Chapter
13
A Serialized Story of the
Not So Distant Future
June 23, 2005
Part Thirty Three
The limo driver was standing by the side of the car and opened the passenger door for Sam and Dawn as they came outside. The man was at least 6 foot 4 inches and 300 lbs, with dark hair and a stoic expression.
"Good afternoon Sir, Madam."
"Cut it out Ricky." Dawn said, "this is Sam, he's another VIP."
Ricky cracked a smile. "Sorry Dawn, whenever new customers are around I'm supposed to do things by the book."
They got in the car which was a high end limo. The seats were butter soft, there was a mini bar, television and a mini-computer as well.
"I'm a VIP?" Sam asked as Dawn pulled the door closed.
"It's a code, it means the Hosers are watching. If necessary, Ricky will try to lose them for us, this service caters to stars, politicians, and anyone else who likes their privacy. They guarantee that there are no listening devices in their cars and their GPS trackers are privately scrambled."
Sam took one of their cards out of a small dispenser, "I suppose I might be needing them in the future."
"Do you still want to come to my house?" Dawn asked, "I'll understand if you're too tired from everything."
"No, I'm fine really. Actually," he said looking into her eyes and stroking her hand, "I'm feeling pretty good." They snuggled against each other and rode in silence the rest of the way.
Dawn's family lived in a condo on the 9th floor of a 12 story building. There was a doorman to greet them on the way in and there was thick carpeting in the hallway. They held hands as they got onto the elevator which was playing a Muzac version of "Stairway to Heaven."
They reached Dawn's floor and went left to 9D. Dawn unlocked the door and they were greeted by 15 pounds of wiggling fluff.
"Hi Animal!" Dawn picked him up and Animal started furiously licking her face. "This is Sam, Sam this is Animal."
Animal was a black and white Shih-Tzu with a ton of fluffy hair. Dawn put him on the floor and he danced circles around Sam, sniffing his feet and wagging his tail. Sam pet him a few times, but Animal was a little shy, running back from his hand and then bounding forward at his feet.
"Dawn?" It was a woman's voice coming from one of the other rooms.
"Hi Mom, I brought company."
A few seconds later a woman wearing an oversized t shirt and jeans came into the room. "I wish you had called first Dawn, I'm a wreck. Hi I'm Gail, Dawn's mother."
Sam could see the resemblance, particularly in their eyes. Gail was a little smaller than Dawn, with short blonde hair and a big smile.
"Sam Quinn."
"Oh, so your Sam, I've heard a lot about you the last few days."
"All good I hope."
"Of course, can I get you something to drink?"
"Actually," Dawn said, "after the afternoon we've had I think we should break open a pint."
"You better tell me, oh my God you've got a mark on the side of your face!" Gail said.
"I know Mom, it's a long story." Dawn said.
They went into the kitchen and Sam was a little surprised to see that Dawn meant a pint of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream (at least they hadn't changed in the last 10 years). The three of them split two pints, combining New York Super Fudge Chunk with Mint Cookies. They related their afternoon's adventures, Dawn's mother looked a bit nervous. Animal was under the table squirming around between everyone's feet.
"I wish you'd let me buy you a car Dawn. I don't like you riding the subways."
"Please Mom, cars are such a hassle in the city. I couldn't even afford to pay the parking fees around here, never mind the insurance and gas."
"I guess I'll have to go through the whole license process again." Sam said, "mine has been expired for about eight years now."
"Well for the next week or so, you two had better stay out of the subways, Dawn I can rent you a car." Gail said.
"Time for a hair change as well." Dawn said, "maybe if I dye it neon yellow..."
"I'm sure they'll never recognize you." Sam said. "I'll go lime green myself."
"I can do that you know, I have some lime green in the bathroom." Dawn teased.
"You'd give my poor mother a heart attack." Sam said, "she's still getting used to me being awake again."
"It must have been so hard on her." Gail said, "I've had patients die over the years, but I've never had go comatose, the waiting must be awful."
