Big in Japan Ch. 04

"Okay, good." I said. "Keep that up."

"Oh, LaTasha Thompson has something, too." Mary said. She called Mrs. Damien Thompson over.

LaTasha said "Sir, I've been in 'informal' contact with D.A. Investigator Artis Lattimore. He told me that he believes KXTC has hired private investigators or others such people to go and find out where the protesters are congregating. The Press people know that their Press vans and their privately owned vehicles are being watched by the Police."

"That would make sense." I said. "And it would make it harder, much harder, to catch them and prove they colluded with the criminals, especially if we don't know who their hired spies are. Okay, you guys are doing a great job. Keep it up."

As I went back towards my office, I was called into Classroom 'E' by Teresa Croyle. "Sir," she said as I went in, "we're monitoring arrests being made, looking to see if there are patterns, and also to see if any known perps are making trouble. Two of our teams just made arrests of individuals who were going down Jefferson Avenue smashing windows, on on the east side and the other on the west side of Town. No links between them yet, but we're starting to get more people marching down Jefferson."

"Shut off Jefferson Avenue." I said. "Let people drive out, but no one gets onto the street that isn't already there."

"One more thing, sir." Teresa said. "I know the windows to this building are bulletproof, but I'd advise you to not sit in your office. We'd be glad to have you in here."

"Not a bad idea." I said. "But I'll risk it for now..."

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

Paulina came into my office and I had her sit down. "Calls are pouring in to the D.A.'s Office. Lawyers for the 'Jacquez 200'. After Bryant's conviction, they're all of a sudden seeking plea deals, and are willing to accept manslaughter instead of felony murder. We're going to offer either Man-1 or Man-2, depending on priors and such."

"Great!" I said. "So your gambit of taking Bryant to trial has worked out." Paulina nodded somewhat solemnly, and I said "What's the matter?"

"You heard what Bryant's father said right after the trial, didn't you?" she asked.

"Uh, no." I said. "I was at the Courthouse then, or maybe on my way back here."

At Paulina's request, I contacted the I.T. people in the basement, and they uploaded the DVR recording to my television monitor. As I heard Breonna Bryant's father's hatred-filled words calling for our daughter to be harmed, I had to suppress the outrage that was welling up inside me.

"Where is Tasha now?" I asked.

"At Laura's office." said Paulina. "Marie's sister Selena picked her up from Little Friends Kindergarten on the way to pick up Carole and Marie."

I called Laura. "Hello, darling." she said. "Yes, I saw what that racist bastard said, threatening Tasha... She's here with with me. So are Carole and Marie... Jim is staying with Ross and Ian at Molly's condo in Nextdoor County..."

"Why don't you bring the girls to Police Headquarters." I said. "They'll be safer here than anywhere else."

"It may become a target." Laura said.

"So might The Cabin." I replied. "And I can't protect the Mountain Nest, since it's technically on Campus grounds, and I don't know if the Campus Police can... or will... handle it. Besides, we're going to be thin and everyone needed in Town, as it is."

"Darling, don't worry about it." Laura said. "I'm as protective of the children as you could ever be. I'm much more worried about you..."

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

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News at Six!" said the redheaded MILF reporterette at 6:00pm, Thursday, September 17th, from the KXTC van at the Fairgrounds. "The TCPD is using violence to crack down on peaceful protesters!"

Bettina: "Police have totally shut off the areas around Courthouse Square as well as Jefferson Avenue, and have used violently abusive tactics to clear peaceful protesters from attempting to walk down the street! On Jefferson Street, Police forced pedestrians to divert onto side streets. Several persons refused and were violently thrown to the ground and arrested."

Video of people yelling at a barricade was shown. What people couldn't tell was that that was not a Police barricade, but one set up by the Media itself, and the chanting protesters were paid by the Media for their acting.

Bettina: "I'm here with Edgar Silas, who is running for the Council seat held by the retiring Reginald B.F. Lewis. Mr. Silas, are all People of Color committed to peacefully marching against the brutality of our White Nationalist Mayor and his band of thug cops, led by Donald Troy?"

Silas: "Not everyone, Bettina. Joseph Williams continues to whine about the election that he lost fair and square to me, and Williams endorsed my opponent, a hanky-headed house negress and traitor to her race. Williams has to pay for his refusal to walk with us as we protest the subversion of justice, the atrocity committed against Breonna Bryant this morning by a jury with no blacks on it!"

