God Save The Queen Ch. 02

A black reporterette in her 30s, a new hire by KSB, said "Detective, in that audit my colleague just referred to, US DOJ Civil Rights Division agent Ava Hinds reported that Commander Donald Troy said that moving from Vice to MCD was considered to be a promotion. So doesn't that make your transfer back to Vice a de-motion? And do you really expect us to believe that Commander Troy's demotion of you wasn't racist on his part?"

Newman looked stunned, then angry. He said angrily: "I just told you, and your colleague over there, that -I- asked for the transfer, and that it had nothing to do with race. And Commander Troy is not a racist, and your insinuation that he is a racist more than borders on libel. As to what he said in the audit, I'm not going to speak for higher ranking Officers; you'll have to ask him about what he said, as well as the context of it."

"So why isn't he here now?" yelled Meredith Peller of the Point Taken television program.

"Because he's doing his job." said Chief Moynahan loudly.

"Which does not include talking to the biased, dishonest, and corrupt scumbags of the Press." Teresa Croyle added 'helpfully'.

But before she or the Chief could end the disaster, Amber Harris spoke up. She said loudly "Detective Newman... do black lives matter?"

"All lives matter in the sight of God." replied Newman without hesitation. "And I'll also say that I do not subscribe to the 'woke' agenda of the racist Press, nor your desire to cause hatred and division through the use of racism and race-baiting."

He did not understand at first why Amber was grinning wickedly at his answer. He quickly found out: with the set-up questions made, Carl Lemay delivered the punch line:

"Detective, for you to try to protect Donald Troy's racism by not admitting that this was his action, and that he did it for reasons of racism against a Person of Color, is throwing your fellow Police Officers of Color, and People of Color everywhere, under the bus. Why won't you admit that this is yet another racist act by a Police Commander that has exercised racism and Police Brutality against People of Color---"

"That's a goddamned lie!" Newman exploded. "Every word of it. I have told you multiple times that -I- initiated the transfer, and that race has nothing to do with it. For you to stand there and say or insinuate otherwise is calling me a liar, and I'll---"

"That's because you are lying!" came a voice from the Press scrum. Bettina Wurtzburg strode forward to the front. "We don't believe you!"

"Why not? Because I'm black?" Newman lashed out angrily.

"No, because you're a cop!" Bettina fired back. "You're part of the TCPD, which has repeatedly exercised brutality against People of Color. Remember Lester Holder? He's dead because of the TCPD! And you, Officer Newman, are part of that racist organization, and we don't believe a thing you say!"

Other reporters clapped and cheered, and Bettina went on: "Donald Troy demoted you because he is a racist, and you're covering for him now to protect your job! And you can whine all you want, but our viewers are going to hear what we tell them, that you were demoted, and because you are black!"

The reporters had begun applauding, but it trailed off when they saw someone coming forward, holding up an iPhone, recording Bettina's words. And then they realized that the Officer making that recording...

... was Your Iron Crowbar.

"Thank you, Ms. Wurtzburg." I said. "That will be very helpful in my libel lawsuit against you. See you in Court."

Bettina's eyes widened, and her face showed utter hatred as I turned and walked along the roped-off aisle and out of the room. Reporters had begun yelling and screaming questions at me, but none of them tried to cross the line nor accost me... knowing that I would not hesitate to put a reporter in the hospital... or worse... if I was given the chance.

I was followed out of the room by the rest of the Police Leadership, then the Uniformed Officers stationed inside for the Chief's security...

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

11:00am, Monday, September 13th. Teresa and I were meeting with Captain Michaels, Lieutenants Rudistan, Warner, and Mary Milton, and the entire Vice Squad.

"Welcome to the TCPD, Detective Ambrose." I told Detective Kerri Ambrose. It was her first day of work with us. "And I want to thank you, Detectives Monroe and Laurer, for working this weekend, and for coming into this meeting. You're probably thinking you'll never make it to MCD, but you'll be moving to your new desks right after this meeting."

"We're glad to help, sir." Joan Laurer said. "And I'd really like to start my MCD career by busting the Toyota Gang."

"Excellent attitude, and you will be getting that chance." I said. "Okay, what did we get from this weekend's surveillance operations?"

