Schools and the Second Ch. 01

I didn't feel all that reassured by that, but I put that into a compartment of the mind as I said "As to the Peter Blassingame case, we're getting women coming out of the woodwork in droves now, with claims they were assaulted. Unfortunately, a lot of it is not usable for the Court cases, and I think some of them are being advised by ambulance-chasing lawyers hoping for a big lawsuit payday. Problem for them is that the vast majority of the women can't identify their individual attackers, and the Tau Fraternity is no more... literally, it's ashes now like the Tau House."

"The national Media didn't gin it up like I expected they would." said Muscone. "Must be because of all the 'powerful interests' involved."

"Yes." I said. "And speaking of 'powerful interests'... U.S. Senator Russell. Whassup with him?"

"Now that's an issue on Capitol Hill right now." said Muscone. "There is a movement to expel Russell from the U.S. Senate. The Establishment Republican Senators are cutting bait and are going to throw him to the wolves. Word I got is that he's trying to make deals to hold off long enough to get Jared impeached and removed, and then he'll resign. Senator Nunn is having none of it, and is pushing for Russell's immediate removal."

"That's the Republicans for you." I said. "The Democrats would rally around Russell if he were one of them; hell, notice how they protected Condor through all of that. Not that the Republicans should protect Russell, but it does show how gutless they are."

"I agree." said Muscone. "What I don't get is that Sharon Marshall becomes Governor if the Swamp succeeds in removing Jared, though I don't think they'll be able to. Point being, she's no more a friend of the Establishment than Jared is."

"That's because they plan to get Marshall out of there, too." I said. "But there's absolutely nothing to hit her with."

"Don't be so sure." said Muscone. "Here's something else I heard. As you know, Bundy McGinty had a lot of dirt on a lot of people." (Author's note: 'One Night in Bangkok'.) "People are looking for that dirt, especially Private Investigators that have been hired by Samuel Russell. If he can get his hands on that dirt, and it has anything on Sharon Marshall, anything at all... then he won't hesitate to use it to get an Establishment Republican named as his replacement as U.S. Senator... or have her taken down."

"Or both." I said. I sensed that Jack was peering at me as he said it, though he tried not to. No, Mr. Muscone, I thought to myself, you'd have to be a Cindy-class or Carole-class mind-reader to know that I have all of that information myself now... and that I've already used some of it...

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

Meanwhile, Cindy Ross and Callie Carrington were having lunch with Jenna Stiles at Laura's favorite Soup and Salad place

"I've been getting some good work, though it's spotty, and inconsistent." said Jenna in reply to Cindy's query about her job status. "The University has a surprising amount of legal work needing to be done, though it's mundane stuff like real estate work, contracts, and the like. If I can catch on with them in a full-time way, it'll be a consistent income."

"What about the political stuff, or Court work?" Callie asked. "You always liked that stuff."

"Yes, that's true." said Jenna. "And I always thought I was the rabid political activist while Cindy was the political atheist. But I'm finding that the more radical groups don't think I'm partisan or activist enough, and some of them hold my work as a State Attorney against me. For some of the other groups, I'm too white, to put it bluntly. And then there's Gwen Munson. I suspect she sleeps with a lot of politicians, which gets her work from them."

"Not to mention her open display of hatred for my cousin," said Cindy, "which you don't display, at least not openly."

"No, I don't hate Don, not at all." said Jenna. "But you're right; Munson does seem to be showing up a lot more in Don's cases. Speaking of which, I heard you and Miriam Walters are at each other's throats. You even called her 'Krasney 2.0'. Is that true?"

"Pretty damn close." said Cindy. "And I'm still in hot water with the Chief over my refusal to apologize to her for that. Apparently I have not learned how to stand up to him like Don can, and does when he needs to."

"It's the Iron Crowbar's Town & County," said Jenna, "and we and the Chief are just living in it." Seeing Cindy's eyes cut to her, she hastily said "I do mean that in a good way. So how's the Charter Commission doing?"

"Pretty well, so I hear." Cindy said. "Don says they're just laying groundwork and getting input right now, but I know he's got the framework halfway written out."

"And Savannah Fineman?" Jenna asked. "How's she doing on it?"

"Don says she's good with keeping the notes and advising on the legal aspects." Cindy said. "But she doesn't seem to have much imagination. Any reason you're asking?"

