Secrets Ch. 03

Once we'd cleaned up, we went back to the Main Conference Room and talked.

"I've got some information for you, though I'm not sure how helpful it is." said the EAD. "You remember that bozo that tried to murder Chief Evans while she was in the hospital?" We all nodded.

"Our CIA friends took custody of him, as you know." said the EAD. "They finally identified him. His name is Calvin Fullerton, native of California, but no, he never attended Cal-Fullerton, the school. He did enlist in the Army, and was in the 82d Airborne Division. He got a Bar to Reenlistment but was honorably discharged, and went home."

"But we got a tip." continued the EAD. "I know Jack Muscone briefed you on Trent and Quint's Navy SEAL Team, and two members of that unit, Gil Cox and Gary Fenton, created a Tactical Training School. Well, after the CIA worked on Fullerton to restore his memory, he remembered that he worked at that school with Fenton and Cox."

"Where is the school? And where are Fenton and Cox now?" I asked immediately.

"Fullerton gave us a location near Stockton, California." said the EAD. The FBI checked it out, but it was an abandoned hunting camp. It'd be a good place to do tactical training, but on a larger scale."

"So he was sacrificed." I said. "They brainwashed him, then sent him in to kill Molly."

"We'd already figured out they tried to kill Molly to make their anti-gun-rights story better." said Cindy. "So this is good information, and I appreciate you telling us, Mr. Assistant Director, but I'm not sure it helps us with the case of who abducted Don and Laura."

"Don't be so sure." I said, then went on into Reverie Land as I muttered "Don't be so sure..."

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

1:30pm, Monday, August 5th. There was a late lunch and meeting in the back 'Command Room' of the Cop Bar. Attending were Sheriff Griswold, Police Chief Moynahan, Fire Chief Quinlin, Public Health Officer Beth Paige, representing their divisions within the Public Safety Department. Also there to represent the potential future EMS were Fire Marshal Zoe Singer... and Admiral Leonard R. Cordell, the Hospital Administrator.

Also there were Your Iron Crowbar and Dr. Joseph E. Williams, representing the Charter Commission. I'd invited the others, but they all had other previous engagements. This was a meeting the Sheriff had arranged for an informal but frank exchange of ideas.

"With regard to the rank structures," I said, "am I right in that most of the issues are in the Staffs, the upper ranks as opposed to the lower ranks?"

"And we don't have as much structure as you all do." said Beth Paige. "Except for the Hazmat Teams. The clinics are all doctors and nurses."

"And they're slotted into various positions for pay purposes." I said.

"You're right, Crowbar," said the Sheriff, "that the upper positions are the ones most in question. For example, the Fire Department has the Superintendent position, which is an Installation Commander position and uses the Army Major insignia. The Police have a Captain of Physical Properties for all of the Police installations and equipment, and the Public Health Department has no one person over all their physical facilities."

Fire Chief Quinlin said "My problem is different. I've been getting one hell of a lot of flak from the Captain's Union about demoting the Battalion Chiefs. I know, I know, you're not demoting the current ones, just the positions in the future, but the Union is really upset about it, enough to sue over it."

"They can sue all they want." I said. "But if the People vote to pass the new Charter, their lawsuit will be thrown out faster than most people run out of fires and your people run into them."

"But don't just dismiss them and their complaints out of hand." said the Fire Chief. Dr. Williams saved me.

"We're not dismissing their complaints out of hand, Chief." he said. "That is a very unfair thing to say. Commander Troy is saying that their lawsuit won't hold up. He is not dismissing their complaints."

"No, I'm not." I said.

"The Police Captain's Yoon-yunnnnnnn," drawled Chief Police Chief Moynahan, "has been pushing me about the Fire Department having these extra ranks with no Police equivalents. At the same time, they turn around and ask why we need a Police Commander rank between the Chief and the Captains."

"That's easily answered." I replied. "After the Merger, the newly formed TCPD had two ranks: Police Commander and Deputy Chief. The Police Commander is like the Operations Officer and the Deputy Chief is like the Executive Officer, all about 'beans and bullet's, as it were. When they were first formed, they weren't filled... we weren't big enough to need them. Now..." I went into a reverie.

Everyone was watching me as I came out of it. "I just realized something." I said. "Dr. Williams, how fast is our Town & County growing?"

"Fairly well, better than most." said Rev. Williams. "We're running out of room on the northside, but on the southside, and by that I mean Junction Station and south of that, developers are buying land and building houses every chance they get. Put together, the Town & County is the fourth largest metro area in the State, after the City, Southport, and Midtown."

