Big in Japan Ch. 03

"So," I said, turning my eyes back to Nash, "I want to know what is really going on here."

One disadvantage of Nash having worked for me and the TCPD is that he had more 'resistance' to my stare, and the persona behind it. He didn't bat an eyelash as he said "Commander, Jack Muscone acted against your strong recommendation to not go after Brody, and Brody ended up dead because of it. This is your chance to do something about that."

I sat back in my chair. "So that's it." I said levelly. And then I ripped him: "You think, Nash, because Muscone went against my advice, that I'll just turn over and help you try to get something on him? You think I'm that dirty a player? Well let me tell you something, Nash: I'm not you. I'm not a pussy like you are. And I won't help you and the Swamp Frogs you've joined to bring down a good... no, a great Federal Agent. Find your 'Judas Iscariot' elsewhere."

As I got up to go, I said "As I said, Federal Judge Landis said that Muscone broke no laws in the Brody case, so who am I to argue with a Federal Judge? And that's all I'll say, and all I'll testify to. I'll have an Officer show you out." With that I left the room, followed my Mike G. Todd...

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

"Ohhhh, she did not like that one bit." said Chief Moynahan as Mike Todd, Cindy, the Sheriff and I met with him in the Chief's Conference Room. "She wanted to go in and try to arrest you again."

"She did agree with you about one thing, though." Cindy said. "When you called Nash a 'pussy', Lindsey said 'He's right about that, Nash is a pussy.'." I nodded.

To my surprise, Cindy then got up, saying "If you all will excuse me, I have something I have to do."

"By all means, Ms. Rossss. By all meeeeens." drawled the Chief. I began getting a small vibe... What were these guys up to? I wondered to myself.

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

Cindy went into the Intelligence Center, and up to the station where Auxiliary Police Officer Terry Halston was working. "Hi, Terry." she said. "Did you get it for me?"

"Yes ma'am." said Halston as he handed her a jump drive. "And I think it'll work for you."

"Thanks, Terry." Cindy said. She took the drive and exited the Intel Center, then walked around the hallway down to Tanya Muscone's spacious Captain's office. She knocked on the door and heard Tanya call out for her to come in.

"Here." Cindy said, handing Tanya the jump drive. "Plug this in, and look at it now. I want you to show that to your husband, then destroy the jump drive."

"Okay, ma'am." Tanya said. She plugged in the drive, and watched the video that had been recorded of my 'interview' with Nash and Pitts. "Wow." was all she said when it was done.

"Just one thing." said Cindy. "Agent Lindsey Black also saw the interview, so if she gets wind that your husband has seen it, she might try to use it against him. So mums the word, and do destroy that drive... after you show it to Jack."

"I will, ma'am." said Tanya...

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

Meanwhile, as soon as I walked into my office, Teresa was walking in to report.

"We've got about a hundred protesters on Courthouse Square." Teresa said. I turned on my wall television monitor and brought up feeds from cameras on the Square as she said "So far they're fairly peaceful in front of the Courthouse, though they've been chanting slogans whenever Media cameras come by."

"Hey!" I said hopefully, "do we have any footage of the Media staging the protesters? I'd love to charge the Media with conspiracy to cause riots and insurrections."

"I've been looking for that," said Teresa, "as has Terry Halston and Penny Scott in Intel. But it's 'no joy' on that, so far. I suspect they're communicating by burner phones, and the agitators know to not be seen being staged, but to 'get hot' in front of the cameras."

"Okay, I'm sure you've got people ready to go if the agitators get bad." I said.

Teresa said "One more thing, sir. We've gotten complaint calls from the restaurants and bistros on the southside of the Square, and there were some complaints from restaurants on the east side last week, that people are coming up to customers and trying to force them to say they support Black Lives Matter."

Teresa: "Police have come up and broken up the mobs, but the agitators are getting increasingly aggressive. Courthouse Square is pretty much empty now, and the businesses are complaining that they're losing business. I sent links to the Police reports of the incidents to your inbox."

"Thanks, I appreciate that." I said. "Let me know if any more calls come in. I might just go handle them... personally." Teresa nodded and exited the office as I turned and opened the email and began reading the Police reports...

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

To my surprise, at 5:00pm Paulina Patterson came into my office. "The Jury is seated." she announced.

