Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or locations from Gargoyles, those belong to their owners.
Author's note: This story takes place the summer following "The Journey", and though it ignores the comic's continuity, I'm using Fang's real name, revealed in Bad Guys #2.
Chance Meetings
Chapter 13: First Night On The Job
by Remtar85
It was a little past 10:00 PM as Angela and Broadway glided in the warm summer skies, carrying a small crate each. Each crate carried sixteen miniature drones, most ready and programmed to do surveillance, with the exception of one per crate, which Lexington would pilot himself. And as they neared their destination, Broadway just looked more thrilled. This could be the start of their big break in catching Fang and putting him back in his cell where he couldn't be a danger to anyone anymore. And he always did wish to try doing surveillance through hidden cameras, as he had seen in a number of movies and crime dramas on the television.
"According to Talon's directions, we're almost there," Angela said to him.
"Okay. I just hope we can find a good spot to hide these," Broadway said.
"There should be something along the nearby buildings. We can investigate when we get there," she added.
Not long afterwards, Broadway recognized the area by the address that Talon had provided for them. Landing atop a building, they peeked out the side, trying to remain discreet. "Alright," the stout gargoyle said, "if I'm not mistaken, then that should be the apartment Fang's hiding out at, and that same window is his nephew's room."
Angela watched as Broadway pointed to an apartment at the fifth floor of the building, specifically at an open window of a bedroom right by the fire escape, and the bedroom's light was off. "It seems they're either asleep or not inside the room right now," Angela pointed out. "We should get started right away."
"Right," Broadway said, opening the small crate he was carrying and reaching inside, pulling out a tiny drone.
Angela also opened her crate, then she tapped into what seemed to be a button on the neck area of her top. "Lexington, we've arrived. We can begin."
Instantly, the earpieces both gargoyles wore sparked to life and Lexington's voice was heard. "Got it. You guys try to find as many hiding spots as possible. In the meantime, I'll get to work finding out if I can hide a pair of them inside that apartment."
As he finished talking, two of the drones sparked to life and hovered out of the crates, making their way down towards the open window. "I still wonder how he can so easily control more than one at a time," Angela pondered.
"Ah, if it's technology, don't be surprised at Lex doing what nobody else can. He rebuilt and customized a motorcycle in just a couple of days, only a little after a month after we woke up in this century. He even rebuild and customized a whole helicopter, in just a day, and you should've seen him pilo... oh, um, never mind. Just forget I said anything, I shouldn't have brought it up. Don't know what I was thinking."
Angela was instantly curious, mainly at Broadway's sudden mood swing from enthusiastically explaining to suddenly stopping in a rather sheepish manner. "Wait, I wish to hear more. I never knew Lexington had a helicopter. Can I see it?"
Broadway looked a bit shifty and, reaching over, he put a hand on Angela's shoulder. "Angela, seriously, you really, and I mean really shouldn't bring up the helicopter thing around Lex. Trust me on that. Thank goodness your communicator's off for now and he didn't hear us..."
"But why shouldn't I mention it?"
"Just... just don't. Last time someone did, we didn't hear the end of it for a week, it was a nightmare," Broadway said, shuddering. "Anyway, we should get to work on planting these. How about I take this building and you take the one across the street?"
And with that, Broadway walked away with the crate. Angela looked quizzically at her mate, then walked away and jumped off the building, soaring high before landing on another building across the street without attracting any unnecessary attention. That whole helicopter thing made her quite curious, but considering Broadway's reaction to even bringing it up accidentally, she decided to just get to work on planting the drones, trying to push the helicopter thing out of her mind. Still, that curiosity remained in the back of her head.
It was quite easy for Fang to find the specific warehouse that Demona had sent him to. After all, it was in the same area of the warehouse he had worked at not that long before he had been mutated. Fang had been careful not to divulge to his nephew that the actual reason he got fired from that warehouse was because he got caught by a couple of other employees trying to open a locker that didn't belong to him. There had been reports of things missing from lockers, which Fang had actually taken. He was well aware that he never could help himself, that if he ever wanted something, he'd just grab it. Of course, they couldn't find any evidence that he had stolen anything, but getting caught trying to break into someone else's locker was enough to get him fired and put a pretty dark stain on his resume, which ended up with him unable to get a job, losing his apartment and having to squat down wherever he could.
Sitting down on the edge of the rooftop of a very nearby building, Fang thought back to how much he hated having gotten caught and losing his home. He couldn't bring himself to face his favorite nephew after that, and he did not want to hear Carmen get on his case about it. Once she started nagging, there was just no stopping her. Still, now that he thought about it, getting caught and fired was ultimately a blessing in disguise. It's what led to him meeting Sevarius and obtaining his new body. It crossed Fang's mind that he had never actually thanked Sevarius for mutating him, and he figured he should get to do so as soon as he got a chance.
