Time was of the essence. I had to rush to get ready and into the car if I wanted to be early and arrive at the hotel before Courage. While I rode, I watched the Handler, with a capital "H." He and his driver had parked their car about a block down from Shawna's. Despite sunglasses hiding his eyes, I knew they were cold and dispassionate; I'd seen it when he witnessed John beat the man the day before. He sat, slumped and relaxed, as he waited for his mark.

I scryed Shawna in the courtroom arguing a case. Shit. When Court adjourned, she would head home earlier than average. The Handler was there waiting on her, and I had to do something about it. First, however, I needed to get Dirty Cop—Courage—to Lucifer. I only hoped there was time for both. I went into the hotel, rented a room, and texted him the room number.

I scryed him in the compact mirror all the way to the room, only dropping the pendant when I heard the knock. I opened the door, smiled at him, and reached to draw him into the room. He used the momentum to put us up against the wall, and he kissed me, rough and hungry. I couldn't get out from between him and the wall to pull him through a portal, so I did the next best thing.

I snapped one open behind him and shoved with all my might. He stumbled back just enough to become caught in the portal's pull. I watched as his spirit peeled away from his body, and I had to step over its slumped form to walk through the portal myself.

This time, I didn't even have to call for Lucifer; he opened the inner door immediately, smiling. "What have you brought me, Olivia?"

Feeling self-satisfied, I announced, "This is Courage." I shoved John once more, pushing him toward Lucifer.

Lucifer's eyebrows lifted. "This man is Courage?"

"Yes," I declared, smirking with my hands on my hips.

Lucifer reached for the terrified man, catching John by the wrist. "No. Unfortunately, he is not."

"Excuse me?" I asked, face flushing. I thought of everything I'd read about the Virtue, down to the fact a lion often represented it. "He's a dirty cop! A cop with a lion tattoo, who I happened to know, and who I've witnessed do horrible things. How is that not 'courage corrupted'?" I put my hands on my hips, confident the evidence proved sufficient.

"Oh, he's a dirty cop," Lucifer said, peering at John, still holding his wrist in a firm grasp, "but he's not Courage."

John snatched back his arm, getting angry. He rubbed where Lucifer had exerted his grip. "Look, I don't know what's going on here, but whatever this little joke is, it isn't funny."

Lucifer stepped close to him again, invading his personal space with narrow eyes and a fierceness I'd only seen him have when dealing with Hope. "This is no joke, John. Your soul belongs here."

"Here, where? What the hell are you talking about?" he exclaimed, taking a step back.

"Yes, what the Hell, indeed," Lucifer smirked. "You see, John, I am the Devil. My delightful companion here has brought you to me, thinking you were the one to fulfill her bargain. You are not."

I was feeling sick. I'd delivered the wrong person! "I'm so sorry, John..." I began before Lucifer cut me off with a gesture.

"There's no need to be sorry, Olivia. He certainly belongs here."

"I don't know what you're talking about," John protested. "I'm a cop! Deep undercover!"

Wait? What? Did I bring an undercover cop to Hell? My legs went weak. Lucifer snapped a chair to catch me. I sat heavily, eyes riveted to the scene in front of me.

"I've had to do all those things because of my cover," John pleaded.

"Yes, you did. And, honestly, it could be forgivable if it brought me souls worse than you. But John, I know the heart of you. I know you came to enjoy it, just as you came to enjoy the money and the power."

"I didn't... don't!"

"John. You don't understand," Lucifer purred. "I know the precise moment you changed and became mine."

John's eyes went wide as the outer office door opened. Two men, dressed like the handlers John had so easily commanded the previous day, came forward. It was then he pleaded in earnest.

My heart was in my throat, pounding. I watched as the handlers took John away, fighting as he did. It was no use; they overpowered him readily. I assumed they had to be demons of some sort.

Lucifer turned to me, smiling. "Lovely job, Olivia. Thank you."

"Thank you? Are you kidding me?" I asked, getting angry. I stood, waved my arms to accent what I was saying, and paced. "I brought you the wrong man! One who's not Courage!"

Lucifer's brow crinkled. "I don't understand, Olivia. No, he's not Courage, but he does belong here. I thought we talked about this."

I deflated and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Yes, you're right. We did. And, I was utterly convinced he was on the list."

I remembered the Handler sent after Shawna.

"Shit! Lucifer, I need a portal to Shawna's! Now!" He asked no questions and did as I demanded. I stepped through into her familiar kitchen with relief.

Several things happened at once. The Handler, who had been waiting for Shawna in the same kitchen, stepped in front of the portal. Shawna came around the corner but was looking at mail and not her surroundings.

I reached forward and grabbed the Handler's upper arm and yanked, once again ripping a spirit from a body.

Lucifer, thinking quickly, snapped his body from Shawna's kitchen to Hell only knew where. The portal closed just as Shawna accidentally dropped all the mail on the floor. Dumb luck kept her from seeing the Handler, the portal, or me through it.

"Well done, Olivia!"

"What?" I spun to Lucifer, breathing heavily from the adrenaline dump.

