Big in Japan Ch. 01

Teresa: "On June 12th, 1972, American Airlines Flight 96 from Detroit to Buffalo, a DC-10 aircraft, suffered decompression and near-fatal loss of rudder and an engine, but the pilots were able to land the plane, and no one died. The accident happened because a cargo door that appeared to be secured actually wasn't. A part of that design flaw was that the cargo door warning light didn't activate, either. On March 3d, 1974, Turkish Airlines Flight 981 from Paris to London, also in a DC-10, suffered the same cargo door blowout, and they were not so lucky; the plane crashed with the loss of all aboard."

Teresa: "Newer planes have better safety features to ensure cargo doors are properly secured, and for the damage to be minimized even if they do blow out, as well as for the aircraft controls to not be damaged so easily. And that brings us to Weston Windham's accident. That plane took off from Lake Charles, bound for Nashville, Tennessee. It ascended to 36,000 feet, then dove to the ground and impacted at high speed in the Delta National Forest, just north of Vicksburg, Mississippi."

Teresa: "The NTSB determined that the plane had decompressed, and the co-pilot was found to have collapsed onto the controls, which put the plane into the dive so it didn't just fly on until it ran out of gas. Like Payne Stewart's plane, Weston's plane disintegrated on impact, so they never found the exact cause of the decompression."

Teresa: "But there were two notes in the NTSB report of Weston's crash: someone noticed that a piece of the fuselage had strange burn marks that were not really consistent with a plane on fire or the fuel exploding. He had it analyzed, and there were traces of mercury fulminate."

"Ahhhh." I said in a falsetto voice. Then I said in a normal voice: "Just to 'mansplain' and as a teachable moment, the fulminate ion is a carbon-nitrogen triple bond with an oxygen attached to the nitrogen, which is the unstable part. As you know, many nitrogen compounds are explosively unstable. As an interesting side note, at least to me: silver fulminate and silver cyanate have different properties but the same chemical structure."

Teresa said "Yes sir. The second piece of data was that someone had called into the airport and said there was a bomb on the plane. But it was too late; by the time that message was relayed, the plane had taken off and had already crashed. That and the fulminate discovery led the NTSB to bring in the FBI on account of the possibility of a malicious act that brought the plane down. But the FBI closed their investigation rather quickly, with no resolution of the case. Don... Don?"

I was in a reverie, looking at the ceiling. "So they knew then..." I said to myself, then woke up and realized I was not alone in the room.

"Who knew what when?" Cindy asked.

"The FBI knew Weston Windham's plane was taken down by an act of sabotage." I said, my voice still far away. "And Eduardo was right there at DFW..."

"You don't think the FBI had anything to do with either sabotage, do you?" Cindy asked, her voice connoting her disbelief.

"Oh, no... no, no, no, nothing like that." I said. "My thesis, admittedly with very little data, is that the FBI was on the lookout for possible plane sabotage, at either DFW in Dallas or George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston... and trying to prevent a catastrophe."

"What catastrophe?" Cindy asked.

"Teresa," I said, "if I'm right, then Jen Sakai was not trying to kill you. Someone intended to kill either her or someone else, and only went after you at the last minute. And all that leads me to the deduction that the FBI is trying to turn Jen Sakai, and get her to defect back to the US."

"Oh, wowwww....." Teresa whispered. "That explains why she hasn't left Houston yet...maybe she's already agreed to turn."

"But isn't she in Houston?" Cindy asked. "Certainly she's not in Lake Charles, nor is the FBI... that I could see, anyway. And..." She suddenly stopped, then took a bite of her food.

"And... what?" Teresa asked.

"No. It's nothing." Cindy said. "Just me being a blonde airhead again..."

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

When we got back to Headquarters, Teresa peeled off and went to her office. As I went into my office, I saw Tanya sitting in Cindy's office, working on something. "Come on into my office." I said to Cindy. She followed me in, and I shut the door and we sat down.

"You are a blonde, but you are not an airhead." I said. "I'm getting a 'vibe' that the thought you had that you wouldn't say out loud... is that you were wondering if Teresa's Aunt Clarissa might be behind all this."

"And now we know from where Carole inherits her mind-reading powers." Cindy replied.

"Oh, I'm nowhere near you nor Carole in your powers of the mind." I said. "But yes, it does logically hold that Clarissa would potentially have motive, means, and opportunity to protect her family interests, and her financial assets, by taking out Jen Sakai and even luring Teresa down to arrange for that plane accident on the way back home."

