Iscariot Ch. 01

"I've got 'people'." I said. "You might be surprised what I can do. But I need your help nailing Blassingame to the wall in order to do that."

"You'll never get him." Shimono said. "I do not mean that as an insult, just that there is nothing you can do." She paused for a moment, then said "I have not seen him since the day I left you with the nuclear bomb. But I heard about you arresting his son, and I am sure that he was totally stunned that you were able to arrest that little rapist. And he has squirmed like a tiger caught in the trap, trying to recover his son from your grasp."

"What was his goal?" I asked. "What is he doing? Was he really just after the Mutanix?"

Keiko had a little smile on her face as she said "I am surprised that the great Iron Crowbar has not figured it out yet. What does Mr. Blassingame have in common with Mitchell Bain Willis, and Raymond Westboro?"

I peered at her, and she just peered back, her dark eyes seeming to twinkle with knowledge of something that I did not know.

"I will tell you this much." Keiko said. "Edward Blassingame worshiped Mitt Willis. Many others worshiped Willis, and they deeply hate you for humiliating him and then leading him to his death like a sheep to the slaughter. Oh how they hate you, Iron Crowbar. But ask yourself... who did Mitt Willis worship?"

"No one but himself." I replied. "His lodestone was control, total control. He fancied himself to be a puppetmaster, pulling the strings from behind."

"Yes, that is right." said Shimono. "As did Westboro. And Mr. Blassingame tried to be the same, but he is not the great man those others were. He is in over his head. He is now being manipulated by others."

"Others who want total control." I said, beginning to see through the mists. "What is his plan? What is their plan, for him?"

Keiko sat back. "That, you must learn for yourself. I have to keep some things to myself... in exchange for my life."

Just then the door to the room opened, and in walked probably the last person I wanted to see: Nathan Masterson, Gresham & Mason, P.C. attorney.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Commander Troy." said Masterson. "I'm just going to have to ask you to stop talking to my client."

"Is he your client?" I asked Shimono.

Keiko shrugged. "He's probably all I'm going to get, so yes."

I got out of my chair. "He represents those that want to kill you, you know. Farewell, Ms. Shimono."

"Au revoir, Commander Troy." Shimono said. I turned and looked at her, then meaningfully at Masterson, then back to her... and then I just shook my head sadly and turned to leave, knowing that it was very unlikely I'd ever see Keiko Shimono alive again...

Part 3 - Outcasts and Betrayals

"Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me."

--- Psalms 41:9 (KJV).

The MCD Detectives were at their desks when Lt.(B) Jerome Davis came into the large room. "Okay, guys, what are you working on?" he asked.

"Finishing the paperwork on the Council altercation last Tuesday." said Detective Julia Rodriguez. "Why don't they have Boards of Inquiry for that?" Everyone chuckled.

"I'm doing some work for the Commander." said Detective Joanne Warner. "I'm researching all the Navy SEALs in Trent Ridge and Quint Starr's unit, to see if they've become bad seeds like Trent and Quint did."

"Since you're about the only one that can do that, with your clearance and all." said Jerome. "Find anything interesting?"

"Not yet." Joanne said.

"And I'm continuing the search for Trent Ridge." said Detective Theo Washington "To no avail, and likely never to be of avail. Er, is that right? 'Of avail'?" Everyone chuckled.

Detective Roy McGhillie said "I'm following up with the Techs on reports of Amber Harris violating her bail agreement."

"You find a way to put her back in jail," Jerome said, "and Commander Troy will award you a medal."

"All kidding aside, sir," McGhillie said, "I'd love to bust her in my own right. I think Amber aided and abetted Trent Ridge after he tried to kill the Commander's daughter at the Mayor's and Joanne's homes. I just gotta find a way to prove it."

"Keep at it." said Jerome. "Geiger? Parker? What about you guys?"

"Slow news day." said Parker. "I'm halfway expecting Captain Perlman to come in with a cold case."

"Ditto that for me." said Geiger.

"I've got something for you, then." said Jerome. "Not a cold case, but something to do with the Bundy McGinty case the Commander solved. Have you heard of 'McGinty's Materials'?"

"Yes sir." said Geiger. "At least what was on the news."

"Parker, call Inspector Britt Maxwell with the SBI-OER's office." Jerome said. "Tell her you're helping with that case, at least with computer research and anything that crops up in our Town & County. She might can point you at something."

"Yes sir." said Parker.

