Chapter Text
“You were a failure in life, and you’re a failure now, okay?”
Despite not moving a muscle, Vox’s showman grin turns sinister at Lucifer’s words. He leans closer to the man suspended before him, lightly tapping the glass of his prison to trigger the release of the shield down into the confines of the machine, leaving Lucifer completely at his mercy, only bound by the angelic metal restraints attached to his limbs.
“Oh, Lucifer…” Vox’s breath, so thick and smug it practically billows from his lips, tone dripping with satisfaction as he crowds Lucifer’s space. “You should be much more worried than that.”
Vox raises a singular hand, the other still tucked behind his back, as he begins to circle his prey. His grin widens at the way Lucifer flinches when his claws come into contact with the pristine fabric of his vest, digging in just enough to nick cloth and tear the bottom two waist chains from their hold.
“Hah! Why?”
Vox feels another wave of satisfaction roll through him at the wavering in Lucifer’s voice. He continues his path, stalking around the other, dragging his touch from Lucifer’s front, across his waist, to his lower back, noting the minute shiver that runs up the smaller’s spine as his claws puncture the vest right at the center of his lower back.
“It’s not like there’s anything you can do to kill me.”
“Oh,” Vox’s grin widens as he takes a step forward, close enough he can feel the heat of Lucifer’s back against his chest. His other hand finally comes around, centimeters away from Lucifer’s clothes as he trails up over his chest, tracing feather-light along his throat. It’s just enough pressure to tease at how sharp the claws against Lucifer’s skin are, causing the man to crane his neck back, chin rising with a grimace and disgusted grunt at the touch.
“I’m counting on it.” The words sound more like a growl as blue claws finally grip Lucifer’s jaw, hold tightening when the other attempts to jerk his head free with an annoyed scoff.
“Oooo~ Scawy TV, shark-man is gonna, what? Assault his breathtakingly gorgeous captive? How overplayed.” Lucifer blows a raspberry, rolling his eyes. “Honestly, don’t you have anything original planned? Really this entire takeover business has been pretty cliché from the start…”
Vox’s hold turns cruel, his claws pressing hard enough to have pierced a common sinner’s skin by now. He opens his mouth to deliver a scathing remark when Alastor huffs out a breath of laughter, immediately earning an irritated glare from Vox.
“Whaat?” Alastor sits up, shrugging his shoulders lightly, the very picture of ‘innocence’. “For once I agree with the fool.” He grins wider, slowly dragging his gaze along Vox’s stature with a skeptical eye. “Nothing about your ‘plans’ thus far have exactly screamed originality. But then again I supposed that’s what’s bound to happen when you do nothing for yourself and rely on recycled schemes of others.”
“Wait, seriously?” Lucifer’s question is directed at Alastor in a flat, disbelieving tone. “How did this joker even get this far?”
“Fuck you both.” Vox seethes, static waves coursing across his screen as he glares Alastor down and grabs Lucifer’s waist roughly enough for the sound of shredding cloth to resound through the empty warehouse.
“I’m about to be the first sinner- first demon in existence to take over Heaven and you think this is a fuckin’ joke?”
Vox’s eyes flicker between Alastor and Lucifer, who’s face is still very much in his grasp, witnessing as they both roll their eyes practically in unison, dismissing his claim as if he were a petulant child throwing a tantrum.
He feels a wave of fury surge through him. He’s done everything perfectly to have all the pieces set and Alastor still didn’t take him seriously. This was his moment.
Suddenly, a chilled, collected sense of calm washes through him at the reminder. “What’s it matter? You’ll come around like everyone else.” His hold on Lucifer’s jaw tightens as he jerks the smaller body back against him firmly, looming over one shoulder as he forcefully angles the other’s delicate face to look backwards and up at him. “How about I give you a sample of my ...tenacity to show you exactly how I got this far, your Highness?”
Lucifer releases an unamused, strained chuckle that’s impeded by Vox’s hold. “Heh, yeah no thanks. Y’know normally tall, dark, and batshit fuckin’ insane actually is my type, but something about you reeks of desperation and insecurity and, heh really, I could go without today…” Lucifer’s nonchalant tone is accompanied by some light struggling in Vox’s grasp, as if business had concluded and he’ll be free to go on his merry way. “So if you’d just let me go so I can go find my daughter…”
A deep chuckle emanates from within Vox, reverberating strongly enough against Lucifer’s back to still his squirming. “You still don’t seem to get it, Lu. You’re not going anywhere for a very long time. Don’t worry though, I’m sure you won’t be missed, no one will even notice your absence, it’s what you’re best at after all. And besides, it’s not like your little princess actually wanted to see you again after that royal fuck-up you pulled.”
