leaping to her feet at the realization that the thieves had finished their work, brown eyes widened, and a gasp slipped past her lips when daniel grabbed her hand — a little bit tighter than strictly needed, if you’d asked her — and began pulling her away from the direction in which the truck had just began going. ❝ dan, what are you … they’re going the other way !! we’ll never catch them if you start sta —— oh … oh, wow. ❞ holding a hand against her mouth, laurie gazed up in awe at the ship, which was unlike anything else she’d ever seen … and not only due to it’s distinct owl shape. ❝ I mean … I did, but … this is so much better. ❞ following him up the ladder, until her head poked through the circular entrance to the ship, the silk spectre couldn’t help but smile. ❝ you really put a lot of work and dedication into this owl theme, huh? not that I’m putting it down, this is amazing, dan. ❞
and it could really fly! —— standing at daniel’s side, while he flew the ship ( archie? he’d called it archie, hadn’t he? ) through the air, laurie imagined she could see the whole of MANHATTAN, from the very highest building, to the smallest park bench. it was difficult, if she were being honest, to keep her attention on the truck of thieves that was moving expertly through the streets below ; but she did.
❝ it looks like they’re heading into the financial district … ❞ she murmured, brows furrowed at the sight. ❝ I’ll be the first to admit, they’re really well organized for a bunch of thieves, but — wall street organized? don’t they steal enough from people during their day jobs? hold on, wait a moment … they’re stopping! over there, by liberty street! ❞
waiting until he’d lowered the ship to the ground, the brunette carefully slipped out onto the concrete below them, a soft tapping noise echoing through the night as she walked out of the alley way, eyes narrowed in an attempt to see just what the group of thieves were doing now. ❝ they’re going down into the car park, dan … ❞ biting down on her lip, she shot him a look that said they’d BETTER HURRY, ❝ … that gate closes automatically, after the car goes through … come on, we have to make it in with the truck !! ❞ it was her turn, now, to grab tight to the nite owl’s hand, bursting out into a sprint across the empty street — careful, the entire time, so that they could avoid being spotted in the car’s rear view mirror. ❝ quietly … over here! ❞ she hissed, flattening her body against the truck’s blind spot … and creeping along as it rolled past the security gate, and into the parking lot.
Nite Owl might have allowed himself a moment or two of smugness at Laurie’s reaction to his beloved ship. He had put a lot of work into Archie, equipping the ship with all the necessary gadgets -- screechers that emitted a high-pitched sound to stun enemies, blowers that sent out a fog-like cloud of dry ice to conceal him, missiles, a flamethrower – and it was nice when someone appreciated that work, even if he HAD thought the way she said this owl theme was a little dismissive. He supposed that blue – thing – didn’t need a crime fighting gimmick. The gimmick was built right in. Daniel had heard he’d been too self-important to even bother to choose his own name, instead letting the government dub him Doctor Manhattan.
❝ I see them! ❞ he returned as the truck made its way onto Liberty and began slowing to a stop. ❝ Hold on! ❞ And with great care, he brought the ship into a landing, only a few steps behind Laurie as she broke into a sprint across the street for the car park, struggling not to get flustered when she grabbed his hand and pulled him along after her. He couldn’t help but steal the occasional glance over at her, her body pressed against the concrete wall of the car park, sliding along beside the truck, her breath coming in quick little gasps through a mixture of adrenaline and recovering from the run to catch up with their thieves.
Aw hell, why did he always become SMITTEN with the ones who didn’t want him?
The truck pulled into a parking space, far from any other vehicles in the garage and, Nite Owl noticed, carefully out of range of any of the security cameras. These guys knew what they were doing. As, one by one, the thieves climbed out of the truck, Daniel crept in closer to get a better look and gestured for Laurie to do the same. He wasn’t completely surprised when they opened up the back of the truck and pushed the electronics out of the way, instead pulling the filing cabinet out of the trailer, removing the drawers one by one and rummaging through their contents.
❝ It’s not here! ❞ one of the thieves, a tall man with thick blond curls, announced after several minutes. ❝ It’s got to be in his office, then. Louis isn’t going to like this. ❞
❝ So, who’s going to be the one to break the news to Malcolm? ❞ asked another thief.
Behind his infrared goggles, Daniel’s eyes grew wide. He turned to Laurie and whispered, ❝ Louis Malcolm is one of the most powerful defense attorneys in the city! What’s he doing, wrapped up in all this? ❞ Meanwhile, the thieves had set to work removing the license plates from the truck, obviously planning to abandon it here now that they had no more use for it, and wanting to make sure it couldn’t be traced back to them. ❝ What do we do now? ❞
