Causing a Commotion Ch. 02

This story is part of an ongoing series. The chronological order of my stories is listed in WifeWatchman's biography. Stories after 'Ethical Dilemmas' are: We'll Always Have Paris, Causing a Commotion.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

Part 7 - The Evil That Men Do

"So," Laura said, "you told me that you needed confirmation that your DNA sample was that of a CIA agent, and it is. So what's the full story?"

"I apologize for keeping some of this to myself." I said as I sat in one of the chairs in our bedroom, the hard back of the chair helping my back. "That sample I gave you came from a dead body that was found on Harmon Biller's farm collective just north of 'The Vision' World Headquarters. The body was ground up, but the DNA showed it was a woman. However, there were no matches to any missing runaway women at the time."

"When Sheriff Sorrells told me about it, I looked through the case files." I said. "You may remember that Harmon Biller had a connection with Pastor Westboro. Indeed, the Consultant might have helped bankroll the collective farm. And we also know that Pastor Westboro had a connection with Tomoko Shimono..."

"Oh my God." Laura said, connecting the dots.

"Yes." I said. "Tomoko Shimono has not been seen nor heard from since we stopped the nuclear power plant sabotage and the attempt to steal the directed energy weapon." (Author's note: 'Eyes Only'.). "She was 'disavowed' by the CIA even before that case, and had been working for Westboro. And she'd not been heard from, at all, since that time, and especially since Westboro died."

"Now," I said, "her name started coming up again, in association with drug rings. But Tomoko Shimono never dealt with drugs. She was the Consultant's technology thief. And when I asked Jenny Van Dyke about Tomoko Shimono, Jenny said she had no idea who that was... but there's a notation in Jenny's file that Tomoko Shimono had vouched for Jenny as an undercover agent."

"No one seems to be able to tell me who made that notation." I continued. "So it occurred to me that it never was Tomoko Shimono who vouched for Jenny... and that that notation was added later... much later."

"So now that you've confirmed that the body found at the collective was a CIA agent," I said, "I don't need to know the name to draw the conclusion that the dead woman is Tomoko Shimono."

"Wow." Laura said. "It makes sense. Do you want me to try to get the name, to confirm it?"

"Nooooo." I said. "Here's what I'm seeing in my mind: the Consultant murdered Tomoko Shimono after the failure at the nuclear power plant. He was well known for rewarding failure with death, and Tomoko was no longer of use to him. So he had her body ground up and buried at the collective."

"And that leads me to a second deduction." I said. "Who knew that Tomoko was 'disavowed', that she was an Agent in the first place, likely knew she was dead, and knew that her name was involved in one of my cases?"

"That God-damned son of a bitch!" Laura hissed. "The CIA Director. It has to be."

"Yes." I said. "It has to be. And it's obviously to attack us in some way..." I went into a reverie...

When I came out of it, I saw that Laura had gone into the bathroom and was now getting dressed. I said "I was wondering if I should call Jack Muscone now, or wait until morning."

"Don, you're not going to get a minute of sleep tonight." my wife astutely said. "But whatever you do, I have to call William about this. Right now." She meant the retired DepDirector of the FBI. She picked up the phone, speed-dialed a number, then said "Hi, it's Laura. You are not going to believe what my husband has just figured out..."

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

2:45am, Thursday, September 27th. The ambulance was driving swiftly down the University-Midtown Highway. In the back, Cindy Ross was on the gurney, her hands zip-tied to the sides in case she woke up.

"We don't have much time." said the leader, looking at the other three men sitting on the sides. "We have to start the drugs now."

"Roger that." said one of the men. He hooked an IV bag to the pole attached to the gurney, and put a needle in the vein of Cindy's right elbow. Another man put what looked like a game-player virtual reality mask over her eyes, and earphones over her ears. he then began a computer program.

South of the nuclear power plant, they noticed that the ambulance was leaving the main highway for a road that went straight south...

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

4:00am, Thursday, September 27th. We were at the Federal Building just off Courthouse Square. My mother had been roused to stay upstairs with the children. Bowser was 'not amused' that Laura and I were leaving.

We were in the plexiglass 'cube', which the DepDirector had checked for bugs. Jack Muscone was with us, as well. They were stunned when I gave them my thesis.

