The Eyrie Building was 90 storeys tall, a gothic spire of black stone, polished steel, and solar-glass. It blossomed from the ground and pierced the heavens with its dark needle, crowned by the parapets of Castle Wyvern. It was ornamented down its length with leering stone gargoyles and flying buttresses, seemingly designed to match the castle above. There were perks to having your office on the top floor of the now-tallest building in New York City. Perks like having a twenty-foot tall wall of glass with an unobstructed view of all Manhattan.
Granted, it wasn't as comfortable a sight as it once had been. Most especially given that he had been in the North Tower at a business meeting just the day Before.
David Xanatos looked out at this view over one shoulder. His perfectly shaped lips and aquiline nose creased as he smiled. His dark, wide eyes glinted with cunning. With his bronze skin, long ponytail, and well-groomed goatee, he cut a figure that would make one think of an ancient Greek king. He was undeniably a handsome man, and he wore his charisma in a way that subtly told the room that he knew the magnetism he possessed.
He sipped his water from his glass, his neat suit unrumpled by his easy and comfortable posture in the power chair. He smacked his lips. "Are you sure I can't interest you in some? It's cucumber-mint. Fresh this morning."
"No."
"Well, you'll break Owen's heart." Xanatos was charming and apologetic as he smoothly spun his chair to face his guest. "He is so proud of his refreshments."
"I do not drink in another's home." The guest said firmly.
"Suspecting poison? Well, rest assured, I'm not nearly so foolish."
"Others have been. You understand."
"Oh, all too well, Mr. Oroku." Xanatos sighed. "Wealth attracts enemies."
Mr. Oroku sat stiffly in his chair, unearthly in his disciplined stillness. Xanatos could hardly see him breathe, let alone blink. His features were thin and narrow, all deep angles. His vampire-pale skin and slick iron-black hair painted him in the shades of a film-noir villain. His features were unmarred by blemish or mark, save for three thin scars that began at his temple, passed over his milky right eye, and ended at the bottom of his chin.
His thin lips stretched an insincere smile. "Believe me. I am well accustomed to enemies."
"Well." Xanatos blinked, mildly put off. "I believe your lawyers have had time to look over the final draft of my proposed amendments?"
"You drive a very hard bargain." Oroku said, a voice that was so cold he could have frosted the table with his breath. "A 55-45 share in the profits is not attractive to my associates. Your research team had better be worth it."
"Oh, I trust that they'll go quite a long way at TCRI. I'm certain that you and Dr. Sevarius will get along famously." He smiled that charming smooth smile. "This compound is going to revolutionize medicine. Longevity, degenerative diseases, paralysis, the common cold." He winked. "At least, that's what the press will say."
"You will have no shortage of healthy volunteers. But the mutagen must be perfected. Its instability has cost me dearly."
Xanatos raised his eyebrows. "You did mention 'containment issues' a few years back. These won't prove to be a hindrance, will they?"
Oroku's eyes narrowed. In spite of himself, Xanatos felt the small hairs on the back of his neck prickling as his guest scowled. "If it must be done, I will see to the security of the site personally. "
Xanatos allowed himself a wary pause behind his unbreakable facade. "And our other contract?" He prompted.
Oroku closed his eyes and breathed out through his nose. "Must this be a term of our deal?"
"Well, when in Rome." Xanatos shrugged with a casual easiness. "Giving your Foot ninjas as well as the Pack a legitimate alibi is necessary. Being able to wave off witnesses' statements with a film permit will be valuable, to you especially."
"The Foot Clan is not a circus to be hired for your act." Oroku warned him coldly.
"Now, I never said they were." Xanatos deflected. "All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near."
If Xanatos himself wasn't convincing, Sun Tzu was more persuasive to the ears of the ninja lord. "The terms are agreed." Oroku withdrew a small, slim case from his suit coat pocket. He removed a simple stamp, the size and shape of a roll of quarters, and pressed his red-ink signature on the line. He held out his hand for a handshake. "May our business together be prosperous."
"It will be." Xanatos assured him warmly, grasping his hand. "Would you care to stay for dinner?"
Oroku said nothing. He clicked his fingers, and out of the shadows, a pair of men in skin-tight black body armor emerged. He simply stood up, and left the office.
"Well. You're welcome." Xanatos muttered to himself. He sipped his water again, smacking his lips lightly. The phone on his desk beeped. "Mr. Xanatos, Goliath wishes to see you."
