(no subject)
Title: Unlikely Heroine
Author: Meghan
Plot: Danger in Elias-Clarke! Prompt taken from Somniesperus’ V-Day Challenges.
Couples: None, but there are a few implied ones. See if you can pick them out. ;-)
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the background storylines, just the literature surrounding the situation they've just landed themselves in.
Rating: Pg-13 for language
Part 1 of 1
The lights are out, the elevators aren't working, and there are cops everywhere outside! What's going on? Panic. Sheer and total panic encased the hearts of all employees of Runway. It had been a simple delivery. Just like any other day. Numbers of people coming in and out of the elevators at all times, with racks of beautiful clothing adorning the hangers. Normal. After all they did work at a fashion magazine and if today there seemed to be more deliveries then usual that could easily be explained as well. Three days to the issue was due on stands, and the night before there had been a power surge, causing chaos to envelope those immediately responsible for the articles published in the issue. Which really meant, everyone was in a state of panic. This panic and high blood pressure was normal, the panic that now encased all those on the twenty-fifth floor of Elias-Clarke building was not normal.
People were crying, again something not uncommon in these offices, but they were crying for a different reason today. Three reasons that each had automatic weapons with bullets and the safeties removed. Runway, home of the notorious Miranda Priestly and her army of clackers, was being held at gunpoint. Yes, this was something a person did not expect to happen with the kind of security Elias-Clarke paid for. The gunman had arrived three hours ago with masks covering their faces, guns drawn and a rack of clothing that most assumed had allowed them to get past security. The lights had been cut, as had the electricity to the elevators, leaving those on the twenty-fifth floor caged. They could hear the sirens outside, had heard a man on a megaphone attempting to negotiate, but that had been an hour ago and still they remained. The armed masked men had said very little outside the commands one thought would be common in this kind of situation.
“Do as I say and you won’t get hurt.”
“Shut up!”
“Don’t make me shot you, bitch!”
“Don’t Move!”
“Be quiet!”
“Stay There!”
“I Said Shut Up!”
“I’ll kill you a swear!”
The usual.
The reasons these three people had for holding up this particular office was unknown to those still whimpering out in the outer offices. There was no money anywhere in these offices. The only valuables on this floor happened to be the clothes, locked away in the Closet, which was now locked due to the powers inability to remain on. Though, the gunman hadn’t tried to shot their way in, which many assumed would be rather easy for them. If it wasn’t the 4.5 billion dollars worth of clothing and shoes inside the Closet that they wanted no one could venture an accurate guess as to what these madmen wanted.
For the five individuals being held in the inner offices, Miranda’s office and the small room the assistants took up. They were just now being informed why they were still being threatened with automatic rifles and no demands. After all, a person could only take so much of Miranda Priestly’s incessant complaints about how incompetent they were by just standing around and pointing their weapons at innocent people with seemingly no real reason to be there.
“I can’t take it anymore!” The gunman whined as he shook his gun while it was pointed at Miranda.
Andy sat on her knees by her desk watching as Miranda stood up to the two men standing in front of them wielding deadly weapons. Cassidy whimpered when the man started to wave the gun around again. Andy pulled Cassidy and Caroline closer to her chest and held them tightly as all three of them watched as the gunman moved closer to Miranda. Andy looked across the office and met Nigel’s eyes. Nigel’s outfit; usually pressed and clean was wrinkled and had bloodstains soaked into the fabric and his hair in a state of disarray. Just likes the rest of them, well excluding Miranda because Miranda’s attire and appearance was always perfect. Even in a hostage situation. They should’ve known.
“Mom, please sit down…” Caroline begged as she looked up at her mother and saw the man walk right up to her mother and press the guns barrel against her chest.
Roy had dropped the twins off at the office twenty minutes before the gunmen arrived. They had the day off and Miranda was going to take them out to brunch for their birthday. Miranda had cleared almost her entire schedule for the day, which meant most of the office had off, which turned out to be a good thing. Andy knew it was the twins’ birthday thanks to all the work she had done for them. They’d commented once that their birthday was on Valentines Day and Andy hadn’t forgotten. She’d bought the girls gifts. She’d brought them to work with her in hopes that she’d be able to give the girls their gifts when she dropped off the Book. When Andy had seen them walk into the office, she had stopped them before they went to their mother. Seeing this as the perfect time to give them their gifts (just in case she couldn’t later). The gifts weren’t much but they were heartfelt. The girls had opened them apprehensively, as if afraid to see what they had actually been given by another one of their mother’s assistants.
