Eli's plan to keep Lilith safe was two-fold. First had to do with his phone call earlier that Lili had witnessed. At least for one night he had managed to set up some protection for her and hopefully keep the Preacher-man at bay. There would be other nights though, and that's where the next part came in. Neither he nor his friends could be available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. He also knew that she could decide to leave altogether and would need something to protect herself. Preferably something small that she could easily conceal. Having first-hand experience with her ability to use a rope dart, he was confident she could handle herself when given an opportunity to prepare. What she needed was something she could wield at close range and he knew exactly where to go to find such an item and that was Casen's.
Casen's was a tactical shop and gun supply store that was little more than a 'hole in the wall' that mostly catered to law enforcement. Since it was only about six blocks from Millie's, Lilith had seen it around before but had never gone in. Having demonic power and strength had made it unnecessary, until now. Going inside, Lili looked about the place, taking it all in. There was one wall covered in peg hooks displaying a variety of different holsters, targets, firearm accessories and more. There was a good selection of handguns, rifles and shotguns as well, but those were either locked in a glass case, or displayed behind the counter where an eagle-eyed employee kept watch.
"You know, I've never really paid much attention to human laws, so tell me, can you just walk in, throw down some money and buy a gun?" Her naive question made Eli momentarily laugh.
"Uh, no. It doesn't work like that," he explained, as he thumbed through different packages and brands of pepper spray on a circular rack. "If you want to own a gun in this state then that man is going to hand you a series of forms to fill out then he's going to take that information and run a full background check on you to verify that you haven't been flagged by the FBI or a convicted felon." He then shrugged and added offhandedly, "Of course that only works if they've done their jobs and ticked all the right boxes." He went over to another rack that had various types and styles of tasers and began to look through them. He wanted something easy to handle but strong and effective. "Right now I think you'll be better off using something less lethal."
"Why? Don't you think I'm capable of using lethal force to protect myself?" she asked. "I assure you I've done far worse than put a bullet in someone."
"Oh I think you are," he responded, thinking back to how quickly she had brought him to the ground with her rope dart. "But I also don't think that everyone should have one. By your own admission, you have a sketchy past. I'm not taking any bets on whether or not you'll pass the background check," he answered with a playful twinkle in his eyes. He firmly believed that Lilith's stories, while colorful and imaginative, were masking a much darker and seedy past. His instinct wasn't wrong either, although he couldn't begin to fathom the truth before him. "Why don't we just start out with something simple," he suggested, handing her two packages.
The first was a can of pepper spray whose brand was number one on the market and sprayed red pepper gel up to eighteen feet. Lilith stared down at the can, impressed that such a small black canister could potentially make a full-grown man back off and even runway. The other item was a hand-held taser that could be looped around her wrist. According to the package, this little beauty could send a high voltage shock into her assailant that would cause him confusion, disorientation and bring him to his knees. The idea of doing this to the Preacher-man sounded more than a little appealing to the demoness
"Either one of those, or even both, should be powerful enough to stop even the devil," he advised.
"I seriously doubt that," she mumbled looking over at some of the other products on display. Eli heard her comment and couldn't help rolling his eyes. He didn't know what made her cling to her delusion, but boy could she cling to it.
"Oh yeah . . . right. I forgot . . . you actually know the devil." He gave a sarcastic flick of the eyebrows as he looked at a multi-tool knife. Lilith looked at him, noting the obvious acid in his words.
"You can believe whatever you want, but I do," the demoness smirked. "And he's not a creature with red skin, horns, or a tail. Nor is he the monster depicted in medieval paintings and artwork devouring souls and crapping them back out. He's actually quite beautiful, which only makes sense considering he was God's most beautiful angel. Of course humanity never sees him."
"Well isn't that convenient."
"They hear him though. He loves to whisper in the ears of men." Lili laughed slightly as she thought back to some of the things she had seen the devil tempt people with and how easily they had agreed to it. "There is a lot of satisfaction to be had by simply letting humanity destroy itself. His hand is in every war, political assassination, uprising and revolution. He works brilliantly. He has no sides, no loyalties. All it takes is a whispered rumor in the right ear and the world becomes ablaze in hate, discontent and injustice with millions clamoring for blood." A dark smile curled her pretty lips. "Who do you think it was that lit the fuse and set off World War One, then ultimately paved the way for World War Two?"
"It's always good to know that around a hundred million people lost their lives for the devil's entertainment," Eli responded with a shake of his head.
"Well he is the Lord of Hell," she responded, as though no other explanation was needed.