"Perfect timing, Owen. Send him in." He set the glass on his desk.
Xanatos heard the furious footfalls of the enormous monster as soon as the phone went silent. The doors were flung open, and there he was. Tall, dark, and caped in his own magnificence. He strode forward, tail lashing behind him. "We had an agreement, Xanatos." He snarled.
"Goliath!" Xanatos beamed. "Would you like some water? It's cucumber-mint."
Goliath's snarl did not fade. "Where are they?"
"You're going to have to be–"
"Our clan children are gone." He cut him off. "And you have little time before my patience follows."
Xanatos raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Goliath, I assure you, I have no idea what you're talking about. Our agreement remains inviolable; you protect the castle, and I protect you. If they've gone off on their own, that is their responsibility."
"They are still children , Xanatos." Goliath's voice simmered with rage. "I do not expect you to understand that, by our ways, they are only on the cusp of adulthood. The humans are not ready, and neither are they!"
Xanatos closed his eyes, and shook his head, fingers knitted below his chin. "Goliath, I wish I could help you wrangle your three wayward teenagers. But I'm afraid that you know them better than I do. I can't be of help; boys will be boys."
Goliath's tail slammed the floor, his wings flew open with a furious roar. So fierce was this display that the glass on Xanatos' desk tipped over, spilling across the wood and glass. Xanatos, nonplussed by this outburst, lifted the signed contract out of harm's way and simply mused, "You're a glass-half-empty sort of person, aren't you?"
There was a white flash of his eyes and a final snarl of impotent fury. Goliath turned with a flip of his tail and a flap of his wings, storming out of his office. The door slammed behind him, with enough force that Xanatos heard the metal door handle on the other side snap.
Xanatos straightened the papers in his hand, tucking them into a manila folder. "I've always been a glass-half-full sort, myself." He said to no one in particular.
Outside Xanatos' office, Goliath stewed as he strode towards the elevator, his face a dark mask. He pushed the elevator button to return to the castle above, and quietly folded his arms under his caped wings.
The elevator music was melodic, unobtrusive, and soothing. It was also an unforgivable insult to his ears. He drew his breath in and out through his nostrils, trying to breathe himself into calmness. Anyone who would have been unfortunate enough to share that elevator with him would have mistaken the sound for a bull getting ready to charge, horns first, through the steel door.
The elevator dinged, and Goliath stormed out. He nearly ran over their beast, who had been pacing in front of the door. He looked up at Goliath and growled, worry drooping his earfins and bulldog-like face. "Arrooo?"
Goliath paused mid-stomp. He un-caped his wings, relaxing for a bit. "It seems we shall need your nose tonight, my friend."
"Arrf." The beast rubbed himself against his knee, scratching his face on the rough, rock-like hide of his leg. The clan's one and only surviving beast, and he likely didn't even know it. How could he know he was the last of their kind too?
Goliath scratched the beast's head with his long claws, and the beast's tongue lolled out of his mouth. His hind leg started scritching at his belly, drawing a faint smile from Goliath's iron-shielded heart. He heard Hudson before he saw him walking through the gravel courtyard in his direction. "Old mentor." Goliath lowered his head respectfully. "Have you had any luck?"
"I found this in the TV room." He pulled a piece of paper out of his belt pouch, holding it out to Goliath. "I think you ought to see it."
He unfolded it, and read it under his breath. "Gone to a game to watch the… 49th and the Jests? We'll be careful. Wanted to let you know so you wouldn't worry. The map on the table will show where we are." He looked up at the bearded gargoyle. "How far away are they?"
"You know I'm little use for maps. Never had a need of them when you could memorize the land." He shook his head. "But they are due West of the castle. It appears to be a straight glide across the western river, well away from here."
"Did you see any cliffs or heights to perch?"
"None." He glowered. "Reckless children, the lot of them. Just like the young to forget that they need to find a way back."
"Then we must go to them, at once." Goliath folded the note, storing it in his own belt pouch. "We shall need to plan more carefully, perhaps prepare to take a boat across the river. Do we have hoods to hide our heads?"
"Aye, should be simple enough to find." The elder gargoyle nodded. "That trick may be more difficult in these times, my friend. A thousand years is a great deal of time for the humans to change their dress."
"It shall have to suffice. We've no alternative." He rumbled. "We must make ready and depart as soon as possible. I've no love of leaving the castle unguarded, but we have only one way to track them."
The beast sat his rump down, and boofed dutifully. He knew what to do.