"400 years ago." said Jack. "I have no idea how you do it, how these things come into your mind..."

"Neither do I." I replied, perhaps a bit candidly for this time of morning.

"And you think it's the CIA Director behind it?" asked the DepDirector.

"I sure do." Laura replied. "That bastard never intended to leave my husband alone. His verbal agreement with us was worth the paper it was printed on."

"And after what happened in Paris," I added, "and U.S. Senators trying hard to expose him and his Anti-Semitism and actions against Israel and U.S. companies friendly to Israel? My perp-walking Mitt Willis infuriated the elites... did it infuriate him, as well? And my exposure of May Cialis? And... Goth Girl Kathy..."

"Yes," said the DepDirector, "I underestimated just what lengths he'd go to. So what do we do now? The threats to both of you, your children, Molly and her boys..." He shook his head. "He could strike at any time."

"Molly is well aware of the danger." I said. "We were talking about her and the boys living at The Cabin full time for a while, maybe through Christmas, and her commuting to Nextdoor County."

"I think I'll insist on that." Laura said. "What about Tasha, and Paulina?"

"Let's just say that T-Square provides excellent security for his blood kin." I replied. "They'll be fine. You know... I'm more worried about all the others: Todd and Teresa, Cindy and Callie, Tanya and you, Jack. This bastard knows I'm watching for a direct attack on me. And all of this... must be to distract me while he goes for someone else."

"Well," said Muscone. "if he doesn't know that we've figured out the whole Tomoko Shimono thing, we might can use it to our advantage. If we start getting reports of sightings of her, that we now know can't be true..."

"Where has her name cropped up before now?" asked the DepDirector. "Recently, anyway?"

"In CIA research I'd been doing." Laura said. "On Leon Mills and his involvement in the drug trade..."

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

Callie Carrington opened her eyes. All she saw was inky blackness.

Her head throbbed with pain as she sat up, feeling the concrete floor beneath her. She felt around, not feeling any walls around her. She strained to hear any noises. She heard no voices, but thought she was hearing the wind, or traffic, in what would be straight in front of her.

And then she realized she still had her iPhone in her pocket. It had not been taken. She pressed the button to see the time of "5:20am". However , she also saw that she had no cellphone reception.

Still, she had the flashlight app. The bright light lit up the area around her just enough to see that a door was in front of her. She went and pushed on it, but it would not open.

"Cindy?" she called out, quietly at first, then more loudly. She was met only with the echoes of her own voice in the cavernous room.

She looked at her cellphone again. Right next to the door, she got one tiny bar of reception! She dialed 9-1-1...

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

"Yes, the CIA Director could have plugged this stuff about Tomoko Shimono into Leon Mills's files." I said as I examined the data on Laura's laptop computer. "And it's all very recent data, as it is."

"So maybe he was going to set up something with Mills," said Muscone, "to lead you into a trap?"

"Going to?" I asked back. "I'd say it's already started. He somehow got Jenny Van Dyke to hook up with Mills for drug buys, then started leaving Easter eggs about Tomoko Shimono around their names. To his misfortune, the City Police got wind of their drug deals, and started surveillance before I found out about it. Now he's in their custody---"

Just then, a young FBI Agent in a suit and tie came through the door and knocked on the plexiglass door. "Sorry to interrupt, sir," he said, "but Police Headquarters is calling for Commander Troy. They say it's urgent."

My cellphone didn't work inside the plexiglass cube. "Thanks." I said. To the others, I said "They wouldn't drag me out of a meeting if it weren't really urgent. Let me go call them..."

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

"I'm having trouble triangulating her signal." said Myron Milton as I sat with him in the underground monitor room. "She got a call out to 9-1-1, it cut off, and 9-1-1 did the right thing and notified the TCPD. It looks like there's something blocking the signal."

"Did she say where she was?" I asked.

"No." said Myron. "She was trying to, but the 9-1-1 operator kept interrupting with stuff like asking her name. If they would have shut up and let her talk, she might could've told us."

"Okay." I said. "Have you gotten in contact with Commander Ross?"

"No sir." Myron said. "No signal at all from her personal or Police iPhones. The Police iPhones have 'enhancements', but I cannot get a thing on Commander Ross's iPhone. It may have been destroyed."

