Red Squad Ch. 02

There were a lot of blinkenlights, as I called them. The walls to the left and right of the entrance (the wall between Classroom 'C' and the Main Auditorium; and the wall between Classrooms 'D' and 'E') were now a huge arrays of big screen monitors that became one massive display if needed.

A large table that people could stand around and see the 'big screen' was in what was Classroom 'C', complete with hookups. In the former Classroom 'D' were desk/stations with multiple monitors, three per desk, that faced the left-side 'big screen'. There were 'benches' on either side of the 'big screen', where people could access the system, but would have to bring in laptops to do so.

Cables were everywhere, but very well bundled and put away where they were unobtrusive, if visible at all.

"We thought in terms of scalability, and also of emergencies." Tanya said. "God forbid we ever have another mass kidnapping like the Slender Man events, or another EMPTY QUIVER emergency, but if we do, we're more than ready." (Author's note: 'Return of the Slender Man', 'The Nuclear Option'.)

"And more than enough space, for sure." I said.

"True, sir." said Tanya. "My idea was that we can pull out the partition wall, if we need to." said Tanya. "We can run two separate operations out of the two rooms, or a big operation out of the one."

"Wow." I said. "Amazing. You put a lot of thought into it. And you tried hard to spend all of the grant money.""

"Team effort, sir." said Tanya. "Mary Milton had a lot of input. It's going to be her show, of course." I nodded.

"Where's Mary's office?" I asked, then dangerously added teasingly: "Your old one?'

"Not even close, sir." said Lt. Mary Milton as she came in behind us. "Come on and I'll show you." We went down the hall to Classroom 'E', which had once been a cubicle farm and servers for the 'Data Guyz'. Mary opened the door to reveal a newly revised cubicle farm, with smaller but nicer cubicles. In the far wall from the entrance was a door. Through that door was Mary's office... almost as big as a Captain's office.

"Almost as big as a Captain's office." I said with a grin. "How'd you pull that off?"

"Someone left the floor plans where I could tinker with them." said Mary. "By the way, behind my office is a new server room, which can be accessed from the other side."

"What happens if the HVAC goes out?" I asked. "It's gonna get hot in there, and in the Intelligence Room."

"We can redirect the HVAC that feeds the gym to the server room, if necessary." said Tanya. "That HVAC has been the backup for the I.T. rooms downstairs in the basement, so we just added another unit. Now the gym might be freezing in summer if we fire up both HVACs, but we have it. Also, should the backup HVACs go out, we have an air blower system that will at least circulate air and try to keep the heat from rising too much. And that air blower is connected to the backup electricity generators if the power goes out."

I nodded. "Good job. You thought of everything."

Tanya said "And credit where due on the HVAC and other backup ideas: Myron Milton was all over it. I think he could make a contingency for a nuclear explosion going off in the area, and it would work."

"Oh, I could write that contingency plan." I said. "Say your prayers and kiss yourself goodbye." Yeah, our humor was morbid at times. Thing is, it was based on real experiences...

Part 11 - Yellow Brick Road

7:15pm, Monday, October 28. I drove up to the house of Mayor Daniel Allgood, having called to ask if I could speak to him at his home. He said come on up.

When I got there, Patricia yelled "It's Uncle Don!" and rushed up to hug my legs. I guided her to the sofa in the greatroom and sat down and gave her a big hug. Little Daniel also came up and asked if he could give me a hug, and of course I obliged him.

And then Patricia called Dorothy over. The daughter of Bowser looked like she'd been eating well and correctly. Her eyes were bright, her little nose wet, her white coat glossy. Dorothy seemed happy to see me as Patricia 'helped' me pick up Dorothy and put her in my lap. Dorothy sniffed my nose then licked it, and I just gave her skritchins.

"We have some birthday gifts for you." Melina said. Patricia very happily brought me a hand-drawn card, showing Your Iron Crowbar with a red candy cane that was meant to represent a crowbar, with Carole and Patricia next to me. "That's us right after you saved us from that bad man." Patricia said.

Daniel had also made a drawing, showing me with my Medal of Valor, which I'd shown him once before. (Author's note: 'Home for the Holidays', Ch. 05.) I told both kids that these were great drawings and awesome birthday gifts. And then Melina brought out a cupcake with a candle on it, and Patricia and Dan sang Happy Birthday as I blew out the candle. I shared the cupcake with the kids, with Daniel and Melina declining to have some.

