Part 9 Canmore's legacy of hate
"MacBeth? Crazy?" Raychell shook her head. "Never!"
"Easy there," said Hudson as he rested his hand on her shoulder. "Tis all right lass…"
"Hey relax, Elisa's on the case," Broadway rested a talon on her shoulder. "It's gonna be okay..."
Elisa Maza regarded the Gargoyles, who all sat clustered around their detective friend with interest. Hudson rested his hand upon his sword hilt, and his other on Raychell's shoulder, while Brooklyn stood at Goliath's right. Broadway and Angela perched on the couch. "I didn't think he'd go nuts," Brooklyn muttered.
"I didn't believe it either," Elisa shook her head. "It's just too convenient."
"This is the third time," Broadway fingered his chin.
"What was that?" Elisa asked.
"It's kinda a pattern... right Elisa? Another rich person going crazy, and being committed. It happened to that gal on the game show, and now MacBeth... and he's really rich..."
"You have a point," Elisa said. "But what else do they have in common, other then being rich?"
Hudson glanced at Broadway, then to Brooklyn. Brooklyn nodded. "What?" Broadway asked.
"We didn't want to tell you this... but..." Angela began.
"What is going on here?" Elisa asked.
"You know... how you liked that one model, Carissa Desiree?" asked Brooklyn.
"What... do you mean?" Broadway asked. "Did something happen to her?"
"Something did happen to her," said Angela gently, fingering his arm. "She... well..."
"Tell me!" Broadway's eyes flared hot white. "What happened?"
"She was... well... she went crazy earlier today. Hudson saw it on the news just before you came here Elisa..." Brooklyn finished. Broadway's face crumpled with anxiety, and sadness.
"No, not her!" he cried. "She was the leader of PIT!"
"I'm sorry," Hudson shook his head. "I meant t' tell ye earlier..."
"It's those lousy Quarrymen! Making her scared with their damn rioting!" Brooklyn growled.
"She's not scared of them, no way!" Broadway shook his head. "She's brave... and she wouldn't let..."
"It's hard being a celebrity spokesperson," Brooklyn broke in. "Maybe the stress got to her..."
"No way!" Broadway shouted, flexing his talons. "She never... she never..."
"Wait, this is important," Elisa suddenly snapped her fingers. "Gargoyle sympathizer, rich person! It fits..."
"What fits?" Fox asked.
"You mean that she and MacBeth are related because they both went crazy and are rich and gargoyles supporters?" asked Brooklyn.
"Yes... well kind of. But it still could be a coincidence. We still don't know if Carter was a gargoyles supporter..."
"Who cares! They got to Carissa! Those lousy quarrymen will pay!" Broadway roared.
"Pipe down lad!" Hudson growled, restraining him as Goliath moved to his friend.
"We have all sympathy for you, Broadway," Goliath rumbled in his ear. "But you must not let your anger rule your action! We all hate the Quarrymen for how they have pressed our hearts with fear..."
"It's not fair!" Broadway cried. Hudson gently patted him on the shoulder as Angela moved to hug him. Just then, Fox and Lexington wandered into the main room, eyes bleary from the VR simulation.
"I'm sorry big guy. But we don't know if it was the Quarrymen..."
"And what about MacBeth?" asked Raychell, as she felt Hudson's hand gently stroking the back of her shoulders to reassure her. "He didn't have any quarrymen visits in the last week... and he's been..."
Here she choked, and Hudson put a comforting arm around her. "Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this... I know yer quite fond of him from auld… dinna look so shocked lass… he had a personal word wi me himself…"
"You didn't tell me about that," she looked at him with wide eyes.
"Let's jest say we've reached an understanding," said Hudson quietly, and Raychell sighed with relief.
"But he did defend the Gargoyles on Nightwatch," Elisa muttered, drawing notes in her police book with a number 2 pencil. "It does make a connection. But how and why they both went crazy is all too neat. And the fact it was at that mental hospital..."
"Is Carissa a patient there too?" asked Lexington. "I mean if other people have been sent there that have gone crazy..."
"How do we know if MacBeth really is crazy?" asked Raychell. "I mean... he's been alive for over a thousand years it would take more then that to harm him. He's got a remarkably strong will..."
"But we know what causes the craziness, at least in KEITH. It was nanotechnology," Lexington interrupted. "And even that would..."
"What do you mean?" Goliath asked.
