Consent of the Governed Ch. 03

I said "Are you going to have your Agents interview Carmela?"

"Very likely." said Webster. "Anything you want us to ask him?"

I said "I'm not trying to tell you how to do your jobs, but I would suggest these things. First, have your people interview Carmela in person, but do not send Special Agent Stone to interview him, as seeing her will get his hackles up. He might not talk to your Agents anyway, but I would bet my tickets to the upcoming Wildcats-Bulldogs game that he'd definitely refuse to talk to her."

I continued: "But before you interview him, ascertain what Tamara was doing and who she was with and talking to when she was last seen. I suspect she was meeting with Carmela, Dana Stirewalt, and others that evening, then never made it home after they dispersed."

Me: "What is vital here is that once you know that, you can ask Carmela when the last time he saw her was. If he answers (air quotes) 'a couple of days', meaning before the time of that meeting, then someone is lying to Federal Agents, and Special Agent Stone knows what to do about that." Tracy nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Sounds like you have an idea of what happened, Commander." said Webster.

"Ideas, maybe." I said. "Nothing actionable nor provable. Yet. But it comes down to the three basic tenets: motive, means, opportunity. And the motive is clear: Tamara can prove that Carmela is trying to frame Dr. Fredricson. And if it's shown she was around him just before the time he disappeared, then there's 'opportunity'."

"That's true." said Tracy Stone.

"We'll follow it up, just the way you've suggested." said Clark Webster. "And I would like to get the help of your Lieutenants, Myron and Mary Milton------ what?"

It had grown totally silent in the room, the kind of awkward silence that suggested a major faux pas had just occurred. And everyone saw me rising out of my chair, my face beet-red with utter fury.

I leaned over the table and yelled into Webster's face as loudly as I could: "WHEN ARE YOU GODDAMNED FEDERAL AGENTS GOING TO GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK FUCKING SKULLS THAT THE MILTONS ARE OFF LIMITS TO ALL FEDERAL AGENTS? COMPLETELY! OFF! LIMITS! WHAT IS IT GOING TO FUCKING TAKE?"

I then said a bit more quietly but with at least as much menace as I jabbed my crowbar towards Webster and growled "You keep the fuck away from the Miltons, or I'll rip you a new ass! Excuse me, Chief." With that I hurtled to the exit door and used it, slamming it behind me as I left...

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

I was sitting in my office in my comfortable 'Command Chair', which was not doing anything to help the pain in my back nor my head. I was turned to face the window, and I was looking out of it at the increasing gloom of the day: weather was moving in, I idly thought to myself.

I heard the sound of the door to my office opening the closing. I turned in my chair to face Teresa Croyle, sitting in the near-side hot chair. She held up her ink pen, indicating her bug killer was 'on'.

"You really attacked those protesters this morning." she said. "And you left poor Clark Webster a nearly-crying puddle in there."

"Yeah, you'd think those God-damned Federal Agents would get the fucking message about the Miltons." I said in exasperation. "Especially after I nearly had to fire Tanya over it."

Teresa was peering at me like Cindy normally does. "Don, are you sure that's all it is? I've never seen you show fear, but I think you're worried about something, something bigger than the Miltons and the Feds."

I peered at her, feeling anger welling up again, but Teresa didn't back down: "Look Don, every Christmas season you watch over me like a hawk, and even put me on desk duty, because you know about my past. And I know you do that because you love me and you want to keep me from getting into trouble, and you're probably right to do it. And now, I'm repaying the favor. Something's wrong, Don. You were almost out of control twice today."

She was right, I knew. I had overreacted to Webster, and had been too quick to react violently to the protesters, though they'd gotten what was coming to them. But she was right...

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

Some moments later, my office door cracked open, and a hand appeared, waving a white handkerchief. Then Special Agent Tracy Stone looked in.

"Come on in." I said, and not harshly.

"He didn't know." Tracy said as she came in. "And I didn't know he was going to ask for the Miltons's help."

"He knows now." I replied. "Don't you, Mr. Webster?"

Yeah, Clark Webster was in anteroom, trying to stay out of sight. He did not do a good job of observing the various reflections off various surfaces, but I did. He came on into the doorway.

"I didn't realize you'd be triggered by that." said Webster. "I won't ask for the Miltons's help again. But we could still use your help to find this woman, if she can be found."

