Gregson pressed the red button and waited…

and then the gears started turning.

Under the ocean, the detective looked up into the sunlight that filtered through the dark water. Sharks swam around it, like goldfish searching for a way out, and then the sun shifted. The yellow orb shrunk to the eye of a needle and turned red, like a lava sunset boiling the sky and burning a black hole through the heart of the island. Gregson thought he heard far-off screaming, but under the water, it sounded like a symphony, or perhaps it was his untrained ear and a dislike for politicians. He swam up the magnifying glass, until his face breached the surface. The core of the island was burning, like balsa wood, and the world’s leaders were swimming out to sea. Domino gave Gregson her hand and he nearly pulled her out of the boat.

“Should we rescue them?” Domino asked.

“They’d swamp us for sure. No, let’s make a discrete call to a communist country and have them picked up. It shouldn’t be a problem because most of them are communists.”

Domino, in her black bikini, pushed the throttle to FULL, and they rose out of the water, leaving the island behind.

“What are those red dots?” Gregson asked.

“Oh, that’s the fish finder,” Domino said. They’re too large to be regular fish, so I think they’re sharks or politicians or perhaps there isn’t any difference. Should we try to save them?”

“No, there’s blood in the water—it’ll be election day soon.”

THE END