Chapter 5

If he hadn't known better, Will could have sworn that he must have pissed off some higher power. From its very inception, the day had been nothing but one catastrophe after another. Rationally, he knew it was nothing more than life's sick little sense of irony. He had, after all, experienced countless days just as hectic as this one while working for the Sanctuary. Regardless, Will's tired mind continued cataloguing the possibilities as he sat in the back of the white transport vehicle as it raced towards the next disaster on their checklist. Maybe it was karma coming back to bite him on the ass for the way Kate found him this morning. As utterly satisfying as it had been to watch her shriek in horror at his nakedness and run screaming down the hall, he wasn't sure it was really worth the exhaustion that now plagued his every limb.

The entire Sanctuary crew was beyond worn out from a day battling a never-ending string of crises, and now here they were grudgingly dashing off into the fray yet again with little to no intel. The tip they received had been vague to say the least. All they really knew was that the FBI were en route to seize a mother-load of stolen goods from an old warehouse, completely clueless of the danger awaiting them in the form of live cargo. The team was going to have to work incredibly fast to transport any abnormals out of the building before the authorities arrived. Unfortunately for them, their source said nothing about what types of creatures they may find or how many there might be. Apparently, this particular smuggling ring wasn't too particular about the merchandise they moved as long as there was profit to be made. That was not a very comforting thought.

The warehouse was located in the heart of an old, abandoned industrial district on the outskirts of Old City. Most of the buildings that were still intact were so unsafe even the drug dealers wouldn't go near them. When the truck pulled up to the building, dusk was just settling in, the street lamps already glowing to light each corner of the seedy looking compound. The Big Guy stayed behind with the transport vehicle, monitoring the police scanners as Magnus, Will, Henry, and Kate made their way into the compound armed with a wide variety of tranquilizers. Will and Magnus took the South entrance and Henry and Kate, the North. Once inside, they would systematically sweep through the compound and meet up in the middle.

Will stood back as Magnus smashed an old, rusty padlock with a large, metal pry bar. With a sigh, he leaned back against the cold, metal siding of the building and let it take on the weight of his fatigued body. He watched intently as Helen went about unlatching the various bolts securing the large steel door.

His eyes started roaming the planes of her body of their own volition. Maybe it was just his overly observant mind, but he couldn't help notice how her black jeans hugged each of her curves with absolute perfection. She wore lace-up, leather boots that stopped just below the knee and a wonderfully form-fitting black top lay beneath her sleek motorcycle jacket. Her dark chocolate curls were swept back in a simple ponytail, exposing the supple flesh of her neck to the chilled night air. A secret little thrill crept up inside Will whenever he got to see Helen wear anything outside the usual business attire and lab coats, not that he didn't enjoy the heels and perfectly fitted skirts. There was just something about her when she got into mission mode, an inner vibrancy that seemed to emanate through her entire being and radiate off of her like a beacon. It wasn't just the fact that she was currently being magnificently backlit by a street lamp. She would get this sparkle in her eyes that made her seem so young and vivacious, not to mention incredibly sexy.

'Whoa there, Zimmerman. Calm down.'

Will had never been blind to Helen's beauty, but thinking about her body brought up feelings that threatened to compromise his professional integrity. Magnus trusted him, depended on him to be at the top of his game and here he was thinking about how sexy she looked in those wonderful, skin-tight jeans. She was his mentor for Christ's sake and his closest friend! Her friendship meant more to him than anything. The last thing he wanted was for her to think that she couldn't trust him anymore.

Helen had just finished with the last rusty latch when she looked over to her tired young protégé leaning into the wall. She felt a pang of remorse at the sight of his weary form. He was staring at her with an expression that Helen couldn't quite place. His face was thoughtful as if contemplating some great dilemma but there was something else in his eyes that confused her, something suspiciously akin to desire. Helen was sure she must be seeing things. She was suddenly feeling rather nervous under his gaze and her breath caught in her throat momentarily as she opened her mouth to speak. Will heard a little gasp escape from Helen's lips and suddenly became aware that she was looking right at him. He abruptly snapped out of his trance and pushed himself back from the wall in a panic. He tried to fight the blush creeping up to his cheeks as he hurriedly walked towards the door to join her. Helen didn't say a word as she stepped carefully over the threshold and waited for Will to fall in step behind her. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves before following her into the dark. The sound of their boots meeting concrete echoed softly throughout the large expanse of the warehouse.

Will kept his stunner poised to shoot as he crept softly behind Magnus, taking in as many details as possible as she scanned the area with the beam of her flashlight. Despite its outwardly haggard appearance, the warehouse was in surprisingly good shape. At the very least, they wouldn't have to worry about any rickety beams crashing down on them. The smell, on the other hand, could have been better. Henry had thankfully managed to get a few emergency lights up and running, but the soft glow they produced did little to stave off the blackness. Enormous shadows were cast by the tall, looming shelves arranged in long, endless columns.

Boxes and crates were packed densely into the large, metal shelving units, with hardly a bald spot to be seen. In less than twenty minutes, the place was going to be swarming with federal officers. It was going to be impossible to properly search every container in that amount of time and on such short notice they had no one to call for back up. Henry's electronic thermal sensors were helpful, but no guarantee when it came to abnormal physiology. There were literally thousands of abnormal species with no detectable heat signature. The best they could do was search containers for any obvious signs of live transport.

Kate and Henry managed to uncover a whopping two crates containing abnormal creatures. One held a rare species of poisonous millipede and the other an unidentified, and rather hormonal, rabbit-like creature. Neither Helen nor Will had found any signs of life on their side of the complex. With only ten minutes left on the clock and countless rows left to search, Helen's patience was wearing thin.

