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3—Inheritance
November 15, 1997
Elisa arrived back at the Eyrie building that afternoon, letter from Portugal in hand, anxious to speak with Goliath about this odd news, but sunset was a few hours away still. She felt she couldn't wait that long.
When she reached her room, she sat upon the bed and grabbed the telephone. She instantly began dialing her parent's house. After a few rings, the answering machine came on.
"Hello, you've reached Diane and Peter. We aren't available—"
Elisa hung up without leaving a message. Pausing to think for a split second, she grabbed the telephone receiver again and dialed Derek and Maggie's number. It rang and rang and rang.
Exhaling, she replaced the phone upon its cradle. One final person to call.
She picked up the receiver once again and began dialing.
"Detective Bluestone."
"Hey Matt. Ya busy? Want to come by the Eyrie?"
---
Dominique's business day was over, and her chauffeur drove her home to her estate. Though she had meetings and business strategies to go over all day, and managed to finish all the work she had assigned herself for the day, her mind was racing over the information her daughter had unknowingly given her.
"The detective whore is acting out of character. Though I doubt she is being unfaithful, her suspicious behaviour will prove to my advantage," Dominique thought aloud as she stepped through the foyer and closed the door behind her. Slipping off her four inch red pumps and allowing them to fall where they may, she padded towards the winding staircase that led to her basement. She unbuttoned her blouse slowly, in pace with every other step until she was in her basement. She never had visitors, so she never felt the need to play up the pretence that the basement was useful to her. It was Spartan in decoration—rather, there was none. The only pieces of furniture to be found there was a large black leather sofa and an incredibly large ancient-looking bookcase, spanning three walls. None of the books on the bookcase were less than three hundred years old, and most of them covered the subject matter of witchcraft, sorcery, and ancient paganism.
As Dominique walked towards the bookcase, she stripped herself of the blouse and deposited it upon the floor, and then proceeded to unzip the skirt she had worn all day and made it share the same fate the blouse had experienced.
She was preparing herself for the transformation which would occur in a few hours. She approached the bookcase and pulled a specific book out by its spine. Instantly, the wall behind the bookcase shifted sideways to reveal a secret corridor. Smiling, Dominique stepped through and allowed the bookcase to revert to its original position.
Behind the bookcase, there was a single pedestal, upon which an ancient book lay open to a page roughly at its beginning. It was the Cryptatae Magnus, the book in which she had found the spell that bound Elisa to her bed Halloween night, and had nearly caused Goliath's death in the process. Surely there was a spell that she needed in its pages to capitalize on Maza's odd behaviour these last few nights. Ever since Angela had told her about the doubts in her head, Demona's waking moments, and indeed her dreams, were filled with ways to exploit these news and make them work to her advantage. She gazed at the book, flipped through its pages a few times until she reached a section which was named i"Dolatus et Lacrimatuum"/i, and smiled when she translated it. "Causing pain and tears…perfect…"
---
Meanwhile, at the Eyrie Building…
"Elisa, you're lucky I'm on call today. Chavez has been on my ass about the Task force reports," Matt said, following Elisa to the Great Hall. "Not to mention that there have been more and more sightings of gargoyles across the globe lately." Elisa stopped walking with her son in her arms mid-step when she heard this bit of news and turned to face Matt.
"What!" Elisa demanded, trying as much as possible not to raise her voice to make sure she didn't disturb Adam, who seemed to be admiring Elisa's burgundy long-sleeve v neck sweater, and pulling at it curiously.
"Yep, it's true," Matt confirmed, "That includes all those places that you told me you visited on your world tour. Japan, Guatemala, the works. It appears the gargoyles are beginning to follow in the clan's footsteps—er, well, not feet, I mean, um…what are they called—?" Matt trailed off in his own thought.
"Not good." Elisa wore a worried expression upon her countenance.
Matt shook his head. "Actually, Elisa, according to initial reports, the sightings have mainly been on the gargoyles terms."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that generally, the reports have been called in because the gargoyles have prevented a crime, or saved someone. They've been compliments rather than complaints."
