Author: Tipper
Disclaimer: The original Mag 7 belong to someone else.
AU: NYC AU (a.k.a. EA AU)
Note: Answer to Violette's challenge. The elements: a chase, three modes of transportation and at least two of the following words--chocolate, barefoot, pillow, blackberry, glue, tree, purple, cat. I squeezed in blackberry, tree and purple.
Note Two: For fic's sake, their walkie-talkies can work underground (mostly). Cops' do, so I figured, what the hey.
Warning: Loads of swearing.
Its very
Description: ALL SEVEN
are running around
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PROLOGUE: THE EASY PART
They say
On Sunday mornings between
Especially when it rains.
It was raining today.
Josiah held tightly onto the girl's shoulders as they walked silently down West 4th, feeling her shivering against the chill of the cold autumn rain. Her shivering worsened as a consequence of his touch, and he realized it wasn't just the rain causing it. It was her fear.
She was finally confronting the monster who had been pimping her for the last nine months. Three months to
make up for the money she'd lost gambling in
The bastard in question this time was Meng Zhi Han, a.k.a. Manny Z, a henchman for one of downtown's biggest scumbags: Rupert Browner.
A month ago, the girl learned that Browner had ordered Manny's murder for embezzlement, sending the pimp into hiding. When Browner learned of the disappearance, he had all Manny's girls beaten to make sure none of them knew where the bastard was.
Then, a week ago, Manny had contacted her, asking for money,
or he'd "turn her in to INS." Terrified about getting in
between Browner, Manny and being deported back to
Zhang had told her about the Larabee detective agency.
And Chris had brought in the Sanchez & Standish law office.
The plan was simple. Catch Manny. Convince him to inform on Browner. Then trade him and his information to the FBI in return for protection and an immigration hearing for the girl.
This was the easy part….
Catch Manny.
________________________________
PART
ONE:
Still shivering, the girl pressed herself deeply into the older lawyer's tight embrace, letting him keep her both warm and feeling somewhat safe. Not totally safe, but somewhat.
Around them
The rain pelted down around them where they settled onto a cold, metal bench near the empty chess tables, the water sluicing off the granite tops, making the black squares appear liquid in the gray shifting light.
She blinked, trying to keep her eyes looking out rather then down at the ground beneath her feet.
Josiah gave her a small squeeze, "he'll be here. Even with this rain, he'll be here."
She sniffed and nodded, looking up, her dark eyes the same color as the sidewalk. "I know." Manny would come for the money she'd promised him. He was desperate.
The walkie talkie inside Josiah's jacket came to life: "Josiah?"
The lawyer pulled it out and lifted it to his lips: "Yeah, Ezra?"
"Just got an email on my blackberry from my friend at the Bureau. If we can bring in Manny, and he's cooperative, they'll work the deal."
Josiah smiled, hugging the girl closer. "That's great," he said into the walkie talkie. "Nice job." He lowered the walkie talkie, then lifted it again as a new voice floated over it.
"Josiah." It was Buck's voice this time.
"Yeah?"
"Lone Chinese man just walked up LaGuardia. He's entering the park."
"Okay. Thanks, Buck."
The girl stiffened, and looked to her left. Josiah instinctively held tighter.
______________________________
Buck uncurled from the ball he was in, lying on the sidewalk over a heat grate, shaking off the sogging wet blanket. The homeless man he'd been sharing it with glanced at him as he moved, then closed his eyes again.
"Want the blanket?" Buck asked softly, looking down at him.
"If you're giving it away," came the soft response, "sure."
"Here," the detective draped the wet blanket over the man's shoulders, then stood up fully, shaking droplets of water from his dark hair and smoothing it back away from his face.
His eyes narrowed as he looked towards where the single
Chinese man was now veering left through the park, headed towards the corner
with the chess tables. Shifting his gaze, Buck looked towards the far
side of the fountain, towards where Chris was leaning casually inside the
arch. Besides being dry, he had a perfect view of the whole park and
Buck lifted the walkie talkie again: "Nate?"
"If he heads towards University,
"Good. Ez?"
"McDougal and the A/C/E are covered, and don't call me Ez." Even over the static, Ezra's voice sounded smooth. Buck had to smile at that.
"Good. Kid?"
"Sitting in your jeep on
He was right. Buck smiled.
"Good job, kid. Keep your head down in case he goes that way. Vin?"
"Not escaping back the way he came, Bucklin."
"Right. That's as good a pen as we can get. Josiah?"
"Quiet. He's walking towards us."
Buck lowered the walkie talkie from his lips and pulled up the collar of his jacket around his neck to ward off the rain running down his neck to his back.
Behind him, the bells atop the University church rang eight times.
As if on cue, a horn blared loudly somewhere in the direction of Broadway, and the sounds of traffic speeding down 6th became clear. The City was waking up again.
Okay, the detective thought to himself, psyching himself up. Here we go.
_________________________________
Manny walked slowly up to the bench, frowning slightly at seeing the girl with someone else. He considered walking past and ignoring them both. Then his dark eyes caught the black nylon bag at her feet, and his breath quickened.
The money.
The way to freedom.
The girl looked up as he approached, and Manny slowed down, stopping only when he was directly in front of them.
"Who is this?" he snarled, staring hard at Josiah.
"A friend," the lawyer assured. "I can be yours as well."
"Not likely. That the money, doll?"
The girl tensed, her shivering becoming more violent as the pimp raked his eyes over her. Between the gray light and paleness of his skin, she felt like she was looking at a dead person.
Or maybe it was Death himself.
"I'm a lawyer, Manny," Josiah said softly, drawing Manny's gaze again. "We can make a deal with the police about Browner. Turn evidence against him, and…."
"Tell me that's the money, doll, or I'm killing the old
man and turning you in now." Manny's eyes switched again to the
girl, "You'll be back in
"Don't listen to him," Josiah hissed, feeling the girl's shaking increase. Calmly, the lawyer let the girl go and stood up to face down the Chinese man, not missing the way she instantly gripped a handful of the back of his tan raincoat, as if afraid to lose him. Manny was tall and slender; he matched Josiah's height easily.
"Turn yourself in, Meng," the lawyer whispered, his voice barely audible above the rain, "and we'll…."
"I didn't come here to talk, old man!" Manny spat, pulling out a knife from behind his back. "Back off and give me that bag, now."
Josiah sighed, looked down at the bag by the girl's feet, then back at Manny. With another sigh, he reached down as if to grab the handles.
Perhaps it was something in his motion. Something that showed him to be false. Whatever it was, Manny suddenly freaked out. With a shout, the pimp shoved Josiah sideways into the bench, causing the lawyer to fall awkwardly over the girl, her scream echoing through the park. With surprising quickness, Manny grabbed the bag and then started running back the way he came.
Buck stopped, seeing the pimp running directly towards him, and crouched down.
"You're not going anywhere, Manny!" he shouted.
The Chinese man never broke stride, he simply veered left, jumped over the grate, circled the dog park, slid between the trees, and headed towards 5th.
"Chris!" Buck yelled, running after him, "He's coming your way!"
Chris was already halfway there, watching as Manny leapt over another short iron railing and back onto the sidewalk. Spotting Chris running towards him, the Chinese man backtracked, pulling something from inside his jacket.
"Gun!" Chris shouted, diving to one side just as the shots rang out.
The detective scrambled, getting cover behind a tree. Pulling out his own gun, he heard Manny fire off a few more shots before stopping, probably aiming at Buck.
Risking a look, Chris poked his head out from behind the
tree…and swore. Manny was running down
"SHIT!"
__________________________________
How the hell did he see me? JD thought stupidly as Manny wrenched the jeep's door open and leveled his gun at where the young man had been lying sideways on the jeep's seat.
"Start it up! Now!"
Pushing himself upright quickly, JD did as he was told, turning the engine over as Manny jumped into the passenger seat. The Chinese man looked behind him out the back window, but never lowered his gun. JD stared at it, then at the wild eyes of the hunted man. Manny turned his black eyes back to the kid's.
"Go up 6th. Penn Station. Go. Now!"