"You're kidding." I said. She shook her head and I said "What happened?"

"We had 120 people in the initial jury pool." Paulina said. "Of those, 31 of them, all black, had been arrested during last Spring and Summer's riots. Most of them were released, but I moved to strike all of them for cause. Munson objected, of course, saying that if they had no convictions, they were entitled to be on a jury, but Judge Watts struck them for cause."

Paulina said. "Another 30, all black, had priors for various crimes. As you know, Don, people like them usually don't even show up for Jury Duty, but in this case they did. But they were struck for cause. And all this before we actually got into the Courtroom to start the empaneling."

"I take it this is being held in the Old Courtroom?" I asked, knowing it was the largest Courtroom.

"No, in New Courtroom." Paulina said, which was the name of the second-largest Courtroom, and the largest of the new Courtrooms that had been built as part of the new complex. "Chief Bailiff Clark Alexander recommended that it be in the new building for security reasons." I nodded.

Paulina said "So we're down to less than 60 in the pool, and 40 of them had heard about the case and said they had opinions on it, or so they wrote on the written questionnaires. i got the feeling that a lot of them just didn't want to serve on this Jury, and therefore said they had opinions. They were struck."

Paulina: "So Judge Watts called for the twenty that were left to be augmented by another group of sixty. You might have guessed by now that they called almost twice as many for Jury Duty as on a normal week." I nodded.

Paulina: "The clerks of the Court had already excused potential jurors with arrest records, especially for previous riots, so we didn't have to go through that again. We got 30 people out of that, and then the empaneling questions began. We got lucky in that of the first ten on the list, eight were white males, and all but four of the black persons were towards the back end of the list, and part of that second pool that had been brought in."

Paulina: "So Gwen used 8 of her 9 strikes on the first ten, and I used one of my 8 on the Black woman that looked to be Breonna's age. We'd seated four people, two White women, one Asian woman, and one Hispanic man, when Gwen used her last strike on a White man. Eight out of the next ten were White or Hispanic, and I let them through, striking the two Blacks."

Paulina: "So we have a Jury of eight White, two Hispanic, and two Asian people, eight men and four women, and six alternates, all White. The five women are one Asian and three White."

I said "Cool. Now do me one favor." I leaned over my desk and said quietly "Please do not ever tell anyone else that story that I've already forgotten I just heard."

"Why?" asked Paulina.

I said "Because if Bryant is convicted, Gwen Munson will appeal and say that Bryant did not have a (air quotes) 'jury of her peers' because no Blacks were on it. And mark my words, Paulina... there will come a time in the future where any Black that is convicted by a Jury with no Blacks on it will appeal on those grounds."

"Wow, really?" Paulina said, shocked and also skeptical.


"That is a prediction." I said. "Time will tell if I am right or not..."

Part 21 - Town & County v. Breonna Bryant

9:00am, Tuesday, September 15th. Teresa and I were in one of the Witness Rooms at the Courthouse. Because of the group of 'peaceful' protesters outside, Judge Watts had allowed a Patrol Officer to be in the hallway with our Police iPhones in case something started up and we got texted. This was over Gwen Munson's vociferous objections, of course.

"What they don't know," said Teresa quietly after I'd checked for bugs, "is that we have a contingent of State Patrol Officers at the Civic Center, which is closed to the Public this week." The Civic Center was at the northwest corner of the Square.

Teresa continued "The State Patrol Commander, Colonel Hartmann, is a strong Jared supporter. He hand-selected other Jared supporters for this mission. They are ready to assist us in quelling any violence by whatever methods the Iron Crowbar deems necessary."

"Good." I said.

Teresa said "I don't understand why we have to be here, while Dr. Lionel Carmela is allowed to stay at the University and teach his Communism classes."

I said "First, because we're being called by the Prosecution, while Carmela is a Defense character witness. Second, as a trade-off for us being allowed to be on call, and being able to leave and handle any emergencies that might come up."

Teresa said "And why am I being called by the Prosecution? I wasn't there, so I don't know what Paulina thinks I can add."

I said "Partially to protect you, so you can give your story before Gwen starts accusing you of batshit crazy stuff like flying a helicopter and firing a missile at the Block House. But also it might look bad to the Jury for you to be called by the Defense and not the Prosecution..."

