Y2K Bug:

As Todd eased the van toward them, the one with the pistol on his hip came out from the others with a hand raised to block his approach. He had a lieutenant's bar in black on his helmet. Todd stopped the van and waited for the officer to come to the window.

'Sorry, buddy. Nobody goes in or out.'

'It's pretty bad down there?' Todd asked.

'The gangs are out in force. Right now, they own the streets. There's alot of looting going on too.'

'My ex-wife and children are inside your perimeter, four blocks down. I got through to them by phone last night. They said that the gangs were going through the apartment buildings and breaking into individual apartments to get food.'

'I'm sorry. We can't let anybody inside. Everyone was warned to leave before the police blocked the area off,' the uniformed man said firmly.

'Have you got a family?' Todd asked.

'I'm sorry,' came the answer again.

'You don't understand my meaning.' Todd reached down and picked up a thick envelope. He held it out to the soldier. 'I've got permission.' The officer took the envelope and looked inside. Then he saw the green of the money, and poked a finger in to check the denominations. He looked back to Todd.

'There's five thousand in there. You can keep it for yourself and let us through, or you can share it with your friends. If you come with us, there's another five thousand in it for you.' The two men looked at each other for a long few seconds after Todd said that. The officer turned to the three others. None of them had been watching. His hand slipped the envelope inside his fatigue jacket under the Kevlar vest.

'Pull forward slowly, and I'll have them back one of the vehicles out of the way.' He turned again to his partners. 'They've got permission from downtown, ' he called. 'Let'em through.' Then he turned back to Todd and in a lower voice said, 'You're on your own. Don't say I didn't warn you when the shooting starts.'

He was walking along with them, but no further words passed between Todd and the soldier. One of the Humvees was backed away and turned to give them passage. The van slipped through into the restricted area. Once inside, Todd pulled ahead a hundred yards and stopped as if to park. While Bob watched the four soldiers to make sure they were not coming forward to investigate, Todd swung out of his seat and went back to the bedding on top of the wooden platform. He pushed it aside and lifted a hinged portion of the plywood. From below, Todd retrieved the shotguns, the vests, and the red tool box. Each of them quickly took off their jackets, put on the bullet proof vests, and got back into the coats. The shotguns came out of the cases and, one by one, seven shells were fed into their magazines. Then Todd handed Bob a holster and pistol, and took one for himself. They half stood to wrap them around their waists and make sure that the pistols were securely in place and freshly loaded.

After they sat down, Todd reached for the cellular phone on the dash and dialed. After a few rings, Michelle answered. 'It's me,' Todd said. 'Are all of you okay?'

'Please hurry,' she said in a loud whisper. 'They're in the building. They've been breaking into the apartments below us. They've been shooting people, and they may be starting fires here too.'

'I'm four blocks away. Can you get down the fire escape to the street?'

'We can, but I don't know about the kids.'

'Okay. We'll come up and get you. But, be ready. We'll be there in five minutes.'

'Thank you,' Michelle whispered, and her voice had an urgency borne of fear.

The two men looked at each other as if to say that each was ready. 'Let's do it,' Bob said and sat back with his shotgun pointed up and resting on the floor between his knees.