Balance of Power Ch. 01

He stopped speaking because I had stood up. I was watching out over the parking lot, and had not failed to notice someone in a blue Camry watching us. When they saw that I'd seen them, the car pulled out into the traffic of the street... but not before I got a car tag number.

"QTC 106" I said into my Police iPhone's app. The tag quickly came back. "Hmmm, Harmon Beck. Schoolteacher. Longtime and big-time NEA Union member..."

"And keeping tabs on us." the Green Crowbar said.

"Somebody's about to get an ass whipping." said the Iron Wolf...

Part 3 - The Art of Discipline

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Friday, September 13th, from near the Fire Department Headquarters and Range. "The Public Safety Department has erupted into chaos as opposition to the new Charter plan grows!"

Bettina began: "Judge Harry Nance reduced the bail of two Firefighters arrested during disruptive demonstrations at Tuesday's Town & County Council meeting to $10,000 each, after the Firefighters Union filed an emergency appeal over what they deemed excessive bail of half a million dollars. Commander Donald Troy was not at the Council meeting, and a large contingent of Police, led by Captain Teresa Croyle, who has beat up persons in her custody before, used paramilitary tactics many experts consider to be excessive to arrest the largely peaceful demonstrators."

Bettina: "We have with us Fire Chief Quinlin and Battalion Chief Tucker, who are strongly opposed to the Charter proposals." The two men appeared with Bettina as the camera panned out, both of them in their Fire Department Duty Dress uniforms "Gentlemen, what are the problems with the Charter proposals?"

"Pure and simple, Bettina," said Chief Quinlin, "they create danger for the Citizens of the Town & County. The proposed new EMTs not being a part of the experienced efficiency of the Fire Department will cost lives. We absolutely do not need an EMS that is not under the full control of the Fire Department, and I am speaking on behalf of the Town & County Fire Department in saying this."

Bettina turned to Tucker, who said "The new rank structure sows confusion for our firefighters responding to emergencies. Our firefighters don't know who is in charge at the scene and at the fire stations. And it was just a pure power grab on Police Commander Donald Troy's part in writing the Charter to diminish the ranks of the Fire Department relative to the Police Department."

"Thank you both, gentlemen." said Bettina. "It doesn't look like the Fire Department supports the new Charter at all, which is just another failure on Police Commander Donald Troy's part. And now let's go to trusted reporter Lester Holder, with a report on important civil rights issues. Lester!"

"That's right,, Bettina!" said Lester Holder from an 'undisclosed location' that was the backyard of KXTC studios. "Channel Two News has confirmed that the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department is preparing to indict Town & County Mayor Daniel Allgood for racist actions against blacks, including the suppression of their rights and voices on the Council. The indictments could come as early as next week. The Civil Rights Division is acting in retaliatory response to Mayor Allgood's total lack of cooperation with their investigation of him."

Penis Holder: "And State House Representatives are suspending their investigations into the allegations that deeply unpopular Governor Val Jared violated the rights of persecuted undocumented workers by having SBI-IDE Agents arrest and turn over the undocumented workers to the Federal ICE Bureau, and separating children from their parents as part of the process. The State House Legislators say they are being stonewalled by the racist Jared Regime, but will take the matter up when the Legislature meets again in January, and they can issue subpoenas to appear at their Committee hearings. Back to you, Bettina!"

"Thank you, Lester, for that information that people need to know." said Bettina. "And now let's go to Sports with Jeff Hull. Jeff!"

"Thank you, Bettina!" said Jeff Hull. "The Bulldogs face State U. in a tough Conference game, while the Wildcats will host Protestant, also a Conference contest. Wildcats tailback Clarence Appletree could add to his impressive rushing statistics and garner further Heisman consideration with a big day against the Protestant defense..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We drank coffee in silence in the Chief's Conference Room, wondering what Our Sheriff was going to do about the blatant Fire Department insubordination. After a moment, he got up and said "If you'll excuse me, I have work to do. Commander Ross, I will need to borrow Lt. Myron Milton for a few moments."

"Yes sir." said Cindy. She made a text as Sheriff Griswold left the room.

"What do you think he's going to do?" asked Teresa quietly.

"I'll tell you, but it stays in this room." said Chief Moynahan. "The Sheriff is going to quietly build his case until after the Charter vote on September 24th. And the day after, he is going to bring up Chief Quinlin on charges, and have him fired. No pension, no compensation."