As Fang sat there, waiting impatiently and thinking how he should really give some money to Daniel so the boy could buy him a watch, he noticed the area seemed nice and quiet. It seemed to be a slow night, and he could see employees here and there, but in small numbers. He was fine with this, it would make things easier for him with less people around. But he still had no idea how he would be able to steal this suitcase Demona wanted. The way she described it, it sounded like it contained something of extreme value, and Fang was pretty sure that whoever was carrying it, they'd have protection. Fang started to ponder ideas, from just swooping down in a surprise blitz to take the suitcase, to maybe stalking the carrier until a good opportunity came to take the suitcase while the carrier's guard was down.
For some time, Fang just stood there brainstorming, at times getting up, pacing around. He really was quite nervous about this, and kept telling himself to calm down. "Cmon, Fang, you got this," he spoke out loud. "You can fly, you got electric blasts, you got the element of surprise. Just gotta stay up top, right up here, wait for the perfect moment to swoop in."
With that said, striving to keep confident, he planted himself yet again near the edge of the building's rooftop, waiting. "Man, I really need a watch and a portable radio or something," he sighed.
He didn't know how much time passed, but eventually, a ship started to come in. Fang instantly perked to attention as the large vessel neared the harbor, eventually coming to a full stop. Fang swooped off of the building, landing on top of another warehouse where he had a good view of the ship. As it finally came to a stop and was secured, sailors and warehouse workers began their duty of unloading the ship's cargo, all large wooden crates. It didn't take long for Fang to notice that a man came out of the ship that looked different from others. He was a rather portly and balding fellow, caucasian, dressed in a blue suit and tie, and he carried a metallic suitcase just like Demona had described. The suitcase wasn't very big at all, and the man dragged it behind him on one of those two-wheeled carts, like the ones people use in airports and the like.
"Aah, there we go," Fang said with a smirk, which instantly faded as soon as he saw four other men in black suits emerge from the ship behind the man, never straying far from him, making their status as his bodyguards quite apparent. "Shit, I knew it. Now how the hell am I gonna get past those bozos?"
As the cougar-man kept watch over his target, pondering on how to snatch the suitcase without any harm coming to himself, he saw to his displeasure that the man seemed to be heading for a limousine waiting for him. Fang growled in frustration. He could not lose this chance, but those bodyguards were ever vigilant and likely very well armed. Fang figured that even if he swooped down to snatch the suitcase at the fastest speed he could muster, there was still a chance that the bodyguards could get over their surprise quickly enough to draw their guns and get a lucky shot, and he did not want to risk it. As he stood up in that roof, pondering his next course of action while the man carrying the suitcase spoke with one of the warehouse workers, Fang's ears perked to attention as they caught a peculiar sound. He looked the other way and he could see three motorcycles approaching.
"Oh, come on, not more security," he grumbled.
The motorcycles were indeed headed for the specific warehouse next to where the ship had docked and the cargo was being taken into. But what Fang did not expect was for the three cyclists to stop nearby and pull out guns, which they suddenly started shooting. Instantly there was a commotion, with sailors and warehouse workers fleeing, the panicked suitcase carrier also running with a bodyguard sticking close to him, his other bodyguards opening fire on the bikers. From his position up above the building, Fang was stunned at this sudden development, and instantly realized that Demona wasn't the only one who got the idea of trying to steal the contents of that suitcase. While Fang would normally have appreciated a distraction, this situation meant not just more guns to deal with, but also competition, and those guys were certainly more used to doing this than he was.
"Oooh, fuck my life," he growled before he took off.
Hovering above, he saw two of the bikers take cover during the firefight with the remaining bodyguards, while the third one took off in a different direction. Hovering higher, Fang saw that it was clear the cyclist wanted to intercept the suitcase carrier elsewhere. Said suitcase carrier was running away along with his bodyguard and several warehouse workers, trying to find cover wherever they could. Many were heading to a nearby warehouse to take refuge inside it, and Fang could hear the biker approaching. And it was only then that Fang noticed something else. In the crowd, he saw a familiar face for a second. Focusing more on this person, a blond haired man, he managed to see his face, and the mutate's eyes opened wide.
"Tim?" Fang uttered.
Tim, the only person in the Labyrinth who was ever nice to Fang during his imprisonment. Who always tried sneaking him some good food, talked to him, joked around. He really was the only person Fang considered an actual friend, someone he could count on, until that lucky day that Daniel came into the Labyrinth and found his mutated uncle. And now Fang heard the motorcycle again, and he saw the rider in his dark helmet heading towards the fleeing crowd. Everyone scattered as the biker started shooting, the bodyguard shooting back as he and the suitcase man started backing away towards cover. Fang reacted, not even thinking about it. He swooped down, following Tim as he fled, and the mutate came from behind, putting his hands under Tim's arms and taking off into the skies, holding him firmly. Amidst the panic, nobody saw this happen.
