Consequences Ch. 04

"How is Inga doing, by the way?" asked Captain Tanya Muscone.

"Bettina was accurate about that." said Chief Moynahan. "I sat at the Hospital with Jerome Davis until the doctors came out... which was nearly six o'clock, an hour ago. They did what they could. Dr. Fredricson spent nearly three hours repairing the damage to Inga's torn large intestine and anal cavity, and stopping the bleeding in her vagina. They also operated on her chest, to repair the punctures made by her shattered ribs in several places. They'll still need to operate on her face, but have to wait for the swelling to go down."

Chief Moynahan: "But according to Dr. Morgan, it could've been even worse. Apparently Wilson was so intent on delivering blows to Inga's face that he never hit her in the throat. If her larynx had been crushed, that rescue last night would've been in vain. He also apparently hit her where ribs were, and didn't punch her in the abdomen very much... at least not enough to cause massive internal bleeding. And he never hit her in the back, especially around the kidneys."

Teresa said "It sounds like he knew what he was doing, to the extent that he wanted her left alive so we'd try to rescue her, and they could shoot at us."

"How's Jerome doing?" I asked the Chief.

"He is... devastated, I guess is the word." replied the Chief. "I think he felt hopeful when Inga made it out of surgery alive. I also think that what's on his mind is a lahhhht more than just her..."

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

The KFXU morning report with Catrina and Meredith was much more pro-Police, saying the Police stopped violent riots and rescued a kidnapped Police Corporal. But their report was subdued, and they also read Ava Hinds's full statement on the air.

"I wonder if the FCC forced them to read Hinds's statement." Teresa Croyle said after the broadcast as we started the Angels Meeting."

"I wouldn't be surprised." I replied. "Okay, status reports. Where are we on everything?"

Teresa started: "After last night, I told the Precincts to have everyone stand down as much as possible. Clean equipment and firearms, work out in the gym, catch up on paperwork, get some food. But very limited patrols, at least for today, unless a mob starts massing somewhere."

"How do the Uniformed Officers feel about that?" I asked.

Teresa understood, and replied: "A lot of them want to go out there, and show that we're not afraid of them. But an increasing number of them realize that it's getting dangerous out there, and holding back and being ready to hit massed protesters with more people is the right way to go."

"IS it the right way to go?" asked Tanya Muscone. "I worry about the common criminals, The Teacher's people, thinking they can get more active and commit more crimes."

"I hear you." I said. "And my answer, which I've told the Chief and the Sheriff already, is that it depends on the amount of Press scrutiny. As long as they're lying in wait, as they are now, we hold back. When they get bored and leave, we can return to normal patrols."

"I know you hate the Press, Don," Cindy said, "but do you really think they're behind all of this?"

I replied: "It might be more accurate to say they're working hand-in-glove with the people who are behind it. They, meaning those who plan these things, are always a step ahead of us, and we can only figure it out and react to it when it starts to happen. By way of contrast, the Press seems to either know in advance where to be, or knows who to follow around to be in front of the story."

"And in this particular case," I added as my gray eyes bore into Cindy's ice-blue peepers, "Lester Penis Holder sure has had a lot of timely access to Jacquez Wilson."

"Point taken." said Cindy.

"So what's next?" Teresa asked. "And don't say 'no data yet'." She meant it as a joke, I think, but I took her seriously.

"Oh, we have a ton of data." I said as I stood up and paced the floor behind my desk. I looked out the window over the parking lot, then paced some more. Then I looked up and said "The purpose is twofold, but the lines run parallel to each other."

Your Iron Crowbar: "The first thing they're trying to do is gin up a national story showing that white cops are racists and are exercising brutality against blacks, and we the TCPD are the Drive-Bys's latest target. The riots in the City are winding down, and the Press has been avoiding reporting on Wilmington, Delaware. So someone decided that our Town & County should be the next place to smear the good names of good cops."

Your Iron Crowbar: "They tried to do it with McCombs, and that generated local interest but not national interest. Then they went for the 'Juneteenth 22' plan, followed that up by shooting at Patrol cruisers, and when that didn't get the response they desired, they followed up by kidnapping, raping, and beating an Officer nearly to death."

Your Iron Crowbar: "And that's the second thing they're doing. From Penis Holder calling Tasha filthy names, to what happened last night... everything to this point has been done to enrage the Police, hoping we'll overreact with acts of brutality and excessive use of force. And if and when we do, there's the USDOJ Civil Rights Division, ready to come in like the Cavalry and save the day by forcing the TCPD into a Consent Decree."