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

After going through the preliminaries, Judge Watts had the Jury brought in. Eighteen Citizens filed into the Jury Box, one of the Four Boxes that were the cornerstones of our Liberty (along with the soap box, the ballot box, and the cartridge box).

Observers would tell me later that Breonna Bryant was the slowest to stand when the Jury went in and out, and the fastest to sit back down. Other than that, Gwen Munson had coached her very well to dress nicely, pay attention, even taking notes, and to act like a nervous, innocent lamb being led to the slaughterhouse.

After opening statements, Paulina got to work, bringing in the evidence. She introduced the videos that clearly showed Bryant not just at the protest, but actively participating to block the Police from reaching the Block House. Several TCPD technicians testified to the veracity of the film footage, easily weathering the storm of Gwen Munson's repeated attacks upon the data as well as attacking their integrity and competence.

Then came fourteen Police Officers, six of them Black. They all testified to clearly seeing Breonna Bryant among the 202 criminals surrounding the Block House, and when asked if that person was in the Courtroom, they all pointed at the Defendant and identified her. And as their records with the TCPD were spotless, Gwen Munson had nothing with which to impugn their integrity nor their testimony.

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

12:00pm, Tuesday, September 15th. Released for lunch, Teresa and I picked up some sandwiches from the Subway on the Square, which was almost devoid of customers. Protesters, many of them White with green Environmentalist Wacko shirts, were walking on the 'inside' side of College Street, on the Square side, ready and eager ready to intimidate anyone who dared to eat lunch on the Square. However, they wisely chose not to get anywhere near me nor Teresa, for the good of their own health and safety.

At Headquarters, I wolfed down my food and then studied emails and duty log entries. There were no mass protests outside the Courthouse Square area, but the protests in the Square were getting larger.

Helena buzzed me and said that Melina Allgood wanted to see me, without appointment... which meant that Helena did not approve of my ex-wife just showing up and wanting to intrude upon me. I said that was fine and to let Melina come on in.

"I think you're well aware that I'm working independently of both Jack Muscone's Team as well as that circle-jerk of an operation in Texas." Melina said as she handed me a file. "I've been independently monitoring that situation in Texas, as well as Louisiana. And I came across this."

I read the contents of the file, then got on my landline phone and buzzed Teresa to come to my office. Seconds later, she appeared, and without asking Melina's permission, I handed Teresa the file.

Inside, it read: "Jen Esterson Sakai is not in Houston, as we believed she was. We do not know to where she has gone, but we do know she has not approached her family nor their residence near Lake Charles. We believe she may be heading to her cousin Teresa Croyle's home, the Town & County"

"She's coming here?" Teresa asked with a gasp.

Melina said: "I've confirmed through other sources that she is not in Houston, and was not there for at least part of the time the FBI thought she was there. And my sources agree with that report... Jen Sakai is coming here... where you are, Teresa."

My ex-wife then noticed Teresa's eyes lock with mine for a second, and she realized that the Iron Crowbar and the Iron Wolf knew things that even she did not...

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

2:00pm. As the trial got back underway, ADA Paulina announced "The People call Police Commander Donald Troy to the stand."

I strode down the aisle and took my place in the witness chair after being sworn in. Paulina had me state my name and occupation, then asked to read my accomplishments into the record. To my amazement, Gwen Munson did not object! Hmmm, I thought to myself.

Paulina guided me through what I had ordered my Officers to do that night... including having Teresa go to BOW Enterprises. I explained that they had a communications room from which she could direct our operations if the unthinkable happened, and we and our Headquarters and our 2nd Precinct Headquarters were overrun.

"And why did you send Commander Croyle specifically?" Paulina asked.

"With me at the site, her presence would've been redundant." I said. "And with her being the wife of the BOW Enterprises CEO, it made sense to send her there."

I did notice that Gwen Munson did not challenge this line based on relevance. That also told me volumes.

After Paulina ended her questions, Gwen Munson started in on me. "Commander, did you actually see the defendant at the scene of the alleged crime?"

"Not personally." I said. "Which means nothing."

"Your Honor, will you ask this witness to confine himself to just answering the questions?" Gwen said.

"You'll regret it if I do." replied Judge Watts. "Continue."

