The Posture of Innocence, day 51.5
Call it day 51-50 ... yet even as Big Loft's most elite neighborhoods go up in flames, leave it to the cold case division at BLPD to figure out how to lasso some "deadwood" out of a raging fire to face public judgment, for a startling end to the whole matter!
To get totally caught up on The Posture of Innocence, here are the prologue, day 1, day 2, day 3, day 3.5, day 4, day 4.5, day 5, day 5.5, day 6, day 7, day 7.5, day 8, day 9, day 9.5, day 10, day 10.5, day 11, day 11.5, day 12, day 12.5, day 13, day 13.5, day 14, day 15, day 16, day 16.5, day 17, day 18, day 19, day 19.5, day 20, day 20.5, day 21, day 22, day 22.5, day 23, day 23.5, day 24, day 24.5, day 25, day 25.5, day 26, day 26.5, day 27, day 27.5, day 28, day 28.5, day 29, day 29.5, day 30, day 30.5, day 31, day 31.5, day 32, day 32.5, day 33, day 33.5, day 34, day 34.5, day 35, day 35.5, day 36, day 36.5, day 37, day 37.5, day 38, day 38.5, day 39, day 39.5, day 40, day 40.5, day 41, day 41.5, day 42, day 42.5, day 43, day 44, day 44.5, day 45, day 46, day 46.33, day 46.67, day 47, day 47.5, day 48, day 48.5, day 49, day 49.5, day 50, day 50.5, and day 51!
Where the firefighters had made their stand and where anyone escaping from the east side of the ridge would come out in coming over the ridge were two completely different things. The ridge top was far too steep to come over on foot or by car, but, there was a natural fire break in a little southerly cut just beyond the Skyview neighborhood – a rocky little valley with a creek flowing through it. Get across that, and up the other side, and you could look into the vision of hell you had created without any fear of being swept into it … unless, of course, somebody knew you would be there.
After hours and hours of evacuation work, Captain Lee had started back up the ridge toward the flames, knowing – because he felt the narrowness of the gap between himself and the man he could have become – that Lieutenant Deadwood was still up there, in that one safe place, enjoying his wicked triumph over those he hated.
“Captain Lee, you can't be serious,” Lieutenant Carter had protested. “We've been out here six hours and it's almost too much for us here – there's no way a man could survive in close proximity to it!”
“I'm not ordering anyone to go with me,” Captain Lee said, “but I know these hills and these mountains, and there is a man up there who must be held to account for this madness.”
Just as Horace Fitzhugh Lee came up here after me, before it was too late – it is too late for you, Deadwood, but even still, you will be gazed upon, and held to account, and if you are not in Hell going through that now, then I know exactly where you are.
“I can't let you go alone!” Lieutenant Anderson said. “I'm going with you, Captain Lee – I can't let you go up there by yourself!”
“No,” Lieutenant Longstreet said. “You have something neither Captain Lee and I have, Anderson: an aging mother to take care of. I'll go.”
“Yeah, but, if something happens to Captain Lee, Longstreet, you're next in command, but I rank behind both you and Anderson, and I don't have a family either,” said Lieutenant Lightfoot. “I'll go.”
“Stop arguing and figure it out, because I'm gone,” Captain Lee said, and started into the terrain, toward the gap in the flames. Lieutenant Longstreet caught up with him after a few minutes.
“I see you won the argument.”
“Not really. Look back, sir.”
The entire division was catching up.
“If you're going into the flames, we're going with you, Captain Lee!” Lieutenant Anderson shouted.
“Hoorah!” all the lieutenants shouted.
Captain Lee turned around, all frustration and chagrin … and then acceptance, and surrender. Young Virginians had been talking about marching into hell behind commanders named Lee since the country began … but he only had time to deal with one madman per day, and so kept on climbing.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Bruce Deadwood was enjoying the vision of hell he had created greatly … it had cost him his second car too, for he had needed all his gasoline, but, he had made it across the break just in time, the fire literally nipping at his heels, moving at around eight miles per hour. What that basically meant was that unless you knew exactly where you were going and were young enough and strong enough to run head out, you were literally toast in a fire flying like that. But he had made it, and was dancing in the light of the fire, and laughing. The wind was roaring around him as the massive fire sucked in the oxygen it needed, so he made quite a wild-looking silhouette, black against the red beyond him that could be seen through the gap, the red that shone wildly against a sky black with smoke.
The cold case division climbed up into the back of the gap, and all the younger men's mouths' fell open at the sight before them – or tried to, but were hindered slightly by their masks.
“Is that a man or a demon?” Lieutenant Anderson gasped.
“Possibly one in possession of another,” Captain Lee said, “but, remember that there is enough depravity in each of our hearts to do what this man has done without the necessity of direct demonic influence.”
“How is he even breathing?” Lieutenant Jackson said. “He doesn't have a mask!”
“He is as good as dead, either way it goes,” Captain Lee said, “but, he is past knowing it. It is necessary, however, for us to attempt to apprehend him, within the limits of our personal safety, because it is necessary that the actors in this terrible matter be brought to as much public account as possible.”
“I have an idea, Captain,” said Lieutenant Longstreet.
Lieutenant Anderson had skills with golf clubs; Lieutenant Longstreet could throw a mean lasso and had rope with him. So, when his colleagues were positioned, Lieutenant Longstreet yanked Lieutenant Deadwood backwards into Captain Lee's waiting arms. A quick punch, and that was that; Lieutenant Deadwood was hog-tied with the rest of the rope and carried down into custody.
So, that completed the entire round; every key person involved had been taken alive except for the funders of the whole scheme, for whom justice had come by fire, at the hand of their own tool. “A neat and terrible send-up of Lofton County's posture of innocence,” as the Lofton County Free Voice would put it – and so it was!