Day and Night

Sixteen

Martin Hacker of the FBI and, secretly, a member of the Illuminati, was not terribly pleased. His employers had been interested in manipulating events regarding the Gargoyles and humanity, but things had steadily spiralled out of their control. Now he was left trying to manage the aftermath and salvage what they could of their schemes.

The data his former partner Matt Bluestone wanted was trivial, so he passed that on to him immediately. Cybernetic mercs were becoming an issue, and both the government and his bosses wanted it stopped. Sadly he only had a few names and a possible shipper, but Martin felt confident Matt could do something with it.

His next meeting was somewhat distasteful. Jon Castaway, once known as Jon Canmore, was the head of a new anti-Gargoyle group he called the Quarrymen. He was a racist zealot, but there were uses for such men. Especially if they thought they were being sponsored by a rogue FBI agent and not his real bosses.

"Hacker," the blond haired man said grimly, nodding a greeting as he strode into the office and sat without being invited.

Martin hid his irritation at that, but it took a effort. "Jon," Martin nodded, "I have some important news for you."

"Yes?" Jon asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Your brother and sister are out of jail," Martin said calmly. He had to fight back a smile at the stunned look on Jon's face, which quickly turned to anger.

"Those traitors!" Jon snarled as he realized, "They cut a deal with the feds for leniency. They MUST have."

"That's my impression," Martin agreed, not mentioning that Jason, at least, would have been released earlier because of his injuries. Not many prisons had facilities to deal with spinal injuries, after all. "Are you using facilities or accounts set up back in your Hunter days?" he asked, changing the subject to a more urgent question.

"Of course I...," Jon started then paled. "Oh hell," he breathed out as he realized the feds probably now knew everything.

'What a utter idiot,' Martin thought, wondering why he hadn't thought of this much earlier. Aloud he continued, "It's likely that they are going to raid any bases they know of. You'd best order your people to evacuate."

"Yes, thank you," Jon agreed, using a unsecured phone to text his people.

It took all of Martin's self control not to slap the phone right out of the other man's hands. But if Jon's people expected to be contacted that way, they were stuck. As he watched him messaging away Martis considered advising his superiors to cut Jon loose. He CLEARLY wasn't as capable as his siblings had been, and honestly he had his doubts they'd even need the Quarrymen.

'Still, you never know,' Martin sighed as Jon hung up. "If you need additional funds, I could...," he offered.

Jon made a face, "No I think we'll be fine. Thank you for the heads up."

"We look forward to your organization thriving," Martin lied warmly, shaking his hand as Jon got up to leave.

"Thank you again," Jon nodded. As he reached the door he turned, "I appreciate the help, but I think we both know you are not here representing the government. Not that I care who you work for, but I don't want you thinking I'm gullible."

As Martin watched him go, he made another mental note to suggest his employers cut Jon loose. Anyone who suspected a sponsor wasn't what he seemed and then announced it aloud was clearly not that bright.

Martin returned to his desk, then attempted to contact David Xanatos once again. This time he got Owen, the man's pet robot. Or at least he acted like one. "It's VERY important I speak to David," he said flatly.

"I'm sorry, Mr Xanatos is in New Zeland." Owen answered calmly.

Martin paused a moment. "You're not even trying to make up good excuses at this point, are you?" he had to ask.

"Actually, I have a list of locations Mr Xanatos suggested," Owen replied "The next is Tiki Tiki island, I believe."

That made Martin smile, if reluctantly. That was Xanatos in a nutshell, right there. "Well, if I can't get through to Mr. Xanatos, I would suggest you inform him that challenging my employers is not a wise plan," he finally said.

"The US government?" Owen asked innocently.

Martin grit his teeth. He could NOT name the Illuminati over a phone line, which Owen probably knew. Bastard. Had Xanatos told him about the secret society? It WAS possible... "Something like that," he answered flatly.

There was a beat of silence. "And I would suggest to you that Xanatos Enterprises stands behind him, as well as many alliances you may not even be aware of. Attack us at your peril," and with that, Owen hung up on him.

Martin, blinked, surprised at the sudden, unearthly chill that had run up his spine. The Illuminati had recruited Xanatos some time ago, but he had always been somewhat of a reluctant member. Now, it appeared he no longer wanted to be a member at all... and after talking to Owen, he wasn't sure he wanted to push it.

With a sigh Martin picked up the phone again. Presidents to push, politics to influence... why had he joined the illuminati again? It was beginning to feel like WORK.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

They were meeting on a rooftop, one chosen both for it's nearness to the Aerie, and for nearness to Demona's home. Goliath looked at Demona blankly. "Plush toys?" the huge grey gargoyle repeated, sounding honestly perplexed.

"Yes, a manufacturer has contacted me, asking about making such toys." Demona looked amused more than anything else as she explained, "I filed copyrights to our kind's name and image, as a precaution some years ago."

"A bit presumptuous," Hudson noted with a smile, the older gargoyle standing near Goliath and the police officer Maza.

"I'll concede that," Demona agreed, "but would you like some company coming in and doing a cartoon called The Goliath Adventures, or something without asking anyone?"

Elisa snickered while the gargoyles looked at her blankly. "You know, you could use the money, guys," she noted. "At least you wouldn't be relying on Xanatos for everything."

"You still don't trust him?" Demona asked curiously.

"It's not that so much," Elsa shrugged slightly as she explained, "I just don't like being completely reliant on him."

"Hmm," Demona nodded slightly in agreement.

"It doesn't seem like a bad idea, lad," Hudson agreed.

Goliath looked like he wanted to debate, but instead nodded. He tended to follow Hudson's lead, even though he now led the clan. "All right," he agreed, "for the amount we agreed on, then."

"Are you going to stop those t-shirt sellers too?" Elisa asked, smiling.

"T-shirts?" Goliath had to ask.

"I thought about buying a 'I was rescued by a Gargoyle but All I Got Was this Stupid T-Shirt' one, but restrained myself," Elisa noted, confusing Goliath even further.

Demona bit back a laugh. "Honestly, no," she said, "even if I tried to shut them down, more would crop up. It's not worth the trouble."

Hudson and Goliath exchanged looks and decided they just did not want to know. "We had best head back to the castle," Goliath noted.

Demona hesitated, then asked, "Before you go..."

"Yes?" Goliath looked at her.

"How is Angela?" Demona made herself ask.

Goliath smiled back faintly. "She is well," he reassured her.

Demona puffed out a breath, "Good. Take care of her, please."

The two groups separated, and Demona let herself glide across the city. She still wasn't sure how she felt having a daughter, one whom she had never met. Even more confusing she had been raised by humans, and had a very human view of parents. Gargoyles laid eggs then the entire clan raised them, not at all like humans did.

So she had a Daughter who wanted to BOND. Who wanted her to be MATERNAL. At least when she wasn't hating Demona from things her father, Goliath, had said. It was a confusing mess, and frankly she had no idea how to handle it.

As Demona landed on a nearby building, she realized she'd... gone off course a bit. Instead of going towards her home, she wasn't far from Alicia's apartment. She thought for a moment of stopping in, maybe even asking her about HER parents.

"Ha!" Demona laughed, then turned around and headed home. She was CLEARLY hanging around Goliath too much...

To be continued...

Note: Kinda forgot about the whole Illuminati subplot in Gargoyles, so addressing it here. While I'm MOSTLY ignoring the solo Gargoyles series, the Quarrymen might make interesting villains.