"Geiger, you work on that, too." said Jerome. "Check with old contacts, C.I.s, anyone you can think of that might can help with that."

"Yes sir." said Geiger.

After Jerome left the room, Theo said quietly "What have you found on those guys, Joanne? Or can you tell us?"

"I don't see why I can't." said Joanne. "But maybe not here in the office."

"Lunch it is, then." said Theo.

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

*BRIIINNGGG* *BRIIINNGGG*

Detective Timothy Geiger answered his phone. "Town & County Police. Detective Geiger speaking."

"Detective, this is 'Merlock'." said the soft voice on the other end of the line, whom Geiger knew to be a fairly reliable confidential informant. "I heard you've been looking for McGinty's Materials?"

"Yes." said Geiger. "What can you tell me?"

"I don't know anything myself." said 'Merlock'. "But I can put you in touch with someone who might can help you. Let's arrange a meeting."

"Where and when?" Geiger asked.

"Ward Harvester Park." said 'Merlock'. "Go to the Angels Statue. We'll approach you at 11:55am, if you're alone."

"I'll be there." said Geiger. He hung up, then said to Parker "Looks like I'm not going to make it to lunch. C.I. wants to meet me about the McGinty stuff."

"That was fast." said Parker. "Where?"

"Ward Harvester Park." said Geiger.

"Open place, lots of people." said Parker. "You good with it?"

"Yeah, it should be okay." said Geiger. "I've dealt with this guy before when I was in Vice. I'll let the Lieutenant know, then head on out there."

Parker nodded. No one else said anything as he left, but all eyes went to Parker once Geiger was out of the room. Parker just shrugged and returned to typing on his laptop...

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

They had the 'old' back room of the Cop Bar to themselves, and the four Detectives sat at the back table of the room so that they could not be easily overheard.

"Parker went home for lunch." said Roy McGhillie. "With Janice Holloway at home, I can't say I blame him."

"True." said Julia Rodriguez. "I just hope he really went home, and not to a job interview."

"Wow, you think?" asked Joanne Warner.

"No, he really does go home." said Theo. "Saves money, and gives him every excuse not to have to go to lunch with Geiger."

"Let's not talk about that." said McGhillie. "Joanne, tell us what's going on with this SEAL Team business." Everyone turned their attention to Joanne.

"Okay, here's what happened." said Joanne. "You remember what they said on the news about MegaTech Industries leaving Palmyra County?" Everyone nodded and Joanne continued: "Well, the reason behind that is that there was an FBI raid of MegaTech's offices down there. And Commander Troy and FBI Team Lazarus were involved in it."

"Wonder what that was about?" Julia Rodriguez asked, mostly rhetorically.

"I don't know," said Joanne, "but I do know that Trent Ridge and Quint Starr's names came up. They were both Navy SEALs in the past, and were accused of atrocities in Iraq, but those may have been covered up. That SEAL Team was shipped back to the United States, and pretty much disbanded with everyone getting out of the Navy. Trent and Quint somehow ended up here, in our Town & County. And as you all know, they were up to no good at every turn."

"So," Joanne continued, "Commander Troy asked me to look into that SEAL Team. He got some information from the Pentagon, including an old photo of them, which had six team members and two Navy Officers that oversaw them. And the catch is that one of those Officers was apparently involved in the MegaTech raid last week."

"Wowwwwww. Something wicked this way comes." said Julia Rodriguez. Theo Washington nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Are they really all bad?" asked Roy McGhillie.

"Probably not." said Joanne. "I got a redacted report of what happened in Iraq, and Trent and Quint were the worst two. But two others, a Gary Fenton and a Gil Cox, covered for Trent and Quint, and gave them alibis. One was the lookout while the other three were raping and torturing the family inside."

"That is just disgusting." said Theo Washington. "I mean, I know the vast majority of Navy SEALs are honorable, good people, but a few bad apples like these guys smear their good name and reputation."

"Which is one reason the Navy may have chosen to cover up this unit's actions." Joanne said. "The national Media, in their hatred of the military, would've had a field day with this if they'd known about it at the time. But to Roy's question: none of the others came forward with it, and part of the investigation determined that they knew what was going on but didn't say anything about it, whether our of camaraderie or fear."

