Chapter 3:
After being hauled into the precinct house, Lucy found herself in a rather nasty interview room, shackled to a heavy steel pipe jutting out of the wall, and wondering how the day had gone so far south so fast. They had treated her like she was one of the Incurseans who'd decided to light up a cop on a busy street in the Bronx. She hoped Val had managed not to get herself arrested because it looked for all the world like she was on her own here, with no hope of getting to make her one phone-call. She'd heard of stories where big-city police departments made people disappear for days on end with no charges filed and no opportunities to bond out. Six hours in, with nobody seeming to be interested in coming in to talk to her or getting her side of the story, it appeared that she was about to experience just that.
Finally, as she was considering the tempting offer of a place to sleep tendered by the table in front of her, she heard the lock turning in the door. Two big men came in followed by a smaller, older gentleman wearing a suit and tie. His neatly pressed suit and tie, and his demeanor said, 'Internal Affairs' without his lips moving. "Afternoon, Officer Mann," rumbled the older fellow. Slicking back her hair, Lucy replied, "hi." Nobody rushed to uncuff her, so it appeared she was still in shit-city. Sitting down in front of her at the table, the gentleman announced, "Don Adams, NYPD Internal Affairs..." Lucy sat up straighter. It appeared they were going somewhere now. Where that was, though, was still in doubt.
"Commissioner Williams is a bit upset at you," announced Don. "He's thinking of lodging a formal protest with your organization." Lucy now understood what this was about and why the NYPD's investigations branch was interested in her. They were blaming her for the whole thing. Leaning forward, Mr. Adams asked, "so why were you in New York? We didn't receive any information on your activities here." "I'm here with my boyfriend to see his sister graduate college," replied Lucy. "Is that so," rumbled Adams? "Yup," replied Lucy. "You know it's a felony to bring a weapon into New York City. This isn't Bellwood, California," he told her.
Nodding, Lucy replied, "that would be why I didn't bring any weapons with me when I left California. My boyfriend told me about how you treat outsiders with weapons, so I left mine at home." The man glared at her, suggesting that he didn't appreciate what she was insinuating. "So who's weapons were you using, then," asked the IA officer? "Used your officer's Smith & Wesson on the first frog," replied Lucy coolly. "Used the frog's weapon on his pals..." That suggestion of NYPD incompetence had both detectives glaring at her. Lucy smiled back sweetly.
"Why didn't you identify yourself as law enforcement," demanded the IA officer? "I did," retorted Lucy, "but your boy there was too busy trying to snap my vertebrae to listen. Fortunately my race is a bit more flexible than yours." She looked the bruiser in the eye and said, "nice way to treat a girl, by the way. I really liked it when one of you kept kicking me in the ribs." Two could play this game of insinuation. Mr. Adams growled, "you were resisting arrest..." "I went limp," retorted Lucy. "I'm sure Magister Tennyson could and probably already has retrieved all the surveillance video from the stores and cameras nearby." Leaning forward, she said, "I saved one of your officers from getting shot to death, and now you want to punish me by going to my superiors with a pack of lies? Fuck. You."
The interview devolved down into a staring contest, with Lucy on one side, and the three idiots on the other. At the height of that ugly confrontation, there came a knocking at the door. One of the detectives went to the door and opened it. Lucy happened to glance outside to find that there was a bit of a crowd there. Adams got to his feet and went out into the hallway, shutting the door behind him.
Outside, Adams found his boss waiting, along with one of the city attorneys. "ABC just released somebody's cellphone video, showing her taking down one of the perps with that patrolman's gun," rumbled the attorney. Which was to say that the jig was up. They weren't going to be able to pin this on her. "What the fuck are we going to do," asked Adams? "If the Justice Department learns we've been hiding evidence of aliens here in the city..."
The senior IA officer growled, "we got bigger problems than that. Heads are gonna roll when the city council finds out." They'd been hiding this for more than six months. "First thing's first," rumbled the attorney. "Get her out of here. Issue her an official apology. Anything you need to do, but get her out of here." Turning to his subordinate, the senior IA officer said, "go." Don Adams scooted out of there like his feet were burning.
Lucy was laying back in her chair, keeping one eye on the two cops and considering sleep when the door opened again. This time it admitted a different man. Nodding at the two cops, he sent them scurrying out of the room. That said something about who this guy was. "You must be Mr. Adams' boss," murmured Lucy. "I am," replied the cop. Leaning over the table, he took the handcuffs off her wrist. Lucy immediately drew her hand back. They might be getting somewhere. Then again, they might be trying to set her up for attempted escape or something.
Reaching into a pocket, he brought out her badge and ID and even laid the Incursean pistol on the table. Lucy took her badge and ID and put them back in her pocket, but she left the gun on the table. Nice try, buddy, she thought. "I'll have Magister Tennyson process the paperwork to take custody of it," said Lucy. The NYPD officer took the gun back, his expression suggesting defeat. Yes, this was exactly what she thought it was. She was supposed to be caught raising hell in the Big Apple, so the locals could point fingers and say, 'look what these people do'. Lucy wasn't playing. She knew better.