Lucifer tries to hide his flinch, but Vox has long since been out for blood and senses even a drop in the water.
"Ooo, did I strike a nerve with that one?” His grin grows predatory as he leans further over Lucifer’s shoulder, far enough to make eye contact.
“Poor, poor, unloved Lucifer…” He drawls, intending each syllable to twist like a knife in the wound. “Lilith’s been gone, what? Eight years? You must be so lonely…”
Vox marks his condescension with a mockery of a comforting rub up Lucifer’s spine, pleased when he feels another tremble wrack the smaller man’s form.
“Keep your disgusting, sinner paws off me. Clearly you’re aware that I’m marrie-da." Lucifer’s attempt at a patronizing tone doesn’t phase Vox in the slightest, only urging him on as he laughs openly in response.
“I remember the stories of how much of a filthy slut you used to be,” Vox punctuates the word with a sudden, sharp coil of dual cords around Lucifer’s waist, yanking his lower half forcibly back against the hard wall of heat behind him as Vox leans ever closer, chest fully pressing into his back. “Don't you pretend to believe in the ‘sanctity of marriage’." Vox coos in a mockery of holier-than-thou speech.
Lucifer, to his credit, tries to play it off as though he’s still unaffected, laughing bitterly before biting out, "I'm not as easy as all of you unfaithful scum-"
He’s cut off with a sharp intake of air as shocks envelope his body, forcing him to jolt upright, rigid as they course through him.
"Bu-bu-bu-bup.” Vox interrupts, almost gleefully as he presses closer once the electricity stops. The hand that’d been holding Lucifer’s jaw slides down to settle over his throat, supporting his body as it slumps forward to recover from the shocks. “I'd watch myself if I were you. Besides,” The hand still at Lucifer’s back creeps lower, over the cords around his waist until he finds the hem of Lucifer’s trousers through the material of his vest. “That's not exactly true, now is it…?"
Vox’s grin widens as his claws dig into the waistband of Lucifer’s trousers easily piercing the layers of clothing in the way. He doesn’t tear further, not yet, instead using the new hold to yank Lucifer’s ass back directly over his hips, grinding up roughly into the plush feeling of the smaller’s full cheeks. Lucifer’s form jolts again in response, his head immediately drooping lower, breath growing labored.
“Mmm.” Smugness drips from Vox’s tone. “I knew you’d see things my way eventually, your majesty. Breathless already from just a bit of rough play.”
“I’m recovering from being electrocuted you dumb, fuckin-”
This time, the shredding of cloth rings out with surprising ferocity as Vox rips away entire sections of Lucifer’s vest, shirt, trousers- whatever was in his grasp- to expose the King in all his glory.
Taking a step back and dropping the torn fabrics, Vox chuckles menacingly down at the sight: Lucifer’s ass on display as the remains of his trousers slip down the front of his thighs, only stopped once the half-torn waistband can’t fall lower past the spread of Lucifer’s legs.
“This is a good look on you, Lu. Really brings out your only redeeming quality.”
Suddenly, Vox is back on him, crowding his space with a harsh grip to one perfectly round asscheek, chuckling as Lucifer’s fight seems to have finally renewed itself within him as he struggles against the binds around his hands and feet, arching his back to get as far away from Vox as possible.
Vox sends another wave of shocks through Lucifer, smirking at the delightful sound it pulls from the man.
“No need to pretend, little Luci,” Vox murmurs against the back of Lucifer’s ear with a pleased smirk as the smaller man heaves air into his lungs, head downcast. “Unless that makes it more fun for you.” A sinister chuckle emanates from within his chest. “‘Not to kink shame’.”
“Oh, fuck you.” Lucifer spits out viciously at having his words repeated back to him.
“An interesting choice of words…” Vox muses, the palm that’s been toying with Lucifer’s ass trailing towards his center, his grin growing wicked as Lucifer strains once more against his confines.
