"What. The. Hell." Elisa practically growled when the door closed behind the last person.
"Let me get this straight," Matt said, leaning one elbow on the table and just looking at Travis. "You have been undercover. The whole time. For eight years?"
Travis nodded.
"It has taken me a while to gather information, do some recon, and background checks. Do you have any idea how many cops are in Manhattan? Roughly 55,000. 36,000 of those are uniformed officers."
"Wait," Elisa suddenly straightened in her chair. "You ran checks. On everyone? Seriously?"
"Seriously," Travis said, "There are some officers on payroll here that I wouldn't trust with a water gun, let alone a loaded weapon, but that's not my call. I did send a few key higher ups within the NYPD copies of those reports. "
Elisa had been around long enough that she thought she could name a few, but decided to keep that to herself.
"I hated lying to you guys," Travis blurted out.
"We understand being undercover," Matt said.
"But you let us believe you were a rank rookie for EIGHT YEARS," Elisa grit her teeth until she felt like her jaw might crack.
"After a while," Matt said, ignoring Elisa for the time being, "I'd think you would feel comfortable enough to confide in us."
"Hell," Travis said, running his hands over his freshly shorn head. "You have no idea just how much I wanted to. But," he said, his own jaw firming up, "I don't have that freedom. I am here as an assignment and at the request of the United States Army."
"Okay," Elisa said angrily, "I just need to ask one thing."
"Before you get started," Travis held a hand up to stop her. "The gargoyles are not part of my assignment. I was not under any obligation or orders to disclose anything about them, and have not recorded any of their information in my reports."
Elisa took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Alright," she said, her voice quiet. "Thank you for that."
"I know that you both probably don't like me much right now," Travis said, "But you have both become almost family to me over the last eight years. Closer than my family, honestly," he muttered. "I'm not saying that this wasn't a major bit of information to keep from you, but for the most part, I've been just me."
"Were you actually trained in investigation when you came here?" Matt asked.
Travis looked up, a sheepish grin on his face. "A little, but mostly on how to fill out and file the paperwork. There's not a real need for going undercover and such in the army."
Elisa groaned and laid her head on the table. "I should have known something wasn't right when you were tossing your cookies in the bushes."
"In my defense," Travis said, laughing at the memory, "That had more to do with the contaminated food at the station's Christmas party than the scene. I was only there because I was the only one who could stay on their feet for more than ten minutes."
Elisa sat up, running her hands over her face. "Do you realize how many cases could be overturned if they find out…"
Travis shook his head. "I have never been out on my own, and I have never been a lead on a case. I played helpless rookie, remember? I am good at the paperwork. It's what I'm comfortable with. No one else likes it, so most detectives are willing to do the heavy lifting so to speak, and I handle the paperwork. Besides," he shot Elisa a look, "Because of you, I HAVE been studying and taking the detective courses."
"That's right," Matt said, shooting his partner a sideways look. "Elisa's always big on making sure everyone's training is up-to-date."
Head still in her hands, Elisa couldn't help but laugh.
"Your name really Travis?" Matt asked.
Travis nodded. "Yes, but Stephen is actually my middle name, not my first."
Elisa dropped her hands and raised an eyebrow. "What is your first name?"
Travis looked down and muttered something.
"Sorry, couldn't hear you." Elisa said with an evil smile. "What is your first name?"
Travis looked at the ceiling and heaved a sigh. "My full name, since you won't leave it alone," he glared at her, "is Francis Stephen Travis the fourth." He crossed his arms. "You have thirty seconds to laugh."
Elisa and Matt shared a look.
"Francis," Elisa sounded like she was choking. "That's an…interesting name."
"Yeah," Matt couldn't quite hide his chuckle behind a cough. "There must be a story there…"
"And 'The Fourth'?" Elisa lost it then. "My god."
"Trust me," Travis said, grimly. "There won't be a Fifth."
"That's 'cause they finally got it right," Matt said with a laugh, slapping Travis on the upper arm, as far as he could reach.
"Thanks," Travis said.
"So…" Matt began slowly, the mirth fading a bit from his face. "Where does that leave us?"
"Just where we were before," Travis said. "We go back to work, and we carry on as we have. You," He said to Elisa, "stay visible and stay safe."
"Does Maria know about all of this?" Elisa asked, concerned.
"Yes," Travis admitted. "When talks of forming a joint task force for this case began, it occurred to me that the only person with the NYPD who knew I was here was Ramirez. I called into his office, and his successor had no knowledge who I was. Either Ramirez forgot to pass on the information, or he didn't know I was still here. Either way," he shrugged, "Someone needed to know I'm here and why. I spoke to Maria yesterday, just after the two of you disappeared from the precinct…coming here, I assume."
Matt and Elisa nodded.
"I met with Maria, and told her who, what and why I was there. I also explained about Ramirez and that I would be needed here at this task force," he said. "She…didn't mention that you two were going to be here, or that you were already involved, though. It was a surprise seeing you here. I mean," he ran his hands over his face. "I knew that you would probably be called in at some stage, but not right away."
"This isn't exactly our area of expertise," Elisa admitted. "Quite frankly, I'm surprised that we're still here. I figured that we'd give them the information, and be out of it."
"I hate to say it," Travis admitted, "But I think I know why they're still involving you…and I think you do too, if you're honest."
"I'm bait," Elisa said.
"You're visible," Travis corrected. "You're a convenient scapegoat for Humans First, which is why they slowed down when you were out on leave. They didn't have anyone to aim their anger at, and from the little bit I managed to get tonight, they didn't know how to draw the gargoyles out without you."
Elisa sighed and closed her eyes. The real irony was that for years, the gargoyles had felt like it was them who had put her in danger. Now she was wondering at what point that had changed. Was it when Jon Canmore had targeted her with the Quarrymen? Or had it happened at some point earlier that they hadn't been aware of?
"Look," Travis said, breaking into her thoughts, "I know that there's a lot of explaining to do, and I'm more than willing to do it, but if you can just give me your trust for a little while longer without the deep dive into my past, I want to get these guys off the streets first."
Elisa nodded. She wanted the same thing so bad she could taste it.
"Agreed," Matt said with a shared look with Elisa, "I think we can do that."
"One condition," Elisa said, frowning.
"What's that?" Travis asked.
"When that 'Deep Dive' into your past happens, Beth is included in the conversation," Elisa stated. "If you're serious about my sister… and you'd better be… then she deserves to know it all as well."
Travis nodded. "Agreed."
"Alright," Elisa said. She pushed away from the table and got to her feet.
"Ahhh," Matt said, trying to break the tension. "I always love these bonding moments."
When Elisa and Travis sent him a look, he gave them a small smile, turned and began making his way down the hallway.