Falsely Accused Ch. 03

This story is part of an ongoing series. The chronological order of my stories is now 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, 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.

And by the way, none of what is written here is intended to make comparisons between Jesus Christ and the Iron Crowbar.

Part 9 - Search And Destroy

Sunday, August 13th. I entered Police Headquarters wearing my civilian black outfit: badge on my belt, gun in a shoulder holster, light trenchcoat (very warm in the heat of summer), and my khaki Tilley Hat. And the red crowbar.

MCD was active. Myron was at a desk, typing on a computer. Mary was watching the wall monitor, trying to not get emotional. Joanne and Theo were at their desks, and in contact with the CSI personnel (that's J.R. Barnes and Christina Cho) and Uniformed Officers at the scene.

"All right, folks," I said, trying to keep my voice calm, "what do we have?"

"Neighbors heard what sounded like a struggle at Professor Milton's home." said Joanne. "Then a white van drove out of the driveway. No one got a license plate, and the description is a Ford Econoline 350 with no markings on the side or back.

"Might as well try to stop half the vans in the State." I said. "Myron, any pings?"

"His cellphone is at his house," said Myron, "and the homing device in his belt was activated, but was removed from his person and left behind. He did swallow a homing capsule, and I had a signal... going west. I think they took him out of State."

"We'll have to call the FBI to continue the pursuit." said Cindy.

"And if they're the bastards that kidnapped him?" I replied acidly. Silence in the room was instantaneous. I looked around.

"I'm not kidding, people." I said. "The FBI thinks Professor Milton is a disloyal subversive, and they were very, very pissed off when Myron refused to help them find the Guardians of Justice... and they were pissed when I backed up Myron on that. Okay, Myron... my office." We left a stunned group of Police Officers in MCD and went into my office.

Once in the office, I got out the bug-killer and turned it on, not giving a damn right now about Internal Affairs. Myron sat in one hot chair and I sat in the other one, very close to him and keeping our voices low."

"Myron," I said, "do whatever you need to do to locate that capsule transmission."

"Sir," said Myron, "I can't do it from here at Headquarters. They're watching, and monitoring. This whole thing may be a trap to see what I do about it."

"That's Iron Crowbar thinking, there." I replied. "So, where can you do it from?"

Myron thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up...

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

The drone took off and flew north. It was a TCPD drone, but had been modified by Myron to not transmit a signal unless it picked up something to transmit, and then to deliver a 'burst' signal. It is possible that Myron had been the one who created the drone I'd used in the Larry Wheeler 'Whistleblower' murder case.

Myron and I were standing on the front lawn of the house at Point Hollow. With us were six Uniformed Officers in plain clothes; it is no coincidence that they were all 'Blood Orange'. Also with us was Captain Cindy Ross, who drove up in the Black Beauty, and Captain Teresa Croyle, dressed in all black civilian clothes.

"How do you keep from losing that thing when it gets out of range of the controller?" Teresa asked.

"It's triangulating off the radio towers in Town, the University, and in Hammondsville." said Myron. "I programmed it to fly in circles until it finds something, then home in on that and send a burst signal to us."

We did not have very long to wait. Within ten minutes, Myron's monitoring device beeped as a burst signal reached it. A blue dot lit up on a map on the screen.

"Northwest of us." I said, watching with Myron. "Up that two-lane road through the forest that we used to get to that cabin where Annemarie and Sherry Kim were found." (Author's note: 'Point Hollow', Ch. 01.). "But the signal is on the west side of the road, not the east."

Another burst came in, and the location of the capsule signal was more strongly confirmed. Myron sent a command for the drone to return.

"All right," I said to everyone, "here is what we're going to do. And before we begin, let me make sure you're all good with one thing: if any LEOs at any level, from local to Federal, try to interdict us, we will be blasting through them and shooting to kill. Any problems with that?"

There were no expressions of any problems with that.

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

The Black Beauty led the way, with Cindy driving, me riding shotgun... and two black-clad, black-masked individuals in the backseat. We were going ahead of the others, because the Black Beauty gave off no electronic signatures, because it had equipment to detect and home in on the capsule signal, and because it could access the drone flying overhead that detected infrared signatures of human beings.

