4
Another stranger
"Woa...you're not
kidding..." Roger sounded awed. He looked again at Elisa's
badge, absorbing every detail of the gold colored piece of metal that
reflected his face. He looked up at Elisa, who was now up and about,
her injury feeling better. "You really are from another world!"
"Seems that way"
Elisa said as she looked out the window over the city. It resembled
New York, her city, in many ways. But now that she looked harder,
the differences were definite.
"I'd like to help
you, Elisa" Roger said, coming up behind her and handing her badge
back to her. "But I honestly have no idea where to start. I mean,
this is all rather confusing."
"No kidding" Elisa
said. She turned to face Roger. He scratched his chin, trying to
think of ways to help.
"Master Roger" an
older voice said from the door. They both turned. Elisa found
herself looking an older man, his head balding and his moustache
gray. He returned her gaze with his single eye, the other evidently
missing as it was covered by a patch. "Dinner is served, and I set
an extra place for our guest."
"Thank you Norman."
Roger gave the old man a friendly smile and then turned to Elisa.
"Well, Detective Maza, would you care to join us for dinner?"
Dominique Destine
stormed through the upper floor of Nightstone Incorporated with a
determination her employees had come to know and respect. She
marched through the halls to her office, her face as usual set in a
look of stony determination. Many of her employees had wondered if
she ever smiled. Today was no exception.
She stopped at her
secretary's desk as she always did. She opened her mouth to
inquire if she had any mail or messages, but hesitated when she
realized something; Candice, her secretary was not sitting behind
that desk. In her place was a woman that she had never seen before.
She took a moment to examine her; she had never seen anyone quite so
pink. The woman wore a form-fitting dress-suit, all pink. Her
blonde hair was done up in a bun behind her head, held with a pink
clip. She wore a pair of thin glasses with pink frames, and around
her neck a string of pink beads dangled. She smiled at Dominique
with her pink stained lips and stood up, revealing her low-cut skirt
and shapely legs, which lead down to pink high-heeled shoes.
"Who are you? Where
is Candice?" Dominique demanded, giving the hand this woman offered
her a skeptical glare.
"Candice is out sick
today, Ms. Destine" the woman said. Her voice was smooth and
creamy. "The temp agency assigned me to stand in for her until she
is feeling better. My name is Casey Jenkins." Dominique gave the
offered hand a sniff, and nodded.
"Very well. Are
there any messages?"
"No, Ms. Destine,
and I left your mail on your desk." Angelina offered her a
friendly smile, and Dominique cocked a curios eyebrow before moving
on into her office. She sat down behind her desk and began sorting
through the morning mail. She tossed the junk into the paper
shredder, set the important notices to the side. When she reached
the final envelope, she froze, confusion setting in.
"Paradigm
Corporation..." she read aloud off the envelope. She considered it
a moment, and then shrugged. "Never heard of it." She dropped
it into the paper shredder and did not give it another thought.
"Um, Roger..."
Elisa asked, nudging him slightly with her elbow. Roger looked up
from his food at her, and Elisa jerked her head down the table toward
Dorothy, who sat with just a cup of tea, which she did not even sip
at. Her emotionless eyes were locked on the two, unblinking. "Is...is
she all right?" Elisa asked, trying not to let Dorothy know they
were talking about her.
"As fine as she can
be, for an android." Roger said casually, shrugging his shoulders.
Elisa nearly choked.
"An android?"
"Yes Ms. Maza, I am
an android." Dorothy said, breaking into the conversation. Elisa
looked at her, a new sort of awe for this world having dawned in her.
"I am an android, as Roger is so fond of reminding me." Dorothy
seemed a little bitter at the last part, and for a brief moment Elisa
could have sworn she threw Roger a dirty look.
"You'll have to
forgive Dorothy" Roger said, seemingly unfazed by the attitude of
Dorothy's statement. "She suffers from some personality flaws."
"Personality? An
android has personality?" Elisa said, her feelings of wonder and
confusion growing with each second. Dorothy did not seem to take
this well at all, as she slapped her hands onto the table, stood, and
left the room. There was an uncomfortable silence till Roger cleared
his throat.
"This man you were
chasing, Elisa" he said, digging the subject back up, "What did
he look like?"
"Well...he was
certainly strange" she said, straining her memory for every last
detail, "He was thin, I mean, really thin, like he was from some
third world county. And he was wearing this pin stripe suit, and he
had the strangest face. He was wearing..."
"A mask?" Roger
interrupted.
"Yeah, how did you
know?"
"Sounds like Alan
Gabriel." Roger's eyes narrowed.
"Who?" Rather
than answer her question, Roger stood up from the table, yanking his
napkin away from his neck. He looked down at Elisa, his eyes were
now cold and determined.
"Nothing for
tonight, Elisa. You'd better get some rest. Tomorrow we'll pay
a visit to Paradigm's Chief Executive Officer."
"He was what?"
"I know it sounds
impossible" Owen explained, his composure never faltering; his
employer was often amazed at his ability to remain so stoic,
especially consider the tricksterous Fae that resided within him.
"But the intruder was from another world, I am sure of it."
"How can you be
certain?" Goliath said, taking a reflexive step forward. The
other's all gave nervous glances at their leader, afraid of what he
might do under the pressure of this new development.
"If you remember, I
am one of the Third Race" Owen explained coolly, "I detected a
strange energy in the air in the alley where he vanished. I am not
sure if science or sorcery summoned it, but I am sure it was some
sort of a doorway into another dimension."
"But...how..."
Goliath's words died in his throat. He lowered his head, his eyes
shut tight as he struggled to hold back the tears, the fear that he
may never see the woman he loved so dearly again.
"I understand your
worries, Goliath" Owen went on. "But there is a chance we may be
able to locate Detective Maza. It is not within the scope of my
powers to allow us to traverse the multiverse, but I find it highly
likely that this stranger did not act alone. There was more science
about him than sorcery. There is bound to be someone behind him.
And whoever that is won't likely use this doorway only once. If
this intruder brought his master something he liked, he is certain to
be sent back for more."
"And we'll be
waiting for him." Brooklyn said, holding up one first to emphasize
his words. Goliath gulped and nodded his head.
"And in the
meantime, I will use every resource I have available to try to help,
Goliath" Xanatos said. He moved away from the wall he had been
leaning against and placed a comforting hand on the gargoyle's
shoulder. "We shall find Elisa again, do not worry."
Goliath took a deep
breath, and then turned to his clan.
"Come, the city will
not defend itself" he said, "We must be about our patrols."
They all smiled and followed him.
"And just who are
you?" John Castaway asked. He looked this stranger over from head
to foot. He was a strange looking fellow; his mustard colored suit
was of the most horrible taste he had ever seen, but it seemed to
match well with the stranger's eyes, which bore the gleam of a
cobra circling its pray.
"Oh, I'm just a
tourist" the stranger said with a sort of giggle to his voice.
"A tourist?"
Castaway cocked an eyebrow.
"Yeah, from out of
town." He laughed a bit at this, drawing a curios stare from
Castaway and his henchman. He stifled his laughing and then ran a
comb through his swirly blonde hair. "Well, enough about me, lets
talk about you, and what I can do for you."
"And just what is
that?" The stranger stepped forward and draped an arm over
Castaway's shoulders. He held his other arm up, gesturing as if
they were reading a billboard spelled out in lights.
"You are going to
love this." he said, grinning like a lunatic.
"Who are you?"
Castaway asked.
"The name is Beck.
Beck Gold."