"Mom's a gynaecologist." Dawn explained.
They finished their ice cream and moved into the living room. Sam noticed some pictures of Dawn on a shelf of the entertainment center.
"Wow, look at you." He said, "this must be your high school graduation."
"Yeah, I was quite the conservative little student." Dawn said. "Straight A's, perfect attendence, etc..."
"Is this one your college graduation? Your hair is darker, but much less pink then it is now." Sam said. Aside from the hair, Dawn's face looked no different from the year that photo had been taken.
"Mm, hmm. Even in college I was still the model student."
"So when..." Sam was afraid of saying the wrong thing.
"When did I turn into the anarchist punk poster child you see before you?" She stuck her tongue out at Sam. "Believe it or not it was during graduate school."
"Wow. With your Dad in the ACLU, I would have thought you were a radical from the time you got out of diapers."
"Well, I was always outspoken. I was editor of the school paper in college, and always stood up for what was right, but I used to believe that in order to be taken seriously I had to look and act a certain way."
"And then?" Sam asked.
"And then I joined the 'real world' outside of school." She said. "I had a degree in psychology, and I was working towards my doctorate, and I got a job with the school system evaluating the so-called troubled children."
She looked down towards the floor as she remembered. "I had these grand illusions that if I could listen to these kids and help them sort out their feelings, they would all become perfect little students like I was."
"What happened?"
"I never even got the chance. The system wasn't interested in helping these kids, it was interested in selling drugs. I was given a half an hour with a kid, I'd write a diagnosis and then the District Psychiatrist would write a prescription based on my report. After three months I was supposed to re-evaluate the student's progress, if there was no improvement, they upped the dosage."
"As soon as some kid was bored in class they were looking to diagnose him as ADD so that he could be slapped on Pronex or whatever the latest 'attention enhancer' is."
"I began to fight back, I filed protests all the way up to the AMA and wrote articles about my experiences. I quickly discovered that I was far from the only person who was fighting the system, and I also found out that there were consequences."
"What kind of consequences?" Sam asked.
"It started with a couple of informal chats with my own guidance counselors. The sort of 'you're too young to make these sorts of judgements' speeches, designed to gently push me back into the fold. When that didn't work, I was fired from the program and given failing marks in all my grades. It was the first time I had failed anything in my life, and I was devastated by it."
Dawn smiled a nervous smile, she was clearly embarassed by what she was saying. "It was a real eye opener. I realized how much of my own self esteem had been dependent on the approval of others. I used to scorn the girls who wrapped their whole identities around their boyfriends, never realizing that I was doing the same exact thing with my own authority figures."
"Wow."
"So I dropped out to find myself, and began playing with different looks. I had learned guitar as a kid, and I took it up again. I started writing songs, I discovered this whole creative side that I had never really let out before. In some ways, I feel like I'm still finding out who I am, but I could never go back to that perfect little girl that I was."
"I think you kept the best parts of her." Sam said, "you just took away her blinders." He sat on the couch next to her, holding her hand.
"Thanks." She, leaned over and kissed him. A moment later Animal took a flying leap onto both of their laps, determined not to be left out. Whle they were petting him, Sam's phone rang.
"Hello." Sam said.
"Sam," it was Martha, "there are police here, they have a warrant for your arrest."
"Cops have a warrant for me." He said to Dawn.
"It was self defense Mom, I'll take care of it."
At the same time there was a knock on the door, followed by a voice saying: "This is the police, we have a warrant!" Gail opened the door, and was met by two cops, a man and a woman pressing their way in.
"How do you feel about jail house romances?" Sam joked.
Dawn gave him one last kiss before the cops could separate them.
"I've got Dad on the phone Dawn."
"Thanks Mom."
"Officer, Sam Quinn is physically disabled." Gail said.
The officer, a woman with close cropped dark hair and thick eyebrows just rolled her eyes and said. "Yes Ma'am, I hear you."
