Author's Notes: Gargoyles is owned by Buena Vista and Disney. This story comes before and in place of "Hunter's Moon" and the whole Goliath Chronicles. Viper is owned by Pet Fly (the car by Dodge) and this story in that universe occurs in the 1994 season, hinting at possibly leading into the syndicated continuation (someone will have to help me with the details there 'cause I've never seen that series). All characters mentioned in either universe belong to their respective creators. All others and this story idea belong to me. Please, do not use them without permission.
Additional notes: I don't usually go for revising older work, but I've decided to make an exception in this case... Here's a slightly edited version...
The day after tomorrow...
A time when criminals rule the streets...
The only weapon that can stop them needs a driver...
A thousand years ago, superstition and the sword ruled,
And flesh-and-blood gargoyles ruled the skies...
Now, in Manhattan they are befriended by a human cop.
Together, against a corrupt system,
They are taking back the streets...
Wheels and Wings
Evil Overlady
~ Chapter 1 ~
"Mario Enrique Rodriguez." Delia Thorne pressed a button on the remote in her hand, bringing to the screen a picture of a greasy-haired Hispanic of his late teens/early twenties. "Goes by the street name 'Marcho.' He's one of the Outfit's few but growing number of contacts in New York."
"New York?" Dr. Julian Wilkes echoed before either Joe or Frankie could speak up.
Delia nodded switching off the monitor. "For the last few weeks it's only been speculation, but with this new arrest and Maria's summary of her detectives' reports, it's a sure bet the Outfit's expanding its operation into the Big Apple."
"Maria?" Joe inquired.
"Captain Maria Chavez of the 23rd Precinct. We're old friends, so I trust her word when she tells me one of the Consortium's worse nightmares is taking place, and that she needs my help... or rather yours."
"Help?" Joe repeated. "Delia, not to sound callous, but New York's on the other side of the continent. Even if we wanted to, there's no way we'd be able to sneak the Viper that far under the Outfit's noses." Joe turned respectfully to Julian. "Much less Julian's monitoring equipment."
"Much as I hate to say it I'd have to agree with Joe," Julian added. "The Outfit may be gaining a foothold on the east coast but the base of operations is here in Metro. We can't move the Viper without endangering our own turf."
"We've already taken that into consideration." Delia put the remote down on the coffee table and took up a glass of iced tea Julian's wife had left her. "The Consortium has its eyes on some... possible candidates to hold down the fort until your return. We have a cargo plane standing by to transport all three of you and the Viper, in secrecy."
"Three?" Frankie squeaked.
Delia turned slightly to acknowledge the car fanatic finishing off a Sonic soda. "I've been working with Maria to build up the funds for another Viper project in New York. We have all the equipment or the potential to have all the equipment Julian will need to work both Vipers. I've asked you there, Waters, to help build Viper II."
Frankie dropped his drink on the coffee table with a hollow thunk and a rattle of ice, but nothing spilled.
Joe risked a blue-eyed glance his way to see if he'd fall over or choke. "You expect us to stop the Outfit and build another car?"
"Once the car is built New York should be able to fight off the Outfit on its own. I'm asking you there to give them a head start."
"But you're missing one thing," Joe pointed out. "What got you and Julian in trouble in the first place. Who's the driver?"
Delia smiled slightly, a move that always seemed to hurt her face. "We have one possibility in mind."
* * *
Elisa ran a delicate hand across her partner's forehead as he lay sleeping. Back in the hospital again, Elisa? Seems like you're making a home here...
Someone knocked twice on the wooden doorframe, and high heels sounded hollowly on the tiled floor. "Detective..." came a woman's voice.
Elisa looked up and straightened. "Captain."
"Why don't you go home and get some rest. I'll watch Matt for a while, and we can talk in my office tomorrow morning."
Elisa could feel the dark circles under her eyes. "Please, don't take me off this case, Captain. I can pump more information out of Rodriguez. We can learn more about this so-called 'Outfit,' bust their organization wide open. We've done it before!"
Captain Chavez raised a hand, and Elisa quieted, but she still looked to her superior with pleading eyes.
"A friend of mine is flying in tomorrow morning with some acquaintances of hers who are, should we say, Outfit experts. I'm having them meet with us."
Elisa nodded. "Thank you."
"Thank me when you've gotten some sleep."
Elisa managed a slight smile and got to her feet, scooping up her jacket. She bent over Matt's hand and lifted it to her lips and kissed it once. "Sleep well, partner." She brushed a strand of carrot hair from his face and walked out, leaving their captain to take vigil beside him.
The jacket had dried and her shoes no longer squished quite so loudly, but the rest of her was still damp as Elisa exited the hospital into the clear night sky.
Damp New York smelled no better than dry New York but in theory the rain cleared out some of the bad air.
Elisa entered her Fairlane and drove home.
At the apartment, things didn't get any less hazy. Someone could've broken in and made a mess of the place and she wouldn't have noticed. Even a particular blue gargoyle watching black and white detective movies would've gone unnoticed. Somehow, though, Elisa managed to undress and slip into a nice hot shower.
Cagney briefly stepped in to welcome her, but the steam drove the black cat out again.
It did not, however, drive out the nightmares that started cropping up...
She'd almost lost Matt, like she'd lost a partner once before back in her officer years. Officer Cody Fox - no relation to Xanato's wife - was a just a kid when an armor-piercing round went straight through his vest. He'd died instantly.
