SPECIAL DELIVERY: FINISHED 7/23/06

[Scurvy Dog]

Snow and Cowboy arrived too late to help Ajax ? but not too late to see him getting stuffed into the back of a police cruiser. Not wanting to leave a brother behind, especially one who had saved him in the fight against those makeup-wearing freaks with the baseball bats, Cowboy started forward. Snow stopped him.

?Come on, man. No sense in us joinin? him.?

Cowboy sighed. Snow was right. Even armed with Louisville Sluggers, there was no way they?d be able to free Ajax from an army of cops. Cops who had guns. Cops who had backup.

?Man, I knew somethin? was up with that chick!? Cowboy said angrily as they walked away. ?Did you hear that whistle! She?s a cop!?

?Yeah, man. And you know how Ajax gets around chicks. We won?t be seein? him for a while.?

Angry about losing another soldier, Cowboy whacked a garbage can with his bat as they passed, filling the not-quite-empty park with the echo of dented aluminum. Snow and Cowboy bolted up the steps and away from the sound, not wanting to attract the attention of the police. That chick cop knew Ajax hadn?t been alone, and the cops were probably looking for the rest of them ? and their colors would be a dead giveaway.

They crouched behind some bushes at the entrance to Riverside Park. The entrance to 96th Street Station was right across the street ? and so were two police officers, standing guard.

?Those lousy punks are around here somewhere,? one of them barked.

?Car 48 just bagged one more,? said the second cop, clipping his walkie-talkie to his belt. ?Damn punk tried to get fresh with Marelli, so she cuffed him right to the bench. Then get this, the moron, he?s only got one hand free, right? This moron, he thinks he?s a real tough guy. He goes and he takes a swing at Mulroney.?

?He swung at Mulroney? Aw man, that Mulroney, he hates them street punks. What?d he do??

?He introduced him to his club. Let?s just say that punk won?t exactly be in the mood to be getting fresh with the ladies anytime soon.?

?Serves him right,? the first cop laughed. ?What about that punk that threw the bat at you??

?Ran through the tunnel with his girlfriend.?

?Did you call it in??

?Never happened, far as I?m concerned. Unless you want to patrol the tunnels, we didn?t see nothin?! Train will take care of them. Just worry about the other two. They can?t be far.?

Cowboy flashed Snow a grin. Ajax might have been caught, and they had no idea where Swan was, let alone Cochise, Vermin and Rembrandt, but at least it sounded like The Fox and Mercy had escaped ? and the cops weren?t going to do anything about it. Snow nodded, knowing exactly what Cowboy?s smile meant.

?Now how we gonna get on that train with them cops there?? Cowboy whispered.

?We ain?t takin? no train. Besides them, there?s gotta be more cops just waitin? down there on the platform. They?re all over.?

?Great. Now how are we supposed to get to Union Square??

?Leave that to me.?

Snow peeked up over the bushes. The cops looked bored, but stood their ground. Snow knew that further up the block, at the other end of Riverside Park, was another station, but it would be too risky to run for it. To their left, a Chinese food delivery van stopped in front of a flat. The driver hopped out carrying several bags, and walked down the street, looking for the correct number. He rang the buzzer, and after a moment entered.

Snow quickly looked up the street to his right. Two shadow appeared on the horizon. The cops, who were looking for two people, hadn?t yet noticed them. Snow crouched silently away from the bushes to a nearby garbage can, reaching inside for what he desperately hoped would be there ? a glass bottle. It was. His hand closed around the neck and he lifted it and flung it as far as he could in the direction of the pedestrians. The pedestrians froze, and Snow dove back behind the bush.

?What was that?? the first cop yelled looking in the direction of the sound. Seeing the figures, he yelled ?It?s them!? The two subway cops ran in the direction of the pedestrians, who in turn ran away from the cops.

?The van! Now!? Snow urged, as they tore down the street.

?We?re stealing a van?? Cowboy panted, trying to keep up with Snow. His gut felt like it was going to tear open from all the running.

?Just gettin? a free ride,? said Snow, trying the rear door. It was unlocked. Cowboy hopped in first and Snow followed closing the door behind him.

?Lay down and stay quiet,? Snow whispered. ?Looks like we?re going to Chinatown.?

Moments later, the driver returned, oblivious to the two Warriors lying in the back of his delivery van. Snow and Cowboy weren?t exactly sure what they?d do once they got to Chinatown ? it was a long way from Union Square. But at least, for the time being, they were safe.

