Chapter Twenty (A Game Of Cat and Mouse..)
"You were wrong, John..she isn't coming here at all." Finch watched the girl cross 8th Street, headed into the subway system entrance. He switched camera angles, punching in the Mass Transit Circuit Board on his computer. Cordelia Fellows was easily distinguished from the rest of the morning subway riders. Or at least, she seemed so to Harold who spotted the woman right away. "She is entering the subway stairs even as we speak."
"Which comes out at the Square, on 14th." Reese reminded. "Keep eyes on her, Harold. I'm only a few blocks away, I'll catch up."
Finch forced himself to relax, drawing in a deep breath. Cordelia slipped her MetroCard into the slot, entering the turnstile behind a burly construction worker. She had purchased it for four dollars and fifty cents. Which she thought was a reasonable price. She seldom road the subway, actually.
She made her way slowly with the other commuters, easing to the already crowded train location far down to her right. The platform was already full.
Finch glanced about his surroundings, his eyes absently falling on the mammoth sized kinetic wall sculpture across the street. The 'Metronome' was an impressive structure, encompassing an entire section of building space down at the far end of Union Square Park.
Steam spouted out of the center of the digital clock eliciting several 'ohhhs' from the tourist gathered in the Square.
Harold had other things on his mind. Cordelia was walking along the platform but her interest was clearly elsewhere. She made her way through the milling crowds, easing over to the side of the thoroughfare. She leaned against the grey metal door posted 'Exit..Maintenance Only'.
"I think she is about to go 'off-grid'." Harold could read body language well. No cameras would be installed beyond the door, he knew. "Your location, John?"
"She's probably going underground..which is ok." Reese hurried through the throng of people on the upper sidewalks. "She knows how to find Miller. They will resurface soon, keep vigilant." He traversed the subway stairs with elegant ease. "Where did we lose her?"
Harold directed him, watching the tall man disappear into the same rabbit hole 'Alice' had moments before. "What are we looking at, Mr. Reese?" the man's patience was short this day. He stood beneath the equestrian statue of George Washington, too anxious to sit any longer. His laptop held beneath his arm. From his location, he could see the newly renovated Pavilion. He sought shade, the sun uncomfortably warm today, as he had become accustomed to more temperate climate of late.
"A tunnel, Finch." Reese glanced both ways down the dreary damp space, which was lit by intermittent bulbs, most burned out, every twenty to thirty meters. "I can hear ..something." he strained to make out the muffled, echoing sounds. He stood quietly, getting his bearings.
Harold found a seat on another unoccupied bench, opening his computer. He scanned the thinned crowds hastily. "What are our options?"
Reese's eyes had adapted to the darkness of the tunnel. He moved forward slowly. "We wait..until I see what's up ahead."
Finch had hoped for more.
"Don't worry, Harold. I have faith in your Ms. Fellows even if you don't."
Harold's eyes lifted from his scan for a brief moment, his thoughts disturbing ones. The Flatiron building lay to the North, it's unique shape catching his attention for a second.
All around, New Yorkers went about their business, bundled against the approaching Northern winds reportedly coming in this afternoon.
The park was sunny and welcoming at this moment, however, Finch felt a cold prick of fear inside. "If anything of a harmful nature befalls her, John. I will never forgive myself."
"I won't let it, Harold." Reese moved stealthily down the tunnel, following his instincts on this one. "I won't..let it."
A group of men sat huddled around a low fire. To Cordelia, it looked as if there was a small grill they cooked on. She had walked past several make-shift shelters, some constructed of scrap wood, some of metal and wood, some of cardboard boxes only. One of the larger 'room's even boasted raggedy curtains, of all things.
Cordelia thought it so sad a place but she felt safer here, most times, than she did up top. She had been here a few times, when Millie was not at his usual haunts. People gave her little notice this time, too busy organizing their lives for the upcoming day, she supposed.
The four men had stopped their handiwork, looking at her curiously, two of them, immediately arose, shuffling off, heads down, their bodies bent by age or injury, she couldn't tell in the dim light. "Ohh, please don't leave." She asked, not wishing to interrupt their breakfast, if indeed, that is what she..interupted. "I'm just looking for Millie? I'm the one who brings him the cigarettes? Has anyone seen.."
