Die Today, Live Tomorrow
Chp 6
Catch Me, I'm Falling
______________________________________________________________________________
HEY! I don't own them but Polinic, Kam and any other not Disney character.
My God parent owned the West Mile Deli in Stamford, right down the street form where I lived. It was my second home and Bill and Lisa made me feel so loved for many years when I was little. Sadly, we moved years ago and I have lost contact with them, I went back to Stamford and found out they sold the deli but the new owners burned it to the ground for the insurance money.
______________________________________________________________________________
The private office of David Xanatos could be mistaken as empty on this afternoon. Owen silently walked in and shut the door behind him. Sitting in his chair behind the desk, his hand at his chin. He looked up. Owen shook his head a negative.
" What time did he leave last night?" David asked.
" Around 8 o'clock."
"And you checked Maza's apartment."
Owen gave an affirmative nod. David stood up and crossed the space to where Owen was standing, looked at his watch.
" Let her have her lunch break." He said, pulled the door open and left..
______________________________________________________________________________
Elisa walked through the station clenching " West Mile Deli" bags. Co-workers flooded over to the refreshment table as she spilled the contents out.
" Five chicken parmesan, Seven roast beef, Four turkey on wheat, the no mayo is marked." She yelled over the "thank you's", snatched her order off the table and begin peeling the paper away.
Matt walked up to her with a mouth full of sandwich. " You're late. What took you so long?"
"Excuse me!" Elisa quipped. " What happened to your welcome for driving all over Stamford for and hour and a half."
Matt kneeled into the small refrigerator under the table and held up a Pepsi. " It took you three hours."
She reached for it while biting into her meal and mumbled "Bite me." With a smile
"You got a message." He smirked setting her drink on her desk and pointing to a little yellow sheet of paper. She read, slowly her brow sunk in and she grabbed the phone.
______________________________________________________________________________
Owen hung the phone up, precede down the hallway to the open nursery door. Little Alexander sat on the play matts in the center of the room laughing historically at the blinking lights on the play toy in front of him then turned to Owen and reached for him to be picked up. Owen did just that.
"How would you like a performance before nap time?" He asked sweetly. Alexander started clapping his approval. Owen sat him down in his crib, walked over to the toy self and return with 3 small wooden elf dolls. A present from himself to little Alex for his first birthday, each the size of his hand and detailed by the best carvers in Nolova, Scotland ( at least that's what he told others). He sat the toys in front of Alex.
"Hold them up." Owen instructed.
The toddler, best his little hands could, held them up by an arm or leg or whatever seem to work so that they dangled freely in the air. Owen smiled and held his hands over Alex's.
"Little elves, trapped in wood,
The time has come..to do some good."
The dolls twitched with a crystal glow, fluttered awake and begin to dance and frolic around Alex's crib. Owen then turned and exited the room.
" How is my pride and joy?" Fox Xanatos purred, as she and David walking towards him.
"Soon to be asleep." Owen answered
She smiled and addressed her husband." I'll wait for you in the car." She said and walked away.
"Let me know immediately if he is found."
"Of course." Owen answers
"Good." David said. " Fox and I shouldn't be long."
______________________________________________________________________________
Elisa grabbed the scroll like paper that was put down to her left and unrolled. "Maps?" She said disappointed and sent it to the floor with a grunt. " Kam, I need layouts of the building. I know how to get there."
"How do you even know this is the building?" Matt asked his frantic partner. He didn't even know what they were looking for but Elisa was sure it was in this building.
" It's not on this purchase list." She held up the said list to make her point.
"That's because Miss. Destine sold out. City owns it now."
"Abandoned. Out of the way, it's perfect for not being found." She was sitting in front of her computer bringing up a picture of Destine standing next to a man named John Castaway, her newest investor. Castaway.......the name sound very familiar to her. She stared at the name a second until it hit her. She had seen that name on the release papers for Polinci. Her stomach tightened at the next thought "........Quarrymen." Polinci's voice screaming irately about "demons" "abominations" and "death" rolled around with the flash of metal sledgehammers appearing, by the dozens in the crowd around him. Kam walked back over to the desk holding the print out.
Kam held it out. "This should be it."
Elisa snatched it away and spread it out between she and Matt. " Ok, There is a service elevator leading from 1st floor to roof. A fire escape, the place is 8 stories high, lots of windows." He read out.
"Matt. I gotta go." She blurted quickly getting into her jacket.