"Okay," I said, "let me try this." I sent a text to Callie's number on my Police iPhone. It said 'Activate your transmitter.' I knew that Cindy and Callie had transmitters they could secrete on their clothing, like the one I'd had in my belt buckle that allowed me to get a signal out after my capture and torture. (Author's note: 'Dream Weaver'.) I prayed Callie had hers on her.

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

Callie put her cellphone next to the door, and a small bar of signal re-appeared. So did a text, telling her to activate her transmitter.

She'd secreted her transmitter, which Cindy had insisted she wear on this mission, in the button of her jeans. She reached down and pressed the two sides of the button hard together...

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

"Got it." said Myron. "BigAgraFoods warehouse."

"Send the address to 2nd Precinct." I said as I got up to leave. "Full armor, approach with caution. And that was good work, Myron."

"Good luck, sir." Myron replied. I knew what he really meant.

Upstairs, I headed down the hall to where the SWAT Team rooms were. They'd been called in, and were all present. I gave the address, and explained the situation.

And then I noticed their faces, and I turned around. They'd seen Captain Teresa Croyle come in. Her ashen face said more than words possibly could.

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

Dawn was breaking in the east as Teresa and I drove in my Police SUV, following the SWAT Team paddywagon and Police cruisers. She said "I hate having to stay back and let other Officers risk their lives."

"Me, too." I said.

"Having said that," Teresa said, making sure to look at me, "I have standing orders from Chief Moynahan, Sheriff Allgood, and Takaki Misaki that I am to keep you from leading from the front."

"Noted." I said. "I think the Chief gives that order to every Officer when they're hired. Don't worry, I'll let the teams go first."

We parked down the road, watching as the SWAT Team and other Officers began going around the building. When they came to a near-side door at the back corner of the building, I noticed someone squatting and looking at something on the grass. Then my radio squawked.

"Dash-1-Bravo to Commander Troy."

"This is Troy. Go ahead, Dash-1-Bravo." I replied.

"Sir... you need to come see this."

Teresa and I got out and walked towards the group of heavily armed and armored Officers. As we got to them, I saw why they'd called me. I put on latex gloves, picked up the object on the ground, and showed it to Teresa.

It was a green crowbar.

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

"Town & County Police!" said Lt. Rudistan, banging on the door. "Anyone in there?"

"It me! Callie Carrington! Don't shoot!" said Callie.

"Cut that padlock off." Rudistan ordered. Someone came up with heavy-duty metalcutters before I could smash it with the red crowbar. The padlock was cut off and the door opened. Callie practically bounded out.

"Where's Cindy?" she said, her voice quivering. Then she saw the green crowbar in my hands, and the look on my face.

"Nooooooo!" Callie began crying. "Nooooo!" She pitched forward, and was grabbed and helped by Officers.

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

The gurney was rolled through the barely-lit concrete hallways that opened up into a square. Several doors led to rooms off this central location, and Cindy was wheeled into one of them. She was transferred to a metal mesh bed with a thin mattress on it.

"Make sure to handcuff her right wrist to the top of the bed." said the leader. "We don't want her able to get up like Troy did when we were doing this to him."

"That was a different situation." said a man at the controls of a monitoring station. He was wearing a white labcoat. "They were trying to get information out of him, and took three days doing it. We're not going to be here that long. Okay, put the VR mask on her face."

A mask and earpieces were put on Cindy's head. The man in the labcoat started a new program. "Okay, gentlemen," he said, "it's time. Enjoy yourselves."

The men laughed evilly as they unbuckled their belts and opened their pants...

Part 8 - Desperate Search

Dear Reader, you would not believe just how much surveillance ability the Government has to watch your every move. We were seeing it today.

"Okay, street cameras show what looks like an ambulance driving south, then east along MLK Jr. Avenue." said Myron Milton. He and Mary were bringing up data at amazing speeds. "Looks like they stopped in the parking lot of 'Jasmine', the old Cub Club."

"Send Officers there to look around." I said. "See if they dumped anything there." An Officer rushed out to relay my orders.

