Free ATONEMENT by S. W. Frank Page A

for a fix , unfriendly civil servants with scowls on their faces and a hostile a ttitude to match. Even more egregious, the obnoxious policemen and their guerilla tactics along with a billionaire Mayor who was so damn arrogant he bought himself another term while telling the cities inhabitants he took weekends off. A Mayoralty is a 24/7 job – g o figure!
    But that’s abuse of power with a shield of legitimacy. Corruption and entitlement exists ; it’s only covered up by one’s influential position and unfortunately the hue of one’s skin. His secondary mission in life centered on making changes where other good-intentioned politicians and businessman failed. He wanted a balanced system for his kids. A sense of fair-play regardless of ethnicity, religion, and all the things the constitution promised its citizens but racist s, greedy government and businesses failed to deliver. One of the changes he w anted to institute would begin right in New York City ’s police department and the residency requirements for recruits. The minute the elected officials he supported were in office , the y’d revamp these guidelines. C andidates from the inner boroughs would receive p reference over those out of the district. Nassau and Suffolk counties did it, why the hell didn’t N-Y-C? You’d think the department would want officers who resided in the five boroughs who’d understand the communities they policed. Maybe, they wouldn’t be so damn quick to shoot some innocent kid because he looked suspicious . What the hell is suspicious about a teenager walking down the street minding his own business? Oh, he forgot, suspicion only gets assigned to Latinos and Blacks. Yeah, they’re all criminals…so who gives a fuck about their civil rights? Was America so damn crazy they actually believed someone’s complexion automatically made them a criminal or less valuable ? Didn’t the nut-jobs who thought this way realize they’re ancestrally African and those they seek to oppress and abuse are their brethren ?
    G eez, the hypocrisy and ignorance of racist America ns !
    Alfonzo snorted, he cared because he had children and he didn’t want them growing up in a sucky world where their skin color was seen as a detriment. He’d crush legs and break every goddamn rule to prevent his children from enduring it. He wasn’t foolish to think he could eradicate racism altogether, some people were simply loco . He wasn’t an idealist; he was only a man seeking justice!
    The time for temperance passed. Adherence to the Constitution and strict enforcement of it was long overdue. He’d dismantle government from inside, revise the old boy’s club for the betterment of society and not a self-entitled few. Either, government abides by its promises for equality or he’d bring it crashing down with a bulldozer!
    Ah , stress! H e stopped and rolled the kinks out of his neck, promising to hit the gym later . He needed a good work-out. He had to find some time to relax, everything was coming together, and patience is far kinder on the body then haste. He grimaced, ah, shit, he thought , ‘I’m beginning to sound like Alberti.’
    He inhaled the island air, took another sip of coffee then heard the unmistakable, familiar sounds of gunfire. In the street the man aiming straight at him was no other than the recently terminated GC, Bryan!
    The cup dropped out of his hand as Vincent shoved him aside and more shots echoed. In the exchange a molten flame struck his arm . Damn, instinct was a bitch, he thought. No wonder he was uneasy last night, Bryan’s belligerent attitude told him to expect trouble but g oddamn he didn’t expect this !
    Vincent s tumbled or ducked, Alfonzo wasn’t sure because in the commotion everything happened in fast reel; the popping noises, glass shattering, cars swerving and shrieks from pedestrians were a true life scene . No movie, this was real!
    Alfonzo reached for his .22 secured at his ankle , but Vincent pushed him