Semper Fidelis Ch. 03

Lindy Linares said to me "The facial recognition software was unable to give us any exact matches to the blurry pictures from the Reubens crime scene. We ran the program over the entire weekend, and so far nothing has come up of this guy Roland anywhere... except occasional visits to the State Prisons to confer with clients."

"Needless to say," Jack Muscone said as he enjoyed his double cheeseburger, "we're going through the names of every client he visited, looking for connections to Superior Bloodlines, or any of the names in your previous cases. Not much there, so far."

"We did work up those digital sketches you wanted." Lindy said. She handed me the pictures and I looked at them.

"Definitely a possibility." I said. "By the way, did you work up those sound recordings?"

"Sure did." said Eduardo Escobar. "There's a jump file with the audio recordings in the package we're giving you. We got a voiceprint pattern, but it doesn't match anyone else's on file."

"At State Prison..." I said, "... was Roland ever in the vicinity of Watch Captain Lockhart?" I noticed everyone looking over at Jack. "Jack, did you just lose another one hundred dollars?"

"No, just twenty." said Muscone. "To answer your question: we didn't see much in the video snippets we got. But I checked, and Lockhart was on duty at the prison that Roland went to... every single time."

"We're getting close-rrrrrrrrr." I muttered. "Okay, nothing more on that for now. So, it was very interesting that the data sent to the SBI by the Pentagon turned out to be cyber-hacked, while the real and original data was subsequently found and sent to me. You guys behind that? Or your boss?"

"Not us." said Muscone. "We're not good enough nor have authority enough to do that. I figured your Mouseketeers were at work."

"Noooooo." I said. "They don't fuck around with things like the military's computers. My people also are more efficient than the hackers... these hackers only changed the data in one place, but it's backed up. And other records in other places, like the pay system, weren't also changed. My guys... would not have been so sloppy."

"So who pulled that off?" asked Jack. I could tell the FBI people were listening intently while trying to pretend they weren't. Cindy was seeming looking off to one side.

"Let me just say that something like that came from a very, very high level." I said. "Higher than all our pay grades, put together."

Cindy then looked up. "Hey, look." she said. "They're burying Gunny Sergeant Guernica at Arlington National Cemetery."

We all looked at the TV. The cemetery ceremony was being shown on the City's KSB feed. I watched as the Marine Honor Guard folded the American flag with formal, crisp movements. Then it was presented to Sergeant Guernica's widow, her two small children next to her. The little boy Miguel had a band-aid patch over where his face had been branded by an SBI Agent... a thug I still could not get properly identified.

We finished our lunch in near-silence. Jack Muscone expensed it. I thanked the FBI guys for their help and information, then Cindy and I left for Headquarters. Nash said he'd get a ride with Sandra, by the way, so he didn't come with us.

As we drove, Cindy said "I have rarely gotten the vibe from you that I did when you were watching that funeral. Why is it affecting you so much? I mean, yeah he was a Marine, and yeah, they abused his children, but you're still hot over it."

"Yes." I said. "Yes I am. We'll talk about it later this afternoon. I have two things I need to do first."

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

SBI Agent Carter Fischer came into the University Psychology Building and went to the office of Dr. Laura Fredricson. Introducing himself to Gayle Roberts, he was admitted into the room, which seemed empty as the door was closed behind him.

Then he saw the chair behind Dr. Fredricson's desk wheel around. The person sitting in that chair was... the Iron Crowbar.

"Thank you for coming, Agent Fischer." I said. "This is the safest room in the County to have a private talk that can remain private. Have a seat."

Fischer did so, sitting in front of the desk. I slid a piece of paper over so he could read it. It read: It was you that called in the tip?.

Fischer looked up at me and just nodded. I took out a small plastic ashtray, set the paper on fire, and let it burn to ashes in the ashtray as Fischer watched.

"Agent Fischer," I said to start, "I am very rarely wrong in my evaluations of people, if I do say so myself. You are one of the very few I missed on; I thought you were going to be one of the good guys. "So, I just want to hear your whole story, off the record, just between us."

Fischer said "From the beginning?" I nodded.

"I always wanted to be an FBI Agent." said Fischer. "But as you can see, I'm pretty skinny, and not all that athletic. So I didn't make it through Quantico. But I did get into the SBI as a data analyst, then managed to get into their full Agent program."