"She's got a point. MacBeth doesn't seem the kind that would go crazy," Elisa licked the end of her pencil.
"Maybe he wanted to act crazy so he could get into the hospital for some reason," Raychell said quietly. "Maybe... he was going after Lucia..."
"Guys it was nanotechnology!" Lexington called out.
Everyone turned, stunned. "Nanotechnology?" Elisa gasped.
"We ran a simulation," Fox announced. "That's what drove KEITH over the edge. And I'll bet if you look in the apartment... You'll find evidence for nanites..."
"Which means Lucia might have been affected too!" said Raychell angrily.
"I spoke with Owen. One of the top research facilities for nanotechnology... there were researchers who were working at Cyberbiotics that now work at the Crystal Springs sanitarium. It's top secret... but it's too much of a coincidence..."
"Why would she be there?" Elisa asked. "I heard rumors from MacBeth... but that place is for rich people. And Lucia's not rich... at least as far as I know..."
"Well somebody could have put her there," Raychell said.
"Like her creepy ex boyfriend Cesar you mean?" muttered Brooklyn. The though horrified Raychell, even though she wouldn't put it past her to try.
"Uh guys. There's no proof. She's 20 years old. We've got missing person's report filed. If MacBeth did try that, he'd better be ready to not try anything stupid..." Elisa shook her head.
"Maybe one of us should go and make sure to tell him," Raychell suggested. "I mean... to see if he really is..."
"Really is loony tunes?" Brooklyn asked. Hudson stepped on his tail.
"We can continue to search the city for your friend," Goliath suggested. "We won't stop looking till we find her..."
"If you two are thinking of going there... be careful," Elisa wagged her finger. "The last thing we need is an institution complaining of delusions of Gargoyles..."
"Leave that to me," Lexington grinned. He winked at Raychell as he moved over to the laptop computer.
"What have you got in mind," she asked her friend suspiciously. The gargoyles dispersed like a flock of pigeons rushing away from an angry pedestrian.
"The best thing to do, is to get a layout, so they don't know to expect me," he grinned. Dexterous claws punched keys as Lexington drifted through cyberspace. Raychell's eyes lit up as she realized just what he was about to do.
"Then I can access this computer through a palm top... and link online. That way I can hack into the records and see if Lucia's there or not..."
"Quite good, for primitive computer technology," Raychell nodded. Lexington looked at her with a momentary annoyed look, and Hudson folded his arms across his chest with a self-satisfied smirk.
"Tis not every solution in that wee magic box," he quipped.
"Do you want my help or not?" Lex asked.
"Hudson, behave," Raychell glanced at him. It was Lexington's turn to smirk, and Hudson coughed as he gave a rather sour look.
"I'll be watchin the TV," he said. "If ye need me… as likely ye dinna."
"Very well, if that's what you wish," Raychell said as she shook her head, and Hudson walked off. Lexington grinned like a Cheshire cat.
"You really got under his skin…" he shook his head.
"I didn't want him to be such a grump," said Raychell with an annoyed look.
"Well maybe you should make sure he doesn't?" Lex winked.
"Once you take care of Delilah," she said.
"Um… okay, I deserved that," Lex said as he held up his hands.
"Let's get to work," Ray said. "My friend's in trouble…"
MacBeth had merely pretended to be asleep. As soon as his eyes had popped shut the orderlies had left the room. He glimpsed sidelong as he was pushed down the hallway, and into a private room. What had come over him? He had only eaten a quick meal of Chinese food with Matt Bluestone, and somehow had that disagreed with him.
He was wheeled into place, and shifted onto his bed. It was quiet. Too quiet for the immortal king. Was it his imagination, or was he being watched. Slowly he fought the urge to shut his eyes. As he blinked them open he could swear he heard a child's laugh.
"Eh?" He muttered, his eyes popping open. For in one corner he could swear he saw a boy. Aged twelve.
"Gillcomaign?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. It was impossible! Against reason that someone dead and gone so many years should be here.
"Ye idjit, why do ye just lay there! And ye think yer a king?"
"What... how... you're not real!" MacBeth snapped.
"Ye canna even fight the Demon! Some Hunter ye are!" he laughed, and it seemed as if a brown splotch hit him straight in the eye. MacBeth wiped it aside with his hand, feeling slimy ooze between his fingers. Mud! Mud here in a hospital?