"Are you staying for supper, Uncle Don?" Patricia asked.

"Nooo, I'm sorry, Sweetie." I said. "I just came by to talk to your dad."

Daniel and I went out onto the back deck, looking out over the Town from the far northeast in the last of the sunset. I saw a train come out of the western horizon, it's light sparkling brightly. Below me, the lights of the Water Works and the Fire Range could be seen.

"Excellent view." I said.

"Yes, we love it here." said Daniel. "So, what's up?"

"We've had something come up in the TCPD." I said. "I'm officially not telling you a word, but as Mayor you need to know. And you might be able to help with information."

"What's it about?" asked Daniel.

I said "Are you aware of what the 'Blood Order' is?"

"Officially, I've never heard of it." said Daniel. "But yeah, when I was head of I.A., I knew all about it and who was in it. It was never much of anything, though."

I said "Ted Orosco thinks he's found a potential rogue group of Police Officers, who call themselves 'Red Squad'. They're not the Blood Order, but Orosco stumbled onto them, too."

"Hell, he didn't stumble onto them." Daniel said. "If he didn't know about them from his first day in I.A., something's wrong."

"And that's why I'm here now." I said. "Can you tell me what's in I.A.'s secret files, so I don't have to bust in there and read them myself?"

Daniel chuckled, then said "There's really not much there. Most cases they were working on became public if action was taken against an Officer. Even in Malone's day."

"What was it like back then?" I asked.

Daniel said "A lot of this is from before my time, much less yours. I was put in I.A. at a pretty young age, and with virtually no help, to mind the store while Griswold and Malone's factions fought it out. There was Griswold, Leslie Charles, and Joe Smedley on one side; and Malone, Ikea, Assistant Fire Chief Jefferson, Robert Brownlee and their ilk on the other side. Then you came in and tipped the scales."

I said "How well do you know Efram Elliot?"

"Fairly well." said Daniel. "He was like my mentor when I was put in I.A. Very professional in every way, but he kept a distance in all his personal relations. He used I.A. like he was J. Edgar Hoover, or maybe McGinty would be a better example. Elliot had enough to keep Harold Malone at bay, and maybe the Consultant of Crime, as well."

"No." I said. "If Elliot had known who Westboro was, he would not have survived. I survived Westboro because I committed myself to his destruction. If Elliot was playing games, he would've been annihilated."

"You're likely right." said Daniel. "And 'The Book' didn't say a word about Westboro."

"What's that?" I asked.

Daniel said, making air quotes: "Efram started 'The Book'. It has every I.A. leader's name in it, because that new leader has to sign his name into it; it's an I.A. tradition of sorts. Also in The Book is a list of every name admitted to the Blood Order, and every name of every Town Police or TCPD Officer that dishonored the badge. Sharples is written in it, as is Angela Harlan and Julie Newton."

"Did Efram Elliot have any sort of relationship with Robert Mullen?" I asked.

Daniel turned and peered at me. "Not a sexual relationship with him, if that's what you mean." I shook my head and Daniel said "Well, Mullen came up the ranks in the I.G. Department as its Legal Counsel, but the Council would never make him I.G. Mullen wasn't very happy that Horace Wellman was put in the I.G. slot, but he did his job... until you came along. So how did you make the connection between him and Elliot?"

"At an Orange Order dinner," I said, "Elliot once told me in disapproving terms that 'people' were unhappy that I didn't cooperate with Mullen's witch hunts of me. It's always nagged at me. Anyway, you never heard of any 'Red Squad' while you were in I.A.?"

"No." said Daniel. "There were what the I.A. Book calls 'clumps' of Officers, some loyal to Malone, some to Griswold. Names were kept, though not in The Book, but in a red file. And we called it a 'red file' because the color of the file was red, nothing more. And after you drove Malone out, the 'clumps' disappeared. So... are they starting to show up again?"

I said "Maybe. Like I said, Orosco found something. Maybe they're like the Consultant's dormant Sith Lords, or maybe something else is going on."

Daniel nodded. "Yeah, usually when we started seeing activity like that, it'd get back to Captain Charles, and he'd break up the group rather than spend time trying to bust them down."

"Okay, then." I said. "Thanks for the information." I began getting up, but Daniel's voice stopped me.

"Don," he asked, "if you find out something, are you going to use it to help Orosco? Or protect Sheriff Griswold?"

