The Fall of the Roman Empire, Part II:
Hail, Caesar
(by VerbMyNoun and Neosate)
~~~~~
January 2, 2014
Marblecliff City Hall
Hail, Caesar
(by VerbMyNoun and Neosate)
~~~~~
January 2, 2014
Marblecliff City Hall
``Good afternoon, everyone,'' Mayor Steven Archer announced from the podium. The press room of city hall was packed full of reporters, eager to hear what the young and ambitious Kestrel had to say. ``Thank you all for coming on such short notice, especially right after New Years. I suppose I should just cut right to the chase, rather than tiptoe around the matter: I called you all here today to announce my formal resignation as mayor, effective immediately.''
The expected murmur spread through the assembled crowd and a series of camera flashes went off around the room before he continued. ``During my campaign, I swore an oath to the third-gender citizens of our city that I would use my power as mayor to improve their quality of life, which I have done. The title of mayor grants me the ability to accomplish things that would be otherwise impossible; however, it also comes with a host of other responsibilities that are equally important.''
A round of raucous shouting broke out among the reporters until one voice rang out above all the others. ``Mister mayor,'' a Hedgehog woman called out, ``does this have anything to do with the alleged incident the other night involving your associate, Alexis Hawkins?''1
``Yes, and no,'' he answered vaguely. ``This decision was a long time coming. What occurred on Tuesday night was an emotional reaction to the tragic recent murder of General Detlev Helfgrad, who was like a father to Miss Hawkins and many others, including myself. No charges are going to be filed and Miss Hawkins is free, but last night reminded me of my limitations as mayor to focus on what matters most to me, so I bumped up the timetable.''
Another round of yelling before another reporter managed to get out, ``Mister Mayor, was your decision to step down in any way influenced by the recent tensions between you and Council Chairman Zaritzky?''
``I'll take this question, but then please, no more until the end,'' Steven replied. ``Mister Zaritzky is a respected rival; he has done a lot of good for this city economically, but our social and political viewpoints have often run perpendicular to one another. I cannot speculate as to whether or not those tensions were the cause of some of my proposed reforms being denied, since it takes more than just his approval. What I can say is that my failure to enact certain legislations made me realize that I have done all I can in the political sector, and that if I was going to keep the promises I built my campaign around, I would need to do so in the private sector instead.
I know many of you are wondering what will happen to the fight for third gender rights in city hall, and I can assure you that my replacement, Jerry Stambaugh, will continue that fight in my stead. Many of you may recognize Jerry as my deputy mayor; protocol for matters such as this dictate that the deputy mayor will serve as mayor in full capacity until the end of the outgoing mayor's elected term. Jerry and I see eye-to-eye on nearly everything, and I have the utmost confidence in his ability to lead us for the next two years and beyond. It is our belief that with him in office and with me working independently we will be able to do more for our third gender citizens. Having said all that, I will step aside now and let Jerry say a few words. Thank you.''
~~~~~
Meanwhile, at the Dark Rider House for Wayward Youths...
``Goddamn-son-of-a-whore-ass-cracker-cunt-licker!''
Such vulgarities were not uncommon at the Dark Rider House, though few could deliver them with such colorful flair as the young Mongoose currently spewing vitriol at the television in the mansion's great room. With the exception of Alex, who harbored... complicated... romantic feelings for the mayor, no one else in the house cared as deeply for the Kestrel as Calliope, or Callie for short. She'd been homeless, living in abandoned and foreclosed houses without utilities and eating at the soup kitchen until he had found her and placed her with her current `family.'2 A family that included him, in some extended capacity, and did not judge or shun her for her eccentricities.
``What's going on in here?'' Susan asked as she entered the room.
``The M-maaaayor just announced his resignation,'' she explained, curling up into a ball at the end of the sofa and hugging a blanket tightly around her.
``Boomer, I think you broke the Mayor!'' The Chinchilla shouted, not even sure if the Eagle was at home. ``Wait, what's that about about yesterday?'' she asked as she sat down on the couch next to the Mongoose and opened the TV's Web browser.
