Schools and the Second Ch. 03

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

At 3:15pm, Chief Moynahan called me and Captain Croyle into his office. Already there was Sergeant Andrew Prince, the official TCPD helicopter pilot.

"A couple of items for you." said the Chief. "First, the Japanese Ambassador is flying in from Washington tomorrow morning, to meet with Tom Usagi's family. He will also attend the funeral on Thursday. I suspect that you two and the Sheriff will be part of that, seeing that you have close ties with Misaki Takaki and the Japanese Emperorrrr."

"Yes sir." I said. I'd just gotten the formal request from Takaki Nagamasa a few minutes before. And of course I had accepted the 'invitation'.

"The second thinnnng," said the Chief, "is that Tom Usagi will have a memorial service at the Nextdoor County High School football field tomorrow afternoon. We have been asked to fly a 'Missing Man' formation. You can fly the Cobra, Mr. Crowbar, I can fly the Bell 206, and Sgt. Prince can fly the Hospital Life Flight helicopter. But we need a fourth. The University is willing to loan us their helicopter that the football coaches use for recruiting trips, but their pilot is not avail-a-bllllle Any ideas, Mr. Crowbar?"

"Yes sir, if she'll do it." I said. I then looked over at Teresa Croyle. "You can fly the Hospital Life Fight chopper."

"What?" gasped the Chief. He recovered and said: "This is the first I'm hearing that Captain Croyle can fly anything more than that Whirlybat contraption that scares me to just watch in the air."

"He's right, Chief." Teresa said. "I've been taking helicopter flying lessons for a while, and I finally got my pilot license a few weeks ago. I was keeping it a secret and was going to surprise everyone at some proper time." She turned and looked at me and said "How the Iron Crowbar knew, I don't know."

"Not much gets past himmmmmm." said the Chief. "So... are you willing, Captain Croyle?"

"Yes sir." said Teresa. "I would be honored."

"Sir," I said, "I should fly the Bell 206, and you the Cobra. It's faster and more maneuverable, and you should be the one to execute the missing man maneuver, being the most experienced pilot here. Teresa can take point in the Life Flight chopper, I'll be her wingman, and Sgt. Prince your wingman."

"Why, what an excellent thought, Commanderrrr." said the Chief. "Consider that our plannnnnnn."

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

After we were dismissed, Iron Wolf followed Iron Crowbar into my office. "How did you know?" Teresa demanded to know. "I told only Todd, and he promised to keep the secret. I didn't even mention it in front of our kids, much less Carole. Is she really that good?"

"She's that good, but neither she nor Todd was the reason I know." I said as I sat down and had her do likewise.

"I've been accused of being able to make the occasional observation and deduction" I said. "And I remember that when we were life-flighting Cindy out of that God-cursed Clinton County hellhole, I couldn't get the engine going to full speed. I then observed that someone flipped the right switch, said something about 'atomic power to battery, turbine to speed', and we were ready to move out. And I knew from that moment on that you could fly helicopters." (Author's note: 'Causing A Commotion', Ch. 02.)

"And you never said a word, or even flinched." said Teresa. "But I'm glad you remembered. It will be a great honor to be part of this formation for Usagi-sama..."

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

As I worked in my office getting the mountain of paperwork that had somehow accumulated done, I had SNN on my television monitor. The Media had moved on from the details of the school shooting, and were now focusing on two things: the cowardice of the Sheriff and some of his Deputies; and the student groups stridently demanding that Governor Jared either convene the State Legislature to pass strict anti-gun-rights legislation, or resign. I suspected the 'or resign' part was coached by the Media.

SBI Inspector Britt Maxwell had announced that Sheriff Ishmael and the two Deputies were under formal investigation by the SBI-OER, and that Governor Jared would likely suspend them after Tom Usagi's memorial service. I'd heard through Captain Price that one of the Deputies had submitted retirement papers, which likely would be allowed.

Helena buzzed me on the phone and said that Detective Joanne Warner wanted to see me. I told her to send Joanne in. A moment later the lovely blonde Detective was sitting in a hot chair in front of my desk.

"Sir," she said, "I just wanted to tell you that if you need babysitters or anything for your kids, Seth and I, and Leo, will be glad to help."

"I appreciate that." I said. "And I may just ask you and Seth to do that for Tom Usagi's funeral, as many of us in the family will be doing something with it."