Emily glared at Andy the whole time and Miranda watched her like a hawk.
When the girls actually opened the gifts they had both shrieked and rushed over to Andy and actually hugged her, in the middle of the office! Miranda had looked like she was either going to yell or cry she was so red in the face. All she did in reality was nod her head slowly to Andy. Andy had nodded her head back and then turned back to the girls to talk about the gifts. It was of course Harry Potter, since the girls were still infatuated with it. Cassidy got the ‘potions set’, which was in actuality a chemistry set. Andy gave Caroline the mythical creatures book, specifically for the Harry Potter series. Then of course a bag of Bertie and Botts Every Flavor Beans for them both. They’d informed her that they liked her better then any of their mother’s assistants.
All in all, it’d been a sweet moment…until the screaming from the outer offices ruined it. Nigel had come running into the office, pale and panting for air, and told them that they needed to get out of the office now! They heard the echoing screams and the first round of gunfire for the day. With pounding hearts they’d left. Without a word Miranda had grabbed onto Caroline’s shoulder while Andy pulled and pushed Cassidy out the door. The girls’ presents forgotten on Andy’s desk as the girls first and only wave of tears came.
Andy sensing the looming danger and Miranda’s instinct to protect her children had made them the first two out of Miranda’s office and down the hallway; each one of them with a redhead held tightly to their side. Miranda had locked eyes with Andy and the naïve second assistant knew that if she let go of Cassidy or was responsible for any harm coming onto her that death would be a blessing. That look and their movements only took up a half of a second and with warnings and messages made perfectly clear they’d tried to escape. Emily and Nigel were right behind them and when they went to turn to the right, towards the stairs, they came into contact with the same man that stood before them now.
They hadn’t made it to the stairs. They’d been slowly ushered back into Miranda’s office, with the girls crying and Emily entering into hysterics. Nigel sat with his body positioned over Emily’s left shoulder. Their sides both touching Emily’s desk. Nigel had been putting pressure on the wound Emily had been dealt the moment their effort to escape had been thwarted. Nigel had tried to dispatch (be the hero) the gunman of his gun, and was failing. Seeing this Andy had gone to get up and help Nigel, only to be stopped by the girls’ arms holding her back and Miranda’s own glare. Emily took her place. The only adult redhead had somehow calmed herself enough to use the adrenaline that had been boiling in her system since the hysterics began and attempted to help Nigel. It’d ended with them just about getting the gun from the gunman but stopped when Emily was shot in the shoulder.
Shot!
They hadn’t been aware there were more then one gunman, and when the second arrived and actually shot Emily they’d been thrown for a loop. But only for a second because after that one second Emily’s cries had taken them out of their momentary stupor. Nigel had been shocked enough to stop his efforts, and received a nice gash over his left eyebrow for it. Nigel recovered from the hit but the same man he’d been beating up seconds before then kicked him in the stomach several agonizing times. Andy had rushed over to Emily the moment the girl hit the ground.
The twins had attempted to keep her where she had been, with them, but she’d pushed off their arms and rushed to her co-workers side and tried to calm her down, even as she pushed her hands down onto her shoulder. Miranda in the meantime just sat where she was, stunned. As if she’d just realized what kind of situation they were in. Her dazed expression soon disappeared when she’d heard the gunman ordering Andy to step back away from Emily, only to have Andy refuse as she glared at the man over her shoulder; her weight still distributed onto Emily’s bleeding shoulder
“Andy…” Emily had whispered as tears streamed down her face which had already become white. Emily had wanted to say more but she couldn’t seem to voice what it was she wanted to say. Andy told her to be quite and try to stay still.
“You’re going to be alright.” Andy told Emily firmly as she smiled sadly down at the woman beneath her.
“Get over there!” The man had yelled and even touched her shoulder with the barrel of his rifle, the other man still holding his gun up as he looked down at Emily and kept a watchful eye on Nigel, who was just staggering up to his knees.
“If I don’t keep pressure on her shoulder she’ll die.” Andy had said firmly, her voice cracking as her first tears began to fall at the realization of what she’d just stated.
“I don’t care!” The man had yelled and pushed his gun against her shoulder harder. “The bitch deserves to die.”
Andy’s heart had gone cold at the statement and hadn’t warmed since.
“Let her help her.” The second man, with a brown ski mask had said softly.
