The Other Path ~ Season 1
By Thomas Mc

Author's Note: I wish to thank those responsible for the Beauty and the Beast Scripts and Transcription Project with out which it would have taken me many frustrating days to recreate some of the dialog from this episode.

Terrible Savior

Catherine leaned back on her heels. She maintained her grip on the side of the toilet bowl for fear of falling over if she let go. Then just as Vincent arrived at the bathroom door another wave hit and she leaned back over losing what little might have been left in her stomach. Once the wave had passed she became aware of Vincent's arm around her waist as his other hand held her hair out of the way. "Catherine?"

She looked bleary eyed up into his worried face. "I . . . I'm ok . . ." Then it was back for another round of dry heaves. When it was over Vincent handed her a glass of water to rinse the foul taste out of her mouth. "I'll be fine Vincent. Peter said that it wouldn't last too much longer."

"I know Catherine but it still pains me and I feel responsible." He gently helped her to her feet.

She cupped his jaw line with her hand. "Now, now, my love, as I recall it took the whole hearted cooperation of both of us to get me in this state." She patted his cheek. "And for your part, it seems that you're going to have to suffer through it with me, poor dear." She took a long drink of the last of the glass of water. "Now I'd better get ready for work. Joe says that morning sickness is no excuse to miss work."

Vincent chuckled. "I don't know which of us is more protective of you lately, me or Joe. He may be the tough as nails District Attorney, but where you are concerned it is all bluster." He grinned in appreciation as she dropped her bathrobe.

Catherine smiled back at him. "I don't know who was more surprised when Peter reported I was pregnant, You, Joe or Father. I think Daddy was the only one that wasn't surprised." Catherine stepped into the shower.

Vincent shrugged. "Well, up until it happened, no one was at all sure that it could happen." He picked up her bathrobe and placed it on the hook by the door. "I think you and your father were the only ones that really believed that this dream was a possibility."

~ o ~

Joe called out to Catherine as she walked past his office on her way into work that morning. She stopped and approached his door while apologizing for being a few minutes late. Joe raised his hand and silently waved her into his office. A bit ill at ease over the serious look on his face, she entered his office and her attention was immediately drawn to the news report playing on his radio. ". . . subway slasher struck again last night, killing two armed men who allegedly assaulted an elderly woman. Joe Maxwell of the DA's office has issued a statement saying they are working with transit authority police on a number of leads."

Joe reached over and shut off the radio. "Close the door and sit down, Radcliffe."

She did as instructed and then looked at her boss, her face displaying uncertainty and worry as she glanced at the crime scene pictures on his desk. "I have a horrible suspicion those are for me."

Joe Maxwell looked her straight in the eye, his voice dead serious now. "This is an ugly one, Cathy." She gulped nervously as she looked at the photographs of the bodies of the two punks while Joe continued. "Seventeen and sixteen. They look like they tried to go a couple of rounds with Vincent and lost."

Cathy is clearly shaken by his words. "Joe, I . . ."

Joe held up his hand to forestall whatever she had meant to say. "If you tell me that he had nothing to do with this then I believe you but you would have a hard time convincing an outsider of that." He took a deep breath. "I should keep you as far away from this as possible but I want you in on this. You will be able to look at this from a perspective that others would not have."

Catherine looked Joe in the eyes. "Sure, Joe. What do you want me to do?"

Joe nodded once. "Our subway slasher knows how to take care of himself." He picked up the pile of files that had been sitting on the corner of his desk. "So what you have here . . . You got your karate schools, kung fu instructors, self-defense classes." He smiled for the first time since she had entered his office. "Be the first debutant on your block to collect the whole set." He handed the stack of files to her. "Now you know the profile we're looking for. Recent crime victims, maybe someone who's lost a family member. Flag anything subway-related." He stood up from his desk and escorted her to his office door. He stopped before opening the door. "Tell Vincent to stay away from the subways. You and I know that he will want to do something about this but we can't have him getting involved and muddying the waters." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "If anyone were to see him anywhere near this it could all be over for him."

Catherine opened the door then faced Joe. "I will tell him."

Joe responded. "Good."

