“Weathers”
by Jade Griffin
9.26.01 to 5.15.03

circa September 3, 1995

Malcom followed the progress of twenty canadian geese flocking southwest in the dimming light. They were pretty high up. Another much larger shape cut across his view. He sat up and slid off the hood of his truck, touching down on the dry grass almost at the same time as the gargoyle did.

“Hi. I was hoping to get your attention.”

Jade Griffin quirked him a smile. “I could see you just fine without the headlights. Did you need to talk to me?”

“Sort of. I’d like to ask another favor.”

“Yeah?” The last one hadn’t been unreasonable, she thought, caping her wings.

“I need to get a few photos for evidence. There’s a man visiting a location near here to carry out an illegal transaction.”

“Guns? Drugs?” she guessed, crossing her arms and keeping the failings of humans to herself.

Malcom blinked. He didn’t know she knew about that stuff. “...Guns. We know when and where but his security force is too good. They’ve spotted us before. And without photographic proof, we stand a sad chance of convicting him.”

“And you want me to take some airborne pictures of this man?” She scanned the sky, gazed at the mountains.

“Yeah. I can treat you to dinner again, if you like.”

Her eyes flicked to his, grinning. “Oh, I like. This isn’t for tonight, though...?”

“No, it is. The deal is being carried at the abandoned ranger station in less than three hours, in fact.”

“Oh...” Her eyes went again to the mountain skyline. “I don’t think I’ll be able to help you then.”

He stared at her a minute, hoping she was kidding. She just stared back, obviously not.

“Can I ask why? You seemed willing a moment ago.”

“I’m not going to be able to do much leisurely gliding tonight.” A light breeze wisped her hair about. “The wind’ll be too strong.”

Malcom gave her a look of total disbelief. “The wind? I hear the weather forecast every morning on the radio. It’s supposed to be clear skies and a light breeze.”

“Well, they’re wrong. The wind’ll pick up in about an hour and bring a storm.”

He tried to see it how she must. He really did. And he tried hard not to sound so contrary but, “But there isn’t a cloud in the sky!”

She knew this must be important so she humored him. A black-tipped talon pointed behind him, toward a bulbous pale puff peaking over the mountains. “That... is a thunderhead. And it tells me there’s going to be rain.” A little stronger breeze kicked up. Jade Griffin’s hands moved up as if to caress the wind. “And this tells me it’s going to get windy. Fast. Very windy.”

“So you won’t do it.”

The gargoyle set her jaw. “No, I can’t do it! The camera would get wet, and with the wind coming at me from two or even three directions in this valley, I’d never be able to hold still long enough to take any bloody pictures!” Her anger grew as she realized he doubted her weather sense.

“Okay! I’m sorry.” He threw up his hand. “It’s just that we’ve been after this guy since before I signed onto the Bureau.”

“I understand, and I’m sorry, but I can’t take pictures in that weather.”

He nodded, though the frown of frustration refused to leave his face. “Sorry to bother you.” was his mumble as he climbed into his truck.

The gargoyle shook her head, watching him go. Headstrong humans... He’d probably try and go by himself.

She blinked. He probably would. Try and take the photos of presumably dangerous men doing illegal things. By himself. On the ground. And with the rain they would go inside to conduct their business. Didn’t Malcom realize the danger he faced?

Well, he could take care of himself... Even if he was up against a security force, whatever that was. It sounded big, but Malcom was intelligent enough to figure something out... Right?

Still aggravated by his disagreeable attitude and sudden departure, Jade Griffin turned about and headed home. If that human was smart enough to get himself in to such a situation, he’ll be smart enough to get back out. She stalked back to her familiar white cliffs.



Malcom didn’t further doubt the gargoyle when the wind suddenly kicked up precisely when she said it would. And not one more hour later, it died down abruptly, leaving a pattern of ominous clouds right overhead. Just great. Because she was right, she’d give him an ‘I told you so’, and he still had to pull off this operation. Then apologize to her. This sure was a great night...

Movement caught his eye. DeLarsey and Co. started for the recently-abandoned ranger station. He felt why a second later as the storm clouds dropped their first assault on him. He sighed as the wind started up again. He tried to ignore the fact that he’d been warned. At least the camera was waterproof.

