my_own_advocate | Los Angeles, Monday (Reply)

Chloe had been kidnapped. Chloe had been kidnapped while on a murder case. Since that ~~still to be played out~~ phone call that morning, Lucifer had been able to think of nothing else. Had been able to do nothing else but take off to Los Angeles, fly to her house, check for clues, race to the station, start working.

The speed operation had meant leaving Duke and Octavia at the Portalocity terminal, but they would get here soon enough. Right now Lucifer didn't have the capacity to worry about whether they were finding their way.

His heart kept wanting to beat out of his chest.

But he had to focus. And no one asked any questions when he walked into the precinct, demanding every scrap of evidence they'd found so far. Everything about her case. About the killer.

The LAPD just silently welcomed him back into his old workplace and let him do his thing.

Duke	Duke strode in like he owned the place, cocky attitude a cover for the compact little ball of terror in his chest. “Lucifer?! What the hell, man?”
Octavia	Octavia, stalking in behind Duke, had retreated behind her walls again. She moved like someone who would not hesitate to walk over anyone who dared get in her way. Any emotion she felt about seeing Lucifer here did not show on her face.
Lucifer	Lucifer was bent over a large table, papers scattered everywhere. Not far from him stood a see-through evidence board, covered in pictures and scribbles in his handwriting. "Everyone's been wasting precious time," he said, not looking up.
Octavia	"Leads?" Octavia asked, surveying the board, the papers. Seemed best to just keep things short and to the point.
Duke	Duke dropped back a bit, since Octavia wasn’t looking too twitchy about being in the station. He’d hang back and listen, letting the pros take point.
Lucifer	"Right," Lucifer said, pulling away from the papers and stalking towards the board. "So the Detective was working on a serial killer case when she was taken." Had he mentioned that? He didn't remember. He'd been too busy panicking over the Detective being kidnapped by a serial killer. "I've been going over the previous murder cases, trying to build a profile..."
Ella	"Lucifer?!" The last half-day had been a blur, but the sight of their lost consultant standing in the middle of the precinct was enough to snap Ella out of it, at least for a moment. "You're here!" she said, rushing up beside him.
Lucifer	"Yes, I'm sorry, I should have been here sooner." There was naked frustration in Lucifer's voice, even as his eyes remained trained on the board. "If I'd known she was working a bloody serial killer case--" He would have, what? Flown back from Fandom to restart his life in LA? Doubtful. But he wasn't thinking much right now. At least not about anything not crime-related.
Ella	"You shouldn't have left in the first place," Ella snapped, smacking his arm with her purse. "You should've-- Do you know how she's--" She sucked in a breath. Closed her eyes. "Right, the board," she said. "You're comparing the original killer to the copycat."
Octavia	If any of what Ella had just said made Octavia's expression tighten -- well, it was pretty tight to begin with. Impossible to tell the difference. She shoved all of that aside, anyway. "What, so there's more than one?"
Lucifer	"There were two," Lucifer said. If there was a look on her face, well, his attention was entirely on the board. "The Detective managed to track down the copycat, Klumpsky. He was sloppy. I asked Maze to go-- talk-- to him, see if he knows anything about the original. The original seems cleverer, cleaner. All the Detective has is several of his victims, and a username, LilyMan85." He gestured at the board. "That's his MO, see. He cuts women's vocal chords, then leaves them with lilies. The body they found most recently belongs to Phyllis Cameron, an A-list film director, but according to the ME's report, she was killed a week ago, meaning his last victim was actually Diane Luna, an opera singer."
Ella	"Okay, so our guy's type is... powerful women," Ella said slowly. "Very impressive with the profiling work."
Lucifer	"If only we had more time," Lucifer growled. He was angry - at himself for not being here, for not wanting to be here, for letting this happen. "Because none of this is enough to find him, to find-- her." He turned away from the board, stalking back to the table full of papers.
