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Description
In the early morning of March 14th, a white soundproofed Mustang with red stripes painted down the sides crawled slowly through Grecian avenue under the bluish light of a coming sunrise. Over the radio, lounge music was playing, piped from a station on the mainland. On both sidewalks beside the car, streams of people both armed and unarmed were walking north.

From the passenger seat, John looked out at the quiet scene with satisfaction. "Looks like everything's going well," he remarked.

Jacob, the driver, grunted in agreement. "Better than expected, I'd say," he said. "This...what'd he call it, Johnny?"

"Blitzkrieg," John replied, looking back down at the taped-up tube-like device in his lap. He inserted a thick red wire into an alligator clip on the side. A light came on near one end of it.

"What is that, German?"

"Yeah, it's German for 'lightning war.'"

Jacob looked over at him bemusedly. "They actually got a word for 'lightning war' over there?"

"It's a compound word, Jake," John replied, as he watched a group of three large men in brown coats surround a policeman. "'Blitz' is lightning and 'krieg' is war. They do that all the time. You can make anything with 'em." He looked over at Jacob as one of the men in coats hit the policeman with a pipe. "You ever heard of lederhosen?"

"What?"

"Ah, never mind. Forget it." John pulled off a strip of duct tape, using it to cover up the clip. He patted it down gingerly before placing it beside the five or so others inside the open glove box.

"There's a station coming up, right?" Jacob asked, leaning upward to look further down the street.

"Yeah, Grecian and 44," John replied. "Should be on the next block."

Suddenly, a loud thud broke the calm as a policeman with a black eye was thrown onto the left side of the hood of the Mercedes.

"Jesus," John muttered, highly startled.

Jacob hit the brake and grabbed a handset tethered by a long cable from the dashboard. He pushed a button on the side, cutting out the radio. "Hey!" he shouted into it, the sound being piped to loudspeakers on the roof. "Keep it the fuck together out there!"

Two women with brass knuckles ran over and pulled the limp policeman from the hood, looking down in apology as Jacob replaced the handset, his head shaking. The lounge music came back on in a creak of static. John waved them off with an angry dismissive gesture and eased the car back into motion.

"What the hell are they thinking?" John asked, looking over the devices in the glove box. "Didn't any of 'em listen?"

"Shit, Johnny, look," Jacob said, pointing through the windshield at the hood where the officer fell onto it. There was a rather large dent in it from the impact. "Goddamn lowlifes think just because this is going down, they own this place now." He shook his head again. "Just a pack of fuckin' animals out there," he growled.

"Take it easy," John replied, closing the glove box. "You're gonna kill yourself."

Jacob took a breath and leaned on his left hand, his elbow on the window. "Dent my goddamn car," he muttered.

"Jesus, Jake, would you relax?" John said, turning to him.

After a pause, Jacob nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry, Johnny."

"Thank you," John said. He turned and looked up the street to see a large group gathered around a corner. "Here it is," he said, nodding toward it.

Jacob pulled up to the corner, the crowd parting as the car rolled slowly forward. He parked the car and turned it off, leaving the two of them in silence. He looked at John. "You ready?" he asked, smiling.

"I guess we'll find out," John replied, grinning, as he opened the passenger door.

Instantly, the sound of chatter filled the ears of the two men. As they stepped out onto the sidewalk, John looked up above the doorway the crowd was clustered around, where the words "San Alejandro Police Department Precinct 11" was written in embossed bronze.

As Jacob rounded the car to join John, a woman near them in a track suit held up a loudspeaker toward the doorway. "They're here, right on schedule, like I said," she blared through the speaker. "This is officially your last chance." She lowered the speaker and walked over to John and Jacob. "How's it, J's?" she asked, smiling.

"Not too bad, Ally," Jacob replied. "Some assholes dented the ride, but it's not too serious. How's it here?"

"Take a guess," Ally said, losing the smile.

"That bad, huh?"

