Scavenger Hunt Ch. 03

"Maybe." Laura replied. "Anyhoo, with me helping with Craig's care at the hospital, I didn't get any more chances to observe them. But like Jack here, I did begin checking into them, though from a different, (air quotes) 'quieter' angle. And I determined that they were never in the CIA nor trained by them, but were trained by mercenaries in the pay of Matthew Willis and Brendan Chapel."

I said "I'm told that the team my guys busted last night robbing the jewelry store were very knowledgeable of everything, including alarm codes and where the money and jewels were, and that their movements suggested being well-trained and having practiced. I won-derrrrrr... you think Gil Cox and Gary Fenton are involved?"

"Not much gets past you, Darling." Laura replied.

I said "Jack, you remember Mort Springer and William Drew, who forced us to parachute into your wedding?" (Author's note: 'Power of Love', Ch. 02-03.) Muscone nodded and I said "Springer and Drew were part of the rogue Navy SEAL team under the command of Navy Lieutenant Jeff Bayport, and included the despicable slugs Trent Ridge, Quint Starr, Shaun Stevenson and Parker Cassidy."

Me: "Cox and Fenton went into the business of training teams of 'Tactical Role Players', or TRPs. They train teams for various things, be it paramilitary operations or spycraft. I don't know if they're the ones that trained the White Team, but who knows?"

"Why are you calling them the 'White Team'?" Jack asked.

I grinned and said "The Toyota Gang team that was busted last night are all Black. The team that was busted last week was all Hispanic... and they called themselves 'H' and 'B', so it's not me playing race cards. And so it follows that if the four found dead in Donnan County are indeed associated with the others? Well, they're all White. And Feng Xingshi is Asian, connected to Peter Segui and to Stubbs & Wheaton, so I'm looking for an Asian gang driving around in a tricked-out, rolling-hotspot Toyota vehicle."

"Wowwww..." Muscone gasped. "Yeah, you don't need me."

I said "We are distracting Laura from her report, and I have a strong desire to sleep in my bed and not on the couch with Bowser tonight. You were saying, Dear?"

Laura gave me a wan smile, then said "Everything you're saying is good, and correct. Fenton and Cox were, and still are, known for training paramilitary strike teams, assassination teams, and defensive bodyguard teams. But who's to say they trained these four on things like the mission to harm Craig Reynolds, while someone else trained them to infiltrate companies and steal industrial secrets? Anyway, that team is dead; I agree with Jack that your hunch is correct that they're the dead bodies that were used to get you out of Town."

Laura: "I also did some research on Michael Carlena and Carl Rojas. Rojas is just a gangbanger, and a soldier for his higher-ups. But Michael Carlena may be a lot more. He is the higher-ups. And he may have screwed the pooch by getting arrested with this lowlife gang of robbers---"

"Hold on." I said. "I'm increasingly believing that these guys are not lowlifes. There is a lot of brainpower in all of these gangs, a lot of business savvy, a lot of street knowledge and experience. And that jewelry heist? That would've been a thing of beauty, criminally speaking, if they'd have gotten away with it."

Laura said "And that begs the question... why is someone like Michael Carlena, grandson of an increasingly important Cartel leader, involved with these guys?"

"Good question, and I don't have an answer yet." I replied. "What have you found on him that we need to know?"

Laura: "The Red Chinese are growing tremendously in influence in South and Central America. The Cartels are doing business with them. From fentanyl coming across our borders and killing our children, to technology and espionage, it does a Cartel good to produce for the Red Chinese."

Laura: "And one thing the Chinese desperately covet... is nanotechnology. And like you said, Don, there are an increasing number of connections between these Toyota Gang cells and BOW Enterprises."

I said "Yep. And that's why I'm a little bit worried about what people will permit themselves to do to obtain that technology, especially from BOW Enterprises and their partners Ichimoku Industries and Zion Dynamics. Attempted kidnappings, hostage takings, assassinations..."

"Hell, Don," Melina said, "one gang stole a nuclear weapon and almost detonated it here to get that technology." (Author's note: 'The Nuclear Option'.)

"Yezzz, I do remember that." I replied. "And that brings up something. There is someone I would really like to speak with about all this... Keiko Shimono."

"What?!" gasped Laura.

"You gotta be shittin' me!" exclaimed Jack Muscone.

