Fighting the Good Fight

Chapter Three

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

Summary: As the anniversary of the September 11 attacks nears, Angel travels to New York City to reflect on what happened, and runs into an old friend.

Note: There will be some graphic description of what happened that day. If it would be too painful for you to read, than you can skip over it if you must. Just thought a little warning would be appropriate here.

Part Three

After a few more moments, Kate stopped crying, stepped back, and started patting the pockets of her jacket as if looking for something. Guessing what she was looking for, Angel produced a dry handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to Kate, who whispered her thanks and used it to wipe her eyes of the teardrops that still remained.

"Angel, you have no idea how happy-surprised, but happy- I am to be seeing you right now. I know it has been a while to say the least, but seeing you right now is definitely a welcome change".

Angel tried to think of something to say, but for some reason all he could think of asking was, "What are you doing here Kate? Don't get me wrong, I am as glad to see you, as you are to see me. I am just wondering what brings you here, now"?

"I suppose I could ask you the same question, being that I was not expecting you to show up at a place like this", Kate replied back.

"You first", the vampire said.

Kate sighed, "Well, for one thing I came here because there is a memorial service I want to see". She looked at Angel, looked him hard in the face, as she told him from the beginning, what ended up bringing her here. "After I left you that night at your hotel, I decided to leave LA. While you were still there, I really had no one left. You know what happened to my father, and despite our history, my father was really the only family I had while in LA. There was just too much emotion and tension, and I felt that I had to go somewhere else other than LA if I was to completely heal, both physically and psychologically; I had to go somewhere new where no one knew about my past or the things I used to be involved in, but at the same time I wanted to go somewhere where I could blend in to the degree I wanted. I felt that New York City would be a good place for me to go, far enough from LA so I could escape my past, and where I could establish a new life for myself and start over. So I moved here, got a place over in Soho, and began to settle in. However, I soon became restless, wanting something to do you know? As they say, once a cop, always a cop. It's always in your blood".

Angel raised an eyebrow when she said that. Kate smiled sheepishly in spite of herself. "Sorry about my choice of words". She composed her thoughts for a minute, then continued, "Anyway, once I established myself here, I was able to get a fresh start doing what I truly loved, and became a member of the New York City Police Department. I quickly learned that New York has its own demons and that it really is the city that never sleeps. If you ever get tired of LA Angel, you should come here. I think you would fit in well here".

Angel smiled at Kate, but otherwise said nothing.

Kate continued, "I came to quickly love my new job here with the NYPD. I solved many crimes, made many arrests, and I soon developed a reputation for being one of the best cops in my precinct, if not the city. I was often called in to assist in many high-profile cases, and it wasn't too long before I began to rise through the ranks and soon I was promoted to Detective".

"Congratulations", Angel said.

Kate smiled, "Thanks. Once I became a Detective, I felt that I was finally beginning to be someone I always wanted to be. I felt like I was finally carving a new life for myself. I was happy. I was doing something that I realized I loved tremendously. Like I said, I was happy...happy that I was finally getting the opportunity to live a normal and quiet life, or at least as normal and quiet as things can get for a police officer. Then came the morning of September 11, 2001".

Kate paused to gather her thoughts. Angel noticed she was fighting to maintain her composure, fighting to hold back further tears that were threatening to overwhelm her. "If this is too painful for you to talk about Kate, you don't have to", Angel offered.

Kate Lockley shook her head. "No Angel, I have to continue, to talk about this. I feel this is cathartic for me and that it is helping me to heal by talking about it. Anyway, that morning I was working the morning shift. I was standing outside the stationhouse with some of the other cops, drinking coffee and talking about the Yankees and the game they played the other night. Our station was only a few blocks away from where the towers were. I was taking a sip of coffee when I noticed the first sign of trouble....

** Flashback, September 11, 2001 **

"Hey Lockley, what did you think of the Yankee game the other night"? John, one of her fellow cops asked.

"I think they have a good shot at winning the World Series again this year, as long as they keep winning games by giving the ball to Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning", Kate replied back.