"I actually do have a compelling interest for her to be found." I said. "And there's nothing the Miltons can do that all the FBI's horses and all the FBI's men, and women, can't do."

Webster nodded. "Are you okay with us going public with this?"

"If you can't get a lead on her, sure." I replied...

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

The Federal Agents left five minutes later. My landline phone buzzed, and it was Chief Moynahan, 'inviting' me into his office.

As I stepped into the hallway, Lt. Mary Milton was there. "Thank you, sir." she said.

"You're quite welcome." I replied. "And by the way, even if you did want to help the Feds, you and Myron are not to do so, unless I give permission... which I won't. I'm at the point of making this a stand for myself as much as for you." Mary nodded. I went on to the Chief's office, and stood at attention in front of his desk, expecting an asschewing.

"Sit down, Mr. Crowbarrrr, sit down." he said. I sat down. He peered at me and said "Special Agent In Charge Webster claims ignorance of the issues with the Miltons when he asked us for their help. Do you think that is true?"

"No sir." I replied. "He knew, or at least he was asked to ask for their help. To test us... to test me."

"I'd say they failed their test." said the Chief. "But so did you. But before I address that, I have some questionnnns to ask. Do you have any idea where this girl Tamara might be? Might have gone?"

"No sir." I replied.

"Do you think she is still alive?" asked the Chief.

"I don't know, sir." I replied. "The odds are 50/50. If she ran and hid on her own, she may be okay. If she was hidden by others, or encouraged to run and hide, then I'm not so optimistic about her chances."

"Hmmph." said the Chief, nodding as he processed that information. "Okay then. We'll do a quiet search behind the scenes, but I'm really backing off and letting the FBI and the Campus Police and SBI handle this. In the meantime, Mis-ter Crowbarrrr..."

He fixed his eyes hard on me as he said "You are to go home. You are not to do any Police business, any at all, before Monday morning at six o'clock a.m. You are not to come into the Station nor the Precincts nor County Jail before Monday 6:00am. You are not to access Police files from home, nor from your cellphones. Nothing, nada, not even to catch up on paperwork; it'll keep."

Chief Moynahan: "It is obvious to me that you need to take a couple of days away from all this. Play with your kids, pet your dogs and cats, go out of Town and do something fun. But do not do any Police business unless and until I call and tell you. Not even if the Sheriff calls. Only me. Am I clear, Commander?"

"Yes sir." I said.

"You can go." I got up and exited the office. I went to my office and got my stuff, stopped by Teresa's office to tell her what was going on and that she was 'Acting Commander' for the weekend, then I left for home.

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

"I talked to the FBI's Missing Persons bureau today." Laura said after she and I and Carole and Jim finished supper at the Lake Watchacoochie lakehouse later that evening. "They said Tamara was missing, wondered if I knew where she was or where she might have gone. I said no, and that they should talk to Carmela, that he'd likely know more than I would."

I nodded. "Yeah." I said. "I suspect she'll turn up after all this business between you and Carmela gets resolved."

"My lawsuit against him may take months." Laura said. "She'll be on the witness list, fer damn sure."

"No doubt." I said.

"Don, what do you think?" my wife asked. "Is she alive? Dead? Did something happen to her?"

"I dunno." I said. "I'm hoping by the time we get back Sunday night, she'll have turned up alive and okay. I will say this... if something did happen to her, then whatever Carmela is trying to do is much, much larger than I thought it was..."

Part 18 - War

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Monday, October 19th, from the roof of the building at Riverside and College. "Several controversies erupt over Commander Donald Troy's aggressive Police actions!"

After the hard-charging music intro, Bettina said "Let's go to political reporter Carl Lemay with more on this story. Carl!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said Lemay, who was on the front grounds of University Hospital. "Civil Rights groups are outraged at the violent tactics used by the TCPD to arrest 52 peaceful protesters at Friday's Hospital Bombing remembrance ceremonies. The peaceful group of mostly University students were protesting Dr. Laura Fredricson's status of being On Staff at University Hospital as well as Head of the Department of Psychology."

Lemay: "We have with us Mayoral candidate Eldrick X. Weaver, who was at the Hospital ceremonies. Mr. Weaver, thank you for joining us." As the camera panned out to show Eldrick X. Weaver next to Lemay, Lemay said "What did you see, sir?"

