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fantastic cell for you. Got a view to die for. Maybe, if you’re lucky, you’ll make some new friends inside.”
    “You have a sick sense of humor.”
    Officer Tynes used his chest-mounted radio to let his station know that he’d apprehended the perp, that they were currently on foot heading back to the patrol car, and no, he did not need additional backup as everything was under control.
    The sidewalk, which had been bustling with morning commuters and tourists alike, was beginning to thin, and quickly. Horns began to beep incessantly as a large, gathering crowd was blocking auto traffic all around Times Square.
    “What the hell is going on?” Tynes said as he shouldered Mike along. Throngs of people were congregating, looking up at the large displays and LED ticker ribbons, which were showing what looked like aerial scenes from the summer’s newest disaster blockbuster.
    At first, there were protests as Tynes pushed his way through the crowd, but those quickly subsided when the people realized he was a cop and, more importantly, a huge cop. Subtitles ran across the bottom of the displays.
    “…the State Department has confirmed that a thermonuclear warhead was detonated within Yellowstone National Park at approximately 8:52 a.m. Eastern Time. It is unclear at this time if the explosion was accidental or purposely set. What we do know is that the bomb was underground, greatly reducing the damage but not the yield. Although people, animals, and homes as far away as three miles from the epicenter have been destroyed in a firestorm of hellish radiation infused fire….”
    “A fucking nuke on American soil?” Mike didn’t overly express his patriotism, and he had a serious case of distrust of authority figures, but that someone had the balls to seriously mess with his country affected him in ways he had never encountered.
    “Shut up.” Tynes’ hand covered Mike’s face and nearly encased his head.
    “Don’t need to hear to read, dumbass,” Mike mumbled.
    “…it may be weeks until rescue operations can begin. Meanwhile, wildfires have sprung up all along the periphery of the blast zone….” The news reporter, who knew less about news and more about looking good in front of the camera, paused, placing her hand over her ear as off-camera instructions were apparently being read to her. Mike wasn’t sure he’d ever seen anyone blanch quite the way she had in those few seconds.
    He couldn’t wrap his head around what could be worse than a nuclear device being set off other than a second one.
    “Um…I’m sorry folks, we are now receiving reports from the USGS, United States Geological Service, that severe earthquakes are being reported along the Yellowstone caldera….”
    A wave of panic began to overtake the crowd as they realized the implications of the events that were unfolding. Someone at the station had extraordinary fact-finding skills, as images of the graphic repercussions of a super volcano depicted on a PBS broadcast from earlier that year were put up next to the talking head.
    “What’s going on?” someone asked.
    “I have to get home.” Many others echoed the sentiment. Some cried outright . Others bustled off to stores.
    “You have to let me go, man,” Mike said.
    “No way.”
    “Don’t you get it? Someone set off a nuke in the hopes to blow that volcano, and when that thing goes, so does half the U.S. This place is going to go to shit, and really fast. Half these people right now are heading to stores to buy everything out. How long do you think it’s going to be until the rioting and looting start?”
    “That thing isn’t going to blow. The earthquakes are just the after effects of the blast.”
    “Oh, is that all? Because people aren’t going to flip their shit over a little, itty-bitty nuke going off.”
    For the first time that morning, Officer Tynes looked confused about what he should do.
    “Listen man, you are going to have way bigger fish to fry than me. I promise,