"Hopefully both." I said. "Is there a hint of something in there, somewhere?"

"Just remember this." Daniel said. "Sheriff Griswold fell in love with you the minute you stepped into his office for your first interview, and by that I mean in a father-son type of way."

"I feel the same way about him." I said.

Daniel said "As Mayor, I talk to Horace Wellman a lot. He's good people, unlike his brother who is President of the University. It's imperative that Horace win this I.G. election over that pedophile Finneran, and everyone knows that. So find out what's going on as fast as you can... and I know you'll do the right thing."

"As always." I said as we both stood up. "Thanks for the time. Oh, how are you guys liking Dorothy?"

Daniel grinned. "Patricia loves her like Carole loves Bowser. Dan likes her, and I've sat on this deck petting her a few times. Melina... she's like Laura towards Bowser... tries to pretend she doesn't really care, but she does. She does..."

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

When I got home to the Mountain Nest, Laura was resting comfortably on the sofa-bed on the first floor. Jim was watching the Monday Night Football game, and Carole was looking at a book that had pictures, but was really a fifth-grade-level book on Astronomy that Marie's mother had loaned her.

"How are you feeling?" I asked Laura as I came up to the sofa.

"Good." Laura said. "Restless, to be honest. I'm going in for a follow-up on Wednesday. If my scapula is healing well, they'll cut me out of this cast and reset just my arm, and I'll be able to move about a bit better."

"Good." I said. I showed her the drawings I got from Patricia and Daniel, then said "Is there anything you need?"

"Just some juice, maybe... oh, hello Carole." Laura said as our daughter brought up a glass of juice.

"Here you go, Mommy." Carole said. "Is there anything else you need? Would you like me to read you a story?"

"Thanks, but I think I'm going to rest." Laura said.

Carole looked a little dejected as she said "It's hard being a mom for a mom."

"Aw, you do fine, sweetie." Laura said, reaching over and giving Carole a hug. "Why don't you and your dad take the dogs out, okay?"

"Okay!" Carole said. Two outstanding dogs were already at the back door, and Carole said "Come on, Daddy. We have our marching orders!" Laura and I just looked at each other in stunned amazement.

Outside, Carole was looking up at the night sky. "Do you see Jupiter, Daddy?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, Fussbudget." I said, looking up. "We need to get on the Internet and see where the planets are, and if we can see them right now."

"O-kay." Carole said. A minute later she said "Daddy, what-ever did you do without the Interrrnet?"

I barked a laugh. "Well, we had books that told us about the planets. But yes, it's amazing how much information we can find on the Internet now, huh?"

"Especially for Po-leeece work." Carole said. "Grandpa Grizz said that everything was on paper when he was your age."

"That's true." I said. "It was different then." I thought about our new Intelligence Center, and the power of the information it would bring us in our war against Crime. Yes... it's a whole new world now, I thought to myself.

Just then the dogs came back. I realized I was tired. "Let's go on back inside." I said...

Part 12 - Defunding The Police

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Tuesday, October 29th, from the the rooftop of the building on Riverside and College, with City Hall in the background. "With one week to go to the Special Election, the heat is on in the race for Inspector General!"

Bettina: "Polls show Commissioner Finneran with a three point edge over Horace S. Wellman for the important Inspector General post. If Commissioner Finneran wins, and it increasingly looks like he will, he has promised to rein in Police brutality, especially if it's committed by Commander Donald Troy and that crowbar he carries."

Bettina: "And in a related story, sources tell Channel Two News that the Police are being investigated for allegedly having rogue teams of Officers that exceed the constraints of the law in their operations. The Inspector General's Office denied having any knowledge of this investigation, saying, quote, 'If there is an Internal Affairs investigation, it has not reached us yet.' Horace Wellman refused to appear on KXTC's cameras to be interviewed about the allegations."

Bettina: "And the Town & County Assembly has put out its draft Budget for next year. Public hearings will be held on Thursday and Friday, and the final Budget will be ratified next Monday, the day before the Election Day deadline."