"AAAAAAAAH!" Tim screamed as he found himself lifted into the skies, and looking up, he saw who had just carried him up. "Fang?!"
"Yeah, it's me!" Fang shouted back. "Shit, you almost blew my eardrums out!"
Having taken Tim away from the danger below, Fang swooped over to the top of a warehouse farther away, landing gently, setting Tim down first. "You okay, Tim?" he asked.
"Yeah," Tim panted, nodding his head, a hand on his chest. "I'm okay, just winded, and really fucking scared. What are you doing here, man?"
"Me? Ah, I was just, you know, passing by," Fang repled. "What about you?"
"I work here. I told you I was gonna try applying for some jobs, remember? I got hired here, started working the night you escaped," Tim answered.
"Oh. Really? Damn, good for you, Tim," Fang said, surprised at this . "Shit, you start working the same night I escape and it ends up being here? Talk about coincidences, huh?"
"Yeah. Hey, where have you been, Fang? Everybody's looking for you. And man, is Talon not happy," Tim said.
At this, Fang scoffed. "I'll bet. And like I care about Talon and his cronies, they can all go rot on a ditch far as I'm concerned. Look, I've been managing, I'm doing okay, and I'm glad you're okay too, but I really need to get going. Can you get down from here okay?"
Tim nodded. "Yeah, I can."
"Good. For now, stay up here where it's safe. Wait till the cops show up, or those motorcycle wackos go away, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," Tim said.
Nodding, Fang turned, about to leave, but then suddenly stopped and turned back. "Oh, right! Tim, I'm really gonna appreciate it if you don't tell Talon or anyone you saw me tonight. Can you do that for me?"
"Of course, man," Tim said. "Hey, thanks for the help there."
"Anytime, bud," Fang said, jumping off and flying back to where the sounds of the gunshots where coming from.
Lexington found himself conflicted as he settled one of the drones on the fire escape, piloting the other into the open window of the bedroom. He always did like trying new devices and machines, and this one he felt could be a lot of fun. Yet he had the nagging thought in the back of his mind that Xanatos had developed these miniature drones for less than ideal things. Espionage, perhaps.
Grumbling, Lexington shook the thought out of his head and focused on the task at hand. He had important things to worry about now, namely checking out the inside of the apartment and try hiding these two drones. Working from the computer at the castle, the camera in the drones gave him a first person view as he piloted them remotely, and he guided the first into the room. The light was off, but the light from outside was enough for Lexington to see. It was a rather small room, with regular furniture and a lot of comic books. Nobody was there, and the tech savvy gargoyle started looking around for a good place to hide the drone. Noticing the closet door was open, he piloted the drone in there, where it was actually still quite dark.
"Hmm. Let's see what we can do about that," Lexington said, clicking on a button, and instantly the view changed to a greenish hue. "Night vision works just fine. Man, I really have to keep one of these for myself."
Exploring the walk-in closet, Lexington noticed that it was not as messy as the rest of the room, namely because the boy did not have that many clothes. Piloting to the highest shelf, Lexington found a good hiding spot for the drone between some folded up bedsheets. Now he could try hiding the other and explore the rest of the apartment, but the bedroom door was closed, so Lexington piloted the drone around, trying to find another open window. He found one easily, and carefully had the drone enter into what was the living room.
"Alright, let's get in there," Lexington spoke out loud.
Delving further into the apartment, he saw it was quite humble and not big at all. Regular furniture, nothing more than regular necesities, with the living room, dining room and kitchen making up most of the place in one area. The lights were off, and Lexington turned the night vision on for this second drone as well. Exploring a bit more, he soon found a good hiding place, at the very back of the kitchen cabinets above the sink. They were tall enough that not even Fang could see the drone if Lexington set it back far enough. But before he set it there, Lexington decided to check the rest of the apartment out. The lights were out, and he could see no signs of life. Venturing further, he found the closed door of the boy's bedroom, as well as two more doors. One was fully open, and Lexington saw the bathroom, and right nearby, the other door was ajar. Carefully closing in, the gargoyle managed to see another bedroom, and in it, he could see two adults fast asleep, which he figured were the mother and stepfather of Fang's nephew.
And it was then than it hit Lexington. "Wait a minute. Where are Fang and the kid?"
