Black and Blue Ch. 04

Teresa said "If that's the case, they (air quotes) 'coordinated' a hell of a lot faster in the City and Midtown."

"I dunno." I said. "I don't think this is the first time the Media and the agitators have talked and planned. Did anyone follow Lionel Carmela around?"

"Yes sir," said Tanya, "but he's not as stupid as Holder and Amber, and he's very cautious... almost as paranoid as you are." A red crowbar was waved in her general direction, then she continued: "He basically has stayed on Campus, mostly in his office or his building, and only traveled to go to his home and back to Campus. And we think he recognized Sonali's car, which Coleman and Newman borrowed."

I nodded as I said "The Teacher is damn thorough, and probably has told Carmela what cars every Police Officer and their families own... for which Carmela would have paid quite handsomely. Okay, Teresa, are we ready to show our disrespect for 'Police-free zones'?"

Teresa smiled that smile one does not want to see, and said "Yes sir. It would seeeeem that some of our Officers have Combat Engineering experience, and we have an array of tools and weapons to clear the obstructions the Enemy has set up, and to enforce our will upon them."

"That's what I wanted to hear." I said. "And just how I wanted to hear it...."

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

At 10:00am, FBI Special Agent in Charge Jack Muscone, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Karina White, and Supervisory Special Agent Melina Allgood came to Police Headquarters, and were escorted to the Main Conference Room. At the near end of the table was Chief Moynahan. I was to his left, with Lt. Commander Croyle to my left. The Sheriff was at the far end of the table, and Commander Ross was to his left. Muscone sat down at the middle of the table on the near side, to the left of his wife Tanya, followed by Melina and Karina White to the Chief's right.

"We have some new information for you." said Jack Muscone. "First, and I know you know because your best Detective ever, in my opinion since she's my lovely wife, and I talked about this..."

All the women in the room sighed a well-coordinated "Awwwww!", followed by laughter from all of us.

Jack continued: "We know that a lot of the agitators are not just black social justice groups, but white environmentalist wackos working behind the scenes. Now don't get me wrong... a LOT of the demonstrations, especially the peaceful ones in daylight, are blacks with legitimate frustrations. But a lot of the violence itself is coordinated and ginned up, especially with the help if not the outright leadership of the deeply corrupt Mainstream Media."

"You sound like the Iron Crowbar." said Cindy. The beginnings of laughter were cut short when everyone saw the look on my face: I was NOT amused by Cindy's remark.

"I can think of worse things than to be in agreement with the Iron Crowbar about the corrupt Media." replied Jack Muscone, and more than just politely. "But I need to move on. The second thing we've discovered that you need to know about, is that Jocelyn Moran and Ava Hinds and a dozen Federal Marshals and other Federal Agents, are just across the State Line, in Hammondsville."

"Ahhhh." I said. "And there it is."

Everyone looked at me inquisitively. I continued: "We were wondering what the agitators were waiting for, and now we know. They were waiting for the USDOJ Civil Rights people to get here with their lapdogs. So if we try to stop what the professional agitators are going to do here, and probably tonight, those bastards will come in after me and Daniel Allgood... and they'll be trying to shoot us dead, not arrest us."

"Are you kidding?" asked the Chief. "You think they're going to try to kill you?"

Melina said "Yes, Chief. Jocelyn Moran's intent is to murder my husband and my ex-husband. She's stated it out loud in private meetings we were able to... listen in on. The Marshals that came with her are dedicated Swamp Frogs, and we know the Rovers BAU Team is also going to augment them. They are going to come in after Don and Daniel, and if the Police resist them, they will be shooting to kill."

"Jocelyn Moran will be arrested if she comes into this County." Teresa said.

"Let me assure you that you won't get a chance to arrest her." Melina said, and no one present had any illusions about what she meant... and that she had the 'license' to do it.

"What about Ava Hinds?" Cindy asked.

"Hinds may the one that comes in the front door." said Karina White. "Unlike Jocelyn Moran, who is universally despised, Hinds has a lot of respect amongst the Washington Elites. If anything happens to her, it'll get really ugly around here."