"Yeah, he is one of the best in the game right now, I have to admit", another cop added. As the others laughed, Kate paused to take a sip some of her coffee. She tilted her cup to her mouth and as she drank, she noticed how beautiful the sky looked today, not too cloudy, and the weather was rather cool as well. As she was about to bring her cup away from her lips, something moved across her field of vision. She was surprised to see that it was an airliner, and a rather large one at that, a 767 from the looks of it. She frowned. 'What was an airliner doing flying so low and so close like that'? Kate wondered. Neither Newark or JFK were that close by that it could be making an approach to land, and LaGuardia was in another direction from where the plane was heading. By now she could tell that it was an American Airlines jet, and she watched it with growing concern as it flew closer to where she and the others were standing. "Hey guys, take a look at that. Is there something wrong with this picture, or is it just me"? Kate asked.

The other cops turned to look, and it quickly became apparent that something was wrong. "It isn't you Lockley", John said, not able to take his eyes away from the fast-approaching plane.

Kate, for her part, just stared at the plane, speechless, helpless, powerless. She felt something was very wrong, but Kate didn't know what she could do about it. As the plane flew past where they were standing, Kate looked further past where the plane was, and saw where it was heading, what lay directly in its path. A sick, cold, feeling of utter horror settled into her stomach, as she could only watch the plane, terrified of what was about to happen. She dropped the remainder of her coffee. She yelled to John to call it in, and she heard him yelling on the radio, but didn't turn around to watch him. She could only watch, horrified, as the large jet broke through the walls of the North Tower; she watched the billowing flames, smoke and debris that began shooting up and out, turning the North Tower into something of a giant Roman Candle.

"Lockley, let's go. Let's move it! We have to get down there now"! John yelled to her, as he ran to his squad car parked right in front of the station. It was all Kate could do to take her eyes away from what was happening and jump into the car with John, the squad car burning rubber out of there before Kate even closed the door.

When they got to as close to the towers as they dared, they paused for a moment to absorb what was going on around them. People were running for their lives, crying, many of them covered in smoke, soot and dirt. Some still clutched their briefcases or purses, while others, total strangers, were helping others along with them as they hurried uptown away from the towers. Kate knew that they would all try to find the quickest way out of town, and figured that every ferry terminal, Penn Station and Grand Central Station, as well as every subway station in town would be jam-packed full of people. She had no way of knowing that before long, every major bridge and tunnel would be shut down, and that train service would be non-existent, leaving it all but impossible for people to escape New York City.

Kate and the others got out of their car, at first not knowing where to start helping. More firefighters and additional police and Emergency Medical Personnel were arriving constantly. Kate watched firefighters and police officers running into the North Tower, bringing hoses and other gear to try and rescue people and get to the fire.

Kate was still taking in the scene when she caught a glimpse of something to her left, coming from the south. It was more of a reflection, like sunlight gleaming off something metal...metal...metal...'Oh God', she thought.

"John, get me a pair of binoculars from the squad car now" Kate screamed!

"Why..." he started to ask.

"Do it"!

He handed the binoculars to Kate, who put them to her eyes and began scanning the sky to the south, near where she thought she saw something in the air. After a moment, her worst fears were confirmed as she saw that it was another plane heading their way. This time she already understood what was about to happen, and lowered the binoculars to her side. She started screaming for everyone to get back, for everyone to run, but she knew it was a futile gesture at best. She saw the plane heading for the South Tower, saw it approach at an extremely fast speed, saw it bank steeply to the left, as if whoever was flying the plane was trying to turn so it would avoid impact. She saw it impact the building, and saw the smoke and flames and seconds later it started raining more debris all around her.

Just then John suddenly let out a startled scream, and Kate turned to see him collapse to the street, a large piece of what looked like a brick lying right next to his head where he fell. 'Oh God no'! Kate ran over and kneeled down to where he was in the street. As soon as she saw his head where he had been hit, she knew he was already dead.

"NO, NO, NO! Oh John, no! Kate cried as she knelt over him. After saying a quick prayer for him, she took his jacket and laid it out over his face, paying her last respects.

A moment later, someone yelled, "Look out! The South Tower is falling"!

