Chapter
13
A Serialized Story of the
Not So Distant Future
August 22, 2005
Part Thirty Eight
"You have one minute remaining." The voice of the police officer came over the bullhorn. In the distance, the deep thrumming of helicopters could be heard approaching.
Terry Hope stepped up to the microphone again. "The cops just ordered the News copters cleared. We believe they're bringing in copters with Acdens on them. There is no way to leave the area, I recommend that everyone just lay down and not resist."
This brought a series of laughs and jeers from the crowd. The helicopters were visible now, and descending between the tall buildings. The beat of their rotors in such a confined space was disturbing enough.
Dawn consulted quickly with her bandmates and leapt down from the stage and made her way over to Sam and Mark.
"Let's try to work our way back to the car." She said.
"Are you nuts?" Mark shouted, "we're completely surrounded." The helicopters were almost deafening now, there were at least 6 of them that Sam could see. The crowd began to get panicky, milling about in every direction, people were looking for ways to take shelter.
There was a crashing sound, but Sam couldn't make out what was going on. He could tell the police were using the megaphones again, but the sound of the helicopters was drowning them out.
There was some movement further south down Broad St., and Sam, Dawn and Mark found themselves moving with flow.
Suddenly, a force like an explosion knocked everyone to the ground. There was no audible sound, but a feeling like you were being torn apart from within. Sam held tightly onto Dawn. Despite the discomfort, he realized, this felt slightly familiar. These weapons were forcing him slightly out of his body!
Sam let go, and moved out completely, his physical form went limp and Dawn yelled his name, holding him tightly. Sam rose quickly up to the great machines. On this level, the ultra low frequency waves simply passed through him. It was an odd sensation, but not an nucomfortable one.
He reached into the projector mounted on the underside of the helicopter. With a little work, it was quickly shorted out. There were two projectors on each copter, and Sam began zipping from one to the other knocking them out.
The cops were just out of range, waiting to sweep in and start making mass arrests. They held something akin to strait jackets rather then handcuffs, but as Sam knocked out the Acdens projectors (he had to remember to ask Dawn what that stood for) people began recovering and scrambling to their feet.
Sam flew back, seeing that Dawn had moved him. "Oh great, I've lost my body." He smirked. People were back on their feet now, most of them were moving southward. Floating above the crowd, Sam could see that the south end of Broad Street was open, but the cops had all exits beyond that cut off, so there was no escape in that direction.
He felt a tug, and realized his body was calling him back. The world became a blur and he realized that he was being sucked into a building whose glass doors had been smashed.
A rent-a-cop was trying to intimidate Dawn, ordering her out of the building, despite the fact that a steady stream of protestors was pouring into the lobby and milling about. Sam opened his eyes and looked around, he saw that Mark was still with them. "Are we in 100 Broad?" Sam asked.
"Yeah." Mark said.
"Are you ok?" Dawn asked.
"Perfect, sorry for the scare. Follow me." He pulled himself to his feet and the guard pointed them towards the broken glass doors through which people were still pushing in.
"This way." Sam indicated an almost hidden door near the main desk. "It's the messenger enterance, it will take us out through the basement of the building."
"You can't go that way." The guard, a thin man of about 30, stamped his foot. "Get out of my building."
"ICE Messenger service." Sam yelled and escorted Mark and Dawn to the basement stairs. The hallway below was deserted and it felt nice to have some elbow room.
"You're not the only one with secret exits." Sam told Dawn lightly.
"They've got Wall Street cut off from every end, but this will get us out to Pearl. From there we can make a dash to Water St. and the car."
"Excellent." Dawn said.
"Do you really think we can get away?" Mark asked. "Maybe we should lay low here for a while."
"With Captain Hotfoot upstairs? Not a chance." Sam said.
They exited onto Pearl St., other protestors had found their way there as well. This worried Sam at first, but he realized that with more people around, the cops would be less likely to single them out. One of the Acden helicopters flew over, gaining altitude as it flew. The pilots must have figured out that they're weapons were no longer working, and were heading back to their base.
Looking back towards Broad St., it sounded like things were getting ugly with the cops. Sam saw a handful of people emerging from McGinty's Tavern.
"Wow, I'm amazed McGinty's is still in business." Sam said.
"Does anyone know if the Pearl Street station is open?" The man was in his twenties with a shaved head. He was traveling with five other people. Sam briefly thought that the man looked more suited to Dawn than he did.
"I doubt it." Dawn said, "they've had lots of time to shut down all the exits."
"What about the people in all these office buildings? They have to be let out somehow?"
"I'm guessing they're going to sit tight, until the excitement's over." Sam said.
They reached the corner of Water St. and Pearl. There were walls of cops in each direction about a block away, but there were none between Sam, Dawn, and Mark and the car.
