Chief of Police Lewis Sanders sat in his private office, when he heard a knock at the door. The chief sighed. Probably Lieutenant Slade again, who else would bother him on a Sunday evening?
"Come in," he said, and his suspicions were confirmed as the ever impeccable Sarah Slade entered the office.
"Hey Chief, you said you wanted all matters related to those three girls relayed directly to you," she said, holding up a file. "Well here's my report. We just took into custody five more suspects, who we think might be responsible for setting up the previous three."
"What?" Lewis bellowed, "you arrested five people without my permission, and on a case I specifically sai-"
Slade halted him halfway through with an uncompromising gesture. "Don't worry sir, but since this was a matter of potential police corruption, I had all the warrants taken care of by Internal Affairs instead."
"And why in the hell would you do that?"
"Because a forensic scientist, one Ted Marshal, falsified the girl's toxicologies. But that's not the important part. The important part is seventeen minutes into our interrogation of these new suspects, which the person behind the Marshal. In the end, it was your own daughter that ratted you out."
Lewish Sanders sprang to his feet. "My daughter? Look, here, if you have so much as..." his voice trailed off, as the chief realized the other half of the lieutenant's words. "You know?" he said flatly, his face paling quite visibly in the light of the setting sun.
"Indeed I do, and I have a taped confession from three of the five, including your daughter, and a pair of connections that fit the official story's holes like a glass shoe."
The Chief of Police licked his lips nervously. "So what do you want?"
"I'm a reasonable woman, sir, and I have no intention of seeing your daughter and her friends, who are all complete assholes by the way, go to federal prison. However, if you don't cooperate, I might find myself unable to assure their freedom in the face of such mounting evidence."
"So what's your idea of cooperation then?"
"Oh, nothing too demanding. Obviously, I first want the three girls you helped your daughter frame go free. Second, I want you to give them some kind of assurances to prove they did not actually do anything when they go. Thirdly, you're to step down as Chief of Police, and nominate a particular Lieutenant to replace you."
Lewis gave a derisive snort. "You expect me to step down and give you my job? That's absurd!"
"You've already proved yourself fully capable of the absurd when you sacrificed your integrity as a law enforcer to help your daughter and her friends pull a felony as some sort of petty revenge. You should be thankful that I'm offering an option that allows both you and your daughter and her friends to walk free, which was a far cry than what pretty much everyone else involved suggests. So tell me, sir, are you going to bend, or are you going to break?"
Lewis Sanders stared at Lieutenant Slade for a long while with a look of utter revilement. Finally he reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out his badge, and tossed it to Sarah. "Damn you," he spat, "If you have so much as touched a hair on her head..."
Slade held up her hand again, giving Lewis a distinct smirk. "Please, Mr. Sanders, I would be more worried about who might touch her hair if you don't keep your end of the deal. And I'm not talking about those one her head."
