Marin paused a couple yards from the City Hall doors as she felt her cell phone buzz in her pocket. She produced it at the second ring but it went silent before she could pick up. She checked her missed call log—to her surprise, the call had been from her boyfriend. He'd never called her before. She'd never called him before. Her cell, as she had made clear to him from day one, was only to be used in case of an emergency. She hastily hit the call back button, wondering what the emergency could possibly be.

He didn't pick up after one ring. He didn't pick up after two rings. He didn't pick up after three or four, either, and Marin was eloquently informed that she had reached his voice mailbox. She dejectedly slid her phone back into her pocket.

<i>Just when I thought he'd stopped ignoring me...</i> Deciding that it had been a misdial, Marin dismissed the possibility that her boyfriend was actually facing an emergency.

"Are we going or not?" asked the dachshund irritably. "Stupid girl."

"Ah, yes, yes," replied Marin. "Sorry, Dax, I just got a call from the boyfri—"

"Forget that moron and go find the Angel Stone already."

"Yes!" yelped Marin, sauntering up the steps. Two armed cops in riot gear stopped her at the doors.

"Step down," one of them said, looking apologetic.

"I have to get through," Marin said, "because there's something I need to get in here."

"We're going to need to see a city employee ID to let you pass, Miss," said the other, scratching at his mustache under his face shield.

"I uh, I forgot it inside~" Marin smiled anxiously.

"Not gonna cut it," said the first policeman. "Look, I was born in Oakland, but raised in Berkeley. I've been here my whole life, all thirty-seven years of it. Trust me. We want that dirty spy dead just as much as you do, but we have to keep our jobs, and that means keeping violent Berkeley radicals out of the City Hall right now."

"I'm not here to kill anyone!" Marin protested.

"Step down, please," urged the first cop.

"Let the girl pass," commanded the dachshund, looking up at the policemen with glowing magenta eyes. The two cops saluted and swung the doors open for Marin. The dog trotted past them and then turned back to face the girl. "In awe at a display of <i>true</i> power, I see. I appreciate your admiration, but could you hurry up?"

"Yes!" said Marin, dashing past the guards. The heavy doors shut behind her, and she was inside the City Hall. The dachshund looked up at her from the luxurious rug, a hint of a smile decorating its mouth.

"So, are you going to kill him?"