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Issue One
"Angel and the Ape -- Part One"
By Travis Hiltz
It takes a lot to shake up New Yorkers.
In fact, a gorilla in a Brooks Brothers suit barely gets a second glance.
Sam Simeon, part-time private eye, comic book artist and full time gorilla, took a sip of his coffee as he strolled along the avenue.
He had a habit of drinking and reading the paper as he strolled every morning from the Java Gulag to his office. He never seemed to bump into anyone. There are advantages to being a gorilla in NY.
Who said people in the city didn't watched where they were going?
Sam stomped up the three stories to the offices of "O'Day and Simeon, Private Investigators", and fished out his keys.
Morning was the best time for him to get caught up on work from both his careers.
The office had been peaceably free of clients lately, so Sam could concentrate on his comic work.
His partner in crime (solving) Angel O'Day was off helping a reporter friend do some research for a story.
Sam hung up his coat, set his coffee and banana muffin on his desk and dug out some comic scripts.
"Belligerent Hamster # 3," Sam muttered. "I give it six months. Oh, the new pages from Ferguson for that crossover. Nothing like having to draw 140 characters to get the creative juices flowing."
Sam put the pages down next to his drawing board and got to work.
He'd just put the finishing touches on a rather nice panel, showing the hamster cursing out some jaywalkers, when the outer door slammed, followed quickly by the inner door.
"When Janet gets in," Angel O'Day snapped, going over to her desk. "Tell her she's fired."
"Janet's not coming in today," Sam muttered, not looking up from his drawing board.
"Why not?"
"You fired her Tuesday."
"Oh. Well... re-hire her, so I can have the petty satisfaction of firing her again."
"So," Sam said, deciding to pay some attention to his partner. "How'd the date go?"
"It was not a date."
Aside from the obvious species thing, Sam and Angel were very different people. He was stocky, dark and muscular where she was tall, blonde and athletic.
In fact, if it weren't for the species barrier, Sam would have said Angel was very attractive. She was lacking in body hair, but had curves in all the places that human males seemed to appreciate.
"I hardly think," Angel fumed. "that being jammed into a Volkswagen, staking out an illegal weapons lab run by a crazed super villain counts as romantic."
"I've had worse," Sam replied. "So, whatever it was, it didn't go well."
"Understatement. Russell and..."
"Russell the reporter?"
"Yeah. We've been working on this for two weeks. Bad take-out food, stake outs, paying low life's for info, and it was just about to pay off. We had them, wanted super villain selling highly illegal hi-tech weapons to a known member of one of the second-tier mob families..."
"Sounds good so far," Sam commented.
"It was. Until those yahoos from Young Justice come crashing through the roof..."
"Oops."
"Yep. They slap the bejezus out of everybody and end up accidentally blowing up the building."
"Is that why you smell like smoke?" Sam asked.
"The mobsters get away," Angel continued. "The building is rubble and Russell is out with a concussion."
"Which means no security contract for you and no story for Russell," Sam said, putting down his pen. "Sorry, I know how much that deal meant to you."
He went over and patted her on the shoulder and handed her his banana muffin.
"Thanks," She said. "I know the business is just going through a dry spell, but..."
"Here it comes," Sam muttered, going back to his desk.
"I am just so sick of super heroes! Everywhere we go, every case we take, some schmuck with a power ring or a magic lasso shows up."
Angel paused to nibble on the muffin.
"I know I'm doing it again. I don't mean to interrupt your muse'" She muttered. "Just having my weekly mope."
"It's okay."
"No cases, two weeks of work goes up, literally, in smoke, you have to take these extra art assignments to keep us going and then the first decent guy I meet in forever ends up hospitalized after our first date..."
"Hah!" Sam announced in triumph. "Knew it."
"Shut up. Don't you have some ridiculously large breasted women fighting ninjas to draw?"
"That was last issue," Sam told her. "Look I know it's been rough, but you need to relax. It'll get better."
