Fire in the Embers Ch. 03

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I continued: "I can't even guarantee this is the tablet they were looking for. There is the refined heroin out there to consider. But I wanted you to know of this from me, instead of finding out some other way and wondering why I didn't tell you."

"You don't want us to ask who it is that's on there, do you?" Nash said. By 'us' he meant Cindy, still unaware that she knew already.

"I'll just say this, Martin." I replied. "As the lead investigator of the Grayson case, you have every right to know what is on this tablet. Once you do, however, your life will be in grave danger... as will Sandra Speer's and anyone else whom you hold dear. If you slip up even the slightest bit and reveal your knowledge, people will die. And I believe this man has moles within this Police Force, within the SBI, within the FBI, within the CIA... he's like a massive, malignant spider in the center of a huge web, and he feels every vibration."

"Why don't you just arrest him?" asked Martin.

"Based upon what proof?" I replied. "I'm working to obtain that, but right now he'd walk away, never to be caught again, and probably with my employment terminated as concession to him. And if I do what I should do... if The Batman kills the Joker... then I'll be put to death on the same slab Lance Priemus died upon, someone else will fill the void in his crime ring, and the same Evil will persist. I'm trying to bust both him and his entire criminal organization."

Nash thought about it. He looked over at Cindy, only to find her ice blue eyes staring right back into his. He said "This really is that big, isn't it?"

"He burned the Commander's house down. With my baby cousins inside." Cindy replied. "This bastard was behind Priemus's tortured death, which you saw yourself. He's behind or involved with almost every crime we've worked on for the last few years."

"Captain, do you know who he is?" Nash asked.

"I've never told her." I said, peering at Cindy.

"And you haven't had to, Commander." Cindy said, her eyes locked with mine, before turning to Martin. "And to answer your question, Detective Nash... yes, I know who he is." She looked back at me. My eyes revealed nothing; I knew that she knew, of course. And how she knew...

Martin Nash looked at the tablet, about to make the most important decision of his life. He picked up the tablet in his gloved hands.

"If for no other reason than to help you guys get him," Nash said. "I've got to know." I handed him a power cord to plug into the iPad. After a moment, it had enough energy to power up. Another moment later, it was able to run the videos.

"Oh... my... God." Nash whispered as the Truth was revealed to him. "This... can't... be..."

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

At 11:00pm, the TCPD Task Force to take down the Beanstalk Gang rolled out of Precinct Two Headquarters. Lt. Teresa Croyle was in overall command of it, and had Detectives Purvis, Geiger and Torres with her, fully armored for battle. She also had one of the eight-man SWAT teams, this one led by Senior Sergeant Hugh Hewitt. The other SWAT Team, under Sergeant Greg Charles, was ready to deploy outside, in case the perps had hidden reinforcements.

"The location is very near where we took down the diamond-smuggling perps." said Lt. Teresa Croyle. "Another warehouse in the same area. This place stores shipments of things like furniture, which can be wrapped in plastic. The chemicals used to make and dye the cloth interfere with the dogs' abilities to smell the drugs. Thursday night is the night they bring in shipments, which are distributed to dealers that same night and the next morning in preparation for the weekends."

"The Viscottis would taxi people into the place, so they knew whoever was being brought in was trustworthy." Teresa continued. "With the Viscottis taken out, the word on the street is that this week only people they already know and trust will be admitted. We think someone will set up some kind of van service to shuttle in people... probably with the license plates covered in mud or something."

"Why do we think they'll be there?" asked SSgt. Hugh Hewitt. "With the Viscottis busted, won't they shut down, or move somewhere else?"

"Maybe, but we're hoping not." Teresa said. "They'll probably be exceptionally wary, but they have a lot of product to move, and it's already in the warehouse. We've been watching, and nothing major has moved out of here the last few days. And since we had that diamond bust, we know the layout of this area. Your guys are ready to come in the backside?"

"Yes ma'am." said one member of Hugh's SWAT Team, the brother of the young man known as 'The Leader'. "The fences around this warehouse to the outside are electrified and wired for alarms. But the fence to the building where you had the diamond bust is not. We'll go through it, then around to this side fence..." he pointed at the fence on his drawing map he'd brought out, "... which they didn't feel the need to protect."

