by Flash Rex
"Aw, crap!" The driver yelled.
"What now?"
"The Mets just blew a three run lead in the ninth."
"Are you planning on going past Shea?" I asked.
"I wasn't going to but it depends on what the Throg's Neck and Whitestone look like."
"How many showed up for the game?" I asked.
"I don't know. Fifty thousand or so. Why?"
"You're thinking about driving past Shea Stadium just as fifty-thousand disgruntled New Yorkers are bailing out after a Met loss? For all we know it was Firearms Day today! Take the Throgs Neck!"
"Whatever you say."
"And why don't you turn off the game and turn on a news station so we can find out if the Tappan Zee or the George Washington Bridge is better?" The driver turned the station.
"Once again our top story. The young boy who was attacked by the shark on Fire Island has died. He died just a few minutes ago apparently from injuries suffered in the attack. Of course we'll keep you updated as more details become available. We now return to the Alan Simpson show." The radio blurted.
I knew the kid wouldn't live. "You can turn it. I've heard enough." I looked at the shark. It just kept swimming. I scrambled over to the box. It just kept swimming. I put my left hand on the side of the box and raised my right fist. I brought my fist down right on the snout of the shark and drove it into the bottom of the box. The car behind us beeped.
"What's wrong with you?" I heard Grimshaw yell. The shark was momentarily stunned but then returned to swimming. My fist was bleeding.
"For our last hour, we'd like to hear what you think about the shark attack. Give us a call and tell us what you think. Jeff from Flushing, you're on the air!"
"Hey Alan. I'm a long time listener, first time caller."
"Welcome to the show. What do you think about the shark attack?"
"First, my heart goes out to the kid's family. It's terrible to lose a kid like that. I would like to say though, that the blame for this should fall squarely on the shoulders of that idiot at Gracie Mansion! You take thousands of city kids to the beach and something bad is going to happen. He should have known!"
"How could the Mayor have known a killer shark was out there? C'mon Jeff! Give 'em a break!"
"Look Alan. I didn't say he should have known a shark was going to be there. I said he should have known that something, some tragedy, was going to happen."
"Jeff, thanks for calling. Next time don't forget to take your medication before you call! That was Jeff from Flushing, ladies and gentlemen. Jeff's still fighting the sauce but we wish him well. Don't forget Magic Carpet, folks. You call 555-CARPET and an hour later you got three sweaty guys hauling out your old, stained carpet and installing your brand new one. Don't put up with that old, smelly carpet another minute! Call 555-CARPET right now! Speaking of old and smelly, Eli from Washington Heights is on the air. Alright Eli, let me guess, the shark's a racist right?"
"Not quite Alan, but look at the symbolism. A little black boy is killed by a great white. It's fitting. The genocide continues!"
"Eli, come back to us! Do you have a black and white TV, Eli?"
"No, I don't, Alan."
"Well whatever you got, I suggest you adjust the color. The shark was black, Eli! Black!"
"Alan, I'm not a marine biologist..."
"You don't have to be Eli! The shark was black, admit it!"
"The shark's color isn't the point..."
"Admit it, Eli! Admit it!"
"No!"
"Admit it or you're gone!"
"No!"
"Goodbye, Eli. Eli's now going to file a petition with the Department Of Ridiculous Complaints. Yes folks, that would be DORCS." Alan Simpson gave way for a canned commercial.
"I hate Eli from Washington Heights. Everything is race to that guy. He's the biggest racist I've ever heard,” the driver said.
"Two thousand people are murdered in this city every year and nobody cares. A shark kills a kid and people are consumed by it." I was thinking out loud.
"Well, what are you gonna do?" The driver said. I looked at the shark. Good question, I thought.
The Throngs Neck Bridge was frozen. Some people turned off their cars and got out to take in the view of Manhattan in the haze. A few looked quickly at our truck but no one bothered to come over. Based on the callers’ reactions on the radio, I was glad no one realized what we had in the transport box. Most callers, after expressing regret at the boy's death, seemed to be intrigued by the fact of a dangerous animal so close to home. A city the size of New York has horrible stories of human agony every day, but a shark attack was different. A man-eating monster brought excitement even to New York City.
The callers that weren't intrigued were mad as hell. They were mad at the mayor. They were mad at the shark. Some were mad at white people and their indifference to the death of a little black boy. "If that shark killed a little white boy, that shark would already be in the dead!" That one sentence by an angry caller summed up the attitude of many.
I stood up in the back of the truck and looked at the Bronx. I was born in the Bronx and spent a lot of time on Fordham Road when my grandmother used to live there. I don't remember how many Yankee games I'd been to. The Bronx Zoo was where my family went every year for my birthday. I always will have a special place in my heart for the Bronx. I didn't want to go there today though.
"We're now going to go live to a press conference being held by the family of young Tommy Johnson. Of course, Johnson was the young boy that was killed by the shark. We go there now live..."
"As most of you know, my name is Reverend Willy Walker. The Johnson family has expressed their desire for me to be their spokesman."
