Nina, What Do You Desire?

The following takes place between 12:00pm and 1:00pm.

—

They had just started working through paperwork for a new homicide case, but the Lieutenant had suddenly called the iconic pair to his office.

“I need you two to stop whatever you’re doing. The director of CTU, George Mason, has specifically requested your assistance, you need to head down there right away." he said, a serious look painting his face.

Chloe’s eyes widened, “The CTU? What could they possibly need from a mediocre detective and civilian consultant?” she asked quizzically.

“Detective please, you’re hardly mediocre.” Lucifer responded, placing a hand on her thigh, which she ignored.

“I’ve no clue!"  The Lieutenant raised his hands in puzzle. "All I know is, Mason stressed that he needs you two urgently. Shouldn’t take you too long, it’s only about ten minutes away.” He sighed. The team had the highest closure rate in the LAPD, the Lieutenant prayed this case wouldn't take too long.

Lucifer had been wanting to search for his newly Earth-bound mother, and the case they had in front of them, the murder of a young man in a gang fight, allegedly by the mother of another member, was looking promising. But whatever leads he hoped to scour today were now on hold. Amenadiel took the lead with his own investigation. He and Chloe drove together in silence. Normally, when they were called out to the field, their car ride conversation would be teeming with theories and ideas, along with some witty and definitely NSFW remarks by Lucifer. But the lack of an overview gave them no context to even begin. Chloe was nervous about the kind of first impression she and Lucifer would be making. The CTU had a huge reputation among the force, responsible for stopping the most menacing acts of terrorism, the most recently known case being the attempted assassination on senator David Palmer.

“CTU? In all the years I’ve spent on Earth, I’ve never even heard of them.” Lucifer asked, confused about this very vague assignment the Lieutenant had given him and the detective.

“Counter Terrorism Unit, they didn’t exist until a few years ago. They’re pretty low-profile, it’s no surprise you haven’t heard of them, being a civilian and all.” Chloe explained.

They entered the dim, underground carpark no less than ten minutes after leaving the precinct. Chloe locked the car with shaking hands as she and Lucifer walked to the security booth.

“Oh, and please don’t try flirting with anybody, I’m sure they’re occupied with something much more important than whatever sexual fantasies you want to discuss with them.” Chloe warned, her face screaming don’t-you-dare-screw-this-up-this-is-serious-Lucifer.

“Suppose I’d better be quick then.” He quips with a smirk. Chloe glares at him impatiently.

“Just kidding detective!” The look on his face screamed smart-ass.

Taking their visitor badges from the solemn security guard, they followed their directions to the main office.

—

Jack had to be dragged out of the interrogation room by three guards after trying to strangle Nina. George had made himself perfectly clear that he didn’t want Jack and Nina in the same room, but simply due to their working history, he allowed Jack one attempt at interrogating her about the location of the nuclear bomb. Despite hoping Nina would be so scared by Jack’s presence that she would start talking, George knew that Jack and Nina’s relationship was well beyond personal at this point.

“Please, let me try again, nobody knows her better than I do, I know she’ll only talk to me.” Jack pleaded. The months of grief after Teri’s death had really taken their toll on Jack. If it wasn’t for him shaving his scruffy beard, the dark circles, fatigue lines, and extra few pounds would not exactly have given him an aura of power.

“Jack I only let you do this because I thought you could put your personal issues aside, but clearly you’ve shown me you can’t. I’ve already got a detective and consultant from the LAPD with a very impressive interrogation success rate on the way. The Lieutenant himself recommended them, and I’m sure they’ll obtain the information we need without trying to kill her Jack.” George glared, shaking his head at the high-strung and flustered man in front of him.

“LAPD consultant? You’re seriously getting two third parties involved in a top secret nuclear threat?” Jack shouted in disgust.

“I will debrief them when they arrive, all they’re gonna do is convince her to talk, apparently the consultant is quite good with psychology. Nina won’t divulge any information until someone from CTU comes in.” George stated matter-of-factly.

Jack scoffed and walked out, that radiation must already be affecting his brain if he thinks a consultant and detective are going to get more information out of Nina than he is, he thought to himself.

—

George saw a tall man in a designer suit accompanied by a blonde woman in a navy blazer enter the office. Swallowing the bile that again rose in his throat from the radiation, he promptly walked downstairs to greet them.

“George Mason, director of CTU, you must be Detective Chloe Decker and Consultant Lucifer…” George’s voice trailed off as he hacked his lungs out once again in the middle of shaking hands with the woman.

