Chapter 38: At the Mall IV

On The Scene

"This is crazy," Mack said as he jogged into the mall, easily hauling the camera over his shoulder. The hard part was keeping up with Darren, who was a) 6-foot-2, b) owned impossibly long legs and c) was in a big damn hurry.

"School's still in session," he was saying. "If a bunch of kids has skipped school en masse, there would have been some kind of alert, right?"

"Beats me," she said over her shoulder. "For all I know, this is a cult of some home-schooled bipolar sociopaths whose calendar told them today's the day."

"Anyone tell you that you have a sick fucking imagination?" Mack said. "Just one reason I love you."

"Save it, Romeo," she said as they both entered the main mall. "Anything new on the net?"

Mack, a wizard at multi-tasking, pulled out the station's iPhone and began punching buttons with one hand while he held the camera on his shoulder with the other. "No police report ... hey, here's a personal one for you."

"Gimme," the big redhead said, effectively snatching it from his grasp. The was from one of her "contacts," a sister of a senior at Carson who occasionally shared a shower with Darren at their gym.

"This is crazy," she said, pulling her mane of red hair back behind her ears. "Says here that a bunch of girls from Carson High jumped into some vans and headed for this mall. Must be a protest thing, you think? Initiation, maybe?"

"I think I don't assume anything," Mack said, already focused on the mall traffic. "What I do know is that we've gotten here first."

"That's why we're such a good team," Darren laughed. "But I don't see anything."

"Exactly," Mack said excitedly. "In fact, what are we not seeing in this mall right now?"

Darren, frowning, panned the surprisingly small numbers of people coming and going. A couple of guys here, an older man there ... wait.

"Where are the women?" she observed correctly. "I don't see a single woman."

Glad to see your half-a-brain is working the oft-beleaguered cameraman thought. But Darren was already moving forward, speed-dialing Jackie at the station.

"Darren? Aimee! Hey!" she address the station's popular co-anchor. "There is something going on at the mall. Maybe something crazy," they passed a man, who seemingly ignored them. "I have a contact that said a bunch of girls from Carson were going to do something crazy here. Maybe a flash mob or something."

"So we do think this is a flash mob?" the stunning former Olympic athlete said as she asked as she scribbled notes at her desk. "Any damage or apparent violence?"

"None that I can see. Strictly walking and talking, sofar as I see," Darren said.

"That's too bad," Aimee said. "Peaceful protests aren't nearly as interesting or newsworthy."

She listened some more as Darren added detail.

"Truth? Like the world's worst stag party," Darren said as she continued to look around. "There are guys here and there, but no women that we've seen. And anyone we've tried to talk to has just ignored us."

"Weird," Aimee said, unaware of Jackie Simmons' grin as she stood behind her.

"Could this be some kind of gang thing?" Darren was asking.

"Gangs? Hardly. Carson is pretty much a whitebread town these days," Aimee explained. "I'll get Jackie to try to text Meredith. I'll let you know if I get ahold of her. Now you need to find the females. Malls need women."

That made Darren laugh despite her grown unease at the situation.

Both women soon forgot about sending a text to Meredith – whose cell phone was still in her back pocket. But her pants were sitting unattended in the back of Zoe's van park near the mall entrance – a van that Darren and Mack walked past on the way inside.

As they neared the food court, Darren saw that there were hangers-on standing around. The first person she recognized was Carson High's principal, Julianne Robbins, naked and being caressed by a young girl who also looked familiar.

The crowd – and indeed, the small group of naked girls – seemed oblivious to she and Mack as they moved near, so she silently signaled Mack to set up the shot. The experienced cameraman had his tripod fixed in 30 seconds. He gave Darren a silent countdown: 3... 2... 1...

"Darren McCarver at Carson Mall, where an extraordinary event seems to be taking place ... A group of Carson High students, all ... apparently ... female, have taken over the mall today by, uh, streaking at a leisurely pace.

"Even more remarkably, your KCAR news team has witnessed several adults joining what can only be called a 'flesh mob, ' as it were – including a woman tentatively identified as an administrator at Carson High. We are attempting to contact a spokesman or representative of the students to find out if this very unusual protest has an issue.

"Darren McCarver of KCAR News ... are we out, Mack?"

"Yes. Clear," he replied. "We have to move, set up again."

"Mack, can you try and keep your erection on a leash until we're done?" she said, looking down at his crotch with disdain.

"Sorry! Geez, Darren, don't you think seeing all those naked teenagers is a little hot?" he asked, all business now.

Darren uttered a small snort of disgust, but she turned away from her cameraman to hide what she was sure was an obviously look of lust on her face.

"Damn! Look at the rack on that girl!" Mack whistled. "No, she's no kid. Does that mean that this orgy on wheels is being chaperoned?"

"Don't have a clue, but a grownup seems to be a good place to start getting answers," Darren said, reaching for her cell phone. "Go talk to Miss Bozongas over there and ask her if she would be a spokesbimbo for this meat parade."

"Be right back," said Mack, who was already gone.

Darren didn't hear him. She'd already speed-dialed the station and was impatiently waiting for the other end to respond. They were busy at the station, but they were there.

"Jackie? Darren," she said. "I think I know why your little girl isn't answering her cell phone"

"Say again?" Jackie asked.as one of the station assistants, a green-eyed brunette named Scottie Davenport, massaged her bare shoulders and breasts.

"Doesn't your daughter go to Carson?" Darren said breathlessly, not really hearing Jackie's answer.

"Yes she does," Jackie replied, ignoring a nipple tweak from Scottie. "We were thinking about trying to call her Is she involved?"

"I'd say as far as her cell phone is concerned, right now she's got nowhere to put it ... At lease nowhere that I'd want to reach out and touch. I'm confirming that there is a mob of women – mosty women. And kids?

"All women? And they're all naked?" Jackie looked up at Aimee and Scottie, who were just this side of cuddling.

"Isn't this is great shit!" Aimee asked. "Think exclusive footage of a naked flash mob might generate some ratings?"