XII
Friday, 2pm, Ground Zero
Officer Jo Polniaczek, like the thousands of people around her, sifting through the remains of the World Trade Center towers, covered in a film of dust, didn't want to leave. Their anger at what had been done to their city and their country, and their unwavering sense of duty kept driving them to look, to search for any signs of life among the rubble.
One ominous change that morning was that the Personal Alert Safety System (PASS) that all member of the NYPD and FDNY wore, that had been chirping for three days had all finally gone silent. Throughout Wednesday and Thursday, few of them could be heard, as their batteries died. The noise had given rescue workers a sense of hope that survivors might be found. Yet in the quiet that had replaced it overnight brought with it the surety that no more survivors would be found. The rubble that remained was now a tomb.
But it didn't slow the thousands that had descended on the area to assist in beginning to clean up the mess-ironworkers, electricians, truckers, teamsters, sheet metal workers, as well as those in the NYPD, the FDNY, the Port Authority, the FBI, ATF and others-who had been on site since Tuesday morning and had refused to leave, or who had shown up, determined to help in the long, arduous process of cleaning up "The Pile", as it became known to those working the site.
Jo still had not heard from Nathan, and she was certain that he hadn't made it when the South Tower collapsed, but she put that thought aside, doing what she could. She helped direct people to the different command posts in the area. She and other cops assisted in the bucket brigades that had formed up, one member of the FDNY giving her a spare helmet to put on while near areas that could shift and collapse.
But like so many of her comrades, she had simply refused to leave. She hadn't slept since Monday night, and was running on loads of coffee, bites of sandwiches and adrenaline which was fueled by anger, rage, and incomprehension.
Her radio no longer worked. She had left her cell phone in the squad car, which, she knew, was buried in the rubble in Liberty Park. She scarcely knew what day it was.
Finally around Noon, she saw the first familiar face she had seen since Tuesday morning.
"Polniaczek" a strong, thick Brooklyn accent said from behind her as she was sipping coffee. She knew the voice immediately and turned toward it. It was her Precinct Captain.
"Captain Randazzo!"
Captain Anthony Randazzo gave her a wan smile, moving toward her. He wasn't in a uniform, but in BDU camouflage that had been given out by The Red Cross for search and rescue workers. Jo had received hers Tuesday evening, along with an N-95 protective mask. Her BDU was covered with ash and soot. His was clean, having just come from a meeting at Police Headquarters.
"I figured I'd find you here, Jo", he said, taking in the sight of his dust-covered, clearly dead-tired officer. When he reached her, he did something that he would never have done during normal times. He opened his arms to her.
Jo stepped into his embrace, holding her composure, but accepting the show of camaraderie with her Boss. "God, it's good to see ya, Cap'n", she answered in her distinct Bronx accent. "I ain't seen a soul I know since...well, you know."
When the embrace ended, he looked with concern at his subordinate. "How ya holdin' up, Jo?"
The brunette shrugged. "I'll make it. By the way", she said a bit sheepishly, "what the hell day is it?"
Despite the ghastly scene around them, the Captain chuckled. "It's Friday afternoon, Polniaczek." He became serious again. "Precinct captains all over the city have had a helluva time rounding up their troops, 'cause many, like you, are scattered all over the city doing what they can, and bein' here since Tuesday."
"I bet", she said sullenly, looking around again at the incalculable devastation around her. "I still ain't heard from Zid", she said, their eyes meeting, both knowing what that probably meant.
"I know", he said softly. "Look, I know you wanna stay here, and your devotion to duty is commendable, Officer-and I'm going in to help here in a few minutes, but I want you to head back to the station-use my car", he said, gesturing with his head about five hundred feet to his right, "take a shower, get into a new BDU, and rest for a while." He held up his hand. "That's an order, young lady", he said, but with a small smile. "You'll be back here, or on somethin' related to this goddamned attack soon enough. But you gotta sleep for a while."
