Consent of the Governed Ch. 01

"I saw that too, sir." Teresa said. "I'm on it."

Sheriff Griswold said "I'll have as many Deputies as you need report to you, Commander Croyle."

"Thank you, Sheriff." Teresa said. "I'm most worried about Cindy, since she's pregnant. Is there any way we can shut off the Assembly Chamber to outsiders during the presentation?"

"That's a tough one." said the Sheriff. "It's a public meeting of a public body, so the Assembly would have to go into Executive Session, like the Council sometimes does."

"You can forbid them City Hall, where the Assembly is meeting, Sheriff." I replied. "The Public Safety Department presentation is for them, by them, of them. The Assembly can ask for public input, but not necessarily when it's the Public Safety Department's floor."


"Mis-ter Crowbarrrr, do you realize the optics of the Police shutting out the public at the Police presentation?" Chief Moynahan asked.

Sheriff Griswold replied: "Sean, the God-damned Press is going to do and say whatever they want, no matter what we do or say. So worrying about the optics only plays into the Haters's hands. But here's the good news: the Assembly Chamber is small, not like the public Council Chamber. We can issue tickets and passes, giving the Press first priority, and giving the rest only to people who have real reason to be there. And ginning up trouble and violence is not a real reason..."

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

"Hello and welcome to Fox University Sunrise!" said Catrina Pierce at 8:00am, from the Fox Eight News studios. "I'm Catrina Pierce, and with me is Meredith Peller. We'll also have reports from Priya Ajmani and Greg Wallace. Good morning, Meredith."

"Good morning, Catrina." said Meredith. "Good morning, everyone. Here's what's in the news. Early voting has begun in the State today, and long lines have already formed at the early voting stations, particularly in areas that are considered to lean Democrat."

Catrina: "Democrats traditionally vote earlier, with Republicans voting later or on Election Day itself. However, with today being a Federal and State holiday, many voters on both sides are taking the time to go to the polls today."

Meredith: "We have with us Peter Dwayne Gordon of Clear Call Polling. Good morning, Peter!"

Peter D. Gordon came on the split-screen. "Hello Catrina and Meredith. This is obviously my favorite season of the year, and it's an exciting time in political circles."


Catrina: "We love reporting on it, too, Peter. What can you tell us about the Statewide races?"

Peter: "Catrina, Meredith, our rolling poll over the weekend, with a 2% margin of error, shows that Conservative Republican Sharon Marshall is leading Democrat Hoyt Stenson by ten points, 55-45%, among likely voters. Mr. Stenson's numbers have dropped off significantly in the past few weeks, as the SBI and Independent State Counsel investigations of his son Hunter Stenson for both State and Federal crimes continues, and reports that Hoyt Stenson is not healthy."

Meredith: "But Peter, the numbers for Mr. Stenson could improve in these last few months, couldn't they?"

"Let me put it this way, Meredith." said Peter, obviously relishing his words. "One truism you touched on is that voters leaning Democrat tend to vote earlier while Republicans wait until later. Another truism is that Republicans, especially Conservatives, don't respond to polls, or even outright lie to pollsters. And these numbers are a reflection of those that did answer our polling questions. If anything, Meredith, Sharon Marshall actually has a wider margin than our numbers suggest."

Catrina: "What about the Lieutenant Governor and State Attorney General races, Peter?"

Peter: "For Lieutenant Governor, State Senator Corey Coons has a 58-42% lead over political novice and Establishment Republican Ruby Russell, daughter of the late U.S. Senator Samuel Russell. And in the State A.G. race, Republican Gil Krasney and Democrat Glenn Alberts are in a dead heat, 50-50."

Meredith: "What about the local races, Peter? Mayor, Inspector General, Solicitor, and the Council and Assembly?"

Peter: "For Mayor, we have a statistical dead heat between incumbent Mayor Allgood and challenger Eldrick X. Weaver, and again Meredith, we think a lot of Conservative, pro-Police voters are not telling us how they're going to vote, which will bode well for Mayor Allgood. For Inspector General, despite what your competitor KXTC tells their viewers to think, it's going to be a landslide victory for James 'Curly' Goodwin over NAMbLA member Bruce Finneran. And in the Solicitor's race, over 50% of our respondents didn't even know who was running, but among those that did, ADA Savannah Fineman holds a slight lead over incumbent Ted Mason."

