CHAPTER 81

APPARENTLY IT WAS A SLOW NEWS DAY. By the time Hudson skidded to a stop next to Pancake there were five news crews on the scene.

Pancake was filming the epic event. “Holy Jalapeños, amigo! Can you believe this?”

Hudson couldn’t. The place was a circus. Reporters were positioned so that the sign was in the background while their camera crew filmed. Cars parked along the curb on Kirchoff Road, and commuters got out and walked toward the sign.

“Let’s go in for a closer look,” Hudson said.

They left their bikes, crossed the street, and weaved their way to the front of the crowd.

A reporter from Fox 32 stood holding a microphone. Her cameraman had a perfect angle on her and the sign. “Okay, we’re live in five . . . four . . . three . . . two.” He motioned to the reporter just as the message finished and started over from the top.

The reporter smiled. “I’m standing in front of Rolling Meadows City Hall, where the mayor has initiated a new program to curb bullying at Southfield Middle School.” She pointed at the sign. “It seems the mayor believes that calling out the bullies —by name —may be a more effective way to deal with the problem.”

This was perfect. Absolutely perfect. He’d gotten the snowball rolling on this whole thing . . . and now all Hudson had to do was sit back and watch.

She held up a printout. “In a statement released to Fox last night, Mayor Andrew Marks explained that he intends to get tough with bullies —and he’s listed their names on the City Hall sign to prove it. As I understand it, these are all minors, and if that’s true, listing them as the mayor has done is certainly ill-advised —a massive legal misstep. Frankly, something seems off. Hopefully we’ll get an interview with the mayor for an explanation of why he would do something like this. But as of now, he’s a no-show.”

The reporter held her hand to one ear, obviously listening to the reporter back at the TV studio. “The mayor posted video evidence to a YouTube site. We’re going to cut to that now —but we need to warn viewers that some of the images are graphically violent.”

“They’re showing my film —on Fox,” Pancake said. “That’s gotta be worth, like a million views, right?”

This was beyond what Hudson had even hoped. He scanned the other news crews. If Fox showed the YouTube footage, likely they all would.

Pancake raised his camera high to catch the interview. Others in the crowd were doing the same. Five news crews in Rolling Meadows? People knew something was up.

The police were there too. At least a dozen now. Milling around as if they were afraid something was about to bust open. Cops had a sense like that. They were tuned in to an extra wavelength. And right now Hudson was beginning to get a bad vibe himself.

The reporter stood there, waiting for her cue to begin again. The producer signaled.

The reporter put on her serious face. “What will be the effect of this tactic in the long run? That remains to be seen.” She angled her head and gave a half-smile. “But the mayor has just declared war on bullying, and what he did with the City Hall sign proves he certainly isn’t afraid to take the bullying by the horns.”

She looked slightly proud of herself for the lame pun.

“Unreal, right?” Pancake leaned closer to Hudson. “Do you think Maggie is watching this?”

“I think the bigger question is if the litter is watching —or the pack.”

Hudson checked the bikes. Still right where they’d left them.

Pancake nodded. “They’ll see it, one way or another.”

Hudson had taken what the pack and litter threw at them and turned it into a weapon. This was what he’d wanted, right? But now that he was here, he wasn’t so sure. “There’s going to be big trouble, isn’t there?”

Pancake grinned and pushed his glasses up. “Humongous.”