All characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyrighted to Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. I've taken the idea for the Unseelie Court from the TGS. Characters and concepts from Star Trek are property of Paramount and created by Gene Roddenberry. No Infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of SN.
Note: I'm disregarding the events of the "Goliath Chronicles", with the exception of "The Journey" because I do not wish to use the rest of the "Goliath Chronicles" as canon to my story. Also, I'm altering large sections of the Star Trek storyline, especially concerning events like WWIII and the Eugenics Wars, which without the Cold War as a backdrop probably wouldn't happen the way Roddenberry wrote them, if at all. This story takes place one week after "Old Friends".
Smugglers
By SN/TVfan
Email: Sam_Nary
Manhattan Apartment
"You sure this is the place?" one man in dark clothes asked.
"Yeah," another in similar clothes replied, "The family is poor. The law won't notice if some of them go missing."
"What about those gargoyles?" the first man asked nervously, "They supposedly took out Dracon's gang when they tried stuff like this."
"Dracon never did anything as big as this," the second man answered as he thrust a crowbar into the crack between the window-frame and the bottom of the window, "and the gargoyles have already flown over this part of the city. They won't be back again."
The second man then put his weight onto the other end of the crowbar and forced the window up, breaking the locks to it. The two men then slipped inside the apartment. The first man quickly drew a handgun while the second merely looked ready.
"You might want to get a weapon ready," the first man spoke, "Opening that window may have woken them up."
"You'll take care of any 'security' this group has," the second man said firmly, "I will deal with the target."
The two then slowly made there way into the bedroom of a girl in her early teens. She lay there peacefully until the second man approached and appeared to cast a shadow over her. She slowly opened her eyes only to see the second man grab her and place one hand over her mouth to muffle her screams.
"Just be quiet and you won't be hurt," the second man growled softly at the girl.
The girl continued to struggle to get free, but most of the noises she had been making stopped. The second man then turned to his partner.
"It's time we leave," the second man whispered.
The first man nodded and began to move out. Getting caught by anyone, even if it was someone he could easily defeat was not what he wanted. His partner quickly followed with their captive firmly in his arms. They left the apartment almost as silently as they came.
By morning, a middle aged man, who looked like he had had to work hard just to break even stopped by the bedroom door that the two men had earlier left.
"Come on, Mary," the father said calmly, "Time to get up… Mary?"
He then looked in to find the bed empty.
"Oh my God!" the father exclaimed before screaming for his wife to call the police.
Half an Hour Later
Matt sighed as he looked over the apartment again. He was exhausted and having to pull a longer then desired shift was the last thing on his mind, but the case description matched a series of crimes that he and Detective Flariaty had been working on for the past week. All of the cases had frighteningly similar details.
So far, all of them stood as kidnapping charges, with the victims being girls between the ages of twelve and sixteen. All of the victim's families had been in the lower classes, and that was the only thing that Matt could say was truly consistent with each case. Much of the rest was absolutely confusing. There was no ransom note with any of the kidnappings and none of the kidnappings had occurred at the same time or place. The first girl had been kidnapped on a Sunday afternoon just outside the church she was exiting. The second had been snatched from a recreation center on Tuesday evening, but still before dusk. The third had been carried out of a restaurant shortly after dusk on Thursday, and this girl had been kidnapped out of her own bed in the middle of the night.
"And you never even heard them enter?" Matt asked again.
"No," the father sighed, "I work a very long day, and I'm already fifteen minutes late because of all this. Can you please find her."
"We'll do our best," Matt sighed.
"You might want to check with your super and see how much time he actually spends on maintaining this building," Detective Flariaty commented.
"Did you find something?" Matt asked as he and the father walked over to the window that Flariaty was investigating.
"Well we know that they used some sort of prying device, probably a crowbar to open the window from the outside," Flariaty explained, "But many of these windows come with set locks to keep that sort of thing from happening."
"Those locks won't last long against a determined crook," Matt commented, "Especially if they have something like a crowbar, and even if they didn't they could have still broken the glass."
Flariaty nodded, "The locks last for an even shorter amount of time when they're barely screwed into the window frame as it is."
She then lifted up one of the screws that had held the window's locks in place and placed it in the hole in the side of the window frame. The screw barely went into the hole.
"Now, I'm no carpenter," Flariaty began, "But that screw should go a little deeper into the window frame, don't you think."
"If only to make sure the lock was on tight enough, yeah," Matt commented, "That looks that the only thing that lock would have stopped was a slight breeze. Any attempt to open it from the outside would have broken the lock, and broken it rather easily."
"And that is probably why you didn't hear their entrance," Flariaty spoke to the father who was still watching all of this, "If you and your wife work as long and as hard as you say you do, the noise generated by the forceful breaking of a screwed in window lock that wasn't screwed in tight wouldn't have been enough. Shoot, some light sleepers might actually be able to sleep through it."
"Do you know where they took her?" the father asked nervously from behind the two detectives.
"Only where they took her immediately after leaving your apartment," Matt sighed, "and we still do not know specifically who did this, but that will not last long. We need to get going."
"Just bring my daughter back safe," the father sighed.
Matt and Flariaty nodded and then began on their way out. They were silent until they got to the stairwell.
"So who do you think is behind all this?" Flariaty questioned, "You aid 'specifically' like you at least had an idea who it could have been."
"It has to be Brode or some other organized crime syndicate," Matt replied, "Outside of some one with a personal grudge against these people, that is the only option that I can think of."
"What about one of the weirdoes that your gargoyle friends deal with?" Flariaty asked.
"No," Matt said firmly, sighing as Flariaty still felt annoyed towards the clan, "If it was one of them, they would have handled it and we would have either found the perpetrators left for us or they would have called us to give us at least a head's up. This 'crime wave' has a distinct human element."
"Finally a nice NORMAL investigation with no calls to the Eyrie Building," Flariaty said with a smile, "This will be a good break from the usual stuff that has gone on recently."
Matt decided to ignore her gargoyle related frustration.
"Anyway," Matt sighed, "I'd think it has to be organized crime, and since Brode is the new 'top dog' he's the new chief suspect. This whole thing seems to be far too well organized to merely be a bunch of random kidnappings."
"But there's very little in common among the victims," Flariaty commented, "And there is nothing in common with the times that they've been abducted. It's all very irregular. Organized crime is just that ORGANIZED crime. There should be a better fit pattern to all of this if it was organized crime."
