Lexicon

do that was not a regular word. It was the kind of word from the tales. If anything was worth flooding a building with guys in black space suits who couldn’t hear or see except through helmets, and burying in a concrete tomb with a time-locked steel door thicker than she was, she thought that would probably be it.
    The man in the gray uniform rushed in, his gun drawn. The tech was just standing there, shocked. Her jacket dropped to the floor. Wood. She recognized the feel of it now. The thing was petrified wood. She pressed its back to her chest, keeping her eyes up. If she was wrong, now was when she would find out. That would be pretty hilarious. At this point, unless it was exactly what she thought, she was pretty screwed. She said, “Don’t move.”
    The guard stopped. There was silence. In it, she started to believe.
    “Touch your nose,” she said. “Both of you.”
    Their hands rose. Her spine tingled. It was one thing to understand the concept. It was another to see it. She took a breath. That was the first part. Now for the next. She said, “Tell me how to get out of here.”

TERROR LOCKDOWN
    Large areas of Washington, D.C., are in lockdown this evening following what authorities have described as a significant terrorism event.
    Tactical police, military, and emergency biohazard response teams have flooded the downtown area and a major search appears underway, prompting speculation that one or more terrorists remain at large.
    The Metropolitan Police Department is advising all D.C. residents to stay where they are and avoid all nonessential travel. “The city is essentially in lockdown tonight. People will not be getting anywhere,” said Chief of Police Roberta Martinez a short time ago. “I ask residents to bear with us during this time of crisis.”
    Authorities have yet to confirm whether an attack has taken place, saying only they are responding to “an incident.” However, unofficial sources are fearful that a chemical or biological weapon has been deployed.
    City workers described scenes of chaos as special operations soldiers and armored vehicles descended on the city.
    “They were herding everybody out, these guys with black helmets, goggles; people were screaming,” said Julia Treuel, 24, an office worker from iMax. “They looked like astronauts.”
    It is estimated that as many as five thousand troops may already be on the ground in D.C. with more en route as the hunt for the terrorists intensifies.
    MORE TO COME

D.C. LOCKDOWN COMPENSATION CASE STALLS
    D.C. Mayor Frank Viletti has for the first time ruled out the city compensating residents for losses incurred as a result of last month’s two-day terrorism lockdown.
    “We’re very sympathetic to the residents and business owners inconvenienced, and we are doing and have done everything in our power to allow them to return to their normal lives as quickly as possible,” he said at a press conference today. “However, with an incident like this that affects us all, we feel D.C. residents need to pull together and accept that some shared burden is inevitable.”
    The remarks seem to signal that the fight for payouts will not be resolved outside the courts. Law firm Vignotti & Busch, which controls the class action, could not be reached for comment.
    During the conference, Mayor Viletti again denied early reports that the lockdown was sparked by the use of a chemical or biological weapon. “There was never any suggestion of that. What we had was forewarning of an imminent attack, and we took action to prevent it.”
    He was unable to provide further details, referring questions to the White House. Yesterday, White House spokesperson Gary Fielding reiterated that several people had been arrested during the operation, but that no further information could yet be released.
    “What I will say is that we had a situation and our people responded brilliantly. We should all be proud of what our people did in D.C. last month.”

From: http://nationstates.org/pages/liberty-versus-security-4011.html

    . . . Like the DC lockdown last year. Like the gunmen who went around assassinating people with military-issue sniper rifles in 2003. Like the anthrax in the mail in 2006. For a week everyone freaks out, we need more security, we need scanners, we need to take people’s photograph when they enter a government building. Then a month later everyone’s calmed down and yet we still get these incredibly intrusive new processes and technologies,