“Morningstar.” Lucifer completed, a confused and repulsed look on his face.

“Sorry about that, anyways, come this way so we can debrief you.” He lead them to a small meeting room.

Chloe was relieved to hear they were going to be debriefed. She took in the intensity of her surroundings, everybody was furiously working away at a computer or talking on the phone, not one face looked up at the two visitors. She noticed the constant hum of electrical generators and phones, as well as the distinct lack of natural lighting. It made her appreciate the skylights at the LAPD. They entered an even dimmer, albeit classy, room, complete with a sleek back table and mahogany walls.

Sitting at the table was a man with dark hair and olive skin, who somehow reminded Chloe of Dan, and a blonde man standing in the corner, who looked like he’d seen better days. The blonde man stared Chloe and Lucifer down as they entered. George sighed as he noticed this.

“Jack, what are you doing?” He said with an annoyed tone.

“Well since I’m obviously incapable of interrogating a witness, I guess I should take note of how it’s done then.” the blonde man replied sarcastically, folding his arms.

“Seriously Jack, unless you’re planning to help them, just go home.” The other man rolled his eyes.

The tension in the room did not help to make Chloe feel at ease. Lucifer was tempted to make a smart comment but held his tongue for the detective’s sake, as he could clearly see the anxiety in her face. Grunting, the blonde man slumped down in a chair.

“Sorry about him, Agent Tony Almeida, pleasure to meet you.” Tony glared over at Jack before extending his hand towards Chloe and then Lucifer in turn.

“Detective Chloe Decker.” “Lucifer Morningstar.”

Jack scoffed, “This guy sounds like a porn star, and you’re letting him in on such a high-profile case.” he protested.

“The Lieutenant personally recommended him Jack, so unless you want to go take it up with him, I suggest you sit down and shut up.” George replied, the frustration evident on his face.

Chloe and Lucifer took to their seats awkwardly, Lucifer so daring as to sit opposite Jack.

“Now, the case we have here is very high profile, so we can’t tell you much, but essentially we need you to make this witness willing to talk, so we can take over. I’ve heard very good things about your partnership from the Lieutenant, especially in regards to your ability to draw out information.” George explained, sliding a manila folder over to them. “I’ll give you some time to look through it, ask Tony or Jack if you need help with anything.” He said, opening the door to leave.

“Thank you.” Chloe replied as she opened the file and began to read.

“Would either of you like some coffee while you read?” Tony offered, wanting to break the awkward silence.

“That would be wonderful, just black with one sugar, and a dash of milk on the side, if you could.” Chloe smiled.

“None for me, thanks.” said Lucifer, taking a swig of his flask as Tony turned to leave.

Jack rolled his eyes again, then sat and twiddled his thumbs impatiently as the pair read the file in front of them. Chloe heard the rhythmic tapping of his fingers on the desk, it certainly didn't convey 'take all the time you need'.

“Nina Myers, former CTU agent, arrested for murder and espionage, 18 months ago. Working for some unknown terrorism group…” Chloe began to mumble, transitioning from reading aloud to mentally skimming the more detailed sections. Lucifer was peering over her shoulder, pretending to read, he hated paperwork.

“This is our top secret mission? Getting some prisoner to talk about who her boss is. Certainly vampirish yes, but I wouldn’t call her intimidating. I was expecting more of a challenge, some mafia or military brute, not this plain Jane” Lucifer ridiculed, of course judging solely Nina on her mugshot.

“She’s not intimidating, just stubborn as Hell.” Jack stated, looking up to make eye contact with Lucifer.

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Lucifer remarked smugly.

Jack glowered at him, just who did this guy think he was?

“Clearly you’re very angry about this, what she’d do? Dump you?” Lucifer tested the man’s patience, not caring about any possible consequences whatsoever.

“Lucifer stop.” Chloe said, suddenly.

“What? I’m not wrong Detective.” Lucifer defended.

“Look.” She hushed him, pointing at a sub-heading titled ‘Murder’ in the file. Lucifer skimmed through to figure out what on Earth the Detective was so fixated on.

Victim: Teri Bauer

Cause of Death: Gunshot wounds to abdomen

NB: Wife of CTU Federal Agent Jack Bauer

Lucifer glanced at Chloe, gripping her trembling hand under the table, who looked apologetically at a sombre Jack.

“This woman killed your wife?” Lucifer asked softly.

“Yes, and she’s now demanding a presidential pardon in exchange for the information she has.” Jack replied coldly.

