The wind had picked up considerably since Elisa had gotten off work that morning, so much so that the clan was having trouble navigating the air currents. There was a time or two that Elisa had feared, for the first time since that initial flight with Goliath years ago, that she'd be dropped.'
No. That wasn't right, Elisa thought. Goliath wouldn't drop her.
But he would wrap around her, try to protect her from the impact and they'd go down together.
Elisa's arms involuntarily tightened around her husband's neck as another round of wind made them all tilt and weave in the sky. Not for the first time, Elisa was thankful that all of the kids remained at the castle. There was no way that they'd have been able to navigate this.
With the projected bulk of the storm just shy of two days away, Elisa felt her heart sink.
When the rain began shortly after their departure, it finally hit Elisa that this was going to be a bad one. And with the wind and now their vision compromised, their work was really going to be cut out for them on this one.
Finally, their coms came to life as Brenna's voice, the more tech savvy of Angela and Broadway's twins, announced that the beacon had stopped moving.
She gave them the address, and as one, the clan banked and turned.
"There," Elisa pointed, squinting through the dark and the rain. "1083 Fifth Avenue should be down there, next to that little café."
Elisa passed the information to Matt and Maria, who were working the ground operations on this. Nearly every precinct in Manhattan had been hit by the "thief", and soon the area around the building was flooded with police vehicles, as they all felt the need to be there.
The clan came in to land, with somewhat less grace and ease than normal, on the rooftop of the big townhouse. A corner lot, facing Central Park, with its only neighbor a squat little café? "Not on her salary," Elisa muttered. The only people owning a location like this would have to be a millionaire.
Elisa heard the sirens then, the screaming of tires on wet pavement as one by one, the responding officers answered the call. Goliath lifted her, and as gently as he could, he lowered them both one floor down, to the large balcony on the front of the building.
"Maza," Maria's voice called out. "Where are you?"
"Upper level," Elisa said, looking over the edge of the balcony. "Three or four floors up, balcony, park side."
"We see you," Maria said. "Keep me updated. We want to avoid officers who don't know you thinking you're our perp."
"Can do," Elisa replied. "Keep an eye on the ground, Cap. She's a runner."
"We've got the ground," Maria assured her.
"Wait," Elisa called out, crouching in the dark and rain. "Maria, I have light up here. I think she's coming up."
"Copy that, detective," Maria said.
"Let the officers know that the clan is up here, too." Elisa said. "If you're going to breach, maybe she'll keep coming up and we can grab her from here."
"Breach and make a lot of noise," Matt called back jokingly. "Well, if you insist."
"Just be careful," Elisa warned. "She's…tricky."
The clan spread out to either side of the glass paned French doors that led out to the balcony from what looked to Elisa to be a large combination office, study and bedroom.
Another light came on in the hallway, and suddenly she was there.
Mallory.
And she had the box…or what she thought was the box.
Still dripping wet from her time in the rain, she hurried through the door and closed it behind her. She hurriedly placed the box on the bed, then ran back to slide the dresser in front of the doors to help hold it shut. It wouldn't stop anyone for long, but just long enough to give her some time to escape.
Elisa held up a hand, letting everyone know to hold their positions.
Mallory hurried back to the bed, and lifted the box once more. Elisa saw the young woman begin to smile as she lifted the box and placed it on a solid wood table. From there, Mallory reached out and pried the lid open…
Then she screamed in fury, hurling the box across the room and caused a cascade of old books to fall to the ground.
"Temper, temper," Demona whispered.
Mallory's head whipped up, eyes wild in her fury and stared at the doors to the balcony.
"Oops," Demona said, though her voice held a decided lack of emotion.
"Uhhh, Elisa?" Broadway said quietly, pointing at the doors. "Something is happening."
Elisa looked in the door and spotted Mallory and there was, indeed, something wrong. Mallory's body seemed to blur and move, as around her a thick black cloud seemed to surround her. The cloud seemed to swell and contract with her heavy breathing, her eyes began to glow a shade of purple so deep it was almost black.
It was when she began to levitate that Elisa realized just how much trouble they were in.
Elisa looked around the balcony. With the whole group of adult gargoyles and herself, there wasn't a lot of room to work with.
"Guys, I know the weather's bad for gliding, but," Elisa began backing away from the door.
"Split off," Goliath ordered, not bothering to lower his voice. "Brooklyn, Angela, Demona and Bolin with me. The rest of you, protect the humans."
In one continuous move, Goliath turned, scooped Elisa into his arms and dove into the mercy of the storm.
He struggled, righted himself, then angled towards the castle. Elisa used the communicator to update not only Matt and Maria, but those at the castle so that they would be able to prepare.
"On it," Lexington said. "Xanatos and Fox are mobilizing the Steel clan."
"Good," Elisa said, risking a look behind them and seeing Mallory's shrouded form right on their heels. "We're not far, and will be coming in fast"
It wasn't an over exaggeration on her part. The wind had shifted so that they weren't fighting it anymore.
It was blowing hard, but it was now coming from behind so that they were struggling to slow as they approached the castle.
"Hold on," Goliath shouted as he attempted to land. He stumbled, tucked to try to protect his mate, and rolled straight into one of the thick stone walls that surrounded the courtyard.