As the Walls Come Down
By Shadow Runner
Part nine in the series
Ok, I don't own them, I've never owned them, I lay no claim to them (especially since they belong to Disney) and I have no intention of even trying to make any money off of them… like that would happen anyway…
By the way anyone you don't recognize belongs to me, but the fact remains I'm not making any money off them either… If you like them thanks and I only ask if you want to borrow, please ask first.
Hope you like and happy reading! J
***** ***** *****
Elisa looked over all the paperwork and sighed. Never in her life had she know it to multiply the way it seemed to have done for the past few weeks. Captain Chavez had just dropped several case files on her desk earlier and it now felt like the pile would never stop growing. She glanced over at Matt's desk and took another deep breath.
He still wasn't in yet.
It had been four days since they had returned to their respective homes. Ever since the battle on the roof of the Nightstone Building and the subsequent trashing of both their homes, they'd been keeping close tabs on each other in the interest of safety.
So far nothing had turned up and it was almost like things had been too quiet and for Elisa, it was like waiting for the other boot to drop. For once she understood and could relate to Goliath's seemingly overprotective attitude. The way she was acting about Matt being late was the same way Goliath acted when he couldn't find her instantly.
She dialed Matt's home number for the third time and got no answer. She considered paging him but was hesitant to do so since she disliked her own 'electronic leash'. Instead she decided to give him some time, maybe he really wasn't that late and she was just being hyper sensitive.
Elisa flipped through the new cases with half an eye to help keep her mind off Matt's absence. She noted a few areas she'd need to clear up but otherwise there wasn't much earth shattering about them. Both appeared to be dead ends so it was no big surprise Chavez had put them on her desk. She and Matt usually ended up with the stuff no one else could finish and in the four years she'd been a detective, there was only one case she hadn't closed and that was Canmore.
She forced back a flare of irritation since this one was by choice and not lack of skill but it still didn't make it any easier to deal with. Technically, it was still open but it had been weeks since she done anything that could officially be put in the case file. It was only a matter of time before someone besides Captain Chavez realized the case was dead in the water and she would be expected to turn it over.
She checked her watch again. She wanted to do something because sitting there was becoming counter productive and the aspect of finishing up paperwork held no joy but it was still too early to check in with the Clan since they would be on patrol for several more hours. She considered reaching out to Goliath just to see how he was doing, but pushed the thought back until she figured out where her partner was.
There was no sense in having him worry about Matt too and she didn't want to risk Goliath showing up unexpectedly.
Elisa finally decided the thirty seconds she'd given Matt to show up was long enough. It was now time to start looking for him and she rose to leave the station just as he came walking up.
"Sorry… alarm didn't go off."
Elisa stood with her hands on her hips, "Damn it Matt… You should have called…"
He cut her off with a look, "Don't get me started. Not all of us have a built in alarm that goes off at sunset…"
"That's not an excuse…"
"Well it's gonna have to be… I spent the better part of the afternoon with three different civic groups who are all calling for my head on a platter for not doing something about the 'Gargoyle' problem. The Boss got called out on the carpet and Mayor Anderson is doing back flips at City Hall as we speak." He tossed his trench coat on the back of a chair and his voice dropped to a barely perceivable whisper, "I'm telling you Elisa… This is getting bad…"
"I know…" she lowered her voice as well. It wasn't totally necessary as there were few others around but she wasn't willing to say something that might be overheard and undo their carefully built house of cards. "I don't know what Anderson's problem is but the last I heard he's ready to declare martial law in order to find them…"
"A hundred and forty-seven calls in the last seventy-two hours… none confirmed." He looked through several reports sitting on his desk, "You know, there's no way all these can be false and if it's not the guys then I gotta wonder if it's Talon's Clan or maybe even Demona generating some of these calls."
"Well I doubt its Demona since the Clan has her building staked out pretty well." Elisa pulled her brow together and sat back down at her desk, "And you can write off Derek for last night. He and Maggie had my parents over for dinner…"
Matt gave her a brief smile, "Formal dinner at the Labyrinth and I wasn't invited? I'm hurt…"
"Don't be… neither was I."
