Disclaimer: These characters belong to Lauren Weisberger and 20th Century Fox.  No infringement is intended or profit made from this work. I'm just borrowing them for a bit and I promise to put them back when I'm finished. Whether or not they'll ever be the same again is anybody's guess.

Chapter 11

“That’s them on the bench. Pull up here and have the men form a loose perimeter. I’ll go introduce us to the detectives in charge.”

“Yes, sir. Do you want agents specifically on the children?”

“Not yet. The police have things under control here. The kids have been through enough today. Let me introduce myself and make friends. Tomorrow is soon enough for them to meet individual agents.”

“Yes, sir.”

The armored SUV stopped and he stepped out onto the grass. The late winter sun was setting quickly and he needed to get his principals safely into the cars and home. The receiver in his earbud crackled slightly and he received the report that the residence had been secured. He toggled his wrist mic twice in acknowledgement and strode over to the knot of NYPD suits watching CSIs going over a crashed minivan.

“Excuse me, gentlemen. I’m Simon Hughes from Whitehall Security. I’m here to establish security for the Priestlys.”

A middle-aged detective detached himself from the group and extended his hand. “Jack Simms. Detective Lieutenant. I caught this one.”

“How’s it going?”

“I wish they were all like this. These were not the brightest bulbs on the string. The van is loaded with physical evidence, we’ve got about forty witnesses, and they didn’t make it but a few hundred yards from the snatch site. Overall, the DA’s office is on cloud nine. High profile case; should be a slam-dunk. We haven’t been able to question the perps yet; they’re still being treated at Bellevue, but we’ll get to them. The only thing that seems strange about it is that they had gang tats. We could identify the gang right off. This isn’t something they’ve ever done before. In fact, it kind of breaks an unwritten agreement they have with their…competitors. I think we need to look into that real close. If this is a new business sideline, we could have problems.”

“Have you interviewed the girl yet?”

“No; she was pretty shook up. Kept clinging to her coach until her mother got here. I guess I can understand that. I’ve got kids of my own.”

“Will there be any problem interviewing her tonight at their home? I’d like to get the family into a secure location if I can. That’ll be a first step in calming her down. Get her someplace she knows.”

“No, that’s fine. When I finish up here I’ll take a run through Bellevue and check on our suspects. I won’t try to talk to the girl until later on this evening.”

“Any chance you could make it after dinner; say around 7:30?”

The detective nodded amiably. “Sure that’ll give me and my men a chance to grab some food too. As soon as we get the statements from the girls and the nanny, I’ll make a preliminary report to the DA and we’ll decide what charges to bring. It a shame there’s no statute against being stupid. If there were, I could lock these two up and throw away the key.”

“All right then, Lieutenant, I’ll notify Mrs. Priestly that you’ll be coming by around 7:30. I’m sure that will be acceptable. See you then.”

“Oh, Mr. Hughes?”

“Yes, Lieutenant?”

“Make sure all your men have their Conceal Carry permits on them at all times. I’d hate to have to arrest you.”

“That is never a problem, Lieutenant.” Agent Hughes shook Simms’ hand and turned back toward the bench where Miranda, Cara and the twins sat.

“Mrs. Priestly? I’m Simon Hughes from Whitehall Security. I’ll be overseeing the detail assigned to you.” He squatted down in front of the bench and smiled at the twins who were studying him intently. “It’s going to take me a day or so to tell you two apart. I’m Simon, and I’m here to make sure you’re safe.”

“Say hello to Mr. Hughes, girls,” said Miranda softly. Cassidy greeted him quietly. When she finished, he turned his eyes to Caroline.

“You must be Caroline, then. I’m very glad to meet you.”

Caroline said nothing, merely regarding him for a long moment. Finally, in a voice barely above a whisper she asked, “Do you have a gun?” Miranda stiffened.

Simon regarded her gravely for a moment then replied, “Yes.”

“Is it a big gun?”

“A very big gun.”

“Can you shoot it?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Will it keep bad people away?”

“It won’t, but I will.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

Hesitantly, she held out her hand and Hughes gently shook it. “Now, how about we get everybody back home as quick as we can?”

Hughes took Miranda and the twins into the second SUV and put Emily, Cara and Patricia in the third. That left a lead car and a chase car free to flank the primary vehicles. The agents knew their business and within a few short minutes, the cars ran a gauntlet of screaming paparazzi and pulled up in front of the townhouse where additional agents opened the car doors and escorted everyone inside. Stepping out of the SUV, Hughes noted with satisfaction that his men had secured the townhouse and managed to isolate the media at the end of the block. That would benefit not only the Priestlys but the neighbors as well.

As Cara took the girls upstairs, Hughes started to explain the security procedures and manpower he had surrounding them to Miranda. Absently she nodded and he realized that she was just going through the motions with him.

“Ma’am? Why don’t you go upstairs and change into something more comfortable? Go check on your daughters? I’ll see to the arrangements for tonight and when you come back downstairs, we can go over some of the things we need to review. How does that sound?” Miranda just nodded distractedly and took Emily down the hall to her first floor study. A couple of minutes later she emerged and climbed the stairs to check on the twins.

* * * * *

As the study door closed behind Miranda, Emily went into action. She fired a text message off to the office informing them that everyone was safely back at the townhouse and that their base of operations would be there until further notice. Opening her laptop and using the password Miranda had given her, she signed into the townhouse’s wireless net and brought up Miranda’s personal address book.

Her first call was to the twins’ pediatrician, who came immediately to the phone and expressed horror at the day’s events. When Emily informed her of Miranda’s request, she agreed promptly and Emily gave her the ETA of one of the security vehicles. Her next call was to their Runway office to get telephone numbers for the Chair of the Medical Board of New York-Presbyterian, the Human Resources department at Goldman Sachs, the Vargas Gallery and the Richard Sachs residence in Cincinnati. That task complete, she called Miranda’s veterinarian and arranged additional transport to the townhouse so that Patricia could be examined. She then placed calls to Goldman Sachs and the Vargas Galleries but was unable to reach either of the parties she sought and made a note to try again in a short while.