"We've gotten two so far." Ally turned to the doorway. "We think there were at least ten in there."

John sighed. "I hate it when they won't listen."

"Here," Jacob said, reaching his hand out toward Ally's loudspeaker. "May I?"

"Knock yourself out," Ally replied, handing him the device.

Jacob walked through some of the crowd in front of the police station and held up the loudspeaker.

"Hello in there," he blared. "My name is Jacob. I'm one of the last of the Coastal Bombers, and I am currently representing the will of New Halogen. I'm sure you have received our demands by now. Unfortunately, the Bombers are here, and that means your time is just about to be up.

"As the lady said, if you are not out of this building very soon, you will not be spared. We will not come in to find you. We will be forced to conclude that you are uncooperative, and you will be shown no mercy.

"But that's not what we want to have happen. It isn't what anyone here wants. I certainly don't want to kill anyone. I know my friend here doesn't want to kill anyone. We don't have any reason to harm you. We are striving for destruction, not bloodshed. We are not murderers, but we are not above removing what is in our way.

"So, please, if there is anyone left inside, come out with your hands raised. You will not be hurt. You will be searched and restrained, and you will be free to go home and see your families as soon as possible. If you try to be a hero, you will be shot. If you try to run, we will catch you, and we will kill you. Please, don't make us have to do any of that. Let's make this easy and painless for everyone involved."

Jacob lowered the loudspeaker. The crowd was quiet, and only whispers filtered through it. Jacob waited for about a minute before looking down at the gray cement in disappointment and letting out a long sigh.

"Time, Jake?" John asked.

Jacob had turned to answer him when the door to the station opened, and a uniformed policeman walked out, his hands on the back of his head.

Jacob leaned his head back and smiled in relief as he saw that a second officer followed, then a third, until nine officers and detectives had emerged from the station.

Ally walked up to him and took the loudspeaker from Jacob's hand. "Not too bad, Jake," she said, smiling at him. "You've got a talent for this."

Jacob laughed. "I just talk, you know?" he said. "If people listen, so much the better.

After a minute or so, the nine had been restrained by the crowd, their hands zip-tied behind their backs. John stopped one before he was taken to a waiting car nearby.

"Is that all of you?" John asked him.

"There's nobody else in there, yeah," the scared man replied. "Oh, God, when do I get to go home? I want to see my kids."

"You will," John said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry."

He nodded to the hooded woman holding him to take him away, and turned back to the car as the policeman was put into the back seat of a station wagon. He opened the door, leaned in and popped the glove box, grabbing one of the devices inside. He closed the car back up as he stood up and walked over to Jacob. "It's all good, Jake," he said.

Jacob looked at him. "Do it," he said.

John nodded and walked up to the door. Behind him, he could hear Jacob shouting at the crowd to clear the area. He opened the door and looked inside. There was a large lobby area inside the door. He looked at the device he was carrying, and pulled out one of the wires held in the alligator clip on the side, and the small light on the end started to flash rapidly. He quickly threw it into the lobby, slammed the door and ran to Jacob, who was then about thirty feet away down the sidewalk.

As he reached Jacob, he ducked down and covered his ears, as did Jacob and the rest of the crowd. After a few seconds, there was a loud popping sound, followed by a thundering explosion as the bomb went off inside the station. John could feel the ground shake under him, and even with his hands over his ears, he could hear little but ringing for a few seconds.

After the shock had passed, everyone around them stood up and started to cheer. Jacob stood up after John, nodding in satisfaction. He slapped John on the back. "Let's get to the next one," he said. "Just two left."

After the two of them had gotten back into the car, Jacob turned the lounge music back on. The cheering outside had become all but silence inside the car as it pulled back onto the street lined with marchers.

"Is it 'leather hoses?'" Jacob asked.

John looked at him. "What?"

"Lederhosen."

"Oh, right," John said, looking back ahead. "No. 'Leather pants.'"

Jacob snapped his finger. "Damn," he exclaimed. "Almost got it, though."