The pair now understood the man’s earlier anger, it was logical that he wanted to interrogate Nina, and the demand she was making was certainly unfair.

Lucifer, stared into the man’s cold, blue eyes, leaning across the table, “Jack, what is it you desire more than anything in this world?”

Jack was strong-willed, Lucifer could see him resisting his gaze, before succumbing with anger, “I want to avenge Teri, and punish that bitch for what she did.” he growled.

“Well if you’re talking punishment, I’m your guy, or rather, your devil.” Lucifer smiled cunningly.

Chloe rolled her eyes, he really had to put on the devil act at a time like this?

Jack smiled at the man’s enthusiasm, “If it was up to me I would have killed her by now, in fact, the reason why I’m not the one interrogating her is because I lost my temper when I tried to before.” he replied sheepishly.

“Jack, believe me when I say, people like her will suffer miserably in Hell for all eternity.” Lucifer spoke with an air of conviction.

“Well, I appreciate you saying that." Jack replied, thinking the man to be a little 'off'. "I hope you can get her to talk, you’re sort of our last prayer.” Despite the man's weirdness, it was nice to hear someone agreeing with revenge and punishment for a change, instead of just ‘moving on’ like everybody else wanted him to. If only he had known the full extent of what Nina had done when he rammed her with his car.

“Now lead me to her.” Lucifer asked, a slight threatening tone in his voice. Jack got up to show him the way, almost forgetting about Chloe, before quickly pivoting.

“Aren’t you coming?” He asked, confused.

Chloe was engrossed in reading the file, caught off-guard by his question.

“Oh…no, no, I think he's got this one covered on his own, I'm more his escort today.” She laughed, embarrassed.

—

Chloe continued to read the file, she was absorbed in the espionage section, shocked by how unscrupulous this woman had acted, all under the guise of a loyal CTU agent. Nina had been trusted and respected by everybody around her, especially Jack. This was certainly one of the darkest case files she had ever read. Serial murders and mangled bodies were uncommon, but still, only slightly escalated versions of the homicides she saw every day. But the sheer betrayal and lying, the killing of several other good agents, the multiple kidnappings of Jack’s wife and daughter, Kim, it sickened Chloe. To top it off, all of these tragic events occurred in one 24-hour time span. She found herself reading the same paragraph over and over, describing the kidnappings. Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision. In fact, she was so invested, she didn’t hear Tony walk in with the coffee.

“I’ve got your coffee here, sorry it took so long.” Tony spoke, abashedly.

Chloe jumped, placing a hand to her chest, looking up at the kind man.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you, I thought you’d heard the door.” He apologised, resting the mug in front of her.

“No, no, it’s my fault.” She replied, her voice cracking.

“Everything okay?” He asked, concerned, sitting down next to her.

“Yeah” Chloe lied, wiping her tears quickly.

“There’s some pretty heavy stuff in there, probably more than you’re used to.” He reasoned.

“It’s just the kidnapping, that poor girl, who had to go through so much on that day, and then lose her mother. I went through a similar situation a few months ago, and the parallels were just a little too much for me to handle today.” Chloe said hoarsely.

Tony tilted his head, confused.

“The family situation is the same, I have a cop ex-husband and one daughter, although she’s a bit younger than Kim. A few months ago, she was kidnapped, and if it wasn’t for Lucifer, both of us would’ve been dead.” Chloe explained, sniffling, quickly rifling through her bag to find a tissue. She hated crying in front of other people.

“God, I’m so sorry, this definitely wasn’t a good case for you to read.” Tony said, softly, in awe of how strong this woman was being, his hand instinctively moved to rub between her shoulder blades comfortingly. It was the same thing he used to do to well...Nina. “If it’s any comfort, Kim’s doing well, Jack’s the one who’s taken it the hardest I think.” Chloe smiled at the man’s comforting words.

“That sounds like my Trixie, she wouldn’t sit around terrified or miserable.” She said, as Tony looked up and smiled back at her.

“How often are you guys working at cases for this long?” She asked with admiration, the longest she’d ever been on a stake-out for was ten hours, but even then, that was a struggle.

Tony laughed darkly. “More often than you’d think, I suppose we’re kind of used to long-term endurance like that. When something serious comes up, nobody goes home until it’s all done and dusted.”

Looking around the room, he realised the two were alone. Quickly trying to lighten the mood, Tony asked, “Where’s your partner uh…?”  struggling to remember the man’s ridiculous name.

“Lucifer? He went with Jack to interrogate Nina. I didn't really need to be there” Chloe replied.