Claire Michaels said "First of all, the Toyota Gang did not make any robberies anywhere in this State nor the State to our west. Second, our main mission was not to watch the stores, but to watch the watchers. We had eight teams out at various times, and six of the eight reported seeing black vans driving near them multiple times. Our routine patrols, as well as targeted patrols looking for parked vans, found none that were suspicious or out of place, such as in parking lots of places that don't have fleets of vans."

Claire: "I also contacted some people I know in Los Angeles, and asked them to run a check with the Interagency Defense Command, the IADC, to see if the Feds were running any operations in the western half of the State. The IADC came back with nothing." (Author's note: 'Price No Object', Ch. 01, for more on the IADC.)

I said "That's because this one is not on the books, if I don't miss my guess."

"And you never do." Teresa said, right on cue. A red crowbar was waved in her general direction as everyone else chuckled politely.

I said "Were there any other cars that were seen acting strangely?"

Claire said "No sir, not that anyone's reported."

Mary Milton spoke up and said "We didn't seen any strange cars, Toyota or otherwise, on any of the cameras we were using to conduct surveillance beyond our stakeout patrols. But they don't stand out like vans do."

I said "Did anyone get any vehicle tags?"

George Newman said "We saw one van go by our surveillance point four times, so we texted for a black-and-white to follow them and get a tag. They did, and kept going straight when the van made a sudden turn onto a small side street. Our patrol turned in the tag number to Intel."

A 'black and white' was a colloquial term for a marked Police cruiser, even though our TCPD vehicles were silver-gray.

Mary Milton said "And the tag was one of those that you gave me, Commander"


I said "Give us all your report on that now."

Mary said "The tags you asked me to run are Federal Government tags, sir. I didn't run them through the normal channels, because if I did, they'd find out about it. And if we did run the plates the normal way, they'd show up as fleet vehicles for a van rental service. And that van rental service goes through a couple of shell company hoops, but gets back to a company that's a front for the DEA."

"Where did you get those tags, sir?" Kerri Ambrose asked.

"From a place they were parked, which may be a staging area for them." I said. "And that information ultimately came from a Confidential Informant, and it's not part of our operation involving the Toyota Gang, so let's let that go for the time being."

Joanne Warner said "Sir, if we knew where that staging area was, sir, we could watch them from both ends." That got Teresa's hackles up.

"The Police Commander just told you to drop that, Lieutenant!" the Iron Wolf said viciously, her outburst shocking nearly everyone.

"It's a legitimate question!" Claire Michaels fired back on Joan's behalf. "Why do we have to have mysteries on both ends of this?"

"Hold on, guys. Hold on." I said as I clasped Teresa's shoulder to stop the Iron Wolf from going ballistic on Claire. "Once again, everyone, a Confidential Informant is involved, and I'm protecting that source, just as you protect your sources and should be protecting them. Isn't that right, Ice Cube?"

"Yes sir." said J.J. 'Ice Cube' Perry.

"And Commander Croyle is correct, Captain." I continued. "When I say to drop something of that nature, it is not a point of negotiation. Lieutenant Warner, your idea is not a bad one, except that you should believe me when I tell you that they will see us long before we would see them if we tried to watch them, and we would lose a huge tactical advantage."

"All right." I said as (almost) everyone began breathing again. "The work you all did this weekend paid off. It's brought us good information and confirms some things I've been suspecting. And it allows us to plan what we are going to do next. I'll be giving some assignments through your leadership soon. You can all go... except you, George. Come to my office. You too, Commander Croyle..."

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

"That was great, George." said Captain Damien Thompson said as he, Lieutenant Micah Rudistan, and Detective Newman had lunch at the Cop Bar. "You want a job with Press Relations?"

Newman said "No sir. And to be honest, sir, I don't see how you do it, how you deal with those racist scumbags. I stood there and told them again and again and again that it was me, and that it was not racial in any way. And they acted like I hadn't said a word."

"Or worse." Thompson replied. "They outright said you were deliberately lying."

"Now you know why Commander Troy hates the Press so much," Rudistan said, and not jovially, "and why he thinks the Media is the greatest threat to our Constitution and our Individual Freedom."

Newman said "I talked to the Commander a little while ago. He made a great suggestion, and I'm going to do it..."

Part 11 - End of an Era

"Hello and welcome to Fox University Sunrise!" said athletic blonde Catrina Pierce at 8:00am, Tuesday, September 14th, from the KFXU studios. "I'm Catrina Pierce, and with me is Priya Ajmani. Good morning, Priya."

