Flashback Part 14: Force and Counterforce
By Shadow Runner
Part 14 in the series
Disclaimer: They aren't mine and I'm making no money off this… I wish I was but that's not the point… The point is Disney owns them and I'm borrowing them…
After a short and remarkably painful break I'm back to working on the series. Sorry about the delay but the rest will be forth coming soon. As always feedback is welcome…
Happy Reading J
***** ***** *****
Elisa swore she could hear a voice calling out to her but somehow it sounded muted and distant in her ears. The only thing she knew for certain was whoever was speaking to her happened to be shaking her as well. The motion was causing shooting pains to course though her body.
"Leave me alone…" she muttered softly as she tried to push the annoyance away.
"Good… they didn't kill you…" the voice replied harshly.
Elisa barely recognized the voice. She rolled over and without too much effort was able to remind herself where she was and what her situation was. She felt a flash of relief as her hand came into contact with Goliath's stone form and then shock when she realized Dominique Destine was actually standing in the cell with her.
Her earlier disorientation quickly diminished as she tried to stand on her own, "How did you get in here?"
Dominique held out a small silver key and dangled it front of Elisa's face, "You really are a pathetic species…"
Elisa half way expected Dominique to offer her some assistance in standing. Since it didn't appear that was going to happen any time soon, she braced herself against Goliath's stone form and pulled herself to her feet, "Where did that come from?"
"The man who attacked me earlier," Dominique replied with a touch of arrogance, "He was foolish enough to keep it on his belt…"
Elisa found herself smiling inspite of herself. While she really didn't want to admit it, she was more than impressed Dominique had been observant enough to notice the key, especially when she herself had not.
"Yeah, I guess that was pretty stupid…" Elisa acknowledged softly. She gave a quick glance around the room before turning back to face the woman, "How much time do we have before sunset?"
Dominique stood with her hands on her hips, "Do I look like a sundial to you?" She replied sarcastically.
"As a matter of fact yes you do…" Elisa retorted as she made a half effort to brush the dirt from her jeans and bomber jacket.
Dominique looked as if she was going to respond to the comment but at the last minute changed her mind and answered the original question, "Not long…"
Elisa nodded, "OK… first thing we need to do is figure out the best way to get Goliath out…"
"I think not since I have done more than enough for you already…" Dominique turned to walk out of the cell and moved down the corridor towards the door at the end of the hall, "This is where we part company Human…"
Elisa followed behind her, "Do you really expect to just walk out of here?"
"No, I expect to fight my way out of here…" Dominique countered without looking back.
"They'll kill you." Elisa warned.
Dominique paused then turned to give Elisa a hateful smile, "We both know that is not possible…" She continued down the hall forcing Elisa to run in order to catch her.
"Damn it!" Elisa grabbed the woman by the arm and spun her around, "As much as you're not gonna want to hear or even admit this, you just might need my help to get out of here…"
The red haired woman jerked away and continued down the corridor, "I do not want, need, or require your help…"
"Then why bother letting me out of the cell?" Elisa crossed her arms over her chest, "You could have just walked away and I wouldn't have had the first clue as to what happened."
Dominique stopped abruptly as if the question took her by surprise, "I wanted my bracelet back…"
"Yeah, right…" Elisa dropped her hand into the pocket of her bomber jacket and noted the bracelet was still tucked safely inside. She pulled it out and tapped it against the palm of her hand, "I think we both know that was not the reason…"
"Yes it was." Dominique took a step in Elisa's direction, "Now give it back…"
"Come and get it." Elisa challenged.
"You are playing a very foolish game…" A slow but calculating smile came over Dominique's face, "I have been looking forward to this for sometime…"
Elisa knew they didn't have time for this nonsense. But it was obvious Dominique could have cared less and Elisa didn't think the woman was in the frame of mind to discuss the situation rationally. She took on a more defensive posture and physically prepared herself to meet the immortal woman's wrath, "I've beaten you before and I can damn sure do it again…"
The challenge went unanswered when a loud clanking came from the end of the corridor forcing both women to fall silent. Without saying a word, an uneasy truce was called between them as they cautiously positioned themselves on either side of the entrance. A few seconds later the door opened and young man walked through with one of the taser poles.