“Oh okay. Wait, Lucifer? Like the Devil? His parents actually named him after the Devil?” Tony asked, bewildered.

“That’s what he says.” Chloe continued laughing at the man’s expression, before explaining the story of their partnership to him.

—

“George, Tony, your partner, and I will be watching from his office, we can come in at any time if anything happens, you ready?” Jack nervously asked Lucifer, standing outside the interrogation room.

“As I’ll ever be.” the man replied with a slight ominous tone to his voice.

Lucifer waltzed into the barren room. It was sterile, grey, and miserable, much like the woman in front of him. She looked confused, before starting to laugh, a slight bark evident in her voice.

“This is Jack’s replacement? CTU budget too tight to get some big, scary soldier?” She mocked, looking at the cameras.

“Well hello to you too, Miss Myers.” He sat across from her, staring intently at a truly despicable woman, as he’s come to realise. “Now it’s my understanding that you’ll only talk if you get pardoned for your crimes and a chance to escape. And normally, being the Devil and all, I’d agree. A deal’s a deal.”

Jack, George, Tony, and Chloe watched intently, wondering how this was going to play out, ready for something crazily violent to happen, forcing the guards to drag this strange man out. Chloe really hoped he wouldn't pull some stupid stunt that would get himself fired. 

Nina opened her mouth to speak, Lucifer raised a finger to silence her. “I’m not finished. You don’t deserve to just walk away, you must atone for your crimes. If it’s one thing I detest, it’s a liar, a traitor, just like you.”

“Man, you don’t shut up, what are you trying to do, bore me into talking?” Nina interrupted snidely.

“I’m the Devil Nina, when your time to die comes, I will personally make sure you suffer mercilessly at the hands of my demons for the rest of eternity.” He said, power emanating from his physique.

The CTU agents were confused, they didn’t think Lucifer was any kind of religious fanatic, so why all this talk about Hell?

“I don’t believe in Hell, so whatever religious brainwashing you’re trying to do, it’s not gonna work.” Nina replied, cocky.

“Oh you will when I’m finished with you. Now I’m just going to give you one more chance to be reasonable. Nina, what do you desire?” He asked, ogling into her piercing blue eyes, which reminded him a lot of the Detective’s.

Much like Jack, she repelled the question initially, before finally surrendering, “I want Jack Bauer dead, and I want to start fresh.” She said exasperated, breaking eye-contact and tipping her head forward.

Lucifer realised that all this woman truly wanted was to get away with everything she’d done, scot-free, and kill someone who was so loyal to her, to the point of restraining himself from not killing her. Lucifer wouldn’t have any of that. He tutted, and stood up, gazing down at her.

Nina’s environment shifted. The cool, blue undertones of the interrogation room melted into fiery brimstone. Everything disintegrated around her into what could only be described as a hellfire. The face of the man in front of her was no longer human, it was crimson, boiled, smiling sinisterly, and had two ruby eyes which pierced into her soul. Then it hit her like a blow to the head. This man wasn’t lying, he was Lucifer, the Devil himself, and this was her fate.

Of course, nobody else knew what she had seen, all the others saw were Nina’s eyes widen, lips quiver, and mouth gape open, before she let out a blood-curdling scream.

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Just get th-that monster away from me!” She shrieked, struggling to get out of her cuffs, desperately wanting to run away from the nightmare in front of her.

Jack and George were gobsmacked at this transformation. The previously adamant and uncooperative Nina, who wouldn’t talk even after Jack wrapped his hands around her throat and clawed his nails in, was now cowering in fear hysterically after a mere three minutes with this mysterious stranger. Whatever the reason, there was no time to waste, Jack bolted downstairs and opened the door with a slam. He started yelling questions at Nina, who was responding quickly and nervously to any question he asked.

Chloe had seen this kind of reaction before in some tough witnesses, all Lucifer had said to her after was simply “I showed them my Devil face.” She still didn’t understand what he meant, and why these witnesses had been so horrified, despite Lucifer not laying a hand on them. She had no idea how she was going to justify whatever happened to the others.

Lucifer strolled out to meet a worried Chloe, a confused George, and an even more confused Tony. They were at a loss for words.

—

After ten minutes of interrogation, Jack had gotten the location of Nina’s boss, potential locations for the bomb, and all the other information he needed, he’d never seen Nina that vulnerable before.

Jack left, a pleased expression on his face, Lucifer and Chloe were just finishing some paperwork for their visit.

“Lucifer!” Jack called out, walking towards the man.

