Model Beast
By Thomas Mc
Chapter 5 : The Witness
Emily woke up bright and early that morning. She had decided that she would take the apartment near the south end of the park, since it was the closest to the entrance near the band shell. As soon as she was dressed and ready for the day she headed out of the hotel. She decided to leave the cloak behind because it made her too recognizable.
Her first stop was at the local branch of her bank to handle a few important transactions; she always preferred to do important business in person. Then she called up her agent and arranged for him to meet her at a nice new restaurant that was located just two blocks from the apartment building that she had decided on. Finally around the middle of the morning she headed for the apartment building where she planned to rent. It took her a little over an hour to take care of all the details and get the lease on the apartment she wanted. It was fully furnished and she would only be using it when she was in New York so there would be very little moving in to do. Once she got her keys she went up to her new apartment to look it over.
A half hour later she went back to her hotel and packed up all of her things and arranged to have it all sent over to the new apartment. A few of her more personal items, including Devin's cloak she packed and carried over herself. It didn't take her long to put away the stuff she had brought over. Once that was done she grabbed her cloak, since she would be going below right after lunch, and headed over to the restaurant to meet her agent. This would be only the second time she had met her agent face to face. She had often thought it funny that her agent was based in a city that she had never been to. They had been hooked up by a mutual friend in the business and the association had been very beneficial for both of them.
She arrived at the restaurant a bit early and got into a conversation with the owner and chef while waiting for her agent to show up. Then he introduced her to his young apprentice who had a bit of a thing for her. He was a rather charming young man of sixteen named Conrad and got a bit tongue tied in her presence. She decided she liked the kid and with a little coaxing was able to put him at ease. He did admit to having copies of every one of her swimsuit issues except the latest. Emily ran across the street to a news stand, bought the latest swimsuit issue and autographed it for the young man. She also posed with him while the owner took a picture with the young man's phone. The owner also got a picture of her with his entire staff to hang in his main dining room later. Then her agent, Martin Belmont, arrived.
They spent their lunch talking business as well as getting to know each other personally. She told him of her choice to relocate her home base to New York and gave him the address of her new apartment. Since he had lived in New York all his life he was able to fill her in on the history of the building her apartment was in. Apparently the building had been featured in the 'Ghostbusters' movie.
"You know, I've been meaning to ask you for months, where you came up with that cloak you have been wearing?" He was eyeing the item in question, draped over the chair next to her.
She shrugged with a laugh. "The Creature of Central Park gave it to me." And put another bite in her mouth.
The agent smiled and shook his head. "Some people might just believe you about that." He tilted his head as he looked at her. "I've lived here all my life and I've heard enough rumors about him to wonder if that particular urban myth might just have some kind of factual basis." He again glanced at the cloak. "Many of the stories I've heard, have him wearing a hooded cloak very much like that one." He grinned back at her. "Do you want me to play up that aspect in the media?"
She shook her head. "No Marty. I would prefer to keep it low key. If anyone asks you, just say that it was given to me by a friend and leave it at that."
He nodded his head. "That story of yours and the way you always wear it does generate a little air of mystery that makes for great publicity. Especially since you're keeping it's origin a secret without making a production of it." He thought about it a moment then chuckled as he continued. "Wouldn't it be wild if one day the real McCoy showed up wanting to know where you really got that knock-off of his cloak."
Emily smiled back. "Yea, that would be something."
Martin then went on to fill her in on some of the other urban legends associated with New York. After lunch, her agent took off in a taxi and Emily donned her cloak and started walking toward the park. She was thinking about her agent's comments about urban legends and the things he had told her about the Creature legend. She was not really paying attention to where she was going so she took a wrong turn and found herself in an alley. She stopped when she realized her mistake.
At the far end of the dead end alley were eight men standing around an old minivan type vehicle. The side door of the vehicle was open and she could clearly see several types of weapons as well as several unusual canisters of some type. They stood staring at each other for about a half second. Then she dropped the takeout bag, turned and ran just a split second before one of the men yelled out, "Get Her!"
Emily ran a slightly zig-zag pattern, her cloak billowing out behind her, as she bolted out of the alley. She heard three distinct shots ring out behind her and felt a sharp pain in her left side. The impact knocked her off balance and she took several awkward steps, nearly falling down, before she regained her stride. The Park was only a block away and she made straight for it. She heard another shot ring out and the screams of several people as she reached the border of the park. She could feel the drag of the billowing cloak slowing her down just a bit as she entered the park and decided to hazard a quick look behind her. There were four men with guns chasing her but, despite the drag of the cloak, she was still out running them. Her long legs combined with the hours spent in the gym keeping her shape were now paying off in a big way that she had never expected.
One of them fired another shot at her. She shifted direction slightly bringing her close to the more heavily wooded area and directing her more or less toward the band shell. Two more shots rang out and she dodged into the edge of the trees. Another two shots and she clearly heard a bullet hit the tree she was passing. She dodged deeper into the woods as three more shots rang out. She heard one of them yell out, "Spread out! Don't let her double back on us."
