The Name's Kharma - Miss Reaper if You're Nasty

Chapter 8 : The Battlefield

Jane was more than a little surprised to see Lucifer the next morning, waiting outside for her a full fifteen minutes early. He was wearing jeans that hugged his ass and thighs just right, and a t-shirt with Marvin the Martian asking "where's my kaboom?". Jane imagined he found the irony quite humorous. The best part of his appearance, though, was the huge coffee cups he carried.

"Are one of those for me?"

In answer, he passed her one of the steaming paper cups. "I took you for a black, with two sugars."

She hid the smile that came to her face behind the rim of the cup. He was trying so hard to please her and show her that he had a kind side. She could see why he was so good at pulling humans into darkness.

"Thank you. Coffee is one of my favorite gifts from God." She watched the smile falter just a bit as she found a way to attribute Lucifer's kind gesture to his Father. But, he recovered quickly.

"Oh? And what would some other favorites be, Saint Jane?" he asked through a dazzlingly white smile.

"I love all the normal ones, such as the smell of rain, and babies fresh from a bath, and how silent it gets during a heavy snow. But I particularly love tastes - fresh fruit and vegetables, herbs, and grains. My favorite, however, is a really good red wine."

"How scandalous, sister." A raised eyebrow and slight smirk indicated that he was teasing.

"All things in moderation, right?" Jane challenged back.

"It would seem I missed that particular lesson."

They stared at one another for a few seconds and then Jane burst out laughing. "I do believe that is the biggest understatement I've ever heard!"

"Well... at least there's something I can claim."

Jane sobered as she realized there was a much deeper conflict here. She chose to drop it for now. "Well, thank you again for the coffee. We need to get going, the flock gets antsy if we run past eight with breakfast."

Jane led Lucifer to the catering truck and they were quickly on the road to a spot near Highbridge where a lot of homeless tended to gather. The park at Highbridge was one of two where she would hand out breakfast sandwiches every other day, along with vanity packs and directions on how to find her shelter.

"You do this every morning?" Lucifer asked incredulously as they parked in a spot reserved for buses and RVs.

"Well, some mornings another volunteer or clergy will handle it. But, honestly? I love it and try to come as often as possible."

More conversation became impossible as soon as the nun raised the pass-through window. As instructed, Lucifer would hand Jane a warm, wrapped breakfast sandwich and she would drop it in a small sack that was pre-packed with bottled water and the other non-food items.

The line was orderly and went quick and most were greeted by name. Once the line had moved through, Jane motioned Lucifer to follow her outside where she began greeting those who'd stuck around.

"Donnie!" she exclaimed and pulled a young man into an embrace. In return the man — boy, really — flashed a brilliant smile.

"Hey, Sister Jane."

"You stood me up last week, Donnie. I missed you." As she said the words, Lucifer watched Donnie's face fill with remorse... and a hint of comfort, which he found odd.

"I'm sorry, I just..." the boys words faded.

Jane reached out and cupped the boys face and forced him into eye contact. "Donnie, a church is just a building. It's filled with sinners of all kinds who choose to come together and help one another through life. I want to help you, but more than that, I think you can help others."

"I don't know... how can I help when I'm such a mess? How could anyone ever take me seriously?"

Lucifer held his sneer somehow. This kid was everything most candidates for Hell were. He was a throwaway — abandoned at birth, adoptive parents shunned him when he came out as gay, and then got hooked on drugs as he tried to numb the pain and shame. His weakness would find him dead in a few years. Surely even Saint Jane would recognize him for the lost cause he was.

"I take you seriously," she answered and Lucifer felt his eyes go round. "I know the massive pain you live with, and yet I see your small acts of kindness to the young and elderly alike. For instance, half your sandwich this morning."

The boy started to shake his head in denial, which was the opposite of what Lucifer expected. Why wouldn't Donnie take credit for his good works?

"Stop it," the nun spoke in a firm voice. "You have something I need, Donnie, and that's a teammate in this fight who can speak with empathy — not just sympathy. There's a war to fight... against ignorance and evil and hopelessness. You could be a General in the war, Donnie."

Lucifer watched as she pulled the boy into an embrace just as the tears spilled from his eyes. "More important, though, I need you in my family."

She gave him a twenty dollar bill and told him to go grab his belongings and catch a bus to the shelter.

Back inside the truck, Lucifer chuckled. "All of this effort, just to save one soul?"

In response, Jane leaned her head back and sighed. "See, there's your problem, Luci. You think in numbers and make everything about winning the war." The habit swung across her shoulders as she shook her head in disappointment. "If you study any of the great warriors, they all have one thing in common and that's the understanding that wars are won one battle at a time."

"You get more numbers my way." His voice was a little harsh as he suddenly felt quite defensive. Her disappointment in him stung.

"In the moment, yes. But long term, the army becomes more bold with each battle won, and that... that creates passion only being a true believer can bring. Where you've gone wrong is that you count on those who believe in nothing."

Lucifer sat back in his seat and stared out the window and mulled over her words. He felt an unfamiliar feeling... one of doubt. "So you're saying what, exactly."

"When Napoleon was leading the campaign against the Russian Empire, his army was outnumbered, underfed, and had inferior weapons. But they won anyway. Do you know why?"

In return, Lucifer just raised an eyebrow. He'd never cared much about human history other than furthering his own agenda.

"Before every battle, Napoleon instructed his generals to pull the troops together and give a speech. At the end of these pep talks they would take out a coin and tell the troops that the coin could predict the outcome of the battle. If the coin was tossed and landed with the Bear image up, they would lose. If the Eagle image was facing up, they were guaranteed victory."

"Let me guess... it was a double Eagle coin."

Jane smiled brightly at him. "Exactly. Every coin toss ensured victory and so they fought as if they'd win, and they did. Confidence is everything."

"So, what's your version of this double-headed coin?"

"The book of Revelations, naturally."

Lucifer snorted. "What?!? You use the book that promises suffering and damnation for those who aren't perfect little rule followers?"

She pulled into the parking lot of the shelter and shut the engine off then turned to face him. "I'm starting to doubt your identity, Samiael."

He was shocked at her knowledge of his pre-fall name for a moment. "I see you and Kharma have spoken at length about me."

The nun didn't even acknowledge his statement. "I'm starting to see that your greatest weapon is creating ignorance and subterfuge. You know as well as I do that the most important lesson to learn in the Revelation is about the churches and the danger of leaning upon human understanding."

A niggling of fear started up his spine. She was, of course, right.

"I'm onto you, and I'm not the only one. There's a movement across the globe and we are arming people with the truth of victory... the truth of the persecuted church and the path to righteousness."

As if pushed, Lucifer slumped against the truck door. This wager just got way more interesting.