Broadway had a bit of a difficult time finding where to hide these miniature drones Lexington had given him and Angela. They were quite tiny, like those Hot Wheels car toys, but he still wanted to find a secure spot where no rain, animals or people could disrupt them or break them. Over by these buildings, there really weren't any places to hide them, so the portly gargoyle had to get creative. Walking along the roof, he would poke holes onto the short concrete wall every few feet or so, and in them he put a drone, pleased to note that the holes were big enough for the drones to fit in and be able to lift off properly and both exit and enter the hole. The drones were small enough that he could hide a lot of them just in this building alone.
"That should do it," he said, peeking into the crate, surprised that he managed to hide almost all of the drones in the small holes he had poked out on just this one building, and in fact, he had just one left.
Looking over to the buildings across the street, Broadway noticed that one of them had one of those walk-in pigeon coops that he sometimes saw on rooftops of buildings. This one seemed devoid of any pigeons, pieces of wood hammered over holes the pigeons would go through, with the chainlink fence on it having holes too small for the pigeons to get through. Said holes were not too small for the drones, though, and he could see Angela had broken in there and was planting them. She could no doubt hide all of the ones from her crate in there. Reaching into his crate, the portly gargoyle took the final remaining drone and set the crate down. And at that moment, the communicator in his ear sparked to life, and he knew Angela's had too.
"Guys? I got the drones hidden in the apartment, but Fang and his nephew aren't in there, so keep on your toes just in case. No telling where they could be," Lexington told them.
Peeking again over to where Angela was, Broadway could see her speaking into her communicator, replying to Lexington. She was most likely already finished with planting the drones, and Broadway still had the one remaining in his hand. He then figured he could plant it in the actual building Fang was staying, hoping that maybe he could capture footage and sound of Fang whenever he'd go up on the rooftop, so after a bit of running to get some impulse, Broadway glided from one rooftop to he next, landing smoothly. And only a couple of seconds after he landed, the door that lead into the building opened all of a sudden, taking Broadway by surprise.
"Uncle Fang, how'd it..."
Daniel Sykes had opened the door, looking rather excited, but the words caught in his mouth. Now child and gargoyle stood there, looking at one another in stunned silence.
Fang grumbled under his breath after surveying the docks from above. He didn't regret having saved Tim, but he had now lost sight of his target. Down below, the commotion continued, and he could hear the firefight somewhere in the area, but couldn't see the bikers or bodyguards, nor did he care, as he was entirely focused on looking for the man carrying the suitcase. He couldn't find him anywhere, so he figured he and his remaining bodyguard had taken refuge inside one of the warehouses. The police would be here soon, no doubt, and the frustrated mutate would lose his chance to steal the suitcase if that were to happen.
It was a few moments later that Fang heard more gunshots, these ones closer to him than the rest, and instantly his attention focused at the closest warehouse. Gunshots could be heard inside, and the faint sound of shouting also reached Fang's ears, until a figure emerged from the building. Fang breathed a huge sigh of relief as he saw it was the man who had the suitcase. He was running away from the warehouse, dragging the suitcase behind him in the tiny wheeled cart, his heavy-set build not allowing him to run as fast as he'd obviously like. The gunshots continued inside the warehouse, and Fang figured that the bodyguard was holding back the biker that had gone after them and had sent the man to flee to safety, or the suitcase carrier had fled and left the bodyguard behind.
"This is my chance," Fang spoke out loud, swooping lower, following the man from above. "C'mon, Fang, it's now or never. Got one shot at this, I'm gonna do it right."
Fang was sure the police would be coming by any second, so he wanted to do this unseen and as fast as possible. By now most everyone had fled the scene or hidden well, and the man was not stopping, even as he panted for breath. Eventually he managed to get away from the docks, crossing a street and ducking behind an alleyway. The man finally came to a stop and stooped over, gasping for breath, letting go of the small cart as Fang landed atop the building and kept an eye on him. The faint sound of police sirens now reached his ears, and the mutate had to resist the urge to just go down and take the suitcase. The man then peeked out the side of the alley, remaining hidden but keeping an eye out. Fang saw him pull out a cell phone from his jacket's inner pocket, flip it open and dial. This was the chance Fang was looking for, and he jumped off the side of the building, using his wings to slow his descent as he landed as silently as he could behind the man.
"Hello? It's me. Whole thing's gone to shit, some guys in motorcycles started shooting at us," the man spoke on the cell phone as he kept peeking out the alley, the suitcase right behind him. "No, no, I'm okay, I think I gave them the slip... yeah, cargo's okay... I can hear the cops, I'll be fine once they get here..."
Indeed, the police were right nearby, their sirens growing louder and louder. Fang could hear that they were basically already there, and he approached the man from behind slowly, steadily and quietly, the sirens helping in masking any sounds of his footsteps. By this point Fang could basically reach and touch the man. And then he could see on the walls of the alley the unmistakable blinking red and blue lights of the cop cars as they arrived at the scene.
