Media Matters Ch. 01

"Let's go to the phones." Hudson said. "You're the next caller on the Reed Hudson show. Go ahead."

"Hi Reed, thanks for taking my call." said the caller, a youngish-sounding man with a soft, higher-pitched voice. "As you've talked about on your show before, District Attorney Gil Krasney has made some very strange legal deals, especially letting two murderers be transferred to Federal custody. Do you think he'll prosecute these perps the Police caught using really powerful herbicides to damage the farmland here in the Town & County? Or will he let the Feds have the suspects, and then BigAgraFoods lawyers can help them more..."

"That's a good question." said Hudson. "That is a really good question. We know BigAgraFoods lawyers have been fighting hard, not waiving the preliminary hearing even though these four people were caught red-handed, drone footage and all... and the Police in the Town & County do a stellar job with evidence. But when it comes to Gil Krasney, who is all but assured to be badly defeated in November, who knows what he's thinking?"

"Okay, let's go to the next caller." said Hudson. "You are on the air with the Conservative Excellence Network! Go ahead."

"Thank you, Reed." said the caller, a male with a deep voice. "What I want to know is... what are you going to do when Commander Donald Troy is accused of violating campaign finance laws?"

"Caller," said Reed, "you told my screener that you were calling about the District Attorney race. Before I cut you off, make a connection, and quickly."

"It is about the D.A. race." said the caller. "The Media is about to break the story that Donald Troy is making illegal campaign contributions to one of the candidates for District Attorney, Paulina Patterson..."

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

"Hello, Mike." I said to my attorney, Mike G. Todd of the Madison & Ives Law Firm. "Did you create that paperwork I asked you to?... Good. We're about to use it.... Yep, it's about to hit the fan... Okay, I'll talk to you tonight."

I hung up. Beady black eyes were looking at me. "Four hundred years ago..." Jack said. Then he peered at me harder and said "You didn't even blink when that Reed Hudson caller said that." I just arched my eyebrows.

Part 3 - Libel

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Fox Two News!" shouted the lovely redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Tuesday, July 3d, from in front of the Federal Building on Courthouse Square. "Fox Two News has learned that the four persons arrested in the land contamination case have been charged with Federal crimes after District Attorney Gil Krasney declined to charge them locally!"

Bettina started: "Despite strong evidence of their involvement in the contamination of farmland in the County, including drone coverage and Police testimony, District Attorney Krasney says that he does not believe the case can withstand legal scrutiny, especially in the way the arrest warrants were obtained and the way the raid on the BigAgraFoods warehouse in the southern part of the County was conducted."

"However," said Bettina, "a Federal Court issued arrest warrants after a Federal indictment of the four men were handed down, after the TCPD shared their evidence with the FBI. Police Chief Sean Moynahan issued a statement excoriating D.A. Krasney, and demanding Krasney's immediate resignation. Krasney responded with statement saying that Chief Moynahan needs to do his job 'babysitting' Commander Troy, and let Krasney do his job."

"A BigAgraFoods spokesman praised District Attorney Krasney's decision to not prosecute, saying the D.A. did his proper job to uphold the law." continued Bettina. "The spokesman had harsh words for the FBI and the Federal indictment, and also reminded citizens of the County that Commander Donald Troy's reckless actions led to BigAgraFoods relocating out of our Town & County."

"And in National news," said Bettina, "the Guardians of Justice have released more documents! Two months ago, the 'Taco Box' chain of Tex-Mex restaurants had a series of illnesses, which caused their stock to plummet in price. Their investigation with the U.S. Agriculture Department and BigAgraFoods, the source of the fresh foods that the Taco Box stores buy for their products, did not find a clear source of the contamination."

"However," went on Bettina, "the Guardians of Justice documents reveal that the contamination had been localized to farms in California, and that the contamination was deliberate, an act of domestic terrorism... and that the Government and BigAgraFoods conspired to suppress the information in order to prevent a national panic. The Agriculture Department, the Food and Drug Administration, and BigAgraFoods released statements denying the GOJ reports and strongly denouncing the GOJ as the real traitors."

"And finally," Bettina said, "the Town & County Independence Day Triathlon is set for tomorrow! In addition to the normal triathlon, there will be a wheelchair race over a shorter course. And contestants for the Triathlon are racing to benefit their favorite charities!..."