Emily chanced another glance behind her. Only two of her pursuers were visible and they had both lost a lot of ground against her. Her left side was starting to burn something terrible and her right calf was starting to ache. That and the cloak, that was catching on branches as she ran, were conspiring to slow her down even more. She was beginning to wonder how much longer she could keep this up. Another shot rang out, whizzing through the branches above and to her right, then she heard two more which shattered several small branches on either side of her. She spotted the band shell. She was getting close to her destination now but she could feel her endurance draining fast. A few seconds later she saw the culvert and made for it. She paused momentarily at the storm drain opening, leaning against the concrete opening and breathing hard. The concrete above her exploded showering her with small pieces as another shot echoed through the park around her, followed by a shout of, "There she is!"
She ducked into the pipe and ran down it until she reached the junction where the hidden door was located. The fire in her side was worse and she was developing a serious limp by the time she reached the hidden entrance. As she pressed the release, she heard voices coming from the direction of the park opening. She yanked the grate open passed through it and yanked it shut then dived through the still opening back wall into the arms of Devin. He took one look at her and hit a spot on the wall. The concrete barrier stopped then reversed direction. Emily leaned against the curved wall, panting heavily. Two seconds after the concrete barrier had closed they heard some incoherent shouting then the sounds quickly receded.
Devin turned back to face her, concern deeply etched in his face. "Emily, what happened to you?"
"Don't know." She replied, shaking her head as she fought to catch her breath. "Think I stumbled . . . the middle of . . . some type of . . . illegal deal." She got out between gasps. The ache on her right calf and the burn in her left side were both getting much worse as her rubbery legs began to give out and she started to slide down the wall. Devin grabbed her and picked her up, then took off running down the tunnel.
"I'm taking you straight to Teresa." Devin told her as she felt the strength ebbing out of her.
She glanced down at her left side; she was stunned to see that the whole lower left side of her shirt was soaked with blood. She must have been hurt worse than she thought. She couldn't see her calf. It felt like a particularly severe cramp. Despite being burdened by her weight Devin seemed to be moving incredibly fast. Then Emily was aware that he was setting her down on a padded surface and they were in a small rock chamber that looked, to her, a lot like a tiny emergency room. Had she passed out? A strange woman dressed in typical tunnel garb was leaning over her and she seemed to be drifting away on a cotton cloud that smelled vaguely like a hospital and candle wax.
Emily came awake with a start and glanced around. She was in a small cave like apartment. Then her memory came flooding back as she tried to sit up. She was hit by a sharp stabbing pain in her side and fell back. She became aware of a slight pulling sensation on her right arm and, glancing over at that arm, saw a red IV tube attached to it. A strange woman, she had just noticed, across the small chamber turned toward her. Emily tried again to sit up. Despite the pain in her side, she managed, with a painful groan, to accomplish it this time, just as the woman reached her side.
"Easy there." The woman remarked as she quickly adjusted several pillows and 'firmly' helped Emily lean back against them. "You've lost a lot of blood and you really don't want to tear those stitches."
Emily glanced down at the patch work shirt she now wore then further down at her bandaged calf and finally up at the woman. "How bad was I hurt? What did the doctor say?" She asked the woman worriedly.
The woman gave her a half smile as she responded. "My name is Teresa and I am your doctor for the present." She checked the IV, it was a glass bottle rather than the plastic bag she would have expected. It was half full of red fluid (Blood?). The woman, Teresa, continued. "You were shot twice. One bullet went all the way through your left side. It was large caliber and did a lot of tissue damage but didn't hit anything vital. All that torn tissue, however, combined with your heart pumping overtime from your running, did cause a lot of blood loss." She indicated the IV bottle. "The second bullet was very small caliber. It struck your calf and lodged in the muscle. I got it out. The damage was minimal, little more than an annoying ache and a small limp for a week or two."
She looked closely at Emily's eyes and listened to her heart. "For someone who lost as much blood as you did, you are holding up pretty well." She pointed at the IV bottle. "As soon as that is empty, I will remove the IV and you will be free to go, but be very careful not to put too much strain on those stitches in your side." As she was putting her instruments away she called out. "You can come in now."
Devin pushed aside the tapestry that was covering the doorway and entered, followed by a very professional looking woman that looked vaguely familiar. As they approached Devin spoke. "Aunt Elizabeth, this is my friend, Emily Hansen, the model." He paused a moment. "Emily this is my aunt, District Attorney Elizabeth Maxwell. Thought, to us in the know, she is Elizabeth Chandler-Wells. She's married to my father's brother . . . and yes Uncle Charles does look like Father and me."
Emily recognized Elizabeth's name and title. "You're part of them?" She asked incredulous.
"Actually my mother was raised down here and I've known Charles since I was a baby. We were born within days of each other and were practically raised together." She smiled and sat down beside Emily. "Can you tell me what happened?"
Emily gave Elizabeth a fairly complete description of what happened to her.
