New York In The Time Of Monsters - Central Park

[gone_byebye]

Ray took some time while Alex West was getting his weapons to step out of the Bar and run like hell. He managed to reach his destination largely through waving his Ghostbusters identification card around, but there were a few judicious applications of elbow as well- mostly because the simplest way to get there had involved going east a ways and running up Seventh, then turning again and worming his way through the crowds on Sixth. For all that he covered two and a half miles in about the time you'd expect of a normal human, he still returned to the Bar only a moment or two after he left.

Millitime is a wonderful thing, and he will thank the Bar for it later.

For now he's holding the door open in Grand Army Plaza. "We're at the southeast corner of Central Park," he says. "Fifty-ninth Street and Fifth Avenue. There's still a ways to go, but I radioed a buddy in the NYPD. He'll be sending an escort to help you get through- oh, here they come now-"

Bet you didn't know the NYPD used Vespa scooters, did you? At least, these two do.

Comments

[jokerswildwest.livejournal.com]

"Let's just say that I've had lots of practice."

And certainly not on large museum escapees, but, practice nonetheless.

[gone_byebye]

The younger cop nods and gestures for West to get on board. "I have to go," Ray says. "There's people who need to get to the West Side Highway. Here-" He holds out a radio. "Call if you need us, for any reason."

He'll answer one last question, but then he's got to run again. Once that's done the police officer revs up the Vespa, and they head into the Park.

"We're trying to get everybody out of the Dalai Lama's audience as quickly as possible," says the officer who's taken Alex aboard as a pilion passenger. "People've been seeing all kinds of things loose in the park, coming in from the west side. The wolves are the smallest things anybody's seen yet."

[jokerswildwest.livejournal.com]

Alex tucks the radio into his jacket and then checks the guns as the officer quickly weaves them in and out of people and traffic.

"Stantz told me that we're shooting to kill here," he comments, looking up as something goes bounding past them, in hot pursuit. He's almost wishing he had a more powerful rifle on hand, but, the handguns and flare gun will have to do.

"Just how badly did you nearly fail your marksmanship test?"

[gone_byebye]

"Yessir," says the cop. "Orders are to assume that whatever it is, it's dangerous and probably rabid. Animal Control can sort out the mess later."

At the question (there's another tawny flash nearby) he sobers, and gives a number that's the equivalent of getting a 45 when one needs a 42 to pass.

[jokerswildwest.livejournal.com]

Well then.

"Just don't hit any people," a beat, "And don't hit me."

Something bounds through the park and the cop swerves a little on the Vespa at the sudden appearance of fangs and claws in front of them on the path, and Alex hollers for him to duck as he raises the gun and fires in front of them. There's a screeching yelp as one of the beasts hits the ground, and all it does is piss off the other members of the 'pack'.

"You know what, maybe you'd better just drive."

[gone_byebye]

The cop would ordinarily protest, but the older officer on the other Vespa- who's been getting off a few shots himself, and is a rather better shot- flashes Alex a thumbs-up. "All right," says the younger one, and leans forward over the handlebars.

He wishes he'd been a motorcycle cop,b ut he'll take what he can get.

Up ahead the throng is visible, sprawling out all over the Great Lawn. There's already been some shootings by the cops- Alex can probably spot some of the dead animals from here, as most of them are wolf-sized or larger. The living ones, though... those are another story. They're circling, considering the human herd and how best to charge it before it dwindles away through the few gates left.

Even the pigs look predatory. Although that might be because they're a good ten foot long, nose to tail.

[jokerswildwest.livejournal.com]

Those are really big pigs. Damn. When one of them falls in front of the Vespa's path, he braces himself for the skidding stop and then jumps off before they run into the still twitching pig-thing in the midst of the path.

"C'mon, don't split up," he yells, as he reaches for the other firearm and goes for the nearest tree he can find, to take both cover and to use the tree for something to jump into if he has to.