He set one of the files down on his desk and sat on the edge looking over at her, "You still haven't told them yet have you?"
"About what?" Elisa inquired.
"The new paint job on my car…" Matt tossed a pencil at her, "Come on… don't play stupid with me…"
"Sorry, knee jerk reaction…" Elisa picked up a file and made a few notes on it, "Maggie pretty much knows and I imagine Derek suspects but to answer your question, no… I haven't told my parents…"
"Why not?" Matt inquired, "Couldn't be any more of a surprise than finding out their son has wings…"
Elisa balled up the report she was working on and threw it at him, "I'm just waiting for the right moment…"
Matt returned the gesture and toss the paper back at her, "And what right moment is that? When you amp out in front of them and give them a dose of the 'Red Eyes?'"
"It not that easy Matt…" Elisa shifted uncomfortably in the chair. She and Goliath were still trying to figure out the extent of their Bond and she didn't feel comfortable talking about it with others. She was about to change the subject when Officer Morgan walked over effectively doing it for her
"Sorry to interrupt Detectives, but I just got a call from street patrol…"
Elisa glanced over to Matt before answering, "What's up, Morg?"
"They got something over on the West Side. It's probably nothing, but they're requesting a detective…"
***** ***** *****
When they got to the scene the press, media, and onlooker were scurrying all over the place. The beat cops were doing their best to keep others out while allowing officers in but it was nearly impossible. Several reporters called out to Elisa or Matt as they moved through the crowd.
Elisa was forced to flash her badge periodically in order to clear a way to the front of the police barricade. Once they reached the front, Matt called out to an officer he recognized, "Hey Thompson…"
A tall muscular officer turned and moved to them, "Man, am I glad you guys finally showed up…"
Elisa surveyed the scene, "What's going on here? Morgan said this was a routine call… What are all these people doing here?"
"Come on. I'll show you…" They followed Thompson past the police barriers and camera crews. "Someone called in a dead animal… When we got here, we found this."
He lifted a tarp so Elisa could see what he was talking about. It took several minutes of staring before Elisa figured it was not an animal but a human being. Based on the clothing she assumed it to be a young male but couldn't be certain since the body was a bloody mess.
Elisa doubted anyone could have survived whatever had occurred and knelt down beside the body cautiously. "What the heck happened to this guy?"
"Hit and run…" Thompson replied with disgust.
"You find the body?" she asked.
"No, but I'm the senior officer for the scene…"
"Who found him?" Matt questioned.
Thompson indicated a small group of officers standing near the police barricade, "Officer Keller… He's the short one trying to act like he's not about to puke…"
Matt tapped Elisa on the shoulder, "I'm gonna go see if I can't get some details from him…"
She nodded knowing it was vital to get as many details as they could while it was still fresh in every ones mind. "How long has he been here?"
Thompson appraised the body carefully, "I'd guess not very long, but the Medical Examiner is on the way so he'll be able to tell you better than I can."
He knelt down beside her and handed her a pair of rubber gloves. Elisa slipped them on her hands and gingerly searched though the pockets of the dead man's jacket, "I don't see a wallet or anything like that…" she murmured softly.
Matt returned a few minutes later and knelt down beside her, "Well this is just lovely isn't it? I talked with Keller and basically got nothing…"
Elisa shook her head slowly, "I don't know Matt. Something feels wrong about this…"
"Ya think? Look at this guy; he's a hamburger. I'd say that was pretty wrong…"
She stood up, "Yeah, but this is different… a hit and run with this much news coverage? People die horrible, disgusting deaths in the city all the time and none of them ever got this much media attention…" She scanned the scene, "Something else is going on…" She turned to Thompson, "Has a search for the vehicle been started?"
The officer gave her a look of disgust, "No, we been to busy keeping the Rubber Neckers out of the area." He scratched his head absently, "We can work security until the Crime Scene Unit gets here and I've got a few bodies I can loan you for the search of the area, but as far as I'm concerned, you guys have it now."
Elisa nodded, evidence collection was going to be a nightmare not to mention the questioning of potential witnesses. "Was anyone on scene when you got here?"
