Sleeping With the Enemy
By Shadow Runner
Part four in the series
Anyone you don't recognize is of my creation anyone you do recognize belongs to Disney so I'm only borrowing them, not making any money, and promise to put them back when I'm done…
The Golden rule: Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
Hope you like and happy reading!
***** ***** *****
Elisa flipped through the files on her desk with half an eye. She was waiting on Matt who was, once again, running late. They were supposed be heading to the prison to see Robin and Jason Canmore.
She tossed the files on her desk in distaste… still no sign of Jon Canmore at any location. He had managed to make himself disappear. She had hopped he'd slip up some place, make a mistake in his anger at the gargoyles and do something stupid. It was an empty hope, The Hunters hadn't survived this long with knowing how to cover their tracks and if he was hooked up with the Quarrymen, the task of finding him might become impossible.
She looked at the files again. There were few leads still to be examined but collectively they were useless. One woman, a Jan Reading had still yet to be interviewed. Elisa thought she knew the name from someplace but couldn't place it. She reached for the phone and dialed the number but got a busy signal and made a mental note to call the woman later.
"You ready?" a voice said over her shoulder. "We better go if we want to miss the traffic."
She looked back at Matt standing there. She hadn't heard him walk up, "About time you showed up." She rose from her chair and slipped into her jacket, "Let's get this over with..."
***** ***** *****
She was half way to the car when she felt a light vibrating at her hip; her pager was going off. She pulled the tiny device from her jeans with disgust. Ever since the bombing, Chavez had insisted she start carrying one. It was like having an electric leash on and she hated it since she had no idea what one incident had to do with the other.
She glanced at the number, 555-1013*911.
It was a private line from the Eyrie building. Elisa felt her irritation level peg out. How did Xanatos get the number to her pager and why the hell was he calling her? She felt the frustration rising again but put it on hold since whatever he wanted was going to have to wait. Starting the engine for the Fairlane, she pulled out of the parking spot and drove around front to pick up Matt.
He hopped into the front seat, "We need to get with Xanatos…"
"Matt, we're late as it is…whatever he wants will have to wait."
He held up his pager. "I've been paged three time in the last two minutes."
Elisa felt the vibrating at her hip again. "This had better be good…"
***** ***** *****
"Really Detective Maza, I cannot be stopped every five minutes to relay messages for you and Detective Bluestone." Owen stated.
Elisa gave him a sympathetic nod, "Thanks Owen, we owe you one."
Owen nodded slightly and moved off to take care of other business.
They walled into the Great Hall and found Lexington off to the side tapping away and Elisa smiled at the young hacker as they approached him, "What's up Lex? Owen said it was important…"
The green gargoyle gave her a look which held no joy, "I thought you'd want to see this…"
She focused in on the papers Lexington had just handed her, "What exactly am I looking at?"
"Whoever crashed the Quarrymen database copied and downloaded it before they took it out."
Elisa gave him an uncertain look and scanned the pages again, "OK… so where did the information go?"
"Right where you thought it might be. I found it in a batch of protected files…"
She flipped forward a few pages and scanned them over finally understanding what it was that Lexington had found, "And you weren't detected?"
"I stayed in for ten more minutes and nothing happened." He stated. "No one knew I was there."
"Positive?" She said with some concern. She had no desire to have Lexington doing things that might threaten the Clan but it couldn't be avoided at this point.
"Positive," he assured her. "I never would have been able to get in if someone knew." He knew the risks and had no intention of getting caught. He also knew how high the stakes were.
"You think you could go back in?" Elisa inquired.
Lexington shrugged offhandedly, "Sure… I don't see why not…"
"Good, I might need you to go back in, but not now." Things were beginning to make sense now. She looked around the Castle, "Where is everyone?"
"Out on patrol. Are you gonna stick around till Goliath gets back?"
"No," she spoke quickly while leafing through the papers, "Tell him we'll be by later…" she turned to Matt and handed him the files, "I think we got something…"
"Where did all this come from?" Matt questioned. After looking through the papers he didn't care where it came from, "Lexington, you are a genius!"
Elisa kissed the young gargoyle on the head and the pair ran out of the room.
Lexington sat there with a silly smile on his face. Shaking his head he turned back to the computer and started hitting keys.