"Well..." Jenna started, then summoned her courage and continued: "Okay, I'll tell you what I heard. Miriam Walters and Savannah are buddies, which is the big reason I'm not with the D.A.'s Office anymore. I'm now hearing that Walters wants to make Savannah the main D.A. for MCD cases."

"And Paulina?" asked Cindy.

Jenna said "She'll still be in the D.A.'s Office, but in a... support role."

"What does that mean?" asked Callie.

"Doing the grunt work." Jenna said. "Doing all the background legal work for the other ADAs, to prepare them for their Court cases. It's thankless, it can be long hours, it' drudgery, and for Paulina it would be torture. I don't think she'd endure it at all."

"Any reason for that?" asked Callie. "Miriam thinks Don and Paulina are too close?"

"That may be the excuse." Jenna said. "I'm wondering myself if Miriam is afraid of Paulina, or maybe doesn't like her skin color."

"No, that's not it." Cindy said, coming out of a reverie. She looked up at the other women and said: "Miriam is grooming Savannah by getting her all the easy open-and-shut wins the Iron Crowbar gives Paulina now, and Savannah can run for Solicitor again against Ted Mason, and maybe this time beat him with her record."

"That could well be." said Jenna. "Though if Savannah was the main A.D.A., why would she want to run for Solicitor?"

"To get Mason out of the way." said Callie. "He and Walters don't like each other. At all."

"Yeah, that's true." said Jenna.

"Changing the subject," Cindy said, "have you heard anything about eliminating the Council in the Charter rewrite? And anything about packing Council meetings to get three Police precincts?"

"I know that three precincts are a big, hot-button issue for black political leaders." Jenna said. "The going theory is that they can create more jobs for blacks with three precincts, but having three precincts before did not increase the number of jobs in the Police Force."

"And it doesn't explain why they pack the Council with these Antifa protesters." Callie said. "I mean, they're making it a much bigger issue than it really is, and their tactics are not going to work."

"Let me ask you this, Cindy." said Jenna. "Does having three precincts dilute the Iron Crowbar's power within the TCPD?"

"Not one bit." Cindy said. "He's still the Operations Officer for the entire Force, and he is in iron control of everything going on within it."

"So by having a third precinct," Jenna said, "they couldn't have behind-the-scenes stuff going on in one of the precincts that might slide under the Iron Crowbar's radar?"

Cindy smiled. "Heh." she said. "No, not at all. This may be an unfair analogy, but when the Consultant of Crime was alive, he was said to have spun a huge web. Invisible, you never knew it was there, but he could detect anything and everything going on, and could ensnare you without you knowing you're being ensnared."

Cindy continued: "Don is like that, but even moreso. Thank God he did not turn to Crime, but works for Good, because he has spun his own webs, and he knows what is going on... the web is invisible, and any criminals find that they are ensnared hardly before they realized they were being ensnared. If anyone thinks having a third Precinct is going to help them get by the Iron Crowbar... well... it didn't help them before, and it won't again."

"So why are they expending the money and the political capital to keep it up?" asked Callie.

"Maybe just to have an issue to keep up." Cindy said. "The Mayor has already clamped down on the Council; it's literally a military-style 'speak only when spoken to' protocol now, and tensions are incredibly high. But without that, the hostility is generating pure chaos, and certainly no consensus-building."

"Sounds like the U.S. Congress." Jenna replied. "And the country..."

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

2:30pm, Thursday, May 2nd. I hit the 'Save' button on my computer, then lapsed back in my comfortable 'Command Chair'. Just then there was a knock on my door, followed by Cindy coming in. I'd long since told Helena to allow Cindy to knock and enter unless Helena knew I couldn't be disturbed.

"Wow, you look tired." Cindy said as I extended my hand to invite her to sit down.

"Is it just me?" I asked, "or is paperwork taking longer to do and getting harder to finish?"

"It's not just you." said Cindy. "The regulations the Government puts on us, especially what the Feds are requiring, have doubled our paperwork in the last five years alone."

"Yep." I said. "I just finished all the paperwork on the Stephen Henry/Wendy Withers cases. Just a few years ago, I'd have been done with it a week ago. I wasn't dawdling, either; it really took that long to do."

"And the Chief's paperwork is still ongoing." Cindy said. I nodded.

"So, whassup?" I asked.

"Captain Thompson told me that the Press, particularly KXTC, is calling for your personal reaction to that sports analyst's comments about guns on an ESPN show a couple of days ago."

