The Djinn Trials: Azazel

by Jack Thanatos

  “What happened?” Azazel questioned.

  “Bathroom break.” Lucifer chuckled, and Azazel couldn’t help but laugh himself. “I want you to know that this is the place your wife went to when she found out she had a child from another man inside of her.”

  Azazel didn’t want to hear that. He had witnessed her gruesome murder just hours ago, why was Lucifer stirring up these things?

  “Could you please not bring that up?” Azazel requested.

  A moment of silence. “You knew?” Lucifer asked.

  “I did notice the missed periods. No tampons in the bathroom, that was a good indicator,” Azazel heatedly mentioned. “We hadn’t had sex in months.”

  “Well, this is good news for you then. They botched the abortion and left a painful reminder of her misdeeds. I want you to go inside, steal your ex-wife’s files, and burn the building down.”

  “Why? What will that do? She is dead and I already knew that she was pregnant. What does it matter?”

  “Because the doctor that performed the operation is the one who helped her conceive the baby. She cheated on you with that doctor, the one who supposedly did the abortion, but couldn’t go through with it knowing it was his baby.”

  “WHAT? This doesn’t make any sense. They wouldn’t allow him to do that procedure anyway.” Azazel didn’t know how to take this info. “What was the painful reminder?”

  “The painful reminder was the baby still inside her womb. He told her the fetus was aborted, although it hadn’t been. He hid it from her and said it would just take a few weeks for the passing. She didn’t know any better so she believed him.”

  “Why do you want me to torch the place, though?”

  Lucifer stated bluntly, “That doctor owns this clinic.” He hung up.

  Azazel stared at the Moloch Health Center, trying to make heads or tails of the newly acquired information. His life was turning out to be the Rubik’s cube of puzzles. He thought about the fact that his wife fornicated with a couple of different guys, and he had a daughter. What else was she hiding?

  He wondered why she would fool around with this guy. How did that come up in a conversation? Hi, how are you doing? What do you do? I’m an abortion doctor. That just wouldn’t sound right. Azazel thought about what else they’d call themselves, maybe woman’s rights activists or exterminators. Azazel laughed to himself when he thought of the last one, like they were getting rid of pests.

  As Azazel exited the BMW, he cringed at the tenderness around his chest from the steering wheel earlier. He remembered from some early adulthood activities how to break in, so he snuck around the back of the building. Near the rear entrance, a ladder going to the roof was fixed to the wall. The metal bars were rusty and hurt Azazel’s serrated hands, but once again he ignored the pain after the initial shock dissipated. On the top of the flat roof, there was an access point in the center, a hinged door. Next to the entrance was another bag with bright glowing orange letters, AZAZEL.

  Inside the large black duffel was a small can of gasoline, 100 ft. of fuse line, a key to the entrance, a set of gloves, a piece of paper in an envelope, and a DVD entitled show to doctor. Azazel knew that last one had to be a homework assignment intended for later. First thing he did was look at the letter that also had his name affixed to the outside of the envelope.

  Thomas, you have a long day ahead of you. You’ll be happy to know that your children will remain safe and a substantial amount of money will be waiting at the end of today’s journey. I know that is the least of your worries at the moment, but I wanted just to let you know that your deeds today will not go unrewarded. Don’t think I’m being soft, either. If you don’t accomplish your tasks, I will not hesitate to what was threatened earlier.

  As for your task at hand, room 115 on the first floor is where you’ll find the file room and you’ll find Dr. Moloch’s office in room 220 on the second floor. Make sure before you torch the place (use the file room as your starter), but check his office first to make sure there is nothing of importance that could be incriminating inside.

  Good luck and best wishes,

  Lucifer, the best friend you have.

  Azazel recoiled at the last part of the letter. He despised Lucifer, and to have that man call Azazel his best friend was a slap to the face. He tried hard to suppress the flooding emotions. He slid his hands into the gloves, opened the door to the clinic using the key provided, and ran down the stairs with the gas and fuse.

