At noon, after Captain Chez and his team left, Lily, Derek, Eric, and Kaia continued their conversation. "I am part owner of Ray's Sporting Goods. If you need anything from the store, I am here to help," Kaia said.
"Do you have soccer balls? Eric asked her.
"I know what you are thinking," Derek said. "Forgive Eric. He is the best soccer player in the Blue City. He only thinks about soccer. How about hunting guns and rifles?"
"I know what you are thinking. Forgive Derek. He is the best shooter in the Blue City," Eric mocked Derek.
"No, this store specializes in fishing and water sports. We have baseball bats and other items for back-to-school shopping and for the parents' convenience," Kaia said. "Go to the store and find some- thing you need."
Eric and Derek thanked Kaia and made a list of the items they needed from Ray's Sporting Goods. They met a familiar face on the second floor. "What are you doing here, Uncle Sammy?" Derek asked.
"We were celebrating a Peacetime party with my cops at a bar," Sammy said. Sammy's three kids attended the same school as Eric and Derek.
"Wow! Someone invited you to a party," Derek teased Sammy. "No, I am here to hand out flyers for AA meetings," Sammy
said, straight-faced. Eric laughed. "Cool." Eric high-fived Sammy.
Derek said, "If you save us, you will be the next assistant council member of the Department of Enforcement. One day, you will be the department council."
UC Government has three branches: the twelve department councils, congress, and citizen representatives. The twelve department hierarchies are department council, vice council, assistance council, and council staff.
"I love my job. I don't care about politics," Sammy answered. "Do you have guns?" Derek asked.
"We are all off duty cops, and we came with our families," Sammy said.
"Oh, come on. I live with a Vice Council of the Security Department," Derek said. "You cannot live without your guns."
"How many cops are with you?" Eric said. "Twenty-six," Sammy said.
"We have knives, and to protect ourselves, we have trays and sofa cushions," Derek said.
"The fishermen and three retired army men want to capture the criminals and imprison them in the bar," Eric said.
"These are either the stupidest or the most brilliant ideas I have ever heard," Sammy said. "Time will tell."
Sammy was texting his wife, Madonna. She came upstairs with Symone, and George and Simon came from the toy store. George ran to his mother. They all met with Derek and Eric.
Sammy and Madonna hugged and kissed each other. "I am glad that you are all right. Where is my mother?"
While hugging him, Madonna said, "She stayed to help the salon owner, Joy, because she is panicking."
Derek and Eric were excited when they saw Symone, Simon, and George. They knew each other because they were close friend and went to the same school. Simon and Symone were thrilled when they heard that Pez, Femi, and Philip were also in the building.
"I want to go to talk to the reporter," Sammy told Madonna.
Thirty-five years ago, before the attack on the mall, a book, The Adventure of Richard and the Brave Knights by Abram Nightparable, was published in Carson City and targeted young adult audiences. It was a simple tale of Knighthood, which taught courage, friendship, community, and the pursuit of truth. Twenty years after publication, a teenage boy in Carson City suffered a fatal stab wound in his stomach while defending an abused woman. When the police examined the crime, they searched for the recently deceased teenager's bag to identify him, and they found the novel.
Mrs. Alfredvil, a powerful woman, took advantage of this tragedy to advance her political agenda. She and her political group, the Vispian Society, decided to show the teenager's parents that she had grieved over their son's death. She planned to have The Adventures of Knight Richard and the Brave Knights banned and to burn as many copies as possible. She claimed, "It is an evil book that poisons young minds." The woman's political voice attracted a large following, and she staged a widely publicized book-burning event. Standing next to Mrs. Alfredvil, the grieving parents witnessed thousands of people tossing copies of the novel into the enormous blaze. Abram Nightparable and his immediate family were forced to seek asylum in the Holy City, and they changed their identity to Mesahai.
Sammy, as the police captain, had a rapport with journalists and media personnel. He had many journalist acquaintances, including Wendy Mesahai and her famous journalist mother, Marina, who worked for the DTV, which the Holy City owned. Her father, John Mesahai, was a renowned writer known for writing a series of books called Wishing Star. When Sammy was upstairs in storage, he eyed the journalist's husband, the photographer, and her brother, the sports writer, who helped clear the pathway. Wendy, Marina, and John sat in a private party room decorated in a knight theme. There were gifts in one corner; Wendy's child sat on her lap and cried on her shoulder. "I hope today will be a pleasant day. I cannot believe it. I am
meeting the Mesahai family today," Sammy said.
"It is a pleasure to meet you. I wish we had met at a better time," Marina replied.
"With God's grace, we will be fine," Sammy answered.
"How can I help you?" the journalist said, sitting among her family.
"I want to know the conversation with Owl," Sammy said. "We locked ourselves in the mall because the gang attempted to
attack us," Wendy said. "We can only communicate with you through this satellite phone. We are fine. The Internet is not working."
Sammy requested to use her satellite phone to talk to the police to see what they could do. Wendy was happy to give him the satellite phone.
When Madonna entered the private room, she spotted Sammy. She was surprised that Wendy and the others were seated. The room's atmosphere was tense because Wendy and Madonna had known each other for over thirty years, but their relationship was bitter. Wendy and Madonna went to the same high school and were close friends until they were sixteen years old, when Madonna was forced to get married to an abusive man whose mother was Mrs. Alfredvil—the woman who tried to destroy them.
Sammy introduced Madonna to Wendy and Marina. "You never met my wife, Madonna," he said. He went outside to talk to the police station in private.
"Your wife!" Marina exclaimed.
Madonna exchanged handshakes with Wendy and Marina. Madonna knew why they were bleak to her and, in return, tried to be sincere. She clapped her hands on the famous author's shoulders while sitting in the wheelchair, and his hands were trembling. Madonna put her hand on the crying child covered by the cape and said, "I see you are a fan of Knights."
