-lighted photograph of a smiling Marilyn Monroe caught in a mirror by her dark-haired companion. The woman was not able to intercept Pedro as he swung the bullpup shotgun around to snap one shot off in the direction of the cop and the object of his hate before another woman, a blonde who seemed to glow in her simple white dress whipped a flaming sword down through weapon, cutting it in half and barely missing Pedro's right hand.

The woman who'd thrown him one-handed then barreled into Hector, driving him backwards into Raoul and them both into the very solid door that had swung closed behind them. Diego lost track of them then, hidden in the foyer but heard Raoul's shocked "MADRE DE DIOS!!" before he saw both their weapons clatter out onto the floor at the feet of the woman whose Glock 23 was out and pointing at him as he lay sprawled amidst shattered glass on top of a king sized white bed.

"Just give me a reason, asshole," she threatened menacingly, as he saw Pedro dangled from the grip of the glowing blonde who still held her flaming sword in her right hand.

"You stupid, drug-selling, cunt-ass motherfuckers!!" She snarled as Pedro gasped and coughed in her gasp, desperately trying to get his feet back on the ground.

The dark-haired woman returned from the foyer, roughly pushing Hector and Raoul before her and Diego nearly screamed at her appearance. Dark stripes ran across her skin, which itself was a glowing crimson. His fellow gang members winced at the pressure the talons at the end of her fingers exerted on their shoulders. The horns and wings that sprouted from her forehead and back nearly completed the picture and Diego was sure he would have seen the tail if he'd dared to look. "Diablos," he muttered while keeping the rest of his body very still, despite the discomfort of his sprawl. "We came to fight...diablos."

Colleen had her gun out nearly as quickly as Amber and she pointed it at the struggling man in Rachel's grasp as the angel continued to spew profanities at him. "Rachel," she called. "Please put him down."

Rachel blinked and shut off her curses. "Oh, right." She replied sheepishly as she dropped Pedro into a heap. It was only then she heard Lydia's anguished cries of "No, no, no, no, noooo...." and looked over to see Doug Bridger sprawled across her lap with way too much of his blood spattered over himself and Lydia. The blonde succubus cradled him and rocked as tears poured down her face.

Rachel's sword vanished and she rushed to them but knew she was already too late. The one-ounce slug had torn through Bridger's chest and lay on the floor in the spreading pool of blood, having stopped against Lydia's much tougher exterior. She knelt near the distraught demon and placed a hand on Doug's neck, before bowing her head and offering a prayer. She turned and looked up above his body to see his soul looking down at Lydia with such sorrow. Then he blinked at her realizing she could see him.

"She's in so much pain. Can't you do anything for her?" he asked.

Rachel shook her head, "I am not bound to her as I am to Lorelei. I am sorrier than you can imagine, and more still, that I cannot do anything for you, Doug." She tilted her head to peer around him. "Hello, Ruth."

The other angel stepped out from behind Doug's spirit self. "Greetings, Dominion."

"Please don't come in here with that crap, this isn't my city." She smiled sadly at Doug. "It wasn't his fault for losing your protection. It was for noble purpose, and he has paid the ultimate price."

"I-I know, Dom...er, Rachel. I have been given leave to bring him home."

"Home?" asked Lydia from her fog of grief. "He will go to Heaven?"

Doug's former guardian stepped close to her charge and placed gentle hands on the spirit's shoulders. "Yes, Lydia," she replied. "His love for you has redeemed him, as yours for him is redeeming you. Although I have come to believe I should have never been forced to leave his side in the first place."

Lydia bowed her head, but then raised her tear streaked face to them both to ask, "Is this what they suffer? At our hands? How do they endure it? I-I can barely breathe...." She broke off as more sobs racked her body.

Doug knelt down next to her. "I loved you for a day, Lydia." He said to her as she grieved. "I would not have traded yesterday for any other. But you're free now, this isn't our end, but your beginning." He reached down and cradled her cheek and she made to grab at his hand as if she would never let go. "I'll always be with you. I love you." He stood then as she slumped back against the ruined leather of the sofa and watched sorrowfully as Ruth led him towards the light that beckoned and flared so she had to turn away.

"How am I going to live...how am I going to live, now?" Lydia's anguished lament silenced the room.

Chapter Seventeen

"I am almost tempted to reassess the pros and cons of dealing with the supernatural in general, and this part of it in particular," Special Agent Nguyen remarked glumly as the somber group around her tried to wend their way through another aftermath.

The Mexican gang members would be prosecuted to the fullest extent, and thankfully no one else had been injured, but losing another agent was going to really cast scrutiny on the task force and Colleen was not looking forward to that in the least. Keeley, and now Bridger, were dead by involvement in supernatural bullshit, and further she could not seek answers from those who had the knowledge to quell her questions. "Bah! If mortals wanted the damn answers they should be given the chance to forfeit their soul or not...she would in a heartbeat," she thought darkly.

"No, Colleen," a voice in the back of her mind whispered. "there is no bounty to find by placing your soul within the reach of those who would abuse it. I know you want to know. I know you grasp at the larger picture. But that knowledge would only harm you. Please. Please believe there IS a reason for it all." Colleen's guardian angel Sergio bent to his task with intensity while appealing to Rachel with tortured eyes. Rachel crossed her arms.

"You're on your own pal. All you guys already know my feelings and she ain't gonna believe me anyway. Not after I got another of her guys killed." Rachel finished bitterly so only Colleen's guardian could hear. Or so she thought. She felt Lorelei's hand upon her shoulder.

"Rachel, stop." Lorelei counseled gently. "The fault here is not yours. These events come about by mortal choices. Every single one. Even Hauser. He could have chosen not to listen to what he knew was wrong from Donald. Indeed, if Alex had not chosen as he did, both our lives would be different now."

"But others might still be alive, Lorelei."

"And still others might have perished in their stead. We would be under the control of a master who might rival my own from The Pit. Do not second guess yourself this way, my love."

"Can we go home, now?" Rachel asked plaintively. "I am so sick of these things turning into shitshows...."

Both Alex and Lorelei stepped in to hold her and at the moment did not care who saw amongst the specialized personnel who were assessing and cataloging the crime scene. In that sense this incident was going to carry much larger repercussions than either of the first two that all the principals here had been involved in. This had happened in a very famous room, in a historically significant establishment, dedicated to a beloved American icon.

Most of the support FBI personnel looked at them with a combination of horror, fascination, and sympathy. No matter how much supernatural intervention there might be brought to bear, the public would find out something and there was going to be hell to pay. Colleen sighed and motioned to Amber.