Y2K
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Outside, on the catwalk, Vesper and Chad wrestled on the narrow catwalk, rolling dangerously close to its precarious edge. Simon had dragged Shilah to the far end, and had flung his ample body over her to protect her from the raining bullets. Whoever was trying to kill him had horrific aim.
“You bitch,” Chad screamed as he tried to scamper over Vesper, who had laced herself around his legs, “let me go!”
A sudden tremor shook the catwalk. Brilliant light poured over them.
The crystal ball, high on the flag pole above them, had begun its descent.
Chad managed to stand and lurch forward a step.
Suddenly, a hidden door on the billboard was flung open. It struck Chad squarely on the shoulder. Vesper released her grip on him as she felt him lose his balance.
He flailed at the air for a split-second, then catapulted over the railing, screaming.
He screamed all the way to the pavement below.
******
The Man in Armani charged up the stairs.
Will and Laura had closed the final door.
He pulled at the knob.
It was locked.
******
Will and Laura stood in the center of the catwalk, momentarily blinded by the dazzling lights of Times Square. Klieg lights and spot lights raced over them.
Simon Waterbury pulled himself to his feet and limped over to them.
“Will! Laura! So good to see you! Have a care, dears; someone is shooting at me.”
The crowd, far below, chanted in thunderous unison, “TEN. . .NINE. . .EIGHT.
. .”
Laura shook her head. How could Simon be so nonchalant?
Will gently pushed her aside and scrambled across the catwalk, near where Shilah lay in a sobbing heap. The red “STOP” button glowed menacingly.
Simon ignored him and caressed Laura’s cheek. “My darling. You have so much of your mother in you. My poor, lost Lily.”
“SEVEN. . .SIX. . .”
Simon shouted over the crowd. “Unfortunately, I can also see a lot of your father. Look at your daughter, Vesper.”
Simon’s face suddenly contorted as a bullet caught him below his right cheekbone. His eyes rolled back into his head. He twisted to the right, then to the left, before disappearing from the catwalk.
“FIVE. . .FOUR. . .”
Laura stood still, screaming and uncomprehending.
“THREE. . .TWO. . .”
Will had reached the red button. He stood before it, raised both hands, and pushed as hard as he could.
“ONE!”
A thunderous BOOM! shook the catwalk, and Will fell to his knees. Fireworks shot into the air, seemingly feet away from his face.
Laura, Vesper, Shilah, and the catwalk disappeared from view as a maelstrom of confetti engulfed him.
“HAPPY NEW YEAR!” the crowd below him roared.
Confetti filled his eyes, his nose, his mouth . . . he thought he might be suffocating.
A curious whirring noise kicked in somewhere near him, as the crowds in Times Square continued their shouts and cheers.
The blizzard of confetti thinned a bit. Will glanced up, then cried out.
Money gushed from an opening in the billboard, fifteen feet above him. Tens, twenties, fifties, and hundred dollar bills spewed forth into the night, borne on the breezes of Times Square. Mixed with the rest of the confetti, it was practically undetectable.
A billion dollars. A billion dollars of US currency flying into the first seconds of the 21st Century.
“No!” he screamed, momentarily forgetting his dangerous position and leaping up towards the money being blasted into the night.
But it was no use.
Out, out into the new year the money flew. . .hundreds, thousands, millions of bills.
Will thought he felt his heart breaking.
Sooner Than Never was over. The prize money was quickly being dispersed to the two million people in the wide avenues below.
Everyone had won, and no one had won.
Will’s mind spun. It wasn’t sinking in. It just wasn’t sinking in.
He spotted Laura, several feet away, sitting and hugging her knees to her chest, a dazed expression covering her face. He crawled to her.
“Laura!” He screamed over the crowd. “Honey, are you all right?”
She nodded stiffly, slightly.
Will burst into a wrenching sob. “It’s over, my little turkey. It’s all over. And our prize is being pissed into the wind!”
He looked around suddenly. In the melee, he hadn’t seen Simon’s fate.
“Where’s Simon?”
“He’s dead, Will. Someone shot him.”
“Where’s Vesper?”
Vesper had vanished from the catwalk. The bunjee cord which had tethered her dangled over the side of the railing, and the harness blew in the breeze, six feet above the pavement below.
Empty.
Laura grasped Will’s hand, and turned her tear streaked face to him. “Simon said. . .right before he. . .he said. . .that I was. . .” she swallowed. “Oh, my God, Will. . .your visions. . .the visions you had of my other last winter. . .” She couldn’t tell him everything. Not yet.
They sat in silence for a few moments, shocked, disbelieving, overwhelmed.
The merrymaking in the streets below had turned to chaos. The crowd had discovered the bills laced in the New Year’s confetti.
Will sighed. “Well,” he said dully. “What are we going to do now that we’ve reached the end?”
Laura put her arm around him.
“This isn’t the end, Will,” she said, wiping away her tears with her free hand. “It’s only the beginning.” She looked out into the night. “It’s only the beginning.”
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
HAPPY NEW MILLENNIUM!
WELCOME 21st CENTURY!!!
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