"He's not going to relieve him now, sir?" Tanya asked, somewhat incredulously.

"Noooo." drawled the Chief. "The Press will raise hell in a coordinated attack if he does, which the Sheriff sees is the real issue here. If the Sheriff acts, Quinlin will grieve it to the Union, raising issues of Free Speech and suppression of it, as well as bring negative publicity over the EMS isssssue. Quinlin may even be banking on the Press drama and the chaos to help defeat the Charter proposals, which is his true lodestone."

"What if they go after Davies?" I asked. "Which is what I think is going to happen."

"I don't knowwwww." drawled the Chief.

"That would give the Sheriff an excuse to fire Chief Quinlin," said Teresa, "without it being about the EMS."

"I'm not so much worried about Quinlin going after Davies." I replied. "Fire Marshal Singer would take that right up to the I.G. I'm worried about what the Union will try to do to Davies."

"I know it's an internecine battle." said Tanya. "But would the Fire Department Captain's Union really go after Davies like that?"

"Ohhhhh, I get it." said Cindy, with tremendous insight. "Don doesn't mean the Fire Department Union... he means the NEA, the powerful Teachers Union!"

"Somebody give that woman a crowbar!" I exclaimed happily. "Oh.. she already has one. Never mind..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

*Whirrrrrrrr*

Captain of Detectives Tanya Perlman drove into my office at 9:00am. "Sir," she said, "You wanted me to assign a liaison to FBI ASAC Karina White regarding the Blassingame jury tampering case?"

"Yes." I said. "Who do you recommend?"

"It's egregious enough to be an MCD case." Tanya said. "My first thought is Joanne Warner, who has the clearance and the FBI Consultant credentials to work with the FBI on it. And she's pregnant, so this is something she can largely do while sitting at her desk."

"Not Sonali or Lainie?" I asked.

"Well..." Tanya said, then started in: "They're support. Until we get an Intelligence Division, if we get one, they're there to help the Detectives."

"True." I said. "And I agree with you about Joanne. Tell Lt. Davis to assign it to her."

"Yes sir." Tanya said. "And... can I ask you one more thing, sir?"

"Yes, of course." I said.

"This business about Councilman Lewis wanting to disperse the Detectives to Precincts." Tanya said. "Is he really going after us on that? And is he still trying to force us to have three precincts, or has he given up on that for now?"

"I like it that you said 'for now'." I replied with a wan smile. "Because I think that's the case. But yes, he's switched gears, and is now pushing hard to disperse the Detectives. I think that's aimed squarely at me."

"Is there a realistic chance of it happening?" Tanya asked.

"Dispersing the Detectives? No." I said. "The Sheriff has already stated that it's his pervue on how to deploy his Police and Fire assets, and that the Council does not have the power to usurp it. And the new Charter reinforces that. It is good to be the Charter Commission Chairman."

"And precincts?" Tanya asked, perhaps as a 'gotcha' question.

"We studied that during the Charter-writing process." I said. "And let me put it this way: you see a TCPD cruiser on the road. What precinct is it from?"

"Uh..." Tanya said, then caught on. "You can't tell. We don't mark them that way."

"Exactly." I said. "The point being that we can have a Precinct Station, and we can patrols based out of those physical locations... but we can have Patrols driving around anywhere."

"So why does Lewis keep pushing so hard for more precincts?" asked Tanya. "And especially dispersing Detectives to them?"

"You were asking him that when he made that gender slur to you." I said. "And he knows he can't legitimately answer it, and he won't say his real reasons out loud... which are to harm the Police Force, demoralize our Officers, and thus weaken our ability to enforce the law."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

11:30am, Friday the 13th of September. I met Jack at the Cop Bar. As usual, he had the Double Cheeseburger Plate, and I had the Double Breakfast Burger (bacon and fried egg added) Plate.

As we ate, Muscone said "This thing with Allgood is serious. They tried to get a warrant to arrest him. They were going to bring in stormtroopers to batter down his door at 5:00am, with KXTC and KSB there to film the perp walk, and a bunch of blacks there to chant 'lock him up, lock him up'."

"I wonder how many Melina would've killed if they'd tried that." I said. "The stormtroopers, I mean.

"A lot, but they would've just murdered them both.. and their children." said Muscone. "What saved them was that Judge K.M. Landis rejected the warrant request, saying there was insufficient evidence to make an arrest. He also said that it was rightfully a civil complaint, and all they could do was subpoena him, not arrest him."