"So far, no lookouts." I said. "The location is an abandoned house just off the road. It still has electricity and water running to it."

"No sign of humans." said Cindy as we drove past the house. We turned into a dirt road about 75 yards further down.

"They could be in a basement." I said. "Okay guys, get ready to go inside. I'll cut the power...

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

*WHAM!*

The thug drove his closed fist into Marvin Milton's jaw. The old man was seated in a chair, his hands tied behind him and the back of the chair, his legs tied to the legs of the chair. Duct tape covered his mouth. Blood was seeping from his nose.

"Fucking piece of shit." muttered the man hitting Milton. "Think you can leak shit and get away with it? What do you think of your 'Guardians of Justice' now?" With that, the man drove his fist into Milton's belly.

"You want a couple of shots at this shit eater?" snarled the first man.

"Sure." said the second man. "Too fucking bad Rodriguez is not here. We'd let him rape the shit out of this bastard's ass before we kill him." The second man then swung his fist in a haymaker, catching Milton in the side of the head, just below the left eye. The blow sent Milton and his chair toppling over.

"God damn piece of shit can't sit up straight." said the first man, going over and viciously kicking the old man in the ribs.

Suddenly, the lights went out, throwing the basement room into total, inky blackness.

*WHAP!* *BIFF!* *OOOF!*

When the lights came back on, the four perps were lying on the ground, their hands zip-tied behind them. Several persons in all black clothing and black masks were in the room.

"Kato," said a tall, broad-shouldered man, his voice soft, scratchy, gravelly, "take Milton to the hospital in my SUV. You drive the Black Beauty and lead the way, and if anyone tries to stop you, blow them the hell away."

"Roger that, sir." said the shorter person, obviously a woman and a toned, fit woman at that. She and most of the black-clad persons untied Marvin Milton and carried him out of the room.

"Everyone except Buddy," the tall man said, pointing at another black-clad, masked person that was obviously a woman, "get out of here. Wait for us outside."

'Buddy' was the codename for Teresa, of course. She and I were the only ones left in the room with the four perps. It was time for interrogation... 'Blood Orange' style. Well, actually much, much worse.

"Well, Buddy," I said as I took a leather billfold out of my pocket, "you are about to learn something new." I took out a syringe full of liquid and injected the person I suspected was the leader.

"AAAUUUGUGGHHHH!!" the man screamed as the tremendous, debilitating pain raced through his entire body. He shook violently as he screamed.

"Well," I said to the second man, "looks like your friend here is in some pain. Now if you don't want to experience that for yourself, I'd suggest you start telling me who hired you to beat up that old man."

"Man, I don't know nuthin'." gasped the second man. "I swear to God, I don't know a damn thing!"

"Better be sure." I said. I injected the second man with a smaller dose. He began screaming in agony. I went to the third man.

"So!" I said, "Looks like your buddies are pretty stupid. How about you?"

"Man, Dirk there hired me." the man said, indicating the first man. "I don't know nuthin' else... I SWEAR TO GOD, I DON"T KNOW NUTHIN'!!" he screamed as I was about to inject him.

"We'll see about that." I said. I got out the second syringe, that had the antidote, and gave the second man a shot. He stopped screaming and crying as the pain left his body. "So, you ready to talk?"

"I swear to God, I don't know anything." said the second man.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Joey Smith." he said.

"No, the real name." I said.

"I swear, that's it!" he gasped. Then he gave me his prison number from State Prison in Jacksonville. I wrote it down. The third and fourth men were also forthcoming with their identities.

I finally went to the first man, who was now vomiting and had lost control of his bowels. "You ready to talk, shithead?"

"Pleeeeease, make it stop!" gasped the first man. I finally injected him with antidote.

"Okay, plenty more pain if you don't start singing like a canary." I said. The man started singing like a canary.

I then took out a third syringe. The men cringed, but it was only a drug that would wipe their short-term memories, and make them forget this whole little episode ever happened. Then I called in the other masked men, who loaded the perps into TCPD cruisers and drove them back into the boundaries of our State and County.

