God Save The Queen Ch. 01

"As you know, sir," he said, "my uncle is the man known as 'The Teacher'. He doesn't speak to me very much, but he contacted me yesterday and asked me to give you this, which just arrived at the Duty Desk."

I took the manila envelope he handed me across the desk, and opened it. Inside were a number of photographs, mostly of a three-story, all-glass building of a style that was very popular these days. One photo showed the sign with the name of the building and its address number, and another showed it in the distant background with the street signs on a pole in the foreground. With my matchless knowledge of the layout of the Town & County, I knew that this building was in a office park just south of the subdivision where Dr. Peter Frost's office had been. (Author's note: 'Private Practice'.)

Captain Thompson said "My uncle wanted me to tell you that the Department of Homeland Security and the Intelligence Community own the building through false-front companies, and lease it from themselves as themselves. He doesn't know why they're leasing it, nor what they're doing out of there."

"And he thinks it's important that I know about it; hence, asking you to give me this." I replied. "Tell him I appreciate him bringing this to my attention."

"Sir, if -I- may ask," Captain Thompson asked, "why do you think he is alerting you to that of his own free will?"

"My first thought is self-preservation." I replied. "He knows something may be wrong for him as well as us."

I didn't say it out loud, but another possible reason was because of The Teacher's tenuous relationship with me. He made money by fencing stolen goods, and many of those goods were stolen via shoplifting and small-theft operations. He knew who every Law Enforcement Officer, Private Investigator, and professional Security person in the tri-County area was, and had photos of most of us. And he would sell that information for the right price. The Teacher was the reason we had to keep J.J. 'Ice Cube' Perry so deep undercover for so long, and Ice Cube was the only man that had not been discovered by The Teacher's networks.

For the most part, I did not fool with him and his low-level operations. But he did know two things: first, if he ever started distributing or selling drugs through his network, especially if underage kids were selling or buying, I would come down on him like a freight train roaring down the high Sierras; and second, he knew that if any LEO was hurt or killed as a result of the information he sold, the fate that would await him at my hands would be unspeakably horrific, and he would be begging for death before I was through with him.

I said to Damien: "Let me know if he tells you any more about this, and in return we will let him know if these Feds start doing silly things in his general direction. Also, Commander Muscone is your direct chain-of-command, but if she asks what this meeting was about, just tell her that a C.I. had you pass on some info to me, and tell her to see me if she wants to know any more about it."

"Wilco, sir." Thompson said. I dismissed him and he left the office. I looked at the remaining photos, some of vans parked in the parking lot 'stern-in', i.e. with their fronts to the lot, hiding their license plates. And then I saw the last photo, which showed two persons exiting the door on the side of the building furthest from the street, and I almost gasped in shock. They were Federal Agents Lindsey Black and Karl Coleman!...

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

3:30pm, Tuesday, September 7th. The 'all hands on deck' meeting was convened in Classroom 'J'. All of the MCD, Vice, and Intel personnel were there, as were Captain Claire Michaels, Lt. Commander Croyle, Commander Muscone, Me, Chief Moynahan, and Sheriff Griswold.

I took to the lectern on the raised dais and began the meeting: "Okay, we are rearranging the deck chairs in the Detectives Division. The changes will officially take effect next Monday morning at the beginning of 1st shift."

Me: "First, none of these changes are demotions in any way, nor should they be construed to be. Some of these changes were requested, and some are to put the best people in the best places. As always, the mission of the Town & County Police Force is what drives our every action, is that not right?" There were murmurs of agreement.

Me: "First, Vice Squad is increasing in size and scope. Your new Vice Team is as follows:

Lieutenant Micah Rudistan as Vice Leader.
Detective-2 Grubby Paul.
Detective-2 J.J. 'Ice Cube' Perry.
Detective-1 George Newman... and George, you will soon be a D-2.
Detective-1 Kerri Ambrose, she'll be with us Monday morning.
Detective-1 Statler.
Detective-1 Waldorf.
Sr. Patrolman Hardy.
Sr. Patrolman Drew.
Officer Jim Madison and Officer Patty Colquitt are coming up out of the Uniform ranks."

