Sting of the Scorpion Ch. 01

The chronological order of my stories is as follows:

Todd & Melina series, Interludes 1-5, Sperm Wars series, Russian Roulette series, Case of the Murdered Lovers series, Case of the Murdered Chessplayer series, The Swap series, Interludes 6-10, The Murdered Football Player Series, Case of the Black Widow series, Teresa's Christmas Story, The Case of the Black Badge series, A Case of Revenge series, Teresa's Summer Race, The Trilogy series, Dark Side Of The Force series, Caught In The Act series, The Phyllis Files 1-2, Case of the Murdered Bride series, The Credit Card Caper series, The Phyllis Files 3, The Hot Wives Investment Club series, Seriously Inconvenienced series, Case of the Paper Trail series, Christmas Mystery Theater, The Porno Set Mystery series, The Medical Murder Mystery series, The Eightfold Fence series, The Phyllis Files 4, Pale Morning Light series, Silverfish series, Cold As Ice series, Secrets of Apple Grove series.

Sting of the Scorpion, Ch. 01

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 1 - Prologue: Promotions

Friday, May 1st. May Day. It was also the supplemental medals and promotions day at the Town & County Police Department. Normally promotions occurred on February 1st and August 1st, but sometimes needs had to be filled or there was sufficient other reason that there were some promotions on May 1st and November 1st. Today... there were sufficient reasons.

"Glad you could make it up here." I said to Molly Evans, who was dressed in her formal Midtown Police uniform to honor the occasion. We were in my office and it was now 7:45am. The ceremonies would start at 8:30am.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Molly replied.

"Good, and I'm glad you're going to be helping us with the ceremony." I said. "By the way, how's the baby coming along?"

"Wonderful," Molly said, her eyes flirtatious as she locked them with mine, "as I tell you when you call every day. And Ross is doing very well, also, but he misses his daddy." I smiled at the thought of my son Ross, whose picture was on my desk alongside Carole and little Jim's.

Just then, there was a knock on my door, and Lieutenant Wes 'Coldiron' Masters was invited inside.

"Ah, Sergeant Evans," Masters said to his former colleague and the successor to his post in the Midtown Police Force, "it's great to see you again."

"And you, Lieutenant Masters." Molly replied. "I was just telling the Commander here that he has way too many Lieutenants working for him."

"Not enough, actually." I said. "And we're going to have one less Lieutenant today."

"And one new Chief." Masters said.

"Yes," I replied, "but that doesn't happen until 1:00pm at City Hall. The real fun for me happens at 8:30..."

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

It was not a good day for Deputy Chief Robert Brownlee. He had to endure the public announcement that the new Data Division was formed, answerable to the Chief of Detectives, which meant that his I.T. Department no longer had control of the data miners. In addition, Captain Marc Aaron was in direct control of I.T. and had been given semi-autonomy by the Town & County Council, stripping Brownlee considerably of his power and authority in that area. Cpt. Aaron would answer directly to the Chief. It was reminiscent of when I'd been hired into the TCPD and answered to the Chief instead of Captain Malone, and I was a bit surprised that both the Council and the Chief had taken this extraordinary step.

Everyone was in the bleachers in the area behind Police Headquarters for the awarding of medals (there were very few on this day) and the promotions. I watched as Lieutenant 'Coldiron' Masters pinned the rank of Sergeant upon the uniform of Orange Order member Janice Holloway of Personnel & Records. This was another blow to Brownlee, who had maliciously tried to prevent every promotion and pay raise in the Admin areas over which he was ruling with crushing, micro-managerial authority. The Sheriff and new Chief-to-be intervened with the Council to get the proper promotions done. It is possible that I helped that effort behind the scenes. A lot.

On top of that, Brownlee had to watch as I personally pinned the bars of rank upon the new Supervisor of the Data Division, one Myron Milton. The Supervisor bar was like a Warrant Officer in the Army: silver with three black squares inside it. This promotion might normally been Cindy's task as Myron's immediate chain-of-command boss, but Myron asked if I would do it personally, and of course I was happy to pull rank and do so. And there were other reasons, as well...

Curiously, Myron's father, Professor Marvin Milton, occupant of the Sir Isaac Newton Chair of Advanced Mathematics in the University's Mathematics Department, was in the audience watching, but had declined to help pin the ranks on his son's uniform. I'd heard that Professor Milton was exceptionally brilliant, and had been nominated for a Nobel Prize, but he was also extremely eccentric. He hated the CIA with a deep and abiding passion.

Cindy was not left out: there was authorized one slot for Master Technician, whose insignia was a bar with three black squares, but the bar itself was gold instead of silver. With Myron being promoted out of it, Cindy was happy to pin the Master Technician bars upon the uniform of one Mary Mahoney Milton.