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

"I swear to God I'm going to shove this crowbar so far up Krasney's ass that he'll never be able to shit again." snarled Deputy Chief Cindy Ross, exhibiting her green crowbar as we all drank coffee in MCD.

"You might find a red crowbar already there." I replied. "I have had just about enough of that guy."

"What makes me even angrier," Cindy said, "was that we were subpoenaed to be at the Courthouse, all of us that made the bust, including me. We had to sit in the Witness Room for hours as they went back and forth. For hours, getting nothing done!"

"Then," continued the platinum blonde fireball, "they finally started calling us up one-by-one, saving me for last. And the defense lawyers went through everything, challenging our records as Officers, the whole nine yards. And then, at the end, Krasney just looks at Judge Nance and says 'We decline to prosecute this case.'. Nance was about to let them go, when the U.S. Attorney came in and served the defendants with Federal warrants."

"At least they let you go to the bathroom." Teresa quipped. The Green Crowbar was not amused. The Red Crowbar was, and laughed.

"Yeah, why fight it all day if he's just going to drop it?" I asked. "It was Krasney himself at the hearing?"

"Him and Mason." Cindy said. "But I think Mason was also shocked when Krasney dropped it, and maybe a little pissed off himself that his time was wasted by Krasney. It just... makes no sense." For some strange reason, all eyes went to Your Iron Crowbar.

"Any ideas on that, Commander?" asked Theo Washington, taking his job as Micah Rudistan's replacement as mischief-maker very seriously.

"The way BigAgraFoods praised him in their statement," I replied, "makes one wonder if there won't be a quid pro quo in the future... when Krasney will be needing a new job. But that's speculation, and I won't be saying it to the Press, lest I be sued for slander."

"When is Robert Mullen going to come after you, Commander?" asked Teddy Parker.

"Not until next week, at least." I replied. "Word I have is that he and his team are pretty much taking this whole week for vacation."

After some banter about the Triathlon, I headed on back to my office. I was followed by Cindy and Teresa. Tanya stayed with her 'troops' in MCD, a good leadership move on her part, I thought to myself.

"You really are pissed, arentcha?" I asked Cindy, who was still scowling like a normal 'Teresa Cunt' day used to be.

"Yeah." Cindy said. Then she sucked in her breath and exhaled. "I guess it's over now... but really, what is up with Krasney? Did BigAgraFoods threaten him?"

"That's what crossed my mind when I first heard about it." said Teresa. "Then Don's comment about a quid pro quo made sense. And none of that explains May Cialis and Thomas Cromwell being let off. What do you really think about it, Don?"

"I think I really shouldn't have said that out loud in front of everyone about the quid pro quo," I said, "but the idea of that plus the threats, a 'carrot and stick' routine, so to speak, would make some sense. 'Hey, Krasney, we need good lawyers at BigAgraCorp... but if you prosecute, we'll work hard against you!'."

"However," I continued, "I think the real answer is Occam's Razor, and much more simple: Krasney doesn't want to exert himself and do the work to get a conviction. Kind of like men's divorce lawyers that don't even try to win because the system is rigged against their clients."

"What do you mean?" asked Cindy. "It's not like he's doing the work in the first place. He just sends his ADAs to do the work."

"Exactly." I replied. "When Paulina was on the job, he let her handle the prosecutions of my cases, and of course she always did a great job with them."

"And the way you spoon-fed her airtight cases," Teresa said "it wasn't too bad a gig, there. She's said that herself."

"Well," I said, "my point is more that Paulina would do the work to get past anything that wasn't easy. And Krasney knew that if she lost, he'd just blame her and keep his own hands washed of the matter. But without Paulina there, and Mason unable to handle it, Krasney fears he might lose a case and look bad. So... while he coasts to the end of his career as D.A., he just finds ways to not have to deal with cases, much less try to win them."

"I have a question." Teresa said. "Todd was listening to yesterday's Reed Hudson radio program, and heard the call about you giving Paulina illegal campaign contributions. But Bettina didn't say a word, so it must be more b.s. crap against you... isn't it?"

"I have not given Paulina any illegal campaign contributions." I said. "But yes, Bettina's silence was... interesting." That got two of my Angels peering hard at me. Then the third Angel drove in and parked herself between them.

"What's this deal about a new Tanya's Tank, but with wheels?" asked Cindy.

