Gargoyles I, II, III: Dark Angel Alliance

by Rach Elle

  “I was hoping they’d be back by now,” Bawli looked worried.

  “Where did they go?”

  After a moment of hesitation Bawls finally conceded, his shoulders slumping in regret. “The DAA’s computer caught the old man shifting.”

  “What?” Zeff whispered.

  “Yeah, it gets worse. He shifted and just left Lizzie standing there alone.”

  “Who?”

  “The old woman; anyway, we knew that if the DAA saw the shift then they’d be on their way to the hotel and that could put Liz… the old woman in serious trouble.”

  “True.”

  “So I left to go retrieve her.”

  Zeff creased his brow, “And Alvin and Mason?”

  “Went to the DAA headquarters to erase the footage,” Bawli watched as Zeff’s icy blue eyes widened. “I was afraid Protectors would already be at the hotel by the time I got there and I didn’t want either of the boys to be caught in that.”

  “And Mason is the only one who knows how to access the DAA’s computers,” Zeff finished his train of thought. “You did alright Bawls.” He pulled out his cell phone and turned to walk away.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To finish what was started.”

  7

  Sunders watched with a smug smirk on his busted face as Harry and John were led outside by a copper, both of them in handcuffs. The officer guided them into the back of his squad car and shut the door. He turned to Sunders, “Was anything damaged by these two?”

  “Nah, I pulled the rug out from under them before it could get that far.”

  “It wasn’t them that did that to you?” He motioned toward Sunders’ face.

  “Nah, that was from a different episode tonight.”

  “You’ve been busy,” the policeman smiled, “anything you care to report?”

  “Nah.”

  “Alright then, I’ll take it from here. Lock your doors and get some sleep, yeah?”

  “Aye,” Sunders smiled then headed back into his flat.

  Zeff sat in his silver Lamborghini, weaving through the streets of London. His phone sat docked on the dash and displayed an active GPS app. The little dot indicated the exact whereabouts of his Responsibility, Mason. It had been sitting idle since first activating the app but had recently begun to move. Zeff looked up to see he was approaching a red streetlight. Reluctantly, he let his foot off the gas and slowed to a stop. His fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter and tighter with every passing second. He looked at the GPS and smiled. The light turned green and he made a left off of the main road. Zeff sped along the street to get the timing just right when he pulled up to a give way sign. He sat still for a moment watching the GPS as the dot moved closer and closer to him. According to the app Mason and Alvin should be driving past him right about… now.

  A police car entered the intersection in front of him and Zeff watched in disbelief as it drove past the Lamborghini with Alvin and Mason in the backseat. The car exited the intersection to the left.

  Zeff growled under his breath. He hit the gas and went straight.

  Mason couldn’t stop moving in the backseat of the copper’s car. His body kept writhing from left to right.

  “Would you stop that?” Alvin whispered to him.

  “I can’t help it. My handcuffs are too tight. I can’t get comfortable.”

  “I don’t think we’re supposed to be comfortable.”

  “Well I don’t think it’s too much to ask.”

  Alvin rolled his eyes. “You know we wouldn’t be here if you had let me knock him out in the first place.”

  “No, we wouldn’t be here if you had been watching the bathroom door like you were supposed to.”

  “So it’s my fault then?”

  “It’s certainly not mine.”

  “Boys,” the copper looked to them in his rearview mirror. “Belt up. You can plea your case at the station. What the…?”

  Mere yards in front of them a silver Lamborghini sped onto the roadway and skidded to a stop, blocking their path. The policeman slammed on the brake. They sat still for a moment until a tall, muscular, blonde man stepped out of the silver car. The officer stirred slightly, unsure of the situation.

  “Oh,” Alvin started, “you should just let us go now. You do not want to mess with this bloke.”

  “Be quiet,” the officer placed his hand on the gun hanging from his waist.

  “He’s telling the truth,” Mason chimed in. “This guy’s trouble.”

  “Belt up!” The officer took a deep breath then opened his door. He stepped out of the car. “Stop right there!” He called, but the man continued to walk toward him. “I mean it! Don’t come any closer!” The man’s strides never slowed. As he moved closer the officer could clearly see the massive scar that ran along the right side of the man’s face. The image jarred him and he whipped out his gun, pointing it straight at the pedestrian.