"Hmm…" Elisa murmured, looking down at her son in her arms. Matt smirked.
"Elisa, this is a good thing. They want to be seen, and I guess this is a better way than any to be seen; while doing what they do best." Elisa nodded, but still slightly perturbed by the information relayed to her. Meanwhile, as the wheels in Elisa's head were working at full-speed, Matt watched Adam as he sat comfortably in his mother's arms. He looked about intently, and stared a lot more when he saw the familiar red haired detective. Matt took little Adam out of Elisa's arms and swooped him into the air playfully.
"Your Uncle Matt missed you, buddy!" Matt exclaimed happily, causing Adam to giggle (as much as a four month old child giggles). Matt laughed, and looked at Elisa, who smiled at the two of them.
"Ok, Elisa. Enough about that Gargoyle Task Force crap. What did you need advice about?" Matt asked. Elisa pulled out a folded letter from her pocket, unfolded it and showed it to Matt.
"This. It's a letter from the Dracon family lawyer in Portugal. Dominic died in jail a month ago, and he willed all his fortune to Adam." Matt's jaw dropped instantly. "Whoa."
"Yea, I know. The lawyer asks for me to go there to settle things. I don't know if I should. I mean, that's money that I have no interest in. Especially since it's the dirtiest money known to mankind."
"Hmm. I see your point. But it would provide for Adam—"
"Adam is provided for enough without needing Dracon money. I don't want anything to do with that family again." Elisa snapped back.
Matt, still playing devil's advocate, raised a free hand in protest. "I know, Elisa, but think about it this way, then: that money could be put to good use here." Elisa's countenance turned thoughtful. She furrowed her brows and put her hand under her chin in thought.
"You know, you could be right."
---
As the sun set, ending another chilly autumn day, Elisa stood with Matt and Adam, waiting for the gargoyles to awaken. The chill in the air was near the freezing point, so Adam was bundled up in a light blue toque, mittens, scarf, and thick winter coat, but Elisa and Matt were only dressed in warm sweaters.
When they woke, Brooklyn and Tachia went on patrol, while Hudson, Bronx, Angela and Broadway walked inside. Goliath walked slowly with Lexington and Eosine. As they approached the entrance to the castle, and saw the trio awaiting them, their pace sped up slightly. Goliath smiled at them and took Adam into his arms.
"Hello Elisa, Matt."
"Hey Goliath, Lex, Eosine. Let's go inside! It's COLD out here!"
"Yes, you are not properly dressed, my love. I wouldn't want you to get sick…" Goliath said, looking Elisa over intently.
"I'm fine, babe. But let's go inside now." Elisa smiled.
Once inside, Goliath hugged Elisa tenderly before asking what brought Matt up to visit them.
"I needed his advice on something, and, well, you were sleeping…" She said a bit embarrassed that she couldn't wait three hours to discuss the matter with him first. Goliath didn't worry too much about it, because he didn't make a big deal of it.
"Oh? What is it, Elisa?"
She pulled out the letter again and handed it to him. He took a few moments to read it over carefully before looking confusedly at Elisa.
"Are you going to go?"
"Should I? Like I told Matt, I don't want this money. Adam sure as hell doesn't need it, and I am definitely not planning on telling him he's the son of a mob boss that had me kidnapped and forced me to…" She gulped, trying to avoid saying what Tony Dracon had forced upon her. Though it had been nearly a year since the kidnapping, Elisa was still tormented by the visions, nightmares from time to time. She especially remembered his voice. And, unfortunately, seeing Adam was a constant reminder of who she hated. It was a good thing that Adam took mostly after her, because otherwise, Elisa was sure that she would have gone mad soon after his birth just by looking at him. His blue-black hair and tanned skin made up for the fact that he clearly had the Dracon nose: down turned and slightly pointed.
Goliath put a hand on her shoulder. "We know, Elisa. It seems to me that this lawyer still wishes for you to go there, at least to resolve this issue for better or worse."