Just as she disconnected from that call, her phone buzzed and the caller ID display showed the Mercedes dealership. She was informed the Mercedes had been transported to their dealership and that a new S600 would be ferried to their garage within the hour for their use until their car was repaired.

Their immediate needs having been attended to, Emily then sent an email to Miranda’s charitable trust authorizing a donation to the NYPD and an additional contribution to the Mounted Park Police. When she had completed that, she took a deep breath and steeled herself for the next call that needed to be made. Emily was not fond of Miranda’s publicist, Leslie, and the feeling was mutual. But the paparazzi had been everywhere and Leslie would need to do damage control. It was bad enough when Miranda’s life was splashed across Page Six; if the tabloids exploited Caroline’s kidnapping, Miranda would go ballistic.

When her phone began to ring, she took a steadying breath. “Yes, Emily Charlton for Leslie Hamilton. Leslie? Yes, it’s bad. We’re at DefCon5 around here but at least we have the girls home. Miranda is with them now. The press was waiting in force when we left the building for the Park and I swear they had live news feeds from the scene of the kidnapping by the time we got there. Miranda? She had a bad moment when she first found out but she’s a rock. Once she got Caroline in a hug and realized that she really was all right she was better. Well, that’s true, I’m sure Caroline and probably Cassidy will need to see someone---post-traumatic stress and all that. You know Miranda; anything for the girls. What? Yes, I think that’s best. Full on damage control. You know how she hates for anything about the girls to get out. I know this is big news, but you’re paid to take care of things like this. What? International wire services? CNN? Shit! Shit! Shit! What time is it in Milan? I have to call the office and try to prepare…dammit! Leslie, just do your job, please? Yes, we’ll be here at the townhouse. All right. Goodbye.”

Swearing more profusely that a well-bred Englishwoman should be able to, she called the Public Affairs office of Elias-Clarke and warned them of the impending deluge the reports on the international wires would generate. Then speed-dialing Miranda’s office she tried to explain what was about to happen to the new second assistant. Finally, in desperation, she demanded to speak to Nigel.

“Emily? What’s going on? I thought everything was under control.”

“It was until I discovered that Miranda’s publicist doesn’t have the intelligence to turn on a television and realize that if she’s watching live pictures from the scene of the kidnapping then it’s likely that the rest of the world is as well. It’s on CNN and on the international wire services.”

“Damn! That means everyone we’ve ever met in Paris, Milan and London will be calling. Our friends will call to make sure Miranda and Caroline are okay and the rest will call just so they can tell the local press that they’ve spoken with Miranda and expressed hopes and prayers. Christ, this is going to turn into a feeding frenzy isn’t it? Miranda will demand retribution, I just know it.”

“Well, it certainly won’t help her state of mind, that’s for sure.”

“How’s Miranda doing?”

“She’s a little shaky, but the security personnel seem extremely competent. The townhouse and the street outside are like an armed camp. The police and the security people actually had the press cordoned off at the far end of the block to keep them away from us. Miranda will be fine as long as she can be with the girls.”

“Any word on Andy?”

“They took her to New York-Presbyterian. Miranda will be calling there as soon as she makes sure the girls are bathed and are having their dinner. Caroline is so tense she could unravel at the slightest thing and Miranda doesn’t want to get far from her. As soon as we have any word on Andy I’ll call and let you know.”

“Okay, is there anything else? I have to mobilize the troops over here if the whole fashion world is going to be calling….hang on, Emily. Damn! It’s starting; the phones are lit up like Christmas trees.”

“Nigel? Get a couple of assistants from the clerical pool and have Serena ride herd on them. She’ll know which calls to put through to you and which to take messages from.”

“Good idea. All right, we’re going into emergency mode over here. I’ll talk to you later.” Neither of them bothered saying goodbye.

Emily checked her list again and moved onto the next item.

* * * * *

Miranda climbed the stairs and walked to the twins’ rooms. Everyone was in Caroline’s room talking quietly. Cara was trying to get the twins focused enough to change out of their bloodstained warm-ups. Miranda suppressed a shudder at their appearance.

“How are you doing, darlings?”

“Mom, how’s Andy?”

“Emily is getting the director of the hospital on the phone for me right now so I can find out. Darlings, why don’t we get you out of these… sweaty… clothes and into a nice hot shower? I think you’ll both feel better. Slip on those new Dalton fleece sets you just got – they’re comfy aren’t they?”

“Why can’t we just put on jeans?”

“Dr. Wilder is coming over in a short while to take a look at you and make sure you’re not hurt.”

Caroline scowled. “I don’t need the doctor. I’m fine! I was fine with Andy!”

“Darling, I know you think you are, but please humor Mummy and let the doctor look at you. You know when I go to the hospital to see Andréa later on that the first question she’s going to ask me is how you are. I’d like to be able to tell her without question that you’re fine.”

“Come on, Caroline, I’ll stay with you. Heck, she can check us both over, okay?” Cassidy could see the sense in what Miranda was saying and besides, she was worried about Caroline too.

“Okay, just so Andy can be sure.”

“Thank you, darling. Cara, do you have things here so you can spend the night? No? Then I’ll have Emily arrange something from the office for you. She’s downstairs in my study. Just tell her your sizes and we’ll have some things sent over.”

With the girls headed toward their showers, Miranda went down the hall to her room to change. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it as a wave of shivers passed over her. They were home. They were as secure as they could be. Caroline and probably Cassidy too would need counseling, but they would deal with that tomorrow. For tonight, the girls were safe and sound.

She walked into her closet and began to remove her office clothes, mentally choosing a casual pair of Ralph Lauren slacks and a cowl neck Dolce sweater to wear. She tried to unbutton her blouse but her fingers were trembling so badly she couldn’t. She had obviously taken a chill at the Park. In frustration, she tore it over her head as buttons flew. She stripped off her pants in an equally cavalier manner and strode into her bathroom. A hot shower would do her some good too.