"I don't think I'm one of the corrupt ones." said Fischer. "But I saw what was going on around me. I would never actively do anything dirty, but I let what others were doing slide. I thought it was just the normal political machinations of a bureaucracy."

I nodded. "I can understand that. So what happened?"

"Agent Grigsby, who is a rock solid guy, asked to not work with Greenwalt anymore. Grigsby said Greenwalt was a racist and constantly making racist comments. Grigsby also said that Greenwalt was immature, and acted like our missions were ROTC exercises in the woods or something. So they had me working with Greenwalt at times. Not all the time, but I was supposed to get him squared away, and at least get him to stop talking the racial stuff."

"Well," continued Fischer, "Greenwalt caught the eye of some people in the NTF. Ferrell had Pelletier bring Greenwalt in, to see if Greenwalt would be good on things like drug raids and paramilitary exercises. Ferrell and Pelletier thought that Greenwalt would wake up and get it together when he realized that those were real bullets coming at him... or Greenwalt would be a casualty, and that would be that."

"Tough training program." I said. "I'm glad the Police Academy is not that harsh."

"Believe me, Commander," said Fischer, "that is not the norm. It was just Greenwalt that I ever heard that said about. Anyway, they put him on Pelletier's team, which is basically an SBI SWAT Team. We've been beefing up since you shot up some our people in that bad raid in your County with that machine gun."

"So glad I could assist in your people's training." I said acerbically. "So you didn't work with Greenwalt anymore?"

"Oh yeah, I did." he said. "If we got a call, like that Linda Farris calling us in, he usually was tagged to go with me. And when you showed up and was about to rip Ms. Farris a new one, he and I were only glad to get out of there and out of your sight as quickly as possible."

"Anyway," Fischer continued, "this raid was being planned, and Greenwalt has a habit of not keeping his mouth shut. He was doing a bit better about not being overtly racist, but he still talked a lot. So the night of the raid, d a bunch of us went to a party at one agent's house; the driver Rogers's house. They would have parties to disguise how they were getting together, and then *poof!* suddenly were up and gone in vans.

"Well, there were a bunch of us not on that raid, some not even in the NTF, and some of those guys were bantering about the upcoming raid. I happened to hear Greenwalt telling someone that they were supposed to go to Nextdoor County but that they really were going to your County, and they had to make sure they got in and out of there before you, the Iron Crowbar, got wind of their raid.

"So I called Lt. Evans in Nextdoor County." said Fischer. "I had worked with her some on drug information, though she doesn't trust us any more than you do. I gave her a code sign we'd worked out if a C.I. we were both using got compromised, so she knew it was me. I told her what I knew. I guess she called you guys."

I nodded. "So, how much of this are you willing to put down in an affidavit, and testify to."

"All of it, if I have to." said Fischer. "Look, I just want to be an Agent, State or Federal. I looked into other States, but many of them are as bad or worse than this one. If I testify, I'm done in that capacity. But I'll do it if I have to, because it's the right thing to do."

"Agent Fischer," I said, "would you like to help me and others clean up the SBI? Make it a force for good, and as free as possible of corruption?"

"Sure." said Fischer.

"Then we won't use your testimony, unless it becomes zero-option necessary." I said. "What I'd really like for you to do is just keep your eyes and ears open. Do what you've been doing, going with the flow, but just do good Agent work. If Greenwalt gets past this, keep an eye on him to see if he's connected to other racially-related people, stuff like that."

"I'll do it, sir." said Fischer.

"All right, thanks for coming by. I'm thinking better of you now." I said, standing up. He stood up and we shook hands.

"I appreciate it, Commander." He crossed the long office and exited from the door in which he had come in.

The door to the nursery behind the desk opened. Cindy Ross came out.

"Do you trust him?" she asked.

"Yes and no." I said, sitting back down in Laura's chair. Now how is it that she got a better chair than I have? I idly wondered.

Then I said "Methinks what he said was true, but he left out a few things. He's working for someone, maybe the FBI, and was already gathering information on white supremacy groups from Greenwalt."

"How do you know?" Cindy asked.