Weaver: "It was really brutally ugly, Carl. Mayor Daniel Allgood's Police thugs attacked the peaceful protesters, who were well behind all of us and were posing no danger to anyone. The Police were the attackers, and were led by Commander Donald Troy, who you'll remember was pardoned by that White Nationalist and racist Governor Val Jared after Troy was accused of rape."

Lemay: "Mr. Weaver, if you win the Mayor's race, and it increasingly looks as if you will, what actions will you take regarding this assault on the peaceful protesters?"

Weaver: "I will work with the Town & County Council to fire Donald Troy, to defund the Police, and to bring criminal charges against Daniel Allgood for letting that happen and not doing anything about it. I also intend to have the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division thoroughly investigate the racists Daniel Allgood, Donald Troy, and the TCPD, which will ultimately result in a Consent Decree against the TCPD."

"Back to you, Bettina." said Lemay.

Bettina: "Thank you for that important story, Carl, and we thank Mr. Weaver for taking some time to be with us today. And let's go to trusted reporter Amber Harris for more. Amber!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said Amber Harris, who was on the west (Town) side of University Avenue, with the University Psychology Building in the background. "Dr. Laura Fredricson has been accused of both ethics violations and criminal activity by Dr. Lionel Carmela, Head of the Department of Political Science, who claims that Dr. Fredricson was running a male prostitution ring out of her office on Campus."

Amber: "The full University Ethics Board is expected to take up the ethics complaint later this week. The State Medical Board has refused to suspend Dr. Fredricson's medical license until they are shown more proof of the veracity of the criminal charges. Channel Two News has confirmed that the State Bureau of Investigation has opened a formal inquiry into the matter."

Amber: "University Hospital Administrator Seth Warner, whose wife is a TCPD Detective under Commander Donald Troy, has refused to suspend Dr. Fredricson nor removed her from being on Staff. Additionally, Teresa Croyle, who is also a TCPD Officer and is married to Commander Troy's nephew, gave a $100 million inheritance to University Hospital and was named to the Hospital Board."

Amber: "That's important, Bettina, because the Hospital is naming its rebuilt Maternity Ward and Neo-Natal Center after Dr. Laura Fredricson, and this is one of the things the peaceful protesters were protesting about. We have with us the esteemed Head of the University's Department of Political Science, Dr. Lionel Carmela."

The camera panned out to show Amber with Dr. Carmela. She said "Dr. Carmela, thank you for giving us a few moments of your valuable time. Were the Police overzealous in shutting down that peaceful protest yesterday?"

Carmela: "Overzealous is too kind a term, Amber. The Police brutality that was on display was totally shocking for the schoolchildren and cancer patients to witness. The protesters were peaceful, and were legitimately and correctly protesting naming the new Maternity Ward after Laura Fredricson, who is under ethics reviews and an SBI investigation for criminal activity within the Psychology Department."

Amber: "Dr. Fredricson has had her medical license suspended in the past, as well. And a whistleblower, whose identity we are concealing and just calling 'Tamara', was failed out of her graduate program by Dr. Fredricson. Tell me, Doctor, why did Dr. Fredricson fail that girl out of School? We checked, and can confirm it was not due to bad grades."

Suddenly, the feed switched to Bettina, with a photo inset of Tamara: "I'm sorry to interrupt Amber, but we have breaking news! That girl 'Tamara' has been reported as missing! The FBI has confirmed to Channel Two News that the University Campus Police referred the case to the FBI yesterday!"

Bettina: "FBI Special Agent in Charge Clark Webster has asked that anyone who has any information about this girl contact the FBI or the Campus Police by calling the number below." A number appeared at the bottom of the screen...

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

"You know," I said as we drank coffee in the Chief's Conference Room, "if they would just devote all the time, energy, and brain power they use to distort stories and make insinuations into actually reporting the news fairly and honestly, they'd do a great job. But no, they work hard to leave viewers with the worst and most sinister impressions possible."

Captain Tanya P. Muscone said "They timed that 'breaking news' cutaway to the moment Amber and Carmela were talking about Laura failing Tamara out of her program. Was that a coincidence? Or intentional?"

"Oh, it was on purpose and will full intent." I replied. "Intent to insinuate that either Laura or her husband's Police Force has something to do with Tamara's disappearance."

