Racing the Clock

[skybright]

At the top of Regina Dawson's current list of 'Things To Be Grateful For' was the fact that the Rosenstein household wasn't far from a transit station. Even so, today was one of those rare days Daws regretted never learning how to drive; she'd have sworn that someone at the NYC Transit Authority was in secret league with Nicholas Tiernan and was doing everything possible to delay her.

Daws hadn't headed straight for Long Island; she was still painfully aware of the possibility that Tiernan might have her shadowed at any time. Instead she'd rushed back to the office, put in a few telephone calls to the Hilton (posing as a travel agent for the desk clerk, who confirmed that yes, the Van Lindens had reservations tonight for room 237), and kept an eye on the front sidewalk. Only after a nerve-wracking pause to make sure she wasn't being followed had Daws reboarded the subway and headed for the Rosenstein home.

Now Daws darted across an intersection (garnering strange looks from a few motorists) and hurried up the final block to the Rosenstein house. She cut across the lawn, dashed up the front steps, and knocked rapidly on the door. The phone had been busy when she'd tried from the office; she hadn't had the patience to wait and try again. Now she half-regretted the decision, wondering if Sid and Alex might have already left for the Paragon.

Please let 'em be here, She requested silently as she knocked once again, Please let *someone* be here.

[Jordanna]

When the knock at the door came, Sid, Alex, Miriam, and Consuela were busy clearing out the basement. Sid had taken the idea of turning the neglected storage space into another bedroom, so that Miriam would have a private refuge. (The attic also presented possibilities, and with Alex having also become a de facto resident, Sid had designs on making more living quarters of that later on.)

"Connie, you better go see who it is," Sid muttered, his arms full of the clutter that was being transferred into boxes.

With a philosophical shrug, duster in hand, Consuela trudged up the stairs and down the hall to the front door. She opened it to see the very vexed-looking gato de diablo on the porch.

"Oh, it's you," the maid murmured, stepping back to let Daws in. "I'll tell Señor Rosenstein."

Consuela retreated, and a moment later she was back with the other three, still dressed in rather shabby spring-cleaning clothes that were streaked with dust.

"What's wrong, Daws?" asked Miriam, the first to pick up on the detective's anxiety as they walked in.

[skybright]

Daws sighed and removed her fedora. "I've been to see Tiernan, that's what's wrong." This time, the detective made no effort to keep her tail from lashing at the thought of the industrialist.

She glanced at the assembled faces. "We've got trouble, Doc. And we haven't got very much time." Daws sank into the nearest chair and regarded Van Linden steadily. "You're gonna want to sit down."

[Jordanna]

Frowning worriedly, Miriam seated herself on the sofa. Alex and Sid sat on either side of her, while Consuela, looking stern, settled into an armchair across the room. Now that she knew what was going on, she wasn't about to miss any of the news that might end up meaning her own life or death.

"Alright, now what's happened, Daws?" Alex asked.

[skybright]

Daws ran one hand wearily through her dark hair. "Tiernan's come up with a new plan for flushing the Doc out of hiding." She glanced at Doctor Van Linden and shook her head apologetically.

"I never was much good at being tactful with bad news, and we don't have time for it anyway. Doc, your folks are in New York. They're staying at the Hilton; and tonight, one way or another, Tiernan's gonna go after them to get to you. He's planning on making them disappear." The painful inflection on the word left no doubt as to its true meaning.

Daws flexed her claws agitatedly and added "And Tiernan wants me to help him do it."

[Jordanna]

At the news, Miriam gasped and raised a hand to her mouth, her eyes brightening with tears. Alex quickly turned to her, putting one hand on her shoulder and the other on her back.

Sid said nothing for a moment. Then he stood up, with a predatory grace that seemed unlikely from the squarish ex-mobster, and a dangerous expression on his face.

"If he tries it, I'll kill him," he said quietly.

[skybright]

Daws half-chuckled and shook her head. "Believe me, Sid, I thought about it myself, today." She sighed and added "But much as I'd like to do it right now, killin' Tiernan isn't a plan. And we need a plan."

She frowned worriedly and glanced at the others. "Tiernan's idea is that I gain their confidence -- tell 'em I'm looking for the Doc -- and walk them right down to his office. But barring that, he's got a team ready to break in and forcefully abduct them."

