BA Hammer Blue Flu Ch. 02

If I thought it would be dangerous to watch over a very unpopular police commissioner before, it became almost impossible that night. At first, I didn't connect the events of that night with us. It was only later that I realized what that night would mean to everyone I knew.

At 9 PM on that night, a squad car stopped a young man on a suburban neighborhood in Harlem. What happened next is unclear, but when it was over, a young black man was dead and by the next morning tensions were immediately high. Battle lines were being drawn even before any details had been released. Within a couple of days, our client, the assistant police commissioner, was demanding answers on television. He was demanding the body camera videos and detailed reports the officers filed.

The precinct Captain held a press conference to try and calm everyone down, asking for time to sort it out. The black community wasn't too inclined to allow time for anything. To say Mr. Westminster was not a calming force in the first days after the death would be an understatement. The press conferences went up the ladder until they were being handled by the Police Chief and the Mayor.

Ike kept me informed about the status of his client. The death threats exploded with his first comments. Ike added a couple more men to his detail, but he was sure this would not end well. He came to see me.

"Look, Thor. This isn't going to end well. If Westminster is correct, and there are bad apples involved, we are going to run into them. We may want to drop this case. The city should be providing him protection anyway."

"Why are they not?"

"He had refused. He doesn't trust any policeman right now. He wants private guards."

"He does understand what will happen if a private detail has a shootout with the police, right?" I was liking this less and less.

"Yes, and he is scared to death."

"You and I need to meet with him privately. Please set up a meeting. I need to get a measure of the man and see what he has. Tell him he will have to convince me that he has enough for us to continue."

Ike nodded and left. I got the call that afternoon. He had a previously scheduled event at one of the large hotels downtown. He would slip away during dinner to meet with us. We arrived at the Dominick, a not too large but very nice hotel with meeting rooms. Within a few minutes Cameron Westminster was led into our room by Ike. His bodyguards waited outside.

"Hello, Mr. Westminster. I am Britton Hammer. I am the senior partner in our firm."

Cameron Westminster was a fifty-something grey-haired man. He was in good shape for a man of his age that didn't do any physical activity except maybe a few minutes on an exercycle. "Happy to meet you, Mr. Hammer. I have heard good things about you. Ike tells me you are a straight shooter that doesn't have time for bullshit. That suits me just fine."

"I also don't tilt at windmills, Mr. Westminster. You are playing a dangerous game, sir. People die or disappear when they make too much noise against the powers that be in this town."

"Yes, but what I am up against isn't anyone officially. It is a loose band of cops that call themselves the "Blue Brotherhood" and have infiltrated many of the areas of the NYPD. The two officers involved in this shooting may or may not be members. But, if in the minds of the leaders of this group, the "integrity" of their place of employment is threatened, they will respond. That is why I can't allow any police officers on my detail. It would only take one to put your men in as much danger as me."

I looked him in the eye for the longest time. I finally took Ike aside. "Have you heard anything about any of this?"

"No, this is the first time he has actually talked to any of us."

I took a little walk around the suite. This is far deeper than I want it to be. You always hear stories of clicks and vigilantes in any large police or military force. I had already come in contact with a group of them, and it cost me my military career. I wasn't risking everything I had built up in the last four years to have it burned down by a war with a faction of the NYPD.

"Here is where I stand. I will need to see what you have as a way of proof that such a group exists and is operating as a threat to the people of New York. If you can't convince me, I will pull my men and wash my hands of this entire mess. Am I making myself clear?"

"Perfectly. However, I am not at liberty to disclose any of the sensitive materials and witnesses I have accumulated."

"It is decided then. I will recommend another fine company that can protect you. However, if what you say is true, you will need more protection than any private company can provide. You should talk to the mayor about this."

"I have spoken to the mayor. He is the only other person to whom I have disclosed this."

I wished him luck and gave him back to his detail. When he was gone, I looked at Ike. "Well, that's that. We don't need that much heat right now." Ike nodded and we headed home.

Within two days, we had turned his protection over to another firm that didn't ask any questions.