A simple search was able to bring up a list of all the incidents the police responded to that night. Even narrowing down the results to just public intoxication and/or barroom brawls, the number of calls was extensive, so she decided to focus on the area patrolled by the Walnut Ridge precinct because it was the station closest to the house.
Opening a different window, she searched for local bars and other establishments that served liquor, and began comparing addresses. Sure enough, the ninth complaint sounded like Alex: a drunken female bar patron injured two bouncers, it took six men to subdue her, she surrendered peacefully to Officer Goodman, and was released later that night into the custody of a friend, and all charges were dropped.
``Alex?'' she called out, standing back up and heading to check on her friend. It made sense now. The normally boisterous Eagle woman had seemed unusually withdrawn yesterday, but Susan figured she was probably just hung over. Clearly, something happened between her and Steven and she was blaming herself. Once upstairs, she stopped outside the Eagle's bedroom and knocked softly. ``Alex, are you up?''
No answer.
Carefully opening the door, she poked her head inside. Empty.
``Hey, Hank?'' she called down over the second-story railing.
``Yeah?'' the Cajun Otter asked as he wondered out from the kitchen.
``Is Alex's car here?''
``Ain?t seen her since she left the other day,'' he said before disappearing for a moment, licking a wooden spoon clean as he went, only to reappear a moment later. ``Nope.''
``She must not have come home last night. God, I hope she hasn?t done anything stupid,'' she muttered as she pulled out her phone.
~~~~
In The Mayor's Office
\tAlex sat behind the desk, hands folded in front of her face as she looked at the paperwork still spread out on its surface. If Steven didn't know better he would have assumed it was her office and she the mayor. Her concentration seemed so intense he struggled to remember what it was he had last gone over. The past two days had been such a whirlwind that it all felt more like a dream than reality.
\t``Are you sure you're doing the right thing?'' The question came in the calm, collected, measured, tone he knew was more forced than one might think just listening to her. In the short six months that he had known her, Steven had seen many sides to the Eagle, and he was sure there was still more to her. He had seen the professional lawyer who would do anything for a client she truly believed in, the unplanned spontaneity of their first encounter as she handed him the combat knife without even knowing who he was. He had seen the passion that boiled just below the surface as she lashed out at every injustice she saw. And, in the past two days, he had seen the aftermath of her unbridled rage when he visited the scene of her arrest, as well as the depth of the passion and hunger for love and acceptance by someone other than comrades-in-arms.
\t``Like I told the media, this decision was a long time coming.'' He sat in a chair in front of her.
\t``But, there is so much you have done, and can still do, but only from this office.'' She was still in that calm, professional mode. She must have been thinking about this since he had left for the press conference.
\t``That might be true. But, there are also things I can't do from this office. It's as restricting as it is liberating. Here I still have to work within the rules and confines of the mayor's office. I can't truly pursue all my goals, because some of them are outside that venue. One of them being a real relationship with you.'' He could see the effect of his last comment as her hands dropped to the desk, ``Beside, Jerry is as passionate about many of the same things. I'm not walking out and leaving everyone that counted on me high and dry. I'm leaving them in Jerry's capable paws.''
~~~~~
Caille French Restaurant
8:52 PM
``Thank you for dinner, Steve,'' Jerry said as he finished wiping traces of Poulet de Provencal from his muzzle. ``But you didn't have to.''
``Yes, thank you,'' seconded Jerry's selected deputy, Wallace Prendergast.
``Nonsense,'' Steven replied as he sat back in his chair. ``You're both doing me a huge favor, and I barely spent a dime of my salary while I was in office. It's the least I could do.''
``He's stepping down, allowing us to advance our own political careers, and we're the ones doing him a favor?'' Wallace chuckled. The Lynx was relatively inexperienced in the political arena, so it came as a surprise to many when Jerry had selected him to be his deputy, but Wally was eager, energetic, trustworthy, and a herm (though most people would never guess, since most third-gender anthros were feminine in their appearance).
``We'll see if you still feel that way once you really get your paws wet,'' Jerry warned. The Fisher couldn't help but be nervous; Steven had made quite the impression on the youth of the city, but the older and more conservative-minded elite had deep pockets and opposing viewpoints, often making the Kestrel's job difficult. Now here he was, taking over the position after having it fall into his lap rather than win it in an election. He'd already started to hear words of disapproval from the political right, but was determined to silence the doubters through his actions.