As Catherine left his office Joe headed back to his desk, his face again creased by a frown. He had already fielded calls from Detective Henderson and Judge Sanderson, both of whom had seen Vincent and were uneasy about the situation. He had assured them both that there was no way that Vincent could be involved in the attacks. He had even gone out on a limb saying that there were witnesses to Vincent's whereabouts at the time of the attacks. The problem was that Cathy was the only possible witness at the time they happened and Joe knew what Vincent was capable of under the right circumstances.

Joe sat down heavily into his chair and pressed his palms into his forehead. He found himself wishing that he had never met Vincent and didn't have to worry about whether he and Cathy were involved in this mess.

After separating the folders into the Likely and Unlikely stack Catherine looked at the top folder of the Likely stack. It was the folder that contained information about Isaac Stubbs. She had taken self defense classes from him after the Carol Stabler affair and he was a perfect fit for the profile of the slasher. Catherine didn't really think he would be involved but he would probably know about the type of people that would be involved. She decided to make his place her first stop.

~ o ~

Catherine stepped into the dimly lit interior of Isaac's Gym. As she looked around there was apparently no one in sight but she wasn't fooled. She knew that he was waiting just out of sight as usual. She called out as she walked farther into the room. "Isaac!" She looked around as she stepped past the one of the hanging dummies. "You can come out, Isaac. I know you're there."

Isaac stepped out from behind one of the heavy punching bags. He gave a short laugh. "Can't fool you anymore." He smiled at her. He had developed a fondness for her during their lessons. He knew of her rich girl background and had not really expected much from her. She had really surprised him.

Catherine responded. "I had a good teacher." She gave him a big hug. "Hi."

Isaac returned the hug. "So…Did you come for the refresher course, or is this a social call?"

Catherine's face turned a bit more serious. "Neither, I'm afraid. I need to ask you some questions."

Isaac looked at her a bit warily. "Anything makes you sound that serious, got to be pretty heavy." He wiped the swat from his face. "We talking, baseball, money or love here?"

Catherine replied. "We're talking the subway slasher."

Isaac's smile faded along with the easy-going manner."Who am I talking to here . . . friend or DA?"

Catherine shrugged. "Me."

Isaac looked away. "Wrong answer." He then turned toward the heavy bag and began punching it hard.

Catherine stepped closer to him as she spoke again using her most persuasive voice. "He's killing people, Isaac."

"That so?" He continued punching the bag. "I notice . . . you don't say . . . innocent people."

"Innocence or guilt is not the point. If you know something . . ." She let it drop at the closed look on his face.

Isaac shot back harshly. "I don't know nothing . . . and if I did . . . I wouldn't tell no DA."

Catherine was getting a little worried about her friend's intransigent attitude and blurted out. "Whose side are you on?"

Isaac stopped punching the large bag and turned to face Catherine, a look of determination on his face. "You give me ten minutes to shower and change. I'll show you."

Catherine silently nodded her acceptance as he turned away from her. Fifteen minutes later they left his gym together and climbed into her car.

~ o ~

"Here it is." Isaac reported.

Catherine recognized the seedy Lower East Side building that she pulled up to. Even if she hadn't the two people in the white berets coming out the front door would have given it away. The Law had had a few brushes with this group before and Joe had more than once referred to them as being just one step short of becoming vigilantes. She glanced at Isaac as she stepped out of her car. "The Protectors?"

Issac looked at her over the roof of her car. "The nuts in the white hats who ride around on the subways looking for trouble, right?" He came around the car and took her arm. "C'mon."

They entered a large gymnasium full of groups of people and their instructors practicing various self-defense maneuvers. Isaac spoke above the noise that filled the room. "Look around. These people ain't crazed vigilantes in training, Cathy, just ordinary people trying to take care of each other." He paused as she glanced around. "You wanted to know whose side I was on?" He pointed to one corner where a young woman was giving instructions to a white haired elderly woman. "I'm on their side."

Catherine shook her head. "Is that responsible? A woman that old could get hurt trying to resist a mugger."