"As soon as you are able, I would like it if you would come down to my office and give a statement. I would also like to see if you can identify any of the men involved. Maybe we can get a few police sketches from your description."
"The doctor said that I could go as soon as that bottle is empty." Emily pointed at the IV that was now only about a quarter full. "I got a good look at them. I could sketch them for you." She blushed a little. "I'm no Michelangelo but I can do a reasonably good drawing of each of them." She glanced down at her bare wrist. "I seem to have lost my watch. Does anybody know what time it is?"
Elisabeth and Teresa both glanced at the large striped candle on the bureau. "It's about three-thirty." They both responded. At the same time Devin glanced at a watch on his wrist and amended. "Three-thirty-six." Emily laughed at the strange dichotomy over the way they each had determined the time.
By a little after four, the IV was finished and, after removing the needle from Emily's arm, Teresa told her that she was free to go. She added a final admonition to take it easy on those stitches as she left the chamber.
Devin offered Emily a cane and, along with Elizabeth, escorted her into the tunnels. After a short discussion it was decided to use the exit next to the government building rather than risk using any exits near the park. They currently didn't know where the bad guys might be and they wanted to avoid the possibility of running into them. They started out walking slowly in deference to Emily's injuries but soon found that they were required to speed up to keep up with her. The limp from the injury to her leg seemed to hardly slow her down. Devin did notice that she would wince occasionally and he could feel her reaction to the pain in her side and leg, but she simply ignored it and kept moving. 'Phenomenal woman,' he thought.
By the time Emily was beginning to slow down, they had reached their destination. Devin remained in the tunnel below while they went Above. Once they were in her office, Elizabeth sent word to the police department and they sent two detectives, a stenographer and a police sketch artist. By the time the others had arrived, Emily had already completed sketches of three of her assailants.
Emily proceeded to tell the detectives what had happened to her as she continued to sketch. The one thing she altered in her story was the method of her escape. She told the detectives that she eluded the gunmen by cutting through a storm drain, (she didn't remember exactly where it was) and then ran into a doctor that was eating his lunch in the park. The doctor took her to his office and patched her up then called Elizabeth. Elizabeth had given her the name of a doctor to use in her story. By the time she finished her statement, she had drawings of all eight men and a drawing of the van and its contents.
The van sketch and the drawings of two of the men caused a great deal of excitement among the detectives. "Are you sure about the symbols you drew on the side of these canisters?" Detective Anderson asked, pointing to them.
Emily closed her eyes for a second dredging the image up in her mind. "Positive, Detective. I have a semi photographic memory. It isn't true photographic memory because I only remember details that I noticed at the time." She also pointed to the van drawing. "I didn't really notice the type of van it was. That's why the outline is so vague but I clearly remember everything I saw in that open door. And I noticed the license plate."
"That's what I wanted to ask you about." Detective Bailey asked. "You're sure it was '9G1-OD1' that you saw on that plate." He looked at her. "Why did you remember that so clearly."
"It was because it was so odd . . . pardon the pun." She began writing characters at the bottom of the drawing. "Move the numbers to the beginning and you have '9, 11, G - OD'. . . 9/11 - Jihad." She looked up at them. "That plate and the contents of the van just sorta jumped out at me and I turned and ran."
Detective Anderson snorted. "That has to be a vanity plate. I can't believe no one ever noticed it yet you spotted it immediately."
Emily shrugged then winced at the pain in her side. "I've always been good at puzzles and word games."
Detective Bailey got onto the phone. "Yes Detective Bailey here. We have two known terrorists identified in Manhattan as well as six canisters of some type of bio-active compound." He paused a moment, listening. "Yes, we have sketches of the eight men involved as well as the license plate of the vehicle that was carrying the material at around one o'clock this afternoon. The vehicle was a dark minivan, make unknown. The license number is – 9, G as in Good, 1, O as in old, D as in dog, 1." . . . "I'll have the sketches and witness's statement e-mailed to you immediately." . . . "We'll get right on it"
At the detective's request, she did an enlarged sketch of one of the canisters. It prominently showed the markings that had caused the detectives to become so serious about the matter. That drawing was added to the others.
The stenographer printed out Emily's statement for her to sign. Meanwhile Elizabeth had been scanning the sketches into her office computer. Detective Bailey handed Elizabeth a piece of paper. "When you get all of that into the computer, e-mail it to that address."
As soon as it was all assembled, Elizabeth sent off the information to the address she had been given. Meanwhile the two detectives had become involved in a flurry of phone calls.
Then Detective Anderson turned to them. "We need to get you under protective custody Miss."
Elizabeth spoke up. "There's no need to do that. I've already arranged a safe place for her."
Detective Anderson nodded. Elizabeth was renowned for her ability to make a witness apparently vanish from the face of the planet until it was time for them to reappear for the trial or whatever. It was said that she had learned how at the knee of the legendary Catherine Chandler herself. Plus she was the daughter of Joe Maxwell, and just as tough, relentless and incorruptible as he was. "Ok, then. I'll leave her in your hands."
Continued in Part 6
'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.