[ WP ] You 're attending a public event turning on the Christmas lights in your home town , but as soon as you arrive , a young man slips a small piece of paper in your hand , it reads `` 3 MINUTES , GUY WITH THE RED JACKET , ONLY YOU CAN STOP HIM , 223 , DO N'T FORGET THAT NUMBER ''

*It's that time of the year again. Geez, is it already Black Friday? Seems like the Christmas season starts the day after Halloween now. * 
 
 These are just some of the thoughts that pass through my mind as I walk over to the state's capitol building. Today, they're turning of the big Christmas light display, you know. This is always one of the biggest events of the year, maybe more so than Christmas itself. The lights are always so spectacular. 
 
 It's only a few minutes until the actual event begins, I was just in time. As I arrive, I see a boy, maybe a couple of years younger than I, perhaps fourteen or fifteen. He is wearing tattered clothes, and definitely could be homeless. Wordlessly, he reaches into his pocket and fetches a small scrap of paper. He scribbles two words the top, and hands it to me. It is dirtied by his hands and pockets, but I can still make out the letters written in jet-black ink. 
 
 *'' 3 minutes, guy with the red jacket, only you can stop him, 223, do n't forget that number. `` * 
 
 I panic. Why can only I stop him? And what motive could anyone *possible* have to stop Santa? 
 
 2 minutes left. 
 
 I move up, and push my way to the front of the crowd gathering in front of the building. 
 
 1 minute left. 
 
 I see the door of the building open, and I see a black boot push through, then another. Santa is here. 
 
 It has begun. 
 
 Everyone assumes it's the mayor dressed as Santa, just as has been tradition for so many years in our little town. He steps onto the top of the stairs leading up to the doorway, and grabs the microphone set up for him. 
 
 He begins to speak, in a tone completely unlike that of the mayor, with a voice crazed an hysterical. A voice I had heard before, but one that I could n't place a finger on. 
 
 `` Citizens of Anytown, welcome to my perfect escape from obscurity! No, I'm not the mayor, nor am I here on his behalf. I'm here for *me, * and me only.'' 
 
 I suddenly recognized the voice. It was the man who had lost to the mayor in the last election, but maddened by his loss. He was vain and could n't be trusted. He did n't want to do good for the people, he wanted his name in headlines, and that's why he lost. Pulling off the hat and fake beard, he continues, 
 
 `` In this building, I have planted a bomb. Which room? That's for you to find out, I wo n't tell.'' 
 
 He cackled, and said, `` Anyone brave, or stupid, enough to go in has ten minutes to find that bomb. If time runs out, there goes your city. Good luck, and happy hunting!'' 
 
 I am in a daze. Where could the hidden bomb possibly be? There are hundreds of rooms in the building. How could I possibly know which one it's in? Then, I recollect my thoughts, and look at the boy's note. *'' 223, do n't forget that number. `` * The boy knows. *I* know. I run up the stairs, pushing over the terrorist politician. As I enter, I wonder who the boy really is, and how much he knows...
