Beethoven Virus Ch. 02

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman." said Rep. Travis Gowron (R - Florida). "Mr. Chapel, in your speech condemning one of the most popular defensive rounds in America, the nine millimeter, you said that a.22 bullet makes a hole in the lung while a 9mm blows out the lung. That sounds like you're more interested in the criminal not being hurt than you are the homeowner defending his or her children from the criminal. Is that right?"

Chapel: "My point, Congressman, is that the 9mm cartridge is a military cartridge, a cartridge of war. And as such it is way more than the civilian homeowner needs. And as such, production, sales, and even possession of 9mm rounds should be outlawed nationally, in every State."

Travis Gowron: "Mr. Chapel, the First Amendment to the Constitution protects not only Free Speech and a Free Press, it gives the People the Right to petition the Government for the redress of wrongs. People have that right to address School Boards about the curriculum their children are being taught, and the only example of any parent getting violent or even upset was a father who was angry that a transvestite boy went into the girls restroom and raped his daughter, and the School Board refused to acknowledge it, much less do anything about it."

Brendan Chapel: "People have the right of free speech, but not the right to yell 'Fire!' in a crowded theater. They may have the theoretical right to address the School Boards, but parents do not have the right to tell School Boards nor teachers what can be taught in the classrooms. That is for the School Boards, the Administrators, the teachers, and the Teacher's Union to decide. And I fully stand with Attorney General Derrick B. Harland in forming an FBI task force to crush these violent white nationalist parents."

"The gentleman's time has expired." said the Chairman. He recognized an older Democrat Senator.

That Senator said: "I fully agree with the correct and thoughtful comments and suggestions of the Director of National Intelligence. We simply must get these weapons and cartridges of war off our streets, to protect our children. And don't start spouting the Second Amendment to me. In the face of children being slaughtered by these weapons, I am sick and tired of hearing about Constitutional rights."

After he was done, the Chairman said: "The Representative from New York is recognized."

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman." said the youngish, smartly attired black representative from New York City, who carried himself and spoke very well. "I want to use my time to express my support of the DNI's enlightened attitude towards weapons of war. We are going to confiscate these weapons of war. If Republicans use the filibuster, we will abolish it. If the Supreme Court objects, we will expand it and pack it. We will do whatever it takes to remove these weapons of war from our streets and homes."

Because they were junior to others, Senators Nunn and McGill were at the end, and McGill was the last in order to speak. When called upon, Senator Nunn said: "Mr. Chapel, are there secret agreements between the Federal Government, specifically the NSA, and BigCommunicationsCorp and BigWirelessCorp, colloquially called 'BigCommo' and 'BigWireless', that allow those companies's systems to be used to spy on Citizens within the United States? Does such an agreement even exist?"

Chapel: "What does that have to do with anything I've discussed today? What does that have to do with the security of the United States Government against Christian Nationalist domestic terrorists, or the damage of Climate Change to the earth?"

Nunn: "I'll explain very clearly why it's a security threat. Mr. Chapel, all I've heard from you is about the threats to (air quotes) 'our Democracy', and to the Government. First, we are a Republic, not a Democracy, and it's Democrats that always use that 'our Democracy' line."

Nunn: "Second, I have not heard you mention any threats to our Constitution. Not once. And the threat of a secret program between the Intelligence Community, which you head as Director of National Intelligence, and BigCommo and BigWireless, to spy on our Citizens, is a tremendous threat to the Constitution. So I ask you again, Mr. Chapel: does such an agreement exist?"

Chapel: "Since the invention of the transistor by Bell Labs decades ago, there have been longstanding agreements between the Government and the various telephonic, telegraphic, and now wireless systems of communications that enable the Government, under warrants and now under FISA warrants, to monitor the communications of terrorists, foreign and domestic, and subversives."

Nunn: "So the answer is 'yes', such an agreement exists. So I ask you, Mr. Chapel, are there programs that enable the Government to break through any security measures or antivirus programs that would permit the Intelligence Community to obtain the information on a person's cellphone, listen in on their conversations, obtain and read their text messages, take videos that might be on the cellphone?"

Chapel: "Again, what does this have to do with the purpose of my coming to this hearing today?"

"The gentleman's time has expired." said the Chairman, rescuing Chapel. "The junior Senator from (our State) is recognized."