"It hasn't worked... yet." Tanya Muscone said. "And that means you expect something else to happen."

"I sure do." I said. "Which leads me to ask: where is Jacquez Wilson?"

"In the wind." said Tanya. "Intel is working like dogs, and they're becoming exhausted. I put them on four-hours-on, four-hours-off shifts, and pulled the divider walls in Intel so they could get some sleep on cots on one side of it. But I digress... so far there's nothing on Wilson or any of his Block House Boyz gang, except the two inside the Block House, guarding it."

I nodded. "Okay, concentrate on Lester Holder's burners. I suspect one will light up sometime today... before the six o'clock news on the east coast. Also, track the KXTC vehicles. They're our best intel source on things about to happen before they do happen."

"What about Ava Hinds?" asked Cindy.

"We'll hear from her after we find Jacquez Wilson and go after him, if I don't miss my guess---"

"And you never do!" said a chorus of Angels.

I smiled briefly, then said "What I was going to say that when we go after Wilson, Ava Hinds will pop up and demand we treat the black suspects with 'respect' and 'dignity' and 'understand their frustrations'. And when they start shooting at us, if we shoot back, Ava Hinds will be there chanting 'Police brutality!'."

"No matter what we do, we lose." Cindy said glumly.

"Why Commander Ross!" I exclaimed jovially. "You have forgotten who you are speaking to!" I then lowered my voice and said "I don't like to lose, especially when it comes to Justice for one or more of my Officers."

*CHIME!*

It was Teresa's Police iPhone, and she glanced at it. "Oh crap." she muttered. "It's Father Romano." We all groaned.

Teresa looked up, then said "It's not about Inga. He says Jonathan Davis just arrived at the Hospital, and there's a lot of tension building..."

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

TCPD Lieutenant Jerome Davis was looking through the glass window into ICU when his father Jonathan Davis came up the hallway. Jerome glared at Jonathan, then turned back to the window.

"How's she doing?" Jonathan asked.

"She's fighting." said Jerome, his voice seemingly far away.

"What about you?" asked Jonathan, peering at Jerome. "You're angry? Full of hate?"

Jerome turned and peered hard at Jonathan, and said "What do you think? Of course I'm angry!"

"That's why I came up here, to talk to you about that." said Jonathan. "Is there somewhere we can talk?"

Jerome led the way to the nearest waiting room, where he'd been for hours. Father Romano was reciting prayers, but came out of it and looked up at them. Without anyone saying a word, he got up and left the waiting room, and neither Davis noticed him getting his Police iPhone out of his pocket.

"What do you want?" Jerome asked, his voice unfriendly, and angry.

"I know you're angry," said Jonathan, "and I know you want to lash out in revenge. I'm sure Commander Troy and the Police want to, as well. But what I came here to say is that you can't do that. You have to control your emotions and rise above it, and not react like I'm sure Commander Troy is going to."

"What?!" Jerome spat. "You were marching with those thugs, and you want to lecture me about it?"

"I want you to understand two things." said Jonathan, his voice getting more forceful, and perhaps a bit angry. "This wasn't right, but neither is the treatment of our people by racist whites. And Police brutality in response to this is not the answer to any of our problems----"

"Go out there and look at her!" Jerome shouted, pointing towards the window to ICU. "Look at what your fellow Haters did to her! You think that's okay?"

"Son, do black lives matter?" Jonathan asked. The look on Jerome's face cannot be adequately described here.

"Yeah?" Jerome fired back. "Do white lives matter? Do BLUE lives matter? Do Police Officers's lives matter?"

"No, blue lives don't matter!" Jonathan hissed angrily. "This is about our People, Jerome! This is about your People! And your family!"

"My people... are Blue," Jerome replied, his voice barely a whisper but with tremendous energy behind it, "I am far more Blue than Black. My family... is the Police. And they are the only family I've got left... I no longer have a father."

"Then I no longer have a son---" snarled Jonathan. He was interrupted by a loud beeping from the hallway.

