>>115661561like every other cop, beating protesters and letting looters burn the town. he believes he is acting in the city's best interest, because the protesters are "the enemy." they're threatening to fire him and everyone he works with, which will lead to lawless chaos. he doesn't like letting the looters get more destruction in, but it's a means to an end for the sake of optics. it's a demonstration of what is possible without his comrades, an inoculation.
meanwhile miles will be among the protesters. he's not thinking about his dad right away, or he's not letting himself. but as it wears on, all the little things about his dad's stories and work buddies that have been bugging him since he was a kid are finally coming to a head. the cumulative effect is creating a coherent picture of his dad's profession, and it's finally clear that they are legitimately fucked up, beyond redemption. and it's making him angrier than he almost ever gets, because it's been happening right in front of him and he feels like he could/should have done something. so now he's really been leaning into the whole protest thing.
they awkwardly danced around conversation for a bit but it came to a head not too far in, and there was a short burst of yelling before they basically washed their hands of each other and they haven't spoken since. it feels more serious than ever before, more dire, a legitimate possibility that they may never speak again. in their heads, the other is an enemy of the people. and rooted far deeper than the anger is the shame.
thx 4 reading my fanfic blog 