"Why you little..." he snarled, arms ripping free of the restraints. He leapt to his feet, the floor cold beneath them. Still the laughter continued, and MacBeth charged forwards, his hands going for the child's neck.
"Father, help me!" coughed the child.
"Luach?" he gasped, removing his hands. "Son... is it ye?"
"Let go of me!" he shouted, backing away with fear in his eyes.
"It's me... your Da!" he cried. "My boy I've missed you so? Do you not know your own father?"
The boy rushed away, MacBeth on his heels, till he collided with a solid body. Powerful hands grasped MacBeth, pushing him away. He stared up in shock to see a triple scars marring the face of a mean faced man, who hid the frightened Luach behind his back. A fist flashed out, and all MacBeth saw was a red flash. Blood trickled out of his nose.
"Why you amadon!" he roared. "Give my son back!"
"Da... that mean man was tryin' ta choke me..."
"I'll let none harm ye, son," he snarled. "What sort of a man lays hands on a defenseless boy?"
"No, it's not like that! He's my son?"
"Oh, and I suppose his mother is your wife?"
"Gillcomaign!" MacBeth roared. "I swear I'll rend your insides asunder for your treachery!"
His hands hit empty air. Whirling about he heard a grunting of agony. A woman's cries and low moans as if she were being slowly impaled. Could it be? He knew that voice, every angle of its tones. "Gruoch..." he stammered, heart stopping a beat.
He whirled about. For she lay there, in his bed, writhing as her head tossed back. Someone had thrown her to the bed while his back was turned, repeatedly torturing her. Angrily he pulled the sheet back to reveal someone there upon his wife. The face turned, and a smile grinned. Gruoch looked up into the face of the man with perfect love and contentment in her eyes.
It was not torture but the sounds of lovemaking. MacBeth took two steps back in shock, for Gillcomaign showered his wife, his Gruoch with passion, her fingers digging into that blonde hair, her cries of passion screaming his name! Not MacBeth... but his!
"My love... even you betray me," he gasped.
"You had said, that I am not worth the trouble," she said, glancing sidelong at him with nothing but pity. "And now you are alone. A man without a country..."
"No!" MacBeth shouted at the top of his lungs. "Noooo!"
An awful drilling pain in his head, MacBeth pressed hands to his head, fingernails tearing at his scalp. It felt as if an icepick had lodged its way into his brain, and wasn't about to dislodge any time soon. Something was attacking from within his mind. Had to think past the pain he was feeling.
"Now... and always one..." MacBeth gritted, as the words formed into his brain from some unknown yet familiar source. Something was giving him the strength to fight it. A strength that had seen him through years of loneliness and anger. A hatred of being manipulated by Fate, and it's children.
"Demona..." he gasped. For the anger and hatred had a name. Now and forever they were bound, mind and soul. A purpose to exist, if not to destroy her, then to hunt her down and avoid her at all costs!
MacBeth threw himself onto the bed, his fingers rending sheets asunder. A shudder went through his entire body as his cry rang in the empty room. Fire exploded behind his eyes. A bright flash that ended all senses.
When he came too there was a dull throbbing ache. He lay on his side, curled up on the floor. Blessed silence filled the room, and he felt blood on his hands, from his nose. Slowly he pinched off the flow of blood staining his hands. He rolled to his knees, pressing his hands against the floor. The pain was gone, thank god it was abated.
"I... don't believe it," he gulped, hugging his stomach as he lay one hand upon the bed to pull himself to shaky legs. "Demona... I felt her mind in mine..."
A soft tapping came from behind glass. He staggered over to where it was, in the direction of the window. Double pained safety glass afforded an odd view, for a ghoulish face pressed itself against the glass.
"Lexington," he stammered, mouth dry. He could not open the window, for it was sealed shut.
The gargoyle glanced to his left, and pulled out a small pen shaped device. There came a sizzling, and slowly a line etched itself. Raychell to his left placed a suction plate to the glass, and both pulled.
Relief filled his face at the sight of the two gargoyles slipping in through the circle. How had they bypassed the alarm system?
"Malbeatha, are you all right?" Raychell asked, slipping her arm under his to steady him.
"Yes lass... I hope to God I am," he staggered against her, and Lexington.
"You were in so much pain... I was afraid for you..." she whispered. "God what did these primitive bastards do to you?"
"How... did you find me?" MacBeth asked.
"We got Keith to thank for that," Lex laughed. "Hey, you don't look so good. What kind of drug did they use on you?"
