We last saw Mayor Russ Napolitano swerving off Hollywood Blvd., a tail in hot pursuit. Before we write the next scene, we need to at least consider several glaring questions:

Who’s the guy in Napolitano’s rear-view mirror? Was he sent by Prefect Patrick Duvane, who just grappled with Napolitano about L.A.’s future in The Order’s solarium? Does Celeste, who sounded stressed and needy on the mayor’s car-phone, have something to do with this? Or is it something else?

And why? As mayor, Napolitano would seem to have too high a profile to be threatened or harassed publicly. At first blush, this doesn’t make sense.

Let’s ease off the gas for a minute and think.

Napolitano probably wouldn’t risk evasive action on La Brea. He doesn’t want to be in a car chase that ends up on the news, and besides, it’s unseemly for the mayor (a former high-ranking police official, no less) to run from trouble. He’ll take his lumps if he has to, but he’ll want to control the environment as much as possible. He’s a pretty cool character, after all.

What he chooses to do largely depends on what he perceives all this to be about. He knows his situation better than we do right now, and it might involve factors you haven’t even dreamed of.

Unless you’re the one writing the scene.