  Zeff didn’t waver at the sight of the gun. He continued to approach calmly. “Sir I am prepared to shoot you if you do not stop where you are!” The bizzie warned, sweat forming above his brow. His trigger finger began to twitch until Zeff stopped in his tracks. He stood mere centimeters from the gun and stared into the shaking eyes of the copper. “Now put your hands in the air,” the copper ordered.

  Slowly Zeff raised his hands. As soon as the officer relaxed slightly he acted; in one swift movement he grabbed the gun with his right hand and with his left he latched onto the bizzie’s head and slammed it into the doorjamb of the car. The copper fell to the ground unconscious.

  Zeff stepped around the opened door and over the limp body and reached for the handle of the backdoor. When it wouldn’t open he tightened his grip and in one pull he ripped it off of its hinges. He bent down to peer into the backseat. “Let’s go,” he said before throwing the door to the side and returning to his Lamborghini.

  Alvin and Mason shimmied their way out of the car and scurried to obey Zeff.

  The boys sat in the back of the silver Lamborghini as it weaved through the streets of London. The car was insulated, shielding them from most outside noise. The hum of the engine was almost non-existent. The silence was deafening. Both Alvin and Mason knew they had pissed off perhaps the most frightening individual they’d ever met. Zeff, while normally a humble, gracious man, was also unpredictable when he was irate. Not that they’d ever seen him like that before, but they had heard stories. Zeff’s encounters with Protectors were the stuff of legend. They both had cringed as he broke the chains of their handcuffs before they had slipped into the backseat of his car.

  Mason inhaled deeply, knowing he should be the first to break the silence. He was, after all, Zeff’s Responsibility. With broken handcuffs around his wrists he said, “We’re sorry, Zeff.”

  Those icy blue eyes met his in the rearview mirror. Zeff returned his gaze to the road, “I know.”

  “We didn’t mean to get arrested,” Alvin chimed in.

  Zeff took a deep breath, “You never do.”

  “We went to United Financial to erase some footage from one of their computers.” Mason continued. “When we got there a bloke showed up and erased it for us, but not before saving it to a flash drive. Then he left and apparently just went home.”

  Zeff crooked his brow. “He didn’t show it to anyone else?”

  Mason shook his head. “Not that we know of. We tailed him to his flat. There was this one guy who showed up but he was only there for a couple of minutes. I don’t think it was enough time to watch the footage.”

  “And you took it upon yourselves to retrieve the drive, yeah?” Zeff said flatly.

  Alvin nodded, “We didn’t want to lose track of it. A lot can happen to it between dusk and dawn.”

  “You should have called me. I would have handled it.” Zeff said darkly.

  “We thought you and Cooper were helping Junior and his clan.” Mason explained. “We thought it was all up to us.”

  Zeff took a deep breath an
d exhaled loudly. He was trying to calm down. “Did you at least retrieve the drive?

  Mason smiled devilishly as he raised into view the tiny device between his fingertips.

  Zeff smiled, flashing the whites of his teeth in the rearview mirror, “Good boy,” he drawled.

  Alvin and Mason tensed suddenly at the sound of sirens approaching from behind. They whipped their heads around to see two police cars speeding to catch up to them; the lights from atop the cars blinding their eyes. They looked back to the front seat to see Zeff looking calm and relaxed. His eyes lifted to the rearview mirror and the boys’ reflection. “Seatbelts,” he growled.

  Zeff shifted gears and pressed his foot to the gas pedal. The Lamborghini’s engine revved and suddenly bolted forward, weaving through the city streets before jumping onto the motorway. The police cars followed as the silver car sped past two off ramps. Alvin and Mason winced as another police car sped down an on ramp and jumped onto the motorway, tailing the Lamborghini from closely behind.