"Is Bettina smart enough to figure that out?" asked Commander Cindy Ross. "Amber sure as hell isn't."

"But Carmela is." Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle said.

"And yes, Bettina is smart enough to put that together, as is KXTC's owner, Katherine Woodburn." I added. "Now we have to figure out how to outsmart them."

Teresa said "That's an 'easy button' answer, sir. They're using my donation to the Hospital and Board membership to smear al of us, so I guess it's my turn to hold a Press Conference."

"As a Board Member? Or a TCPD Officer?" asked Chief Moynahan.

"Both, Chief." Teresa replied. "Both."

As Cindy sent a text on her Police iPhone, she said "I'm texting Damien Thompson now..."

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

At 9:00am, Monday, October 19th, Captain Damien Thompson stood at the podium on the raised floor area of the Press Room and said "Ladies and gentlemen, the Town & County Police Operations Commander."

The Press was too stunned to hurl questions as Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle stepped on the raised box behind the podium and said "I will make a statement, and if you act with respect and decorum, I'll take questions."

Teresa began: "I am here speaking to you today as both a Town & County Police Officer and as a University Hospital Board Member. Earlier this morning, KXTC gave one of the most maliciously deceptive and disingenuous reports I've ever seen, and they made insinuations regarding the Police and the Hospital by taking my name in vain and smearing it."

Teresa held up a photo, of a very tiny, premature newborn child. "Look at this photo." Then she held up another photo, of a charred corpse that had been that little baby. "Look at it. LOOK AT IT! These are the 'before' and 'after' photos of one of the premature babies in the neo-natal unit of University Hospital when it was attacked by two terrorists and that wing of the Hospital blown up. This poor little girl was already fighting the odds to live, and she and three others were burned alive. Look at these photos, people!"

Teresa: "The Hospital was hosting a ceremony to remember these babies and eight others that died horribly that day. The Hoopers would never see their newborn child, as they died in the blast that the child survived by the Grace of God. Two nurses, gone, as well as others."

Teresa: "We were having a ceremony to remember them, and to remember the heroism by many people that day, including Chaplain Alberto Romano, who rushed into the rubble and saved three infant lives, and the Firefighters that went in at great danger to themselves and found Dr. Laura Fredricson, one of her nurses, and the newborn Hooper child still alive."

Teresa: "Dr., Fredricson has done great work as a doctor on Staff at University Hospital, including surgery on me when I was shot in the hip, and subsequently finding my cancer, allowing me to be treated early." (Author's note: 'Teresa's Christmas Ordeal', Ch. 02.) "She truly deserves the honor of having the new Maternity Ward named in her honor, and it wasn't because I'm on the Hospital Board."

Teresa: "So... remembering these photos, and the suffering of those babies, for those utterly despicable... slugs... to actually trespass on our private ceremony and start ginning up hatred, and with KXTC's Pat Stellum there talking to them if not outright supporting them, was one of the most despicable displays of inhumanity I have ever seen. And I've seen a lot. And with some of the signs they were carrying recommending violence against Dr. Fredricson, you better believe her husband led the way in arresting those protesters despite being outnumbered 52 to 3."

Pat Stellum interrupted: "Are you accusing us of staging those protesters? Where's your proof?" Some reporters were shocked by Stellum's rudeness, but others were gleeful that this confrontation had started.

"Did you?" Teresa fired back. "Before you get the splinter out of my eye, get the board out of your own. KXTC is well-known for maliciously false reporting, and your network has been sued for libel a number of times. If it weren't for CNN, KXTC would be the poster child of 'Fake News'."

"Do you deny the cops attacked and beat up peaceful protesters, and violated their rights?" Stellum yelled angrily.

Teresa replied "They weren't peaceful protesters, which is a perfect example of how you and KXTC tell lies. We have it on tape: they were throwing bottles at the schoolchildren in the audience. And the Hospital grounds were rented, and that was a private ceremony, so they were trespassing, violating the law right there, and behaving in a violent and belligerent manner!"

"SO WHAT?" yelled Pat Stellum. "They were peaceful protesters! And you cops attacked them and beat them up!"

"No they weren't!" Teresa fired back, getting angry now. "But to be clear, Stellum... you don't care that this was a ceremony to remember the babies and the nurses that died? You don't care about them?"