"Thank God, the cops are here! I'll go to them now," the man spoke on the phone, and then flipped it closed and started to move.
Fang reacted immediately. Using his index and middle finger, he poked the back of the man's neck and sent an electric shock into his body, his left hand darting to grab the collar of the man's suit. The man grunted loudly, his body shaking as Fang zapped him only for a couple of seconds, but enough to render him unconscious. Fang then removed his fingers from the back of the man's neck and lowered him to the ground face down, just in case, so the man couldn't look at who did this to him.
"Nighty night, fatass," Fang said with a smirk.
The way he had done it, the man would think that one of those bikers had snuck up behind him and used a stun gun or taser on him. Turning to the suitcase, Fang undid the straps holding it to the small wheeled cart and lifted it off the cart. The suitcase was a lot lighter than Fang expected it to be, and he wondered what was inside it, but fought back against the curiosity. It was none of his business, the only thing that mattered now was taking it to Demona. Peeking out of the alley as the man had done, Fang saw that the police had ventured into the docks, and knowing that this was his chance for a clean getaway, he walked out of the alley. Looking in every direction, he saw nobody coming his way, so after taking a running start, he flapped his wings and took off, taking to the skies and gaining altitude as fast as he could.
Once up in the night sky, Fang breathed a huge sigh of relief as he headed in the direction of the Nightstone Unlimited building. Looking down at the suitcase in his hands, his face broke into a big grin. He had done it. He had managed to obtain what Demona wanted. Things finally seemed to be looking up again for the mutate, and he was eager to show Demona that he had succeeded.
Daniel was much too anxious in his bedroom waiting for his uncle to come home with any news on the job he would do for Demona, and the boy just simply could not sit still. He had heard his stepfather arrive home, shower and go to bed without a word, and after waiting around fifteen to twenty minutes, he had snuck out the window and up to the rooftop. He had decided to wait for his uncle up there, and went through the door leading into the building, sitting down on the staircase to wait for as long as he could. What surprised him was how he had not had to wait long at all, eventually hearing the sound of a pair of heavy steps landing onto the roof, and the sound of a small gust of wind caused by a pair of wings, that he had heard before with the mutate. The eager boy couldn't help himself, bursting out the door and calling out for his uncle.
All in all, Daniel knew he had been quite careless, as he now stood staring at a gargoyle, who stared back at him, having been caught by surprise when the boy burst out the door. Neither one knew how to react right away, just staring at one another. One good look at this heavy-set gargoyle made Daniel recognize him as the one that Hollywood had been cloned from.
And it was finally the gargoyle who broke the silence. "Um... hi there," he greeted Daniel, lifting his left hand to rather sheepishly wave it at the boy in greeting.
"Uh... hi," Daniel replied.
"Well, this is awkward," the gargoyle said, pointing out the situation and rubbing the back of his head with his right hand, then after a moment of slight hesitation, he offered his big hand to the boy. "I'm Broadway. And you're Daniel, right?"
Daniel was a touch hesitant as well. He remembered how much the clones had freaked him out when he was first introduced to them in the Labyrinth, and he still found them rather creepy. Yet this gargoyle was different. He looked strong, with a rather portly build and peculiar skin color, and his eyes just read of an overall friendly and amiable nature, which his current sheepish, awkward smile only helped to accentuate. The boy felt that he could trust this gargoyle, especially since he remembered how friendly that dog-like gargoyle had been to him at the castle. So after a moment, Daniel moved closer and reached out, shaking hands with Broadway, his hand dwarfed by the gargoyle's.
"Nice to meet you," Daniel said after they finished shaking hands. "So..."
"Yeah. Like I said, awkward," Broadway said, folding his wings around his shoulders. "I guess the cat's literally out of the bag, huh?"
"Man, I should've kept my mouth shut," Daniel said, looking unhappy with himself. "I can't believe I just burst out like that, calling out to him."
"Hey, no sweat. We all jump the gun every once in a while, and it's not like we didn't already know, so you didn't really do anything wrong," Broadway told the boy. "I'll admit it, I'm checking up on things around here."
"How long have you guys known?" Daniel asked.
"The castle has security cameras, so we learned about Fang being your uncle that same night you went there," Broadway told the boy as he sat down on the roof. "But it wasn't till recently that we figured out that Fang's staying with you."
"Aww, man," Daniel sighed, also sitting down in front of Broadway. "He's not gonna be happy about this."
"Yeah, I'll bet."
"What about Claw, though? Is he mad?"
"Oh, actually, we haven't told Claw about it," Broadway said. "We know you and him are friends, so we didn't want to cause any trouble by telling him."