Lucifer grunts again as Vox’s fingers finally make their way between the cleft of his ass, slowly dragging closer to his entrance. Vox hums, pleased as Lucifer wriggles around against the metal and cords binding him. He tightens the cords around Lucifer’s waist, snaking the edges of two down to wrap around where each thigh meets his hips, more firmly securing the smaller man in place. His fingers trace Lucifer’s entrance, just barely dipping inside before Vox stills his movements.
"Holy shit,” Bemused laughter busts from between his lips. “I can't believe it, I was right.” Vox tests Lucifer’s entrance again with two fingers prodding the area. “You're fuckin’ looser than the whores Val has working triple shifts.”
With a crude laugh, Vox abruptly shoves three fingers in, ripping an almost anguished shout from Lucifer as the man arches forward from the force of the action.
"I would ask if this was Al's doing…” Vox mutters, pressing forward bodily into Lucifer until he has no room to struggle, the binds squeezing tighter as his fingers work deeper inside him, “with the disgusting way you two constantly flirt. But we both know that limpdick can't fuck his own fist let alone satisfy an insatiable whore like you."
Vox spares a moment to flick his eyes across the room to Alastor, smirking tauntingly to see if he’ll actually rise to challenge the barb. He’s almost surprised to see the closest thing to a stoic expression on the demon’s face, as if guarding something behind a bland smile and unreadable eyes.
When Vox refocuses on the task at hand not a moment later, it’s to the sight of Lucifer’s face screwing up, brows drawn together and nose crinkling as if he’s ready to snarl, but when he parts his lips, the strangled gasp sounds anything but discomforted.
With an approving hum, Vox leans his head forward enough to glance down Lucifer’s front, chuckling as his guess is confirmed by what he sees.
"What was that about not being easy?"
This time, Lucifer does snarl, teeth snapping and fire sparking from his mouth as he attempts to lash out. "Revolting, deplorable, pathetic excuse for a mortal soul. When I get out of here-"
"You'll what? Drown me in an avalanche of rubber duckies? It's laughable-" Vox punctuates the word with a brutal stab directly to Lucifer’s prostate. "How adorably incompetent you are. It's a wonder you've lasted this long on your throne.”
Lucifer’s body jerks with each stab, a choked sob lodging itself in the back of his throat as his hips mindlessly rut forward. Between shallow breaths, he tries to conjure up the strength to growl out. “I swear demon- Get your disease-ridden fingers out of me."
"Oh, but that's not what you really want, is it Lucifer?" Vox coos, crooking his fingers to repeatedly graze Lucifer’s prostate with ease as he peers down over Lucifer's shoulder again. "After all, you're already dripping for me, little man."
Lucifer hisses in response, eyes flashing red as his face screws up in a flushed, strained expression. He bites his lip to stop further sounds from spilling forth.
Vox’s smug smirk finally falls, eyes narrowing at the challenge presented to him.
“Perhaps you’re right.”
Lucifer yelps at the sudden emptiness as Vox roughly withdraws his fingers. “W-wait- What are you-”
“Shh… worry not, Lu.” Vox uses the hand that’d still been wrapped around Lucifer’s neck to come up and pet his cheek softly. “You’ll get what you’re owed soon enough.”
“That’s not what I-” Lucifer cuts his own angry, breathless protest short at the telltale pop of a bottle of lube being opened. “Do you just… carry around a bottle of lube with you?”
Vox rolls his eyes as he releases Lucifer’s throat long enough to undo the fly of his trousers, groaning as his own painful arousal is released. “I fuck a porn director on a daily basis, what do you think?”
He pours a generous amount onto his cock before tossing the bottle aside and coating his length fully with his hand, tone dipping down again. “Be grateful that, unlike you, I am a benevolent King. I won’t willfully neglect the needs and comfort of my subjects.”
Vox’s fingers come to harshly grip one of Lucifer’s hips, using his other hand to guide his slick cock between the perfect globes of Lucifer’s rear, groaning deeply at the feeling of his skin sandwiching him.
“You know, I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to fuck an angel.” Vox muses, slowly rutting himself between the valley of Lucifer’s ass. “Even a disgrace for one, like you.”
“H-hey now- wait a second- you’re not actually going to-” Lucifer cuts off with a garbled cry as Vox abruptly lines himself up and thrusts in half way. “Gah- fuck, man. You can’t just-”
Vox slowly pulls out until only his head remains inside Lucifer’s entrance, a low, pleased groan escaping his lips before suddenly fucking forward again, nearly to the hilt.