"I see where you're going with that." said Teresa. "So should you or I talk to my cousin Jen Sakai, who also was a spy for the Red Chinese?" (Author's note: 'Sugar and Spice', 'Big In Japan' for more on Jen Sakai.)

"Outstanding." I said to Teresa. "You're all over it. Sure you don't want a crowbar?"

"Don't need one." Teresa replied...

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

12:15pm, Saturday, October 9th. Lieutenant Christopher Purvis came into my office. As always, his hair was dyed solid black, which prompted many to say he used the same shoe polish on both ends of him. I knew that he was in his 30s, maybe two or three years younger than Teresa and me. He was medium height, fairly slender, and in good shape.

"Get coffee if you want some." I said. Purvis poured himself a cup, and asked if Teresa and I wanted him to pour them some. We both declined; my cup was full, and Teresa was not drinking anything at the moment.

"We missed you at the breakfast meeting this morning. You feeling okay?" I said as he sat down in the near-side hot chair, while Teresa sat in her usual far-side chair.

"Much better now, sir." Purvis said. "I would've stayed for the earlier meeting, but I had my orders from Captain Michaels." Teresa nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Fair enough." I said. "Okay, I asked you to look into other crimes that were occurring while the Toyota Gangs were robbing convenience stores. What did you find?"

"I did find some interesting things, sir." said Purvis. "The earliest Toyota Gang robberies in March and April were at the time George Aurus was being hunted." (Author's note: 'Vengeance Is Mine', Ch. 01.) "There were multiple gangs robbing stores at the time, and except for Aurus, there were no crimes that were out of the ordinary. I did compile a list for you, sir, in case my idea of 'out of the ordinary' doesn't match yours." He handed me a few sheets of paper.

Teresa said "With perfect 20/20 hindsight, those robberies could've had the intent and purpose of distracting us from Aurus."

"I agree." I said. "The Swamp Frogs were looking for him, and wanted to find him before we did... 'we' being me. Okay, keep going, Purvis."

"Yes sir." said Purvis. "After a few weeks of inactivity, the Toyota Gang reappeared in May, at the time of Dr. Fredricson's issues with the University Trustees, and then the Locklear break-in." (Author's note: 'Break-In'.) "The Feds had been thinking that the Toyota Gang actions were to mask drug transactions, but the Southport PD and the DEA busted two major drug operations in Southport and over the State Line in Turpin Heights... and there were no reported Toyota Gang robberies those weekends."

Purvis: "But there were other crimes reported in Lexington and Midtown at the same time as the Toyota Gang robberies. In Lexington, the American Flags were taken out of Federal Judge K.M. Landis's Courtroom as well as his Chambers. At first it was thought they were misplaced or stored somewhere, but they were never found. Someone said they thought they saw a janitor carrying the rolled up Flags down a hallway, so the janitor crew was questioned. They all denied having touched the Flags, and they had no idea what had happened to them."

Purvis: "In Midtown, six wheelchairs went missing from Midtown General Hospital. Four from a large closet near the entrance hallway; those were used to take discharged patients out. And two from near the Rehab Center; those were rented or sold to patients needing them. At first the Hospital did not report the crime to the Police, but conducted their own investigation. And despite videocameras covering every inch of the hallways where the closets were, no one was seen on tape taking any wheelchairs. The thefts were reported four weeks later, when the Insurance Company required a Police report before paying out the claim."

Purvis: "In July, the DEA began taking an interest, as there were some sporadic reports of Toyota Gang activity all over the western side of this State and the eastern side of the State west of us. I could not find any other crimes that were unusual, nor were the alleged crimes of the Toyota Gang confirmed, especially on the other side of the State Line."

I said "Yeah, those might have been red herrings to fuck with the area's DEA Agents, -or- red herrings created by the DEA, to barge in on us if and when they needed to."

Purvis "That could be, sir. And then came late August. That's when KXTC began reporting on the Toyota Gang, and taking potshots at the Police for not magically doing something about the gang. That was during the time of the Locklear trial and the buildup to it. It was also when the Feds began their obvious and poorly executed surveillance missions."

Teresa said "The Feds keep creeping into this, more and more."

"Good observation." I said. "So what were the crimes at those times?"