Elisa waited to see if anyone else would follow but the man was apparently alone. She reached out and grabbed the taser and quickly jerked it out of his hands. The ploy worked as the man was completely caught off guard by the attack.
"What the…?" he gasped in disbelief.
Dominique, however, took the more direct route and grabbed the man before he had the chance to react any further to Elisa's attack and spun him around in her grasp.
In one fluid motion, Dominique wrapped one arm around his mouth and used the other to grab him by the hair. Elisa quickly realized the enraged woman had every intention of pulling the man's head right off his shoulders. She hastily came to the man's rescue but not quiet in the manner he might have hoped or expected.
Instead of grabbing Dominique, Elisa pressed the taser his midsection causing him to double over in pain. The man slumped unconsciously in Dominique's grasp and the sudden dead weight forced her to drop him to the ground. She spun around and scowled at Elisa, "What the hell do you think your doing?!"
Elisa's voice was low, but the words seemed to carry as if she had yelled them at the top of her lungs, "I'd like to think I'm preventing you from doing something incredibly stupid…"
Dominique hissed at her and took a step forward causing Elisa to take a step back. The two mortal enemies circled each other slowly but when Elisa took a step forward, Dominique stepped back and bared her teeth, "And just what are your intentions now?"
Elisa gave her a curious expression and then finally understood the only reason Dominique had not attacked was because she still had the taser in her possession. She glanced briefly down to the taser and then back to Dominique.
"I really don't want to fight you…" Elisa tossed the pole to the side and did her best to address Dominique in a civilized tone, "All I want to do is get Goliath out of here without anyone else getting killed in the process."
Dominique glanced in the direction Elisa tossed the taser, "You are foolish to toss away your only means of defense…"
Elisa shifted uneasily but made no movement towards the taser, "It's a chance I'm willing to take…"
For a moment she thought Dominique might try to make a move for the taser. In the end, and much to her surprise, Dominique bent over to grab the unconscious man by the back of his shirt and began dragging him towards her empty cell.
"I now understand where Goliath found his weakness…"
"I'll take that as a complement…" Elisa replied quietly.
"It was not intended to be one." Dominique grunted softly under the weight of the unconscious man, "I do this to server my own purposes…so do not presume to read into this…"
"It never occurred to me to think otherwise…" Elisa breathed a sigh of relief and waited for Dominique to drop the man in the cell. She lingered at the entrance until the woman exited the cell then moved in and conducted a quick search of the man and found yet another set of keys.
She suspected they were for the outside door leading to where they were being held. It was a stroke of luck but she had been hoping to find something a bit more substantial. On the other hand she couldn't expect to find a detailed map of where they were being held so the keys were better than nothing. At the very least they now had a means of escape but that led to a whole new set of problems.
Just as the thought of an escape plan entered Elisa's mind, Dominique shoved past her to pick up the discarded taser, "I assume you have some plan for getting out of here…
Elisa stood up and scratched her head absently and winced when her hand came into contact with the dried blood from her previous injury. She gave her companion a sidelong glance as she walked out of the cell and decided now would not be the best time to thank Dominique for not bashing in her skull the previous night.
Besides, Elisa wasn't entirely certain who hit her and she didn't want to give Dominique credit for something she was reasonably certain the woman would be more than happy to take. She flipped through the keys trying to decide which one might be for the security door.
"Well… Matt and the rest of the Clan probably started looking for me and Goliath last night..." She elected to ignore the muttered curse Dominique voiced and continued, "But I don't think we can count on them finding us, at least not right now."
"I find your analogy most fascinating and I'm sure the Hunter will find it equally enthralling when he comes back down to see why his little minion has not yet returned." Dominique leaned casually against the bars of the cell where Goliath remained locked in stone sleep, "You will be getting to the highlights of your plan soon I hope…"
Elisa was now to the point of exasperation, "Look, I doubt waiting for Goliath to wake up would be a good idea and its not like we can just go walking out the door looking like…"
She stopped mid sentence and glanced back into the cell where the unconscious man still lay. For the first time since this whole situation began to unfold a smile began to form on her lips.
"Then again… maybe we can…"
***** ***** *****
For some reason the traffic was heavier than usual so it took Matt longer than the five minutes he anticipated to reach his apartment. He walked through the door and was shocked but not surprised to see his boss, Captain Maria Chavez sitting on his couch flipping through a stack of papers.
