“Truth is subjective. I owe you no explanations for my appearance.”
“Yeah? You owe one to Alex?”
“I would, of course, be glad to speak to Alex,” Lorelei replied evenly.
“Because you’re in love with him, is that it?”
“Yes.”
“And you came here to rescue him from me?”
“I did.”
“He thinks he’s saving Alex from you,” said Rachel into Lorelei’s ear. “Alex and the guys.” Her eyes slid irritably toward Donald. “Can’t imagine where he got that idea.”
“You-I can’t believe you!” burst Donald. “You threaten me if I aid my charge, but you counsel that demon right in front of us?”
Rachel gave him the finger and added for Lorelei, “That’s not Hauser’s main mission, but it’s on his list.”
“What’s your agenda with Alex?”
“What ‘agenda’ would lovers have?” Lorelei asked Hauser. “Are you not familiar with the concept?”
“Right. And his friends, huh? The one’s you’d face anyone and commit any crime for?” Hauser paused for dramatic effect. “We picked up Jason Cohen and freed Amber a few minutes after our little altercation out in the hallway. So now that we’ve got you and all your boys in-“
“You make a mistake in calling them ‘boys,’” Lorelei interrupted quietly.
“That’s what the inmates in Federal prison will call them,” Hauser snapped with no small trace of menace. “They’re all facing serious charges with serious penalties. I will goddamn guarantee convictions, and the judge that’ll preside over their cases isn’t the sort to go for the minimum sentences.
“You’re a savvy woman. I figure you know where I’m going with this. They’re in enough trouble to ruin their entire lives. You claim to care about them. You even claim you’re in love with one of ‘em. Presumably that means you don’t want any of them in prison until they’re old and grey, which is exactly what’s going to happen. So if you want to help them, you’ll have to help me and answer my questions.”
“And where do those questions and answers lead me?” asked Lorelei.
“You’re in your own heap of trouble, lady,” Hauser grunted. “Cooperate and it might not be so bad for you. More importantly, those guys will all walk. The question is whether you care enough about them to take that deal.”
Lorelei arched an eyebrow. “You can guarantee their freedom?”
“Sure. Four well-meaning, naïve guys practically just out of high school fall under the sway of a wealthy demon seductress? It’s not like they murdered innocent people. I can see the score there. You talk, they walk.”
“But if I do not cooperate, then those four well-meaning, naïve young men rot in prison for decades?” Her eyes flicked briefly to his companions. “One wonders why so many Americans do not trust people in your profession.”
“If you don’t talk, I’ll do what it takes to uphold the law and safeguard the public. Now: Are you really a succubus?”
“To answer that, we would have to establish a common definition. I doubt you understand what a succubus is.”
“Are you a demon?”
“What is a demon, Agent Hauser?” asked Lorelei. “What power did you employ in the hallway? Why did it work? Do you understand it? Does the sorcerer at your side?” she asked, tilting her head toward Bridger. “Do you understand the magic that he practices?”
“Do you want to help Alex and his buddies or not?”
“Of course,” Lorelei nodded calmly. “You haven’t told me what you want.”
“I want answers.” Hauser folded his arms across his chest, his scowl never wavering. “All those questions you just threw back at me? You answer them. I want to hear everything you know about all this supernatural bullshit. The vampires. The werewolves. Demons. Rachel. I want the truth. All of it.”
“Oh?” Lorelei asked, her lips almost slipping into a grin. “Is that all?”
Rachel’s eyes went wide. She glanced at Donald in shock, but the other angel looked on with his face set in stone. Rachel quickly clamped her hand over Lorelei’s mouth. “You can’t,” she hissed.
The agents didn’t see Rachel at all. Their mortal minds ignored the momentary impression the invisible angel’s hand made on Lorelei’s skin. “Seriously, Lorelei, you fuckin’ can’t. I’m beggin’ you. I know you want to wreck this dude, but it’s his soul.”
Lorelei made no effort to reassure her companion. She simply waited for Rachel to remove her hand and then explained, “I do not profess to know all there is to know of the lesser vermin, but I may possess knowledge valuable to you. We can barter for that information. Hunt the mongrels and corpses all you wish. I will be glad to see fewer of them.”
“And the rest?”
“Those answers would only weaken you.”
“How so?”
“Again, Agent Hauser, what power did you use upon me? How does it work? You cannot answer these questions, but you have faith-and you knew that faith would be enough, didn’t you? Consider the difference between knowledge and faith, and how the one might impact the other.”
She watched as Hauser’s eyes narrowed. Rachel leaned in close. “Somebody’s been fucking with him,” the angel said. She looked at him intently. “He’s had a piss-poor success rate with his interrogations lately and it’s grating on him.”
“So now you’re concerned with my success and my safety?” Hauser asked.
“You asked for my cooperation,” said Lorelei. “Your questions are far more complex and carry greater danger than you realize. Would you prefer that I simply lead you astray and let you suffer? That does not strike me as cooperation.”
“It’s the guys,” Rachel said. “Drew and Wade. They’ve been fucking with him.”
Hauser folded his arms across his chest. “What about Rachel?”
“She is quite beyond you,” Lorelei answered, shaking her head slightly. “Put her out of your mind.”
“I might’ve thought before this week that a demon would be beyond me.”
“Do you plan to subdue her with the great power of your Christian faith?”
“Motherfucker,” Rachel muttered. “He wants me to help him deal with all the vampires and bullshit.” Her eyes turned to Donald. “That’s what all this is, right? Just a chance to get me to intervene here, make your guy look good, and I take a fall for getting hip-deep in mortal bullshit?”
“One could argue that you are already far deeper than that,” said Donald sourly, “but as I recall, you didn’t want me to speak.”
“We can talk of the monsters you hunt for some time,” said Lorelei. “We can speak of their organizations and their habits and weaknesses. I can explain what transpired here in Seattle that led us to this current debacle. Will you let us all go in exchange?”
“It’s a start.”
“What more do you want?”
“He wants all the monsters,” Rachel said, looking to Lorelei meaningfully. “All of them. Including you.”
Hauser reached for the papers on the manila folder and turned over the top sheet. He revealed an autopsy photo of a young, fit black man and an accompanying report. “This guy look familiar to you at all? His name is Damon Demetrius Bell. You murdered him just last January.”
Lorelei glanced down at the papers only once. “What proof do you have?”
“Mostly circumstantial evidence. I’ve got witnesses that can put you with Bell shortly before he died. Given what I know about you now I can construct a plausible story. It won’t be good enough for a conviction, but I don’t need anything more if you make a full confession.”
“He wants to get you away from Alex for good,” Rachel grimaced. “Because someone told him it was the right thing to do.”
“And then?” asked Lorelei.
“And then Alex and his buddies can go free. No charges.”
“What if I do not?”
“Then I put you and everyone else away on the stuff that will hold up in court and I move on to the next bad guy while you all rot in prison.”
“You do not offer a compelling bargain,” Lorelei replied dryly.