After Peter's interview ended, Catrina Pierce said "And we're pleased to report that our new show 'The Four' will air at 4:00pm local time today! Greg Wallace and I will be two of your hosts, and today's inaugural show will be joined by Priya Ajmani and Meredith Peller..."

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

"Why bother having polls?" asked Teresa Croyle as she, Tanya Muscone, and Cindy Ross sat with me in my office watching the broadcast before the 'Angels Meeting'. "Peter Gordon just admitted that Conservatives don't respond to them, or even lie in their answers. And the polls are rarely right."

"To answer you, and to make a short story long, let's break this down." I said. "There are two groups of pollsters, or maybe I should say polling data: the data reported upon by the agenda-driven Press, attempting to tell us what to think; and what's reported internally to the political Parties and to the candidates."

Your Iron Crowbar: "One thing I've observed is that when the Democrat wins, the numbers usually align well with the polling data. But when the Republicans win, especially a Conservative, the polling data is usually well off the mark of the actual vote. One reason for this is because the Press skews the polls, or even lie about the numbers, in accordance with their agenda. Another reason is what Peter Gordon told us: the Conservatives don't respond to polls, and even may lie to deliberately mess up the pollsters."

Your Iron Crowbar: "The internal data the Parties and candidates get is usually much more accurate and reliable than the data We the People see on the news. The Sheriff gets some of that data, so we in here get to see more realistic numbers. So the short answer is that the Pollsters are not always wrong, and sometimes do a good job. Unless the Conservative wins."

"Sorry I asked." said Teresa, flat deadpan, which made Tanya laugh.

Tanya said "What's this new show 'The Four' about?"

Cindy said "It's a counter to KXTC's 'Point Taken' morning show, but in the afternoon. Priya told me it's a way to keep Greg Wallace on the air and having something to do. And because Catrina Pierce is popular with KFXU's viewers, it gives her more air time and also let's her give her opinion. The other two hosts will rotate, and they'll see if anyone stands out enough to become a regular."

"Good." I said. "About damn time Fox Eight did something like this." Teresa nodded vigorously in agreement. The Green Crowbar was much less amused at my partisan comment.

"Changing the subject," said Cindy, "I'm in this meeting to discuss the possibility of protesters at the Assembly presentation. What are we doing about it?"

I said "I think the Sheriff is going to restrict access to City Hall. Everyone will have to go through the screeners to get into the building at all, and the Assembly Chamber will be closed to anyone that doesn't have an access pass."

Teresa added: "And we'll be on higher alert, and have a contingency of armored Officers ready to deal with any protests..."

Part 3 - Old Problems, New Feds

9:00am, Monday, October 12th. My assistant Helena opened my office door to admit two guests. One of them was FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Karina White. The other was now-FBI Special Agent Tracy Stone, formerly of the University Campus Police. (Author's note: 'Jupiter Rising'.)

"I brought my newest Special Agent to see you." Karina said. "Graduated first in her class at Quantico."

"Hello again, Special Agent Stone." I said enthusiastically I shook her hand. "Congratulations. Are you assigned here or the City?"

"Both." said Tracy Stone as we all sat down. "I've asked to be able to focus on this area, since I'm from here and was in the Campus Police. But Jack Muscone and Karina here might have me all over the place."

"Where is Jack, by the way?" I asked.

"In Washington, D.C." said Karina. "He's attending the funeral of DEA SAC Rutherford Lyndon on Wednesday." (Author's note: 'Town & County Confidential', Ch. 03.)

Karina continued: "And that's one thing I wanted to tell you. Lyndon's death has been ruled a suicide, and the case is being closed. Everything pointed to a legitimate suicide. No signs of anyone visiting him in the hotel room, and the hotel cameras were operating perfectly that day, which is a suprise in itself for that particular hotel. He ate his gun in the manner of holding it under his chin then putting it in his mouth, which is the most common way for a cop or other LEO to kill himself."

I nodded. "That would be Occam's Razor, the simplest solution."

"If I may ask," asked Tracy Stone, "why did he feel he had to kill himself? From what I read, it was just a botched operation. I'm not sure that either he or the DEA committed an actual crime."

"He left a letter to me," I replied, "saying the Swamp Frogs were coming for him. Either he knew what they'd do to him physically when they got there, or else they did get there and forced him to eat his gun. In some ways it reminds me of an old Consultant of Crime case, the 'suicide' of Dr. Laramie Wilkins that wasn't." (Author's note: 'The Ensigns of Detection', particularly Ch. 02.)