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman." said Lorraine McGill. "Mr. Chapel... what is Project Charrington?"

Chapel just about came out of his skin. He finally stammered "That's classified information, and I will not discuss it in this unclassified environment------"

"No, it's not a military classification." said Senator McGill. "I have these letters from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as well as a four-star Army General, in response to my inquiries, stating in writing that 'Charrington' is not a military classification, nor a classification in any Federal Agency."

"I don't agree." said Chapel. "I won't talk about it, as I believe it is a classified matter." He looked towards the Chairman, silently trying to get some help... which was not forthcoming. The Chairman hated the 'crony capitalist' companies like BigCommo almost as much as he secretly hated Brendan Chapel.

"Then I'll tell you and everyone what Charrington is, and why I know about it." Lorraine McGill said. "Earlier this year, a woman in my home County was murdered. Her name was Julie Davalos Matheson. Her husband, Dwayne Matheson, worked for BigCommunicationsCorp, a.k.a. BigCommo, and we have written documentation that he worked on a project called 'Charrington'."

McGill: "Dwayne Matheson had quit BigCommo at the behest of his wife after he was brutally overworked by the company in violation of myriad labor laws. Town & County Police Commander Donald Troy... who you know is the legendary Iron Crowbar... solved the case. Among other things, Commander Troy discovered that Julie Matheson was murdered in the hope that her husband Dwayne would be coerced to work for BigCommo again. Instead, upon discovery of his murdered wife's body, Dwayne committed suicide."

"Will the Senator yield?" asked a Democrat Senator, to rob McGill of her time.

"No, I will not yield! And don't ask again!" McGill yelled. "As I was saying, Commander Troy discovered that Dwayne Matheson was working on Project Charrington, which was a secret project to develop a code that could break through any antivirus or firewall. The Israelis were deathly afraid of it, and had protested to the United States about its development. But in a written letter obtained by my office, Director of National Intelligence Brendan Chapel told the Israelis, and I quote, 'you Jews can go to hell!', close quote." She held up a document as she spoke.

McGill: "Town & County Police Operations Officer Teresa Croyle is one of the most highly decorated Police Officers in the entire Nation. She earned the Medal of Valor for saving a four year old child that had been put in a warehouse full of explosives, being badly injured herself in the process. She also earned the Distinguished Police Cross, and no less than six Purple Orders, the local equivalent to the Purple Heart, for being wounded in the line of duty."

"That means she's stupid, not brave." snarled Brendan Chapel.

McGill: "It means that she's a tremendously brave and selfless person, as her subsequent actions have shown: nearly a year ago, she discovered for the first time that, through her late mother, she was one of the heiresses to the Belvedere-Bessemer cookie fortune, worth over one hundred million dollars to her. Commander Croyle promptly created a Charitable Trust, and donated the $100 million fortune to it, to be used by University Hospital for the treatment of children with rare diseases."

McGill: "Ms. Croyle learned of her inheritance because someone tried to steal it. And just days ago, University Hospital came under a ransomware cyber-attack. The ransom demand was for Ms. Croyle to liquidate her trust and put the money in an account in the Cayman Islands. The FBI, part of the Intelligence Community under DNI Chapel, has been culpably slow in investigating that offshore account. The video demanding the ransom shows the sick, demented perpetrator railing against Ms. Croyle's generosity. Roll tape!"

The ransom video was played before the entire Committee, then Lorraine McGill continued: "And it gets uglier: the crack team that defeated the virus and saved the Hospital, its sick children, and the Charitable Trust that will save many children's lives in the future, determined that the virus was at least in part the Charrington project code. In other words, Mr. Chapel, Project Charrington was used against a Hospital treating sick children in order to steal a very generous endowment."

McGill: "So I ask you once again, Mr. Chapel, what is Project Charrington? Were you familiar with it before today? And did you and BigCommo collaborate to create it? Did you create it to spy on American Citizens you wrongly call 'subversives' because their politics aren't in jackbooted lockstep with your own Totalitarian views?"

Brendan Chapel's face was beet red with furious anger. "As I said," he said slowly and clearly, "that project is classified. I will not speak of it here, and I will be referring your treasonous exposure of it to Attorney General Derrick B. Harland for prosecution."

"The Senator's time has expired." said the Chairman. "That concludes this hearing, and we thank DNI Chapel for attending------" He stopped when he saw Chapel get up and storm out the back door...

