Damage Control

Mayor (nervous):

They’re talking again…

Villain (cold):

Then we silence the room.

⸻

Isaiah’s in the streets, rallying names,

Food trucks, lights on, breaking the chains,

And the hero—people swear they saw him breathe,

Under broken signs that still say “believe.”

I signed for peace, I kept my word,

But hope spreads faster than what we insured,

If they stand together, we lose the night—

Tell me how to stop this before it ignites.

Villain (spoken):

You stop a fire at the source.

⸻

Mayor:

Arrest them?

Villain:

Makes martyrs.

Mayor:

Expose them?

Villain:

Confuse the story.

Mayor:

Then what?

Villain:

Control the fear—

Quietly.

⸻

Villain:

Cut the power where hope convenes.

Mayor:

Spin the truth on every screen.

Villain:

Make Isaiah look bought and weak.

Mayor:

Make the hero sound obsolete.

Both:

If the people doubt what they see,

They’ll trade belief for certainty.

⸻

We don’t chase ghosts, we move the crowd,

Flood the channels, drown them out,

Curfews tight, checkpoints clean,

Peace looks best when it’s unseen.

Split them up, keep distance wide,

Whisper deals, let trust divide,

I’ll shadow the hero, starve his lanes,

You stall permits, freeze Isaiah’s gains.

Mayor (spoken):

And if they don’t fold?

Villain:

Then we escalate.

⸻

Mayor:

I need this city calm, intact.

Villain:

Calm comes first—forget the facts.

Mayor:

They’ll ask questions.

Villain:

Feed them doubt.

Both:

Truth don’t travel when fear’s loud.

⸻

Mayor:

If this fails, it’s on us.

Villain:

Failure’s a luxury I don’t trust.

Mayor:

And the hero?

Villain:

Break the symbol—

No blood, no halo, no funeral.

⸻

Villain:

Lock the streets before they rise.

Mayor:

Sign the orders, sell the lines.

Villain:

Night stays ours if dawn is late.

Mayor:

Then let’s delay it—

Authorize.

Both:

This city sleeps if we decide,

Control the fear, control the tide.

⸻

Mayor (quiet):

Do you think they’ll stop?

Villain:

They always do…

When hope runs out