Rising, the cop opened the door and stepped into the hall, leaving the door open. Of course he hadn't said she was free to go. Lucy stayed right where she was. Moments later, Mike stepped in. Lucy was stunned for a moment. Then, without further hesitation, she rose up and threw herself on him. Mike hugged his girl as she sobbed into his coat. He'd seen the whole thing on TV, and he'd been scared to death and proud all at once. When he saw those four apes knock Lucy down and start beating on her, he'd wanted to come down and beat their heads in. Stroking her long blonde hair, Mike whispered soothing words in her ear. This was nothing. These people were nothing.
The squad room was silent as Mike led his girl out of that place. The Bellwood cop's face was almost purple with rage, and he was close to blowing a fuze. Part of it was shame and humiliation that his former colleagues would do what they'd done. Part of it was rage. He wanted to find the guy who'd had his foot on Lucy's back and break his fucking leg off at the knee! As they neared the door, one of the men there in the room rose from his desk. Stepping in front of the pair, he offered Lucy a sincere apology, saying, "you saved my life, Miss. Thanks. I don't know how to repay you, but someday I'll find a way." And then he got out of their way and let them go.
Val was waiting in the car outside with Mike's mom, and she popped the locks, letting Mike slip into the passenger seat and Lucy into the backseat. Mike's sister was excited as she pulled out into traffic. "Wow," said Val. "You were fucking amazing, Lucy! I never saw anything like that except on TV!" Silvia's mind was on Lucy. She was a mess, with her makeup smeared and her eyes looking like she'd been crying for hours. The older woman immediately wrapped Lucy up in a bear hug and tried to kiss the tears away. "Where'd you learn to do all that," asked Val? "You guys got some kind of ninja academy?" "Val," growled Silvia! "Knock it off already!"
Val drove them straight back to the house, where Silvia insisted on hauling Lucy to her bedroom and stripping her to look her over for injuries. Mike waited in the living room, pacing the floor, and looking more angry than Val had ever seen him in her life, which said something about how much he loved Lucy. While Mike paced, and Val watched, a beeping sound drew their attention to Lucy's purse. Mike went straight to the couch and pulled a small object out from under Lucy's hairbrush. Clicking a contact on the side, Mike said, "go." A voice came out of the device, "Stack? Is that you?" "Yes, sir," replied Mike. "You private," asked the voice? "Will be in a minute," said Mike, as he headed for the basement. Val wanted to follow, but that voice sounded very official.
While Mike was down there, Silvia came out with Lucy, announcing, "you're going to the doctor's, young lady. That's final..." Lucy was trying to wriggle out of that, which made absolutely no sense to Silvia. While Lucy hemmed and hawed about feeling ok, Aunt Edith came knocking. The minute Val opened the door, her aunt was in the room, demanding to see Lucy. "What the hell were you thinking," demanded Edith?! "Edith, don't start," growled Silvia. "She's hurt. I think one of her ribs is broken..." Edith gasped, "we gotta take her to the doctor's..." "Been trying to do that for fifteen minutes," retorted Silvia. "She won't go." "Why not," demanded Edith? "Are you crazy?" Val knew immediately why she didn't want to go. Mike still hadn't managed to tell their family just what Lucy was.
"Where's Mike," asked Silvia? "In the basement on the phone, ma," replied Val. She had to figure out what she should do. She didn't want to be the one to break the news to her mother, but she was also afraid Lucy's condition might worsen. They didn't know what was wrong with her, and Val knew nobody here was qualified to judge. Silvia went to the head of the basement stairs, shouting for Mike. "In a minute," Mike shouted back! "This won't wait," shouted Silvia. "We're taking Lucy to the doctor's..."
Mike hastened to end his conversation with the Magister, then ran back up the stairs. His heart was in his eyes as he came into the living room. "I'm ok," muttered Lucy. "Her side hurts, and she can't raise her arm," grumbled Silvia. "C'mon, babe," said Mike. "We're goin'." Seeing that he had her comlink in hand, she asked, "who called?" "Was the old man," sighed Mike. "He saw the whole thing. He wants t'debrief you as soon as he can." "Doctor first," growled Silvia. "I'm not going," muttered Lucy, as she sat down on the couch. Val told Mike, "you better tell ma..."
"Tell me what," asked Silvia? At Mike's grim look, the older woman demanded, "tell me what, Michael? What don't I know?" "I'm not human," murmured Lucy. "Going to a human doctor isn't going to help me..." Silvia's hand came up to her mouth. She stared at Lucy a moment. Then her legs tried to buckle. Mike caught her and got her seated in the recliner. Edith dropped bonelessly into a seat on the opposite couch, staring at Lucy, who was staring at the floor.
Silence reigned for a long few moments until finally Edith screwed up the courage to ask, "what do you mean, not human?" "I'm a Lenopan," sighed Lucy. "Like from outer space," demanded Edith? "I was born in Wyoming," muttered Lucy. "My ancestors came from a planet a thousand light years from here and settled in Copper Springs." Silvia glared at her son, and demanded, "why didn't you tell us this?" Mike shrugged, "I didn't get a chance. I was trying to work my way around to it." "Work your way around to it," howled Edith?! "What the hell does that mean?"