"Yeah, " he replied smugly, "About a billion people and the press getting the shots for their satellite feeds…" He replaced the tarp over the body to obscure it from the prying eyes of the press. The medical examiner had just arrived just and was making his way over to them.
Elisa recognized him right away as Jack Miller having worked with him on a few cases before. He knew his job and thought like a cop, which meant he was willing to go the extra mile and look deeper into a case and wasn't one to accept the obvious. Elisa and Matt stepped away to allow him room to do his job but Thompson remained to assist the man.
Elisa looked at all the people milling about. Most of the officers at the scene were working crowd control, and from the looks of it they had their hands full. "This is a zoo…"
Matt nodded in agreement, "You won't get any argument from me."
She was about to respond when the ME called out to them so they moved back over to him.
"Hey Jack," Elisa introduced him to Matt and they exchanged pleasantries. "What do we have?" she asked.
"Dead body." The man said blandly.
"We can see that," Elisa replied, "How long ago?"
"Lack of substantial rigor… One, maybe two, hours at the most…"
Elisa did some quick calculations and figured the accident must have happened just around dark. "What can you tell me so far?"
"Hell, the guy is a bag of guts. It's gonna take a while to get thought all the surface stuff…" Miller rubbed the back of his neck, "I can tell you for sure he's got a broken neck since some of the bones are sticking out the back of his head."
Matt looked around the scene, "Well once we find the car, it will be easier…"
The ME gave Matt a disbelieving look and then glanced back to Elisa, "You think a car did this?"
"Yeah… patrol on scene reported this might be a hit and run…" she replied guardedly.
Miller shook his head slowly, "Look, I don't want to burst your bubble but there's no way this guy was hit by a car. The body is too far back from the road…"
"What about a fall?" Matt inquired.
"Well, it's possible but I seriously doubt it." Miller looked back to the body, "There's nothing he could have fallen from to do this kind of damage."
Matt glanced around, "Well then we have a problem...."
"That's an understatement," Elisa looked over to Miller who seemed preoccupied with the dead man, "OK… give me your real take on this…"
"Look, if this had been anyplace else I'd have said yes to a hit and run or even a nosedive, but being that he was found here…" Miller pulled the partners a few feet away from the officers working security, "Unofficially, I'd say someone did this to him. I think your looking at a homicide."
"But something's missing…" Matt scanned the scene. He had been staring at the scene for so long he wasn't really sure what to look for anymore. He shifted around and looked at his partner and then the ME, "I don't see any sign of a struggle…"
Elisa scanned the area looking for possibilities when it hit her, a flash memory from her own resent experiences.
"Blood..." she whispered. "From the condition this guy is in, there should be a lot of it since I doubt he has two pints left. Where's the blood?"
Matt swore softly under his breath, "Someone moved the body."
Miller moved back to the dead man, "This might be your death scene but I'm betting your crime scene was someplace else."
"Great…" Elisa looked at the body. Things were going from bad to worse and she could feel the apprehension building, "Did you find anything else Jack?
"Yeah, it's the closest thing to ID we have right now…" He exposed the man's neck so they could both see. Matt leaned in, sucking in his breath as he did. Elisa moved closer so she could look as well, and felt her heart sink.
A Quarrymen pendant hung loosely on the chain around the man's neck.
"Aw hell Partner," Matt said under his breath, "This is bad…"
She said nothing but was thinking the same thing and this new discovery just made a bad thing about a thousand times worse.
Miller look at the pair, "I'm finished here for now. The body will go down to County General until we can get some formal ID on him."
Elisa looked at him, "Will there be an autopsy?"
"Department policy dictates we do one on all unattended deaths under suspicious circumstances. I think this one pretty much fits the bill on both counts." Miller pondered for a moment, "If it stays slow tonight, they'll cut first thing in the morning, maybe around 9 AM."
"Any chance of you doing it?" Elisa asked.
"I hadn't planned on it but I guess I could… why ya ask?"
Elisa gave him a sidelong glance, "I'd just feel better if I knew you were involved…"
Miller considered her request for a moment before speaking, "Sure, hacking up dead people is my life… Come on by about 8 and we'll get started early." He then turned and indicated to the others to take the body away.
Once he was gone, Matt started slowly, "Elisa…"
"Matt, don't even think it..."