"I hate to sound cynical," Angel said. "But, 'yeah, right.' Clients showing up, just when the P.I.s desperately need one, happens only in cheap novels."
Just then, there was a knock on the office door and an anxious looking middle aged man entered.
"Excuse me, Miss O'Day?" He said. "I hope you can help me, I'm in desperate need of a private investigator."
"I hate when you do that," she muttered at Sam.
He just shrugged and went back to his drawing.
"How can we help you, Mr...?" Angel asked, walking around her desk to shake hands with her new (potential) client.
"Nilli, William Nilli," He said, shaking hands. "I am the supervising manager of the research Department at Techno-Babel International. There has been a break-in at our facilities and while the police have been contacted, I had thought...well, um..."
"That it couldn't hurt to have some extra help," Angel prompted. "Someone who can give the problem their full attention."
"Yes," Mr. Nilli replied, anxiously.
"As luck would have it," Angel said, going back to her desk and flipping through her notebook." We have a light case load this week."
"Grrrrk," Sam sputtered, having picked the wrong moment to take a sip of coffee.
"...And I will be available to come over to your offices and look over the crime scene this afternoon. I can bring a contract and after we've discussed options, you can decide if you'd like to hire us."
"Yes, fine, that sounds fine," Mr. Nilli replied, fishing a business card out of his pocket." This whole thing is most upsetting and it would ease my mind, as well as my staff to have the whole mess cleared up. After one would be best. It will give me a chance to clear my afternoon schedule."
"We'll say, 1:30 then," Angel told him.
"Good bye, I'll see myself out."
"See?" Sam said, nodding towards their departing new (potential) client. "I told you things would work out."
"I'm not getting my hopes up yet," Angel said, sitting down and slipping her shoes off.
"Why not?" Sam asked.
"Well, for one, our new client's name is "Willy' Nilli."
"Okay, so don't take a check. Techno-Babel is a good company. They're a subsidy of Dayton Industries. I read about them in Newspeak, last week. Their grommets are respected world wide."
"I feel better already," Angel muttered, rubbing her feet.
1:33 pm
Downtown....
"Now, explain to me, why I have to come?" Sam asked, as he and Angel stepped out of their taxi and into the lobby of Techno-Babel International.
"You are such a big fan of their grommets," Angel replied. "Besides if this is legit, I may need the extra set of hands."
"The things I do to avoid drawing hamsters," Sam muttered.
"Hello, welcome to Techno-Babel," The perky receptionist said. "Can...I...help....?"
Angel held out her business card, while Sam smiled in his least threatening manner.
"O'Day and Simeon," Angel said. "We have an appointment with Mr. Nilli."
"Um...okay, just a moment." The receptionist muttered, picking up the phone. She held a brief, hushed conversation with whoever was on the other end.
All Angel caught was "But, he's a..." and "This never happened when I worked at Stark Industries."
"Okay," She said, putting the phone down, and trying to return Sam's smile.
"Third floor, second office on your right. Number 47."
"Thank you," Sam said, giving a little bow.
"She was kind of a gawker," Angel said, once they were in the elevator.
"You must still have some spinach in your teeth," Sam commented.
Angel glared at him, but still ran her tongue over her teeth. Just in case.
The elevator stopped and the duo stepped out into a corridor decorated in what Sam called "corporate beige".
Angel knocked on the door of #47 and walked in.
"Ah, hello, Miss O'Day...um...Mr. Simon."
"Simeon," Sam gently corrected, as they shook hands.
"What we'd like to do," Angel explained, getting right to business. "Is view the crime scene. You can tell us about the robbery and we'll see where we go from there."
Mr. Nilli nodded, then informed his secretary where he would be if there were any calls.They returned to the elevator and went up two more floors.
"This is the main research area," Mr. Nilli explained as the doors opened and they stepped out.