Because of the knight theme, the girl stopped crying and smiled at Madonna, who thought the crying child was a boy, not a girl. The girl revealed her knight costume and said, "I want a Brave Knight– themed party."
At this moment, Wendy and Marina turned white because Madonna's first mother-in-law had led a campaign to burn the famous author's book. Madonna was part of a political group called the Vispian Society. They wanted to arrest the author, but the author and his family ran away before he could be charged, and he sought refuge.
Protection from the Holy City. What made the matter worse was that Wendy remembered writing a negative article about Madonna the day before. Wendy thought Madonna had not read it or that Madonna did not know she was the person who had written the article because Wendy had a different last name.
Madonna read the article before coming to the mall, but knew she deserved it because the Vispian Society had attacked Wendy's father. Madonna's family was part of this society. Madonna wanted to tell her that she did not have part of it, but she did not know how to tell her. She did not know if Wendy and her family would believe her.
The only one who knew the truth was the Head, Freeda Monica. When she asked Sammy if Madonna was in the mall, she knew Wendy was in the building. Wendy always invited the orphans to celebrate her daughter's birthday. When the Head Freeda read the morning newspaper, she saw that Wendy had written a negative hit piece on Madonna, calling her a Vispian Society member planning to turn Blue City into Ramous City. She kneeled to God and prayed, hoping this day would be the day the two women would reconcile.
Madonna saved the author from being arrested twenty years ago. Madonna eavesdropped and learned that the author, Abram Nightparable, would be charged the following day. Madonna dressed as the servant and informed the Kirkia clergy of the awful news. Head Freeda Monica was a young Freeda. She volunteered to save the author. The young Freeda, dressed as a newsstand seller, went into the street to sell the news. When Freeda arrived at the author's building, she spotted the author in the street. She sold him a newspaper with a letter that said he was getting arrested the next day and needed to leave the city. At three in the morning, an ambulance van would take him to the train station in Zar Marqui City.
The author and his family packed their valuables at three in the morning, spotted an ambulance van, and Freeda Monica drove them to Zar Marqui City, where she parked the ambulance van and went to the Holy City by train.
Madonna said, "I love reading The Adventures of Knight Richard and the Brave Knights."
"My grandpa used to read to me because he wrote it," Kathy, a young girl, said. "Now I read it to him."
"Kids have a great imagination," Marina said. "Come here, monkey. Hug Grandma."
Kathy jumped from her mother's lap and hugged her grandma. Pez and Femi barged into the private party room because they saw Sammy from the glass outside, but they overlooked the Mesahai. They bowed their heads to apologize for their intrusion and left the room. "This is my land by hand. I will save it until the end." Madonna quoted the clothing statement of The Adventures of Knight Richard and the Brave Knights while pretending to hold a sword in her hand, and when she said the word "end," she pretended to sheathe the sword in her belt. She left the room, winking at the speckled-eyed girl. The author also had dementia and paid attention to Madonna's
performance, and he said, "Goodbye, Knight Richard."
"She read it and loved it," Kathy said with confidence in her voice.
"Do you think so? Did she read the article? Did she pretend to be our friend, or will she report us to the Vispian Society?" Marina asked.
"I don't believe she is involved in the Vispian Society anymore," said Wendy, with optimism in her voice, believing that Madonna could be a good person. "I am surprised that Sammy is her husband. I have known Sammy for a long time. Sammy's brother-in-law was a famous director Mateo Chainshah, who stars in Brave Knight. How long have they been married?"
"God, please help us," Marina said.
"If we are saved today from this crisis," Wendy said, "tomorrow, you and Dad are going back to the Holy City. He is not safe here now."
Wendy left the room and texted the Head, Freeda Monica. Freeda was sitting in Jordan's Craft Store. Wendy wanted Head Freeda Monica to request the Holy City's protection for her father again. Head Freeda Monica took advantage of this and told Wendy the truth.
At 12:15 p.m., Sammy finished his conversation with the police and headed to Lily's private room. "Sorry, Uncle Sammy. We want to tell you something," Femi said while Pez was with her.
"What do you need?" Sammy asked.
"Femi and I don't think they are the Payara. Those criminals outside are different in every way," Pez said.
"How?" Sammy asked.
"Okay, Payaras destroy business when people are not around," Femi explained. "It's rare they are violent toward people. They would not pick a mall at the busiest time on its busiest day."
"You are saying that they are not the Payara?" Madonna came outside the room.
"Ninety-five percent sure they are not the Payara. We assumed that they attacked businesses like the Fishermen and the Sea Factory. Whoever they are, they are worse," Femi said.
"Don't talk about this. We will not say anything until we get proof." "Sure," Femi replied.
Sammy's stomach rumbled from hunger, and Sammy, Madonna, Pez, and Femi entered the kitchen. Madonna asked Myra to get something to eat because they were famished. Pez brought his lunch and offered his Varoone-style fish nugget because he did not like it, but hated to throw away unspoiled food. Madonna said, "You need to cook it. It is still raw."
Pez looked at Myra. "You trying to kill me, woman. It's not cooked?" Myra laughed at him, and she asked Madonna how to do it.
Madonna grabbed the food and put it in the pan on the stove.
Sammy and Madonna stood by the stove and cooked the food.
Madonna served the food to Pez, and he tried it, loved it, and asked for more. Wendy entered the kitchen when she saw the humble and straightforward Madonna enjoying her time with three teenagers.
Wendy requested that Madonna and Sammy go to the museum to help find a way to communicate with the media. Madonna and Sammy accompanied Wendy upstairs, where she asked her brother and husband, who were clearing the pathway on the second floor, to join her at the museum.