"How did you get in?" he asked harshly. He knew he was in no position to be asking questions, but after his earlier run in with Martin Hacker at Elisa's apartment he simply didn't care anymore. There was too much at stake to make small talk.
Without looking up from the papers she was reading, Captain Chavez held up her badge nonchalantly, "The Building Manager let me in…"
"Yeah, well, he's a hell of a guy…" Matt rubbed his head absently, an unconscious gesture he'd picked up from Elisa somewhere along the line. He wondered for the millionth time how it was law enforcement personnel were able to convince people to give them access to anyplace just by flashing a badge. "I guess you want to know where I was…"
"That would be nice…" Captain Chavez tossed the stack of paper to the side and stood up, "How 'bout we start with the truth this time?"
"What do you mean?" Matt voiced guardedly.
Chavez handed him a portion of the stack of papers from the couch, "I had Detective Maza's vehicle released from Impound earlier today… it was towed this morning from Central Park for being illegally parked…"
Matt was taken back for a moment but in the grand scheme of things it was the least of his worries. "Was it damaged?" he inquired.
"No, it's fine."
"Well, she'll be happy to hear that…" Matt muttered as he flipped through the pages.
"Provided she even knew it was towed…" Chavez gave Matt a measured look, "You have no idea where she is do you?"
"Not exactly…" Matt admitted as he tossed the pages back down on the couch.
Captain Chavez was relieved to have finally gotten the truth out of him but his response was not one she wanted to hear. "Why didn't you say something earlier?" she demanded.
Matt was about to reply but found himself at a loss for words. For the first time since discovering the existence of the Gargoyles, he fully grasped the burden associated with keeping the Clan a secret. Only now did he understand how difficult it must have been for Elisa to even tell him at all. He took a deep breath and moved to sit down on the couch, "Because I don't know who I can trust…"
"Trust… what a novel concept…" Maria Chavez stood in the middle of the room not quiet believing what she was hearing, "Bluestone, I'm the one person the planet you should trust no matter what!"
"I know…" He picked up the impound records and glanced them over without really reading them, "But I'm in kind of a tough spot right now…"
"You got that much right…" She walked past Matt and stopped in front of his overly cluttered desk and started shoving items around, "Christ, how in the world do you find anything in this mess Bluestone?"
Matt leaped from the couch when he realized she was looking for his phone and grabbed it before she could find it much less attempt to dial a number, "You can't call anyone…"
"Oh, I think I can," Captain Chavez warned, "For the moment, I'm still your boss…That alone entitles me to make a call..."
She reached over to take the phone from him, but Matt held it tightly. He knew he was pushing his luck but he continued to hold his ground and kept the phone with him. Instinctively, he looked out the window of his apartment and noted the sun was going to be setting soon. "I'm pretty sure Elisa's OK…"
"Pretty sure isn't good enough anymore..."
Captain Chavez took a step froward and without thinking, her hand went to the grip of the service pistol at her side. Her fingers rested at the safety break on the holster and she allowed her thumb to press against the leather release strap on the holster. She watched as Matt's eyes went wide when he heard the thumb break snap open.
Although she didn't pull the weapon, Matt got the distinct impression that was exactly what she intended to do if he didn't come up with a good answer.
The problem was he still didn't have one.
"Look, I really don't have time to explain but…" he started.
"Make time because this has gone on long enough and I am more than tired you jerking me around…" Chavez uttered through clenched teeth. She gave him a long hard glare before speaking again, "Your partner is missing Bluestone."
"I really think Elisa is…" Matt caught himself before he could complete the statement. He took a deep breath and in an act of faith, set the phone down on the desk and nudged it towards his boss. "Fine. You win…"
"It's about time you came to your senses Bluestone…" Captain Chavez picked up the receiver and dialed the first three digits for the 23rd Precinct. She glanced up and found Matt looking at her with such a look of fear and panic, it actually made her flinch. She held his gaze for a few more seconds then cautiously set the receiver back into the cradle. "OK, explain to me why I'm not making this phone call…"
"I can't…"
"Well I think you'd better…"
"I know…" Matt let loose a heavy sigh and quickly continued before she had a chance to reply, "But I can tell you this… if you had called anyone, it might have tipped them off… then Elisa and everyone else involved really will be in danger…"
***** ***** *****
Elisa moved cautiously down the hall. She paused then glanced back to the woman behind her. She fought back a smile since she was relatively certain Dominique would not have appreciated it. It had taken only a few minutes for them to strip the man down to his underclothing and even less time for Dominique to change into them. As it turned out the man was about two sizes bigger than Dominique and the clothing hung on the woman like a tent.