Daws sprang to her feet and began to pace. "We've got to find some way to get the Doctor's parents out of the Hilton; some way to make them disappear -- and not the way Tiernan intends it. We've got to do that without tipping Tiernan off to the fact that anyone else knew about his plan. And we've got to do all of that between now and three AM."

She stopped pacing and half-laughed. "We've got to pull off a flippin' Charles Bronson movie, in other words. We've gotta pull one heck of a trick. But . . ." Daws swallowed painfully and glanced at Doctor Van Linden.

"But if we can't . . . If all else fails, Doc, I'll go up to the Hilton tonight and warn your parents about Tiernan; give them a chance to get away."

[Jordanna]

Miriam wiped her eyes and looked up at Daws, realizing the gravity of what the detective was suggesting. If Daws was exposed, it would mean her death, or at least her becoming a fugitive from Tiernan like Miriam herself. And it would lose them their vital access to Tiernan's dealings.

"You can't do that," Miriam said, in a small, shaken voice. "We can't lose your freedom and our in with Tiernan... not even for my parents."

She stood up. "I could turn myself in to the police now, today." Alex started to protest, but she interrupted him. "It would take the threat away from my parents, without exposing Daws."

"You're not goin' to the cops, Doc." Sid's voice was still almost chillingly quiet and steady. The threat of others suffering the same fate as his wife had awakened the enforcer in him. "You know if they get ya, it's only a matter of time until he gets ya--and you know too much."

"Wait a minute." Alex frowned. "Suppose Miriam did turn herself in, and we had the chance to get her parents out of sight... and then Miriam just disappeared out of jail."

Sid squinted at Alex. "What are you talkin' about?"

"Only it wouldn't really be Miriam--it'd be Gracie." Alex turned to Daws. "Grace Duval, the girl we brought to the meeting. Her trick is she can sort of melt into a fog. She hasn't done it much, but she's been practicing, and she can get outta just about anything that's not airtight."

"But she doesn't look anything like me," Miriam protested.

"You haven't seen us theater types at work. A little makeup can make anybody look like anybody--especially if we wait until after dark."

"It won't work," Sid muttered. "They'd take pictures and fingerprints. And if they ID Gracie, we'll just be putting her in a mess too."

Alex's shoulders slumped, and he sighed. Then his bright eyes turned back to Daws.

"You said there were mutant cops who might help us," he recalled. "If we ever needed help from inside the police, it's now..."

[skybright]

Daws said nothing for a long moment; then, very slowly, she grinned. "Foxy, you're a genius."

She resumed her pacing -- but this time, it was with animation rather than frustration. "Sid's right about the cops ID'ing Gracie, unfortunately. It'd be a nice trick if we could just break a person out of jail.

"But," She raised an eyebrow at the others, "With a little luck, and some help from the inside, I think we could do even better. I think we could break three people out."

[Jordanna]

Alex and Miriam both started, and Sid blinked at Daws. "Wha?"

Sitting in her corner and listening intently, Consuela merely shook her head, and offered up a prayer for her employer and his loco mutant friends.

[skybright]

Daws grinned at Sid's poleaxed expression. "Earlier today I was telling Tiernan that I didn't want to get involved with the police -- which is true." She grimaced and added "I've had some pretty unpleasant times in police stations over the years.

"But," She continued, "Suppose while I was in the middle of sweet-talkin' the Doc's parents into Tiernan's web, the cops got word that they're in town -- and decided to take them in for questioning? If I was in the room, I'd go in as well; the police just love holding private eyes overnight. They think it keeps us in our place."

Daws rubbed her hands together. "With the cops involved, Tiernan will have to play nicely. He'll need to bring in lawyers where he was expecting to need soldiers. That'll take some time. Not much, but it might be enough. Enough for someone on the inside of the Department, plus a couple of someones outside -- to pull a vanishing act and get the Doc's parents to safety.

"And hopefully," She added, "The fact that I was under arrest when they disappeared will keep Tiernan from thinking I had anything to do with it."

She paused and looked at the others, waiting to see their reaction to the plan.