"Really? Thanks," Daniel said, feeling relieved about that. "I really don't want to make Claw mad, he's been really nice to me."
"It's okay, I understand. So, is everything okay with your uncle?" Broadway asked.
"Yeah, it is," Daniel said while nodding his head. "I mean, it's not easy to have him hidden with two adults in a small apartment, but we're managing. And he had money saved from before he got mutated, so I use that to buy him food."
"Sounds like you guys are doing okay for yourselves."
"We are," Daniel said. "So why are you guys still after him?"
Broadway figured that at this point it was best to just be honest. "Because your uncle has done some bad things before, so it's not easy to just let that go."
"He told me what he's done before. Trying to take over the Labyrinth, and that night he worked for those two bad gargoyles. And I get what you mean about not being easy to let all that go, especially since I know he can have a bad attitude. But he's trying to get better! He's been behaving well, and he's looking out for me too."
Broadway nodded. "We did notice he's been laying low, we just couldn't be sure of what he was doing. So it's good to hear that you and him have been managing okay."
"He just wants to be left alone and try to live as normally as he can," Daniel said. "Can't you guys back off for a while, and just give him a chance to prove he's gonna behave well? He has so far, I know he can keep doing it."
Broadway stayed quiet for a few moments, but then he offered the boy a genuine smile. "Tell you what, Daniel. I can't promise anything, except that I'll talk to Talon and to Goliath, my clan leader. I'll give them your side of the story, and we'll see what happens. I could let you know what they think as soon as I can."
"Really? You mean it?" Daniel asked.
"Of course," Broadway replied. "Fang's your family, and watching you stick up for him like that, then I'm willing to trust you."
"Thanks! Umm... Broadway, was it?"
"Yup," the gargoyle said, offering his large hand to the boy again. "So, I'll talk to Goliath and Talon, and I won't tell Claw about anything, and you promise me you'll keep your uncle out of trouble. Deal?"
Daniel nodded and smiled, reaching over to shake hands with the gargoyle once again. "Deal. So wait, does this sort of make us friends now?"
Broadway blinked in surprise at that, but smiled again. "I don't know. We only just meet. But we don't have many friends these days, especially with those Quarrymen out there making things difficult."
"I don't have many friends either," Daniel said.
Broadway now grinned. "Then you can consider me your friend from now on too."
"Cool!" Daniel said. "Same goes for me."
"Great. Plus you're one of the few humans who hasn't totally freaked out when they first see me, so I really appreciate that too," Broadway said as he stood back up. "Maybe one of these nights when Fang goes out, I could come pick you up and take you to hang out at the castle again. You seemed to like it up there a lot, from what we saw."
"It's a real castle up in a really tall skyscraper," Daniel said. "Who wouldn't love it up there?"
"And I know Bronx would like to see you again," Broadway said.
"Oh, so that's his name?" Daniel asked. "I ended up really worried about him last time too. I'm sorry Uncle Fang attacked him."
"That wasn't your fault. And Bronx wasn't hurt that night, just knocked out, so you don't have to worry about him," Broadway assured the boy.
"That's good to know," said a relieved Daniel. "And I'd really like to see him again too, and get to explore your castle more."
"Then we'll try to make do some night when your uncle's out. You know Talon's sister, Elisa, right?"
Daniel nodded. "Yeah, I met her. She gave me her number, told me to call her if I ever need anything."
"Then if you ever want to hang out, call her and ask her if she can contact me," Broadway instructed. "I'll come pick you up, so I can take you to the castle, and maybe you can meet the rest of my clan too."
"That would be great, Broadway," Daniel said, a smile on his face.
"And it's not just Elisa you could call if you ever need anything. Just let her know and we can all help you out if we can," Broadway told the boy. "Anyway, I should head back out for patrol. It was really nice to meet you, Daniel."
"I really liked meeting you too. I never thought I'd get to befriend an actual gargoyle."
"First time for everything," Broadway said, patting the boy's shoulder. "You take care now!"
And with that, the gargoyle ran towards the side of the building and leaped off, his wings extending and carrying him up into the night sky. Daniel watched him leave, a smile on his face. He could hardly believe he had just met and befriended a gargoyle. And while it concerned him that the gargoyles knew his uncle was living there, the fact that they hadn't done anything about it so far and Broadway's promise eased Daniel's mind. He was sure his uncle would likely not react well to the news, but Daniel figured he could calm him down somehow, and he headed back inside to wait for his uncle.
Once out of sight of the building, Broadway heard the telltale sound of another gargoyle gliding nearby, and he looked to the side, where Angela approached him, and now they soared side by side.
"Hey, there you are," Broadway greeted her.