"Not a drug, nanites," Raychell hissed.
MacBeth's hands closed around something. It felt like blood, but something gritty that had come from his nose. Amidst the blood was a glittering powder, which caught Lexington's sharp eyes. A sour smell met his and Raychell's nostrils over the iron smell of hemoglobin. "Wait... lemmie look at that," Lex muttered, reaching into Raychell's tote and pulling out a small magnifier.
"This is not just blood," he muttered. "Whoa... I'm getting something really weird..."
"It looks like... what Keith..." Raychell gasped. "Nanotechnology… damn…"
"That's right," Lexington gritted. "Someone implanted you... sir..."
"Implanted?" MacBeth growled. "Then..."
They could see the flashes of thought connecting in MacBeth's mind. He straightened up, resolved. "I need you to do me a favor, both of ye. Can I send ye on an errand? My car's in the lot, and there's something inside I need t' fetch..."
"Oh no, we're getting you out of here, right now, this is NO time to be brave MacBeth…" Raychell said, taking his arm. "You were in so much pain..."
"I can't bypass the security forever," Lex grumbled, pulling his palmtop in from outside. "And I can't get into the main files! Those nanites are being manufactured here… but I can't get into the access codes that tell about their programming…"
"If ye got into a lab, could ye?" MacBeth asked.
"Yes, I could. But security is so tight it'd be a bear to get by…"
"Ye won't have t'. Raychell... are ye still able t' use some form of telepathy… remember back when we were escapin the Spanish Inquisition…"
"Yes… but it's been ages since I used my abilities that way…"
"What do you mean?" Lex asked.
"MacBeth here is referring to a Time Lord ability. Some of us are psychic, moderately. In my last regeneration I was capable of tuning into people's brainwaves and blurring their minds to make myself and whomever I wanted to invisible. But it takes great concentration…"
"Ye have t' try lass," MacBeth said softly. "Please…"
"I can try…Anything... are you sure you're okay?"
"I will be... soon..." MacBeth rubbed his nose. "Now Raychell, here is what I want ye t' do lass…"
Again she surfaced from the blackness of drugged sleep. Lucia Domiguez shook her mass of curls, thick with sweat as she lifted heavy lids. It was dark, not pitch black, but the muted shades with a crack of brightness from under a door. She pulled at her wrists, feeling the resistance of Velcro. They didn't take any chances, after their last meeting.
"Perfect," she muttered. Out in the hall she heard footsteps, stopping close in her door. Just what she needed. Another man in a little white coat either asking her questions, or pumping her full of tranquilizer. It was a miracle she had woken up this time. Still she felt groggy, not entirely sure of what she was seeing and hearing.
There came a creak as the door swung open. Lucia shut her eyes, tipping her head to one side as she feigned sleep. Maybe if he thought she was still out he'd lay off the trans.
A hand clamped over her mouth. She shrieked, struggling against the straps as her scream was muffled by leather. Leather? Who in the world wore leather gloves in this dump?
"Shh now lass!" hissed a whisper. "Tis only me..."
Her heart leapt. Was it a strange dream, induced by the drugs? Or was he really there, in the hospital with her? Just how much time had passed, anyway?
"Lucia, ye all right? Do ye know me?" he asked, a shadow of head and shoulders dark against the dim room. A halo of silver hair surrounded the head, moving closer and closer to hers. Still the hand clamped on her mouth.
She nodded slowly, trying hard to shake the last of the sleep off. He removed the hand from her mouth, as she whispered his name. Hands loosened the Velcro straps on the papoose board that bound her tightly. It felt so good to move her wrists.
"MacBeth, Madre de Dios… thank God…" she whispered in the darkness. "How in the... How... did you find me..."
"No time for stories nau, lass," he whispered. "Got to get ye out of this place... now lie still, and I'll put something far more decent on ye…"
Judging from the smoothness of the textures under her fingers, he was fully suited with all accoutriments of weaponry she'd seen when it came time for his own brand of action. The last thing in the world she'd expected was for him to show up like some knight in shining armor to the rescue! She saw him taking something out of a pack, and moving toward her. Overtop her inadequate hospital gown she felt him slipping something form fitted. MacBeth in the darkness was fiddling with clasps, positioning her legs back and forth till she felt every inch of her covered in some new outfit.