“Ahh- ha ha ha ha… o-okay yeah that one- mmmph” Lucifer’s brows furrow as Vox bucks forward a third time, finally bottoming out inside Lucifer with a heavy grunt of his own as the smaller man breathes shallowly, head hanging forward once again as he gnaws at his bottom lip.
Finally, Vox pauses his movements, the hand not settled on Lucifer’s hip coming to grip his jaw again, not letting the other hide his expression. The groan he releases at seeing the sight of Lucifer’s face fades into a soft chuckle.
"What a pathetic excuse for a King. Not only can you not hurt sinners, but you can't even control yourself from loving this slutty little hole being used." Vox grinds in deeper, relishing in the broken gasp Lucifer releases in response, as if proving his point.
“Y-you… I-” Lucifer tries to growl out, but the words come out more like fractured hiccups.
“Hush now, Lu.” Vox murmurs softly, thumb rubbing across the heated skin of Lucifer’s hip. “Pretty little things like you ought to be seen and not heard...”
Vox leans back, looking down at the sight of his cock gliding from between Lucifer’s cheeks as he begins to pull out again. His grip tightens as he feels Lucifer clench around him. “And fuck- if this isn’t a sight to behold. No wonder Val goes on about it being a goldmine if he’d ever got a Morningstar in the studio.”
“-fucking vile-”
Vox’s hips snap forward viciously, forcing Lucifer’s words into a loud whine instead. “Now, what did I just say, Lu? Unless it’s you moaning or begging for my cock, I don’t want to hear it.” He punctuates the demand with another brutal thrust, grinning wickedly as another gasp makes it past Lucifer’s defenses.
"Just let yourself enjoy this, Luci, baby.” Vox’s words are sickly sweet as he builds momentum, slowly but steadily wringing out more enticing sounds from the man in his grasp.
"We all know you're no angel, really. You were the worst of them up there.” Vox’s own voice grows harsher, breath coming in shorter puffs from exertion.
“That's why they cast you out. If anything you should be joining me willingly, there's few Heaven has wronged more than you, Lucifer." Vox leans back in, practically falling against the man’s back as he purrs his name behind his ear, using the grip on his hip as an anchor to fuck into him with abandon.
Vox grins, huffing a breathless laugh when he finally gets no response from the defiant little man beyond stifled whimpers and aborted jerks of his own hips back against Vox’s. The deep flush over his cheeks and more and more frequent twitches of his delicious hole around Vox’s length tell him that Lucifer won’t be lasting much longer.
“Wow, really? Gonna cum already? No wonder you don’t kink shame, you must really be into the whole non-con thing. That or you really haven’t been touched in eight years.” Vox’s shivers, groaning at his own words. The thought that he was the one to fuck the King of Hell for the first time in nearly a decade… what a fuckin’ power trip.
Following the high of that line of thought, Vox caves to his sudden impulse, roughly releasing Lucifer’s jaw to tug aside his ridiculously high collar, shredding his bowtie and probably some other items of clothing as he buries his teeth into the newly revealed skin.
Somewhere in the room he vaguely hears a sharp intake of breath, possibly even something that sounds like a growl, but he’s too lost in the taste of angelic blood to focus on anything else.
That is, until he finally hears the first clear, unobstructed moan from Lucifer ring out. Vox releases a deep, guttural sound in response, sinking his teeth deeper into Lucifer’s flesh, groaning as the heavenly taste of more blood blossoms across his tongue.
“Fuck that shit’s good.” Vox growls, finally releasing Lucifer from his jaws as he plows into the man harder, lapping at the golden liquid seeping from the wound.
He finally registers the fluttering of Lucifer’s entrance around him and glances down the front of the man’s heaving chest to see his spent cock dribbling the last drops of his cum onto the floor beneath them.
Chuckling deeply, Vox peers around Lucifer’s shoulder to catch his eye, voice smug, “For all that bitching and struggling, you certainly…” he trails off as he catches Lucifer’s eyes trained quite fixedly on something rather than screwed shut or glazed over unseeingly.
Vox follows Lucifer’s line of sight, growing even more smug at the view that awaits him. Raising an eyebrow with a smirk, his voice booms out louder, “Well… that certainly never happened when I cucked him with Val… interesting.”