"Yea, that's what it sounded like to me, too." She sighed, looking at her son, still in Goliath's arms. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe I should. At least to tell him where to shove that money."
"Elisa, maybe you might wanna consider what I said," Matt interjected, "I mean, hey, it's there, and it's legally Adam's. He can do with it what he wants. At least, maybe he should be given that option." Matt shrugged, as if to say, 'it's just my opinion…' Elisa looked thoughtfully at Goliath.
"We need to get Xanatos' plane. I need you there with me, Big Guy."
---
Hours later, Xanatos' private plane, flown by a random pilot since Fox and David had other pressing business to attend to, flew over the Atlantic Ocean on its way to the capital of the Azores, Sao Miguel, carrying a detective and her fiancé, a 7 foot tall lavender giant named Goliath…
---
November 17, 1997
The sun was just about to set in the Azores when the small jet touched down at the airport in Ponta Delgada. The pilot announced the landing, and did as David had told him: stay in the cockpit and do not speak with any of the passengers unless they go and speak with you. Elisa made sure that the plane had landed in a secluded area, so that she and Goliath could glide around the area. Undoubtedly, the office where Mr. Perreira worked would be closed by now, so Elisa would have to wait until morning, but that didn't bother her.
She hadn't been able to sleep on the plane with all the worry about what this trip might hold for her. Goliath saw this just by looking at her—she was exhausted to say the least. He decided to take her to a clearing that he remembered from his first journey to the island a year earlier. Wordlessly, Goliath picked Elisa up in his embrace, and searched for a high point to take off from. He noticed a hill in the distance. Concealed by the darkness of the night, the couple moved swiftly until they reached the hill. Goliath spread his wings and allowed the currents of wind to carry him and his love to their destination.
---
"Where are we?" Elisa asked him when he brought her to the ground. It was an empty field, covered by tall grass, apparently left behind by grazing cattle.
"When we came here to rescue you a year ago, I passed this field, and thought of you. I wished to bring you here some day."
"Why?" Elisa asked, trying not to sound rude about it. I never wanted to come back to this country again, she thought. Why would you want to bring me here?
"Because it was peaceful, and at dusk, it was a wondrous sight to behold. I knew that after your ordeal, you'd never wish to return to this country, but I wanted to perhaps show you that there is beauty here. Just because you suffered here does not mean that you should hate this country…"
Elisa smiled at his ability to read her thoughts. "You are incredible." She looked around her for the first time since they arrived in the clearing. There were trees here and there, but they gathered mainly where Goliath and Elisa found themselves. They were surrounded by nature, and the trees in a rural part of the island. No street lights, no traffic noise, no urban mayhem disrupted this scene. The stars were so clearly visible that they seemed unreal. The temperature was mild—definitely warmer than it was in New York City right about now—and the breeze was light but welcome, continuously blowing through the trees and tall grass around them.
"And you're right. This was exactly what I needed…"
---
Elisa awoke next to the warm stone statue of her beloved, frozen in a thinker's pose, looking over her sleeping frame. He wore a serene smile upon his regal face and it remained there as the sun rose above the horizon. Elisa grinned sweetly, kissed his forehead, and reached down to grab her favourite red bomber jacket from the ground. She had used it as a makeshift pillow by crumpling it up into a not-so-circular ball. Though her neck ached slightly from the improper positioning of her head overnight, she couldn't help but smile at the sunrise she witnessed. She admired the fact that she scarcely heard car horns and the regular noises she would be likely to hearing at this time in the morning in Manhattan. It was a peaceful, quiet and above all else, a nature-filled scene. She could see in the distance that a farmer had just released his cows into a pasture to graze. In another squared plot of farmland, Elisa saw the distinct image of goats and sheep, and heard the accompanying noises that those animals made, which projected all the way across the fields between Elisa and the sheep. She inhaled the fresh country air deeply, stretching out the last of her built-up sleep tension, and began walking toward the city of Ponta Delgada to meet the Dracon family lawyer.