The only thing they hadn't been able to hide was her fiery red hair but with a minimal amount of bickering Elisa had been able to tie it back and it was tucked into the back of Dominique's 'borrowed' black shirt. Elisa's hair was secured in a similar fashion but she had left her bomber jacket behind with Goliath in order to try and blend in as much as possible. For all intents and purposes they looked like female members of Jon Canmore's merry little band of gargoyle haters.
The thought of it made Elisa sick to her stomach.
So far they had encountered no one and few the rooms they had come across had been empty. The hall ended at a stairwell and from the layout, Elisa assumed it to be a fire exit. She paused and craned her head around making sure the coast was clear. She was trying to decide whether to go up or down when Dominique brushed past her and jerked the taser out of her hands and started to go down. Elisa shook her head slightly and hoped the woman knew where she was going.
There was a door at the end of the steps and Dominique carefully reached out to turn the knob. It was unlocked, and the door creaked softly as it opened. Elisa felt her anxiety level rise as they entered.
The room was roughly the same size as the briefing room at the 23rd Precinct but that was as far as the resemblance went. The lighting was poor and the walls had been painted with a dark colored paint. Upon closer inspection Elisa noted the few windows present had been bricked over. The room felt more like a chamber and it had a foul scent to it.
"What is this place?" Elisa whispered. She knelt down and ran her fingers over the floor. It looked as if it had been scrubbed recently but there was still a large dark stain near the center of the room.
With her eyes now accustom to the dim lighting she continued to search the room. In a far corner she found several baseball bats along with a small pile of rags.
The rags were damp and discolored as if they had been used to clean up whatever had tainted the center of the floor. Gingerly, pushed the rags aside with her foot and crouched down to examine the bats. Elisa was hesitant to touch them with her bare hands but they appeared to be clean. She was about to stand when something odd about one of the bats caught her eye. It almost escaped her attention because it was tucked in behind the others. What made it stand out was the fact that it was stained and had a series of small fractures in the wood.
Elisa had watched her brother play enough baseball while growing up to recognize a broken bat when she saw one. She allowed her mind to drift back to the autopsy reports provided by Jack Miller. Wood splinters had been found in the bodies. Her mind drifted back further to comments she made to Matt about the killer or killers stopping once the bat broke.
"What the heck stinks in here?" Elisa questioned. Cautiously she continued to search the room. Without thinking, she took in a deep breath and nearly gagged. The stench seemed to permeate the room so she did her best to breathe through her mouth hoping it would limit the gut wrenching feeling building in her stomach.
Dominique's words were nearly inaudible, "I know this smell…"
It was the tone of her voice, or rather the lack of tone in her voice, that forced Elisa to glance back to look at the woman, "What do you mean?"
A dark cloud seemed to pass over the woman's eyes as she spoke, but it quickly passed only to be replaced with the familiar distrust Elisa had become accustom to seeing, "It is the smell of betrayal…"
"What do you mean it's the smell of…?" Elisa almost completed the question when it hit her.
It wasn't betrayal they were smelling.
It was death.
Human death.
"I gotta bad feeling about this…" Elisa muttered softly as she continued to work her way around the perimeter of the room.
She stopped by a large pile of rags and toed at it slightly until she felt her foot come into contact with something hard. Cautiously, she pulled the top layers back to expose the object underneath.
The body was that of a young man, wearing the same style of clothing found on the other victims. It was clear he'd been beaten some time ago and then left in the room until it was time dump the body.
Elisa dropped the covering back over the dead man's body, "Not only did I just find my crime scene but I also have proof that Jon Canmore is bashing his own people in order to set up the Clan…"
As soon as she made the statement something felt wrong about it. She glanced back at the dead man then turned to face Dominique, "Who did you see that night in the alley?"