"How's Captain Evans doing?" Joanne asked.

"Commander Ross texted and said that she was the same, but her white blood cell count was elevated." I said.

Joanne nodded, and I knew she wanted to say something else. Finally she asked "Sir... how do you do it? How do you cope with something like this? And the time they kidnapped Commander Ross? And the time they kidnapped Carole and tried to blow her up in that building? I haven't even had this child yet, and it just scares me to think of something happening to him or her."

I said "I'm not sure." Seeing the look on Joanne's face, I continued: "I'm really not. Some would say I have a Zen attitude towards things. Some would say I don't care. I do care, very much, but I know that there are some things beyond my control. All I can do is hoping for... no, expecting the best, and just driving on."

Trying to lighten the mood, I said: "And believe me, I understand how you feel about your firstborn child. I was the same way when Laura was pregnant with Carole, and after Carole was born. Now... I'm more worried that she's set her sights on taking my red crowbar away from me when she gets old enough."

Joanne laughed. "And she's going to, sir. She's going to." she said. After she asked to be excused and left the office, I thought to myself that protecting my children was still my greatest worry. Not fear, though... fear was a luxury that I could not afford...

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

8:30pm, Tuesday, May 7th. The Town & County Council filed into the private Council Chamber, and things were already tense.

The Antifa-shirt-wearing protesters had been at the public meeting, but none had risen to demand three Police precincts. Tonight the public Council Auditorium had been packed with young people who said they were 'students', and they were demanding in shrill if not heated tones that the Council pass ordinances outlawing the sale of firearms to anyone under 21 years of age, setting up wider 'gun free school zones', and completely outlawing so called 'assault rifles' and ordering the confiscation of any such firearms from anyone in the County that owned them... except Law Enforcement.

Some indeed were University students, but were told they could speak only if their drivers licenses showed they were actual residents of the County, not just living here as students. They were about to start chanting and disrupting the meeting when Town & County Police and Sheriff Deputies started filing in, restoring order very quickly.

Reginald B.F. Lewis made the motions for ordinances that the students wanted, and Kelly Carnes seconded them. But it was Edward R. Steele who carried the day:

"First of all," said Steele, "we do not have the power to restrict firearms sales to anyone. That's something the State Legislature would have to do, and I'm not sure even they can do that, as it's a U.S. Constitutional issue. Second, the State already established 'gun free school zones' for every school in the State. That didn't work out very well for Nextdoor County High School, did it? Truth is, laws like that are just for optics; they do nothing of substance."

"And third," said Edward Steele, "we can't confiscate legally purchased firearms without probable cause and due process of law."

The motions were all defeated. That caused some students to angrily denounce the Council. "When are you going to do something about guns?" one young woman yelled.

"I'll answer your question with a question." said Mayor Daniel Allgood. "Why is it that every time some nutjob kills someone with a gun, your 'solution' is to demand that law-abiding citizens be stripped of their guns and their gun rights?"

That truth caused the 'students' to go into a near violent rage of shouting and screaming. "Clear the Chamber." ordered the Mayor. Everyone was forced to leave, though six 'students' had to be arrested and physically carried out to make that happen.

Now, in the private Chamber, the Mayor said "Okay, any old business?"

"Yes." said Kelly Carnes. "Are you going to continue this formality crap you've been doing?"

"Yes." said Allgood. "And watch your language, or I'll have you removed from the room. Not for asking the question, but for the language."

"I move we adjourn." said Carnes.

"I second." said Reginald B.F. Lewis immediately.

"Why?" asked J.P. Goldman.

"There is a motion to adjourn on the floor, and seconded." said Mayor Allgood. "By rule, it cannot be debated. All in favor say 'aye'." There were five 'ayes', and five 'nays'.

"The Council being evenly divided, the Mayor votes 'nay'." said Mayor Allgood. "Again, any old business?"

"Mr. Mayor," said John Colby, "I ask your indulgence to allow Ms. Carnes to explain why she made the immediate motion to adjourn." This was surprising in that Colby and Carnes were political enemies.

"If she wishes to, she may answer." said the Mayor. "Keep it clean, Mrs. Carnes."

"I made the motion," said Carnes, "because there's no point in continuing this meeting and this sham process. Executive Sessions are for discussing personnel matters and other things that should not be debated publicly, but part of that has been having the ability to discuss and debate things freely and openly. If we're at the point where these Executive Sessions are being run as formally as a Court proceeding, then there's no point in having them at all."

