Now, story notes: For the end of this part, I've borrowed some imagery and paraphased some dialogue from the conclusion of the JAG episode "Embassy." Truly a lovely episode, that. I have also stolen ZNN (it pops up later) from JAG. Why make up a whole 'nother fake new channel when I have one right there for me?
Edit Note 11/29/06: After rereading this (and pondering the excellent points made in Clorinda's review), I decided to fix some stuff, mostly in the later chapters. Hopefully the story is stronger as a result.
When you get things in perspective
Spread the news and help the word go 'round
Downtown Del Oro Bay was transformed at sunset: it went from a collection of average, unexceptional buildings and streets to something vaguely glittering and magical. Most of that was due to the dim streetlights, which had been carefully chosen by the city commission for exactly that reason. Anything could be magical in the dark.
The overpriced shops and restaurants that had been enticed into the downtown area did their part, too, in setting ambiance, because ambiance was good for business - and they might've been getting a massive break in rental fees, but money was money. White Christmas lights sparkled in the windows and candles flickered from tables, and because it was summer, people were everywhere.
Some of the people out in the night, though, weren't interested in dinner or shopping. Some of the people were interested in knocking over the downtown branch of the Del Oro Memorial Bank.
The bank was closed, of course, so there were no bystanders to deal with. There were no tellers or managers, either, and the lone security guard didn't have a clue. That was bad, because the first thing the robbers had done was effectively disable the security system.
The six-man team had gotten in, ransacked the vault, loaded their van down with cash, and were on their way out when the guard - accidentally left alone for a moment - managed to hit the one alarm that still functioned.
It wasn't a silent alarm. It was a very loud alarm. And aside from making the bank robbers curse each other, it got the attention of everyone on the street, including a news crew that had been filming a fluff piece on the local nightlife. The news crew was delighted.
Josh McGrath, who had been directly across the street from the bank when the alarm went off, and who had extremely sensitive hearing, was less delighted. "OW! What is that?"
"One of the many pitfalls of having nanoprobes?" This was offered in a characteristically sarcastic manner by Kat Ryan, despite the fact that she was uncharacteristically dressed - namely, she'd traded her jeans and tank top for slacks and a sleeveless blouse. It would have been more bizarre if Josh hadn't been similarly attired.
"Aside from that." Josh rubbed at his ear one last time and answered his own question. "Someone's robbing the bank."
"And they're getting away with it, too," Kat said, frowning. The robbers were frantically trying to get into their van, but were having trouble climbing over all the bags of money. Incredibly, a few of them were hauling out yet more cash. "The cops won't be here for minutes!"
Left unspoken was, "so it's up to us," but he was thinking the same thing. Playing superhero was almost as much fun as playing spy. "You take the driver?"
The bank robbers were still trying to get into the van. On a scale of ineptness, they were somewhere below Vitriol. Josh didn't think it would even take his Max powers to handle them.
She was already running across the street. "Sounds like a plan!"
After saving the world - or at least significant portions thereof - six half-baked crooks, as anticipated, weren't much of a challenge. Josh took out the three robbers at the rear of the van, and Kat got not only the driver, but also the remaining two. It was over in under a minute, and Josh wasn't even breathing hard. But his brand-new shirt had a tear down one side, which was irritating.
He walked around the van to make sure that there were no surprises. There weren't, but he became aware of cheers and applause from the bystanders. Holding steady at a safe distance, the news crew looked like it was going to collectively collapse from ecstasy.
Josh gave them a half-hearted wave and a mostly sheepish smile; he wasn't used to pulling that kind of stunt in his public identity. He was even less used to talking to the cops, but there were sirens wailing a few blocks away, and with all of the witnesses, they'd need to stick around to give a statement.
"Well, this shirt is trashed," he said by way of checking on Kat. She was sitting on one of the stray bags of money, looking bored. One of the crooks was moaning at her feet.
"It was ugly anyway," she said, with just the faintest hint of a grin.
He snorted and leaned up against the van, waiting for the cops. The news crew had just started to sidle closer when the police arrived and sent them scurrying away once again. Josh and Kat duly gave their statement, explaining how they'd come to be in the area, what they'd seen, and what they'd done. In return, they were given a stern warning to not do anything like it again. They were also given a rather begrudging acknowledgement of gratitude.
When the time came for them to leave, Kat got up reluctantly, and stumbled a bit as she did. Josh automatically stuck an arm out to catch her, surprised to find that she actually seemed to need the support. "You okay?"
"Terrific. But no more fighting crime in heels." She took a step and winced. "Oh, yeah, I am so
He checked; it was the ankle she'd fractured some months before. "Kat. Why didn't you say something?"
"Because I'm stoic like that?" she said, tongue-in-cheek, but when he went to pull his arm away, she made an immediate noise of protest.
He gave her a dark look, then started down the sidewalk. She came with him, of course, limping along. The car wasn't too far off - just at the end of the block. It'd take a few minutes, and they'd have to walk right past the news crew, but it was doable. "Whatever. We're going to the hospital."
Somewhat breathless, she said, "By the way, I'm having a wonderful evening."
"Just par for the course. We should go out more often," he said lightly, in a good mood despite everything. And, walking towards the car, focusing on keeping as much weight off of Kat's ankle as possible, Josh entirely missed the fact that the news camera was fixed on their backs.