JD nodded, releasing his grip on the walkie talkie hidden by his side.
___________________________________
Ezra didn't even think after he heard the words "Penn
Station" over the com. He just ran for the subway and jumped down
the wet steps, thanking whoever was watching from above that he didn't slip on
them. Hitting the bottom, he skidded up to the turnstiles and slipped
through, running down the long ramp and grinning at the sound of a train's
brakes being released. The subway's doors were sliding shut as he hit
them, but he managed to squeeze himself inside. As he did so, he heard
Chris shout over the walkie talkie that they all head
towards
"On the A train," he breathed into the walkie talkie, before sliding into a seat. A couple of NYU students slid down away from him, watching him warily.
______________________________________
"Yo, Taxi!" Chris
shouted, waving at the yellow cab making its way down 5th. The cab pulled
up next to him, and the detective jumped inside. As he did so, he felt
Buck push in behind him. Grabbing his walkie
talkie, he yelled orders to Vin and Nathan and Ezra to
meet them at
"Penn Station?" the cabbie asked, hearing the orders.
"Just go!" Buck barked back.
"On the A train," Ezra soft voice informed them over the static of the walkie.
"Just running into the N/R," Nathan's disembodied voice also told them.
"Heading towards
_____________________________________
PART TWO:
JD gritted his teeth, weaving from side to side through the quickly growing traffic. Manny still held his gun on him, but he was also now holding onto the door handle. Kid drove like a maniac.
Then the pimp noticed the Sox cap on the kid's head.
Oh.
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"There! Follow that jeep!" Buck pointed to the black SUV weaving through the yellow cabs heading up the wide avenue.
"You serious?" the cabbie asked, looking back at the men in the back seat in the mirror.
"Hell yes, I'm serious! Follow them. Get on their bumper now!"
"But," the cabbie's voice warbled, "the light is turning—they've beaten it. I can't…."
"Two hundred bucks!"
The cabbie gunned the engine, shooting them through the red light seconds after it turned, ignoring the blaring of horns.
"Wahoo!" Buck shouted, unable to resist. Chris pressed a hand against the plexiglass barrier to brace himself, but he too was smiling despite himself.
______________________________________
JD glanced into the mirror, spotting the yellow cab bearing down on them fast.
Manny saw the change in expression on the kid's face and turned around to look out the back window. He frowned when he saw the speeding cab.
"Faster!" he ordered. "No red lights!"
JD pressed the accelerator down, grimacing as he did so. Seconds later, he was wrenching the wheel to avoid a handful of people trying to cross the street. Manny buried himself back into the passenger seat, his hold on the door handle tightening.
______________________________________
"That guy's crazy!" the cabbie called, jerking the wheel as he attempted to keep up with the swerving jeep. "He'll tip that thing over if he keeps this up!"
"Just keep up with him," Buck hissed, both hands gripping the vinyl seat separating him from the driver in front. Chris had finally released his brace on the plexiglass, and was now gripping the door handle.
"He's going to Penn, right?" the cabbie was watching the side roads whipping past on their left. "He's going to have to turn left soon. Get over to 8th."
"He knows," Buck said.
"You sure? You know, maybe we can cut them off? Cut over there now and…."
"No!" Buck growled, "Stay with them."
_______________________________________
"I have to turn left," JD said, glancing at the rear view again at the cab. Manny swiveled in his seat, glancing at the cab, then nodded.
"Anywhere, I don't care where."
"29th?"
"Yeah."
"Okay." The kid grinned slightly as he swerved from the far right lane across four lanes of traffic. Manny yelled, pressing himself back into the seat as the jeep felt like it was being lifted up on two wheels. Horns blared and people screamed in the background, which only made JD smile wider.
__________________________________________
"Ack!" The cabbie's squeal and sudden swerve crashed both men in the back seat into each other, "He's taking 29th!" The yellow cab dove across the same four lanes, ignoring the same horns and screams.
"GeroffmeBuck!" a voice shouted from underneath the detective. Reaching for the handle over the left hand door, Buck pulled himself off his partner. The tall blond was literally squashed against the left hand door, only pulling himself out as the cabbie settled the car back in place.
"Ain't gonna be out-driven by no frikken SUV, goddamnit," the man spat. "Not in my city!"
Buck arched an eyebrow at Chris, but his partner simply kept his eyes on the road ahead.
__________________________________________
Manny was turned halfway in the seat, breathing hard and staring at the daredevil turn the cab made behind them. JD had his eyes on the rear-view mirror as well, smiling slightly to see they'd been kept up with.
29th was narrow single lane cross street, cars parked on
both sides of the road. JD shot between the parked cars expertly, aiming
for the green light he could see on
With a squeal of tires, the SUV dove across 7th just as the light turned yellow.
Both men looked behind them again, watching as the cab very obviously either caught the end of the yellow, or ran the red, to keep up with them.
As such, neither saw the moving truck parked with its hazards on in the middle of 29th straight ahead of them.
Returning his eyes to the road, JD suddenly shouted in horror, both feet slamming down on the brakes. Manny slammed forward into the dashboard, his gun flying from his hand.
_____________________________________________
"Truck!" the cabbie shouted, slamming his foot on the brake a couple of seconds before the jeep figured it out. Chris and Buck were both thrown forward, but not badly enough to do more than jostle them. Then Chris was pushing his way out of the cab, his gun out. Buck held up a finger at the cabbie, as if telling him to wait, then jumped out of his own door.
"Hey!" the cabbie called, "What about my money?"
_____________________________________________
Manny stared at the gun now sitting in JD's lap, then gave a weak laugh as JD looked up from the same weapon and into the Chinese man's wild eyes. Then Manny looked behind him, saw Chris lurch out of the cab's door.
Without a word, Manny just opened his door, grabbed the black bag at his feet, and took off running, leaving the gun and the kid behind.
JD let out a breath and leaned his head against the wheel, to which his hands were still glued. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chris run past the open passenger side door after Manny.
At almost the same moment, the driver's side door was wrenched open.
"You okay?" Buck asked, grabbing JD's arm.
JD looked back at him, still trying to calm his heart rate down. After a moment, he nodded, a small smile on his face.
"Yeah. Actually, it was kinda fun. Oh," he looked down at the gun still in his lap, "he dropped his gun."
Buck grinned and reached in to pat JD's shoulder. "Nice job kid."
"Didn't do it on purpose," the kid chuckled weakly, "but I'll take the compliment."
"Ahem," the cabbie had gotten out as well, and was standing behind Buck now, "my money?"
"Oh, here," Buck pulled out a wad of money from
his wallet and shoved it at JD. "Pay the man kid. I said two
hundred, but I think he deserves more, don't you? Can't be easy to keep
up with a
The cabbie walked forward, his mouth slightly agape as he watched Buck take off. Then he looked back at the kid. JD had finally released his hands from the wheel, and was now plucking at the money on his lap. Gingerly, his right hand picked up the gun by the very bottom of its handle and placed it to one side.
"How much?" he asked, not looking up.
The cabbie grinned, "You know," he said, leaning against the open door, "thought you were gonna tip over back there a couple of time. You should get yourself a real car next time. One that corners."
JD glanced back at him, then grinned. "Next time?"
The cabbie laughed.
__________________________________________
PART THREE: PENN STATION
Manny pounded up the sidewalk, hitting 8th and swerving tightly to his right to avoid barreling into the sudden increase in foot traffic. The rain had slowed to a drizzle, and the people were responding.
In front of him, he could see the electric billboard sitting
on
Chris was close behind, running in the Chinese man's wake, trying to ignore the stabbing pain in his knees as he ran down the sidewalk. Damn, he was getting too old for this! Behind him, he could hear Buck yelling at people to get out of his way as well.
___________________________________________
Some ways behind his partner, Buck pulled the walkie talkie from his raincoat and opened up a channel.
"Ezra! Vin! Nathan! Where are you!" the detective shouted.
"I'm at Penn," Ezra replied first. "Just inside the entrance to the A/C/E. Where are you? Is he here yet?"
"He's on foot, probably going under by the Garden, right on top of you. See if you can cut him off. Nathan? Vin?"
