As we walked over, I caught her pulling a round object from a pouch and pressing it onto her left shoulder. She kept that side turned away from most of the crowd and the camera. Betty stood close, blocking the view for anyone trying to sneak a look. Falstaff, grinning like a man who’d just cleaned up in cards, handed her a small stack of coins from the fight.

  “After all, it’s not bribery if you worked for it…or killed for it”, I thought.

  A ripple of gasps and muttered comments rose from a few people on my side who’d spotted the symbol on the patch. It was stark and impossible to miss against the black of her clothing. By the time I reached her, P-46 was glaring at me like I’d just insulted her children. She was not happy.

  “Williams of Brinsford. Did you set these boys up to pull that trick on me?” she asked, her voice just shy of a shout.

  I held my hands out to the sides. “Would I do a thing like that to you?”

  “Damn right you would!” she shot back…then laughed. “They told me you have a bad habit of being right, and you told me to get the mace. Who else would go to that much work?”

  “I’m sure there must be someone. Don’t know who offhand. Give me a while…I’ll think of somebody.” That earned a few chuckles from nearby guild members.

  “Ask Gunny. Maybe it was his idea?” I added with a grin big enough to hurt. Her party edged backward, but their own guildmates boxed them in.

  “I sure smashed in its head, didn’t I?” Carol said, flashing a smile that could have lit up the street. “That’s why you had me practice hitting things, isn’t it?”

  “Well, if you’re going to carry a weapon, you’d better know how to use it. You did pretty good…one-shot kill. And you leveled. Gratz, by the way.”

  “Thank you. I think. It’s getting hot under this thing.” She unhooked her chinstrap and handed her coif to Betty, who had just appeared, standing next to her.

  Shadow now stood on her other side, scanning the crowd. Carol glanced around, then tugged off her balaclava. She shook her head to free her hair, the movement catching the glow of the overhead streetlamps. “There. Much better. Cooler.”

  The air filled with gasps, mutters, laughter…the whole gamut of human reactions as people recognized her.

  “Madame President.” I gave her a bow. The patch on her shoulder bore the Seal of the President of the United States.

  “Not tonight. Tonight, I’m just another itinerant Healer looking for work. I understand you’ve got more healing lined up for me tomorrow morning?”

  “That they do. Should keep you busy until some speaking engagement I’ve heard rumors about.”

  “I’ve heard the same rumors. You’ll be there?”

  “For you? I couldn’t skip it. You might send the army after me. I’m good, but not that good. Yet.” More laughter, hers included.

  When she smiled for real…not the practiced politician’s smile, but the warm, motherly one…it was easy to remember why she’d won and became the first female president of our country.

  “I have something for everyone here,” she said. “Give your name, email, or some way to contact you later to the folks passing these out, and you’ll get the pretty paper documentation. Suitable for framing…or target practice. Your choice.”

  One reason I’d voted for her was that she had a sense of humor. And she knew how to use it.

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  A man in a black suit jacket with no tie handed her what looked like one of the patches I’d commissioned. Another aide held a clipboard while she signed it with a Sharpie she pulled from one of the loops on her vest. She passed it to Falstaff, then made sure each of her party got one. Blaze got one too, followed by Ingrid and Shadow.

  “These people taught me how to play this game, how to be a Healer, and how to stand and fight,” she told the crowd. “We’re going to fight this game, and we’re going to win…whatever it takes.” She raised her fist high. “For America!”

  The chant grew louder each time she repeated it. By the third round, nearly everyone shouted it back.

  She could work a crowd like few other people. I glanced toward Airmann, who was filming the whole thing. He was almost smiling. I’d never seen him try to smile before.

  It took her another fifteen minutes to shake hands, hand out patches, and say a few words to each person nearby. She was a politician in her element…and a woman who had just gone through her first trial by Game combat.

  I slipped out of the crush and found Matt Bledsoe, Sedrick Phillips, and Chief Brown standing together at the edge of the action. “Three law enforcement agents hiding back here together. What are you plotting now?” I asked with a big grin.

  “Hi, Will,” Jack Brown called. “Nothing much…at least not compared to what you just pulled off. We didn’t even know she was in town until an hour ago. Next time, give a man some warning. Please.”

  I pointed at Phillips. “He said it was top secret and not to tell anyone except Matt and Blaze. I didn’t even tell Ingrid before she talked to her about being a Healer. Ingrid figured it out.”

  “Her security’s our top priority,” Phillips said. “Your idea worked. We haven’t seen her this happy since this started. Do you expect us to keep letting her endanger herself like this?”

  “Do you think you can stop her?” I asked back.

  “No. But we can slow her down until we catch up and get ahead of her level.”

  “Good. Do it. You might have to pull in people with the right classes from other departments. After tonight, I think fewer folks will skip choosing a class. Can they do much? Not most of them. I just hope you can keep things running without it all falling apart.”

  “So do we,” Gunny said. “Some folks say we’ve only got days to a few months before collapse. We’re working on it. A lot of people are.”

  “Good. I hope they succeed. My guess? Things break down…but not all the way.” I looked each of them in the eye. “Our country’s future is in the hands of people like her…and you. I’m the outlier here.”

  “I’ll do my best,” I added, “but someday one of these things may get me. I’m just one person. If there are enough of you, you’ll keep it going. Keep surviving.”

  “Maybe,” Matt said. “Do you still want to go with the original plan tomorrow morning?”

  “Yes. Get her used to other groups and styles. Get the military leveled up in the System. How you do it’s your call. Just remember…nothing works all the time, and the damndest things will work once.”

  “I learned that in SCA fighting,” I finished. “Most of all, remind your people they’re writing the book, not following it.”

  “Well, I’ll see some of you in the morning? Where do we meet?” I asked after almost a minute of thoughtful silence on their part.

  “Convention Center parking lot,” Phillips said. “We’ll provide her transport. That gives us time to set up for the speech. We’re planning for a few hundred people, even with the short notice. I understand the place has hosted Eddington’s events before.”

  “Air Force 1’s flying into the state capital tonight,” Matt added. “There’ll be a helicopter here in the morning. Hopefully the media follows it. Your governor gets a quick meeting before she heads back for two more stops, then D.C.”

  “Thank you for telling me.” I told him. “I hope I’m not going with her.”

  “No. Not this trip,” Matt said. “But with the way things are going, I can’t make predictions…and yours aren’t exactly rosy.”

  “They aren’t,” I admitted. “So…be there when?”

  “We know you want to see the first spawn. Do that, then be ready to leave. Just you, Ingrid, the army…and your reporter.”

  “No Blaze? She’d like to be there.”

  “Sorry, Will,” Matt said. “I’ve got a job for her during the speech setup. She’ll be there for that. So will the rest of your people.”

  “Will,” Phillips cut in, “thanks for stopping the reporter tonight. I didn’t think she’d blurt it out if she recognized her…but you never know. If you ever want to join our organization, we’ll make a spot for you.” He grinned.

  “Nope. I’m good as an outside consultant. A VERY outside consultant.”

  We all got a laugh out of that and I headed inside.

  When Blaze came in, I enchanted or re-enchanted her gear to the highest level I could. Then I did her work clothes. After that, mine. Betty and Blaze had already put away the leftover food. It would be cobbler for an early breakfast. And coffee. Lots of coffee.

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