"I can't believe Walker's involved in this now. If I had a gun, the first person I'm shooting is that scumbag," the driver said.
"You're not the only one," I said.
"Of course the family is devastated. But their grief is tempered by their anger," Walker said. "The family and the entire community should be outraged at the mayor! It was the mayor who sent little Tommy to the jaws of death! But more importantly, our community should be outraged at white America. Where is the call to hunt down the animal that took this boy's arm? No white person is interested in justice here! They are more interested in finding out more about this animal. They don't want to kill it! They want to thank it! They're glad this monster eliminated one more black face from their midst! Where is the justice? Where? A black boy is dead and there is no cry for justice from whites! If a white boy was dead, the shark would already be dead! No one can dispute that fact! Until there is justice, there will be no peace! I urge people to take to the streets until the killer is brought to justice! Nothing less is acceptable! The Johnson family deserves at least that!"
"I can't listen to anymore of this!" The driver turned the station. The Mets' post game show was wrapping up. I thought about Walker's words. Any sane person would just dismiss his rantings. Unfortunately, not everybody is sane. If anybody in the country was going to listen to what Walker said, it would be people in neighborhoods we were going to pass through on the way home. Assuming, of course, that we'd actually get moving again. The only time I'd seen traffic this bad was a rainy Sunday years ago as my father and I tried to get home from the only Jet game of our lives at Shea Stadium. It seemed every possible route home was blocked that night. After that I knew why my father was a Giants fan.
After the post game show, a traffic report finally came on. "Avoid the Throng’s Neck," the voice said. "And if you're trying to cross the Hudson River this evening, you may not be home until Labor Day. The tunnels are still your best bet, but they're getting worse. The GW is better than the Tappan Zee, only because the Tappan Zee is completely closed westbound due to an overturned camper. It's going to be a long night."
Finally cars started moving again, but then we had to wait for everyone to get back in their cars. Horns blasted for five minutes straight. The shark was still swimming and I wondered if
it knew what the hell was going on. I guessed that this would be the first great white to drive through the Bronx.
One good thing about driving on the Cross Bronx Expressway at five miles an hour is that the potholes don't seem as bad. Sure I thought the truck would flip over in some of the bigger ones but I didn't miss the rattling of my spine that would have occurred if we approached double-digit m.p.h. Eventually we passed the wreck that caused us to stop on the bridge. There was a wood paneled Country Squire station wagon with a smashed windshield and a severely damaged driver's side door. There was a hole completely through the windshield. Three other cars I could not identify were on flatbed pickup trucks. I couldn't identify these other cars because they looked like a wrecking ball hit them.
"People drive like asses," our driver said to me. I looked up at the city streets surrounding the concrete canyon that the Expressway plowed through. I saw dozens of cops with their helmets on. It would have looked like an ambush in the wild west except the cops surrounding the canyon had their backs to us. I looked back at the windshield of the station wagon. Its windshield was curved inward towards the hole. Something hit the windshield and caused it to give inward until it finally broke.
I ducked instinctively as a rock clanged off the floor of the truck and rattled off the railing before spinning at my feet. I dove for cover behind the transport box. "What happened?" The driver yelled to me.
"They're throwing rocks!" I wished I'd left the canvas on the back of the truck now. "Turn the news station back on will you? We gotta know what the hell's going' on!"
The driver tuned the radio to the strongest news station. "The Cross Bronx Expressway was closed earlier after rocks and bricks were thrown onto passing cars. At least seven motorists have been hospitalized with what have been called life-threatening injuries. Others have been hospitalized with less severe injuries. Emergency personnel responded, including a huge police presence. Despite the police, rocks are reportedly still being thrown onto the roadway. Traffic is moving again though. Police are urging motorists to avoid the area."
"This rock throwing is the most violent incident so far but reports throughout the city indicate an increasing level of violence. Two police stations have had firebombs thrown at them but no injuries have been reported. In Washington Heights a mob has overturned a police car. We have no report on the whereabouts of the officer or officers that were driving the car. Stay tuned for updates throughout the evening. Again our top story: The increasing violence in the aftermath of the shark attack early this afternoon." After a commercial break, the news turned to national, international, sports and traffic reports.
"Seems like our shark has caused quite a commotion," the driver said.
"Tell me about it."
"We'll be lucky to get out of here alive."
"The two police officers who were driving the police car that was overturned by a mob in Washington Heights are dead. Details are still coming in.” The driver and I made eye contact through his rear view mirror. The driver turned down the volume.
"Did you hear that?" He asked me.
"Yeah," I said.
"It's not your fault, you know?"
"Yeah," I said but I thought, My fault? How is this my fault? Why would he even suggest that it was my fault? "Hey, turn the radio back up. No, actually I'm gonna come up there with you when we stop again." I was pissed but I didn't want to be a target out on the back of the truck.