______________________________________________________________________________
The well dressed John Castaway stood in th corner with his hands in his pocket and a very unamused look on his face. He watched his quick tempered partner's eye's glow red as she stared at him from across the room. The male gargoyle she wanted slumped in the corner, with bruises and cuts fashioning his upper body. When the gargoyle awoke, Polinci and a friend took it in their own account to have a little fun, as they called it, until the sedatives kicked in.
" Demona, You should have been more clear about what you wanted tonight." He cooly reassure.
This only made her growl. " What words did I speak to imply I wanted an audience for this." She pointed to the sheet covered mirror. " Idiot!"
John sighed already spent about the subject and moved towards the door.
"Where are you going?" She hissed
" You want an empty house Dear, I'm going to send the kids out to play." With that he walked out. Demona blood boiled at the sarcasm, she buried her hands into her hair and turned to the slumbering beast chained to the wall. The sounds of his drug induced sleep filled her ears and heart with ancient emotions of love. He hadn't changed at all. Every inch was just as she remembered about him.
" I see what a thousand years of beauty sleep can do for the ones compaction."
Now kneeling in front of him, with her hand stroking his chin lightly. Demona stood and walked back over to the mirror removed the sheet with a swift tug and moved behind the small table center the room.
She journeyed across oceans for him and follow him to the ends of time, which was exactly what she was going to do. The spell would carry her and Goliath back to when they could sore the nights skies without worry. They would wake up at sunset in the old Castle Wyvern when it's home was Scotland, with their rockery family alive and well. If would be as if that night the humans betrayed her never happened, at least once she erased his memory it would.
Castaway entered the room. " We have to leave. NOW."
"What?"
Castaway snatched the book from the table and nervously looked around. " The rest of the clan are on there way, Polinic is going to use him," He pointed to Goliath. " to bait the others, we have to go."
"Damn you!" She raged. " I need 20 minutes."
" They'll be here in 5. We are leaving or I go back on my deal." He threatened.
Demona walked over to Goliaths, knelled over him. "Soon enough, my love."
______________________________________________________________________________
Hudson stretched his old wings and leaped down from his ledge. "Goliath didn't come back."
Brooklyn followed Hudson 's eyes up to an empty parapet above them and sighed heavily.
" Spread out." He ordered. " Search hard he may..."
" Wait!" Lexington called from inside. The other quickly followed his voice to the inside. " Elisa e-mailed me. It's a address."
Broadway peered at the screen, "That could be anywhere."
" I can find it, give me a second." Lexington said already pulling information from the keyboard. Brooklyn watched the speed on Lex's talons with admiration " Nice." he complemented, Lex looked over his shoulder with a " I know" smile. A map of the city opened up before their eyes .
Now outside they all mounted the stone edge. "Broadway," Brooklyn asked "Which way is south from here?"
"Umm....." The husky gargoyle collaborated with the moon in nights sky a second, "that way."
Brooklyn spread his wings. "Let's go. Elisa is waiting."
______________________________________________________________________________
From across the river bed , where she parked, Elisa could see the streams of car lights filing into the large empty lot in front of the supposedly abandoned fish packing warehouse and the herds of people going into it. A strong gust hit her back, she turn to find her clan walking towards her
She smiled proudly. "I knew you could do it."
Brooklyn capped his shadowed red wings and stopped next to her. "Is he in there?" He asked anxiously
"I hope not." Elisa answered honestly. " The place is packed"
Hudson quipped uneasily. "Quarrymen." Making Brooklyn's hands fist under his wings when Elisa confirmed only with a nod.
"We need to get to the roof." She pointed. Broadway got a good grip onto Bronx and took flight and followed Lex. Elisa climbed onto Brooklyn. They and Hudson came up the rear, coasting over the black waters reflection on the moon.
Once on the top of the building, She walked over to a large rusted hatch, Brooklyn pried it open for them all to look down. The unsettling scent of salty fish floated from the walls.
Elisa turned and lowered herself onto the gritty metal ladder attacked to the side of the shaft. "This goes down through the building."
The second in command addressed the clan."Alright." he sighed "I'll go with Elisa, she'll need help with Goliath. You three stay together, move quickly and quietly."
Bronx was being left to guard their entrance/exit. They steadily climbed down into the lions den. Two thoughts raced through her head now. Was it right to call the others here? If anything went wrong and...... and what condition would Goliath be in?
She had be reassuring herself that it took only a days sleep for Brooklyn's wounds to heal, and gargoyles are strong, Goliath is strong, he'll be fine.
Her feet touched the top of the elevator with a soft thud and she carefully made her way around the cables to the emergency trap door, With a few hard kicks it broke open and hit the floor.
