The Other Path ~ Season 1
By Thomas Mc

Author's Note: This will be a shorter chapter. Because of Catherine's advancing pregnancy she is not involved in the incident with the Silks gang. But that doesn't mean that she stays out of trouble.

No Way Down

Catherine stood before Joe's desk, glaring at him. Joe glared back with equal intensity. The volume of their voices was starting to become elevated.

"It's not that big a deal. It's just a simple meet to check out a potential witness." She retorted insistently.

Joe shook his head. "In that part of town, nothing is simple. That is in the middle of disputed gang territory."

Catherine responded. "He specifically requested to see me alone . . ."

"Demanded, would be more accurate." Joe rebutted before she could finish.

Catherine sighed in exasperation. "This is a very important and very high profile case."

Joe shook his head, his mouth set in a stubborn line that she had seen before. "I don't care if he could give us 'Jack the Ripper' on a silver platter. There is no way I will allow you to go into a situation like that. Vincent would personally rip me a new one, literally, if I let anything happen to you or your baby." Joe paused and took a deep breath to calm himself then in a lower tone of voice he continued. "Besides in just two days you will be starting your leave-of-absence after work Friday. This case is no longer yours. Jacobson will be handling it. Next to you, he's the best I have."

Catherine sighed. She knew that when Joe got like this it was impossible to budge him. Besides that, much as she hated to admit it, Joe was right. She had her baby to think about. She relaxed and let a hint of a smile show through. "OK Joe, but if Jacobson messes this up he's going to answer to me . . . and he doesn't want to tangle with an angry pregnant woman."

Joe also relaxed. "I'll tell him, Radcliffe." He grinned. "You know, I'm gonna miss you while you're on leave."

Catherine grinned back. "You know that you're welcome to stop by anytime, Joe."

"Yea, Yea." He made a waving motion toward his door. "Now get out of here before I start getting sloppy sentimental."

Catherine returned to her desk. She still had several other cases that had to be wound up or handed off over the next two days. She sighed and picked up the next folder in the pile and opened it.

~ o ~

Vincent met Catherine at the front door as she arrived home from work. As soon as she closed the door he enveloped her in his arms. "Rough day?" He rubbed his hands up and down her back in the way that he knew that she liked it. "I felt you getting tense and exasperated a few hours ago."

Catherine relaxed to his ministrations. He always knew what she needed. "I already love this baby dearly but some times I get frustrated when he interferes with my plans. And Joe is such a mother hen."

"Joe cares a great deal about you and personally I'm glad he does." Vincent kissed the top of her head. "You are the most important thing in my life." Vincent led her over to the sofa and they sat there and talked about their day while Vincent continued to rub her back. After a short time she felt a hint of amusement coming from Vincent then he quietly commented. "By the way Elliot Burch is at the door." At that moment the door chime sounded.

Catherine jumped up and strode to the door. Glancing over her shoulder she saw that Vincent had not moved from his place on the sofa. She cocked her head at him in inquiry over his not retreating from sight like normal. The set of his smile and the possessive determination she sensed from him over the bond told her that he had no intention of moving. Elliot knew of Vincent's existence ever since that night at Mischa and Sophie's apartment building last week but she had not told him anything about the nature of her relationship with Vincent. Finally she shrugged and opened the door.

Elliot stood there, a charmingly mischievous grin on his face and holding a pair of high heeled shoes. "Good evening, Miss, I happened to be in the neighborhood looking for the lady that fits this shoe."

Then Elliot's eyes fell on Vincent who had just stood up from the sofa. His smile seemed to freeze as he glanced back and forth between Catherine and Vincent. As Catherine's hand came up to cover her mouth, his eyes locked on to her wedding ring then his eyebrows shot up to his neatly styled hairline. Catherine quickly dropped her hand but she knew that it was too late.