"Spot to Tag. Spot to Tag." crackled Teresa's radio, which was enhanced encrypted Channel 5 radio. "First bogeys approaching."

"Roger that, prepare to interdict after they leave." Teresa replied. She then whispered to Hewitt "The first vehicles are approaching. We're going to let them go in, then we'll follow and interdict them after they're out of sight of the building. This'll prove they picked up drugs from the spot."

"When will we go in?" asked Hewitt, who'd not known about that part of the plan.

"As soon as our guys go for those vehicles." Teresa said. "We expect they might be able to warn those in the warehouse by radio if we wait. Okay, let's get through that fence and get ready."

The band moved to the the designated spot, and Teresa watched as they fully-ski-masked SWAT Team members checked the fence, then rapidly cut through it. The lights of this warehouse suddenly went black and the Team scrambled to the side fence. It was checked, then compromised. The black-clad team moved to doors that would lead into the warehouse, where they stayed stock-still until given the order to move.

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

Two vans came through the entrance of the warehouse. Guards with M-4s held them at gunpoint until they were checked and verified.

"Over here." said a tall, slender white man, who was known as 'Shortie'. He had been a semi-pro basketball player, but any shot at the NBA was destroyed when he'd gotten hooked on cocaine. Jail time broke him of the habit, at nearly the cost of his life. When he got out, he turned to selling the product that had destroyed his life, thus destroying the lives of others.

The distributors, many of them in their late teens, came to the table set up between two pallets of what looked like bags of rubber pellets used with artificial turf. They handed over their wads of cash, and received their bags of cocaine. They headed back to their vans, not realizing that a SWAT Team member had penetrated the building and had just recorded the transaction with a videocamera.

After the two trucks left, Teresa's earpiece told her that two more 'bogeys' were on the way. She clicked the mike on her radio and said "Go! Go! Go!"

"POLICE! FREEZE!" yelled the advanced SWAT officers as they ran into the building. Fortunately they stayed close to pallets of furniture in boxes, as armed men came out from behind pallets behind the transaction table. Their gunfire was met with the SWAT's, who moved with coordinated precision to advance upon the perps.

Some perps ran out of the building, but the laser lights of weapons trained upon them made them realize that they were about to be shot by more Police waiting for them outside. These were the other SWAT Team as well as Uniformed Officers from Precinct Two, who had moved in to surround the place in unmarked vehicles and had not been detected. Perps began giving up and were quickly arrested.

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

Inside, the SWAT was rapidly advancing. Most of the perps were running, including 'Shortie'. He didn't get far as a bullet thudded into his leg. He howled in pain as he fell to the floor.

The gunfire stopped. As SWAT members moved to advance, perps suddenly came out to shoot at them. Teresa was just about to come out of her hiding place between pallets and saw the move.

"AMBUSH!" she yelled, opening fire with her semi-automatic M-4. The perps had to duck for cover as Teresa strafed them, giving her people time to get back to cover... but she did not see a perp suddenly raise up from the other side of the warehouse, point his rifle right at her, and fire!

Teresa felt her legs being pulled out from under her. As her chest hit the ground, she felt herself being pulled back, and saw a spray of bullets hit the floor right where she had just been. She looked over her shoulder to see that Hugh Hewitt was the one who'd pulled her out of harm's way, having anticipated that tactic by the perps.

The guy who'd shot at Teresa was struck by six rounds of Police gunfire, a catastrophe from which he would not survive. Incredibly, he was the only person who died in a firefight that expended well over one hundred rounds of military-grade ammunition.

"Thanks, Hugh!" Teresa called out as she got to her knees.

"No problem." Hugh said, kneeling beside her. "Commander said you have too many Purple Orders already, and told me to make sure you don't get another one. But you saved two of our guys, ma'am."

It was all over. The SWAT had overwhelmed the perps, who gave up. The arrests began.

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

As Teresa told her teams to consolidate and bring in the dogs and the Crime Lab, she was shocked to hear a voice she knew all too well behind her.

"Nice work... Paratrooper."

She turned around, looking up into the blue-gray eyes of the tall redheaded man, the Tilley full-brim cap on his head, the silver Airborne wings fastened over the badge on the front of the hat. Commander Troy had on his heavy-armor vest and leg protection over his 'black' uniform.