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

"Extend our pincer line further west." I said. "We have to protect the A.M.E. Church."

"You think they'll target Rev. Williams's church?" asked the Chief, looking a bit stunned.

"We cannot allow Edgar Silas to continue to think that I am an Agency of the Weak-Minded." I said. "He was calling for an attack on that church just as surely as Bryant's father called for people to physically harm my daughter this morning."

"Commander, this is a serious questionnnn." said the Chief. "I'm not trying to joke nor troll yoooo. Do you really think they're going to have planned, ginned-up riots? So far, everything has seemed spontaneousssss."

"Sir," I said, "the way these things have worked from the riots of the 1960s Counterculture to the violence in Portland, Oregon, the City in our State, and the sewer called Wilmington, Delaware, is that a few people gin it up, and then the so-called 'Useful Idiots' take over with mob mentality and it becomes more spontaneous. I think the same is going to happen here. And one reason I say that is because I expected more violence today... but for the most part they've held off. Gotta wonder why, Chief. Gotta wonder why..."

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

"KXTC has a news van parked behind the building across from the A.M.E. Church." reported Mary Milton at 7:30pm as we sat in my office. It felt strange, because I'd put down the Levelor blinds and closed the curtains, and it felt like night-time.

Mary continued: "There are also increasing numbers on the north-south side streets south of Jefferson Avenue. We send patrols down the roads and they scatter. We can't do much about them."

I said "That could mean one of two things: they're starting to figure out that we really mean business, and we will stop any protests; or, they're in that area for a purpose. As to the KXTC van: yeah, the other stuff may be spontaneous, but KXTC is working hand-in-glove with someone to attack the A.M.E. Church."

"Who, sir?" Mary asked.

I replied: "The logical answer is that KXTC is working with Edgar Silas and his butthole buddy Bruce Finneran, to burn down the church of Dr. Joseph E. Williams, who truly was cheated out of his nomination win. Silas is still bitter about Dr. Williams not conceding the nomination and Dr. Williams endorsing Silas's opponent, Katina Jones..."

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

I saw Cindy Ross exit her office with Captain Damien Thompson... both of them wearing armored vests.

"Commander Ross!" I called out. She wasn't going to stop, but I did not come in third in the race with the pregnant woman, and chased her down the hall.

"Where are you going with that armor on?" I asked, seeing out of the back of my head that Chief Moynahan had come out of his office suite, as well.

Cindy said "We're setting up a Press tent at The Fairgrounds, so we can try to control the flow of information to the Press there."

"That's a good idea." I said. "And Captain Thompson and his people will do a great job for us there. But you are not going."

Cindy had Captain Thompson go on ahead, then turned on me and said defiantly: "And who is going to stop me? You?" I might add that a green crowbar was being brandished.

"Why, nooooo, Commander Ross." said the Chief. "I will be stopping you, with a direct order. What you Crowbar people do while waiting around heeeeeere.. is up to yoooooo."

"With respect, Chief," Cindy said, "why can't I go?"

A red crowbar was pointed at Cindy's growing belly, almost tapping her. "You see that?" I asked. "Chief, you see that?" The Chief nodded vigorously. Then I said "That's my second cousin under construction in there."

"And that meeeeens," added the Chief, "that you are on Restricted Doooty, Ms. Ross..."

The Chief won the argument. The look in the Green Crowbar's ice-blue eyes suggested that the Red Crowbar was in for a crowbar beatdown in the future. On behalf of my second cousin under construction, I would gladly endure that...

Part 25 - How It SHOULD Be Done

8:30pm, Thursday, September 17th. The sun had set, and darkness was enveloping the Town & County. I went into Classroom 'E', which was becoming the 'War Room'. The Sheriff, Police Chief, Teresa, Tanya, Jerome Davis, Micah Rudistan, and Precinct Captain Hewitt were in the room. Precinct Captain Abram was at his post at The Old Mill, 2nd Precinct Headquarters.

"Your interdictions earlier today seeeeem to have worked, Mr. Crowbarrrr." said the Chief. "We've set up a barricade line, and are in control of everything north of Jefferson Avenue and east of Leon Street, where T-Square's Regiment member Holden was killed." (Author's note: 'Knights of the Round', Ch. 01.)