After a couple of stunned seconds Elliot spoke. "I knew that Vincent would be pretty stiff competition but I hadn't realized that the game was already over. I guess the Cinderella ploy isn't going to work." He handed the shoes over to Catherine then continued. "I met with the contractors that will be doing the renovation of Mischa and Sophie's apartment building then after the meeting I dropped in to see them. Mischa said that he found your shoes sitting on top of that old piano in the basement. I told him that I would drop them off." He tilted his head. "By the way Mischa and Sophie said 'hi'." He looked down a moment as though unsure what to say then looked up. "I had better go. Uh, congratulations . . . to both of you." Then he turned and retreated to his waiting limo.

Catherine sighed as she closed the door then looked over at her husband. "Vincent?"

Vincent came over to her. "Don't worry Catherine, Elliot will keep our secret. He is not a bad person. Like he said, he had not realized that the contest he had intended to enter was already over." He wrapped his arms around her. "Fortunately for me."

Catherine snuggled into his embrace. "There never was any contest. I was yours from the day we met."

~ BB ~

Vincent felt Catherine's emotional upset clear as a bell and quickly descended the stairs to see her frowning at the morning paper and shaking her head. "Catherine, what is wrong?"

Catherine blinked up and mutely held out the newspaper to him. The bold headline proclaimed:

EXPLOSION AND POLICE SHOOTOUT ROCKS SOUTH BRONX

Nine killed and five wounded in gang related violence and police shootout in South Bronx. ADA Ben Jacobson and police detective Greg Hughs are reported to be among the injured.

The story told of a meeting between the members of a local gang and the District Attorney's office had been disrupted by an attack by a second gang which had turned into a gun battle with three police officers that had been there as backup for the ADA. The gun battle had culminated with a pipe bomb that was set off by the second gang when additional police backup had arrived.

Catherine and Vincent looked at each other for a couple of seconds then Vincent spoke. "That could have been you."

Catherine barely nodded. "It was just supposed to be a simple meeting to feel out a possible source."

An hour later Catherine went by the hospital. She was relieved to find that Ben Jacobson, though shot, was going to be OK. Greg Hughs had been hit by a piece of debris when the bomb went off. The wound, however, was minor and he was being released as Catherine had arrived. After assuring herself that Hughs and Jacobson were alright Catherine headed off to the District Attorney's office for her last day of work before her leave started.

~ o ~

Around lunch time Catherine headed off for her last work related errand of the day. Detectives Hughs and Henderson had been able to identify the accountant that had handled the empty off shore account left behind by the shadowy finance cartel involved in Elliot's project. Catherine had met with him two days ago and talked him into turning state's evidence in exchange for immunity and protection for his family. From information the man gave Catherine, Edie had also managed to identify a second offshore account used by the cartel. This second account still had a large amount of money in it and had been flagged so that the FBI would be notified if there was any activity in it. Catherine was meeting the family this afternoon along with an FBI agent to escort the family to a safe house where they would be processed into the witness protection system.

Catherine arrived a few minutes before the FBI agent and helped the family pack up two weeks' worth of clothes their clothes and a few very personal possessions to take with them.

Around one o'clock Detective Bill Henderson arrived. A half-hour later the FBI van arrived. Soon they were all in the anonymous van heading north away from mid-town Manhattan. Bill Henderson was following the van in his car. The van was being driven by a uniformed officer and an FBI agent by the name of James McClendon occupied the front passenger seat. Catherine, the Neil family and their possessions were in the back. Catherine glanced around looking over the family. There was Clifton Neil, the accountant and witness, Loretta Neil, his wife, Kyle Neil, his brother, Jerry Neil, his young son, and finally Naomi Neil, his three year old daughter.

They were less than a few blocks from the Bronx when the van was suddenly thrown sideways with a loud crash as the van rolled over on its side. Agent McClendon carefully climbed over the groaning bodies scattered haphazardly in the van and kicked open the rear doors. He picked up little Naomi and bullied everyone else into following him out of the van and down the alley, where the van had come to rest, just as the sound of gunfire broke out. Agent McClendon handed Naomi over to Loretta then pulled out his gun to return fire.

