Page 48 of Lolli-Gag
“One day, someone will mistake your mouth for intelligence.” Jagger laughed. I didn't, which brought Lucifer’s attention my way.
“They’re funny tonight, aren’t they?” he asks, but I look at the door.
“No,” I deadpan, and his smile sharpens.
“You never laugh,” he states, and I roll my eyes.
“You never shut up,” I fire back, making Jagger laugh harder. Killlian almost smiles. Almost.
Lucifer leans back in his chair eyeing me. “You wound me, Salotto.”
“Not yet.” I grin, and that alone wipes the smile off his face for half a second. Good. I like him better—honest. We never got along. Lucifer and me—he needs the room to bend, and I don’t bend for no one. He likes voices, praise, and performance. I enjoy silence, results, and clean exits. He called me boring once, and I told him boring people live longer. He laughed and said, “Not around me.” He’s a fucking idiot. Especially around him. Jagger watches us like he wants us to either fight or kiss just to end the tension, but I bet if I did attempt to kiss Lucifer, Jagger wouldn’t like it, not one fucking bit.
“This hostility is inefficient,” Killian cuts in.
“Everything about Vinny is inefficient. He makes brooding look like labor,” Lucifer smirks, and my eyes narrow on him.
“You make breathing look like theater,” I spit, and Jagger slaps the table.
“Finally, that was a good one.” He laughs, and Lucifer’s smile returns, only colder. He never liked me, and I don’t like him, but here we are. That had to mean something, even if none of us are stupid enough to call it loyalty. Later that night is not something I like to think about. The things I did to him—the things I’ll never forgive myself for…
The monitor flashes as Jagger breaks out of the chair and my memory disappears. He is loose with bloody knuckles and razor sharp focus. Master D watches with interest, not fear, and that’s what bothers me.
Jagger tears through the door like the room offended him personally, and when the guard on screen turns too slow, Jagger drops him. I want to smile, but I don't. I just keep watching as another camera angle catches him entering the hall, heading towards Lolli. Of course he heard her. I did too. Even without sound, some things don’t need volume.
Master D taps a control and the screen splits. Jag on one side, Lolli on the other.
“Remarkable,” he says. “Her distress produced a stronger response than his own trauma sequence,” he states, and I step toward the monitors, causing the guard behind me to shift. I stop, then narrow my eyes.
“You planned that?” I question, and a smile spreads across his face.
“I designed it.”
“That’s worse.”
“Yes,” he says, agreeing with me. On screen, Jag reaches her door and the impact makes the camera shake. Lolli turns her head, but I can’t hear her. I can see her face change.Hope. Bright, but fragile. I hate it all.“Do you know why you’re here with me, Vincent?” he asks, but I don’t look at him.
“No!”
“You do,” he says, so fucking sure of himself. Maybe he is right, but I’m not going to say it. He steps closer to the monitors.
“The others are reactive under pressure. Killian evolves through analysis. Lucifer through psychological deprivation. Jagger through protective violence, and Lolli… emotional distortion." He smiles at that.
“And me?” I ask, and he finally turns to meet my eyes.
“You don’t react,” he says.
“Everyone reacts,” I challenge.
“No… everyone feels. Not everyone lets feelings choose for them,” he answers as the guard near the door shifts again.Nervous, huh, Billy.“You are containment,” he adds, and I almost laugh.
“No!”
“Yes!”
“I’m not yours.”
“No, but you are useful,” he says, and there’s that word again. My fingers twitch which he notices. “Careful,” he says, and I glance at the guard, then the camera, then at him.
