The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove

Department's information officer.
    "Nailsworth,it's Theo Crowe. I need your help."
    "Having a bad day, Theo?"
    What a prick, Theo thought. "Listen, I'm trapped…"
    "I know where you are, Theo. Remember, I know everything. Actually, I'm glad you called. I had something I wanted to ask you about."
    Theo fought the urge to scream at the megalomaniacal geek. "Please, Nailsworth, I don't know how long this battery is going to hold out. I need you to do me a favor."
    "Me first."
    "Go," Theo barked.
    "Well, whenBurton called me, he mentioned that your accomplice said she was Kendra, Warrior Babe of the Outland. So I started looking around. Turns out there was a Molly Michon admitted to county psychiatric a fewtimes. She left a Pine Cove address. I wondered if…"
    "It's her," Theo said.
    "Wow, you're kidding!No way!"
    "She's right here." Theo looked at Molly and shrugged. "Look, you warned me not to go on the ranch. You know aboutBurton 's crank network."
    "I might," Nailsworth said.
    "Don't be coy. You know everything. But what I need to know is do you have access to information that could be used as evidence – money transfers, checks, offshore accounts, phone records, and such – stuff you could give to the state attorney?"
    "Why, Theo, you're starting to sound like a cop."
    "Can you get it?"
    "Theo, Theo, Theo, don't be silly. Not only can I get it, but I've had it. I've been compiling a file for years."
    "Can you get it to the attorney general's office right now?"
    "What's in it for me?"
    "Nailsworth, he's going to kill us."
    "Kendra is right there with you, huh? I can't believe it."
    Theo shuddered, halfway between panic and anger. He held the phone out to Molly. "Say something Kendra-like."
    Molly cleared her throat and said, "Die, you scum-sucking mutant pig. The only thing of mine you'll feel is cold steel!"
    "Oh my God!It's her!" the Spider said.
    "Yeah, it is," Theo said. "Now will you help?"
    "I want a copy of the Norwegian Battle Babes. Can I get one?"
    Theo covered the receiver and looked at Molly."NorwegianBattle Babes-?"
    Molly smiled. "Kendra VI:Battle Babes in the Hot Oil Arena. The Norwegian version is the only version that has full nudity in all the arena scenes. It's very rare."
    Theo's mouth had dropped open. His survival had come down to this? "So do you have a copy?"
    "Sure."
    "You got it?" Theo said into the phone. "I'll bring Kendra naked and in person to your office if you get moving now."
    "I don't think so," said Molly.
    "I'll send the file toSacramento," the Spider said, "but that won't do you any good. Even if you tellBurton about it, he's got you in a perfect situation to kill you anyway. You need media."
    "Media?Helicopters?We're too far north to get anyone here in time," Theo said.
    "No!" Molly shouted.
    "I'll call them," the Spider said. "Hold them off for twenty minutes, maybe twenty-five."
    "We don't have anything but naked people and a jealous sea monster to hold them off with."
    "Is that more of your drug nomenclature?" the Spider asked.
    "It's what it is. If they use gas, we won't have twenty minutes."
    "They won't."
    "How do…"
    "Twenty-five minutes. And Battle Babes better be in the original box." The Spider hung up. Theo clicked his phone closed.
    "I said no helicopters, Theo," Molly said. "Even if we get out, you know they'll hurt Steve. You need to call him and tell him no helicopters."
    Theo felt he was close to losing it. He clenched his fists and tried very hard not to scream in her face.
    His voice went to a whisper. "Molly, even with a warrant out forBurton, he will kill us. If you want your dragon to live, then you've got to get him out of here before they get here."
    "He won't leave. He won't listen to me. Look at him. He doesn't care about anything anymore."
    Sheridan Sergeant Rich Sheridan was six-three, two-thirty, with dark hair, a mustache, and a long, hooked nose that had been broken several times. Like the other men on the hill, he was wearing body armor and a radio headset, as well as a weapons belt. He was the only one not holding his M-16. Instead he was talking on a cell phone. He had been a cop for ten years and working forBurton on the side for eight. If this had been an official activation of Special Weapons and Tactics he would have been second in command, but as the real commander wasn't inBurton 's pocketSheridan was in charge.
    He let the binoculars dangle around his neck and waited while his men got firing angles on all of the yellow Cadillac's