Catherine glanced around to assess their situation. She was not familiar with this part of town. They were crouched in a dead end alley. There appeared to be several punks wearing gang colors firing at them from across the street. The police officer was crouched behind the overturned van that was blocking off most of the alley entrance and firing back at the punks. Agent McClendon had taken up position at the other end of the van and was also firing back. Henderson had pulled his car up near the van and was now next to the FBI agent, also firing back. As near as Catherine could tell, they were trapped in this dead end alley. She could feel Vincent rapidly approaching their location but she didn't know if there was any tunnel access in this area. Even if there was tunnel access she didn't know what Vincent could do in broad daylight, surrounded by so many armed punks.

FBI Agent James McClendon took stock of their perilous situation. They were trapped in a dead end alley by a heavily armed street gang. He had spotted two doors at the end of the alley but they were heavy steel security doors. Even if they could manage to get through one of them they only opened into shops that faced the street occupied by the gang. James had found out that Detective Henderson's radio had been damaged before he could call for help so there was no backup coming to their aid. With only three guns and limited ammunition among them he knew that the current stalemate could not last long. It looked like only a miracle would get them out of this alive.

Detective Henderson was cursing himself for being three kinds of a fool. His car radio had been broken for over a week and he had not gotten around to getting it fixed. His portable radio that had been sitting on the dashboard had been damaged when he swerved to avoid the van and the old station wagon that had crashed into the van just before the gunfire had started. He had grabbed the radio as he dived out of his car and ran for the cover of the overturned bus. When he had tried to call for help the radio had not worked. It had only taken a quick look to find the bullet hole in the back of the case.

After about three minutes of a fairly constant barrage of gunfire the police officer was hit and went down. Henderson quickly ascertained that the officer was dead and moved into his position. Catherine was soon concentrating on helping Loretta keep her two children calmed down and praying for a miracle.

Another couple of minutes into the battle Catherine heard the sound of a gun being cocked behind her and turned. There were three armed men coming at them from the end of the alley, guns aimed at the small family group, murder in their eyes. The next instant Vincent dropped down from above with a roar and took out two of the gunmen before they knew what had happened. The third gunman swung his gun on Vincent his eyes wide with fear. With one quick swipe of his claws the gunman dropped his gun and screamed as he fell back, three bloody gouges across his chest. Loretta screamed and the rest of the family cried out in surprise and fear at the frightening apparition before them.

Agent McClendon swung around, gun at the ready, and stared, stunned at the large fearsome creature standing among the three downed gunman. Before he could react the pretty female ADA, she had been introduced as Cathy Chandler, was in the creature's arms and blocking him from getting a clear shot at it. Then the woman 'kissed' the creature and pushed him over against the brick wall out of the line of fire.

FBI agent James McClendon was stunned, not sure what to make of this when Detective Henderson suddenly sprinted over to the creature and Miss Chandler and engaged them in a conversation. Agent McClendon had to turn back around and return fire to keep the street gang at bay. A moment later Henderson was back at his place also returning fire. James glanced over his shoulder and saw that Miss Chandler was herding the family toward the back of the alley with the creature leading the way. A minute later he again glanced over his shoulder and the creature had disappeared. While he watched the family members also began disappearing through one of the doorways he had noticed at the end of the alley.

At this point Detective Henderson called out to him. "Give them another five minutes then we bug out. Just stay close to me. Vincent told me where to go."

James realized that he was no longer in control of this strange situation and could only nod his acknowledgement. Apparently their fate was now in the hands of that creature and he had no idea what might be in store for them. Five minutes later after emptying his clip in a quick burst of fire at the punks that had pinned them down, James broke off and followed Detective Henderson to the end of the alley and through the door that the others had gone through. Henderson pulled the metal door shut then quickly led James down some stairs into a dusty basement. At the other side of the basement was an open four by four foot utility inspection panel. The creature was standing next to the open panel, apparently waiting for them.