"Patterns are easy to figure out," Matt countered, "A good mobster would have to avoid committing crimes that leave a pattern because then it would either indicate a crime out of habit, meaning his victim, place, and time can be predicted. The more unpredictable the crime, the better protection the criminal has. I mean, if this isn't a wave of activity in organized crime, it's a wave of random kidnappings that need to be investigated individually, but there are some things that just don't add up to it being that way to me."
"Like the fact that a some of our victims have been grabbed in some rather public places with few or no real witnesses?" Flariaty asked.
"And the few that we have are either unreliable or couldn't see enough to even remotely identify a possible kidnapper," Matt nodded, "It's all too well organized for something that on the surface is so small."
"So what do we do now then?" Flariaty asked.
"We relay the information to the day shift and rest up," Matt sighed, "tonight we begin 'keeping our ears to the streets'. Someone is bound to know more about this then what we know now, and may spill the beans about something."
Elsewhere
The girl, earlier identified by her father as Mary, shook as she awoke, as if to try and shake off some oppressor. She quickly found herself alone in a fairly dark room with three other girls.
"We're locked in," the first girl spoke with a defeated tone in her voice, "We can't get out."
Mary blinked in surprise at finding that she wasn't alone and sat there silently for a few moments.
"Where am I? Where are we?" Mary asked after awhile.
"We're in a basement, somewhere," the third girl answered, "But I don't know where exactly. Everyone was unconscious when they were brought in here."
"What do they want with us?" Mary asked nervously.
"I heard someone outside the door mention something about a 'market', but I don't know for sure what they were talking about," the first girl commented.
Outside the door and up the stairs, Brode's second with the two men who had earlier kidnapped Mary.
"You've done very well," Brode's second commented, "Did you encounter any of the gargoyles?"
"No," the first man said, "We waited until they went back to their castle. They gave us no problems."
"Good," Brode's second spoke, "We will hold them here until we can send them back to Europe where our associates can properly train them and then make a profit off of their sale."
"I was under the impression you wanted their training to begin immediately," the second man commented.
"Give them enough food to keep them alive," Brode's second ordered, "Keeping them close to starvation, but not quite at that point of starvation, will leave them open to suggestion. They'll be here or a couple of days."
"Of course," the first man answered.
"You are also to keep adding to our collection of 'guest'," Brode's second spoke as he turned to leave, "We'll need a lot of financial money to be ready to truly build the infrastructure of power to make sure that no one can come and replace us later."
"I'd think taking out the gargoyles might be the only way in my mind to make the other gangs respect us," the first man commented, "They've defeated most of the gangs in this city and if we defeat them, the others will be afraid of us."
"That was Dracon's idea," Brode's second spoke firmly, "And that is what opened the door for us. You are to try your best to avoid the gargoyles at all costs."
Castle Wyvern, Dusk
Elisa awoke to find Owen standing just behind her pedestal as she and Goliath threw off their stone-shells to wake up for the night. The blond haired assistant held a cellphone in one hand and appeared to have been waiting there for a few moments.
"You have a phone call, detective," Owen spoke in his usual voice and handed Elisa the phone, "It is Detective Bluestone. He says it is important."
Elisa took the phone and spoke into it, "What's up, Matt?"
"Good evening, Elisa, sorry to bother you, but I have a favor to ask of you guys," Matt spoke through the phone, "Do you know about the kidnappings that have gone on recently?"
"The one ones that the news has been following recently?" Elisa asked.
"Yeah, them," Matt spoke through the phone, "And the hits keep on coming. A fourth was kidnapped last night. Girl was kidnapped right out of her bedroom."
"Man," Elisa sighed, "I don't know how much we can help, Matt. Last nights patrols didn't report anything that they didn't stop, I don't think we can give you any hard evidence."
"I know that," Matt replied, "Flariaty and I will keep checked into every possibility, but I can't help but think that Brode's organization is behind this. The whole case seems to stink of organized crime to me, and Brode is the only one in a position right now to try something like this."
"You're certain that this isn't just a string of coincidences?" Elisa asked him.
"I'm fairly certain, but that isn't something I've ruled out yet," Matt replied, "But I can't shake this feeling. Can you get the others to at least keep an eye on Brode's gang?"
"Sure," Elisa nodded, "Although his operation has pretty much gone underground since they took over Manhattan. We might not even be able to find him in order to follow him."
"I'm only asking that you try, Elisa," Matt spoke through the phone, sounding urgent, "They're kids. Their parents are all on the verge of doing something they'd regret. I can't let them down."
"Don't worry," Elisa said back, "We'll do our best."
"Thanks Elisa," Matt spoke and then hung up.
"What was that about, Elisa?" Goliath rumbled from his position, "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong with Matt," Elisa replied as she returned the cellphone to Owen and began to walk to the stairs to go in for breakfast, "He just needs some help with a case he's been assigned to."
"Thailog hasn't done something that we haven't noticed, has he?" Goliath asked, his mind dwelling on the dark skinned clone and his recent activities.
"He might have," Elisa answered, "But he isn't behind what Matt's been assigned to, at least Matt doesn't think he is. Do you remember the kidnappings that have been in the news lately?"
Both Goliath and Owen slowly nodded.
"Matt thinks that its Brode's gang that is behind them," Elisa continued, "Matt wants us to keep an eye on them. If we follow them around from air, they might lead us to where they have they have the girls that they've kidnapped locked up or at least catch them in the act of committing a crime, which would confirm that Brode's people are behind this particular crime wave."
"We will look," Goliath rumbled in agreement, "Although it will need to be brought up when tonight's patrol teams are set."
Breakfast went by as it usually did, and once it was over, Goliath's clan gathered around their leader to learn their assignment for the night. Some of the Chinese clan's elders gathered around, as they were interested in who among Goliath's clan would be assigned to helping them watch over the Chinese hatchlings.
"Tonight's patrols will be somewhat different from what we normally do," Goliath announced in a strong voice, "Largely as Detective Bluestone is need of help with his present investigation."
"These kidnappings that have been on the news?" Hudson asked curiously, "I know they're wrong and evil, but I donnae know how we can help solve these crimes, lad. Elisa is the only one who knows how to be a detective and at present, people would nae appreciate her help."
"Matt will be doing all the detective work," Elisa pointed out, "And he already has someone that he thinks is behind these kidnappings. He just wants us to follow them while he deals with the other possible paths to follow."
"Who does he think is behind these kidnappings?" Broadway asked.
"Brode's gang," Elisa answered.
"And the patrol teams are to follow them, brother?" Othello asked, "Why not just grab them and make them reveal the location of their captives?"