Purvis said "Nothing substantiated as far as Police activity, sir. But there was an incident reported by the Railroad to the Federal Railroad Administration, the FRA. It was classified 'SECRET', as incidents of these types normally are. As you know, the Railroads have systems that show breaches of the railroad tracks for any reason, natural or man-caused. Such a breach was reported thirty minutes after one of those Toyota Gang incidents." Purvis passed me some more papers.

Purvis: "The breach in the tracks occurred right here in our County, exactly halfway between the State Line and the curve to the south that's next to BigPharmaCorp. All train traffic on the line was stopped in plenty of time, and a crew was dispatched to repair the breach, which was reported to be a, quote, 'minor rail plate crack and rail misalignment'. Repairs were made and train service was fully restored about two hours later."

Teresa said "There's those words again... 'Federal Government'. And south of the curve, those railroad tracks pass right by BOW Enterprises."

"True." I said. "And we've seen incidents of things being taken from trains or moved by them in the past... arms disappearing from the Hammondsville Railyards, and of course the nuclear weapon. So it stands to reason that that could've been a dry run to stop a train with valuable cargo for the stealing." (Author's note: 'Power of Love' for the arms theft; 'The Nuclear Option' for the nuke.)

Purvis: "I have a little bit more, sir. Not one, not two, but three coin shops were hit while the Toyota Gang hit a convenience store in Lexington. One coin shop here; one in Midtown, or more accurately between Midtown and Palm Creek, the seat of Palmyra County; and one in Southport. They were all branch units of the same parent company, 'National Collectibles, LLC', a Nevada corporation."

Purvis: "That company also has a baseball cards branch, other sports collectibles, stamps, toy trains, and such. In all three cases, the stores reported the break-ins because the Insurance Company required Police reports in order to pay for the damaged doors and windows that occurred during the burglaries. The shops reported nothing of value missing."

"Interesting." I said. When Purvis said that was all he had, I said: "That's a good report, and an especially good catch on the Railroad breach. It's going to be very helpful. And now... I need to talk to you about you, Lieutenant."

"Sir?" Purvis asked, a bit nervously.

"Yes." I said. "Tell me... what are your goals for yourself within the TCPD?"

Purvis took a second to take a breath and formulate an answer, which was smart of him to do. Then he said: "Sir, ma'am, this might sound worse than I intend for it to, but my only goal is to do my job and help the TCPD complete its missions. I've made Lieutenant, and I really have no designs upon any of the Captain positions, nor do I expect to be appointed to any of them. I have a little over six years until I can retire, and until then... and longer if I'm still useful... I'll keep doing my job in Intel Branch."

I nodded. "That's fine. What I now need to know is why you had someone call for a warrant to raid a location with a pinging phone, despite being told to get permission first but not getting that permission first."

Purvis was briefly shocked, then he recovered and said "Sir, we got a ping on Rojas's cellphone, so I had Sidney call for a warrant. I don't recall being given any instructions to not do that, and time was of the essence."

I said "Did Captain Michaels not tell you to go through her before calling for any warrants?"

"Not that I recall, sir." said Purvis. "And this is not a cop-out on my part, but Lieutenant Mary Milton has called for warrants without getting prior permission many, many times."

I had an insight. "Tell me... how are things going with Lieutenant Warner in Intel while Lieutenant Milton is away on maternity leave?"

Purvis looked very uncomfortable. He finally said "May I speak freely, sir?"

I said "No, stay within protocol. But Commander Croyle and I won't throw you under the bus, so speak truthfully."

Purvis said "Sir, I thought that I was put in charge of Intel while Mary was on maternity leave. But Joanne is constantly in there giving orders, often overriding what I tell the Intel people."

Teresa said "You're in charge. Take charge! Tell Warner to back off."

"Ma'am..." Purvis said, then faltered. Finally, he said "Ma'am, I have tried to do that. And Warner just goes running to Captain Michaels, and Captain Michaels locks my heels and tears me a new one. She takes Warner's side every time. Every single time. She... the Captain... has threatened to write me up for insubordination. With respect to both of you... I'm between a rock and a hard place, and in a no-win situation."

Teresa said "Why didn't you come to me? Or grieve it to the Union?"

