Just a Story Ch. 05

Next came Savannah Fineman, one of the few Whites on the stage, and her announcement was noooo surprise: "I am running for the Democratic nomination for District Attorney. As your next District Attorney, I will prevent the persecution... excuse me, prosecution, a little Freudian slip, there... I will prevent the racially-based witch-hunt prosecutions of good people like Breonna Bryant and Bernice Jackson! And I will begin the process of Bail Reform, which has been used to suppress People of Color in this County for far too long!"

The audience rose to its feet in a loud standing ovation. Next up was Dennis Garland, who said: "I am running for the Democrat nomination for Solicitor. I was fired by the Republicans of the Council, on a strict Party-line vote, for speaking my conscience and speaking up for People of Color being subjected to Police brutality, especially the violent tactics of Commander Donald Troy. As Solicitor, I will work with District Attorney Fineman to implement Bail Reform, and to stop the systematic use of the Courts to paste criminal records upon peaceful People of Color!"

More applause. Then Eldrick X. Weaver came up. "I am running for the Council seat currently held by Edgar Silas after his completely legitimate election in the last cycle. I look forward to working with Mayor Jacobs and Sheriff Silas to bring Racial and Social Justice to this County."

Town Assemblywoman Patricia Chang came up. "I am running for the Town Council seat being vacated by Edward Steele. This seat is vitally important if we are to defeat the Republican hegemony over us and bring a badly needed Democrat majority to the Council."

The incumbent Democrats (except Silas) on the Council announced their campaigns to be re-elected. Kelly Carnes reiterated that her sole purpose in life was to defund the Police and end the Police career of Commander Donald Troy. She received a huge ovation for that.

And then a young white man with dark, unkempt hair, 'Mythbusters' black glasses, and broad shoulders came up. "I'm Rob Lawton." said Rob Lawton, a close associate of Lionel Carmela (Author's note: 'Jupiter Rising', Ch. 02, 03, 04.). "I will be running to fill the Assembly seat Ms. Patricia Chang is vacating in order to flip the Council to the Democrats. And my goal is to help Mayor Stacy Jacobs force the TCPD into a Consent Decree, and to defund the Police..."

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

"Well, that was interesting." Cindy Ross said as she, Sheriff Griswold, and I drove up the road towards Promontory Point in my Police SUV after watching the Democrat announcements on television.

"What part?" I asked back.

Cindy said "They didn't announce anyone running for J.P. Goldman's Council seat. They didn't announce anyone running for School Board Chairman. And the ones they do have running are not the one's I expected... well, let me rephrase that. I didn't expect Edgar Silas to be running for Sheriff, nor Stacy Jacobs for Mayor. I thought Weaver would run for Mayor again."

"What about you, Crowbar?" growled Sheriff Griswold. "Were you surprised by any of that?"

I said "Jacobs for Mayor surprised me a little bit, but it makes sense. Weaver has failed twice against Allgood... legitimately, both times, and they know it... so they're giving Jacobs the shot at the title. It really shocks me that Silas is giving up his Council seat, but he's probably the most qualified person the Dems have to run for Sheriff, what with his Board of Inquest experience. Weaver running for Silas's Council seat is probably as much an effort to keep Dr. Joseph E. Williams from getting it as it is giving Weaver something to do."

Me: "I was also surprised that Patricia Chang is giving up her Assembly seat to run for the Council. But the choice makes sense: that district is composed of up-and-coming, relatively younger people, ethnically diverse but not financially strapped. She's not white, so Democrats and especially black Democrats might vote for her. And she's not black, so whites might vote for her."

"And Savannah, and Dennis Garland?" Cindy asked.

"Withhold my surprise that Fineman is running for D.A., especially after Miriam canned her ass." I said. "Garland only formally lost his job last night, so the speed of his announcement surprises me, but not that he's running for Solicitor."

Sheriff Griswold said "The strength of his Leftism surprised me. He sounded like Carmela and Stacy Jacobs in his words. Edward Steele was right about him; Garland is far more Left than I ever realized, and now it's coming out."

Cindy said "With respect, Sheriff, I think Garland was terrified of being 'canceled' by the 'Woke' mobs, and made a Left turn when Edward and the Council Republicans kicked him to the kerb."