"You got any on ya?" A black man stopped his path by, inquiring.
"I'm sorry." She shook her head, apologizing. "But, as soon as I find Millie..I will take him to get some. I promise."
"He went up-top..to Maxi's." One of the men around the small fire offered. "I remember you. You bought us coffee last time. All of us."
Cordelia was sad to say, she did not remember the man's face. She felt bad for the fact. She smiled gently at him. "It was my pleasure. Really."
"I can take you to Maxi's."
"No." she smiled again. "I know the way." She dug in her coat pocket, her fingers wrapping around the change from the turnstile vending machine. "This is all I have but..you are welcome to it."
"God Bless you, Sister." The man took the twelve dollars, nodding his thanks.
"Please buy food with it." She knew they would not but hurried back down the tunnel.
Maxi's was a little diner down by the Decker Building. The guy who owed it, often gave out left overs in the alley behind his establishment.
She hoped to catch Millie there before he left for the day.
Reese ducked into a shadowy nook, hearing footsteps approach from down the way. The light fixtures attached to the tunnel walls were in desperate need of 'maintenance'.
He was grateful the bulbs were out in this instance however.
Cordelia Fellows rushed by his position none the wiser, of his presence.
He watched her retrace her route, then disappear outside the grey, metallic door both had used minutes before.
He waited to hear the soft click of the latch. "I got her, Finch."
"I see her, John." Harold had sat up, his hope renewed.
Reese shut the door behind him, searching about, his eyes still dilating from the dark atmosphere he just left.
"To the left, John..about 500 meters, Four o'clock." Finch helped out. The younger man nodded, spotting his mark in the multitude of faces and bodies. Another train had just disembarked.
Cordelia sat slowly, never knowing just who Millie would be on any given day. "..Coffee..two sugars, two creams." She gently slid the ceramic cup past the out-stretched newspaper. She had lied about the money she gave the homeless guy. She had kept a twenty to get her home, later.
Not that she was looking forward to going..to that awful place. It was a matter of necessity. She needed her purse and glasses and..she had no place else to go.
Edward Miller was a balding man, of short stature who stood approximately five seven on a good day, his grey hair was wiry and unkempt. He was on the thin side these days, but Cordelia knew, come Summer, she could tempt him with his very favorite dessert of all time, strawberry shortcake and in no time, he would be back to a healthy happy weight.
The creamy brown eyes searched her features for a goodly spell, as he had folded the newspaper down, peering over the edges, a slight frown on his oddly attractive face. Cordelia had often equated this first initial moment of contact as Millie's way of 'buffering'.
His brain was categorizing memories.
She only hoped it would bring up some good ones this time.
But then, the perennially cheerful features softened and he reached, taking the preoffered beverage. "..Ahhhh. Starlight!" the brown eyes crinkled with a tender quality. "Where have you been? I was..concerned." he scolded slightly.
Cordelia smiled happily. "Oh, Millie..that is so..You." she laughed mirthlessly. HE..was concerned for her. She shook her head. The man did not have a selfish bone in his body.
"And why shouldn't I be concerned?" he wanted to know, sipping his coffee carefully. "ohh, that is good stuff!" he grinned at her. "The small things in life, Kiddo..it's the small things." He sipped again. "I think of you as the daughter I never had."
She smiled wistfully. He had a daughter but this was not the time to bring that subject up. "I have missed you so very much."
"And I you." He took the time to really examine her face. "Now..tell me. Where have you been keeping yourself? You haven't found yourself a young man, have you?" he teased but his features were shrewdly observing her. "I will be jealous."
Cordelia's smile faded a bit. "No..of course not. You know you're the only man I could ever really adore."
He nodded, chuckling lowly. "All well and good but something is different." He pointed an accusing finger at her. "something has happened. What is it? Can you tell me? Can I help?" he offered sincerely.
She reached, touching his hand, her fingers trailing away after a brief moment of contact. "I have to tell you something, Millie." She sighed heavily, sitting back in the booth cushion. "I don't think you will be very pleased with me after you hear..what I have to say."
The fact weighed heavily on her heart.
He spread his hands, shrugging slightly. "I forgive you..whatever it is, Child..you know that."