"Because we do not know for sure that Brode's followers are actually behind the kidnappings," Goliath rumbled, "So far, all Detective Bluestone has is a suspicion and has asked us to follow them to try and confirm that suspicion. If we simply grab some of Brode's followers, and learn that they are not behind this, we could inadvertently warn the real kidnappers and lose any chance at stopping them."
"Not to put a damper on this adventure, but do you know where Brode's guys have gone to?" Brooklyn asked, "We haven't noticed any major trouble from them since they took over Manhattan from what remained of Dracon's gang."
Goliath gave a heavy sigh, "We must find them. I'm afraid that tonight's mission might require everyone to patrol in order for this to be effective."
"Not allowed," one of the Chinese elders spoke firmly, "You have a responsibility to watch over our clan's hatchlings and that takes precedence over what is going on in the human city. If you do not know where these 'gangsters' are, you will not go looking for him and you will politely tell your detective friend that he will have to do his own work."
"Matt is a good friend, you can't possibly suggest we don't help him after he's done so much to try and help us?" Elisa gasped back.
"The decision is not based on any negative opinion of humanity or their societies," the Chinese elder responded, "but a gargoyle clan's first responsibility is to its children and then its protectorate. My clan is trying to win back our home in Tibet and there are not enough Chinese elders here to look after the hatchlings adequately. We need the extra pairs of eyes and hands, and particularly younger eyes and hands that can keep up with the hatchling's energy. I do not like the fact that this rash of crimes has broken up, but if you can not provide my clan with at least half of yours to watch over our hatchlings, I can not allow any action that would cause that. My clan's responsibility to its hatchlings comes first, as you will well understand in time."
Goliath sighed again. He had promised to help the Chinese clan and he could sense that Elisa was getting close to actually attacking the Chinese elder for making her friendship with Matt seem unimportant and something to be ignored if it wasn't convenient. He had to do something quick to prevent a fight.
"You're right," Goliath sighed as he spoke to the Chinese elder, "I did agree to help watch over your clan's hatchlings while the rest of your clan is away."
The Chinese elders gave a triumphant smile to each other. Goliath meanwhile turned to the rest of his clan.
"Brooklyn, I will trust you to lead the group that I leave here to help the Chinese elders," Goliath spoke, "Candy, Amy, Caroline, Angela, Broadway, Sarah, Ian, Ethan, and Eve will be with you."
"Right, Goliath," Brooklyn nodded.
"Hudson, Elisa, Brother, Sister, and Lexington, you will compromise the two patrol teams for tonight," Goliath spoke, "We will have to patrol looking specifically for any sort of activity of someone trying to continue this wave of kidnappings."
"You think they will continue their crimes?" Desdemona asked.
"If it's organized crime, they might very well continue," Elisa answered, "They'll have some money making plans behind their activities."
"But why are they kidnapping girls?" Lexington asked curiously, "Kidnapping and ransom has never been an activity of gangsters in any of the movies, and Dracon never did anything like that."
"If it is Brode's gang, I fear I have a good suspicion about why they're doing this," Elisa spoke in a somewhat nervous voice.
"And what is that?" Broadway asked nervously.
"Slavery would be the simple answer, although the issue is quite complicated," Elisa answered.
"How so?" Goliath questioned, "I assumed that the world has outlawed slavery."
"Largely," Elisa answered, "And it isn't slavery as many people would think of as slavery. It's not millions of people laboring for no money. The entire operation is underground and those running it try to conceal it from governments of the world. Many times it is used as a form of 'sexual slavery' as the poor in search of some form of employment are grabbed in many places with the idea that they will have a job or at least a safe place to stay."
"And this goes on?" Goliath asked sounding borderline infuriated.
"From what I've read, most of these 'slaves' aren't recruited in the US, but they are sent to the US in various ways," Elisa answered with a sigh, "Every nation that has outlawed slavery has been trying to stop the practice, but criminals like Brode find the trade profitable enough to the point where they'll try to cover it up."
"So now Brode is trying to expand this wicked practice," Goliath spoke in a growling voice, "We must stop him."
"And we will," Elisa said firmly, "If this is their intention, they'll be looking to gather more and if we go looking for where they might try and kidnap someone, we might be able to catch them in the act."
Elsewhere
"Well, I think your theory that it's the mob that is behind all this is beginning to get a bit stronger," Flariaty sighed as she and Matt got back into their car and return to the station.
They had done their best to go through all of the possible people and witnesses to the first crime again to try and see if they could pinpoint any specific suspect out of those that knew the kidnapped girl. They had had no luck in that department. The girl didn't seem to have made any personal enemies and no one seemed to hate the family enough to want to commit a crime.
"Maybe," Matt sighed, "We still need to check with the friends, family and witnesses of the other kidnappings to double check against any sort of personal vendetta."
"Well, not everyone works the night shift," Flariaty replied, "So, what's next?"
"Mostly for right now we head back to the precinct," Matt sighed, "Try to put together as much as we can from what we have."
"Shouldn't we have that already?" Flariaty asked, "I mean, know what happened?"
"We know the basic outline of what happened in each instance," Matt answered, "But not everything. Mostly the why of several specific events. In one of the crimes, the guys drove up and grabbed the victim and drove off. In this most recent one, they broke into an apartment in the middle of the night and abducted the victim, and it's unknown whether or not they even had a car. We're just assuming they did for the ease of escape from the scene."
"Well, a car wouldn't survive a crash through the outer walls of an apartment building," Flariaty commented, "I think THAT is why they didn't just drive by and grab the latest victim."
"Yes, but they didn't drive up and grab the one in the restaurant from the street, and the one in the recreational center was actually taken into a nearby parking garage before their 'getaway' car drove off," Matt answered, "There's also the fact that while the few witnesses that we have say that the criminals were two white males in dark clothing, but no specific facial description, none of them agree on what the car they drove away in. The kidnapping at the church involved an old Lincoln model, I don't think they ever said which model though. The kidnapping at the restaurant involved a stolen BMW, actually, and the kidnapping at the recreational center involved a Chevrolet."
"Could be part of some plan to avoid being persecuted for each crime," Flariaty commented, "Or, if organized crime truly is involved in all of this, we have multiple kidnappers that are taking orders from one guy."
"But then, why have all these kidnappings occurred on different days?" Matt asked, "It'd be a lot easier for multiple groups to grab several victims at once in one day when no one is investigating them, rather then do it one day at a time."
"How should I know how criminals think?" Flariaty asked, sounding frustrated, "No law abiding citizen does, and that includes your gargoyle friends."