"Yeah, Todd and Barry are working on that." said Tanya. "It's kind of a moon rover or Mars rover type of concept: six big all-directional tires that can go over all terrain and up and down stairs."

"Like the Batmobile in the Batman movies." said Teresa.

"Sort of." Tanya said. "So far, though, it's been pretty unwieldy for me to drive. But it would be a lot faster than the tracked Tank."

"Good God, that's all I need." I muttered. "It's hard enough now, diving out of your way when you fly down the halls." Cindy and Teresa failed to suppress laughter at that, and soon we were all laughing. Then Priya's broadcast came on, and laughter ended...

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

"This is Priya Ajmani for SNN!" said the beautiful Indian reporterette at 8:00am. "We go to Diane Williams at our SNN affiliate in the City, KCTY. Diane!"

There was a pause as the 'decided' blonde Diane Williams stood there for a moment as the other stations joined her feed, then she began. "This is Diane Williams with KCTY." she said, her slow way of talking coming across as condescending, like talking to dumb children. "We have learned that Commander Donald Troy of the Town & County Police has been making illegal campaign contributions to District Attorney candidate Paulina Patterson!"

"Commander Troy has been making regular payments from a secret bank account to another secret account set up by Ms. Patterson." said Williams. "These payments began right at the time Ms. Patterson declared her candidacy for the District Attorney's position in the Town & County. Both Attorney General Karl Handel and Independent State Counsel Robert Mullen have been contacted about these criminal acts by Commander Troy and possibly by Ms. Patterson, as well."

*BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!*

Even as my Angels gaped at the television, I was answering my personal iPhone.

"Yes." I said. "That's it.... yes she did... make it so, Number One." I disconnected, then saw that I was being stared at.

"That, my Angels," I said, "was libel. And Diane Williams is going to pay out of her god-damn ass for it."

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

"This is the Reed Hudson Show, and welcome to another day of Conservative broadcasting excellence!" said the show's host at 9:00am. "Yes, the news has broken and is spreading like wildfire, that Commander Donald Troy is making unlawful campaign payments to Paulina Patterson, candidate for District Attorney. The Press has made their statements; now it's time for the Reed Hudson Show to tell you the truth about the matter."

Hudson went on: "What the rabidly hostile and dishonest Media is not telling you, is that Commander Troy's lawyers filed State and Federal libel lawsuits against KCTY and Diane Williams within the last half hour. Commander Troy has the proof, and showed the Court the proof, that he has not violated any laws at all in making these payments..."

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

"This is just stunning news!" said Rosie Berkmar, one of the hostesses of the show 'Point Taken', shown on KSB in the City and syndicated to KXTC as well as many other stations. "Commander Troy is already the subject of an Independent State Counsel investigation, and now he's allegedly making illegal campaign contributions."

"Serves that racist Troy right, getting caught like that." said hostess Donna Roselle.

"Oh, stop with the 'racism' bit!" said Rosie Berkmar, also leftist, but not as rabidly militant as Roselle. "Commander Troy is allegedly making payments to a black woman! Whatever else you want to call it, 'racist' hardly fits here." The audience applauded modestly. Berkmar and the producers also knew that Roselle throwing the race card at every opportunity was beginning to wear thin with 'Point Taken' viewers.

"He supports the racist Val Jared." said Roselle, not backing down. "That's what everyone should be focusing on: Val Jared's racism and sneering disregard for women!" There was a smattering of applause for that.

"Look, none of that matters." said Ruby Russell, daughter of U.S. Senator Samuel Russell and a moderate (Establishment) Republican, the only non-leftist on the program. "What matters is that Commander Donald Troy, who puts himself on some kind of pedestal as being some almighty beacon of justice, is making regular payments to Paulina Patterson, who is running for District Attorney and who has worked closely with Donald Troy in her past job as Assistant District Attorney."

"This is a smoking gun." said Berkmar. "Whatever the reasons for the payments are, this is the smoking gun that Robert Mullen has been looking for... and he will now use it to force Commander Troy to tell the truth about Val Jared, or else Commander Troy will be going to jail himself..."

Suddenly, the signal was interrupted with a screen that said "BREAKING NEWS".

