Unfortunately, almost immediately after the successful action against the rail yard, Task Force Lessem ran into trouble. The force had successfully moved along Jefferson Davis Highway and through the shanty town that spilled off Gravelly Point and huddled around the southern anchors of the Potomac there. The helmeted and armored troopers moved like a plague of beetles, sweeping the streets clean wherever they passed. It wasn’t an apropos metaphor given the outbreak of insectoid magical creatures in Chicago, but Tom couldn’t help seeing the soldiers as he did. Maybe it was the Chicago situation that sparked the imagery for him.