Edging closer to their vehicles, he was glad for having parked farther away than originally intended. There’d be no chance of DeLarsey’s men spotting his own vehicle. Now he just had to leave a little surprise and get past their patrols. Three of them, in groups of two, plus two men at the front door of the cabin. Decked out in black, he hoped the clouds wouldn’t provide too much light from the storm activity to make him stand out. He’d hoped for pitch black but that wasn’t possible now.

Sneaking back around the end of the jet black cadillac, Malcom sought the trees before moving ahead. Equipped with a green night vision lens on the camera, he snapped a shot of the vehicle. If nothing else, it placed DeLarsey’s plates at the scene, which may be suspicious enough in itself. Wiping off the camera lens and pulling down his soaking wet ski cap a bit farther, Malcom listened for the roaming guards before creeping forward.

Couldn’t get very far. In fact, he had to slip back into the forest before he was seen. The goons couldn’t track worth spit but they had ears and eyes and the whole cabin was lit like a chinese lantern. With DeLarsey’s men patroling around it, he had to time it just right to get any pictures, and then zip back to the forest before being spotted. He managed to get four snaps before one of the roaming couples switched back a big sooner than expected. Malcom made a dash for the woods. And slipped in the gooey mud. Damn clay soil around here! He got up fine, but the men were already running for him, yelling at him to freeze.

“Hey, Boss. Think you should see this.” one of the larger men said, cuffing Malcom upside the head as he was ushered toward the back door. DeLarsey had emerged upon hearing the shouts. Now, the small time crime lord gloated a big grin down Malcom’s way.

“Well, well. A soakin’ wet g-man.” DeLarsey said loudly, over the howling wind. “And he brought us somethin’ for the photo album, boys. We’re almost through here. Why dontcha show the g-man our thanks.”

Malcom’s body tensed as DeLarsey turned back inside, knowing he was in for a rough ride and trying to come up with something to get out of being worked over by thugs, or worse.

Oh, they wanted a bit of fun first. After relieving him of the camera, then came the blows to the stomach. At least, he thought, doubled over and gasping. nobody has a gun out yet.

On the next landed kick, Malcom made a grab for the guy’s leg and pretty much flipped them both on their rears.

“Hey, that’s cheatin’. Lorey, yer turn. Lorey?” The speaker looked around, saw that there was only one other guy around besides him. “Break, boys! We got company!”

Sure enough, Malcom saw only the three thugs around. He had a guess of who the company might be. A hope anyway. But he had to get the camera back. His previous assailant now up and grabbing for him, Malcom used his low advantage while still on the ground to sweep the guy’s feet away. A fast punch between the eyes shut his lights out for a while.

He saw one slip into the woods and gave chase. Both faster and fitter, he caught up fast and tackled the guy, knocking him out after taking a punch to the face. He hated getting physical but they started it.

One dropped from the trees above. Ambushed, he put his entire body behind his fist and swung at the shadowed opponent.

And felt his fist caught in a solid, four-taloned grasp.

Jade Griffin frowned. “Hey, calm down.”

“Geez! Don’t sneak up on me! Didja get the camera?”

“Again about the camera? No! Haven’t seen one.”

“I gotta get it.” He raced off, headed for the ranger’s cabin.

“Gee, yer very welcome.” the gargoyle replied sarcastically, hanging back.

Malcom was trying to stay in pursuit of the spotted thug with the camera but was being pursued by another guy firing a gun. They were deep enough in the woods that if DeLarsey could hear, he couldn’t see ‘em and that was his only advantage. Another bullet whizzing past his ear, Malcom zigged a bit more and lost sight of the one he was pursuing. Well, he had to save his own skin first. Dodging into the brush to the right, he hoped to get behind the guy but he was too close behind and spotted the move right away.

“Nighty-night, junior.” The overweight gunman leveled his weapon on the bush.

“I don’t think so.” Jade Griffin had snuck up behind the guy and was now wrenching the .45 from his hand. It was crushed in her grasp. The guy was so freaked out, he wet himself and couldn’t run fast enough in the opposite direction. “Hmph. Typical. Malcom? You okay?”

“Yeah. We gotta get that guy with the camera. I think I spooked him enough so he won’t come straight back to the cabin but try and circle around. I know ya can’t glide well now but you can run faster than me. You take one way, I’ll take the other.”

“Okay.”

They broke in either direction, she on all four and covering twice the ground Malcom was but they met each other coming.