"I wasn't even going to suggest it… But you gotta admit this looks REALLY bad…" He was about to go on when Elisa stumbled and started to fall. Fortunately, he was close enough to catch her before she could hit the pavement. He looked around quickly but no one was even paying attention to them.
Elisa looked pale as he walked her over to lean against a near by police car, "Are you alright?" he inquired
"Yeah… I just got a bit light headed that's all…" Her color was slowly coming back, "I didn't notice until just now, but I guess he must be closer than I thought…"
"Goliath is here?" He had to force himself not to look up, "Where?"
She scanned the rooftops, picking up a mishmash of thoughts and tried to focus the Bond in an attempt to determine Goliath's location. "Maybe… a couple of buildings away at best…" She was silent for a moment, "But, I think one of the others might be with him…"
"Yeah… well… They're gonna have to wait…"
Elisa noticed Matt wasn't looking at her, rather past her. Mayor Anderson had just arrived and was moving in their direction.
"This is not good…" They replied in unison.
***** ***** *****
Several officers were trying to distance themselves from the conversation that was getting louder by the second.
Elisa was aggravated beyond belief, "Since when do you dictate case assignments?"
"Why is this such a problem for you Detective? I should think you have enough to deal with right now without concerning yourself with this matter..."
Mayor Jeffery Anderson was speaking to Elisa in an extremely condescending voice and on a subconscious level Matt wanted to tell him what a bad idea it was. She was looking at the man with such hatred that Matt thought she might suddenly lash out at the man, or worse, Goliath might feel she was being threatened and swoop down and pummel him.
That defiantly would not help and Matt knew the situation needed to be defused before it escalated, "Elisa calm down…"
The Mayor gave her a smug expression, "Yes Detective Maza, calm yourself. This is a Gargoyle Task Force case now."
"Are you kidding me?!" Matt exclaimed, clearly taken back by Anderson's statement.
Elisa was fuming, "Last time I checked this was a human not some mythical creature."
Matt again tried to interject, "Come on Partner…"
Elisa could feel herself loosing control and continued to vent on the Mayor. "Death Investigations fall under Major Crimes… and since the GTF isn't a part of Major Crimes, how on earth do you figure it belongs to them?"
"The poor man was obviously killed by one of 'them'…" Anderson stated this as if he knew something the others didn't.
Matt jumped back in, "Whoa, we don't even know how this guy was killed…"
"Please Detective, let's look at the situation. The man was completely broken and this clearly was not an accident…"
Elisa was stunned into silence. They had just spoken to Jack Miller moments before and as far as she knew, he couldn't have had time to brief anyone. On top of that, no one else had seen the body.
Except the press.
Jesus, she thought. That must have been how Goliath found out; the story was on the news already. She was about to go off on the Mayor for interfering with an official police investigation when Captain Chavez walked over.
"What's going on Detectives?"
Elisa and Mayor Anderson began speaking at the same time, both trying to make their opinions know. Captain Chavez did her best to listen to both sides of the argument but it was impossible with the two of them yelling over each other.
"Everyone shut-up!" Captain Chavez looked at the stunned faces, "Whether it's Major Crimes or the GTF is not the point. The case belongs to the 23rd collectively."
Elisa took this to mean she had won and the Mayor lost, "Thank you Cap. If you all will excuse me I'll be going to work on MY investigation…" She turned to leave.
"Not so fast, I'm not done yet." She glanced at Elisa, "When's the autopsy?"
Elisa turned to face Chavez, "Tomorrow morning, but Captain…"
Chavez cut her off, "Fine, you're on lead until then. If anything indicates the 'gargoyles' are involved, the GTF will take over."
Mayor Anderson was flapping his arms in dismay, but Chavez ignored him and looked at Matt, "You'll work with her on this until then… In the event you have to take over."
"Please Captain, tell me this is a joke!" Elisa felt her ears ringing and had a feel as to what was about to happen. From the look she was getting from Matt, she was dangerously close to showing them all what she desperately needed to keep hidden. She was about to give the Captain as well as the Mayor a very good reason to not only pull her from the case, but lock her up as well.
