Chapter 2

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7:50 am

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I came to work. My partner Bill Gannon was in a good mood.

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Joe: You seem happy.

Bill: I should be, I won the office pool. You're looking at a man 12 dollars richer.

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The office pool Bill referred to involved the capture of the final 12 terrorists. In 27 fays Radja Duric would officially be sworn in as the next president of the United States. President Burkle, who no longer had to worry about political fallout for herself offered a version of amnesty to the few terrorists still on the loose. Most had already been arrested, some had even served their full sentences. Burkle's amnesty promised no death penalty, and considerably shorter sentences than they might have otherwise faced. There were now currently 12 known terrorists still on the loose, we hoped they might surrender or be found soon. They were from the racist Knights of Labor, the fanatical libertarians known as the John Galts, and the pro-abortionists known as the Daughters of Liberty. Their groups were defeated, as were others. The Ku Kux Klan, Alqueda, and various neo-nazi groups didn't exist anymore, except in the history books and as villains in comic book movies. It was only a matter of time before law enforcement found and arrested the few who were still in hiding. The police department even had a pool about which of these 12 might be the next one to surrender or be arrested, Bill had apparently won. But a bad thought occurred to me about Bill's victory.

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Joe: Didn't you bet on an unknown terrorist being next?

Bill: Yes I did. He wasn't even known before, now he's surrendered because he's hoping for amnesty.

Joe: So there are still 12 known terrorists in this country.

Bill: Some might have already fled the country, but yeah they're still at large. I think these people will probably all surrender after the new year. They just want to spend one last holiday season with their families.

Joe: I hope you're right. What are you doing for Christmas?

Bill: Me and the family are going to watch some uplifting movies. "It's a wonderful life" ofcourse.

Joe: Obviously.

Bill: And some movies that, while not specifically for Christmas, do seem to embrace the consistent life ethic. "Bridge of spies" and "Argo."

Joe: I thought "Argo" was still in theatres.

Bill: Not the new remake, the original with Ben Affleck.

Joe: Michelle and I usually watch one particular episode of M.A.S.H. It's where they try to keep a wounded soldier alive until after midnight. That was his children won't have to think of Christmas as the day their daddy died.

Bill: That's a good episode. Rachel's coming over for Christmas, she is family after all, essentially.

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Rachel was the 17 year old girlfriend of Bill's 18 year old son James. Rachel was also pregnant with with James' child. Things were a bit awkward between their two families, but they were trying to make things work for the sake of the baby. There was a bit of an awkward silence on this, interrupted by our captain. Captain Mackey told us some unusual news.

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Mackey: There's been a theft at a local church.

Bill: Someone stole from the collection plate?

Mackey: No, at least then I could understand a motive. The church has a nativity scene, someone stole the baby Jesus.

Joe: Who would steal the baby Jesus?

Mackey: My best guess right now is a mentally ill person, because I honestly can't imagine any sane person doing this. That said I could be wrong, so why don't you two go and investigate.

Joe: We're on it captain.