[Jordanna]

Sid shook his head in amazement. "That's some kinda idea. Between Tiernan and the cops, it's an awful risk for you--but if anybody can handle 'em, I'd guess it's you." He arched an eyebrow quizzically. "You sure you know somebody in the PD we can get on our side at this short notice?"

[skybright]

Daws mused for a moment before she nodded. "I know of a guy I think we can trust. David Bell: he's a police sergeant, and a mutant -- though I'm one of probably only three or four people who know about that. He worked the case when . . . when my partner was killed.

"He's not exactly the sort to take up arms," She added, "But I think, I could compel him to a little passive resistance -- say, leaving the precinct door unlocked."

Daws grinned. "Or even better . . . ."

She shot a sly look at Alex and Sid. "You two have any Police uniforms stored up at the Paragon?"

[Jordanna]

Alex and Sid looked at each other.

"You name it, we've either got it or we can get it," Sid answered. "An' if it needs any alterating... Consuela?" He looked over at the silent maid, who nodded.

"I thought impersonating an officer was a crime," Miriam fretted.

"So is busting people outta jail," Alex retorted, and looked at Daws. "Who'd you have in mind for this bit of playacting?"

[skybright]

"You and Sid, if you're both game." Daws replied, "Sid looks the part of someone they'd send to transfer witnesses precinct-to-precinct, and I know you can pull off doing most of the talking."

She nodded, fleshing out the details of the plan. "Sgt. Bell's precinct gets the call and moves in on the Hilton. Then, after a brief pause, a couple of Lieutenants," she nodded at Sid and Alex, "March in and shriek jurisdiction at Sgt. Bell -- who naturally signs over custody of the witnesses to the superior officers. They take the witnesses down to the street, and like that," She made a faint gesture with her fingers, "They're gone."

Daws scratched behind her ear and added "I'll see if Bell can't get me booked on some actual charge -- withholding evidence or something. That'd be a good solid reason why nobody would try and transfer me.

"It's crazy, and we don't have anywhere near the time we should have to pull it off," Daws grinned "But I think it just might work."

[Jordanna]

Sid grinned flatly. "After all the time I spent as a young punk gett'n hassled by the cops, impersonatin' one'll be a pleasure." He frowned. "Just s'long as none of the ol' warhorses I useta know tag along with this guy Bell, that is."

"Talk about a command performance," Alex muttered thoughtfully. "Daws, all I know about police procedure is what I see on TV. If I'm gonna look like I know what I'm doing, you'll have to give me some lines--or at least some idea of what to say."

Miriam folded her arms. "And just what am I supposed to do while the rest of you are getting arrested--or trying not to?"

[skybright]

Daws grinned. "Believe me, Sid, even if your own brother was behind the desk he'd hop to for a pair of Lieutenant's bars. Same goes for you, Alex." She nodded at him. "I'll make sure Bell is the one who deals with you. Just act annoyed if anyone else asks questions; make it pretty clear that heads are gonna roll if the witnesses don't get transferred to the right precinct posthaste.

"And as for you, Doc," Daws tipped her head thoughtfully, "Your folks are gonna want to see you as soon as possible; and it wouldn't hurt to have someone waiting in the street. If we can get ahold of a dark, nondescript car, I'd say you'd be an ideal getaway driver."

She glanced at the others. "We've got about twelve hours before Tiernan expects me back with your folks, Doc. We're gonna have to move fast -- that is, if you all are willing to take a shot at this."

[Jordanna]

Sid smiled like a shark, and Alex shrugged. "I guess I better call the Club and tell them I won't be on tonight... I'm doing a charity benefit." He winked.

Miriam hesitated. She was afraid to see her parents now--not because they now knew she was a mutant, but because when they knew what was really happening, they would want to help. She didn't want to involve them any more than they already were.

But if Daws could get them out of the country, it might be the last time she would ever see them.

"Alright," she said at last.

[skybright]

Daws nodded briskly. "Okay. Alex, go ahead and arrange to get those uniforms while you're on the line with the club. Doc, Sid, the two of you get ahold of a car. I'll head back to the City and get in touch with Bell." She scratched behind her ear and added "Let's rendevous at my office tonight, nine o'clock -- that'll give us time to go over the details before I head for the Hilton. Come to the back door -- I'll unlock it for you."

She heaved a sigh. "Alright, folks. We've got us a plan."