Catherine was startled by another voice from behind her. "She didn't resist the last time. She couldn't get her wedding ring off her finger." Catherine turned and saw a familiar person standing just behind Isaac. The new person continued. "The mugger figured he'd make it easy for her by cutting off the finger. One of our people stopped him." The new man was Jason Walker, an accomplished martial arts expert as well as both leader and spokesman of The Protectors group.

Isaac began the introductions. "This is the man who put this whole place together. Cathy Chandler, Jason Walker."

Jason smiled his standard dazzling public smile at her as he turned on the charm that he was famous for. "Jace, please." He held out his hand to her.

Catherin took his hand as she responded. "I've seen reports of you on TV."

"None of it's true, I swear." He responded as he spread on the charm. "Stubbs, how does someone as ugly as you happen to know so many beautiful women?"

Isaac ignored his humorous insult as he replied. "Cathy was one of my students."

Jason gave a short laugh. "You mean you actually paid this man money?"

Isaac practically stepped on his line. "She's with the DA now."

Though Jason continued to smile, there was suddenly no humor in his eyes. "Oh. Are we in trouble again?"

Catherine's smile had also lost its shine as she began to spar in earnest. "I don't know. Have you done anything?"

Jason's expression became more serious. "Not as much as we'd like to." He indicated that they should follow him up to his office.

They entered the upstairs office and Catherine noticed that one wall was full of martial arts weapons. Her eyes went straight to a set of metal claws as Jason moved past it toward the window that overlooked the gym.

He began speaking. "If a transit cop had rescued that lady, he'd get a commendation. This guy is minus a badge, so that makes him a psychopathic monster." Jason's voice now dripped with sarcasm."

Catherine shook her head as she responded. "No. Ripping two teenagers to pieces makes him a psychopathic monster." She turned from the wall of weapons to face Jason. "A transit cop would have arrested them."

Jason just shook his head. "Right. Right. Then seeing as how they were juveniles, they would have had to serve a little soft time and they would have been back on the subways, kicking another old lady to death. Great system you got there, Ms. D.A."

Catherine shrugged. "It's not perfect."

Jason responded a bit wryly. "Tell me about it." He turned and walked over to the window and looked down at the people working out on the gym floor. "This is where they come, Cathy. The old people. They have steel bars on their windows and still can't sleep at night." He shook his head. He seemed to be speaking more to himself than to his audience. "The woman, who can't understand why the boy who killed her son walked free. The rape victims who scream when their husbands touch them. This is where they come, when the plea bargaining is over. Believe me, they know the system isn't perfect."

Catherine took a step toward Jason. "I don't know a better one. Do you? Of course you can find failures to point at, but most of the time the system works. It's all we've got."

Jason faced her. "Well we have ourselves. Our courage, our strength, our compassion. We have each other." His gaze seemed to lose its focus for a moment then he continued a bit more quietly as though he were no longer speaking to them. "And now we have him, whoever the hell he is."

After that Jason seemed to lose interest in talking to Catherine so she and Isaac left.

As they got into her car Catherine remarked to Isaac. "What he said gave me a lot to think about."

Isaac responded as he closed the passenger door. "That was the whole point."

As she pulled away from the old building Catherin glanced over at Isaac. Maybe it was the conversation in Jason's office or the look in Jason's eyes when talking about the slasher, but something seemed to have bothered him. The frown on his face convinced her that Isaac was teetering on the edge. If she was going to find the slasher and expose him while keeping Vincent out of it, she was going to need him on her side when the time came. She rapidly went over in her mind what she wanted to say.

"Isaac, there's something I want you to think about too." She glanced over at him and saw that he was listening. "You heard what Jason said about the failures of the system. This slasher, whoever he is, has put himself above the law . . . made himself judge, jury, and executioner. Those two boys never had the chance to defend their innocence. That is why the system works the way it does, to be sure the innocent don't suffer for crimes that they did not commit. What happened on the subway, happened very fast." She glanced again at Isaac and saw that he was listening. He had not yet tuned her out. "What if next time the slasher misinterprets the situation? There will be no inquiry or trial to find out what really happened until it is too late. An innocent person could die at his hands."

The rest of the drive back to Isaac's gym was very quiet as they both thought about what they had seen and heard at the Protectors headquarters and what Catherine had said to Isaac after they left.

