sergeant's stripes on his arm, nodded at his men by the jeep and they relaxed their weapons.
Eric squeezed the hand brakes, forgetting that the front ones were frozen with rust. The back brakes gripped the tire firmly, sending it skidding sideways in the grass. Eric climbed off the bike and let it drop onto the lawn. He left his briefcase stuffed in the bike's rear basket, leaving his hands free.
'What's going on?' he said pleasantly, but his eyes were dark, studying the men, the situation.
'Nothing,' Annie jumped in quickly. She recognized Eric's calculating look, his measured walk. 'This is Officer Perkins of the Irvine police and Sergeant Sutton of the army.'
The uniformed men nodded politely. No one offered to shake hands.
'Are you Eric Ravensmith?' Officer Perkins asked.
'Yes.'
Officer Perkins read from a wrinkled card in his hand. 'We are authorized to search your house for any firearms,' he recited with a bored monotone, 'This is not to be construed as an accusation of any crime. Duly appointed officers are presently conducting house-to-house searches throughout the state in an effort to protect the health and welfare of all its citizens in this time of crisis. We appreciate your cooperation in this emergency.' He tucked the card into his shirt pocket. 'Questions?'
'You have a warrant? Something giving you the authority?'
'Yes, sir, we do.' He nodded at Eric's mother who was peering through her bifocals at a piece of paper.
'Looks pretty goddamn official, Eric,' she sighed, handing the paper to Eric.
He glanced at it quickly, turned to Annie. 'Where are the kids?'
'Upstairs.'
'Better check on them,' he said slowly, his eyes fixed on hers. 'Both of them.'
'Okay,' she said and disappeared into the house.
Eric handed the paper back to the policeman. 'Statewide house-to-house, huh? Must take a lot of manpower.'
Sergeant Sutton nodded, hooking his thumb over his shoulder at the parked jeep. 'Yes, sir. That's why we've been using reserves to help out.'
'They're a little trigger happy, aren't they?'
'Yes, sir,' Sergeant Sutton shrugged disgustedly. 'But that's what they gave me.'
'I haven't read anything in the papers about this?'
'No, sir,' the sergeant said. 'They didn't want to give everybody a chance to go bury their guns someplace. It's gonna be hard enough as it is, what with people warning each other by phone. There was even some talk of cutting the phone service for a couple days. Nothing came of it though. Red tape, I guess. Or politics.'
'What's the point of all this?'
'Well, seems like we've had more than a little looting since the quake. Folks are damn near scared of anything that moves. People been shooting each other all up and down the state. Anything that goes bump in the night, including relatives, neighbors and pets. Grocery stores have been robbed a lot lately, with bands of people stealing all the canned foods they could carry. It's a mess in some places. I guess they don't want it to get no worse.'
Eric nodded. 'Okay, gentlemen. How do we do this?'
'Well, Mr. Ravensmith,' Officer Perkins said, 'we'd appreciate it if you'd just give us all your guns. You'll get a receipt for each, redeemable at a later date.'
'What date, officer?'
Officer Perkins shook his head. 'Undetermined, sir.'
'So, if I tell you we don't have any guns, you're going to take my word for it?'
'Not exactly, sir.' Officer Perkins nudged Sergeant Sutton, who gestured over his shoulder at the three soldiers. Each slung his rifle over his shoulder and reached into the jeep, pulling out portable metal detectors. Officer Perkins looked into Eric's eyes. 'Just in case you overlook a gun someplace.'
Annie reappeared at the door. 'The kids are fine,' she told Eric. 'I checked.'
Eric smiled. 'Then let's not delay these gentlemen any longer.'
'I hadn't counted on this,' Eric said, leaning against the kitchen wall. Overhead they could hear the soldiers clumsily searching every room. Occasionally one of their metal detectors would bang into the wall or bump a piece of furniture.
'They're paying for every chip and scratch,' Annie warned.
'It's the goddamnedest thing I've ever seen,' Maggie Ravensmith said. 'And in sixty-two years I've seen a hell of a lot.'
Annie poured Maggie and herself a cup of coffee. 'The sergeant told me that they've even cleaned out the gun shops and sporting goods stores. They figure that even if they miss a few guns at least there won't be any ammunition around.'
'Makes sense,' Eric said. 'Most people don't know enough about guns to handle one properly, especially in a situation like this. They're more likely to shoot their friends than anyone trying to harm them. I just wish I'd predicted this last month. I'd have hidden those guns I bought instead of stashing them in the bedroom.'
Maggie sipped her coffee, the steam fogging her bifocals. 'Well, at least you were smart enough to have Annie check those two bozos out before you let them into the house. So I guess your brain hasn't quite turned to mush yet.'
Eric looked surprised. 'You knew?'
'Ha, are you kidding? 'Check the kids, Annie. Both of them.' Meaningful looks.' She knitted her eyebrows in an imitation of her son. 'You might fool those guys, but not your mother. Who'd you call, Annie?'
'Local police station. Gave them Officer Perkins name and description. They verified him and Sergeant Sutton.'
'That's my little superspy,' Eric smiled, opening the refrigerator and plucking out a can of Pepsi.
Maggie Ravensmith looked at her son, then at her daughter-in-law. She removed her bifocals and began polishing them with the corner of her blouse.
'Uh oh,' Eric said. 'What's wrong, Mom?'
'What makes you say that?'
'The glasses-cleaning routine. You always do that when something's bugging you.'
She frowned. 'Now that they've taken your guns, where does that put you with Fallows?'
'Jesus, Mom, you get right to it, don't you?' Annie said.
'Have to, Annie. Not just for your sakes, but for the kids', too.'
'We're covered,' Eric said. 'We've got alarms attached to every door and window. Nobody can get in without setting off the loudest damn siren you've ever heard.'
'Yeah, but then what? How will you protect yourselves once they're in?'
'Excuse me, Mr. Ravensmith,' Officer Perkins interrupted, stepping into the kitchen. 'My men and I are done now.'
'Find anything useful?'
'Nope. We checked the house and garage. The shotgun and the automatic you gave us were all you had. Except this.' He opened his hand to reveal a gold earring in the shape of a palm tree.
'My God, I've been looking for that for six months,' Annie said, taking the earring. 'Where did you find it?'
'Back of the closet in the master bedroom,' he smiled. 'You'd be surprised what we find sometimes. Fillings. Bear traps.'
'Bear traps?' Maggie asked.
'Yup. Seems some old geezer over on Alton thought he might catch his wife's lover if he ever tried to hide in their closet.' He looked at Eric. 'In your case we also came across these.' He waved at someone behind him. One of the young soldiers came in carrying Eric's longbow and crossbow. 'You a hunter, Mr. Ravensmith?'
'I have hunted.'
'The reason I ask, this crossbow looks pretty new.'
Eric drank from his Pepsi and shrugged. 'So?'
'Nothing. It's just that I want to caution you about these things. They're as dangerous as rifles, but since we've been told to collect only firearms, I'm not taking it.' He looked at it with appreciation. 'It's a beaut, though. What kind?'
'Barnett Commando. Hundred-and-fifty-pound draw. The frame is aluminum, the barrel and cocking