Cindy said: "It struck me that Clarissa could have known all about Easton and Teresa being married, and about Jack Burke. She also could have been behind Weston and Tessa's plane crash. On the flip side of that is my vibe: I got nothing from Clarissa except genuine surprise when she connected the dots about Teresa, Todd, Jack, and Easton. If she could fake that, and so cold-bloodedly kill members of her family, then she's far more formidable than I've given her credit for."

I said "Yes, it's something we have to consider, but there are some things in favor of Clarissa being one of the good guys, too. For example, if she's smart and cold-blooded enough to do all that, then she's smart enough to figure out she doesn't need to lure Teresa down to Louisiana to kill her... she could have that done up here, and nowhere near her, Clarissa. Likewise, if she wanted her daughter Jen dead, Jen would've been dead a long time ago."

Cindy said "Still, the data we have does support the theory, or at least doesn't rule it out. Ditto that for Jen being the possible assassin."


"Or other possible theories." I said. "And one very obvious suspect."

"Who?" Cindy said. "I don't see anyone else."

"Don't you?" I said cryptically. "Oh, and one more thing. If Clarissa is not the bad guy in this, why did she have Teresa go down there to see her? In spite of her protestations, she could have emailed or texted the photos of Weston Windham."

"You're just strengthening my case for me." Cindy said.

"Am I?" I replied. "Well, I don't insist upon it. Okay, I need to speak with Commander Croyle, and borrow her Police iPhone to download those photos..."

Part 5 - The Whiskey Dictionary

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Thursday, September 3rd, from the roof of the building at Riverside and College. "Divisions within both Parties grow as the races heat up!"

Bettina began: "Channel Two News has learned that Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor, Ruby Russell, daughter of the late Senator Samuel Russell, turned down offers to appear at campaign appearances with Sharon Marshall, the Republican candidate for Governor. Sources tell Channel Two News that Ms. Russell does not want to be associated with the racist White Nationalism of Sharon Marshall and deeply unpopular Val Jared."

Bettina: "Ms. Russell is ten points behind State Senator Corey Coons in the Lieutenant Governor race. The Russell campaign is planning a series of ads as well as public appearances to boost their sagging poll numbers, and sources tell Channel Two News that the ads will focus on the contrast between Ms. Russell's 'compassionate Conservatism' positions and Senator Coons's positions promoting Critical Race Theory being taught in our schools, and defunding the Police.."

Bettina then smiled brightly as she said "And Channel Two News has been informed that Senator Corey Coons will be in our Town & County on Labor Day! He will be making appearances with candidate for Mayor Eldrick X. Weaver, who many say was defrauded of his rightful win in the previous Mayoral race. Senator Coons will also be calling for the ridiculous, racist charges against Breonna Bryant to be dropped..."

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

"Corey Coons wants to defund the Police, yet his Campaign has demanded Police protection during his visit here next Monday." said Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle witheringly as she, Commander Cindy Ross, ADA Paulina Patterson, Sheriff Griswold and Your Iron Crowbar drank coffee in my office.

"And what are you going to do?" Cindy asked.

Teresa replied "I've had very little trouble getting Officers to volunteer to work Monday, seeing as they'll be getting double time. We have to have a large contingent for the rally at The Fairgrounds hosted by Mayor Allgood, as the Intel Branch tells me they've gotten wind of agitators planning to protest there, possibly violently. But I told the Coons Campaign that we'd give them some extra security beyond what we were normally going to provide for Weaver."

"It'd be nice if all those agitators would just go cheer for Senator Coons and Mr. Weaver," said Cindy, "instead of creating a scene and getting arrested interfering with the Mayor's rally."

I said "I heard that that's why Coons decided to come up here. Black violence has helped the Conservative law-and-order candidates, which is why KXTC and the SNN Networks aren't covering the violence anymore. He's hoping to draw agitators to peacefully support his appearance and Weaver's campaign."

"What about Ruby Russell's campaign?" asked Paulina. "Sharon Marshall is wiping the floor with Hoyt Stenson in the polls right now. Isn't Ruby's only shot to win is to run alongside Ms. Marshall?"

"You'd think so." growled Sheriff Griswold, "but the Establishment Elitist Republicans hate true Conservatives more than they dislike Democrats. Ruby Russell would rather lose to Coons than work with Sharon Marshall."

"That's stupid." said Teresa. "Ruby is cutting off her nose to spite her face, so to speak."