It was all bare concrete and metal. Nilli showed his ID card to the guard in the reception area. Angel caught a glimpse of another guard in a side room full of security monitors.
They walked along a hall, lined with metal doors, each with a keypad on it.
Nilli stopped at the fourth door down. This door had a guard on it as well.
"We added the extra guard since the robbery," Mr. Nilli said, to Angel's unasked question.
The research lab was a square room with work benches and cabinets on the side walls. The few bare spaces on the wall were decorated with a bulletin board, a calendar with the company logo on it, and a poster of Jennifer Lopez. There was a single window on the wall opposite to the door. In the center of the room was a massive blocky work bench, divided into four stations.
"Very homey," Sam muttered, wandering over to the window.
"Which cabinet were the items taken from?" Angel asked, walking around the work bench.
Mr. Nilli indicated a large metal cabinet in the far corner.
Angel went over and inspected the handles and hinges.
"No sign of forced entry," She said. "Is it kept locked?"
"Not during the day," Nilli replied. "Various staff members use it, but it is locked at night, after hours."
"Is it a card lock, like the door?"
"No, there's a key, um...two I think. One at the front desk, then maintenance has one, I believe."
"You don't sound very sure about that?" Angel said, then glanced over at her partner. Sam seemed very preoccupied with the window. She didn't think it was because it had a lovely view.
"I'll need to check," Nilli replied. "I know that when Osland, he's the department head, comes in the morning, he gets the key. I thought there was a spare, in case."
"Osland is one of the four that work here?" Sam asked, finally deciding to join the conversation.
"Yes, that's right. Except at the time of the robbery, there were only three."
"Someone get downsized?" Angel asked.
"Maternity leave."
"Too bad, disgruntled employees help build a suspect list." Angel muttered.
"Suspects?" Mr. Nilli gaped. "You mean, it was an...inside job?"
"In a case like this, even if it is industrial espionage," Angel explained.
"Employees are usually connected in some way. Especially, where the security is as solid as what you have here, Mr. Nilli."
Nilli was torn by wanting to accept the compliment, while uneasy at the idea that one of his employees was the culprit.
"Well, yes, that is a possibility....," He muttered. "You will be...uh..discrete?"
"I promise," Angel said, with a grim smile.
Mr. Nilli smiled weakly in return.
"Yes, um...that would be...," He started.
"Actually," Sam interrupted. " We'd like to survey more of the building before we bother your employees with any questions. Would it be possible to continue the tour?"
"Uh...yes, that's fine. Anywhere in particular?"
"Just a general tour," Sam continued, "To get a feel for the building."
"I could issue you both visitor's passes," Nilli suggested. "And if you need anything else, you could contact my office or security."
"That would be fine," Angel smiled, not entirely sure what Sam was up to. "I'll want to talk with your head of security later."
"So, what are you up to?" Angel asked. She and Sam had gotten their passes, reassured Mr. Nilli that they would stop by his office in an hour or so and had spent ten minutes strolling around before Sam headed for the roof.
"Just something not right about all this," He muttered, walking towards the edge of the roof, his bare feet making crinkling noises in the gravel.
"Seems pretty straightforward," Angel said. "Obviously it has to be an inside job, security's tight. Who has access to the lab and how they got past the security cameras are the only tough spots that I can see, and a look at the employee records should help there."
"Hmmm,. Maybe," Sam muttered, reaching down to poke at the cement at the edge of the rough. He then ran his fingers through the gravel.
"Look, I'm freezing up here," Angel said, pulling her jacket closed, as she realized she'd picked the wrong day to wear her new mini-dress. "If you want to make zen patterns in the gravel, I'm going to talk to the security guy." She fished her palm pilot out of her coat pocket. "Tischmann. Meet you back at Nilli's office."
"Sure. I'll just be a minute."
"You okay, Sam?"
He straightened up and gave his partner a small smile.
"Fine, just a little drifty. Must be the strain of drawing too many hamsters."
