Schoolhouse Rock Ch. 02

This story is part of an ongoing series. The chronological order of my stories is listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

Part 7 - Studio Confidential

Sunday, January 20th. I was sitting on the deck of Teresa and Todd's new home with them.

"Those trees that were blocking your view." I said. "They're gone. How'd that happen?"

"I had a conversation with University President Wellman and the Dean of the Forestry School." said Todd. "I gave them a very generous donation to make a study of carefully selected pruning of trees and the impact on the nearby environment. And now they're studying the trees they cut down and the growth of the nearby plants."

I chuckled. "Money talks. B.S. runs the marathon." I said.

Todd grinned his brilliant grin as he said "See ya, and I wouldn't wanna be ya."

"It was worth it, though." Teresa said. "Now we've got a view almost as good as yours. We left the trees up that are blocking our view of your house to our left here, but that's the only thing we can't see that you can."

"Yes, it's really nice." I said, then got down to business. "What I came over to talk to you both about is this business about the Marcie Harper videos." I filled them in on the case, then said: "I have a good idea of what's going on with the code transmissions in the videos, but I'm not as sure of what her motives are."

"You're sure she's part of it?" Teresa asked. "It couldn't be someone else duping her?"

"They're changing everything in the middle of filming." I said. "So she knows. I'd be stunned if she didn't."

"So what do you want to do, Uncle Don?" asked Todd.

"I thought you'd never ask..."

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

"We're spending money we don't have

Or so it would appear

The deficit is that amount we overspend each year

Though congressmen and senators

Make vows to cut its size

Despite their honest (?) efforts

The debt just seems to rise"

------Schoolhouse Rock, 'Tyrannosaurus Debt'. Question mark is Your Author's insertion.

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Monday, January 21st, from in front of the State Office Building. "Legislators are feeling the heat to write and pass a Budget!"

The image switched to film of Legislators and Lt. Governor Sharon Marshall meeting in a room in the State Capitol building. It was a clearly composed scene for the cameras, everyone sitting there pretending to be good friends, ready and eager to work together to create a smooth compromise on behalf of the People of the State(!).

"Lawmakers sat down to begin initial talks on creating a Budget that will be acceptable to all sides." said Bettina. "Political experts are advising that the Legislature leave deeply unpopular Governor Val Jared out of any discussions, because he will be forced to sign any bill the Legislature passes. However, the Governor's Press Secretary, Sarah Honeysuckle, issued a warning. Roll tape."

Tape rolled, showing Ms. Honeysuckle making a statement in the Press Briefing Room at the State Capitol: "Governor Jared does not feel obligated to sign just anything. He has agenda items that must be met, and he will veto any legislation that does not meet those items. The Governor also says that the Legislature should not try the tactic of waiting until the last minute to pass a Budget bill in the mistaken belief that the Governor can be pressured into signing a bill he doesn't like. He is strongly recommending the Legislature get a bill to him quickly, and he is ready to negotiate a good Budget bill to move that process along."

"And in another story from the Legislature," said Bettina, "the State House Ethics Committee voted strictly along Party lines to move the State Supreme Court's impeachment referral of Judge Harry Nance forward to the full State House with the recommendation to not impeach Judge Nance. If the full State House votes against the impeachment resolution, which is expected, then Judge Nance will be restored to the Bench here in our Town & County's Superior Court District."

"And there is reaction to the lawsuit filed by the NEA, the powerful Teachers Union, against the Town & County." said Bettina. "Roll tape."

Tape rolled, showing Councilman John Colby, his baritone voice all the more surprising coming out of his slenderish, almost slight body: "The Council is willing and has always been willing to work with our teachers to give our students the best education possible. But we do not appreciate being bullied and being sued without any effort to negotiate a good solution for our children's education."

Back to Bettina live: "The City Attorney has responded to the NEA lawsuit by questioning if the NEA even has legal standing to file such a lawsuit against the County. Experts say that the issue could ride upon which Judge is assigned to the case..."

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

The black Cadillac Escalade arrived at the granite and glass building in an office park complex just northeast of Midtown, actually in Palmyra County, south of its County Seat, the town of Palm Creek.