"They didn't go to Taney for the warrant?" I asked.

"No, they shot their wad on that when they tried using her to get Peter Blassingame out of prison. She was told by Landis and other superiors... maybe even a U.S. Supreme Court Justice... to be very careful about 'going out of turn' on things like that. Thankfully, Landis is an honest judge and doesn't brook much of the Swamp's shit."

"Does Melina know about this?" I asked.

"Yes." said Muscone. "She's the one that got wind of it and had Mike Todd intervene to Judge Landis. And Mike Todd and Cy Hart are on retainer from the legal defense fund that was set up for Daniel. The US DOJ has a fight on their hands if they pursue this."

"Is Jocelyn Moran pushing this?" I asked, remembering her earlier attacks upon the Mayor. (Author's note: 'Casting Aspersions')

"Maybe from Washington." Muscone said. "And that reminds me: our FBI investigation of her was stopped. Just stopped cold. And when Senator Bill Nunn inquired as to why it was stopped, he was told to, and I quote, 'fuck off'. Yes, they told a U.S. Senator to fuck off, and other Senators, both Democrat and Establishment Republican, backed the DOJ up and told Nunn to back off or he'd end up dead in a garbage dumpster."

"Wow." I said.

"Fortunately, Nunn isn't married nor has kids." said Muscone. "They forced U.S. Congressman Gowron to announce he wasn't running for his seat again, by threatening his family, but that hasn't worked on Nunn so far. Still, the fact they're threatening his life shows how far they're willing to go to protect Moran."

"Wow." I said. "And they're turning all that Federal power on Mayor Allgood? Just for not allowing his rightful win as Mayor to be stolen from him?"

"Well," said Muscone, "I think we all know there's a lot more to it. But their first two salvos have been stopped, and they have a very dangerous enemy in the Mayor's wife. By the way, if the Mayor were to vacate his office via resignation, removal, or, perish forbid, death, who replaces him?"

"No one, as of right now." I said. "The senior Council Member would run the Council meetings, but it would be just the ten people. They'd have to agree, or at least have a majority vote, to call a special election, but there is no requirement to call one. The new Charter will have the Inspector General, then the Sheriff, be the Acting Mayor. And the Council will be required to call a special election if the vacancy occurs four months or more before the next normal election day of the Mayor position."

"So if no one is Mayor," said Muscone, "the Council is hamstrung."

"When they're evenly divided like they are now, yes." I said. "But it's pretty fluid... Weston and Sorrells don't always vote in jackbooted lockstep with Carnes, Lewis, and Adams. And the Council Republicans are normally pretty tight, but every so often one or more of them peel off from the expected norm."

Muscone thought about it as he finished off his double cheeseburger. Then he said "All that Federal power directed at one local Mayor. I just don't get it. There's got to be more to it. The only thing I can see is that they're trying to get rid of you, by altering the balance of power on the Council. If Eldrick X. Weaver had won the election, or if Allgood is removed and replaced, then they could vote to terminate you."

"Well," I said, "first of all, both the old and new Charters say that Medal of Valor recipients have the right to retire with at least half-pay as pension, and nothing can take that away, not even conviction of felony crimes. So I would always have the right to retire. And if they do want to force that retirement, it would be a tough slog: they'd have to prove a crime or malfeasance, then get past the Union grievances and my lawsuits."

I continued: "And it would be no guarantee they'd remove me, anyway. If Weaver had won last November, I'm not sure at all that the 5-5 balance the Council has now would be that way. Weston and even Sorrells are not the militantly far-left Democrats that Lewis and Adams are. And Carnes is just a hate-filled bitch, but she's also white and represents the wealthiest districts in the County. Look at her reaction to the School Board revenue distribution plan: she's bitterly opposed to it while Lewis and Adams are for it. And if Weaver were Mayor and was trying to push policies to favor blacks? Noooo guarantees he would have Carnes's support at all."

"Hmm, interesting." said Muscone. "So why the DOJ hatred for Allgood? What are your ideas?"

I said "As near as I can figure, it's because he won and dared to defy those who tried to steal the election from him. They hate him immeasurably for it, and they hate the people that voted for him just as badly. They hate me for daring to arrest and prosecute the woman that tried to steal the election on Weaver's behalf. They hate Rodney K. Watts for ruling in Allgood's favor; they especially hate him as an 'Uncle Tom' and a 'tool of The Man'.