Description
In the early morning of March 14th, a white soundproofed Mustang with red stripes painted down the sides crawled slowly through Grecian avenue under the bluish light of a coming sunrise. Over the radio, lounge music was playing, piped from a station on the mainland. On both sidewalks beside the car, streams of people both armed and unarmed were walking north.

From the passenger seat, John looked out at the quiet scene with satisfaction. "Looks like everything's going well," he remarked.

Jacob, the driver, grunted in agreement. "Better than expected, I'd say," he said. "This...what'd he call it, Johnny?"

"Blitzkrieg," John replied, looking back down at the taped-up tube-like device in his lap. He inserted a thick red wire into an alligator clip on the side. A light came on near one end of it.

"What is that, German?"

"Yeah, it's German for 'lightning war.'"

Jacob looked over at him bemusedly. "They actually got a word for 'lightning war' over there?"

"It's a compound word, Jake," John replied, as he watched a group of three large men in brown coats surround a policeman. "'Blitz' is lightning and 'krieg' is war. They do that all the time. You can make anything with 'em." He looked over at Jacob as one of the men in coats hit the policeman with a pipe. "You ever heard of lederhosen?"

"What?"

"Ah, never mind. Forget it." John pulled off a strip of duct tape, using it to cover up the clip. He patted it down gingerly before placing it beside the five or so others inside the open glove box.

"There's a station coming up, right?" Jacob asked, leaning upward to look further down the street.

"Yeah, Grecian and 44," John replied. "Should be on the next block."

Suddenly, a loud thud broke the calm as a policeman with a black eye was thrown onto the left side of the hood of the Mercedes.

"Jesus," John muttered, highly startled.

Jacob hit the brake and grabbed a handset tethered by a long cable from the dashboard. He pushed a button on the side, cutting out the radio. "Hey!" he shouted into it, the sound being piped to loudspeakers on the roof. "Keep it the fuck together out there!"

Two women with brass knuckles ran over and pulled the limp policeman from the hood, looking down in apology as Jacob replaced the handset, his head shaking. The lounge music came back on in a creak of static. John waved them off with an angry dismissive gesture and eased the car back into motion.

"What the hell are they thinking?" John asked, looking over the devices in the glove box. "Didn't any of 'em listen?"

"Shit, Johnny, look," Jacob said, pointing through the windshield at the hood where the officer fell onto it. There was a rather large dent in it from the impact. "Goddamn lowlifes think just because this is going down, they own this place now." He shook his head again. "Just a pack of fuckin' animals out there," he growled.

"Take it easy," John replied, closing the glove box. "You're gonna kill yourself."

Jacob took a breath and leaned on his left hand, his elbow on the window. "Dent my goddamn car," he muttered.

"Jesus, Jake, would you relax?" John said, turning to him.

After a pause, Jacob nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry, Johnny."

"Thank you," John said. He turned and looked up the street to see a large group gathered around a corner. "Here it is," he said, nodding toward it.

Jacob pulled up to the corner, the crowd parting as the car rolled slowly forward. He parked the car and turned it off, leaving the two of them in silence. He looked at John. "You ready?" he asked, smiling.

"I guess we'll find out," John replied, grinning, as he opened the passenger door.

Instantly, the sound of chatter filled the ears of the two men. As they stepped out onto the sidewalk, John looked up above the doorway the crowd was clustered around, where the words "San Alejandro Police Department Precinct 11" was written in embossed bronze.

As Jacob rounded the car to join John, a woman near them in a track suit held up a loudspeaker toward the doorway. "They're here, right on schedule, like I said," she blared through the speaker. "This is officially your last chance." She lowered the speaker and walked over to John and Jacob. "How's it, J's?" she asked, smiling.

"Not too bad, Ally," Jacob replied. "Some assholes dented the ride, but it's not too serious. How's it here?"

"Take a guess," Ally said, losing the smile.

"That bad, huh?"

