Dreams of the Quill

Meanwhile, back at the Pizza Hut…

Jason strode into the Pizza Hut, El in one hand and bag of Angel Stones in the other. The dachshund trotted along at his feet, glaring at the sight of Pablo. The unfortunate LAW1 employee still lay on the floor, though he had been dragged out of the way by one of his colleagues to make room for a tangled mess of power cables. Jason noted that the entire LAW1 van had been emptied out into the Pizza Hut; all the equipment he was used to seeing in the darkness of the van was now basking in the flickering lighting of the post-apocalyptic pizza chain.

The disgruntled worker still stood impassively behind the counter, oblivious to everything going on around him.

In one corner, Dorito George and the LAW3 gunmen were arguing in loud whispers about whether or not to turn off the internet in California. Dorito looked up as Jason approached him.

“These assholes wanted to pull the plug on internet country-wide,” he said, mouthing each word as though it were an insult to humanity. “I got them to reduce the scope of their ambitions, but they’re still set on screwing someone over.”

“Commander M1A0, we considered it carefully and it is crucial—”

“No,” answered Jason, cutting off the LAW3 worker. “No pulling plugs. Access to the internet is a basic human right.”

“Commander, the European Union was dissolved by the Establishment three years ago! Their edicts do not affect any of the world’s citizens.”

“Like I’ve been saying,” said Dorito angrily, turning back to the gunmen, “without internet, people can’t read Jason’s blog. You can’t do this.”

“Is that the argument you’ve been giving?” snorted the dachshund.

“It’s a perfectly sound argument.”

“And I thought you were mildly competent, Dorito. Look. I told you that these goons are under your command. If you don’t want them to do something, they don’t do it. You have the authority.”

Dorito nodded and then glared meaningfully at the LAW3 men, who both shrugged and gave disarming smiles.

“… that SAID,” continued the dachshund, furrowing its brow, “I’m overriding you on this one. Gentlemen, please proceed.”

“Why?!” cried Dorito and Jason in unison.

“Idiots! If people around the world knew that the sun no longer sheds light on this state, what do you think would happen? Europe would strike back at the Establishment, perhaps aided by Asia! It would be a disaster. A disaster! Let me make this clear to you, bloggers: it would be like the announcement of a security hole in WordPress.”

Jason and Dorito looked at each other and nodded. Once again they spoke in unison:

“If no one knows there’s a hole, it can’t be patched.”

The dachshund growled in frustration.

“We’re here to patch the hole. No one else needs to know. LAW3, do your thing.” The gunmen saluted and dashed out of the Pizza Hut. “Now, Jason. About those cameras you mentioned.”