  Zeff’s lips twitched upward in a crooked smile as the vibration from the engine roared beneath his bucket seat. The outside blurred past them as they whizzed down the pavement. He looked up to see the flashing lights of more coppers driving parallel to the motorway. He knew they would undoubtedly use the next on ramp to cut him off. He had little time to gain the advantage. He looked to his left to see that beyond the motorway’s barrier the road dropped suddenly twenty feet to a quiet street lining the waterfront.

  Zeff looked to the boys in the backseat, “Hold on!” He demanded. He swerved toward the small barrier and hit the brake while turning the wheel violently to the left. The Lamborghini screeched as its wheels tried desperately to grip onto the road, but the momentum was too much. The car spun out and crashed through the barrier, sending the vehicle and its three passengers beyond the cliff into a freefall toward the street below.

  Alvin and Mason held onto whatever they could find as their bodies were lifted from their seats and the car began to fall. They tried to hide their cries as the ground moved closer and closer until finally the Lamborghini crashed into the street, the front wheels and bumper hitting the pavement before bouncing upward; the sudden impact and the momentum shattering the windshield and flipping the car forward. Zeff’s eyes never wavered and his fingers tightened around the steering wheel. Alvin and Mason both fell into the roof with graceless thuds as the car flew upside down. The trunk of the silver car barreled into the road and ricocheted again, flipping the car forward one more time. The Lamborghini landed upright and bounced to a stop.

  Alvin and Mason tried to catch their breaths and reclaim their seats as a small, playfully dangerous growl resonated in Zeff’s throat. He hit the gas and sped away, leaving the coppers on the motorway.

  The Lamborghini sped through backstreets and residential areas toward a piece of undeveloped land Zeff knew backed up to the Vanderburen castle. Just before entering the wooded field the sound of sirens blared in the distance. Zeff turned off the headlights and continued to race through the property; weaving through trees and dodging low hanging branches. Alvin and Mason sat quietly in the backseat trying not to act like a couple of nesh wimps. They couldn’t see anything through the blackness, but they knew Zeff had perfect vision.

  Finally the sirens disappeared into the night and the Lamborghini slowed down before entering and underground garage in the back of the castle. Alvin and Mason could feel the car drive at a decline below the earth’s surface and into the dimly lit garage where Zeff slowly parked.

  The two boys sat still, listening to their nerve-wracked, thumping heart beats and quivered breathing. Zeff looked over his shoulder at the Responsibilities and smiled, “What’d you think?”

  The boys let loose on some rapid, adrenaline-induced head nodding. Alvin answered, nearly breathless, “Awesome; bloody brill.”

  8

  Cooper hung up after going to voicemail for the third time. She grunted, “Where is Zeff?” She turned and looked at everyone in the living room. The Limrid leaned against the wall as if he wasn’t a satanic minion. Awilda still tended to Junior who lay on the sofa and Elizabeth was gathering more blankets from the downstairs closet. Kingsley sat at the bar watching his Responsibility from afar and Bawls stood awkwardly in the center of the room. She looked to him for an answer; he shrugged.

  The last thing Bawli wanted was for Cooper to know where Zeff went; because then that would mean telling her he’d put Alvin and Mason in danger by sending them to the DAA. He had a feeling that wouldn’t sit too well with her. It was barely sitting with him. His stomach churned with every passing second. He hoped like hell the boys were alright.

  “Fine,” Cooper continued, frustrated she wasn’t getting an answer. “Then maybe you can tell me where Alvin and Mason are?”

  “They’re not back yet?” Elizabeth asked as she entered the room with more blankets. Bawli cringed.

  “Back from what?” Cooper asked.

  Bawli began shaking his head as if he didn’t know.

  “From the DAA,” Elizabeth answered, her voice laced with worry.

  Bawli dropped his head. Shit.

  Cooper looked to Bawli, “Bawls?” She asked. “What is she going on about?”

  Bawli reluctantly looked up and into Cooper’s big chocolate brown eyes. After a moment he answered, “Alright, fine; you deserve to know the truth.” He opened his mouth to explain then quickly lost his nerve. “I think Elizabeth’s losing her mind.”

  “Bawls,” Cooper pinched the bridge of her nose.

  “Dementia is very common among her demographic.”

  “Bawls.”