He lets his gaze linger, zeroed in on the imprint of Alastor’s hard cock through his trousers, clear even from this distance. He trails the sight of it, feeling his hips stutter as a deeper wave of arousal crashes through him, almost visceral. His grip tightening to the point of nearly puncturing Lucifer’s skin.
Then he makes the wonderful mistake of letting his eyes roam higher, up past where Al’s chest is heaving slightly against his binds, up past the plastered, almost snarling grin, to meet the vicious, heated glare boring straight through him.
“F-fuck-” Vox trembles, hips convulsing unexpectedly as he abruptly releases with a strangled shout, shocked at the intensity of the orgasm pulsing through him.
Lucifer makes a vaguely displeased sound as Vox empties inside him, but seems to be beyond the point of bitching for the time being, still recovering himself. Vox, however, wastes little time. Once he’s able to breathe somewhat steadily and trust his feet beneath him, he's extracting himself from Lucifer and immediately sauntering around him towards Alastor, an all too pleased grin across his face.
"Hah! Al, you dog, not so ‘limp’ after all, eh?"
Alastor’s glare grows in ferocity with each step closer Vox takes. "I assure you, this development is as much of a regrettable surprise to me as it is to you..."
As Vox approaches, far too close with the familiar glint in his eye of planning to manhandle Alastor, the man’s ears flick back with a growl. “Haven’t you had your fill?”
Coming to a stop inches away from Alastor’s chair, Vox glowers, his jovial mood evaporating as he leans down. Grabbing Alastor’s jaw, he yanks his head up to look at him properly. “You still think you have any semblance of power here, pet?”
Alastor’s nostrils flare as he meets Vox’s challenge with a half-crazed stare. The cords already littering Alastor coil further up his body, one winding around the demon’s throat to emphasize Vox’s words.
“Physical restraints aren’t the almighty display of power you think they are, you simpleton. Ever hear the pen is mightier than the sword? You may have me captive, you may even have the King of Hell- not that that’s much of an achievement, clearly- but don’t delude yourself into believing you have any true authority over me.”
Vox throws his head back, laughing while the cord tightens around Alastor’s neck, Vox’s own grip turning cruel on his jaw. He chuckles as he gazes back down at his captive, crowding his space with a gleeful sneer. “You’ve been mouthing off far too much. I think it’s time to remind you that you’re my possession now, Al. No amount of semantics or little ways you want to cope will make that any less true.”
Vox looms even closer, grinning smugly at Alastor’s own strained smile. “If I want to touch you…” One of the cords connected to Vox’s body begins to snake up Alastor’s leg, wrapping slow and heavy as it trails up Alastor’s shin, over his knee, and along his thigh as Vox speaks.
“How ever I want to touch you,” the plug leading the cord roughly passes over the length of Alastor’s arousal in its path to continue coiling up his thigh, heedless to alleviating any actual tension.
Vox grins wider at the hiss emanating from Alastor, “I will… Consider it a show of goodwill on behalf of our former… mutual ‘respect’ all those years ago that I haven’t yet.”
“But now…?” Vox smirks, eyeing Alastor as he suppresses a jolt from the cord dragging lazily once more across the base of his cock.
“Now that I know that you’re interested. Now that I’ve made your newest toy cum on my cock while you were powerless to stop any of it…” He can’t stop the chuckle building once more, deep in his throat.
The cord, having finally reached the apex of Alastor’s thigh, tightens, sudden and cruel, forcing a rush of air from Alastor’s lungs, sounding more like a growl as his hips lurch from the action.
“All bets are off, Al.” Vox finally releases Alastor’s jaw, hands coming instead to rest one each on Alastor’s thighs as Vox towers over him, thumb of one hand swiping a path dangerously close to the head of Alastor’s concealed length.
Vox’s smirk turns predatory at Alastor’s own nearly menacing grin. “This seems rather painful. I may consider extending my generosity… y’know, in the name of that same old mutual respect-”
Before he can finish his sentence, Alastor outright laughs in Vox’s face. “I don’t want your pathetic excuse for ‘generosity’. I’ve seen your ‘work’,” he spits out, “far more times than I’d ever thought I’d have the displeasure to in even my worst nightmares.”
Vox’s expression turns flat, a cold, distant glaze taking over his features. “And yet you’re rock-fuckin-hard.”