Matt only sighed, "I still think there are some things we need to look over and think over. At least for tonight. I don't want to go around waking people up to try and get clearer explanations about everything."
Castle Wyvern
"Why do you have all these knives?" one of the older hatchlings asked while Broadway and Angela worked to clean the dishes from breakfast.
"Each knife is specifically designed to cut specific foods," Broadway answered, enjoying that a small group of the Tibetan gargoyles was interested in cooking, and that their questions kept his mind off of the kidnapping investigation that the police and now part of the clan was undertaking, "several of the larger knives are used for butchering meat while some of the smaller ones are for cutting stuff that is much softer, like vegetables."
"But why not have one good knife that can cut through any of them?" a different hatchling asked, "Meats or vegetables."
"We did, back in the middle ages," Broadway commented.
"And the Avalon clan's cutlery is much the same, although the technological capacity to manufacture all the different types of knives easily does not exist there, so they've made due with making one type of all purpose knife to save work and energy," Angela added, "Although, that might have changed now that the fey have returned to Avalon and can do a lot of 'that' sort of work through magic."
"Middle Ages?" the first hatchling asked, "What does that mean?"
"It's a historical period," Broadway answered, "Goliath read about it in a history book. It is supposedly between 476 CE and the 1400s of the Common Era."
"Why?" the first hatchling asked.
"I don't know," Broadway answered, "It's a term the people today use to refer to that timeframe. I don't know why. It was in that book that Goliath read."
Broadway and Angela returned to cleaning the dishes while the small group of hatchlings discussed something that they couldn't really overhear. They knew they were whispering something, but they couldn't tell what was being said.
"How are you guys from that time?" the second hatchling then asked.
"Yeah," a third hatchling piped up, "476 has to have been a long time ago and not even our elders are that old."
"The original part of our clan isn't that old either," Broadway answered, "We're from 994, which is still a long way off, but not as long as 476..."
"You're getting away from the point of the story," Angela reminded him.
Broadway nodded, "Anyway, the castle, here, was sacked by the Vikings and our clan was destroyed. The castle's magician, whom we called The Magus, accused us of killing the castle's princess and cast a spell that put us to sleep for a thousand years, at which point, Mr. Xanatos had bought the castle, brought it here, and broke the spell."
"You were asleep the whole time?" the first hatchling asked.
"Yes, and since stone doesn't age, each of us remained the same physical age that we were when the Magus placed us under the spell," Broadway nodded, "and his magic also protected us from things like weathering, I think."
"Did you sleep with the others too, Miss Angela?" a fourth and female hatchling asked.
"No," Angela answered, "At the time of the castle's sacking by the Vikings, I hadn't hatched yet. I'm physically as old as Broadway because the Princess and the Magus were good people, who felt sorry when they realized they had made a mistake on that night. They then took the clan's eggs with them to Avalon where I and my brothers and sisters were raised. Avalon, however, has a spell on it that made one year on Avalon equivalent to several years out in the rest of the world. By the time that Goliath and Elisa journeyed to Avalon, my rookery had grown up to be physically as old as Broadway's generation."
"Can we go there?" the first hatchling asked.
"No, I think it'd be best if we stayed around here," Broadway commented, "Wouldn't want anyone to get lost, especially while Goliath's out. Tell you what, when we're done with the dishes, we'll check on one of the other hatchling-sitting groups and see if you want to play tag or something out in the courtyard."
Elsewhere, in the castle, Candy paused to look out a window into the night sky. She hoped she could catch a sight of where the patrol teams were in the city, but had no luck.
"Miss Candy," came a stern voice from behind her.
Candy whirled around to see one of the Chinese elders, a male, standing there, looking rather firm and almost like a principal ready scold disobedient student.
"I can understand you wish to be with your mate, but you must tend to your responsibilities here," the Chinese elder commented.
"Unfortunately, I can not write in Chinese calligraphy," Candy answered, "I barely got the hang of cursive writing in my English classes when I was in school."
The Chinese elder sighed. While the hatchlings had come a long way from their ancestral home, they had agreed that the older hatchlings should not lose any of the teachings that were important to their clan. Unfortunately, not all of the older hatchlings could be taken through their 'schooling' at the same time, and most of the Chinese elders were needed to help with the younger hatchlings.
"I do not expect you to read Chinese calligraphy," the Chinese elder sighed, "I expect you to at least make sure that they are focused on their lessons and are writing. I will determine if what they are writing down is correct."
"It feels like I'm just in your way like this," Candy commented.
"It will help you prepare for your future," the Chinese elder spoke, in what had become a frequent mantra for the Chinese elders since they had moved in, "In time you and your mate will have hatchlings of your own. At least this way you have some experience in raising gargoyle hatchlings."
"I'm not ready to think that far down the road," Candy answered, "It'll be eight years before Lex and I can have an egg, and it will take ten more years to hatch."
"That will be fixed, in time," the Chinese elder replied, "And besides, for one who is uneasy about her future as a parent, you have done a very good job when you pay attention to what needs to be done, and I have rarely seen you or your clan mates let yourselves be distracted in your task."
"Uh, thanks, I guess," Candy answered.
Docks, Northeastern part of Manhattan
Brode's second stood quietly as a moderately sized yacht-like pulled into dock between two small cargo ships. After a few moments a man calmly lowered a gangplank and began to approach Brode's second.
"Do you have the goods?" the new man asked in Romanian.
Brode's second nodded, and then answered in Romanian, "Yes. Got them locked in the basement of an old apartment on the south side of the Bronx. Although we should have some new stock being taken tonight so you will have a full load to take back for training."
The man smiled briefly, but it did not last long.
"We need to up the schedule of the transfer back to facilities in Europe," the Romanian answered, "I do not think our European offices will last long without our leadership there."
"What?" Brode's second asked.
"It's these gargoyle creatures that we've been seeing news reports on," the Romanian answered.
"There aren't any gargoyles in Eastern Europe," Brode's second growled, "The ones that foiled Brode's attempts in Prague turned out to be New Yorkers. They are here."
"Yes, but many of our offices in the Balkans and in Romania have become spooked by these news reports and as a result have made some rather clumsy mistakes and gotten arrested," the Romanian answered, "Half of our offices in the former Yugoslavia and in Romania are currently under intense observation in those countries. Most of the people from this operation are being taken to our offices in Northeastern Europe."
"There haven't been any serious arrests, have there?" Brode's second asked.
"No serious ones, but there have enough small ones to indicate that there is something bigger going on that they do not know about," the Romanian answered.