"So let me seeee if I get this straaaaaight." said Chief Moynahan. "You are telling me that if we, the TCPD, do our jobs and stop violent mobs, we will be considered by the USDOJ Civil Rights Division to be the 'bad guys' in all this?"

"Yes, Chief." I said. "And this has been their plan all along. This is why Kelly Carnes and Reginald B.F. Lewis have been goading the Mayor so constantly for so long. This is why the DOJ sued Daniel and the TCPD. This is the groundwork Bettina Wurtzburg, Amber Harris, Lester Holder, and Burt West have been laying for all this time. And this is why Hatch planted that gun on those four blacks and why McCombs tried to murder that innocent, unarmed black man, though they are useful idiots that do not realize what they are doing."

"All this, to take the side of the agitators in a race-based conflict?" asked the Chief, his voice connoting his disbelief.

"No sir." said Teresa. "The riots are what they are, but Feds's plan and the Media's plan... is to assassinate the Iron Crowbar."

"Come on, Ms. Croyle." said the Chief. "That's pure paranoia."

Teresa and I looked down at Sheriff Griswold, who said "It ain't paranoia, if they really are out to get you. "

"With all due respect, Sheriff," said the Chief, "all of this, just to get at Mr. Crowbarrr, here?"

"Yes, Chief." I said. "And I'll say this: if the Consultant of Crime were alive, I'd say this is his doing. It has all the hallmarks of his schemes against me: not just to kill me, but to shame me, humiliate me, destroy my reputation first."

I continued: "The Media has relentlessly... relentlessly... tried to paint me as a racist. They've chanted the mantra that I commit Police brutality against blacks at the drop of a hat. Penis Holder has tried his hardest to get me to physically assault him in front of other reporters with his filthy remarks about my daughter."

Me: "And the Swamp Frogs amongst the Feds are doing their part. They came after me and destroyed my home, and tried to shoot my dog and my daughter, and their Media allies smeared me publicly with as much zeal as their capacity for hatred permitted"

"He's right." said Melina. "And now, the US DOJ Civil Rights Division is being used by the Swamp Frogs to publicly paint him as a racist, so that when they kill him, he won't be a martyr or a rallying point for good people, but a racist that got what he deserved."

"She's right, you know." said the Sheriff agreeably...

Part 26 - Police-Free Zone

4:30am, Thursday, May 14th. I came into Police Headquarters and checked with the Duty Desk. They reported no issues, but that 2nd Precinct might have a report for me. I went to my office and called their Duty Desk, and was informed that two Police cruisers driving along MLK Jr. Avenue were struck by people throwing rocks.

Also, there were 'clumps' of people wearing red Antifa shirts in the 'Jasmine' club parking lot and a Wal-Mart parking lot on Jefferson Avenue around 1:00am. Police were not sent into the parking lots, even though there was supposed to be a curfew from midnight to 6:00am... because Media news vans had been spotted parked behind the Wal-Mart building and behind the building west of 'Jasmine' by Police drones. I began looking at video footage from many cameras in the area, and making observations.

"Anything?" I heard a voice growl from my doorway. It was Sheriff Griswold. And it was 6:45am.

"Yes sir." I said, then showed the Sheriff some of the videos recorded by many cameras of the two groups. "And the Media was nearby, probably hoping we'd send Police cruisers into the parking lots to disperse these crowds."

"Let's go get some coffee." said the Sheriff. I followed him into the Chief's Conference Room, where Teresa had just made coffee and the Chief was taking his seat. We filled our coffee mugs, added the appropriate pollutants (cream and fake sugar for me), and sat down. Cindy and Tanya came in moments later.

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" said the redheaded reporterette from in front of the Courthouse complex at 7:00am sharp. "Judge Harry R. Nance has just issued two huge rulings that will affect the Black Community!"

Bettina: "Judge Nance has ruled that the gun charges against four black men arrested by Sergeant McCombs will remain in place! Judge Nance rejected a plea bargain for the four men in which they would plead guilty to drug distribution charges but the gun charges would be dropped. Judge Nance said that the gun charge was the worst charge, and that the four men, if found guilty, would receive long prison sentences!"

