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****SPOILERS: In "Gargoyles", set during the Avalon tour, just before "Cloud Fathers". In "The X-Files", set anytime during the third or fourth season. ****RATING: PG ****CATEGORY: XC ****OTHER: UST ****SUMMARY: Our favorite FBI agents go to NYC to investigate Elisa's sudden "disappearance". What turns out, at first, to be an elusive missing person's case, ends up becoming more than what Mulder and Scully bargained for. ****DISCLAIMER: ********************** J. Edgar Hoover Building Washington, DC "Morning, sunshine," Agent Fox Mulder said as his partner, Dana Scully, walked into the basement office. Mulder noticed that, as usual, Scully's red hair was combed to perfection and her suit fit neatly around on her small, slender frame. Mulder smiled. He always thought that she looked good in blue. "Good morning, Mulder," she replied. Scully noticed that, as usually, Mulder was engrossed in one of the files on his cluttered desk, wearing his reading glasses. She always thought that he looked in good in those. She set her briefcase down and motioned towards the manila folder he held in his hand. "Is that our new case?" "Yep," Mulder answered, removing his glasses from his nose. "Have you ever been to New York City, Scully?" "No, why? Is that where we're going?" When her partner nodded, Scully rolled her eyes and sighed. "Mulder, please don't tell me we're investigating alligators in the sewer!" "Fine, I won't tell you." At Scully's astonished face, Mulder began to laugh. "I was just kidding, Scully." She then breathed a sigh of relief. "Actually, this time it's just a missing persons case." "Missing person?" Scully exclaimed. "Mulder, hundreds of people go missing in that city all the time. Why are we investigating this one?" "Because this time the missing person is a cop." Scully raised an eyebrow, intrigued, and Mulder handed her the file. "Her name's Detective Elisa Maza of the NYPD. She's been missing for about three months, and she was last seen with a man named Tom - no last name given - who she had just released from jail; she said she knew his family." Scully nodded. "Why was the man arrested in the first place?" she asked, scanning the file. Inside, amongst the papers and forms, was a picture of a young woman with long black hair, copper skin, and brown eyes. It wasn't a very good picture; Scully figured it was probably the same photo as the one from her badge. There was also another picture of the woman in her full dress uniform. Her dark, almond eyes showed a fierce determination and obvious pride in the uniform that she wore. "For possession of an illegal weapon and disturbing the peace [Author's note: I have no *idea* what I'm talking about so please forgive any mistakes in the legal area.]," Mulder replied. "Apparently, he was carrying a sword and wearing a full suit of armor. There's a picture of him in there." Scully shuffled through the papers and pulled out a black-and-white mugshot of a man in his fifties with light-colored hair. He had a startled look in his eyes. "As though he was afraid of the camera..." Scully mumbled softly. "Yeah, you caught that too?" Mulder asked. Scully nodded. She continued to shift through the papers, but she couldn't find what she was looking for. "Where's the background information on this guy?" "That, my dear Scully, is only *one* of our mysteries," Mulder replied, straightening in his chair and leaning forward on his elbows. "They say they checked this guy out twice and came up with nothing. He said he was born in Scotland but he came to New York from Avalon. They tried Avalon, New Jersey and came up with nothing." "Other than being the last man she was seen with, do they have any other reason to think he might have kidnapped her?" It was Mulder's turn to raise his eyebrows. "You think she was kidnapped?" "I don't know, Mulder," Scully sighed. "What do you think? That she ran off with this guy?" Mulder shrugged his shoulders as he got up from his chair. "I'm not sure, Scully, but it's someplace to start, right?" He retrieved his coat that had been thrown carelessly across a chair and began to head towards the door. "Mulder?" Scully asked, calling after her partner. "Mulder, where are you going?" "To pack," he answered over his shoulder. "Our flight leaves in two hours." "Mulder!!" ********************** John F. Kennedy International Airport New York City, NY "Mulder, look!" Scully exclaimed, pointing towards the exit. "It looks like we have a welcoming committee." Mulder picked up his suitcase from the baggage claim and turned to where Scully was pointing. An African-American man was standing in a police officer's uniform holding a sign...with Mulder's name on it. The two agents walked over to the man. "*I'm* Agent Fox Mulder," he introduced himself. The man nodded and sighed in relief. Thankfully, he didn't have to hold up that stupid sign anymore. He smiled and offered