"Just hit
Buck nodded, and winced as he saw Chris nearly bowl over a young woman in a purple coat, laughing slightly at the string of invectives she promptly threw at his back. Remembering his purpose, he put the walkie talkie to his lips again, "Vin?"
"Still…sub….JD?...." Vin's transmission was nearly inaudible, probably because he was too deep underground.
"S'fine." Buck clicked the device off, his eyes narrowing as Manny dodged around cars to get across 32nd.
__________________________________
Chris was oblivious to everything but the back of Manny's jacket, focused only on catching up with it. He didn't even notice he was off the sidewalk and halfway across the intersection until the squeal of brakes and a horn assaulted his ears, and something hard slammed into his right leg. The next thing he knew, he was rolling on the wet pavement, his gun sliding across the blacktop away from his hands. When he finally came to a stop and rose up onto his hands and knees, he realized he'd been clipped by a cab. Eyes narrowed in pain, he struggled to his feet, his scraped palms pressing against the massive pain rippling down his right leg.
"Asshole! If you dented it, you're paying for it!" the cabbie shouted.
Chris promptly gave him the finger.
"You all right?" Buck called, coming up next to him, leaning over to try and see Chris's face clearly. The older detective had lowered his head, shaking off a short wave of dizziness. Looking up, dark green eyes froze worried blue ones.
"Just get Manny," Chris exhaled through his teeth, switching his eyes to the cab driver. "I'll be fine."
___________________________________________
Manny shoved people aside as he slammed down the wet steps into Penn, using the railing to stop himself from falling on the slick surface.
Leaping down the last few steps, he pivoted to run down the short hall and into the station.
Suddenly, someone slammed into him, driving him into the white tile wall, causing him to lose his grip on his bag.
"You're not going anywhere, Manny!" the stranger growled at him, pinning him down. Confused, Manny found a well dressed man with frost colored green eyes holding him against the wall.
"Hey!" a strange voice called from somewhere, "Hey! You! Stop that!"
___________________________________________
Ezra had reacted instantly to Chris's command, running back up the stairs from Penn Station and onto the A/C/E's uptown platform. As he reached the top of the stairs, his eyes widened to see Manny Z running down a different set of stairs to his left, the ones leading out of the station and up to 32nd and 8th.
Without even thinking, the lawyer threw himself at the Chinese man, knocking him into the wall, ignoring the shouts of the people around him.
"You're not going anywhere, Manny!" he growled, pinning the man beneath him.
"Hey! Hey you! Stop that!"
Ezra turned, but not in time to stop the MTA policeman from grabbing at his arms, to pull him off his captive.
"No!" Ezra shouted, trying to pull out of the grip. "You don't understand!"
Manny leaned back against the wall, watching as another policeman came running up the stairs to help the first officer pull Ezra away.
"He's a criminal," Ezra snapped, "I have to…."
"Save it!" the policeman said, finally heaving Ezra fully away from the Chinese man. He pointed at Manny, "Jim, grab that guy!" The other policeman nodded and reached out a hand to take Manny's arm.
The Chinese man's open face suddenly twisted, and the knife he kept in his belt flashed in his hand, slicing down across the policeman's hand. With a cry, Jim backed off, holding his now bleeding hand. The officer holding Ezra shouted an ineffectual "hey!" as Manny grabbed his precious black bag, got to his feet, and disappeared down the stairs into the station.
Buck leapt down the steps from the outside at almost the same instant, seeing Ezra in the grip of a policeman and another looking dumbly down at a deeply bleeding hand. He slowed, eyebrows perked.
The lawyer shook his head and looked purposefully down into the station. With a small smile to express his understanding, Buck jumped down the steps into Penn, fully aware that Ezra could talk his way out of anything.
"Jim, you okay?" the policeman holding Ezra asked as the lawyer gave Buck his silent instruction. The other officer nodded, his face pale, looking up just as the detective brushed past him.
"Yeah, Rick," he smiled weakly, "gonna need a pretty big band-aid though."
His partner nodded, then reached to turn on the police radio fastened to his jacket, momentarily ignoring the lawyer he still held gripped tightly in his hand.
"Hank, Mike, this is Rick. We got a Chinese about 6'3 in a black nylon jacket running through the station. He just knifed Jim. Stop him, but be careful—he might be hiding more than that."
Ezra unobtrusively reached up to turn the two-way in his pocket off as "Mike" and "Hank" each gave their 10-4 to the news. Then, standing up straighter, he straightened his jacket and turned to glare at the officer. The officer saw the look, and promptly snarled.
"Now, you gonna tell me what this is all about?" he demanded.
"Isn't it obvious?" Ezra spat back, pulling his arm free so that he could turn around and glare at the officer, "I was robbed and now you've let the perpetrator get away!"
____________________________________________________
Nathan ran out of the front of the K-Mart that emptied out into the center of the station, bringing up the walkie talkie to his face.
"I'm here, where…."
"Coming right towards you!" Buck's voice shouted back, not through the walkie talkie. Sure enough, as Nathan turned to his right, he saw Manny Z booking it down the marble corridor towards him, Buck not far behind.
"Stop!" Nathan shouted, running towards the Chinese man.
Manny skidded, nearly falling on his rear as he saw the tall black man running towards him. Turning his head, he saw Buck bearing down behind him.
Spinning to the side, Manny ran towards the nearest platform entrance—the stairs leading down to platforms 20 and 21, to the Long Island Railroad trains.
Leaping down the steps, the Chinese man cursed to find both berths empty. Looking right, then left, the pimp blew the air out of his cheeks and chose a direction.
_______________________________
Nathan skidded around the edge of the railing and ran down the steps after the Chinese man. Buck spun around and ran to go down the steps at another entrance to the same platforms.
________________________________
Manny slid to a halt as he spotted Buck coming down the stairs in front of him. Turning, he saw Nathan hit the ground behind him from the other set of stairs.
"Shit!" he ground out.
"Stop running Manny!" Buck called, slowing down and pulling his gun from his waistband. He held up a hand as Manny stared back at him, one hand on his knife still.
"We can help you," Nathan tried.
"Bullshit!" Manny shouted back at the former doctor. "You're not taking me anywhere!" The pimp tucked the knife back into his belt, then licked his lips. Backing up sideways, Manny took in a deep breath, then took a running leap off the platform….
"No!" Buck shouted as he saw the man jump.
"Aw hell!" Nathan damned, as Manny somehow managed to jump over two sets of tracks and clip the edge of platforms 18 and 19.
The two detectives stared open mouthed as Manny managed to get back to his feet, then turned to grin cheekily at both of them. With a salute, the Chinese man started running down the other platform towards the stairs leading to the Amtrak trains at the far end.
"How the hell did he just do that?" Nathan demanded. That leap should have been impossible.
"Guess he's fit," Buck answered as he turned and sprinted down their platform towards the Amtrak entrance at the far end of his platform. Nathan made a wry face, then ran after him. When he reached the first set of stairs back up into the station, though, he bounded up them, hoping to find a way to cut Manny off from a different angle.
________________________________________
Vin shoved his way through the commuters and into the east end of Penn station, his sharp gray eyes quickly scanning the crowds.
"Where are you?" he asked over the walkie talkie.
"Amtrak!" came Nathan's static filled reply.
______________________________________
"My last name is Sharp. S…H…A…R…P…, right, can I go now?" Ezra's eyebrows perked up.
"And you have no proof of identity to back that up."
"I already told you. The man with the knife has my wallet. Now, I demand you let me go!"
"Mr. Sharp, surely you have to understand, assault on an officer…."
"I didn't assault an officer. One assaulted me."
"You were committing an…."
"I was acting to regain my possession! That thief stole my bag! Why else do you think I wouldn't have my wallet? How many times do I have to tell you that?"
"Until you tell us who that man was, so that we can apprehend him ourselves. You are not an officer of the law, Mr. Sharp, you do not…."
"I've told you, I don't know who he was. And I have a right to protect my goods, officer. Don't give me that crap! You aided a felon in the commission of his felony, and you are now aiding him in his escape! Why are you keeping me here while he gets away? He was the one with the knife!"