"_/ ../ _ _/ .
_/ _ _ _
_ _ ./ _ _ _"

"T-i-m-e t-o g-o." Jonathan spelled out as he heard the Morse Code. "Time to go... whaa?" He went out into the hallway, and Teresa Croyle went past him into the waiting room, followed by Chaplain Romano. Jonathan went around the corner to see Your Iron Crowbar standing there, holding up my personal iPhone, using the Morse Code app on it to broadcast the message.

"What is this, Commander?" Jonathan asked.

"Walk with me, Chief." I said. I walked him to the elevator. He followed, saving me the need to force him to. At the elevator I said: "Mr. Davis, I am grateful and always will be for the help you gave us and Charlie Griswold. But the good will... and my patience... are beginning to erode. You need to go back home, Mr. Davis."

"Yeah, I'll go home." said Jonathan Davis. "But there's one thing you better not do. You'd better not lead my son down the dark path you're on, and you've been on. Oh, I know... we all do... that you're not going to let what happened to that young lady go unavenged. But don't take my son down that black hole with you."

I just held up the iPhone:
"_/ ../ _ _/ .
_/ _ _ _
_ _ ./ _ _ _"

Jonathan got on the elevator as it opened, and the doors closed between us.

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

11:30am, Tuesday, June 23d. Jack Muscone and Karina White of the FBI came to my office, and I had them sit down.

"Just came over to give you a quick update on things." said Muscone. "Ava Hinds is at the Federal Building in the City, as are Lindsey Black and Martin Nash. The Rovers BAU team is across the State Line, in Hammondsville. EAD Owen Lange was called to Washington for 'meetings'. I spoke with him an hour ago, and he says the DOJ is watching the developing situation here in your Town & County very closely."

Karina White said "Ava Hinds has four Federal Marshals assigned to her, apparently as bodyguards, and other Federal Marshals in the State have been put on alert to support her if needed. They're being very open about that."

"Let me ask this," I said, "especially to a former ATF Agent like you, Karina: are they sending in any ATF people to this area?"

Karina said "Not much gets by you, Don. Yes, the ATF Agents assigned to both the City and Southport were told to report to the Conference Center at the University today, for what is described as 'refresher training' and 'situation briefings'. But they're not the Swamp Frogs's people... a lot of them worked with me in the past, and were part of that team that helped us with the ISCARIOT raid." (Author's note: 'Iscariot', Ch. 04-05.)

I grinned. "Y'all are calling it that, too." I said amusedly. "So you two must be thinking what I'm thinking."

"We're not exactly Agencies of the Weak-Minded, either." said Jack Muscone, with a twinkle in his beady black eyes, and as much of a smile as we were going to get from him. "Mort Springer and William Drew had explosives and lots of 'em." (Author's note: 'Power of Love', Ch. 02-03.) "We've also been watching out for Jacquez Wilson, and we think he and his gang have plastique in their 'Block House'."

I nodded. "I'm sure of it. And the Rovers BAU Team would say that Wilson would flee this jurisdiction if he hasn't already, but I don't think he has. And since he's crossed a line he can't uncross, and with the example of two men who seemingly willingly died in the kidnapping incident, I suspect he wants to make one final stand... and take out as many Police Officers as he possibly can."

"Sooooo," I continued, "I'm waiting for Wilson to show up somewhere, probably the Block House. And then we'll hear from Ava Hinds. And if we the Police attempt to arrest Wilson, and there is a philosophical exchange of values in the form of bullets flying everywhere, the TCPD will be accused of Police brutality and Hinds will try to get a Federal warrant to pretty much shut the TCPD down."

"She's already tried that." said Muscone. "She tried to line that up in advance with Federal Judge Ruth B. Taney in Midtown, but Federal Judge K.M. Landis got wind of it and reminded her that he is the exclusive Federal Judge to deal with for issues concerning the Town & County Police. We think that if anything happens, Hinds will go to Taney anyway, and if Landis tries to stop them, the Media will start chanting ugly things about Landis."

"I'm glad you brought your friendly ATF Agents in." I said to Karina. "We may need their help."

Karina said "It won't matter if you engage Wilson's thugs in armed conflict. Ava Hinds is going to come down on you, and the Media is salivating at the chance to chant 'Police brutality' at you."

I said "Then we'll have to make sure we don't do anything they can use against us..."

My desk phone buzzed and I answered it. I listened to the message, then hung the phone back up and said "It looks like it's about to go down..."

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

11:45am. The Sheriff, Police leadership, and Muscone and White assembled in Classroom 'E'. Captain Tanya P. Muscone began the briefing.

