Daniel led her into one of the thickly built brick houses. Vicki followed meekly, drawn by her fingertips to sit beside him. He looked at her in wonder.

'I can't believe it.' he said. 'Dalton's girl. It's a miracle.'

Vicki shook her head. 'How can you be my Uncle? My father's family are all dead.'

'We're not all dead,' Daniel snorted, 'You have an aunt, Sarah, and a cousin as well. You've met him; Aaron.'

Vicki blinked. 'Aaron is my cousin?'

'Yes my child. We are your family.' Daniel took her hands, clasping them. 'Now I understand why this has all come to pass. It is his will, don't you see?'

Vicki found herself staring into his eyes. He looked so certain, so sure.

'But why didn't anyone ever tell me?' Vicki said to herself.

Daniels face grew grim. He looked down at the floor. 'I have been…away.'

'Away?' Vicki asked, still staring into space.

'Prison.' He replied. Vicki turned to look at him. He was still holding her hands, but she didn't ask him to let her go. He was confessing to her.

'Prison?' She asked again.

Daniel sighed. 'I….I.' he let go of her hands. 'I did terrible things when I was a young man. Things that I will answer for. Your mother, she.' He stopped again. 'She has every right to hate me. She probably thought I was dead. In a way, I was.'

'Why?' Vicki demanded. 'Why did she hate you?'

A tear trickled from Daniels eye. 'Because I killed your father.'

Daniel wept. Without thought, Vicki put her arm around him and held him as he sobbed.

---

Erles trotted downstairs to Albrights Furniture and found Pete and Pete Junior eating sandwiches and listening to the radio.

'Hey Mr Niggard' said Pete Senior.

Erles pursed his lips but decided against correction. 'Hello Petes. I need to ask a favour. Can you help me shift something out of the gallery?'

'Sure' said Pete Junior. 'You got some paintings again?'

'Not quite.' Erles said tactfully. 'I have a...' he paused. Inspiration came to him. 'I have homeless chap who's crept upstairs and he's too drunk to move. I have a policeman here and I need some help to carry him to the car.'

Pete Junior jumped up, eager to defend his Mall. 'Sure Mr Niggard, we can help.'

-

Luka's hand slipped an inch and the board shifted. John Redman and the two Petes heaved to keep it upright. The bandaged figure on the board moaned as it slid against the flesh on its back.

"Watch it!' snapped John Redman.

'Sorry' Luka said and wedged the board on his knee until he could get a better grip. 'Ok.' He said. 'Got it.'

Charlie was at the bottom of the stairs, holding the door open.

The men carefully stepped the stairs until they reach the door and then squeezed around it, trying to keep the board level.

Erles had the door of the squad car open and they lay the edge of the board on the seat, sliding it across.

'He looks hurt pretty bad.' Said Pete Senior. 'You gonna take him to the hospital?'

Luka looked over at Charlie.

'We're going to get him help right now.' Charlie answered for them. Pete Senior looked at her strangely, but nodded. 'Ok.'

'Thankyou both' Erles said, shaking Pete's hand. 'I'm going to go with them, to make sure he's ok.' Erles ran back and locked his door.

'We can't all fit' Luka said, pointing at the car.

'I'll drive with The Detective.' John Redman suggested. 'Have we got another car we..'

Charlie shook her head. 'No, we were meant to meet Phil back at the hotel.'

Pete Senior slapped his son on the arm. 'Pete Junior will drive you wherever you need to go.'

Charlie beamed at him. 'Thank you…'

'Pete.' Erles provided.

Pete Senior smiled. 'Just being neighbourly.' He said. 'Petie, you go bring the car round.'

Luka sat down heavily in the drivers' seat of the squad car. John Redman sat down more gingerly in the passenger seat. Behind them, the thing on the board groaned.

Luka looked back nervously. 'Is he gonna last the distance?'

John reached out a hand, but let it hover over the form. John Rainbirds eye was watching him. Cold, clear.

John nodded. 'He'll make it. Where did Rogers say she was?'

'He's over at a Christian community hall or something. She's gone to the hall there to do her TV show. Rogers is waiting there for us. He also says it's getting crowded.'

John raised an eyebrow. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

Luka shrugged. 'Don't ask me.' He switched the cruisers flashing lights on. 'We'll get there as quick as we can and find out.'