The policeman looked flustered, looking over at his friend in the small glass room where the MTA police had their offices in Penn. A pale Jim was having his hand bandaged by a third officer, while a fourth leaned on the glass door, peering out of it and into the station.
"Hey, there's someone running," the officer looking outside said. "Long hair. Rough clothes. White…I think."
"Not him," the officer getting his hand bandaged grumbled. "Bastard that did this was Chinese."
"Can I go now?" Ezra demanded, standing up.
"Sit Down!"
The lawyer grimaced, but did as he was told.
______________________________________
Manny ran up into the main floor of the Amtrak terminal, then turned in a complete circle. Spotting the screens, he jogged over to see which one was currently flashing "boarding."
They all flashed "delayed."
"Fuckin' A!" the Chinese man cried out, causing a number of people around him to stop moving. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"
Buck reached the top of the stairs, eyes scanning for Manny. Seconds later, he saw Nathan jog up a different set of stairs, and then Vin up the main stairs from the other half of Penn below.
Manny swiveled in a circle, his dark eyes catching both Nathan and Buck heading towards him. Seeing what he thought was his only opening, he started running full throttle towards the main stairs to the station below.
He didn't even see the long haired man until Vin reached out and grabbed the back of his jacket, throwing him sideways and down.
Manny skidded across the floor on his side, then, with a well executed jump, got back to his feet.
Vin stopped his advance, recognizing the difficulty of the movement the pimp had just made. Manny glared back at him, crouching down into a karate stance.
"Aw crap," the former bounty hunter muttered. Man was trained.
"Just how many of you are there?" the pimp hissed furiously at the former bounty hunter.
"Enough," Vin spat back. Gripping his hands into fists, Vin crouched into his own fighting stance. Around them, people were instinctively giving them room, creating a circle.
"Hyah!" Manny jumped forward, hands flying. Vin blocked as many as he could, but the Chinese man was good. He was more than good. He landed a hard blow to the center of Vin's chest, staggering him. Gasping, Vin replied by swinging his fists, but the lithe Manny was ducking beneath them as if Vin were moving as slow as a grandmother.
Twisting around, Manny whipped out a roundhouse kick, sending Vin back onto his ass and sliding across the marble floor.
At the same moment, Buck tackled the Chinese man from the side, driving them both to the ground.
_________________________________________
"Action in the Amtrak terminal!" a voice called over the police radio downstairs. Ezra stood up as the four officers with him bounded to their feet.
"Stay here!" the one taking his statement growled, before following the others out of the office and towards the back stairs leading up to the Amtrak floor.
"Yeah, right," Ezra smiled. Following them to the door, the lawyer watched the officers disappear around the corner. With a smile, he stepped further out the door and into the station.
__________________________________________
Manny threw Buck off, which was pretty impressive considering the detective's size, then got back to his feet, slipping slightly as he once more turned towards the stairs.
Nathan tried to get in front of him, but Manny was ready. Swinging the bag around, he clipped Nathan on the arm, then twisted like a football player and sidestepped him to reach the stairs.
The black detective just blinked, looking down at his hands as if amazed they were empty.
Vin broke the detective's reverie by bounding down the stairs after Manny, calling Nathan's name as he did so to follow him. The black detective took the cue and followed.
Buck got to his feet, breathing hard and shaking his head. When he looked up, he found himself being surrounded by the MTA police, all with hands on their guns.
He grinned.
___________________________________
Ezra stopped as Manny landed hard in front of him, jumping down the last few steps into the lower station.
The pimp saw him standing there, pulled his knife, and shook a finger as he skirted around the lawyer.
"Don't even think about it, Armani."
Ezra's teeth gritted tightly, "You're not getting away, Manny."
"Watch me," the pimp replied, getting all the way around Ezra. Then, with a grin, he turned and sprinted towards the uptown A/C/E subway line.
"A/C/E, uptown," Ezra said into his walkie talkie, taking off after him.
"Right behind ya, Ez," Vin said, coming up next to the lawyer. Glancing over his shoulder, Ezra saw Nathan right behind them.
____________________________________
"Hiya," Buck greeted the officers amiably. "The man you want just went that-a-way." He pointed down the steps to the main terminal. "He attacked a friend of mine, I tried to stop him, but he threw me off."
The officers frowned, looking at each other. Buck opened his hands.
"Well? Are you going after him?"
Perhaps half a second more passed, before the officers collectively ran down the stairs to the main station. With a grin, Buck headed off in the opposite direction, looking to get himself out of Penn before he had to answer any questions.
____________________________________
JD leaned over, opening the jeep's passenger side door on the corner of 32nd and 8th. It had taken him this long to find a way out of the logjam he'd gotten himself into on 29th. Chris grimaced as he limped over from where he'd been leaning on a mailbox, still holding his right leg, knowing well that it was badly bruised. He didn't think it was broken, unless it was hairline, but either way he didn't want to give up the chase if he and JD could still help. There'd been no word over the walkie talkies since Nathan had said the word "Amtrak" to Vin's question. If the man caught a train, he and JD would drive after it.
"You okay, Chris?" the legal secretary asked.
He was answered by a sharp wince as the detective levered himself up onto the high seat.
Their walkie talkies came to life at the same time: "A/C/E uptown," Ezra's voice said.
Chris looked at JD, "Go."
"Gotcha," the kid said, veering into the traffic on 8th.
_________________________________
Part Four: The A/C/E Subway Line, headed UPTOWN
Running down the ramp, Manny grimaced at the plastic doors shielding the entrance to the subway, to prevent people from jumping the turnstile. With a growl, he saw them open to allow a stranger to leave. Without hesitation, the Chinese man leapt over the turnstile and directly into the poor man, shoving him backwards.
The man in the ticket booth stood up at the action, "Woah! Are you crazy?"
"Open the door!" Ezra called, skidding up to the booth. The man blinked back at him, then hit the button to open the handicap door. Vin and Nathan ran right through it, and Ezra thanked the man with a nod as he headed after them.
"Should…should you have done that?" a tiny woman lined up to buy a ticket asked.
The man in the booth shrugged, "I don't know. But they looked like the good guys, didn't they?"
The woman's eyebrows just lifted and she looked at the turnstiles again, to see if she could still see them.
______________________________________
"Where is he?" Nathan demanded, coming to a halt. "Which side?"
"He must have run for the C and E!" Vin replied, pointing to the far platform, where the local lines ran. Without even checking to see if he might be right, the apprentice detective headed for the stairs that would take him under the tracks and to the other platform. Nathan ran after him.
Ezra did not follow them, looking to his right as the A train pulled in. Taking a risk, he got on it.
A little further up the platform, Manny peeked out from where he was hiding behind a pillar, and, not seeing any of the three men chasing him, jumped onto the A as well.
On the other side, Vin and Nathan bounded up onto the C and E platform, looking up and down for the pimp.
"Vin!" Nathan grabbed the other's arm, pointing towards the A train across the way.
Manny was in one of the cabs, waving at them, a cheeky grin on his face.
Brakes exhaled, and the subway train lurched into motion.
"Shit," Vin breathed, looking up the tracks, hoping to see another one coming.
Nathan lifted his walkie talkie, "He's on the A. Headed uptown. Port Authority, maybe. To catch a bus."
____________________________________
Buck frowned at the walkie talkie in his hand.
"Port Authority, eh?"
he muttered to himself as he walked out onto
"Taxi!"
______________________________________
The C train was pulling away just as the entire MTA police force poured into the subway station, looking for their prey. The man in the booth told them what he could about the Chinese man, but was silent about letting the three strangers through the handicap door—he wasn't about to get into trouble for that.
_____________________________________
Manny sighed, sitting down on the hard black plastic seat of the A train, leaning his head back against the metal wall. Relaxing for the first time, he closed his eyes and cradled the black nylon bag to his chest.
"Bus won't be too bad," he muttered to himself. Sure, he'd wanted to take a train, but the bus would work.