Karina said "If the Swamp Frogs were behind his actions in the convenience store robberies, then behind his death, it's likely they'd planned taking him out well in advance and were ready to cover it up after executing their plan, pun intended. From what I'm hearing, Dr. Robin Isley is both very intelligent and very cunning. Word is that she's the power behind Chapel's throne on top of the Intelligence Community."

"Behind every successful man is a powerful woman." I said. "Or something like that." Both women laughed politely.

Karina stood up and said "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go congratulate Captain Muscone on her upcoming promotion. Talk amongst yourselves."

"Certainly." I said. Karina exited the office as I went over to the coffeemaker under the monitor screen on the wall and poured myself a cup of coffee. "Coffee?" I offered Tracy Stone.

"No thank you, sir." she said as I sat back down.

"Soooo," I asked as I affixed my gray eyes on Tracy, "what did you want to talk about?"

"Not much gets past you, Commander." Tracy said. Then she got right into it: "I know that Lionel Carmela is trying to harm your wife's position at the University and at University Hospital. I've been looking into his activities, and I'd like to help you and your wife fight what he's doing."

I nodded. "I appreciate the offer. But Laura is not going to lose her medical license nor be removed from the Staff of the Hospital. And Carmela can't prove his laughably false charges that she was running a male prostitution ring------"

"Sir," Tracy Stone interrupted, "don't be too sure. You and I both know that people can be framed, and have successfully been framed for centuries. You barely saved Peter Gordon from that false rape charge, and it took the full Power of the Iron Crowbar to do that." (Author's note: 'Falsely Accused'.)

Tracy Stone: "Carmela has been working with lawyers, lawyers that argue for the Socialist Left on cases before the Supreme Court. High powered, high priced lawyers that get results. And they were sent here to help Carmela destroy your wife's professorial and medical careers. You really need to take this seriously, sir."

"Oh I do." I replied. "And you sound like you're... 'into' it. And it's not just saving my wife that has you so passionate about it. And that's why Jack and Karina have not decided where to assign you yet, n'est pas?"

Tracy Stone nodded. "You're right again, sir. When I graduated first in my class at Quantico, I had the privilege of choosing where I wanted to be assigned, and I chose to be assigned to Jack and Karina. And I have not tried to keep the reason a secret. I want to take that filthy slug Carmela down, and I don't just mean get him fired. I mean I want to see that son of a bitch in prison... or dead."

I nodded. "Piece of friendly advice: I did not hear you say that about wanting him dead. But don't ever say it out loud again."

Tracy nodded. "So that's why I wanted to talk to you today. I want a piece of the action. I want a shot at the title, so to speak. I want to help you... or have you help me... totally destroy Dr. Lionel Carmela."

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

Karina White and Tanya P. Muscone were sitting in Tanya's office, sipping coffee as they chatted.

"Congratulations on the promotion!" Karina said. "Are you excited about the new job?" Somewhat to her surprise, she saw Tanya's face fall just a bit.

"I..." Tanya started, then caught herself and said "I think I now truly understand why Don refused to take the Police Chief job several years ago. He knew it would take him out of what he loves doing most: solving crimes and busting perps."

"And leading the Police Force to stand up against rioters." Karina said. "Especially when other LEOs in other cities are forced to stand down by their leadership and their politicians.

To her shock, Tanya shook her head vigorously in disagreement. "No, he doesn't love doing that. He does it because he knows how important, how critical it is. But it's Teresa that loves leading her troops into battle like that, and she has the Purple Orders to prove it. Don hates putting Officers in harm's way. He'd rather just solve crimes as the Detective he truly is. And that's how I feel, too. I love being a Detective, solving crimes."

Karina nodded. "So why didn't you turn down the promotion?"

"It was an offer I couldn't refuse, and I knew it." Tanya said wistfully. "Look, they've made every effort they can to make it work for me in the field. They bring in cameras for me to see everything, they accommodate me to the extent they can if I go to a scene. But it's a chore on their part, and it distracts them from doing their jobs. Don always says it's working and that I'm doing great, but it's working only through the sheer force of his will."