"And you think that makes it acceptable?" he asked, turning to Lilith and waiting to hear her response. She didn't know what to say. She had never given it any thought before. Throughout her entire existence there had always been a certain distance between her and the human world the same way children look at anthills. Looking into Eli's face it suddenly occurred to her that he probably had had family that fought and maybe even died in these conflicts. For the first time her dark, detached humor suddenly seemed rather inappropriate. Even more strange was that she was suddenly feeling that same knot in her stomach that she had experienced earlier in the day although it didn't feel quite as bad.
"It doesn't matter what I think is acceptable, only that humanity seems to think it is. Turn on a TV and see the unhappiness, the cries for this cause or that, civil unrest, misery and want." She waited for Elijah to respond to her declaration, but he just continued to look at packages. "You know we don't just arbitrarily steal souls. We ask to sift them first. Most of the time we are told no, but occasionally permission is granted. It's usually so that the person in question can have an opportunity to be tested and come away stronger and more faithful. Sometimes they fail. There are always people who are willing to embrace their weakness and the momentary pleasure it gives then hold out for an eternity of paradise. Not that I have any personal objections to a little hedonistic pleasure." Here she smirked at the idea, but Eli never so much as glanced at her. "Each and every soul is given a choice," Lilith said, then absently ran her fingers along the edge of the package she was holding. Her mind traveling back in time to the shores of the Red Sea and her last true human moments on earth on her knees before God. "Just as I once was."
Eli heard the regret and bitterness in her voice when she spoke and decided to say nothing more on the subject. For whatever the reason she deeply believed in her delusion and right now it seemed a bad idea to challenge it. The last thing he wanted was to be in a public place with an angry woman trying desperately to prove she wasn't crazy. He was no student of psychology, but he knew enough to know that people with delusions cling to them no matter what, often trying to cover the first lie with an even bigger one.
What he really wanted was for her to drop the charade and just be her real self. Hopefully that would come with time and he was a patient man. A child that grows up first being abandoned and then being tossed from one foster home to another, enduring neglect and who knows what kind of treatment is going to have any number of issues. Trust was only one of them. What she needed, more than anything, was someone who was willing to do what was necessary to heal those wounds and make her whole again or at least as close to it as she could ever be. The best thing he could do was be her friend and be certain that he always kept his word so trust would continue to build between them . . . and also have lunch. Neither of them had eaten any breakfast and before he went off to work he wanted to take her out to eat and go over a few things regarding her safety in his absence.
The place Eli chose for lunch was a well-known bar known as Momo's Den. Named after Missouri's favorite cryptid, the bar had a live band every weekend and patio seating just out back behind the old building along the alleyway. There was even a wood and papier-mache statue of Momo himself inside the bar, smiling, waving and ready to be photographed with any patron who wanted to claim they saw the Missouri bigfoot for themselves. Besides the yeti figure, Momo's was also known for having some of the best bar food in town. From spicy hot wings, hand-cut fries, and giant burgers to steaks cooked to absolute perfection. Momo's knew how to please a hungry crowd.
Eli went there at least once a week and everyone at the bar knew him on a first-name basis. He always ordered the porterhouse special cooked medium rare with fries and a salad. Today was no different. The waitress didn't even ask him what he wanted and instead simply took Lili's order then left the two alone. Once she was gone, Elijah began to explain just how this evening was going to work. His plan was for one of his friends to keep a watchful eye on her and make certain that she was safe while he put in his shift at Rawley's. The demoness wasn't sure if she was flattered by his desire to protect her or annoyed that she was being put under the care of a babysitter. She had taken care of herself for countless ages so why would she need someone's help now?
Lilith didn't hesitate to voice her opinion on this matter either and was quick to point out to Eli that he had just bought her mace and a taser. If the Preacher-man showed up she had zero qualms about using it on him, or anyone else for that matter. In fact, a little part of her was hoping he would show up so just so she could light him up with the taser. While Eli liked her show of bravado, he was not so confident in her ability. Levi Sethos was not above sending more then one thug to subdue her, which was why he had called his friend Kaleb to watch and protect her for the evening.
Kaleb Alvah had been a close friend of Elijah's since the two had met at least a decade before while hanging round the park at night with other twenty-somethings. They fixed each other's cars, threw big barbecue's, bowled and went out drinking together. Both had always agreed that they would never post bail for each other because they would be undoubtedly sharing the same cell laughing at what they had done to get incarcerated. Despite all of Eli's assurances that Kaleb was an upstanding guy that Lilith could trust with her life, she seemed unconvinced.
"Spend eight hours in the company of a strange man? Sorry, I can't. My mother would never allow such a thing."