She struggled to sit up, feeling the resisting ache in her muscles as she flopped back down. Still the drug surged in her systems, rendering movement difficult. All she could manage was to bonelessly shift to a sitting position and roll to the side as her feet hit the floor. MacBeth's sturdy arms slipped under her knees, helping her to stand shakily.
"This is not going to work, you must leave me... save yoursel!" she moaned, feeling the pins and needles in her legs. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he lifted her into his arms.
"Tis noble of ye', but hardly necessary in this case to warrant such foolishness. I've got ye now. Jest relax..."
"Dios, Lennox… what makes you think you can just walk out the front door with me?" she whispered. "Like they're gonna miss me..."
"Quite right. I must still be muddled in my thinking…" He shifted her to the other hospital bed, setting her down. Then wrestled with a figure that he placed in the restraint in place of her. He pulled the sheets up to its neck, then turned to her again, slipping her into his arms once more.
"Any minute now there'll be quarrymen all over this place," he whispered into her ear. "I doubt they'd miss one patient."
"Let me guess love, you forgot the clever disguise and the cardboard box to stuff me in?" she joked.
"What do ye think yer wearing?" he mumbled. Now was not the time for frivolity.
"Sorry," she began to mouth, before she felt MacBeth tense against the wall. Someone was coming to the room!
"Hey, Martin, you okay?"
"Yeah, I'll be five more minutes! Gotta make sure sleeping beauty is down for the count," Lucia called out, a perfect imitation of the orderly's voice.
"Gotcha. Lemmie know if she behaves or not..." came the answer. Footsteps receded into the background din of stretchers and dinging bells.
"Well done," MacBeth whispered appreciatively in her ears, his eyes wide. "Ye never said ye could do that…"
"It's a gift or a curse… I took an acting class," she shrugged, but MacBeth was sure it was a hidden talent she hadn't before shared with him. Dropping the subject for now, he'd ask her about it later.
"So what do we do now, Lennox?" she asked, although she dreaded the answer, based on what she was quickly learning about the new man in her life.
"Get oot of here as quick as we can," he whispered, gently turning the door handle as he clutched her close. With as much stealth as he could muster he crept down the hall, Lucia dazedly clinging to his neck as she tried to force back the awful swimming feeling that crept up from her stomach. Just what the hell did they give her anyway?
Her skin began to crawl oddly. Was it the special clothing MacBeth had dressed her in… no it wasn't that… because it had been quite comfortable when he'd slid it on her. She rubbed the back of her neck, groaning as she turned over. That weird feeling crept into her mind. She could swear someone was watching her, like in some odd horror movie. The normally sane stable Lucia Domiguez began to tremble spasmodically.
"Let me go you swine!" she choked, squirming in MacBeth's arms.
"Lucia, keep yer voice down..." he gasped, but she flopped to the floor, wrestling her way from his arms. An elbow jabbed him in the stomach, and she rubbed her bruised funny bone. Not a good idea when your adversary is wearing body armor, and you are also.
"What's come over ye lass?" he demanded, seeing the wild look in her dark eyes. "Oh no..."
"I've listened to you for my whole damn life! Leave me alone, Cesar!" Lucia hissed, rushing up to MacBeth and reaching for his neck. He grabbed her wrists, gripping her close as she thrashed and kicked and bit.
"Why are ye angry?" he whispered.
"You think you're so right! That you can boss anyone around whose' not just like you! I've got a life! I will be someone! I'm not a worthless disappointment!"
"Yer' not! Don't dare ever say that in my presence, woman…" MacBeth lowered his voice to her, whispering in her ear. "Yer a strong independent young woman, who has her ain life! Hang onto that Lucia... ye must!"
"Does that give you the right to ruin my life, Cesar?" she snarled, worming out of his grasp as her kick landed against his shin.
"Lucia, listen t' me love, an listen well," he gripped her to him, and gave her a fierce hug. "You fought against him, if anything ye shuild be glad that ye have yer ain mind! Yer not like he wanted! Ye've got t' keep on fighting this... it's not Cesar!"
"No I'm not a failure! I'm not a reject!" she shouted over and over like a mantra. MacBeth held her close as her tantrum increased, more concerned she'd hurt herself as she lashed out against him. The best way was a passive restraining hold that enabled him to grip her without her hurting him in the process.
Orderlies rushed towards them, their white coats flying behind them. "Stop him, he's got a patient... a hostage..."