The Escalade belonged to BOW Enterprises. The windows were bulletproof and the sides of the vehicle were reinforced to stop gunfire. It was the vehicle that the company's CEO, Todd Burke, used to transport him by road around the State.

In the front seat were Mr. Burke's driver, who was highly trained at defensive driving and was also adept at security; and Mr. Burke's bodyguard, who once worked for the U.S. Secret Service.

In the backseat was Todd Burke, wearing a dark gray suit and Bulldogs blue tie. Next to him was his personal assistant, who had broad shoulders, strawberry-blonde hair, and simple black plastic eyeglasses that suggested 'nerdy'. His suit was light gray, and he was wearing a pink necktie from the 'Donald Trump Collection', neckties that sold very well when Mr. Trump was hosting 'The Apprentice'. The assistant's name, shown on his ID, was 'James Donald'.

"Okay," I said as we came up to the office building, "I know the driver never leaves the car, but in this case if you go to the restroom and leave the car unattended for a moment, that'll be okay." The driver nodded.

We went inside, Todd leading the way, followed by me and the security man. We stopped at the lobby desk, where the receptionist called to one of the offices. A moment later a very pretty young woman came down the hall.

"Mr. Burke?" she said. "I'll take you to Ms. Harper's studio, if you'll just follow me."

"Thank you." Todd said with a smile. We followed the young woman down a few halls to an unmarked door near the back of the building. Going inside, we passed through the reception area and down a hall that had three offices and one conference room.

The door at the end of the hall opened into a larger room that looked like a storage room converted into a television studio. Bright lights were mounted on metal racks connected to the ceiling, and other lights were placed on the floor to light the stage. That stage was a few small desks (first grade size), then a teacher's desk up front, and a tall wall. This was the point of origin for the Marcie Harper videos.

"Ah, you must be Mr. Burke." said the video personality herself as she came up to greet Todd. I noticed her eyes roving over Todd's body as well as his face, and she liked what she was seeing as her eyes lingered on his crotch for a second.

Marcie Harper was short, no more than 5'6" tall in the navy blue very high heel pumps she was wearing, which didn't surprise me: most people who make their living in front of cameras, from reporters to Hollywood stars, are a lot shorter than they appear to be on television. Marcie was also slender in build, and her breasts weren't making much of an impact on the expensive silk multi-color blouse she was sporting. Her ass and legs did a little better in the red Capri pants she was wearing.

Her brown hair was in a style that reminded me of Toni Tennille from decades past. Her cheeks were sallow and she had a narrow nose, but her lips were full and inviting. Her eyes were brown pools of... well, of not much anything.

But those looked like real rubies in the earrings she was wearing, and while the jewelry she was wearing was tasteful and not overdone, none of it lacked in quality... nor cost.

"And you're Ms. Harper?" Todd said, flashing her his most charming, most brilliant smile as he shook her hand. "My cousin in the first grade just does not stop talking about your videos on 'Library Day'. Oh, this is James Donald. He's my special assistant for my company's charitable works."

Marcie's eyes roamed over me, too, including my 'male areas'. "Very nice to meet you, Mr. Donald." she said as she extended her hand. I did not give her a 'Todd Burke' smile, not that I could if I wanted to, but I did take her hand flirtatiously in mine, slightly pulling it towards me. She seemed to like that.

Marcie introduced us to three men. Two were rather large and fit; I could see that they were for security as well as whatever else they did here. And one man was shorter, about 5'6" at best, slender, youngish looking and nerdy looking in his glasses. My money would be bet on him being Marcie's financial guru.

"This is Tim Sluman, my CFO." said Marcie when she introduced him. "He handles the accounting and financial side of everything."

"So this is your studio?" asked Todd with a smile as he looked around, seemingly very interested.

"Yes." said Marcie. "This is where we make the videos."

"Do you ever bring children in, and have a live audience?" Todd asked.

"No, we don't." said Marcie. "And if we did, they might be disillusioned. A twelve to fifteen minute video can take hours to produce. It's a lot like making sausage, or our Legislature making laws." Todd laughed at that, for the purpose of being charming.

