I posted part one of this around Thanksgiving. Those of you who want a copy, private e-mail me. Remember, this is a SECOND season story. Schanke's alive. So is Cohen. Tracy's still Officer Vetter. Janette is still running The Raven. And Vachon is--- somewhere else. Disclaimer: This isn't exactly the scene I let the bidders to expect. It isn't the one I originally intended to write. However, I finally realized that I don't have the energy or, frankly, the heart to write this the way I originally intended. It was either 1) not write it at all, and leave everybody hanging in limbo or 2) find a way I *could* move the story on, so others could do their shares. So, with apologies all round... For A Good Cause, pt 2 by Diane Echelbarger FREAK SNOWSTORM SHUTS DOWN CITY All Public Buildings Closed; Mayor Declares City-Wide Emergency (Toronto) An unseasonal blizzard descended on Toronto shortly after sunset yesterday. As of press time, 38 inches of snow had fallen on the city, with no end in sight. Public transit has been shut down, and city services today will be limited to emergency functions only. Fire and police departments are running on skeleton staffs, due to the inability of many employees to negotiate snow-clogged streets. Citizens are asked to remain in their homes, and to call the police only in emergency situations. Commissioner Samuel Vetter, contacted by telephone.... --------------------- *rrrrring* *rrrrrrrrrrrrrrring* Nick groaned and fumbled for the telephone. He'd barely made it back to the loft before dawn-- by leaving the Caddy stranded in a man-high snowdrift that *used* to be the intersection of Chestnut and Dundas, and taking to the snow- filled air, fighting headwinds the whole way. His coat had been so ice- sheathed it had literally cracked as he pulled it open, dropping dinner-plate sized chunks of ice onto the floor of the loft. Blinking sleep from his eyes, and reaching for the half-full bottle of blood on the coffee table, he mumbled, "Hello?" "Knight?" "Captain? What's up? I finished my shift--" he glanced blearily at the clock on his VCR-- "two hours ago." "I know," Captain Cohen informed him crisply. "That's not why I called. This is about the Metro Police Scholarship fundraiser." "The date auction?" Nick was awake enough, by now, to remember that the event was supposed to take place the next night. he thought with considerable relief. He hadn't dared refuse to participate-- not with Schanke making pointed comments about how Jenny wanted to grow up to be a doctor like Nat, and the TMPSF being her only chance at medical school-- but he hadn't exactly been happy about it, either. "I heard Casa Loma was closed down. I guess we're going to have to cancel it, huh?" He tried to sound disappointed. "Definitely not," Cohen snapped. "We're just rearranging things. Of course, the dinner is off, but we'll still be doing the auction-- by telephone." "*Telephone*!" Nick blurted, then tried to recover. "Umm-- won't that be awfully difficult, getting enough lines hooked up and all?" "I'm working on it," the woman assured him. "Now, have you got a pen and paper? Here's what I need you to do...." -------------------------------- Anderson-- get copies of this typed up and ready to mail to all participants ASAP. A.Cohen. Toronto Metropolitan Police Officers' Union Scholarship Fund Committee Amanda Cohen, Chairperson Dear Bidder # ___, Thank you for participating in the annual Toronto Metropolitan Police Scholarship Fundraiser. We are grateful for your tolerance of the exigencies forced on us by the recent emergency. As compensation for the unfortunate cancellation of the banquet, please find enclosed a $50 gift certificate to Winston's. An anonymous donor has provided us with these certificates; no money from the Scholarship Fund was used to purchase them. Please find attached a detailed list of the Auctionees, with the winning bid and the name of the winning bidder. We look forward to your participation in future Fundraisers for the Scholarship, and trust future events will run more smoothly. With many thanks, Capt. Amanda Cohen ----------------------- Excerpt from attached list of Auctionees: Miklos Akilides-- Winning bid: $6,500 Winning bidder: Patricia Hanson Grace Belthezar-- Winning bid: $300 Winning bidder: Miklos Akilides Janette DuCharme-- Winning bid: $2,500 Winning bidder: J. Roger Armstrong Nicholas Knight-- Winning bid: $16,000 Winning bidder: Jackie Deutsch Lucien LaCroix-- Winning bid: $27,000 Winning bidder: Cherri Munoz Natalie Lambert-- Winning bid: $5,300 Winning bidder: Ronni Powers Tracey Vetter-- Winning bid: $295 Winning bidder: Sean Hendricks ------------------------- OK, all you winners have one month from TODAY to post your story, or it goes to the next highest bidder. If you need to be reminded what the story rules are, or what the date you just bought entails, *private* e-mail me. Since this story is 2 months late, I wouldn't be at all surprised if you *all* needed a reminder! ;) Happy writing! And if you're interested in writing the Grace-and-Miklos date, private e-mail me with a six-lines-or-less essay on why *you* should get the story! :) The best-written essay gets the story. (Bribes not accepted. I'm *not* a Merc!) Diane E # D Echelbarger gryphon@execpc.com # # WWW HomePage: http://www.execpc.com/~echelbar/ #