Maggie headed for her private bathroom, where she quickly changed into a warm running outfit and sneakers. She hung her designer suit up neatly, then saluted it. She looked at herself in the mirror and decided to stay with her makeup because she knew she looked better with a little war paint. She brushed her teeth, all the while listening to the television. The three twenty-four-hour networks were still running with ninjas invading the nation's capital. Talking heads out of their depth had little to contribute as far as ninjas' disintegrating or evaporating into thin air.

One intrepid soul finally found his voice, and said, "I think it's all a trick to cover up something else."

Maggie gurgled with laughter as she bent down to tie her sneakers.

Back in her office, Maggie changed the channel and heard that calls were flooding the station's switchboard, from worried people wanting to know if they should take their children out of school.

A squeaky-voiced caller had the audacity to say, "If ninjas can go after the director of the FBI and the man being considered to replace him, who is going to take care of the citizens?"

Someone else called in to ask if, after the disintegrating, there was any residue found on the ground. Maggie almost choked as she waited to see what the anchor, who was wearing enough makeup to cover a battleship, would tell the caller. He said that it was a very good question, and he would see what he could find out.

"Asshole," Maggie mumbled as she gathered up her backpack. She looked around, checked her bulletin board and all the sticky reminder notes, which now had red X's through them. She nodded in satisfaction. Her first rule when she'd moved into that office was: I'm in authority here, and that gives me the right to delegate. So far the rule was working just fine. She could leave knowing the paper was in good hands. Besides, she asked herself, what could possibly go wrong in just a few hours? She'd be back in control in a relatively short time if she followed through on her plan to leave the mountain at sunrise or a little before. But before she did any of that, she had to settle Ted's cats and make sure they would be okay until her return.

The cable car swayed in the strong wind, whipping across the mountaintop. When it slid into its nest, the party of five ran across the compound toward the main building. They were soaked within minutes.

"You lucked out, Jack. Kathryn won't dare do anything to you in front of everyone," Harry cackled gleefully.

Jack gave him a mighty shove that sent him into a prickly holly bush. Harry continued to laugh, the others joining in as he picked himself out of the wet, thorny mess.

"Are they always like this?" Pearl Barnes asked Nellie Easter.

"Most of the time," the judge shouted in return.