I said "Ruby and her Campaign truly believe that if they run ads contrasting Establishment Republican pro-Illegal-Immigration 'compassion' (air quotes) and a pro-business, tax-cutting agenda against Corey Coons's far-Left agenda, she'll win the race."

"Like Ms. Croyle said, that's stupid."growled the Sheriff. "And it's not like you didn't tell them that that won't work, Don." (Author's note: 'Sugar and Spice', Ch. 03.)

"I give, and I give, and I give." I said with mock sadness, making everyone chuckle.

I continued: "But in one way, I'm glad Ruby Russell turned down Sharon Marshall's generous offer to campaign together. Marshall's campaign, which is killing Hoyt Stenson right now, might really have taken a hit by associating with Russell. And Sharon Marshall can't save Ruby Russell, either."

Just then the door to my office opened. "Good morning, everyone." said Chief Sean Moynahan. "The local chapter of the FBI has requested a meee-tinnng with us. I've invited them to join us in Classroom 'E', and they'll be here at 9:00 a.mmmm...."

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

Just before 9:00am, we all went into Classroom 'E' to get the best seats before the Feds got there. The Sheriff, Police Chief, Deputy Chief, Police Commander, Operations Commander, Captain of Detectives, MCD and Vice Lieutenants, and Detectives Julia Rodriguez and Joanne Warner, who had security clearances, were present.

As Captain Tanya Muscone drove in in her wheelchair, she looked around and said "Where's Mary Milton?" The room went silent. Blood transfusions were needed, as my stare at Tanya was more than enough to freeze blood... everyone in the room's blood.

Chief Moynahan rescued Tanya by saying "She's ex-cuuussssed, Captain. Let's just worry about who is heeeeere."

A moment later, the Federal Agents arrived. I was not surprised that Special Agent In Charge Jack Muscone arrived, nor was I surprised that he barely said hello to anyone and definitely not to me. He sat down next to Tanya.

Also coming in were FBI EAD Owen Lange, FBI Assistant Special Agent In Charge Karina White, DEA Supervisory Special Agent Dwight Stevens, FBI Supervisory Special Agents Melina Allgood and Eduardo Escobar, DEA Special Agent Juan Alberto Morales, FBI Special Agent Tim Jenkins, and a woman I did not know. I need not add that Cindy's ice blue eyes lit up upon seeing Tim Jenkins, and she made room for him to sit next to her.

Karina White said "For those who have not met her yet, this is ATF Agent Nancy Harding. I've known her a long time, and she's a very good Agent." Nancy Harding was dark haired, and her 'big boned' but not fat body reminded me of former TCPD Detective Gayle Tunnin.

"Hi, Agent Harding!" we all said in unison.

"I can see that this is going to be a fun group to work with." Nancy Harding said.

"Nice to meet yooooo, Ms. Harding." said Chief Moynahan. "O-kayyyy, let's get started. Mr. EAD?"

"Go ahead, Karina." Owen Lange said. Karina White called upon Eduardo Escobar to give a report on the plane incident.

Eduardo said "The NTSB sends what they call a 'go team' as the first response to a transportation accident, be it aircraft or trains, or even Government vehicles if the situation warrants. They've already released their initial findings for Vision Flight 29."

Eduardo: "Two places of sabotage were found. First, the cargo door's locking mechanism was rigged so that it didn't set off the warning light in the cockpit, but it wasn't completely secure. And second, the remnants of a small explosive device was found. It caused the incompletely secured cargo door to blow open, and also blew out a safety ventilation screen that normally keeps the passenger cabin from being decompressed if the hold decompresses. That caused the cabin and cockpit to decompress."

Eduardo: "The explosive device, believed to be a fulminate compound though we haven't gotten lab confirmation yet, was designed to damage itself when it exploded. We've found remnants, and it looks like there was a timer that set it off------"

I raised my hand, then said "Is it possible that it was an altimeter that set it off?"

Eduardo said 'They're still analyzing it, as it was badly damaged by the explosion. But the face of it could possibly be an altimeter instead of a clock face timer. Why do you think it might be an altimeter?"

I replied "It would just makes more sense if it was. For example, if there was any delay in the aircraft taking off, a timer might go off while the plane is still on the ground. Also, the idea would be to blow the cargo door when the aircraft reaches an altitude above 10,000 feet, whereupon hypoxia could set in and knock out the crew. A timer can't guarantee that like an altimeter could."