"The end result," Joanne continued, "was that the Navy brought them home, disbanded that unit, discharged the Enlisted men with honorable discharges, and reassigned the Officers. One of them resigned his Commission, and he's the guy who was apparently with MegaTech. The other... is harder to get information on. His name is Lieutenant Jeff Bayport, but I haven't found much on him yet.

"Navy Lieutenant." said Theo. "I always get confused with that: A Navy Lieutenant is like an Army Captain. A Navy Captain is like an Army Colonel."

"And this Police Force uses 'Lieutenant' and 'Captain' like the Army ranks," said Julia, "and 'Commander' like the Navy."

"And don't confuse a Navy 'Chief' with our Police 'Chief'." said Joanne brightly, generating some chuckles. "Anyway, this Navy Lieutenant Bayport is a ghost now. Usually people like that are now in the CIA or something similar, and current data on them is scrubbed."

"Detective Joanne Warner..." said Theo, with his movie-star-handsome grin, "No longer a TCPD Detective... now a Ghost, in the CIA..." Everyone laughed at that, including Joanne.

"Well, I'm an FBI Consultant now." said Joanne. "So if I disappear, check with the Hospital and see if I'm having my baby."

"Speaking of disappearing," said Roy, "I kind of hope Geiger disappears before Parker disappears... as in finding a new job." The mood of the room immediately turned somber.

"Well," said Julia, "I should tell the rest of you what I told Roy. I went to Captain Perlman and Lt. Davis, and I offered to take Geiger as my partner so that Parker could have Roy as his partner instead of Geiger."

Everyone was stunned. "What did they say?" asked Joanne, her eyes wide and her voice a whisper.

"Davis basically brought me to Cpt. Perlman." said Joanne. "She seemed pretty angry about it, and said that Geiger was Parker's partner, would remain so, and that all of our professionalism was being evaluated, especially Parker's."

"I don't want to sound insubordinate," said Theo, "but that's pretty harsh. I don't consider it unprofessional to not respect Geiger."

"Well," said Julia, "Commander Troy called me into his office. One-on-one, off the record. I probably shouldn't be talking about it, but he said he appreciated me stepping up and offering to take Geiger, and he would be remembering it in a good way. He also said that it was not possible to change things at this time, so don't rock the boat about it."

"And Commander Troy would never rock the boat." said Theo. The joke fell flat.

"But why isn't it possible to change things?" asked Julia. "Especially since I offered to?"

"Sounds like it's a Parker thing more than a Geiger thing." said Roy McGhillie. "Maybe our leadership knows something about Parker that we don't..."

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

"Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?" And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus."

--- Matthew 26:14-16.

Detective Timothy Geiger looked up at the faces of the Angels at the statue in Ward Harvester Park dedicated to the County's Public Servants. He had heard the stories that the faces of the Angels were of Teresa Croyle's sister and the young girl that had died in the Hospital after a transplant organ meant for her had been stolen. (Author's note: 'Hampered In His Plans', Ch. 04.)

He thought about how Teresa Croyle had been in a similar position to him... in Vice, struggling to survive and keep their jobs under Captain Harold Malone's 'agenda-driven' leadership, to put it kindly. And having to deal with Steven Ikea. Geiger had done what he had had to do to survive; Croyle had refused to yield to the Dark Side.

And then Donald Troy had come in. And he had saved Teresa Croyle's job, her reputation, and some said even her life. And how that had worked out! And in some ways, Commander Troy had saved his, Geiger's job: he had never moved to get rid of Geiger like he had tried to get rid of Sharples.

But Teresa Croyle was now a Police Captain. He, Geiger, had worked hard to do a good job in Vice, but was still at the same pay grade. And while Teresa Croyle was now one of the most revered Police Officers in the TCPD, the hardest thing for Geiger was fighting the distrust and outright hostility that the other Detectives felt for him.

The SBI was not an option for him; they'd made it clear they didn't want him, and he wanted no part of them and Steven Ikea as their Chaplain. He was stuck.

"Impressive, isn't it?" asked a voice. Geiger turned to see a man about his height, lanky, his face looking almost as if it had collapsed in on itself, but with cheerful, happy-go-lucky eyes. He was wearing an ill-fitting light brown suit that looked like it was polyester.

"Yes," the man said, "this is supposedly the spot where Teresa Croyle and Commander Troy's daughter were when he found them, and these Angels are her sister and young ward for the last month of the girl's life."

"Who are you?" Geiger asked skeptically.

"Oh." the man said, as if remembering the reason for being there. "Our mutual friend Merlock sent me. He said you were interested in McGinty's Materials."