"Good morning, Catrina." said the beautiful Indian reporterette. "Good morning, everyone. Here's what's in the news. Town & County Police Detective George Newman filed a slander and defamation lawsuit against our competitor KXTC yesterday, after KXTC continued to call his transfer to the Vice Squad a demotion made against his will, and done because Detective Newman is black, despite Detective Newman explicitly contradicting KXTC's narrative in a Press conference that morning."

Catrina: "The Police Union has joined the lawsuit, and the plaintiffs are saying that KXTC's reporting was maliciously and intentionally false, and materially harms Detective Newman as well as the TCPD itself. It is not clear if the TCPD itself will join the lawsuit, but in a statement exclusively to Fox Eight News, TCPD Deputy Chief Tanya P. Muscone said that all options are currently being explored."

Priya: "This lawsuit comes on top of Police Commander Donald Troy's libel lawsuit against KXTC, for altering a statement he made in a way to damage him. Reached for comment by Fox Eight News, Commander Troy stated that he is not joining Detective Newman's lawsuit, even though KXTC's comments explicitly defames him, Commander Troy, but will concentrate on his own legal action against our competitor KXTC." (Author's note: 'Climate Injustice', Ch. 04.)

Catrina: "Legal and political experts are saying that Commander Troy's lawsuit has great merit because he can show intent, while Detective Newman's lawsuit may have a more difficult to meet the standard of the New York Times v. Sullivan decision that guides lawsuits of this nature..."

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

"Funny," said Teresa Croyle as my Angels and I watched the broadcast in my office, "I didn't catch KXTC's coverage of the lawsuit on their broadcast an hour ago."

"I'm sure they wanted to, but just couldn't squeeze it in." Tanya P. Muscone said with great perkiness and a wicked twinkle in her eye.

I said "KXTC is in deep kimchee, and they know it. Mike G. Todd was ecstatic when I sent him that video of what Bettina said to George. She really stepped into a huge cow patty with that one. He thinks it may put our case over the top, and we'll win a solid victory over KXTC."

"And Newman's case?" asked Cindy.

"Vee shall see." I replied. "The good news is that George is not paying for this out of his own pocket; the Union is picking up the tab, at least for now. And KXTC will now have to defend two lawsuits, which will cost them a lot more money. Okay, enough of that. What are we doing today to protect and serve the Good People of our Town & County?"

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

Saturday, September 18th. We were all gathered at The Cabin. Betsy Ross was enjoying skritchins time with Buddy and Bowser, while 9-month-old Benjamin Jenkins was enjoying the attentions of Carole, Marie, and Tasha.

Jim and Ian were working on the great New Lego City and the mighty Troy Transcontinental Railroad, and without Ross there to mediate disputes, things got heated over rights-of-way. The Railroad Union, known as 'Daddy' to the boys, ordered a general shutdown, and the boys went to play elsewhere... and not with each other.

Cindy and Ross were glued to the television monitor in the front room, watching the proceedings leading up to the next day's State Funeral for Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. They had watched the 'Vigil of the Princes' while the Queen was lying in state at Westminster Hall. And Ross was keeping his dad busy with questions.

"Dad," Ross said, "Prince William has two medals on his uniform, but Prince Harry has four. How did that happen?"

"Good observation, Ross." I complimented my son. "And to make a short story long, members of the Royal family traditionally serve in the Armed Forces. It used to have to be the Royal Navy for the men. Now-King Charles served in the Royal Navy, but he wanted to serve in the Air Force. So his son Prince William wanted to serve in the Air Force, and Charles and the Queen let him. But to my knowledge, neither Charles nor William served in actual combat."

Me: "Prince Andrew also served in the Royal Navy, and he flew helicopters. He did serve in combat, in the Falklands War. And Prince Harry was in the British Army, and did combat duty in Afghanistan. He did very well, but he had to be pulled out when the Taliban started realizing who he was."

Me: "Soooo, Prince Harry has two service medals like Prince William does, but he also has two medals he earned while serving in Afghanistan."

Ross then stunned me by saying "So if I serve in something besides the U.S. Army or the Police, you'd be okay with that?"

I looked right into my son's eyes and said "As long as it's honorable, you can do whatever you want with your life." Ross nodded, an remained thoughtful as he turned back to watching the television...