A huge bathtub occupied the center of the large room, a slate wall backing it at the far end. Behind that slate wall was the shower area. Entering the area one immediately found a heated, tiled bench, towel warmers and a large supply of the thickest, most absorbent Egyptian cotton towels on the planet. At the far end of the space was the shower area. Three wall-mounted showerheads, an overhead rain shower, three banks of wall jets and two hand-held showerheads insured the most high tech and comprehensive shower experience anywhere. Muted lights, music and steam were available at a touch on the digital keypad. Stephen had often chided her on the bathroom renovation she had done a year ago, claiming that she could have paid for the twins’ college educations for what she had spent on the shower alone. Miranda had told him to pound sand.

She keyed in the activation code and the walls sprang to life. The soothing hot water poured over her but Miranda felt herself shiver more violently. Unthinking, she wrapped her arms around herself as she leaned against the wall and the choking sobs erupted. Her legs turned to rubber and she slid down the wall. Naked and shivering, Miranda Priestly huddled on the floor of her luxurious shower sobbing in relief that Caroline was all right and in terror that Andy Sachs was not. Long-forgotten prayers came unbidden to her lips as she begged whatever deities would listen to watch over her Andréa.

* * * * *

The pediatrician declared Caroline a bit bruised but otherwise unharmed and left. Miranda brought the twins into the study and ensconced them on the sofa to talk to their father and reassure him that all was well and that he didn’t need to come charging to their rescue from Long Island. While the girls were occupied with him, Miranda contacted the Chairman of the Hospital Board of New York-Presbyterian Hospital and demanded that the Medical Director oversee Andréa’s care in their Trauma Center. With his assurances that he would personally see to it and get back with her with regular and timely updates on her condition, she disconnected and immediately called the District Attorney’s office.

They knew each other socially from the many benefits Miranda attended and she felt no compunction whatever at demanding that he charge and prosecute the perpetrators using every possible statute. When told that New York did not have a death penalty she inquired about prosecuting them under federal statutes. After all, hadn’t they executed the Lindbergh baby’s kidnapper? The DA assured her that it appeared both perpetrators had previous felony convictions and that under habitual offenders laws, both would most probably be sentenced to life without parole. Miranda was satisfied and demanded to be kept informed of developments.

As she ended that call, the housekeeper opened the door to admit their veterinarian, there to examine Patricia. Cara and the twins helped hold the exuberant dog while the vet poked and prodded and thumped and listened. When he was finished, he took some wipes from his bag and cleaned up her muzzle. The twins were delighted to hear that Patricia was as healthy as could be. As the vet was shown out, Miranda thanked him for coming and then turned back to Emily.

“Have you had any luck contacting Douglas Chapman or Lily Johnston?”

“Lily is out somewhere and Douglas is in a meeting and can’t be disturbed. I’ve called three times.”

“That’s not acceptable. Get me Michael Janewiez at Goldman Sachs. He’s the CEO: call the executive offices. I cannot believe that people refuse even the simplest of civilities.”

“Goldman Sachs? This is Miranda Priestly’s office calling; I need the executive offices. Hello? I have Miranda Priestly for Mr. Janewiez. I have him, Miranda.”

“Michael? I…yes, thank you. We’re all relieved it wasn’t worse. No, she’s here at home. Michael, I need your help. The young woman who saved Caroline was… yes, Michael, she is the girls’ lacrosse coach. Well, we’re hopeful they will make the Dalton team; they were in the middle of tryouts this afternoon when all this happened. As I was saying, she was injured rescuing Caroline and taken to…Michael, she was shot. Please allow me to finish, Michael; the police and Assistant District Attorneys will be here shortly and I have a lot to do before they arrive. Thank you. As I was saying, she was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital. However, her family is in Ohio and she should have someone with her. Her best friend is Douglas Chapman and he works for your company. A corporate research analyst I believe. I’ve been told that he’s in a meeting and can’t be disturbed. Thank you, Michael; of course, I can wait. Certainly. No, I actually don’t know exactly what happened; Caroline is still very upset as is Cassidy and I didn’t want to disturb them any more than necessary. They will have to describe everything for the police when they arrive; I decided to wait until then so they didn’t have to go over it more than once. From what I’ve been told, they are both convicted felons and there was some indication of gang affiliation. I’m not sure, tattoos I believe. No, it is not true that I set my dog on one of them while he was handcuffed. Honestly, Michael, where are you getting this tripe? Of course not! Roy had just picked Patricia up from the groomer’s and Cara had her sitting by the bench during practice. In all the confusion when Caroline was taken, Patricia broke free and chased after the girls’ coach. When she was pistol-whipped by one of the kidnappers, Patricia leaped on him and knocked what I am told is a very large caliber pistol out of his hands. Well, of course there were some injuries, Michael; she is a large dog and she was protecting someone she knew. From what I have been told, he clubbed her to her knees and was pointing the pistol at her head when Patricia attacked. He can try, Michael, but if he does I will crush him and his lawyers like bugs. They wouldn’t dare. No, Michael, I don’t believe that animal control will be taking her any time soon. Over my cold, dead body. What? Yes, I wish to speak to him… Douglas? It’s Miranda Priestly…”

~ ~ ~

This meeting has to be the most inane thing I’ve endured since I hired on here. Even playing Bullshit Bingo isn’t helping. The corporate team builder at the front of the room droned on about the new ‘value-added paradigm’ of their corporate entity and Doug shifted in his seat. Just as he was about to cross off two more items on the Bullshit Bingo card he and three others had drawn up before coming into the meeting, the conference room door flew open and Ed Shea, the Senior Business Analyst walked in.

“I’m looking for Douglas Chapman.”

“Here, sir,” Doug responded.

