RESTLESS WE WAIT

CHAPTER III

STATION 110...SQUAD 18...CAVE IN...BLUE SHANSEY BUILDING...222 AVE A...2-2-2 AVE A...TIME OUT 11:10...

"Blue Shansey Building? Didn't it get condemned three years ago because it didn't meet the building codes of the county?" Marco asked the others as they sat at the table preparing for lunch.

"Yep." Chet answered. "According to the papers the owners were supposed to tear it down and rebuild it if they wanted to open a refinery, but it was washed as a bad deal. The building was sold and marked for demolition by the new owners last year."

"And you know all this because?" asked Johnny with a smirk.

"I read the paper, Johnny-boy. You know, r-e-a-d? Didn't they teach you that at the reservation?" Chet smirked back and reached across Marco to retrieve the bowl of lettuce Johnny had been shredding.

"Yes! They also taught us r-e-s-p-e-c-t for others," Johnny shot back. He tossed the last leaf into the bowl and shoved it toward Chet, knocking the plate with tomatoes on it away from Marco.

"Hey!" Marco said disgustedly. "Can't you too co-exist even one day without arguing?"

"Sorry, Marco," Johnny said and helped put the tomatoes back on the plate. "Some people just need to learn how to THINK before speaking."

"Yeah, well, that's never been his strong point. You should know that by now," Marco said with a grin.

"Gee, thanks a lot, Partner!" Chet called from the sink where he was washing the shredded lettuce. With a wet splat Chet dumped the whole lump into a larger bowl where he placed other ingredients. "You through mangling those tomatoes, Marco?"

"Here ya go, Partner. What are we having, anyway? Lettuce and tomato sandwiches?" Marco peered into the bowl.

"Chef's Salad," answered Chet peevishly. "Keep it up and you won't get any."

Johnny looked at Marco and shrugged. Chet had acted annoyed ever since the cat had appeared and taken a liking to Marco.

Mike poked his head in the door, "Animal control's here. Where's the cat?"

"I'll get her," Marco said and hurried from the room. The slam of a door was heard and Marco's muttering to the cat followed his progress to the front of the station. A few minutes later he walked back in to the day room.

"Track said the cat got out of her kennel, but without opening the door."

"She probably wiggled her paw through the bars and opened the door. Then when she was free it closed on its own." Roy said reasonably as he too, entered the day room. "What's for lunch?"

"Rabbit food," Marco told them. "Chet's on another health kick.

"This is good stuff, guys. You're gonna love it. There's meat and veggies all together, and you can have whatever dressing you want on it. There's also shredded cheese if you want it."

"Sounds interesting," Roy said. "Move your feet, Partner and wash the table again." Roy tossed a rag at Johnny who had quickly lowered his feet from the table. With a quick swipe of the rag he then tossed it back toward the sink, hitting Chet in the face.

"Hey!"

"Oops, sorry. I was aiming for the sink."

A snicker was heard and both men looked around suspiciously, but no face showed any sign of amusement. Roy was pulling plates from the cabinet and Mike was sitting on the couch.

"Where'd you come from?" Chet asked.

"The truck bay, of course, where else?" Mike picked up the discarded paper, flipped it open to the sports page and proceeded to ignore the stocky Irishman. Henry tried to insert his way between man and paper and was pushed away for his trouble.

The tones sounded again and all activity stopped. Once it was determined the call was not for them, they went back to their different chores in the kitchen.

"Cap!" Roy called out the door into the truck bay, "lunch is ready!"

A loud crash, followed by the sounds of disgust came from the office. All the men went to see what had happened.

Captain Stanley was standing behind his desk, shirt covered with a fine powder and shimmering particles floating in the air around him.

"Who's the twit with the glitter trap?" Hank growled.

All eyes turned to Johnny, who had once before set a glitter trap for Chet.

"I didn't do it! I'm not suicidal!"

"I didn't either," chimed in Chet before anyone could accuse him.

The sound of a soft sneeze turned all eyes to the room behind the men. There on the floor sat the gray tabby cat just recently removed by animal control. She sneezed again then looked up at the men and blinked green eyes at them as if to say, 'What's going on?'

Marco's grin flashed across his face. He reached out and the cat leaped to his arms.

"I thought animal control came and got her!" Captain Stanley said, surprise on his face.

"They did. She must have gotten away again." Mike reached around Marco and stroked the cat's head. She rewarded him with a gentle butt of his hand, the gesture easily read.

A thump was heard, then the sound of nails clicking across the floor heralded the arrival of Henry, who sniffed around on the floor before looking up and seeing the cat in Marco's arms.

"Woof' Henry said and was given a reply of "Meow". Henry gave the equivalent of a doggy shrug and headed back to his favorite spot. The cat jumped from Marco's arms and followed.

"What was that all about?" asked Roy.

"Maybe Henry was giving permission for her to stay." Mike said. The others looked at him. Mike shrugged, "Who says animals can't communicate?" He turned and headed back to the day room. "I'm ready for lunch!"

E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!

"Storm's a brewing!" Johnny said as he and Roy headed back to the station from Rampart. They had just finished a rescue that had involved a woman and her Doberman pincher.

"Looks like a really bad one, too," Roy answered. "I hope it holds off until we get back to the station."

E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!

Dixie sat at her desk, her mind floating half way between here and there when a slight movement caught her eyes. She turned her head and peered into the shadows by the elevators. The day had turned cloudy, but that did not explain the overly dark corner in the waiting room. She rubbed her eyes, thinking it was just a play of the light when she saw it move.

"Dix?" a soft voice said, breaking her eye contact with the shadow. "Something wrong?" Dr. Morton was standing beside her, his hand resting on her shoulder. "You've gone awfully pale."

"No, no, I'm okay, Mike. I...thought I saw something over in the corner by the elevators. I guess I must be more tired than I thought". She glanced back to the corner and saw that the shadow had indeed become lighter.

"Didn't your shift end an hour ago?" he asked her.

"I'm waiting for Patsy to check in. She had to run up to personnel for a minute."

"Umm, okay, but you get out of here as soon as she returns. It's getting ready to let loose and it looks to be a bad one."

Dixie nodded, "I noticed. Don't worry, I'll be home long before it hits."

Morton grunted at her in a friendly manner. She was his favorite of all the nurses and he felt a certain protectiveness about her. If it had not been for her, he may never have made it through his internship.

After he had left, Dixie looked toward the corner once more. The darkness had not returned and she brushed it from her mind.

E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!

IT slid between the double doors and into the soothing darkness below. IT had found a place to hide and feed. No one seemed to care when it fed and no alarms were raised. One had seen it. One had to be vanquished.

IT had noticed the dimness before the One. IT could feel the electrical impulses building in the air like a giant magnet. The pull was strong, beckoning for IT to come out of hiding, but IT knew the falseness of the claim. IT would wait. Time was on ITS side and patience was being learned the hard way.

E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!