“I know. Don’t worry; I've got this,” he says, and then turns on his heels to face the troopers. “Care to explain exactly what’s going on here?”
“Uh, sir, there’s a court order,” the tall trooper says, pointing at the document I'm still holding in my hand. “We’re here to shut down whatever’s going on in here, and a judge has signed off on it.”
“A judge?”
“Yeah, Judge McGill,” the trooper continues, taking his hat off and wiping the sweat off his brow. He thought this was going to be a clean operation, and now he’s being stared down by the mayor. “Governor Meelios ordered this investigation, and the judge has approved of the proceedings.”
“Governor Meelios, uh? Well, trooper, I must ask you to get back to your cars and get out of here,” Parker tells him, a deadly expression on his face. NYPD officers have started climbing out of their cars now, and they’re hanging back around the limo, hesitantly watching the scene unfold right in front of them. A crowd of onlookers has also started to gather on the sidewalk, a voyeuristic kind of confusion washing over everyone’s face. They were mildly interested in the commotion the state troopers were causing, but now that the Mayor has stepped onto the scene, everyone’s hooked. This beats reality TV, I guess.
“Sorry, sir, but… Uh… We can’t do that. Governor’s orders. We must go through with this,” the trooper continues, and I notice his fingers tightening around the butt of his gun. This isn’t good.
“Fuck the Governor. I’m the fucking Mayor,” Parker shoots back, and then raises his hand up in the air and waves at the NYPD officers. They stand up straight and walk toward both Parker and I, cutting their way through the troopers and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Parker, the palm of their hands resting on their still holstered guns.
“Sir, I don’t think that’s wise,” the head trooper hisses, looking at the wall of NYPD officers that has just formed in front of him.
“Well, I don’t think that you being here is wise either. So that has us at an impasse, trooper,” Parker growls, and then turns to the NYPD officers. “Don’t let any of these troopers through. This is a political vendetta, and I won’t let it happen in my city.”
“We’ll use force if necessary, sir,” the trooper threatens Parker, his voice hesitant but icy at the same time. Big mistake. Parker takes one step forward and, now towering over the trooper, he simply smiles.
“Go right ahead,” he whispers, and hesitation washes over the trooper's face. Nervously, he wipes the sweat off his brow once more and then turns on his heels, creating some distance between him and Parker.
“Form up!” he barks at the other troopers, assuming his position in their straight formation. He raises his gun up in the air, and the other troopers do the same, pointing their guns at Parker, me, and the NYPD officers.
“You’ve heard the Mayor, boys,” one of the NYPD officers shouts, and they all get their guns out at the same time. Oh, God, this is going downhill fast. I wasn’t exactly expecting a shootout when I woke up this morning.
“We’ll use force, sir, final warning!” the trooper shouts at Parker. The expression on Parker’s face hardens; and he walks straight toward the line of troopers, only stopping when the muzzle from the head trooper's gun is pressed against his chest.
“Then what are you waiting for?” Parker growls, and I feel nauseous for a very long second, imagining the sound of a gun going off. Then, moving fast, Parker grabs the troopers’ gun and takes it out from his hands. “Thought so,” he says, emptying the gun’s chamber and then throwing it to the ground. “Now get the fuck out of here.”
With one deadly last stare at Parker, the trooper’s pale lips tightly purse into one thin line, and he finally turns on his heels and orders his subordinates to follow after him. In a matter of just a few seconds, they get back in their cars and disappear, almost as if they were never here in the first place.
I was right; my mother is more than willing to go to war.
And this is just the beginning.
New York Daily Journal
Mayor to Governor: Over My Dead Body, Honey!
All the politics, scandals, and dirt...just the way you like it!
Political commentators, observers, and citizens were left in shock and awe yesterday as one of the most bitter and divisive Senate races spilled out into a near civil war.
New York City denizens were glued to their screens as they watched the tense standoff in the longest thirty minutes of city's history as state troopers from Albany, acting on a signed order from a State Superior Court judge, sought to shut down a business, but were stopped by the Mayor and NYPD.