Yes, 'Milton'. Mary and Myron had been married the previous Saturday in a ceremony officiated by Police Chaplain Father Romano. The nepotism issue of her reporting to Myron was resolved in that she reported directly to me as my 'personal advisor' on matters of data acquisition, while Myron reported to Cindy in his new capacity of Supervisor of the Data Division. The Council passed a voice-vote resolution approving it, even though they weren't required to do so.

Then came what would give Brownlee the most serious heartburn, and me the absolutely greatest delight. As I walked in front of the assemblage, I noticed Chief Emeritus Griswold in his full uniform, Medal of Valor around his neck (as mine was around my neck and Cindy's was around hers). He would be at the new Chief's swearing-in this afternoon, but he definitely wanted to be here for this next moment. So did several Town & County Council Members and the Mayor himself.

And my eyes did not fail to catch the shock of white hair at the very back corner of the bleachers. The man himself, Dr. P. Harvey Eckhart, founder and great leader of 'The Vision' self-help-seminars empire, was here, watching. I couldn't help but smile inwardly at that, knowing full well why he had made the effort to be here. I took to the microphone to do my duty:

"Ladies and gentlemen," I said as loudly and sonorously as I could, "This will be my last official act as Acting Chief of the Town & County Police Force. I first want to thank each and every one of you Officers that have done your duty with honor and distinction, and in so doing have made my job and my life much, much easier. I could not ask for a better group of people to have working for and with me." That was a lie: I had no love lost for Sharples, McCombs or Hendricks, but it was glossing-over time, and they weren't here today.

There was polite applause and then I continued: "I am extremely proud and honored that my last act as Acting Chief will be to administer this promotion. Cindy Ross is without doubt the finest Police Officer that I have ever had the privilege of working with."

I looked at my partner, who was sitting in the front row as I said "Therefore, it is my honor to announce her promotion today... to Captain in the Town & County Police Force."

There was strong applause, indeed a standing ovation which I joined with my own applause, as Cindy came forward. Jenna Stiles and Molly Evans pinned the silver Captain bars upon Cindy's shoulders, the Police photographer furiously snapping photographs from his post at my side as KXTC and KSTD cameras attempted to intrude as much as possible to get close shots. As they did, Cindy was looking at me, trying to look sardonic. But as I met her eyes I could see the happiness in her soul.

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

Cindy's promotion was no surprise to her. After the Council approved it along with the Chief's nomination at their second reading of the bill on April 21st, I knew I had to tell her: partially so that she could get her uniforms ready, and partially because she would be at the Orange Order dinner on April 30th, and the subject would be discussed. That also went for now-Sergeant Janice Holloway.

"But Don," Cindy said after I told her in my office, "I'm just brevetted a Lieutenant now. Can the Council do that?"

"Oh yes." I said. "They re-wrote some of the laws, and the Town & County Assembly approved it." The Assembly was 30 citizens from 30 equal-population zones. The Council was semi-executive in its nature, and the Assembly was just legislative. Only the Assembly could set taxes and pass a budget, and there were a few occasions where they had to pass off on something done by the Council.

"The way the law now reads," I said, "Captains and above are just a wee bit different than the rest of the Force. The Council can put anyone they want in the position, and waive the age and time-in-grade requirements, which they did in your case. And you'll be paid as a full Captain, which in my opinion is long, long overdue. You've been doing a Captain's job on Supervisor pay, and that's going to change now.

"Also," I continued, "Captain is more of a political post than a, shall we say, 'working class' officer level. Captains and above have a different Union than Lieutenants and below. But there's two other perks that are the best part of this:

"First: you're now exempt from the physical fitness requirements that police officers of ranks Lieutenant and below have to meet. I know you're in great shape, but if anyone starts giving me shit about your lung wound, I'll now have something to shove in their faces while shoving a crowbar up their asses." Cindy smiled briefly at that one.

"And second, "I continued, "it means that while technically Brownlee and I outrank you and the other Captains, it's kind of like Army generals where there's less of a formality." (One example: Generals of any level don't salute each other formally like lesser officers salute superior ones.)

"So basically," I finished up, "you can never again be brought up for insubordination to Brownlee... and he is going to fully understand that by the time the Sheriff and I get through with him."

Cindy gave a brilliant smile at that. I have only seen that huge smile once before: when I told Cindy that she was being brevetted to Lieutenant and Teresa wouldn't outrank her. (Author's note: See 'Dark Side of the Force, Ch. 1' for that one.)

"And there are other good reasons, but we'll talk about those at the proper time." I said, then intoned as a warning: "By the way... you're still fully subordinate to the Chief, and to me as your direct boss, meaning by position not by rank. So don't try any cute stuff on me."

"Darn." Cindy said. "I'll just have to reserve your blue crowbar beatings to our workouts in the gym."

"Smart Captain, you are." I said, using Jedi Master Yoda grammar. "Soon promoted, you will be. Seriously, congratulations, you very much deserve this."

"And I have you to thank for it." Cindy said. "Not only for going to the Council for this, which I'm sure you did, but for everything you've done for me since you came here."

