Red Squad Ch. 01

"And speaking of explosions," I read from the book, "Daddy came and got me and Aunt Teresa after she grabbed me and hid me in the pit." The accompanying drawing showed me holding Carole as others pulled Teresa from the pit. It was amazingly accurate; in perfect accord with my memory of that day. How was Carole doing this? I wondered to myself.

"Daddy rescued Aunt Cindy and helped rescue Uncle Todd when they were in trouble." the book said, drawings showing Cindy being life-flighted to University Hospital with me flying the aircraft, and the SWAT Team going into the BOW Enterprises shed with me, Teresa, and the Sheriff by a TCPD vehicle, watching.

"When Grandma Griswold died, Daddy took care of everything so that Grandpa Griswold wouldn't have to." The drawing showed me standing next to Sheriff Griswold, much taller than him, with sad looks on our faces. Above us, an angel was drawn that looked very much like Mrs. Griswold smiling as she looked down on us. That drawing evoked some emotion from me, as with uncanny ability it showed the close relationship between me and Sheriff Griswold.

"When Aunt Tanya got hurt and had to be in a wheel chair (yes, the words were separated), Daddy made sure she stayed in the Police with him." the book said, showing a happy Tanya in her regular wheelchair, holding a happy Pete Feeley, Jack Muscone on one side of her and me on the other.

"When Mommy got hurt, Daddy guarded her and helped her get better." said the book. The drawing showed me at Laura's bedside in the hospital. The accuracy of where all the equipment was, was amazing to see.

"And that is why Daddy is my hero and everybody's hero. Because he takes care of us." The final drawing showed me in my semi-formal uniform, ribbons very accurately drawn and the Medal of Valor around my neck, and my badge over my heart.

Wow. Just wow. I was stunned. "This is very, very good, Carole. Did you get any help on this?"

"Marie drew the pictures." said Carole. "And Aunt Cindy and Aunt Teresa may have helped some with ideas. And Grandma helped me write it right." Well, that explained some things... but not how accurately some pictures were drawn of things that were deep within my memory. No one else could've described those things to Carole that accurately!

"Well, it's an awesome book." I said. "Thank you very much, and tell Marie I said thank you to her, too." I gave Carole a warm hug.

"Time to go in-side, Daddy." Carole said as the dogs jumped off the seat. "Mommy's waking up."

We went back inside, and Laura was indeed awake, and was getting dressed in the 'Puter Room'. After a moment she came out.

"Want some breakfast?" I asked my wife.

"Just some milk, for now--- oh, Carole, you already have it." Indeed, Carole was walking up with a pint of milk, the top still sealed.

"Here you go, Mommy." Carole said helpfully. "But Daddy will have to open it for you."

"I can do that." I said, taking the bottle and opening it.

"Thank you, Carole." said Laura. "Why don't you go upstairs and get dressed?"

"Okay, Mommy!" Carole said, and took off running up the stairs.

"Obey the speed limits!" I called out after her.

"She's done that a number of times." Laura said as I closed up the sofa-bed and helped her sit on that sofa. "I think of something I want, and she's bringing it to me before I even ask."

"And this is what she gave me for my birthday." I said, handing Laura the booklet.

She read it, becoming increasingly amazed as she went along. Finally, she looked up and said "This is... stunning. These drawings... I get the feeling they are more accurate than they should be."

"They are absolutely exact." I said. "I got flashbacks reading that."

"If I didn't know better," Laura said with mock exasperation, "I'd say we need to get that child to a psychiatrist."

"Oh wait!" I said. "Her mother is a psychiatrist!"

"And an absolutely stunned, amazed, and befuddled one." Laura said...

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

At 10:00am, I loaded Carole, Jim and two outstanding dogs into my Police SUV and drove them up to The Cabin. My mother Phyllis and Cindy and Molly's mother Maggie were at the Mountain Nest babysitting Laura.

When we got there, I was surprised to see Paulina and Tasha there. "Tasha wants to give you a birthday present, so I brought her by." Paulina said. And that started some gift-giving.

Tasha and her mom gave me a photo album, with many photos of Tasha, some with Carole, some with her mom, many with me, a few with Bowser and Buddy, and even a couple of her petting Tiger Mom. There were also pictures of me, obviously taken by Paulina, in my office, at Headquarters, talking to Cindy, talking to the Chief and the Sheriff. There were some at the Cop Bar, some with Paulina, some with Laura and Paulina at home. I gave Tasha a biiiiiig hug, then gave her mom a big hug, too.