***** ***** *****
Elisa and Matt stood outside the prison visiting area at Riker's Island, waiting to check their weapons in. It was just after 8 PM and the prison was just beginning to quiet down. They were well past regular visiting hours, but after claiming 'official police business' they were assured they would be allowed in soon.
A surly guard cleared and secured their weapons before leading them into the visiting area to wait for Robin Canmore to be brought down. Elisa glanced at the woman's file noting that she'd had a few problems since her arrival at the facility. The most recent incidents involved fights with other inmates and several altercations with guards.
Clearly the woman was not endearing herself to the criminal justice system.
Elisa closed the file when she heard the iron door being opened. Robin Canmore was lead in wearing arm and leg shackles, an orange prison issue jumpsuit and looking very unhappy. Elisa could see the telltale marks of her most recent encounter with the guards. The OC Spray must have been administered recently because the red splotches were still visible on her face and neck and her eyes were red and puffy.
OC Spray, or pepper spray as it was know by those who carry it, was quite effective. Correction Officers and prison officials used it primarily since firearms were not allowed within the facility but nearly all law enforcement officers carried it. A one-second burst would bring a violent suspect, or prisoner in this case, to a screeching halt with minimal risks to all parties involved. It worked almost immediately and unlike Mace, a person could not build up a tolerance for it because it disrupted the breathing and mucus membranes rather than the just eyes.
It effectively left a person helpless and disorientated even if they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It was a midway point between hand to hand combat and deadly force.
Elisa also knew how much it hurt. It was one of her most vivid memories of her Police Academy training since each officer had to be sprayed in order to understand the effects. She had received hers almost six years ago and the experience was still crystal clear in her mind.
She rose from the table and went over to a nearby sink to run some water over a paper towel and then handed it to the woman inmate, "Here… Don't rub… Just dab the area and hold it against your eyes. It will help with the burning…"
With her hands shackled Robin was unable to reach her face. Elisa spoke to the guard as he turned to leave, "Think you could take those off her?"
He looked at her with cold steel eyes, his face was deadpan, unreadable, and she imagined the look worked quite well on the prison population, "Come on, where's she gonna go?"
The guard walked over to look at Robin with the same dead pan expression on his face and unlocked the arm chains but left the leg irons in place. "I'll be right outside the door, you give them any problems and I'll zap you again, Canmore."
Turning to leave he called over his shoulder to Elisa and Matt, "Holler out if you need anything."
They waited until the guard left to speak to Robin, "Are you OK?" Elisa asked.
"No, I'm not 'OK'… That shit hurts like hell…" She held the towels to her face attempting to slow the burning of the pepper spray. When she pulled them away she had a truly pissed look on her face, "You're wasting your time... I've got nothing to say to you."
Matt spoke first, "Why don't you hear us out first."
Elisa tossed several pictures to the woman, "I want to know how you figured it out."
"Figured out what?" The former Hunter asked.
"Who Dominique Destine is." Elisa replied softly.
At the mention of the name, Robin went ashy white. The accent was bearly detectable in her voice as she spoke, "What makes ye think I knew?"
Matt cut in, "Cut the crap, we found your records. They were seized when you were taken into custody."
Robin glared at him, "'Tis a lie. It 'twas never in there…"
That was the opening they were both hoping and waiting for.
"You right…" Elisa replied softly. She could tell the woman had changed quite a bit in the few weeks she'd been in prison.
Robin looked at Elisa hard, "So I don't have to talk to ye about this."
"True, but we know it was you who made the discovery. I just want to know how you did it." Robin remained silent so Elisa continued, "But if you don't want to help us…"
Matt rose and moved behind her, "Anytime you want to get back to your cell, your welcome to go…" Robin called his bluff and stood up to leave causing him to place a restraining hand on her shoulder, "It was a figure of speech… Sit."
Elisa scratched her head absently, an unconscious gesture she'd picked up from Hudson some time ago. This route was getting them nowhere, so maybe it was time to up the ante. She gave Matt a covert nod and then glanced in the direction of the cell door making sure the guards weren't checking up on them and then looked back to the other woman and spoke cautiously. "This isn't even an official visit, Robin."
"What are ye saying?" Robin demanded.