____________________________________
Ezra was checking out each car, having heard Nathan tell them that Manny was on this train. Carefully, he peered through each scratched, distorted window into the next subway car, trying to spot the Chinese man.
He halted when he saw Manny sitting not ten feet from him, leaning back with his eyes closed.
Pulling out his walkie talkie, he backed into the car he'd just left.
"Okay," he said, "I've got him."
Static was his only response. Frowning, Ezra looked down at the two-way.
"Anyone there?" he tried.
Again, static. Licking his lips, he tried one more time.
"Can anyone hear me?" he asked, shaking it slightly. He frowned.
Then, suddenly, Vin's voice came, his words chopped up.
"Don't…on your own!"
Ezra's eyebrows shot up at the command.
"What?"
"Knows…better than…take…."
"I repeat," the lawyer said, pressing himself against the door, "What?"
"Wait…us!"
Ezra frowned, understanding that he'd just been told to wait for the others. "Why?"
"Just…it!"
Sighing, Ezra leaned against the door. "Fine," he said, not pleased. What were they so afraid of?
_________________________________
Vin frowned as Ezra's question "Can anyone hear me?" came clearly over the walkie talkie. He'd already responded twice, but obviously the lawyer's two-way was having some problems.
"Ezra, if you can hear me, don't take him on your own!" the apprentice all but yelled into the mike. Nathan glanced behind him at the two other people sharing the subway car with them on the C. They had both moved down to the far end of the car.
"What?" Ezra's voice asked.
"He knows karate, or something like it. I think he's better than you. Don't try to take him on your own!"
"I repeat, what?"
"Oh for God's sake," Vin sighed, looking up. Taking a deep breath, he tried one more time:
"WAIT FOR US!" he shouted.
This time, the pause was longer. Then, "Why?"
"JUST DO IT!"
The paused lasted longer, and, finally, a disgruntled, "Fine," floated over the airways.
Vin blew the air out of his cheeks, then smiled gratefully at Nathan. The detective grinned back.
_____________________________________
"I could take him," Ezra muttered, feeling the subway train slow down as they approached 42nd Street, the Port Authority stop. Peering again through the smoky glass into the next car, he saw Manny stand up and move to stand near the doors.
_____________________________________
Part Five: Port Authority Bus Terminal
"Okay," JD said, glancing in the side mirror before swinging over to the left lane, "how do you want to do this?"
"Do what?" Chris mumbled, not looking up from where he was rubbing his leg where the cab had hit him, trying to dull the throbbing.
"Well," the kid slid in behind the cabs lining the front of the bus terminal, "You don't look up to running, but I don’t have a gun, so…."
Chris frowned, lifting his eyes to look out of the front window, "I'm fine kid."
"You're going to limp in there? And if he runs again?" JD turned to look at the detective.
Chris glanced at the kid out of the corner of his eye, "What are you suggesting?"
"You could give me your…."
"Not going to happen," Chris cracked the passenger side door, "cold day in hell, JD. Stay here. If he slips past and somehow catches a bus, I want to be prepared to follow it."
The kid grimaced. He figured as much. Someone had to stay with the jeep—it's not like he could find a place to park it around here—but he was getting a little bored being stuck with it.
Chris slammed the passenger door and turned, only to immediately fall back against the jeep as another cab nearly ran his foot over while pulling to a stop next to the jeep. Glaring furiously at the oblivious cabbie, he switched the glare to the opening window of the passenger in back.
"Hey, pard," Buck's grin was huge, "Nice reflexes."
_____________________________________
"Aw crap," Buck stared down at the empty wallet.
The cab driver instantly looked back at him in the rear-view, not hiding the concern in his voice, "Sir?"
The detective sighed. It was amazing how cab drivers always seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to their fare.
"Look, pull up right next to that jeep there, will ya? They're my friends."
The cabbie nodded, sliding up just as Chris slammed the door. He winced sympathetically as he saw Chris leap backwards as the cab nearly winged him again.
Buck rolled down the window, grinning up at his partner, who looked about ready to kill him.
"Hey, pard," Buck grinned. "Nice reflexes."
"Buck…" Chris's tone dripped acid.
Buck held up a finger, "Hold that thought, big dog. You got any cash? Gave all mine to the kid up there and the meter's tickin'."
_______________________________________
Ezra followed Manny as he climbed up the stairs from the subway and headed straight towards the main lobby of the terminal, where the ticket agencies were. The Chinese man no longer appeared to be concerned about being followed for some reason.
Sliding behind a free standing magazine rack at a Hudson News, Ezra lifted the two-way to his lips as Manny looked torn between Greyhound and Peter Pan.
"Like there's a difference," the lawyer muttered, as Manny finally chose Greyhound. Turning on the walkie talkie again, he pressed the send button. "Manny's looking to take a bus, as expected."
"We're pulling into 42nd now, Ez," Vin answered.
Ezra snorted, then lifted the walkie talkie again. "And I'm waiting for you because…?"
"Because he's a better fighter n' you," Vin replied. "He knows some kind of fast kung fu, or karate, judo…something."
This time, the lawyer really frowned, "What?"
"He kicked my ass back at Penn. Literally knocked me flat."
Ezra shrugged, "So?"
"Come on," he could almost hear Vin's snort, "we've sparred at the gym, Ezra. I beat you more times that you beat me."
"Yes," Ezra agreed, "at boxing."
"Yeah, at boxing. So?"
"So, that's because it's a new sport to me. I've a black belt in karate, Vin."
"Yeah? So what? That just means you've…."
"It means I'm very good. I'd knock you flat on your ass if I used it against you."
"Aw please, Ez, that's a loada…."
"You want me to prove it to you, Tanner?"
"Ha!"
"Ha?"
"You heard me."
"Oh, that's it," Ezra
wasn't even watching Manny anymore, "you get your scrawny
"That's enough," Chris interrupted harshly. "The two of you can butt heads when you get home. Where is Manny, Ezra?"
"Oh, whoops," Ezra blushed and peeked around the magazine rack, "He's uh, in line at the Grey…no, scratch that," Ezra stepped out from behind his cover to get a better view, "He's now standing at the counter of the Greyhound ticket booth just inside the main lobby off 8th, talking to the agent."
"I'm with Buck, headed inside from the front."
"And we're right behind you, Ezra," Vin said over the walkie talkie. "Turn around."
Ezra did as he was told, and nodded at Nathan and Vin as they walked up the ramp from the lower level towards him. Then he looked out into the bright grey light shining in through the glass doors of the terminal entrance, and raised a hand at Chris and Buck as they pushed through the revolving door. At Chris's questioning look, The lawyer pointed towards Manny.
____________________________________________
"Just tell me when the next bus leaving for someplace out of state is," Manny said, leaning forward on the tall white counter. "And I don't mean to Jersey or Connecticut. I mean, far away. Someplace with an airport."
The woman frowned up at him, then shrugged. "Well, there's one south, to D.C., in about thirty minutes, and there's one headed to Cleveland in about forty-five minutes."
Manny shook his head, "Anything sooner?"
"Well," she looked down at her computer screen, "there's one north to Worcester, Mass in ten—probably just catch that one."
"Worcester?" Manny rubbed the back of his neck, "What's in Worcester?"
The woman just shrugged.
Manny sighed, looking down at the black nylon bag at his feet.
"There's an airport in Worcester," a girl offered, standing behind him in line. "It's small, but it's there. Delta flies to it."
"I'll take it," Manny said instantly, offering the girl a smile. She smiled back, pleased to be able to help.
"Okay," the woman behind the counter started typing furiously, "that'll be thirty two dollars." She looked up at him, "Assuming you want one way?"
"Yes."
She looked back down at her screen, still typing rapidly, "I just need some I.D., sir. And how will you be paying for this?"
"Cash." Manny reached into his pocket, aiming to pull his wallet out, when a thought struck him. Why not use the blackmail money? Looking down at the bag, he knelt down and pulled back on the zipper. Reaching in, he felt the edge of the paper inside, and drew the zipper back some more.
The small gasp from his lips had the woman behind the counter stop her typing. Looking up, she realized that the man asking for the ticket had disappeared. Standing, she leaned forward and looked down at where he was now kneeling on the floor, staring dumbly into a bag filled with newspaper clippings tied into tight bundles. Looked like it was the New York Post.