One week after the incident, the NYPD released the officer's body video. It was blurry and not clear. They also released the official report of the incident. The story is that the young man had a gun when he stepped out of the car and the officers protected themselves. It was impossible to see any of that on the video. It only showed the officers walking up the man and shooting him after talking for a minute or two. Everything was too blurry to make any determinations about what had really happened.

Westminster held another press conference. He basically accused the police department of covering up the murder of this man. He really didn't mind using a flamethrower for everything. I hope he knows what he is doing.

Life went back to normal in a few days and I forgot about Cameron Westminster. Mary and I were trying to have a baby and Ike and Liz were making steady progress towards something permanent.

This all changed a month later. The news was everywhere about a car bomb killing Cameron Westminster and his entire security force. It was a sensation, and everything pointed to the police until the official report came out. In it was evidence of mob connections and a supposed disagreement within the mob. I didn't believe it for a second. God help me, but my first thought was one of thankfulness that it wasn't my boys.

To be sure, I called Fat Tony, the head of one of the families. We have a connection.

"Hello, Anthony. I was calling you about this police commissioner bomb. They are trying to blame you guys, but we both know that is bullshit. I just want you to confirm that to me before I go after them."

"You know it is. We don't like the police, but we consider them a cost of doing business. They ding us every once in a while. We can live with it. You can know it is bullshit because we have been told by our contacts in the force that they aren't interested in going further and have closed the case. What does that tell you?"

"Enough, thanks Anthony." I knew who killed him, and I knew I didn't want to go any further.

A couple of days later, I got a call from Ike. "I need to see you, as soon as possible." He sounded worried.

"Come on over. Let's do it now."

He was there in a couple of minutes. He must have been sitting outside the building.

"This Westminster case just won't go away." He was carrying a large folder. "This is much of what Westminster had on them. One of his aides knew us from when we were around. He is scared to death and brought everything he had at the time of the bombing to us. He wants nothing to do with it. Now, what do we do with it?"

I opened the envelopes. There were official reports of some of the past unusual activities; killings, robberies, anything he thought was suspicious. He had a list of several officers. There were other papers that I wasn't going to look at now. This is the guts of what he had.

"Boy, I don't want to do this."

"I know. We're older now than when we were in Afghanistan. But it's the same thing, isn't it? Taking what they want, doing what they want. Acting like they are above the law. Are we to the point now that we are too much a part of the system to try and do what we know is right?"

God, I hate it when he is right. I dealt with those two killers in Afghanistan because I wasn't going to let them get away with killing dozens of innocent women and children. Am I so old and set in my ways now that I am willing to look the other way to protect my life now?

"I need to talk to Mary, and you need to talk to Liz. This will get very ugly. There is a real chance we will lose this fight. We could lose everything we have. Let's talk to the girls and get back together."

He agreed and we parted ways. I told Steph that I was going home and left. Mary had not left for the theater yet, so we could talk before she left.

She was just getting ready to leave when I got home. "What are you doing at home this early? Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, something."

She looked me in the eye for a moment and sat down. "Okay, give it me straight."

I told her about Westminster and what he had thought was happening in the police force.

"You see what happened to him. That means what he was looking into is true. It's not the "mob" and everyone knows it, but the NYPD is dropping the entire thing. Today Westminster's aide brought us many of his files. They had destroyed most of them, but this man happened to have some with him. He didn't want anything to do with it and gave them to us. Now, what do we do?"

Mary sat quietly for a few minutes. "I don't see how you have any choice. Thor would never let them get away with this."

"Yes, maybe. But now, I have you and hopefully, a baby soon. I can't risk this. Besides, Liz has Ike, and he is involved in this too."

Mary looked down at her hands in her lap. When she looked up, our eyes met. "You are still you. If you let this pass, you will never forgive yourself. I don't want to live the rest of our lives with this hanging over our heads. I'm sure Liz won't either. Besides, maybe I will be able to use my shooting training now."

She was right. I had to do this, no matter what happened. She kissed me and headed to the theater.

I called Ike. "Well, Mary says we have to do this."

"Liz too. She doesn't want to start being afraid now. Not after what she has been through."

"It's settled then. Meet me in the morning and we will get started."

It's started. We are going to try and finish Westminster's investigation, no matter where it leads.