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Working on it, said PLUMBER.
Too slow! said Palin. GOGO, get in here!
You got it!
Outside, an engine revved. Moments later, an armored 45-foot red, white, and
blue motor coach with Sarah Palin s face pasted on the sides burst through the
front entrance in a spray of glass and twisted metal, crunched over a row of
shopping carts, flattened several registers, and stopped just short of the jewelry
counter.
Two pivoting weapon pods popped out of the roof. Each was a remote-
operated Metal Storm 36-barreled stacked projectile machine gun firing 180-
round bursts of anti-vampire shot. The guns locked on targets and opened up,
sending the fangheads scurrying.
Anyone in the sound of my voice, run to the light! said Palin.
A handful of terrified survivors and five fast-moving wolves ran for daylight.
Staggering along behind them came a reddish half-wolf, half-man whose mostly
severed arms dangled at his sides like bloody wet noodles.
Let the puppies go! said Palin. Get the people out! Sweep for survivors!
Don t bother with that, said the Professor.
Four quick metallic pops and a whoosh of flames filled the store. The
vampires had set off incendiaries to cover their retreat. The fire suppression
sprinklers activated, but there was no saving the store or anyone left in it.
Darn it all! said Palin, shielding her face from the wall of heat. Get the bus
out, GOGO! That s a wrap!
***
Chief Finch and Stella who insisted on riding along pulled into the
Walmart parking lot just in time to see the Palin tour bus back out of the store at
high speed, bringing mangled carts and merchandise with it. A jet of flame trailed
after the motor coach like the tongue of a hungry frog, then receded. A moment
later, a series of low rumbles from inside the store presaged the collapse of the
roof.
Finch spotted Sarah Palin and several other armed individuals gathered near
the bus.
Do you believe me now? said Stella. Do you see, Daddy? Sarah Palin is
crazy! She killed Edmund and she tried to kill me and now she s killing everyone
she sees. Do you believe me now?
I m starting to, said Finch. Now get down.
He put on the lights and siren and sped across the lot while calling for backup
over the radio. He braked to a hard stop, flung the door open and crouched behind
it, drawing his revolver.
Police! he shouted. Drop your weapons! You re all under arrest!
***
Palin and her accomplices came quietly. Booking them proved to be a
challenge.
What do you mean they don t exist, Steve? said Finch to his puzzled desk
sergeant. I m looking at them. That s Sarah Palin for crying out loud!
I ran their names, their prints, their IDs and it comes up nothing.
You mean they don t have arrest records or outstanding warrants.
I mean there is nothing. I may as well have typed in Mickey Mouse.
Try it again.
I can t.
Why not?
The system is down. Soon as I got the first results back, the whole thing
crashed.
Finch shook his head in exasperation. Keep trying. This is I don t know
what this is. But it s big and we better dot all our I s and cross our T s,
understand?
***
The interrogation room held a table and two metal chairs. Palin sat in one. Her
hands, cuffed together, rested on the table. Finch ignored the other chair.
You ve been read your rights? he said as he closed the door behind him.
I can recite em, said Palin brightly.
You want to tell me what happened? Why you and your friends shot up the
Walmart? Burned it to the ground? Killed a bunch of good people?
No, said Palin. Actually, I want to talk to your mayor. Grissom, isn t it?
You want to talk to the mayor? Finch shook his head. Lady, you re talking
to me!
No, I m not, because I ve got the right to remain silent. Which I will, until I
talk to the mayor.
That s not happening, said Finch.
Palin opened her hand. She was holding a black plastic card, the size of a
credit card.
What is that? said Finch. He snatched the card away. Where did you get
this?
It s mine, said Palin.
You should have been searched.
She shrugged. They missed it.
Finch turned the card over in his hand. On one side was an odd, but vaguely
familiar gold symbol. On the other, a string of numbers. I ve never seen a card
like this.
Call that number, said Palin.
I m not calling any number! This isn t even a phone number. It s too long.
I get a phone call, don t I? said Palin. That s my call. And I want you to
make it for me.
I m not
It s the best lead you ve got there, Chief.
Finch frowned. Maybe.
Say, is your mayor a lawyer?
Yes, but
Perfect! I get a lawyer, don t I? I choose the mayor. Now you ve gotta let me
talk to him, don t cha?
***
The mayor s office was on the second floor. It was modestly furnished with
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