Dominique dismissed the question and held up silencing hand, "Quiet… I hear something…"
You're imagining things…" Despite the statement, Elisa strained and after a few seconds she could hear footsteps coming from above their heads. "I think we'd better get out of here…"
They slowly began to back out of the room, but stopped short when a wall panel near the exit slid to the side. A shadow stepped into the room and the voice sounded sad coming at them in the darkness, "It would have been so much better if you had remained in your cells…"
Dominique moved into an attack position and just as she stepped forward, Elisa caught a brief flash of polished metal. She held the other woman back understanding they had bigger problems than just an intruder.
Allen Jenkins stepped further into the room and pointed a snub-nosed 38 revolver at the two women, "Now give the taser to me…"
***** ***** *****
Xanatos stood off to the side in the Great Hall waiting for the Gargoyles to awaken. The remaining clan members had gone into their Stone Sleep while trying to locate Elisa and Goliath. Lexington's stone form sat at the computer pointing at some unseen information on the darkened monitor.
He walked over and noted the monitor wasn't off but that the screen saver had been activated. He reached over to move the mouse causing the screen to come to life. Xanatos scanned the information and was about to call Owen but changed his mind and reached into his pocket to retrieve his cellular phone.
***** ***** *****
The room was deathly quiet and Matt had no idea how long he and Captain Chavez had been staring at each other but both of them nearly jumped out of their skin when his cell phone rang. He gave her an inquisitive glance and breathed a sigh of relief when she nodded for him to take the call.
Matt pulled the phone out and flipped it open, "Hello…?"
"Detective Bluestone," The voice started, "I happened to come across some information you might find interesting…"
Matt did his best to keep his face from showing surprise when he realized who it was that was calling him, "OK…"
Xanatos' voice paused, "Is everything alright Detective?"
"Sure, why wouldn't it be?" Not wanting to disclose who he was talking to, Matt tried to keep his comments neutral, "What can I help you with?"
The detective's tone told Xanatos he was not alone, "I'll make this brief. None of the former members of the group you are looking into are part of the Quarrymen."
Matt noted Xanatos failed to mention the Illuminati by name but figured that was who he was speaking of. He glanced to Captain Chavez before speaking, "Are you sure?"
"Of course. However I know one of the men on the list you gave me has a son. The son's name is on Quarrymen list."
"So he might know about the…" Matt sucked in his breath and realized it might not be a good idea for him to mention the Illuminati or anything associated with the group over the open phone line, "What's his name?"
"Allen Jenkins." Xanatos replied shortly.
"Jenkins… Thanks I'll check it out…" Matt sighed as the line went dead. He closed the phone and put it back in his pocket and looked over to Captain Chavez and noted the strange expression on her face, "What?"
"The name…" Captain Chavez rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "Jenkins…"
"OK…" Matt prompted, "What about it?"
"That wouldn't happen to be an Allen Jenkins would it?" She questioned.
"Yeah…" Matt felt his uneasiness rise, "Do you know him?"
"He's one of the temps who's been helping out at the 23rd…" Captain Chavez sighed, "The only reason the name sticks out is because Mayor Anderson practically demanded the guy be hired…"
"He's working at the 23rd?!" Matt cried out.
"Not anymore… he took off in the middle of his shift last night and no one has seen him since."
"Oh man…" Matt turned and started to walk out the door but paused and gave Captain Chavez a cautious look, "Look, I know neither Elisa or myself has given you much of a reason as of late to trust us… but now… I'm asking for it…"
Captain Chavez seemed to consider his request for a moment then reached down and fastened the leather strap back over her pistol, "You realize I'm doing this against my better judgement."
"I know…"
She gave Matt a wary look as he walked out the door, "When this is over I'm going to want some answers…"
"Give me a couple of hours… with any luck… we'll all get some answers…"
***** ***** *****
Elisa struggled to remember what Jon Canmore had called the man earlier and in a flash it came to her, "Jenkins… you really don't want to do this…" She held out a hand, "Give me the gun and we can call this whole thing off…"
Allen Jenkins continued to stare at them but made no effort to hand the gun over, "Give me the taser…" he repeated.