Alastor huffs out another laugh, head shaking slightly. “Oh, I promise you, it’s from no performance of yours.”
Vox’s grip tightens sharply, the edges of his claws tearing through Alastor’s trousers, nearly piercing the flesh beneath as Alastor continues.
“Figures you wouldn’t know how to please a partner… Dear Valentino, the performer that he is, certainly puts on quite the convincing act, that's for sure. He certainly fools you each time… This only solidified what I already knew. Just like in every other aspect of your miserable existence, you’re far too self-absorbed to adequately perform. Hell, all of this isn’t even my thing and I can tell how abysmal you truly are…”
“The fuck do you know? I just made your twink, cum in five minutes.”
“Again, that’s not much of an achievement.” They both ignore the weak ‘hey!’ in protest from somewhere behind Vox.
Vox roughly pushes off from Alastor, standing over him at his full height, tone laced with annoyance. “As if you could do better- …ooh so that’s your angle, here? Huh? Fuckin’ try to talk me into a little bet to see who can get the Cumdumpster of Hell off the quickest so you can fuck him?”
Unfortunately (or fortunately), due to Alastor’s new line of sight, he clearly sees Vox’s cock stir in interest in his periphery. He immediately raises an eyebrow, chuckling.
“Oh, Vox. You’re so utterly transparent. Was all this forced voyeurism just another form of projection as usual?” He tilts his head, grin widening as he assumes the upper hand. “No wonder you align yourself with a ‘business-partner’ in pornography, you pathetic cuckold.” Alastor throws his head back in loud, rancorous laughter as Vox’s fists clench at his sides, a flush of anger tinting his face as static waves ripple across the screen.
Alastor’s outburst eventually dies down with a heavy sigh as it turns into a softer chuckle. “I suppose we could give you a show-” “uhmm-” Alastor continues, heedless once again to Lucifer’s attempt to chime in, eyes glaring down Vox challengingly. “Not that you deserve it… and assuming it won’t be too much of a blow to your fragile, little ego…”
Vox meets Alastor’s glare, his own expression one of deep deliberation as his gaze travels from Alastor’s face, down his form, and briefly over to Lucifer still very much tied up and hoping to be forgotten altogether.
“Besides…” Alastor muses, drawing back Vox’s attention. “Despite your clear interest, we both know you’ve not the stamina for another round just yet, isn’t that so?” Alastor tuts, tone condescending as he tilts his head, almost as if expressing unfortunate concern or understanding.
Finally, Vox closes his eyes, taking a deep breath before leaning down over Alastor once more, gripping the demon’s throat directly this time. “Alright. I’ll let you put your money where your mouth is, Alastor. But don’t you dare underestimate me either. We’ll make this more interesting. You get as much time as you need with the little apple over there- since that’s clearly what you’re vying for- but, as you so kindly pointed out, if I find myself enjoying the show and no longer wanting to be just a spectator, the second I’m ready to go again, I’m coming for you.”
Alastor’s eyes narrow, his grin turning almost into a snarl as he opens his mouth to speak again. “That wasn’t what -”
“Nope! Too late to back out now, coward.” Vox immediately backs away from Alastor, tone grand once more, as if addressing an audience.
With a snap of his fingers, behind him, the mechanics binding Lucifer to his prison hiss as they detach from the base of the machine. The angelic metal still enveloping Lucifer's arms and legs becoming nothing more than shackles now as he suddenly drops to the ground with a heavy thud. Not given time to recover, Vox stands beside him once more, smiling sinisterly as he lets his cords once more wrap themselves like tendrils around Lucifer's middle, lifting him with ease and maneuvering him right into Alastor’s lap. For good measure, he binds the metal holds of Lucifer's arms together at the small of his back.
Both parties are visibly disgruntled and a little perplexed by the development’s execution and abruptness.
“Oh yeah, obviously I’m not going to let you go.” Vox laughs, conjuring up his own chair from a dark corner of the room. “But I’ll give you a bit more… wiggle room.”
Suddenly, Alastor’s binds become looser in some areas and tighter in others- the cords around his torso, hips, and arms growing slack while new ones bind his feet firmly together and others migrate higher to firmly keep his shoulders back tight against the chair.
After another beat, Vox’s voice rings out again, indulgent if slightly unhinged. “Come on, Al. What are you waiting for? This is what you wanted...”