From What Source It May

Mason scrambled up the stairs and burst through the double doors of the city hall building, grabbing the door knob and lowering his right shoulder to slam the doors open. The security guards only starred as he sprinted to the conference room in the back. Before entering the room, Mason stopped to catch his breath.

All faces turned to face him as he stumbled through the entry. The room was small, with old wooden walls and a rectangular table in the center. Surrounding it were four people, including Mayor Soto. Chief Moreno and Eric were standing in the corners of the room, apparently observing the discussion. Mason looked up at them with his hands on his knees to hold himself steady, still breathing hard. His face was flushed, but he gathered up enough strength to share what he had just heard.

“They’re going to invade,” he said.

“What? Who?” Isabel, the City Manager, asked.

“Washington,” he said. “They’ve deployed the National Guard around the border. They are giving us twelve hours to back down and accept their ultimatum.” Seeing the confusion on each of their faces, he went on. “They are demanding the governor to surrender himself in exchange for complete forgiveness granted for the state.”

“But I take it that he isn’t going to cooperate,” said the mayor.

“The governor has asked for all state guard to be on alert for a full invasion.”

“You can’t be serious,” Eric said.

“You need to tell all policemen, both on- and off-duty, to stand guard throughout the city. As soon as people hear about this, there’s going to be unrest,” said Mason, now standing upright and looking directly at Moreno.

“I disagree,” Eric countered. “Putting police on the streets now will incite a riot. The people will think we are trying to control them. This city is already against the governor. We are a government of the citizens of this city and as such we must support their opinions.”

“I think a riot is a foregone conclusion,” Mason said calmly. Turning toward the mayor he said, “With all due respect, sir, you were elected to be a leader, not a follower. The people will respect that. But you need to make the call now. Time is running short.”

The mayor paused for a moment and then looked over his shoulder at Chief Moreno. “Do what he says.”

Without any acknowledgment, Moreno ambled out of the room. As Mason turned to follow, the mayor uttered, “Mason, I need you to lead these people too. They like you. They will listen to you.” Mason nodded and continued out the door. The mayor looked down at the papers on the table. His eyes lost focus as he tried to process the thoughts dancing in his head.

“This is going to get interesting,” he said.