The Super Mall

Kathy happily lived and worked in the California Bay Area's finest achievement of the next decade: an underground six-level mall that included, among other things, shopping, entertainment, sporting arenas, hotels, swimming pools, a lake with a beach, and living quarters for workers and shop owners. The Super Mall executives promised everyone a safe place to work and play in an age where violence on the streets was all too common. Kathy's contented life ended when her lifelong girlfriend Jennifer introduced her to a young man she fell in love with. The only problem was she wasn't sure if he was a drug dealer or undercover cop, and by the time she figured that out, she found herself hiding in the ventilation system with him as an accomplice for the murder of an important Super Mall Official.

*** None of them had their guns drawn, but Bill pulled the one from inside his coat, not seeming to know the other gun lay on the floor in front of us. He pointed it menacingly at the officers while staggering to his feet. He pulled me up by my waist with amazing strength. Without explaining, he shoved me against the wall by the door next to us, pinning me against it while he fumbled it open. "You won't get away with this, Hall," shouted Farmer. "The camera may have blinked out, but we can see now what happened." Bill didn't answer. He aimed just above their heads and pulled the trigger. The gun roared deafeningly, and a hole appeared in the far wall. The Security men dove for the floor, and Bill quickly shoved me through the now-open door.