Bettina: "And Judge Nance also took the bold step of dismissing with prejudice the attempted murder charges as well as internal Police charges against Sergeant McCombs, saying that Sergeant McCombs acted totally properly in demanding that a black man get on his knees in front of his son, and that Sergeant McCombs would have been correct to shoot and kill that black man for not complying with McCombs lawful and reasonable order! Let's go to Lester Holder with more on this important story. Lester!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said Lester Holder, from the 'Jasmine' parking lot. "Members of the Black Community are outraged at the rulings. They believe the gun was planted by a Town & County Police Officer, and for a white Police Officer to order a black man to get on his knees is considered a racist act. It comes as no surprise that Commander Donald Troy's Police Force would accost innocent blacks with racist actions, and this will only fan the flames of the tensions between the Black Community and the Police..."

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

As we watched, absolutely stunned, my phone rang. It was Paulina.

"Judge Folsom has already put out a judicial order countermanding dropping the McCombs charges." Paulina said. "Nance had no authority nor right to drop the charges. But when Miriam Walters called Burt West at KXTC, he told her that KXTC would not go on the air with, quote 'anything helpful to the Police', and that if Walters didn't like it, she could go fuck herself, and that's a direct quote, there."

Then Teresa's Police iPhone began chiming, followed by my own device sounding off. I was glad Bowser wasn't here; he'd be verrrry agitated right now.

Teresa speed-dialed a number, and I heard her saying "Yes... okay... okay... wow, okay... yeah, get ready... the code word is imminent." She disconnected, and said "That was Captain Abram. Two hundred red-shirted people suddenly appeared in the 'Jasmine' parking lot, then began marching onto MLK Jr. Avenue. KXTC and KSB vans were there recording it. Two Patrol cruisers on MLK Jr. Avenue turned around and retreated to the Old Mill after some of the crowd began throwing rocks at them, and one Patrol reported hearing gunfire, but they weren't hit and couldn't tell where it was from."

Teresa's iPhone chimed again and she read the text, then said "The red shirts have split into two groups, and now each group has several hundred people in normal clothes, marching west along MLK Jr. Drive and east on Jefferson Avenue. They're putting up barricades so that traffic cannot access either road from south of MLK and north of Jefferson."

"That's it, then." I said. "They're going to take control of those streets and that part of Town between them, and declare it a 'Police-free zone'."

"If that's all they doooo, it's not all that much." said the Chief. "Confine them to that space, but hold off on direct confrontation in that zone, for now."

Sheriff Griswold growled: "Implement a dusk-to-dawn curfew. Announce it over the Emergency Alert System, including texts and emails. And give the word to the entire Public Safety Department, to get ready." He got up and said "Chief, let's go to your office. Crowbar, you are in operational charge to meet this threat. Give the code words as you see fit."

"Yes sir." I said as the Sheriff practically forced the Chief out of the room.

"Did the Sheriff just do what I think he did?" Cindy said, meaning pretty much usurping the Police Chief's authority and handing it to me.

"Yes." I said. "Teresa, the code word to get ready is 'Wildcat Shield'. This will trigger the Precincts to cancel all leaves and vacations, and bring in every Police Officer of every shift to the Precincts's Headquarters. It will also trigger preparing our equipment to engage rioters, to include zip-ties. Hundred, thousands, of zip-ties."

"To subdue rioters?" asked Cindy.

"To arrest them." I said. "And take them to County Jail, where we'll have the same setup we had on the night of 'Sturgis on the Square'." (Author's note: 'The Four Boxes of Liberty', Ch. 06.) "If those bastards try any violence, any at all, we will make them pay. Commander Croyle, the word is given: Wildcat Shield. Execute, execute, execute."

Teresa got on her iPhone and sent the text: 'Wildcat Shield. Execute, execute, execute. This is not a drill.'

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

10:00am, Thursday, May 14th. I was in the Main Conference Room, studying the large map of the Town that was on the near-side wall when Teresa came in, "They're in orbit, sir." she said. "West on MLK Jr., north on Riverside, east on Jefferson, and south on Piccolo Street, which is next to and parallel to University Avenue. We stopped them from getting to University Avenue, and so far they haven't attacked our barricades."