Her accent becoming a bit more pronounced and Elisa thought she might be on the verge of helping them. She nodded slightly to her partner who then leaned over the woman's shoulder and pointed to one of the photos.
"Tell me who he is." Matt said softly.
Robin barely looked at the picture, and pushed it back, "I have no idea…"
"Oh yeah, well… I think you do," Elisa said and looking directly at the sullen woman, she added, "I think its Jon. And you know what else…?" She hesitated for a moment, "I think Demona thinks so too so it's only a matter of time until she finds him…"
Robin's head shot up at this statement, but she still refused to talk. Elisa thought it was time to play the trump card. She tossed the sheaf of paper Lexington gave her to Robin, "We found this in the database of Nightstone Unlimited..."
Robin looked at the paper with half interest. She didn't need to read them to know what they were. The papers contained a partial record of what the Hunters had done prior to the Clock Tower bombing. Within the documents were some of the records and programs Robin Canmore had created connecting Demona to Dominique Destine.
"I'm not sure how you did it and truth be known I don't care… But whatever you used… Demona is trying to use it to find him." Elisa said to the former hunter.
Robin sat deadly still for a few minutes, her face an unreadable mask. Matt sat down next to her, "All we want to do is find him before she does…"
She looked at the pair for several minutes before she slowly rose and turned to the door. Matt started to stop her but a quick glance from to Elisa told him to her go.
She shuffled over and pounded on it, "Guard!"
The big man walked up to the door and glared at her suspiciously through the iron mesh window of the door, "What's the problem Canmore?"
"I want to return to my cell." She replied. She turned and faced Matt and Elisa, "I can't help ya..."
Elisa and Matt sat there in stunned disbelief as the woman was recuffed and led from the room. "I don't believe this…" Matt said under his breath.
"Me either…" Elisa muttered.
"What now?"
"We go with Plan B and hope Jason knew what his sister was doing…"
"You think he'll be more helpful?"
"He'd better be… For everyone's sake…"
***** ***** *****
They sat in the parking lot of the prison. Elisa was so mad she couldn't see straight. She was gripping the wheel of the car so tight her knuckles were turning white. They had attempted to see Jason Canmore in the hospital ward but he refused to see them.
What the hell was wrong with that family she wondered for the umpteenth time.
Matt's words echoed her thinking. "What the hell is wrong with this family?"
Elisa forced herself to relax, "This is ridiculous. What the hell just happened in there? The last time I talked to Jason, he said he'd do whatever it took to help me out with the investigation. Now he won't even see me. It just doesn't make any sense."
She flipped through some paperwork the prison had given them before they left. She had requested a copy of all visitors the Canmore's had in last few weeks, thinking maybe Jon had some how gotten a message to them and the staff had missed it. There had been only one for Robin, a lawyer, and Jason had none. Elisa finally resigned herself to sitting in silence for several minutes until her temper cooled.
Finally Matt broke the silence, "What do you want to do now?"
"Go back in there and pepper spray 'em both until one of them helps us…"
It was a rhetorical statement since both of them knew that wasn't going to happen. Elisa leaned over and picked up the Canmore file. She hunted through it until coming to the list of witnesses and handed it to Matt.
"No point in dwelling over this right now… If you're up to it, I have to go talk to this lady… a Jan something … Supposed to be an old friend of the Canmore's. Give her a call and find out where she lives and let her know we'll be coming by. Maybe we'll have better luck there…" she started the car and pulled out of the parking lot and maneuvered into traffic.
"No problem. Is this home or work?" Matt asked.
"Don't know, I tried it earlier but the line was busy…"
He pulled his cell phone out, checked the number and dialed. After two rings a woman's voice answered and from the greeting Matt knew it to be a work number. He looked at the phone curiously and quickly hit a button to disconnect. Thinking he'd dialed the wrong number he checked the number again and redialed but got the same voice again. He flipped the phone shut and looked at Elisa unable to form the words he wanted.
Elisa looked at Matt, he was gasping like a fish out of water, "What?"
"You said that was a work number?"
"I have no idea. Why?"
"You sure it's the right number?"
Elisa checked the rearview mirror and merged into the center lane of traffic, "I don't know, whatever is in the report is what she told the guys to took the call. What's the problem?"
