An hour later, Elisa was walking into the castle. She hadn't been there in two days because of all of this crap. Secret meetings and that drunk celebrity had kept her from being able to see them.
She walked off the elevator and all but ran into a pair of the Wing members.
They greeted her friendly enough even if they didn't smile, and Elisa replied in kind. Yes, they had helped her with the diary and finding what they needed to know about Nayeli's condition, but she still wasn't comfortable around them.
At least they had stopped greeting her by using that obnoxious nickname.
If she heard Hope Bringer one more time…
"Ah, good evening, Hope Bringer," a gratingly familiar voice called.
Elisa gave a deep sigh. "Good evening, Shen."
He gave her a grin that let her know that he knew she hated the name, but he was using it on purpose.
Gods, she wanted to hate him.
Instead, she rolled her eyes. "Have you seen Goliath?"
Shen nodded. "He is up on his tower."
"Thanks," she said, giving him a wave over her shoulder as she turned towards the stairs that would take her up to where her husband waited.
The night wind at this height was always a surprise. There were times when she would forget just how much wind there could be, after spending most of her time on the streets where the buildings blocked most of it. Then she would come up to the castle and almost be blown over.
Elisa ran her hands over her hair, attempting to calm it down again, and was only partially successful as a good portion of it blew back over her face and obscured her sight.
Giving up, she reached in her inner jacket pocket where she kept a hair band for just this purpose. She had only just found it when strong hands brushed the sides of her head, sweeping the ebony curtain of her hair aside, and it was as if the wind had vanished.
Elisa laughed and raised eyes to meet her husband's laughing gaze. He had extended his wings to block the wind, shielding her so that she would be able to tie her hair back easily.
"Thanks, Big Guy," Elisa said.
"It is my pleasure," he said with a smile.
Elisa made quick work of tying her hair back and raised her arms to her husband's shoulders.
"Are you not working this evening?" he asked, placing his hands at her waist.
"Oh, I am," Elisa assured him. "But I hadn't seen you in a few days, so I carved out some time to drop by."
He lowered his head and gently kissed her, letting her know without words that he was happy to see her, and they both lost themselves for a few minutes.
When he finally raised his head, Elisa was a little breathless. "Whoah," She said with a laugh. "Not that I didn't enjoy that, but I really did have a reason for coming up here."
He chuckled, and reluctantly released her. "Very well," he said. "Would you like to go inside?"
Elisa shook her head. "No. Let's stay here," she said, waving her hand to encompass the cityscape below them. "It's nice to see the city like this."
He frowned a little, concern showing on his face.
"I had a meeting yesterday and another tonight with a lot of higher ups," Elisa said, turning her back on the city and leaning against the low wall that surrounded the tower. "They are going to go after the Humans First group for illegally bringing in weapons that they have somehow gotten from the government agencies that supply the military. As a courtesy, they've decided to include Matt and I since we have already been investigating them."
Goliath nodded.
Elisa gave him a quick rundown of the plan, including the parts that she knew he wouldn't like.
"I do not care for the idea that they would use you like this, to draw their men out." he said, crossing his arms and frowning down at her.
There it was, Elisa thought. "I can't really say that I like it either," Elisa said, looking into his eyes. "But the reason why we haven't caught these guys, shut them down earlier, is because we have no idea who is the leader. We really don't know much about them, their group structure, anything other than what their weapon preferences are."
"And that is enough to make me not want you near them," Goliath growled.
"Goliath," Elisa said with a sigh. "If I'm not visible, these guys lay low. That just gives them time to plot, plan and execute more incidents like the one at the PIT fundraiser."
Goliath rumbled low in his chest, and Elisa knew that he was far from convinced that it was the only way, but he was trying.
"We've already got Travis on the inside," Elisa assured him. "As long as he stays on their good sides, he's going to be able to give us a heads up about their activities so that we're not going in blind."
"What can we do?" he asked.
"You're not going to like it," Elisa said, preparing for a fight, "But I would like you guys to stick close to home as much as possible." She held up her hands to ward off the argument that she knew was coming. "Please, Goliath. Just…tay close to home. I'm not saying that you guys can't go out at all. That you shouldn't answer the NYPD calls for help. Just try to keep out of sight as much as possible."
Goliath seemed to mull it over before giving an abrupt nod. "I will speak to the others," he said, "But I will only agree to this plan if you wear your communicator at all times." He put his hands on her shoulders. "I will not have another group of hate filled humans who are after the clan to put your life in jeopardy. Not again."
Elisa brought her hands up to squeeze his where they lay on her shoulders. "I promise, Goliath. I will stay as safe as I can. I'm going to have someone with me at all times, as well. Matt and Maria both know the stakes, and they are insistent that I not be alone. I think I would like to move the kids back in here for a while, too," she said with a grimace. "As much as I hate the thought of shuffling the kids back and forth…"
He nodded. "Very well." He dropped his hands from her shoulders. "Let us go find the others and tell them as well. Then we can get Liam, Nayeli and Skyler and bring them here."