"I'm sure whatever Jon Can… Castaway has gotten you into, I can help get you out of it…" Elisa took a tentative step forward but stopped abruptly when she heard him cock the hammer back on the revolver, "Look, I know who you are…" she cautioned.
Dominique went to shove past Elisa, "And I know what you are…"
Jenkins attention had been focused solely on the woman detective but he found his eyes drawn to the unknown woman. Deliberately he pointed the pistol in her, "You have no idea what I am…"
Elisa watched the drama unfolding before her. Just as she was about to speak Dominique screamed out and doubled over, dropping the taser to the ground. While Elisa knew exactly what was happening, Jenkins obviously did not, so she used the distraction to her advantage.
She quickly picked up the taser pole from the ground and jabbed Jenkins in the leg. He fell to the ground without a word and she hastily stepped forward and kicked the gun out of the man's reach just for good measure then turned and watched as Dominique Destine completed the transformation back into Demona.
***** ***** *****
Xanatos was still looking over the information on the computer screen when he heard the crackling of stone. He shot a quick look over Brooklyn and noted the tale-tell signs of the gargoyles awakening. He stepped back and held up his arms to protect his face and eyes as a shower of stone and shale rained over him.
Lexington stretched and yawned before noting it wasn't Matt standing in front of him, "What's going on? Where's Matt? Did he find Elisa and Goliath?"
"No." Xanatos wiped a thin layer of dust from his custom made Italian suit then slipped a well manicured hand into his jacket and handed the list of disavowed Illuminati members over to the young gargoyle, "He asked me to give this to you…"
Brooklyn took a step forward trying to see what it was that Xanatos had given Lexington, "What is it?"
"I'm sure he'll explain when he gets here..." Xanatos turned to leave, "If you will excuse me, I have other matters to attend to…"
"Idiot…" Broadway muttered under his breath.
"Give it a rest..." Brooklyn replied while looking over Lexington's shoulder at the list of names, "What do you make of it Lex?"
"I dunno…" Lexington scan over the names and then glanced over to the computer. He was about to reach for the keyboard when Matt came running into the room.
"Good, you're awake…"
"Matt!" Angela cried out. "Where have you been? Have you found Elisa and my father?"
"Not yet but I think we might be close…" Matt wiped the sweat from his brow and pulled several sheets of paper out of a folder. He paused while the others moved into to listen, "There is a guy by the name of Allen Jenkins who's been working at the 23rd as a temp… he's also a member of the Quarrymen…"
"The Quarrymen have them?" Brooklyn's eyes flashed white as his wings spread out, "Where?!"
"Damn it listen to me! It's not the Quarrymen, at least not exactly. Besides, I've already been to this guy's place and the building manager hasn't seen him in weeks and his apartment looks abandoned… But I did find some pretty interesting stuff in there…"
"Like what?" Brooklyn asked.
"There was enough anti-gargoyle propaganda to keep the Quarrymen in flyers till the end of time and about a mile of compute and phone wiring. But the real kicker were these…" Matt pulled another stack of papers out and handed them to the group. Their responses where much the same as his when he first found them.
"Pictures of Elisa…" Broadway replied, "How did this guy get them?"
"I think they're surveillance photos… This guy has been following her around for awhile…" Matt shuffled through the rest of the folder, "I did some checking and most of them appeared to have been taken while we were at the various crime scenes around the city…"
"Hold on a sec Matt…" Brooklyn turned around when he heard the clanking of metal on stone. It was a sound he'd become very familiar with when living in the Castle before and he turned slowly to see David Xanatos in his trademark red Gargoyle setup walking into the Great Hall with Owen following behind him.
"And just what do ye think yer doing, Xanatos?" Hudson questioned.
"Offering my assistance…" He made the statement as if it should be painfully obvious what he was doing.
"I think we've had more than our fair share of your help Xanatos…" Brooklyn replied stiffly.
"Wait a sec…" Matt put a restraining hand on the burgundy gargoyle's arm, "Fox put a tracker in Elisa's jacket… the only receiver for it is in Xanatos' armor…"
The others stood in stunned silence but Xanatos simply shrugged off the accusing stares, "Old habits die hard…"
"You just couldn't resist could you?" Broadway shook his head in disbelief and took a step his direction, "You know it might have been nice if you had thought to mention that little piece of information sooner."