He was trying to be a hero, trying to prove himself. She was a good detective's daughter, and unfortunately that led to a lot of her fellow cops trying to compete with her. Many of her partners were injured or somehow wound up reassigned. Cody, fortunately, was the only casualty, but that cockiness still haunted her.
When she became a detective, she stopped taking partners. She worked better alone.
"No offense, Matt, but I don't need a partner, and I don't want a partner," she had said.
Matt was different, so caught up with the Illuminati he could care less whose daughter she was. ...Which was why it all the more pained her to nearly lose him tonight.
Tears streamed down her tan cheeks with the hot water, and Elisa lay her head against the tile.
They'd found "Marcho" Rodriguez selling dope to a couple of college kids on the corner of East 67th and Lexington and cornered him in a dark alley. Matt left the car to investigate the brown van parked at the end while Elisa called their situation in to dispatch.
Then the gunfire broke out, and Matt was down behind a pile of trashcans.
It should've been me! Elisa slammed a fist against the tile. It should've been me who got shot not Matt!
She'd become dependent on the gargoyles, an excuse she couldn't possibly explain to their captain. I don't deserve to be let back on this case. I'll just end up hurting another partner.
She slid against the wall, looking skyward. No. That would be unfair to Matt. He deserves the best detective on the Force and right now that's me.
Her gaze lowered.
Whether I like it or not.
* * *
Elisa awoke on the couch, still shrouded in darkness, her hair still not quite dry.
She slid a hand down her nightie and gripped the thick blanket that had slid down to her legs to draw it up over her shoulders, but something stopped her.
Dawn was approaching. She didn't know how she knew, whether from her time spent on nightshift or with the gargoyles, or possibly some after-effect of momentarily being a gargoyle, but she knew...
And there was something else. Something that told her she wasn't alone in her apartment.
Elisa narrowed her eyes, trying to pick out familiar shapes in the darkness. "Who's there?"
"Merr-ow!"
She knew that sound. Something was upsetting him. Elisa threw her blanket aside and was about to get up when a large hand gripped her shoulder from behind and yanked her back down.
She grabbed the hand but the clicks of a gun's cock from the other side of the couch stopped her. "We don't want no trouble, copper," came the second intruder's voice. "Our boss wants you alive, and that's how we intend to bring ya. So cooperate an' ya won't get hurt."
"Who is your boss?"
"Questions later," came the deeper voice of the first man behind her, and a large gauze seized her mouth and nose.
Elisa hands snapped up reflexively, trying to pry the hand loose. She could smell and taste the chloroform, and it hit her like a ton of bricks.
She could feel the numbness starting to prickle her skin, and the world was beginning to fade when a familiar cry sounded behind her and a force yanked the larger guy away.
Elisa fell limply onto her hands and knees on the floor, struggling to regain her breath.
The second attacker shouted and opened fire.
Elisa got flat and pencil-rolled under the coffee table, coming up on one knee on the other side, watching the small sparks in the darkness. She felt along the surface of the table for where she'd carelessly left her holstered 9mm. She ripped off the safety strap and found her mark at the source of the sparks. "Police! Drop the weapon! I am armed!"
The shadow turned the weapon on her and fired three times before she finally returned fire with a single shot.
He fell heavily.
Nearby, she found a lamp and fumbled around the switch.
Warm light filled the room, and Goliath was clutching his left shoulder. The short overweight masked crook at his feet was Swiss cheese.
The second crook lay sprawled on the other side of the couch, a single bullet wound to the chest.
Neither were going to be much use to her now. "Damn it!" she snapped, feeling the tension in her balled fist. "I was hoping to get some information..."
Elisa made her way over to the second attacker, checking for a pulse she wasn't surprised not to find.
"I saw you leave the hospital. I was worried for you-"
"He had a gun, Goliath. What the hell were you thinking?"
"You were in trouble. I was only trying to-"
"Look, I understand, but being a cop is a dangerous occupation, Goliath. That's why we carry guns and wear bulletproof vests. You have neither! Damnit, you could've been killed tonight, Goliath! Where would the clan be then?!"
"Brooklyn is perfectly capable-"
"Just forget it! Go! Find a roost somewhere. Stone-heal that shoulder. This is one time I don't want a babysitter!"
"Elisa..." Goliath said gently, walking up to her. "Bluestone understood the risks..."
"I don't care! He was - is my responsibility. He's my partner, and I nearly lost him! I nearly lost-" She put her free hand to her head. "I nearly lost you, Goliath."
"But you haven't... I'm here."
She shook her head at him, the tears cloaking her eyes. "No, you're not. You can't ever be here... You can't protect me..."
Goliath touched her chin.
"Don't, Goliath." She looked him in the eyes. "Don't..."
He seemed hurt, and lowered his hand.
Elisa's head hung low, the hand still holding her gun hanging loosely by her side. "Just go so I don't have to explain to Forensics why there's a piece of lawn sculpture in my living room."
He bowed his head. "Very well. We should continue this discussion when I awaken."
"No." She looked him in the eyes. "There won't be any discussion because there's nothing to discuss. I need to spend some time with my own kind for a change."
The gargoyle frowned. "I... don't understand."
She crossed her arms. "I need some distance. I need some time to just..." She put her empty hand to her forehead again. "To just figure it all out."
He watched her a moment. "Our doors are always open."
Her lips tightened. "I know."
He looked like he was about to say something else but left it unsaid and turned and exited onto the balcony and carved holes in her brick wall on his way to the roof.
Elisa stood there motionless until she was sure the sun had risen.
Then, she collapsed onto the steps connecting the living area to the kitchen, arms crossed over her knees crying loudly, her gun dangling from her hand.