-

The Vet opened up the door from the rear of the surgery to the front waiting room, but her visitor was nowhere to be found. She only knew Phil as a fixture from the local markets. He was a sweet natured guy and awful busted up over the poor stray he had hit; no doubt on its way back from a raid on the scraps from the county tip. She had put it into the cremation oven and set the timer and wandered back to the desk, but the Phil was gone. The Vet looked out from her window and saw him talking to a group of men. The pretty young thing he had come in with was nowhere to be seen.

The men put their hands on either side of Phil. He shrugged the first one off and pushed another fellow down the stairs. The Vet gasped, grabbing her desk phone and dialling 911. One of the men outside pointed something at Phil and he began to dance and jerk, finally slumping to the ground.

'Hello? 911, this is Nina at the vet surgery, some men are beating up Bill…no…Phil... .' she said, struggling to remember his name.

Outside the window, the men started to haul the farmer down the stairs. She dropped the handset and ran outside, yelling. 'Hey, what are you doing?'

One of the men turned around and held up a leather wallet.

'National Security Ma'am.' He said, snapping the case shut.

'You can't do this, he's citizen!' she protested, but the men ignored her and stuffed Phil into their car. She wrote down the license plate number as it sped away and ran back inside to tell the operator.

---

A heavy hand fell on Aarons shoulder as he emerged from the house, blinking in the failing light. His pupils were contracted back into tiny little pinpricks.

'Hey buddy' said a voice. Aaron reflexively slapped the hand away. Another man blocked his path. Aaron felt in his pocket for the revolver, but his arm was quickly wrenched to the side. A man with a scarred face slammed him up against the weatherboard side of the house. 'Didn't think we were going to see you again' the man said gruffly, hauling Aaron up by his collar. 'Your Uncle hasn't come through on his end of the bargain. I wonder what he'd say if he knew you were here.'

Aaron's coat pocket barked fire. The scarred man staggered twice as the small rounds broke in through his ribs. He dropped Aaron and fell backwards. Aaron pointed his pocket at the second man and fire again. The man dived to the side with a shriek as a round entered his shoulder. Aaron's heart was thundering, his blood crashing in his ears. Aaron stood over the body. 'YAAAA!' he screamed at it. He stepped over the body to the other man, who was still lying on his back clutching his shoulder. Aaron fired again. The pistol made a clicking sound, muffled by the coat pocket. Aaron froze, but the man on the ground hadn't heard the hammer fall on an empty chamber.

'You earned yourself a death warrant, son.' The man gasped.

'You first.' Aaron replied flatly and raised the burning edge of the pocket where the snub nose of the revolver poked through. The man closed his yes and waited for the shot. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and saw that the young man had fled.

---

'There you are my child.' The Reverend said, stopping at the door. Vicki looked up at him. Daniel was still holding his head in his hands.

'Hi Reverend.' Vicki said with a sad smile.

The Reverend looked at the two of them, unsure of what to say. 'Ah.'

'He's family.' Vicki explained. The Reverend eyebrow went up in surprise. 'Oh? I see. Did you find your mother?'

Vicki shook her head. 'I saw her friend Erles, at the gallery. He said she's ok. Maybe I'll try and go again tomorrow. I thought I might be needed here.'

The Reverend's face showed obvious relief. 'As always, Vicki.' He paused for effect, showing that he had paid attention. 'You are in the right place at the right time. My lord do we need you right now.'

Daniel wiped his eyes. 'You go with the Reverend, my girl. I'll be fine. Maybe after you're done, we can talk again. I have so many things to ask you.'

Vicki smiled and gave him another hug. She took the Reverend offered hand and walked out onto the porch. People were streaming up the slopes to the Church. They had settled in and around it, on picnic blankets. Someone had started lighting torches up the hill.

At the bottom of the hill, cars were parked in disciplined ranks in the fields.

'We've got quite a few visitors.' The Reverend noted. 'The community folks here are proving adept at managing the logistics, but I am not sure how we can get them to disperse.'

Vicki looked over the crowds in wonder.

'Why are they here?' she asked.

The Reverend clapped her on the shoulder. 'They're here to be inspired by your show, Vicki, just as I was.'

