Date Posted: September 2000
Rated: G
Spoilers: "The Out-of-Towner"
Summary: A rescue made by one of Sam's "Helpers".  This story takes place in New York with Sam Cooper's Paper "DAILY NEWS".
Disclaimer: Early Edition, its character and whatever else, are owned by Tristar and CBS. No copyright infringement is intended.

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A Call from Sam
by Measer

I receive a call from Sam Cooper.  He says go to Times Square around three, I'll pay you the normal fee.  The normal fee is more than I make at my normal job.  So I take the day off and go, but I didn't expect this.  Looking around there must be dozens of 'em screaming,  holding signs yelling.  I put my hands over my ears to try to filter the noise out.  It's not working.  All these young teenage girls screaming.  I wonder what they're screaming about.

My phone rings so I answer it.  "Hello!"  I yell.

"Mike!  Where are you?"  It's Sam.

"I'm at Times Square!" I yell over the crowd.

"What!!! I can't hear you... Are you at Times Square?"  Sam asks.

"Yes!!"  I yell.  This is getting annoying.  "What the hell am I doing here!"

"Which side of the street are you on?"

"What the kinda question is that."  I ask.  "What the hell am I doing here."

"Is there a barrier in front of you?" Sam asks.  I'm getting mad.

"Sam just tell me what I'm doing here!!!"  I yell.  I don't hear Sam speak.  All I hear is paper rustling.  "Hello??!!"

"A barrier is going to break and dozens of people get pushed into traffic."  Is all he say to me.  How the hell does he know that?  But I'm going to take his word for it.  I get paid no matter what.

"What do you mean which one?  How many barriers are out there?"

"A lot!"  I yell back.  "There are a lot of barriers out here.  What kind of barriers,  police, crowd control, jaywalking...."

"I don't know it's one facing the street?"

"There's a lot of them...."  I look around and see one of the barriers across the street shaking.  Maybe that one?  I run across the street dodging the barrage of yellow taxis and blue city buses, try to hold the barrier together.  It's not working.  The crowd's pushing against it.  I try to tighten the bolts holding the barrier together, but I can't think, some little girl is screaming in my ear.

"Hey what are you doing."  A police officer comes towards me. "You!  What are you doing."

"Hey are you still there?"  Sam asks.

"Let me call you back, Sam."  I hang the phone up and walk towards the cop.

"Officer the barrier's loose..."

"Sure it is..."

"Just look at it.  It's shaking..."

I watch as the police officer looks at the barrier.  He tightens one of the bolts holding it together and looks at me.

"Come on buddy, you're coming with me."  He grabs my arms and pulls out his handcuffs.

"What? What the hell did I do?"  I fidget as he begins to read me my rights.

"I'm charging you with malious mischief and if you don't stop, I'll add resisting arrest."

The officer starts reading me my rights.  "malious mischief?  I was trying to fix the damn thing!"

"Is that why all bolts were so loose.  If you loosened those barriers who knows what would have happened.  We put those up for crowd safety."  The officer says to me.  Then it hits me.  Lefty loosey, Righty tighty.... damn I was loosing it.

I cop puts me in his police car and we drive off.

"Hey officer... what's with all the screaming girls anyway?"  Hell if I'm going to get arrested I want to know why.

"That's the MTV studio's there's some band there...Backdoor Boys or something like that."  He says to me.  "They're really popular with the kids these day..."

I'm getting arrested cause of some kids screaming about a boy band? I feel a headache coming on. I should of just went to work...

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The End

Email the author:  Measer
 
 

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