"Vat ees thees 'ESPN' ov vich yoo speek?" I asked. "I hardly watch any TV at all, you know."

"I didn't see it, either." Cindy said, picking up my remote. "Let's watch some TV, shall we?" I smiled at her play on my own words as Cindy turned the TV to one of the Police HQ internal channels, and used her Police iPhone to start a recorded video.

The video featured a report on an NFL player that shot his fiancée and then himself, leaving an infant child behind. The content was not about concussions or anything like that, but solely about the gun the player had in his possession. National Sports reporter Bob Jovan, wearing a toupee, sanctimoniously editorialized:

"This would not have happened if a gun had not been in the home." whined Bob Jovan. "We need common sense legislation to remove guns from all homes with children in them, and much stricter controls on who can buy a gun and own a gun. People do not need guns in their homes, where children can be harmed by them. An infant child is now left an orphan, because there was a gun in that home. When are we going to reject the gun culture in America, and do something about these guns?"

"You can cut that shit off." I said. Cindy did so, and I said "I have no comment whatsoever on that. Was KXTC the only network asking for a comment specifically from me?"

"Yes, specifically. Other networks were asking for any TCPD commentary." said Cindy. "KXTC cites as their reason that principal who whined about you saving Frieda Franklin's life at the weather station. He's calling for gun-free zones not only at schools, but at any school function away from the school property. He's also calling for the no-gun school zone laws to apply to the Police, as well. He insists the schoolchildren need 'safe spaces', free from the violence of Police actions."

"I don't suppose anyone asked him about the fact that I did not draw my gun when I engaged Paco in personal combat?" I said.

"Don, how dare you?" Cindy said. "Citing facts like that? Messing up the Media's narrative?" We both chuckled a little bit...but not very much.

Cindy got up. "I'll tell Captain Thompson to not even respond to requests for comment from you."

"Thank you." I said. Cindy left, leaving me to contemplate what I had just seen. For some reason, I had a 'vibe' about it, a sense of foreboding...

Part 4 - The Talk

3:00pm, Thursday, May 2d. I handed Lt.(B) Jerome Davis the keys to his newly refurbished office, the one on the left. He unlocked the door and went in, followed by me, Tanya, and Mary Milton.

"Ah, that new office smell!" Jerome said as he went around behind his desk.

"Still tiny." Tanya said. That office had been my Lieutenant office and her Lieutenant office, and it had been even tinier before modifications were made to give a little more room.

"Yes, ma'am." said Jerome. "But it does have the most important thing."

"The desk?" asked Tanya.

"A door that closes." I replied.

"Yes sir, that's it." said Jerome. We all chuckled at that.

"So I can move back into my office, sir?" asked Mary Milton. Her office was on the right, next to Jerome's. For those keeping stats, her right-side office wall was the other side of Teresa's left-side office wall, as one faced the outer wall of the Headquarters building.

"Yes." I said. "New carpet, new paint job for both. And I hope it'll be a good long while before we need to do it again. Okay, Davis, you and Perlman come to my office. We need to have a few words."

"Uh oh, it's 'the talk'." Mary said with a grin. "I got it, too, Jerome. It doesn't hurt...much."

"You have an office to move back into." I said to Mary. "Make it so, Number One." Mary moved out smartly as the rest of us headed to my office.

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

As we sat down with cups of coffee in my office, I said "No, it doesn't hurt much. But it's a rite of passage. I got the talk from Chief Griswold and later Chief Moynahan, and he and I gave it to my Captains and Lt. Milton. And it's a hard thing to do."

"Yes it is." said Tanya.

"Now that you're promoted, Jerome," I said, "you have to realize that you are not one of the Detectives anymore. You're their leader, you're their boss. Yes, they're still your friends, and they're our friends, too. But your interactions with them have to be different. Your first name to them is now 'sir', and you have to enforce that, even in casual, friendly settings."

"I understand, sir." said Jerome. "Is that why you guys stopped coming into MCD for coffee?"

"Some of it." I said. "That's a bit different, though, kind of like the separation between Officers and Enlisted personnel in the military. I'm just saying that in your case, remember that they are no longer your equals. And when in charge, take charge, of course."

"Yes sir." said Jerome. "What about uniforms?"