There had been mild applause for George Newman, and some surprise for Madison and Colquitt, who were relatively new to the Force. I said: "I've been impressed with Madison and Colquitt, as has their leadership in the Precincts. I'm looking forward to seeing how they do. And Hardy and Drew are being monitored for promotion to the Detective ranks, as well."

Me: "Okay, next is Intel:

Lieutenant Mary Mahoney Milton, who still answers to me directly.
Lieutenant Christopher Purvis, our financial crimes guru.
Corporal Penny Scott.
Senior Patrolman Sidney Plant.
Senior Patrolman Phil Goodwright.
Auxiliary Police Officer Terry Halston.
Auxiliary Police Officer LaTasha Thompson.
and civilians Lainie and Sonali."

Me: "Plant and Goodwright are being considered for promotion to the Detective ranks, as well."

Mary Milton raised her hand. "Sir, what about when I'm on maternity leave?"

I said "I'll be there in just one moment. First, let me talk about MCD. Lieutenant Jerome Davis did an outstanding job as MCD leader, and he is now doing an outstanding job as 1st Precinct Lieutenant... at his own request, so don't start up any crap rumors about that move. What we're going to have are teams within MCD: Team Theo, and Team Teddy. Yes, I know those are brilliant nicknames I've made up for them, but you can hold your applause." There was not a peep of laughter.

"I think we're back to a discussion of your modesty, Crowbar." growled Sheriff Griswold. "Or at least why you should be practicing it at this time." That drew laughter.

"You might as well laugh." I said. "The jokes don't get any better, at least not the ones from me. Okay, here are the MCD teams:

Lieutenant Theo Washington.
Team Theo: Detective-2 Lisa Monroe.
Team Theo: Detective-1 Roark Coleman.

Lieutenant Lieutenant Teddy Parker.
Team Teddy: Detective Sergeant Julia Rodriguez.
Team Teddy: Detective-2 Joan Laurer."

Me: "Teams will go to crime scenes as assigned, and work as a team on those assigned cases. There may be times both teams will go to a scene, or both teams will work on one case. But having two high quality teams will allow us to work multiple cases simultaneously."

Me: "And that leaves Lieutenant Joanne Warner. You're going to be all over the place---"

"Excuse me, sir," said Lt. Rudistan with great joviality, "but we already know she's all over the place." Laughter erupted.

Joanne took it well, laughing with them. She wagged her finger at Rudistan and said "Bad! Bad dog!" More laughter erupted.

"Okay, if I may explain that further..." I said. "Lieutenant Warner, you will essentially be Captain Michaels's deputy. That does not mean you outrank any of the other Lieutenants; in fact, none of you Lieutenants outrank any other one. But you, Joanne, are going to be where you're needed to be, performing missions as Captain Michaels may direct."

Me: "And to answer Lieutenant Mary Milton's earlier question: When that beach ball of a baby finally decides to join us in this world, and Mary is on maternity leave, then you, Joanne, will be spending a good bit of time in there. Lieutenant Purvis will be the day-to-day leader in there, but you'll be doing a lot of Mary's liaison work to the teams, to Captain Michaels, Commander Croyle, and especially to me."

I looked around the room and said "Okay, what are your questions regarding all this?"

Teddy Parker raised his hand, then said "Sir, those are mighty small MCD teams for a crime scene."

I said "Which is why you'll have other people, mostly Uniformed Officers and CSI techs working for and with you at those scenes. You, Parker, and you, Theo, will be Incident Commanders at those scenes, and in total charge of them... even if Captain Michaels, myself, or the Chief show up there. Commander Croyle might take charge if the scene is part of an overall larger situation, but I expect that to be a rare thing..."

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

6:00pm, Tuesday, September 7th. Teresa, Cindy, Tanya, the Sheriff, and I were having pre-Council-meeting beef nachos and soft drinks at the Cop Bar.

Cindy said "Well, I have to hand it to you again, Don. You solved a lot of problems with that restructuring. Joanne and Roark are separated, Claire gets a lot more of the direct control she wants, Vice gets fortified, and you've got a fail-safe in place just in case Purvis can't handle leading Intel when Mary is on maternity leave."

The Sheriff said "And Crowbar is also thinking of the long term. If the State Legislature merges us with other counties, or if crap occurs with our current Town and County structure, he's making it easier to bring the Police structure in line with it."

