LAPD.

chloe: lucifer no

                   “     oh,    I     think     it’s     a     perfectly     good     fucking     time     !     ”

                 cursing    echoes     past     the     empty     hallways     of     the     building,     dark     and     damp     and     filled     with     smells     that     only     Los     Angeles’     underworld     can     offer     –     she’s     knocking     on     his     door,     almost     banging     at     this     point,     and     the     clock     strikes     three     am     (    not     a     time     Chloe     would     be     visiting     a   colleague,     much     less     a     man     she     barely     just     met     yet     helped     reluctantly     break     into   someone     else’s     home     ),    however,     she     reckons     that    he     owes     her     for    that     specific     reason,     and     if     she     wants   to     barge     into     his     apartment     and     demand     his     help,     he     has     no     chance     but     to     agree.

                    “     open    this     door     !    I     need     to     talk     to     you     !     ”     her     lieutenant    finding     out     about     her     breaking     into     someone’s     house     without     a         search     warrant     is     already     a     complicated   situation     that     could     risk     her     position     within     the     LAPD     (    finding     out     that     the     owner     of     said     house     just     showed     up     executed     not     two     days     after     the     break     in     she    aided     in?     that     could     send     her     to     prison.   )

                    Chloe    Decker     likes     to     think     she     can     fully     trust     in     the     justice     system     –     she    needs     to     believe     there     is     more     to     this     world     than     an     eye     for     an     eye.

                   Eyes    will     glance     up     from     the     case     file     papers     piling     up     on     her     desk,     and     she     will     offer     the     man     a     skeptical     glare     –   despite     looking     like     an     extremely     organized   person,     the     truth     is     that     Chloe     is     rather     messy     when     it     comes     to     her     belongings,     and     the     documents     and     pens     and   empty     coffee     mug     hoarded     up     all     over     the    wooden     surface     are     clear     examples     of     that.     let’s     not     even     begin     with     her    desk     drawers.

                       Through    slightly     narrowed     eyes,     Chloe     studies     the     man     she’s     already     figured     out     is     not,    in     fact,     one     of     the     new     detectives     assigned     to     the     LA     area     (     she     has     no     idea     who     he     is,     but     his     name     isn’t     registered     anywhere     –     it’s    as     if     him     and     his     partner     didn’t     exist     at     all     ).     his     questions     pique     her     interest     –     if     there’s     a     threshold     for     being     suspicious,     so     -     called     agent     Hart     has     already     crossed     it     –     and     as   she     leans     forward     and     places     both     elbows     on     her     desk,     she     deliberately     pushes     the     case     file     further     away     from     his     reach,     as    if     guarding     it     with     her     own     body     (    she     won’t     let     a     civilian,     or     even     worse,     potential     criminal     get     in     the     middle    of     her     investigation    )   .   

               “       if      you       wanna       give       it       a       try,       be      my       guest       –       you’ll       end       up     arrested.       at       the       very       least       I      have       more       leverage       in       that       area.     ”

                  Nose      is       scrunched,       obvious       disapproval     of       not       only       what       she’s       saying,       but       also       what       she’s       doing       (       Chloe       considers       herself       a       by       –       the       –       book       cop       in       all       aspects      of       her       career.       Her       inherent       desire     to       believe       in       the       system      wouldn't       allow       her       to       be     otherwise       ).       truth       be       told,       she’d       rather       just       get       a       search       warrant       for       the       house       –       however,     the       man       presses       that       they       don’t      have       enough       time,       and       the       tiny,      obnoxious       voice       within       her       mind       that       more       often       than       not       still             tells       her       to       go       against       the       rules       mumbles              that       this       is      the       only       way       to       plow       forward       on       the       case.

                   Still,      she       would       rather       not       be       seen       breaking       into       someone’s       apartment     at       midnight              using       a       bobby       pin      to       break       the       lock       –       she       would       rather       not       be       seen       doing       it      with       someone       who       isn’t       another       member       of       Law       Enforcement,       either.       And      she       would       rather       nobody       knows       she      actually       knows       how       to       pick       locks       to       begin       with       (       skills      honed       by       a       former       rebellious     teenager       ).