his hand. "Hi, I'm Officer Morgan. Captain Chavez sent me to make sure you got settled in and to the precinct okay." Mulder shook the man's hand. "Thanks a lot." He gestured to Scully. "This is my partner Agent Dana Scully." After Scully greeted the officer, they moved to exit the building. "Is your captain this hospitable with other federal agents?" Scully asked as they walked into the bright, smoggy - yet sunny - afternoon. "No, not really," Morgan answered truthfully. "But she wanted to make sure you had everything you need so you can bring our detective back home safely." "So, she was well-liked, huh?" Mulder asked as they made their way towards the patrol car. "Yeah." Morgan then paused for a moment to re-think his answer. "Well, actually...it depends on who you talk to." "How do you mean?" Scully inquired. They had reached the patrol car by then and were putting the luggage in the trunk. "Well," Morgan began, unlocking the door, "she's a great person...good friend, excellent cop. I think she got *that* from her dad." They climbed into the car, and Morgan pulled out into the afternoon traffic. "Her father was a cop?" Mulder asked from the backseat. When Scully turned around and saw Mulder behind that grate, it took all the restraint she had to keep herself from laughing. "Yep," Morgan answered. "Actually, being on the force kinda runs in the family. Elisa's brother was a cop, too. That is, until he quit the force to work for David Xanatos." "You mean the billionaire? Head of Xanatos Enterprises?" Scully asked. Morgan nodded and tried to keep from grazing a tractor-trailer as they turned at an intersection. "He was working as his personal bodyguard. Elisa was *vehemently* against the idea," he stated as he remembered, with some embarrassment, the time she stormed into the men's locker-room looking for her brother. "What did she have against Xanatos?" Mulder wanted to know. He squirmed in his seat; his legs were cramped, and he was definitely not comfortable. Morgan shrugged. "I don't think she trusted him. A few months before that, she had arrested him for receiving stolen goods. They were some sort of new gun prototype, I think. I'm not really sure." Mulder made sure to make a mental note of that. "Do you know where we can find - er, what's her brother's name?" "Derek Maza," Morgan replied. "And she never said where is he's located now." "What do you mean?" Scully asked. "Well, shortly after he went to work for Xanatos, he went missing, too," Morgan answered her. The traffic was jammed for a couple of blocks, so he leaned back on his seat to wait it out. "None of us still really know where he is, but when we ask Elisa about it, she says that she knows where he is and that he's doing fine. She doesn't say much more about it." Scully turned around in her seat and exchanged glances with Mulder. "What about the other aspect of her personality?" Mulder asked, turning back to Officer Morgan. "Huh?" "When I asked you if she was well-liked, you said it depended on who you talked to," Mulder clarified. "Did she have a lot of enemies?" Morgan chuckled. "When you're that good of a cop, you're bound to have a few enemies!" Traffic finally began to pick up, so Morgan moved the patrol care ahead. "Elisa's strong, determined...stubborn at times, with a mean temper. When she sets her mind to something, she usually gets her way." Morgan laughed again. "If that didn't work, she'd just use those pretty brown eyes. I think *that's* how she nabbed Tony Dracon." "The mob boss?" Scully spoke up. "She's the one that locked him up?" Morgan nodded. "It was an undercover operation. I helped out a little, too, along with Chavez and her partner Matt Bluestone. But it was Elisa who reeled him in." Mulder sat up in the back and leaned in a little closer. "Matt Bluestone? He's her partner?" Scully turned to face Mulder. "Do you know him?" "Yeah, he used to be FBI," Mulder replied. "I heard he was on the police force, but I didn't know where." "He's only been her partner for about a year or so," Morgan added. "They were assigned to work together after Maza got shot." "Shot? How?" Scully asked him. Again, Morgan shrugged. "She said it was an accident. She never really said what happened, though." "If that was all that happened, why was she assigned a partner?" Mulder inquired. "At the time, she was investigating Dracon," Morgan answered. "At first, everyone thought that he hired somebody to get her out of the way. Also, no one really knows how she got to the hospital." "What do you mean?" Scully asked. "She didn't go in an ambulance?" "Nope," Morgan shook his head. "A couple of EMTs saw her laying unconscious outside of the hospital on one of the gurneys. She was bleeding, so they brought her inside." Mulder leaned forward some more. "What did *she* say happened?" "She's said she can't remember," Morgan replied simply. Another exchanged glance. Another mental note by Mulder. ********************** Twenty-Third