"Sir?" she asked.
His stricken face looked back up at her.
Slowly, he stood up and, with a forlorn look, he reached into his pocket for his wallet.
The woman still stood, watching him now with a strange inscrutable look on her face. Then she looked behind him, and stepped back slightly from the counter.
Manny saw her shift and her distracted gaze. Slowly, he turned around.
Five men were all standing about equidistant from each other outside of the ticket place, all watching him. The girl that had informed him about the airport was long gone, as were the others standing in line behind him. The woman behind the ticket counter had backed away all the way to the wall and was sliding down to the side door.
They all knew a stand off when the saw it.
____________________________________
Manny reached down and picked up the still open nylon bag, grabbing it by only one set of handles so that some of the paper bundles fell out.
"Where's my money!" he demanded holding it out in front of him as he walked out of the ticket area. "You think you can play games with me? You don't know who you're messin' with!"
"We don't want trouble, Manny," Chris said, a small smile on his face at the man's desperate outburst. "We just want your cooperation."
"My cooperation?" Manny repeated, snorting. "Why would I help the likes of you?"
"Don't look to me like you got many choices left," Vin drawled.
Manny eyed the bounty hunter disdainfully, "You want me to help you take down Browner, that it?"
"That's right," Chris replied, drawing Manny's eyes to him again.
"Then you're nuts," the pimp shook his head. "You think I'm into slitting my own throat? No fuckin' way, man."
"Why?" Buck asked, "He's already out to kill you. What more harm can he do?"
"He can do it more slowly," Manny spat in return. "You know that box they pulled out of the ground over in Jersey City last week? The one where it looked like they had buried the guy alive?" He raised his eyebrows at the detective, waiting. At Buck's frown, he nodded. "Yeah. Like that."
"Look, Meng, help us take down Browner," Ezra said carefully, "and we'll make sure the FBI cuts you a deal that includes protection. They'll get you out of the city and out of Browner's range."
"A deal," the pimp spat, shaking his head at Ezra, "Who the hell are you to talk about deals? You a fed? Or a AUSA?"
"No," Ezra shook his head, "But I am a lawyer. You talked to my partner back in the park."
Manny gave a crooked smile at that, then looked around at the others, "You're shittin' me. You guys are fuckin' lawyers?"
Buck couldn't resist laughing at that, and even Chris grinned.
"No," Nathan shook his head, "We're detectives, hired by that poor girl you've been terrorizing for the last nine months. Ezra here's the only lawyer."
"And I have friends in the bureau," Ezra continued. "I'll get you a deal, if you cooperate with us."
Manny stared at Ezra for a moment, then, one by one, examined each of the other four's faces. Perhaps he was measuring them, or memorizing them, either way, when he was done, he turned his gaze back to Ezra.
"And what do I get in return? More fake money?"
"A way out," Ezra responded. "Something I think you're sorely lacking at the moment."
Manny chuckled, "you think so?"
"I'd bet on five to one odds, wouldn't you?"
Manny's smile fell, his eyes still glued on the lawyer. He gathered the black duffel to his chest, gripping it in both hands almost defensively. Ezra shifted his balance, as if sensing something, one foot going behind the other. Manny's eyes flicked down at the motion. When he looked up again at Ezra, there was nothing there but determination.
"Manny," Chris took a step forward, also sensing the shift, "don't…."
"HA!" Manny threw the bag full force at Ezra's head, the weight of all that paper throwing the lawyer backwards. At the same time, he twisted and kicked out with his foot, aiming straight for Chris's hurt leg. The detective had no time to get out of the way, shouting in agony as his leg collapsed beneath him.
"Hey!" Buck yelled, trying to get Manny in a grip from behind as the Chinese man turned, but Manny was too quick. He ducked and twisted, leaving Buck with nothing, and danced outside of range. As Buck turned to fight him, the Chinese man threw his arm, palm up, in an uppercut punch against the taller man's chin, rocking Buck's head back. The detective blacked out for a second, falling backwards.
Vin leapt on Manny's back, trying to bring the lithe man down by sheer weight, but Manny almost seemed to expect it, bracing himself and throwing the apprentice detective over his shoulder. Vin landed badly, the air rushing from his lungs as his head impacted the hard marble surface.
Nathan looked up from where he was checking on Chris, who was still writhing in agony, and watched with amazed eyes as Manny took off running through the bus terminal, sliding through the crowds of people as easily as a snake slides through long grass. Ezra scrambled to his feet, threw off the bag, and took off after him. Buck, shaking his head, staggered a bit, but got his feet under him and followed at a slower run. They could see him fumbling for his walkie talkie as he did so.
Vin just stared up blankly at the high ceiling far above his head, wondering how it seemed to be getting further and further away as he watched. Chris bit back another curse as Nathan prodded the leg, a single tear of pain running down his cheek when he shut them. A second later, furious eyes stared up at the concerned former doctor.
"He broke my leg, Nathan," he hissed. "He god damned broke my leg!"
"Yeah, he did," the other man said softly.
"Does anyone else think maybe, Ezra shouldn't have made that bet?" Vin asked weakly, emitting a tiny chuckle. "And does anyone know why the ceiling keeps moving?"
"I'm getting both you guys an ambulance," Nathan said, pulling his cell phone from his pocket.
____________________________________
"JD!" Buck shouted into the walkie talkie. "JD, bring the jeep round back! Manny's running towards 9th!"
The kid, who had been getting rather bored staring at the cabs circling around him as they dropped people off, nearly jumped out of his skin. Fumbling, he grabbed the walkie talkie.
"What?"
"9th! NOW!"
"On my way!" the kid shouted back, dropping the two-way on the passenger seat, then, with a glance in his side mirror, pulled out into the traffic on 8th. Grinning wickedly at the honking that ensued as he cut off some poor motorist, he gunned the engine and aimed the vehicle for 43rd street, to take him across to the southbound 9th Avenue.
_______________________________
Part Six: 9th AvENUE—
Manny pushed out the door at the end of the terminal into the shadows of the bus ramps overhead, his chest heaving as he stared blankly up and down the wide avenue.
His eyes narrowed as he saw an MTA bus heading in his direction. Looking across the street, he recognized the sign indicating a stop.
"Ho!" he shouted, waving at the bus as he started to cross, nearly getting waylaid by a cement truck. "Bus!"
Ezra pushed through the same doors a second later, spotted Manny crossing the street, and took off after him.
Perhaps ten seconds later, Buck was out of the terminal himself, swearing as he saw Ezra circle around the front of a bus, patting the front to indicate its driver wait for him. He swore even more loudly as the bus's brakes exhaled and it pulled out again into traffic.
A horn honked behind him, and the detective's face broke into a grin.
"All right kid!"
_______________________________
Manny backed down the central corridor of the bus, watching as Ezra approached him slowly. The other passengers instinctively shuffled to the seats closest to the windows, or tried to make themselves as small as possible if they couldn't.
"Just listen," Ezra said softly, holding up a hand.
Suddenly, the bus lurched, as the driver avoided rear ending someone, causing both Ezra and Manny to fall sideways. Ezra grabbed one of the hanging grips, while Manny grabbed the back of a seat in which a teenager sat. The girl was a goth, complete with pale make-up and jet-black hair, her head bobbing in time to whatever music she was listening to on her walkman, her black lined eyes glued to the book in her lap. The volume on the walkman was high enough to emit a shrill sound and methodic thumping as she ignored the Chinese man leaning over her.
Ezra grimaced as Manny shook his head. Somehow, he had managed to pull out his knife, and was now holding it loosely in his hand, just inches from the back of the girl's head.
She snapped the gum she was chewing, oblivious.
The bus lurched again, but it did not shake the staring contest now going on between the two men.
_________________________________
"Just stay with them," Buck ordered JD, rubbing at his aching chin as the kid followed the bus. Manny's punch had been harsh—for a moment, Buck honestly thought the hit had succeeded in separating his head from his neck. His vision still swam slightly from the pain he still felt.
