"Do you think this will get his attention?" I wiped the blood from my face and looked at the four men that tried to attack me. Each of them dead, well one was still partially alive. I needed someone to tell Lucifer, I wanted to meet him.
The alleyway was such a cliché way to attack a lady walking alone at night. I wanted to scream at them for their incompetence. This setup was something an amateur that watched too many gangster movies would come up with not a self-proclaimed mastermind like Lucifer.
Czar was uncharacteristically silent. I stopped as well and the smell of death was overwhelming, but a small army was moving in our direction. Lucifer's scent of brimstone was getting closer.
"Czar. I smell about 34 men and one of them is Lucifer." Czar raised his eyebrows. "I may or may not have broken into one of his homes to get his scent. It was necessary to know what we were dealing with."
Czar laughed, "Let me guess, he's the brimstone. What could a mere human do to get such a smell? Are you sure you want to work with this man?" Czar looked deep into my eyes and my soul shivered.
I nodded. "He seems interesting."
"Or insane."
An eternity passed. Czar and I waited as we got surrounded by Lucifer's men. Finally, he decided to show his face. Quite unremarkable. He was a scrawny man, his dark brown eyes appeared black in the low light of the alleyway. His face brandished a nasty scar and so did his right arm. Just from where I was standing that seemed to be the source of his brimstone smell. He wore cargo shorts and a Hawaiian print shirt. His hair was long and wavy. He looked ready for a vacation more than an important business meeting. Curiosity made me want to know more.
"So, you two are the mercenaries I heard about. It seems that some of my best couldn't even compare. I want you to work for me." Lucifer's voice was deep and befitting someone twice his size.
Czar started to walk away. "I'll leave this to you. I'll be in the car."
Some of Lucifer's men surrounded Czar and he growled at them. I sighed. This man cares nothing for discretion. The men surrounding him backed away. Lucifer sneered an order to kill Czar and none of the men moved.
I laughed. "Work with you."
Lucifer looked at me and laughed. "I don't work with anyone. You will both die."
Czar grunted and we looked over to see all of the men that surrounded him were on the ground with broken necks. He continued his walk to the car.
I sighed again.
I sat on the ground. Blood from a random thug soaking my pants. "Lucifer, we can just take what you have, but I would rather work together. We want to be more than mercenaries. We just need a hand in getting started. I am willing to negotiate, but I think 50/50 is fair. Especially seeing that 50 of your men will die tonight." I chuckled at my joke.
He looked up at me and smiled. "Are you saying that all of my men surrounding this place will die."
I sniffed the air. "More blood is filling the air as we speak. I told Czar you were smart and would try to surround us. He just killed them all. You can check later."
I need Lucifer to make this plan work. We need to find the others that are here. I sense them but cannot pinpoint their locations. Lucifer and his brimstone scent could be the first clue.
While I was thinking, the last of Lucifer's men surrounded me and I didn't see the point of holding back. I took a boxer's stance and started my onslaught. The first man came up to me with a switchblade, and I easily blocked him, removed the blade from his hands and lodged it into his throat. The second man pulled out a gun and before he could pull the trigger, I pulled the blade from the first man' neck and hurled it at the second man's forehead.
The last two men ran toward me and I shot them through the heart with the gun from the second man and walked toward Lucifer.
"We can talk in the car."
Lucifer followed me and I could feel the smile on his face. "Why would you want to work with me? Clearly, you could kill me right here and now?"
I stopped at the end of the alleyway and Czar pulled up. I opened the door for Lucifer. Without hesitation, he got in.
I sat down beside him. "Now, before we get down to business, where did you get those scars?"