Jim had not given me a gift at home earlier, saying he was saving it for later. The reason why became apparent when Ross and Ian arrived: Jim and Ross had collaborated to get me a gift. It was a gift in itself that the brothers were working together like that. They presented me with a nice coffee mug with the emblem of the Military Police Corps on it. I gave them both hugs and said I could use this every morning.

Ian may have felt left out, but he didn't show it. He gave me an American Flag set, with the 'Betsy Ross' flag, 15-stars-and-stripes flag, 36-star flag (Civil War era), 48-star-flag (World War II era), and the current 50-star flag. His mother, Nextdoor County Police Chief Molly Evans, said that Ian had become fascinated with the American Flag recently, for no reason she could understand. I put it on my desk in my office in The Cabin, where it would remain for several decades.

Teresa and Todd's kids, Doug, Mike, and little Jack Burke, gave me a card they all signed, that had sports jokes inside.

Teresa and Cindy collaborated to give me a plaque with silver Captain's bars and a TCPD Badge with my number on it below. The engraved inscription said 'Finally Old Enough'. It was a play on the fact that one used to have to be 36 years old to be a TCPD Captain. That had been done away with in the writing of the new Charter, and of course I'd never been a TCPD Captain, having gone straight from Lieutenant to Commander.

Part 6 - Cats and Dogs

The big game was in the late afternoon slot, intended to directly oppose the Georgia-Florida game on another network. So we had a big lunch of hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled trout supplied by Our Sheriff, and all the fixins. Then came then a birthday cake for me, with 36 (36!) candles.

At 3:00pm, we were getting into our seats in the front room to watch the game on the big monitor screen, with snacks galore on the table in front. I was in a rocking chair with a pillow for lumbar support, sitting to the left of the sofa, near the window that looked out to the front of the house. I was wearing my red golf shirt (no TCPD logo). Teresa was nearest me, at the end of the sofa, wearing an Auburn jersey, and Todd was beside her, wearing a Bulldogs blue collared golf/polo shirt with the team logo embroidered over the heart.

Buddy had come up, jumped up onto the sofa between them, plopped himself down, and looked up at Teresa with pure love in his canine eyes. Yeah, he got skritchins, and lots of 'em. Next to Todd was was Edward Steele, wearing 'normal' clothes showing no preferences, then Cindy and Callie. Cindy was wearing a No. 93 Bulldogs jersey, and Callie was wearing a light blue blouse that had my son Jim googley-eyed when he saw her.

The sofa was one of those with a right angle, so on the side was Sheriff Griswold, who was wearing a tan button-down shirt, showing no preferences. Bracketing him were Carole in her red No. 10 Wildcats jersey, and Marie in her red No. 36 Wildcats jersey, which was running back Clarence Appletree's number. Bowser was pretty much in Carole's lap.

Molly was sitting in a chair behind me, viewing the game between me and Teresa, eschewing offers to sit on the sofa, and Stephanie Steele was sitting next to her. Teresa and I made a small bet that they would end up in the greatroom or on the back deck, fluttering like parakeets, before the game ended.

On the floor in front were the boys. Jim was wearing a red shirt, which wasn't a jersey, and Ross was wearing red, also. Ian was wearing a Bulldogs blue No. 93 jersey, withstanding the jeers of his brothers. Doug and Mike had on Bulldogs No. 93 jerseys like their dad. Jack was wearing a Wildcats jersey, with No. 1 on it.

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

It was my Police iPhone. "Troy." I answered it.

"Commander, this is Lt. Commander Orosco." said the head of Internal Affairs, Ted Orosco. "Can you come down to Police Headquarters? I need to speak with you right away."

"Geez, Ted," I said, "this is the worst possible moment for you to call. I'm hosting a birthday party, and we're all about to watch the Bulldogs-Wildcats game."

"Yes sir," said Lt. Orosco, "but this is very important. Can you come down now?"

I was stunned that Orosco hadn't gotten the message, so I tried again: "No, Orosco, I cannot come down to the Station now. What's it about that's so urgent?"

"I can't discuss it on the phone, sir." said Orosco. "But it is important enough to ask you to come down to Headquarters now."

I'd had enough of this. "If it's that important, Ted," I said, "then you have my permission to go over my head and call the Chief and talk to him about it. Otherwise, it'll have to wait until tomorrow morning.

"But---" Orosco started, but I didn't hear the rest, as I had disconnected the call.

"Trouble, Crowbar?" the Sheriff growled from the other side of the room.