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

As we were driving back, me driving my Police SUV and Teresa riding shotgun, I said "Well, I guess you now know."

"I already knew." Teresa said. "I'm engaged to the brother of the punk that created those drugs. And I remember what happened to Steven Moschel before we found him, and I had every idea then what had been done to him. You're not dealing with an Agency of the Weak Minded, you know."

I enjoyed a long hard laugh at that one...

Part 10 - Retribution

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Fox Two News!" shouted the lovely redheaded reporterette from in front of University Hospital at 7:00am, Monday, August 14th. "Fox Two News has learned that University Professor Marvin Milton has been severely beaten and is near death here at University Hospital!"

Bettina: "Details are sketchy, but Professor Milton was brought in late yesterday afternoon with severe internal injuries. Trauma doctors worked to save him, including Hospital Administrator Leonard Cordell, who was a war surgeon with years of experience treating battlefield wounds. At this hour, Dr. Milton is stabilized, but is not out of danger."

More Bettina: "Asked who is responsible for this crime, Police Commander Donald Troy issued a statement that the Police are investigating the attack upon the father of a Police Officer, and that he, Commander Troy, is giving this attack priority and his personal attention. Chief Sean Moynahan issued a statement that the assault on Dr. Milton was an assault on the entire Police family, the entire University family, and it will not go unpunished."

Bettina then brought in University President Sidney Wellman, who said "Of course our prayers go out to Professor Milton and his family that he will survive and recover from this horrible attack. I have asked the Campus Police to assist the TCPD in any way they can to solve this case and bring whoever was behind this vicious attack to Justice."

More Bettina: "Four men were arrested in connection with the beating, but details are sketchy as to where they were arrested. Lawyers for Chase, Lynch & Berry, P.C. and Gresham & Mason, P.C. were quick to offer to represent the four arrested men pro bono, saying the Police abused the suspects after arresting them!"

Then Bettina moved to the bombshell. "And in State news, Governor Val Jared has formally asked the SBI-SIS to investigate Republican U.S. Senator Samuel Russell and BigAgraFoods for conspiracy in the death of Larry Wheeler. The Governor cited the documents released by the Guardians of Justice, and the Governor's Office has made FOIA requests to obtain the originals from the Federal Government, and has requested subpoenas through the Courts for BigAgraFoods documents. This comes after apparent inaction after the Governor's meeting with FBI Assistant Director Dana Fox."

"In retaliatory response," said Bettina, "Senator Russell issued a statement saying the Governor is mentally incompetent, and is delusional to believe the treasonous Guardians of Justice. Other Republicans, especially Lieutenant Governor Graham Collins and House Ways and Means Chairman Wilson Hammonds, were also quick to strongly condemn the Governor for his actions."

"And finally," finished Bettina, "Peter Dwayne Gordon will be in Court for his preliminary hearing this morning for allegedly raping a woman last week. He is being defended by Mike G. Todd of the Madison and Ives Law Firm, and D.A. Gil Krasney is personally overseeing the Prosecution's case, saying that this is about the predatory treatment of all women..."

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

As I watched the broadcast in my office, with Cindy the only other person in the room, my mind was flashing back to the day before:

Professor Marvin Milton was barely alive. His jaw was cracked in two places, as were the bones around his left eye, which was swollen shut with bruising. He had a severe concussion in two places on his brain. Several of his ribs were cracked, some puncturing his lungs. He was extremely lucky in that the soft tissue damage where he'd been punched in the belly was limited. He was in ICU now, with his son Myron and daughter-in-law Mary at his side.

"If he makes it through the next 24 hours," Dr. Morgan had told me at 10:30 Sunday night, "he might have a chance. We're monitoring for bleeding and for clots, but there's nothing more we can do for him. He'll have to pull through himself."

A story had been relayed to me that the Death Cat had been seen walking down the hall towards ICU in the middle of the night, and the nurses had expected the worst. But the Death Cat had not arrived at Milton's bedside. Instead, Mary had whispered into her father-in-law's ear over and over to hang on, to live to see his grandchild that she was carrying. Marvin Milton was still alive when the sun came up.

