Sandstorm Ch. 04

"There is no evidence," Jefferson concluded, "that suggests this shooting was done for racially-based reasons. It is a black-on-black crime, and the motives may have more to do with musical empires and money than any race-related issues." With that, he opened it up for questions.

"Agent Jefferson! John Hardwood, KSTD News!" shouted Hardwood. "Is it possible that the shooter was hired or bribed by white persons or Police officers to murder Ms. Nix?"

"We have no evidence at all of that." said Jefferson.

"But is it possible that whites were behind this shooting?" persisted Hardwood. "Is it possible that the murder was racially motivated?"

"Again, we have nothing to suggest that as a motive at all." said Jefferson.

"Sir, Tim Sioban, KSB... does Commander Troy agree with your findings?" asked Sioban.

"As far as I know." said Jefferson. He then looked to me and said "Would you like to make a comment, Commander?" We'd been expecting this to happen.

"Sure." I said, coming up to the podium. Once there, I said "At the Governor's request, I have examined the findings of these law enforcement officers as well as other materials that have been found since the shooting, and I concur that this crime was committed by person they've said, with the rifle they've confiscated from that person, and from the location they've stated."

"Commander Troy!" shouted John Hardwood, "the Governor has cracked down on undocumented workers, tearing families apart, and he's made racist statements and tweets! Did the Governor's racism fuel the hatred that led to Jasmine Nix being murdered last night?"

"I don't accept the premise of your question." I said. "You're just trying to create fake news based upon your own agenda, and I don't accept it. Next question." As Hardwood attempted to shout at me, I said "Somebody else. Someone else have a question?"

"Commander," said Meredith Peller of Fox Midtown, "although nothing's been found showing a connection between the shooter and white hate groups, will you search for such connections? And if you find them, will you reveal them to the Press in a timely manner?"

"First of all, Meredith," I said, "All I did was act upon the Governor's request to examine the data the FBI, SBI, and City Police have found, and I concur with their findings. I'm not doing anything more than that. I'm sure these excellent law enforcement people will continue to investigate, and will report what they find in the appropriate time and manner."

"Commander Troy," said John Hardwood, as the other reporters were giving him the floor, hoping he would start a confrontation with me (and he was succeeding), "sources are telling KSTD News that the false stories of the FBI Deputy Director's death were from you, that you deliberately lied to the Press. Did you lie to the Press? And why?"

I started chuckling, which caused Theo to start chuckling, then Julius Jefferson, and it turned to full laughter. I looked over at Jack Muscone and said "What do you think, Mr. Muscone? Would I lie to these corrupt reporters to ensnare the criminals that were trying to murder the Deputy Director?"

"A Boy Scout like you?" replied Jack loudly. "I'd be shocked if you did that!" Everyone on stage and all the LEOs in the room were laughing. The reporters were silent, hatred on their faces as we openly mocked them.

"Let's just say... I was exactly as honest with you reporters as you have been in your coverage of the Governor and about me in recent months." I said. "So you tell me." The anger and hatred of the Press was now palpable; I could literally almost see it in the air above their heads.

"Commander, and Agent Jefferson or Agent Muscone" said Bettina, "there are reports of explosions on the Federal property northwest of here, just over the State line. Can you tell us what happened there?"

"No." said Jefferson, taking over the podium again. "You'll have to contact the Department of Defense in Washington about that. I have nothing on that."

As the Press Conference broke up, John Hardwood made a beeline towards me as I talked with Muscone. Police officers moved to intervene as I turned to face him.

"You'll pay for that little stunt, you little shit." snarled Hardwood. "I'm going to barbecue your ass for that."

"Bring. It. On." I said, staring him down. The City Police officers forced Hardwood back down to the Press pool.

And it was at that moment that I realized that Priya was not there. Why not? I wondered to myself...

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

11:30am, Sunday, June 11th. We were at the City Diner, near the Federal Building in the City. The steak-and-cheese-burgers there were almost as good as the Cop Bar in Town, and the fries were cut thin and really fried to a crisp, then salted with a fantastic seasoning. Add to it the fact I was famished, and this meal was bliss to me. Also at the table was Jack Muscone, Julius Jefferson, and Theo Washington.

"That was a great line you gave them," said Jack, saying you were as honest with them as they are with the Governor. Some of them literally turned gray."