I said "Good question. The policy for Captains and above is Police uniforms, usually with light blue shirts even if the Uniformed Officers are wearing dark blue shirts. Detectives in MCD and Vice are encouraged to wear plain clothes, and look professional in doing so. Usually you Lieutenants would wear plain clothes, usually some kind of suits with jackets, but there may be times when a uniform like the Command Group is in order. When you're in the field, you may find that plainclothes give you more freedom of movement and are less conspicuous. Also, I try to wear shirts that don't require me to wear a necktie, but I let the situation guide me."

Tanya said "And you'll wear a white shirt under a uniform jacket during more formal occasions, like Promotions and Medals Days, like the higher-level Officers do."

"So whose coffee klatch should I go to?" Jerome asked.

"Oh, you can still have coffee with them." I said. "But if we invite you and Mary into our klatch, take advantage of that and come schmooze with us. Sheriff Griswold thinks 'kissing ass' is very important."

"The Sheriff is right, too." said Tanya with a grin. "Especially regarding your direct boss."

"Yes ma'am." said Jerome. "Do you need more coffee, ma'am? Extra sugar or cream?"

"Ooooo, he's good." Tanya said. "Navy trained on that?"

I groaned. "Speaking of coffee," I said, "you are no longer the communal coffeemaker around here."

"I knew we shouldn't have promoted him." Tanya said, pretending wistfulness...

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

After Jerome moved his things into his new office, I came into MCD with Tanya. I brought the corner 'Commander's Chair' into the center of the room. "Gather 'round, folks." Everyone did so.

"As you know," I said, "Lieutenant Davis is now just that... a Lieutenant. He is no longer one of you, he is now your boss. You must show him the respect his new title deserves, just as you show Captain Perlman, myself, and the Chief the respect we deserve. This is something that I know from experience won't be easy for him, but I know you will be the professionals that you are, and you'll support him as we go forward." Everyone nodded. "Okay, any questions?" No one had questions. "Captain?"

"Just one thing." said Tanya. "Because you didn't have an MCD Lieutenant, you've been able to come straight to me. And while I love you all and consider you friends, from this point on you need to go to Lt. Davis, and only come straight to me if the situation warrants it." I nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Okay, y'all have been doing great work." I said as I stood up. "Oh... Lt. Davis is forbidden to make the coffee anymore, so sorry. Y'all figure out how you want to handle that. Carry on." My duty done, I left the room.

Part 5 - Practice

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Friday, May 3rd. "In a strongly worded speech yesterday, the Deputy Attorney General of the United States condemned gun violence in the nation, and called for common-sense legislation to end the 'gun culture' in America!"

Bettina began: "The Deputy Attorney General stated that guns are being used to kill children and minorities, and that the only solution is common-sense legislation to deeply restrict gun ownership and to totally ban 'assault rifles' and any weapon that fires multiple rounds. When asked if that would include handguns and revolvers, the Deputy Attorney General said that it absolutely would. He cited a professional athlete recently involved in murder/suicide that left a baby child orphaned as a reason for his call to action against all guns."

Bettina: "The Deputy Attorney General says that gun control should be treated as a civil rights issue, that whites are clinging to their religion and their guns in a racist attempt to keep minorities suppressed. He stated that 'loyal' Americans would voluntarily turn in their guns and trust the Government and Police to protect them from harm, and that only racist Americans would continue to bitterly cling to their culture of racist gun violence.

Bettina: "The Deputy Attorney General said that he wants America to become a culture of safety for our children, where there is no need to have guns at all. He cited the Australian policies of gun confiscation leading to a safer and better society there, and he said that the NRA had the blood of innocent children on their hands due to their pro-gun-violence positions."

Bettina: "The Deputy Attorney General's speech was praised by Congressional Democrats. As expected, violence-loving Republicans condemned the speech, and the NRA accused the Deputy Attorney General and his President of having blood on their hands by not enforcing the 23,000 existing gun laws already on the books."

Bettina: "And in local news, the NEA, the powerful Teachers Union, has threatened to sue the Town & County over Commander Donald Troy's violent actions in the death of Paco Domingo, claiming that Police gun violence threatened the children at the scene. In a rare comment to the Press, Commander Troy stated that he did not use a gun in his confrontation with Domingo, and that he prevented Domingo from murdering a child. Commander Troy is pushing for a Board of Inquiry to investigate that school's principal for actions that put the children in real danger by not allowing Police to be present to protect them."