"As part of that," said Malinda Adams, "we shouldn't even be in Executive Session under these conditions. Since we're restricted in our speech pretty much to formalities, those should be in public meetings, not behind closed doors."

All eyes were on the Mayor. He said "I agree that these meetings should be in the public forum, and should only be in Executive Session for things requiring full confidentiality, such as personnel matters. And these sessions have become excuses to be able to say just about anything you want without having to say it in public."

"And that's part of the problem." continued the Mayor. "The debates, for lack of a better term, have become so rancorous, so disrespectful... and in some cases so dishonest... that I currently see no other way to get a handle on it than to strictly enforce the Rules of Order."

"Also do remember," admonished the Mayor, "that Executive Sessions are still Council sessions; they are not informal gatherings or private dinner conversations. While what is being said in here is not recorded... or shouldn't be, anyway... there are minutes made of these meetings that are entered into the public record. Once everyone realizes that, and starts acting accordingly, I'll loosen the reins accordingly. Okay, any old business? New business?"

"In light of the recent incident in Nextdoor County," said Sheila Sorrells, "I'd like to know if our County's school students are adequately protected?"

"Because we have more people," said Dagmar Schoen, "we have more resources that have been put into our schools for the safety of our students. We have more cameras inside and outside our schools. We have more School Security Officers, many of them moonlighting TCPD Officers, which means they're well trained and will not cower in fear like those Nextdoor County Deputies did. And the kids at every level from Elementary to High School run practice drills for fires, tornadoes, and, unfortunately, shootings and other incidents of crimes of violence..."

Part 15 - Vibes and Decisions

Being Tuesday night, Carole and Marie and the boys all watched 'The Flash' and whatever else we'd DVR'd. So Edward Steele showing up to pick up Marie was the normal thing to do. He also filled me in on what was going on with the Council.

"Daniel is really holding a tight leash." said Steele as we drank ice-cold Coca-Cola Cherry Zero Sugar soft drinks and sat on the deck. "Some of those on the other side of the political aisle from me are actively talking about not bothering with Executive Sessions anymore, unless its strictly about personnel matters."

"Since they can't throw mud anymore?" I asked.

"That's a lot of it." said Steele. "But I think some of it is that...well, before things went bad, our politics were different but it wasn't personal. Reginald Lewis and I were friends, sort of like the local level of Molinari and Cerone, and we'd broker deals. J.P. Goldman gets along with just about everyone, and he and Malinda Adams would talk frequently."

"But the Allgood election changed all that?" I asked.

"Again, that's some of it." said Steele. "But it's not the whole picture. Something is happening, not just here in our County, but the State, and even the Nation. There used to be shades of gray and blurred lines; now everything is solidly divided, and totally black and white... and I don't mean that in a racial way."

"What I'm trying to say is," said Steele, "is that people used to run for the Council because they wanted to serve, and thought they could do so, and do so very well. And in that respect, it used to be fun. The meetings were fun to go to, to talk and debate. Now... it's all about winning, and at all costs. It's about 'I win and you lose', not 'how can we both win something'. It's all about 'my way or the highway'... and the highway ends up not getting built at all."

I said "You once said that the Council was either 8-2 or 2-8. Is it still like that?"

"Noooooo, not at all." said Edward, understanding my meaning. "Kelly Carnes is still rabidly on one side, and Colby and Schoen are intractably on the other. But Lewis is pretty solidly on Carnes side now, Malinda Adams solidly so as well. And I admit that Goldman, McGhillie and I are becoming more in line with Colby and Schoen on everything. That leaves Sorrells, and Weston as the swing votes, and they generally side with Carnes and Adams, though for different reasons at different times. But overall, we're getting a lot of 5-5 votes and the Mayor having to break the ties..."

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

When Edward and I came back inside, I heard Carole talking to Laura. "Mommy, you've got to call the Hospital! Something's wrong with Aunt Molly!"

"Carole," Laura said reprovingly, "I can't just call the Hospital every few minutes. The doctors and nurses are watching over her. It will be fine."

"But Mommy!----"

"No more on this!" Laura said. "Now you need to get ready for bed after Marie goes home."

"Are you ready to go home, Marie?" Edward asked.

"Yes sir." said Marie. She and Carole hugged each other goodbye, and Marie left with her father.