"Yes, and I could feeeel their ang-rrr." I said, in a brilliant imitation of Emperor Palpatine. "Hardwood is such a fucking jerk."

"The question is," said Julius Jefferson, "did they buy it? Think they'll report it wasn't race related, and things will calm down?"

"I don't know." I said. "If nothing new comes out, and I don't see why anything should, then yeah, they'll drop it soon enough. Especially if they can gin up more bullshit about the Governor."

"Sir, is it really ginned up about the Governor?" asked Theo. "After all, he did make those tweets."

"Do you really consider those tweets racist, Theo?" I replied. "And speak freely; answer honestly."

"I don't know, sir." said Theo. "I'm not saying he's wrong about jobs being taken from blacks by illegal immigrants, but many see it as him trying to pit one minority against another. He could've just left it unsaid."

"And the Press would still be hounding the hell out of him, ginning up something else, another lie about him." I said. "And it won't stop for the rest of his term in office. The Press has shown themselves to be not only biased and partisan, but deeply corrupt and dishonest."

"If I may change the subject slightly," said Jack Muscone, "you guys did a very good job today. Not only the press conference, but the whole investigation. No one is questioning the integrity of the investigation, which is good in its own way. The Press would love to tie the killer into some kind of white racist plot, but they're not trying to say you're covering up for something by blaming a Big Ice man for it."

"Not yet, anyway." I replied. "Like I said, we'll see what happens."

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

"By the way," I said to Jack as we spoke in his office before my departure for home, "anything on George Schwartz?"

"No, I'm afraid not." said Muscone. "We've got reams of evidence on most of these guys, and Washington is sorting out the C-Cell and the boatload of shit coming from that. But Schwartz's name just is not coming up. We have nothing to get an arrest warrant for him. And last I heard, he was in Europe right now. Probably waiting for the smoke to clear and the fires to die down."

I nodded. "Too bad we didn't get anything on him... I get the feeling he's much more of a player in the undermining of our Nation and Government that people realize."

"Could be." said Jack. "So... who do you think my new boss is going to be?"

"Dana Fox." I said.

"Why him?"

"He's got the anti-Terror background with Homeland Security." I said. "And that's going to be the next big thing for the FBI; well, by that I mean it's been a big thing, but it's going to be bigger now. Plus he's punched the right tickets along the way. They were grooming Les Craig, but he's come over all dead. You turned it down, Martin Nash is not quite ready or seasoned enough yet, and Clark Webster never will never quite get there, so sorry."

"You really think they were grooming Craig for it?" asked Muscone.

"Absolutely." I said. "Even the Deputy Director was trying to not offend him, partly because Martin would still be in the FBI even when his uncle retired. So yeah, the FBI dodged a bullet there... because Les Craig did not."

"Harrumph." said Muscone. "Well, even after all these years of knowing you, Don... I'm still not used to it. You just keep on surprising me."

I grinned and chuckled. "And you've got 400 more years of that coming to ya..."

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

Katherine Woodburn lay on her back, naked except for her high heel pumps, her luscious legs spread up and pulled back. Her aide Clark was on top of her, pumping his large cock in and out of her sopping wet cunt. They were in her office in her home.

"Oh, Clark, that is sooooo fucking good!" Katherine moaned as she responded to her young stud's thrusts. "God! I needed this after all the excitement we've had."

"You mean the blacks tearing each other apart?" asked Clark.

"Oh, all of it." mewled Katherine. Clark sank his meat into her and began grinding his loins against her, stirring her cunt into a hot creamy lather. "And while T-Square is too fucking stupid to take advantage of the opportunity I gave him, this is our opportunity to solidify our power... oh yeah, fuck me deep, just like that..."

As the rutting couple humped furiously on the sofa, Katherine's phone began ringing. She did not stop fucking Clark as the phone continued to ring. Finally, it stopped.

"I am really going to have to fire that little bitch." Katherine said. "She doesn't get it when I say that if I don't answer in four rings, I'm fucking busy... or busy fucking."

Clark chuckled, then pushed his cock hard into the lovely woman's tight cunt, eased back, and pushed hard into her again. Katherine groaned with lust.

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

The phone did not stop ringing. "God fucking damn it!" growled Katherine, pushing Clark off of her. He backed off and Katherine got up and went to the phone.