"Elementary, my dear Watson." I said. "Greenwalt trusted Carter there enough to keep talking things like raids in front of Carter. So Carter is considered 'okay' by Greenwalt and maybe others. So he's ingraining himself with them. If he were really trying to keep Greenwalt from talking race, as Grigsby apparently did and got fed up with, then Greenwalt might work with Carter, but likely would not say much to him. Ergo, the real truth is that Fischer is worming his way into Greenwalt's all-white world."

"The logic holds." said Cindy. "But what about him informing Molly of the raid, who informed me instead of you directly, then I came to you?"

"You've heard me say that sometimes the Media will actually tell the truth, and I call it a 'Random Act of Journalism'."? Cindy nodded, and I said "This is similar. Fischer is sort of on the fence, but he's basically a good guy. He knows something really is badly wrong about this raid he's hearing about. So he alerts Molly to the details, which is the right thing to do, while keeping his own person out of the picture. With Mr. Fischer, there... we'll just have to see..."

Part 15 - Voiceover

Detective Joanne Cummings and I went to the office of Kroger Regional Director George White, whose dog had been killed in the 'Going Rogue' case. After we were admitted, I showed him some pictures.

"These are artist sketches." I said. "Mr. White, do any of them look like the man that threatened you when you wouldn't smuggle goods for them?"

He looked through the photos, and his eyes kept coming back to one man in a reddish-brown beard and mustache. "I can't swear to it, but this guy..." he tapped at the picture as he spoke, "... he sure looks close."

"Thank you, Mr. White." I said. "And I don't suppose you've heard from the guy again?"

"No." said White. "But my wife and I are being audited by the State Tax Authority, going back seven full years. We've retained an attorney; the State seems to be out for blood."

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

"What did you think, Detective?" I asked as we got in my SUV.

"If you can find the man and put him in a lineup," said Joanne, "I think Mr. White will correctly identify him."

"Me too." I said.


"Where to now, sir?" I asked.

"To the Campaign Office of Jenna Stiles. " I said. "And this is why I brought you instead of Captain Ross. Prepare for possibly emotional times..."

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

I played the audio tape for Jenna. As I did, I noted her recoil sharply, her eyes widening, almost popping out of her head.

"Oh my God." said Jenna.

"Do you recognize this voice, Jenna?" I asked.

"It... I can't testify to it..." she said, "but yes, it sound a lot like the first man, the one that forced Gor-don to rape me, and then he raped me..."

Jenna then said "And... he's the one whose voice I thought I'd heard before that night. Do you know who he is?"

"Before I answer that," I said, "take a look at this sketch of a man in an mask. Does it look like that man?"

Jenna's eyes teared up. "Again... I can't testify to it, but... yes...it does look like that masked man."

"I know this is hard, Jenna," I said, "and I appreciate you doing this. So let me ask you, do you know a lawyer named Charles Roland?"

"Yes." said Jenna. "He was representing Perry Richards in some deal that was going on several years ago. I wasn't an ADA yet, I was working for the people on the other side of the deal. Roland was a real asshole... oh my God..."

"His voice?" asked Joanne Cummings, who was sitting next to Jenna and comforting her.

"I... I think so..." said Jenna.

"If we catch this guy," I said, "do you think you might be able to identify him from moles or other marks on his body?"

"Yes." said Jenna.

"Okay, again I am sorry to have to put you through this." I said.

"If it catches the bastard, it's okay." Jenna said. I had the Campaign Manager come in, who I'd forewarned about the questioning that was to occur. She comforted Jenna as Detective Cummings and I left.

Part 16 - Solution

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" she shouted at 7:00am, Tuesday March 22d. "Channel Two News has learned that District Attorney Gil Krasney has decided to not press charges against Assistant Fire Chief William Jefferson for assaulting a Police officer and other charges. However, Jefferson is still under investigation by the Inspector General, and may be relieved of his duties as Assistant Fire Chief."

"Jefferson's lawyer made a statement that his lawsuit against the County and Commander Donald Troy would continue. Yesterday, Commander Troy filed a counter-suit in the case, clouding the legal entanglements considerably. Town & County Councilman Thomas P. Cook has stated that if Commander Troy does not drop the counter-suit, he will lose his indemnification as a Police Officer, but the Mayor and some other Council Members issued a counter-statement saying that Cook was not speaking for the Council and has no authority in that matter."