"Yes sir," I said, "but we don't have a grip on areas near the A.M.E. Church. I'm deploying one of the SWAT units and our best tactical teams from 1st Precinct there. The other SWAT unit and the 2nd Precinct tactical teams are at the Old Mill, ready to deploy to any problem areas."

"And we have one." said Captain Hewitt, looking at his Police iPad. "Kalsu is reporting that large groups are coming towards A.M.E. Church from all sides..."

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

"NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!... NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!" yelled the mass of protesters as they marched down both sides of the road, with the A.M.E. Church as their destination. How it happened, they were not sure, but a couple hundred Police in riot gear, shields, billy sticks, and other weapons seemed to form out of nowhere, ringing the Church.

The protesters thought they could march right up to the Police, but when they got within 30 feet, Police began firing tear gas, smoke, and beanbags at the perps. From the parking lot of the church, the Police water cannon vehicle began spraying the perps. Anyone hit directly was knocked down by the powerful blast of the water.

Then everyone saw a spurt of orange flame in the crowd. A Molotov cocktail was thrown at the church. It missed, hitting the front yard and blowing up relatively harmlessly. But another Molotov cocktail was thrown at the Police line. It burst in front of the LEOs.

Fortunately no one was hurt... yet. But the Officers were given the order on their radios: "Lethal force is authorized! Lethal force is authorized! Confirmation 'Troy, Alpha Damascus One'. I say again, confirmation 'Troy Alpha Damascus One'." Suddenly a barrage of tear gas canisters were fired into the group, and the beanbags became rubber bullets. Anyone not going the other way was hit with rubber bullets and beanbags, and some in the upper chest.

Other perps had tried to come at the church from behind. They were met by the TCPD's most elite SWAT Team Officers and State Troopers. Many perps were injured, some badly, by the barrage of beanbags and rubber bullets fired at the perps.

The KXTC van covering the attack? It appeared that a lot smoke grenades were fired over the perps's heads, and landed around the van, obscuring the cameramen's visibility. And 'stray' rubber bullets hit the truck, badly damaging the windshield and sides, as if a hailstorm had struck... and in a way, one had.

By the Grace of God and the actions of the TCPD, the historic Town & County A.M.E. Church was saved.

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

"We sent in a mop-up team." said Lieutenant Rudistan in Classroom 'E'. "They pursued the perps that went east, and funneled them all towards the southwest corner of Town. We've made 32 arrests, and 23 people were injured significantly enough to be taken to the Hospital."

I nodded as I looked at the map on one of the monitor screens. "All right, Teresa, alert Patrick and his team. I think they're going after The Old Mill next."

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

The mass of protesters from the failed attempt to destroy the A.M.E. Church joined another mass that had congregated just east of the remains of the now flat, cleared land upon which once stood The Block House. They began marching north on Riverside Drive and west on MLK Jr. Drive, having been unable to get to the 'Jasmine' nightclub, behind which a KSB news van was trapped, held in place by Agents of the Law.

"Here they come." I heard on the radio. Jerome Davis brought up a feed from a TCPD drone flying down Riverside Drive.

"Geez." muttered the Chief. "There must be over two thousand people in that crowd."

"Where are they going?" asked Captain Abram.

"The Old Mill." I said. "They're trying to do what was done in Minneapolis, and invade a Precinct building. But in Minneapolis, the politicians ordered the Police to abandon their posts and let the Haters win. We are not them. We will pro-tect... our... House."

The Media got active for the first time. Their drones took flight, often interfering with and almost hitting LEO drones. We were not letting the vans at The Fairgrounds leave, but many of them had additional vans or other vehicles on the southside, and were feeding video of the march into the homes of the State and the Nation.

As they approached, chanting slogans such as "NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!" AND "FREE BREONNA"... and a lot of "FUCK THE POLICE!" and "KILL THE PIGS!"... I could see from above that red-shirted thugs were surrounding others that were carrying things in bags, trying to hide from us their true intentions.

"They're coming up to the Old Mill." we heard on the radio. "two hundred feet away... 150 feet... 100 feet..."

"Molotov cocktail!" said another voice on the radio. "They threw it at us!"... "They're throwing rocks at us... correction, bricks. They're throwing bricks at us!".... "They're within 50 feet!"... "They're at the barricade!"... "Watch out!". A Molotov cocktail had been thrown at the thin Blue line, followed by more.