Maze	Maze shoved her way into the precinct, worry etched onto her face. Whatever frustration she felt with Lucifer - over her mom, over going back to Hell and leaving her - could wait. Decker was in danger. All hands on deck... er time. "I talked to the copycat," she said, breezing past Duke and Octavia. "Well, talk isn't exactly the right word."
Lucifer	Lucifer barely even attempted to suppress that sigh before it made its way out of him. "Well, did he scream anything of value?"
Maze	"Maybe," Maze said, barely pausing to take a breath as she rattled off what she knew. "He said he was messaging with the original killer, and found out that this LilyMan likes to hunt his victims in restaurants. Copycat said, and I quote: 'LilyMan looks for windbags'."
Duke	"Classy," Duke muttered. He was kind of hoping to get to punch this guy in the face a time or two.
Octavia	"'Windbags'?" Octavia repeated in a dry rasp. "What, like -- women who he thinks talk too much?"
Ella	Ella looked faintly paler than usual. "Gulp."
Lucifer	"Hold on," Lucifer said, rifling through several papers. "I think I remember seeing the last charges three of the victims made were at a restaurant..." Where were the bloody credit card statements again?
Ella	Ella stared at him like he'd become a pod person. "Wait, you went through credit card statements and cross-referenced them?"
Octavia	Octavia wasn't surprised at all. She moved towards the board, for a closer look. Knowing full well she was unlikely to spot anything they din't already know. But -- It didn't hurt to try, and it was better than just standing there.
Lucifer	Lucifer finally found what he was looking for. "Here," he said, shoving two sheets of paper at Ella and Duke both. "We need to call these restaurants, see if any of them have surveillance cameras."
Duke	Duke took the pages, happy for something he could actually do other than stand and stare and be horrified. He skimmed through them quickly. "I got these." He pulled his cell from his pocket and wandered off a little ways so he could call without too much murder talk in the background.
Lucifer	Lucifer ran a frustrated, tense hand along his face and paced towards the window, then back again, and-- "Did Klumpsky ever meet his inspiration? Did he ever get a good look at him?" He looked Maze right in the eye. She just shook her head. "Are you sure?"
Maze	Maze's eyes narrowed. "Five broken ribs, a torn rotator cuff, and 'It's A Small World' on repeat? Yeah, I'm sure."
Octavia	"So no one has an idea of what he looks like," Octavia rasped, still looking at the board. (Trying not to look at the lilies in the crime scenes photos.) "Great."
Lucifer	Lucifer made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat. "Let's hope the cameras have more than this."
Duke	And there was Duke, walking back over, phone in hand. "Only one restaurant will admit to having security cameras." He looked over the gathered group with a faint smirk. "Who's up for going and bullying an innocent restaurant owner into handing over the footage?"
Lucifer	Lucifer looked up at him, something somewhat related to relief blossoming on his face. Next to him, Maze immediately raised her hand.
Ella	"Right, I'm going to go stop by my boyfriend's place," Ella said, nodding slowly. "He said he had some research on the Whisper Killer... it might help."
Octavia	Octavia, you'd once been known as 'death from above'. You probably didn't have any room to be making that micro expression over 'the Whisper Killer'. "I think one of us should stay here," she said. "In case something else turns up." She hated police stations, but it also made no sense for all of them (except Ella) to go intimidate a single random person.

Lucifer	They muscled their way into the security office with brisk efficiency. So efficient, they barely even startled the security guard, a short, cheery looking man surrounded by nothing but CCTV displays. "Sorry, I can't show you the tapes," he was saying. That was a problem. Maze drew her knives and gave them both a strong flick of the wrist. Lucifer immediately held out an arm. "Ah, ah, we don't have time for torture." That finally got to the guard. "Woah, torture?!"
Duke	"Aw, c'mon," Duke said. "Just a little torture? Look at her, she's got her knives ready and everything."
