Earlier that week, in search of a key, she had followed an icon to the 15-feet high, 3,000-pound ferro-concrete statue known as The Guardian, planted in front of the Berkeley Pier by its creator, Fredric Fierstein, with the help of a crane, six friends, and dark early morning visibility. The platform on which they mounted the statue had already been installed with the use of a forged letter purportedly from the director of Berkeley Parks and Recreation.

In the art community, there were reasons to defend guerilla art -- in this case partially because of the need to protect the work of the artists and art students who were creating ephemeral works on the mudflats of the East Bay shoreline.

Powerless to object, Caydance stared at the grim face of the archer and the evil grin on the mouth of the macho beast on which he rode. All she could think of was Mackie Alarie's face when he cornered her in the woods.