Consent of the Governed Ch. 04

This story is part of an ongoing series. The chronological order of my stories is listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

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, racism, 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.

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Part 20 - Blackmail and Whitewash

"How is Carmela blackmailing you?" I asked Dr. Sidney P. Wellman. "Something to do with Wargrave?"

Henry R. Wargrave was a billionaire and a patron of the University. Unfortunately for him, his money came from illegal arms sales. And doubly unfortunate for him, he came up against the Iron Crowbar, which led to his demise. (Author's note: 'Reichenbach', Ch. 05, for Wargrave's fall, and the sudden stop at the end.)

Wellman nodded. "Yes. As I'm sure you remember, in your early days in our Town & County Henry Wargrave was more than a little influential in the affairs of this University. He gave a lot of money to the School, money that was beneficial to our students and Faculty."

Wellman: "I did not officially know of his arms sales around the world that fueled his generous donations to us. But I did know how he laundered some of that money, as I helped him set up the means to do it. Again, the school got a handsome cut of those profits, and I think the Statute of Limitations has run out on all that by now."

"It has." I said. "And I don't have the slightest interest in rehashing a bit of that. But apparently Carmela does?"

"Yes." said Wellman. "The FBI was investigating Wargrave, and while most of their documents remain secret because of the international smuggling he was doing, Carmela apparently came up with some of them... enough to implicate me. Yes, the time factor is long enough, and it may not be admissible in Court, but it would be enough to severely damage my reputation."

"What did he demand of you?" I asked.

"He said if I would steer the Ethics Board to find against Laura, and have her removed by the subsequent processes, he would allow me to retire after the Spring semester ends, with my pension intact and all my holdings remaining with me. If I don't, he'll expose me, which will damage the University as badly as it would harm me. And I'd rather lose to the Wildcats 70-0 every year than have the School hurt that way."

I smiled briefly at the Wildcats joke... and then it hit me. "You... you said he had the FBI documents? He showed them to you?"

"Yes." said Wellman. "They were copies, of course. He said he had the originals in safekeeping."

"Good.... good..." I whispered, to myself in a reverie.

"Good?" Wellman said, peering at me.

"Uhh..." I said, coming out of it. "Yes... it's good. I think I have a way out of this. It won't be easy for you, but I think it'll stop Carmela, if you're willing to go through with it..."

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

10:30am, Wednesday, October 21st. The rabid Press crowded into the Press Room at the Federal Building and Post Office on the north side of Courthouse Square. A Press conference had been called by the FBI for an important announcement, and while the Press was embargoed from reporting early on it, they were told that it involved Dr. Lionel Carmela.

At the appointed time, FBI Special Agent Tracy Stone came to the podium in the Press Room at the Federal Building and Post Office. Also on stage were Executive Assistant Director Owen Lange, Special Agent In Charge Jack Muscone, Assistant Special Agent In Charge Karina White, and Special Agent In Charge Clark Webster.

"Thank you for coming." said Special Agent Stone as the Press quietened down to hear her statement. "We are here today to announce that the FBI is opening a formal investigation of Dr. Lionel Carmela, for allegedly using classified FBI documents in an attempt to blackmail University President Sidney P. Wellman into rigging tomorrow's Ethics Board meeting against Dr. Laura Fredricson."

The Press began buzzing, so Tracy Stone spoke more strongly as she said "As many of you already know, the late Henry Wargrave was a major benefactor and contributor to the University, and as a benefactor he had close contacts and a friendship with Dr. Wellman. During the FBI investigation of Mr. Wargrave in the months before his death by suicide, the FBI examined that relationship with Dr. Wellman."

Tracy Stone: "Let me point out, and you Press guys need to get this right, that the FBI did not find that Dr. Wellman committed any crimes. Certainly if we had, we would've pursued the leads and possibly made arrests and prosecutions. However, it was reported to us that some of the FBI's classified papers were being used to insinuate that Dr. Wellman had colluded with Mr. Wargrave on some of his financial dealings with the University."

Tracy Stone: "The issue now is that those FBI documents are still classified. For Dr. Carmela to even possess them, much less use them to attempt blackmail, would be Federal felony crimes, with possible jail terms of up to 20 years for each violation. The FBI is taking this matter very seriously, and will be vigorously investigating this case. What are your questions concerning this matter?"