"Lucia, I need ye!" MacBeth urged her, gripping her close as he reached for his gun. "Please... fight it! If not fer yer self then fer yer friends! And if nowt fer them, than fer my sake, for the one who loves you dearly…"
Lightening sizzled out as he fired first. One orderly went down, the other rushing for the wall phone. "Dammit," MacBeth gritted to himself as he gripped Lucia in one hand, the gun in the other, firing at the wall phone which exploded in a blaze of sparks. Still she struggled against him.
Hearing the commotion, others rushed up behind. MacBeth heard the sounds of many footsteps echoing in the corridors. Security guards gripped odd shaped guns, with tranq darts in them. A hissing whizzed past his black coat. A quick blast to both sides and he lugged Lucia down the hall with him, still kicking and flailing madly.
Another dart whizzed past, from behind. He twisted his body before her instinctively, the dart impacting his armor without event. He whirled, seeing an orderly right at his arm. Gripping the dart out he jabbed it into the assailant arm, watching him go down as he leapt out of the way. Two leaps and MacBeth leapt onto a gurney. His momentum sent the thing rolling down the hall, Lucia under his arm. It struck him weird that he'd forgotten what she was wearing.
With a mighty leap he tumbled to the side, as the gurney crashed into another party, scattering them. Lucia snapped back into his arms, gripping his neck wildly.
"Put me down!" she shrieked, kicking. This was crazy! There had to be some way of snapping her out of this! Desperately he lugged her into a side room, slamming the door as he shoved a table before it. She tore herself away from him.
"I don't have to take this... you..." she gritted.
"Fer the last time I'm no yer ex boyfriend!" he gripped her arms as she flew at him, hands reaching for his neck. He didn't want to hurt her, but she pushed awfully hard in her wild frenzy.
"You... think you know everything? Damn you! So goddamn smug with your stupid experience! You could have any woman you wanted!"
"Ye presented yerself," he whispered, holding her back as she kicked out again. "Twas yer choice. And I gladly accepted yer company... fer ye were right... I was thinking too much... not enjoying every minute alive given me..."
"What?"
"Ye taught me that. To treasure the simple fact of being alive. Losing my sorrow in the now, and not worrying about the endless years that lined up against me. And I have ye t' thank, Lucia Domiguez," he pulled her close in a strong embrace. This action surprised her completely. For a moment she thrashed in his grip, tearing at his jacket in a wild frenzy of resistance.
Out of desperation he gripped her neck, pulling her face close to his. Lips closed upon hers, choking off her anguished cry that was muffled into his throat. Her hands pushed at his chest, resisting, till at last a frightening gasp came through the firm pressure of his lips against her own, drowning the anger in a sudden shivering surge. Something snapped inside her head, chasing away the delusion. Her heart pounded against his chest like a frightened bird caught in a snare. Folding arms behind his neck her mouth opened to his, returning the moist caress.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry," she broke away, catching her racing breath. "Whatever came over me? It was HORRIBLE! I wanted to kill you!"
"Nanotechnology," he answered. "One of the blackest arts modern mankind has dreamed up in my long lifetime. They've shot ye up with microscopic machines t' literally reshape yer mind in their image..."
"Dios," she gasped, heart pounding a mile a minute as his hands caressed her scalp and neck. "But... how am I going to stop it from happening again?"
"I'll be right here when it does. These wretches must have a file on the technology that can be easily downloaded…"
"MacBeth I'm so scared… I don't want them to take me over…"
"There's no work of mankind that cannae be overcome… just as there be no spell without some counter enchantment. Trust me… I trust ye… if I can invent a lightening gun that can stop gargoyles and Quarrymen, this is a simple thing… Yer heart's fair pounding t' burst," he muttered, as her hands stroked through his hair. "Mebbe... that's the answer..."
A sudden pounding at the door assured them it wasn't just Lucia's heart that was racing. She started in his embrace, and squeezed his hand hard. He pushed her towards the window, reaching at his hip holster.
"Quick, grab hold of me… and dinna let go!" he cried, scooping her up as he aimed his gun at the window. Lightening shattered the glass, and he shoved the gun in her hand.
"Take the gun…. hold onto it. I'll need ye t' work with me… and trust t' do everything I say… can ye do that for me?"
She nodded, knowing there was no time. He dove out the window, Lucia letting out a thrilled shriek as she gripped him tightly around the neck, and wrapped her legs around his waist. A quickly fired cable from beneath his wrist caught high above, arresting their fall towards the pavement.
