GARGOYLES: Re-Awakening

Wind-Up: 3

Elisa was not at all confident that this mob could be brought under control. She looked out at their faces and what she saw worried her. They were the faces of those whose fear had become anger, and it had a certain ugliness. The only chance she was going to have was now, because her sudden arrival had surprised, and the surprise had created a momentary pause in the rising madness of the situation. You better make this good, Elisa thought to herself.

"I know how you are all feeling," she began, shouting to be heard by everyone. She still had her badge held up overhead. "We all feel it. Like there is something hanging over our city. Most of you, who've lived in this neighborhood your whole life, have always felt like that. I get it. Like at any moment somebody will come up from behind and knock you off your tight-rope that you've been walking, day in and day out for as long as you can remember. Only now you've got someone you can fight back against. Instead of the Mayor, or the police force, or the system, you've got some real people, and you can do something about them. Except you can't. Whatever is going on, and whatever is going to happen, won't be changed by what you're trying to do. Everyone here knows that the problem is bigger than that. It's deeper than that." The crowd was getting quieter, calmer. "I know you don't trust the police. But some of you know me." She looked at a few faces, whose eyes dropped when she focused on them. "You know me and you can trust me. I'm telling you that these people in here are not to blame for what's happened."

"Who's going to protect us!" Came a shout from somewhere within the crowd. "We have to take care of ourselves!!"

The crowd began to jostle slightly, but Elisa raised her hand again. They steadied. "Maybe so," she began again. "Maybe you do have to take care of yourselves. But if that's true then this is not how you do it. If you're on your own then you've got to pull together. Tearing your own neighborhood down will only make you weak. And the weak get swept aside." Her eyes were more stern now and her voice more steady. She knew they would respect that.

Matt, on the other hand, was not so confident. He and Abott were still standing next to the car, watching. For Abott, the whole scene was an impressive moment. He knew that Maza had a certain charisma. His team was still talking about her and he was working every day to try and fill those shoes. Now he was getting a sense of why it was so difficult. For Bluestone, this was just another night with his partner. She running to the front of some situation and letting it all hang out while he trailed behind, like some out of breath bulldog, struggling to keep up.

Suddenly, the door to the bodega opened. A man and a woman came out sheepishly. The crowd looked at them with sharp, hostile eyes, but no one moved. There was a collective pause, and then everything happened very quickly. The two ran over toward the police van where the negotiating team had been trying to set itself up. Elisa, Matt, and Abott looked at each other and then bolted toward the door of the bodega. The crowd stayed in place.

Inside, the three officers were alone. The store was empty. "They must've gone out the back!" Bluestone said and he took off toward the back of the store with Elisa and the Captain right behind. They threw the door open and were greeted by an empty alley.

When they returned to the front of the store, it was as if the page had been turned. The crowd was slowly dispersing down the street. The two store owners were sitting on the back of the van, wrapped in towels. The whole thing had come to a quiet end.

"That was some speech you gave,"Abott said. "Looks like you got through."

"This time," Elisa said. "But this is only the beginning. Things are going to get worse. A lot worse." She stared off down the street, watching the crowd thinning away. "Do something for me Captain. Make sure the task force doesn't become the wedge that splits this town apart."

Abott looked at her earnestly. There was no doubting it now, he was impressed by her. "Why'd you leave, Maza?"

She thought for a moment, then replied. "I'm not like you Captain. I'm like them." She gestured toward the last stragglers of the mob. "I don't trust the system to do the right thing. I need to be out here, on the street, not behind a desk trying to right the ship."

Abott considered for a second. "Maybe that's the problem. Too many people like you turning away from the big chairs."

Elisa smiled her half-smile. She didn't quite know how she felt. She knew there was truth in what he said, but she also knew there was truth in what she had said. Some things get too big to ever be completely righted. Maybe you can steer them slightly one way or the other, but you can never get them completely turned around. As she watched the last few stragglers move out of sight, she found herself yearning for another option. Some other way to fight for justice.

Up above her, the gargoyles were still watching. Demona was disappointed that the scene hadn't ended the way she expected. No riot, no smashing of glass or burning of buildings. No dead. But she felt the point had been made nonetheless. "That woman has one thing right," she said. "The weak are swept aside." She looked hard at the three younger gargoyles as she said it. Then, she turned and looked even harder at Goliath before spinning on her heels, hopping onto the edge of the building and taking off again into the night sky. The others looked at one another and waited for Goliath. He opened his wings and turned to go, but not before casting his eyes once more down toward the street. He was making note of the markings on the strange machines below: N-Y-P-D.