---
"Hi, um…do you speak English?" Elisa asked the female secretary doubtfully. The young secretary smiled politely at the question, as if she had heard it time and again.
"Yes, I do. Do you have an appointment?" The woman asked in a distinctly European accent. It made the Portuguese girl sound almost British.
"Oh," Elisa began, realizing that the letter had specifically said to make an appointment. In her haste to get the matter resolved, she had completely forgotten to do so… "Well, not really. I kind of forgot to…" Elisa felt in her pockets for the letter from Mr. Perreira, and was rewarded. She pulled out the folded paper, and handed it to the secretary. "I'm sorry, but I've come all the way from New York City to see Mr. Perreira, and—"
The secretary took the letter from Elisa's hand, unfolded it, instantly recognized the letterhead, and smiled again at Elisa once she had read Elisa's name as the addressee. This case was a well-known one in the office, and the water-cooler buzz had kept it a hot topic for weeks. Even the secretary had heard of how an infant child living in Manhattan was the sole heir to a large crime fortune, and that Manuel was handling the estate. The office even had bets going to see how long Manuel would have to wait before his letter was answered—the secretary had won. Nearly three weeks had passed since he had sent it, and she had been optimistic that it would be answered right away. This visit made Teresa the secretary 1000 escudos richer, which was the equivalent of about $10 US…
"Not a problem. I don't think he has any appointments right now." Looking down at a screen before her, and scrolling with the mouse, she nodded and returned her glance at Elisa. "Yes, he's free right now, actually. His office is the second on the left. You may go right in. I'll let him know you are here." The secretary pointed down the short hall. Elisa nodded her thanks and began walking while the secretary picked up the phone to announce to Manuel that Elisa had arrived.
"Senhor Perreira, Sra. Maza está aqui para te-vir. Ela vem a seu escritório agora. Está bem?" (Mr. Perreira, Ms. Maza is here to see you. She's going in to see you now. Is that ok?")
Manuel gasped at this briefly. "Meu deus. Ela não chamou para marcar um appontamento…mais sim, Teresa, está bem. Obrigado." (My God, she didn't make an appointment…but yes, Teresa, that's fine. Thank you.)
As he replaced the receiver upon its cradle, a faint knocking was heard at his office door. He ran his hand through his light brown hair, trying to gain some sort of composure. This was going to be a strange case to deal with, seeing as how he had been brought up to speed with the situation surrounding Elisa's impregnation. Silently wishing he had been given a few more moments of preparation, he rose from his desk, smoothed out his grey suit jacket and tie, and greeted the unwilling Dracon widow.
"Hello, Mr. Perreira. I'm Elisa Maza. I—"
"Yes, Ms. Maza. I know. Thank you so much for coming." He smiled genuinely, shaking her hand. He motioned at a chair in front of his desk and walked to his filing cabinet to pull out her file. Elisa sat down, feeling a bit uncomfortable. She really hadn't yet decided what she was going to do about this inheritance Adam would be entitled to, though she had received a lot of good advice. Ultimately, it would all fall upon this one meeting with the lawyer to make her decision. She rubbed her hands together nervously as she sat silent in her chair.
"Oh, and Ms. Maza," Manuel said, while still rummaging through his files, "Please call me Manuel." Elisa smiled.
"Sure. Thanks." Elisa replied, a bit more at ease than before, though still worried about what exactly was going to transgress at this meeting.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, Manuel found the file he desired to find, and sat back at his desk with the file folder open. He steepled his hands together, and looked most seriously at Elisa.
"First, I apologize for the letter. I know it was a bit…abrupt, but I wanted to show you how important this matter was."
Elisa raised a hand in protest. "I understand the importance completely. My question is, what exactly is involved here? I mean, I'm a police officer, sworn to uphold the law."