"About fifteen minutes ago," Tanya said, "a group of people began massing at the Block House, which is southwest of Town, and near the railroad branch line that splits off the main transcon line just south of BOW Enterprises and Crown Chemicals and comes into Town. The building was once owned by the railroad and was like a Depot building, so it's right next to the track."

Tanya: "The group of people began ringing the Block House, keeping about 20 yards out, and then this happened. As Bettina says, 'Roll tape'." Tape rolled, showing a KXTC van approaching the Block House, and being admitted within the ring of people.

Tanya: "As you can see, the van backed up to the main door of the Block House, which is in the north side wall, and apparently someone, maybe more than one person, went into the Block House. The KXTC van then drove out of the ring of people and went to Al Sharpton Elementary School... where several other Press vans drove into within the last hour and are setting up their antennae to transmit their feeds."

"How did someone manage to herd those cats into that one parking lot?" I asked in stunned amazement.

Cindy said "Ohhh, I might've leaked word to some people that the TCPD would not molest any Media vans that were in Sharpton Elementary's parking lot, but we'd impound vehicles found parked anywhere else in that area."

"Wow, that is just... outstanding." I said in awe.

Cindy made the 'muscles' pose, and everyone chuckled. Then she said "I can't take credit for it... it was Sheriff Griswold's idea."

"You made it happen, young whippersnapper." growled Griswold, his mustaches twitching merrily.

"Modesty is a human trait, Sheriff." I said, flat deadpan. "I will excuse it." Laughter erupted.

Tanya then said "Within the past few minutes, one of Lester Holder's three burner phone numbers activated, and we traced the transmission to the Block House. It's not the same burner as the one used the other night, though. Our FBI friends at the Federal Building may or may not be trying to get the data on that call."

"And we have it." said Tanya's husband, Jack Muscone. "It's to a burner phone in the City. The nearest cell tower it's pinging is the Federal Building in the City."

"Letting Ava Hinds know they're in place." I said. "Let's not disappoint her. Have we got the warrants to arrest Jacquez Wilson?"

"Yes sir." said Tanya. "But we don't know for sure if he's at the Block House."

"As dangerous as it is to assume," I said, "I think we can make an 'edumacated' guess on this one. Teresa, form a ring around the ring of people protecting the Block House. No one goes in or out. Arrest anyone who tries to get out or go in, but otherwise leave them alone as long as they don't do anything active. I need not say what the armor complement should be, but I will: maximum body armor, helmets, shields, girdles, the whole nine yards."

"If you'll excuse me, sir," Teresa said, getting up, "I'll go make that happen right now..."

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

By 12:59pm, the TCPD had fully encircled the ring of people encircling the Block House. Most of those people were young, black, and wearing red Antifa shirts, or black shirts with 'Black Lives Matter' and 'Black Voices Raised' on them. To my surprise, I did not see a single white person in the group, much less wearing green Environmentalist Wacko shirts.

Their numbers were such that they were an estimated five yards deep, with a bit of spacing between them; they were not like sardines. What surprised me, though, was that they were maintaining a distance from the building of about 45-50 feet.

"KXTC just put out the one-minute warning to break into their programming." Cindy said after reading a text on her Police iPhone. "And this is from KXTC... they want us to know about this."

"Let's watch some TV." I said. Some of the matrix of screens on the wall of Classroom 'E' were used to show the KXTC broadcast.

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg with breaking news!" said Bettina, from the anchor desk in the KXTC studios. "Town & County Police have surrounded the pool hall known as the 'Block House', where they believe Jacquez Wilson has barricaded himself. The building is surrounded by 200 supporters of Mr. Wilson, who is a black activist and civil rights leader. And now let's go to trusted reporter Lester Holder with an exclusive that you will only see on Channel Two News! Lester!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said Lester Holder as the feed cut to him. A white sheet with the words 'Black Voices Raised' in black was behind them, screening the rest of the room from view. Next to Penis Holder was Jacquez Wilson. "I am here with civil rights leader Jacquez Wilson, who is being persecuted by Town & County Police. Mr. Wilson, what do you have to say to Commander Donald Troy and the Police?"

Jacquez Wilson said "The Juneteenth 22 have not been released; therefore, 22 white cops will die. We will also kill the families of white cops, and their dogs, too! If you think you can stop me, Iron Cracker, here I am! Come and get me! Come get me yourself!"