“What!?” The man with the black ski mask had asked outraged.
“I said let her help her. Better yet…let him help her.” Brown said as he pointed his gun at Nigel and then pointed at Emily’s shaking form.
“Are you serious?” Black had asked still outraged, his face now turned to his partner even as his gun remained pressed against Andy’s back.
The girls’ had started to cry again. Miranda watched silently, afraid to interrupt and have to watch as another one of her employees was shot and possibly killed.
“I don’t know about you man but I personally don’t feel like going to jail for life for murder.” Brown stated his voice hard and firm as he glared at Black.
Brown groaned and turned to look at Nigel. “Fine…you put the pressure on her wound. Anything funny and I won’t think twice about shooting you. Dying in prison aint my worst fear.”
So Nigel had taken Andy’s place, even as Emily begged for Andy not to leave. Emily had grabbed onto Andy’s hand and held firm, until Miranda had finally spoke up.
“Emily do not cause more problems.” Miranda had simply stated. Emily had let go of Andy’s hand even before Miranda had finished and Andy turned and glared at the gunmen standing in front of her before turning it on Miranda. Miranda actually looked taken back when she met Andy’s glare, of course she didn’t falter to it, she had just given Andrea her own glare and nodded her head to her left, back to where she had been sitting next to her and the girls, by her own desk.
When this was over if she and the entire staff of Runway didn’t quit…
That had all occurred an hour ago. Emily had passed out thirty minutes ago, but was still breathing, and was still alive if only just barely. Barley was better then dead. Barely could be fixed later dead couldn’t be fixed no matter how hard one tried.
Miranda had stood up to ‘talk’ (insult) the gunmen’s incompetence almost fifteen minutes ago and his latest outburst and unspoken threat spoken proved it had worked. She was getting to him. Too bad for them, after their first attempt to escape a second gunman had moved to stand ten feet from the door so if one of them was unsettled the other could remain calm. .
“Get a grip man!” Brown ordered as he glared over at his friend. “It’s just a woman.” His buddy in the gray sky mask said as he looked between his partner and the silver haired woman.
“Just a woman? Just a woman…oh no, no, no!” Came a new feminine voice from the hallway. The five conscious hostages watched as a third gunwoman arrived, her ski mask blue. She was slowly walking to the office as she spoke loud and clearly down the hallway knowing her voice would echo into the office. “You see Miranda Priestly isn’t just a woman. She’s the woman…”
“What are you doing in here?!” Brown asked. “You’re supposed to be watching the rest with…”
“No names!” Black interjected quickly.
“Oh…we let the rest go.” The woman stated simply, as she shrugged her shoulders.
“You what!?” Both Brown and Black asked.
“We let them go.” The woman pronounced every syllable slowly.
“Now who are we going to ransom!?” Brown asked.
Andy gasped and shook her head as she looked up at Miranda. The way Miranda’s body had visibly tensed showed she was very aware of whom they were now going to ransom.
“Them.” The woman said as she pointed her gun to the twins.
Miranda’s eyes widened and her head snapped to her side and met her daughters’ eyes. With a slowly rising heartbeat she turned her eyes to look at the gunman, her feet unintentionally moving her form in front of her daughters’ and Andrea, who was now being hugged tightly enough to push out all the air she held in her lungs. Her own arms doing the same thing. These girls might not be hers but she wouldn’t let these monsters get them. Especially Black…Andy would never let Black get a hold of them.
“What about the rest of them?” Black asked turning his head from the office out to the woman.
“Let them go.” Nigel sighed at the sound of this. Emily needed a doctor…immediately! He’d worry about the girls after he helped this girl (woman).
“But isn’t she worth all the money?” Brown asked as he pointed at Miranda.
“Exactly! She’ll pay anything to get her girls back.” The woman said as she walked into the office, her gun slowly rising till it was held at a 180-degree angle and pointed at Miranda’s chest. “Won’t you Miranda?” Miranda made no sound nor did she move. “You love them more then anything. Even if you’re worth a shit as a mother, you love them.” Miranda’s lips formed such a strained line that Andy wondered if she’d be able to ever smile again, if she could smile at all as it was. “Why don’t you phone that cop and tell them to meet you in the stairwell with medics.” The woman said as she turned to look at the two men behind her. Her grip on the gun loosening.