"I saw you and the boy speaking," Angela explained. "I thought it would be best if he thought only you were around. I didn't want to overwhelm him."
"Thank goodness he didn't freak out on me. Being around Fang and Claw so much must've helped on that," Broadway said.
"He seemed to have gotten along with you quite well," she pointed out.
Broadway couldn't help but smile. "I can see why Claw likes him, he's a good kid. You should've seen him stick up for Fang. Even though he knows Fang has done bad things, Daniel still loves him and wants to protect him and give him the benefit of the doubt."
"Sounds like something we would do for our clan," Angela said.
"Yeah. But after meeting him, now I feel really bad about these spy cams," Broadway said, his smile fading as he reached into the side of his loincloth, pulling out the final drone, which he had hidden before Daniel could notice it, his belt holding it in place.
"I don't like the idea of invading his privacy either, Broadway, but it's better to be safe than sorry," Angela said. "We don't know what Fang could do."
"Yeah, you're right," Broadway said with a sigh. "I trust Daniel, I don't trust Fang. I know Daniel will definitely tell Fang that I was there and that we know he's living there, but hopefully Fang won't overreact."
"Perhaps he'll become even more confident?" Angela pondered. "He knows we can't go after him while he's in the apartment."
"I hope so too. The more confident he is, the better off Daniel and his family will be, and if things go well, Daniel should be able to keep Fang out of trouble. But I'm telling you, if Fang does anything to that boy or his family, after all that Daniel has done to protect him, I'll make him wish he never got out of that cell."
Fang was very relieved when he finally landed on the roof of the Nightstone Unlimited building. As happy as he was to have succeeded in obtaining the suitcase, it took him a bit to arrive to the building, as he kept his eye out for both gargoyles and Quarrymen. Eventually he made it and was eager to hand over the suitcase and go home. After landing, he took a few steps and heard a sound like a click, and noticed the door that led to the inside of the building swing open slowly for a couple of inches.
"Oh. Must be remote controlled or something," he mumbled under his breath as he walked over, pulled the door open and went in, closing the door behind him.
The mutate proceeded to walk down a flight of stairs with his cargo, wondering where he was being guided to. Eventually he came across an empty hallway with a few doors, all of them shut with the exception of a single one. After a moment of hesitation, Fang walked towards the door and through it. It seemed to be a storage room, some boxes and shelves here and there. Fang thought he was to set the suitcase in there, but before he could do anything, he head a noise, and was taken by surprise when the back wall suddenly opened into a different room.
"Whoa, hello," Fang said out loud, and he walked through the new opening. The room past the wall was clearly a lab, with tables full of beakers and other typical lab equipment, and machines that Fang couldn't recognize at all. He looked around for a bit, until he finally heard someone come in from a door at the far end of the room, and Fang instantly recognized the man.
"Ooh, what a pleasant surprise," Anton Sevarius said as he walked towards the mutate. "It's always such a delight to receive a visit from one of my successful experiments."
"Hey, Doc. Nice to see you too," a rather surprised Fang said. "Still freelancing outside of your cushy job with Xanatos, huh?"
"I am. It would be a disservice to any possible employer and my own skills to not take advantage of all the opportunities they provide me to further my scientific knowledge and achievements."
"Yeah, and I'm sure you get paid by the butt-load too," Fang said with a smirk.
"Quite correct, my friend," Sevarius said.
"Oh, before I forget! Doc, I wanted to thank you. As in, actually thank you for what you did. Those other guys may not appreciate you mutating them, but I do, and I wanted you to know that."
"Is that so? Well, you're most welcome. I do wish more of my subjects were as grateful and welcoming to my experiments as you are, Mr. Sykes," Sevarius told the mutate, a grin on his face. "Please, come this way. Demona's waiting for you."
Sevarius then turned and went into the adjacent room, and Fang followed with the suitcase. This room was filled mostly with large computers and some more lab equipment. And at one of these computers, Demona stood, typing something. As soon as the human and mutate neared, she turned to them, a smirk on her face.
"I see you've obtained what I asked for," she said, motioning to a bare table. "Was there any trouble?"
"Not really," Fang said, setting the suitcase on top of the table. "Actually, some guys in motorcycles showed up and started shooting. They really wanted that suitcase, but I managed to get my hands on it, and nobody even saw me."
"That's good. I must admit, you did better than I thought you would," Demona said, then she turned to Sevarius. "Doctor, you may begin your work."
"As you wish, Demona. I was quite looking forward to this," Sevarius said with a big smile on his face that only helped accentuate to Fang just how creepy the scientist could get.
"Come, Fang," Demona told the mutate, who followed her out of the room.