"Dispersal to the Precincts?" Teresa asked, a bit cattily.

"No, not that far." I replied immediately. Then I said "But if this 'teams' concept works, we can make more of them... Joanne might have her own team, and ultimately Julia might have her own team. If push came to shove, we can get Jerome back and make him a team leader, if he's willing to do that."

Tanya said "What is going on with that? The County structure. What are the real chances of those kind of changes happening."

I said "Well, it's several different parts. First, suburban areas of the City, that were counties in the old days,. want their independent county statuses back. But the State Constitution limits the State to 96 counties plus The City. So politicians in their infinite wisdom began talking about merging existing counties... especially those right up here in the northwest corner of the State."

Me: "At first there was talk about Coltrane County absorbing the counties to its south and southwest, Rivers County and Farmdale County, where the nuclear plant and where Valley Villages are. And then talk started about combining Coltrane and Nextdoor Counties into our County. I personally believe that if it happens, and I'm not saying it will, they'll merge Rivers and Farmdale Counties into Coltrane County, and possibly merge Nextdoor County into ours."

Cindy said "That wouldn't be world-endingly bad."

I said "Well, it brings us to part deux of all this. If the State Legislature does merge any other counties into ours, they likely will declare the Town and the County separated again, and no need to vote internally on it; it will be a done deal. But if the counties are not merged together, there's still the issue of what happens within our Town & County, especially if the Federal Government sticks its beak in and fucks with us. Then things get dicey, if not outright ugly. Especially for Teresa and me."

"How so?" asked Teresa.

I said to Teresa: "The Sheriff and Cindy have retired, and have their pensions. Tanya can go back to her medical pension if she leaves before she has 20 years. You and I are entitled to retire, but what happens if they change the Charter? If the State Legislature comes in, they can install the Charter they write upon us, and they'll likely want to. And if the Federal Court forces changes, the Democrats in the County will do all they can to keep me from writing the next Charter... and they might drop the MOV retirement provision."

Teresa said "So if they change anything, you and I might have to retire immediately if we're going to get our pensions before we reach 20 years." I nodded vigorously in agreement.

Sheriff Griswold growled "Theoretically, they can do away with pensions, anyway, or not fund them. You guys won't be screwed by that, but old-timers like me and Leslie Charles could be."

"Let's find something happier to talk about." Tanya said. "Like---"

*CHIME!*
*CHIME!*
*CHIME!*

We looked at our various Police iPhones. "Oh no." I said. "This is from Father Romano. Dr. Mickelson is about to die..."

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

Teresa and I hurried to the Hospital. I did not think we'd make it in time, but as we came into the room, the monitor showed a very thready heartbeat. Dr. Mickelson's arms and belly were bloating, swelling up, and Father Romano was giving the unconscious man the Last Rites.

Just as he finished, Dr. Mickelson's eyes popped open. "NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" he yelled out as the lights before my eyes seemed to acquire a weirdish red tinge, and I thought I caught a whiff of a foul odor. Maybe it was Dr. Mickelson losing control of his bodily functions. Or maybe...

"In nominee Patrii, et Filii, et Spiritus Sanctii.:" intoned Father Romano as he crossed himself. Teresa also crossed herself. I concentrated on pushing the Evil that I was sensing away from me.

When it passed, and the lights seemed normal, I looked down at Dr. Mickelson. His sightless eyes were looking at the ceiling, and the monitor showed that there was no longer a pulse. He was gone, and I could only hope that he'd evaded the demon that was for some inexplicable reason pursuing him...

Part 6 - Passing of the Crown

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Wednesday, September 8th, from the anchor desk in the KXTC studios. "The Town & County Council gives the Town & County Police a stinging rebuke!"

After the hard-charging intro music, Bettina began: "Members of the Council were furious that the TCPD assigned Lieutenant Jerome Davis to the 1st Precinct Lieutenant position without the Council approving it first. The TCPD said it was a lateral move which did not involve a promotion, and thus no Council approval was required. Let's go to respected political reporter Carl Lemay for more. Carl!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said the black reporter in his well-fitting suit as he came onscreen, reporting from the rooftop of the building at Riverside and College, with City Hall as his background. "Council Members Kelly Carnes, Edgar Silas, and Susan Weston were particularly angry at the TCPD's action, and threatened to file both State and Federal lawsuits over the matter. The Council voted 6-5 to go into Executive Session, with Mayor Daniel Allgood voting with the five white Republicans to pass the measure."

