"Alright. Call every church, synagogue, mosque, homeless shelter, domestic violence shelter, food bank and any other charitable organization you can think of and tell them we have a donation of dehydrated mashed potatoes for them if they can come to collect right away before they rehydrate." Colleen said into her phone a couple of hours later as she headed across the room, searching for the people who had brought her there. No, no sign of them, though. She shook her head and turned instead towards the large woman she had seen them talking to. Maybe she would do for reporting her problem. "And tell the head of cardiology to go ahead and call Dr. Pataki in, in case Dr. Ramsey is delayed."
"Can I help you with something?" Edie asked as the human woman approached. "And who are you now?"
"Colleen Harper, Elmhurst hospital administrator. I'm hoping someone here can tell me what I need to do. My secretary just let me know that there's some sort of problem that's got the New Haven line stopped just outside of Rye. I'm thinking it might be something your people usually handle. The doctor who called it in described the problem as being furry, purple with lime green spots and completely blocking the track. Do you have any idea what that might be? And how to remove it from the tracks so the train can get running again? I have a number of people on that train, and most of them being delayed wouldn't be a problem, but Dr. Ramsey's needed for an emergent surgery and I would really like to get him there if at all possible. I'm having another surgeon come in to be prepared, but she's only done the procedure in question ninety times, I think, while Dr. Ramsey was on the team who developed it, so…."
Edie looked around the room, searching for someone with more experience than her before she spoke. No, Aileen and Agent X weren't back, though, and she had seen Zeredon leaving a bit ago, she thought to join them. Did that mean she was…. Oh, this wasn't good, but…. "Furry, purple, lime green spots." That did sound like it might be something alien but…. "That kind of sounds like a Thurigian spotted cat, but…."
"A cat? It's a cat?" Colleen asked.
"It kind of sounds like it, but…."
"Would pictures help? I can definitely get a picture if it's a cat." Colleen told her as she dialed a number on her phone. "Hi, Amanda, it's Dr. Harper. No, I know you're stuck on the train and might be late for your shift. I was wondering if you might have any pictures of what's currently got the train stopped? Okay, send it to me, please. Thank you!"
"My head ICU nurse. She's a cat lover. She would take pictures of anything that might possibly be feline. Is this it?" Colleen said, handing over her phone as an image came through.
"Definitely a Thurgian spotted cat." Edie said after a moment. But what was one of those doing here?
"There's a wildlife group upstate that has them." Mrs. Redgick offered, hearing what Edie said. "They do presentations on wildlife, generally human, but Lyndon had them do an exclusive presentation for resident aliens last year. I remember those cats."
Okay. She knew where the cat likely came from. But what to do about getting it contained? Edie had no clue what to do there.
"It's a cat. What kind of cat?" Colleen asked. "I know it's big, but…."
"Basically, it's huge, but personality wise it's like an earth house cat." Edie said.
"So it''s something that a human who has extensive experience with cats could possibly handle?" Colleen asked. "Because that cat probably needs moved as soon as possible before the transit authorities get involved."
"Probably." Edie said after a moment.
"Definitely." Mrs. Redgick added. "My aunt actually has one back home. They're very sweet."
"Wonderful." Colleen redialed. "Amanda? Thank you for the picture. Yes, that is in fact a cat. Some sort of exotic species with the personality of a house cat. I'm thinking it might have got loose during transit somehow. I need you to do me a favor. I need you to get off the train and do what you need to to get that cat off the tracks before the transit authorities show up and completely over react. Yes, I'll arrange for a cab to pick you up afterwards and someone will be along shortly to collect the cat. Thank you!"
"She's going to get the cat." Colleen said. "Can someone possibly go to collect it? Because I'm going to call Mr. Singh to pick Amanda up, but I don't think a cat big enough to stop a commuter train will fit in his cab."
"I could help if you need it." John said. "And if you have something that could transport a cat that size."
"One of the containment vehicles would work." Edie said. Although if Aileen even suspected she was thinking of driving…. But with the lack of experience the Jeedangians had with Earth stuff it would almost have to be her going out. Not that she had a lot more experience on Earth, but with being partnered with Aileen, she definitely knew more.
"I can help too." Zara offered as she came over. "Thank goodness at this point, it looks like everyone is pretty stable, so I should be able to leave for a bit if I can help. I already have a human suit."
"Perfect." And Zara could definitely drive, and spare Aileen the thought of her behind the wheel. "Hopefully it won't take us too long, but while we're gone, can someone see about figuring out how that cat got loose?"
"I can call Lyndon and get the name of that wildlife group." Mrs. Redgick offered. "I'm sure that's where that cat came from. Those cats are too big to be authorized to be kept in the city."
"That would be good." Edie said. "And if Aileen gets back before us, let her know where we are. And that I'm not doing the driving."
"You don't drive?" Zara asked as they headed for the garage.
"Not when Aileen's around, or can possibly find out about it." Edie told her. "Which somehow she always seems to find out if I get anywhere near the wheel of a vehicle. She even did it once from a completely different planet. Last time I can remember freely driving was before I decided to become a cop."
Someone not letting you drive. Why did that feel familiar to him? his head slightly, willing the feeling to become stronger.
"Are you okay?" Zara asked, as she noticed the expression on his face.
"Yeah. It's just what you were saying about someone not wanting you to drive. I think there's someone who wouldn't be happy if they knew I was driving either." John said. "But I can't remember who or…." He shook his head as he thought about it. There was something, right there, and after three years of hoping to have something, anything sparked…. But he couldn't get it to come into focus. "Sorry. Maybe it will come to me eventually."
"Well, I promise I'm a very good driver, even with a vehicle that only moves four ways instead of six." Zara said with a laugh as they arrived in the garage and headed for the nearest containment vehicle. "So, what's your name?" She asked John. "Oh, and thanks for trying to clean things up a little. I'm afraid we got a little messy when we were trying to get everyone stable and tucked into beds."
"John, or that's what I've been using for the last three years. I can't remember anything from before that. Well, I couldn't until today, and the only thing I can now is a feeling someone wouldn't be happy with me driving. Which isn't the most helpful thing in the world to remember." John told them with a slight laugh.
"Amnesia?" Edie let him climb into the front of the containment vehicle before following him. "I thought that was just a plot from some of the classic mysteries. I remember reading it in some of them."
"I wish it was just a plot from a book." John told her as Zara pulled out of the garage. "I got shot in a mugging gone wrong three years ago, and when I woke up in the hospital, everything was a blank. That's where I met Colleen. She helped me out, had someone figure out how to work things out for me to get a job as a janitor at a junior high. As far as my memories go, thought, there's been nothing. Except now the feeling that someone wouldn't like it if they knew I was driving. Which I'm not sure why, because I've been doing it for the last three years and I don't think I'm terrible at it. And it isn't a helpful thing to remember. Or to kind of remember, because it's more of a feeling than an actual memory."
"I've never actually dealt with amnesia before." Zara said. "I could ask my cousin's partner, though. She's a human and a doctor. She might have some ideas. She's probably not going to be up for sharing them for the next week or so but…."
"I've gone without remembering anything for three years. What's another week?" John said with a laugh. If there was any chance that they could do something to help him get his memory back, he would wait as long as it took. "Anyway, we have a cat to pick up. Here's hoping it will be slightly easier to handle than some of the kids at the school where I work."