“Of course you are right.” Bernie replied. “Maybe I am just bored. I have no business complaining to you about this. And yet, you are the only person I can complain to. So, deal with it and give me some fucking advice.”

“Go to prison.” Fiendish said it so casually that it seemed like advice he had stored for this very occasion.

“Prison can’t hold me. You know that. The cops won’t even attempt to arrest me.”

“Convince them. Tell them you are old and tired, and that you want to be reformed. Tender a confession. You’ll go to a maximum-security facility for sure. While in there, you can organize some goons to do your bidding and take over the place. When you get bored of that you can get them to help you break out. It’ll be like a little vacation.”

Fiendish’s smile was almost audible within the silent pause which followed. It was not at all a bad idea. Compliments, though, were no easy labor in their community, and so Bernie’s only response was, “hmm… an interesting idea. I’ll see you around, Fiendish.”

“Good luck.” Fiendish replied, the implied subtext of which could have been “You are welcome for the sage advice. I too think it was a great idea. I’ll stop by to see you in prison.”

Police Sergeant Dade Vincent and Captain Terry Wilson sat in the back of the armored SWAT van. The were parked on Sydenham Street, roughly 50 feet from the rendezvous point – a small, popular coffee shop tucked into the center of the Philadelphia half-block. The task force had spent the hours prior asking nearby residents to move their vehicles from the street and towing those whose owners could not be found. It was 8:00am Sunday morning and the streets were not yet bustling. It was an atypical protocol for a voluntary apprehension – to have both the sergeant and captain onsite, though voluntary apprehensions were, themselves, atypical, let alone that of someone like Manifest. Bernie had texted them both on their longstanding group chat the afternoon prior. The ‘Do Not Apprehend’ order had furnished a refreshing openness and candor among them and the conversations were always relatively cordial. They might have been friends with Bernie if not for the mischief and