“Grab your things and come with me, son. You won’t be coming back.” Doug dropped his Blackberry in his coat pocket, picked up his coffee mug and folio and followed his manager out. “Where’s your cubicle, son?”

“Over here, sir. Sir, have I done something wrong?”

“Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing. You didn’t try to screw the Chairman’s daughter at some drunken bash in the Hamptons, did you?”

“No sir, not that I know of.”

“Lose us a shitload of money lately?”

“No sir, I don’t think so.”

Doug dropped his folio on his desk and set his coffee mug on the coaster.

“Should I bring my coat?”

“Haven’t a clue, son. Let’s just get moving; I’ve got an Executive Vice-President cooling his heels in my office waiting for you.”

Doug blanched. “What?”

Shea regarded at him closely. “I’ll be goddamned. You really don’t have any idea what this is about do you? Well, come on son. We’ll find out together.”

They strode out of the cubicle farm and down a corridor to Shea’s office. A very distinguished and immaculately attired man was leaning against the desk. He straightened as they entered.

“Is this him?”

“Yep. Douglas Chapman in the flesh.” The VP looked at him intently.

“Son, how exactly did you screw the pooch?”

Doug began to get very nervous. “Sir, I haven’t done anything that I can think of.”

“Well, we’ll find out. Come along. Thank you, Shea.”

“I’m coming. He’s one of my guys. He says he hasn’t done anything wrong. I believe him. So I go with him.”

Nothing more was said until they boarded an elevator and Doug watched the VP access the Executive Suites with his keycard. As the lift rose into areas of the building that Doug had never before been near his nervousness grew. Mentally he reviewed everything he had done in recent memory and could still not discern why he was being hauled up to the rarefied air of the Executive floors to be chewed out. Or fired.

They stepped off the elevators and strode down plush carpeted corridors. Turning one final corner Doug was confronted with the office suite of the Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs. Multiple assistants guarded the portals and security guards maintained a discreet but ready presence. An expensively dressed and handsome older woman stood as they approached and opened the door for them.

“He’s expecting you – go right in.”

The three men walked into the expansive office of Michael Janewiez. He appeared to be talking on the phone but vigorously waved them over to his desk. As they approached he straightened and said, “Here he is. Are you sure you…Okay.” And he handed the receiver to a stunned Doug.

“Hello?” Doug said cautiously.

“Douglas? It’s Miranda Priestly. How long have you been stuck in that cursed meeting?”

“All afternoon, Miranda. It’s a team building meeting; they tend to go on for a while.”

“Then I assume you haven’t heard yet. Caroline was kidnapped this afternoon.”

Doug couldn’t get air in his lungs and his knees buckled. Luckily, Shea had the presence of mind to shove a chair under him before he hit the carpet. “Oh my God, oh my God…Miranda! Is she okay? Are you okay? What can I do?”

“We were extremely lucky, Douglas. Andréa was watching the tryouts when they took Caroline and she, my driver and our St. Bernard thwarted their attempt. Roy crashed my Mercedes into their getaway van to stop them, Andréa rescued Caroline and Patricia leapt on one of the kidnappers when he tried to kill Andréa. An admirable team effort that succeeded.  Caroline is frightened but physically fine.”

“One of them tried to kill Andy?”

“That’s why I need you, Douglas. There is no easy way to say this, dear; Andréa was shot saving Caroline. She’s been taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s Trauma Center. I need to be here with the girls…the police are coming after dinner to interview them and get their statements. But someone needs to be at the hospital with Andréa. My assistant has been trying to get you and Lily for almost forty minutes. I finally couldn’t wait any longer and called Michael to have someone get you. Can you find Lily and get over to the hospital?”

“New York-Presbyterian? That’s at…let me think…East 70^th and the river? I’m leaving now. I’ll get hold of Lily and have her meet me there. How was she transported there?”

“EMS Ambulance. Douglas…she didn’t want me to telephone her parents. What do you think?”

Doug thought for a minute. “Call ‘em, Miranda. They need to be here. If they aren’t Andy’s mother will have a breakdown or something. She gets a little melodramatic.”

“Wonderful. I cannot tell you how much I’m looking forward to yet more melodrama this evening.” Miranda’s verbal wince was not lost on Doug. “And Douglas, when you speak with Andréa, tell her I will be there as quickly as I can settle the girls for the night.”

“So Roy crashed your S600, Andy got shot and the dog attacked?  Damn, some time you’re going to have to tell me the whole story. This one sounds good.”

“When I know it all I promise I will. Let me have your cell phone number so I can contact you at the hospital if I need to. Mine is 646-645-5231. And the townhouse is 212-536-6836. Please be discreet with those, Douglas. There are a great many people without your character who would very much like to have that information.”

Doug gave her his cell phone number as he keyed her numbers into his speed dial.  “I’ll guard it with my life. Anything else you need me to do?  Please tell Caroline I’m thinking of her.”

“She’s right here; would you like to tell her yourself? Caroline? Douglas would like to speak with you.”

“Hi, Doug!”

“Hey, Squirt. Pretty scary day, huh? How you doin’? You okay?”

“I’m okay, Doug, but Andy was hurt bad and there was so much blood and nobody’s there with her and nobody knows how she is and we can’t go there and…”

“Easy, sweetie, easy. I’m leaving for the hospital right now and I promise you that the minute I see Andy I’ll find out how she is and I’ll call you. Cross my heart, kiddo.”

“For sure?”

“For absolute, BFF sure! Okay? I’ll talk to you soon, I promise.”

“You better or I won’t invite you to come watch any of our games.”

“So you’re pretty sure you made the team?”

“I snuck a look at one of the evaluation sheets when they were working on Andy at the Park. Yeah, I think we’re in.”

“Well then, I’ll be double sure to call when I get to the hospital. I wouldn’t want to miss a Dalton lacrosse game!”

“Maybe we could go back to the pub after a game and have dinner again.”

