Elisa was pulling out into traffic when she thought to turn her radio on. It was then that she had heard the news that the second plane had hit the second world tower.
"What the hell?" She wondered out loud. "What is going on?"
The streets were clogged with cars, busses, taxis and pedestrians. It was as if the 'city that never sleeps' had just… stopped. Pedestrians, taxis, busses and bicyclists were still, holding their place in the madness that was happening around them.
For the first time in Elisa's memory, people of all ages, races and religions seemed to be gathering together in support and fear of the unknown.
And all eyes were focused on the billowing clouds of smoke that were slowly blocking out the sunlight from the sky.
Luckily, her condo was fairly close to work. A few blocks down 19th Street, a left down 3rd Avenue, and it was a straight shot from there. With her lights and sirens going, she made it in 10 minutes.
Elisa's tires squealed as she swung into the station's parking lot. She half-assed a parking job, not even caring if she were in the lines of the space that she'd found, in the mostly empty lot. Most of the officers were probably on the scene.
Elisa ran into the station, finding it a scene of chaos, even though it was mostly empty. The few officers that were there were manning phones, trying to reassure the callers, and maintain a calm demeanor all their own.
"Detective!" came a familiar voice.
"Captain!" Elisa called back, turning toward her captain and old family friend, Maria Chavez.
"Glad you're here," She said, "It's all hands on deck. Word had come down that the NYPD needs as many of our people spread out, river to river."
"Where do you need me?" Elisa didn't hesitate to ask. She was worried. Frightened. But this is what she had been trained to do.
"How's the arm," Maria asked bluntly.
"Fine. I can have the doctor fax you the release if you need it."
"Forget it," Maria waved it off. "If you are able to walk and talk today, I'll take your word on it."
"Chief, they just shut down public transit," An older officer called from his desk where he was manning the phones. "The only way out of Manhattan is the Brooklyn Bridge, and things are clogging up down there."
"You want to help?" Maria looked at Elisa. "I need you down there to help direct people to the Brooklyn Bridge. Hell, help sort out the driving traffic if you can."
Elisa nodded. "On it, chief."
"Elisa," Maria called out. "I have no idea what is going on out there, but please be careful."
Elisa nodded, heading for the door.
"Hey, Maza," came another familiar voice. "I'm heading that way. Need a lift?"
Elisa stopped and looked at her partner, Matt Bluestone. He looked like she felt; hair a mess, dark circles under his eyes and a grim, vaguely shocked look in his eyes. He probably hadn't had any sleep either, having only been off of his night shift a few hours before the first plane had hit.
"Matt," Elisa said, never having been more happy to see him. She couldn't stop herself from reaching out and giving him a hard hug.
"Later, people," Maria barked out. "There is talk of all routes out of Manhattan and into the city being closed off. Before that happens, we need to get as many people out and away that we can or they won't be able to get home." With that, Maria was gone, back down the hall, shouting orders at anyone standing still.
"What?" Matt asked, sounding shell shocked. "First the public transit, now the bridges and tunnels?"
Elisa nodded solemnly. "They want to make sure that access is limited in case this is not over. First from the air, but what about on the ground?"
"No," Matt said. "I get it, I do… But there are a lot of people who work in Manhattan that don't live here. How many people are going to be trapped here if all the ways off the island are cut off?"
"That means that we need to get to the bridge as fast as we can."
"Let's go," Matt said, snatching the keys out of his pocket. "I'm right out front."
Elisa led the way, whipping out her phone as they were on the way out the door. As she hit the speed dial button that would connect her with the castle, she called out for Matt to hurry.
"All circuits are currently busy…" came the tinny mechanical recorded voice from her phone.
"Damn it!" Elisa swore, hitting the disconnect button.
"Can't get through?" Matt asked, unlocking his car and sliding into the driver's seat.
"No," Elisa said, hitting the redial button. When she got the message again, she tucked the phone back into her jacket pocket. "I guess everyone is trying to call their families right now."
"Can't blame them." Matt said. "We're all scared."
"Yeah," Elisa said.
"I'll wait, if you want to go back in and use a landline," Matt offered.
"No," Elisa said, putting the phone back in her pocket. "Lexington souped this thing up so that it should connect everywhere. It'll get through eventually. We need to get down there."
"Alright. Where to?" Matt asked.