"Daddy!" Carole said. "Call the Hospital!"

"Carole!" Laura all but shouted. "I've already told you to stop with that. Now go get ready for bed... Don what are you doing?"

"Making a phone call." I said. "Carole, your mother said get ready for bed. Why aren't you brushing your teeth?"

"Because I'm worried about Aunt Molly." sulked Carole.

"Upstairs. Toothbrush." I said, pointing at the stairs. Carole reluctantly went. Meanwhile, I was making a call. "Hi Cindy." I said. "How's Molly?"

Cindy said into the phone. "Dr. Morgan is checking on her now. But Dr. Cordell is still here at the Hospital, and that's giving me a bad vibe."

"Is Teresa still there?" I asked, knowing that Teresa was going to stay with the family during the evening hours.

"Yeah, sure, hold on." said Cindy. A second later I heard Teresa's voice say "Don?"

"Teresa," I said, "keep your poker face on so Cindy doesn't start feeling worse. I want you to go to the Nurses Station or find Dr. Cordell, and ask how Molly's doing. Carole is saying something is wrong, that Molly is in trouble."

"I'm on it." said Teresa, then the line went dead.

"Don!" Laura hissed. "We can't just be calling the Hospital every time Carole thinks something is wrong!"

I managed to bite my tongue to keep from making a biting reply, then said more calmly "Honey, I'm not just calling for Carole. I'm calling for me."

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

Dr. Leonard R. Cordell came up to the Nurses Station. "Anything new on Evans?" he asked gruffly.

"No, Doctor," said the head Nurse, "but Dr. Morgan is making his rounds now. Oh, there he is."

"Hello, Dr.. Cordell." said Dr. Morgan.

"How's Evans?" asked Cordell.

"Her vitals are the same, but her white cell count is still rising." said Dr. Morgan. "I'm increasing the antibiotics, but they're nearly at maximum dosage now, and they don't seem to be helping."

"Excuse me, Dr. Cordell, Dr. Morgan." said Teresa Croyle coming up to them. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I just got a call from Commander Troy. This may sound crazy, but he said his daughter Carole believes something's not right with Molly. Is there anything... wrong?"

"So Dr. Fredricson's daughter thinks she's a doctor now." said Dr. Morgan. That did not go over very well with the Iron Wolf, and her look at him conveyed that.

"Doctor," she said acidly, "the thing I like most about Carole Troy... is that she's never wrong!"

"You got that right." said Cindy, coming up to them. "And I'm feeling it, too. What's going on?"

Dr. Cordell had been looking at Molly's charts. "Dr. Morgan, you're right about this white cell count, and the drugs not being effective. My fear is that something is still inside her."

"If the increased antibiotics don't help, and she gets worse overnight," said Dr. Morgan, "we may have to make a decision on whether or not to go back in."

Cordell re-read the charts, then seemed to be in a reverie, his eyes looking at the ceiling as he thought hard about it. Then, being the retired Admiral he was, he made the decision: "Nurse, have Evans prepped for immediate surgery. I'm taking her back in. Dr. Morgan, care to join me?"

"Sure." said Dr. Morgan. The doctors left to scrub down. Cindy went to tell her family. Teresa called her boss, that being me.

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

"They're taking Molly back into surgery." I said to Laura when I got off the phone with Teresa. "Her white blood count is elevating even in the face of increasing the antibiotics."

Laura got up. "I'll go down there, then, and help them. And don't say it." She meant that Carole was right, after all.

I feigned innocence. "I didn't say anything. Come home as soon as you can."

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

I went up to check on the kids. Jim, Ross, and Ian were asleep, with Buddy supervising and on guard. Carole was in the third bedroom, and Bowser was with her, looking apprehensive.

"Hey Fussbudget, why aren't you asleep?" I asked.

"Daddy," Carole said, ignoring my question as superfluous, "why didn't Mommy believe me?" Her voice was one of near tears.

"She's a doctor, Jim, not a Detective." I said as a joke, remembering 'Star Trek'.

"I'm not Jim, I'm Carole!" Carole said, miffed at the 'insult'. She was not familiar with the original 'Star Trek'.

"It's an old joke from a TV show." I explained. "Anyway, it's not that your mother doesn't believe you, but that she knows the nurses or doctors will call us if they find something wrong, so she doesn't want to bother them by calling."