Andy felt her heart race and put her palms against the twins chests and pushed slightly…the girls not knowing what she was going to do gripped tighter until Andy turned and glared at them. They both silently let go of Andy…but kept their bodies close to her. With a deep breath Andy braced her hands against the wooden floor and as the woman finished speaking she pushed off the ground with lightning speed and raised the gun up to the ceiling as she pulled it away from the woman. The woman’s finger pulled the trigger but the bullet shot harmlessly into the ceiling above them. The two men pulled their guns up and raised them to shoot but found they couldn’t get a clear shot with their comrade in the way. Caroline watched as the woman tried to pull the gun back from Andy, as she tried to hold the gun up making it impossible for Andy to threaten her with it.
“You bitch!” The woman growled as she kicked at Andy’s stomach. Andy winced with pain but kept her hold on the gun.
Miranda watching Andy scuffle with the woman waved her children over to her. Cassidy and Caroline both jumped up and moved to stand behind their mother, in the doorway to her office. Miranda gripped both of their hands tightly for a moment. “The Bathroom…go lock yourselves in and don’t come out till I tell you.” They looked at her horrified. “Go!” They complied and ran to Miranda’s personal bathroom and locked the door.
Miranda happy that her children were out of the line of fire if shots were to be fired moved to Andy’s side. With a careful eye on the two men trying to get a clear shot at Andy, Miranda reached forward and grabbed the 9 mm tucked into the woman’s pants.
“She’s trying to get my gun! Shoot her!” The woman yelled and the two men tried to understand how she could think they were both that stupid. They were watching Andy try and take the gun with nothing to do but wait since they couldn’t shoot at her without hitting her.
“We can’t.” Brown stated and groaned. “We’ll hit you!”
“Not her…Miranda!” The woman yelled and the men turned to see that Miranda Priestly was now holding onto a 9mm and flipped the safety and was pointing it straight at them.
They weren’t stupid. Not in the least. They knew who Miranda was and they both knew that she was a vengeful woman. With this knowledge came the great need and urge to stay alive.
“Shit!” Black cursed.
“Run!” Brown stated and with their fronts still facing Miranda, guns pointed at her just as she pointed it at them, they made their way to the stairwell and ran for it.
“Fuck!” The woman cursed as she was kneed in the stomach by Andy and then hit on the nose with the butt of the gun. She fell to the ground and grabbed at her broken and bloodied nose as Andy cocked the gun and pressed it against her head.
Andy’s arms were shaking and her chest was heaving as she held the automatic rifle to the woman’s head. The room went quiet and all Andy could hear was the blood rushing through her ears. She noticed a hand on her shoulder and could see a flash of white hair to her left but she ignored it and locked eyes with the woman kneeling before her. Andy wished she could have Brown or Black kneeling before her. She’d have pulled the trigger if it was him, she was sure of it. Black had shot Emily. She’d shot her! Brown had wanted to kill her. If either of them were in this woman’s face, she’d have killed them. And that scared her. Death scared her. Life scared her, hell a lot of things scared her but what had terrified her was someone’s willingness to kill her friend. To kill someone she cared for, more then she should.
Nigel looked up at the two women before he shook his head and pulled down one of the many cell phones that had been placed on Emily’s desk by one of the gunmen. He still held down on Emily’s shoulder with one arm as he dialed with the other, calling the police. He got an operator and informed her that he was one of the hostages at the Elias and Clarke building and needed to talk to the man in charge quickly. The operator patched him through immediately. He finished explaining that the two gunmen had just run out of the offices and that they had the third gunwoman held down for the moment and that they needed medics immediately that one of them had been shot and was unconscious. The man told Nigel they’d be right up and within a moment of their conversation endings the electricity turned back on. Nigel sighed just another live or die scenario at Runway.
“Don’t worry Em…they’ll be here soon. You hang in there girl. It’s almost over.” Nigel said to the unconscious first assistant.
Miranda had watched both of her assistants attempt to free them. Had watched one of them fall to the ground, shot, for their efforts. Had watched as another took blow after blow from someone but held on to the gun even as her own blood slowly started to slip from her own nose and facial wounds. She’d watched one of them hold on to her children as if they were her own, and had trusted her with their lives. When all was said and done all Miranda had done was talked, but they took action. They saved themselves and others. They’d risked their own health for her, her children and Nigel. Now she was watching as Andrea held a gun to one of their captures heads and knew, could understand, what she was feeling. Could understand Andrea’s sudden need to enact revenge on those that had caused this, but she understood nothing.
“Andrea…” Miranda said slower then usual.