[gone_byebye]

The younger of the cops squeaks. The older one just shakes his head and moves to climb one of the trees himself. "I live in Queens," he says. "We've got trees in the yard. I get a nice bead on the target if I've got a branch to settle my hands on."

He punctuates this by aiming for the fallen pig-thing- it just started to stagger to its feet- and putting a few more bullets into its head. It drops as he reloads, and then a strange thing happens: the creature's flesh dissolves away in a shower of blue-grey dust, leaving only the pig's bones to scatter on the path. "Holy crap!" he exclaims. "Did you see that?"

"Uh, Hatch," says the younger cop, "I think that made the other ones mad."

There are three more of the pig things looking their way from a considerable distance. One of them paws the ground with a forefoot, and then the trio charges.

[jokerswildwest.livejournal.com]

"Up, up, up," West urges the younger cop, in reference to the tree and the order to climb. In a fluid motion, he holsters the pistol in his left hand while firing into the trio with the pistol in his right. The left hand reaches for the flare gun and he levels it at the beast on the left, firing. The puff of smoke and red streak as the signal flare shoots across the ground is enough to halt the one beast from charging.

The other two are still charging, and Alex stands his ground, emptying the clip into the head of the pig-thing and not moving as it lumbers closer...and closer...

[gone_byebye]

The younger cop scrambles up the tree with the speed and agility of a squirrel. Adrenalin can be a wonderful thing.

Closer indeed, and closer, and-

Some creatures are occasionally just a little too naturally thick-headed to realize when they've been hurt.

closer, and-

But nothing survives a head-shot that takes out certain parts of the brain for very long.

cllllllllllooooooooooosssserrrrrrrr....

The beast on the right runs afoul of the older cop's bullets about now. The lead pig creature's knees buckle and it topples, its momentum carrying it forward until it skids to a stop mere inches from Alex's feet. It heaves one last great sigh, twitches once, and dissolves in another blue-grey puff.

Alex is welcome to the bones if he likes. Some of those tusks are damned impressive.

[jokerswildwest.livejournal.com]

You're offering a tomb raider an archaeologist awesome bones and tusks? This is better than Christmas.

The empty clip falls on the ground as Alex lifts the gun to drop it, and finally exhale the breath he was holding. He grabs another clip to reload, then reloads the flare gun as well, keeping an eye on the lumbering, slightly confused beast that's still trying to shake the sparks out of his eyes.

He rolls his neck and has a cocky little smile on his face. Much better than statues come to life. Much more of a thrill. He's almost wondering what comes next.

[gone_byebye]

"Hey, buddy," calls the older cop from up in his tree. "You mind if we let Borgman here have a crack at Pumbaa? I think he might have a chance this time."

Several brown and grey creatures that somewhat resemble horses, but that look a good deal taller- seven or eight feet at the shoulder- are watching the scene warily from a safe distance. They suddenly wheel and run as something that could probably safely be described as a bear-dog erupts from under the trees.

It's running them in the other direction, which is probably a good thing, but it's within range if Alex wants a crack at it.

[jokerswildwest.livejournal.com]

"Go for it," Alex calls back, using the time given to him by the covering fire from the younger cop to raid grab a couple of the sharpest looking teeth from the pile of bones and the tusks, and slip them into his backpack and zip them up securely. If anyone asks...it's for research. Not bragging rights. Of course not.

There's a puff of blue grey smoke and a whoop of success from the younger cop as something falls to the ground and disappears, leaving behind a pile of bone and teeth. Alex swoops a hand down to grab a tooth for the younger cop, then pockets it and listens to the crackle of the radios.

"Come, Rico! Come [static] We have an appointment to keep at [static] Chelsea Piers!"

Alex looks up into the tree, then at the Vespas scooters, then back up at the tree.

"C'mon, guys."

[gone_byebye]

"I'm gonna stay here," says the older cop. "Captain's orders- I got a merit badge in crowd control. You two kids have fun, okay?"

The younger cop fires up his Vespa's engine and waits for Alex before zooming off to head for the least congested of Manhattan's north-south arteries.