~ o ~

That evening as she glanced at the evening paper while entering her home she made a snort of disgust over the headline. "SUBWAY SLASHER -PSYCHOPATH OR SAVIOR?" it proclaimed in large bold letters. Leave it to the media to stir things up in their usual way. She shut the front door and tossed the paper onto the small library table beside the door, along with her briefcase. She looked up into Vincent's face as he approached then smiled, and entered his waiting embrace.

They kissed then she smile up at him. "You have no idea how much I needed that."

"Rough day?" He inquired.

She pulled back slightly from their embrace. "Just frustrating. Joe has me on this subway slasher case."

Vincent looked down at her worriedly. "Should you be getting involved in this? It sounds very dangerous and you have your child to think about now."

She smiled up at him. "Our child, Vincent, our child." She then frowned. "I have to be involved. I have to make sure that this case doesn't endanger you or the tunnels below. People are already bringing up that urban legend and there are those that have seen you but do not really know you." She shook her head. "I have to be involved." She looked up into his worried eyes and her expression softened. "I will be careful, Vincent. I promise."

They headed toward the kitchen as she continued to grouse both to Vincent and to herself. "Half the people I talked to think this guy is a hero. They just don't see the danger."

Vincent glanced over at her and expressed the thought that had been worrying him since this morning. "And how is this any different than some of the things that I have had to do?"

Catherine shook her head in denial. "That was different. You were fighting for your life and the lives of those you care about. You have always tried to avoid killing if you could. And there is a big difference between self-defense when it is unavoidable and vigilante justice. They are not the same thing."

She stopped and pulled Vincent around to face her then looked into his eyes. "By the way Joe told me to tell you to stay as far away from this case as possible. He doesn't want the wrong person catching sight of you and mucking things up, both with this case and with you."

He nodded his understanding then they continued into the kitchen.

~ BB ~

All the next day Catherine brooded over the slasher case as she sifted through the files and made notes. Finally just before quitting time Catherine entered the computer room. There was a very determined look on her face as she approached Edie at her computer console. Edie looked up at Catherine with an expectant smirk on her face.

"I need to see the file on a Mrs. Beatrice Dalby." Catherine remarked casually.

Edie frowned. "That's the cleaning lady saved by the slasher, right?"

"Right."

Edie cocked her head suspiciously. "I didn't know you were supposed to question her."

"I'm not."

"Then, why?"

Catherine shrugged. "Let's just say I have a very dirty brownstone."

Edie sighed then shook her head. With the tiniest of conspiratorial smiles Edie started typing on her computer. A Minute later Catherine left with the information.

~ o ~

A few hours later Catherine pulled up before the nearly empty office building in midtown Manhattan. She easily gained entrance by flashing her ID to the night security guard. After a couple of quick inquiries about the night staff, she took the elevator to the floor indicated on the small piece of note paper that the guard had handed her. By following the sound of the vacuum cleaner she was easily able to find Mrs. Dalby in one of the empty offices.

As soon as the woman shut off the vacuum Catherine entered the office. "Mrs. Dalby? I'm Catherine Chandler, from the District Attorney's office."

The woman looked up. She was obviously not happy to see Catherine. "When are you people going to leave me alone? I got work to do. I've already told the police everything I know." She continued dusting as though hoping Catherine would get the hint and go away.

Catherine took a step closer. "This won't take long, I promise. You say you never got a good look at the slasher."

The woman glared angrily at Catherine. "Don't call him that! That man saved me, and all you people want to do is hunt him down like some animal. Where were all you people when those boys were kicking on me?" She turned her back to Catherine, the glimmer of threatened tears in her eyes. After a moment she reluctantly turned back to face Catherine and shook her head. "I didn't see him. I told you people that . . . I told you and told you. The lights were going on and off." She paused then looked straight at Catherine. "What kind of subway is that, we can't even keep the lights on?"

"But those times when the lights did come on, you must have seen something, if only for a second . . ."

The woman looked away. "I was on the floor, hurting. I still have bruises where those boys kicked me. I didn't see no part of that man."