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Fox Two News!" shouted the redheaded reporterette. "Fox Two News has just learned that Commander Donald Troy filed a libel lawsuit against KCTY and Diane Williams, and has also made a formal complaint with the FCC against KCTY for libel. Commander Troy asserts KCTY lied about the nature of payments made to Paulina Patterson!..."

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

Yep, a meeting. This one was in the Chief's Conference Room. Present were the Chief, me, Cindy, and Captain Thompson.

"O-kayyyyy." said Chief Moynahan. "Don, this just does not look good. I'm already getting calls from Council Members, from the Sheriff, from the District Attorney, and they're all asking 'Is this true?'. And I tell them you've done nothing illegal, and they demand proof... more proof than your filing a libel lawsuit, as good as that is."

"They shall know the truth." I said, in the form of a quotation. "And the truth shall set their teeth free." Cindy giggled. Thompson managed to stifle a laugh. The Chief was not so amused.

"Don..." said the Chief, his voice grave, "this is not the time to let this stew. You need to get ahead of this story, and get ahead of it quickly. For your sake, the Police Force's sake, and Paulina's sake as well."

"I've talked to Paulina, and to Laura." I said. "We're prepared for this. I want to wait to make my own statement, though, in the hopes that other Press outlets will commit libel like KCTY did this morning, and I can sue them, too."

"They'll just issue a retraction, and that'll be that." said Moynahan. I shook my head vigorously in disagreement.

"No sir." I said. "This one is going all the way. I'm pushing it, both at the State and Federal levels."

"I almost get the idea you've been planning this well in advance." said the Chief. It was an accusation.

"I've definitely laid groundwork in case of the possibility it would happen this way." I said.

"We still have to put something out there, Commander." said Captain Thompson. "The Press is getting rabid about it. If you let it get out of control, there's no telling what might happen."

"For crying out loud." I whispered, suddenly feeling exasperated beyond belief. "Chief... will you just trust me, and let me handle this?"

Moynahan groaned. "I hate it when you say that." he said. "So what is your plan?"

I told them the plan. Thompson was shocked, his face a mask of disbelief. Cindy understood... but did not like it. The Chief was remembering sage advice given him by Chief Griswold...

Part 4 - So Close...

"I appreciate you guys coming." I said as we convened in the TCPD Crime Lab building, the annex building on the other side of the gated parking lot. The persons I was greeting were the Executive Assistant Director (EAD) of the FBI, FBI Special Agents in Charge Jack Muscone and Ashton Cardigan, Jack's Team Lazarus, a couple of Cardigan's Special Agents, Detectives E.J. Jefferson and Tony Long of the City Police, and the retired Deputy Director of the FBI.

"This is Mark Walker of the TCPD's Crime Lab, our expert on electronics." I said. "This is Barry Oliver, TCPD Auxiliary Officer, thus an Officer of the Court. He is an electronics specialist for BOW Enterprises. And this is Lieutenant Mary Milton, TCPD Vice Squad Lieutenant and software expert. They have examined this electronic device found in Lloyd Feingold's music box in his office, always under rules of evidence and at least two-man control of the evidence. Go ahead, Barry."

"Thank you, Commander." said Barry Oliver. "As you and Mr. Muscone found, this electronics array recorded video images through the keyhole of the music box, and stored the video on this one-terabyte chip. A battery was also found in the workings of the device, which powered the camera when it was activated by a radio signal. We believe Mr. Feingold was able to activate the camera when his murderer came into the office, and that it recorded-------."

"What about the password?" Cardigan asked, jumping the gun.

"Patience, my friend." I said in my best 'Emperor Palpatine' voice. "But seriously... Mary?"

"Yes sir." Mary said. "We've discovered that the password is not entered manually. When Commander Troy plugged the device inside a jump drive into his computer, it searched for a program that already had the password coded in. Not finding that program, the drive defaulted to ask for a password. But there is no way to enter it manually, as it's not accepting input from the keyboard. That screen is just sitting there, waiting for the right program to be run."

"So we need a program to run it." said Muscone. "And one was probably on Feingold's computer, but that computer was stolen."

"Yes sir." said Mark Walker. "But we did find something else, from working with the City Police to examine BigAgraFoods computers. They use encrypted codes and applications to access their core data. It looks like the same thing that this chip and board are designed to access. So maybe if we find a high-level computer at BigAgraFoods, it might let us run whatever's on our drive here."