I nodded. "The most important thing to do is watch where the Press goes. The agitators need their Media allies, so expect something to happen wherever they are. Did you see the footage in the City from last night?"

"No." Teresa said.

(Author's note: the following is based upon a true event.)

I went to her laptop and brought up a KSB snippet on the monitor. Tim Sioban was reporting, and behind him were people running back and forth, and a building was completely engulfed in flames. "As you can see," said Sioban, "these are peaceful protests here..."

"Wow," Teresa said, "do they really expect anyone to believe that?"

"Yes." I replied. "They absolutely do think that if they tell you it's peaceful, then it must be true. You're expected to ignore that burning building in the background, and people attacking each other..."

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

2:00pm, Thursday, May 14th. "The area is mostly industrial businesses." said Teresa as she met with the Precinct Captains, Precinct Lieutenant and Sergeant, and me in the Main Conference Room. "But there are places, mostly toward the east side of the zone, where there are apartments above the shops. Residents there are calling in that they can't get out. Some that have tried have been assaulted and beaten, especially if they're white."

"We've put out shelter-in-place announcements." I said. "KXTC refused to show the PSAs until the FBI went to their offices and threatened Burt West with arrest if they didn't broadcast what we were putting out on the Emergency Alert System. But the messages are everywhere else."

Teresa said "Guys, this is your last time coming here. After we dismiss you, go back to your Precinct Headquarters and lead your Officers from there. Commander Troy, do you want to give them the plan if the Enemy implements a 'Police-free zone'?"

"Sure." I said. I began giving the plan. "I think they're expecting us to stage out of the Old Mill and Headquarters here, but I'm going to redirect their expectations in a very painful way. Here's what we're doing, and what we're going to do. When they declare a 'Police-free zone', listen for the code word 'Wildcat Spear'. When that is given, we execute the plan. And let me be massively clear on this one point if nothing else... any reporters inside that zone are to be treated as the Enemy. They are to be arrested. If they resist, lethal force will already be authorized to kill them..."

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

7:50pm, Thursday, May 14th. As the sun found the western horizon and began to disappear behind it, it began.

"Turn on KXTC." said Teresa as she came into my office. I did so as she turned off the overhead light, so that only the lamp on my desk and the television and computer monitors lit the room.

A very fit, muscular black man, with broad shoulders and arms and ham fists that looked to be as iron-hard as my red crowbar, was on the screen, being interviewed by Lester Holder. They were on the western side of MLK Jr. Avenue, not all that far southeast of The Old Mill. He was wearing a red t-shirt that seemed molded to his body, with 'Black Voices Raised' inscribed in white lettering on his chest.

"That's Jacquez Wilson, leader of the Block House Boyz." I said as we watched, and I began putting on my armor. Teresa already was fully armored up.

"We are declaring this a Police-free zone!" yelled Jacquez Wilson, to the cheers of hundreds of people behind him. He was brandishing a semi-automatic pistol as he yelled: "Police are not welcome here! Police brutality will not happen here! Any Police here will be killed! Any white Pigs we catch in here will sodomized! Any female white Pigs we catch will be raped until they are dead!" The crowd cheered lustily.

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

As the sun vanished, Teresa and I went outside Police Headquarters. Courthouse Square was cordoned off by Police, and there were no protesters. They were all needed for the Police-free zone.

"Let's go down there." I said. We headed south, towards Jefferson Avenue. Teresa and I were surrounded by a good number of Officers, including most of the Detectives.

We got near Jefferson Avenue, and could see Bettina Wurtzburg, who was interviewing Kelly Carnes near the northwest corner of the now-Police-free zone, at Jefferson Avenue and Riverside Drive. Bettina saw us and pointed at us, and Kelly Carnes began hurling unprintable curses at us.

"This is a Police-free zone!" Carnes yelled (among other things) as demonstrators behind her cheered. "Donald Troy's racism and brutality are not allowed here!" More cheering.

Bettina asked "What do you plan to do within your Police-free zone?"

Kelly Carnes yelled "We're going to live free of Police brutality! It's going to be a Summer of Love!...

To be continued.