They came out into empty dark hallway, with distant sounds of the meeting being held on ground floor. The cheers and applauds echoed just how packed the room was, it made her swallow the lump of adrenalin in her troat.
"You go that way, we'll go this way." She whispered. She and Brooklyn broke right, the others, left.
The hallway wasn't very long, but wide with doors on both sides. It took a few minutes for the three gargoyles to look each room over for any signs. Lexington can out of the empty room and shut the door.
"Hudson? Broadway?" he whispered
"In here lass."
Lexington followed the call to the last room at the end of the hall. The room was massive, rustled shut off levers on the left wall, broken old desk scattered about . Hudson and Broadway stood on the far end looking out the half windowed wall into the pity of the factory where the Quarrymen were gathered.
"I can't hear them. They may say where they have Goliath." said Broadway. Lexington looked to his right at the door marked "Catwalk." He moved to it, quietly turned the knob and swung it open. The only think up here with them were the building's support beams but the voices traveled clearly.
Elisa and Brooklyn walked quietly down the hallway, he veered off to another door while she opened one on the other side. By the looks of it she just entered a sort of packing room. A large conveyer belt ran down the center of the room into a small square window cut out of the far left wall. She slowly walk further into the room, stepping on discarded trash. She got up on the machine to peer into the window.
"Goliath?" She half whispered. The figure beyond the window slightly moved, Elisa crawled the conveyer belt, pulled herself over a small left and dropped into the room. She stayed down only long enough see that no one else was there.
"Brooklyn!" She yelled, as she got up and walked over to Goliath. The shackles around his wrist had redden the skin around them, his wings lay to his back lifeless as he did. She got down on both knee's in front of him, cupped his face and brought it up to hers. She recognized the bruises all over his body as the Quarrymen's hammer blows. The cuts littering his face were small, but did little to subdue the guilt building inside her. The door in the corner, behind her cracked open.
"Elisa?"
She turned to Brooklyn, " Help me." The few tears running down her cheek betrayed her "in control" tone.
" Is he?" He asked hesitantly.
She ran a hand across her face to get rid of the tears. "No." She stood up and took a step back.
"Catch him." She ordered pulling her gun. Brooklyn got a hold around Goliath and braced himself for the weight. Elisa aimed at the point where the chain met the wall and fired twice, clipping them both.
______________________________________________________________________________
Matt lay inside the shadows of the his car. Looking over the steering wheel at the groups of men and women being greeted by Polinic as they entered the warehouse.
He followed his partner down to the river, and in the split second he turned his head she was gone. She wasn't answering her radio and if she was inside anywhere he couldn't blow her cover by contacting her. The last of the members entered and the doors were shut. Matt stepped out of the car, shed himself of his trench coat. Grabbed his radio.
______________________________________________________________________________
"WE ARE THIS WORLDS ONLY HOPE!" Polinic yelled to the sea of blue clad followers.
"IT IS OUR DUTY TO CLEANSE THIS PLANET OF..."
From above their heads, Hudson, Lex, and Broadway listened to the insults being thrown. Broadway shifted his weight to the other leg and let out a low growl. " I'd like to show this guy just how much of a threat I can be."
"Quiet." Hudson told the hot headed youngster.
Broadway swiftly stood up. " He just makes me so angry!" His wing flared with the last word, accidentally knocking Lexington over the railing.
Polinci cut his sentence short when a loud yell and a big yellowish object landed about five feet away from him. The crowd erupted, some begin to scatter and leave thinking it was a raid. Polinic waved the dust away and walked towards what hit the ground. Lexington slowly rose to his feet, Polinic raised his hammer and swung, Lexington's eyes lite white and he grabbed the hammer, jerked it away and across the room. Polinci swung at the gargoyle with his fist, Lexington spun around whipping him off his feet with his tail.
Lexington turned around to see two more Quarrymen running for him and braced himself for a fight. To his relief Broadway crashed in, on top of them.
"Hurry up." He yelled pointing to a support beam behind them. Both the gargoyles ran over to it , dug their talons into the steel and started climbing.
"Aaron, Gerald." Polinic yelled at the fallen members, the tall blonde and the bald Quarrymen stood up and raced up the stairs to the top floors. Polinic got up, started looking for his weapon.
Matt pushed past the crowds of people coming his way and into the warehouse, among the chaos he spotted Polinic stand at the base of stair case.
Polinci reached over the railing for his hammer.
"Freeze."
Matt stood behind him, gun drawn and aimed.
" Your that chick cop's partner." He smirked. " You wouldn't shot a man in the back."
Polinic quicky reached for his hammer and pushed a hidden button. Matt's gun jumped from his hands to the end of the hammer.