Just as I slipped into the passenger seat the newscaster announced, "Police are now reporting that snipers are targeting motorists on the West Side Highway. Motorists are encouraged to avoid the West Side Highway. In fact, you should be advised to stay out of the City altogether. We're now getting reports from LaGuardia Airport that shots have been fired at airplanes both in the air and on the ground. Flights in and out of LaGuardia have been suspended. Actually flights into LaGuardia are being directed to other airports not including Kennedy Airport, which we understand is also suspending all flights until further notice. We have been asked to pass on a request that you not call the airlines for outgoing flights but only to find out where incoming flights will be landing. All outgoing flights have been suspended so don't call about them. Only call if you need to know where an incoming flight is headed. I believe we're now going to go live to City Hall where the Mayor is expected to hold a press conference. OK we're now going to City Hall."
"The violence we've seen in the last few hours has forced us to make some difficult decisions. All New York City police officers are to contact their supervisors for instructions. I'll leave the details up to them. I'm asking for a voluntary dusk to dawn curfew. We need all law-abiding citizens to remain indoors for their own safety. We'll not seek to impose a mandatory curfew because we don't have the resources to enforce it. One thing I will order is the immediate suspension of gasoline distribution into any non-vehicles. We've had some firebombs and other unfortunate incidents today and we don't want to make arson any easier than it has to be. I've been in contact with the Governor and I've requested that National Guard troops be mobilized in order to reinforce the city police. I have the utmost confidence in our police. They've demonstrated their ability to handle difficult situations in the past and I know they will continue to do so now. The National Guard will only bolster those efforts not replace them. I'll take just a couple of questions. Yeah, Susan."
"Mr. Mayor, are you concerned that the cops will be out of control after seeing two of their own killed?" Susan asked.
"Cops are human. They're going to be angry and they have a right to be. But they're also professionals and the best in the world. I have no concerns that they will act appropriately. Yeah, go ahead."
"Do you feel in any way responsible for the events here today? After all you sent the kids to the beach and the shark attack appears to be the...”
"That's ridiculous! A freak of nature gives no one the right to go on a rampage. We will find out who's responsible for all this violence today and punishment will be severe. Last question!"
"Sir, race appears to be the driving factor in the incidents today..."
"These questions are ridiculous! How can you say race is a factor? We all saw two cops murdered in the line of duty. One was white and one was black. Race isn't the problem here! The problem is criminals with no regard for law or human life!" It sounded like dozens of questions were yelled out when the Mayor finished his response. One was audible above all the rest though.
"What about the rumors that a boat lured the shark to the beach?"
"We're looking into everything! If we find evidence that the shark was lured, we will find the guilty party! I will make it my sole purpose in life to see they're held accountable!"
I was sweating but it wasn't just the heat anymore. I could feel the tension well up in my neck. I couldn't even turn my head. Why did we bring Grimshaw with us?
"I need a new job," the driver said. "This isn't worth it."
"We're almost out of the Bronx. We'll make it. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel," I said.
"That doesn't look like light to me." The driver pointed up through the windshield at a line of the blackest clouds I'd seen outside of a movie. The sun was just about to dip behind them. "Looks like it's still over Jersey."
"The cop's best friend," I said.
"What is?"
"Inclement weather. Criminals hate rain and rioters despise it." We were crossing the Harlem River into Manhattan. We were as close to the violence in Washington Heights as I wanted to get but we were also just a couple of miles away from escaping the City. "It should all be downhill from here." At that moment a wave of brake lights rolled back through the cars in front of us. "What now?"
"You spoke too soon."
""I don't think we're ever going to...” I heard the generator on the transport box sputtering. I looked back and saw the shark thrashing around. The truck came to a stop and I opened the door and climbed around to the back. The shark was all the way to the front of the box. Its sno
ut was pushed to one of the corners and its body was turned. The struggling of the shark diminished noticeably. I knelt down to look at the motor powering the pumps. "We gotta get off here! Get off here!" I yelled to the driver.
"Are you insane! Don't you know where we are?"
"Yeah, I know where we are! But we need gas for the box or the shark will die and this whole day will be wasted! Now get off!"
"No! I'm not dying for this!" The driver yelled. "No way! Screw the shark and screw you!"
I looked at Burns' car behind us. I motioned for him to roll down his window. He did. He stuck his head out and made a disgusted face. "What's the problem? These fumes are killing me!"
"The box ran out of gas! Our friend's gonna die if we don't get more gas!"
"So pull over and get more gas! Just do it! I'll reimburse you for the out-of-pocket expense! I'm good for it!" Burns pulled his head back in and started to roll up the window.
"This jackass is afraid to pull over! He thinks he's going to die!"
Burns stuck his head back out. "Tell him I'll double his salary!"
"Burns will double your salary if you pull over!" I relayed the message to the driver.
"Tell Burns to triple it and I'll pump the gas myself!"
"Ah, a man of principle," I said. "He wants triple!" I yelled to Burns.
"Fine! Let's go!" The truck flew up the exit ramp.