In fact, he was the one that insisted on this dinner meeting with Steven. He wanted to make sure that he was one hundred percent up to speed on all of the major issues, plus wanted the former mayor's candid insight on how he should approach them. Particularly City Council Chairman Roman Zaritzky, who had been Steven's most outspoken opponent on pretty much every proposition during his administration.
``Relax,'' the Kestrel reassured Wally, ``this guy here was about as green as you are now when I recruited him and I think he did a pretty good job. You'll do fine.''
``Speaking of doing fine,'' Jerry said, changing the subject, ``how are things going with Miss Hawkins?''
~~~~~
January 3, 2014
Steven was awakened by his phone going off on his nightstand. He groggily rolled over and, seeing that it was only 5:56 AM, wondered who the heck would call him so early or what could be so urgent. Checking his screen, he saw that the caller was his sister, Leigh. ``Hey, Sis,'' he mumbled as he answered the call. ``Is everything okay?''
``Turn on the channel 8 news,'' she said. Her voice sounded sad and a bit worried.
``Leah, what?s -?''
``Just do it,'' she pleaded.
He pressed the power button on the remote and tuned in the channel she had specified.
[-received confirmation that both Mayor Stambaugh and his deputy, Wallace Prendergast, were both killed in the crash, as well as the driver of the other vehicle. The police are withholding the identity of this individual because of his age, but it is believed that he was texting and driving, causing the accident. This all less than twenty-four hours after the resignation of former Mayor Steven Archer and the subsequent appointment of Jerry Stambaugh as his successor. Now, in this case, because Wallace Prendergast was to be Mayor Stambaugh's replacement in an emergency, and he was also killed, the next in line for the office is the current Chairman of the City Council, Roman Zaritzky, who will serve as acting mayor until an emergency election in June. Mister Zaritzky has been criticized in the past for his controversial stance on third-gender rights, and it is believed by many that his main opponent in the June election will be District Attorney Roger-]
``God, no,'' the Kestrel sighed. ``What have I done?''
``You did what you thought you had to do,'' Leah reassured him. ``This isn't your fault, Steve. It's just a shitty coincidence that some kid wasn't paying attention and killed both the mayor and his deputy on their first day. No one could have seen it coming.''
``Still, a lot of people are going to point out that this wouldn't have happened if I hadn't vacated my position,'' he replied. ``You know this is going to set back third gender rights in this city by a decade, right?''
``What about that emergency election they were talking about in June? Do you think your friend Roger could win?''
``I think he would stand a legitimate chance, but Roman has some deep pockets,'' he answered. ``And I would certainly support him even if Roman wasn't his opponent. I just don't know if he'd be interested.''
``You should give him a call first thing,'' his sister urged. ``The sooner we can find a capable opponent that shares your values, the better.''
``You're right,'' Steven answered. ``Let me make a few calls, see what I can find out. I'll call you back this afternoon, okay?''
``Okay.''
``Bye, Sis,'' he said. ``Love you.''
``Love you, too.''
``Mmmm, wuzzat?'' a voice asked sleepily beside him. He lay back down next to her and draped a wing over her body, pulling her close to him. It had been an amazing night, the two of them staying up until almost 3:30 making love and discussing their plans. He really didn?t want to ruin the mood with bad news, but he also knew that she wouldn?t forgive him if he waited.
``That was Leah,'' the Kestrel explained. ``Jerry and Wally were killed in a car accident last night. Roman is the new Mayor.''
He felt her entire body tense in his embrace. ``What'll `appen now?'' It was the first time he had heard uncertainty in her voice. ``Wha' do we need ta do?''
``Now,'' he said after taking a deep breath to compose himself. ``Now we go to war. He's going to be even harder to take down if he wins the emergency vote in June. We're going to need all paws on deck to make sure that doesn't happen.''
She took a deep breath of her own then asked, ``How badly do you want this?'' The question felt as loaded as the .22 she had left on the nightstand.