"What the fuck IS it, God damn you?" Katherine shouted into the phone. "Well, then, have Thomas P. Cook and John Hardwood sit there and fucking wait until I am good and ready to receive them. Don't call me again until I tell you to... and we will discuss your own job performance before the day is over, as well..."

Part 22 - Confrontations

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the lovely redheaded reporterette at 7:00am, Monday, June 12th, from in front of City Hall. "Channel Two News has learned that murdered superstar singer Jasmine Nix's funeral has been scheduled for Thursday at 2:00pm Pacific Time in Los Angeles. Millions of her fans are still in shock and mourning after her death over the weekend, as she was gunned down by a sniper's bullet."

"The FBI has released no new details of the shooting." said Bettina. "Rhythm & Blues star T-Square has returned to our County, where he makes his home, while rapper Big Ice remains in the City for the time being. The FBI has said that they are continuing to seek a motive for why Big Ice's lieutenant, known as 'Jackson', fired the fatal shot that snuffed out the young life of the beloved Jasmine Nix."

Bettina went on: "T-Square is the owner of the Cub Club, which was destroyed by fire during a massive demonstration after Ms. Nix was gunned down. He said he plans to build a new club on the site that will be in part a tribute to Jasmine Nix and her contributions to the fight for Social Justice."

"Meanwhile," said Bettina, "civil rights groups are accusing Governor Val Jared of being responsible for the racial tensions that they allege led to the killing of Jasmine Nix. These groups, led by State Senator Maxine Watts, are saying that the murder was racially motivated, and that the FBI is covering up the role of white supremacy groups and Police in the killing. Governor Jared's office has made no statement in reply, and the Governor continues to refuse to meet with civil rights groups to ease racial tensions."

"And also," Bettina went on, "Commander Donald Troy has been accused by Media organizations of lying to the Press about the alleged death of FBI Deputy Director William Hargreaves several days ago. The Deputy Director and an FBI team were believed to have been murdered, but those stories turned out to be not true. Several Media networks accuse Commander Troy of deliberately attempting to make the Media look bad. Commander Troy has not responded to repeated efforts to contact him, and the FBI said that the deception was to protect the Deputy Director and smoke out would-be assassins. And now to Sports with Nick Eastwood! Nick!..."

"Thank you, Bettina!" said Nick, reporting from Reservoir Lake. "It's hard to believe that we're less than a month away from the Town & County Triathlon, but it will soon be upon us. The deadline for registration is June 20th, and there are only a few places left. Last year's champions, Todd Burke and Teddy Franklin, have both registered, but on separate teams. Franklin will be racing with his fellow employee Barry Oliver, while Mr. Burke's partner has not been formally announced! The Bradley Brothers, known as the 'Bradley Rangers', are not looking for the second place finishes they've become accustomed to, but they'll have plenty of competition..."

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

"Yes I did respond." I said in MCD as we drank coffee. "I issued a statement saying the Media does not need my help to look dishonest, that they do that to themselves. Consider me 'not surprised' that they chose to not report that."

"The Media can sit and spin." said Cindy, whose mood was turning more and more foul by the second. "I'm getting tired of the whole lot of them. They're the dishonest ones." There was much agreement.

"Who else is running in the Triathlon?" asked Theo. "Who's representing the Police Force?"

"Rudistan and Morton are our officially sponsored entrants." I replied. "Joanne and Seth are running as a couple, representing First Baptist Church. And Barry Oliver is in the Auxiliary Police, so I hope he will represent well, as well."

"Who is Todd's partner going to be?" asked Joanne. "I haven't heard anything about that."

"He'll have to announce it by the 20th." I said. "We'll know by then." I could feel Cindy's eyes latch onto me. She was figuring it out. Time to nip this one in the bud.

"Captain Ross, refill your coffee mug on the way to my office." I said as I filled my own mug. She complied quickly, as expected.

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

"Have a seat." I said as Cindy came in. "I want to tell you something before the 'Angels' meeting."

"That Teresa is going to race with Todd in the Triathlon?" asked Cindy, peering at me.

"Yes." I said. "I'm surprised you didn't see just how well-conditioned she was for the Boxing Matches. But it was for more than that: what I want you to know is that I have coaxed, cajoled and all but threatened her to do it. I asked her and Todd to consider it when we were flying back from Europe after rescuing Laura. By training for it, she's been able to return to peak physical condition and maintain it in spite of the cancer treatments she's had."