Jo was too tired to argue, simply nodding her head in submission. "I'm afraid if I fall asleep, I won't wake up for a few days, Cap'n", she said, the exhaustion beginning to hit her full force.
"Good, then I'll wake you up next week", he said with a soft hand on her shoulder, handing her the keys to his car. She nodded and turned away to leave the area.
"Office Polniaczek", the Captain said after she turned.
She turned to face him. "Yeah, Cap'n?"
He gave her a crisp salute, Jo returning it. "Good work, Officer. Well done."
There were only a few people in the Precinct when Jo arrived. Like the others where she worked, most were currently out on assignment. She knew Captain Randazzo had been trying to round up his charges. He had not heard from a few of his officers, including Jo's partner Nathan Zidek.
Before he had left for Ground Zero, the Captain had driven with two of his officers into New Jersey, found an open KFC restaurant there, and had brought back five buckets of chicken with mashed potatoes and french fries. At the time, they had been in uniform-the restaurant refused to allow the officers to pay for the food.
Jo had walked first to her locker, where she kept a clean bra, panties, and socks in case of an emergency, then grabbed a fresh BDU that had been brought over by the Red Cross, then trudged to the woman's shower. She stripped off the old BDU, along with her bra, panties and socks, throwing the clothing into a trash bin, then stepped into the shower, setting the water to a warm, but not steaming temperature. She let the water simply fall across her head for a while, her thoughts finally having a few moments to catalog the last several days. Yet she was so exhausted that making sense of it was difficult, so she let her mind wander to other, more pleasant things.
For the first time in three days, she thought of Blair, and how much she missed her lover. The argument they had before Blair left for Los Angeles hadn't diminished the love Jo had for her. Jo knew that she had been selfish when springing her plans to go back to school on the blonde. A week ago, it had seemed like such a great idea. But today, as the layer of soot and grime washed off her body, she realized how short-sighted she had been.
Amazin' how that argument looks in light of what's happened, she thought with more than a little irony and sadness. I guess seein' the big picture of a war can do that to ya.
She stayed in the shower for a good twenty minutes, simply letting the warmth caress her naked body, letting the water relax her tired bones. She stepped out, dried off, and put on the clean clothes, then headed toward the big break room. The officers had removed some of the shelves in the two refrigerators in the break room to store the chicken and the potatoes, Jo fetching a paper plate, grabbing a thigh and a wing, then retrieving a Pepsi from the vending machine. At that moment, the only other person in the building was the dispatcher who manned the phones and computers. Everyone else was on duty.
Despite the fact that the Warner Company offices were still closed nationwide, CEO David Warner had been in the office each day, making phone calls, sending out emails, and updating as many people in his far-flung business enterprise as he could. Blair had mercifully been able to reach him late Tuesday night in his office on one of the land lines, letting her Daddy know she and two others were on their way home by SUV. He had talked to her around Noon on both Wednesday and Thursday, keeping up with her progress, and filling her in on the status of things in New York.
Friday morning, after an early meeting with his senior officers, making the decision to not open the headquarters until September 24th. They simply needed to give the emergency services a free hand at getting about the city. He had also talked to CEO's at other corporations, and virtually everyone had also indicated they would not open at least until the 24th.
Around 4pm, David set out on a personal errand for his only child.
After a few bites of chicken and swigging down a cold Pepsi, Jo headed back into the large break room and laid down on the full-sized couch in the room. In seconds, she was out cold.
Within seconds, or so she thought, she felt a light shake on her shoulder. "Hey Jo", the dispatcher on duty said gently. "Polniaczek?"
Jo startled awake, eyes wide. "Is somethin' wrong? Do I need..."
The dispatcher shook her head vigorously. "No, no, nothing like that, Jo", she said hurriedly. "You actually have a visitor out in the office."
"A visitor?" Jo couldn't imagine who would visit her right now, especially with everything going on. She knew it wasn't Blair because her Princess would have simply walked back into the break room and waken her without a thought. She shook her head clear, looking at the clock on the wall, surprised that five hours had passed. She rose and walked out into the main precinct office.