"Where are you going?" Elisa asked.
"I am going to go help direct the foot traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge." Matt said.
"That's where I was going. If you can help at the actual bridge, I can head further in and start directing people your way."
"Sounds good." Matt said, nodding absently. "Get the people standing around taking pictures and videotaping everything moving."
"Got it."
Elisa put the police issue bubble light up on the top of the car as Matt turned on the siren. They really shouldn't have worried about the traffic…They were one of very few vehicles that were heading toward the towers.
Matt pulled onto Madison Street a few blocks from the bridge. "Here we are."
Elisa got out and looked at Matt. "Take care of you, okay?"
"You take care of you, too."
Elisa nodded, took a deep breath, and started making her way against the flow of people and closer to the towers.
Elisa spent the next ten minutes moving people along. The same shock was mirrored on everyone's faces. Some were crying, some were visibly injured, some were just trying to get home to their families. And then there were the inevitable gawkers.
"Put the cameras down people," Elisa found herself yelling more than once. "This isn't Disneyland. If you don't live in the area, head towards the bridge to get to the city."
Elisa's throat was feeling raw from all of the yelling, and there were still people coming. She had steadily been moving farther from the bridge, passing City Hall Park, trying to get to the people nearer to the site of the attacks… because, at this point, Elisa was certain that it was a planned attack. One plane crashing could have been an accident, but two planes?
That was too much coincidence. As a cop, Elisa didn't believe in coincidences. Fate, yes. Products of plots and planning, yes. Pure coincidence? Not in situations like this.
A large group of people had gathered, causing a roadblock. They were yelling, gesturing toward the towers and had caused an obstacle for the other people who were still trying to get to the evacuation route. Pedestrians were going around them, vaguely reminding Elisa of a large rock in a stream, it was slowing the process down.
"Alright guys," Elisa said, making her way against the stream of people towards the gathering. "Talk while you walk, but let's keep it moving."
She was a few steps from the group when the noise started. It started as a dull roar, but was gaining volume. The ground was beginning to shake under her feet.
Elisa had a moment to think, "Earthquake?"
Then she saw the cloud. A thick, white cloud of dust and debris was heading her way. It was gaining speed as the noise increased, and rolling as if it were water.
"Move," Elisa said once, then again louder to be heard. "Move!"
People were screaming now. And running. Some were ducking into the spaces between buildings, others into actual businesses.
Elisa spotted a small pizza shop who had the door propped open, and ran to the door. She kicked the door stop out of the way so that she would be able to close it. She held the door open until the last possible moment, calling people to come inside. Once the dust cloud rolled in front of them, however, she was forced to shut the door.
It didn't seem to matter. With the cloud came what sounded like hail. It pelted the roof, the window and the doors. Small pebble sized rock and chunks of metal were falling from somewhere, bouncing off the sidewalk outside and hitting the windows.
A larger rock hit the large front window, cracking it in a jagged line across the center. Once a crack starts, the integrity of the window is compromised, and it is just that much easier to break. There were a lot of people in the room. All they needed was to be near the window when it decided to give.
Nervous, Elisa encouraged the people who were huddled inside the cramped room to get away from the windows. She got everyone into the kitchen area at the rear of the restaurant only moments before the large plate glass window shattered under the force of the falling debris. Everyone was huddling together in fear, as Elisa watched the dust cloud moved indoors.
"Get down!" Elisa ordered. "Use what you can to cover your mouth and nose."
Elisa pulled the neck of her shirt up to cover the lower half of her face, and knelt down in front of the kitchen's red swinging door. It was a fruitless effort, but she was hoping to block as much of the dust out in the main dining area, and out of the kitchen.
It got in anyway, through the large open window that the cooks used to pass the food orders to the wait staff. It was thick, and even through her makeshift mask it permeated her nostrils. For a moment, Elisa felt like she was going to suffocate.
A small cry from a nearby corner caught her attention. Through the thick haze, she saw the barest of outlines of a small, frightened child.
Using her arms, Elisa pulled herself over to the girl, trying her best to shield her from the lung-clogging particulates. She felt another arm on the child's back, assuming it was her parent. Quickly, Elisa pulled her arms out of her leather coat and flung it as far over the mother and child's head as possible.
"Shh," Elisa said softly, trying to calm the frightened child. "It will be over soon," She said, praying that she was right.