Brode's second sighed and nodded and then waved toward a nearby alley. After a few moments a truck then appeared from the alley and parked next to the two men.
"I trust you have brought the arms cache to sell to the Americans, illegally of course?" Brode's second asked.
"Of course," the Romanian answered, "We can load the truck and then you can make your call about upping the schedule."
Nearby, three gargoyles landed on the roof of a beat up apartment building. At least what might have been an apartment building at one time.
"No sign of these kidnappers," Othello grumbled, sounding frustrated that the worst they had come across so far was a mugging, "And it appears that even Thailog is taking a rest tonight."
"We'd best begin to 'patrol' our way back," Lexington commented to the other two gargoyles with him, "the news said that all of these kidnappings have been done in Manhattan, so maybe they'll stay in Manhattan."
"Either way, we've gone as far as our protectorate extends," Desdemona commented before spotting something a block or so away, "Wait, do you see that?"
Othello and Lex turned to see where the golden female was pointing. She was pointing towards something that appeared to be closer to the docks. Between looking down a narrow alleyway, and the darkness of the night and most of New York's lights behind them, it appeared to be a truck parked near ship of some kind.
"You don't suppose they're smuggling them out of New York or something?" Lex asked aloud.
"We can not let them get away!" Othello growled and launched himself into the air, with Desdemona and Lex following after him.
"What's the plan?" Lex asked as they glided toward the site where they thought they saw the kidnappers.
"Desdemona and I will deal with the two kidnappers near the boat," Othello answered, "You will insure that the truck does not leave and that their prisoners are freed."
The other two nodded in agreement and then dove down on the surprised gangsters.
Brode's second jumped almost a foot in the air when he heard the roars and looked up to see one pair of white and one pair of red glowing eyes. He immediately dove for the ground, while the Romanian lowered himself to a crouching position.
"Things get interesting, now, no?" the Romanian asked as he pulled a handgun out from underneath his coat.
"Those things have beaten everything that Dracon threw at them and they got our best sniper arrested," Brode's second answered, "they weren't supposed to see this."
"Well then," the Romanian replied, "Then I'll have to be the first to beat them, because I am not going to any prison. American or other country's."
The Romanian then fired on Othello and Desdemona as they landed a few feet away from them, but his short 'conversation' with Brode's second gave the gargoyles time to prepare a new attack, and his shots went wide. As he got closer, Othello slashed at the Romanian's gun wielding hand, and successfully managed to knock it from the gangster's grasp. Unfortunately, Othello's momentum allowed the Romanian to duck down and use his legs to propel Othello into an unintended dive into the pavement a few feet away.
"I'm not going to prison," the Romanian muttered and began to run back to his ship.
Brode's second meanwhile curled up into the fetal position, not wanting a piece of any of the attacking gargoyles. Desdemona stopped her attack to see that he wasn't going to fight and sighed.
"The Vikings were infinitely braver then you," Desdemona commented to Brode's second and lifted he man off the ground, "Lex, the other one is getting away!"
Lex looked up from the door side window of the truck to see the Romanian run up the gangplank onto his yacht-like ship. Othello was already running to catch him, but if the ship got moving, he might not be able to get airborne, and since Lex had already knocked the lone truck driver out, it fell to him to join the chase. Lex climbed onto the op of the roof of the truck and began to glide after the ship while Othello ran up the gangplank.
The Romanian had managed to start the engine and begin to pull the ship away as they got onto the ship. Both Lex and Othello were thrown to the deck as the ship moved and the gangplank was torn off and dropped into the water.
"You know, I get the distinct impression he doesn't want us to catch him," Lex commented trying to sound humorous.
"Come on," Othello spoke firmly as he got up and began to walk toward the bridge of the ship that the Romanian was piloting.
As they got close to the door, however, both heard what sounded like a gun being cocked. Both then dove to the deck as a shotgun was fired through the door, sending a shower of splinters onto them, but leaving them unharmed.
"I'm not going to jail!" the Romanian screamed.
Othello only growled and lunged through the damaged door before the Romanian could fire again and slammed the gangster against the floor, knocking him out. Lex then calmly entered the bridge area and approached the helm.
"Can you pilot this ship?" Othello asked.
Lexington looked over the ship's controls and sighed.
"Maybe well enough to beach it," Lex answered, "Most of the manuals I've read have actually been flight manuals for things like helicopters."
Othello muttered something under his breath, largely concerning a winged creature wanting to fly a mechanical device, but Lexington had already focused on steering the ship.
"Thankfully he didn't get this ship going very fast," Lexington commented, "If we do any damage at all, it will be to the ship itself."
Othello nodded and lifted the Romanian into the air, so if he regained consciousness, he couldn't do anything.
"Could you understand what he was saying?" Othello asked.
"No," Lexington shrugged, "Whatever it was, it couldn't have been good."
"It sounded like the Latin that the monks spoke in mass back in our 'home time' that Desdemona and I listened to occasionally," Othello commented, "But not exactly."
"It could have been a language that is descended from Latin, like French or Spanish," Lexington commented, "But that guy looks like he's from Eastern Europe. What Eastern European country speaks a romantic language?"
"The police an figure it out," Othello grumbled, "Did you free the hostages?"
"There weren't any in the truck," Lex answered, "They're probably in the hold somewhere."
"I'll find them then," Othello grumbled and walked out, still holding the unconscious Romanian.
"Might want to tell them to brace themselves, we're about to hit the concrete part of the dock," Lex warned.
"Can't you slow us down?" Othello asked.
"We're already going slow, and I still don't know all the knobs and switches to control the ship," Lex answered, "For all I know, I could actually speed the ship up, rather then slow it down."
Their argument then became pointless as the yacht-like ship crashed into the concrete part of the pier. Due to its slow speed, it did no damage to the pier, but the front part of the bow did buckle a little, and both gargoyle felt a slight shudder pass through the ship. Othello and Lex both sighed, but were grateful that the impact wasn't serious. If the hostages were on the ship, it was unlikely that they were hurt.
Both Lex and Othello searched the ship, but found no sign of the kidnapped girls anywhere. What they did find however, wasn't something that the Romanian should have had in the US though, either.
"Oh man," Lex sighed, "I think we've stumbled on to something else completely."
"At least we stopped them, then," Othello commented, "Can you contact the police?"
Lex nodded.
Central Park
The two kidnappers employed by Brode's second ducked underneath one bridge as one man walked over the top of the bridge. They remained quiet until he had gotten far enough away that he would not hear them talking.
"This will be quite a trick," the first man whispered.
They then peaked out into a clearing where a teenaged male and female were playing catch.