"My only counter to that, sir," said Teresa, "is that the explosion happened at about 12,000 feet. It would've been much worse for us if it had exploded when we got to 28,000 feet or more."

"You're right, it would have." I said. "So what does it infer that it went off at 12,000 feet especially if it was meant to go off at that altitude?"

"We don't even know for sure yet that it was an altimeter and not a timer." said Jack Muscone.

"No, we don't." I said. "But work with me and let's use our imaginations a bit. If it was an altimeter... and I think that'll be found to be the case... and if it was indeed set for 12,000 feet, what does that tell you?"

"Oh, I get it." said Julia Rodriguez. "It says that whoever set the device may not have been trying to guarantee the deaths of the occupants. If they do die, well and good for the perp. But if not, they're diverted to an emergency landing."

"Exactly." I said. "Good job, Julia." As murmurs began cropping up, I continued: "Yes, it has occurred to me that Commander Croyle here was the target, but the perp did not necessarily want her death... but just to distract her and waylay her. And it worked."

"You just made the mystery bigger," said Cindy Ross, "unless you know something we don't, and you're holding it back."

"You've seen everything I have." I replied. "Even more, in fact."

EAD Owen Lange said "Your hypothesis is interesting, Commander, and doesn't disagree with what we know to be going on. And I'm sure you've figured out a lot of it out already."

I said "Yes sir. Neither my Angels nor myself failed to notice how quickly Agent Escobar arrived at DFW Airport, suggesting he was already on the scene. I'd be stunned if he knew in advance that Teresa and Cindy had gone to Louisiana, as it was a sudden, last-minute thing. And of course, their plane might've landed at Love Field or other airports in eastern Texas instead of DFW."

I continued: "Soooo, we've accidentally intruded upon a Federal operation and stepped on your toes. I'm guessing that Eduardo's wife Rosalyn was at George Bush Airport in Houston, doing similar things to what Eduardo was doing in Dallas, and that she's running the continuing operation down there while you're up here, Eduardo."

"Good grief." ATF Agent Nancy Harding gasped. She was not used to me yet, obviously. Eduardo was; he just smiled and kept listening.

"As to what the operation is," I said, "I have no idea, and it could be any of several things. I do suspect it involves Jen Esterson Sakai, who is Teresa's newfound cousin and also the ex-wife of known Red Chinese spy Hideo Sakai. And I'll just stop talking now, lest I get myself in trouble."

"Too late!" said a chorus of TCPD Officers and Federal Agents. Sheriff Griswold laughed merrily at that.

"Oh, don't stop now." growled EAD Owen Lange.

"I'll just ask this, and then say no more about it." I replied. "Does Ichimoku Industries have a plane similar to the one owned by The Vision that carried Teresa and Cindy to Louisiana?" EAD Owen Lange rolled his eyes, probably regretting having asked me to continue.

"It's a bit bigger, but to answer your question, yes." said Karina White. "And it's still at Love Field in Dallas."

"Decoy?" asked Teresa, who was catching on. Karina nodded.

"But no way the perps mistook that plane for the Vision plane." Tim Jenkins said skeptically.

"No, they didn't." I replied. "But the point is that they were ready to sabotage an airplane. And for some reason, they diverted to Lake Charles to sabotage Teresa's plane rather than continue with their plan to sabotage the Ichimoku Industries aircraft."

EAD Owen Lange said "I know that a lot of you are not seeing the gaps here that the Iron Crowbar has clearly worked through. So Dwight, why don't you give us your report now."

"Yes sir." said Dwight Stevens. "As you know, after the attempt to kidnap Todd Burke, the FBI began seriously investigating Jen Sakai. That led to the discovery of s drug and alcohol smuggling ring being run by the Yakuza, the transnational organized crime ring originating and still centrally based in Japan, which led to this joint DEA/ATF/FBI task force."

Stevens: "The Yakuza has traditionally left Takaki Misaki, the head of Japanese Intelligence, and his family alone, somewhat out of respect for what the Takaki are doing for Emperor and Country, but also because they don't want the retribution that would follow. The only thing worse for them would be to attack the Japanese Imperial Family itself."

Stevens: "However, that recently changed as we began following the links of the chain of this smuggling ring. We've found that it's much larger and more sophisticated than we originally thought... and that if we can truly bust it, we'll make a huge, if not fatal dent in their operations in North and Central America. This ring is almost as sophisticated as what Henry Wargrave had set up to run arms, and Elizabeth------ Don's sister, had going in Europe for a while."