Precinct Later that day "Agent Scully. Agent Mulder. I'm glad you could help us out," Captain Maria Chavez said, as the two agents took a seat in front of her desk." Mulder and Scully had been driven to their hotels and checked themselves in. Then Morgan drove the two to the precinct and showed them to Chavez's office. After thanking him for the ride and the information he had given him, they waited in a couple of chairs beside the door, while Captain Chavez finished a meeting with two other detectives. It gave both of them a little time to sort through what they had discovered about Elisa. They didn't have very much time, however, because shortly after they were seated, the door opened, the to detectives stepped out, and Chavez invited them inside. "So, in your report you said that Maza's been missing for about three months?" Mulder asked. "Right," Maria affirmed. "When she didn't report back in, we tried to contact her on the radio. We tried her beeper, her phone at home, parents...nothing. We had the whole station combing the streets for her. One of the officers finally found her car outside of Belvedere Castle, but there were no signs of a struggle. The man she was last seen with was arrested earlier, but Elisa said she knew his family, so he was released into her custody. We tried to track him down, but we couldn't come up with anything." "Would you happen to know the address and phone number of Det. Maza's parents?" Scully asked. "I'll get it for you," Chavez said, turning to her computer. After a few moments she found the file she was looking for, jotted down the information on a slip of paper, and handed it to Scully. "Did Bluestone say whether or not Det. Maza told him anything?" Mulder asked Chavez. Capt. Chavez shook her head. "He hadn't any idea where she had gone," she replied. "If you won't to speak to him, he should be clocking-in in half an hour." Scully saw the barely detectable anxious look in Mulder's eyes. "What about the last case she was working on," Scully inquired, "before she went missing." "That would be the Dracon racketeering case," Chavez answered. She cracked a small smile. "He *was* especially upset after that arrest. He was even rambling about some kind of monsters that he said was helping Elisa." "Monsters?" Mulder asked. Scully groaned inwardly. 'Here we go again,' she thought to herself. "It's an urban myth, Agent Mulder," Capt. Chavez told him. "Right on the same list as those damned alligators in the sewer. I think these rumors began when Xanatos Enterprises began building those large robotic creatures shaped like...well, flying monsters." She shrugged. "Robots?" Scully inquired. This is really starting to get strange! 'Starting to?' a voice inside her head spoke up. 'When was the last time you were able to say that you had a normal life?' "Xanatos - or rather, his assistant Owen Burnett - said that they were supposed to be the new wave in security. They have built-in non-projectile weaponry and jet packs, allowing them to fly. Unfortunately, one of those things crashed into the Statue of Liberty. Restorers only recently returned it to normal." "Have you heard from her brother?" Scully asked. "I heard he left to work Xanatos." "None of us have," Chavez replied, "but Elisa assures us that he's doing alright. Did you also hear that he was missing for a year? Mulder and Scully looked at each other with confusion. "We knew he was missing, but we didn't know for how long." "After we left, no one at the station ever saw him again. His parents, Elisa's folks, filled out an MP report, but they later withdrew it saying they know where he is and he's doing fine." Scully looked down at the address, reminding herself to visit the Mazas. "Well," Mulder said, getting up, "could you show where her desk is? Maybe we can find something there." Maria nodded and led them out the door, they didn't get very far, when the phone on her desk started to ring. She went back inside and answered it, and after saying a few words to the person on the other end, she looked up at the agents. "I'm sorry, but I have to take this call. Her desk is down the hall, turn right, and through the door. It's the one with a yellow ribbon on the chair." They nodded their thanks and followed the captain's instructions. On the other side of the door, they found a large room. Beat officers and detectives were hustling about on their own business, weaving in and around the desks that were arranged in various spots. In the middle were two desks, facing each other, which seemed to stand apart from the chaos. The desk on the right was adorned with a large yellow ribbon. As they made their way to the desk, Scully spoke up, "So, Mulder what do you think so far?" Without looking up, he replied, "About what?" "About this case," Scully answered calmly. "Don't try to hide it, Mulder. I saw the look in your eyes when you heard the word 'monsters'." "Scully, Scully, Scully," Mulder said, mock-scolding her. "Those stories are just urban myths. Don't tell me you believe in them." Scully smirked at him. 