"Yes, what can you tell me about them?" asked Geiger.

"That they do exist." said the man. "Let's take a walk." He led Geiger along the path, heading east away from the statue.

"Who are you?" Geiger asked.

"My name is Jerry." said the man. "I work for a man who wants McGinty's Materials for himself, and he's willing to pay someone a lot of money... a laht of money... to deliver those materials to him and him only."

"So why are you coming to me?" asked Geiger. "Why aren't you looking for them yourself?"

Jerry smiled as he said: "Because I'm not a TCPD Officer, with access to information like you are. Just think about it, Detective Geiger, like you were thinking about it at that statue a few minute ago... you're still stuck where you are, a Detective with no chance in Hell of ever being promoted to anything, much less to Captain like Ms. Croyle was. I'm offering you a chance to make a lot of of money, achieve financial security, and be able to shake the dust of the TCPD off of your shoes and walk away from them."

Geiger peered at the other man for a second, then they resumed walking. "There's gotta be more to it." he said.

"There is." said Jerry. "You come work for my patron, and prove yourself by finding McGinty's Materials, and I can assure you he'll have other work for you. Lucrative work."

"Illegal work?" asked Geiger.

"Depends on how you look at it, and what jobs you accept." said Jerry. "You have contacts through your Police work, and you go on stakeouts and observe things. You just leverage that information in a way that is profitable to my boss, and it becomes profitable to you, too. Nothing illegal on your part, nothing at all. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. McGinty's Materials. Get us that, or just lead us to the stuff, and you won't need the TCPD and their hatred of you anymore."

"How much are we talking?" asked Geiger.

"As much as two million dollars." said Jerry. "Depending on how much of the stuff you get, and if the parts my boss wants is there. Fifty percent guaranteed."

"Are you frickin' kidding me?" Geiger asked, shocked. "Is that information really worth that much?"

"Oh yeah." Jerry said. He stopped and looked at Geiger. "We're not just playing games, here, Mr. Geiger. This is the big-time. And we think you have what it takes to be one of us. You've survived Captain Malone, that piece of shit Ikea, Commander Troy, all of it. And now... your ship is coming in."

"All right." said Geiger. "I'll think about it. How do I contact you?"

Jerry reached into his jacket pocket and took out a card. "Just call the number on this card and leave a message. I'll contact you within 24 hours with a location to meet. You like McDonald's or Chick-Fil-A better?..."

Part 4 - Priorities

(Author's note: the Keith Madden/KXTC narrative detailed in this story is based upon real events.)

1:30pm, Monday, June 24th. KXTC cub reporter Keith Madden and his cameraman pulled up to the corner of Elm Street and Riverside Drive, the northwest corner of Courthouse Square. The Civic Center was on this corner to their north, and City Hall to their south. The car was Madden's privately owned vehicle.

"Hell, why can't we get a mobile van?" asked the cameraman , who was driving.

"I hate it, too." Madden said. "But KXTC has very few mobile vans left. The Police keep confiscating them."

"Or destroying them." said the cameraman, who had been one of those hogtied and blindfolded in Bettina Wurtzburg's failed attempt to entrap Cindy Ross, resulting in the total destruction of four KXTC vans. (Author's note: 'The Nuclear Option', Ch. 03-04.)

A group of eight men and women, dressed fairly raggedly, were at that corner holding up signs as they protested the plight of the homeless.

Madden said "It's funny how we only hear about the homeless when Republicans are in the White House or the Governor's Mansion. If it was a Democrat instead of Jared, we wouldn't have been sent here."

"You got that right." said the cameraman. "Let's get the equipment ready." He and the cameraman got out of the car and went to the trunk, where Madden got his microphone and the cameraman got his equipment. They put it all together, did their sound checks, then went and began filming the protesters. Madden interviewed several of them as the cameraman filmed their signs.

"Yeah, man, we can't find jobs and we're losing our homes because of the policies of Governor Val Jared and the Republicans!" one man said. The others right behind him cheered, booed Jared's name, then cheered again, as if on cue...

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

2:30pm. Captain Teresa Croyle got through the 'security' that was my assistant Helena buzzing me, and was admitted to my office.

"Here's the security plan for Wednesday night's Charter Commission meeting." she said, handing me a folder, then sitting down at my hand-gesture bidding. "Basically it's the same as for public Council meetings."