Meanwhile?

Mercy was afraid. She had never been out of The Bronx before. Come to think of it, she couldn?t even remember the last time she had been outside Tremont. The Orphans, the neighborhood, everything in her life was boring and screamed out for excitement ? but at least it was familiar.

She didn?t know where she was right now. Somewhere in Manhattan. Ninety-Sixth Street, or something like that, but that didn?t mean anything to her. She didn?t even know the names of most of the guys she had been with, those Warriors who had soldiered right through Orphan turf. The Fox, that one she had been running with, got nabbed by a cop and told her to run. That was the last she saw of him. She hoped he had gotten away. Maybe he was even looking for her.

She also hoped some of the others were around here, somewhere. She had been crouched in the bushes near the subway station for about half an hour. Minutes earlier, a squad car had been parked not even ten feet in front of her. She heard the radio advise all officers to be on the lookout for four or five gang members wearing reddish brown leather vests and a woman in a pink dress. That was her. Mercy froze to the spot, barely even breathing, hoping the officer in front of her wouldn?t hear her heart pounding in her chest.

They just had to come back. They couldn?t walk all the way back to Coney. They couldn?t leave her here ? could they?

?Unit 41, please respond,? a voice crackled over the radio, interrupting her thoughts.

?Copy dispatch, this is 41.?

?Male suspect apprehended in Riverside Park, attempted rape, all units please respond.?

?Copy dispatch, I?m on my way.?

Sirens blaring and lights flashing, Unit 41 sped away from the station toward the park, followed by two more units. When the coast was clear, Mercy bolted down the street and around the corner. It wasn?t safe in front of the subway station. Ducking in a doorway, she heard loud music coming from one of the buildings further down the street. ?Club Amsterdam,? the neon sign blinked. It looked like a fairly nice place. No way could she blend in there, she thought. Not with her dirty clothes and unkempt hair. She peered into the doorway and looked inside. Maybe they?d at least let her use the restroom. She stepped in cautiously. Nobody was minding the door. Peeking around the corner, she spied a sign sticking out over a doorway. It was the outline of a woman in a dress ? the women?s room. She stepped inside. Both stalls were taken, and the women inside were talking to each other. They hadn?t even heard Mercy come in. Drunk, probably.

?I can?t believe you set me up with that zero, Marie,? one said to the other. ?How am I going to get rid of him? That loser?s tried every clich? pick up line in the book. And he thinks he?s original!?

?Well how was I to know he was such a dork? I was talking to his friend, he didn?t say much when I met them.?

Mercy listened to the women discuss their dates, oblivious to her presence. She didn?t dare interrupt. She didn?t belong here. Not in a nice place like this. She glanced around the tiny restroom, patiently waiting for an available stall. Then she saw it.

Hanging on the door she had come in was a jacket ? a long one. Looked nice, too. It probably belonged to one of the ladies in the stalls, Mercy thought. Would probably cover up her dress, too. And with that thought, she grabbed the jacket off the hook and bolted back to the station ? just in time to see one of the Warriors ? the one who seemed to be their leader, it looked like ? coming out of the park and going into the station. She ran to catch up with him. At least she wasn?t alone anymore.

[$now4Ever]

Nice story man i would like to hear more parts.

[GramercyRiff99]

This is real good, good choice of topic too, I've always wanted to know what happened to those two between the park and Union Square. Keep it up!

[Warrior_Swan]

AWESOME story dude, you're a damn good writer, and this story's movin' nicely. Write more, I'd like to see it.

[Daddy Cool]

yea all ur stories be good,keep it up 8)

[Space Toaster]

...*Attaches herself to SD's ankles* I love you. Marry me. I don't care that you're 2.26 times my age!

*Cough!*

I mean, nice fic! Keep up the good work! ^_^

[Kujo_87]

=D> Your stories are great SD. I think if you ever get sick of the technical manual writing gig, your future as a major author is pretty much secure 8)

[Daddy Cool]

i like the cop names me and my brotha was jokin about cop names and Mulroney was one of em  keep up da good work 8)

[Kujo_87]

Thanks for the compliments, every one.

By the way, in my attempt to fix up the Fox/Swan/Mercy continuity error, I seem to have created another one. It's minor, so I will fix it in the next update, but just for fun, can anyone spot it before I say what it is?

Yea I think I got it. U said Mercy sees Swan entering the train station and runs to catch up with him, but in the movie she's already inside the station when Swan returns and spots him before he does her. I think that's it?