Detective Henderson pointed to the opening. "Down there. I'll be right behind you." Then he turned to the creature. "I thought we were done for. Thanks for your help, Vincent."

James shook his head trying to make sense of what was happening. Henderson had called that creature Vincent. He knew its name. He shoved those thoughts aside temporarily and crawled through the opening. There was a ten foot deep pit on the other side of the opening. Ladder like rungs mounted in the wall next to the opening gave access to the bottom. By the time James reached the bottom Henderson was already on his way down. James looked around the small room that opened off the pit and saw Cathy Chandler and the Neil family standing under a beam of light that shone from some unknown source overhead. James looked back up and saw the creature at the top of the ladder closing the inspection hatch.

The creature quickly descended and looked at the group of people gathered in the small room. He started across the room speaking as he went by them. "Follow me." He bent and opened another inspection hatch on the far side of the room and crawled through it.

Catherine herded the family through the new opening followed by James with Henderson coming through last. James stood up looking around as the creature closed the hatch. They were now standing in some type of brick lined tunnel with over a dozen pipes of various size and color running along the walls. To his surprise the creature proceeded to begin tapping on one of the pipes. The staccato pattern sounded like some sort of code. To the agent's greater surprise they received an answering series of taps from the same pipe.

Cathy Chandler stepped up to the creature and he put his arm around her then he spoke again. "We go this way." The Creature and Cathy started off down the tunnel. The family that he was supposed to protect was clinging to each other for what little comfort it provided as they kept glancing warily at the fearsome creature ahead of them. The family followed that creature's lead under Henderson's encouragement and James ended up taking the rear so he could better keep an eye on his frightened charges.

James couldn't help wondering what had he gotten himself into. He was below ground in a strange tunnel following a frighteningly powerful and dangerous creature that looked like something out of a fantastic movie. He had no ammunition left and no idea where they were going. As they continued down the maze like tunnels James noticed a steady increase in the sound of staccato banging on the various pipes that ran along the walls. He had already realized that the banging was messages. Based on the frequency and variety of styles he suspected that there were a lot more residents down here than he would have guessed. He wondered how many others like their most unusual guide there might be down here. His buddies in the FBI Witness Protection and Relocation office would never believe this. For that matter he wasn't sure he believed it.

For, what his watch said was, nearly an hour they had walked through a series several different styles of tunnels when they were met by three very unusual people. One was a large formidable looking black man. The second looked like a teenage girl but he noticed that she sported a very wicked looking crossbow attached to her wrist. The third was a rather gnome like man that had twelve inch lengths of metal pipe dangling from leather straps attached to each wrist. The three of them showed no indication that they found the creature's appearance the least bit unusual. There was a quick quiet conference between Cathy, the creature and the three newcomers. Then the black man and the teenage girl headed up the tunnel that the refugees had just come down. The gnome like man turned and headed back the way he had come. They were again moving along the tunnel.

A minute later the banging on the pipes went silent then a second later a new message went out over the pipes. This message was stronger, more assured like from a very competent hand. Then after a few seconds of silence other messages by other hands began to fly along the pipes.

Another fifteen minutes and they came to a stop in the middle of another of the brick lined tunnels. James glanced at the unbroken walls wondering why they had stopped when the creature pushed on a spot and a section of the brick wall swung inward. He led them through into a small utility room similar to the one they had started from. Then he led them up into another basement that was cluttered by all types of furniture and boxes.

The creature now faced the rest of them and spoke. "This is as far as I can take you. Catherine will have to lead you the rest of the way."

Cathy Chandler, (Catherine?), hugged the creature. "Thank you, Vincent."