  Looking around, he searched for where Lori’s files would be. The file room was down the main corridor, not too hard to find. Room 115, the door was locked. Azazel looked down at the key, but it didn’t match the keyhole so he sat the gas down and kicked the door in. A group of file cabinets were lined up in alphabetical order, so he searched through the first letter of his last name. Azazel couldn’t find anything, momentarily panicking. Then he thought about her maiden name, which she still used occasionally. He had found a few pieces of mail with that surname addressed to her throughout the years, but tended to ignore those, thinking there was some mistake. He knew he was gullible, and that he just wanted to believe that she wasn’t hiding anything, but deep down he knew.

  Inside the drawer was her file, Lori Verone. It contained ultrasounds, papers suggesting the termination, and payment stubs. Lori exhausted a substantial amount of funds for the procedure to be completed, but never occurred. Azazel started to think that maybe the doctor had something to do with Lucifer. Maybe the doctor was Lucifer, and he just wanted to let Azazel in on the information. How would he know all the little details, though?

  Azazel didn’t bother dwelling on the possibilities. He headed back out into the hallway towards the doctor’s office for a thorough look through. The room was unlocked, and Azazel found a nice plump surprise sitting in the chair at the desk, a tied up husky man with a black bag enveloping his head, most likely asleep since he wasn’t moving. The man was in a suit, jacket removed, with dribbled blood down the front.

  Azazel removed the hood and smacked the balding man in the face to wake him up. “Who are you?” Azazel asked.

  Distraught, the man replied, “What’s going on, where am I?”

  “Answer my question first,” Azazel demanded, “and maybe I’ll respond to yours.”

  “Doctor Miles Moloch.”

  “Well, Doctor Moloch, this is your clinic, correct?”

  “Yes,” Moloch answered. Then the shock grew on his face. “Are you a pro-life protester?”

  Azazel laughed, “No.” He waited until he could stop laughing then continued. “I want you to be perfectly honest with me. I have orders to burn this place down and if I’m given the wrong answer then you’ll be included, understand?”

  Moloch gasped as he nodded.

  “Do you know Lori Mormo?”

  The man thought for a minute and answered honestly by shaking his head and saying, “The name doesn’t ring a bell.”

  This seemed to bother Azazel at first and he sat there momentarily staring at the confused man. He looked down at the files and remembered the same detail that dawned on him moments ago. “Do you know Lori Verone?”

  Anxiety built up in the man’s face. “Yes.”

  “How do you know her?” Azazel asked very calmly.

  “She is a patient of mine,” Moloch answered.

  Azazel posed, “Anything else?”

  Moloch’s face turned to perplexity once again, “I don’t follow. What do you mean?”

  “Was she a love interest of yours?”

  “No, I don’t date my patients,” Moloch contended.

  Azazel reminded himself of the other item left inside the bag, the disc. A TV with a DVD player sat in the office corner, so he decided it was viewing time. “Someone left this for you,” Azazel said.

  The video showed the top view of a room that appeared to be the office Azazel was standing in at that very moment. Azazel already knew what was coming. He watched the video as Dr. Moloch had Lori Verone follow him into the
room and make herself more comfortable. Dr. Moloch told his secretary to hold all his calls so they could talk in private. As the scene unfolded, the door was locked and Dr. Moloch commenced giving Lori a back rub, asking her how her day went.

  Azazel gave a piercing gaze towards the physician who had turned his head away in shame. He didn’t even try to explain himself. On the video, Lori appeared as if she were resisting momentarily, but quickly succumbed to the doctor. They continued partaking in amateur voyeur porn.

  “Anything you wish to say?” Azazel asked.

  Moloch replied, “I didn’t know she was married. I assume you’re her husband, correct?”

  Azazel nodded and he felt torn about what to do with the man. Moloch was really acting as if he didn’t know Lori was in a relationship. Azazel remained silent for a moment with forgiveness in mind. Moloch acted just as any other man would’ve, given the situation. Lori must’ve made passes for him to jeopardize his career along with a possible lawsuit or even time in prison. There was a lot at stake for this man, but how did the DVD come about?