"That's enough!" Captain Chavez was looking pointedly at Elisa by this time, practically daring her to challenge her again. "Does anyone have a problem with this?"
Elisa finally fought down her temper and decided to put her pride as a secondary consideration. She had the utmost respect for her boss and didn't want her to think otherwise, "No…no problem."
Mayor Anderson looked as if he was having a conniption fit and was turning six shades of blue, "Yes Captain Chavez, I have a problem with this!" Elisa and Matt quickly bowed out of the conversation but not before they heard him begin to lay into Chavez, "What is the meaning of this? I was very specific in my request to have the GTF…"
Elisa moved further down into the alley to avoid over hearing the argument but knew that Chavez would stand her ground. At least for the time being. "We're gonna have to work fast, Matt…"
"Maybe it's a fluke…"
"We should be so lucky, because if someone is killing Quarrymen, we have big time problems…"
"No shit…" He was about to say more when a shadow seemed to come to life on it's own and moved near them. Matt nearly yelled out but some how managed to hold himself in check, "Damn it, you have got to quit doing that!"
Goliath and Brooklyn stepped closer but remained in the shadows.
"Are you alright?" Goliath asked quickly, the concern more than evident on his face.
"Yeah," It suddenly occurred to Elisa how close they were to a very large number of uniformed officers. If someone where to see them it would pretty hard to explain. "Are you nuts? What are you doing down here?"
Matt looked around, "I'll keep an eye out… Try and keep the conversation short will ya?" He walked a few feet away and acted as if a small pile of garbage was worth some serious investigation.
"Elisa…" Goliath was speaking so softly that she had to move closer to hear him, "What happened tonight…?"
"We can't talk about it here… there's so many cops around here, you'd think there was a new donut shop opening or something..."
"Hey Elisa, could you come here a sec…?"
Elisa spun around, Matt was blocking the view of the alley but she could see Captain Chavez walking toward them in the darkness. Spinning back to the pair, she began shoving them back, "On the roof, I'll be there as soon as I can…"
Goliath paused and for one panicked moment Elisa thought he was going to stay, "Go!" she hissed.
Instantaneously the pair melted into the shadows as if they had never been there.
***** ***** *****
Captain Chavez thought she must have been seeing things. She could have sworn she saw Elisa Maza speaking to someone down in the alley. Once she closed the distance between Bluestone and herself there was no one there and Elisa was walking towards them alone. Several patrol vehicles were parked off with their lights flashing and she decided it must have been a trick of the lights. She approached the pair cautiously, "Would one of you like to explain what that little outburst was about?"
"It's like this, Cap…" Matt said
"Save it, Bluestone, I pretty sure I don't want to hear it…" She focused on Elisa, "You are skating on very thin ice Detective."
As far as Captain Chavez was concerned, Elisa Maza was an outstanding detective and possibly the best in the NYPD, but tonight she had pushed her luck. Hell, they both had and she was in no mood to pull punches. "Give me one reason why I don't yank you off right now… just one is all I'm asking for…"
It took a moment for her to register that Elisa was pale and shaking but not because she was being yelled at rather because she appeared to be in pain. For a moment, Chavez thought the woman was about to pass out, "Are you alright, Detective?"
"No… I mean yes…" She shook her head as if to clear it, "I'm fine…"
Maria Chavez was no fool, something was wrong. She looked at Bluestone who was also looking at his partner with a great deal of concern. "What's going on? Is there something I should know about?" she asked guardedly.
Matt spoke for them both, "No… She's fine… it's just been a long night…" He lead her off by the arm, "Come on, let's get to work…"
Chavez watched the pair as they went to process the crime scene. After a few steps Elisa was walking on her own and seemed to be fine.
But they were lying to her again, and she wanted to know why.
***** ***** *****
He stood off to the side but well within the confines of the crowd. No one took any notice of him and as far as he was concerned there was no reason for anyone to notice him. He was simply another on looker to the scene before them, another face in the crowd. From his vantage point he could clearly see Detective Maza walking with her partner.
She glanced over the crowd and it was almost as if she looked right at him, but he knew she didn't see him. She had walked within inches of him when they first arrived on the scene and never gave him a second look.