'Jerk.' "I'm going to see if I can get the file on the Dracon case," she said aloud, as she turned on her heel and left Mulder alone. Mulder was so busy rummaging through the drawers, that he only half-heard Scully walk away. He found the usual items: pencils, pens, papers.....aspirin. He opened the last drawer and came upon a shoebox. Opening it, he found a few puzzling articles. One of them was a small piece of concrete that looked as though it had been scraped by some sort of sharp, strong piece of....er, material. He also found a small, electronic device. It had a small, thin antenna, and was painted red on one side, with some sort of black insignia. Something at the bottom of the box caught Mulder's eye. He reached in and pulled out a Polaroid photograph.... The picture was obviously taken during Halloween. It showed Elisa Maza wearing a gown from the movie "Beauty and the Beast"; her hair was pulled back, and the yellow gown made her skin glow. What really caught Mulder's attention, however, was whom she was with. "I would love to get the number of this guy's tailor," Mulder said quietly. The tall man was in an incredibly well made costume. Mulder could only guess that he was....well, a beast. He suspected that those were wings caped around his shoulders. Mulder stared at the photo intently; something was not quite right. How could any man walk around with such a large frame on their shoulders? Not to mention being able to tolerate so much latex makeup on their face. Mulder glanced at the expressions on Elisa and her odd companion. They both seemed very happy. Having a strange feeling that, somehow, this photo would lead him straight to Detective Maza, Mulder took a quick glance around and secretly pocketed the picture. All of a sudden, he felt tight grip on his arm. He was being lifted roughly to his feet, and turned around suddenly. "Hey! What do you think you're doing? Who the hell are -?" the man stopped as recognition suddenly crossed his face. "Mulder?" "Bluestone?" Mulder asked, remembering the face of his old friend. Matt Bluestone let him go and grabbed his hand. "Mulder! How long has it been?" "Too long, I would say," Mulder said, smiling. "Why didn't you tell me you were in New York?" "Well," Bluestone shrugged his shoulders, "life's been kinda hectic lately." "Yeah," Mulder nodded. "I know how that is." "Mulder." the two men turned around to see Scully walking towards them. Bluestone let a small grin pass his lips. 'Kinda cute..' When he saw the look in Mulder's eyes, however, he sighed quietly, and decided to keep his distance. 'Damn, lost another one before I opened my mouth.' After introductions were made, Matt spoke up again. "So, what're you doing here? Which case are you working on?" "Actually, it's one that you could really help us on," Mulder stated. "Is the one involving the disappearance of your partner, Elisa Maza." Matt looked down as a look of loss crossed his face. "Yeah, we came up empty a while back. We tried every route we could think of..." Matt trailed off. When he looked back into their faces, Mulder had the sneaking feeling that he was hiding something. After a short moment of silence, Matt spoke up. "Hey, why don't we grab something to eat in a couple of hours? I've got some paperwork to catch up on, but we can meet in a few hours at this place down the street." The two agents agreed, and after a time was set for later that day, Scully, Mulder, and Bluestone parted ways. After seeing them out, Bluestone turned in the opposite direction down the hall towards the broom closet across from the restrooms. Making sure no one else was around, he went inside, shut the door, and felt around in the dark for the ceiling door. After opening it and pulling down the ladder, he climbed the steps to the large, spacious clocktower. The enormous room was once cluttered and in disarray. Large cobwebs decorated the corners and dust covered the gears and axles of the old, giant clock. Now, this room has become the living quarters of a small group of creatures alien to this world. Forced from their time and their home, they have no choice but to live and hide among the humans who fear and regard them as not being sentient or intelligent beings. Detective Bluestone, however, knew otherwise. The whole situation with the gargoyles still amazed him at times. Matt had always been an open-minded person, believing in almost anything mythical or outrageous that was mostly scoffed-at by others. But to actually know that such things exist - gargoyles, magic spells, immortals - will still take some time getting used to. As he walked out onto the balcony and gazed in the direction of the setting sun, his mind wandered back to his first meeting with the gargoyles. He had gotten his information from Mace Malone as proof of his good faith. He