“Ah, Mr Bauer. I trust Miss Myers was cooperative?” Lucifer asked, self-satisfied.

“She looked more scared after you left, then she did when I tried to kill her.” He laughed, bemused. “Look I still don’t understand what you did, but whatever it was, thank you, you’ve no idea how important it was to get information from her.”

“No problems, just doing my job. Always a pleasure helping you mortals.” Jack’s looked puzzled, but just laughed it off, he was too busy being relieved to try and decipher this crazy man’s delusions.

Once they had gotten in the car to head back to the precinct, Chloe sighed with solace. Lucifer was now close enough to notice her eye make-up was smudged.

“Was everything okay Detective?” He asked, caring.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine now, thank you. It’s just that the rest of the case file hit a little too close to home.” She replied, avoiding eye contact.

Lucifer looked at her vaguely.

“Jack’s wife and daughter had been kidnapped because of Nina, I couldn’t help but think of Malcolm kidnapping Trixie. I mean this poor girl, Kim her name is, suffered a torturous 24 hours running away from her kidnappers, only to have her mother killed once she finally reunited with her father.” She said softly, before looking up gratefully at his concerned eyes “If it wasn’t for you, Trixie would have been in the same position.” Chloe exhaled, melancholy.

“Well you have nothing to fear, compared to whatever these agents are doing, I think your job looks a lot less dangerous now.” He said jokingly.

Lucifer kept the Detective’s words in mind, no he didn’t like children, but he also didn’t believe in needless suffering.

—

Lucifer locked the toilet stall door, and pressed his hands together, his eyelids shutting gently. He concentrated on his brother.

“Lucifer? Are you okay?” Amenadiel asked, worried that something had happened. Lucifer never prayed to his brother unless it was urgent.

“Yes, yes, all is well, I need you to make a quick trip for me.” Lucifer requested, calmly.

“Trip? I thought you wanted me to look for Mom since you couldn’t today?”

“Just to the Silver City, I need you to find a woman, her name is Teri Bauer. Ask her if she wants to say anything to her daughter.”

“Luci, you know I’m not supposed to pass messages between the deceased and living.”

“I know, I know, but their family’s been through a lot, I think it would mean a lot to her daughter Kim if you did that for her.”

“I’ll see what I can do”. Amenadiel suspired.

“Thank you brother.” Lucifer said, obliged.

—

Kim Bauer sat restless in the nearby coffee shop. She was waiting for Miguel so they could bust Meghan out of the hospital before her dad could take her away. Tapping her fingers impatiently, her eyes kept darting to the door. A tall, dark stranger sat alone at the table next to her, reading a newspaper, whilst drinking a juice. Her father’s ‘stranger danger’ warning, which had been drilled into her since she was a child, appeared at the forefront of her mind. The man hadn’t noticed her looking, but somehow Kim felt safe, his eyes looked earnest and nurturing, she wondered if he was a father. He peered up to turn the page, and noticed the blonde teenager staring at him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare, that was totally rude of me.” Kim said apologetically.

“No, no, it’s fine. I take it you’re waiting for someone?” He laughed heartily, gesturing to the empty chair across from Kim.

“Yeah…my boyfriend, I’m in a bit of a rush, just getting a little antsy that’s all.” She laughed nervously.

“What are you worried about? I'm Amenadiel, by the way.” He asked, kindly.

“Kim. It’s…a  long story and you would probably never believe me. I have to do something pretty scary, and stand up for a little girl I babysit, who’s in a really bad situation. Truth be told, I’m terrified, but she’s a child, and she’s got nobody left, I have to be strong for her.” Kim said earnestly.

“Well, good luck with that, it sounds like you’re in a very testing time, but don’t worry. You have a good heart Kim, it’s no wonder your mother believes in you and is so, so proud of you.” Amenadiel smiled thoughtfully.

“Well, actually…my mother’s dead, but thank you for your kind words anyway.” Kim admitted, her voice breaking.

Amenadiel kept looking into her eyes, as realisation swept across her face. Somehow that man knew, she thought. Was he some kind of guardian angel? Kim had never been particularly religious, but if that truly was a message from her mother from the beyond, it definitely lifted her spirits.

“HEY! Kim? I thought you said this was urgent?” Miguel whistled, moving his head in the direction she was distantly focusing on. Amenadiel was gone, and Miguel had arrived, Kim noticed.

“Yeah, yeah, sorry, let’s go.” She said, distracted, as he held her hand, and walked her out the door.