Lucifer	"No," Lucifer said firmly. "It's much quicker if we do this my way." He looked at the security guy, in all his affable terror. "What is it you desire?" It had been a while since he'd used it. Lucifer almost feared he'd fallen out of practice. But no-- "I want to be a dancer," the guard said, slow and full of wonderment. For a second. Then he snapped out of it. "...I've never told anyone that before."
Duke	Duke couldn't help but marvel over that little trick. He gave the security guy a bright smile. "Nah man, follow your bliss."
Lucifer	"As my partner here is hinting, you're in luck," Lucifer said, beaming, "As I happen to own a night club. So... you help us, I'll hire you and make your Footloose dreams come true." It wasn't always this easy. "What do you say, deal?" The guard let out a laugh that sounded almost like a titter. "Deal," he gushed, grabbing Lucifer's hand and shaking it. "Okay, boss, what are we looking for?" Lucifer glanced at Duke. "Show him the picture."
Duke	Duke held out the photo between two fingers. "We need to know who she had dinner with."
Lucifer	"She was here Thursday evening," Lucifer added. The guard nodded, took the photo, and slid behind his keyboard. "Let me take a look..."
Maze	And now they had to wait. Maze saw her chance. Best time, right? While waiting? She might actually get a straight answer out of Lucifer. "So," she said, clearing her throat, "Have you ever heard of a demon getting a soul?"
Duke	You know, Duke was just going to back off a step or two and not be in the middle of this metaphysical conversation.
Lucifer	Lucifer's response was decidedly less metaphysical. He snorted. "Of course not. That's impossible."
Maze	Why had she even bothered? When did Lucifer ever bother to pay attention to her? And yet something compelled Maze to keep going. "Yeah, I've... heard that all my life," she said, staring at the wall. "Then again, you did fall in love. Amenadiel had a baby with a human." She looked at him. "There's a first for everything, right?"
Lucifer	Lucifer was barely even listening. His eyes were on the videos being played back before them. "Well, that's different. We're angels, you're just a-- demon." Was that her? It looked like her.
Duke	Duke flicked Maze a sympathetic look. He was on her side -- why couldn't there be a first time for this, too?
Lucifer	"There. There, that's her," Lucifer said, voice raising in excitement. "Now we just need to wait for the creepy guy stalking her..."
Maze	Yeah. Somehow Maze wasn't surprised. "How do we even know what we're looking for?" she asked, voice almost a monotone. And then an unassuming guy at the front of the restaurant's outside seating put a bouquet of lilies down on the table and glance past the camera. "Oh my Dad," Lucifer gasped beside her. Maze was decidedly less careful with her words. "Shit. That's Ella's boyfriend."
Duke	"What?!" Duke leaned in past them to peer at the video, not that he knew what Ella's boyfriend looked like. "Didn't she just go home to him?!"
Lucifer	Lucifer had already pulled out his phone. "Come on, Miss Lopez, come on..." She wasn't picking up.
Duke	Duke had his own phone out, but had no idea who to call. "Do we know where they live?" he asked Maze. "We need to get there now."
Maze	Maze's gaze snapped up at Duke like the adrenaline was already running through her body. "I do," she said. She turned to Lucifer. "Call the cops for backup, and let's go."

Octavia	Well, the call Octavia had received from Duke a while ago had not been the most promising, to say the least. So now she was grimly waiting outside the station. Everyone passing by her seemed to be giving her a wide berth.
Duke	Duke kept a close eye on Ella as they headed back to the station. He didn't know her well, but he knew how much Lucifer respected her. And he knew a thing or two about suddenly discovering someone you thought you knew was a serial killer.
Ella	Ella's eyes were downcast, barely registering everything that was going on. She was still stuck in the moment, Pete's unconscious body slumped over her own, her clutching the syringe with tranquilizer like he'd wake back up and finish the job if she let go of it. She huddled against Lucifer on their way up to the front doors. "He, ah. He didn't know." It was the first thing she'd said in over an hour. "About. Chloe. He didn't do it."