Manuel raised an eyebrow. "I assure you, this transaction is completely legitimate, and one-hundred percent legal—"
"I don't mean that," Elisa cut him off. "What I mean is that I know where the Dracon fortune comes from. I don't think I want that money to touch my son. I also don't think it's morally right to take that money, knowing how many lives obtaining that money has destroyed."
Manuel, not being devoid of compassion, nodded his comprehension of Elisa's objection.
"I understand, Ms. Maza, but Mr. Dominic Dracon's will specifically indicated his final wish of the fortune to be signed to his grandson upon his death. He made sure I wrote the will carefully. This was a selfless act."
Elisa scoffed. "I doubt that very much, Manuel. Dominic Dracon was nothing more than a criminal, as was Tony. His willing all this money to my son was just a trick to ensure the family name lives on through Adam. That must be one of the stipulations, right?" Elisa asked. Manuel shook his head.
"Actually, Ms. Maza, Mr. Dracon never mentioned anything about that. He was under the assumption that he was going to go to New York to retrieve his grandson. That was never a question, I imagine."
Elisa shook her head at the sheer confidence Dominic had at his success at taking her son. Come to think of it, Elisa thought, he almost had succeeded. If it weren't for the gargoyles' perseverance, she would have lost her son that night. She shuddered slightly at the thought.
Manuel flipped the page in front of him, read momentarily, and resumed his train of thought. "Now, the only thing that was written into the will that could be amended was the age at which Adam would claim the fortune," Manuel said, pulling the drawer to his desk open, and retrieving a legal sized notepad. He took a pen off his desk set and began writing upon the notepad. He looked up again at Elisa and continued, "Is it alright with you if we legalize the age now?"
"You mean there is no way around this? Adam has to inherit this dirty money?"
Manuel furrowed his brow and cocked his head at Elisa in confusion of sorts. "Ms. Maza, I understand that you are a policewoman and that the Dracons did do some illegal things in the States and here in Sao Miguel, but that doesn't mean that perhaps this money can't go towards something positive when Adam receives it. This money will secure his future for years afterwards."
Elisa thought quickly to the baby shower gift that Fox had presented her with: a college fund for Adam. He doesn't need Dracon's money…then again, he already has somewhat tainted ex-con money… she shuddered again.
"I suppose…" Elisa answered finally. Manuel nodded.
"And, yes, this money has been willed to him. I must abide by Mr. Dracon's wishes."
He gave her no option. Elisa exhaled in annoyance at the situation, but closed her eyes to make sure it didn't seem as if she was angry at Manuel. She reminded herself he was only doing his job. She shook her head and looked at the Portuguese lawyer.
"Alright. Fine. What age is usually appropriate? 20?"
"Actually, in my experience, eighteen usually is the age of choice because the child is legally an adult in most countries, and he or she usually is heading off to post-secondary school, and this time is the most crucial time in terms of debt."
Elisa pondered this briefly before nodding her agreement. "Ok, where do I sign?"
---
Sunset, the country side near Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel, Portugal
Goliath broke free from his stone shell with a booming cry, expelling the stone skin violently. He was greeted almost immediately by his human love, Elisa. She appeared tired, but otherwise well.
"My love, how did the meeting with the lawyer go?"
"He gave me no choice. Adam has to inherit this fortune." She didn't look entirely happy about that. Goliath stepped closer to Elisa and wrapped his wings around her in a warm and welcome embrace.
"I take it this was not the outcome you wished for?"
"No, it's not that. Even from beyond the grave, Tony and Dominic are toying with me. Dominic left me no alternative action. The will made it next to impossible for me to refuse that money."
"Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise." Goliath said, trying to turn a bad situation into a good one.
"Goliath, I wanted to keep Adam's father's identity a secret from him and this inheritance is going to make it really hard to do that. When he's 18, he'll know that his father was involved in organized crime. I wanted to shelter him from that, but the origin of this money can't be kept a secret forever. He'll ask why he inherited so much money. My son will figure it out."
Goliath hugged Elisa a bit tighter in response. "We will deal with that question when the time comes. I'm sure that he will understand why you did not wish to tell him about his father when the truth is revealed." Elisa just sighed.