"The number… It's for Nightstone Unlimited…" he started.
With a shriek of rubber, Elisa slammed on the breaks, locking up the wheels and causing the Fairlane to fishtail all over the road. Cars behind them honked and slammed on their breaks as well. The two detectives were lucky not to cause a tremendous pile up behind them.
Elisa looked at him in disbelief, "You are kidding me right?" Matt nodded a negative at her, "Please Matt, tell me you're kidding…"
"No, see for yourself…" he handed her the phone and the Canmore file. She held up her hand to refuse the files, she believed him.
A sudden burst of anger hit her and she began slamming her fist into the dash, "Arrrrrrrggghh!!!!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!" Elisa hunted around furiously, "Where's that visitor list from the prison!?"
Cars whizzed by, drivers honking and throwing obscene gestures at them. They were still blocking traffic but neither took any notice. Matt finally located it, and they both frowned at the list as if were personally responsible for all their problems, and in a way, it was.
The name on the visitor's list was Jan Reading, Attorney at Law.
Elisa cut across several lanes of traffic and headed back out to Riker's Island.
***** ***** *****
Matt drove from the prison, as Elisa was still way to upset. They now sat outside a seemingly deserted Nightstone Unlimited.
The prison confirmed what they already knew concerning Robin Canmore's visitor. The woman identified herself as a court appointed attorney and had shown identification confirming who she was so they let her in. The guard told Matt that five minutes after the attorney left, Robin requested to see her brother.
It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure the rest of it. Elisa realized where she'd seen the name Jan Reading before and had serious doubts that the woman was a lawyer, but there was no doubt that she was Dominique Destine administrative assistant. She remembered seeing the nameplate on the woman's desk.
Jan Reading had apparently sent Jason and Robin a warning from Demona.
A very effective warning it appeared.
"So what do we do now?" Matt asked, "What are the chances Castaway isn't Canmore?"
"Slim…" Elisa replied sullenly.
In a way Demona had done them a favor. Before they only had their suspicions; now those beliefs were confirmed, Jon Canmore was indeed John Castaway.
Matt shook his head in disbelief, "How do you approach someone with this? 'Excuse me Sir you're under arrest for the bombing of a law enforcement facility and by the way there's a psychotic gargoyle who's been threatening your family through her secretary." He sat there thinking about what could be going on, "I don't know…Maybe it's all just a hoax… Is it possible Demona didn't think we would go see them again?"
"No, I think she knew we would eventually figure out who Jon was and knew this was the best way to put us in a position to not be able to do a fucking thing about it."
Matt was shocked since he'd never actually heard Elisa curse although she'd had plenty of opportunities to do so in the past.
Elisa sat in silence…then it hit her. "Christ that's exactly what Demona was trying to do, Matt!"
He rubbed his jaw absently, "She thinks Jon is on to her and she was worried Robin might tell him who she really is… no… That can't be it… Jon knew long before…" then he saw where Elisa was going with this, "Holly sweet Jesus… The Quarrymen database was a message to him. To let him know she knows who he is… They're in a stalemate… and now she's ensuring they stay that way…"
"By cutting off the best chance we have of getting to Jon before she does." she finished for him.
"Great, this is just great!" Elisa banged her fist against the dashboard of the Fairlane. "Now we are truly in the middle of this crap! You can't confront the Quarrymen without looking like your trying to hide something from the GTF, and I have to let this nut ball run loose and possibly find out where the Clan is because if I don't Demona will know that we went to see Robyn and Jason."
She slumped in the passenger seat, "We were wrong before, this was a trap. But not for the Hunter, at least not exactly… Matt, it was a trap for us… and we walked right into it…"
Matt was speechless, "We are in a world of shit."
"Yeah up to our necks…"
"What now?"
Elisa sighed, "We better tell the others…"
***** ***** *****
Elisa was exhausted and leaned against Goliath, hopping to draw on some of his strength. He placed a supporting arm around her and turned to the others who stood around the computer in silence. Lexington was going back into the lion's den.
Lexington turned to the group, "OK, I'm in. What next?"
Elisa pulled away from Goliath and walked closer to the computer, "Just monitor, no snooping around."