"Amazing." Mark said.
"We're not out of here yet, they still might stop the car." Sam said.
They crossed the street and Dawn popped her wig out of the trunk for good measure.
"You drive Sam, you still have that old timer look going." Dawn said.
"Actually, my license is expired, so you should probably drive."
"Good thought."
"Don't get on Water St., go under the FDR and we'll pray that the entrance ramps aren't blocked." Sam said.
Dawn pulled out, and drove north under the highway. There were no police to be seen, Dawn got on the FDR which had a moderate amount of traffic moving. "I guess the Battery Tunnel is still open." She said.
They got onto the Brooklyn Bridge and made their way back to Brooklyn. "Let's stop at the Red Eye and see what's going on." Dawn said.
"Hey Mark, where do you live anyway?" Sam asked.
"Queens." He said softly.
"Don't worry, we'll get you home." Dawn said.
Sam's cell phone began ringing. He picked it up, knowing immediately that it was his Mom.
"Sam, are you alright?"
"Fine Mom, why?" He winked at Dawn.
"You're not in Manhattan are you? There's a riot downtown."
"No Mom, I'm in Brooklyn. I'm with Dawn, we're going to drive our friend Mark home and then go out for some dinner."
"Ok." He could hear the relief in her voice. "I just worried that you might have gotten caught. You know you're still weak Sam."
"I know Mom. I'll see you later."
"At least you didn't have to lie to her." Dawn said. They were cruising through downtown Brooklyn now.
"Mark, would you rather go home now, or you can come hang out with us at the Red Eye for a while." Dawn said.
"Yeah, that sounds alright. I've never been to the Red Eye." Mark said.
Dawn parked the car and they walked into the Red Eye, it was only about 6:00, so there were no crowds yet. As they went through the doorway, the RFID sensor went off.
"Busted!" Stubs yelled.
"Oh Crap, I think it's my cell phone." Sam said. "Your Dad told me to get a new one."
"Oh yeah, you'll definitely want to get rid of that thing." Dawn said.
"I'm surprised you guys aren't downtown." Stubs said.
"We just came from there. By the way, this is Mark, we met him at the rally. Mark this is Stubs, the bartender is Dave and the guy watching the TV there is Shotzie."
"Hey." Mark said rather meekly.
"Whatcha drinking Mark?" Dawn said.
"Uh, just a selzter right now. I'm a little dehydrated."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Dave, let me get a seltzer, a coke and a two cranberry juices."
"Drinking for two Dawnie?" Stubs asked.
"Nah, it's for you, bonehead. So what's the story downtown?"
Shotzie turned around: "Well according to Fox News, an armed terrorist group used the rally as a cover to seize several office buildings and take hostages."
"Any real accounts?" Dawn asked.
"Nope. You guys are the first escapees to arrive." Shotzie said, "why don't you tell us what's happening."
Dawn and Sam relayed their story, although Sam left out why the Acden copters failed.
"Oh yeah, what the heck does Acden mean anyway?" Sam asked.
"That's ACDENS actually." Stubs said, "it stands for Active Denial System. The army started using it about 10 years ago, and the cops picked it up a little while after that. They even have portable ones, but they're the size of a bazooka."
"It's horrible." Sam said, "I'm glad Dawn got me into a building."
"Yeah, I've felt'em too." Shotzie said, "they used'm on us at a Veteran's Day protest a few years back. Once again they cut our retirement fund. Dumbass W made the mistake of saying that there were too many surviving veterans to pay for."
Sam chuckled. "Yeah, he made some brilliant remarks even before my coma."
"Coma?" Mark asked.
Sam briefly explained his past to Mark.
"Dawn. Would you write it up for the Infranet?" Dave asked. "I can get it on the wall for everyone later."
"Of course." Dawn said with a familiar air. She took out her PDA and a foldout keyboard and began typing.
"Wow, dude you're like a Walk In." Mark said.
"What's a Walk In?" Sam asked.
"They're souls that take over willing bodies when the owner of the body is too ill to carry on by themselves."
"Hmm, well I think that I'm still me." Sam said.
"Some people don't realize they've changed until years later." Mark said.
"Hm, well I doubt it." Sam said.
A phone rang behind the bar, Dave picked it up saying: "Red Eye! Yeah, what's up George where are you? The Ferry? Oh SHIT!"
"They hijacked the Staten Island Ferry!" Dave shouted. Everyone just stared, they didn't know whether this was a cause for celebration or not."
"Yeah, uh huh, yeah she's here. Hold on." Dave looked up at Dawn. "Dawn is your dad available? The whole lot of them are likely to be charged as terrorists when they reach harbor."
"I'm not sure." Dawn said, "last I knew he was in Ohio."
