Page 2 (2/2)

Carson panned and saw anotherHe’s carrying a shopping bag"

"Is there a store na to carry thewears cool clothes," Michael said "I’ve been wondering where he shops"

Zoo off a series of shots, Carson said, "He’s talking to Beck is taking soet a clear shot of the bag We can enhance it till the store na pulled a gun fro"

"He just shot hiain Beckmann’s down"

"I don’t hear any shots"

"Silencer," Carson reported

"This is so not right"

"Chang just knelt, shot hi down the camera, Carson said, "You knohat"

"I’ the pistol fro, she said, "And I’m too mom But baby needs new shoes"

Chapter 4

The truck departed, carrying the real Erskine, Nancy, and Ariel to their doom The new Mayor Potter, his efficient wife, and his focused daughter returned to the house

Energetic, industrious, and sagacious, the three thoroughly cleaned the kitchen They reordered the contents of the cabinets, the refrigerator, and the pantry to ensure that every meal could henceforth be prepared as quickly as possible

They exchanged not a single word as they worked Yet they did not duplicate one another’s efforts Neither did they at any tiht, they prepared an early breakfast Erskine cracked, scras while Nancy fried a pound of bacon

Spots of green mold marked the bread Like everyShe prepared twelve browned slices in the four-slot toaster

A squeeze-bottle of liquid butter--actually a butter substitute--was thrillingly efficient

Erskine plated the eggs Nancy added the bacon Ariel poured three glasses of orange juice

As Erskine put the plates on the table, Nancy set out the flatware and Ariel put a paper napkin at each place setting

With night still pressing at the s, they sat at the table They ate

Because conversation inhibited the efficient consumption of a meal, they initially dined in silence

Eventually, Erskine said, "As mayor, it has been my habit to take my family at least twice a week to restaurants owned by so at home takes less time," said Nancy

"Yes But until the Community replaces the current population of Rainbow Falls, we must follow the habits and traditions of the Potter fa suspicion"

"When we eat at ho for breakfast every hter to Erskine and Nancy, but she was neither their daughter nor younger than they were; she was their equal in the classless utopia of the Community "We should develop abut those menus Repetition will result in ever reed," Nancy said "And food shopping will be si breakfast, they cleared the table and rinsed the china They racked the dishes, the cookware, and the utensils in the dishwasher

Soon they e, and the rest of the property as they had already ienda; they must first explore the barn

The driveway forked One lane went to the garage, and the other led to the red barn toward the back of the property

Never had the Potter family been farmers Nancy and Ariel were horsewomen, and the barn served as their equestrian facility

The building encompassed about sixteen hundred square feet,the south ere three stalls Froroup

In the north stalls stood a stallion named Commander and two mares named Queenie and Valentine The south stalls were unoccupied

"The walls are insulated, and there’s an oil furnace that keeps the te too low," Erskine said

"The insulation will also contain sound," Nancy said "We ht need the sound to be well contained"

The horses watched the the room "The s must be packed with sound insulation and boarded over inside Froed"

Erskine declared, "Here it will happen"

"Ideal," Nancy said

Ariel’s soray-blue eyes shone with a lustrous steely light

"Yes," she said "Yes This is where I will be what I aood locks"

Beginning a second survey of the barn, Ariel said, "And fortify the stalls, both the walls and the doors They "

The three stood in silence for a ent purpose, the thrill of a war begun, a kind of awe that they were the agents of change that would remake the world, and an almost feverish desire to exterminate the rabble, the vermin, the pestilence, the filth that was huer proved to be no less impressive than his sense of style inthe delivery truck as their surveillance post, Carson and Michael had disabled the ceiling laer’s doors ajar When they got out of the truck, the doors ht betrayed the knelt to fire a third round, the coup de grâce, into the back of Beck to his feet He swiveled toward the sixth truck in the row of fourteen identical vehicles--their truck--and squeezed off two shots

The first bullet struck an iron-bell note froht The second pierced the windshield

In her years as a cop, Carson had never been shot, less because she was cautious than because she was bold She often played by the book--but only until she intuitively knew that playing by the book could get her killed

Chang was the employee of a Chinese corporation He headed its Division of Competitive Intel, which meant--bluntly put--that either by thievery or by bribery, he acquired technological trade secrets froent of a governence service Until now, violence was not in his criminal repertoire