Catherine knew that the woman was protecting the slasher and decided to change tact. She continued with a more pleading tone in her voice. "Mrs. Dalby, I'm not even supposed to be here. This is personal for me. I have a friend." She paused and looked down for a moment. "I don't know what to think. I'm afraid that he may have been involved." She looked up into the woman's eyes. "If you could tell me what you saw, anything . . . his face . . . his hands."

The woman gazed at Catherine for a second, looked down then seemed to stare out into space as she spoke softly. "His face? . . . His hands? . . . He didn't have hands . . . just claws . . . and his face, I'll never forget that face. He wasn't a man. He wasn't a human man at all. He was like . . . like . . . an angel, a terrible angel, come to save me."

With every word the woman spoke Catherine felt as though she was being punched in the gut as the air in the room seemed to abandon her. The woman could easily be describing Vincent just as Catherine had seen him the few times that he had come to her rescue. Catherine could barely utter a half hearted 'Thank you' as she turned toward the door.

"I got to ride that same train tonight, Ms. Chandler. You won't tell them, will you?" The woman begged.

Catherine stopped, one hand on the doorframe, and glanced over her shoulder at the woman. "No." Then she left the office almost stumbling in her haste to get as far away from that woman and the unwanted fear that her words had instilled. It couldn't have been Vincent, she reminded herself as she stepped into the elevator. She punched the ground floor button and leaned against the back wall of the elevator telling herself over and over that it couldn't be Vincent, as she tried to get her emotions under control.

~ o ~

Vincent was there waiting for Catherine when she got home. "I could feel your fear, Catherine. Even now . . ."

Catherine plunged into his embrace, needing the comfort that being held by him afforded her. After a few moments she began to speak. "You taught me to face my fears, always, Vincent." She pulled her head away from his shoulder and looked up into his eyes. "I went to see the woman from the slasher case on my way home." She blinked back the tears that had suddenly threatened to form. "I finally got her to open up to me."

"Tell me." Vincent spoke softly, encouragingly to her.

Catherine continued. "Her description of the attacker . . . Vincent, what she described could have been you."

Vincent softly replied. "What shall I tell you? You know my soul. You know that I am telling the truth when I say that I am not this shadow, this man-monster that you hunt?"

Catherine responded a hint of anguish in her voice. "I know that it cannot be you, but still her words were like daggers to my heart making me momentarily doubt my certainty . . . to doubt you, even if only for an instant."

Vincent pulled her back close against his breast. "Even the best of us experiences doubts on occasion."

Catherine shook her head against his chest. "But not between us. Never between us."

Vincent did not respond. He simply held her close and projected love and reassurance to her. His projected emotions were the one thing that he knew that she could never doubt.

That night Catherine's dreams were jumbled, disjointed. She saw a dark faceless cloaked figure that became Vincent roaring then back to the dark faceless cloaked figure again. Vincent appeared imploring her, saying that it was not him. The faceless figure returned as the woman's voice spoke. "A terrible angel."

Her conversation with Jason replayed through the dream. "Have you done anything?" . . . "Not as much as we'd like to."

That final line repeated several times as the faceless cloaked figure moved slowly closer gradually the face was illuminated as it got closer. It was Jason Walker.

Cather suddenly sat up in bed waking Vincent. "Catherine, what is it?"

She pulled herself together and looked at Vincent. "I think I know who it is."

~ BB ~

The next morning Catherine arrived back at Jason Walker's office. Jason stood up from behind his desk and gave her his classic publicity smile. "Well…I hadn't expected to see you again so soon. You come to sign up?"

Catherine smiled back. "I'd look really silly in one of those white hats."

"I disagree. Besides, the guys in the white hats always win."

Catherine wandered over toward the wall of weapons looking them over. "Do they?"

"At least in fairy tales." He countered. After a pause he continued. "You know, the city has its own myths. We're all so rational, so sophisticated and cynical, but we still need our gods and demons, our heroes and villains." He paused, again getting that faraway look in his eyes. "I knew a man used to work the IRT. He swore he saw a monster down there once when he was troubleshooting some track. You hear the street people talk about it too." His eyes focused on her as he spoke. "Some terrible fierce creature who haunts the dark places. Some . . . thing with the face of a demon and the soul of an angel."