"What are we looking for?" Brooklyn questioned.
"I have no idea. But someone has to be working that database, and I'll bet its Jan Reading." Elisa replied.
Matt looked at Elisa with a certain degree of surprise, "How do you figure?"
"Why else would she be on known contacts for Jon Canmore? Funny thing is, I doubt the woman has the first clue as to who he is…"
"You know there's an easier way to find out…" Angela said from behind them.
They all turned to her, "What are you talking about?" Matt asked.
The young woman turned to Elisa, "You said she's on the list to be interviewed…"
"Angela, I can't go and talk to this woman now. She knows who I am… and it's not like she wouldn't mention the visit to Demona."
"But she doesn't know Matt…" Broadway cut in.
"Me?!" Matt exclaimed, "No way…"
"Why not?" Goliath questioned, "Technically, Elisa is still your partner."
"I'm also the GTF Commander. Forget it, there's no reason for me to see her; she's a witness for Elisa. If I go and start asking questions about Jon, the gig is up." Matt rubbed his temples in an effort to relieve the throbbing in his head, "Demona isn't stupid. Hell, if it even gets out that we went to the prison, she's liable to assume one of them told us something and then they really will be at risk."
"Our hands are tied," Elisa said quietly, "I can't go, Matt can't go…"
A brief thought burst into her head, I will go…
Elisa quickly looked at Goliath, "And there is no way any of you can go."
Goliath looked at her She is our responsibility …
"No Goliath!"
Once again Matt knew they were having a conversation none of them were privy to. The others looked at the pair not quite understanding what was going on and the bottom line was he didn't either.
Goliath spoke to the others, "The Human system cannot hold her… She is once again our responsibility. We cannot allow her actions to go unchallenged…"
Brooklyn spoke softly, trying to be the voice of reason, "Goliath, I'm not sure that's a good idea either…" he looked to the others, "I mean… even if we were able to catch her, where would we keep her? Let's face it, we've been down that road before…"
"My point exactly," Elisa interjected "What are you going to do with her during the day? Secondly she's not even here, Goliath!"
"We must do something…" Goliath's eyes blazed white.
Lexington was still looking at the computer, watching as the screen flickered and numbers began flying across the screen. He spoke up at once, "Ah, guys… Someone is working out of Nightstone…"
"What?" Elisa cried out.
"A line feed…" Lexington replied quickly.
Matt looked at the screen intently, "Someone's trying to trace us…"
Broadway moved to pull the line again but Lexington cut him off, "Wait!" He hit a few more keys and the screen cleared "It's not us. Someone else is in the system… A couple of somebody's from the look of it…"
"You gotta be kidding me?" Elisa questioned harshly, "Who else is in there?"
Lexington's talons moved quickly over the keyboard, "I'm checking now…"
"Find out!" Elisa snapped, "This doesn't make sense…unless…"
The young hacker continued to type away at the keyboard and his surprise was evident in the tone of his voice. "Looks like both are external…but one might be local…"
"The other has to be Demona, she'd have to have a way to know what is going on… How long before the trace is complete Lex?" Elisa asked.
"Not long… Whoever else is in here isn't hiding themselves very well... or else they're having trouble getting out… there's firewalls popping up all over the place…"
Elisa looked at Goliath as if to say something but then glanced back to Lexington, "Can you reroute the trace…?"
"I think so…Why?"
Goliath had no idea what she was doing, but the anxiety she was feeling was pouring out of her and into him. He reached over to put a halting hand on her shoulder, "Perhaps we should…"
She ignored him and pushed his hand away, "I have got to make sure she doesn't find him… not before I do…"
The stakes of the game had increased by a factor of ten since Matt also realized who might be in the system with them. Only one other person would want to try and gain access the Nightstone database and Matt understood what Elisa was doing.
Lex looked at Goliath waiting for him to tell him what to do. Elisa knew what he was waiting for and snapped at the young gargoyle, "Do it Lex!"
Goliath nodded slowly, not happy with Elisa and mentally letting her know it. Elisa stumbled slight at the on slaut of thoughts being fired at her but said nothing.
"Ok… It's done." Lex replied slowly and pulled his hands from the keyboard, rubbing them together to relieve some of the cramps from all the typing.