"That could well be." said the Sheriff. "I'm a little surprised Louis Bailey ran for Sheriff as a Republican and not a Democrat. Bailey really tried to hold the LEOs back in the second Council riot, and even grabbed you by the collar, Crowbar. That seems to be more Left-ish than moderate Republican."

Cindy said "I heard something from my secret source in the Media." We all knew she was talking about Priya Ajmani. "Bailey did contact the Democrats about running for Sheriff as a Dem, but they flat-out rejected him. Then Ryan Paulson came to him about running as part of their (air quotes) 'ticket', and he accepted that. Have no illusions, if he were to win, he'd be as dangerous to us as Silas, Weaver, Stacy Jacobs, and Ava Hinds of the US DOJ could ever be."

Sheriff Griswold said "And that shows me the Dems had... and have... their plans set. They didn't know if Bailey will be as reliably 'woke' and anti-Police as Silas would be, so they went in the direction they did."

"Okay, here we are." I said as we turned onto the road just past Promontory Point and over the top of the ridgeline. Cindy's new house was on the right.

"Wowwww, very nice." I said as we pulled up. The house's exterior looked to be of wooden boards, but I knew they were specially made and treated to be fireproof. They were painted light blue, a gray-ish blue, and the trim and shutters were painted white. It looked like a Rockwell painting of a farmhouse surrounded by western-style fence.

"Mi casa." Cindy said proudly as we got out of the vehicle. "Come on in." She led the way up the walk and onto the front porch, which was the length of the front of the house. The sound of the planks as we walked on them reminded me of my childhood home in Apple Grove.

Going inside via the front door, it struck me that the front part of the home was just like the Mountain Nest. The formal dining room was to the left, and to the right was the formal living room. A box piano had already been installed against the far wall of the room. In the foyer, the stairs went alongside the left wall and turned right to go to the second floor hallway, again very much like the Mountain Nest.

Cindy led us past the stairs to the den/greatroom in back. The three sets of windows let in a lot of light, especially as the back of house faced south-by-southeast. And then I saw that the middle windows were actually French windows... doors that led to the outside. I also observed the walls were thick and there was a space in the wood at the sides. Cindy noticed that I'd noticed.

"Not much gets past you, Don." she said. "The windows are bulletproof, but not nearly as thick as those in The Cabin. So I had these installed." She slipped her fingers into the nearly invisible notch and pulled. A metal panel came out of the wall and Cindy secured it on the other side.

"All the ground floor windows in the house have these." Cindy said. "We can batten down fairly securely until the Airborne Cavalry and his TCPD Officers arrive to rescue us."

"Do you have a safe room?" the Sheriff asked as Cindy slid the metal panel back into its hiding place in the wall.

"No sir." Cindy said. "Not like the house we're living in now does, and not like The Cabin does."

"Where's The Cabin's safe room?" asked the Sheriff, surprised to be hearing that.

"My office." I said. "The door to the front room and also to the garage on that side have bolts like a bank safe. Once they go into the reinforced steel and concrete of the wall, it would take military grade weaponry to break through. And you know what all the walls are made of. The FBI tried to destroy the place, but couldn't." (Author's note: 'No Way Out', Ch. 02.)

We went out onto the back patio, which was made of wooden planks and extended the length of the back wall of the house. There was a round table with benches and an umbrella, and more chairs around a natgas-fueled fire pot that was very similar to mine. The rails were basic wood, and had chicken wire in the gaps to keep Cindy's small kids from going through and wandering off. In terms of square footage, it was much larger than mine, but it was on the ground, not above it like mine was.

Still, the view was amazing. The backyard was flat about ten yards past the end of the deck and there was a fence at the edge. Then the land that the Climate Change thugs had tried stop Cindy from clearing, and failed (Author's note: 'Climate Injustice', Ch. 02, 03), extended down the hill about 50 yards, and was fenced in by a fence inside the woodline and virtually invisible.

Looking outward, one could see the southern end of Reservoir Lake and the Lakeside Inn and Suites, and on into Nextdoor County. On a clear day, the town of Hillside was visible in the far distance.

"Wowwww." I said as I looked out over the vista. "This is great. Trust me, you will enjoy this for years to come."

Sheriff Griswold asked "Just out of curiosity, why didn't you build a deck that was even with the upper floor?"

Cindy said "It would have been like what Teresa has, a small deck that would have to be accessed through a bedroom or hallway. With this patio deck, we can entertain or just sit out here and enjoy the day. Don has the great sunsets on his deck, and we'll have the great sunrises." I nodded vigorously in agreement.