Catherine finally looked directly at Jason. "You can't possibly believe that, can you?"

Jason's expression turned a bit wistful. "They believe it. Don't you see? Because they need to believe. Inside, we're all children, scared of the dark, wishing there really was a Batman . . ."

As Jason continued to rant Catherine was beginning to suspect that the man was losing his grip on sanity. She responded. "But Batman was never half as formidable as you . . . was he?" She asked almost casually.

Jason smiled as he shrugged. "I can take care of myself. But I tell you, all the fighting techniques in the world don't equal what I learned from Isaac Stubbs in one afternoon. You remember his first rule?"

Catherine parroted the phrase that Isaac had drummed into her during their lessons. "On the streets... there are no rules."

Jason smiled as he studied her. "That's the problem with doing things your way. You believe in rules. The predators don't."

Catherine was again moving casually along the wall apparently fascinated by Jason's weapons collection. As Catherine reached out to touch one of the swords Jason warned her. "I wouldn't touch that sword. The samurai kept their blades razor sharp."

Catherine pulled her hand back then moved further down the wall of weapons. She barely glanced at the metal claws as she passed them finally stopping at the collection of throwing stars. "And what are these?"

"Those are throwing stars. I can see you don't make it to many ninja movies."

Catherine wandered back along the wall her gaze again flickered momentarily at the metal claws then she turned to find Jason staring at her through narrowed eyes.

She stepped away from the wall, thanked Jason for speaking to her and told him that she needed to get back to the office. Jason escorted her out of the building. They shook hands and she walked away. Another man glanced at Jason and, at his nod, followed after Catherine's retreating figure.

~ o ~

Later that day Catherine was discussing the case with Joe Maxwell. "We should move on Jason Walker."

Joe stopped and looked directly at Catherine. "This is the Jason Walker who heads the Protectors, right? Heavily into karate, aikido, ju-jitsu, ninjutsu, He's been sued maybe half-dozen times by perps he's brought in on citizen's arrest. Collects secret ninja death toys. Pops up on TV and says how the subway slasher is a hero and not a nut case, and isn't it too bad we don't have a dozen guys just like him." He paused a moment watching her face. We talking about the same Jason Walker here?"

Catherine looked back at Joe chagrin spreading across her face. "I have a sinking feeling you're ahead of me?"

Joe chuckled. "Don't be fooled by the gravy stains on their ties, Radcliffe. Cops aren't as dumb as they look. There's only one problem. He's also got an alibi."

Catherine frowned. "Could someone be covering for him?"

Joe shook his head. "Who? The cops? Jason Walker has been under twenty-four hour police surveillance since this investigation began."

Catherine shook her head. "I'm not wrong about this, Joe." She turned and walked away.

~ o ~

Catherine was in her home office listening to the radio as Vincent entered the room.

"As the city awaits the next attack of the subway slasher, many New Yorkers are hailing him as a hero, the savior of the subways. According to the young woman who was rescued by him last night, the mysterious beast-like creature with claws, wearing a black cloak, appeared out of nowhere, slashed her assailant to death, and critically wounding a transit policeman then escaped out the window of the moving train. In a joint news conference, Police Chief Reardon and acting District Attorney Joe Maxwell confirmed that they are following several leads, but declined to comment further. And now more news from Metro Station . . ."

Catherine reached over and switched off the radio.

Vincent placed his hands on her shoulders and she leaned her head over rubbing her cheek against one furry hand. After a moment Vincent spoke. "We've seen your vigilante. He has a secret door from your subways to the older tunnels . . . the secret tunnels."

Catherine swiveled her chair around and looked up at Vincent. "How close is it to our home tunnels?"

Vincent responded. "There are a thousand miles of tunnels beneath this city, all of them connected. This place was not that close but . . ."

Catherine nodded her head. "Then we can't bring the police in on it from that direction. Once they start investigating those tunnels from that subway entrance, they won't stop 'til they find something. . . I will have to find another way."

Vincent frowned as he looked into her face. "They hunt for this man as they might hunt me, if they dreamed of my existence."

Catherine stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Those that know about you, know that this is not your doing and they will protect the secret of your existence."

