GARGOYLES: Re-Awakening

Updraft: 1

Matt Bluestone was touching the side of his face that was throbbing. Maybe it was from the knock on the head, or maybe it was guilt, he wasn't sure. He was watching Elisa sit in her car in front of the precinct. They'd been there about five minutes and he wondered why she hadn't gotten out yet. Maybe she was strategizing.

Matt had been following her all day and hadn't liked what he'd seen. An unknown woman had approached Elisa's car at the end of her shift. Then Elisa had taken the woman to an apartment building in the East Village. Clearly, the woman was being stashed, but Bluestone had no clue why. Who was she and why was Elisa going outside police channels to hide her away? After that, Elisa had spent a solid hour sitting in her car outside the apartment, clearly staking the place out. As it had gotten later into the night, Matt started to wonder if she was going to completely skip out on her shift. Didn't she know Lieutenant Chavez had her number? Didn't she know she was on thin ice? A voice in his head also wondered why she wouldn't trust him, her partner. Then another voice said he didn't deserve her trust—he was spying on her.

That last thought came with a hit of remorse but then, just as quickly, a surge of anger. If she would treat him with an ounce of trust, it would be easier for him. As it stood, he didn't have any more idea what Elisa was up to than Chavez did and so what else could he do?

Matt's attention refocused when Elisa suddenly stepped out of the car. He expected her to walk right inside, but she didn't. She just stood at the side of her car, looking up. The looking up was strange. It was like she was trying to see something—like she was stargazing, but there weren't many stars to see in Manhattan. She also seemed to be slightly uneasy about being observed. She would look up, then look around to see if anyone had seen her, then back up again. Finally, she headed towards the door and just as Matt was about to get out she stopped. As he watched, Elisa waited a few moments for someone to walk into the precinct and then, when she was alone on the steps, she turned around and walked to the side of the building and around the corner into the alley.

Weird, Matt thought. What would she be doing in the alley. Are you a secret smoker now, too? Slowly, he exited his car and crossed the street to the precinct. Carefully, he peaked around the corner into the alley. It was empty. He was perplexed. Now she's a magician, he thought. Just as the thought crossed his mind his eye settled on the ladder to the fire escape. It was down. Matt debated. If he climbed up to the roof it was a big risk. If she finished whatever she was doing and started down again, he'd be caught red handed. On the other hand, he could claim that he'd just happened to see her head this way when he was coming in for his shift and when he saw she'd gone up to the roof he'd become concerned. After a few moments of indecision his resolve solidified. No detective got to the bottom of a case by playing it safe all the time. He walked to the ladder and resolutely began his ascent.

On his way up, Matt began to grasp the true absurdity of the turn his career was taking. When he had been promoted to detective the last thing he envisioned himself doing was climbing the fire escape on the side of the precinct while trailing his erratic—crazy even?—partner to the rooftop. Wasn't he supposed to be solving more run of the mill crimes. Credit card fraud, muggings, the occasional armed robbery, maybe even a homicide eventually? He had to shake his head. This was absurd.

He slowed as he reached the top and listened. He strained his ears as much as he could but he heard nothing. If Elisa was up here, she wasn't doing any talking. His heart quickened just a tad as he realized his next move was going to be to pop his head over the edge and have a look. If Elisa happened to be facing his direction she'd definitely see him. For that reason, he decided not to try and do a slow peek. Instead, he would just pop his head up. If she saw him, he'd use his excuse. Matt took a breath, wiped his palms on his jacket, and then stuck his head above the wall.

— —

Elisa was freaking out. Freaking out. It was all on the inside though, because her eyes were tightly closed. She could not look down, but she didn't really have to either. She could feel the cool breeze against her face and the odd sensation of floating. She knew that the city was far below her and that the only thing keeping her from plummeting to her death was the arms of some creature she'd only just met.

When Goliath had suggested that they fly her to the castle so that she could get into Xanatos' office she had outright laughed. Goliath, as she was beginning to see was his wont, stood stoically, unmoved by her outburst. He was completely serious. At first she had refused, but as she thought about it, she realized that not only did she have few options, but that this plan just might be crazy enough to work. Xanatos would never believe that someone could get into his office within the castle. If there was any chance to find some kind of evidence tying him to the armored car heist, it would be there.

She also knew that Everly Levy had provided her with a potential opportunity to get around the fact that anything she did find would be the product of an illegal search. Everly had been truly distraught. She had never dreamed she would end up in fear for her life after helping the police. Now that she was faced with a real threat, it was dawning on her just how deeply she had gotten herself in. Fortunately, her fear was turning to anger. Not only was her employer mistreating her, but her employer was probably a criminal. She felt victimized. Elisa had a feeling she could push that button and get Everly to claim responsibility for whatever evidence Elisa needed.

So here she was, gliding through the air in the arms of some creature, headed towards Xanatos' office up in the castle in the clouds.