``I staked everything - my political career and everything I'm trying to do for the third gender community - on resigning and letting those two assist me from City Hall. Now...'' He shook his head. ``Things just took a five month delay, and it will be even longer than that if we can't get him out of office. But we're going to do this the right way.''
``Do you care who else might get hurt in the process?'' The calm tactical speech came out as she reached for her phone. ``This could destroy his family as much as him. He has his own dark secrets.''
The screen on her phone lit up as she tapped out a simple text message, ``unleash the hounds Roman Zaritzky.'' Her talon hovered over the send button. ``If we start anything, we have to finish it. It's the rule.''
``Of course I care,'' he said as he gently pulled the phone from her grasp. ``We do this with minimal collateral damage. It hasn't gotten to the point of having to destroy Claudia and Vanessa's lives, and if we do this right, it won't have to.''
``I `ope we don' hav'ta,'' she said softly as she tapped the green button on the screen. ``Sacrifice the few for the many,'' she quoted as she rolled to face him and nuzzled into his chest. ``liv'n wit da consequences of yer ac'ion should'n stop ya from tak'n dem?''
``Even if I could, if whoever we find to run against him could, it wouldn't make us any better than him, and no more suitable to hold that office. The lesser of two evils is still evil.''
``Where ya gonna stay,'' she shifted as if to get away from the current topic, ``I mean afta ya gotta move outa `ere?''
``I have a nice little reserve built up. I'll probably look into buying a house, or maybe a condo. I don't know yet. It all depends on whether or not I'll be living alone.'' He took her fingers between his and asked. ``Alexis Hawkins, would you move in with me?''
She squeeze his hand in hers, her head still nestled into his chest. ``Why don' ya move in wit' me? I got more room den I need. We can figure t'ins out from dere.'' She finally looked up to meet his gaze. ``Ya can ge' settled in while I take care of t'ins in Winter Creek.''
``In the mansion? I don't know, Alex,'' he paused, trying not to sound like a jerk. ``I like your unorthodox family. Hell, I've even come to love a few of them. But I don't know if I could share a house with so many others. What about when we need some time alone to ourselves? I don't want to have to lock ourselves away in our bedroom every time.''
``Id yus' be fer now.'' she replied, ``Id give us time to fine' da perfec' place... ta raise a family of our own. I wanna nice big yard, wit' a white picket fence. An' roses, I wan' roses in fron' ot da proch, and some rokin' chairs. Maybe one of dose porch swings.''
``If it's only for a short while, I think I can manage,'' he said with a grin. ``But I refuse to go through the same extent of hazing that Daisy experienced.''
``I won' lett em touch ya,'' she smiled back. ``Sides, I don' know how ya'd look in pink. I don' t'inkid be good on ya.''
Laughing, he rolled her over onto her back and gave her a playful kiss and ran his fingers down between her legs.. ``The only pink I want to be in is down here...''
~~~~
Darkrider House
2:00 PM
As Alex and Steven walked into the back hall she was instantly greeted with a shout, ``The Prodigal Eagle has returned. And where exactly have you been, young lady? No calls, no checking in, just poof gone for three days.'' Susan walked out of the great room to greet them. ``And you, young man: jobless and homeless. How do you expect to take care of her if you get her knocked up?'' Almost as fast as she spit out the harassment she dropped the act and ran to hug Alex. ``God damn it, Boomer. You had us worried. Especially after the news this morning''
``Ya, it ain't da firs' time.'' Alex said as she returned the hug. ``An' ya can t'ank dis guy fer not have'n to come get me yerself.''
``But seriously, three days. We really were starting to worry. I mean we got shit going on here. We have profanity coming from a Mongoose, half dead Oppossums showing up at our door, and the Mayor stepping down, his replacements ending up in a car accident, and Roman set to take over the world.''
``Well, as for that last bit, I need to talk to everyone. We need to come up with a plan to get someone else ready to take the job away from him in June,'' Steven said grimly.
Susan gave him a drawn out ``Yeeaah, we're kind of in a holding pattern on that one. Lill's at the breakfast table, reading the paper. I think she?s actually going to let you take the lead on how we deal with it.''
