Bamboo and blood

2

"That was fun." Pak rubbed his shoulder and let out a small groan. "At least it was different. I wouldn't have thought anyone could throw a bench that far." He groaned again, louder this time. "I think we did okay, Inspector. Lots of shouting. A few odds and ends onto the field. The referee cowering behind us. All sports, no politics, a little steam released and everyone happy. What do you say?"

"I say we don't let the boys in uniform have whistles anymore. The young guy next to me was blowing his the whole time. I would have killed him, but I think the sound paralyzed me."

"Probably just excited, that's all. Not something they get a lot of training for, riots."

"As will be obvious to anyone who reviews the films. Wait until the reports are filed and the comments come back from the Ministry. Someone will decide we need crowd-control gear, and then they'll decide we need training in how to use it."

"That means a lot of drills out in the cold before work. Fortunately for me, chief inspectors are exempt from field training. Unfortunately for you, inspectors are not."

"As long as it doesn't happen again for a while, maybe I'm safe."

"Don't get too comfortable, there's another match tomorrow."

"Let's hope it snows harder." Outside, a few flakes were drifting down. I liked snow late in March.

"Did you see that crowd? Magnificent, roaring like lions. Jumping up and down, a lot of yelling, and all perfectly harmless. Things are getting better, people can feel it. I don't know about you, but I never worried we'd lose control. Not once."

"I don't think we had control. I think they were just content to stay where they were and complain. If they had come onto the field, we'd have been squashed like grapes. Not one of our men had any idea what to do."

"And you did?"

"No, I just shoved back whoever was shoving me. The whole time I kept hoping nobody would call the army."

"For a soccer riot? Not likely."

"The army is sticking its nose everywhere these days. They'd like nothing better than to show we can't do our job."

"You want to know what I think? I think someone is going to have to pay for those benches. I hope it isn't us. The Ministry doesn't have the budget."

"I hate soccer. I always have. Too much running around to no purpose."