sam_mm (sam_mm) wrote in morningstar_mnr, @ 2009-11-08 20:21:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | andy, emma |
Early Evening, Gallery 290, Andy, Emma,
It was late, and the gallery was just closing. Emma had pulled down the blinds, gathered her things, and then turned off most of the lights. She was ready to go, just as soon as Andy finished shutting everything else down and set the alarm.
In the office Andy was winding up the day too, turning off the pc and the coffee machine, washing out the jug and disposing of the used grounds. Looking around she gave an approving nod - shared office space had to be kept tidy - then slipped on her coat and slung her bag over her shoulder and hooked her cane over her arm.
She left the office, closing and locking the door, then went to help roll down the grilles over the windows.
"Not a bad day," she said. "Hopefully this won't be as much of a disaster as we feared. At least the local punters are still coming in." She locked down the grilles and said. "All set?"
The last grille they could close from inside clunked into place, and Emma smiled, "Oh yes, I have the perfect plan for this evening, pizza and a DVD, and avoiding assignments since they just need reviewing. I still have time as well, can do at least one of them here since they were read and take notes on books."
She zipped up her coat, after checking her cell was in the inner pocket along with her apartment key. Then pulled her gloves from the outer pockets. "OK, all set!"
"Right," Andy checked her watch and led the way through the back of the gallery, leaving the security lights on and out to the little corridor that led to the back door. She locked the corridor door behind them, listening to the security bolts shoot, then offered Emma the alarm key fob - Emma would be a bit faster on her feet.
"I'll open the outer door," she said. "Mind the mops."
Andy grinned - everyone fell over the mops sooner or later - and went to the door into the alleyway. As she opened it she scowled - normally the security light came on. She looked up to check the bulb and frowned to see the fitment swathed in cloth.
"What?" she said then staggered as something crashed into her shoulder. Grabbing hands ripped her bag away and a hand impacted against her cheek knocking her right off her high heels. She fell heavily on the slimey concrete, crying out with the shock of it.
Emma was concentrating on the numbers, getting them wrong would be a very bad thing, so she wasn't listening for anything out of the ordinary. Punching them in, she set the alarm, and turned to run for the door, promptly tripping over the mops. Cursing a little, she grabbed them back up and set them back in place, before running for the door, she only had thirty seconds to start with and a good few had gone on tidying back up. Flying out of the door she turned to shut it, barely registering Andy on the floor in her haste to stop the alarms from going off.
But it did register, and she turned back, just in time to see two men turning towards her, one of whom immediately swung a fist at her face. Swinging on the door a bit Emma ducked, her hood falling back as his fist caught it instead of her. She hoped she could remember what Alec had taught her, but just then the other one swung, and caught her right on the jaw, knocking her head backwards and sending her staggering out of the shadows a bit more.
The light was dim, but enough, and one half turned to the other, a look of concern on his face, "It's her, from the college? What do we do?"
The other swung again, slipping past the block Emma tried, catching her right in the face, "We do what we should have done last time and stop her talking."
The guy who'd originally spoken, he did sort of look familiar, in a vague sort of way, took a step forward, and Emma tried to clear her head, she couldn't quite see straight, and she knew she was going to have one hell of a headache. The other one slammed a fist into her stomach, and she doubled over, crying out in pain, and trying not to throw up, but definitely to keep breathing.
Head still spinning, Andy pushed herself up at the sounds of blows and Emma's soft anguished cry. Never the most even-tempered of women, the sight and sound of the two men beating the young girl enraged her as the theft of her bag and the punch to the head had not and the sight of a flash of steel in one of the shadowy figures' fists completed the job.
Her howl of fury distracted one from his ugly business and his eyes widened as she pressed the release button on her cane and drew the blade.
Instead of swinging again at the girl, the sight of the long blade made him reconsider, and he dropped her, taking a couple of steps back, and he glanced over at his partner, a little wide eyed to see a knife in his hand.
Both men jumped as though stung as the alarms, supposed to be set by the locking of the outer door, triggered. Lights flashed, earsplitting klaxons sounded and a jocular southern voice drawled, "The police are on their way, motherfucker!"
Andy had jumped too and as one man turned and fled, hurling her bag aside, she lunged, the sword stick flashing in the multicoloured lights. Emma's attacker squawked and he too ran for it, limping and clapping a hand to the flapping seat of his pants.
Andy gasped, half terrified, half laughing and limped across to Emma. "Honey," she panted. "Emma? Oh fuck sweetie."
Emma just groaned, curled up as she was on the floor, "Was, was that uncle Deek? Or the alarm?" She would have laughed, but even breathing seemed to hurt just then and her vision was still blurry.
"Uncle Deek in spirit, hun," Andy said, sliding the blooded blade back into the body of her cane and clicking it shut. "Damn, I knew he'd rigged it to be loud but I didn't realise it would be that loud." She leaned to open the door a bit further to get more light and winced to see the blood on Emma's face. "Come on, sweetie, let's get you sat up a bit. Where does it hurt worst? Or does it hurt everywhere."
Emma coughed a little, "I'm glad it's that loud," she winced as she ran her tongue round her teeth, some of them felt loose, and she could feel one eye swelling shut. "My feet don't hurt, but pretty much everywhere else does."
Sitting up was not something she wanted to try, but then again, laying on the very cold damp ground wasn't helping. "I tripped over the mops," she said randomly, at least, it seemed random, "but I picked them up again."
"Thank you," Andy said, hearing the sound of a siren with relief. Emma's confusion could mean a concussion or worse. "I think we might have to get you down to ER, because you've got one hell of a shiner coming up there. And I think, as soon as the police get here, we ought to give Alec and Anghara a call."
"Oh god, yes, he's gonna be so mad, I might never see daylight again." Emma groaned again, as much as she loved Alec, and knew he loved her, that overprotective streak of his would be way out of control after this. Trouble was the thought of how much they'd worry had her wincing again. "Ang is gonna freak, some of my teeth feel loose? Dentistry isn't cheap over here is it?"
"You have insurance," Andy pointed out. "Comes with the cachet of being one of Charlie's Angels!" Lights flashed in the road at the end of the alleyway and someone shouted. Andy put her fingers in her mouth and whistled. "There," she said, "the police are on their way. Um - just one thing. My cane - it's a cane, okay, nothing else. The last thing I can afford right now is to have carrying concealed added to my rap sheet."
"Your cane?" Emma frowned, then winced and pressed a hand to her head, she couldn't remember seeing the cane, but, then again, curled up on the floor, maybe she'd missed it, "I never saw anything, just, one of them had a knife?"
"Cool," Andy said and grinned, remembering the fleeing attacker, the torn pants, the hairy slice of buttock. "Goddammit, a bit faster and I coulda had his balls," she growled then looked up and pasted on an anxious face as the first uniform appeared.
"Thank God you got here so fast, officer," she said.