Day 653: 5 Minute Freewrite: Sunday - Prompt: persuasion

The human capacity for projection, even at a time when the best course of action is to face one's own situations and responsibility head on, is a profound reality.

This was still on display in Big Loft, VA, its police department going into a new week with no commissioner after five had perished in three weeks, while the city began its first week desperately looking for a new mayor and vice mayor, and Lofton County looking just as desperately for five new supervisors and a new prosecutor.

Raw corruption and the confluence of a few honest law men and dedicated citizens had swept away more than 120 men in law enforcement and official position in that three weeks, with about 50 of those swept right into the grave.

Still, police bigwigs who had survived in Big Loft could only think of one thing.

“Intimidation didn't work. Manipulation didn't work. Maybe persuasion – can anybody think of a way to persuade Captain Lee to resign?”

Captain Henry Fitzhugh Lee … the man who had gotten warrants to arrest three commissioners, had killed one in the process of his resisting arrest, and whose mere presence had caused the next one to have a heart attack and the next one to be startled such that he jumped through a plate glass window.

“Can anybody think of a way – wrong question,” said another remaining big wig. “Forget the how – who's up to bell that particular cat?”

Another bigwig scoffed.

“We're not mice, we're men!” he shouted.

“Even men aren't in the habit of belling man-eating tigers,” the second bigwig answered. “Lee is a tiger – did anybody bother to read the unclassified portions of his Army record before putting him on this force?”

Crickets.

“Apparently not,” said the second bigwig.

“Well, there's only one thing left to do,” said a fourth bigwig. “We're going to have to go ahead and make Chief Scott commissioner, and hand him the bell.”

“Do you have any idea how much profit that is going to cost us in the next decade?” said the first bigwig. “Scott is too honest!”

“At this point, I don't see where we have any better options,” said the fourth bigwig. “The first thing is to save the department. We'll have to worry about the rest later. If Scott can get Lee out, or at least get him contained, it will be worth the rest!”