"The Law in Prospect" Author Unknown V Annual 1986 (World International Publishing Ltd.)

The resistance plots to destroy a Visitor food processing facility in a small town. 

Story Summary

Donovan and Ron Lind arrive in the small town of Prospect. Lind had been an architect working on the construction of a new chemical processing plant in the hills outside of town when he began to suspect there was something strange going on with this new facility. His partner first disappears and then Lind himself was taken off the project. When the Visitors moved in on him, he and his family were rescued by L.A. resistance members, who had received word that the new plant was intended to process humans into suspended animation to be shipped up to the motherships.

Now, Donovan and Lind have returned to Prospect to take out the plant. That night, at their motel in town, the two see a sheriff's deputy looking at their sedan suspiciously. As they step outside, the Sheriff himself gets the drop on them and takes them to the local jail. Donovan tries to explain what is going on with the plant, but the Sheriff is not convinced. But his deputy is a resistance sympathizer and he stands off against the sheriff.

Just then, a Visitor squad enters the jail, demanding to take the prisoners with them. A shootout ensues with the sheriff and deputy brought down and Donovan and Lind taken to the plant for interrogation. At the plant, the two resistance fighters manage to get away from their guards and Donovan plots to blow the place up from within. Suddenly they hear the screeching of automobile tires and, investigating, see the Visitors surrounding their sedan! The two take out the guards from behind and find the injured sheriff behind the wheel. The sheriff tells them he realizes he made a mistake with the two of them and he drives the explosives-laden vehicle into the plant's laser generator, destroying the plant.

Donovan and Lind escape the conflagration and make their way through the mountains back to town.

THE END

Didja Know?

This story appeared in the British V Annual 1986, a book of short stories, articles and games all about V, geared towards kids. The stories use a fair amount of British terms and military jargon, despite taking place in the U.S.; illustrations of automobiles tend to show a European style license plate.

Didja Notice? 

This story takes place in the small town of Prospect, but we're never told what state it is in, only that it's a long, hot, dusty drive from the city (presumably Los Angeles). As far as I can tell, there are no towns by that name in the most likely states of California, Arizona and Nevada.

Page 50 mentions that someone named Liz forged IDs for Donovan and Lind for this mission. Is Liz meant to be Elizabeth?