© 2012 Phylicia Joannis
Commissioner Wright sat painfully still in his office as the mayor sipped coffee from a porcelain mug. Commissioner Wright cleared his throat.
“Mr. Mayor, wouldn’t you rather go into the conference room to have this discussion?”
The Mayor’s eyes landed briefly on Commissioner Wright before shifting to the others in the room. The Commissioner was seated alongside the city’s chief architect and the District president. The Mayor, Mitchell Blume, sat in the Commissioner’s chair, looking down on all of them.
“We all know why we’re here, don’t we?” the Mayor took another sip of coffee before looking down on them in condescension.
They all nodded submissively.
“There’s a giant hole in the middle of my city,” Mayor Blume continued. “And make no mistake, gentlemen, I will not rest until I get to the bottom of this, and we will get to the bottom of this before my trip to Aruba in,” Mayor Blume looked at his watch, “two hours.”
The District president spoke first. “Mr. Mayor, we have all of our top people working on this, and in the short time it took us to convene here we’ve discovered the ground collapse was The result of a sinkhole.”
“Excuse me?” the Mayor stared coldly at the District president. The mayor’s reaction flustered the middle aged woman and she hesitated in uncertainty.
The chief architect spoke up. “A sinkhole, Mayor Blume, is a hole that forms when the resources within the soil and earth that keep its form are depleted. Apparently in that particular area of the city, something has been sucking the resources out of the ground and ultimately caused a sinkhole.”
“Am I working with imbeciles?” the Mayor frowned. “Do you really think that half-baked explanation is going to satisfy my constituents?”
“Well, no Mr. Mayor,” the architect hemmed. “Actually, the appearance of this sinkhole is quite troubling. I’ve sent your office, as well as the commissioner’s office, several reports of alarming soil deficiencies, particularly where old tunnel routes lay. None of these issues have ever been addressed, and if there’s a sinkhole downtown, there may be more all over the city. Until we can figure things out, an evacuation plan should be put into place. At least for the downtown area.”
The Mayor laughed. “I have put a lot of time and money into this town, and if you think I’m going to hold a press conference and state that we need to evacuate the city, be it in part or in whole, because of some little potholes –“
“Sinkholes,” the architect corrected him. “Sir this is very serious. Someone could have been killed; in fact, there were several serious injuries reported.”
“Really?” the Mayor raised his eyebrows. “How many?”
The architect looked at his report. “Five, sir.”
Mayor Blume snorted. “More people get injured in a little league football game, son. We’ll attribute the hole to miscalculated drilling and call it a day. No need to cause mass panic over something that’s never gonna happen again.”
The Commissioner raised his hand. “Hold on a minute, Mayor Blume. You can’t just dismiss his theory. We need to at least do some research and preliminary investigation to find out what caused the sinkhole.”
Perry entered the room and quietly beckoned for the Commissioner. The Mayor watched, bemused, as Commissioner Wright excused himself and followed Perry out.
“What now?” the Commissioner’s agitation is palpable.
Perry gulped as he handed the Commissioner a report. “Well sir, um, if you just take a look at this report, the sinkhole occurred here, between 56th and 59th street on Hilltop Avenue, right?”
“Okay,” the Commissioner thumbed through the report.
Perry handed him a second report. “And um, according to this report, the incident that occurred this morning was near the Hilltop Avenue Station which was at 63rd street.”
“Hmm,” the Commissioner looked at the second report and then looked up at Perry. “What are you suggesting, son?”
“Well sir, I think the incidents may be related.”
“That’s impossible,” the Commissioner frowned. “Sinkholes don’t form overnight, and especially not during a period of a few hours.”
Perry nodded. “Right, but what if the train incident agitated the soil? What if it caused the sinkhole to happen when it happened?”
The Commissioner was quiet for a moment. “That would make for a very sticky situation.”
“Yes it would, Commissioner,” Perry gave him a knowing glance.
“Thank you Perry,” the Commissioner nodded curtly and reentered his office.
Mayor Blume opened his arms dramatically. “Ah, so nice of you to return, Commissioner Wright. We all know how valuable your time is, obviously more valuable than mine. Nevermind that I have a flight to catch.”
“I apologize,” the Commissioner frowned.
Mayor Blume continued, his words dripping with sarcasm. “Oh, no apologies necessary! Please continue whatever it was you were saying before you were whisked away.”
“Actually,” the Commissioner hesitated. “Mayor Blume, I trust your impeccable judgment, and I am behind whatever you decide.”
“Thank you,” the Mayor nodded smugly. “Do I have any other objections? After all, this is a democracy.” The District president pursed her lips and remained quiet.
The architect scowled. “Mayor Blume, I still think we need to investigate-“
The Mayor cut him off. “Thank you for all of your interesting data, but you will not be at the press conference so your vote doesn’t count. Rest assured, I will take everything you said here under serious consideration. All settled?” Mayor Blume looked around the room, then clasped his hands together. “Alright, then, let’s call the press.”
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