Vicki beamed at him. 'Really? They're all here for me?'

The Reverend looked shocked. 'No my child, they're here for him.' He said, pointing up at the Hall. JJ and Rufus were waving to the crowd.

'Come on, let's go help.' The Reverend said and plunged into the crowd.

---

Ronny looked askance at the three guys struggling with a tripod and batteries.

'Are you Ronny? Where can we set up?' the first one said to him.

'Set up what?' Ronny asked, shaking his head.

The man blinked. 'Um. The camera. Someone said you were the floor manager.'

Ronny nodded. 'Yes, that's me all right. Who the hell are you?'

The man smiled. 'I'm Dave. We're with Channel four. They said it was OK to set up in here with you.'

It was Ronny's turn to blink. 'Huh?'

'For the show. People want to see for themselves, you know, make their own minds up.' Dave replied. 'My Boss wanted us to get in first, on account of you using our retransmission.'

Ronny scowled. 'No one told me about this. Have you cleared it with the producer?'

"Welll…'

Ronny shook his head. 'You wait here. You can setup to my desk and take a feed from it, but I am going to have to clear this first, ok?'

Dave nodded gratefully and Ronny barged past him. Ronny grabbed one of the band members, the skinny Japanese guy. 'You see Vicki?' he asked.

The Japanese guy shook his head. 'No.'

Ronny let go of him but looked around the room. The band was setting up on the stage. The cameras were going up on either side. Ronny spotted Josiah in animated discussion with a bearded man near the doorway. Ronny made a beeline for them and shoved Josiah, hard. 'Hey!' Ronny interrupted.

Josiah looked at him in shock, staggering to one side to regain his footing.

'What are these guys doing here?' Ronny demanded.

Josiah rubbed his shoulder. 'Ronny. I'd like you to meet Peter Vandreen, from the Life Ministries and Channel Four.'

The Bearded man raised a hand to interrupt him. 'Please Josiah, call me Peter. You must be Ronny Stanislaw,' he said, extending a hand

'Do I know you?' Ronny grunted.

Peter laughed. 'I know you. I filled in on sound at Good Morning Philly one time. You were mixing.'

'Jeez. I do know you. What the hell are you doing here?' Ronny said, squinting.

Peter waved a hand around the room. 'I saw your Memphis show. I've been following the news, saw the Pirate Christian station you guys seemed to have setup and wanted to see how we could help.'

'Mr Van...Peter has offered our show a new home. He brought his OB crew in case we needed some help in the interim.'

Ronny scratched his head. 'Shouldn't we ask Vicki about this?'

Josiah demurred. 'Ahh, she's ah.'

The bearded man pointed to two figures moving through the crowd, towards the rope fence that the community had set up to keep the entrance clear. 'I think that's her, isn't it?'

Ronny nodded and ran to meet her, pushing his way through the people.

Vicki almost collapsed into his arms in relief.

'Vicki' Ronny said urgently. 'You gotta rein DeJean in; he's got half the planet here. Are you okay?'

Vicki leant on him a little and Ronny decided to make some space. 'Give us some room here' he barked at the people standing around them. The space cleared enough for him to pull Vicki into the relative safety of the hall grounds, the Reverend clinging on to her.

'Thankyou Ronald, I was getting a bit claustrophobic in there.' The Reverend panted.

Ronny was still looking at Vicki. 'Vicki. Snap out of it!' he said, clicking his fingers in front of her face. Vicki suddenly returned to the moment. 'I'm sorry Ronny.'

Ronny grinned. 'It's not your fault kid. DeJean's gone berserk, he's got Channel Four up here with a crew and…'

Vicki stepped away from Ronny and stood staring into the darkness. 'What now?' Ronny complained as she ignored him and walked away. The Reverend pointed. JJ was coming around the building with Rufus, laughing. Vicki was balanced on the edge of her toes, trying to spill words from her mouth, but they wouldn't come. JJ looked at Vicki; a brief flash of pain registered on his face, then he looked away and walked inside.

'Uh oh.' Ronny murmured under his breath.

Vicki ran after him.

---

The black van stopped in the middle of traffic and the rear doors opened. Men rushed out from the van and started dropping road cones and flares.

'Hey buster, move the hell out of the way' yelled the driver of a pinto trapped by the cordon. The men were masked and held glossy black submachine guns at chest height, over their vests.