"We can debate the issue later…" Xanatos gave the group a smug expression, "Right now we need to find Goliath and Elisa."
Brooklyn nodded in agreement then turned to his youngest rookery brother, "Lex set up the radio receivers as quick as you can.." He turned to back to Matt, "I have a feeling we're gonna need them tonight."
"That would be an understatement." Matt muttered and handed the folder to Lexington, "Log back into the Quarrymen database… while you're at it tap into the phone lines at the 23rd as well…"
Lexington had anticipated the request to go back into the Quarrymen Database and was half way in when the second request sunk in, "The phone lines?"
"Trust me on this one…" Matt replied abruptly then turned to walk outside, "Give me a sec… I gotta make a call…"
Lexington scratched his head curiously and then looked to the others, "I understand why Matt would want me to go back into the systems, but why am I tapping the phone lines at the 23rd too?"
"I have no idea..." Brooklyn turned to face Xanatos, "I don't suppose you have any idea why do you?"
Xanatos ignored the question and casually walked over while slipping his helmet on and picked up Bronx. The gargoyle dog yipped in surprise and began writhing in his armor-clad grasp. Xanatos then turned to Brooklyn, his voice slightly distorted by the voice emitter, "We'll make better time if I carry him."
Brooklyn took a deep breath and walked out of the Great Hall towards the ledge of the castle. Matt quickly ended his call just as they walked out. From the look on their faces Matt knew he was going to be leaving the castle from the roof as opposed to the elevator. He gave Brooklyn a pensive expression, "Ya know… I can drive just as easily…"
Brooklyn gave him a lopsided smile, "Sorry, I promise this will be a bit smoother than your last flight." He glanced over his shoulder as he hopped up on a battle mount, "Hudson, you stay here with Lex… Angela you're with us… Broadway, you'll carry Matt with me."
Xanatos stood by with Bronx still tucked under one armored arm. Brooklyn still didn't feel comfortable with his role of leadership in Goliath's absence and looked to Hudson briefly, waiting to see what his reaction would be. The elder gargoyle merely shrugged indicating that it was his call but he grunted softly and glared at Xanatos, "Just don't ye be drop him…"
The rest of the Clan leaped from the rook and glided off. Xanatos looked down at the blue dog beast that still writhed in his embrace, "Chew through one line and we both drop."
Bronx grumbled softly but stopped gnawing on the armor suit and resigned to be carried by the former enemy. Xanatos smiled behind his mask and stepped to the edge and followed behind the others into the night.
***** ***** *****
It took all Elisa strength and the implied threat using the taser to convince Demona that killing Jenkins would be the worst possible course of action at the moment. They were in the mist of the debate when she felt a muted but welcoming presence moving in their direction.
"Goliath!" she called out, "I'm down here!"
A moment later Goliath appeared in the doorway and upon seeing Elisa standing between Demona and the unconscious man went on the attack. Having no idea what had transpired during the day, he crouched down and leaped at his former second in command. He roared out in rage and his eyes burned brightly.
"Fool!" Demona immediately sidestepped the attack and turned to sprint for the concealed entrance Jenkins had used earlier to gain access to the room. Goliath started to follow but she had vanished in the darkness and he knew better than to follow an enemy into unfamiliar terrain. Besides, he another concern which was far more pressing at the moment.
"My Love…" he walked over and pulled Elisa to him, "I feared the worst when I awoke and saw you were gone…"
"Sorry Big Guy." Elisa smiled and returned the embrace, "At the time it seemed like a good idea…"
As badly as she might have wanted to remain in Goliath's embrace, Elisa knew they didn't have the time. She withdrew from his arms and moved back towards Jenkins, who was still lying on the floor. She noted his chest was rising and falling at a semi-steady rate indicating he was alive but unconscious.
Goliath noted the way his beloved was looking at the man and moved to stand by her side, "Demona… she was going to kill this man…"
"Yeah, you showed up just in time. From the way she reacted to him I have a feeling he's one of the people who attacked us in the park last night…" Elisa crouched by the man's side and looked him over, "I ran into him at the 23rd a few nights ago…"
"He is a police officer?" Goliath questioned.
