Arianna sat in front of the gate reading a book, legs spread out ready to go. "Flight 451 with service to Miami has been canceled due to a malfunction. All passengers are asked to report to the ticket counter for assistance."
"God," she sighed; "I hate flying." Grabbing her bag she approached the counter; "my name's Arianna Maza and I need to be back in Miami by tonight," she told the man.
"Officer, Officer Maza?" He asked. "We've made other arrangements for you. Please if you'll follow Scott."
She smiled at them and followed a man in his mid-thirties outside to a small cart. He drove off of the commercial airline tarp and to the private ones. "In there," he nodded to an enormous structure. Grabbing her bag once again she cautiously moved into the building as the man sped away.
Arianna put her bag down near the entrance of the structure. "Hello," she asked and moved inwards. She caught something out of the corner of her eye, something red. Someone touched her shoulder, she grabbed the hand sending him flying then pounced on him.
Looking down at the figure she saw it was a mechanical gargoyle in red and gray iron. She held his legs down with one of her and held one of his arms down with her other leg. The other arm of this thing was pinned under their combined weight. The demon's tail thrashed at her, quickly she grabbed the tail as something else grabbed her ripping her away from the first.
She wriggled away and grabbed her attacker, a silver and green mechanical gargoyle, around the throat lifting it off the ground. Glaring she held it two feet off the ground with her left hand and had her gun in her right pointed at the red. "What is going on?" The red moved forward and she shot an inch from it's toe; "don't even think about it."
"Perhaps a surprise was not the best way," the red one said taking the head off to reveal David Xantoes; "if you would, could you please put my son down." (A/N: you didn't think I could keep him a baby now did you?)
Arianna glared and put down the green one. "Mr. Xantoes, I assume you have something to do with my plane's cancellation?"
"My assistant, Mr. Brunett, has arranged everything. You will have your final professional examination tomorrow at the twenty-third precinct at six thirty. This way you may extend your visit."
"How did you find out?" She asked.
"Xantoes is very good at discovering things about people especially when they don't want him to," a strong voice said from the shadows.
Arianna turned to face the speaker, eyes ablaze. She had been able to control her temper before but she had been taken by surprise and didn't even notice there were others there. It was such a rookie mistake.
"Fascinating," the green mechanical gargoyle said.
"Officer Maza may I introduce Goliath," David Xantoes grinned.
Arianna turned to the shadows and faced where the speaker was. A large figure with wings and talons stepped out of the darkness. She could see many things that connected them together. Both had midnight locks and she could tell, if it was true, she had gotten the muscular built from him. His face was completely expressionless as he moved towards the young woman who could be his daughter. Gently he reached down and pushed hair out of her face as she stared up at him.
Slowly she backed away from the figure picking up her bag; "I'm sorry I'm not ready yet." He nodded as she turned and left the airport.
It was to much for her to deal with right now, she couldn't take meeting her father too. She grabbed a taxi back to her mother's apartment and got on the Internet there. Her department heard about the switch and wished her well; 'maybe they knew you would have to stay,' a rookie named Adam told her.
New York City was where you were placed if you scored the best. It was where every detective wanted to be; it was the best crime center in the country. Her mother had been a little uneasy when they talked about Arianna going there. She knew why now.
It would be a long day tomorrow with the exam so she sent the Mazas an e-mail telling them she extended her visit but leaving out the part about her meeting at the airport. Tomorrow she wished to spend alone without anyone. It would be another sleepless night without a partner to watch her back.
At six twenty five Arianna walked into the twenty third precinct and was immediately hit by an image. In a frame on the wall was a photo of her mother and one Detective Bluestone. She groaned as she pulled up the collar on her jacket trying to hide her face; 'it figures I would walk into her precinct.' Quietly and quickly she made it to the examination room with only a stare from one older police officer. 'The worst is over,' or so she thought when she enter the examination room.
Three hours later, a record time for this exam because most cops would of run out screaming by this time, Arianna Maza emerged still in one piece. The shrink wanted to crack open her head and examine every inch but Arianna hadn't budged. Finally after a heated debate about cops not being like criminals the shrink kicked her out and told her to get her scores from the commissioner in two days. 'At least two more days without sleep,' she thought; maybe, just maybe, she could get some sleep when she was a detective.
It would be dawn in another two hours and Arianna was regretting what she had done the night before. She heard a swooping sound before she even saw the red gargoyle with the long beak, it was a chance without strutting in front of Xantoes. But how to get his attention... She smiled pulling out a pocket mirror and aimed a refraction light at his eye. It worked! He quickly turned and headed toward the penthouse apartment.
"Elisa?" He asked in disbelief as he landed on the ledge. He was thinner than Goliath but not by much and hunched a bit more.
"No," Arianna said steadily. "My name's Arianna. I know your leader Goliath, do you think you could give him a message for me?"
"How do you know Goliath?" He questioned skeptically.
"A mutual friend," she answered.
"What's the message?" He asked but he still seemed a little non responsive.
"Could you tell him... that I'm ready now. And if he would like I'll be here tomorrow night ready to talk."
"I'll tell him."
"What's your name?" Arianna asked.
"Brooklyn."
"Thank you Brooklyn," she smiled; "I owe you one."
(A/N): oh come on, you didn't think I would leave Goliath high and dry, did you?