Thought I'd forgotten about her, didn't you?
Thought I'd cast her aside.
You thought she was a traitor.
What can I say?
In the game of politics, sometimes you gotta play your fucking cards close to the fucking vest.
I couldn't risk you telling anyone. I don't know who. I just couldn't.
And I couldn't risk Amy finding out just yet.
Which I can tell she's figuring out as her eyes widen, seeing Susan. She didn’t expect this.
For the first time, Kate looks like she's a bit off balance. She hasn't expected this.
The soliders are confused. They're starting to see the light a bit. A good thing too. There are now at least a hundred protesters who are starting to swarm past the barricades and into the restricted area next to the building entrance of Kinky Amy's.
"People of New York," I say into the phone and hear my voice come out commandingly through the loudspeaker. "Hear me out."
The protesters stop their chants and listen to me. NYPD officers are already paying attention.
The National Guardsmen with their scopes on my chest were always watching too, I guess.
Well, fuck. Here goes nothing. By the end of this, either Kate is gonna be done for, or I'm gonna be dead. We'll see.
"My name is Parker Trask, and I've had the honor of being the Mayor of New York City," I begin and quickly fall into my comfort zone. "I've lived in this city since birth. I love every damn block."
Some isolated cheers.
"All I ever wanted to do was serve the public," I say into the phone and hear myself through the microphone. "And I surrounded myself with people who loved the same things I did. One of those people was Susan Duran, who used to be my campaign manager."
Kate looks towards Susan and I continue.
"Sure, Susan left because at first she thought I was fucking my stepdaughter and she wasn't okay with it," I say and I can see more protesters coming towards the scene. Everyone is listening. This is the most drama they've had since the last author thing that happened on Facebook.
"And I can even understand that, folks," I say into the phone. "I can understand that she didn't feel comfortable. I can't fault her for leaving."
Kate starts to look sick.
The protesters are now joined I can see by more people.
Young and old. Black and white. Rich and poor.
People that have been and always will be New Yorkers. They come form uptown, downtown, Midtown, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and yes, even the Bronx.
They've found whatever method of transportation (since the state's shut down most of the subway lines) to get to Times Square.
They've crossed the barricades through sheer force of numbers.
All to get their voices heard.
"The fact of the matter is, people of New York," I say through booming words. "If you want Kinky Amy's to go, I'll be the first to shut it down. But only after the people vote on it. Only after the people get a say."
There's widespread murmurs of assent.
"There is no way in fucki