Curtains for the Crime Lord
Last night I dreamt that I was an urban crime lord enjoying a reign of terror. Through sheer power of intimidation I had recruited hundreds of killers, muggers and hoodlums to do my bidding throughout the city. I had amassed wealth and power through the crimes of my minions who stole, extorted and killed for money. Most of the money was the result of killings. The most common method of murdering was for one or two of my men to tear people apart with their bare hands.
My downfall came when I made the mistake of congregating all of my hundreds of criminals together for a mass meeting in a sports facility. The purpose of the meeting was to demonstrate to my underlings the size of my criminal operation. In my address to the criminals I was strutting about, reminding the killers of the power I wielded and generally showboating.
“Look around you,” I said, “I have the power of life and death in the palm of my hand. Remember that.”
“I hate myself for being a killer!” one man piped up, in tears, “I hate what you’ve forced me to become!”
“Shut up down there!” I said, “I’ll break you like a twig!”
“You’ve forced us to kill,” said another thug, “But you’re the one who should be killed!”
“Let’s settle down, now,” I said, losing control, motioning for everyone to remain seated, “If you have complaints, I’m willing to listen.”
“Let’s kill him!” someone screamed.
I turned and ran down the bleacher stairs and out the back door as hundreds of killers chased me outside. I was fleet and ran across the parking lot to a soccer field. Hiding behind a chain link fence, I asked an elderly couple to call the police to save me.
The hundreds of criminals soon found me because they could see me through the chain link fence. They approached but were daunted by the arrival of two police detectives. The detectives recognized me as the local crime lord.
“I’m not going to risk my life by protecting someone like you from that mob of criminals,” said one detective. He and his partner drove away.
My hundreds of criminals now surrounded me on the soccer field. I was frightened and annoyed by the irony that they would employ their customary method of killing on me, their leader. The dream ended as one group grabbed one of my arms, another group grabbed the other arm, and they began a tug of war with my body.
My downfall came when I made the mistake of congregating all of my hundreds of criminals together for a mass meeting in a sports facility. The purpose of the meeting was to demonstrate to my underlings the size of my criminal operation. In my address to the criminals I was strutting about, reminding the killers of the power I wielded and generally showboating.
“Look around you,” I said, “I have the power of life and death in the palm of my hand. Remember that.”
“I hate myself for being a killer!” one man piped up, in tears, “I hate what you’ve forced me to become!”
“Shut up down there!” I said, “I’ll break you like a twig!”
“You’ve forced us to kill,” said another thug, “But you’re the one who should be killed!”
“Let’s settle down, now,” I said, losing control, motioning for everyone to remain seated, “If you have complaints, I’m willing to listen.”
“Let’s kill him!” someone screamed.
I turned and ran down the bleacher stairs and out the back door as hundreds of killers chased me outside. I was fleet and ran across the parking lot to a soccer field. Hiding behind a chain link fence, I asked an elderly couple to call the police to save me.
The hundreds of criminals soon found me because they could see me through the chain link fence. They approached but were daunted by the arrival of two police detectives. The detectives recognized me as the local crime lord.
“I’m not going to risk my life by protecting someone like you from that mob of criminals,” said one detective. He and his partner drove away.
My hundreds of criminals now surrounded me on the soccer field. I was frightened and annoyed by the irony that they would employ their customary method of killing on me, their leader. The dream ended as one group grabbed one of my arms, another group grabbed the other arm, and they began a tug of war with my body.
posted by John at 3:05 PM
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