"I don't know, Sheriff." I said. "It was Orosco. He wouldn't say what it was, but wanted me to come to Headquarters now, just when the biggest college football game of the year is about to start..."

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

During the Wildcats-Bulldogs pregame, everyone at the stadium stood for the singing of the Alma Mater followed by the National Anthem, all before the players ran on to the field. The television network had the decency to show the stadium announcer asking everyone to observe a moment of silence for the victims of the University Hospital bombing, and for that moment it was a very quiet Wildcats Stadium.

It was very silent for that moment in The Cabin, as well. And something occurred to me during that moment of silence... how many of us had almost died at various times: me, Teresa, Todd, Cindy, Callie, Bowser(!), Buddy(!), Carole, Marie, Molly, and now Laura (again) had survived things in recent months and years that by rights we should not have. I felt grateful to be having this birthday with this family and these friends.

The players ran onto the field and 96,000 fans roared, exhorting their teams to America's version of gladiatorial battle. The Wildcats won the toss and deferred to the second half. The Bulldogs took the field in their silver helmets with a blue 'U' (like Miami of Florida's), white shirts with dark blue numerals, and silver pants with blue trim. The Wildcats followed, in their red jerseys with black-trimmed white numerals, gold pants trimmed in red and black, and gold helmets with their logo on the sides. The referee blew the whistle, toe met leather, and we were AWN!

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

I'd gotten earphones and a portable radio to tune into the Wildcats Radio Network while everyone else listened to the allegedly neutral television broadcasters. It was clear to me that the color analyst on TV was favoring the Bulldogs; even Cindy commented on the bias. My radio feed was a couple of seconds ahead of the television feed, so I'd know the result of a play just before everyone else.

The Bulldogs went three and out on their first possession. The Wildcats began their drive, but a phantom holding penalty and a legitimate illegal procedure was too much to overcome and they punted. The Bulldogs generated two first downs, and their punter, who was an All-America candidate, made a booming kick, putting the Wildcats on their ten yard line.

"And the Bulldogs are just not stopping the Wildcats running attack." said the Wildcat Radio announcer. Indeed, Clarence Appletree was getting five yards and a cloud of dust. Whenever the Bulldogs put eight or nine in the box and stacked the line, passes to Jamaal Washington or the Wildcats tight end loosened things up. I noticed Carole cheering loudly when Jamaal caught a pass, and Marie cheering loudly when Appletree broke off a good run; a nice friendly competition between the BFFs, there.

The Wildcats drove in small chunks down the field, eating up clock as well as yardage. They got to the Bulldogs nine yard line. "And the quarterback Johnson rolls out to pass, he's hit! The pass is wobbly... and the Bulldogs intercept it! They run it out to the twenty before Jamaal Washington catches up to the linebacker and tackles him!"

"A huge opportunity missed, there." said the Wildcats color analyst in a solid example of understatement. Todd and Cindy cheered and hi-fived, then Todd high-fived Ian while Jim and Ross sulked.

The Bulldogs couldn't move against the best-in-the-nation Wildcats defense, and after the three-and-out they punted. The Wildcats took the ball on their 22-yard-line, and Clarence Appletree began ripping off chunks of yardage after the blocking adjustments the coaches had made.

"And Appletree out to the 35!" said the Wildcats announcer as Appletree swept right behind blocking for the first down. "And Appletree takes the pitch and goes left, behind a pancake block by left tackle Wilfred Scott. Ten more yards and a first down!"

The crowd was roaring as the Wildcats matriculated down the field. A Bulldogs run-blitz was met with a pass to Jamaal Washington in the slot, and he split the Bulldogs defense for 20 more yards. Three more hard runs by Appletree, and the Wildcats were once again in the red zone. And then, to everyone's seeming amazement, the quarter ended.

"Wow." said Todd. "Old-time football. Run, run, run."

"Speaking of that," Teresa said, "I'm running to the restroom." She did so, followed by others. And others went and replenished their drinks and snacks.

The game started back after the ubiquitous 'time out for television', which took a solid five minutes. The Wildcats were now running the other way, and they were running... down to the nine yard line.

"And there's a penalty." said the radio announcer. "A Bulldogs lineman crossed the neutral zone and contacted a lineman."

But the call was 'false start' by the Wildcats. Carole was scandalized. "That's wrong!" she said. "Our guy didn't move!"

And she wasn't the only one. I heard the television announcers talking over the massive boos of the Wildcat Faithful. "The Wildcats are making really bad mistakes today, and it's killing their drives." said the color man.