"What happened to the others?" JD asked, not taking his eyes from the road. "Why aren't they here too?"
"Manny's…good, JD."
JD frowned, turning to glance once at Buck before looking back again at the road. He shook his head in disbelief, "Yeah, but, there were five of you in there. You mean, even the five of you, together, couldn't…."
"Yup," Buck snarled. "We should not have left our best fighter with the girl." Reaching into his pocket, he lifted the two-way to his lips. "Josiah? You out there?"
"If he went back to the office," JD said, turning to follow the bus as it shifted to another lane. He noticed that the bus hadn't stopped at a stop yet—it had already missed two, "…he'll be out of range of…."
"I'm here," Josiah's voice answered. "Have you got him?"
"No. Where are you?"
"At a coffee shop in
"We need you. You close enough to the Clarion to drop her off?"
"I don't know, Buck. I don't like leaving her…."
"Mary will take care of her. We need your help, Josiah. It's just me, Ezra and JD now."
Silence was his response for a moment, then, with some static, "You're joking."
"No."
"Where are you."
"Following the 11 bus down 9th. It hasn't stopped yet. Ezra's riding it with Manny. We're just passing…24th…if it continues its run, it'll turn down…whoa…its stopping. Damn."
"What?"
"It's picking someone up. I guess no one on it wants to get off."
"I can guess why."
"Yeah, but I can't believe the driver….okay, its pulling back out into traffic."
"I'm on my way. Where does it turn to go back up 10th?"
"Um…I don't know. 15th?"
"I'm on my way."
"Good."
___________________________________
The bus lurched again, the new passenger pushing past Ezra without really looking at him. The newcomer ignored Manny as well, shoving past him to get to a seat near the back of the bus.
All around Manny and Ezra, the other passengers—other than the still oblivious girl—simply watched the confrontation between the two men with unblinking eyes. They all saw the knife, and they knew what it meant. Occasionally, the driver glanced in the rearview, but other than the two men who were standing, he couldn't see anything wrong. The angle of the mirror kept the knife from his line of sight. He did think it odd that no one had signaled him to pull over so they could get off though.
Manny's eyes shifted, glancing out the window to the
right. He could see the river getting closer now, as the island angled
inwards towards downtown. 9th disappeared into the West Side Highway up
ahead. The bus would turn to circle around in
Suddenly, Manny reached over and hit the yellow cord, indicating the bus should stop. Obligingly, the driver pulled over at the corner of 9th and 15th. Manny continued to shake his head at Ezra, warning him silently not to make a move, the knife still clearly visible behind the girl's head. As the bus pulled to a stop, Manny shouted: "Rear door!"
"'Kay," the driver replied, cracking the door along the side as well as the one up front. Manny smiled one more time at Ezra, then turned, leapt off the bus and started running towards the water. Ezra swore, shoved past the girl—who looked up for the first time as he jostled her shoulder, and jumped out of the bus after Manny.
"What a jerk!" the girl hissed, looking around at the other passengers. Her annoyed expression relaxed into a puzzled stare at the clearly frightened looks on their faces. "What?" she asked, "Didn't you see him hit me?"
_______________________________________
"Hold on!" JD hissed, banking the jeep hard to angle it in front of the bus. Buck gurgled slightly as he felt the SUV lift up slightly, leaning his body to the left as the jeep turned sharply right onto 15th.
Ahead of them, Manny sprinted down the street, Ezra now about twenty feet behind him.
JD hit the brakes at the stop light preventing them from turning right again up 10th, growling a swear under his breath. Buck didn't wait, he just jumped out of the SUV and took off after Manny.
________________________________________
Manny caught the black jeep out of the corner of his eye, shaking his head in amazement as he saw Buck's face in the window. Gritting his teeth, he dug in and dodged the traffic to get over 10th and across the West Side Highway in the direction of the piers.
____________________________________________
Ezra nearly collided with Buck as the tall man leapt out of the jeep, trying not to get annoyed as Buck got in front of him, now leading the chase for Manny.
____________________________________________
PART SEVEN: THE HUDSON RIVER PIERS
Buck watched Manny dodge cars and trucks, ignoring the honks and shouts of the annoyed drivers. He was lucky it was Sunday morning. People were less likely to hit you on Sundays.
As Manny reached the far side and clambered over the small barrier to get up onto the first concrete pier he found, Buck's eyes narrowed in confusion.
"Where the hell is he going?" Buck shouted, knowing Ezra was right on his heels.
"Just keep up with him!" the lawyer shouted back.
_______________________________________
Manny was no longer thinking. He was no longer even aware of his surroundings. He only had one idea left. Stretching his legs as much as he could, he pounded down the first pier he hit, puddles splashing under his feet as they smacked the concrete. As the shipping warehouses fell away to his left and right, he found himself out in the open on the long dock just as another storm cloud boiled across the sky, obliterating the brighter gray light that had been constant since he had first started running.
Drops of rain pelted his face as his eyes searched for his last chance for escape.
There.
He just had to….
_________________________________________
"Oh for the love of GOD!"
Buck shouted as Manny dove, literally dove, off the
pier and into the
"Are you insane!" the detective yelled as the man resurfaced, shook his head to clear it of water, then started to swim. Of course, Manny didn't respond, just kept going.
"Oh Lord," Ezra panted, sliding to a halt next to Buck on the slick concrete, bending over slightly from the run. At Buck's sidelong glance, the lawyer gave a cocky grin, "Oh, I'm not going in there. If I'm got to die, I'd rather hang."
"With you there," the detective admitted in a whisper, still calming down his own breathing. Turning, he scanned the rest of the dock, looking for another mode of transportation, or someone to call the coastguard or, hell, the navy. Where did that madman think he was going? He'd drown before getting over to Jersey!
"Where does he think he's going to go?" Ezra said, echoing Buck's thoughts. "He goes too far, he'll get caught up in the current."
"Hey!" Buck shouted, turning away from Ezra and jogging back towards the West Side Highway. "JD!"
Ezra turned to see the familiar black SUV pull to an illegal stop at the end of the pier. The kid must have found a way in somehow. Buck was waving his arms, yelling at JD to call for the coastguard.
With a sigh, the lawyer looked once more at Manny's determined swim. Suddenly, he understood where the Chinese man was heading. There were speedboats docked on the next pier down.
"Aw hell," he muttered resignedly, stripping off his coat and suit jacket as the rain started coming down in earnest around them. "At least I'm already wet." Crossing himself, he threw a quick prayer up to heaven…then took a running jump to dive in after Manny.
Buck heard the splash, and turned with surprised eyes. He saw Ezra resurface between this pier and the next, and heard JD's gasp of astonishment at the act. The lawyer started swimming, his strokes pulling him towards the next pier down.
Buck switched his gaze to Manny, and saw that the Chinese man was making for the same pier but at an angle, or rather, to the boats that were tied up at the end of it.
His eyes narrowed in comprehension, and he jogged the rest of the way to the SUV, shouting at JD to get them over to the other pier.
__________________________________________
Manny was tired. He had not considered just how strong the river was, and between the stress of constantly running, all the fighting he had done, and now the current, he was beginning to think he wasn't going to make it.
Blinking the water from his eyes, he somehow pressed on, aiming now for the nearest boat.
He just hoped to God he knew how to hotwire the damn thing. Surely it could not be much harder than hot-wiring a car…could it?
_________________________________________
Ezra saw the muck encrusted wall of the next pier getting closer, trying to ignore the fact that he was freezing and now exhausted. The distance was barely the length of a swimming pool, but it had felt like ten.
With a gasp, he reached out for the concrete, then shouted in pain as the current tossed him roughly into the cold stone. Dazedly, he somehow managed to use his feet to push away from the pier as the weather continued to roughen the water around him.
Shaking his head, he made another grab for the handhold he had seen before.
This time, he got lucky. Grunting, he found another handhold in the pockmarked stone and heaved himself up and out of the water.