"Nice necklace under all that armor. too." I said, knowing she was wearing that necklace she'd received from her hometown Police Captain friend, even though I couldn't see it.

"Nice insignia on your hat, Commander." Teresa replied. "And it's about time you joined the party."

"I try. But they keep tackling me when I try to join in." I said, pointing behind me to Rudistan and Morton, also in armor over their 'black' uniforms. "And it's just as well; this is your bust, and I'm not going to get in the way. I just came by to make sure the SWAT Team followed my orders and kept you from getting any more Purple Orders. I have in mind much better medals for you."

"And for these guys." Teresa said, pointing at the SWAT Team and other officers.

"That's your paperwork." I said with a malicious grin. "I only have to write up one award."

"You sure know how to spoil a party, Commander." Teresa said, pretending scorn.

"Welcome to Command, Lieutenant, welcome to Command." I said. "But it looks like you've chopped down a rather large Beanstalk. And you didn't even need a crowbar."

"Just an axe, Commander." replied Teresa, again smiling like I'd never seen her smile before. "Just an axe."

Part 16 - Brooding and Planning

"Unbelievable." said the Guest. "They just got the Beanstalk Gang." He was watching the live KXTC television coverage.

"The Iron Crowbar has now ridded this County of the last vestiges of Captain Harold Malone's good work." said Katherine Woodburn.

"Not the very last of it." said the Guest. They were in Katherine Woodburn's private back office in her home.

"True." said Katherine. "But this is not the worst of it. I thought for sure we were going to get the Burke tapes."

"Yes." said the Guest. "The public statement said that a Federal case would be compromised, but the secret request to the Federal judge stated that the tapes would reveal the identity of a Federal agent. Now I wonder who that agent could be?"

"The same one that Priya was going to expose." said Katherine Woodburn bitterly. "The one the CIA almost murdered Priya over, but for the Iron Crowbar's move to save Priya."

"Yes, interesting that he did that, don't you think?" asked the Guest. "Even went against his wife on that."

"Yes, I know." said Katherine. "By the way, I've already made public statements supporting KSTD, and strongly suggesting they fight like hell in Federal court to get that overturned and get those tapes." She walked to the lowboy, where decanters of spirits and glasses were. "Do you want a drink?"

"Sure, but not very much." said the Guest. Katherine poured herself a bourbon, and barely covered the bottom of a second glass for her guest.

"Now I know why Nathan Allen drank." she said. "Days like this." She took a large gulp of her drink.

"Yes." said the Guest, sipping his after seeing her drink. "And now I will have to implement another way to get those Burke tapes."

"How will you do that?" Katherine asked.

"Trust me, my dear Senator Woodburn," said the Guest quietly but with severe menace in his voice, "you do not want to know the details. I will only say that I am going to play on Commander Troy's sensitivity to human life. If he saved his inadequate adversary Priya Ajmani from the vile clutches of the deeply corrupt CIA, surely he will give up those files for someone he cares much more about."

He was remembering the encrypted message he had received from his lovely Sinon. It had read:

I.C. had lunch with The Intendent.

Croyle and Stiles busted Viscottis, going after Beanstalks.

Stiles is fiancée of I.C.2.

I.C. aware of refined heroin and Dr. Grayson.

ADA Patterson carrying I.C. child.

Yes, he thought to himself... we shall see if you have the fortitude to face me, Mr. Iron Crowbar. You will have to be as ruthless, as heartless as I am if you expect to win. And I don't think you have the capacity to let the people you care about die, in order to win.

We shall see, Commander Troy... we shall see...

To be continued.

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8 Comments
chytownchytown9 months ago

Good read. Thanks for sharing.

Ravey19Ravey19about 2 years ago

Now the threats are getting greater although I would thought some of the relationships were already known to most people involved and especially Mr Big. Enjoying this story again.

teedeedubteedeedubalmost 8 years ago
yeah

I thought it would get wicked at some point. Looks like we're here.....

bonnietaylor2bonnietaylor2almost 8 years ago
See dear ANNONY

I told you and keep telling you, NO ONE likes you. You shuold just go to your momma's basement and die

AnonymousAnonymousalmost 8 years ago
@blah,blah

Gee, not interesting. Then why do you read it stupid.??

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