"Batman has nothing on you, lover," she joked. He knew she was using humor to whistle in the dark, and didn't blame her at all. While MacBeth swung back and forth on his snare line, feet thumping against each window, she held tightly to him with her legs and one arm, while she held the gun with her other hand. In the reflection she suddenly saw her body swathed in something that was dark like his, and it dawned on her that she was clothed in the same sort of body armor, a female version. Yet it wasn't white like in the mirror visions.
"Jest hang on!" he gritted, glancing in as they went two floors down. Lights flashed all over the building, alarms blaring into their ears. Lucia could see the flicker of flashlights far below, and the sudden sound of Quarryman vans screeching into the lot. MacBeth's coat fluttered in the night wind as his silver hair streaked out with his latest swing towards the left.
Lexington slipped deeper into the maze of tunnels, Raychell quick behind him. His large eyes read off the signs as they passed by. Nobody in their frenzy seemed to notice the two nocturnal visitors.
"Juvenile Ward… floor three… Nanoneural institute…" he muttered, one eye into the red.
"Nanonerual, that sounds promising," Raychell whispered. Her forehead furrowed in concentration as she kept up the blurring. It was so hard to maintain the distortion that blurred them from reality.
"All right, let's get in," Lex muttered, and slipped a small card into the door. He tapped a code on his computer, and the door clicked open seconds later.
"Cute, I hate to ask, but where did you pick that up?" Raychell asked.
"Got that idea from T-2," he laughed. "Now, let's see if we hit the jackpot. If I can get into the lab computer there, maybe I can shut these chips down…"
Both gargoyles slipped in. Here there were only a few scientists, white-coated researchers leaning over petri dishes and odd machines Raychell thought looked a lot like those in Fox's lab back at Castle Wyvern.
Raychell concentrated, shifting her mental abilities. Suddenly in place of two gargoyles were two white-coated researchers, one male, and one female. Lexington crept quietly in. That was when the alarms started blaring loudly in the hallway. Instantly the researchers snapped their heads up at the noise.
"Stay where you are," came a clipped voice over the loudspeaker in the lab. "Everyone is instructed to remain in their labs till further notice. Security breach is being dealt with."
Raychell winced, well guessing what the security breach was! "Quick," she whispered to Lex as he nonchalantly wandered over to one of the lab terminals. He set down a small palmtop unit, slipping a cable into the Ethernet port on the back of the computer. He began to start typing while Raychell stood in front of him.
"What are you two doing in here?" asked Dr. Bleuth, as he suddenly came into the lab. Two unfamiliar technicians clustered by the lab terminal, busily at work.
"Uh… nothing," Raychell said. "We're uh… from information technologies… there was a computer glitch… and we've been sent to rectify it."
"I wish someone would tell me these things," Dr. Bleuth muttered. "Well, make sure you be quick about it…"
He turned to the main researchers, and muttered something that was hard for Raychell to decipher, save her gargoyle hearing. She edged up to the periphery of the conversation, listening intently as she pretended to be at work over one of the lab counters. There was a large machine in the middle of the lab, chugging away with a series of flashing lights. She glanced at the technician operating it, her notebook open to a page of research notes. Raychell glanced at the words, AD34 prototype phase II neuronet…"
She watched as Lexington typed ever more frantically. He clicked his tongue in irritation. Dr. Bleuth excused himself, slipping out the door quickly. Raychell nearly jumped out of her skin when a voice said, "You there! Mind passing me the printouts?"
"Excuse me?" Raychell asked irritated.
"Yeah. I need to recalibrate…" the technician at her right said, looking up from the research notebook.
"Are the nanites… being made here?" she asked innocently.
"Heck no. Just testing for how well they bind to the neurons. This new batch'll really…"
He shut up when the lab supervisor, a severe woman with thick glasses and hair neatly pulled back shot him a glare. "Should IT persons be taking quite so long?" she asked Raychell, staring over her glasses with a look that reminded Raychell of an unpleasant grammar school experience.