Lucifer	That did absolutely nothing to counter the terror in Lucifer's heart, but he wrapped an arm around her regardless. "We'll deal with that in a minute," he said, and looked at the figure by the door. "Octavia? She's safe, we've got the killer, but he didn't take the Detective." His voice cracked a bit, there.
Octavia	Octavia had already darted closer as soon as she'd spotted them. Also, funny how fleeting relief could be. "What?" she said, coming to a stop. "We're back to square one?"
Duke	“There’s one less misogynistic asshole running around, but, uh. Yeah. Pretty much.”
Maze	There was something about this whole situation that kept nagging at Maze. Something that didn't feel right. She looked at Lucifer. Thought about the anger she still felt. "Maybe we've been coming at this from the wrong direction," she said slowly. "Maybe this isn't about hurting Chloe. Maybe it's about hurting you." A pause. "And getting you back here."
Lucifer	What was she hinting at? ... It took half a second before the dots connected in Lucifer's head, but when they did, his eyes went wide. "We need to talk to Daniel," he said. "Right now."
Octavia	Octavia looked back at the building, then shook her head. "I haven't seen him." Oh, of course she'd looked. Had not at all been sure what she would've done if she'd found him, but she'd definitely looked.
Duke	Duke nodded, not entirely following that logic, but trusting that Lucifer knew what he was doing around here. He hung back, reaching out a gentle hand towards Ella. He had a feeling he'd do more good sticking with her for a moment then he would grilling Dan the Douche.
Ella	Ella didn't notice his hand until it was already there. She jerked suddenly. "Ah-- oh. Sorry. I'm just a little wired right now, you know, after the everything, and the--"
Duke	"Nah," Duke said. He'd pulled his hand back as soon as he realized he'd startled her. "Should've given you warning." He offered her a slightly weak smile. "Just, uh, wanted to say. I've actually kind of been where you are. Realizing someone you trusted was a serial killer." The smile turned into a grimace. "Um. More than once, actually. So, uh. You wanna talk to someone who's actually been there. . . ."
Ella	Ella rubbed at her arm. She kept wanting to make herself smaller, somehow. But Chloe was still missing, and... "Thanks," she said softly. "I might. Take you up on that. Once we find Chloe and everything. I just... I just can't believe I thought I found a good guy, and..."
Duke	Duke nodded. "Kind of wish I could kick him in the balls for you."
Ella	Ella rubbed at her eye. It wasn't-- no. "Thanks," she said. "And uh... if I ever met one of yours I'd be happy to return the favor." Come on, Lopez. You could get through this.
Duke	"They're both dead," Duke said. "But I appreciate the offer." He nodded after Lucifer. "Right, let's distract ourselves with saving Chloe."
Lucifer	Lucifer was already in the process of crowding Dan into an interrogation room. "Right," he said, as soon as the doors fell shut behind him. "Why did you come back to the house the night you saw my face?"
Dan	Dan had the gait of a man not entirely sober as he stumbled towards the back of the room, hands up. "Don't hurt me, don't hurt me, don't-- what?" Why was Lucifer even asking? "You called me and told me to!"
Lucifer	Yeah. That was what Lucifer had been afraid of. Some of the anger fell out of him, forming something heavy at the base of his shoes. "I didn't place that call, Daniel," he said. "But I think I know who did. My twin. Michael." He watched something shift in Dan's face. Ah. "Oh, dreadful poker face," he said, something sharp crawling back into his voice. "He's the one who told you to shoot me, isn't he?" Dan feinted to the left, past the interrogation table, but Lucifer was too quick for him. So Dan ran to the other side instead, eyes wide. Oh, for Father's sake. "I hate to break it to you, Daniel, but you have been played," Lucifer said, raising his voice.