"Mr. Burke," said Marcie, "why don't you and I go to this office back here, and your assistant can talk to my business guys." Todd readily agreed, and he and Marcie headed to the little room, accompanied by his security and one of Marcie's guys. Tim Sluman and the other man led me back to the conference room in the front office areas.

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

"So what is Mr. Burke trying to do, here?" asked Tim Sluman.

"Mr. Burke believes strongly in giving back to the community," I said, channeling my inner 'politician', "and when his young cousin mentioned your videos, he became interested in the idea of supporting Ms. Harper's efforts, and expanding to reach more school children."

"What other charities does Mr. Burke support?" asked the other man, showing that he just might be more than a security man.

"He supports Boys Clubs and Girls Clubs," I said, "the University Hospital's Cancer Center, St. Jude's Children's Hospital, and he's recently made generous donations to rebuild the local Animal Services building after a bad fire last year, and a donation to the University's Forestry School for environmental research."

Okay, that last bit was stretching it... but as I said, I was channeling my inner 'politician'.

Tim Sluman spoke up. "What kind of support is he considering giving Ms. Harper?"

"That's what we're here to find out about." I said. "From what we've learned, she's distributing her videos to elementary schools in the State. Mr. Burke would like to sponsor more schools being able to subscribe to the videos, as well as possibly expand to special needs schools, and perhaps videos for older children to interest them in science and math. If Ms. Harper is interested, of course."

"Yes." said Sluman. "Well, I'm not speaking for Ms. Harper, and she certainly might change her mind... but I'll tell you now that she's never really been interested in expanding on her videos. She considers this work more of a hobby, and a calling."

"That's right." said the other man. "So there's not a lot of point in talking any specific numbers of our operations, if you were going to ask."

Sluman continued: "True, but those numbers aren't much, anyway. We make enough to pay the staff, rent the office and all that, but it's set up as a non-profit and Ms. Harper doesn't make a lot. It's a labor of love for her."

Then he said, as if it were a sudden thought: "Why doesn't Mr. Burke just start up his own educational videos, especially for the science and math interest? Why the interest in Ms. Harper's small operation here?"

"I'm not sure," I said, "but my guess is that he'd like to support an existing operation that is already in the schools rather than start from scratch. And just between us... Mr. Burke sometimes gets ideas spontaneously and he acts fast upon them, whether that idea is for his business or his charity work. When his cousin mentioned Ms. Harper's videos and how well the children liked them, the idea likely just came to him, and he's running with it."

As they nodded, I said "I do have one question, just out of pure curiosity: what do you do when school lets out for the summer? Just shut down? Mr. Burke could help fill a gap, there..."

"Ms. Harper makes videos year-round." said the other man. "Most of our subscriber schools have some kind of summer school or summer programs."

"And summer recess in schools isn't what it probably was in your day, Mr. Donald." said Tim Sluman. "Some school systems in this State are already at 10-month school years, and there's talk in the Legislature of going to year-round schooling in the near future."

I nodded. "Well... I guess we'll just have to see what Ms. Harper and Mr. Burke decide upon."

"If you have a card," said Sluman, "I can give you a call later about other possibilities for Mr. Burke to consider."

"Sure." I said, taking a card out of my inner jacket pocket and sliding it to him. The number was one of a bank of BOW Enterprises numbers. This one would be forwarded to my Police iPhone, but would only show the set-up number on the phone doing the calling.

Sluman gave me his 'Marcie Harper Videos, LLC' card with his name and number, and we got up to go back to the studio.

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

"They're still talking." said a youngish man with long black hair and a trimmed but unkempt beard and mustache. "And we're losing time on filming."

"You're the Director?" I asked.

"In a manner of speaking." said the man. "My name is Gary. I mostly make sure the cameras are getting good shots during the filming. Ms. Harper runs the show."

"I'm James." I said. Forgive me for asking questions, but I'm really fascinated by all this. How does it all work? How do you decide lessons, and how do you set up the chalkboard there for them?"