"You move around to the right and take the guy out," the second spoke and handed the first a nightstick that they had stolen, "I'll deal with the girl."
The first sighed quietly and then ducked into the bushes nearby.
Above the park, Goliath, Elisa and Hudson were on their way back after failing to find any sign of the kidnappers that had been plaguing the city recently. The fact that they had found no sign of anything was rather frustrating.
"We'll have try again tomorrow night," Goliath grumbled in an angry tone, although it was clear that he was angry and the situation and not at any individual.
"And we will," Elisa spoke up, "And on the hopeful side, maybe there won't be any kidnappings tonight."
A sudden scream from below them broke off the conversation before either Goliath could answer or Hudson could add to it. They dove through the trees, and were forced to make a quick landing, as maneuvering among the branches forced each of them to contract their wings so that they were closer to them. They found two men trying to apprehend a teenaged girl. They also saw what looked like a teenaged male laying unconscious in the grass.
"It's the kidnappers!" Goliath gasped.
"Or at least muggers," Elisa countered, "Either way, we gotta chase them off."
Goliath nodded and then leaped out, eyes blazing. At the sound of his roar, both men stopped their attack on the girl to see the three gargoyles coming. The girl was immediately dropped.
"I thought they'd already gone by here," the first commented.
"They must have doubled back," the second answered, "Come on, let's get out of here."
The two men then began running away, heading for the bridge that they had originated from. Goliath and Hudson continued chasing them while Elisa stopped to kneel by the fallen girl. She sighed as the girl looked even more afraid of Elisa then of the kidnappers.
"Easy, I'm here to help you," Elisa spoke softly, caping her wings over her shoulders, "Are you alright?"
"They knocked out Jerry," the girl whimpered, scooting away from Elisa.
"I think they might have been those kidnappers that have been on the news," Elisa commented as she turned to look at the teenaged male, and gave a sigh of relief that he was breathing, "and he looks like he'll be alright, although you might want to take him to hospital."
"They said you're coming with us," the girl said weakly.
"They wanted to kidnap you," Elisa answered her, "But you should be safe now. Can you call the cops? Let them know what those guys did?"
"You're not going to guard me?" the girl asked, "what if they come back?"
"It will be dawn soon," Elisa answered, "And trust me, those two won't be coming back here for a good long while. At least I don't think they will, not with Goliath and Hudson chasing them."
The sound of approaching sirens then made Elisa turn her head.
"Besides, you might be getting more help here sooner then you think," Elisa commented, "Don't worry, everything will be fine."
The girl then watched as the tan female gargoyle began running after Goliath and Hudson, although both had disappeared from sight, and she would have to try and track them down.
The two men, meanwhile, ran as hard as they could, hoping to get away from the pursuing gargoyles. They were lucky that the area they were in was rather forested, and dodging around tree branches kept their pursuers from easily catching up with them, but they could tell that even the scarred older gargoyle was catching up with them.
"We gotta split up!" the first guy spoke, "I'll go right, you go left. We'll meet up back at the base, if we can get away from these two."
"Sure," the second man nodded as they ran, "I'll go right, you go left."
With that the second man turned right and then ran through another grove of trees, hurdling a bush as he did so. The first man then turned left.
"We can not let them escape," Goliath spoke to Hudson as they saw the two kidnappers split up, "You take the one that was armed, I'll follow the other one."
"Right," Hudson answered, and turned quickly after the kidnapper who went left.
Hudson didn't feel he could chase after this guy for a long while and decided his best option to catch him was to try and cut the distance he had to travel in order to catch up. The chase continued for about a hundred yards before Hudson managed a final desperate dive at the gangster's legs and knocked him over. Both quickly recovered and in desperation, the gangster swung at Hudson with his stolen nightstick. Hudson cut the improvised weapon in half with his own sword and grabbed the man with his free hand.
"Don't eat me!" the gangster pleaded.
"Gargoyles donnae eat people," Hudson answered as he held the gangster up.
It took a few minutes for Hudson immobilize the man by using his belt as a rope to tie him to a tree branch that could support the man's weight, but was high enough up that the guy wouldn't consider trying to escape. As he made his way back to where he and Goliath had parted ways, he ran into Elisa, who was still trying to catch up.
"Where's Goliath?" Elisa asked as Hudson walked up.
"He chased the other gangster off in that direction," Hudson said pointing, "I got the other one dangling from a tree."
"Come on, hopefully we can catch up with Goliath before he catches the other one," Elisa replied and began to sprint in the direction that Goliath had gone, still tracking him.
"What? Why?" Hudson asked, sounding confused.
"If these are the same kidnappers from the earlier kidnappings, we need to learn where their hideout is in order to rescue the victims," Elisa answered, "And if we just leave them for the police, they'll likely get off on some thievery charge and will never mention the kidnappings."
Goliath found that the crook that he was chasing after was far faster and far more nimble then the one that Hudson was pursuing. He also found that his path had lead him out of the park rather quickly and he was forced to climb a tree and take to the air. Once gliding, he quickly found the man again and noticed that he was constantly looking over his shoulder, as if he expected Goliath to chase him on foot through the busy sidewalks and streets. As soon as he moved into an alley, he would dive down and grab him.
The chase went on much longer the Goliath would have hoped. The gangster never went up an alley, seemed to stick to rather busy streets. By the time he saw the gangster disappear into a seemingly condemned building, his wings were exhausted and he had to land on the roof of a nearby building. He turned after a few moments to see Elisa and Hudson land behind him a few minutes later.
"So, this is his headquarters?" Elisa asked as she leaned over the edge.
"This is where he ran to," Goliath answered, "I was about to go in and get him. The building looks like it's been condemned."
"I'm afraid we can't, big guy," Elisa commented.
"What?!" Goliath asked, half angry half confused.
"Matt thinks these kidnappings are part of an organized crime operation," Elisa answered, "Which means, most of the evidence that they need will be hard to find. We may have found what we think is their headquarters, but if we go in now, because we are 'outside' the law, all evidence that links Brode's followers to the kidnappings becomes circumstantial and won't convict them."
Goliath gave a really heavy sigh making no attempt to hide the fact that the situation frustrated him.
"The best we can do is call Matt and let him know where they are," Elisa answered, "If he didn't see you following him, that is."
"He looked behind him, but he never looked up," Goliath answered, "I do not believe he saw me."
"That's good," Elisa commented, "Let's head back and call Matt then."
23rdPrecinct Headquarters
"What is it, George?" Matt asked as he and Flariaty walked into the hallway just outside the interrogation rooms.