The Press began shouting questions, and Tracy just shook her head until they calmed down. "Catrina?" she said.

"Catrina Pierce, Fox Eight News." said Catrina Pierce of Fox Eight News. "Does any of the FBI investigation involve Dr. Laura Fredricson? Is she possibly implicated in any of this?"

"No." said Tracy Stone. "Dr. Fredricson was never implicated by the FBI in anything to do with Mr. Wargrave, and while it is possible her name might come up in our probe of Dr. Carmela, we have no reason to expect that she will become involved in our probe. Alison?"

"Alison McFarland, for the Town & County Examiner Online." said Alison McFarland for the... well, you know. "How did the FBI learn of this blackmail attempt? And was there already evidence of Dr. Carmela's attempt to blackmail Dr. Wellman?"

Special Agent Stone: "It's not the evidence we already have, but the seriousness of the charge that is the basis for opening our investigation, and for vigorously pursuing it with every resource the Federal Government has available to us. Bettina?"

"Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News." said the redheaded MILF reporterette from the Press Poll scrum. "Dr. Carmela's student Tamara was reported missing last week. Is there any update on the progress in finding her?"

Tracy Stone said "Mr. Webster, would you like to address that?"

"Sure." said SAC Clark Webster affably as he came to the podium. "Our Missing Persons Bureau has determined that the girl we are calling 'Tamara' was last seen at a meeting of Dr. Lionel Carmela and his students a week ago. She did not return to her dorm room that night, and she has not been seen since. Her cellphone has also not been located. We are following several leads, and we continue to ask for the Public's help in locating her."

"Mr. Webster!" interrupted Pat Stellum, "Are you implying that Dr. Carmela had anything to do with Dr. Laura Fredricson's student's disappearance? And are you investigating the possibility that she or her husband had anything to do with Tamara's disappearance?"


"And you are?" replied Clark Webster, his voice unfriendly.

"Pat Stellum, KXTC." said Stellum. "And is this-------"

"Yeah, I've heard of you." interrupted Webster witheringly. "And that explains the absurdity of your questions, as well as your personal rudeness. My answer is 'no', I'm not implying that Dr. Carmela nor anyone by name was involved in this girl's disappearance. Right now we're concentrating on finding the girl, and Dr. Carmela's students that saw her last have been very cooperative with us in our search."

Tracy Stone came back to the podium and said "Tall man in the back, in the trenchcoat."

"Thank you." said the tall man in the trenchcoat. "James Donald, Town & County Police Gazette. Will Commander Donald Troy be taking part in the investigation of Dr. Carmela? And will he be made available to respond to repeated requests for comment by other Media outlets?"

Catrina Pierce and Alison McFarland were laughing, Alison uncontrollably. Others in the room chuckled. Even sour-faced Owen Lange cracked a bit of a grin. By way of contrast, the KXTC reporters were glaring at me with pure hatred in their subhuman eyes.

Tracy Stone managed not to laugh but was grinning as she said "No, Commander Troy is not taking part of our Federal investigation. And you'll have to ask him about his availability for comment..."

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

I offered to buy lunch for Jack Muscone, Karina White, Owen Lange and Tracy Stone, and they accepted... as long as it was at the Cop Bar, insisted Jack. Tanya Muscone and the Sheriff joined us in the 'Command' back room. You get one guess what Jack Muscone ordered, and it better be the 'Jack's Double Cheeseburger Plate', named after him.

"Now I know where all the leaks to the Press have been coming from." growled Griswold, his mustaches twitching most merrily. "Crowbar has been leaking to that guy from the Police Gazette."

"That was a thing of beauty." Tanya said with her trademark cherubic grin and sparkling eyes. "You should've seen Bettina's face when she realized you were standing right behind her."

"I did see it." I replied. "Please don't loan her any crowbars."

EAD Lange in his scratchy voice: "We really are investigating Carmela, but I doubt we'll get anything actionable. But do you think it helped Laura?"

"We'll see." I said. "If Dr. Wellman has spine enough to not kowtow to Carmela, Carmela really can't use any FBI materials he may have on Wellman, because Carmela really will risk Federal charges if he tries. And if he goes through other, anonymous sources, the Press will be leery of handling that hot potatoe." (Yes, Haters, that's spelled that way on purpose.)