They all watched the screen not sure what they were waiting for. The screen flicked slightly, and then a single message popped up.
NOT A WISE PLACE TO BE
They looked in stunned silence. Elisa expected it but it still shocked her. "Lex, can you respond back?"
He tapped a few keys until he found the program he needed and checked to see if the necessary safety protocols were in place, "Yeah… the line is encrypted so it should be safe…"
Elisa leaned over him and typed DEMONA
A few seconds later a second message popped back up.
DIE HUNTER
There was a sudden squeal over the modem and while link went down, the database stayed up.
"Ahhh, what just happened?" Broadway asked.
"I think my mother is extremely displeased…" Angela said slowly.
"That's an understatement." Brooklyn muttered.
"She just sent a back feed through the line... someone has a fried modem now." Matt said after much consideration, "Where did you route the trace to Lex?"
He was half-listening to the conversation and resumed tapping away at the keyboard. "I looped it back on it's self…"
"Did you get a trace on the other visitor?" Elisa inquired.
"Wait a sec…" Lexington studied the screen thoughtfully, "It's coming back now… it was a mirror site… for the Quarrymen. Dragon! It has to be the Hunter… He must have used the old site to get back in…"
Elisa figured it was Canmore and thought maybe there was a way to make this work out. "Does he know about the trace? I mean, would he have seen the message?" She asked.
"He would know about the trace, but he wouldn't understand why it cut off the way it did. I doubt he saw the message, he had his hands full just trying to get out of the database." Lex looked at Elisa, "I don't think that's the question you should be asking though…"
"What do you mean Lexington?" Goliath questioned.
Lexington gave him a tentative expression, "Well, if it were me… I'd want to know who just saved my butt…"
"Damn, I didn't think about that…" Elisa shook her head slowly, "He's gonna want to know who helped him…he'll try and find out who rerouted the trace…"
A quick burst of static rushed into her head, I hope you know what you're doing…
"Yeah… me too." Elisa said under her breath. None of the others took notice of her words… Except Goliath.
Goliath spoke to the young hacker, "He was in there for a reason Lexington…Find out why…"
***** ***** *****
Elisa and Matt were both exhausted by the time they got back to the 23rd. She stood by the Desk Sergeant checking in and retrieved a small stack of phone messages. Matt walked over to the status board and logged them both out for their shift.
Elisa walked to her desk, flipping through the messages noting which ones needed immediate attention and bypassing the few that could wait. Matt walked up and tapped her on the shoulder, "You ready? I need a ride to pick up my car and just nominated you for the task…"
She nodded to him, "Yeah, no prob…" She continued to flip through the phone messages, tossing Matt's on his desk and noticed a small package sitting on her desk, "Matt, what's that?"
He picked it up and examined it. It was the size of a ring box and wrapped in plain brown wrapping but there was no name indicating who or where it came from. He shook it slightly noting it made no sound as he did, "Got me… but I think it's too small for a letter bomb."
"Not funny Bluestone," She looked over at his desk, "You had better hope not, you got one just like it."
"Where'd they come from?" he inquired.
"Don't know, they were here when I walked up. Open it up…"
Matt unwrapped the box and Elisa heard him suck in a deep breath. She looked up to see a look of confusion, then dread, come over his face. Something has visibly shocked him so she moved closer to see what was in the box.
Enclosed in the box was a necklace with a small silver hammer.
There was no question where it had come from. She dropped the remaining phone messages and reached for the box from Matt's desk. Tearing it open she looked at the contents in horror.
It contained the exact same thing.
"This is not a good thing, is it?" Matt said quietly. "Why would he send them here?"
Elisa finally pulled her gaze away from the pendant and glanced over at her partner, "Just before they went to sleep Lex told me he went through about sixteen different servers one of which happened to be the 23rd's." She glanced back at the pendant, "He didn't think anyone would be able to trace it back because it's a secure system…"
Matt gave her a pained expression, "Canmore thinks…"
"Yeah…" The rest of her words died in the air.
If this was a threat she and Matt were in big trouble.
But if it was a peace offering…
They both stared at the necklaces, each wondering if they had unwittingly formed an unholy alliance; an alliance that just might come back to haunt them all.
***** ***** *****