"Okay, ambulance continued south into Coltrane County, along the University-Midtown Highway." said Myron, checking the cameras at each exit or turnoff along the way down. Then he said: "Damn. They got off the highway south of the nuclear power plant. That's all two-lane and farm roads; no camera coverage at all. They could have taken her anywhere..."

"Within certain bounds." I said. "Look at cameras in this perimeter." I outlined the perimeter I was thinking of.

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

At 7:00am, Thursday, September 27th, the Detectives in MCD paused as you-know-who came on.

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Fox Two News!" shouted the redheaded reporterette from the southeast corner of Courthouse Square, with TCPD Headquarters in the background down the road. "Fox Two News has learned that Police Commander Cindy Ross has disappeared!"

"Sources tell Fox Two News that Commander Ross was investigating a sighting of a wanted criminal near the BigAgraFoods warehouse." Bettina said. "Her trademark green crowbar was found outside the warehouse, but there has been no trace of her, and efforts to communicate with her have failed. The TCPD is on high alert as they search for their missing Officer."

"In other news," said Bettina, "TCPD Vice successfully stopped and arrested three men who disembarked from the midnight bus at the bus station. The men were found to be carrying duffel bags full of cocaine and heroin..."

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

Callie had told us that she and Cindy were investigating a tip that Tomoko Shimono had been spotted at the BigAgraFoods warehouse.

"And you didn't call me?" I asked, trying very hard to keep my voice calm.

"No, we knew that drug bust was going down." Callie said. "We were just going to drive by, then call for backup if we saw anyone." Callie said. "There was a light on inside, but we didn't see anyone. So we... went to get a closer look, and we were TASERed at the door..." Callie began weeping.

"From where did you get the tip? From who?" I asked.

"Cindy got a text." said Callie. "Someone she called 'Tilden'. She said he was a reliable C.I."

"That's true, sir." said Tanya. "Tilden has given us good information for years. Cindy developed him as a C.I., too."

"Tanya," I said, "get Tilden's address and send some Officers over there. Tell them to be armored. Bring Tilden back here... if he's still alive."

"Whaaa?" Tanya gasped.

"You heard me." I said. "Go." As Tanya drove out, I asked Callie "Did Cindy have her transmitters on her?"

"Yes... and she swallowed one, too." Callie said.

"That may be our only hope of finding her." I said, remembering that the 'ambulance' had stopped in the Cub Club parking lot...

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

Callie Carrington felt totally lost after giving her statement and answering Commander Troy's questions. She didn't know where to go, nor what to do. Teresa had led her to the Pastor's Room, said she'd send Father Romano in, and then left. Callie tried hard not to cry, but couldn't help it. She was beset with fear for her fiancée.

She heard someone at the door and looked up. The woman looked like Cindy, but older, then Callie realized it was Maggie, Cindy's mother. Callie burst out weeping again. Maggie came over and took the young blonde in her arms, as if Callie were her daughter.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." Callie was crying out as she sobbed uncontrollably.

"It's okay, it's okay." Maggie said reassuringly. "They'll get Cindy back. They'll bring her back..." Her own tears, however, revealed her own fears.

Then Father Romano appeared at the door, ready to do his job and help bring comfort to these ladies in their time of Spiritual need...

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

Laura, the DepDirector, Teresa Croyle and I were sitting in the Chief's Conference Room with Chief Moynahan.

"I called Major Martin of the 3457th Signal Intelligence Battalion." Laura said. "He's going to bring assets that might can help us trace Cindy's transmitter."

There was a knock on the door, and the head of Lt. Rudistan peeked in. "Commander Troy, can I see you outside a moment?" he asked. I came out into the anteroom of the Chief's suite. Teresa also came out.

"We found this in a pile in the 'Jasmine' parking lot." said Rudistan. In his hands were Cindy's badge, holstered gun, armor, and her clothing... all of her clothing.

"Oh, nooooo..." Teresa whispered. She knew full well what it might mean, and a lot more than Cindy having no transmitters on her... Teresa was feeling the fear for her friend that every woman feels...

"You okay?" I asked Teresa. She nodded and attempted to compose herself. We had Rudistan bring the clothing into the Conference Room. Moynahan and the DepDirector groaned. Laura's hand went to her mouth as she began crying, and Teresa hugged her, as much for her own mental support as that of my wife's.