Tanya: "And then there's the issues with the Miltons. They just won't help the Feds, and apparently to the point they'd quit the TCPD and leave. I understand that some dirty Agents beat up Myron's father, almost killed him. But that was a few bad apples. To me, it's like hating the whole TCPD just because McCombs and Hendricks are dirty, but the Miltons don't see it that way... and neither does Don, apparently."

Karina said "Won't you be Myron Milton's boss now? Out of the frying pan, into the fire?"

Tanya said "Cindy told me that the I.T. Department is technically under the Deputy Chief, but Myron essentially answers straight to Chief Moynahan. And Myron is the de facto head of I.T. for all the Public Safety Department, so if there's any problems with me, the Sheriff will formalize that and Myron will be wearing a khaki uniform like Cindy instead of Police blue."

Tanya: "And because of the problems with them, the 'People that Count' around here were worried about where my loyalties lay... to the Police, or to my husband and the Feds. And I know Don loves me like family, but there is one thing he cherishes and won't abide a lack of: loyalty."

Karina said "That has to be harder for you than trying to do your job in that wheelchair."

Tanya said "I've never had reason to complain about the wheelchair. I'm alive, my son is alive, and it's almost fun seeing what I can do in spite of it, and showing others."

Karina said "I meant no offense, and you're amazing and inspiring for what you've overcome to become Deputy Chief. But about that, what about the Budget? That'll take up a lot of your time, won't it?"

Tanya said "And that's yet another little secret. Cindy got her finance and accounting degrees, though partially to run her father's huge self-help empire after he turns it over to her. They let her do the Budget, and work with Chief of Staff Oswald on all the Public Safety Budget, because everyone knew Oswald would eventually retire, as he just has."

Tanya: "But in truth, the Budget was always handled at the Public Safety level. Remember, they didn't even have a Deputy Chief, nor a Police Commander, until the Iron Crowbar arrived. Cindy was the exception, not the rule; Della Harlow and Robert Brownlee never did the Budget like Cindy's been doing it."

Tanya: "So I'll be an overpaid Property Manager and adult supervision for Personnel & Records and the Public Relations Department. And the Crime Lab..."

Part 4 - Coitus Interruptus

10:00am, Monday, October 12th. Tanya took Tracy and Karina on a quick tour of Vice and MCD, introducing Special Agent Stone to the Detectives that did not already know her. As that happened, I called Lt. Mary Milton and Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle into my office, and with Mary cleared out, Tanya gave the FBI Agents the tour of the Intel Rooms. Tanya later told me that Ranger Terry Halston was bug-eyed when he saw Tracy.

Meanwhile, I said to Mary and Teresa "Okay, we need to start very quietly looking into this situation with Laura." I was referring to the specious charges by Dr. Lionel Carmela that my wife had been running a male prostitution ring out of her Psychology Department office. (Author's note: 'The Babymaker', especially Ch. 05.)

Your Iron Crowbar: "Mary, this is a list of Laura's students in her graduate class. The boy named 'Peter' was one of the Babymakers, so I'm concentrating on these students. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to check them out as thoroughly as you possibly can, and I don't need to tell you that I don't want to know the means you might employ to do it. It's off the books, extracurricular, so you have the right to refuse."

"Laura's my gynecologist, not to mention your wife." Mary said, taking the list of names. "I'll have no compunction about doing this."

"Thank you." I said. "You can go." Mary took the hint and exited my office. I turned to Teresa and said "I need your help, and you have the right to refuse, as it's definitely going to be out of bounds------"

"I didn't hear that." Teresa said with alacrity. "Whatever you need, I am ready to do it for you."

I nodded with a smile. "Thank you." I said. "I am determined to find out who got the information from Laura's appointment calendar, and I am not going to be worried about a legally defensible case. Once Mary confirms what I expect to hear, we are going be asking some people some questions..."

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

1:30pm. Lt. Mary Milton was admitted into my office, where Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle and I already were. I had Mary sit down after she handed me a file folder with a number of papers inside.

"Give us the Cliffs Notes on all this." I said.

Mary replied: "After reviewing everything, I believe there are three persons we can start with regarding the case. Everyone in the class was interviewed during the 'Babymaker' case. Several of them said that Peter, who was one of the Babymakers, had said out loud that he should be one of the Babymakers as his thesis. He's something of the class clown, like a toned-down Rudistan, so everyone just thought he was joking. Also, he said that only after the case had already broken. But the key is that he talked out of turn about it to others."