"We've gotten two so far." Ally turned to the doorway. "We think there were at least ten in there."

John sighed. "I hate it when they won't listen."

"Here," Jacob said, reaching his hand out toward Ally's loudspeaker. "May I?"

"Knock yourself out," Ally replied, handing him the device.

Jacob walked through some of the crowd in front of the police station and held up the loudspeaker.

"Hello in there," he blared. "My name is Jacob. I'm one of the last of the Coastal Bombers, and I am currently representing the will of New Halogen. I'm sure you have received our demands by now. Unfortunately, the Bombers are here, and that means your time is just about to be up.

"As the lady said, if you are not out of this building very soon, you will not be spared. We will not come in to find you. We will be forced to conclude that you are uncooperative, and you will be shown no mercy.

"But that's not what we want to have happen. It isn't what anyone here wants. I certainly don't want to kill anyone. I know my friend here doesn't want to kill anyone. We don't have any reason to harm you. We are striving for destruction, not bloodshed. We are not murderers, but we are not above removing what is in our way.

"So, please, if there is anyone left inside, come out with your hands raised. You will not be hurt. You will be searched and restrained, and you will be free to go home and see your families as soon as possible. If you try to be a hero, you will be shot. If you try to run, we will catch you, and we will kill you. Please, don't make us have to do any of that. Let's make this easy and painless for everyone involved."

Jacob lowered the loudspeaker. The crowd was quiet, and only whispers filtered through it. Jacob waited for about a minute before looking down at the gray cement in disappointment and letting out a long sigh.

"Time, Jake?" John asked.

Jacob had turned to answer him when the door to the station opened, and a uniformed policeman walked out, his hands on the back of his head.

Jacob leaned his head back and smiled in relief as he saw that a second officer followed, then a third, until nine officers and detectives had emerged from the station.

Ally walked up to him and took the loudspeaker from Jacob's hand. "Not too bad, Jake," she said, smiling at him. "You've got a talent for this."

Jacob laughed. "I just talk, you know?" he said. "If people listen, so much the better.

After a minute or so, the nine had been restrained by the crowd, their hands zip-tied behind their backs. John stopped one before he was taken to a waiting car nearby.

"Is that all of you?" John asked him.

"There's nobody else in there, yeah," the scared man replied. "Oh, God, when do I get to go home? I want to see my kids."

"You will," John said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry."

He nodded to the hooded woman holding him to take him away, and turned back to the car as the policeman was put into the back seat of a station wagon. He opened the door, leaned in and popped the glove box, grabbing one of the devices inside. He closed the car back up as he stood up and walked over to Jacob. "It's all good, Jake," he said.

Jacob looked at him. "Do it," he said.

John nodded and walked up to the door. Behind him, he could hear Jacob shouting at the crowd to clear the area. He opened the door and looked inside. There was a large lobby area inside the door. He looked at the device he was carrying, and pulled out one of the wires held in the alligator clip on the side, and the small light on the end started to flash rapidly. He quickly threw it into the lobby, slammed the door and ran to Jacob, who was then about thirty feet away down the sidewalk.

As he reached Jacob, he ducked down and covered his ears, as did Jacob and the rest of the crowd. After a few seconds, there was a loud popping sound, followed by a thundering explosion as the bomb went off inside the station. John could feel the ground shake under him, and even with his hands over his ears, he could hear little but ringing for a few seconds.

After the shock had passed, everyone around them stood up and started to cheer. Jacob stood up after John, nodding in satisfaction. He slapped John on the back. "Let's get to the next one," he said. "Just two left."

After the two of them had gotten back into the car, Jacob turned the lounge music back on. The cheering outside had become all but silence inside the car as it pulled back onto the street lined with marchers.

"Is it 'leather hoses?'" Jacob asked.

John looked at him. "What?"

"Lederhosen."

"Oh, right," John said, looking back ahead. "No. 'Leather pants.'"

Jacob snapped his finger. "Damn," he exclaimed. "Almost got it, though."