"And you've neutralized anything Tamara got off Laura's calendar and other data, too." said Tanya.

"Hopefully." I said. "I am worried that Carmela had Tamara 'disappear' for her safety, and he'll bring her out and spring her us at the Ethics Board hearing tomorrow. Anyhoo, we've done all we can. We'll have to see how the hearing goes."

"I have a question." said Tracy Stone. "Why did you have me say that about the (air quotes) 'seriousness of the charge'?"

I grinned as I said "Because those are the words he was using to justify his false claims against Laura. Turnabout is unfair play, I would say." Tracy grinned at that.

"I've heard that expression before." said EAD Lange. "Someone in Congress used it, maybe?"

"Yes sir." I said. "When Ronald Reagan was (air quotes) 'unexpectedly' elected President against the wishes of the Establishments of both Parties, the Democrats made up this outlandish accusation that then-Vice President candidate George H.W. Bush had flown in a military plane to Iran and asked them to keep our Americans hostage until after the 1980 Election. When asked what the Democrats's evidence was, then-House Speaker Tip O'Neill said "We have no evidence yet, but we have to investigate due to the seriousness of the charge."

"Wow, they'd do something like that?" a shocked Tracy Stone asked.

"And they did do it, then that gave way to the made-up Iran-Contra smear job." growled Griswold. "But young whippersnappers like you wouldn't be expected to know that history. And yes... they might just do it again, if someone is elected President that doesn't toe the Establishment line."

"Yes sir, and they'd probably say that guy was a Russian operative." I added. "And that after he defeats the most corrupt politician in all American history to become President. The Mainstream Media would go nucking futs..."

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

"I'm sorry, Mr. James Donald." said Lieutenant Micah Rudistan with great joviality as I returned to Police Headquarters and walked down the hallway towards my office. "The Press is not allowed in Police Headquarters beyond the Press Room. You'll have to find a working space up there, sir."

"Noooo doubt about that." said Cindy Ross, coming up to me. "What, Don, jealous that you weren't promoted to Deputy Chief?"

"And no one even interviewed me for the job." I said as Teresa came out of her office, looking as amused as I'd seen her look in a long time...

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

At 4:00pm, Wednesday, October 21sth, 'The Four' came on, and Cindy, Teresa, and I were watching in my office as Greg Wallace said "Hello! I'm Greg Wallace, with Priya Ajmani, Lisa Fillmore, and Meredith Peller. Welcome to The Fourrrr!"

After the rather cheap sounding intro music, Wallace said "The issue of defunding the Police is the hot topic in both the State and local elections. Democrat candidate for Lieutenant Governor Corey Coons is making it a centerpiece of his campaign, while the more moderate Hoyt Stenson, the Democrat nominee for Governor, has been accused by his opponent, Conservative Sharon Marshall, of ducking the Police issue by hiding in his basement and refusing to publicly debate her."

Wallace: "Meanwhile, our Town & County Assembly have begun their deliberations on the Budget, and are expected to work through the weekend in order to have a Budget proposal to vote on at their Public meeting on Monday, October 26th. But leaders of the Black Community were outraged at comments by Assembly Republican Ryan Paulson, who they say is holding the education of black children hostage to funding the Police. Roll tape." Tape rolled, showing Ryan Paulson's comments from earlier that morning.

Wallace: "Police Commander Donald Troy, who was also the Chairman of the Charter Commission last year, said this to Alison McFarland in an interview. Roll tape."

Tape rolled, showing Your Iron Crowbar being interviewed by Alison after the FBI Press conference. I was saying "I found Ryan Paulson's comments to be very disturrrrbing. The education of all our children of all ethnicities should not be held hostage."

Alison: "Even if it's the Police budget they're fighting for?"

Your Iron Crowbar: "Alison, if the Assembly wants to defund the Police, if that's what they think is best for the safety of the County's citizens, let them try. Just remember what the Book of Hosea says: 'Ye have sown the wind, and ye shall reap the whirlwind'." (Author's note: Hosea 8:7)

Back to Greg Wallace live: "Meredith, what did you think of Ryan Paulson's comments?"

