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"And do you have an idea?" Ethan asked

"No,"the elevator ride is productive"

• • •

If City Hall was built to inspire, theopen roo the s Mayor Kowalcyzk had settled her dark, curved desk beneath an enorot the realm over which she ruled

The mayor sat behind her desk, her brown hair carefully coiffed and sprayed, h she’d probably already been on the job for twelve hours She wore a power suit in deep crimson, hands crossed in her lap as she watched video on the flat-screen on the opposite wall, which showed footage of the fight, the iht as the camera was jostled

A man I assumed was her aide--in his forties with a paunchy build and receding hairline--stood behind her against the wall, one ar a small tablet

When an anchor appeared on-screen again, the lanced at us, fingers now interlaced in her folded hands She looked at each of us in turn, then settled her gaze on randfather "Mr Merit"

"Madam Mayor"

"You know my chief of staff, Lane Conrad"

They exchanged nods

"It’s snowing outside for no apparent reason and from no apparent band ofAnd that video, of course, is disturbing in its own right"

He nodded "Agreed on both counts, Your Honor"

"And their cause?"

"Both phenoation That said, we’ve just been informed the wards have been tripped"

Both the mayor and her aide went very still

"She is back in ht jaw

Good, I thought At least that anger was directed appropriately Thatwith the problem a little bit easier

"Not that we’re aware of, but that’s within the CPD’s jurisdiction The wards were tripped when the snow began to fall"

"So she created the snowfall?"

"That’s the logical conclusion The tiests either she created it or she caused it to happen by so that as soon as we leave here"