The Validium Takes Manhattan
Part Three
"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" The Doctor looked miraculously cheerful for having just crossed the filmy and very cold harbor. He hoisted Jane up over the short concrete barrier that separated the island from the water.
"Yes." Jane said, her teeth chattering and her limbs exhausted from the swim. "It was."
"Buck up, Jane." He smiled as he brushed off the remnants of an old grocery bag from her hair. "We're just now getting to the fun part!"
"You really are nuts, aren't you?" She grumbled as she peeled out of her coat and sweater, squeezing them out as best as she could before throwing them back on. She still smelled, and she was wet as hell, but at least she was about fifteen pounds lighter.
"It has been suggested," the Doctor admitted with a shrug as he dumped water from his black boots and slicked back his hair. "But look at it this way, I've just rescued you from a sinking ship! Isn't that nice?"
"You rescued me by throwing me off it." She glared as he hopped around awkwardly on one foot, trying to replace his boot. "And a rescue ship was already on its way to come pick us up."
"Alright, alright. Get bogged down with the boring details." He waved his hand. "But look, here we are. A proper up close view of the Statue of Liberty! Isn't she lovely-"
"Freeze!" Said a voice from further down the banks. They both stopped admiring the statue and turned to see two security officers headed their way. One was a pale portly looking fellow, and the other his opposite, a tall dark-skinned woman who looked strong enough to take them down unaided. Unfortunately, they weren't taking that risk and they both had their guns drawn and aimed directly at them.
"Although," the Doctor said thoughtfully. "The view from the ferry was also impressive. An argument can be made for the water aesthetic. And the lack of hostility. Perhaps we should do our investigating at a distance…"
"I said freeze!" The woman barked, her face pinched in a stern frown.
"Or…we can stay," the Doctor plastered a placating smile on his face. "That sounds fun, doesn't it Jane? Staying here, admiring the view, most definitely not getting shot."
Jane could get behind that kind of a plan, she doubted she could move if she wanted to. Having never had a weapon pointed at her before, she found the experience to be pants soilingly alarming.
"Hands over your head where I can see them." The woman ordered and Jane instantly obeyed, nearly taking flight with how fast they'd shot into the air. She'd never been detained by a police officer before, so she didn't know exactly what to expect. Of course, she'd never jumped over the side of a crashed ferry and swam to a national monument either. She was having a lot of new experiences today.
"Glad you're here. We've just had a bit of trouble with our ride. Had to abandon ship." The Doctor, of course, was happy to ignore the order. Though he didn't make any sudden movements either, so that was something.
"Not sure that was your best move," the woman muttered as she nodded for her partner to search them both.
"Yeah, it's not working quite as well as I hoped," the Doctor admitted. "Are you having some sort of trouble of your own?"
"Other than trespassers?" The man glared at the Doctor as he dumped the contents of Jane's bag out onto the ground, along with a healthy amount of water.
"Well, yes. Obviously. But I'm not seeing an abundance of visitors. Awfully quiet for an important monument, wouldn't you say?" Jane followed his gaze and noticed that he was right. There didn't seem to be anyone else around. Even in the drizzle, there should have been at least one cluster of determined plastic poncho wearing tourists.
"There's been a threat." The woman said, shooting her partner a look. The man decided Jane wasn't much of a threat and moved onto the Doctor.
"Don't bother, I haven't got any weapons." The Doctor rolled his eyes.
"Right, guess I'll just take your word for it." He muttered as he went through the Doctor's pockets.
The Doctor yelped, causing the officer to look very seriously as though she were going to shoot him this time. The Doctor cleared his throat sheepishly. "Sorry, ticklish…"
"What's this?" The man grunted as he held the sonic screwdriver aloft.
"That's my screwdriver. Bit of a noisy laser pointer really." The Doctor nodded to the wallet in the man's hand. "If you'll just check that, you'll see I'm perfectly within my rights to be here."
The man flipped open the wallet, and then shot a suspicious look at the Doctor before he returned to his partner. "Says he's with homeland security." He held it out for her to see.
"Thought you said you were part of the safety commission?" Jane said out of the corner of her mouth. "And a train inspector." Her eyes narrowed.
"Yes, well. I like to keep busy. So, a threat. What kind of threat exactly?" Both of the officers looked at him, doubtful, but unable to argue with the identification they held. "Anyone? I can help. I am really good at helping."
The woman finally lowered her gun and offered the wallet back to the Doctor. "A bomb threat."
"Brilliant," the Doctor said, a little cheerfully. "Well, I'm the Doctor, this is Jane. Jane you can put your hands down now." She reluctantly did so.
"Officer Harris," the woman responded. "This is Officer Spencer. Now, we need to get down into the basement with everyone else."
"Basement? Shouldn't we evacuate?" Jane asked, having felt increasingly uneasy ever since the word 'bomb' had been uttered.
"That would probably be ideal, but impossible since no one can get in or out of the perimeter in anything that's got an engine." The Doctor said mildly. "Or anything electronic anyway."
"How did you know about that?" Officer Harris eyed him suspiciously.
"Told you," he shrugged over his shoulder. "Had a bit of trouble with the ferry. Besides, a bomb threat on one of New York's most iconic landmarks? This place should be crawling with officers, sniffer dogs, and probably a tank considering this is America."
"We tried to radio for help after the call came in. But nothing seems to be working. Boat won't start up either."
"That's a handy side effect of the electromagnetic field I imagine. Has anyone tried to locate the bomb?"
"We're uh…not trained for that sort of thing." Officer Harris shook her head. "Not even really sure what we'd be looking for."
"Well, it's good you've got me then. I know exactly what I'm looking for," he paused. "Mostly. Mind if I take a look around?"
"What? Just let you walk around on your own?" Officer Spencer didn't seem especially pleased with the idea, and Jane found herself agreeing with him.
"No, of course not. I've got Jane here." The Doctor flashed her a grin, which she struggled to return.
"Er…I'm not sure I'm really qualif-"
"Spencer, make sure everyone is secured down below. Keep things calm. We'll do a quick run out here to see if we can find anything."
"Whatever you say boss," Officer Spencer made no secret of his lack of approval, but he clearly wanted to be back in the basement as soon as possible.
"Ah, and I am going to need my screwdriver back."
"For what?" Officer Spencer scowled.
"Cabinetry. Obviously."
"Good luck," Spencer muttered as he tossed it to the Doctor and headed out.
"So," the Doctor said, twirling the sonic in his hand. "Where do we look first?"
"I thought you were the expert?" Officer Harris said with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes. Yes, that's me. Good point." He patted her shoulder. "I am the expert." He spun back toward Jane and pulled an awkward face. Then he aimed the screwdriver at the horizon, moving his arm side to side. It whirred loudly, growing in volume as it crossed the statue. "My money's on the big lady. Let's have a look, shall we?"
"You worked with him long?" Officer Harris gave Jane a look as they both followed the Doctor's somewhat prancing gait.
"Honestly, it's been super weird." Jane shook her head.
"Hold on!" The Doctor stopped, spinning on the both of them suddenly.
"What? What is it?" Officer Harris had her hand ready on her holster.
"Anyone got a jammy dodger? I am absolutely famished." He searched their faces but got no response. "No? No one? That's disappointing. Well, keep an eye out." He turned back and resumed his trek to the statues entrance.
Officer Harris gave Jane another silent look.
"Yeah, it's like this pretty much all the time."