" New models are magnetized." He informed pulling Matt's weapon from the hammer and started to fire. Matt dove out the way of the shots, once it quieted down he looked around the corner to find Polinic gone and the warehouse empty. He got up and ran towards the stairs.
Goliath moan deeply as Elisa and Brooklyn carried him steadily down the hall. " I think he's waking up." Brooklyn said.
Elisa looked into his face, his closed eyes were fighting to open as his breath got stronger. They were quickly making their way back up the hall, Goliath's head swayed back on it's own.
"Set him down a sec?" Elisa asked. They back him up to the wall and let him go easy. Goliath's hand rose to his head.
"Hey big guy." Elisa smiled. "How you feeling?"
Lex slowed to a stop coming up to the elevator when he saw the others kneeling in front of "Goliath! You found him" He said.
Brooklyn looked behind him to Hudson and Broadway. " We got company."
Elisa jumped up and moved past them. She draw her gun, bring both men to stop. Gerald eagerly squeezed the sliver clad handle of his hammer.
"Get him into the elevator." She said calmly. Lex pulled the gate up, Broadway, and Hudson steered the drowsy Goliath inside, followed by the others.
"Hey man!" Aaron sneered. " She's helping those things."
Gerald locked and loaded, the electric charge surged through the hammer. " Maybe she needs the sense knocked back into her."
Polinic emerged from the dark hall behind them all. " She's a lost cause, my friend." He quipped. " Her kind just needs to be put down."
Out the corner of her eye, She could see them all get in, She slowly backed her way to them, still aiming at the idiots in front of them. Lexington pulled the gate down and the lever ,putting the elevator in motion. She stood in position watching the smug smile on his face until it disappeared.
"You two wait here catch it back up." He ordered. "I'll cut them off."
Goliath was slowly coming around, The other still helping him stand. Elisa put her gun away, palmed the his chin and lifted his head up. " Goliath you gotta fly when we get up there, so wake up."
Brooklyn jumped up through the latch, Elisa pulled Goliath under the square opening.
" Lets go!" she encouraged, as the other lifted him, best they could, to Brooklyn. Elisa was second to last to be pulled up.
" Stop it here, Lex." Brooklyn called.
He did so and climbed up. Elisa now stood, with Bronx on the roof reaching down into the emergency latch. Goliath reached, being pushed up, for her.
"Nice to see you again." She mused looking into his face. A low comfortable growl was what she got for respond. She would have laughed if this wasn't so serious. She'd feel much better if he flexed his wings fully.
Polinic crept out of the window onto the weak fire escape and climb up ti the ladder reaching the roof. He crept low over behind a power generator. Looked out. The lady cop was standing next to the leader as the others climbed up. He pulled the other cops gun from the waist of his pants.
Goliath took a deep breath. " Bronx. Please." He said to the gargoyle licking at his hand.
Elisa walked over the edge looked down, then reached back and took Goliaths hand in hers.
" You first."
"ELISA!"
At the scream of her name she turned around, to see Matt climbing up a side ladder desperately trying to get to her. "Matt?" She questioned. He had this weird look on his face. There was a loud pop, Something slammed into her left shoulder, in a split second she realized she was just shot but the force of the bullet forced her back a few steps, She fought to hold her grip on Goliath's hand, she hit the ledge of the building and fall over.
"No!" Goliath growled and dove over the edge after her.
The freezing air slammed into her back at the speed of her fall. Flashes of her mom holding a baby Beth, and Derek shoving graduation cake in her face, a little gray kitten being pulled from a cardboard box marked "Free"...........and Goliath reaching for her.
She forced her arms up to him. Goliath catch her wrist and jerked her body into his grasp, spread his wings to slow them both down. His landing was hard onto the dirt river bank, but he managed to stay on his feet.
Polinic turned around in a attempt to run, Matt blocked his way down so he turned to go the other way but slammed into what felt like concrete. Hudson reached down yanked the human up by the shirt collar, ripped the gun from his hand and crushed it. Matt watched the monster slam him into generator knocking him out cold. Hudson stared at Matt a second, who slowly side stepped his way past the group of....things and looked over the edge to his and other....thing looking ov his partner. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth.
"He got her!" Lexington cheered making Matt jump. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, never taking his eyes off the creatures before him.
" This is officer Bluestone, with 23th, I have an officer down at 1610 River Side medical assistance needed asap."
***** I'm really proud of Chapter 9 coming up. so please read on I think you would like. I need a beta so e-mail me at leogirlwf@hotmail.com if you want the job*******