[Note: today I'm posting this tidbit, from chapter 32, "Sons of Applestock," because it reminds me of the Administration on the eve of battle.]

Chief Hadley shifted in his chair and made sure his various chains rattled and his gun came into view. “Look here, now, nobody’s going to kill nobody, okay—let’s get that straight right now.”

The boys sagged a bit.

“But buck up—Zorro never had to kill nobody. There’s plenty else we can do. Keep making them prank calls. Break some more windows if you can steer clear of The Seventh Seals and the rest of them goons. Send spooky letters. Stink-bomb Ray Riffles’ office—”

“We could even pipe-bomb that Kickin’ Machine van of theirs,” said Snappy Squires. “It ain’t a Ford product anyhow.”

Hadley scowled. “I don’t know about any pipe bombs.”

“Well, slash up the tires, at least.”

“And paint something that'll put a real scare in 'em, like: GIT OUT OF TOWN.”

“I already threw one damn brick through Riffles’ office window,” blurted Skippy Tarbox, then turned five sheets of pale as Hadley’s eyes swung to meet his, head-on. “Oh, jeez—I never actually 'fessed to that action, did I, Chief. . . .”

“It’s okay, Skippy. We’re on the same side now,” Hadley muttered—even though he almost puked at the thought of Skippy Tarbox as a comrade-in-arms.

Dr. Harlan’s mouth half-mooned into a crud-encrusted grin. “Well, I tell you this—I can make all kinds of explosive devices, if we ever get to that, but you can have some wicked fun with chemistry. A permanganate, for instance, that’ll turn their sex pond purple, maybe even bond to their skin.”

“Now you’re talkin’.”

“That’s good, that’s good!”

Hadley leaned back and watched the intellectual activity smoke out of these woolly heads. Give ‘em something anti-social to work with and they all clocked up as geniuses for sure!

(from "Sons of Applestock," pg. 191)