I also remembered my conversation with the Hospital Administrator, Admiral Cordell. He'd asked me "Any idea who the bastards are that did this?"

"Yes sir." I said. "The perps talked. We won't discuss how that was induced." The Admiral's eyebrows raised at me just a bit, but he also saw the dead light in my eyes, dead to all but Justice... no, to retribution.

"Good." said the Admiral. "I won't ask who is responsible for this, but I hope you wipe 'em out."

"Yes sir." I said. "And thank you for doing all you can for Dr. Milton."

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

Now, back in present time, I felt Cindy trying to read my mind.

"Any idea who did this?" asked Cindy.

"You tell me." I said.

"Well," Cindy said, "It's understandable that Myron and Mary would be at his father's side, but that denies us their services for the time being."

"Yes." I replied. "Very conveeeenient for our enemies."

"Which enemies are those?" asked Cindy, trying to steer the conversation back to me answering her questions.

"Take your pick." I said. "The ones that want to cover up for BigAgraFoods, and the ones that don't want me finding out the truth about this rape case."

Cindy's face suddenly changed. She said "If you'll excuse me, sir...", got up, and left the office.

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

"This is John Hardwood, Five-Alive News in the Morning, bringing you the news you have a right to know." said the untrustworthy reporter from in front of the Federal Building at 8:00am. I was watching with undivided attention and concentration.

"Five-Alive News has learned that Professor Marvin Milton, who the FBI considered a 'person of interest' in the Guardians of Justice treason case, was severely beaten in his home Sunday afternoon." said Hardwood. "Milton barely survived the attack and is in ICU at University Hospital with severe injuries."

"Several suspects were arrested in the case," said Hardwood, "but their legal representation is saying that the Police actions in the case are irregular at best, and possibly physically abusive at worst. Professor Milton is the father of TCPD Supervisor Myron Milton, and father-in-law of Vice Detective Mary Milton."

Hardwood went on: "And Governor Val Jared continues to act in a bizarre manner that suggests he is not mentally fit to hold public office. His latest unbelievable act is to ask the SBI-SIS to investigate the honorable U.S. Senator Samuel Russell, as well as important company BigAgraFoods, for conspiracy in the cover up of the murder of Larry Wheeler, a BigAgraFoods employee who may have treacherously betrayed the company by leaking information. Most disturbing is that Val Jared actually cited the documents released by the cyber-terrorist traitor organization 'Guardians of Justice'. This alone brings the Governor's mental competence into question..."

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

At 10:30pm, Monday, August 14th, I met Mike G. Todd at his office. My bug killer was on, whether or not it was needed.

"It was rough, Commander." said Mike. "Krasney was there himself, as was Stiles. Strange bedfellows, eh?" I smiled briefly at the joke, then Mike continued: "Folsom was the judge. He's not a bad judge, but I would rather have Watts. Anyway, I raised objections, and I used the affidavits about the dress. Krasney worked like hell to have that evidence excluded. Folsom said he'd consider if we could admit it at the trial, and I knew then that the whole thing was a sham, just going through the motions, and we were going to lose. So I held back on Luskin's past record as a prostitute, so they won't know until we have to give it to them during Discovery."

"Good." I said, knowing Dexter Epstein would've butchered that. "Good job. I appreciate your good work on Peter's behalf. By the way... did we win on bail?"

"No... and yes." said Todd. "Stiles was going on and on about no bail, and I let her. Then I said I would agree to no bail, provided my client got his Constitutional right to a fair and most very speedy trial. Folsom said his calendar was clear on September 5th... of this year."

I smiled. "And I'll bet the Prosecution did not object one bit."

"No, they didn't, which shocked me." said Mike. Then he peered at me. "What, did you expect they wouldn't object?"

"Yes." I said. "I expected it to go pretty much as you've described."

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

At 1:45pm, Cindy returned to Police Headquarters. She had been gone most of the late morning, and I'd been too busy to ask why.

As she came into my office, she was surprised to find Teresa already there, attired in heavy armor.

"Captain Ross." I said. "Based upon intelligence information gathered yesterday, we are about to administer some retribution for Professor Milton. As part of it, I will be turning in my FBI Consultant badge. What do you want to do?"