Sam and Dawn were handcuffed, although not too roughly. Neither of them offered any resistance as the two police officers led them out to the elevators.
"What's the charge?" Sam asked.
"Assault on a minor." The woman answered.
"Does it matter that they actually assaulted us?" Sam asked.
"You can make your statement and file counter charges at the precinct sir."
"Okay."
Dawn was just looking at the floor of the elevator. "I'm so sorry I got you into this." She said.
"Hey, if I never met you, I'd still be getting the third degree from Dean and his buddy."
The trip down to the precinct was uncomfortable, although Dawn managed to lean against Sam as they rode. Once in the precinct they were separated into two rooms and allowed to give their statements.
Sam waited for about half an hour before a short, sweaty, bald man came in. He reeked of cigarettes and his teeth were yellowed by nicotine.
"Mr. Quinn, I am Lt. Morgan, I'll be investigating your case. I've got statements here from four boys who claim that you and Dawn Weinstien assaulted them earlier today. They claim that it was Miss Weinstien who started by kicking Salvatore Matliano in the genitals."
"That only happened after one of them tried to push Dawn on the tracks." Sam said.
"Yes, I've read your account, however, your friend Dawn has claimed that it was you who made the first move by shoulder butting one of the boys and inciting them."
"Oh please, Dawn didn't say that." Sam said.
"Mr. Quinn, if you want to change your statement, we might be able to lessen the charges against you."
Sam looked directly into Lt. Morgan's eyes: "I'm not saying another word until my lawyer is here."
"Suit yourself." The man got up and left the room. A moment later two uniformed officers came in.
"What now?" Sam asked.
"Central booking." One of the officers said and then jail until your arraignment."
Sam looked around for Dawn but he couldn't see her as he was being led out, he was out the door and on the steps to the police station when they were intercepted by another man in a suit.
"Officer, bring that prisoner back inside please."
The new man was African-American. He stood about six feet tall and had a deep booming voice. He had an intimidating presence and Sam wondered if this was another Hoser agent.
The officers led Sam back inside and the new man ordered them to put him back in the Interrogation Room. Even through the rooms insulated walls, Sam could here the booming voice of the newer man arguing with another.
Finally the new man, came into the room. Sam could see the anger in the man's face, but his voice was full of a resigned calm.
"Mr. Quinn, my name is James Trevor, I am the District Attorney for the city of Brooklyn. We have eyewitness testimonies which corroberate yours and Ms. Weinstien's stories, I have a couple of questions for you and then you will be free to go."
"Oh, sure." Sam wondered if Dawn's father had already come to their rescue.
"The man who interrogated you earlier, how did he identify himself?"
"You mean Lt. Morgan?"
"Yes sir."
"He said that he was Lt. Morgan and that he was investigating my case."
"That was all?"
"Yes sir."
"At any point, did he mention that he was a Federal agent, and not a NYC police officer?"
"No sir."
"Thank you Mr. Quinn. You are free to go."
"Um," Sam indicated his cuffed hands.
"Oh, sorry, an officer will get those off you promptly."
He held the door open for Sam, and once outside he was freed. Dawn was waiting for him. They hugged and walked out into the evening air.
"My mom's coming to pick us up." Dawn said.
"That's good, I should probably go home though, my Mom will be freaking out. Two arrests in two days will be much to much for her."
"So did Lt. Morgan try to turn you against me?" Sam asked.
"Huh, no after they took my statement I was alone the whole time. What did they say to you?
"He told me that you said I started it." Sam said, "then he offerred to lessen my sentence if I would change my statement."
"Those bastards."
"I guess you're a hotter target than I am." Sam said. "You would look cute in a prison jumpsuit."
Dawn smiled, "actually I wore one for a halloween costume last year."
"Thanks." She said hugging him.
"For what?"
"Not believing them."
"Never in a million years." Sam said.
posted by John at 11:15 PM | link |
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