as comfortable with Lucifer as she pretends to be. She smiles tight-lipped at him as we continue to make our way up.
“So tell me,” Lucifer says, “how is President Draeke this evening?”
“She’s doing quite well, sir,” the woman responds. “And I know for a fact that she appreciates you hosting this party in her honor. After those dastardly resistance fighters tried to attack her convoy the other day, I think she needed a get-together to take her mind off them for a little while. In fact, her exact words to me were, ‘Sometimes I think Lucian knows what I need before I do’. ”
Well, that was an interesting piece of information. Apparently, there continues to be an organized resistance in this reality. I wonder if Brand is still the leader of it. But, who the hell is President Draeke? Brand never mentioned her when I was here the last time. Was she the woman I saw in the video? That seemed to be the most logical conclusion. If the resistance was still being commanded by Brand, that was confirmation that this President Draeke was my enemy. Though, I had already assumed whatever or whoever the banners heralded would be our nemesis.
The doors of the elevator open and the expected sounds of people talking, with soft, classical music being played in the background greet us. As we step into the penthouse, we have to walk around a dividing wall in order to enter the living room. The apartment is minimalistic and modern. I assume most of the furnishings have been cleared away to make room for all the guests. Well-dressed partygoers are gathered in small groups, talking amongst themselves. Waiters dressed in white suits and black ties walk between them, carrying silver trays filled with hors d’oeuvres and long-stemmed glasses of bubbling Champagne.
In the midst of the crowd, one guest stands out like a sparkling diamond amid all the rest. The auburn-haired woman I saw in the video is surrounded by over a dozen attendees. All of them appear to be hanging on each word she utters. Due to the distance separating us, I can’t hear what she’s saying but, from the intense looks on the faces of the people around her, I have to conclude it’s something important.
As if sensing our presence, the woman lifts her head slightly and makes direct eye- contact with Lucifer. Although she smiles at him, which is meant to emulate a friendly welcome, there is something sinister in the way she’s looking at him.
“President Draeke’s Chief of Staff asked to speak with you privately in your office, sir,” the woman informs Lucifer. She doesn’t wait for Lucifer to say whether he will take the meeting or not. The woman simply begins to walk down a side hallway, as though he’s expected to follow her.
“Something’s not right here,” Lucifer whispers to me as he follows the woman at a distance.
“I get that feeling, too,” I whisper back.
“The woman is nervous about something,” Lucifer tells me. “And have you noticed that she seems to be leading us around like she knows we don’t know where things are? If this is my home, I wouldn’t need to be escorted through it.”
“What do you suggest we do?”
Lucifer sighs. “There’s nothing we can do but let this play out and see where the rabbit hole you opened up takes us, Alice.”
The woman stops at a pale wood door and turns its silver knob to open it. She steps inside the room and holds the door open for Lucifer, expecting him to follow.
“He’s here, sir,” the woman announces to someone within the room.
I follow Lucifer into what is supposed to be alternate-Lucifer’s office. The outer wall is, of course, made of glass and steel. Multitudes of holographic images play against the white wall behind a massive, glossy black wood desk. The black leather, high-back executive chair situated between the desk and the surveillance footage is turned around so that all we can see is its back, not the person sitting in it.
For some strange reason, my
“So tell me,” Lucifer says, “how is President Draeke this evening?”
“She’s doing quite well, sir,” the woman responds. “And I know for a fact that she appreciates you hosting this party in her honor. After those dastardly resistance fighters tried to attack her convoy the other day, I think she needed a get-together to take her mind off them for a little while. In fact, her exact words to me were, ‘Sometimes I think Lucian knows what I need before I do’. ”
Well, that was an interesting piece of information. Apparently, there continues to be an organized resistance in this reality. I wonder if Brand is still the leader of it. But, who the hell is President Draeke? Brand never mentioned her when I was here the last time. Was she the woman I saw in the video? That seemed to be the most logical conclusion. If the resistance was still being commanded by Brand, that was confirmation that this President Draeke was my enemy. Though, I had already assumed whatever or whoever the banners heralded would be our nemesis.
The doors of the elevator open and the expected sounds of people talking, with soft, classical music being played in the background greet us. As we step into the penthouse, we have to walk around a dividing wall in order to enter the living room. The apartment is minimalistic and modern. I assume most of the furnishings have been cleared away to make room for all the guests. Well-dressed partygoers are gathered in small groups, talking amongst themselves. Waiters dressed in white suits and black ties walk between them, carrying silver trays filled with hors d’oeuvres and long-stemmed glasses of bubbling Champagne.
In the midst of the crowd, one guest stands out like a sparkling diamond amid all the rest. The auburn-haired woman I saw in the video is surrounded by over a dozen attendees. All of them appear to be hanging on each word she utters. Due to the distance separating us, I can’t hear what she’s saying but, from the intense looks on the faces of the people around her, I have to conclude it’s something important.
As if sensing our presence, the woman lifts her head slightly and makes direct eye- contact with Lucifer. Although she smiles at him, which is meant to emulate a friendly welcome, there is something sinister in the way she’s looking at him.
“President Draeke’s Chief of Staff asked to speak with you privately in your office, sir,” the woman informs Lucifer. She doesn’t wait for Lucifer to say whether he will take the meeting or not. The woman simply begins to walk down a side hallway, as though he’s expected to follow her.
“Something’s not right here,” Lucifer whispers to me as he follows the woman at a distance.
“I get that feeling, too,” I whisper back.
“The woman is nervous about something,” Lucifer tells me. “And have you noticed that she seems to be leading us around like she knows we don’t know where things are? If this is my home, I wouldn’t need to be escorted through it.”
“What do you suggest we do?”
Lucifer sighs. “There’s nothing we can do but let this play out and see where the rabbit hole you opened up takes us, Alice.”
The woman stops at a pale wood door and turns its silver knob to open it. She steps inside the room and holds the door open for Lucifer, expecting him to follow.
“He’s here, sir,” the woman announces to someone within the room.
I follow Lucifer into what is supposed to be alternate-Lucifer’s office. The outer wall is, of course, made of glass and steel. Multitudes of holographic images play against the white wall behind a massive, glossy black wood desk. The black leather, high-back executive chair situated between the desk and the surveillance footage is turned around so that all we can see is its back, not the person sitting in it.
For some strange reason, my
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