She lifted anguished eyes. "Don't say that until..you've heard it." She pleaded. "I just don't think I can bear to lose anyone else in my life right now but..I have to tell you." She knew she did. "I have to."
"Who have you lost, Cordelia?" he leaned closer, offering his hand, palm out. Empathy in the dark eyes. "Oh My..it isn't that feisty little friend of you.."
He was alarmed.
"No." she was quick to pacify. "Davy is fine. It isn't..her. It's you, Millie, that I'm afraid I'll lose."
"So you said but that's utter nonsense." He smiled benignly, touching her shoulder comfortingly. "what is this all about. Tell me."
Cordelia hesitated. "..Millie?" she began haltingly, feeling her way but she didn't have much time allotted. She leaned in closer, lowering her voice, having searched the hundreds of faces passing by the small café when they sit. "..are you aware that." How to put it as inoffensively as possible. She pressed her lips together for a long beat. "..there are moments when you ..aren't yourself?" she tried to read his face. She tried very hard.
But nothing seemed to be registering.
"When..you sorta.." she sought in vain for a tactful way to say it. "Well..there are..lapses in your thought process."
She was never sure he knew and frankly, had never found the courage to broach the subject. Those 'moments' were just a part of the man and since he never mentioned them..their friendship was such that, it was accepted and dismissed, she assumed..by both of them.
"Is that what we're calling them?" he held his smile, then dismissed the subject with a wave of his hands. Millie used his hands continuously when he talked. If someone tied them down, she wasn't sure he could speak. "Honey." He signed lightly, shifting in his seat a tad. "..Yes, Delia, I am aware." The gentle eyes softened moreso. "I'm sorry you had to witness ..that part of me. But," he shrugged again. "I am what I am. My type of 'crazy' is no worse than someone else's. I am only glad that it seems to be 'compartmentalized' on some days. That I can have a decent conversation with a lovely young lady such as..my friend, Cordelia Fellows."
His face saddened a bit and he cupped his hands around his coffee cup, staring at the creamy liquid for a long beat. Cordelia knew, his hands were always cold. No matter the weather. She worried about that..a lot.
"Bad things have happened in my life..as most lives." He allotted, philosophically. "At times, I can't control my memories and those times are very difficult for me to organize. I think it's just my brain's way of..protecting me from doing harm to myself or perhaps others." He lifted sincere eyes.
"You could never harm a living soul, Millie." Cordelia would stake her life on it.
"But..I have, Angel Face." He drew in a deep, quivering breath. "..Let's change the subject, shall we."
"When those..times come, you talk, Millie." Cordelia stated quickly. "You..say things."
He looked at her oddly. "Do I?" he seemed intrigued. "I thought it was all in my head. What..things do I say?"
"Ohh, Millie." Cordelia put her hands to her face, rubbing her eyes. She was suddenly ever so tired. "So many things..amazing things..horrible..things." she teared up, knowing now..how very true everything she ever heard was. "Unbelievable things!"
She sought out the warm gaze.
He sat back, musing to himself.
"I wrote it all down." She blurted. "I started writing it down, meaning to show it to you when.." she let it go. When he was..lucid. "But that day..do you remember, when I started to tell you. You had one of your episodes..a very, very dark one and I ..didn't try to share anything again but..I kept a journal."
"..Why?" he was curious.
"Because what you were relating was phenomenal and..improbable but..totally fascinating!" she told the truth. "And I swear before God, Millie..I was going to share the profits with you, if anyone was interested in the story and of course, I would have changed your name..or maybe even not used you at all. I only wrote a synopsis but then..just like you said, the bad people came and I've put your life in danger and that's why I have to tell you, so you can fix this..you can make it right. I'm scared for you! I've never been more scared, and that's saying a lot because, these people tried to kill me. They sent a man to my apartment but there is another guy..a good guy. He saved me, but…to do so, he had to kill this man. The man that came to my apartm…"
"Shhhhhh." The man moved over to her side of the booth, shushing her paternally. "Shh shhhhh." He patted her hand, his arm going around her shoulder. She lay her head down, swiping tears from her cheeks.
"They tried to kill me. And..Mr. Reese had to shoot the man. He shot him in the face and blood.."
"Stop now." The kind words halted her rising hysteria.