"Excuse me, we have a JOB to do? So could you bugger off and work on something?" Raychell said angrily. "And besides how can we do our job if we can't…"
Just then there came a loud noise from just outside, like the sound of glass breaking. Raychell leapt aside as the lab window exploded inwards, a million shards of glass flying towards everyone. She shrieked, rolling over with her hands held up to protect herself. Lexington was nowhere near the window thank god. Everyone picked himself or herself up, in a panic. For hanging on a rope just before the lab window was a black silhouette, his black coat billowed behind him as he hung suspended on a cable. On his hip was a white gowned curvaceous brunette, toting a smoking pistol crackling with energy. She had been the one who had fired!
"What the hell?" the Lab supervisor coughed.
"Wrong floor," the man muttered in a delicious Scottish accent. The young woman in his other arm giggled and shrugged at the surprised technicians. Both strangers dropped out of site quickly.
"Hello, security?" the lab supervisor barked into the phone. Raychell crouched next to Lex, who was still pounding away like mad on the keyboard.
"What are you trying to do, tell the whole place we're breaking out?" Lucia asked MacBeth as they reached the bottom floor. Already a Quarryman van had pulled up, black hooded figures pouring out of it.
"Change of plans," MacBeth muttered, gripping her close to his hip. Lucia hung around his neck as he swung back and forth, to and fro five times. This gave him enough momentum to swing past the second floor. "When I tell you, fire!" he shouted to her. Lucia aimed, a shot crackling the glass into shards. The explosion showered the Quarrymen in a volley of glass far below.
MacBeth shortened his cable, swinging into the vacant gap well over the gleaming shards of glass. Lucia yelped as she narrowly avoided a nasty scar. They landed safely inside a dim space. Shots crackled down from above as a helicopter whirled close. Bringing the lightening gun up, Lucia squeezed the trigger and hoped for the best as she aimed out the gaping holes in the window.
The result was explosive, and instant. There came cries and a black shape that fell past the streaking strobe lights. MacBeth released her, unholstering another gun to bear. Lucia glanced down at a crumpled figure three floors onto cement. "Oh god… I killed him," she shuddered. A grim iciness washed over her when she gripped the gun in her hand. That guy was probably toast now. Because of her.
Holding his own pistol vertically, MacBeth moved to the door. "Watch the window lass," he barked to her.
"All right whatever you say," Lucia whispered, shaking inside as she set the charge again. This couldn't be happening. Straight from One Flew Over the Cuckoos' Nest to Terminator in thirty minutes! Angry shouts sounded in the hallway. The searchlights of the helicopter shifted again, shots ringing down into the lab. Lucia dove behind a desk, her gun discharging out the window yet again.
"What now?" she called to MacBeth, who had taken refuge behind a metal filing cabinet.
"We try the direct approach," he said. "Straight through these sassinaches…"
"Are you loco?" she breathed. "They'll kill you!"
"Lass, considering where we are, shuild ye be asking such a daft question?" he asked. "And remember… I heal quickly… not t' meantion the armor we're wearing is by far the best one c'n find…"
"You're no longer immortal!" she whispered. "If something happened to you I don't know what I'd do…"
"Shh, it's all right," he whispered as he leaned down and took her face in one hand. "I will not loose ye…"
"Please… don't…" she whispered.
"I'll protect ye…" he said softly, as he kissed her lips. "Now, trust me."
"This is so boring," Elisa sighed, cruising around the block for the umpteenth time. Beside her, Matt Bluestone sipped his coffee in a mammoth effort to stay alert. It was his third cup in an hour, the other cups lying on the floor of her Fairlane.
Just then her radio crackled with static. A voice shot through, very familiar.
"Elisa? Can you hear me!" cried Lexington's voice over Elisa's radio.
"Lex, what the... where are you now?" Elisa asked, picking up her radio receiver.
"I'm at the hospital now... and we found MacBeth. And guess what he had up his nose?"
"Nanites?" Elisa guessed. There came an odd whirring noise in the background.
"I can't stay on! Quarrymen..."
"What?" Elisa said. "You mean there are Quarrymen where you are now?"
"They just flew in, in a chopper... and there's a half dozen vans pulling up... gotta fly..."
"Lex, wait there, and don't do anything. If you see MacBeth, get him away from there! I don't care what you have to do!"
"I'll try," he said. "Lex out!"
"That's the proof we need!" Matt gasped. "What are Quarrymen doing at a psychiatric hospital."
"Maybe they finally realized how they belonged with the other loonies?" Elisa shrugged.
"Do we roll on this or not?" Matt asked.
"Call for backup..." Elisa grumbled. "I hope to hell that MacBeth doesn't play vigilante."