Val whistled, interrupting the shouting. "Can we focus on Lucy," demanded Val? "The person who just got the crap kicked out of her by New York's finest?" Both older women flushed. "C'mon, Luce," said Mike. "We won't know until we get there." He insisted, and, in the end, he got his way. The family piled into Edith's Crown Victoria, and they all drove down to Baywood General. Arriving at the hospital, they settled into the queue there, waiting their turn to see the doctor. Sitting on a bench, half-wearing her blouse, Lucy asked, "what did the Magister want?" Mike replied, "I told him about what went down, but that we really didn't know anything. I told him there was a gun, and that he needed to file papers to collect it. He said he'd get back with us. He was going to go hit the Commissioner."
Lucy lay her head on his shoulder. Mike slipped his arm around her waist. He wanted to kill those fucking guys, but he had to remain calm for her. Now he understood how Ben felt at the height of the trial when Attea's uncle tried to use earthly laws to snatch her away. "It'll be ok, Luce," said he. Lucy nodded.
While they waited, Lucy's comlink chirped. Mike fished it out of his pocket and clicked it on. "Go," he announced. "This is Dr. Schappert," replied the person on the other end of the connection. "I understand Ms. Mann is injured." "Not sure," said Mike. "We're sitting here in Baywood General, waitin' to see the doctor." There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then, "alright. When you get in, put me on with the attending physician." "Will do, doc," replied Mike.
Minutes later, the nurse called Lucy to the triage station, and Mike immediately called Dr. Schappert back. As the nurse took Lucy's vital signs, the Dr. gave her explicit instructions, while Mike looked on in worry. Fortunately, though the nurse was stunned by Lucy's temperature, nothing appeared out of the ordinary. After another wait, Lucy was taken into the back where she was met by Dr. Lois Fine, an attractive older woman in her forties. The flamboyant doctor came in dressed in hot-pink scrubs over purple tennis shoes.
"So what appears to be the problem," asked the Doctor in a deep, nasally voice? "Got beat up by the cops," muttered Lucy. Dr. Fine glanced at the tall man standing beside the patient, and said, "you sure that's what happened?" Lucy knew what she was thinking. Blonde girl comes in with big, burly guy. Burly guy has instructed blonde girl to lie about how she got hurt. "It was on TV," retorted Lucy. The Dr.'s mouth came open. "Oh, my gawd," she gasped! "You're that girl from Mission Avenue..." Lucy nodded. "That was amazing," said the doctor, as she unbuttoned Lucy's blouse. "Police these days! Girl, you're lucky you didn't get shot!" Lucy muttered something under her breath.
Mike interrupted the exam, announcing, "little complication, doc..." Lois frowned at him. "Lucy's... not one of us...," said Mike. Dr. Schappert announced, "let me handle this, Mr. Stack." Lois jumped. She hadn't realized the man had his cellphone on. Mike put the comlink down on the table and pressed the control to activate its hologram feature. The face on the other end of the line was like something out of his nightmares. It was a Lenopan, like Lucy, but in his natural form. "Dr. Fine," announced the alien, "I'm going to need you to get a couple of really high-quality x-rays..." "Oh-ok," stammered the startled physician. Lois Fine went out into the hall and ordered up some X-Rays. Then the waiting began.
Lucy sat there enduring a string of questions from both doctors–one focused on figuring out if anything was wrong with her, the other more interested in learning about alien anatomy. When the nurse came to take her away to be x-rayed, it was a relief. Twenty minutes later, Lucy was back in the waiting room, hanging out and waiting to hear the news. "So that's what you really look like," murmured Val? "Sort of," replied Lucy. "I think he wanted to make sure Dr. Fine understood what she was dealing with." He'd turned up the 'scary' to eleven.
The nurse came out and summoned them back inside. Lucy climbed up on the exam table to get the verdict. "Just a deep tissue bruise," announced Schappert, who now looked like an ordinary human. "I can prescribe a pain-killer, if you'd like, Ms. Mann." "Need to stay straight," replied Lucy. "Can I go now?" Both doctors gave her an emphatic 'stay out of trouble' and sent her on her way.
Outside, Mike found himself asking the question that was burning in his mind. "So how come those other guys can eat bullets like that," he asked? "They thin their bodies out and compact their organs, so it's harder to hit something vital," replied Lucy. "If I wanted, I could disjoint my limbs and thin myself out too, but since I didn't want to end up standing on the street naked as a jaybird..." Besides which, it had been bad enough getting beat up by a half-dozen guys. Even if they missed your organs, being repeatedly shot still wasn't exactly fun times.
Mike whistled. He hadn't known that. He would have to remember it if he ever ran into a rogue Lenopan again. Val asked, "would your kids be able to do all that stuff too?" "Yes," replied Lucy. "My cousin's kids were a little slower in learning, but they can hold human shape for more than a day now." Turning to Silvia, Lucy asked the obvious, "how do you feel about all this?" Silvia shrugged, "I married a gentile. What right have I got to complain?"