Big in Japan Ch. 02

"Hey! You can't do that! Stop taking my picture!" Carmela yelled.

"Tough shit, Carmela." I said. "How are you going to stop us from taking your picture? And I'm going to give it to the Press, so that everyone will see you marching with the Haters!"

"Fuck you, Troy." Carmela said. "Now get out of our way! We have the right to be here, to assemble here, to exercise our Free Speech rights here. This is public property!" The crowd of thugs cheered.

"Whoever you bought your law degree from needs to give you a refund!" I said loudly in reply. "Like I rented Courthouse Square on Christmas Eve, this property has been rented in a legal, binding contract, and the renters are the ones with the right to not allow you here. And that's what they're doing, and I will happily enforce that. Your rights end where Mayor Allgood's begins. You have NO rights here, Carmela."

"And what are you going to do when these over 100 people charge past you by force?" Carmela threatened.

"You've been asking for a violent confrontation with Police for a long time, Carmela." I said. "I'm getting tired of you, so I'm going to give you one. You try to push through, and my Officers will shoot you... shooting to kill. Not to arrest you, not to subdue you, but to kill you, to take your lives. So! Are you willing to die for your cause? Because we're willing to be the instrument that causes your deaths."

"You're insane." growled Carmela. "You're diseased! You need to be shot down like the rabid dog you are!"

"Do it, then!" I yelled back. "Or try to. OH! By the way... any of you carrying guns?"

"Don't answer that!" yelled Carmela, evading the trap in which Rudistan had so neatly snared Bettina.

"We do have guns, Carmela." I boasted. "And we're aching to use them on you and your racist Haters."

Someone came up and whispered to Carmela. He'd seen the over 100 armed-and-armored Police Officers in the TCPD Headquarters gym, ready to pour out and take on the now-outflanked Haters.

"Damn, the shit eaters have anticipated us." said Carmela. "Let's go over to the Democrat rally." They turned and left.

I looked back, seeing Bettina and her cameraman filming us from about 75 feet away. She looked disgusted that the violence she was praying for had not happened. She had nothing she could use to make Daniel Allgood's rally look bad...

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

"Where the hell is our security?" blasted Corey Coons as his entourage parked in their designated 'safe spaces' (yeah, we had fun with that one) at MLK Park.

"What do you mean, Senator?" asked Captain Damien Thompson, who was wearing Police armor over his light blue Police uniform shirt, and soft shoulderboards with Captain's bars on them. He rarely wore that; he preferred pinned-on metal ranks. But the armor made it necessary to wear what he was wearing.

"I thought you guys were going to give us security." Coons said. "At least my Campaign people said so."

"That's what we were told." said one of Coons staffers.

"The security is here." said Thompson. "It's just unobtrusive. If anything starts up, you'll suddenly see a lot of Police here, ready to stop the trouble."

Coons didn't appear happy. "Are you in charge of security, Captain?"

"No sir." said Thompson.

"That would be me." said a voice behind them. They turned to see Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle come up, also in Police armor over her light blue uniform shirt.

"Where's our security, Colonel?" Coons said.

"It's 'Commander'," Teresa said, "and we've provided more than the standard security complement for you and the other speakers today."

"I'd like to see a little visibility." said Coons.

"I'm sure you would." said Teresa. Her eyes then bored into his as she said with alacrity: "Senator Coons, I'm not a fan of yours nor your mantra of 'defunding the Police. So I consider it pretty damn rude of you to come in here and whine about that Police security that you want to defund. And my Police Officers are here to actually do their jobs of protecting and serving, not to be a visible prop for you to take cheap shots at."

"You're just a fucking racist Cracker." snarled Coons.

"No she's not." said Damien Thompson, who was black himself. "And neither am I, but I completely agree with the Commander about your hypocrisy and rudeness."

"I'd sure like to have a word with your Chief------" started Coons.

"We-ellllll, whaddya know, Corey!" said Chief Moynahan, walking up to them, trying to be as jovial as Rudistan, and almost succeeding. "I haven't seen you since I left Midtown and came up here. Yes, let's have a worrrrrd."