"Okay, talk to you soon. Maybe, when we finish here, we can grab something to eat. Thai okay?"
Sam nodded and went back to peering at the rooftop and the buildings surrounding it.
"This is getting interesting," Angel said, as they left the building. "I talked with Tischmann and the info he gave me about the security cameras point to, not a break in, like Nilli thinks it was, but an obvious inside job, made to look like a break in. Taxi!"
Sam grunted non committaly as they climbed into the cab.
"We headed to the 'Thai me up Thai me down', over on Foglio St.," She told the driver. "So, I'm thinking we start with the three lab tech's..."
"It was an outside robbery," Sam said quietly.
"Sam, come on," Angel replied, taking a compact mirror out of her purse and checking her make up. "Nobody could have gotten into that lab from the outside."
" They could,"
"How?"
"From the roof, it would be easy to climb the out side wall down to the window. Seven stories up, very few people worry about locking their windows.'
"That's a stretch," Angel told him, retouching her lipstick. "And while I wasn't as fascinated by the roof as you, I would have spotted traces left by climbing equipment."
"I could do it without equipment." Sam replied, reaching into his coat pocket.
"Yeah, but unless you're confessing, I feel I can scratch you off the list. After all, it's not like....wait a minute! Where are you going with this little theory?"
He held out a half dozen coarse fibers for her to see.
"What?"
"Hair," Sam explained. "The kind usually associated with the larger primates."
"You sure?"
"I see it every morning in my shower drain."
"This is odd," Angel said, distantly.
"Yeah, but I think..."
"No, not the hair. We're being followed."
"Really? You sure?" Sam said.
"Don't look at them," Angel snapped. "What is the first thing I told you about being a detective?"
"That your father wanted you to be a dental hygienist?"
"Second thing, then: if you think you are being tailed, don't look at them. Then they know that you know. Here, you got something stuck in your teeth."
"Do I?" Sam asked, taking the offered mirror. "I brushed before we..."
"Use it to look behind you," Angel told him, patiently. "Was Robin this hard to train?"
"What am I looking for?"
"Three cars back. Maroon Toyota. Big guy driving with somebody in the back seat."
"You sure, this is a busy street?"
"They were parked by Techno-Babel, and here they are again," Angel explained, grumpily. "Four blocks later, but if my word's not enough... hey, buddy, take a left here then the next right."
"You the boss," The driver grunted.
Sure enough, the other car followed.
"Wish the guy in the back seat wasn't all bundled up," Angel said, taking back her mirror. "Might help us get an idea who we are dealing with."
"Probably why he is bundled up," Sam remarked, leaning over towards the cab driver. "Pull over by that restaurant."
"Okay."
"I hate Greek food," Angel muttered.
"The place has got a big front window, so we can watch the watchmen. Come on, pay the guy."
Angel rummaged through her purse, while Sam got out of the cab. He glanced around casually and spotted the maroon car parking down the block.
"Interesting," he said.
Elsewhere, a trio sat in shadow. One finished a conversation on his cell phone.
"They are being followed."
"Excellent. Do you think they suspect?"
"Unknown. He may, but the female seems to think it simple industrial espionage. We will proceed to phase two."
"Oh god," Angel muttered, sitting back in her seat. "Why did you let me do that?"
"I seem to recall mentioning that three pieces of baklava seemed like a bad idea," Sam replied, sipping his coffee.
"I can feel my hips getting fatter as we speak," Angel said. "I didn't want to come here. You know I can't resist baklava. It's my heroin."
"Can we get back to this case? You sure these guys are connected to Techno?" Sam asked. "What about that weapons lab thing?"
"I know how to spot a tail," Angel protested. "They were at Techno when we got there. What I don't get is what are they after?"
"Maybe just keeping an eye on us?" Sam suggested. "You going to finish that last bite?"
Angel glared and pushed her plate over towards her partner.
