Click, click, click. The volume on the television was so low that the only sound coming from the room were the controllers' buttons being pushed. They were going very quickly. Simon Bander and Jamie Campbell were on Xbox live and they were kicking butt and taking names, literally. The two were well known for spending countless hours on their consoles. They had become quite skilled at a number of games. A personal favorite was Halo2. A moderate number of people knew them worldwide. Especially in the British Isles. Unfortunately, their folks were not as enamored. Hence the low volume. It didn't matter. Simon and Jamie were just about glued to the tube. The distance between their faces and the screen could have been measured in microns.

"Yeah baby, that's what I'm talkin, bout. Total ownage and massacre." Jamie had just blown four unfortunate players to kingdom come with a rocket launcher and a grenade. Simon had seen the impact and gave a cry of relief.

"You saved my stupid arse man! I thought that Warthog was gonna paste me across the beach."

"No problem, that's what I do best, stay back and wait for opportunity to knock. Or in your case, run by, screaming your head off through the microphone."

Simon was the kind of guy who would have volunteered to run through a minefield to find the safe path. Jamie would have hiked over the nearest mountain to avoid it. Between the two of them they made a decent team. Simon was all about going in full aught and Jamie would watch his six. At a rather safe distance, of course. Simon liked the suicide run more than he really needed to. And Jamie preferred to wait until someone got too close and then assassinate them in the back. Both worked together on objective missions and apart on straight up kill missions.

At that moment, Simon's mom called. Both guys got up and went towards the sound of her voice. She was three rooms away, in the kitchen.

"Simon", she said, "your dad called, he's coming home early from work.

"Why?" Simon asked.

"The news reported rioting downtown. I'm talking about Indianapolis, right here".

"What"?

"How"?

"I don't know."

"I'm going to pick your sisters from school. I want you to check the house for unlocked windows and doors. Check the truck's gas and oil levels. Make that there are at least three working flashlights. Jamie, you might want to call home."

"Yeah, that would probably be wise." Jamie replied.

"