GARGOYLES: Re-Awakening

Alliances: 2

Everly Levi was shutting down her computer, looking nervously up at the spots of light on the ceiling that indicated there were still occupied cubicles. It was 8:05pm and she should have been alone by now, but tonight seemed to be stubbornly working against her. On the other hand, the other late-nighters might provide a little cover if what she was about to do was ever traced back to her department—she wouldn't be the only suspect. She stood up and gave a quick look to see that no one was walking down the aisle, then ejected a DVD from the drive and dropped it into her purse. She then flicked off the machine, grabbed her coat and headed to the elevator.

As she rode down, she thought about all the reasons she had started doing this. Mostly, it was a sense that her work was trivial while at the same time feeling like she was working for a corporation that was anything but. Somehow, this feeling of being inconsequential in a consequential company made her all the more angry when it did things that were a little shady. It was as if she was being made complicit in something without even being afforded the dignity of mattering to it. It truly felt like being used.

Making matters worse, Everly happened to be good at her job. She worked in the finance department and specialized in compliance. She had a real knack for numbers—especially patterns. It was why she had majored in math, gotten an MBA, and finally worked her way toward her position at Xanatos Enterprises managing a small team. It was her and her team's job to make sure that certain financials always tracked with the regulations coming from the city and the state. The thing was, whether or not they did seemed to have little influence on the decisions that the upper management would make. She had learned over time that if compliance fit with what the company wanted, then the company would comply. If they didn't, they would simply find ways to make it look as if they were in compliance. For Everly, this not only grated against her sense of ethics, but also left her feeling like there was no real point to what she was doing with her life. That was why she had decided to become a source for the press. Telling not only relieved her conscience, it also made her feel like she mattered in the world.

Everly had begun building a relationship with Eric Reed months prior. She was new to the whole confidential informant thing, so she hadn't wanted to start with anything too grandiose. She read his columns in the tabloids occasionally and had decided that he'd be good. He was small time enough to be willing to meet with someone who really didn't have anything super exciting, but he'd also be on the lookout for anything that might become super exciting and that could further his career—maybe bump him out of the tabloids and into respectable media. In the meantime, she'd learn how to work with the press in a way that maximized her agency while reducing her risk. At least, that's the story she had formed for herself.

That's why it had come as something of a shock when Reed said he was working with a detective and wanted to know if she would be willing to help with an investigation. This was a scary suggestion. At first, her mind immediately went to the more complicated legal realm she was wading into. Journalists had a code to protect sources. The police wanted witnesses, testimony, evidence. If push came to shove, Everly knew, anything a detective might uncover could wind up pulling her into court as a material witness.

She'd spent several days thinking over the proposition. She knew objectively that helping a detective was a bigger risk than she really wanted and that if the worst happened, she would very likely regret it. But her rational side wasn't the winning side. The winning side was the one that wanted to push back against her feelings of irrelevancy, her anger at being a tool for someone else's goals, and her greater sense that if you had an opportunity to stand up and make a difference, you'd regret not doing it. So here she was, headed towards the parking garage with a DVD in her purse, hoping no one else would board the elevator and see just how agitated she was.

As the door slid open, she stepped out, eyed the garage and then awkwardly pulled her keys from her purse. At that moment, the on duty security guard suddenly appeared beside her.

"Evening, Miss Levi," he said.

Everly jumped and nearly dropped her purse. She caught it with her knees and pulled it back up, zipping it quickly.

"Sorry Ma'am," the guard said. "Didn't mean to startle you."

"It's ok Jim," she said nervously, flashing a quick smile.

"Everything ok?" Jim asked. "You look a little nervous..."

"Yes, yes. Thanks Jim," she started, stammering just a bit. Pull it together, she thought to herself. "It's just been a long day."

"I hear that," Jim replied. "I've had one heck of a day too and I've still got to make it 'till midnight!"

Everly smiled, but couldn't help feeling that if she didn't get out of there quickly, she'd probably drop to the ground and confess everything. Instead, she just reached out and gave his arm a little squeeze. Then walked quickly to her car.

She drove the six blocks north to a cafe advertising all-day-breakfast, pulled into a parking spot and shut off the motor. They were in there waiting for her, she knew, her heart racing. Reed, detective Maza, and a huge risk.