Hooked

noise, followed by a series of tremors woke her, scaring her witless. An earthquake, she thought at first. They were rare in New York but not unheard of.
    But this was no quake. Another crashing sound. More rattling of the building. With every thundering crunch, a plume of dust spewed into the room through the glassless windows, covering her in suffocating powder. Terrified to the point of hysteria, she wanted to scream out, to run, but she could do neither. The moans in her throat were lost to the noises outside. Tied to the radiator by the heavy electrical cord, she realized it was useless to struggle. The one solid item that hadn’t been salvaged from the building held her firmly secured. Wriggling and pulling against her restraints only deepened the gouges in her skin. She wheezed out a puff of air and accepted the inevitable.
    She was going to die.
    Then another pounding thump, another wrenching vibration, another shower of dust. Only this time a large chunk of cement bounced off her aching shoulder onto the floor, bringing tears to her eyes.
    After another thunderous bang shook the building, water shot through the window. Was it raining? Plaster fell from the ceiling in chunks, exposing the interior studs. Of all the ways she ever thought of dying, being crushed to death under a mountain of debris wasn’t one of them.
    * * * * *
    L inc usually traveled through the Holland Tunnel from his home in New Jersey to work in Manhattan but rarely left his house this early. This morning, coming from his office, he reversed direction. Red light flashing on his dash, he zoomed through the heavy morning traffic. Once in New Jersey , he maneuvered around the armada of trucks.
    Linc was oblivious to everything except whether Dennis had connected with the owner of the demolition company, or if the Kearney police had arrived on scene to stop the demolition. Was Tawny even there? He checked his watch. Six-ten. Could this be a futile waste of time while Tawny was somewhere else, already dead? He pushed the thought from his mind because this was his only hope to save her.
    Linc’s thoughts veered to Harry’s deceit, and his pulse quickened even more. Harry had saved his life, but he was dirty. Could Linc end the career of a man he’d looked up to his whole life? When the day was over, he’d have to face those choices, but he couldn’t do it now.
    Linc didn’t know where the hell he was. He exited where Mike told him, but nerves and desperation stymied his usually keen sense of direction. Sweat trickled down his back.
    After a few wrong turns, he followed the thick, sooty air to the wasteland of deserted and semi-demolished buildings. Barriers blocked the road, and cinder particles and debris covered the ground and spewed into the atmosphere. High-pressure hoses fought a losing battle to control the dust. If Tawny was here, he was definitely too late. He banged the steering wheel. “Damn, damn.”
    Linc pulled behind a Kearney police car. Two cops were talking to a heavy-set guy in a yellow jacket and hard hat, pointing to a multi-storied building under attack from a large crane wielding a wrecking ball. Bulldozers and excavators dotted the scenery, but next to explosives, the wrecking ball was the one thing Linc didn’t want to see. He hopped out of the car and sprinted to join them, readying his identification.
    “Walsh, NYPD.” He yelled to be heard over the sound of the demolition. “There’s a strong possibility a woman is trapped in one of those buildings, more than likely the tallest one. Can you order a stop to the demolition?”
    The man in the hardhat nodded and pulled out a small walkie-talkie while the two cops said they’d just arrived.
    The huge steel ball made a last half-hearted ram into the building before swinging to a slow stop. Building rubble covered the area. Linc started to move in the direction of the building, but Hardhat pulled him back.
    “I can’t let you near there. The foundation’s been weakened. It’s an old building and could collapse any minute. I’ll get my men to go inside. They know what dangers to look for.”
    “I’ve got to get inside.”
    “You willing to risk your life?” Hardhat asked.
    Linc looked at the building, then back at the foreman. “Yeah, I am, and I’ll go with or without your approval.”
    Hardhat shook his head in defeat. “Okay, as long as these fellows heard you accept responsibility for your wellbeing,” he said, pointing to the two uniforms.