had been hurt and angry to find out that Elisa had been keeping this from him for so long. She had promised that he would get to meet him later that evening, but he went behind her back and made a deal with the devil. He would bring Mace one of the gargoyles if Mace would get him into the Illuminati Society. After he met them, Matt regretted how selfish he had acted. Even from his first real encounter with the gargoyles, he had recognized how impressible they actually were. He saw the closeness of their "family" structure, and he remembered - with a slight twinge of jealousy - how highly Elisa seemed to regard their leader, Goliath. Matt sighed. Was he ever going to see his partner again? She had told him about all the weird occurrences that she'd been involved in for the past year. She was strong-willed and determined, and even before the gargoyles, she had proven time and again that she had what it took to make it in the often too cruel world out there. Matt only worried that she had gotten in too over her head this time. As the sun's rays dwindled over the horizon, Matt heard the now-familiar sound of stone cracking on the four statues before him. He subconsciously took a couple of steps back as the forms burst from their shells. Elisa was right....It was truly an amazing sight to behold! The four gargoyles were startled when they turned around and saw Bluestone standing there to greet them. They muttered short greetings - "Hi", "Hey Matt", "Hello" - and Broadway was the first one to ask.... "Any news about Elisa and Goliath?" Matt shook his head. "No, but that's what I came up here to talk to you about." "What do you mean?" Brooklyn asked, attempting to hide his disappointment that his leader and friend were still missing. "Chavez called in the FBI to handle Elisa's disappearance," Matt explained. "The eff-bee-eye.." Hudson pondered. "Aye've 'eard about them." "Yeah," Lexington piped up. "Aren't they kinda like the police?" Matt nodded. "Yeah, but only bigger. Instead of working locally, they work throughout the whole country. Capt. Chavez usually doesn't like to have the 'feds' snooping on her turf, but she decided to make an exception." "Do you think they could find them?" Broadway asked, hope gleaming in his eyes. "That's kinda what I'm afraid of," Matt told him. At the confused looks on the gargoyles' faces, he tried to explain. "I know one of the agents from way back. His name's Mulder and we used to be in the academy together. Anyway, Mulder's a very smart guy, and open to just about anything." "Wait a minute, what're you saying?" Brooklyn was beginning to get impatient. "I'm saying that he might be able to find Elisa, but he might also stick his nose where it shouldn't belong." "You think he'll found out about us, lad?" Hudson asked, worry crossing his face. "It's very possible. In the meantime, I need you guys to be extra careful that you're not seen. I'll be working with Mulder and his partner, Agent Scully, to try and steer them away from anything that might lead them to you." ********************* Outside the 23rd Precinct Sunset begins in four seconds...three..two..one... Mulder flinched as he felt particles of dust and stone particles fall onto his jacket. He brushed the bits of stone and gravel away and looked up towards the sky at the old clock tower. He could've sworn he saw some shadows move up there. "By the way, Mulder," Scully said as she continued to walk down the steps of the precinct, "I took the liberty of getting a list of anyone else who was in the same holding cell with Tom. I figured they might've overheard some conversation between him and the detective." "Mm-hmm," Mulder muttered, as he began scanning the skies. "Then perhaps we could visit Elisa's parents. If they know Tom like Elisa said they did, they might have an idea as to some sort of motive for her disappearance." This time Mulder remained silent as he took the photo of Elisa and the stranger out of his pocket and once again looked at the sky. "You know, I heard the mayor of New York City is cracking down on the porno industry." "Huh? What?" Mulder snapped his attention back to his partner, who was standing at the foot of the stairs with her arms crossed over her chest. Scully gave a mischievous half-grin. "I knew that would get your attention," she said. Mulder tried to ignore his partner's jest as he hurried down the steps to meet her. She handed him the small list of names and addresses, and they agreed that, after they went to retrieve a rental car, it was the best place to start. *********************************************************** Okay, that's all for now! If you have any questions, comments, or criticism, e-mail me at the above address. By the way, you're free to post this story anywhere you'd like, just tell me where it is. 'Kay? Also, I promise to have Part II done very soon! Bye! P.S. I apologize for the lack of Word Wrapping....damn, program went all screwy! :/