“Go right ahead,” he whispers, and hesitation washes over the trooper's face. Nervously, he wipes the sweat off his brow once more and then turns on his heels, creating some distance between him and Parker.
“Form up!” he barks at the other troopers, assuming his position in their straight formation. He raises his gun up in the air, and the other troopers do the same, pointing their guns at Parker, me, and the NYPD officers.
“You’ve heard the Mayor, boys,” one of the NYPD officers shouts, and they all get their guns out at the same time. Oh, God, this is going downhill fast. I wasn’t exactly expecting a shootout when I woke up this morning.
“We’ll use force, sir, final warning!” the trooper shouts at Parker. The expression on Parker’s face hardens; and he walks straight toward the line of troopers, only stopping when the muzzle from the head trooper's gun is pressed against his chest.
“Then what are you waiting for?” Parker growls, and I feel nauseous for a very long second, imagining the sound of a gun going off. Then, moving fast, Parker grabs the troopers’ gun and takes it out from his hands. “Thought so,” he says, emptying the gun’s chamber and then throwing it to the ground. “Now get the fuck out of here.”
With one deadly last stare at Parker, the trooper’s pale lips tightly purse into one thin line, and he finally turns on his heels and orders his subordinates to follow after him. In a matter of just a few seconds, they get back in their cars and disappear, almost as if they were never here in the first place.
I was right; my mother is more than willing to go to war.
And this is just the beginning.
New York Daily Journal
Mayor to Governor: Over My Dead Body, Honey!
All the politics, scandals, and dirt...just the way you like it!
Political commentators, observers, and citizens were left in shock and awe yesterday as one of the most bitter and divisive Senate races spilled out into a near civil war.
New York City denizens were glued to their screens as they watched the tense standoff in the longest thirty minutes of city's history as state troopers from Albany, acting on a signed order from a State Superior Court judge, sought to shut down a business, but were stopped by the Mayor and NYPD.
Perhaps the strangest situation in all of this—the business that the state troopers sought to shut down was owned by none other than Amy Aspen, the daughter of the current Governor, Kate Meelios.
It is widely believed that the court order was signed at the behest of the Governor, who has long expressed concern and displeasure at the streaming of adult content that her daughter engages in.
But perhaps more surprising was that the savior of the moment was none other than Parker Trask, the ex-husband of the Governor and thus the stepfather of Ms. Aspen.
"The Mayor and the Governor have never really liked each other," a source within the Governor's camp was quoted as saying on condition of anonymity. "They may have been married to each other, but I doubt there was ever any real love. So it's not surprising that it came down to people pointing guns at each other with these two."
The circumstances of the encounter have left many New Yorkers, as well as citizens outside the city, understandably anxious.
Never in the history of the state has one branch of law enforcement had to draw a firearm to prevent another branch of law enforcement from doing their job.
"Don't doubt it," an NYPD police officer was quoted as saying after hours at a tavern on condition of anonymity due to being a police officer. "If those state troopers would've come an inch closer, we would've used whatever force was required to stop them."
The situation itself has quickly spiraled from what was a simple contested Senate seat campaign into a national discussion of states rights vs a central bureaucracy making rules.
While accounts vary as to the provocations that led to the Mayor stepping in, certain facts are accepted by both sides.
The heart of the matter that led to the standoff yesterday centered around a business that created adult content. This business was indeed founded and still owned by Ms. Aspen.
"There's just entirely too much family drama going on here," said a passerby as they were leaving a bar across from Kinky Amy's. "This doesn't feel like protecting the public. It feels like family members treating the civic institutions of the city and state as their personal tools to use in avenging themselves on one another."
Many New Yorkers agree, with both the Governor and the Mayor taking a dip in their approval polls. In a surprise twist, however, Amy Aspen was polled at a much higher job approval rating than her Governor mother, as well as her Mayor stepfather.
Only time will tell what the next twist in their ever-complicated road will be.
Stay tuned to the New York Daily Journal to stay up to date.
Parker
Amy and I are sitting at Gracie Mansion, sitting side by side, and watching the television without saying a word. It feels as if we're holding our breaths, and even the air around doesn't seem to be moving.
The anticipation is oppressive. We've been waiting for this moment.