"They were racist." said Meredith. "Just pure racism in his comments, and after several black leaders and social justice groups called him out on it, he just dug in and said he would not retract nor apologize for those badly insensitive remarks. If anything, he's only added to the tension regarding the Police issues."

Meredith: "I didn't know you were going to show that clip you played of Donald Troy's comments, and I want to comment on them. While writing the New Charter, the Teacher's Union fought very hard to have the School Board oversee the taxation and spending of money for education, and it was a situation like this they were thinking about."

Meredith: "Donald Troy fought the Teacher's Union tooth-and-nail, harder than he fought for anything else in writing the Charter. Now Troy is whining about the Republicans holding the education budget hostage, which would not be possible if he'd listened to the wise advice of the Teacher's Union. And Donald Troy's decision allowed the blatant racism that Ryan Paulson showed in his comments."

Lisa Fillmore: "I don't want to get in the weeds of that misrepresentation of what happened during the writing of the Charter, so I'll stick to my original points about this. Assemblyman Paulson's comments are being construed as racist by those that want to defund the Police, but he was just saying that if the black Democrats on the Assembly try to hold up the Budget to deny us the Police Force we need to protect us, then the rest of the Budget is being held up, too."

"Priya," asked Greg Wallace, "which one of these opinions is the correct one?"

Priya: "They both are making good points, but I agree that Mr. Paulson's remarks could have been stated in a much better way that would not have generated the controversy. I want to ask a question that is being overlooked, but is very central to this issue: if the Police are defunded, will that truly make things better for blacks, much less anyone else? If the Police are wiped out of existence, is that going to improve relations between blacks and whites? Is it going to create dialogue and understanding?"

Meredith: "That's not the real question here, Priya. People of Color are trying to raise the issue of systemic white Police brutality against Blacks, of systemic and institutionalized racism in this country against People of Color, and they're just being ignored. So maybe defunding the Police will get people's attention."

Lisa Fillmore: "Oh, it's gotten people's attention, all right... but at what cost? And to who's detriment? And to Priya's excellent point, it hasn't created peaceful dialogue at all, just accusations of racism and reverse-racism. And now it's to the point that both sides are just talking past each other, and nothing is being solved."

After the break, Meredith was the moderator: "Earlier today the FBI gave a Press conference, where it was announced that Dr. Lionel Carmela was being investigated for obtaining and using classified FBI documents to blackmail University President Sidney P. Wellman into siding with those that want to strip Dr. Laura Fredricson of her tenure and fire her for allegedly running a male prostitution ring out of her office. The FBI did not say they had actual evidence, but said they were investigating due to the seriousness of the charge."

Meredith: "The documents in question have nothing to do with Dr. Fredricson, but allegedly involve the late Henry Wargrave, who was investigated and pursued by the FBI, and allegedly jumped from a window on the 30th floor of the Cannon Building in the City. However, in that same Press conference, the FBI admitted they had no leads on a student named 'Tamara', who is considered to be a whistleblower that brought Dr. Fredricson's alleged ethical and criminal violations to public light, and has subsequently disappeared."

Meredith: "Greg, is the FBI doing this just to help Dr. Fredricson, a retired CIA Officer, and her husband, Commander Donald Troy, who works with the wife of FBI Special Agent In Charge Jack Muscone?"

Greg Wallace: "Come on, Meredith. Is everything with you Democrats a conspiracy? A lot of the FBI documents regarding Henry Wargrave are still classified, and it's their job to investigate crimes of persons having having possession of classified documents that aren't supposed to have them. Carmela can't have his cake and eat it too. If he expects us to take his allegations against Dr. Fredricson without proof seriously, then he has no right to complain about the FBI investigating his alleged improprieties."

Lisa Fillmore: "The way you asked that question, Meredith, shows one of the issues of this dispute. Some would say that the FBI has sinister motives in opening an investigation of Carmela, while others say the FBI is doing its job and doing the right thing. In a like manner, Dr. Fredricson's specialties of study are in sexual psychology. She studies sex, sexual mores, and related issues. She has studied prostitution as part of her job, and there's nothing wrong with that. But now it's being drummed up that her actions in innocently and naturally studying a subject is (air quotes) 'unethical and even illegal'."