Dan	That couldn't be true. "But Michael's an angel," Dan pointed out. "And you're the Devil, you're the Prince of Lies--"
Lucifer	"DAN!" Lucifer slammed his hands down. "Chloe. Has been kidnapped. By Michael. We need to find her before he does whatever ANGELIC THINGS HE'S PLANNING ON DOING!"
Dan	Wait, what? What? Dan sobered on the spot, leaning forward. "Wait, what do you mean, kidnapped? Is that why everyone's on high alert?!" Sobered like falling out of the top floor of a goddamn apartment building. "Why didn't you tell me?!" He turned away from Lucifer and ran for the door, banging his hands on it. "Someone let me out of here so I can help!"
Lucifer	Oh, no, no no no, none of that nonsense. Lucifer followed, grabbing hold of Dan's wrists and twisting him back around. "What are you going to do?" he snapped, shoving the man forcibly up against the door. "Tell them that some archangel took her?!" He narrowed his eyes, his words spilling out through clenched teeth. "We are on the same side here, only we can save her, and the only way you can help is by telling me where you saw Michael!"
Dan	Dan whimpered. "You're hurting me."
Lucifer	What--? Oh. Oh. Lucifer's hands slid away from Dan's wrists. He took a step back, holding his hands up in the air.
Dan	Dan had never been as terrified as he was right now. He felt himself trembling, and hated that Lucifer could see it, but... he needed to focus. For Chloe. "He, uh... he came to me at the cemetery… but then he flew me someplace else. Uh, somewhere private, so we could talk. It was a, uh… some weird cave."
Lucifer	"Private," Lucifer echoed. A hiding spot. Perhaps somewhere Michael went more often. "That might be where he took Chloe," he said. Where's this cave?"
Dan	"Well, I, uh." Oh, this was gonna be embarrassing. "I, I don't know, exactly?"
Lucifer	What? "How can you not know?" Lucifer asked incredulously. "Did he blindfold you?!"
Dan	"Well, I, uh, I kind of... maybe... passed out on the flight there..." Beat. "...and back."
Lucifer	"You have GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Lucifer roared. He should've kept Dan pressed up against that door. Made him squirm and suffer a while longer.
Dan	Dan sighed. Yeah, he wasn't proud. "Man, come on, I'm afraid of heights! You know what roller coasters do to me!" He shook his head. "And believe me, flying? It's way worse."
Lucifer	You could deal with your own shit on your own time, Dan! "Is there anything of value that you can tell me, or are you just completely useless?" Lucifer snapped.
Dan	Fuck, Lucifer, Dan was trying. "The cave, it was strange," he said, digging deep into his memory. "Parts of it, it looked-- fake? There were bars on it. And it seemed like no one had been there in a really, really long time." Dan faltered. He looked up at Lucifer and saw something shift in the Devil's eyes. God, he hoped that was a good shift.

Lucifer	The Old Los Angeles Zoo hadn't been in use as a zoo for many years, but its structures were still partly intact. It wasn't hard to figure out this was where Chloe had to be, not after Dan's explanation. Lucifer didn't say much on the road there, laser-focused as he was right now - decompressing would be for later. He hurried through the fake cave, eyes darting from one empty cage to the other. At the end sat one last cage, and unlike the others, this one had a closed, locked door. "Right," he said, peeking inside. Seeing no one. His fingers curled around the lock and snapped it to pieces.
Duke	Duke kept a ways back, telling himself he was bringing up the rear, watching Lucifer's back. Telling himself very firmly that Lucifer's tunnel vision didn't mean he was choosing Chloe and LA over him and Octavia and Fandom.
Octavia	Octavia wasn't assigning meaning to any of this. One thing at a time, and right now that one thing was this rescue mission. She wasn't right at Lucifer's heels, either, although she stalked through the cave with a sense of purpose, peering into the open cages as she went. Just double-checking.