We went back inside. To the right of the house as one faced the back wall was a guest bedroom with it's own bathroom suite. It was totally wheelchair accessible. Cindy said "I did this for Tanya in case she ever had to stay here. It might also become an apartment for my mom when she gets old and possibly less mobile."

"Or me, when my back gives out." I replied whimsically.

"Stop jumping out of perfectly good aircraft while in flight, and maybe your back won't give out." Cindy retorted immediately. A red crowbar was waved in her general direction.

The kitchen was in the back left, and featured an island, double ovens, double microwaves, a six-eye gas stove, and a huge refrigerator/freezer. I said "Do you have your commercial kitchen permit for this?"

"You know, the home inspector actually did ask about that." Cindy said. "I just told him he ought to see how large my family is, and that I needed it for holidays."

"Crowbar needs this for his kitchen, what with all the kids with hollow legs he has." barked the Sheriff.

There was a door to the 2-car garage, which angled back and was not visible from the front unless one was on the left side of the house. Like the roof of the house, it was angled as an A-frame, so was not usable as a deck. And Cindy had built in a small efficiency apartment over the garage, with stairs to it in the hallway from the kitchen to the garage.

We went back inside and through the dining room to the stairs to the second floor. The floor plan was inverted from the Mountain Nest and Teresa's home. The master bedroom was at the end of the hall to the right (and over the guest bedroom on the first floor). On the back side next to the bedroom was a small study/office that reminded me of Laura's 'Puter Room' at the Mountain Nest. On the other side (front of the house) was a bathroom and then a bedroom over the middle of the house and the front door.

Opposite that was a narrow hallway to a window that was in the center of the back side of the house. Cindy said "That was originally planned as an exit to a small deck, like Teresa's house had. We abandoned that idea, but decided to leave the window in case of fire. I have one of those roll-up ladders in the hallway closet that we could use to escape as a last resort. Of course, I poured money into this house to make it as fireproof as The Cabin, so hopefully we'll never have to use it."

On the front side, over the dining room, was another bedroom. Opposite it, was a room that could be a bedroom, but Cindy said would be a playroom for Betsy and Ben.

"Very nice." I said as we matriculated down the stairs to the front foyer. "Simple, elegant, comfortable. I think you're going to be very happy here, if I don't miss my guess."

"And you never do." growled Sheriff Griswold...

Part 10 - Day of Orange

Friday, December 3rd. It was Orange Order Day at Police Headquarters, when we paid tribute to the first Citizen Patrols in Holland during the reign of the Prince of Orange. Every Police Officer, from the Chief of Police to the newest Patrol Officer Trainee, wore the standard dark blue uniform. We did not wear 'boxes'; only our badges, nametags, and our ranks on the collars of our shirts denoted any difference between us.

Cindy and I carried orange crowbars, given to us by Susie Haskins after one of her nail drives for charity. And Cindy and Sheriff Griswold wore their basic TCPD uniforms, with their 'Retired' badges.

Lieutenant Joanne Warner came into MCD and found two bookends on her desk. One had a placekicker kicking and the holder kneeling, his finger pointed outward where the ball had been. Their Crimson jerseys and white pants showed them to be players for the University of Alabama. The other bookend piece had an Alabama punter, leg high in the air after kicking.

On the bases, stickers said 'Punt Bama Punt', a reminder of the 1973 Alabama-Auburn game, won by Auburn 17-16 after blocking two Alabama punts for scores. The other said 'Kick-Six'. We know what that was about.

Julia Rodriguez and Kerri Ambrose also had gifts on their desks. Julia's was an Airborne coffee mug, simply adorned with the Parachutist Badge. Kerri's coffee cup had Airborne wings on one side, and on the other was the shoulder patch of the 82d Airborne Division, the 'All-America' red, white, and blue square with the blue 'Airborne' tab over it. They also were given posters (in cardboard tubes) very similar to mine, with the 250-foot towers framed by the evening sky with the word 'Airborne' beneath the photo.

Yep, Teresa was back from her vacation, and she was in the coffee klatch with us. The only thing of interest in the Bettina broadcast was the announcement that Miriam Walters was running for re-election as District Attorney. And sure enough, Amber Harris asked if she was running as part of a 'ticket' with Mayor Daniel Allgood and Sheriff Griswold. Miriam said she was running for her office by her self.