'What'! Kate looked up, and sure enough, she saw the tower collapsing, in pancake fashion. The smoke and debris cloud grew larger and moved with each collapsing floor. It quickly became clear to Kate that she needed to find shelter, or she would die. She looked around, but realized that the cloud was moving too fast for her to get to an open doorway to any nearby stores. She would never make it. As the fast-moving cloud approached her, she spied the patrol car she had come down here in, with the window all the way down and open. It was her only chance. She ran to the car and dove headfirst through the window, her head smacking against the other door as the smoke and debris cloud overtook her position. Kate was stunned at how dark it quickly became, so dark that she couldn't even see the dashboard of the patrol car, nor even her own fingers when she placed them where she thought was in front of her face. Suddenly, something large and heavy slammed into the top of the car and into Kate. 'What the hell! She couldn't believe this was happening'! She felt herself losing consciousness. She tried to fight it but knew it wasn't working. Her last thought was of someone she hadn't thought of in years. She wondered why now, but as she finally slipped into unconsciousness, she realized than whenever things had been really bad, for better or for worse, he had always been there. "Angel", she muttered, as everything suddenly went black.

** End Flashback **

On the platform, Kate sighed and looked at Angel, trying to hold back her tears. Angel was left speechless. He didn't know what he could possibly say after hearing something like that.

"Kate...I...I'm...I'm so sorry". Angel moved to comfort her, but Kate waved him off.

"I woke up what turned out to be several hours later in an emergency room bed at Bellevue Hospital. To this day I have no idea how I ended up there, or who took me there, but I was thankful all the same. I ended up staying at the hospital for a couple of days, being treated for smoke inhalation, a broken ankle, and various cuts, bruises and other abrasions. I wanted to go back there, back there to help search for survivors, not sure if I would even find any left. When I went home I cried myself to sleep. I cried my heart out Angel. Many fine men and women died that day. Husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, and children...we lost many good people Angel. People I had known and considered as a true family, something that I never really had, even with my father. My injuries kept me out of work for a few months, but soon I was back, consoling those of my family that were left. I...I'm sorry Angel, but I can't go on. It is getting too painful right now". She looked down into the pit, shuddering slightly.

"Can we get out of here Angel? I...need to get away from here for a little while".

"Of course Kate. There is a Starbucks a couple of blocks over, next to my hotel where I am staying. We can go there, get some coffee, and talk some more, ok"? Angel suggested.

Kate smiled meekly and nodded that it was fine with her. Soon after, they sat down at a table, pausing for a moment to sip their drinks. Being a vampire, Angel didn't have to drink coffee, although he did like the beverage, so he decided to have one now.

As he took another sip, Kate asked, "Now why are you here Angel? What brought you to this place, this time"?

Angel thought for a moment, "Basically for the same reasons you did. I was stunned when this happened. I had never seen anything like this in all the time I have been around. When I saw what was happening here, at the Pentagon, and especially when I heard about how flight 93 went down, I felt like I was just staked through the heart. I could not take my eyes away from the television that day. Nor could Wesley, Cordelia or Gunn. They were just as stunned and frightened as I was. What made it all the more tragic was that there was not a single thing we could have done to stop it. We are supposed to help the helpless Kate, but that day we were unable to save a single life". Angel paused. He stared at his coffee cup, and then outside, watching the people walk by. Every couple of minutes or so another customer would enter the Starbucks, buy something, and while a few stayed in the coffee shop, most took their drinks with them and left.

Angel looked back at Kate. "Come with me back to LA Kate. Just for a few days. I know you wanted out of there, but right now I think a change of scenery would be good for you. You can stay with me while you're there, and you will be in the company of those who will welcome you with open arms".

Kate raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "You sure Angel? Last I remember, most of your crew didn't really take kindly to me. I didn't think they liked me much then, and frankly, I don't see any reason why they would like me any more now".

Angel shook his head. "Don't worry about them. They say time heals wounds Kate. I think considering the circumstances they will change their tune. Besides, we have some new people you never met. Fred is someone you can instantly like, and Lorne", Angel smiled, "let's just say he'll make you feel right at home".

Kate Lockley thought about his offer, and surprised Angel by accepting. They left the Starbucks, stopping at Angel's hotel so he could check out and at Kate's place for her to get a few things before they went to Penn Station and caught a train to Newark Airport.

A couple of hours later, as their plane took off for LAX, Kate and Angel both watched as the new New York City skyline faded from view. They both knew that it would take a long time for them (and most others) to get used to that new skyline, if ever. They also realized that life as they knew it would never be the same again. For a moment, Angel thought that what happened on September 11 seemed like the coming apocalypse that Wolfram & Hart were always talking about, but then he realized he was wrong.

This was worse.