"Bloody hell!" Magnus swore to no one in particular as she pried open the lid of another crate.

"Nothing in this one either." Will announced with a rather loud sigh.

Helen replaced the lid and strode over to her protégé crouched next to a fairly large wooden crate.

"I think we need to split up." She suddenly blurted out.

Will's eyes grew wide and his breath hitched momentarily.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Magnus? We have no idea what kind of abnormals these people were trafficking."

"That's precisely why we need to move more quickly, Will. I can't risk leaving something behind that could potentially hurt someone or get loose and wreak havoc on the outside world."

Will sighed in resignation. There was no point in arguing with Magnus while she was in mission mode. Besides, it's not exactly as if he could refute her logic.

"Point taken. Just…be careful, alright?"

Helen gave him a quick nod of reassurance.

"I won't be far, just the next row over. Call out if you find anything."

Will nodded his understanding but never took his eyes off her as she disappeared around the corner into the next row of shelves.

She was still very close in proximity, but he didn't feel comfortable not having her in his line of sight. At least when they stuck together they could have each other's back, be ready with stunners if anything dangerous were to jump out at them. He didn't like to think about Magnus potentially getting hurt. As good as it felt to play the hero occasionally; Will knew the more likely scenario involved Helen coming to his rescue. Will didn't have the best luck when it came to angry creatures and now that Magnus wasn't at his side, he was pretty sure his chances of getting jumped by some nasty beast had just increased exponentially. Sure, when she heard his screams she'd come rushing in guns blazing, but with his luck, he'd most likely be rendered unconscious before she could even utter the words 'Hold it right there you cheeky bastard'.

Not even a full minute had passed since they'd parted ways when Will heard Helen call to him from the next row over.

"Will, I need your help."

She didn't sound distressed, but Will ran anyway.

He found her at the foot of an enormous crate, too large to fit on the shelves. It had to be at least seven feet tall and five or six feet deep. Most importantly, there were dozens of nickel-sized air holes near the top of the crate. Together, they were able to pry open the front panel of the crate with relative ease. What they found inside left them both a little bewildered to say the least.

"Dear God. It's a bloody…"

"Gargoyle." Will finished.

For a long moment the two just stared, mouths gaping open at the sight of the statue packed loosely in straw. The carving was unlike anything Helen had ever seen before. It stood at about six and a half feet tall and was human looking except it had beastly limbs complete with sharp talons and a large pair of bat-like wings. Curved horns protruded from a defined brow bone cradling the sides of its head in a bizarre sort of crown. Its body was a celebration of the male form if she'd ever seen one. In fact, she would even go so far as to say it was reminiscent of Michelangelo's David, if it had been half monster. She was at a loss for what type of stone it was carved from. The color was dark like granite but more of a bluish hue and the surface appeared smooth like marble. The eyes shone like gemstones, sapphires perhaps or maybe emeralds, it was hard to tell.

"I've never seen anything quite like this." Magnus said as she took a step closer to inspect the statue.

"Yeah, it's definitely something." Will furrowed his brow as he inspected the statue.

Something didn't feel right. Why were there air holes in a crate containing a stone Gargoyle?

"It's really quite magnificent." She marveled.

Helen took another step closer and reached out to touch the sculpture. When her hand brushed the smooth surface she felt the faintest pulsing beneath her fingertips like there was some sort of energy coursing through the stone. Out of the corner of her eye she could have sworn she saw one of the statue's talons twitch. Helen moved to take her hand away from the stone, but let out a startled cry when her wrist was suddenly seized by the Gargoyle's clawed hand. The stone made cracking noises as the creature's limbs rapidly came to life once again.

"Magnus!" Will screamed in horror as he watched the stone beast latch its claws onto Magnus.

Magnus struggled against its pull only to have her other wrist painfully seized as well.

"Please, we won't hurt you." She pleaded, hoping it would understand.

Will quickly threw down his pry bar and lunged for the stunner lying on the floor near his feet.

The popping and cracking noises continued as the Gargoyle's neck loosened. Helen could feel the hard stone clamped around her wrists softening into flesh. The creature brought his face to within in inches of hers and studied her with its deep shimmering eyes that looked like pools of black in the shadow of the crate. A demonic-like purring noise rumbled up from the depths of its throat as the corners of its mouth twisted up into a grotesque sort of smile, revealing a gleaming set of fangs.

Will really wished the creature would step out of the crate because with the way it was holding onto Magnus, he couldn't get a decent shot off at it without stunning Magnus in the process. Will quickly pressed the button on his headset and yelled for Henry and Kate.

Helen shuddered as the gargoyle looked her up and down appreciatively. She didn't want to injure the creature if possible, but had a feeling convincing it to come willingly would not be an easy task.

"We only wish to help you. We mean you no harm…" She started, trying to keep her voice soft and soothing.

The creature suddenly let go of her wrists and clamped on to her upper arms to pull her flush against his body. Magnus kicked out her leg and nailed the Gargoyle in the shin hard enough to fracture bone. It let out a deep, unearthly scream as it threw Helen out of the crate and sent her crashing into the shelving unit behind her.

Will fired his stunner at the beast as it emerged from its wooden prison. The gargoyle let out an angry snarl as the electricity coursed through its body. Magnus quickly grabbed the tranq gun strapped to her thigh and stumbled to her feet. Before she could get off a single shot the creature lashed out, smacking the weapon right out of her hands and sent it skittering across the floor. The gargoyle moved to grab her again but Will hit it with another jolt from his stunner before it could reach her. The creature locked its evil eyes on the psychologist and let out a feral growl before it started to advance. Will bolted down the aisle with the furious creature right on his heels. The last thing he remembered before the world went black was looking up to see the Gargoyle in the air, spreading its enormous wings right above his head.