Lemay: "Sources tell Channel Two News that in the Executive Session, the Republicans rammed a measure approving Lieutenant Davis's transfer through to passage. Council Member Weston had wanted to interview Lieutenant Davis first, as there are many reports that the move, which is considered by experts to be a demotion from the MCD Leader position, was not voluntary, and was forced upon him. However, the Republicans refused to listen to reason, and forced the measure through 6-5 on a straight Party line vote."

Lemay: "Even more galling, the Republicans pushed through an amendment that did away with a second reading of the bill and vote, thus making the approval of the demotion of a black Police Officer immediate. Police Commander Donald Troy was present for the Executive Session, but did not give any explantation of his reasons for making this possibly racist demotion. Commander Troy has not responded to repeated requests by KXTC for comment on his actions, denying our viewers the information they have a right to know. Back to you, Bettina."

"Thank you, Carl!" Bettina said as the feed returned to her. "That was respected political reporter Carl Lemay with that important story. And in other news, University Biology Professor Mickelson has died after a long illness. Dr. Mickelson and Father Alberto Romano were kidnapped and tortured by members of a demonic cult several months ago, and Dr. Mickelson never fully recovered..."

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

As the Usual Suspects watched the propaganda-cast, Sheriff Antonio Griswold said angrily: "Who's the leak to the Media, Crowbar?"

"Could be anyone, Sheriff." I replied. "My first guess is one or more of the Democrats on the Council. Carl Lemay also made sure to point out that I was at the Executive Session, which is true."

"No." said the Sheriff.

Chief Deputy Sheriff Cindy Ross said "Did any of the Council Members bring up race in the discussions about Davis's transfer?"

"No." said the Sheriff.

He said no more, so I continued: "Malinda Adams asked why a woman was not promoted into the 1st Precinct Lieutenant position, and I said because Jerome Davis is not a woman. And to that point, at that time I told them Jerome had asked for the transfer, and that they should ask him if they didn't believe me."

Me: "Then Malinda Adams asked if we were going to put a woman in the MCD leadership position, and I said that Captain Michaels was running the show for now, and Malinda would have to ask Captain Michaels what her pronouns were. That got Adams and Carnes screaming furiously. And that's when the Republicans ramrodded that ordinance through to approve of Davis's move."

"And I hated that." Sheriff Griswold said. "The Council Republicans thought they were doing the right thing, and I think they just wanted to ram it like a crowbar up the Democrats's asses. But now there's precedence for needing Council approval for lateral transfers like that."

Cindy said "Don, why were you even there in the first place? The Sheriff and the Chief could have easily handled the issues. And now the Media is pasting the changes on you alone, and calling you personally a racist for making them."

I replied "I was asked by Edgar Silas and Malinda Adams to attend as the Charter Commission Chairman, so everyone could ask me questions about the Charter with respect to possible future events. They also had Edward R. Steele, and Mayor Allgood ask me to come. And I thought that was a good and maybe important reason to go."

Me: "And then the Dems pulled the ambush about Davis's promotion. I felt compelled to defend Davis and tell them the truth, but we can now see what the Dems and their Media bosses were planning. Sooo... I got ambushed, and it was my own damn fault..."

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

Teresa and I watched the KFXU broadcast in my office. They mentioned that Lt. Davis had been transferred, that he'd asked for the transfer, and that the Council had approved the action... without mentioning all the drama.

"You were right." Teresa said. "They look for race, and negatively, in any action we take. They look for a reason to be offended, and to gin up racism where there is none." She was referring to KXTC, not KFXU. Still mightily pissed off and en fuego, the Iron Wolf was.

Teresa: "And we don't consider the move by Jerome to 1st Precinct to be a demotion. KXTC outright lied about that, outright slandered Jerome. Can you add that to your lawsuit?"

I replied: "Sure I could, but there are diminishing returns to it, especially with the race card being thrown around. But you might let Tanya and Captain Thompson know that you want it put in their ultimate response to the Press that you were eager to have Lieutenant Davis in 1st Precinct as part of your team. I can back you up on that; I heard you say it."