Then to everyone's surprise little Naomi stepped up and threw her arms around the creature's legs in a child's hug. She looked up at the huge fearsome creature and spoke. "Thank you for helping Mommy and Daddy and Jerry and Uncle Kyle."

The creature gently laid one clawed, fur covered, hand on the little girls shoulder and responded in that incredible voice of his. "You are most welcome little one." The little girl released him and returned to her father's side as the creature turned his attention to Miss Chandler. "You be very careful Catherine. You have much more to protect now." The creature looked down at her middle as she rested her hand on the same spot on her belly. Then the creature turned and disappeared through the inspection hatch, closing it behind him.

With a deep sigh ADA Cathy Chandler faced the rest of them. "Change of plans." With those words she seemed to take charge of the situation. "Those punks knew where we were going and were waiting for us so I'm taking you to a place where I know they won't be looking for you. You will be safe as long as no one else knows where you are." She turned her rather commanding stare on James. "I don't know whether the leak is with my people or your people but until this is over, I suggest that the fewer that know about this, the better." Her gaze swept the rest of the group. "And for reasons that should be obvious, it would be best if no one said anything about Vincent."

Clifton Neil responded with a shrug. "Who would believe us?"

Miss Chandler herded them all into the elevator at the other end of the basement. They stopped on the ground floor and saw the lobby of what appeared to be a very upscale apartment building. Catherine spoke to the security guard for a moment then returned with a set of keys. She then took them to the tenth floor and led them into a very nice furnished three bedroom apartment.

"This is where you will be staying for the time being." She handed the keys to Clifton along with a business card. "If you need anything my office number is on that card. Ask for Joe Maxwell. I'm sure Agent McClendon can explain to you the rules on how Witness Protection works." She looked over at James. "I will be on leave of absence after today but I will keep an eye on this family and Joe will know how to reach me in an emergency." She turned her attention on Detective Henderson. "You will keep an eye on them for me as well I hope."

"Of course I will Cathy." Henderson replied.

Cathy Chandler smiled at them then turned and left the apartment.

A few seconds later Kyle Neil's voice called from the open balcony door. "Wow, we're right across the street from Central Park!"

James glanced again around at the very upscale apartment then faced Henderson who was sporting a knowing smile. "Just where are we?"

Henderson replied. "It seems that we are in the Central Park West apartment building owned by Cathy's father." He shrugged. Cathy never does anything by half measure. The monthly rent on this apartment is probably more than three years of my salary and we're getting the use of it for free. No one will ever think of looking for your witness and his family here." He glanced over at the family which was now all standing out on the balcony enjoying the spectacular view. "And I'm sure that they won't have any complaints."

James looked curiously at Henderson. "What do you know about that creature?"

"Vincent?" Henderson shrugged. "Very little. I've only encountered him twice and both times he saved my life. If you want to know about Vincent, Cathy is the one to ask. I understand that she has known him most of her life."

~ o ~

Down in the sub-basement utility room Catherine entered Vincent's waiting arms. "Take me home Vincent." Vincent nodded and after a quick kiss opened the hidden door in the brick wall.

A few minutes later, as they walked toward their own home, Catherine sighed. "I just hope Agent McClendon will not turn out to be a problem later."

Vincent responded. "He is a good honest man and I could sense that he had accepted me, though not without a great deal of curiosity. He will keep our secret." Vincent smiled at her. "I suspect that the next time you meet him he will have a lot of questions." He chuckled. "As for your witness and his family . . . they will not talk because they think no one would believe them and they are grateful for their lives."

They entered their brownstone just as the phone began to ring. Catherine answered it, listened for a moment then responded.

"I'm fine Joe, Vincent saved us." . . .

"I've put the family up in Daddy's building where they will be safe." . . .

"I'll tell you all about it later. For now I plan to spend some quality time with my husband." . . .

"I will. Bye Joe."

She hung up the phone and turned to Vincent. "Now, about that quality time I just mentioned . . ."

The End (of episode 4)

'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.