During the coffee klatch, Teresa said "Todd and I went to Fort Benning on Sunday morning. The Commanding General of the post knew we were coming, and had the MPs bring us to his Headquarters. Apparently Admiral Cordell and General McFarland told him we were coming, that Todd is a Defense Contractor, and that I'm the daughter of a Medal of Honor recipient."

Teresa: "He took us on a good tour of the post, including the Airborne School grounds, then the Ranger School and the Darby Queen Obstacle Course. All I can say about that is... 'Wow'. Why didn't you go to Ranger School, Don?"

"The policy at the time was to put as many Infantry and Combat Arms people through Ranger School, so Combat Support like the Military Police Corps didn't come by Ranger or Special Forces slots very often." I said, then added "And I freely admit that Ranger School would have kicked my tall, skinny ass and then some."

"Noooo shame in that." replied Chief Moynahan. "I was sent to Ranger School. Washed out in three days. Flew helicopters instead."

"No shame in that, sir." I replied. "Where else did you go, Teresa?"

"We drove up to Nashville, Tennessee." said Teresa. "We saw the Hermitage, the State Capitol, and the Parthenon. Todd somehow got us reservations at the Opryland Hotel. That is one huge complex of a hotel and conference center; I almost got lost in there a few times. We went to see the Grand Ole Opry House. They don't have performances on weekdays, but I can say I've been there. The next day we went to St. Louis and visited the Arch and the museum underneath it. Then we headed on home..."

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

Afterwards, I heard the commotion going on in MCD. I went in via the back door and saw a crowd gathered around something on the other side of the room. Going closer, I saw Lieutenant Mary Mahoney Milton in her standard uniform, sitting in a chair, and holding her two-month-old son Marty. Her husband, Lieutenant Myron Milton, was standing next to them as everyone oohed and ahhed over baby Marty.

"Ahh, look at that beautiful baby." I said as I came up. "Thank Goodness he takes after his mama."

"Don't I know it, sir." Myron said agreeably. "Can I get a photo of you holding him, sir?"

"Sure." I said. A chair almost magically appeared, and I sat down next to Mary and took her precious bundle into my arms. Myron was by no means the only one to be taking photos of me holding Marty, but the reasons so many people liked to take photos of me holding a baby were not clear to me. After all, Your Iron Crowbar is just a big ol' teddy bear.

"Mary, are you still on leave?" asked Theo Washington.

"Yes." said Mary. "And I'm not going to do any work today, either. I just came in for the 'reveal', and then I'll go back home for the night."

"When do you come off leave?" asked Joanne Warner.

"After the New Year." I said before Mary could answer. "And that is not a suggestion. I don't want the Union screaming at us." Mary just shrugged her acquiescence...

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

At noon we had a surprise guest. Inga Gunddottar, formerly of the TCPD and now with the New York Police Department, came in. She was wearing the most basic of NYPD uniforms.

After coming through Headquarters and talking with all the Detectives of Vice and MCD in the MCD room, as well as getting photos of herself with us, including me, Inga went up to 1st Precinct Headquarters. Some minutes later, Teresa said "As an Orange Order member, Inga's entitled to be here, but I'm a little surprised that she came."

"I'm not." I said. "I called her and invited her to come." When Teresa looked up at me, I said "Payback for her smuggling Carole and Tasha's birthday card to Greta." Teresa said no more.

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

At 3:45pm, the Membership of the Orange Order gathered in Classroom 'E'. We had two candidates to initiate into our Order, voted on by the Police Force itself. And the two candidates selected had been voted in by margins superseded only by Tanya Perlman's unanimous vote a few years before. (Author's note: 'Knights of the Round', Ch. 02-03.)

Some of the Officers from the Precincts went to the Main Auditorium, but the majority of them went to the gymnasium, where folding chairs had been made available for their use. The Detectives traditionally went into MCD, and today was no exception. The Members planned our route; J.J. 'Ice Cube' Perry had been inducted into the Inner Circle, and was leading the rope line as we headed out.

We went clockwise down the back hall, but instead of turning into the gym we went down the far side hall and then the front hall, then back up to the side entrance of MCD. Lt. Myron Milton went inside, followed by Your Iron Crowbar. Myron acted like he was going to pass the candidate, then abruptly stopped and turned... in front of his wife, Mary.