Every store in the mall closed at 9:00 p.m., and by 9:15 Lilly Reed had turned off the registers, punched the time clock, engaged the alarm system, and locked both doors of the ladies' boutique where she worked as an assistant manager. She left the mall through a service door and walked quickly to her car, a VW Beetle, which was parked in an area designated for employees. She was in a hurry, her boyfriend was waiting at a sports bar half a mile away. As she was opening the door to her car, she felt something move behind her and heard a footstep. Then a strange male voice said, "Hey, Lilly." In a split second, Lilly knew she was in trouble. She turned, got a glimpse of the black handgun, saw a face she would never forget, and tried to scream. With astonishing speed, he slapped a hand over her mouth, said, "Get in the car," and shoved her inside. He slammed the driver's door, slapped her hard across the face, then stuck the gun barrel in her left ear. "Not a sound," he hissed. "And get your head down." Almost too horrified to move, she did as she was told. He started the engine.

Enrico Munez had been napping on and off for half an hour as he waited for his wife to finish her shift at a family restaurant in the mall's food court. He was parked between two other cars in a row of empty vehicles. He was still half-asleep, and he was sitting low in the seat when he saw the attack. The man seemed to appear from nowhere and knew what he was doing. He displayed the gun, but didn't wave it around. He overwhelmed the girl, who was too stunned to react. As soon as the Beetle lurched forward, with the attacker at the wheel, Enrico reacted instinctively. He started the engine of his pickup truck, lunged into reverse, backed up, then sped forward. He caught the Beetle as it was turning at the end of the row and, understanding the gravity of the situation, did not hesitate to crash into it. He managed to avoid the passenger door, where the girl was, and plowed into the right front tire. Immediately upon impact, Enrico thought about the pistol and realized he had left his at home. He reached under his seat, grabbed a sawed-off baseball bat he kept just in case, jumped across the top of the Beetle, and as the man was getting out, Enrico slammed the bat into the back of his shiny slick head. He would later tell his friends it was like smashing a melon.

The man was flailing on the asphalt, and Enrico hit him again for good measure. The pistol was only a toy, but it looked authentic. Lilly was hysterical. The entire episode lasted less than a minute, but she was already bracing herself for a nightmare. She scrambled out of her car and began running. The commotion attracted others. Mall security arrived in minutes, then the police and an ambulance. Enrico relinquished his prisoner, who was still on the ground, and began telling what happened.

The attacker had no wallet, no identification, nothing in his pockets but $230 in cash. He refused to give his name. At the hospital, X-rays revealed a hairline crack of the skull, thanks to Enrico, and a brain tumor the size of an egg. He was treated and placed in a secured room. Investigators collected fingerprint samples, and detectives attempted to interrogate him. He was wounded and drugged and gave them nothing. Several policemen and detectives were in and out of the room, and one finally made the connection. "I think it's that Boyette character," he whispered, and suddenly everyone else thought so too. But the man denied it. Two hours later, the fingerprints were matched and his identity was confirmed.

Ten hours earlier, on the other side of the world, two Black Hawk helicopters collided over the desert near Fallujah in central Iraq, killing nineteen members of a Texas National Guard unit. The tragedy was just what Governor Newton needed. With Barry and Wayne in near-euphoric agreement, they decided the governor should dash off to Iraq and show real leadership in the war on terror. The trip would also push him onto a larger stage and provide great footage for future use. And, most important, it would get his ass out of Texas.

His staff worked frantically to rearrange schedules, get military clearance, make sure the press was properly alerted, and sweat the rest of the details for the trip. Early Friday morning, the governor, Wayne, and Barry met for a briefing.

"They caught Boyette last night," Wayne said, looking at his laptop. "He jumped a girl outside a mall in Overland Park, Kansas. No sexual assault. He's in custody."

"He was in Kansas?" the governor asked.

"Yep. Bright boy."

The governor shook his head in disbelief. "Fifty states, and he stays in Kansas. A moron. What's the latest from Slone?"

Barry said, "Guard's all gone. DA resigned last night. All bodies buried. Streets are quiet, no fires. Classes resumed yesterday without incident and the football team plays on the road tonight, against Lufkin. Go, Warriors."

The governor picked up a report. Barry was burning up his laptop. All three were haggard and spent, testy and slightly hungover. They gulped coffee, chewed their nails, and never thought they would be so excited about a trip to Iraq.

"We have an execution in twelve days, gentlemen," the governor said. "What's the plan?"

Wayne replied proudly, "Got it all worked out. I've had drinks with a senior law clerk at the court of appeals. Obviously, they'd prefer to postpone the next one for a while. I told him we are in no hurry either. Word is being routed to the lawyer for Drifty Tucker that he should file something, anything, just dream up some wild claim for relief and get it filed, preferably before 5:00 p.m. The court will show unusual interest in Mr. Tucker's case and issue an order, no opinion attached, but will stay the execution until some undetermined point in the future. They'll bury Tucker's case. One day he'll probably read our obituaries."

"I like it," the governor said, smiling. "And when is the next one?"

"Not until July, eight months away."

"Eight months. Wow."

"Yep. We got lucky."

The governor looked at Barry and said, "How are things this morning?"

"Here, or national?" Barry asked.

&quo............