"Not hardly. He was a temp hired to help out but I imagine his real job was feeding information to Canmore…" Elisa started rummaging around in Jenkins pockets hoping to find something else to aid them in their escape.
The search disclosed two Quarrymen pendants, several business cards, and what appeared to be a tie tack, but nothing else. She placed the items in the front pockets of her blue jeans and exhaled deeply as she stood up, "In the mean time, we can't very well leave him down here…"
"Agreed." Goliath concurred, "It would be best is we secured him in one of the cells above…"
He bent over and picked up the man's limp body as Elisa walked over to where she kicked the 38 revolver earlier. She picked it up and tucked it into the back of her pants and turned to walk out of the room. The pair slowly made their was back up the stairs and walked back down the corridor to the cells where they had once been held.
"Put him in the cell with the other one," Elisa instructed while retrieving her bomber jacket from the floor where she left it, "With any luck no one will miss him either. Of course with Demona running around it won't take…"
Elisa stopped speaking when Goliath stepped back into the corridor between the cells. She was now able to look directly into the cell and by all accounts there should have been two unconscious men lying on the floor.
But there wasn't.
"Where's the other one?" She demanded.
"What do you mean?" Goliath inquired, "What other one?"
"Aw hell…" Elisa groaned and rubbed her face in frustration, "He's gone…"
"Who is?" Goliath questioned.
She quickly shrugged into her bomber jacket and hastily zipped it up, "It's a fair bet the Hunter knows we're not locked up anymore…"
Elisa halted briefly as if to collect her thoughts. Slipping a slender hand into the front pocket of her jeans, she retrieved the items she had taken from Jenkins moments before. She immediately transferred the pendants to the pocket of her jacket while reading the names on the business cards. She felt her anger beginning to boil over and then closely scrutinized the tie tack.
When she first saw the insignia, the symbol seemed familiar but she hadn't taken the time to think about it. Now that she took the time to examine the crest, it was indeed recognizable.
She also understood it wasn't a tie tack that she held in her hand.
It was a lapel pin.
With the final piece of the puzzle firmly set in her mind, Elisa abruptly tried to shove past Goliath, "I think Jon Canmore is in more danger than he realizes and not just from Demona…"
"Elisa…" Goliath allowed his wings to fully spread, effectively preventing her from moving down the passageway ahead of him, "What do you mean?"
Elisa didn't have the chance to offer any further explanation but by that time it was no longer necessary. From the floor above, came the barely audible the sounds of men yelling and a split second later the reverberation of an alarm cried throughout the building.
***** ***** *****
It didn't take long for Matt and the rest of the Clan to reach the building where the tracker indicated Elisa and Goliath would be. The group landed one the adjacent building and Matt looked out of the scene.
"This is not good…" he muttered weakly.
Xanatos set Bronx down on the ground and moved to the ledge to examine the building through his helmet. With the enhanced visual scanners he was able to examine the building in a way the others could not.
"I'm picking up high levels of ionized particles…"
Matt leaned forward and rubbed a weary hand over the growing stubble on his face, "I imagine it's a security precaution or at the very least a perimeter alarm."
Xanatos smiled behind his mask and glanced over to the man beside him, "Just like old times eh Bluestone?"
Matt felt his anger flare, "Shut up Xanatos! You say another word and I swear I'll rip your head off with that stupid helmet!"
Broadway stepped between them and turned to the blond detective, "What's he talking about Matt?"
Matt pointed to the building in front of them, thinking about the irony of the situation, "That's the Hotel Cabal…"
The heavy set gargoyles spun around abruptly, scarcely believing what he just heard, "This is where you brought Goliath that night?!"
"Yeah, it was rigged with booby traps back then…" Matt replied softly, "I'm really hoping that's not the case this time…"
"Well if it is, then how do we get in?" Angela asked with uncertainty. She knew there was still an extensive amount of Clan history that no one, including her father, had bothered to tell her about.
Brooklyn however did know the story and he hoped the situation wasn't about to unfold into a replay of Goliath's first visit to the Hotel Cabal. "Do you still have the key?"
Before Matt could respond Xanatos interjected, "The ionized particles I was picking up before are increasing…"
The group turned to the armor clad man but before anyone had a chance to question him further, there was a muffled explosion which came from inside from the Hotel Cabal.
***** ***** *****