Eventually, though, the other lawyers, all of whom resented but needed Vince, turned on him. It became so unpleasant that, as much as possible, Vince started working at night, when he knew he would have the office to himself. One night, he forgot to log in at the zone box. At midnight, three men appeared at his office.

Having been a street-tough kid, Vince could still hold his own in a fight. But not when it was three against one. By the time the fight was over, Vince had two black eyes, several fractured ribs, and bruises all over his body.

He arrived home at two in the morning. Angie, a late-night person, was sitting in the living room reading a book as Vince turned his key in the lock.

“Hi, honey,” she called out.

The response was a muffled groan.

Concerned, she hurried across the living room to the hallway, where her husband was standing, holding on to the doorknob. She took in the black eyes and the torn clothing and instinctively reached out for him. “Oh, dear God,” she said, “what happened?”

Vince shrank back from her touch. “Don’t hug me—please,” he gasped. “My ribs. I think they’re broken.” He tried to take a deep breath and winced. “It was the UP police—they made it clear they didn’t like my not checking in.”

“Come sit down,” she said and gently led him by his arm to the couch. As he very slowly sat down, she said, “I’ll get an ice pack for your eyes, and we should get you to a hospital about your ribs.”

Vince reached up and took her hand. “No hospital. These are probably hairline fractures. They’ll heal on their own.” He looked up at her. “But I could sure use that ice.”

“I’ll get it,” she said.

As she turned to leave the room, Vince called, “Angie?”

She stopped and looked at him. “Yes?”

“I know we’ve talked about staying in D.C. and toughing it out,” he said. “But I don’t believe it’s possible anymore. We’ve got to get out. Now.”

“I know,” she said. “And I completely agree—especially after what they did to you tonight,” she added angrily. “But where will we go?”

Vince could feel his left eye closing up. “Get the ice pack, and then we’ll talk. I have an idea. . . .”

WITHIN A YEAR, THE POLICE from the Union for Peace had established population monitoring zones throughout North America, then around the world. There was no longer any pretense that the action was for the good of the people. The world had become one vast police state.