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

Sunday, September 19th. Sitting in the front room of The Cabin, we watched the Queen's State Funeral with great interest. Lines of soldiers, not horses, pulled the Crown-topped coffin through the streets of London as people lined the streets and millions watched on television. Her Majesty's favorite horses were in place to 'bow' to her at one point.

Everyone had loved it when William and Catherine's youngest son, Prince Louis, covered his ears when planes roared overhead during the Platinum Jubilee. During the funeral procession and service, it was his elder sister, Princess Charlotte, who was in charge, and keeping her brother Prince George in line and the protocol meticulous. She reminded me of my own Heiress to the Crowbar, Carole.

There was a photo of Queen Elizabeth's remaining two Corgis. At one time the Queen had had so many Corgis that Princess Diana had called them a 'moving carpet', and two of them were featured heavily in the Queen's Olympic skit with Daniel Craig as James Bond.

Ross asked who was going to take care of the Corgis, and I said that Prince Andrew and his family were taking them in. Just the fact that the Queen loved dogs made her good in my book, and of course I was happy to know that the dogs would be taken care of.

After the final service and rituals, everyone watched as the Queen's coffin was lowered into the floor, into a crypt below. Molly said "Prince Phillip, Elizabeth's husband, was lowered into the floor the same way. His coffin is still down there."

Molly: "After everyone leaves, both of the coffins will be brought back up. There's a little place to the side where Elizabeth's parents, George VI and the Queen Mother, are buried, and I think the Queen's sister is buried there, as well. Elizabeth and Phillip will be buried there, too."

Cindy said "And it's more like a crypt or a mausoleum, like where Don's father is entombed in Apple Grove. The Queen's family's coffins will be stacked together, not really buried in dirt."

Ross said "Dad, are you going to be buried in a crypt, or in the ground?"

I said "Neither. I want a big Japanese funeral pyre, and my coffin set on fire, like Takaki Misaki-sama had. And then y'all can bury my ashes at the cemetery or something." (Author's note: 'Big In Japan', Ch. 03, for Misaki-sama's funeral.)

"That sounds cool." Ross said. "Too bad you won't be around to see it."

Too bad, indeed, I thought to myself...

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

After dinner and after sunset, Cindy and I went out onto the back deck. She partook of a Canadian whisky while I sipped on Ardbeg Corryvreken, a delicious, heavily peated Scotch whiskey.

Cindy said "I'm a little surprised that Ross was so interested in the Queen, and her life, and all the ceremonies that went on. I thought he'd grow up more 'American', like his brothers."

"Me, too." I said. "But your affinity to Canada and the Queen have always been stronger than your sister Molly's."

"Don't let her hear that." Cindy said.

"But you're right." I said. "Ross has become very interested in his Canadian heritage. And that's good. It will help him be what he is destined to become."

"What does Carole say Ross is going to be?" Cindy asked.

"She said he was going to be a Policeman." I replied. "But not in the TCPD. And that's all she'd say. It may be all she could see, or understand."

Cindy was called into the house to tend to Baby Benjamin, and I suspect diapers were involved. Some moments later, a procession of kids marched out on deck to say goodnight to me. I hugged each one in turn and told them to sleep well. Ross was last in line.

"Night, Dad." he tried to say and turn around. That would not do, of course.

"Come here, son, and give your dad a hug goodnight." I said.

"But Dad, I'm almost seven! I'm too big to hug." Ross protested.

"Ross," I said, "I don't care if you're 7 or 77. You will never be too old or too big for me to hug." Ross came over and gave me a rather perfunctory hug. I gave him a stronger one, then said "Go hug your mom goodnight, then hit the sack..."

Part 12 - Epilogue

Dr. Mickelson looked around and saw the Light swirling overhead, illuminating the path he was on. Ahead of him, he saw a pastel Rainbow Bridge over a rushing Stream, and a beautiful meadow on the other side. He saw that he was wearing a white button-down shirt, and black trousers.

"Oh, Doc-tor Mickelsonnnnn...." he heard. He turned to see that standing on the path just before it disappeared into a dark patch of woods were Dr. Charles Westbrook and The Slender Man. He could not see into the woods, but could sense a tremendous Evil there, and he smelt something extremely foul. (Author's note: 'Return to Point Hollow'.)