Knox Vegas

Boomsday fireworks light up the skies in downtown Knoxville. The light show reflecting off the Tennessee River's surface disguises the caustic waters beneath, polluted by years of improper regulation by inept, corrupt politicians. A troubled mayor and his personal assistant watch the show from the top floor of the city-county administration building. The mayor wonders if the patients staring out of the windows of Baptist Hospital on the bluff across the river are enjoying the incineration of $100,000 of their tax money for the brief show. Little does he know that one of those silhouettes in the hospital's windows belongs to his wife of twenty-two years! An illegal Mexican immigrant suspected of dealing drugs lies dead on Market Square. The prime suspect, a ne'er-do-well freelance reporter, knocked unconscious with serious injuries delivered by an overzealous and corrupt police officer, is on his way to the hospital under police custody. The mayor's cell phone rings sharply, breaking through the cacophony of merriment coming up from the river. "Ragatoni," he barks into the phone, showing his anger at the interruption. He signals his assistant to clear the room of guests as he walks towards the office windows looking down on the river. He gazes across the river and barks again, "This is Ragatoni. What is it?" He smiles slightly, finishes off his scotch on the rocks, and taps his assistant lightly on the rump as he gets the message, "It's done!"