  “Really Lizzie, maybe you should see a doctor; I’m worried about you.”

  “Bawls!” Cooper interrupted. “I’m going to ask you again and I expect a straight answer. Where the hell are Alvin and Mason?”

  After a moment of searching his brain for a good explanation Bawli’s shoulders slumped in concession. “I sent them to DAA headquarters.”

  “What?! Why?!” Cooper exploded.

  Bawli didn’t want to explain. He looked to Elizabeth who watched him with apologetic eyes. She didn’t mean to open her big mouth. He sighed, “Kingsley shifted.”

  “So…” Cooper moved closer to him, slowly, as if stalking her prey.

  “So he did it in front of the hotel; and it was seen on the DAA’s computer.”

  Cooper stopped instantly, her legs feeling like jell-o. She looked to Kingsley with enraged eyes. Bawli continued, “I figured that if the DAA saw it they would be heading to the hotel and that meant Lizzie was in danger. Since Mason is the only one of us who could erase the footage anyway, I sent him and Alvin to do the job and I picked up Lizzie.”

  “I can’t believe this,” Cooper whispered. “Are you bloody nutter?” She screamed. She pointed her slender finger at the large man and charged at him like a raging bull. “You’re off your onion!” She cried.

  “I had to make a decision,” Bawli held his hands up in surrender. “It wasn’t the right one; I’m sorry.”

  “Oh, you’re sorry?” Cooper continued, “You really cocked it up this time, didn’t you?”

  “No!” Elizabeth’s elegant and soft voice sliced through Cooper’s rant. Both she and Bawli looked to the old woman in shock. Elizabeth took a deep breath and gathered her courage to stand up to the little enraged gargoyle. “I’m sorry, but Bawli is wrong. He did make the right decision. It was the only decision he could make, actually.”

  “I beg your pardon?” Cooper began, “But you think endangering my Responsibility; putting him in harm’s way without any protection was the right decision?”

  Elizabeth nodded her head nervously. “Bawli was right. If the DAA had seen the footage, which we still don’t know if they have, mind you, then they would have been on their way to the hotel. What do you think would have happened if the boys arrived just as the DAA did? They would have been in danger anyway, do you agree?”

  Cooper’s right e
ye twitched with aggravation. Hesitantly, she nodded.

  “See?” Elizabeth continued, “By sending the boys to the DAA to erase the footage, they would have the chance to survey the situation first. They would at least have the chance to move undetected. If it was too risky then they could have left. Bawli made the right decision. What happens to Alvin and Mason is a direct result of their actions, not Bawli’s.”

  Cooper cringed. The fact that the old woman was now blaming her Responsibility for any misfortune made her blood boil. She could feel her eyes burn red and she opened her mouth to speak when suddenly Alvin, Mason and Zeff rounded the corner and entered the living room; unharmed. Well, as far as Cooper could tell. Alvin’s hair was a mess. Either he had extreme bed head or he’d just survived a tornado.

  “Oh, thank god,” Bawli breathed. “What happened to you guys?”

  “We got to United Financial,” Mason said.

  “Did you erase the footage?” Kingsley stood from his barstool anxiously.

  “No,” Mason continued, “some bloke beat us to it. He erased it after uploading it to a flash drive.”

  “What?” Bawli asked.

  “Yeah, so we followed him to his flat to steal it.”

  “But then the guy pulled a gun on us,” Alvin cut in. “A bizzie showed up and was driving us to the station until Zeff cut him off. We got in his car and had an all out police chase!”

  “Oh my god,” Cooper began, more upset than relieved. “You could have been killed.”

  Zeff walked up to Bawls, who looked to him with pleading eyes. “Zeff,” he started, “I’m so sorry you had to…”

  Zeff patted Bawli on the shoulder and flashed a crooked smile, “No worries Bawls. It all worked out in the end. You made the right call mate.” He headed for the stairs to retire to his bedroom.

  “Wait,” Kingsley called to him, “did you get the flash drive?”

  Without slowing his strides Zeff pitched the flash drive over his shoulder. Kingsley caught the device. He looked at the tiny object for only a moment before crushing it in the palm of his hand.