Chloe	There he was again. Chloe clutched her makeshift club close. Waited for him to get closer, and closer, and... past her, towards the window. With a cry, she pushed away from the outcropping she'd hidden herself in and slammed the club down on Michael's head. "Aaah!" She didn't wait to see his reaction. She turned around and ran for the door.
Duke	Where she'd find Duke -- and Maze, who was actually bringing up the rear, in a much more professional way than Duke could hope to. Duke had flashes of Audrey after her kidnapping, in the old hotel up on the bluffs. He reached for Chloe, but unlike with Audrey, didn't immediately wrap her up in his arms. "Woah, hey," he said, voice low and easy. "It's alright, we're the cavalry."
Chloe	Chloe stopped in her tracks, staring at them like they were... a mirage, or maybe a betrayal waiting to happen. "Maze?" she said. "Lucifer's f-- Duke. What are you... what are you doing here?!"
Lucifer	"That's a pretty mighty swing you have there, Detective." It hadn't hurt Lucifer. Not exactly. But the surprise had tripped him up, and so he was rubbing the back of his head as he came up behind her, a small, relieved smile on his face. "Are all abandoned zoos this dangerous?"
Chloe	"Lucifer," Chloe breathed. Her feet seemed rooted to the floor for a moment. An instant. And then everything - the long lonely months, the shooting, Michael, being trapped here - hit her like a brick and suddenly there was nothing she could do but go to him, tangle her fingers in her hair, and pull him into a kiss. She'd be mortified about it later.
Lucifer	What on Earth was happening? thought Lucifer's conscious brain. It kept him frozen on the spot for a split second before the unconscious brain kicked in, responding to her, thoughtlessly, because it couldn't not. It only lasted a few seconds. And then she was hugging him, and the moment was past.
Octavia	And to think that Octavia, standing in the doorway of one of the cages, had just been about to offer Chloe a compliment about having the guts to apparently try and assault an angel. But then, oh -- Oh. Those few seconds were enough to make sure not a sound came out. Might not have even if Octavia had still wanted them to.
Duke	. . . Yeah. This was just like when Audrey had been kidnapped. Duke looked away the moment he realized Lucifer was kissing back. It wasn't like he had any right to be angry. He was the one who'd suggested non-monogamy. Lucifer could kiss whomever he pleased. Duke was just going to try to quietly slip back out the door now.
Maze	"Freaking soul mates," Maze muttered quietly.
Chloe	Chloe didn't notice any of the drama behind her at all. "I'm so sorry, I thought you were Michael," she mumbled, hugging Lucifer tight.
Lucifer	The expression on Lucifer's face slid from confusion into slow realization. "It's okay, you can whack me any time," he said, because he didn't know what else to say, as alarm crept rapidly into his eyes.
Octavia	Octavia hadn't moved. But she'd turned her head to watch Duke go, and her expression had gone mild and flat. The way it usually did when there was something she didn't want to deal with in public.
Duke	Duke made it through the door and leaned back against the crumbling old wall. Nothing to see here. Just a tired pirate standing guard in an abandoned zoo. Go about your business, Angelinos.
Octavia	"We should go," Octavia said, her voice flat, still looking towards the doorway even after Duke had disappeared from view. "Before Michael comes back."
Lucifer	"Agreed," Lucifer said. He didn't mean to disentangle himself from Chloe so-- abruptly. But he didn't feel particularly in control of himself right now, in general.
Chloe	Chloe watched him go, confused. What was wrong--? She cleared her throat. "Can I have your phone?" she said. "I need to let everyone know I'm okay."

Lucifer	The next hour passed in a blur. As soon as Chloe had called the station, some uniforms had insisted on coming over and escorting them back. At the station, they had gotten swamped by yet more cops, who wanted hugs, and explanations, and to fuss endlessly over Chloe. Lucifer hadn't had a single moment to process any of it yet. When the lull finally came, and Chloe took center stage for her thank you speech, he found himself just standing there. Befuddled.
