Across the city, Lexington had joined Goliath on patrol. Suddenly, he felt something…wrong. Yet there was no voice or anything visible. Just a sinking feeling. Then as if someone was whispering Lex! Where are you?! "Alex! He's in trouble!" He glided toward the East River, where the distress signal seemed to be coming from.

Alex's "voice" seemed to get louder. The green gargoyle sped along the air currents until he spotted the car.

The silver Bentley had turned on its right side and was rapidly sinking.

Goliath grabbed the back left door and yanked the door off.

Lexington reached in and undid the straps of the car seat. He picked up the crying baby. "There, there. You're safe now."

Alex immediately stopped crying.

"Take him home," ordered Goliath. "I'll get Owen."

XXXX

An hour later, Xanatos had learned what happened. He sat in his office chair, staring out into the night. "I just got off the phone with the police. They're sending someone to investigate."

"Any possibility it could have been an accident?" Goliath asked.

"Whoever did it leaves the scene on the one night I'm not using my armored limousine? Right when Harrison Reznichek arrives in this city? I don't believe in coincidences."

"Xanatos, don't do something stupid."

"Relax. Revenge is not my style. And I wouldn't want to hastily accuse Harrison. Which is where you come in?"

"What are you getting at?"

"I want you to spy on ol' Harrison for a few nights. If you see any sign you did this, report it to me."

"We're not your surveillance service."

"I'd send a human spy, but Reznichek probably has one of the best security systems in the country. There's too much interference to bug him. Besides, your job is to protect people. If he did this to a defenseless baby, imagine all the innocent people he could hurt next?"

"How can you be so sure he did?"

"I can't guarantee he did it, otherwise he'd be in police custody right now. But he was at the party, so he knew when Owen left with Alex. He's the only one who knows I own the only Bentley Continental GT in New York."

"But you have so many other enemies," Goliath protested. "They could have done research."

"Which is why watching Harrison will also clear him if he didn't. Don't you agree?"

Goliath conceded. "Yet if we find nothing to suggest he's responsible for the attack, we'll stop."

"Fair enough," answered the businessman.

XXX

Sergeant Rawlins arrived at the crime scene, eager to begin. He studied the tire treads that led to the smashed through guardrail. Something had to hit that car with sufficient momentum to bend that baby. Either a big vehicle or a fast one – or both. He moved on to the recovered Bentley, noting the two left doors were missing. The large dent in the back was the point of impact, obviously. Shining a flashlight, the officer noticed white paint spots on the silver. Paint transfer. Most likely, this was no accident.

XXX

The Reznicheks had also gone home.

Harrison had already tucked his son into bed and was now in Ellie's room.

"Daddy, I had a nightmare last night," the teenager whispered from beneath her covers.

"What happened?"

"I was in public wearing nothing but a string bikini."

"Granted, I don't want to see you in anything that brief, but it's not a crime to bare more than a few inches of skin. How about shorts and a T-shirt? Anything else bothering you?"

"Just that school."

"Tell you what, dearie. If it doesn't get better in two weeks, I'll pull you out." He kissed her on the forehead. "I wouldn't force you into something that makes you unhappy. Sweet dreams." He left to go to his home office.

"Aww," sighed Broadway from his vantage point by the window. He hadn't heard the conversation owing to the thick walls, but had witnessed the kiss. "Caring dad."

"Looks like it," Hudson agreed. "Do you think he'd be heartless enough to hurt Alexander? And doesn't being at the party in plain view give him an alibi?"

"He could have gotten an underling to do it."

XXX

"I don't understand it," Lexington said. "It was as if I could hear him."

Owen held an ice pack to the contusion on his forehead with his flesh hand. Though the fay inside was immortal, the human form came with all the trappings. Including bruises. "No doubt a vestige of when Alexander possessed you."

"Then why didn't I hear him when Alex was kidnapped by Doyle?"

"He didn't have much experience with telepathy then, and even now his telepathic skills are rudimentary at best. The intense stress he felt must have triggered what you felt."

XXX

At the police station, Rawlins read the trace report. "Paint chip matches GM's Snow White and used extensively in the past three years on several vehicles. Nothing conclusive. My first case looks like a dead ender!"

XXX

Meanwhile, a shadowy figured parked a dented white car in a deserted parking lot and exited the vehicle. He pulled out a cell phone. "Hello, Boss? I ditched the car. When do I get my money?"

"I'll deposit the fifty thousand dollars in your bank account in a few days to avert suspicion. I have a new job for you," came a digitally altered voice. "Come by the penthouse at exactly 7:30 AM tomorrow. And look presentable."

"Roger that, boss," replied the thug. "Trump out."

Click.

TBC