"Chief Moynahan." said Coons. "It has been a minute."

"Yezzzzz." said the Chief. "And I might suggest circum-SPEC-shunnn on your part when you call Commander Croyle any names or falsely accuuuuuse her of racizmmmm. She tends to have a bad att-i-tuuuuuude, and you really do not want to see a demonstration of it." Teresa nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Keep her away from me and my people, then." said Coons.

"Would you rather deal with the Iron Crow-barrrr, then?" drawled Moynahan. Coons didn't answer. He just turned and walked quickly away, followed by his entourage. Teresa and the Chief just looked at each other, and were not quite able to keep from smiling wickedly...

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

"And Daniel Allgood is a racist that supports Police violence against People of Color!" screamed Eldrick X. Weaver to the crowd of a few hundred, being augmented by the red-shirted Haters that had come over after being rebuffed from causing trouble at the Fairgrounds.

"Daniel Allgood had to cheat to keep from being beaten by a black man!" whined Weaver. "Let's not elect him this time, either!" The crowd roared.

Bruce Finneran spoke: "And when I'm elected Inspector General, I promise you I will destroy the ability of the TCPD to abuse blacks! Any white cop that so much as physically touches a black person will be brought up on charges, and not only removed from the Police Force, but imprisoned!"

As the crowd cheered, Finneran continued: "As your next Inspector General, I will rein in the reign of terror by Commander Donald Troy! Gone are the days when cops with crowbars can get away with the murder of good black men like Jacquez Wilson and Lester Holder! When I am Inspector General, I will work tirelessly and ceaselessly to destroy Donald Troy! He will not just go to prison for his crimes against People of Color! I will remove him from the Police Force by any means necessary!"

The red-shirted thugs cheered lustily, but a few astute people noticed that the rest of the crowd slowly began cheering less loudly and less certainly. They were wondering, and correctly, what 'by any means necessary' truly meant...

Part 12 - The Emperor's Summons

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Tuesday, September 8th, from MLK Park on the southside of Town. "A great rally boosts the poll numbers for several Democrats!"

Bettina began: "Candidate for Governor, excuse me, Lieutenant Governor Corey Coons gave a rousing speech yesterday, where he called for defunding the Police. But the highlight speech was given by candidate for Inspector General Bruce Finneran, who said he would use the power of the Inspector General's Office to rein in the abuse of People of Color by abusive white cops, most notably Commander Donald Troy. Commander Troy has not responded to multiple reasonable requests by KXTC for comment. KXTC Channel Two News has strongly endorsed Bruce Finneran for the Inspector General post."

Bettina: "And political experts are asking why Mayor Daniel Allgood, who many say stole the last Mayoral election from its rightful winner, Eldrick X. Weaver, doesn't have his wife and two young children with him at his public appearances and rallies. Sources tell Channel Two News that yesterday's appearance included no plans for an appearance by his family, and experts are saying that Allgood is wasting a huge political windfall by not having them appear with him as a family unit. Allgood has not responded to repeated requests by KXTC Channel Two News on this matter..."

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

"They definitely edited out a lot of what Finneran said." said Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle as she, the Sheriff, the Chief, Paulina, and I drank coffee in the Chief's Conference Room. "I considered what he said to be literally a physical threat to you, Commander Troy."

"Yeah, I heard," I said, "and I agree that it sounded like a threat. Bettina bringing up Daniel Allgood's family, trying to goad him into having them at appearances, also sounds like subtle threat to my ears."

"Mine, too." Paulina said.

"Did those red-shirted racist Haters make any trouble at the Democrat rally?" asked the Sheriff.

"No sir." said Teresa. "I think they know where their bread is buttered. I did hear that Lionel Carmela did not make it to that rally; he apparently took his tiny Socialist balls and went home." That caused some chuckles, though no spitting of coffee.