“You bet we can. But we have to make sure it’s okay with your Mom. And Caroline? Remember, grownups get scared too when these things happen. Your Mom was probably pretty scared herself this afternoon. So go a little easy on her if she’s kind of… smothering for a while, okay? She can’t help it.”

“Yeah, Cass and I already talked about that.”

“Okay, Squirt. I have to leave right now, so let me talk to your Mom again. Give Cass a hug for me. Miranda? Yeah, she’s doing better than I would be. How are you doing?”

He could hear the shaky breath she drew. “I’m all right. I had a few bad moments earlier, but I’m better now. I’ll be even better when I get some word on Andréa.”

“I’m on it. I’ll call you as soon as I get to the hospital.”

“Thank you, Douglas. I really appreciate…”

“Miranda, enough. I’m the one that should be thanking you for letting me know. I’ll get there as quickly as I can and call you.”

“All right, Douglas. Let me speak with Michael again and be on your way.”

“Right. ‘Bye.”  Extending the phone back to Janewiez he murmured, “She wants to talk to you again.” When the CEO had taken the phone Doug stood up and nodded at the men. He and Shea headed for the elevators.

“Thank you for sticking with me. I appreciate the help.”

“Hell, son, if you’re on a first name basis with Miranda Priestly you don’t need my help. I should be asking for yours. What’s she like, anyway?”

Doug thought for a moment. “Not what you’d expect. Not at all like she’s portrayed in the press.” Just then they heard a voice calling them. They turned back toward the offices to see one of the assistants trotting after them.

“Mr. Janewiez says a car and driver will meet you at the east entrance as soon as you can get there. And if you need anything else you’re to call him. This is his private number. Consider yourself on corporate business for as long as you need to be at the hospital. Just check in if you’re going to miss all of next week.”

Doug stuttered his thanks and turned back to the elevators. Shea just grinned at him.

“Shit, son. You’re runnin’ with the big dogs now. Hope you can keep up.” Doug swallowed hard and gave him a shaky smile.

* * * * *

The ride to the hospital was a blur for Doug as he attempted to reach Lily. If Lily was out and about the city running artists to ground or assembling parts of a show there was a good chance she hadn’t seen the news feeds. Unless she was close to Times Square of course. The evening editions of the dailies were already on the streets and unless she had live news feeds on her cell she may not have heard that Andy was involved with the kidnapping. Finally, he managed to reach one of the assistants at the gallery and discovered that Lily had gone out to Glen Cove with the drivers to oversee the transfer of artwork for an upcoming exhibition. He left word that Lily was to call him the moment she could; that there was an emergency. Hopefully she’d get that before she saw what had happened and recognized the dark head on the stretcher as it was loaded into the ambulance. Video clips from the Park were looping on every 24-hour cable news network in the world.

Finally they pulled up outside the Trauma Center and Doug ran in. It didn’t take long for him to run headfirst into hospital bureaucracy. He failed utterly to convince a nurse at the admitting desk to go back and give his name to Andy. They wouldn’t even confirm that Andy was a patient there. In desperation, Doug thought back to Andy’s tales of dealing with people when she worked for Miranda and inspiration struck.

Flipping open his cell phone he hit the newest speed dial number in his address book. It didn’t take long to be answered.

“Yes?”

“Miranda, it’s Doug. I’m at the hospital but I’m running up against the bureaucracy. What was the Chairman’s name again? Dr. Paul Edelstein. Thanks. No, I’m just going to have him paged. Okay, thanks Miranda. No, I’ll call you back as soon as I know something. ‘Bye.”

The expression on the nurse’s face changed markedly when she overheard the conversation and by the time Doug turned back to her and politely requested that Dr. Edelstein be paged she had decided to cooperate. Not surprisingly, Dr. Edelstein was right in the Trauma Center and responded in moments. He had no qualms about taking Doug to see Andy and in short order he was leaning over her bed grinning at her.

“Hey, Six. Heard you had an exclusive on the story of the century and fucked it up.”

Andy’s look of relief at the sight of him reassured him that his call on her parents was the right one. She was putting up a good front but he could tell that she was frightened by everything that had happened. Dr. Edelstein gave him a quick rundown on her condition and Doug excused himself to report to Miranda. The twins were disappointed that they couldn’t talk with Andy but Doug reassured them that he had no intentions of leaving Andy that night, and he would make sure that she called them tomorrow. Miranda was not as easily reassured, however and he had to explain in great detail what was about to happen. She listened intently but was not about to blindly accept the word of the trauma physicians.

“So why are they talking about surgery? I thought the bullet went in and exited.”

“It did, but apparently there is a major cats-cradle of nerves and blood vessels in that area called the brach…hang on I wrote it down…the brachial plexus. It’s everything that feeds the entire arm. They’re worried that there may be ‘nerve or vascular damage’ so they want to go in and check.”

“Who will be doing the surgery?”

“According to what they told me the Chief Resident in Trauma Surgery.”

“All right, Douglas. Thank you for getting back to us. I was getting worried. So they’re taking her for a scan now? And then surgery if it’s warranted. You’re staying there so she won’t be alone?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. I’m here for the duration.”

“Douglas, did you come straight from the office?”

“Yes, I did. Why?”

“Give me your sizes and I’ll have some comfortable clothes sent over to you. I’m arranging for some for the girls’ nanny too.”

Doug gave her the information and then disconnected and went back to sit at Andy’s bedside. “She’s worried about you, kid. Said to tell you that the moment she has the girls asleep she’s coming over. Do you think she can afford to buy this hospital? Because I think she’s perfectly capable of doing that if she doesn’t think you’re getting the proper care.”

Andy grinned as best she could. “She’s capable of anything. Doug, can we be serious for a minute?”

“Sure Six, what’s up?” Doug had always loved Nigel’s nickname for Andy and adopted it for himself.