"Oh Goliath, I knew Dracon was rich, but the lawyer told me just how rich, and I nearly fell over," She sighed again at the thought of all those millions of dollars. "I just hope Adam will know what to do with all of it, you know?"
Goliath kissed Elisa's forehead and scooped her up into his massive arms. He unfurled his wings and prepared to take off from the hill towards the plane. "I'm sure he will, my love. I am sure that he will not let that go to his head. He will, after all, have the finest upbringing."
Elisa looked at her lavender champion and hooked her arm around his neck. "He will have the finest father, that's for sure." She smiled lovingly at Goliath and planted a tender kiss upon his lips. After this, they glided towards the jet to return back to New York City.
-
November 18, 1997, 2:12pm
Elisa arrived back at the Eyrie Building feeling jet-lagged and exhausted. A six and a half hour flight usually did that to a person. Once Elisa exited the plane, she asked to have one of Xanatos' crewmen bring the statue of Goliath back to the parapets while she went to check on Adam at her mother's house. Once there, she let her parents know about what had transpired in Portugal. Ever the police officer, Peter Maza wasn't impressed, but Elisa assured him that it was necessary, and that the will had made it hard to refuse the inheritance.
---
"You don't need anything from that family." Peter said begrudgingly. Elisa nodded, smirked and rested her hand on her father's shoulder.
"That's exactly what I said, but I will make sure that it doesn't get to his head. I would tell you how much money it is, but you'd both probably faint when you hear it." Elisa joked. She had obviously had a few more hours to get used to the idea than her parents. Just then, Elisa heard the sweet cries of her son in the next room. Diane was preparing him to go with Elisa, but had awoken him and this made him particularly cranky. His cries bounced off the walls, reverberating down the hall and straight to Elisa's ears.
Elisa walked briskly into the guest room, which had been converted into Adam's guest room, complete with Elisa's old crib, and a change table that had been Derek's. Elisa waved her mother away from Adam good-naturedly.
"That's alright, Mom. I'll take him. Thanks." She smiled. Diane handed the infant to her daughter and paused to watch the two together. Sometimes it amazed her that she was a grandmother, and that Elisa was the first one to have a child. Out of her three children, she would have imagined that Derek would be the first to be married and have children, only because of Elisa's hectic schedule at the precinct. Her life, for the past three years, had been nothing but her job. She had grown into a workaholic at the station, and even Peter hadn't been that bad. Now, here she was, engaged—true, her fiancé was a little unorthodox, but she was engaged nonetheless—and a mother. Boy, had Diane's impressions been wrong three years ago…
"Hi baby. Shhhh….momma's here. We're going to go home, yes we are." Elisa cooed as she slipped his tiny arms into his jacket, wrapped a short scarf around his neck loosely and fit the light blue toque upon his cherub head. She then propped him up a bit, picked him up and took him into the next room where his carrier was.
Diane walked over to Peter and slipped her arm through his lovingly while the two of them silently watched Elisa's motherly manner towards Adam.
"Our daughter is full of surprises." Diane said quietly to her husband, speaking to the motherly demeanor that just sprang out of Elisa. Peter simply nodded his agreement.
Elisa strapped Adam into his carrier securely, and picked it up. "Well, guys, thanks for watching him today."
"It was no problem, Elisa. We love taking care of him. Anytime you need us to watch him, let us know." Peter replied happily, pulling Adam's toque up a bit to plant a kiss on his head.
"Yes, Elisa. Anytime, darling. We love you." Diane chimed, opening the door for Elisa since her hands were full. Elisa stepped outside, said another goodbye, and then walked to her car. Peter and Diane Maza watched.
"Do you think that money is a bad thing, Peter?"
He sighed as he watched his daughter and grandson pulling out of the driveway in the Fairlane.
"Let's just say that I have a bad feeling about it, Diane."
---
Stay tuned for episode 4!
Tima