"I think I've come across something that might actually tie in with your kidnapping investigation," the other detective, named George, answered.
Both Matt and Flariaty looked at George with a great deal of curiosity. George then decided to continue his explanation.
"Anyway, I got sent off on an anonymous call about some 'foul play' by the docks near the Bronx," George explained, "I get there and I find a truck that has it's driver's side window destroyed, a yacht-like ship crashed into the concrete and three men tied up with metal bars sitting on the pavement near the ship."
"The gargoyles must have found something on one of their bouts of vigilante justice," Flariaty commented.
"Probably," George commented, "But I'm not complaining. Anyway, one of the guys is apparently Brode's chief lieutenant and has been running his organization since we arrested Brode. One was a nobody within Brode's organization, and the third was some strange guy that can't speak a word of English, and I have no idea what language he is speaking. I had to place a call into the FBI to ask for some help figuring out where he's from."
"He's probably from Eastern Europe," Matt answered, "Most of Brode's organization is."
"Yeah, but it's hard to get anything out of him when I can't understand a word he says," George replied, "I need an interpreter."
Matt and Flariaty nodded while George continued on.
"And that isn't the end of it," George continued, "I checked both vehicles, because while the gargoyles may be 'vigilantes' they've yet to attack someone who hasn't committed a crime, which is amazing, as most vigilantes end up taking out an innocent by mistake. The truck was empty of anything, but the yacht was loaded with all sorts of weaponry, mostly Russian AK-47s. Some of them were even already modified to fire at a greater rate."
"Gun smugglers," Flariaty growled.
"You might want to talk to the FBI about them too," Matt commented, "Bringing military grade weapons INTO the country is a bit beyond our jurisdiction."
"They'd probably muscle in even if we found them making them here, part for part," George muttered, "I got no choice on that, no offense, Bluestone."
"None taken," Matt shrugged.
"Anyway, it's once I got them into the interrogation rooms that the really interesting stuff started happening," George continued, "As I said earlier, there is one that I'm going to need an interpreter for, but the other two could speak English."
George paused to scratch his head before continuing.
"The gargoyles appeared to have truly scared the pants of Brode's second, though," George continued, "and he's gotten a little careless with some of his answers."
"What do you mean?" Matt asked.
"Well," George sighed, "I asked him about the gun smuggling charges that he'd have to face and whether or not he was 'ashamed' of it, and he answered, 'that too'."
"That too?" Flariaty asked back.
"Yeah," George nodded, "I then asked if he meant his violent takeover of New York crime and all the potential people that Brode's organization has murdered over the years, both here and in Europe."
"What did he say to that?" Flariaty asked.
"He said, and I quote, 'oh, yeah, that'," George answered, "Except, he sounded more nervous like he was hiding something and knew that he had gotten caught."
"And you think he's hiding something about these kidnappings?" Matt asked, "I assume that's why you called me and Flariaty."
"If he isn't directly involved, he at least knows something that might help you out," George answered, "And if you get some answers, it might help me work with why we got a guy who can't speak English bringing high powered weaponry into Manhattan."
Matt was the first to enter the interrogation room that Brode's second was sitting in. He did look particularly nervous, although Matt expected that.
"Are you the other guy's partner?" Brode's second asked, trying to sound tough, but obviously failing.
"No, I'm hear to ask you a completely different set of questions," Matt replied.
"I don't swing that way, detective," Brode's second answered, trying to sound confident.
"I don't either, I'm here to ask you about these kidnappings that have gone on recently," Matt replied.
Brode's second visibly blinked and tried to recover his composure.
"Oh, that has been very bad," Brode's second commented…
"Yeah, and since the detective that found you and your friend has already proven that you are connected to the criminal organization under the command of Thomas Brode, I figured you might know something about these kidnappings," Matt commented back.
"I didn't order those kidnappings," Brode's second blurted.
"I never suggested that you did," Matt told him, "But these kidnappers had to have bragged about it in the circles that you or your men frequent."
"Bragged?" Brode's second asked, sounding confused.
"Yes, you know, came into a bar, had a few drinks, and then once drunk, said, 'guess what? Me and Fred grabbed some girl right out of her bed!' something like that," Matt explained.
"No, I've never heard any of that," Brode's second shook his head heavily.
"Any of your men?" Matt asked, "You probably will be convicted for the gun smuggling charges that will be laid against you, if you can give us any information that might have accidentally fallen into your organization's hands regarding these kidnappings, it might help your present situation."
The mention of the 'gun smuggling' charges made Brode's second remember the gargoyles that had attacked him and his small team on the docks. He had heard of Brode's failed battle with them in Prague and of his failure again in New York, but he had never been close enough to see them up close or realize the power that the creatures truly possessed. When he took over as Brode's second in command, after the failed attempt to crush Dracon when Brode first came to New York, he thought little of the gargoyles. In fact, he felt that they had only won in the earlier engagements because Brode's men on the site were either of poor quality or because they had been unused to having something come out of the sky and grab them.
His attitude hadn't really changed during his time as second in command, although there was frustration with either the failures, or the difficulties suffered as a result of the battles with the clan. The failed attempt to collect on Dracon's hit and then the nearly catastrophic second attempt to take over New York's criminal scene. They frustrated him, but he had always in where the fighting wasn't and continued to believe that the opposition he faced was not as good as it really was.
Now, after seeing one gargoyle shatter the window of a truck with one punch, and then knocking out his driver, while another two took him out and sent the Romanian running, and then watching two of them take out the Romanian and 'beach' his yacht, it was enough to see that the gargoyles were truly fearsome creatures when they wanted to be.
Of course, being jailed was just as big a fear for him, but it appeared that that might end up being his only real destination. He had no lawyer and he didn't want to face the gargoyles again. He decided the only thing he could do, was sell out the kidnappers and say they weren't part of his organization.
"Some of my lieutenants might have heard something," Brode's second finally answered, "Two lower lieutenants came in hearing a story of a couple of guys who were trying to pass off as Serbians, but have been living in America for generations. Their names are Vlad and Yeer were all that they were able to learn about them."
"And that's all they found out?" Matt asked.
"The mob is not like what it is in comic books, detective," Brode's second answered, "We aren't 'Kingpin's' with a vast array of intelligence gatherers."
"Thank you," Matt answered, and then got up, "Make what you just told me part of your plea bargain and the law might reduce your sentence."
Matt then left the room to find Flariaty and George waiting.
"How'd it go?" George asked.