“My parents are my next of kin. If something were to happen to me, they’d be responsible for the medical decisions concerning me. Doug, I don’t want that. You know how I feel about life support machines and organ donation and stuff. My parents don’t.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I want to give shared medical power of attorney to you and to Miranda.” Doug’s eyebrows went up at this, but as he thought longer it made sense. Both he and Miranda cared for Andy but were probably better equipped to make rational decisions than the Sachses.

“Okay, I’ll do it. What about asking Miranda?”

“I’ll tell her when she gets here later. Let me do it, Doug, okay?”

“Whatever you say. So how do we go about doing this?”

Andy explained that the hospital had standard POA forms on hand and that most of the admitting clerks were also notaries. It was only the work of about ten minutes to have notarized copies of the new POAs in Doug’s pocket. Just as they completed the process, aides arrived to take Andy up to the scanner. Doug accompanied her as far as he could and sat in a remarkably uncomfortable chair until the scans were complete. He walked back down to the trauma center with her and discovered another remarkably uncomfortable chair to sit in at her bedside.

Twenty minutes later a young surgeon bustled into the alcove holding films of Andy’s scans. He showed her where the bullet had careened through her shoulder, mercifully missing the major bones and muscles, but coming dangerously close to the fragile plexus that allowed the arm to work. He explained briefly what he was going to do and guessed that the procedure would take a couple of hours at most.

Neither Andy nor Doug had any questions. And the surgeon informed them that they’d be taking her upstairs in a few minutes and that Doug could wait for word in the surgical waiting room on the eighth floor. Andy kept giving him instructions ‘in case’ and he finally shushed her.

“It’ll be all right, Andy. Don’t worry. I’ll go grab a burger in the cafeteria, tell Lily and Miranda where we are and just wait until it’s over. I’m not going anywhere and you’ll be just fine in a couple of hours.”

“They keep calling this a ‘flesh wound’. Like it’s one of those that John Wayne would just wrap his bandanna around and keep fighting the Indians. Let me tell you, it hurts like hell.”

“Yeah, but Six, you’re not the Duke. I mean, can you bite the neck off a whisky bottle to pour it in the wound before you wrap that bandanna around it? That’s why it hurts so much. You haven’t medicated yourself the right way.”

Their laughter was reassuring to the surgical techs that appeared a moment later to take Andy up to the OR. Doug went with her as far as he could, kissed her quickly on the forehead and swore on his life that he’d be there when she woke up. That was good enough for Andy.

* * * * *

“Michael? Thank you for seeing to it that I spoke with him. You really should speak with your clerical staff. They seemed incapable of understanding that a medical emergency was more important than whatever meeting he was in. Douglas? He’s a most remarkable young man. You really should consider utilizing his talents more fully, Michael. I must go; my call sheet is growing by the second. Please give my best to Eleanor. Goodbye.”

After making sure that someone was with Andréa, Miranda could relax slightly and she and Emily conferenced with Nigel and Serena. The office was dealing with a huge influx of calls from around the world. As they went through the call logs, Miranda indicated to Emily which ones she would be returning personally and which ones Nigel could make. In the middle of it, Douglas beeped in from the hospital, saying he was having some difficulties and requesting the name of the Chairman of the Medical Board. He thanked her and hung up quickly. They went back to work on the Runway call sheets. The situation wasn’t helped by the fact that London Fashion Week was only two weeks away and most of the fashion world was already getting together. Thankfully, the incident was so frightening to most people that Miranda could plead that excuse and avoid returning most calls. Nigel would handle many more. Most of the calls were relegated to no response whatever. After almost half an hour they wrapped it up. No sooner had they done so than Douglas called again, this time with an update on Andréa’s condition and the prospect of surgery. Miranda was glad she was able to let Caroline speak with him; her daughter visibly relaxed after hearing that Andréa was awake and talking to Doug. When she hung up, she thought briefly about what Douglas had described to her. Without thinking she dialed the Chairman of the Medical Board again and asked for his help. Not surprisingly, it was willingly given.

Even Miranda heaved a sigh of relief when that call was finished, knowing that Andréa would be in the best hands possible. She looked at her assistant and thought for a moment.  “Get me the Sachs residence.” She took a steadying sip of the wine her housekeeper had brought in. Emily handed her the phone.

“Hello? Is this Richard Sachs? Mr. Sachs, this is Miranda Priestly calling.”

“Why are you calling? Haven’t you done enough to my daughter already?” the shrill voice shouting from another extension left no doubt that Andy’s mother was still highly upset. Still, Miranda tried again.

“Mr. Sachs, Mrs. Sachs, I have current information on Andréa’s condition. I thought you might want to have it. I know you must be very worried about her. If you’d permit it, I would like to bring you to New York to be with her.”

“We don’t need your charity! Andy didn’t need your job either! She was accepted to Stanford Law School. I never did understand why she stayed in that miserable job working for you. You never appreciated her or how hard she worked or what she did. You just always…” Andy’s father cut in at this point.

“Mrs. Priestly, we’ll get ourselves to New York. But I would like to know what’s going on with my daughter.”

Miranda gave him the rundown Douglas had given her and added that she had requested that the Chief of Staff monitor Andréa’s care. She gave Mr. Sachs the telephone number for the hospital and then hesitated a moment.

“Mr. Sachs, please allow me to give you my cell number. If you should have any difficulties getting here please call me. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

“I’m sure that won’t be necessary, Mrs. Priestly, but I’ll take your number just in case.”

The call ended on a frigid note and Miranda decided that it would be a good idea to be at Runway while Andréa’s parents were at the hospital. She’d visit Andréa when they weren’t there.

Mrs. Wegmann called them into dinner and Miranda made a concerted effort to keep the conversation light knowing that the police and DA investigators were due in an hour. While Cara had eaten with them before, Emily had not and was somewhat intimidated by the fact that Miranda actually consumed food. But they made it through the meal and afterward, settled back in the study. Cara read while Miranda and Emily checked in at the office and the twins did homework.