So he knew he was safe. For now.
He watched as she spoke to several uniformed officers pointing in his general direction. They nodded and moved to the crowd preparing to take statements from those who might have witnessed anything. He slowly backed away, careful not to draw attention to himself. He couldn't afford to tip his hand yet by being questioned.
Not until all the pieces were in place.
***** ***** *****
Goliath and Brooklyn stood off in the shadows on the roof of a building several streets way from the flashing police lights. From their position, they could still see the scene but felt reasonably certain they would not be discovered. Brooklyn had to force himself not to pace and as distraction he looked over to where Goliath stood.
He'd barely spoken a word since they had seen the news report, a report that for some reason seemed to be drawing a lot of attention. It had seemed like a run of the mill story, another death in the city that, unfortunately had dozens of deaths every day. Then Lexington had seen Matt on TV and a few minutes later Elisa appeared.
Only then had Goliath paid the report any attention.
It was nothing new to see either of them on the TV, but for some reason he insisted on going there. Brooklyn had come along and even more odd, Goliath didn't protest. In fact, Brooklyn wasn't even sure Goliath realized he was with him.
They stood in the eerie silence of the night. The feeling of Elisa's heartbeat was growing stronger and Goliath spoke softly, "She's coming…"
A few minutes later her head appeared over the wall and Brooklyn moved to help her over and then assisted Matt, who was right behind her.
When Goliath saw her, he practically dragged her into his arms, and normally she would have at least tried to hold him at arms length but instead welcomed his embrace, "Glad to see you to…"
Brooklyn was about to ask them what was going on when Matt pulled him off to the side, "I think we need to give them a second or two…"
Deep down, Matt was worried Elisa's reaction in the alley had been because of Goliath presence. He knew Elisa had to fight to control her emotions because anything she felt sang out to Goliath and it now seemed she was having trouble masking them and that was going to be a problem.
If Goliath were to react to something Elisa was feeling, it would put them both in jeopardy.
Worse, if Elisa was to loose control, she might very well expose everything, including herself, to added danger.
He ultimately decided what she needed was time to decompress; time to connect with Goliath and allow some of the tension to dissolve and he hoped Elisa could keep up appearances without destroying herself in the process.
They all knew this relationship was not going to be easy on either of them.
Matt could see the effect it was having on Elisa and wondered if Goliath went through the same things. He made a mental note to speak with Owen or even Hudson later on about his concerns. After a few minutes she and Goliath finally walked over to them and Matt was relieved to see his partner looking better than she had earlier.
"What's going on down there Elisa?" Brooklyn finally asked.
"Just your everyday batch of thrill seekers trying to get their rocks off by looking at a dead body…" she replied.
Goliath was quiet, "What was the cause of this?"
Matt leaned against the ledge of the building, "Don't know yet, but it's not your run of the mill case that's for sure…"
Brooklyn looked puzzled, "Then what is it?"
Elisa took a deep breath before speaking, her head was throbbing with the onset of yet another killer headache, "Well, the victim looks like chopped meat and on top of that, we found something that might mean bigger problems down the road." She looked at Matt, as if asking permission to tell them. He nodded at her and she continued, "When the ME examined this guy… he had a Quarrymen necklace on…"
"No way…" Brooklyn voiced softly.
Elisa continued, "Yeah, and if he was a Quarrymen…"
They grew quiet as the news sunk in and Goliath's eyes blazed white, "The Humans will place blame where it easiest…"
Elisa gave him a rough shove, but there was no real anger behind it, "Hey, remember who you're talking about…" She slipped an arm around his waist, "Matt and I are on this and we'll get to the bottom of it. No one has accused you of anything. "
Matt was about to remind her of the Mayor's words but a quick look from her told him now was not the best time to bring it up.
"So what now?" Brooklyn asked heatedly.
Elisa turned to look at him, "Well the scene is processed and we can't do anything more until we determine who this guy is. With any luck we'll find that out at the autopsy but until then… We wait…"
Matt scratched his head, "It would help if we could contact Canmore… Castaway… whatever the hell he's calling himself these days and find out if this guy was a member of his group…"
"No!" Goliath roared out, "Elisa, you must not continue…"
"Goliath, please let's not get into this again…" she was cut off from saying anything else by gut wrenching pain. It felt as if her entire body was caught in a vice.