"There's one other thing, too." said Zoe Singer. "Have y'all heard anything about the State redrawing county lines?" I nodded, but most of the others seem bewildered.

"Yeah, I heard some inkling of that from the Governor." said Sheriff Griswold. He straightened up a bit and said "The State Constitution prohibits having more than 96 counties and the City as its own entity. So for any new counties to be created, others would have to be merged."

Griswold: "Back in the Depression days, the City sucked up three counties to it's northwest, west, and southwest. Since they're now considered to be within the City Limits, they are beholden to the City's governing body. Areas within two of those former counties are trying to incorporate their own towns to get out of the City's onerous levels of taxation, and all three county areas have been pushing the Legislature to have their own counties again."

Griswold: "So the Republicans in the State Legislature are being responsive to that talk, while the Democrats are solidly against it. These are relatively wealthy suburb areas that would vote Republican, and the City doesn't want to lose the revenue they can suck out of those suburbs. But in order to give those counties their 'independence', they have to merge other counties."

"But they wouldn't do that to us, would they?" asked Beth Paige.

"Probably not." said the Sheriff. "And Nextdoor County is growing. But there is strong talk about merging Coltrane County with Rivers and Farmdale Counties, and some of the rural counties in the southeastern part of the State. If that happens, 'The Vision' wants to redraw the line so that they are in our Town & County, and Katherine Woodburn wants to absorb Nextdoor County into our County, as well... which likely would mean a re-separation of the Town from the County."

"And I was just realizing," I said, "that if that happens, I'm going to lose the battle over Precincts. We don't need a third precinct now, but if they redraw our lines, or even if they don't and areas start to grow... then we'll have a third... a fourth... even a fifth precinct."

"I can't say I'd be upset about that." said "Dr. Williams. "Growth and economic prosperity is good for us all."

"True." I said. "But it does remind me that we have to structure this Charter to be flexible and scalable, and to meet the needs of the future as well as the present..."

Part 18 - Epilogue

They sat together in the semi-darkness of the office, sipping the drinks the woman had poured for them both.

"This is good." said the man. "What is it? Bourbon?"

"Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve." said the woman. "They make it with wheat instead of rye. This was sent to me as a gift by a woman that was one of my mentors in the Intelligence services, back in the day."

"Is she still with the 'Company'?" the man asked.

"No." said the woman. "She's working with Navy CIS, out on the west coast. I think she's in Los Angeles. And she's far more than than her job position would suggest."

"Sounds like someone else I know." said the man. "Well... all I can say about this... is that it has been a disaster. An unmitigated disaster. The Iron Crowbar went into cardiac arrest, and we didn't get McGinty's Materials out of him. I'm beginning to believe what the FBI is putting out, that he doesn't have them."

"I agree." said the woman. "We utterly failed, there. I totally failed. The Iron Crowbar's mind is too iron hard for even those methods to crack, and he nearly ended up dead when I pushed too hard." She took a big gulp of her drink, then said "And may God have mercy on my soul if the Iron Crowbar ever figures out who it was that did that to him."

"Yes," said the man, " and it's been a disaster for the FBI in this area. Team Lazarus has been totally destroyed. Sometimes it's good to reshuffle, but that was a good team of people that trusted each other, and all of that was ripped asunder. What's more, Bettina Wurtzburg and her lawyer now know about the planted false information, and if the U.S. Attorney comes forward with his case, as he was about to, that bitch Gwen Munson is going to use that to rip the Government's case to shreds."

"So it's over." the woman said, more as a statement than a question.

"Yes." said the man. "Wurtzburg will go free, her treason unpunished. And in a completely unrelated story, they're going to assign a new U.S. Attorney to Edward Blassingame's case... a U.S. Attorney that wants to give Blassingame the plea deal: everything he knows in exchange for complete immunity for Peter Blassingame. Hell, they're talking about a Presidential pardon for Peter." The man gulped his Pappy Van Winkle bourbon.

"That'll stir up a hornet's nest." the woman said. "Anyway, it's over... for me. I did what I thought was best to resolve the problem of McGinty's Materials, and I failed. I've lost my touch. If the woman who sent me this Pappy Van Winkle knew how badly I'd bungled this, she would be ashamed of me."

"Maybe it'll work out." said the man. "But I'm out, too. I can't play this game any longer, either. My marked card, pun not intended, is gone now... because of a card. I'm retiring to my cottage. Come up and visit me whenever you can... and bring some of this Pappy Van Winkle..."

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

I was on the back deck of The Cabin, sitting in my usual spot in the dark of the night, watching my Town & County in the valley below. Everyone else was either at the Mountain Nest or their own homes; I was alone up here, sipping my 18-year-old Highland Park single malt Scotch.