"Commander Troy," said Munson, "let's look at that decision that you made, to send Commander Croyle to the BOW Enterprises facility. Why that facility? Why not County Jail, or Police Headquarters?"

"County Jail was a busy place, processing our arrests of violent criminals." I replied. "And Headquarters and 2nd Precinct Headquarters were much closer to the crime scene, and seeing that Precinct Offices in other cities have been attacked by violent protesters, they were obvious potential targets."

Gwen went to her table and pretended to search for something, then turned back with a piece of paper in her hand. "Commander," she said, "On June 7th, just over a year ago, BOW Enterprises was invaded, and its CEO, your nephew I might add, was captured and held hostage. So would you please explain why you would think of sending Commander Croyle to that much less safe place?" (Author's note: 'A Death in the Family', Ch. 02)

I said "The perps who committed that crime were trained in military tactics, and their leader was a former Navy SEAL. And since that time, the facility upgraded its security tremendously."

"I see." said Gwen. "And during the rescue of Mr. Burke, the CEO, some of your Officers used a tunnel to access the warehouse where he was being held, is that correct?"

"That is correct." I said.

"Are there any other tunnels under BOW Enterprises?" Gwen asked.

"I don't know." I said.

"You're under oath, Commander." Gwen said. Paulina objected, and Judge Watts sustained the objection. Gwen persisted: "How can you sit there and say you don't know of any other tunnels there?"

I shrugged and said "Because I don't know, not for sure, and I'm not going to speculate while under oath... which you just reminded us that I am."

"All right, Commander..." Judge Watts said quietly as people in the Courtroom chuckled, including a couple of Jury members. He was not pleased with that last remark I'd just made.

"Commander," Gwen Munson said, "the Block House was destroyed by a very large explosion, which officially was attributed to explosives inside detonating. Is it possible that they were detonated by missile being fired from a helicopter?"

"Objection!" Paulina said, rising to her feet. "Calls for speculation! And relevance, I might add."

"Sustained." said Judge Watts.

Gwen said "No more questions, Your Honor, but I would like this witness to be subject to recall."

"Objection!" said Paulina. "She needs to finish her cross of Commander Troy or make clear why she wants him subject to recall."

"I intend to show that as I question other witnesses." Gwen retorted.

"The objection is sustained." said Judge Watts. "Finish with this witness, Counselor."

"No more questions, Your Honor." Gwen said, seemingly exasperated... but with a slight gleam in her eye.

"You may step down, Commander." said Judge Watts, who made a point to add: "And you may remain in the Courtroom if you so desire."

"Thank you, Your Honor." I said...

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

Paulina did not call Teresa to the stand. At 5:00pm, Court adjourned after the Prosecution rested its case. I went back to Headquarters along the normally-closed-off Elm Street, noticing that the crowds protesting were large, but not very active at the moment.

"It was weird." I said to the Chief and Sheriff as we sat in the Chief's Conference Room. "Munson went completely off-course, asking about tunnels under BOW Enterprises, and trying to get me to speculate on a helicopter-fired missile hitting the Block House."

Griswold growled "They must be trying to gin up that crap from earlier, that Nash and his FBI team tried to gin up on us." (Author's note: 'Consequences', Ch. 05.)

I shook my head. "Maybe, sir," I said," but that's not relevant to Breonna Bryant's charges. The perps died, she's been shown to be there committing felony crimes. So the felony murder charge would stick. Gwen Munson was wasting everyone's time, including the Jury's, on her fantasies." Both men chuckled at that.

"There was one thing that I didn't understand." said Sheriff Griswold. "Why didn't Paulina bring up that you agreed to meet with Bryant, and that she said that about your daughter when you did talk to her?"

I was struck by that. "I... I..."

"My God, Sheriff." said the Chief. "You just stumped the Iron Crowbar..."

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

9:00am, Wednesday, September 16th. The TCPD began making preparations for riots, and we were not playing around. Rubber bullets, beanbags, CS grenades, flash-bang grenades, and live ammunition was distributed, as well as shields to compliment the armor and helmets the Officers would be wearing. The State Patrol did likewise. And National Guard troops began being bussed in, and were staying in the gym in the basement of the Old Post Office Building behind the Federal Building.