  “Why was this disc even made?” Azazel asked.

  Moloch was horribly ashamed and blushing bright red. “I was getting paid a large sum of money to do these things, by Lori. She had me make this video so she could put it on the website, and in exchange she would keep her mouth shut. She wanted me to kill the baby inside of her but I wouldn’t and so I hid the truth. I didn’t get time to explain it all to her.”

  Azazel wasn’t angry at the doctor, but he was furious with Lori. He didn’t think it was possible to be pissed with a dead woman. “Why would you mess around with your patient?”

  “She constantly flirted with me. She wasn’t originally my patient, but we met on one of those online dating services. She was very beautiful and we had a lot in common so we scheduled a date. I had already started to regret the relationship after some warning signs started popping up.”

  Azazel’s curiosity built up. “Like what?”

  “She started making subtle threats that built slowly. Soon enough, I had to break it off, but she said she was going to turn me in for indecent doctor-patient practices. I was so confused.” The doctor was flustered and started tearing up.

  “Relax man, I’m gonna let you go.” Azazel felt bad for Moloch, but this was very uncharacteristic of the Lori he knew. Lori was quite the actress, as Azazel was now learning.

  Azazel untied Moloch, who nodded in thanks. Just then, the window cracked with a dime-sized hole in the middle, and Moloch fell forward onto the desk. Azazel froze. Wide eyed, Azazel managed to shake it off and looked out into the fog to see nothing but a blur.

  The phone buzzed. “Burn him, and the place!” Lucifer demanded.

  “What the fuck was that?!?” Azazel screamed. “That’s not even right.”

  “I know, I heard his little confession. That doesn’t matter to you though, because he was lying. He drugged Lori to perform those acts. Don’t let him fool you.”

  “What proof do you have?!?”

  “You want proof? Watch the video closely. Look at the way she spoke. Look at the way she moved. You know Lori far too well, even with your apathy towards the marriage.”

  Azazel reluctantly replayed the video and turned the volume up. Just as Lucifer described, there were subtle indications that she wasn’t in the right state of mind. “Whose tape was this?”

  “Take a quick look at the computer on his desk and punch in the site for DrxxxCainVids. I’m sure that’s all the proof you’ll need. After that, burn the building down.” The phone went dead.

  Azazel’s temper welled up inside, but knew he had to do as Lucifer directed. He didn’t bother with the website, just spread gasoline all over the doctor’s body, setting it ablaze. He then went into the file room and did the same. He splashed two more rooms until running out of gas and the heat and smoke became unbearable. Surprisingly, no alarms or sprinkler systems triggered. With all the items collected, he exited through the first floor back door, which could be opened from the inside.

  Twenty minutes passed before emergency sirens sounded in the distance, but by that time Azazel was long gone, not bothering to watch. He just hoped that none of the clinic’s neighbors witnessed his departure. The fog pretty much guaranteed an easy escape to his home.

  6 A.M.: Charles Cacus

  Pantera’s “Cemetery Gates” played from the phone speaker, cutting the morning silence as Azazel sat on his porch.

  “I hope you’re not mad, Azazel,” Lucifer said, showing some unexpected concern.

  Azazel remained silent.

  “You believed him, didn’t you?” Lucifer asked.

  Azazel responded, “I don’t know what to believe. I don’t know you or the doctor. How am I to trust either side?”

  “I can’t give you reasons for entrusting me. After all, I’m holding your children hostage so that you’ll complete these tasks. For that reason, I don’t expect to earn credibility. All I’d like to say is that you will appreciate these moments after you find the truth.”

  “Yeah.” Azazel was withholding his emotions, not wanting to sound weak.

  “The daylight is breaking, so a little more caution is required. Your activities are all over the news, although they haven’t been connected. Now make your way to Samael Cemetery. You’ll find a briefcase. Go ahead and open it. The contents should be self-explanatory.” Lucifer hung up.