Goliath looked at her as if to say something but then sucked in a deep breath as if he himself had been struck. He looked at Elisa and for the first time that evening he realized how truly weak she looked. He pulled her to him, "Elisa? What's wrong?"
Elisa leaned into him, she felt like she was going to pass out but then as suddenly the pain came on, it was gone. "I don't know… I felt something like this earlier tonight… I thought it was you… Now I'm not so sure…"
Matt and Brooklyn both moved in and helped Elisa sit down on the roof. "This couldn't be because of what happened at the Night Stone building… could it?" Brooklyn asked quietly.
"No," Elisa replied firmly. "This felt familiar… Like the night I thought someone was watching us at the Castle… just more painful."
Matt scanned the sky, "Well whatever it was, we should probably get out of here…"
Goliath nodded, "Agreed." He pulled Elisa to him, "I will take you to the Castle." He gave her a look to indicate this was not open to debate.
When she nodded in agreement Matt was shocked. She gave in way to easy and that just wasn't like her. He realized this might be worse than they thought and he could see the concern growing in Goliath's eyes so he knew he must have been thinking the same thing. "I'll bring the car over to the Castle. We have a few hours before the autopsy and I doubt Chavez will be expecting us back at the station anytime soon."
Elisa stood up slowly, "After the little display I put on tonight… I'll be lucky if Chavez let's me even stay on the case…"
"What are you talking about Elisa?" Goliath asked, "What display?"
Matt turned and faced him. Now would not be the best time to mention Elisa almost falling out in front of Captain Chavez, and he knew she would give him hell for even bringing it up, "We… ah… kinda had words with the Captain and Mayor Anderson. Anderson wants Elisa pulled from the case and giving Chavez nine kinds of hell about her even being on it…"
"That idiot wants to dictate how the NYPD works…" She looked at Goliath and then, needing to feel his presence, she wrapped her arms around him. She could feel her heartbeat racing to beat with his. The jumble that was his earlier thoughts had subsided once he knew she was safe but she still felt some of the turmoil. "That is not going to happen… Not if I can help it." she whispered.
"Why does he think you should not be involved with this case?" Goliath asked the question but had a good idea why someone might not want her investigating it.
"Big Guy…"
He looked down at her gravely, "Then we are already under suspicion…"
"Like I said before… no one has accused you… at least not yet… and who's to say they ever will? Matt and me have dealt with worse…"
"I then I will have faith that you will find those responsible…" He was saying the words to assure her as much as to assure himself, but it was clear he was no longer certain it was true.
***** ***** *****
They stood in the Great Hall, Elisa was pissed at Matt, as well as Goliath, and making no effort to hide it, "Are both of you going to run to him every time something happens?"
Matt was not going to be bullied on this, "Yes, so just answer the stupid question."
"This is crap! I just need some rest…"
Xanatos walked over, "You know better than that Detective. If something is wrong we need to find out now, and then figure out what to do about it."
That was the final straw, "Not with you I don't!" Elisa snapped.
Xanatos was clearly used to this attitude from her and continued on as if she hadn't said a word to him, "This isn't going to go away…"
"Oh yes it is." She stood as if to leave just as Goliath placed a restraining talon on her shoulder forcing her to remain where she was. "Aw… come on… Is anyone even on my side about this?" she pleaded.
Goliath knelt by her, "Elisa you know I am always on your side… but if they leave will you do this… for me?"
Elisa let her shoulder fall in defeat. She wanted to argue about it but one look from Goliath told her he wasn't going to let it go and the bottom line was she wanted to know what was going on with as well, "Fine…" she glared at Xanatos, "This has nothing to do with him…"
Owen stood in front of her patiently waiting as the others left the room and then continued Elisa's exam. After several minutes he removed the stethoscope from his ears, "How many time have you experienced this… feeling?"
She looked at Goliath before answering, knowing he was about to react badly to what she was going to say, "Three… maybe four times…" she said softly.
"What?!" Goliath cried out incredulously.
