The Siege of District X (bendytimed back)
"If we do this... there's no going back. This is going to burn through every favor you and I have above my pay grade." Police Captain Erica Strauss poured herself and her associate a shot of whiskey. The strongest she had.

"And yet you will do it. District X's time is over, and this is the way to do it." The gentleman raised the glass, before downing it. He pushed a dossier across the table to her. "This file does not exist. There is no file which contains this exhaustive a cataloging of the District's residents, and their... unique qualities. Just make sure you don't get anyone with wings involved. The media loves them, almost as a rule."

"Nobody's going to love anything about that hellhole after this, not until it's torn down and rebuilt as high-rises." Strauss flips through the files, downing her own drink. "This... if this existed--" she humors him. "--it would be perfect. Let's see those brats try to derail this now."

-----


"The public was shocked today as, in an historic announcement, the governor signed an act to grant emergency powers to the 11th Precinct. Martial law and standing search warrants for the entire District X area have been put into effect. Policymakers are still reeling, as this is the first act of it's kind within the city. Captain Erica Strauss was available for comment earlier today."

"I want everyone in the five boroughs and beyond to understand that no-one involved in this is looking to make any kind of history. These are unfortunate measures to have to be implemented, but it's been determined there is no other appropriate response to the still surging crime wave from District X, and the continuing allegations of disappearances. I'd like to thank my fellow captains of the neighboring precincts for helping to pool emergency funds, as, in an effort to protect taxpayers from the cost of bringing in the National Guard, as well as keeping public safety our first priority, we will be bringing in the brave men and women of Castleton Security Holdings to support our own men and women as we deploy into the District." Every syllable was crisp, except for the parts where the public would respond better to signs of stress or remorse.

Strauss locked her gaze on a camera. "I want those people hiding within this district of our fair city to know that we will not stop. We will put everything as it should be. To the law-abiding citizens of District X, I promise you this, we will be among you."

----

The searches started the next day at dawn. Doors were pounded on. Homes were turned upside down. Residents were subject to 'mandatory relocation' to hotels and shelters in other parts of the city. Every 'successfully' searched building had security stationed nearby afterwards. By nightfall, and the enactment of the district-wide curfew, over five hundred residents had been moved, with well-crafted gentle assurances they would be back in their homes soon.

The efficiency alone was something of wondrous terror.