of Manhattan Island. One thing I can say right now is that unprovoked attacks made upon our citizenry by anyone—including the City of New York—will not be tolerated!”
Hexe frowned and turned the dial on the TV. The picture rolled and shimmied, only to right itself after he gave the case a sharp rap on the side. The news anchor for WNBC sat in front of a green-screen projection of the smoldering ruins of the ESU truck, accompanied by a graphic that read GOLGOTHAM RIOTS! in a dripping horror-movie font.
“. . . was officially founded in 1775, following the Treaty of Golgotham, which established a Kymeran homeland within the City of New York, as well as a series of protected preserves for shape-shifters and half-beasts throughout the continental United States, in exchange for Lord Beke’s support during the Revolutionary War.”
A graphic flashed onto the screen showing Thomas Jefferson and George Washington shaking hands with a Kymeran wearing a tricorn hat and a Freemason’s apron. I recognized it as a copy of the engraving I’d seen hanging on the wall of the Two-Headed Calf.
“News 4 has just received information that Jared Wagner, the NYU student whose transmogrification and abduction appear to have triggered the street brawl that led to last night’s unrest, has been located live, unharmed, and in human form. We take you now to our live reporter, Mitzi Bloomberg, on the scene in Golgotham. . . .”
The picture switched to show a young woman holding a microphone and standing across the street from what I recognized as Blarney’s, the central watering hole for Golgotham’s leprechaun community, located on Ferry Street. A hansom cab was standing at the curb, and several PTU officers were busy keeping a crowd of reporters and other onlookers at bay.
“Thank you, Chuck. I’m standing in front of Blarney’s Pub, where we have been told Jared Wagner will be handed over to the Paranormal Threat Unit, Golgotham’s law enforcement division, who will be escorting the NYU sophomore first to the nearby Tombs, where he will be turned over to NYPD officials and then returned to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Carlton Wagner of Long Island. Sources tell me that Jared’s return was negotiated by the head of the Wee Folk Anti-Defamation League, who will also be defending his fellow leprechaun, Neyland Tullamore, on charges of kidnapping and felony enchantment. Wait a minute! I think I see him!”
The reporter gestured toward the door of the pub, and the camera dutifully zoomed in to show Jared, barefoot and wrapped in a blanket, being escorted out of Blarney’s by Lieutenant Vivi. The college student looked pale and extremely shaken, as well as unprepared to see a wall of reporters shouting at him at the top of their lungs. One particularly enterprising newshound managed to get close enough to shove a microphone in the boy’s face.
“Jared! Oscar Hernandez for WNYX-TV! Can you tell us what your ordeal was like?”
“It was a nightmare,” the young man replied, his voice wavering. “I kept trying to scream, but all I could do was squeal like a pig—”
Before Jared could say anything else, Lieutenant Vivi hustled him into the waiting cab. As the reporters surged forward, eager to get their pound of flesh one sound bite at a time, the PTU officer raised her right hand, palm outward, in a warding gesture. The journalists abruptly fell back; it was difficult to tell whether they were repulsed by a spell or simply cowed by the threat of magic.
“There is a time and a place for asking this boy questions,” Lieutenant Vivi announced sternly. “It is not here and now. The Wagner family will be holding a press conference later today, after their son has been checked out by doctors.”
“Lieutenant Vivi! Lauren DeAngelo from Eyewitness News. What do you have to say to the accusations that it was your overreaction to the NYPD police presence in Golgotham that triggered the riot?”
The PTU officer glared at the
Hexe frowned and turned the dial on the TV. The picture rolled and shimmied, only to right itself after he gave the case a sharp rap on the side. The news anchor for WNBC sat in front of a green-screen projection of the smoldering ruins of the ESU truck, accompanied by a graphic that read GOLGOTHAM RIOTS! in a dripping horror-movie font.
“. . . was officially founded in 1775, following the Treaty of Golgotham, which established a Kymeran homeland within the City of New York, as well as a series of protected preserves for shape-shifters and half-beasts throughout the continental United States, in exchange for Lord Beke’s support during the Revolutionary War.”
A graphic flashed onto the screen showing Thomas Jefferson and George Washington shaking hands with a Kymeran wearing a tricorn hat and a Freemason’s apron. I recognized it as a copy of the engraving I’d seen hanging on the wall of the Two-Headed Calf.
“News 4 has just received information that Jared Wagner, the NYU student whose transmogrification and abduction appear to have triggered the street brawl that led to last night’s unrest, has been located live, unharmed, and in human form. We take you now to our live reporter, Mitzi Bloomberg, on the scene in Golgotham. . . .”
The picture switched to show a young woman holding a microphone and standing across the street from what I recognized as Blarney’s, the central watering hole for Golgotham’s leprechaun community, located on Ferry Street. A hansom cab was standing at the curb, and several PTU officers were busy keeping a crowd of reporters and other onlookers at bay.
“Thank you, Chuck. I’m standing in front of Blarney’s Pub, where we have been told Jared Wagner will be handed over to the Paranormal Threat Unit, Golgotham’s law enforcement division, who will be escorting the NYU sophomore first to the nearby Tombs, where he will be turned over to NYPD officials and then returned to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Carlton Wagner of Long Island. Sources tell me that Jared’s return was negotiated by the head of the Wee Folk Anti-Defamation League, who will also be defending his fellow leprechaun, Neyland Tullamore, on charges of kidnapping and felony enchantment. Wait a minute! I think I see him!”
The reporter gestured toward the door of the pub, and the camera dutifully zoomed in to show Jared, barefoot and wrapped in a blanket, being escorted out of Blarney’s by Lieutenant Vivi. The college student looked pale and extremely shaken, as well as unprepared to see a wall of reporters shouting at him at the top of their lungs. One particularly enterprising newshound managed to get close enough to shove a microphone in the boy’s face.
“Jared! Oscar Hernandez for WNYX-TV! Can you tell us what your ordeal was like?”
“It was a nightmare,” the young man replied, his voice wavering. “I kept trying to scream, but all I could do was squeal like a pig—”
Before Jared could say anything else, Lieutenant Vivi hustled him into the waiting cab. As the reporters surged forward, eager to get their pound of flesh one sound bite at a time, the PTU officer raised her right hand, palm outward, in a warding gesture. The journalists abruptly fell back; it was difficult to tell whether they were repulsed by a spell or simply cowed by the threat of magic.
“There is a time and a place for asking this boy questions,” Lieutenant Vivi announced sternly. “It is not here and now. The Wagner family will be holding a press conference later today, after their son has been checked out by doctors.”
“Lieutenant Vivi! Lauren DeAngelo from Eyewitness News. What do you have to say to the accusations that it was your overreaction to the NYPD police presence in Golgotham that triggered the riot?”
The PTU officer glared at the
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