Her jaw almost hit the floor. She almost couldn't speak. "D...David?"
David Warner gave Jo a relieved smile, finally seeing her safe. "Hello, Joanna", he said with genuine emotion, "You don't know how happy I am to see you alive and well."
Jo and Blair's father had come a long way from when they first met, as both he and his ex-wife Monica hadn't been too impressed with the former gang member from The Bronx. But David Warner had come to greatly respect Jo over the years, with her intellect, her desire to learn, her devotion to Blair, and her moral code. He had come to think of her as his second daughter.
Jo's emotions broke loose at that moment, David's presence opening up the floodgate of her r aw emotions from the last few days. She walked quickly over to him, David enveloping her in a long, fierce hug. Jo began to sob uncontrollably.
"Oh, God, David", she said through the tears and sobs, "I can't believe any of this has happened. And...and I saw it all. My God, what the hell has happened to the world?"
"Just let it out, Jo", he said, simply allowing her to release the pent-up emotions-the shock, the anger, the horror at all she had seen and endured. "Thank God you made it through this. I've been worried sick about you."
It took about ten minutes for Jo to settle down, David taking her back to the couch. "Wh...what's going on with Blair", she asked the man. "I ain't heard from her since..."
David grabbed her hand. "She and two others left Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon, the L.A office loaned them an SUV to drive back. She should be here tomorrow." That made Jo's eyes light up. David gave her a small smirk.
"She'll be home tomorrow", Jo said, almost to herself. "God I haven't talked to her..."
"Since another lifetime?"
Jo looked over at David. "Yeah, now that I think about it, since another lifetime. I wish I'da talked to her since all this happened, but I couldn't."
"Let me guess, you left your cell phone in your squad car, am I right?"
Despite the horror of the week hitting her full in the face, she smiled sheepishly at him. "Yeah, I always seem to do that. And, as you'd guess the car was flattened..." She almost lost her composure again, but held it, "when the South Tower fell."
"Look Jo", David said, still gently, "I know you and Blair had a fight the night before she left for Los Angeles last week. She told me what it was about, but none of that matters any longer. The world changed forever Tuesday morning, and that fight you and Blair had? Compared what's going on just south of here, and in Washington-hell, throughout the country, it's meaningless now. Right now the best thing for you two to do when she arrives home is to hold each other, and face the future together."
"I think it woulda blown over", Jo pointed out, "but yeah, looking back now, I can always go back to school later. And, yeah, right now, I need Blair like you wouldn't believe." The tears fell again, wishing her blonde lady was with her at that moment.
There was silence for a few moments as they both digested those words.
"Where's Nathan?" David had met Nathan on numerous occasions, and genuinely liked Jo's partner.
"Nobody knows", Jo said, her voice barely audible. "We got split up while directing traffic on the streets, and I ain't seen him since the South Tower..."
She didn't need to say anything else.
"Don't give up yet, Jo. He could be out there, still helping at Ground Zero."
Jo nodded. "They don't call it 'ground zero' down there. The workers just call it 'The Pile'."
That very name sent chills through David Warner. It was an apt description of what he had seen on TV. "Have you really heard anything of what actually happened, Jo?"
"Nah", she shook her head. "My Captain got me outta there about 2pm this afternoon, and after taking a shower, I fell sound asleep."
David filled her in briefly on the coordinated attacks on the two towers, on the Pentagon, and about the crash in Pennsylvania from a fourth plane. He told her that the national airspace had shut down Tuesday morning, and still hadn't been reopened. He let her know that a war was all but certain, once the pieces to the ghastly puzzle had been put together.
"Jesus Christ", Jo breathed when David Warner finished his synopsis. "So they don't know how many people..."
"No, David said softly, "it'll be a while before we know how many people died. But the numbers could be...staggering."
"Well, why I got you here, can I ask you a favor?"