Duke	Right. Everyone had all eyes of Chloe, the resident wilting ingenue. Who was back where she was supposed to be, all safe and sound. And the serial killer was caught and Duke just wanted to go home now, please. He reached for Octavia's arm with one hand, and the back of Lucifer's jacket with the other. There were plenty of little closets and hideaways in this station, they could find one and order a portal and just get the hell out of dodge now, right?
Octavia	Octavia wasn't really into anyone touching her right now, in part because of the cave, in part because getting swarmed by cops still made her extremely uncomfortable in its own right. But she'd also sort of resigned to being in discomfort for the foreseeable future, right now, so she didn't try and shake Duke's hand off her arm. Just looked up at him with a questioning frown. If her stony look could be called that.
Lucifer	Lucifer startled to an unnecessarily obvious degree. "Yes?" he said, looking at Duke. He felt slow. He hated it.
Duke	Duke gestured with his head towards a nearby closet and proceeded to drag them both towards it. "Can we go now?" he hissed, once he was sure they wouldn't be overheard by any actual cops.
Octavia	"Love to," Octavia said, more dry than necessary, as she followed along.
Lucifer	Lucifer wanted to go home to Fandom. Lucifer wanted to stay home in LA. "I-- yes?" he said.
Duke	"Good." Duke nodded firmly, reaching for his phone. "I'll book us a portal. And, uh, you can tell us just where you and Chloe are at right now." Because that had definitely been a kiss back there, and Duke was trying not to be mad about it, but he felt as Lucifer's boyfriend he should at least get to know what exactly was going on with them.
Octavia	Octavia wasn't sure she even wanted to know. (Octavia was almost sure she already knew.) She wasn't saying anything.
Lucifer	"Um." He had no idea. He was confused. Lucifer was certain he should have been jumping for joy on one level or another, and he wasn't. But if it meant nothing, he should be able to say so, shouldn't he? It should be easy. Why wasn't it easy? "I, look, that was the heat of the moment," he started. "And. I don't know what she meant... by it, or what I-- But I need you two to know that I..." What did they need to know? They'd just have to guess. Because suddenly there wasn't a Lucifer there anymore to finish that sentence.
Duke	There was no Lucifer. There was breaking glass, and the sounds of any number of things falling over, and a lot of commotion out in the bullpen. But there was no Lucifer. Duke felt like he'd just gotten thrown back into the past again. He jerked upright, looking around, a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Lucifer?"
Octavia	Octavia blinked a couple of times, disoriented. And then she was already reaching for the door again, because clearly Lucifer wasn't here anymore.
Duke	"Lucifer!" Look, maybe 'repeatedly calling your lost loved one's name' isn't actually the best plan for how to find them, but it was the only one Duke ever really seemed to have
Octavia	It had obviously worked great for him in the Fandom duck pond, so why stop now? Octavia rushed out into the bullpen, where there was more broken glass on the floor, and confused murmurs about an earthquake. A uniformed officer was helping a man in a suit clean coffee off the floor. And no Lucifer anywhere Octavia's darting gaze could see. "Where the hell did he go?"
Duke	"Lucifer!" Duke called again, digging his cellphone out of his pocket. Well, at least while he was yelling, he could still actually functionally try to call the man properly, on the phone and everything.
Octavia	"He's not here," Octavia said. Not just to get him to stop yelling.
Duke	"How can he not be --" Duke started, then cut himself off with a grimace. Lucifer was an angel. He could absolutely be there one moment and gone the next. Duke's stomach hurt. "What was he going to say?!"
Octavia	"He can tell us himself," Octavia said, her expression already tightening again, now that the surprise was fading. Walls locking into place. "And I don't think it's gonna be here." Good, honestly. She wasn't interested in being here for a second longer than she had to.
Duke	Duke let out a soft growl when he got Lucifer’s voicemail. “Then let’s go find him.”