"Scripts are being written far in advance." said Gary. "And we get input from the teachers on things they'd like to see, to go with their lesson plans. Setting up the chalkboard is nothing; Ms. Harper uses it, but everything else here is just props. Ms. Harper does have the script on the computer on the desk that she can refer to------"

"I'm sure Mr. Donald is not interested in the minutiae." said Tim Sluman, interrupting.

"That's okay." I said, looking around. "Things like this fascinate me. I'm usually behind a desk all day."

Just then, Marcie Harper and Todd Burke came out of the room they'd been talking in. "I appreciate you coming by." said Marcie, extending her hand.

"I was glad to." said Todd, still acting his normal charming self. "If you change your mind, let me know."

"You'll be the first to hear from me." said Marcie. "If your assistant has a card with a phone number, just leave it with me, and-------" She stopped talking as I extended my hand, holding my card. She took it, then shook hands with me. We were clearly being dismissed and moved out of the place, however politely.

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

We got into the limo and drove away. I put my finger over my mouth in a 'hush' sign and got out my bug detector. Sure enough, there was one secreted in the little map pocket along the back of the front seat.

Aware of this, Todd began the innocuous conversation: "Ms. Harper wasn't interested in expanding." he said. "She likes things just the way they are."

"That's what her people told me." I replied...

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

Marcie Harper watched the video of the conversation that had taken place in the conference room. "Seemingly innocuous," she said, "but his question about our operations going through the full year was unusual at that stage of the game."

"I thought the questions he asked Gary were far more suspicious." said Tim Sluman. He recounted what had been said within his hearing.

"He asked about the chalkboard, slipped it in among the other stuff." Marcie mused. "He's gooood."

After a moment of thought, she said "Okay, Todd Burke is who we thought he was. We need to check out this 'James Donald'. Check out this phone number on his card, which is very recently printed, I can tell. Get his DMV and financial records, make sure everything aligns perfectly. Get our people around the University to follow this guy around, see where he goes, where he lives, who he is seeing. Go do that now."

"Yes, ma'am." said Tim Sluman. He and the security men left.

"Okay, Gary." Marcie said. "We're going to have a slight change of script today..."

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

When Todd's limo arrived back at BOW Enterprises, it pulled into the loading/unloading area in back. The doors were then shut. I'd written on a piece of paper that they should just leave the vehicle there in the quiet, and I'd take care of the bug later tonight.

I then went to one of the other loading areas and got into the back of the TCPD Captain of Operations's Police SUV, and lay down in the backseat (not easy for a 6'4" tall man to do). Teresa pulled out and went to a back gate and exited that way, very wary of anyone that might be following.

"Looks like a drone is flying in the field to the west of the company property." said Teresa as she drove up Riverside Drive. When we got to Police Headquarters, she went into the gated parking lot but pulled around to the back side, and right up to the gymnasium door. I climbed out of the car and went inside. When Teresa came in a few moments later, she said a drone was flying just to our south, and peeled off when she parked.

"Yeah, Marcie Harper may be on to us." I said. "Even if she's not, that's a huge overabundance of caution."

"Think something's going on?" Teresa asked.

"I sure do." I said. "I'm about to have a meeting with the Detectives. You're welcome to join in."

"Wouldn't miss it." said Teresa. "Not like I have anything else to do today." I laughed out loud at that one.

Part 8 - Trains, Codes, and Base-8

"Figure eight as double four,

Figure four as half of eight.

If you skate, you would be great

If you could make a figure eight.

That's a circle that turns 'round upon itself."

------ Schoolhouse Rock, 'Figure Eight'.

1:30pm, Monday, January 21st. I held a meeting in Classroom 'E'. Invited to attend and present were: Chief Moynahan, Captain Croyle, Captain Perlman, Lieutenant Mary Milton, Lieutenant Myron Milton, and Detectives Joanne Warner, Theo Washington, and Jerome Davis.

"Okay, thanks for coming." I said as I set up my computer to interact with the projector screen. "I've asked Detective Davis to join us because the murder of his father's friend at Valley Villages may be tied into all this. I asked Myron here because our Enemy is very good, and Myron will need to be alert to cyberattacks or hacking against us."