"We should get back to the office," she suggested. "See if they stay with us."
"Look," Sam said, holding out the hairs he'd found. "About these...?"
"Right now, I don't want to know," Angel interrupted. "I just want to pretend, for a little while longer, that this is actually a nice normal robbery. Tomorrow you can share your theories about aliens, trained ape thieves or cybernetic librarians. Okay? I need a break."
"Okay," Sam said. He gulped down the last of his coffee and Angel's baklava, and stood up. "As a sign of my sympathetic understanding, I'll get the check."
They caught a cab back to the office, Angel stopped in the foyer to pick up their mail before they headed up.
"Something here for you from DC comics," She said as they walked.
"Another rejection to add to the pile probably," Sam muttered. "Maybe I should take that offer from CrossGen?"
"You'd hate it in Florida," Angel replied. "Sam, how many times do I have to remind you about locking the door when we leave? What if we had something worth stealing ?"
"I did though," Sam protested, glancing past the partially open door. "Pretty sure. I know I didn't leave any lights on."
"Perfect end to a perfect day," Angel muttered, taking her pistol out of her purse.
She peered through the crack.
"Two of them," She murmured to Sam. "One at your desk, other at mine."
"Saves us the trouble of 'einnie, meenie'," Sam replied, cracking his knuckles.
" If the one at my desk messed up those pages I've been working on..."
"Hold on," Angel murmured, and pushed the door open with her foot.
Now, the reason that Sam, a full grown African gorilla was able to live in NY, barely noticed by the locals, is that along with the gift of speech he had a low level psychic ability. This allowed him to gently influence the minds of others, so that while most people saw him as a burly human with abnormally long arms and a banana addiction, the few who did see him as a gorilla, didn't particularly feel the need to get worked up over it.
As he sprang into the office, Sam turned off this power.
This left the thieves confronted by a rather irritated woman with a gun and an equally irritated gorilla.
"Holy....?" The one by Sam's desk started.
"...Oke, Massachusetts?" Sam suggested, helpfully as he grabbed the guy by the front of the shirt.
While Sam was busy teaching his new acquaintance a bit of involuntary yoga, Angel settled for just sticking her gun in the other thief's face and scowling.
It was very effective.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" she asked.
"Uhhhh...." he replied.
Just then, the window shattered as a large form came leaping through it.
A big muscular intruder, bundled up in an overcoat, hat, gloves and dark glasses.
He drove his shoulder into Sam's solar plexus, knocking him onto the desk.
Angel realizing her gun, in this small space, was more a danger then a help, conked the thief she'd been covering and tossed it onto her desk.
She took up a fighting stance, as the new intruder scooped up the thief Sam had been dealing with and leapt at Angel.
She dodged, and stumbled when one of her shoe heels broke.
He scooped up the other thief and with both men slung over his shoulders dove back out the window.
Angel kicked off her shoes, scooped up her gun, and went after him.
"Hey...wait," Sam coughed trying to get his breath back and follow his partner.
Angel stepped out onto the fire escape in time to notice two things.
1) The thieves were making for the maroon car parked in the alley and 2) the fourth man waiting down by the car for them had a much bigger gun then she did.
Sam got to the shattered window just in time to get knocked back down. This time by Angel.
"Ooooof!" He gasped as they landed in a heap on the floor. "I...think I'm lying on some broken glass."
"Don't be such a baby, I just ruined my favorite shoes," Angel said, getting to her feet. She tossed her gun back on the desk and helped Sam to his feet.
"I'm not awash in job satisfaction at this moment," He muttered, holding his back as he limped back to his desk.
"Aren't you the one always telling me to look on the bright side?," Angel asked, peering back out the window in time to see the Toyota drive away. "We are obviously getting somewhere on this case, and what else can possibly happen?"
"Freeze! Police!"
"I bet this never happens to other comic artists," Sam muttered, raising his hands.
To Be Continued in Brave & the Bold #2