When the police got there, everyone but Emily moved into the large living room. Mrs. Wegmann saw to refreshments for everyone and then the police gently questioned Caroline, Cassidy and Cara. The twins did a good job of reconstructing events leading up to the kidnapping and Caroline could add a couple of details from the minute or so she was in the van (“They said that once they got to Jersey they’d be fine”). Cassidy couldn’t add much more than that but Cara recalled seeing the van parked near the fields for most of the last half of practice. She had just assumed it belonged to a Dalton parent.

The twins were allowed to return to their homework while Miranda and Cara stayed to speak with the prosecutors. It had been confirmed that both men had prior felony convictions and the DA’s office would be bringing as many charges as they could against them both. If convicted, each man would be sentenced to life, with parole possible only after twenty-five years. Remembering her conversation with the Goldman Sachs CEO, Miranda asked if there would be an investigation about Patricia’s involvement; the Assistant DA just laughed.

“We got a call from Animal Control asking when they should pick the dog up to put her in isolation. The DA told them ‘when hell freezes over’.” Still chuckling, she handed Miranda a legal document that, to her amazement, was a full pardon for all of Patricia’s acts signed by the Mayor and duly executed before a judge. Miranda wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or be outraged at the amount of time and money that had been wasted on the gesture. Since she wanted the DA’s office on her side, she decided to go with laughter.

The Assistant DA told Miranda that the DA was scheduling a press conference for 10:00 am the following morning to announce the charges and release the identities of the perpetrators. She cautioned Miranda to notify her publicist well in advance; their office had been inundated with calls from media outlets all pleading for information, interviews and quotable comments. The DA was well aware of the international coverage of the incident and, political animal that he was, would not miss an opportunity to bask in media limelight that intense. Miranda said that her publicist would be informed very shortly.

The only aspect of the case still up in the air was the fact that nobody knew yet if there was additional danger. The fact that the kidnappers had obvious and identifiable gang tattoos was troubling to both the police and the prosecutors. The police had decided to bring their Gang Task Force in on the case and see if a conference could be set up with the leaders of the gang. It was a long shot, but it might possibly yield some information on whether the gang was responsible or just the two individuals who had pulled the crime.

Miranda demanded to be kept in the loop on progress with the meeting and Lieutenant Simms agreed to do so. He had been instructed by his superiors to give Ms. Priestly every consideration and bit of information she requested. Given the magnitude of this incident he wasn’t sure what she was capable of and didn’t think he wanted to be. After getting an update on Andy’s condition, Simms agreed to put off interviewing her until the next afternoon when the effects of the anesthesia would have fully worn off. They took their leave shortly afterwards.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, the trauma surgeon whistled as he scrubbed for surgery. Suddenly, the doors from the Doctor’s locker room flew open and the Chief of Neurosurgery and the Chief of Vascular Surgery came in and began scrubbing up at the sinks on either side of him. Knowing that these world-renowned surgeons wouldn’t be at the hospital this late unless something huge was going on he risked inquiring. Maybe if he got this emergency shoulder out of the way fast he could scrub in on whatever they were doing.

“We’re here to help you ascertain the status of that shoulder. Your patient is a VIP.”

‘What?”

“Son, the Chief of Staff asked us to scrub in on this one. Like it or not, you’ve got help.” Suddenly the resident didn’t feel like whistling anymore.

Doug had finally found a sort-of-comfortable chair in the surgical waiting room and discovered that his cell phone actually had a signal there. So it came as no surprise when it rang a few minutes later with a semi-hysterical Lily on the other end. She had heard only bits and pieces of what had happened and was currently on her way back to the city from Glen Cove. Doug gave her all the information he had and told her to just get there when she could.

He was just getting into the celebrity gossip in a four-month-old copy of People when his phone rang again and the caller asked for Douglas Chapman. Doug admitted to being him and the caller said he had a delivery for him. Doug told him where he was and a few minutes later an attractive and slender young man from Banana Republic brought a leather garment bag and matching weekend bag and gym bag full of clothing and two boxes of shoes. Doug was stunned and claimed there must be some mistake.

“Nope. Miranda Priestly’s office called and said you were stuck here and needed a few changes of clothes so we put something together for you. Here you go.” The cheerful young man set the bags and boxes down and took his leave.

Doug promptly forgot about the celebrity gossip and spent a delightful fifteen minutes going through the selection of casual clothing. They had thought of everything including not only jeans, shirts and sweaters but underwear, socks, a belt and, inside a leather gym bag, a dopp kit with body wash and cologne. When he’d decided which he was wearing first, he found a men’s room and changed out of his suit, stowing it in the garment bag. He figured if worse came to worse, he could stash everything in Andy’s room as soon as they got her out of surgery. Feeling tremendously better, he returned to the waiting room and the celebrity gossip.

* * * * *

“Miranda, I’m sorry to interrupt, but there’s a call for you. It’s Andy’s parents.”

Miranda had been sitting with the twins helping with homework when Emily had quietly interrupted. She took the phone knowing the call would probably mean trouble.

“Yes, Mr. Sachs? How can I help you?”

“The earliest flight we can get into New York isn’t until tomorrow afternoon. You said you could help us. Are you still willing to?”

“Yes, of course. Let me make a few calls. I’ll call you back shortly.” She disconnected and rubbed the bridge of her nose absently.

“Didn’t Nigel say Irv was horrified at what happened and said he’d do anything to help?”

“Yes, but apparently that didn’t extend to actually calling you.”

“No matter. Call him and get the corporate jet warmed up. Send it to whatever the private aviation terminal is in Cincinnati and return to Teterboro. Then make sure there’s a car and driver waiting for them when they land and available until they leave. Book a suite at….what’s close to the hospital?”

“I think the Lowell is close.”

“Fine. Book a suite until Monday with an option to extend if necessary. Bill my accounts.”

“All right. This shouldn’t take too long.”