"The gargoyles terrified him alright," Matt nodded, "He'll probably go for a plea bargain to reduce jail time or at least switch it from jail time to probation, depending on what we can make stick on him specifically."
"What did he say in reference to our case?" Flariaty asked.
"He says that a couple of people of Serbian descent named Vlad and Yeer," Matt answered, "He says they aren't part of Brode's gang, but I think that he's trying to cover his tracks. We won't be able to prove it though, without any further evidence."
"Well, we might have an opportunity to get some more," Flariaty commented, her voice sounding fairly frustrated, "While you were in there talking with the head mobster there, your old partner called me, well you actually, but you had your cellphone out here so it wouldn't be a distraction in there."
"Do you always answer other people's phones?" Matt asked, sounding suddenly annoyed.
"I do when the phone's built in speaker answering machine delivers Maza's voice saying that, 'we might have found something that could help'," Flariaty responded, "You asked them for help. How could you?"
"We needed the help with this, the help that might technically be bending a few rules," Matt answered, "These guys have given us next to nothing because there is a lot 'procedure' that we must do in order to go as far. I asked them to find where these guys were operating out of. That's all."
"We didn't need their help to find where these kidnappers were hiding," Flariaty answered, "Helping humanity accept them is one thing, giving them our jobs is quite another!"
"We would be looking for another five months before it would be changed to a possible rape and homicide investigation," Matt answered, "This way we might be able to find the victims before these kidnappers decide to rid themselves of their 'problem'."
"Not to mention that without them the guns that we now Brode's followers brought in would have made it onto the streets and would have caused greater damage across the country, as a lot of that sort of 'merchandise' is sold to buyers from all around, not just one specific area," George added, "I know you're a very by the book cop, but I think the 'book' might actually be changing and the sooner we can adapt to it, the better."
Flariaty grumbled, "I worked long and hard to become a detective. Do you think I'm going to get used to a bunch of gargoyles being brought into the police force and being fired because the city doesn't want to pay me in addition to paying a bunch of gargoyles that they only hired because of political correctness?"
"I doubt that they would fire you to hire the gargoyles," Matt answered, "I told you this before, the clan would more likely volunteer as ordinary police officers and patrol."
"What about your friend? Your old partner?" Flariaty asked, "If she could be a detective again, do you think she wouldn't jump at it?"
"I don't know," Matt sighed, "But I would think that she would want to stay close to Goliath, and he probably wouldn't ask to be a detective. I'm also going to say that you need to lighten up on the gargoyles about these things. You're beginning to sound paranoid."
Castle Wyvern, Near Dawn
The clan began to take their positions on the tower and battlements for day as was normal for them. Goliath and his clan specifically rested on the tower closest to the interior of the castle. When one or more of the Guatemalan gargoyles decided to sleep for the day, they rested on the inner battlement walls overlooking the courtyard's gardens. The Chinese elders, and usually the older hatchlings preferred to rest on the outer most walls of the castle. Goliath and the others tried to warn them away from this, fearing that the high winds that regularly blew by the Eyrie Building combined with the narrow ledge of the outermost walls would make sleeping there unsafe. The Chinese gargoyles insisted they would be fine, and Goliath eventually found it easier to let them sleep there.
As Goliath and Elisa climbed up onto their pedestals for the day, they were stopped briefly by a couple of the Chinese clan's older hatchlings.
"Mr. Goliath, can we speak with you?" the first hatchling asked.
"Speak quickly," Goliath answered, "It's nearly dawn, and it's just Goliath. No mister attached."
"Did you catch the bad men on the magic box?" the hatchling asked using the word that the Chinese clan, including the elders, used to refer to the television.
"We've found where they're hiding for the police," Goliath answered, "They will capture the bad men and free the hostages this time."
"Why do they do this?" a second hatchling asked, "Miss Caroline wouldn't tell us and changed the image in the magic box, so the lady in it wouldn't tell us why they do these things."
"That is something that might be better explained to you lat…" Goliath couldn't finish his answer, as the sun rose and the gargoyles turned to stone.
Elsewhere
Mary looked at the meager offerings of food that she and the other kidnapped girls had been given with despair. She was hungry and she wanted to go home, and to top it all off, none of them knew how long they had been there or what day it was. Earlier there had been sounds of shuffling outside the door that kept her and the others prisoner, and occasionally they could make out muffled talking, but that had all stopped recently, and in fact, the building sounded quieter then a tomb.
"I wish they' give us more," the first of the other girls commented.
"I wish they'd just tell us what they want to do with us," a second girl spoke, "Sitting around in silence down here is getting rather boring."
"I don't want to know what they're going to do with us," the third whimpered, "We've been kidnapped. Whatever they want can't be good."
Mary only sighed, "I hope someone will rescue us."
What followed was what could only be the answering of her prayers as a load 'bang' echoed through the building and heavy footsteps began to pound on the floors above them.
"What do you suppose that is?" the second girl asked.
They heard a lot of shouting and the sound of someone being dragged along the floor immediately above them.
"I think it's the cavalry!" the third girl exclaimed, "We're saved! Should we pound on the door to let them know where we are?"
Before either of them could do anything, however, there was a loud 'bang' again and the door was knocked off it's hinges. A SWAT team member holding a one man battering ram stepped in, saw the girls and then turned around.
"Yeah they're here," the officer shouted up the stairs, "Let Detective Bluestone and Flariaty know."
The officer then turned to the four girls and asked, "You want to go home?"
Castle Wyvern, that evening
"So that's how it went?" Elisa asked as Matt finished telling the story.
"Pretty much," Matt nodded, "the whole plan was to ship them off to Europe and sell them as 'escorts' to various crooks there. The gun smuggling operation was only a cover-up so that they would have some means of getting them out of the country."
"That's what Elisa thought they were kidnapping those girls for," Goliath commented.
Matt nodded, "And as I said, Flariaty and I pulled a double shift to get all the warrants and supervise the search and arrest."
"It's good that you caught these kidnappers then," Angela commented from where she was standing, as most of the clan had gathered to listen to Matt recount how the case with Brode's agents and the kidnapped girls ended.
"How long will they be locked away?" Broadway asked.
"Brode's chief lieutenant will probably get off rather easy as he's probably going to end up filing a plea bargain with the DA," Matt answered, "The foreign mobster we don't know yet, as we're still waiting for the FBI to send someone to figure out what language he speaks, but the kidnappers themselves should see a good long stay in a Federal penitentiary."
"We all knew you could do it, Matt," Elisa patted him on the shoulder.
"You guys made my job a lot easier," Matt answered, "And for that, I thank you."
The End…