'This road is closed' one of the masked men announced.

'The hell it is' said the driver of the Pinto and accelerated to skirt the cones. His windscreen popped and starred as small calibre bullets ripped up his passenger seat. The man threw the car to the right and ploughed into the ditch at the roadside. He jumped out of the car, screaming and waving his arms.

"What the hell are you...' he drew silent as the masked figures approached him weapons aimed. 'On the ground!' yelled their leader. 'On the ground now!'

The Pinto driver quickly complied.

The flares dropped on the road grew in number and the masked men began to seal the perimeter.

-

'What's the hold up?' John said, looking at the traffic around them.

Luka picked up his radio. 'Car 5 to despatch. Is there an accident on the southern road?'

The radio beeped and chirped and then a voice came on the line. 'Wachowski, where the Sam Hill are you!' demanded the voice. Luka winced. 'The Boss' he explained to John Redman. 'The old south road Boss' he said into the microphone, with some trepidation.

The radio was silent for a moment. 'I don't know how you do it Wachowski, but I love you for it. Get on scene as quick as you can, but don't go in until we arrive.'

Luka looked at John Redman in surprise. 'Sorry Boss? You want me to...'

'Wachowski, we're cooperating with the Feds. There's a fugitive loose, an army colonel. They think he's headed for some community centre…'

'Everyone is headed here Boss. The road is crammed. Hold on a minute.'

'What is it?' John Redman said as Luka put the microphone down. Luka was peering at the orange glow in the distance. He rolled the window down and stuck his head out.

'There're flares up ahead on the road. I think our guys have set up a perimeter.'

Traffic had stoped altogether now and cars were fleeing in the opposite direction. Some were breaking out into the fields amidst the sounds of tearing metal and small staccato popping sounds

'What now?' Luka murmured to himself, switched on the flashers and drove into the oncoming lane. He plunged off the road as a fleeing car careened into the motionless traffic and veered towards them.

'Luka, watch it, he's sliding around!' John Redman warned as their passenger screamed. Luka grimaced and tried to straighten out. John Redman lunged over his the passenger seat and tried to stop the body on the rear seat from sliding. He issued a stream of curses, which Luka echoed as he fought the bucking car as it crashed over the ditch and through a wire fence. He pulled to a slow halt a few yards into the field. Behind them, the wagon with Charlie, Erles and Pete Junior roared over the dirt and slid to a stop beside them, Pete Junior grinning from ear to ear.

'What are you doing?' Charlie Yelled.

Luka swung his door open and jumped out. 'There's someone blocking the road down there' he said, pointing.

Charlie opened the door of the wagon and got out, peering at the flares. 'Cops?'

Luka looked over to them. 'No way.'

The masked men were firing bursts from their weapons, driving the oncoming traffic back, into the fields, anywhere other than the mouths of their guns. Still, some were driving on through the fields, trying to skirt the roadblock. The armed men were firing into the vehicles.

'This seems highly irregular' Erles noted, arising daintily from the passenger seat. 'I called shotgun' he explained to Lukas pointed glance.

Charlie walked back towards the road.

John Redman saw her through the rear window and disentangled himself from his seatbelt.

Luka grabbed him and held him back. 'Not this time Cochise. You let her go for this one.' Luka said, holding on tightly.

John Redman favoured him with a sour glare. 'I'm not Apache, Wachowski.'

'What do I know from Native Tribes?' Luka admitted, holding him even more tightly. 'Just trust me on this, ok?'

John Redman measured Luka's temperament; something rock solid had possessed the little man now. John relaxed in his grip as Charlie walked through the field, towards the men.

A bubble of distortion appeared around Charlie, refracting the light of the flares. The bubble expanded at the speed of sound, carrying before it the topsoil of the field, small grasses turning into cinders, spinning like a horde of fireflies. The bubble enveloped the men and the van, washing through them, shaking them. The masked men joined the fiery dance as roman candles. They and the van waltzed across the road into the next field. A strong buttery wind buffeted John and Luka as the heat flashed back across the field. When the road was clear, Charlie turned around and walked back to them, the wind around her dying away.

'Road's open.' She said and climbed back into the front seat this time. Erles didn't argue.