As they headed out, Fang heard Sevarius open the suitcase, and he fought the urge to go back and peek at what it contained. Right now, he needed to work for Demona so he could get money to make things easier for himself, but knowing how unscrupulous Demona and Sevarius were, Fang figured it would be better for him to keep his interactions with them as brief as possible, do only the work Demona asked him to do and nothing beyond it. Once in the main lab, Demona walked to a small desk and rummaged in one of the drawers, handing Fang an envelope.
"Here's your money. And I also want you to keep this with you at all times," Demona said, also handing Fang a small device.
"Okay," Fang said, taking both the envelope and the small device, no bigger than a couple of inches, and it had a small screen on it. "Looks like a beeper."
"Whenever I require your services, I will send you a message," Demona told him. "You did well tonight, but you should consider yourself still on probation."
"Got it," Fang said with a nod of his head.
"Good. You know your way out," Demona said, then turned and headed back to the lab where Sevarius was.
Not wanting to overstay his welcome, Fang walked back the way he came. By the time he got to the stairs, he started jogging up them, reaching the door and closing it behind him. He then ran, spread his wings and took flight, rushing back home. The mutate sighed in relief as it all sank in that everything had gone relatively smoothly. After a few minutes of flight, he settled down atop a building and opened the envelope Demona had given him, noticing that the bills inside were all in 20 dollar denominations. He was pleased at this, as most places would accept any 50 or 100 dollar bills and he couldn't send Daniel out to stores to exchange larger bills for smaller ones. This would make it easy to spend any money when he had to..
"Who'da thunk Demona had that kind of courtesy?" Fang spoke out loud as he counted the money, and when he had finished, he looked stunned. "Two thousand dollars? Holy shit, two thousand dollars!"
The mutate laughed out loud, absolutely thrilled. He was expecting around five hundred dollars or so, but this amount of money had floored him. He quickly put the money back in the envelope and held on to it tightly, as he did with the device Demona had given him. With both secure, Fang took flight again and headed to his nephew's apartment once more.
"Oh, God, I really hope the kinds of jobs Demona gives me from now on are like the one tonight," Fang said. "Cause if they are, I can breeze through them, and then I'll be living a lot better. Shit, now I wish I could go down there and buy a six-pack to celebrate..."
Right after they had planted the drones in the buildings surrounding the one Daniel lived in with his family, Broadway and Angela had headed straight back to the castle to fill Goliath in on everything. Goliath and Brooklyn had not returned from their patrol, so Broadway had cooked a meal for himself and Angela, taking an extra portion for Lexington, who had decided to survey Daniel's apartment as long as he could. Hudson had left to visit his friend Robbins, and Bronx was wandering about.
After eating together, Broadway, Angela and Lexington stood watch by the computers, and eventually caught the moment in which Fang returned to his nephew's apartment. The boy had returned inside and gone to bed when it happened, Fang locking the boy's bedroom door and going to sleep as well. Figuring that they wouldn't get much of anything else that evening with both child and mutate asleep, the three gargoyles left the room looking for ways to keep occupied while Goliath and Brooklyn returned. Once they did, Broadway and Angela informed them of everything that transpired earlier that evening.
"So Fang's definitely gonna know now that we've figured out his hiding spot," Brooklyn sighed. "That's just great."
"We're actually hoping he gets cocky enough to feel at ease, knowing we can't really get to him while he's in there," Angela explained. "And Daniel seems to have had a rather calming influence over Fang since his escape, so we're also hoping that it continues that way."
"He could do that, but we can't be entirely sure that Fang will react in a calm manner," Goliath said. "For the moment, we will keep our distance and monitor Fang through the drones that were planted. Though, Broadway, you mentioned having promised the boy to bring him here, to visit the castle."
"Yeah, I did," Broadway confirmed.
"Then that will be the exception. As soon as you find an opportunity, I do want you to bring Daniel here. Spend time with him, show him the castle," Goliath instructed.
"So, you're hoping that by having Daniel come here, we'll get on his good side?" Lexington asked.
"In a way," Goliath replied. "My main concern is for the safety of the child and his family. I want Daniel to be able to trust us should things get bad with Fang."
"That's if Fang even lets him come here in the first place," Brooklyn pointed out.
"Knowing him, that wouldn't be a surprise. But now we have the drones to know what he's saying and doing inside that apartment," Lexington said.
"And we will adapt depending on his actions," Goliath said. "Now that we have eyes and ears inside the apartment, we will plan according to what happens in there."
"And considering that Fang's very probably working for Demona again, then I hope we can do something about it real soon," Brooklyn said.
To be continued...
Author's extra note: This chapter sure gave me a bit of trouble to write, I went through a bit of a block several times during the whole thing. Still, I'm surprised I managed to get it done in the time I did, and hopefully next chapter won't take too long to write.