``I know a few people who would be suitable for the job and wouldn't set back what I'm trying to do. The question is whether or not they would be interested. Give me some time to talk to everyone and see what's what, and then we can start talking strategy,'' he replied. ``Right now, though, I think Roger Ashbacher is our best bet.''
``The big thing is, is there anything Roman can dig up on these prospects to use against them?'' the Chinchilla said as she started walking back toward the breakfast nook. ``I don't think Mr. Ashbacher has anything to worry about, though. I did a background check because his wife works at the schools. They seem fairly clean.''
``The only one I think could possibly have any dirt is also the one I think would be the least interested in the job,'' he said. ``And even then, it isn't anything illegal. It just might shock a few of the more conservative-minded voters.''
``We've got a little time to work with here.'' Susan said as she took a seat next to Hank at the large round table. Across the table was Lilliana, the de facto leader of the group, seated next to Colin, the Mouflon man that had become a general part-time fixture at the house. The two other men nodded to Steven as they sat quietly drinking coffee.
``So we're not going to try and get the masses to burn the Dalmatian in effigy then,'' the Liger said as she folded her paper. ``Well there goes all the fun. Next thing you know you're going to tell me sniping is off the table.''
``I'm sure it won't come to that,'' the Kestrel said with a playful grin. ``We're just going to need to get our people out there to spread the word about our candidate. Whatever we need to do: charity banquets, car washes, bake sales, anything it takes. We have the resources and plenty of leadership to stop Roman, all that's missing is the plan.''
``Good, clean political campaign,'' Lilliana said, ``Why does that sound like an oxymoron? Okay we can do this... I think. Not our usual method of influencing regime changes, but it might work. You come up with the poor schmuck and we?ll get it done. Since you're more in tune with the locals, we'll follow your lead, Steven.'' Calling the Kestrel by his name garnered a sideways look from the Mouflon. ``Public affairs is all on you. And you'll have our support in the background. If it comes to a smear campaign I am more than sure we can find plenty of dirt on the opposition.''
``Thanks for your help, everyone. Really.''
Alex, who seemed to be in a daze for the past few moments, snapped out of it as if finally organizing all of her own thoughts. ``Wade a minit, whawasdat about a half dead Opossum?''
``Oh, that,'' Susan responded. ``Some kids brought in their friend who had a really badly infected wound on her chest. They're apparently homeless. The Opossum girl is at the hospital, and the Numbat is upstairs with your Mongoose. It was just a little excitement. I'm still looking into the orphanage they ran away from.''
``Wait, wait, wait... Paul, runaway orphans, Calliope, Roman, Steven....'' Alex stammered on.
Lilliana put a paw on her shoulder, ``One mission at a time, Boomer. First up is Paul. We have everything else handled for now.'' She looked over at Steven, ``Besides, I think we have someone that can fill in the gaps a little for now. And he is already familiar with some of the issues.''
The Eagle laid her head down on the table in her wings, ``Dis is wha' appens when I take a day off for myself.'' She sheepishly looked up, ``Um... Steven's going to be staying with me.''
There was a sudden tangible silence in the room as everyone looked at the Kestrel. The quiet was broken when Susan asked, ``Who's idea was this? Do you have any idea what you're getting yourself into?'' She looked over at Alex. ``That's your space, your sanctuary, your white washed snowfield of... I have no idea where I'm going with this.'' She then looked over at Steven. ``She never lets anyone in. She doesn't bring guys home. I don't think her bed knows what it's like to have more than one body in it. Hell, to look at the space, I'm not sure she sleeps in it.''
Alex stood up landing both hands on the table as she leaned toward Susan. ``Itwasmyidea, I know wha' Im doin'. I wan' him to stay, I wanna stay wit' him... And `eesss off limits! No pranks, no `assing, no funny names, no turn'n him funny colors.''
``Hell, I think he had enough hazing just getting past six months of you,'' Lilliana said as she leaned back in her chair. ``The real question is what use are you to us while you're here?''
Footnotes
See `` HYPERLINK "https://inkbunny.net/submissionview.php?id=539476"; The New Years Incident (2013/14) '' by \r\n\t\t\t\t\t
| \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNeosate\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
See ``Ethan's Tale, Ch. 7'' by VerbMyNoun.