GARGOYLE
Part II: The Specimen

Chapter 1

The sun set behind the low clouds, casting an aureate light that overwhelmed the grey of the day's stormy weather. Below in the darkening city cars rushed past one another and pedestrians made their way home for the night, stopping every now and then to wait for their turn to cross the streets.

Jonathan Sicari could see them all; he saw the mothers and fathers leading their children away from the toy store’s foggy windows, all the teenagers rushing home through the grimy streets to meet curfew, all the lovers clasping hands as they made their way to wherever the wind took them.

Yes, Jonathan could see them, and he saw them from his own window at Sicari Tower. This window covered more than half the wall of his office on the outskirts of the city, and he often liked looking through it. The thirteenth floor offered a breathtaking view, especially after dark, when the city lights erupt into a dancing display of neon.

Jonathan stood at this window right behind his desk. He hadn’t pulled his black coat on all the way yet and it rested on his shoulders. His hands held a common vanilla composition folder, but its extraordinary contents entranced him. A smirk flickered on his lips as his crimson eyes moved along the words, silky brown hair falling into his soft face.

After a moment he closed the folder and moved his gaze to the window in front of him. A calm drizzle had started to patter gently against the glass. He listened, his smirk never wavering, as the last of the day’s sunbeams began disappearing on the horizon.

Behind him, waiting patiently near Jonathan’s closed office door, stood a man dressed entirely in black leather. The jumpsuit fashion clung to his muscular body beneath a matching jacket whose hem halted at the waist. His pale skin was lightly flushed as though his eagerness coursed through his very veins. This blush accentuated his dark blond hair, and his icy blue eyes pulsed with anticipation, but none of this tension could be seen in his fixed stance. Behind his back he kept his gloved hands clasped, watching Jonathan Sicari carefully.

The sun cast its last rays under the thick blanket of the upcoming storm as daylight drew to a close. Jonathan finally tore his eyes from the window and turned to the man.

"Are we ready?" he asked, his voice shaking with excitement.

The man nodded once. "We have been ready, Sir. We merely wait for your word."

Jonathan grinned. "Good, good." He stepped out from behind his desk. "Then tell Minerva to meet us at the car."

The man gave a small nod. "Yes, Sir," he said, and promptly pulled a small cellular phone from an inside pocket of his uniform’s jacket. He pressed a few buttons and quietly addressed the person on the other end. "Minerva. Meet us at the car." He repeated Jonathan’s order in a barely audible whisper.

As he did so, Jonathan pulled his coat over his arms. When the man put his phone away Jonathan spoke again. "Excellent. And you are prepared, Bade?"

The man nodded again. "As always, Mr. Sicari."

Jonathan smiled and stepped out from around his desk toward his companion by the heavy oak doors. "You’re always so formal when you're paying attention."

Bade gave him and awkward smile, feeling that in Jonathan's good mood he could risk a bit of humor. "Of course, lest I lose my job."

“Now now,” Jonathan said, shoving the composition folder into Bade’s arms. “I wouldn’t fire you. You're much too valuable, and far too delicious." He pulled open the doors and stepped out.

Bade considered Jonathan’s words for a second, then shook them off with a grimace before following him out into the hallway and closing the door behind him.

It was with an air of expectation that Mr. Jonathan Sicari marched, agent Bade at his heels, down the sterile white halls of his castle. This was the center of his kingdom, his reign, and he was most comfortable here. Of course Jonathan could appear in control in any situation, but now his jittery exhilaration commanded him. For months he’d been so absorbed in this goal that it had controlled his life. He had worked hard planning every angle, maneuvering around every arduous obstacle. Finally he could live in the moment. It was happening at last.

His fuzzy reflection playing in the white tile, the cold air from the vents brushing his skin, the hollow sound of his footsteps reverberating off the pearl-colored walls... Jonathan loved his home. After tonight, he thought to himself as they stepped inside the silver elevator, I will love my home even more, for I am working to make it greater.

The elevator doors slid open to the building’s lobby with a musical ding. The sanitized atmosphere of the frozen white walls and tile on above floors disappeared, giving way to the warmth of brown carpet and green painted walls. Jonathan sped through it, Bade matching his stride. Two guards opened the glass doors for them as they approached, and they stepped out into the cold wide parking lot where a black limousine waited in the sprinkling rain. On each side of the sleek vehicle, in the warped glow of the Sicari Tower’s lights, shone the painted letters JS, and Jonathan’s grin broadened at the beautiful sight.

Beside the curb stood a woman, tall and sleek in a black leather jumpsuit that matched Bade's, her long black hair tied into a bun at the back of her neck. She opened the car door for the approaching men and followed when they climbed inside. Not a word was said as the limousine zoomed off into the night.