"Hi Don." I heard Teresa's voice say as she came around the side of the house. "I saw the back light on."

"Come have a seat." I said, reaching over and pouring her a drink. Instead of a seat to either side, Teresa came and sat with me in the metal mesh loveseat as I said "I had to reconfigure the security alarm so that it didn't fire an alert when Tiger Mom came on deck. Anything big like a human, or too near the door, and I get an alert."

"I like Tiger Mom." said Teresa. "I hope she learns to trust the kids, lets them pet her and the kittens."

"Me too." I said. Then with a grin I said "And speaking of security devices... the answer is 'yes'. I've memorized every manufacturer code that I've been able to find. And it's been most very good knowledge to have." Teresa gave a brief bark of a laugh at that, then sipped her Scotch as I said "So, what's up?"

"I have to talk to someone." said Teresa as the floodlight went out, enveloping us in darkness but allowing us to see the sprawling twinkling lights of the Town. "And you're the only one I can talk to. I can't say anything to Father Romano in confession, and I can't trust anyone else, not even Todd."

"I think I understand." I said. "McGinty's Materials?"

"More about what happened to you." Teresa said. "Despite what Cindy says, I'm still a good Detective. I saw how you wanted to get me that information about the elevator panel before anyone else came in. And Todd and Teddy rescuing Laura... I remember what you've said about being dehydrated, and being tied up for over a day. You were... a mess... when I found you. No sense of bladder or bowel control. But---"

"I know what you're going to say." I said. "We should just leave all that unsaid."

"But why?" Teresa said, more of a quiet wail. "Why did they do that to you?"

"Sometimes intelligent people make unintelligent decisions." I said, remembering Melina's words from the recent past. (Author's note: 'Long Cool Woman', Ch. 03.) "Someone thought they were doing what was right, what was the best, though it turned out badly in the end. Cindy thought she was doing right in trying to stop my war with the Press. And they rewarded her by trying to take Betsy away from her and put Betsy in DFACS hell."

"Yeah, but Cindy didn't betray you, not like this." Teresa said. "How do you forgive what was done to you?"

"I remember Jesus Christ's words on the cross: 'Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.', or something like that. And sometimes, secrets have to remain... secrets."

Indeed. And one of my secrets, that I would only speak of into a water well at high noon when no one else was there, was that I knew what had happened, and who was responsible. And I knew that I had to endure it for the sake of my children's lives... there was no other way for everyone to believe that I didn't have the Materials. Now, those that would hear of what happened would know the 'truth', and hopefully would back off.

And how did I beat the torture again, and not reveal the secret? I didn't.

I broke.

Yes, I told them where McGinty's Materials were. Under the cell tower. But what they could not possibly know is that in my dreams The Cabin didn't exist. The first time, it was a cleared space on the mountain top. The second time, there was a... cell tower. An ugly-ass cell tower.

Yes, I told them the Materials were under the cell tower, which in the relative reality of my dream, they were. And by that quirk of fate... of their own making... McGinty's Materials would elude them. But not me, as some people were about to find out.

I was brought out of my reverie hearing Teresa's voice as she said: "No doubt. But... well... I love Todd, I love being mother to his boys. I married him knowing that he wouldn't always be sexually faithful to me, and also knowing that he had a few secrets in his 'three hearts', as the Japanese say. But..."

I let her get it out, sensing that this was one of those pivotal crossroad moments in her life.

She continued: "I've always been betrayed by the people I love. My sister left me behind that Christmas Eve, and for so long I didn't forgive her because I'd thought it would've been better to die with her in that car. Then there was my father's insane words, and burning the house down... and Captain Malone ultimately betraying me and all of us... I love Cindy more than life itself, but I know she has other loyalties..."

"All I have... is you, Don." Teresa confessed, her tear-filled eyes looking forward. "You have always been there for me, even when I did not deserve it. You have saved my life, literally and figuratively, and my highest loyalty is not to the Police Force, nor to Todd... it's to you, completely."

"I appreciate that." I said. "And it's a two-way street, you know. Completely."

"Don..." Teresa said, "I could take all the rest... I could take it if Cindy betrayed me... if Todd betrayed me... but I could not take it if you did. Whatever you do, please don't betray me... because it will destroy me, as surely as if you took my head with your katana..."

I put my arm around Teresa and said "Don't worry, ma cherie amie. I'd rather slit my belly in a Town & County sewer than betray you."

We sat together for a long time in the night, contemplating, as I watched the light of a train coming out of the western horizon...

Finis.