The Firm Hand of the Law (Sinclair)

[Eurus]

Red Lake was a small, quiet town in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't always the middle of nowhere, but decades ago the world had started to pass it by, and it had more or less fallen off the map... a common story, but in this case the quiet suited most of its residents just fine, and it had done pretty well at holding onto its population over the years. There was some farming, a bit of manufacturing, and a few companies that did various sorts of construction work for the other nearby towns and even the big city a few hours away. It had a small school, a main street with shops and restaurants, and a movie theater with a whopping two screens. A nice, quiet, boring town. So quiet, they didn't even have their own police or deputies... in the rare event they needed anything like that, they could always call the state's office.

Howard Sims was used to boredom. He'd worked at the hardware store for seven years now -- his cousin owned the place, but the guy's kids were all off at college and didn't have much interest in it, so the day to day drudgery of standing behind the counter was at least a reliable job. He was a familiar figure in town, an average looking guy in his late 30s with a few days worth of beard stubble and a scattering of freckles on his pale face. Howard had just finished a long shift, and he was walking home along the sidewalk smoking a cigarette as the sun began to set. It was only a few blocks, but he was obviously in no hurry.

[Sinclair]

the small, quiet town was usually left alone by the state, but some days they would need to send someone to decide if things were still quiet enough to warrant anything like a sheriff, or anything similar. Scott Abrams drove into town, taking the long road to not draw too much attention to himself, and out of respect for the towns people who liked their small town. The police cruiser pulled up to what would be comparable to the town hall, parking himself outside and exiting the vehicle. He wasn’t in uniform so he looked like a normal person, black shirt, and jeans.

Scott looked like your average, normal man. And he was far from suspicious of anything, but little did this town know, they were in for a bit of a shock with what this man was wanting to do

[Eurus]

A few people looked at the police car curiously as Scott pulled up. Not out of alarm, but out of the instinct for gossip. Not much happened in a town like this, so if someone had called the police for some reason, that would be the only thing everyone was talking about tomorrow. Howard watched from the sidewalk across the street, an old lady peered out of a window, and a waiter on his break leaned against a doorway, all of them at least a little bit curious what was happening.

The administrative building was small, and not very impressive. A small parking lot next to it could hold half a dozen cars at most; currently there were only two, not counting Scott's police car.

[Sinclair]

Scott could tell there were a group of prying eyes wanting to get a look at what he was doing, normal fare for a place like this. He didn’t let it get to him as he looked around, and immediately made way for the building, to not drag too much attention to what he was here for, the man keeping a smile as he wanted to present himself as a friendly individual. It wouldn’t be long before he disappeared into the building, and looked for who he was here to meet, the people in charge of the reports

[Eurus]

A young man sat behind a desk inside the building, looking like a receptionist or assistant of some kind. He had curly brown hair and looked like he wasn't even old enough to drink, and he quickly straightened up when the door opened, pretending like he hadn't been browsing the internet on his phone for the past few hours. He wasn't really neglecting his duties, since nobody came here...

"Oh, um. Good afternoon, officer. Are you here to see the mayor...?"

[Sinclair]

The man smiled when he saw the young man straighten out and nodded his way. “Good afternoon young man. Yes indeed I am here to see mayor. Is he in?” He asked politely and remained civil through everything, his demeanor and intentions still uncertain

[Eurus]

"Oh yes, you caught him just in time. Just one minute..."

The teenaged receptionist quickly stood up and walked down the hallway, although he was still within Scott's sight. He knocked on a door, and after getting an acknowledgement, cracked it open.

"Hey dad, there's someone from the sheriff's office here to see you."

Scott couldn't hear the reply, but the young man soon returned to his desk, and less than a minute later he was followed by an older man. The mayor was about what you'd expect, a middle aged man with a receding hairline and a bit of a belly underneath his reasonably priced suit. He smiled cheerfully and offered a handshake to Scott.

"Good afternoon, officer. Abner Fitzgerald, mayor, but you can call me Abe. You've already met my son, Buck. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

[Sinclair]

Scott took a second to examine the two with a smile as he reached forward and shook the mayors hand. “Officer Scott, but Scott is fine. I’m just here from the city hall, they wanted me to just come and do a quick report on things and make sure everything was running smoothly. I just have a few questions if it’s not a hassle of your time.” Scott was polite through and through as he watched the two and kept a firm eyesight

[Eurus]

"Of course, of course. I always have time for the sheriff's office. I guess it's that time again... well, please, come in and have a seat."

The mayor gestured to his office, which was fairly large but not exactly opulent. He had a nice chair, a rather old computer, and a shelf full of legal books that probably didn't see much actual use. It wasn't like being a small town mayor paid particularly well, but he probably had several income streams.

"I didn't realize you were coming, so I don't have a presentation ready... but there's not much to cover, really. Red Lake is a quiet place. If you need details about the town, I can get them for you."