"What it boils down to," I finished, "is that they want to teach all of us an unforgettable lesson that standing in their way will cause us to be crushed with as much power as they can bring to bear against us..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I don't know what I liked less: all the Bulldog Blue flying about as people came in for the next day's game... or the nearly offensive shade of purple exhibited by the visiting State U. Purple Hawks fans. State U. was the Wildcats's in-State archrival. And since many Bulldogs fans regarded the Wildcats as more of an enemy than State Tech, giving the schools a common enemy in the Wildcats, this was almost a 'friendly' rivalry game.

So rather than go to the extremely crowded Cop Bar, I hosted a party at The Cabin. The Usual Suspects were there, and their various parents were, as well. Daniel and Melina brought Daniel and Patricia. Daniel loved getting to play with his brother Douglass and his cousins and 'steps', and Patricia, Tasha, Carole, and Marie were having fun doing their things, including petting Bowser and Buddy. I strongly suspected Patricia would be asking her parents for a dog in the near future.

Todd, Cindy, and Daniel were talking Bulldogs football in the front room, which included making the most disparaging of comments about the Wildcats. The Wildcats at the party (Melina and myself) plotted retribution for after the October 26th Wildcat victory over the Bulldogs (so we hoped).

As the sun set, Sheriff Griswold, Mayor Allgood, and I went out onto the back deck, where I'd started a fire in the fire pot. I sat in my usual place, and the Sheriff sat in the chair to my left, and Daniel in the chair by the table to my right. I'd poured Scotch for me and bourbons for Griswold and Daniel.

"So what did you do about Fire Chief Quinlin, Sheriff?" asked Daniel.

"Nothing... yet." Griswold growled. "I'm just giving him rope to hang himself with, and he's fashioning the noose as we speak."

Daniel asked "Do you guys think the whole Fire Department is against the new Charter?"

"No. I said. "They've hired a lot of new guys since the EMS was dissolved. Those new guys don't really care about it. But the ones that still do are the older ones, the ones in the leadership positions. So I don't think you'll see a massive vote against the Charter by the TCFD, but the aftermath might get... ugly."

"Don't worry about that, Crowbar." said the Sheriff. "I've got people making their lists and checking them twice." I nodded.

"There's something else I want to talk to both of you about." said Daniel Allgood. "Now don't get me wrong; I intend to fight the US DOJ like hell and to the last ditch. And I have no problem putting Lewis and Carnes in their places when they call me an illegitimate Mayor. That's not just an insult to me, but to every Voter who voted for me."

"But I have to admit," continued the Mayor, "it's exhausting. And it's no fun, at all. It's affecting J.P. Goldman's health beyond that ipecac attack on him," (Author's note: 'Casting Aspersions', Ch. 02.) "And Mr. Goldman, who is one of the nicest men I've ever met, is now as hate-filled as Kelly Carnes, and won't compromise an inch with her, Lewis, and Adams anymore. And for that matter, no one is compromising on anything. I think Susan Weston and Sheila Sorrells are pretty pragmatic, but with Mr. Goldman, Ian McGhillie, and Edward Steele not meeting them halfway, they don't have any choice but to side with the hardcore Haters, Carnes, Lewis, and Adams."

"You're not going to quit, are you?" growled the Sheriff, and his voice connoted how disappointed, and more, he would be if Allgood gave up the fight.

"No, Sheriff." said Daniel. "I'll finish out my term. But I may not run again. I'm not saying that for sure, just letting you both know that I'm thinking about it, and Melina and I are talking about it."

"Well, consider this as you think about it." I said. "Kelly Carnes is under indictment for money laundering and campaign finance law violations. Reginald B.F. Lewis didn't announce he won't run again as I expected him to, but he may just be waiting until after the Charter vote. And I'll say it out loud that I intend to be working behind the scenes to get Lewis or his replacement, Carnes or her replacement, and Malinda Adams defeated and off the Council at the next Election. Once they're gone, it should be a lot simpler for you... and a lot more fun."

"Let's see what happens," said Allgood, "and I'll let you know what I'm going to do. I still have time to decide. Okay, I better get back inside before Carole recruits Patricia to the Wildcat side."

"Too late." I said. "But Carole thinks Dan will be a Bulldog, so you're good there."