"In the case of the shooting of a Marine by the SBI on a raid gone horribly wrong, five State Agents were formally indicted and have pled 'not guilty' of multiple charges, including first degree murder. In the case of the leader, Agent Justin Pelletier, the Town & County District Attorney's Office has said they will seek the death penalty for the aggravating circumstances of the case."

"And finally," said Bettina, "Channel Two News has learned that the FBI may begin an investigation of the SBI very soon. The FBI will not confirm this, but has not denied it either. And SBI Director Jack Lewis, who is running for Governor, has said he has heard nothing at all of any possibility of such an investigation."

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

I finished my chicken Caesar salad as Jack Muscone polished off his second double cheeseburger. We were eating lunch at the Cop Bar, which was surprisingly not busy today. The rains and messy road conditions probably were a factor.

"Nice appetizer." I teased. "What's the main course?"

"Hell, Don," replied Muscone, "I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday, and I was up half the night working on stuff."

"You guys are busy." I said.

"Thanks to you." said Muscone quietly. "What I wanted to tell you is that the rumors of opening up an investigation on the SBI is true. What has happened is that we went to get a warrant to begin surveillance on Charles Roland. The Federal Judge agreed that we had probable cause based upon what you gave us, and he issued it, but then he called me and the U.S. Attorney into his Chambers.

"While there, he said that with the Belfort Badge Gang investigation, and Roland being an offshoot of that, and with the SBI raid fiasco, he was supportive of our opening an overall investigation... but he wants it rolled into one package. So we've formed a Task Force. My team is on it, you and Cindy are on it as Consultants, Les Craig and Miles Winters are going to look into SBI connections with corrupt politicians like Dick Langdon. The idea is to bag just as many of these bastards as we can."

"Well, perish forbid I tell the FBI its business." I said. "I just hope that you are prioritizing some things over others."

"What do you think is the most important?" asked Muscone.

"Disguise Man." I said. "He's the thread on the web that takes us right to the center, and the Consultant. Next is Louise Belfort, Watch Captain Lockhart, and the small armies they raise from time to time."

"I agree." Jack said. "My boss... does not. Those Washington meetings with him and your wife and some of the highest level people in the Government... are allegedly about the ginning up of race wars in this country."

"I didn't think they were ready to go with that." I said.

"Neither did I, nor my boss." said Muscone. "And I know very little. So you, me and my team, and Cindy can work on the Consultant, and my boss will keep his eyes focused elsewhere. In a way, that's good... I have carte blanche for our operation."

Something was going on, I realized. Both operations were big. But we were being directed to one and made to focus on one. Giving me, through my FBI friends, this kind of investigation of the SBI... that's dangling a *big* carrot in front of my face...

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

Back at Headquarters, I was visited by a contingent of people. The Guernica family had come to say goodbye. They were moving to Arizona, where Mrs. Guernica had relatives. She thanked me for capturing the criminals, and for upholding her husband's honorable name in the face of smears.

Her little daughter looked a bit scared of me, but Joanne Cummings held her and told her the big redheaded man was her friend. So the little girl smiled a little bit at me.

As for Miguel, he came up to me and said "I drew a picture for you, Mr. Crowbar."

I knelt down and looked at it. It was in crayon. My whole head was in orange, with lots of orange-red hair and very large ears. Did I really look like that? I thought. The rest of me was in blue, with a silver star pasted over my chest where my badge would be. And in my hand was what looked like a red candy cane, representing my crowbar. That would do, I thought. That would do.

"This is very good, Miguel." I said. "Will you help me put it on my wall?" I put him on the desk and we thumbtacked the picture next to Pete Feeley's shield. Miguel was very happy. I would later put the drawing in a frame and hang it on the wall on the other side of the room.

"Miguel," I said, "I want you to do something for me. When you're growing up, I want everything you do to be something that will make your daddy proud of you, okay? Your daddy was a good man, and he's watching over us somewhere up there. Make him proud of you, okay?"

"Yes sir!" said Miguel. I put him back down on the floor, noticing that his mother had tears in her eyes.

As everyone was leaving, Miguel suddenly ran back and hugged my leg. "Thank you Mr. Crowbar!" he said, then darted back to his mom. Cindy was watching, and her eyes got a little moist. I held back, but thought to myself that moments like that made what I do worth the fight, and worth the pain.