"Makes sense." said Cindy. "I'm glad for her, I really am. I just wish she'd told me."

"She knows how much it hurts you that you can't run the Triathlon with her." I replied. "It's hard to tell a friend something that is going to hurt them."

Cindy nodded, then her face turned a bit crafty. "Okay, well, let me handle telling her I know, which I will do at the Angels meeting."

"I better get my football helmet, then." I quipped.

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

"This is Priya Ajmani, KSTD Five-Alive News in the Morning!" said the gorgeous Indian reporterette at 8:00am, but surprisingly from the anchor desk at KSTD. "We're bringing you team coverage of the Jasmine Nix assassination and its investigation, as well as the continuing scandal plaguing Governor Val Jared! Let's go to trusted reporter John Hardwood for the latest."

"Thank you, Priya." said Hardwood, reporting from in front of the Federal Building. "The FBI has released no new information on the Jasmine Nix assassination, but Five-Alive News has learned that Jasmine Nix's funeral will be Thursday in Los Angeles. KSTD has reached out to Big Ice and T-Square, who were Ms. Nix's co-authors of her new, best-selling album 'Power of Police'. Neither of them would confirm their travel plans to attend the funeral at this time."

"Also," said Hardwood, "Governor Val Jared is being accused of stoking the racial tensions that may have led to Ms. Nix's shooting. Social Justice groups are accusing the FBI of whitewashing the report and covering up involvement by Conservative White hate groups, and they state that Commander Donald Troy's involvement with the investigation is proof enough of its lack of credibility, especially after Commander Troy lied to reporters about the alleged death of the FBI Deputy Director and one of its teams!"

"But John," asked Priya, who had the slightest of frowns on her beautiful face, "we have confirmed that there was an attempt to assassinate the FBI Deputy Director, and that the misdirection was an attempt to prevent further attacks while apprehending the would-be killers. Do you really blame Commander Troy for that?"

"Priya," said Hardwood, not looking happy to be questioned like that, "it just adds to the overall dishonesty from the Governor's mansion. After the misdirection on the FBI Deputy Director, how can we trust Commander Troy to tell us the truth about the Jasmine Nix investigation? And it was the Governor who asked Troy to affirm the FBI's investigation there. If it were any other governor, if it were Jack Lewis, there would be no question of the integrity of it... but this Governor, Val Jared, has shown himself to be a racist and a liar. His word is of no value. There can be no question of that, and no question that the stench of his corruption pollutes everything he touches-------"

*Click!*

"Enough of that." I said, turning off the television in my office with the remote. Just then, Helena buzzed me that Teresa was in her anteroom for the 'Angels' meeting. Such formality was not needed, and we all knew it as I bade Teresa to come in. And when she came in to sit in the hot chair next to Cindy, she had a look of concern on her face.

"Before we begin, sir," said Cindy, standing up, "I am wondering just who might be Todd's partner in the Triathlon. Obviously someone in good enough physical condition to beat my ass down in the Boxing Matches. Obviously someone who has competed in these races before, and now teaming up with her fiancé..."

"I... I wanted to tell you..." said Teresa, beginning to look miserable.

"Never mind that. I just have one thing to say about you running that triathlon." Cindy said, looking down at Teresa. "Win. You'd better win the fucking thing, since I'm going to be rooting for you the whole way. Do not disappoint me. Just win, baby." Cindy held out her arms as Teresa stood up, and the two BFFs hugged warmly.

"I really didn't know how to tell you, after saying I didn't want to run it again without you." Teresa said.

"I know, but it is what it is. You and Todd kick ass and forget about the names." Cindy said.

"Okay, ladies," I said, sitting in my Command Chair and looking at the papers on my desk, "if we can get down to business, we do have a Police Department to run." They sat down.

"Okay, the Cub Club fire." I said. "Evaluation of the riot, the handling of it, everything. Who's officially handling the case?"

"Jerome Davis is the primary, and Teddy Parker backing him up." said Cindy. "They basically get to do the paperwork that Fire Marshal Zoe Singer hands them showing that it was arson. Jerome is already looking at drone tapes to see if we can pin it down to any specific persons and make some arrests. I told him that if we can't pin it down to one or two that started it and instigated others to take part, it might not be worth the political hassle of it."