"I'm surprised they didn't make more trouble at the Republican rally." said Chief Moynahan. "Are they suddenly a-fraaaid of you now, Mr. Crowbarrrr?"

"They'd better be." muttered Teresa.

"I do wish they were, Chief." I said. "And Bettina was all set up to record anything that did happen. But I think they're choosing their spots, and Carmela decided that rally wasn't the right spot."

"What will be the right spot?" asked the Chief.

"The Breonna Bryant trial." I replied. "And speaking of that, when does that start, Paulina?"

"Next Monday." said Paulina. "Munson finally stopped whining for continuances."

"How long do you think that trial is going to last?" Teresa asked.

"About a week." Paulina said. "Unless jury selection gets so bad that it goes more than a full day. And jury deliberations could be anywhere from one hour to one week, so who knows?"

"Damn." said Teresa, very astutely. "They almost got it to the beginning of early voting. Not quite, but almost..."

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

"Hello and welcome to Fox University Sunrise!" Catrina Pierce said happily. "I'm Catrina Pierce, and with me as always is Meredith Peller. Good morning, Meredith!"

"Good morning, Catrina." said Meredith. "Good morning everyone. Here's what's in the news. At the Democrat rally at MLK Park yesterday, candidate for Inspector General Bruce Finneran made what sounded like threats against the life of Commander Donald Troy. Roll tape."

Tape rolled, showing Finneran's remarks. Then Meredith said "Finneran's opponent, current SBI Director James Goodwin, gave this comment exclusively to Fox Eight News. Roll tape."

Tape rolled, showing Curly Goodwin saying "Not only are Finneran's comments an actual threat to the life of a decorated Police hero, they show that Bruce Finneran will not be guided by principles of honesty, fairness, and getting to the truth, but a brazen partisan zeal to deliberately harm our Police! Finneran is not fit to hold the office of Inspector General!"

Back to Catrina live: "And candidate for the Council seat held by the outgoing Reginald B.F. Lewis, Katina Jones, stole the show with her inspiring speech yesterday. Roll tape."

Tape rolled, showing Katina Jones saying "The outrageous calls by radical Leftists to defund the Police will put the lives of Black children and Black families in danger! I want to keep all families's lives safe! I want to RE-fund the Police! Let's RE-fund and support our brave Police Officers that protect us from the violence of the Radical Left!" The crowd cheered mightily.

Meredith: "The rally was largely peaceful, but there was one disturbing incident when our competitors at KXTC were surrounded by attendees of the rally. Watch this."

Tape rolled, showing a lot people in front of but not really surrounding Bettina and her crew, shouting "CHANNEL TWO SUCKS! CHANNEL TWO SUCKS! CHANNEL TWO SUCKS! CHANNEL TWO SUCKS!"

Back to Meredith live: "State Troopers at the scene stood between the journalists and the unruly crowd, and escorted the KXTC vehicle off the premises. There were no reports of any injuries."

"Of course there weren't!" interjected Catrina. "The people didn't surround the KXTC position, just stood in front of it, and all they did was yell the truth at them! They didn't throw anything, they did not attempt to breach the Police line. That was far more peaceful than what the Antifa agitators did earlier this year------"

Meredith interrupted: "But aren't you disturbed by the assault on Journalists just trying to do their jobs?"

Catrina: "They weren't being assaulted, Meredith! That's the kind of Fake News KXTC puts out there. And no, I don't have a problem at all with those liars being confronted by people who are tired of being subjected to KXTC's partisan filth------"

"Let's go to break." Meredith said, and the broadcast went to a commercial about laxatives.

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

"Ooo-wee!" said Captain Tanya Muscone as my Angels and I watched the broadcast. "Catfight in Studio B!" Finally and at last, she was back to her perky self again, at least for a moment.

"I wonder if Meredith will be fired before the end of the day?" Teresa said, almost to herself.

"Why should she be the one that's fired?" Cindy fired at Teresa. "Catrina was the unprofessional one!"

"And Meredith was actually taking the side of their competition." I replied, then aware that Tanya was present, I added:. "That's the ultimate in lack of professionalism."

