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Chapter 36: Trying Hard
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Gargoyles in Uniform Chapter 37: She Knew Kids
Maggie didn't want to be smug, but that's how she was feeling. These were tough kids, but kids at heart. She knew how to deal with them. Better than Kel. It might have turned into a pissing contest if she hadn't stepped in. They followed the tall boy through a side door of what was probably once a warehouse. New ones had been built elsewhere and these hadn't gone through what would eventually be gentrification. They would be turned into trendy loft apartments the size of a closet, but those right out of college would clamor to rent. These kids would be ousted out of here. She wanted to find them all homes. Why had the system failed them? Inside, boys and girls lay around in sleeping bags, both real and makeshift ones. The place stunk of body odor and weed. It all wrinkled Maggie's nose. She'd never seen such squalor. Phones lit up the place where rigged up twinkle lights didn't reach. "Someone's got some talent," Kel said. "They've connected to the grid without anyone else's help."
Gargoyles in Uniform Chapter 38: Save the Children
"You can't save all of them."Maggie put up her hand. "I've been hearing that my whole career. I will never stop trying."Kel rested his head onto the headrest. This wasn't a one and done. She was going to go off onto a crusade. "You think there is something we can do?""Yes," Maggie said, no trace of the sobbing she had done in her voice. She'd recovered quickly. He had to admire that. "What do you have in mind?""Well, first we'll go to the authorities? We'll try to work within the system.""Then what?"Her gaze turned to him as he lifted his head. "If that doesn't work, we'll go around the authorities."***Maggie left Kel in his truck while she trudged up the steps to her office. The sun had risen. They'd eaten breakfast and now she was ready to do battle. Well, not really. She was exhausted, but this had to be done. No time like the present. With or without Kel, she had to fight for the kids, but he didn't seem to be deserting her at the moment. Surprisingly, Chelsea was in her
Gargoyles in Uniform Chapter 39: Grotesque Again
Hours later as Kel loaded boxes of liquor onto the freight elevator, he couldn't stop thinking about Maggie. Not just her, but what they'd seen last night and that she'd smelled like goblin after her meeting with her boss. This was worse than he expected. "You are a million miles away," Deke said, riding up to the roof with him.Deke, Kel and several others owned a popup nightclub called Grotesque. They were all former military and all gargoyles so of course they would set up on roofs. To them that was the safest place, since their ancestors lived on the tops of buildings. Tonight was the first time they'd set up this month. Having been doing this for several years, they all knew their roles. Tonight Kel would be the bartender. Sometimes he worked the door. All of them were large men so they could all be bouncers. Kel didn't think he had the attention to do the door tonight. Messing up a drink wasn't deadly."I am.""Is this that woman?"The doors opened to the roof. It was a rare
Gargoyles in Uniform Chapter 40: The Things You Do
Not before Billy Malone went missing and she met Kel. Was this a good thing or a bad thing?Not that she considered herself naïve. She couldn't be, having moved ten times before the age of fourteen, with three more moves before she aged out of the system. You came to adulthood with a certain wariness when you hadn't been raised by adults you could trust. In fact, you raised yourself. She ordered a beer and it was half empty when Kel walked in the front door. He did have a presence about him and how did he get here so fast? Then again, she didn't know where he was. Maybe he had a friend in the neighborhood. Or a girlfriend? A tinge of jealousy reared its head. She had no claims on Kel, but she had to admit she liked him. As he strode through the bar, people moved out of his way. He didn't push them, but he clearly knew they would move. He was too nice a guy to get upset if they didn't, but even those not looking at him, shifted to get out of his way. She couldn't help watching him as
Gargoyles in Uniform Chapter 41: More Information
"Yes, that's her."Deke nodded. "Trent is over talking to the Foleys. You might want to hear their conversation. I'll keep an eye on your woman until then.""She isn't my woman."Deke just chuckled and approached her. If Deke wasn't married and his best friend, Kel might have been jealous. But Maggie wasn't his woman. He figured Maggie wasn't anyone's woman unless she chose to be.Donal, Sean and Declan sat in a corner bar height table. Trent, a man built like a fireplug, stood in front of them. The tension was obvious in his shoulders. Uh-Oh. Trent wasn't easily bothered by much. Or at least he rarely showed outward signs of it. "Foleys. Trent," Kel said when he arrived at the table. "Hey Kel. You probably should be part of this conversation," Donal said."You texted me that you might have found Billy Malone. I want to know everything," Kel said. The Foley brothers exchanged a glance. Kel often wondered if there was some communication that happened between them that no one else cou
Gargoyles in Uniform Chapter 42: Whitney a Fairy?
"A fairy. You know, those supposedly mythical woodland creatures."Kel didn't know what was funnier, Deke thinking Whitney was a fairy or him saying "mythical woodland creatures." "What are you talking about?"Deke sighed. "I guess our parents forgot to tell us something about being a gargoyle."Kel stopped to give him his full attention. Maybe he could move this conversation along if he did. There were kids in danger. One of whom he knew well. "Go ahead.""A long time ago, the fairies and the gargoyles made a treaty. The gargoyles would protect the fairies from goblins."Sounded like a fairy tale, but Kel was a gargoyle so he shouldn't judge. "Go on.""There were elite gargoyles assigned to one single fairy. That fairy is our mate. The person we are destined to be with," Kel said. "Mate? What does this history lesson have to do with Maggie?""Well, Whitney is my fairy. The treaty has never been revoked. It is still alive today, it's just been lost in time. Until we, as gargoyles, fin
Gargoyles in Uniform Chapter 43: Rendezvous
Kel drove Maggie to the rendezvous point. The streetlights flashed by like strobe lights as she stared out the window. Kel wasn't volunteering anything. "Your friends didn't tell me much."He sighed. "They want me to talk to you."She didn't know what was going on, but he had barely looked at her. As if he had something on his mind. What had Deke said to him? His body language towards her had changed when he'd joined them on the sidewalk. "Are you going to talk to me?" she asked. "I'm not going away. This is about the kids."Kel shook himself. "I know, Maggie. And we need your help.""So what's the problem?"He parked his truck near a warehouse. The lights weren't on, but the city always had a glow to it so it was never pitch black. A few random cars were strewn around, but a newer black van actually looked out of place.Kel turned to her. "We'll rendezvous with the Foleys and their tech guy. Then we'll have a plan. We're not going in until we know what we are dealing with.""And when
Gargoyles in Uniform Chapter 44: Take her Away
Kel longed to take Maggie away from this. Away from a world where kids were kept in a warehouse like some Amazon package waiting for one day delivery. He longed to soothe the worry he knew was etched into her face. He'd never felt about anyone the way he felt about Maggie. It surprised and shocked him how quickly she'd wormed her way into his heart.He couldn't see her, but he could feel her emotion. Was this what Deke was talking about? That they had a connection? Was she his fairy? She probably had no idea she was a fairy. She had no idea the power that she possessed. Maybe he didn't truly know either. He would have to ask his family when this was all over. What didn't they know about their heritage? He'd known from a young age that he was a gargoyle, but so much had been lost over the years. Kel would have to talk to the Foleys and see what he'd been missing. What didn't he know?That was a talk for another day. Focus on the mission. He slowed his heart rate. "You're not scared,"
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