"Hey! Somethnings going on in San Francisco as well." Shotzie said. A quick camera shot showed the Golden Gate Bridge being blocked by people chained together across the lanes. "They're saying that it wasn't as big or violent as the 'terrorism' in New York City though."
Dave hung up the phone shaking his head. "I don't believe it. Apparently, the whole crowd started moving south as the cops moved in on them. George said that the Acdens were only on for a few seconds, so people weren't weakened enough to arrest. I'll bet someone loses their job over that little mistake."
"What about the Ferry?" Stubs asked.
"Yeah, well like I said everyone started heading south, and at that moment the Ferry was coming in. Apparently nobody thought to stop the ferry runs when the protestors rurned up. So several hundred people swarmed onto the ferry way ahead of the cops. And then it took off. George doesn't know who's controlling it or even where it's going, but the protestors have rechristened it: "The Pirate Ship Revenge!
"Inconceivable!" Stubs shouted with glee.
Sam looked a bit confused.
"It's from the 'The Princess Bride'" Mark explained, "it's a movie from the 80's."
"Oh yeah. I think I saw it once." Sam said.
"Here's the news!" Shotzie said, turning up the volume.
"The same terrorists who used the cover of an anti-war rally to seize several Manhattan office buildings and hold their occupants hostage, have now seized one of the Staten Island Ferries in a desparate attempt to escape." A helicopter showed a Ferry packed wall to wall with people, many of them waving up at the helicopter.
"As you can see, the Ferry passengers are crying out for help. It's believed that the terrorists have taken the Ferry operator hostage and will shoot him if the police come too close. It should be noted here that docking a ferry is a very complicated manuever, and these terrorists are likely to injure dozens, if not hundreds of the passengers wherever they attempt to dock."
"Notice they're not zooming in." Dave said, "George told me it's one huge party going on there."
Dawn got off the phone. "My dad's still in Ohio, but his secretary is calling some ACLU lawyers to make sure they know about it."
"He was also really glad to know that you and I got out safely." Dawn said to Sam.
The TV screen changed scenes and they showed cops trying to control thousands of protestors. Police barricades had been flattened everywhere. The sheer numbers of people had overwhelmed the cops forcing them into taking more defensive postures. The cameras focused on one area where the protest had turned violent. The cops were firing tear gas cannisters into the crowd. As the protestors scattered, the uniformed figures of two fallen policemen could be seen.
"Damn! It's never good for us when things get that bad." Dawn said.
"What can they possibly do with that many?" Sam asked.
"Most of them will just be let go." Dawn said. "But anyone with a record or if their a 'person of interest' for any reason, they'll be held for at least a day, and possibly charged if they can pin something on them."
Dawn went back to typing up her account.
"So, where is Fix tonight?" Sam asked Stubs.
"He's probably at the protest." Stubs said, "he's usually working some tech angle behind the scenes."
"I hope he's alright." Sam said.
"He'll be fine. I swear he knows how to turn invisible."
"Hey, their updating the ferry." Shotzie said.
"We're high above the hijacked Staten Island Ferry, we can't get any closer due to the danger of being fired upon by the hijackers." The ferry was a small slow moving yellow blurb, being flanked by several ships on either side.
"There seems to be some debate between the police and the Coast Guard as to who is in charge of this unique situation. The police are currently surrounding the ferry, guiding it towards it's proper Staten Island harbor. The Coast Guard on the other hand has mobilized their anti-terrorist fleet, possibly with the intent to board the ferry and rescue the hostages." The screen shifted to another helicopter image of a what looked like a Destroyer, being flanked by several other Coast Guard vessels.
"Geez, has the Coast Guard always been so well armed?" Sam asked.
"It's the new National Guard for rich kids." Mark said. "Since National Guardsmen can get sent into war now, the elite have their kids do their years in the Coast Guard, protecting our shores from giant squid and man eating dolphins."
"Ah, so capturing a terrorist controlled Ferry would make some good PR." Sam said.
"Yup. When a cruise ship was actually hijacked a few years back, the Navy somehow turned up before the Coast Guard could get themselves activated." Mark added.
"What a world." Sam said, finishing his Coke. "Anyone else want another drink?" Sam went up to the bar and watched as Dave was adjusting a radio. A faint voice was coming through the fuzzy static.
"Damn!" Dave said, they're just a little too far away.
"What is that?" Sam asked.
"Pirate radio." Dave said. "They move around all the time to keep from getting caught. We could get some real reports from downtown from these guys." He sighed and gave up, "what can I get ya?"
Author's note: I'm currently taking some strong antibiotics which are making it hard for me to focus. This will probably cause a delay in the next installment, and for that I apologize. Even though the installments have been fewer and far between lately, it's not because I have lost interest in the story, but instead I've had lots of other projects going on and I've had trouble managing my time.
posted by John at 1:01 PM | link |
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