GARGOYLES: Re-Awakening

Wind-Up: 1

The Anti-Terrorism Task Force, or ATF as it was already known, was housed in a bland, tan building on the west side of midtown Manhattan. The building had no markings and, aside from car lots and the occasional pick-up point for international packages, was in a relatively uninteresting and therefore untrafficked neighborhood. As they walked in, Elisa and Matt flashed their badges, but the officer at the desk already knew who she was.

"Maza, come back because you missed me so?" The guard quipped with a faint hint of hostility.

"You know I just can't keep away from you Rollins," she replied, with her own heavy dose of sarcasm. "I'm looking for your new captain. Is he around?"

"Don't tell me you want your job back," Rollins said.

"You should be so lucky," was the response.

"Captain Abott's in his office. Have a seat."

Rollins picked up the phone and spoke into it, but Elisa wasn't listening. She knew it was awfully soon to be showing up in this place again, especially looking for a favor. Police officers had a fierce loyalty toward their commanders and when they left, especially by stepping down, it could hurt; it was like a break up. Elisa hadn't been the best commander, but she had been respected nonetheless. There were people here who were hurt by her leaving, and she hadn't been able to make it up to them. Before she had time to dwell on it further, Rollins interrupted her thoughts.

"He'll see you. Try not to blow anything up while you're in there."

Elisa had plenty of responses in her head, but she decided a smirk and a sideways smile was the best way to go. She and Bluestone rose and stepped through the door that Rollins opened for them. It was a large room with several desks scattered about. Toward the back was a glass enclosed office with the Captain inside, shuffling papers. Elisa and Matt stepped into the open doorway and knocked against the door. The Captain rose and stretched out a hand.

"Detective Maza, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Abott said.

Elisa was a little surprised. She had expected a bit more of a territorial attitude. "It is?" She asked, with a hint of self-doubt that Bluestone hadn't seen before in his new partner.

Abott gave her a little, inquisitive tilt of the head. "Of course," he said. "You left quite an impression here. A positive one. The troops still tell stories of your escapades. They have a good laugh at some of them, but I can tell that they admired you. You showed them originality, which can be sorely lacking in the department."

Elisa and Matt glanced at each other. This was as good an opening as anything.

"Well," Elisa began, "It's funny you should say that. We're actually here to see you and we're a little bit out on a limb."

"Oh?" Abott replied. "Do tell." He motioned to the two chairs in front of his desk. Elisa and Matt sat while Abott perched himself on the corner of his desk. A little overly familiar, Elisa thought. She half wondered if he was flirting with her.

"We're here because of the armored car heist," she said.

"Yes, the Mayor is very concerned. He's got the task force going over every scrap of paper we have on known terrorist organizations that might have the ability and the motive to do something like that," Abott said.

"Have you found anything?" Elisa asked.

"Well, there's maybe a half dozen or so actual groups that are even organized at all in the city, but they are mostly small-time. They've got a few members, not much of an organizational infrastructure. They're more like support groups for nut-jobs than anything. So no, I don't think we're going to find anything there. If you ask me, this is a new player. Probably from one of the larger over-seas groups. We're checking with immigration to see if we have any new arrivals that might raise any flags."

Elisa wasn't entirely sure the best tactic to take with Abott. He was seemingly open and friendly, without much of a territorial streak. That could have been his personality, or he may have been simply exceptionally collegial. Or, it could have been an act, just a way to draw Elisa out so that he could more easily slam the door in her face if necessary. She couldn't tell, and didn't really have the time to find out. She decided to show her hand.

"We don't think this was terrorism at all, Captain," she said.

"You have a different theory?" Abott responded with an eyebrow raise.

"We think it's too complicated an undertaking to be of interest to a terrorist organization. We're betting on some kind of industrial espionage." Elisa said.

"To be honest, that squares much more with my thinking on the subject as well. However, the Mayor was quite clear that he want the ATF on this, and so we are." Abott said.

"Of course," Elisa said. " And we could very well be wrong. In fact, we were hoping that you'd be open to keeping us posted about any progress you make. If we turn out to be chasing ghosts, we'd like to know it before we get too far out in the weeds."

Abott at first showed no reaction. He was thinking, but he didn't do it for long. "You want me to go outside the normal channels?"

"We were thinking more like, a tip, you know—a quick drop of the dime. Maybe something like, 'you can stop looking now'," Bluestone said, sensing it was high time he help put at least a little of the pressure off of Elisa, who was walking a pretty tight rope.

There was three seconds of awkward silence, and then Abott broke it with a jovial, "Sure! Why not? I wouldn't want to be running around chasing my tail either. And I presume this little professional courtesy will go both ways? You'll let me know if I'm chasing my tail too?"

"Absolutely," Elisa said earnestly.

"Well then, sounds like..." Abott was cut off by the phone. He excused himself, reached across the desk and picked up the receiver. His face became grave. He put down the phone and got to his feet. "We've got a bit of a situation. Apparently a group has taken hostages inside a bodega uptown. They're claiming that the owners are terrorists and that the shop is a front. The officer in charge wants someone from ATF to talk to them. Maybe convince them that they are barking up the wrong tree. You'll have to excuse me."

"Captain!" Elisa said urgently. She caught herself and moderated her voice a bit. "Captain, I'm from uptown. Would you mind if we tagged along?"

The captain looked at her. The surprises just kept coming. With a flick of his head he beckoned her and Bluestone to come with. Outside, the sun was beginning to set.