"And you're the guy that whines about the partisanship of KXTC." Cindy said. "Fight me on this."

"Oh, I will." I replied. "My problems with the Media are a lot more than just partisanship, but also their lack of honesty in their reporting and their lack of integrity in trying to say they're impartial and fair when they absolutely are not."

"So what's going to happen, Don?" Teresa asked, to get us back on track, sort of. "Which one of them will get fired?"

"I doubt either will be fired." I replied. "Meredith might be relegated to the 1:00pm show, opposite 'Days of Promise' on KXTC, or to a weekend slot, though."

"Okay, then." Cindy said. "I'll leave you to your meeting. I have a Budget to put together, and to a Town Assembly that wants to defund the Police."

"RE-Fund the Police!" Teresa and I said simultaneously.

"Jinx on both of you." Tanya called...

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

9:00am, Tuesday, September 8th. A meeting convened in Classroom 'E'. Present were the Chief, me, Teresa, Tanya, Lieutenants Mary Milton, Jerome Davis, and Micah Rudistan, and Detectives Julia Rodriguez and Joanne Warner.

"All right, we have the autopsy from Martha." said Mary Milton. "The Feds are pushing hard to get it, but Martha sent me the report early so we can see it before they do."

"Don't keep me in suspense." I said, seeing a dark look on Tanya's face.

"I'll try to keep this from being too squeamish." said Mary. "From bruising on his arms and wrists, it appears he was ambushed by his attackers but fought back, then he was subdued and his arms tied behind him. One of his eyes was gouged out, and the knuckles of his hands and feet were crushed with pliers. I might add that the knuckle-crushing is a standard practice of Intelligence Agencies worldwide, including the Americans and especially the Russians."

"I might add that I can confirm that." I replied. "Keep going."

Mary: "Martha said that what they did next happened pretty quickly after the knuckle-crushing, or else they'd have been far more swollen than they were. They had an iron bar a little over a foot long. Martha says it looks like a railroad spike. They forced the pointed end into his derriere... and then forced him to sit down on it." There were a lot of squeamish looks on a lot of faces at that.

Mary: "Martha says the tip of the spike punctured the victim's left kidney, which is why he bled out so quickly. He was left there, tied to the chair, and lost consciousness and died pretty quickly."

Chief Moynahan said "So either he broke very quickly, and told the perps what they wanted know from him, or they thought someone was coming and finished him off quickly before leeeee-vingggg."

"With respect, sir," said Julia Rodriguez, "it sounds mighty personal."

"I agree." I said, my voice sounding nearly lost in thought. "Whether they got any information, or knew they had to get out before the TCPD arrived, to make him sit down on a spike didn't guarantee a quick death; it could've missed his kidney. Ergo, they did that to cause him tremendous pain. If they wanted to kill him quickly, they'd have slashed his throat or stabbed him through the heart."

"Sooooo, Mister Crowbarrrrr," drawled the Chief. "And ideas on whoooo might have done this?"

"Yes sir and no sir." I said. "I don't believe we the TCPD will be able to figure it out. So let's go ahead and give this one to the Feds... unless Teresa wants to keep it for any personal reasons?"

"No sir." said Teresa. "Pass it on------"

Just then, the Duty Desk Sergeant knocked on the door and came in. "Commander Troy, Commander Croyle," he said, "there are two people here to see you. One is Mr. Todd Burke. The other guy says he's from the US Department of State."

"Oh, no..." I gasped.

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

Teresa and I went to the Main Conference Room, followed by the Chief. Inside were Todd Burke, looking solemn, and a youngish-looking man with a nice suit and a head full of black hair. He looked like a diplomat-wannabee.

"My name is Michael J. Parker, with the Department of State." said Michael J. Parker of the Department of State. "We have received a formal diplomatic communication from the Japanese Government, requesting the two of you and Mr. Burke to fly immediately to Japan. The communique says that Takaki Misaki is extremely ill, and on Death's door..."

To be continued.