Before she can think better of it, Miranda runs up behind him, ignoring how the broken glass bites at her stockinged feet. She loops the scarf over his head and around his neck and then jerks back as hard and as fast as she can. He staggers back, falling to his butt, which sends Miranda to her knees. As his left hand rises to claw at the scarf, Moxie squirms free and runs to Parker. But the killer doesn’t loosen his grip on the pistol. In fact, he keeps rotating his hand so that his gun is pointing behind him. Pointing right at her. Desperate to choke off his oxygen, Miranda pulls even harder. But she still sees his finger begin to tighten on the trigger.

With a flat clang, scorching metal punches her forehead, snapping it back. Hot blood pours down her face.

Then everything goes white.

MURDERS, HOSTAGE TAKING

AT PORTLAND’S FAIRGATE MALL

REVEALED TO BE SMOKESCREEN

FOR $22 MILLION HEIST

(Associated Press)

Portland, Ore.—The FBI has revealed that the brazen shooting spree and hostage taking at Portland’s Fairgate Mall last December was not just an act of domestic terrorism but also a distraction that allowed thieves to make off unmolested with more than $22 million in precious metals. The thieves are still at large, and the gold and silver they stole has not yet been recovered.

Nineteen people died in the attack, including three of the killers. Another twenty-three people were wounded. Several victims are still undergoing treatment for their injuries.

The group behind the attack, Liberty Makers, have in the past described themselves as patriots. They claim that the greatest threat America faces is not from hostile countries or Islamic terrorists but from the federal government. Authorities say group members are heavily armed extremists with an anti-government mindset. Many are current or former members of the military.

Mark Goforth of the Southern Poverty Law Center says, “The core ideas of these so-called patriot groups relate to the fear that elites in this country and around the world are nefariously moving us toward a one-world government.”

The group was led by a charismatic ex-Marine named Karl McKinley. Other members included the three Bond brothers. Gabriel and Zach Bond had both been honorably discharged from the army after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their younger brother, Nicholas “Cole” Bond, had recently graduated from high school. All three had trouble finding jobs that paid much more than minimum wage. Disillusioned, they joined Liberty Makers. The two older brothers had finally gotten work as security guards at Fairgate Mall. There, they introduced another security guard, Ron Skinner, to their cause. Tim Hollingsworth, a sixth Liberty Maker who joined the assault at the mall, had a long criminal record for petty crimes such as shoplifting and public drunkenness. Hollingsworth, along with Nicholas and Zach Bond, ultimately died in the mall.