Bettina: "And let's go to Jeff Hull for Sports, with news about the growing officiating scandal. Jeff!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said Jeff Hull, with University Memorial Stadium in the background, as if that made him more credible. "After complaints by the Wildcats after their game against the Bulldogs Saturday, the Conference has announced that one official has been fired. Sources tell Channel Two Sports that the official was a graduate of the University here, but did not disclose that on his employment applications nor other forms he was required to complete. If he had, he would not have been assigned to any Bulldogs games. The Conference said no other officials were implicated in any wrongdoing, and the Wildcats and Bulldogs Athletics Departments issued statements saying they are satisfied with the Conference's actions and the outcome..."

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

"Nooooo." I said. "They are not satisfied with the outcome." Everyone looked at me as we drank coffee in the Chief's Conference Room.

"You're right." said Tanya Perlman. "Jack got a phone call about it last night. This official definitely needed to be fired, but they got the Wildcats and the Conference to agree to say that while the FBI continues to investigate behind the scenes."

"That's right." I said. "The guy was a Bulldogs graduate, and failed to disclose that to the Conference. But what was not told to the Press is that he may have ties to Organized Crime, to one or more of the Gambling Syndicates operating out of Las Vegas and New Jersey, and his actions were intended to keep the game closer than it should have been."

"I'm more worrrrieeed about that report of the rogue cells within the TCPD." said the Sheriff. "How did the Press get ahold of that story, and so quickly?"

"It fucks up our potential sting operation, too." said Teresa Croyle. "I was going to try to get someone I trust into the so-called groups, but now that the cat's out of the bag on that, they'll shut down. At the least, they'll definitely be wary."

"You think Orosco leaked it, Crowbar?" the Sheriff asked.

"No sir." I replied. "This is being done to try to tilt the Inspector General's race in the pedophile Finneran's favor. And I don't see how it behooves Orosco to be a part of that. I don't think he wants Finneran to win. In fact... if Finneran does win, I think Orosco quits and goes back to the SBI. So no, Orosco is not the leak."


"Will the SBI hire him back?" asked Teresa Croyle.

"Yes." I said. "And partly because I will be pulling hard on strings to make it happen, if that's what he wants."

"If they donnnn't," said Chief Moynahan, "I know that Midtown could use some good and honest I.A. people... and I'm not giving them Ms. Croyle back." Teresa smiled shyly at the compliment.

"Where is Cindy--- er, Commander Ross?" Tanya asked.

Sheriff Griswold replied "In her office, with Chief of Staff Oswald---"

Just then the door flew open, and in walked Cindy Ross and Deputy Oswald. "Can we talk to all of you while you're here?" Cindy asked.

"By all meeeeens." said the Chief. I turned off the television monitor as Cindy and Oswald got coffee and sat down.

"Sheriff," said Cindy to start, "you remember during my Budget presentation that an Assemblywoman asked about diverting funds from that anonymous grant we received?"

"Yeah, I sure do." growled Griswold.

Cindy said "Well, her name is Coretta K. Scott, she's the Assembly representative for the second-poorest Assembly District in the County, which is largely black. Ms. Scott is very activist in the minority communities, and has been vocally anti-Police on a number of occasions. In fact, some thought she might run for Inspector General, but didn't when Finneran announced his candidacy."

Cindy: "During the presentation, she wanted to divert the funds from that grant to things like Police outreach to Minorities, and stuff like that. I told her at the time that in accepting the grant, we entered a contract that limited what we could spend the money on. So it's not like she's unaware of the situation."

"And the money's spent." I said. "The new Intelligence Center looks good, too."

"Yeah it does." said Tanya happily.

"We-el," said Oswald, "the draft Budget came out yesterday afternoon. It seems Ms. Scott convinced the Assembly to cut ten million dollars out of the Police budget, and she made a point to say that the grant money could and should be used to cover that ten million dollars."

"Despite the contract?" Chief Moynahan asked sharply. "Was she not listening?"

"I don't think she cares, sir." I said. "And I think she has another motive behind her actions. Where's the money going to?" I asked Cindy and Oswald.

"It's not, near as I can tell." said Chief-of-Staff Oswald. "They're just slashing the exact amount of money from the budget as the anonymous grant."

"Hmmmm..." I hummed. "A Democrat, wanting to cut the Budget? Not divert the funds? Really?"

"It strains credulity, does it not?" asked the Chief with a massive amount of skeptical acerbity in his voice. "So what are we going to dooooo, Sheriff? Appear at the public hearings and shame this Assemblywoman?"

"I'll be doing that, for sure." growled Griswold.

"If I may?" I said. "There is also something else we can do... if Cindy will be kind enough to help us out..."