~ o ~

Later that night Vincent and Catherine went out onto their rooftop garden to relax and enjoy the fresh night air. They felt secure in their privacy because there were no other windows or balconies that overlooked their roof top garden. But unknown to them one of Jason's men was perched precariously on the normally inaccessible roof of an unoccupied brownstone across and just up the street from them. He was watching their home through a pair of binoculars. The man lowered his binoculars trying to wrap his mind around what he had just seen.

~ BB ~

As she passed through the door, Catherine glanced at the brass plaque.

BENNETT HISTORICAL LIBRARY - JOURNALISM ARCHIVES.

When other sources failed she could sometimes find the information she wanted in the archives of this building.

Soon she was set up in a private room surrounded by old copies of newspapers in huge binders. She didn't even look up when a man brought in another great binder and set it on the table beside her. Closing the binder she had just scanned through in frustration, she set it on the discard pile and pulled over the one that the man had just brought in.

Edie had not been able to find out much about the building where Jason's office was located. The building was so old that there were no computerized records of its architecture. Finally Catherine had come here to try to find the information that she needed.

After several more minutes of searching Catherine found what she was looking for. On the page she was looking at she found the headline 'DREADFUL MURDERS IN SEAMAN'S SAFE HAVEN' The article went on to state that twenty sailors were thought to have been killed and that the culprits had escaped through secret tunnels beneath the building.

This was what she was looking for. Here was proof that there was a hidden way out of the Protector's building. She began taking notes. This would give the police the leverage they needed to move on Jason without them needing to search through the tunnels.

Once she had what she needed she hurried out of the building.

~ o ~

Vincent paced in the parlor waiting for Catherine to get home. She was working later than usual. He stopped and smiled. Catherine was excited; she must have found what she was looking for. She would be starting for home very soon. A few minutes later her emotions changed radically. He grabbed up the phone and dialed.

"Joe? It's Vincent. Catherine is in trouble." . . .

"No, I don't know for sure. She's moving. I'm going to try to follow." . . .

"I cannot promise you that." . . .

"If her life is in danger I must act, but I will call you with her location when she stops, if I can."

Vincent hung up without giving Joe a chance to argue then raced down into the tunnels trying to catch up with his wife.

~ o ~

As Catherine started to climb into her car, a man suddenly appeared behind her, shoved her roughly across into the passenger's side and jumped into the driver's seat. At the same time a woman jumped into the back seat behind Catherine

Before Catherine could even start to fight back the man spoke. "Don't even think about it, Miss Chandler. I know you're good, but you don't want to go up against the two of us."

The woman in the back seat added her voice. "Just take it easy and nobody will get hurt. Jace just wants to talk."

Resigned to the situation, Cathy settled back in her seat. Vincent knew where she was and he could call on Joe and possibly Detective Henderson.

~ o ~

Isaac stood on the corner just down the street from the Protectors headquarters. Ever since he and Catherine had visited Jason's office, doubt had been insidiously worming its way into his mind. He never would have believed that Jason would be capable of anything like the slasher attacks. But the Jason he knew had changed. There had been something in his eyes that hadn't looked quite right. And some of what Cathy had said to him after they left had struck a chord. So here he was, spying on his friend and wondering what had happened to all his certainties.

At that moment Cathy's car pulled up and Red got out of the driver's seat. Then Suki got out of the back seat. Together they 'escorted' Cathy into the building. Even from this far away it was obvious to him that Cathy had not come here willingly. He knew that he could not just stand by and do nothing, especially if Cathy was in danger.

As soon as the three of them entered the building, Isaac went into the little diner on the other end of the block and called Joe. He told Joe what he had seen then, after hanging up, went back to his post at the corner.

~ o ~

Catherine soon found herself in Jason Walker's office. "You didn't have to go to all this trouble. Really."

Jason looked her up and down putting on his usual false charm. "You don't scare easy, do you? Please, sit down." When Catherine remained standing Jason's smile slipped just a bit. "Don't make this difficult, Cathy. There's no need for melodrama. I'm not going to hurt you." The other man pushed her down into the chair.