Emily was as good as her word and she had flight, hotel and town car set up within twenty minutes. Miranda called the Sachs back and gave them the information. Predictably, they balked at Miranda paying for anything, but she managed to convince them that it was easier to book the car and hotel through Runway. That wasn’t true, but at this point, Miranda just wanted to get them to New York with the least amount of drama possible. After another five minutes of reassuring them that it really was no trouble, she escaped the call and hung up.

Checking her watch, she was amazed to see it nearly 10:00 pm. She sent the twins upstairs to get ready for bed, promising to be up shortly. When they had vacated the room, Miranda sat down heavily on the sofa. Emily thought she looked great, but there was exhaustion written in the tight line of her mouth and the tension in her shoulders. She wondered what else Miranda would take on this night. To her amazement it was nothing. Miranda told her to touch base with Nigel and then go home. They would pick things up again in the morning. Within minutes, she was in one of the black SUVs and heading back to Runway.

Miranda, for her part wanted only to make sure the twins slept. She was tired and the stress of the day was wearing her down. Something inside her kept repeating that once she got to the hospital and saw Andréa for herself she would be fine. The thought of finally being able to just sit and talk with Andréa was a balm to her soul.

Cara had the girls in their pajamas when she got upstairs but they were stubbornly fighting going to bed. Miranda sat down with them and wrapped an arm around their shoulders.

“What’s wrong, darlings? You two should be exhausted; I know I am.”

Neither twin said anything; they just leaned against their mother and Miranda found it oddly comforting. Finally, Cassidy mumbled “We don’t want to sleep alone.” Miranda realized that this was a sign of their stress and had an instant solution.

“Well, why don’t you sleep in my room? That way, when I get back from the hospital we can all sleep together? I’d certainly sleep better knowing you’re close tonight. How about you?”

The twins readily agreed and Miranda walked them down the hall to her room. She settled the girls into her bed and tucked them in, planting comically loud kisses on both their cheeks. The bout of giggles this produced was like a tonic to Miranda and she felt the tight knot of tension inside her ease. Fussing with the covers, she gave each of the girls a quick tickle to keep them smiling and then found herself gently stroking their cheeks.

“How are you feeling darling?” she whispered to Caroline. The youngster curled against her and Miranda saw Cassidy snuggle up on Caroline’s other side.

“I’m scared for Andy.”

“You know I’m going to the hospital to see her just as soon as you two are asleep, right? And that by the time you wake up in the morning Andy will be much, much better and maybe we’ll all be able to go see her. That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” The girls agreed that it was.

“What about school tomorrow?”

“I’ve decided to keep you home from school tomorrow. I’ll call Dalton in the morning and get your assignments.”

The twins immediately began to argue claiming that they couldn’t miss the last day of practice before tryouts. Miranda settled things by assuring them that they would not miss their tryouts on Friday even if she had to hire an army of security guards to surround Central Park. This calmed them down and the prospect of a day off from school began to seem far more attractive.

“Will you be here with us tomorrow?”

“Why, darling?”

“Because it was nice tonight. With all of us together. Like we’re really a family.”

“We are a family, darling. But I know what you’re saying. It was nice, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, all we needed was Andy.”

“Andréa? Why would we need Andréa?”

“Because when Andy’s here you’re different. Dinners are more fun when she’s here. And we like Andy. Do you, Mom?”

“Do I what, darling?”

“Do you like Andy?”

“Well of course I do. You know that.”

The twins looked at each other and this time Cassidy tried.

“No, we mean, do you LIKE, like Andy? Like when you met Stephen. Do you LIKE, like her…like a…girlfriend?”

Miranda’s breath caught in her throat. “Do you mean do I love Andréa? Like a girlfriend?”

The twins nodded. “Because if you did, we would be, like, totally cool with that.”

“You would?”

“Yeah, because then Andy could come to live here with us and we would be like, like a family all the time. And then you could come home early more and we could eat dinner together and do homework and we would be together and stuff.”

Miranda squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears from falling. They were telling her that she had failed them. That she hadn’t been there for them. But forgiving her and showing her salvation at the same time.

“So you would be fine with it if Andréa and I were…together? If we were a family?” The girls nodded again, solemnly. “We haven’t really talked about that, but you’re not wrong. We were going to talk about it before this afternoon.”

Caroline was cautious. “So, maybe you and Andy can talk at the hospital? And she could come here when she gets out? So we could take care of her?”

Miranda hugged her tightly. “I promise to talk with her just as soon as she wakes up. And I think her coming here so we can take care of her is a wonderful idea, darling.”

“You do?”

Miranda kissed both girls soundly. “I do. Now lie down and try to sleep.” There was a quiet knock at the door and Miranda smiled at the girls. “I’ve arranged for a special sitter for you while I’m at the hospital. Come in!” Cara opened the door to the bedroom and Patricia bounded into the room. Knowing that she would regret it but not caring at that point, Miranda patted the bed and the huge dog leapt up onto it, immediately collapsing in the middle of the twins. They laughed and hugged the dog from both sides as Miranda reached over and gave Patricia a good scratch on the head.

One final kiss goodnight to the girls and they settled down with the dog to sleep. Miranda sat by the bed until they had, then relinquished her place to Cara and went quietly downstairs. Most of the lights were dimmed, but Miranda found Simon Hughes and two other agents sitting at the kitchen table reviewing staffing rotations. All three men rose as she walked into the room.

“Are the girls asleep, Mrs. Priestly?”

“Yes, they are, Mr. Hughes. Cara is with them. So is Patricia. Everyone seems content for the moment. Mr. Hughes, I need to go to New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Usually I just call my driver. How do we accomplish that tonight?”

“Just like this, ma’am.”  Hughes spoke quietly into his wrist mic, “Bring the car up, we’re going to the hospital.” He looked back at Miranda. “Simple enough.”

She smiled back at him “Yes, it is. I’ll get my coat.” A minute later, they swept out the front door and into the waiting SUV.