Purvis said "With respect, ma'am... you're not my direct chain-of-command. Commander Troy has been away, but I also know that if I go over Captain Michael's head to him, I'll be labeled an insubordinate snitch, and she and Joanne both will go after me... just like they did Jerome Davis and Roark Coleman."

Purvis: "I thought Captain Michaels's actions towards Jerome were race-based, but I see now that that is how she treats anyone she doesn't like and wants to put down. And like I said earlier, sir... I just want to do my job and retire with my pension. I'm not looking to cause trouble, nor stir the pot."

I nodded. "Yeah, it's a tough situation for you. But you are in charge while Mary Milton is away. Stand up to Warner, and if she goes to Captain Michaels and Captain Michaels calls you on the carpet, immediately ask for a Union Rep. And then I can come into it without her knowing I've talked to you. Okay, you can go. And keep doing the excellent job you're doing with the data."

After Purvis left the room, Teresa straightened up in her chair with a 'look', then said "Sir, with all due respect, I'm not sure Captain Michaels is working out."

"Ohhhh, she's not the problem." I replied, surprising Teresa. "So tell me, did she tell Purvis my instructions about asking for a warrant? Or not?"

Teresa said "Like contracts, the instructions are exactly worth the paper they're printed on. But I think she did pass down the instructions. Purvis was careful in his wording."

I said "I think Captain Michaels told Lieutenant Warner to pass along my instructions... and Warner did not. That's why Michaels didn't push it about not putting the order on paper, an email, or text; and why Purvis is being careful in his wording. Either way, it's a mess, but we don't have time to fix it right now. So! What was the most important thing in Purvis's research? And it was good research."

Teresa said "You really liked that tidbit about the Railroad problem, which sounded like a dry run for sabotage. Other than that, I'm not sure what you're getting at."

"True, about the Railroad." I said. "But the nature of the things they stole... such small things... I think those are a huge clue..."

Part 10 - The Assembly Assembled

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Monday, October 11th. "As the Nation celebrates Indigenous People's Day, the Town & County Public Safety Department will be presenting its Budget proposals to the Town & County Assembly this morning!"

After the hard-charging intro music, Bettina began: "Chief Deputy of the Sheriff's Department Cindy Ross will making her presentations to a badly divided Town Assembly today and over the next few days. Not only is the Assembly divided along Party lines, but factions within both Parties are quarreling over how to deal with Commander Donald Troy's Police Department."

Bettina: "Some progressive Assembly Democrats, led by Cori Bowman and Aaron Rashid, are insisting on fully defunding the Police. However, a more moderate faction of Democrats, led by Patricia Chang and Omar Alexander, are backing off that approach, and insisting that the TCPD agree to follow Federal policing guidelines and submit to meaningful Police reform training in order to be fully funded."

Bettina: "Assembly Republicans, led by Ryan Paulson and Jeff Maple, are threatening to hold healthcare for the poor hostage by defunding the Public Health Department in the same measure that Democrats want to defund the Police. Paulson's statements have caused Eldrick X. Weaver, who some say was cheated out of his rightful win of the Mayor's seat three years ago, to demand the Town & County Charter be rewritten to remove the Public Health Department from under the Sheriff and the Public Safety Department."

Bettina: "Assembly and Council Democrats have also been demanding that an Internal Affairs leader for the Police Force be named before any Budget money is allocated to the Police. However, Channel Two News has learned that Sheriff Antonio Griswold will submit several names for leadership position at Tuesday night's Council meeting, including for two Internal Affairs posts, capitulating to the rightful pressure by Channel Two News and local Democrats..."

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

"Just more cheap shots thinly disguised as (air quotes) 'news' by Bettina Wurtzburg." said Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle as she, Sheriff Griswold, me, Chief Moynahan, Deputy Chief Tanya Muscone and Chief Deputy Sheriff Cindy Ross watched and drank coffee in the Chief's Conference Room.

"And old news rehashed." Tanya replied. "I didn't hear anything new... like the capture of another Toyota Gang cell as they attempted the largest jewelry heist in the State in fifteen years."

"I heard something new." I said. "The Republicans are once again snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The reason that some of the Democrats are trying to tone down the rhetoric by pushing for (air quotes) 'Police reform' instead of all-out defunding the Police, is because it has become a losing issue for them. But no, Ryan Paulson threatens to defund the Public Health Department, and he gave Bettina a perfect and potently effective attack line."