"That was a bad call." the play-by-play man said. "The replay clearly shows the Wildcat lineman didn't even move until he was contacted." I could sense tension growing between them. Meanwhile, the Wildcats Radio announcers had no problems joining the fans in the stands in berating the refs for the botched call.

"And the Wildcats are up to the line," said the radio announcer. "The quarterback Johnson looks over the Bulldogs defensive front. He's doing a hard count, trying to draw the Bulldogs off and get those penalty yards back, and--- HE FUMBLES THE SNAP! The ball is on the ground, and everyone is fighting for it, and Clarence Appletree comes up with it, but he's ruled down right there!"

"Huge break for the Wildcats to get that back." said the radio color analyst.

"And the drive has stalled, and it's time for Freshman placekicker Kevin 'Point Blank' Rodriguez to attempt a 36 yard field goal." Rodriguez, no relation to my Detective Julia Rodriguez, had wavy black hair and thick black glasses. The Wildcat Nation began chanting "FEAR THE FRAMES! FEAR THE FRAMES!" after he drilled the kick.

"And it's three-nothing, Wildcats." said the television announcer. "At least they got something out of that drive."

"The Bulldogs are doing a great job of bending but not breaking." said the TV color analyst. "They're doing a great job of keeping their team in this ballgame."

"They're not stopping Clarence Appletree." the play-by-play announcer said. "In two drives he has over 100 yards rushing already."

"But only three points to show for it," said the color analyst, "thanks to the Bulldogs defense and Wildcat penalties and mistakes..."

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

After exchanges of punts, the Bulldogs missed a long field goal try, and the Wildcats took over on their own 34-yard-line, their best starting position of the day. "Only two minutes and thirty-four seconds to go in the half." said the Wildcats announcer. "And Johnson fakes a handoff to Appletree, he turns around fires over the middle to Washington, and it is COMPLETE! Washington gets out of bounds, stopping the clock."

"And a draw play to Appletree, he breaks off sixteen yards!" said the announcer. "They're not using their timeouts, they have all three. And the Wildcats are up to the line, and they hand it off to Appletree again, he scampers right for twelve yards and out of bounds. One minute and two seconds to the half, and Appletree runs left, behind the blocking of Scott, and bites off another first down!"

The clock was running, down to less than 30 seconds. "And the Wildcats are on the Bulldogs's 22-yard-line, they break the huddle and come up to the line, Jamaal Washington to the left, he'll be double-teamed, Appletree behind the quarterback, just to his right. Johnson takes the snap, and runs left, and it's a reverse! Johnson flips the ball to Washington and he's running right-- No, he's stopping! Washington fires a pass! Appletree is streaking down the sidelines, and he's got it! TOUCHDOWN WILDCATS!!"

"YES!" I screamed, just a second before the ball hit Appletree in the hands on television. Then Carole, then all the rest of them shouted out, either in happiness or dismay.

As the stadium went bonkers, and some of us in The Cabin went bonkers, too, the radio play-by-play man said "Appletree ran the wheel route, and Jamaal Washington threw a perfect ball. Twenty-two yard touchdown pass!"

"And in a stunning reversal of the famous Appletree-to-Washington pass three years ago," said the color man, "this time it's Washington-to-Appletree to score just before halftime."

Fear the Frames... Rodriguez put the extra point through, and it was 10-0 Wildcats.

Ian went over to Cindy and said "Sorry, Aunt Cindy." Cindy picked her nephew up and hugged him and let him sit in her lap. Meanwhile, Jim went over to Callie, who said something about sitting with her boyfriend, and let him sit in her lap.

"Jim's flirt-ing with Callie again." Carole 'whispered' loudly to Marie. The girls erupted into a fit of giggling, making Sheriff Griswold chuckle, too.

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

As the clock counted down to halftime, I got up and said "Do you dogs need to go OUT?" Two outstanding dogs instantly appeared at the back door. I let them out and walked out on deck as they went around to do their business.

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

It was my Police iPhone, and it was Chief Moynahan on it.

"Sorry to bother you during your game, Commander." said the Chief. "I thought halftime would be the best time to call."

"Thank you for that, sir." I said. "How can I help you?"

"I got a calllll... from Mr. Orosco of Internal Affairs." said the Chief. "He said he tried to call you earlier and that he urgently needed you to meet him at Headquarters."

Irritation and then some crept into me. "Sir, he said it was urgent, but wouldn't tell me what it was about. So I told him that if it was that big a deal to call you; and if not, I'd see him tomorrow."