She placed a hand on his arm in an attempt to calm him, "I thought maybe it was you…me… our bond. I figured this was how it was supposed to work…" She glanced back to Owen, "But apparently that's not the case…"
"Was Goliath was present at each instance?" Owen inquired.
Elisa was taken back for a moment, "No… He was there a few nights ago and then again tonight on the roof..." She intentionally left out the earlier incidents and stood slowly, "So is this… isn't a result of the bond?"
Owen crossed his arms thoughtfully, "I will need to run some additional tests…"
Elisa nodded absently. He didn't really answer her question and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, "Yeah…"
Owen turned to leave and Elisa got the impression he wasn't telling them everything but didn't have the mind set to press him on the issue so she said nothing and a few minuets later the rest of the Clan came back in.
Brooklyn walked over to them, "So what gives? Are you OK?"
Goliath moved in behind his beloved, "She appears to be fine. Owen was unable to find anything physically wrong and it does not appear to be a reaction to her... accident."
Elisa had to smile at his choice of words. Being shot by Demona and nearly dying wasn't exactly a text book definition of an 'accident' but to put it into any other category would be a stretch. She looked at the others, "It's probably just stress. Between dealing with Demona, trying to find Jon without looking like I'm trying to bash the Quarrymen and now this new case… It's stress… it's gotta be…"
Matt gave her a skeptical look, "You need some down time…"
"Matt, I've had more than my fair share of time off. We'll figure it out eventually, it's no big deal…"
He shook his head slowly, "We need to get to the bottom of this before it gets any worse."
"Who says it's gonna get worse?" She replied defensively. Matt was about to respond but she cut him off before he could bring up the fact that she'd nearly fallen out long before Goliath and Brooklyn showed up tonight. Instead she looked at the rest of the group, "Well then, I'm open to suggestions... Any insight Hudson?"
The elder looked thoughtful, "Nay Lass, I haven't the foggiest… tis new to me as well… I've never known gargoyles to bond in the way you and Goliath have…"
Goliath took a deep breath, "I don't believe it is a result of the Bonding either." He ignored Elisa's muffled comments of 'It's stress'.
"Too bad we're not on Avalon…" Angela said wistfully, "The Magus knew so much about us, surely he could have told us something."
Brooklyn's brow was knitted tightly, as if deep in thought, "OK so if it's not a result of the bond…"
Lexington interjected, "Then it must be something else… Something that effects Elisa… but not Goliath…"
Something clicked in Elisa's thoughts spurned by Lexington's comments, "Hold on a sec… How do we know it doesn't affect him?" she turned to Goliath, "What made you come out there tonight?"
Goliath was thoughtful for a few minutes, "I saw you on the television…"
She shook her head, "No way, you've seen me on TV about a billion times and I can count the times you risked coming to a crime scene on one finger…"
Hudson walked over and stood by Goliath, "Ye know… ye have been acting strange all night… even before ya saw the Lass on the television…"
Goliath walked slowly away from him and leaned over the edge of the castle, looking down at the city below. Elisa moved to him and placed a hand on his broad shoulders, "OK… so it would have to be something outside the bond… but still connected to both of us…"
Matt walked over to the pair, "We're gonna have to figure it out quick… Something tells me we might be running out of time."
***** ***** *****
The young man stood silently in the middle of the room with his head down waiting for the last members of the group to take their appointed places.
Once everyone was situated, the young man looked his leader in the eye, "I am ready…"
A man broke ranks and moved in front of him, "You understand why this must be done?"
"Yes…"
"And the gift you give… you do so willingly?"
The young man nodded, "Yes, I do…
The man turned to the rest of the group, "Is the candidate acceptable?"
The others spoke as one, "He is."
The leader nodded "Then your gift is accepted." He then looked to three members of the group and nodded to them. The others watched as the three took four steps forward and took the ready position.
The young man slowly knelt on the floor and lowered his head, "It is an honor to be chosen… This is my destiny… "
The three men moved in and waited for the signal to begin. The leader inclined his head and stepped back as the others accepted the gift the young man offered.
There was no turning back.
When the ceremony was over he, turned to one of the other members, "The stage has been set…"
***** ***** *****