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

Back in the Chief's Conference Room, Teresa and I glanced at each other with knowing looks. The Senators had taken my information from my case files, all good and public information, and used it to publicly all but accuse the dirty DNI of dirty deeds (done dirt cheap).

"They're still coming for your guns." Cindy said.

"I have just one thing to say to that." I replied. "μολὼν λαβέ."

Teresa barked a laugh, then said: "Molon labe, 'come and take them'." It was the long-known Greek phrase issued by Leonidas to Xerxes at Thermopylae after the Persians demanded the Greeks surrender their weapons.

And I knew that if we ever surrendered our guns, we'd end up like those brave Greeks at Thermopylae...

Part 13 - Black Velvet, If You Please

"Black velvet and that little boy's smile,
Black velvet with that slow southern style,
A new religion that'll bring her to your knees,
Black velvet, if you please..."
------ Alannah Myles, "Black Velvet"

10:00am, Saturday, April 3d. My Police iPhone rang, causing the redoubtable Bowser to bark at it with furious anger. As Carole and Tasha calmed him down, I took the call. "Troy." I answered.

"This is the Duty Desk, sir." said the Duty Desk Sergeant. "I apologize for disturbing your day, but there's been an incident, and you're needed here at Police Headquarters."

"I'll be right down." I said. After disconnecting, I gave Bowser some skritchins as I said to Laura and Paulina "I've got to go to Headquarters------"

*DING DONG!*

That was the doorbell. I went to the front door, looked through the little glass peephole and saw it was Teresa, then opened the door. "You got a call, too?" I asked.

"Yes sir." Teresa said.

She and I piled into my Police SUV and drove down to Headquarters. "They're in the Main Conference Room, sir." said the rookie Patrol Officer at the employee entrance desk.

"Who's in there?" I asked.

"The Chief, and a middle aged man in an expensive suit, sir." said the Rookie. "I don't know who he is, but I'd bet he's the CEO of some company."

"I'll take that bet, for $20." said Teresa, extending her hand. The Rookie shook it.

As we walked down the hallway, Teresa said "I just did that because he's obviously trying to get noticed by you."

"And you've lost twenty dollars." I replied. "I'll bet he's right."

We soon found out: we got to the Main Conference Room, whereupon I knocked on the door and opened it and went right on in. Inside were Chief Moynahan at his usual seat at the near end of the table. To his left, but leaving a space for me, was FBI SAC Jack Muscone, and to his left was SSA Julius Jefferson.

To the Chief's right was the distinguished looking man. "Commander," said the Chief, ''I believe you've met Jeff Woolsey, the CEO of BigBenefitInsurance."

And he's a Swamp Frog, I thought to myself. Woolsey did not get up, much less attempt to shake hands, so I didn't either. Teresa went and sat down to Woolsey's right, leaving a seat between them open. I sat in my 'normal' place to the Chief's left, and to Muscone's right.

"So, what happened?" I asked.

"I got a video in my email this morning." said Woolsey. "I contacted the FBI, and these Agents brought me here."

"The ree-sunnns will be apparent when you see the vid-e-oooo, Mr. Crowbarrr." the Chief drawled.

"Don't keep me in suspense, then." I said. "Let's see it." Muscone's laptop was plugged into the dock. He pressed a button, and a video began playing.

"Hello, Mr. Woolsey." said a very short man, who I instantly recognized: he was George Aurus! The room behind him was very dark as he said "And I'm sure Commander Troy will be seeing this soon, so my regards to you, Iron Crowbar."

Aurus said in his whispery voice, both hypnotic and menacing: "You see, Mr. Woolsey, I have... few friends. But the friends I have, that are loyal to me, I am very loyal to in return. I recently learned that one of my friends had a daughter, who died when your agent David Becerra Palmer cut off that little girl's mother's insurance."

The camera panned out and moved over a bit so that Aurus was in the left foreground. Behind him was David Becerra Palmer. Palmer's wrists were manacled with wire above his head, and he was hanging by them from a huge hook attached to a huge chain that must've been attached to a ceiling beam; it was too dark to tell much beyond Palmer's naked body in the videocamera light. He was gagged with what appeared to be a black bandana.