“They shot her…” Nigel and Miranda looked up at Andy’s sorrow filled whispered comment. “They shot her…”
“She’s lost it.” Nigel stated after a moment, trying to break the suddenly quiet room while both thought about how long Andy had harbored feelings for Emily and wondered if the British belle knew.
“I’ll kill you…” Andy hears herself whisper. She swallows and says this part clearly and firmly and with all the hatred she feels burning inside her stomach. Or maybe that’s the disgust at this new emotional urge to kill someone to know they hurt as much as Emily’s hurting and then hurt him or her more. “I’ll find you and I’ll kill you if she dies.” Her voice trembles with the hatred she feels for this woman and her friends. “Now tell me…who are they?”
The woman below her actually has the decency to cringe and show fear at Andy’s words as she tries to back away as much as she can. Her hand is still covering her nose, trying in a vain attempt to curb the blood flow.
“Ow…at…ow?” The woman asks and even though her answer is mumbled Andy knows what she asks and finds herself putting the gun right up against the top of the woman’s nose and pushing hard. The woman cries out as much as she can against her own hand.
“Who are your friends? I want names…now!”
“Andy…” Nigel says trying to call Andy’s attention to him. “..the police will get the names. Now…give Miranda the gun.” Nigel has to wonder if that’s even a good idea or if he’s gone insane for even commanding someone to hand Miranda Priestly a gun! “Never thought I’d say that.” Nigel mumbles as he shakes his head.
“They won’t get names.” Miranda and Andy say at the same time. Andy turns to meet Miranda’s eyes and Miranda doesn’t even have to ask. Without another word Andy hands the woman the gun. This woman knows who Miranda is, on a personal level if Andy could make a guess, so she’d find it terrifying to have Miranda holding a gun to her head then Andy. Andy thinks the woman just peed herself and when she looks down to see liquid on the surface of the floor she finds she’s correct. Yeah, well on any other day she wouldn’t blame the woman. Miranda Priestly with a gun if fucking scary.
Miranda nods and literally takes Andy’s place. “Who__are__your__friends?” Miranda asks slowly her eyes glaring into the woman below her.
That’s all she wrote before the woman’s singing like a canary. The police arrive with medics two minutes later and all stop short when they see Miranda with a gun. If it had been any other day they’d have all laughed, except for Miranda of course. Miranda fetches the twins and they all walk out behind the medics, taking the second elevator so that the medics can take the first and assist Emily. Nigel and Andy both take an elevator with Miranda, as do the twins and two police officers and the woman. Who they have found out, after taking off her ski mask, was an old second assistant of Miranda’s who was fired and couldn’t find work anywhere in the city. Go figure.
When they make it outside they see that the press is pushed back behind barricades and the police have to hold them back when Miranda walks out of the building. There are at least a dozen cop cars and two swat vans outside and a small tent area where Miranda can see the rest of the Runway staff has been held up being questioned and helped. There are also four ambulances, two of which have two employees of Runway sitting on the edge getting stitched up by the EMTs. The third ambulance to the left is where the group sees the EMTs loading Emily. Miranda holds onto her girls’ shoulders and turns to meet Andy’s eyes. Miranda just nods her head slightly, and smiles before saying, “Thank you, Andrea.” The girls look up at their mother and then to Andy and both rush to give Andy a hug before rushing back to wrap their arms around their mother’s waist. They walk off with two of the policemen while Andy rushes off to get to the ambulance Emily’s being loaded into.
Nigel just watches as the group parts ways. Hell of a day doesn’t begin to cover what they all have gone through today. Flashes continue to blind him as he walks towards the Runway tent where he is hugged by several of his coworkers. Serena and Jocelyn being among the only three that asked him if he was hurt, after all he was covered in blood. A fact that would have him getting close with his toilet later tonight he was sure. He informed them that he was fine and tried to answer as many questions as he could. Which wasn’t a lot. Five minutes later Irv Ratiz greets him and Nigel nods his head and shakes the man’s hand when it is offered to him. Irv asks what happened up ‘there’ (nods his head towards the building) and Nigel just shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders. Nigel looks around at all the chaos and mayhem turns to Irv when he hears the man laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Nigel asks.
“Sales are going to skyrocket.” Nigel chuckles once and then swings.
Bastard! Nigel walks away from the tent to the sounds of Serena and Jocelyn asking, “Are you alright Mr. Ratiz?”
THE END