“Where the heck did he go?” Malcom looked all around.

Jade Griffin listened closely. “Um... How badly do you want that camera?”

“Very badly. Why?”

“It’s takin’ off. I hear vehicles.”

Malcom grinned, despite his puffy face. “Not goin’ far. I blew their tires.”

They started back toward the cabin, cautiously, hoping to at least see where the camera had run off to, but found the place swarming with armed men. Headed right into the forest.

“Just great... Jade, we gotta get outta here.”

“No more camera hunting?”

“Nope. Lives first.”

Then the gunfire erupted and they made off like rabbits.

“You sure... you can’t... glide?” Malcom got out around huffs as he ran, nearly sliding in the mud and slick foliage again as they raced the bullets and closing men.

“Well, I can go faster on the ground.” She eyed Malcom speculatively. “But I’m not gonna leave you here. Looks like I’ll have to give it a try.”

She veered left, headed for an outcrop of rock or maybe a tall tree. He couldn’t tell. The rain was coming down too hard to see anything. He just followed and tried to keep up ‘cause she was really making tracks. There must’ve been a black rock his path because he was right on his face in the wet again. As if he didn’t hurt enough already! Picking himself up, he saw his foot had snagged the strap of the camera. What the--? Well, he was one lucky buggar and he knew it, for the thug to have dropped the camera, and him to find it again!

“Malcom, c’mon!”

He leaped up quick as lightning and hauled after her. She was standing on the edge of a low butte they’d been climbing steadily down towards. It had a pretty good drop. The wind even now blew her caped wings about and Malcom felt the strong forces pushing him toward the edge, too.

“Stand still.”

He’d heard that before but obeyed this time as the dark green gargoyle wrapped her arms around his chest, pinning his own arms in place. She picked him off his feet and stepped to the edge. Leaning forward, the tipped off.

Malcom’s adenaline started again as a startled cry caught in his throat. They were falling for just a moment before Jade Griffin’s wings snapped open. She locked his legs with hers so he wasn’t flailing and throwing the both of them off-balance. As the wind battered their descent, they were swayed to and fro, and sometimes straight up again, which made Jade Griffin start a plummet that had his stomach in his throat and swallowing down the impulse to hurl. An unexpected blow skewed them way to the right and the gargoyle tried to fight both the climb in altitude and the shear force of the wind. Then they were being battered from above and to the side by the southwesterlies and losing airspace faster than she could make it up!

“Bury it!” she got out through clenched teeth.

Malcom only heard her particular swearing when she was really fighting something. As soon as this registered in his brain, he felt his legs dropped by hers and wriggled, frantic as he thought she was gonna drop him!

“Hold still!!”

Dangling in the gargoyle’s grasp, he had no choice.

By letting him dangle down, she could tip their combined weight forward to tilt her wings all that much more, and so prevented their crashing to the ground. Or so Malcom would later realize. His heart was pounding too loudly to think much at the moment. They were really close to the ground and the wind still hurdling them along. But Jade Griffin had made a decision. Her wings went up, let all the wind past, and they were plummeting the remaining twenty feet or so to the ground.

He tucked for a role, as did she. Tumbled end over end and into some unpleasant rocks, they counted themselves lucky to be able to stand and walk away from the landing without worse, including bullet holes.

Malcom was still brushing himself off as he straightened and faced the gargoyle. “Thanks. You okay?”

“Yeah... You look worse.”

He snorted. “I bet.”

“Found the camera?”

“Yep. Glad I didn’t drop it with that wild gliding. Don’t get upset! I’m grateful! And believe me, I understand completely now!”

“Good. ‘Cause you still owe me dinner. Two of ‘em for saving your skin when ya decided not to listen.”

He nodded, lucky to get away with just that.

“So,” she started, eyeing his beat-up and disheveled appearance. “How ya gonna explain this one?”

Malcom grinned as best he could with a swollen jaw. “Same as last time. I received help from one of the locals out to kick butt on trespassers.”

Jade Griffin shook her head, laughing.

“Um... One problem, though.”

“Oh, what now??”

“Well... My truck is back up the hill.”

“Dang it! That’s it, you!” Fed up, and laughing, she stalked off toward her home.

“Hey! Can I at least stay at your place till it’s safe? Jade Griffin?” he called, tagging after her.

THE END