Lucifer crossed his arms and grinned at me.

"Wait? This is Courage?" I exclaimed.

"Say it with conviction, Olivia!"

I was so relieved, I did. "Yes! This is Courage!"

I stared at the Handler, who was sitting on his ass. He had fallen when I yanked him through. Now, he was looking at Lucifer in terror.

"Why?" he asked. "Why now?"

"Did I not tell you it would happen when you least expected it?" Lucifer demanded.

"But—but the priest!" the Handler stuttered, "He said it would protect me! That you couldn't fetch me."

Lucifer smiled and gestured toward me. "And I did not. Olivia, meet Agent Thorne. Agent Thorne works for the FBI."

I glanced at Lucifer. "Another dirty 'cop?'"

"It would seem so," Lucifer said, clasping his hands in front of him to look down at the Agent. "He sold his soul to me some years ago for an important promotion."

"Okay, but what was he talking about when he said you couldn't fetch him?"

Lucifer's face clouded. "Agent Thorne here found a loophole... a Priest who blessed him in such a way as to make it impossible for me to collect him. Needless to say, I have been perplexed about how to bring him here." He turned and smiled at me. "Until you came along, love."

I sat heavily in the chair once more. "So, let me get this straight. I brought John, convinced he was Courage to you, only to find he wasn't Courage, but he still deserved to be here. Then, because I wanted to protect Shawna, I pulled through a hitman, only to find him to be Courage. And you had me do it because you could not?"

"Yes. You have the gist of the afternoon's activities," Lucifer said, his head tilting a bit, "But I sense you are not completely happy with this."

"Well, it's a close thing, Lucifer. What if John had been the undercover cop he claimed? I'd have been wrong. And, what if," I countered, gesturing at Agent Thorne, "he had been there to take Shawna into protective custody or something? I mean, all this could have gone very differently. I could have killed not one but two good men."

Lucifer, his face passive, said, "But you did not."

"But I could have, Lucifer," I replied earnestly.

Two more handler demons entered the room and picked Agent Thorne up off the floor. The man didn't even protest. It was as if he'd been expecting it, and I supposed he had.

Lucifer sighed once they had left. He fished around in his jacket pocket and brought out a charm box, holding it out to me. "Here is the most recent piece of your soul, Olivia. Just hold it next to your bracelet, and it will attach itself."

I took it and clutched it to me as he turned away.

"Lucifer?"

He did his customary stop-but-don't-turn-around move to listen. "I still want you to come tonight. I just need some time to digest the day."

He nodded. "I will be there. Just tell me when."

"I will." I watched him enter the inner office, shutting the door behind him without looking back.

I sighed and slumped in the chair. Today had been a close thing. Was it luck or fate which made it turn out as it did?

The outer door opened, and Lilith walked in. "Olivia! It's good to see you."

I stood. "It's good to see you too, Lilith." I didn't want to talk but could hardly be rude, so I stayed.

"You brought in another Virtue?" she asked, sitting on the edge of the desk.

"Yeah, and an additional soul who apparently deserved to be here," I explained.

She raised an eyebrow. "Apparently?"

I sighed. "It's a long story. Ask Lucifer." I snapped a portal home.

Just as I was about to step through, Lilith said, "He's a good angel, Olivia, and he loves you."

I deflated. "I know."

"Don't hurt him," she said, her voice almost, but not quite, pleading.

I stepped through without answering.

George came barreling down the hall from the bedroom toward me. I noticed how much she had grown over the last few months; she'd become a young cat, no longer a kitten. I couldn't help but smile, and I leaned down to pet her as she rubbed against me.

"It's been a Hell of a day, George." She meowed agreement.

I needed some time to unwind, so I started the bath. While waiting for it to fill, I fed George and poured myself a glass of wine. It wasn't hell-wine, but it was still good.

I slipped into the hot water and leaned back, enjoying the sensation. But even as my body relaxed, I couldn't turn my head off. I couldn't ignore the feeling I had that the complete mess resolved itself based on luck.

I reminded myself Lucifer would focus on the outcome. In the end, I had to admit it had worked out and worked out beautifully.

Maybe it was the bath, or the wine, or the two of them together finally allowed my worry to slip away. I found myself smirking at the job I'd done. No matter how or why, I'd not only fulfilled a part of my contract, I'd gotten another deserving soul off the streets.

I clamored out of the tub, wrapped a towel around me, and texted.

~

Me: I want you.

~

It took him only as long as it took me to pick up the charm box I'd placed on the sink nearby to open a portal and step through. He came to me, and I held out the box. He smirked, removed the charm, and I held out my arm. He allowed it to entwine itself onto the bracelet, then kissed the inside of my wrist, eyes shining.

I dropped the towel, stepped forward, and whispered, "Fuck me. Right now."

I heard a soft snap and glimpsed him standing naked and erect before he turned me and gently, but insistently, pushed me to the counter.

I enjoyed what he did to me a whole hell of a lot more than Shawna had that morning with that asshole John.

The Dirty Cop who now belonged in Hell... with my love.