Catherine maintained a stony silence. She could feel Vincent's approach and she knew that she had to get control of the situation or Vincent would end up bursting in here and all hell would break loose. Once that happened she might not be able to put the genie back into the bottle and Vincent would be exposed under the worst possible circumstances.

Jason started pacing. "Cathy, you're trying to protect him. Fine, I admire that, but it's pointless. Red saw you together. He watched you for more than twenty minutes."

Catherine swallowed her fear. They had been seen? How? Where? She had to think fast. She gave the other man her most derisive look mixed with a tone of pity. "Sounds to me like Red needs a reality check."

At her look and the tone of her voice Red's face quickly matched his name. "Hey, I know what I saw . . ." A quick glance from Jason silenced him.

Jason turned his attention back on Catherine. "Cathy, whoever he is, he has nothing to fear from me." That slightly glazed look invaded his eyes as he continued. "And we're alike, he and I. We're mirror images, twins. We're the same . . ."

Catherine knew then that she had been right. Jason was the slasher and his sanity was not quite up to par. She was getting worried now. Jason was a fanatic and he was dangerous. She could no longer count on his sense of self-preservation to protect her. Vincent was getting close and she had to keep it together.

Catherine stood up displaying righteous indignation. "I've had enough of this. You kidnap a district attorney and then start spouting crap about some urban legend. You're all out of your minds."

Suki grabbed her shoulder stopping her from moving any further.

Catherine glared at Suki then addressed her words to the girl. "This has gone too far. You've got to help me reason with him. If he keeps on, he'll destroy himself and all the good he's done, all for the sake of something that doesn't even exist." Vincent was almost here. "In the end he'll take you down with him."

Catherine saw a hint of doubt in Suki's eyes but she didn't budge. Catherine turned her attention on Jason. "Am I going to be allowed to leave?" Vincent was here just beyond the wall of weapons.

Jason cocked his head. "If you insist." He walked over to the wall of weapons followed by Suki and Red Pulling Catherine along. Jason shifted one of the samurai swords. A section of the wall swung open, revealing an entrance to a tunnel and a snarling Vincent. Vincent backhanded Red sending him flying across the room Catherine drove her elbow into Suki's midsection knocking the breath out of her. Jason stared at Vincent momentarily stunned.

Vincent suddenly turned and ran. At the same instant that the office door burst open and Henderson charged in followed by a half dozen police officers with Isaac Stubbs bringing up the rear.

"Jason Walker you're under arrest for kidnapping and suspicion of murder." Bellowed Detective Henderson as four of the officers and Isaac surrounded Jason. Then he indicated Red and Suki. "And arrest those two for kidnapping and accessory to murder." Henderson looked at the half open secret door. "Well, well, what have we here?" He glanced over at the subdued and handcuffed Jason. "Kinda blows away your alibi doesn't it."

After reading the three suspects their rights Henderson ordered the three taken away then he, Isaac, Catherine and one of the police officers cautiously entered the concealed passageway.

~ BB ~

Joe was perched on the edge of Catherine's desk expounding on a successful case. ". . . and after Red and Suki both rolled on Jason for a much lighter sentence and Jason's little rant in court, the fight just went out of his lawyer and he begged for a deal." He shook his head. "Jason really had gone around the bend and he may spend the rest of his life in the psyche ward. Those steel claws were nasty looking and that costume you and Detective Henderson found was downright creepy." Joe shuddered. "Anyway that was good work Radcliffe. You flushed out the bad guy and managed to keep Vincent out of it . . . more or less."

Catherine smiled back. "Thank-you, Joe."

Joe tilted his head and frowned. "All though, Henderson tells me that it was a close thing. He caught a glimpse of something through the secret door." He held up a finger when Catherine opened her mouth to reply. "But nobody else but Jason seems to have seen anything, so Henderson says that it must have been his imagination." Joe looked around and, smiling, leaned in lowering his voice conspiratorially. "By the way Radcliffe, we need to work out the details of your maternity leave. Since this is Vincent's kid we need to make sure nobody suspects. After you see what it looks like you can decide whether or not to let the cat out of the bag." Joe snickered at his own joke while Catherine shook her head, rolled her eyes and groaned.

The End (of episode 2)

'Beauty and the Beast' and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.