  The cemetery was an unnerving destination and Azazel’s imagination ran wild visualizing what Lucifer could have in mind. Was he to dig up a grave, or steal from a mausoleum? Azazel hadn’t been to any burial site in years as he full-heartedly believed restless spirits roamed those sites. It was one of his childhood fears brought on by repetitive nightmares that lasted into his teens.

  Samael Cemetery took a few minutes to reach, and the briefcase sat in front of the entrance to the cemetery. Azazel parked the car and turned it off, but waited for a moment with no good reason to do so. He picked up the briefcase, set it on the hood of the BMW and clicked the locks open. The contents consisted of a note, some pictures, other papers, and some specific tools, clearly showing Lucifer’s knowledge of how to break into a safe. Inside the car, Azazel clicked on the overhead light, illuminating blueprints of a building and its surrounding sewers. There was an X located at the tail end of the structure. The notes stated:

  Azazel, it’s 6:00, and you are a quarter of the way through your redemption day. The task that you must now accomplish involves stealing something, just as you did back in the day. Remember how you used to collect jewelry for your lovely wife, making her wonder how you could afford such luxuries? Well, she knew about your nightly activities, but never said anything because she could still brag to her girls about the lovely items.

  You know how to break into safes, and this one’s a doozy. Inside are bonds, jewels and gold bars. Pretty much the works. No one is home (you really need not worry about anyone showing up). All you have to do is break in and steal what you can carry out. I figure by this point you need a break from killing, so this is your opportunity. Enjoy.

  If Azazel wasn’t on the verge of depression, he would’ve been happy. He really did enjoy the days where he used his skills to crack open safes like puzzles. The only problem might be how Lucifer mentioned this one being a doozy. What did he mean by that? Azazel looked through the blueprints and everything was already mapped out for him. All he had to do was follow instructions.

  560 North Entrance Avenue was nothing more than an old dilapidated recycling center with boarded up windows and steel fences barring the doors from random street junkies. Azazel parked a few blocks away and ran towards the target. It was far from the image of a rich person’s home where a high-end safe would be. Trees and bushes hid the building from the surrounding neighborhood houses. Lucifer had even taken the time to map out the alarm system, although Azazel remembered from previous experience how to disarm them.

  Azazel approached the backside of the building and followed so
me of the phone lines through some shrubbery, looking for a proper point to cut. He clipped the alarm, then hid in nearby bushes. Azazel laughed to himself because he should’ve thought about this when he went inside the clinic. It didn’t dawn on him until he’d been given these plans. The alcohol had definitely destroyed any caution his younger self would’ve taken.

  Five slow minutes passed, and a squad car approached the building. Two officers searched, not finding any breaking and entering signs other than the tampered wire. They issued a false alarm and further searched the premises. One of the patrolmen walked within a few feet of Azazel’s hiding spot, shooting up his heart rate. The cop didn’t notice anything suspicious, so they returned to investigating the other criminal acts of Azazel’s own doing. This left the nearly condemned complex free for performing the duties.

  Lucifer provided Azazel with some of his other tools for this job, including a lock pick, a stethoscope, a drill, and of course, his gloves. Azazel thought about the sewer plans and wondered why they were included in the scheme, so he took a second glance in the dawning light. There was an indication of a subterranean entrance in the basement that appeared to lead into a cave connecting to the sewers. Azazel thought of how gross that would be, but it created an escape route in case things got bad.

  Since he hadn’t performed burglary actions in years, Azazel felt rusty and nervous. Yet, excitement rang though his veins, and he was starting to feel alive again. He made his entrance through the well hidden back door, thinking that this place was just begging to be robbed. He used a set of lock picks that he always called his “universal keys”.

  Inside the building, the way it actually looked could not be further from the impression of the outside. This was someone’s house, with immaculately organized collectables, high end electronics including an 80 inch TV, and furniture Azazel was jealous of. It became instantly clear this was a perfectly concealed treasure trove. He followed the blueprints upstairs into a small attic loft area where the safe was located, marked with the X. He used the stethoscope to amplify the clicking, and had only brought the drill just in case. The funny thing was that this was a simple safe, not a doozy as Lucifer’s letter suggested.