"You're in danger..grave, immediate danger and I don't know what to do and Mr. Finch wouldn't tell me."
The man held her for a long moment until he felt the trembling in her body subside a bit. "But..they didn't hurt you." He needed that confirmed and there was something odd and cold in his tone. So much so, Cordelia had to read his face.
"..No." she touched his cheek gently. "No..they didn't hurt me, Millie. I'm not the issue here. Please..listen to me." She begged. "You have to leave..you have to find somewhere they will not think to look. You're smart. You've done this before..haven't you. You have to do it again. Now! Today! This very minut.."
"So..they are back, are they." He half chuckled at the thought. "I thought I had lost them years ago."
She shook her head. "I have money. I can help."
Miller sat back, his arm laying now, along the back of the booth. "My friends are here, Sweetheart. I don't want to leave." He stroked her cheek line in open affection. "I'm finally..at peace. Most of the time." He kissed her forehead. "That's all a man can ask, I think. No…No, I'm not going to run anymore."
"They will find you." Her blood chilled.
"Their little machine has limits." he glanced over at the bank on the corner of the block. "Their cameras see all, .. they listen to us, our private moments..but, the machine isn't God, Delia. It has flaws. And I know them, each and every one."
"The 1984 Machine?" she spoke her thoughts aloud. "Mr. Finch's design."
"I don't know a ..Mr. Finch." Miller didn't. "but yes, it's a computer, a honkin big mother." He seemed impressed she knew any of what he had held sacred for so many years now. "And yes, bad people are involved with it's operation. It's you I have to worry about."
"You of all people should know to take this seriously."
"I don't disbelieve you, Love." He consoled. "But you have to understand. I'm old now, set in my ways." He used his 'dad' tone. "Death? Not so scary anymore, let me tell you." He teased.
"That isn't even funny!" she snapped.
"No, I suppose it's not..from your perspective." He conceded, sobering a bit. "These people have become my family, Honey." He smoothed her hair lovingly. "Just like you are. They may not seem like much to you or these..Eloi" he motioned to the people around them. Some eating in the diner, some outside the windows, but, meaning, the world in general. "here..but we Morlocks?" he pointed to his chest area. "We stick together. We're a Unit." He tipped her face, because she had dropped her eyes. "I belong again. I've found my place and sure.." he stated jovially. "Sometimes my train doesn't stop at the right platforms but that's ok. My friends..the Morlocks..they accept that too..just like you do, Little Weena."
Cordelia realized the situation finally. "..Ok." she smiled wearily at the man. "alright, Millie. We'll do it your way. Can I impose upon you though..just this one time?"
"What?"
"Will you trust me?" she was curious but more so, perhaps she was hoping..he wouldn't in this instant.
"With my life." He held up his coffee and pretzel. "Soon as I finish my breakfast."
"What are we waiting for now?" Finch was at his wit's end.
Reese's eyes swept the area. He was across the street from the diner, his shoulder leaning against a convenient street light. He sent another picture of the marks. "You getting these?"
"Yes, yes.." Finch dutifully filed the photos Reese was sending into a file. "but, I am more concerned for their safety as you should be. The quicker we get them in, the quicker.."
"I can't just walk up and abduct them. People notice such things even in New York." Reese drawled.
"And..if we lose them again?"
"I won't." Reese smiled politely to a very pretty woman passing by his line of vision for..she had smiled at him.
"But..if you do?"
"I won't." Confidently stated.
Finch was exasperated. "You know, ..at times your confident air verges on arrogance."
"Tell me about it." Reese straightened, watching Cordelia and her friend exit the diner. "They are on the move."
"Yes." Finch's fingers ran over his keyboard, finding a better camera angle. "Where do you think they are headed?" he watched Cordelia hook her arm with that of the short, stout individual and proceed down the busy street. They walked slowly, as if they had not a care in the world. Harold suspected, the girl was matching her steps to the slower, more aged companion.
"I know exactly where they are headed." Reese followed behind, not too closely, mindless of the several looks he received from several passing females.
"Oh really?" Finch was getting a little testy. "Are you suddenly All-Knowing?"
"No..but you should have enough sense to guess at her destination." Reese shook his head woefully. "She's bringing him to you, Harold. They're headed directly for the Square."