As he hit the top of the pier, he stopped for a second, his entire body shaking with the exertion. Then, turning his head to the right, he looked down the pier just in time to see Manny pull himself up weakly onto one of the speedboats. Getting to his feet, the lawyer emitted a low growl deep in his throat, his green eyes as fierce as tiger's about to pounce on its prey.
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JD ground the gears, swiveling the SUV around and heading back the way he'd come in. Buck gripped the door handle, trusting the kid to get them back around the warehouses lining the ends of the piers and back to the one where they'd left Manny and Ezra.
Buck's walkie-talkie came to life as JD turned the SUV between two warehouses.
"Buck," Josiah's voice said over the piece, "give me your location."
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"Hey!" Ezra shouted, staring down at the Chinese man in the boat. Manny was desperately trying to find a way to get into the engine of the boat, which, of course, was padlocked. Brown eyes lifted to look at the lawyer, a strange mixture of despair and, almost, resignation.
But not quite. There was still fight left in Manny.
"What," the Chinese man challenged, standing up in the boat, "there only one of you now? Where's the rest of the posse?"
"Just me," Ezra replied. "You coming out of there?"
Manny's jaw tensed, the muscles contracting around his jaw. "Why should I?"
"Well, for one, you're not going to get that boat started."
Manny's eyes flashed. "Says who?"
"Says me."
Manny looked down at the boat, then out towards the now very choppy river. The rain was very heavy now, soaking both men and obliterating the view of New Jersey across the way. The island never felt more isolated and inescapable to Manny than at that moment. He turned the other way, looking back into Manhattan, and realized that the sheeting rain was close to blocking that as well. All he could see where the ghostly outlines of the warehouses and nothing else.
Ezra cleared his throat, "Look. Manny, listen to me. Testify against Browner. You're a bastard, but he's worse. You do this, it'll get you off this island."
Manny grimaced, looking back up at Ezra. "No."
Ezra snorted, "Why not, for God's sake? You got some other way out of ending up in jail? You knifed a cop, Manny. You threatened a girl on a bus. Even without the rest of your oh so stellar past to back it up, that's more than enough time to put you behind bars for a long time--certainly long enough for Browner's men to find a way to get to you there…." The lawyer shook his head, "I'm offering you a way out."
"Seems to me, all I have to do is get past you and I'm free anyway," Manny said. "You're all alone."
Ezra's lips quirked into a smile, and he backed up. "You want to try and get past me? Go ahead."
Manny snorted, but, with a shrug, climbed out of the speed boat.
Ezra settled himself into a fighter's stance.
Manny frowned, bowed his head, and settled into his own stance.
Then he attacked.
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JD slammed his hands on the wheel in frustration, finding the way blocked by a chain link gate. Buck sighed, patted the boy on the arm, and jumped out of the car. A rusty chain kept the gate attached to the fence, locked by a new looking padlock. A big "No Trespassing" sign hung off of it.
The detective stared at the gate for a moment, then, turning sideways, pulled the gate away from the fence as far as the padlocked chain would allow. With a smile, he realized he had gotten it to open far enough to allow a man to slide through. With a salute to JD, the detective ducked under the chain, slipped through the opening, and headed in the direction of the pier.
Putting the jeep into park, JD turned the engine off and climbed out to go after Buck.
He heard a shout behind him, and he turned. His face lit up in a smile as he recognized the caller.
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Ezra backed up, a shaking hand wiping the blood from his lip. Manny bounced backwards, still looking spry as he looked for ways around Ezra's defenses.
"You're not bad," Manny admitted. "Better than the others. Quick."
"Thanks," Ezra muttered. "You're not bad yourself."
"I know," Manny agreed, a small smile on his face, "I also know I am better than you."
Ezra's eyes narrowed, "Then prove it."
Manny's smile fell, and he attacked Ezra with a sharp two punch throw, both of which Ezra deflected. The lawyer then managed to get in a single punch to Manny's side, but it wasn't more than a sharp jab, not enough to cause much harm. Manny bounced back, then attacked with his feet, trying to knock Ezra off balance. The lawyer avoided the first two attempts, but the third caught him squarely on his right thigh, forcing him down slightly, and Manny followed his strike with a solid kick to the side of Ezra's now bowed head. The lawyer went flying to the side, rolling on the cold wet concrete.
Manny bounced backwards, then, grinning, bounced forwards, aiming to kick Ezra while he was still down.
Somehow, Ezra lurched back to his feet before Manny could reach him, and, with surprising quickness, dodged the next few throws the Chinese man threw at him. Getting around Manny's back, he delivered a blow to Manny's back, sending the taller man staggering forward.
Manny laughed in amusement, stepping a few more steps back and getting his bearings again. Ezra, incredibly tired now, crouched down again into a fighter's stance. Then the Chinese man's face fell slightly, looking at something behind Ezra's head.
"Ezra," Buck greeted, emerging from the fog. "Need a hand?"
"No," Ezra snarled.
"Good, 'cause I'm not sure I'd offer much of one."
The lawyer chuckled at that, wiping the back of his hand again across his split lip.
Manny smiled again, and, with the speed of a rattler, careened into the smaller lawyer, driving him backwards before Ezra could even get up his hands to block him. Manny threw the lawyer back, sending Ezra rolling once more across the concrete. Buck danced backwards out of the way, really not wanting to get involved.
Ezra came to a stop, coughing as pain ran down his chest from the blow—it felt like it was on fire. Panting, he got to his hands and knees, then looked back at Manny, who was still bouncing and grinning, waiting for him to try and face him again. Spitting some blood out of his mouth, the lawyer licked his lips and, slowly, got back to his feet, his vision darkening for a second as he did so.
"Buck," he called softly, his sight returning.
"Yeah?"
"I need a hand."
"Aw nuts," Buck sighed and slowly lifted his fists. Manny's maniacal grin grew at the obvious consternation on the tall detective's face. Buck was already seeing a very bad end to this.
Just then, a quiet shadow emerged from the fog. The large figure came to a stop halfway between a swaying Ezra and the nervous Buck, to face Manny, its arms lifting to cross themselves across the broad torso.
Josiah tilted his head, watching as the Chinese man bounced in front of him, Manny's brown eyes now focused on the older lawyer
"Now what," Manny spat, not hiding his derision at seeing Josiah again, "I'm fightin' old men now? you wanna fight, old man? Huh? You think you can do better than the rest of 'em? Huh?"
And with a roar, Manny jumped at Josiah, hands flying, using the same moves that ruined Vin, Buck, and Ezra.
He never reached his goal.
The last thing Manny saw were knuckles—ugly, hairy, dirty knuckles. Josiah's fat fist filled his vision with astonishing speed, blocking out all else just before impacting his skull like a battering ram.
The single punch rocked the Chinese man's head back on his shoulders, Manny's already closing eyes rolling up in his head as his head bounced forward again of its own volition, like a snapped rubber band. A second later, he was curled up on the ground in front of them, completely out cold.
"I'm not old," Josiah informed him coldly as he leaned over Manny's inert frame. "And you should learn to respect your elders."
Standing up straight again, Josiah blew on the back of his barely bruised knuckles, then looked to Buck on his right then to Ezra on his left. They returned his gaze with looks of pure astonishment.
"Was that it?" Josiah asked, shaking his head at them. "What was so hard about that? Had me all worried for nothing." He sighed, turning around and walking away down the pier, "Made me come out in the rain, not to mention I left a perfectly good mocha latte and a very nice canolli sitting back there, going to waste…." The lawyer continued to mutter as he disappeared into the fog blanketing lower Manhattan, "Laziness, that's what it is. Pure laziness."
Buck was laughing so hard by this time, he was bent over, having trouble breathing. Ezra, meanwhile, had turned his face up into the driving rain, stretching his arms out wide, letting it wipe the pain, blood and the rest of this morning away, trying to figure out a way to avoid letting Vin find out he had been right. He hated it when his roommate was right. JD jogged up to join them a moment later, looking at Manny still lying on the pier and both Ezra and Buck looking like they had each lost their minds.
With a shake of his head, JD lifted the walkie-talkie to his lips.
"Easy part's over," the kid informed the airwaves, "We've caught Manny."
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The End
(Hope you liked it!)