The Police ringing the Old Mill but on the outside of the fence literally had their backs to the wall. The protesters could crush them by sheer force of numbers in close quarters battle. And they began fighting like it. Round after round of tear gas was fired into the crowd. Those that tried to throw or kick the canisters back at the Police were hit with barrages of rubber bullets.

But it wasn't enough. The thugs sensed victory, and were about to press their advantage. More Molotov cocktails were being thrown, and within throwing distance of the Police.

This was it. In the silence of Classroom 'E', I looked at the Chief and Sheriff. The Chief just nodded. Sheriff Griswold said "Do it, Crowbar."

I took out my Police radio and hit the 'Break' button. After the loud noise got everyone's attention, I said "Break break break! Now hear this! Use whatever force is needed to protect the Old Mill and disperse that crowd. Lethal force is authorized! I say again, lethal force is authorized! Confirmation 'Troy, Alpha Jericho Two', I say again, confirmation 'Troy, Alpha Jericho Two!'."

The thugs were monitoring our radios. When they heard my authorization to use lethal force, a lot of them faltered and stopped, while others pressed on. When they saw more Police, augmented by the National Guard troops, coming south on Riverside Drive, many of them started peeling off and running back south. But not all of them. One man broke from the group, but only to run up to throw a Molotov cocktail at the ring around the Old Mill...

*POW!*

Quoting Snoopy in his famous novel It Was A Dark And Stormy Night: 'Suddenly a shot rang out!' The man in the act of throwing suddenly fell back. He dropped the bottle filled with gasoline as he went to the ground.

The 'peaceful' protesters seeing that suddenly realized that we were playing for keeps. They began turning and running south, many of them in a panic. It was beginning to be a stampede. Police fired more tear gas and smoke behind them and into them.

I got on the radio and ordered the Police that had been coming down Riverside to pursue and arrest any protesters that remained. They swarmed the thugs that had not run away, arresting them with punishing physical force.

The assault on the Old Mill was broken.

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

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, reporting for the SNN Networks!" said the redheaded MILF reporterette at 11:00pm (or so), Thursday, September 17th. "Town & County Police are using extremely violent force against peaceful protesters!"

As the networks showed protesters marching earlier in the evening, Bettina said "Mostly black protesters marched up Riverside Drive to peacefully protest the conviction of University Honors student Breonna Bryant for Felony murder by a Jury that had no blacks on it. As they approached the Old Mill building, which is 2nd Precinct Headquarters, Police opened fire with live ammunition, killing one harmless, peaceful protester. There are unconfirmed reports that at least thirty peaceful protesters were severely injured when they were struck by rubber bullets and burning tear gas canisters."

Bettina: "And now let's go to Tim Sioban of KSB News for an important development. Tim!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said Tim Sioban, broadcasting from in front of the United States Courthouse and Post Office in Lexington, Hamilton County. "The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has filed an emergency petition with Federal Judge Ruth B. Taney in Midtown to order the Town & County Police and State Patrol to cease and desist any actions against any peaceful protesters, as well as, and I quote, 'any Person of Color', without the USDOJ's explicit, written permission."

Sioban: "Judge Taney issued the order, but it was immediately overturned by Federal Judge K.M. Landis here in Lexington, who is senior to Judge Taney. Judge Landis said that the Town & County Police have, quote, 'every right to protect themselves against the violent protesters', unquote. The US DOJ appealed to the Federal Appeals Court, but their appeal was summarily denied. Back to you, Bettina."

Bettina: "Thank you, Tim!" As drone footage was shown of a couple of buildings on fire in the Southwestern Ghetto, she said "The Police have contained the peaceful protesters to an area in the southwest part of Town. Two buildings in the 'historic Black Business District have been set on fire, and some looting has been reported in that area of Town, as well..."

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

As the night wore on, there were a couple of feeble attempts to break out of the Police front lines, especially to the east, trying to get to the Tenderloin District and T-Square's clubs. The attempts were repulsed.

The TCFD made no attempt to go put out the fires in the Southwestern Ghetto. That was one thing about all those riots that I'd never understood: why are they burning down their own neighborhoods? They're only harming themselves, I thought to myself...

Part 26 - The Morning After