Electrode clips were attached to Palmer's testicles, and wires from the electrodes were running to a variac transformer device, with a knob on top to regulate the amount of electricity. We watched as Aurus turned the knob, and Palmer began screaming as electricity ran through his testicles. For several minutes Palmer screamed in agony as Aurus poured the juice into the insurance agent's Fruit.

"You can fast forward that, Mis-ter Mus-coooone." said the Chief.

Muscone fast-forwarded to the point where the camera moved left and focused again on Aurus, who said "You see, Mr. Woolsey, David Palmer has been making decisions for you and your company that have not taken into account the value of human life. So I am now going to make a decision that absolutely will take into account the value of his life."

I heard Palmer scream in the background. When the camera panned out again, Palmer was turned sideways, and I could see that two prods had been stabbed into Palmer's back, one between his shoulder blades, the other at the base of his spine on his lower back.

"Oh my God." I said. "That is exactly like what happened to Linda Farris, whose body we found in a dumpster at the Cub Club." (Author's note: 'Six Degrees', Ch. 05.) Woolsey turned to peer at me, then looked back at the video.

Aurus looked at the camera and said "I'm sure this will bring back memories for the great Iron Crowbar. As to you, Mr. Woolsey, take heed and be warned as you watch your agent pay for his cruelty to so many families and children."

And with that, Aurus violently twisted the knob on the transformer, and Palmer began screaming as he was literally being cooked alive. For several minutes the screaming went on, then it went silent as Palmer went limp.

"Farewell, Mr. Woolsey," said Aurus, "and I hope we never have the need to meet again. And tell Commander Troy that I am looking forward to seeing him again." With that, the camera faded to black.

"Find him!" Jeff Woolsey snarled, almost yelling. "You find that son of a bitch, Troy!"

I just turned and looked at him. Jack Muscone said "We're working on it, Mr. Woolsey."

"I don't want to hear your God damned excuses, Muscone!" Woolsey all but screamed. "I want results! So get off your fucking fat asses and get to work on it! You too, Troy!"

I just calmly looked at Teresa and said "Commander, I need you to send Officers to two places: the Jasmine Club, which used to be the Cub Club; and the King & Ebenezer meat processing plant, where we found Carroll and Blondie, then Wayne LaCroix and Jeff Fuqua." (Author's note: 'Case of the Black Badge', Ch. 02; 'Frozen Mothballs', Ch. 02-03.) "And get warrants..."

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

Fifteen minutes later, the call came to my Police iPhone. It was 2nd Precinct Lieutenant DeLong. "Whaddya got?" I asked.

"Sir, I think y'all need to come down to King & Ebenezer..."

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

Jeff Woolsey rode shotgun in Chief Moynahan's SUV, while Teresa rode shotgun in mine, with Jack Muscone and Julius Jefferson in the backseat. "That Woolsey is a jerk." Muscone grumbled.

Teresa said: "It almost seems like he cares more about Palmer than all the children that died after Palmer cut off their families' insurance."

"Who is Aurus's friend that was done wrong?" asked Julius Jefferson.

I said "Considering the recent hard-hitting exposé of Palmer's cruelty by Priya Ajmani of KFXU, and considering Priya interviewed Flower Shop Beverly, whose daughter Sarah died in front of Teresa and me at University Hospital, I'd say it's little Sarah's baby-daddy."

"Even when you guess, you're probably right." said Muscone.

"Well, just remember this." I said. "Woolsey is a Swamp Frog, and one of the big ones. He's a pit viper, and his cruelty is right up there with David Palmer's."

We arrived at King & Ebenezer, and went inside the large empty building that was once a meat-packing plant. Tanya Perlman Muscone was already there, munching a popsicle and looking up at the body of David Becerra Palmer hanging above her from a huge hook and chain... wrapped in a blanket of black velvet.

"Aurus did it here." Tanya said. "Palmer lost control of his bowels, and the results, as well as a lot of dripped blood, are on the ground below him." I saw as well as smelled 'the results'.

"Okay, then." I said. "Get the CSI Team in here to process the scene. Teresa, put out an APB for George Aurus, for murder in the first degree. The Black Velvet Killer has taken another life."

"You find him, Troy!" yelled Jeff Woolsey, who had come with us. "You find that goddamned midget bastard, dead or alive! I want his ass, or it's your ass that's going to be strung up on a hook------"