"Believe me, my friend," I said, "it has been my pleasure and honor to bring you along with me. I could not do my job without you. Okay, get out of here before we get all mushy and crying." I wasn't kidding, we were both near that.

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

I also had had to tell two other persons of Cindy's promotion, and I did so on the afternoon of April 30th in my office.

"Keep this under your hats until tomorrow, ladies, but Miss Ross is going to be promoted to Captain tomorrow." I'd said.

"Yes!" hissed Lt. Teresa Croyle with a fist pump, genuinely happy for her best friend. "That's great! Long overdue, too."

"That's awesome." said Lt. Tanya Perlman... but with considerably less enthusiasm, though she tried unsuccessfully to hide it.

"It formalizes a lot of things." I said. "It also will somewhat change your relationships with Miss Ross. What y'all call each other in off-duty privacy is y'all's business, but on duty and in public she outranks you, as I do. I'm sure you both will handle that with your usual professionalism, but just bear it in mind for setting the examples before the officers of the Force."

After some more chit-chat, I dismissed Teresa, asking Tanya to stay for a moment.

"Okay, Tanya." I said, taking my badge off my shirt and putting it on the desk as a symbolic gesture. "Speak freely, no ranks, no protocols. You're not happy about this, are you?"

"Uh..." Tanya said, caught off guard. "Sir, I'm happy for Cindy, really I am. And of course I'll support her all the way, as I always have. It's just that... well, the only way to say it is that I always thought it would be me where she is today."

"I get that." I said. "And it's certainly no negative reflection upon you; you're an outstanding Detective and a great leader in the MCD."

"Yes, sir." Tanya said. "And you probably think it's selfish of me to say this... but I'd always aspired to be top Detective here, then the Captain of the Detectives. Of course, with you here, no one else will ever be the top Detective."

"I'm not that, either." I said. "It's my mother than has usurped us both on that. And I do have to work at it to keep ahead of you at any crime scene."

"Yeah, right." Tanya said, grinning, then continued: "Don't get me wrong, Don. Working with you has elevated my game and everyone else's. And you did put me in the MCD Lieutenant slot, which I'll always appreciate. But now I've bared my soul to you, so do with me what you will... preferrably in bed."

I chuckled at that. "O-kayyyy, I'll take advantage of that, and you, at another time." I said. "Look, I can't promise you anything more than what you are and where you're at now. I can understand if you're disappointed now, but you should realize that a lot of people would kill to be where you are now: full Lieutenant and head of a very good MCD department, and at an age where some guys are still trying to qualify as little more than a training recruit still in diapers. Anything else?" I asked, picking up my badge.

"No sir." Tanya said. "As I said, I'm a professional and I'll do my job to the best of my ability." I knew she wasn't truly mollified by our talk, but at least something that had been bugging her for a long time was now out in the open, and we would be the better for that... I hoped.

And I could tell that a lot more than her professional career was on Tanya's mind, and bothering her.

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

At 1:00pm I sat in front of City Hall, behind the podium as the Mayor made his requisite speech. All of the Police Captains and Precinct Captains were up here, including Captain Cindy Ross, as well as Sheriff Allgood and his Chief of Staff, the second in command of the Sheriff Department. The Members of the Council were also with us.

Chief Emeritus Griswold was among other dignitaries seated in the front row on the lawn of the Courthouse Square, along with University President Sidney P. Wellman, Campus Police Commissioner and Provost Marshal Dexter Robinson (who I had not seen for way too long), and high-ranking Fire Department personages, including the lovely Fire Marshal, Commander Zoe Singer.

And then I watched as one of my chess moves fell neatly into place. Just as I had engineered the nomination of Daniel Allgood to Sheriff and saw him elected, I now watched as Harold Bennett was sworn in as the new Town & County Chief of Police after I had engineered it through the Sheriff and Council, none of them realizing that they'd been led to it as a horse is led to water... okay, one of them was fully aware of it.

Bennett's wife and the Sheriff pinned the silver eagle rank (like an Army Bird Colonel) of Chief on his shoulders, and then we all stood up as we clapped for him. Then came the best part: the Mayor concluded the proceedings.

"So, Don, how do you feel, no longer being Acting Chief?" Zoe Singer asked me, coming up to me as the gathering began to disassemble. She'd first congratulated Cindy on her promotion.

"Good!" I said. "Don't ever tell this to a soul, but I really wasn't ready for that yet."

"Could've fooled me." Cindy replied. "You did one hell of a job while you were at it."

"Absolutely." said Zoe. "A lot of us were hoping the Council would promote you to Chief whether you liked it or not."

"No, I wouldn't have accepted that. I'm right where I need to be to get done what I need to do." I said. "But while I was in that position, I had good help. A lot of very good help. And my best helper is a Captain now." Cindy blushed and smiled wryly.

"I daresay she is!" said a voice behind us.

I whirled around and was face to face with P. Harvey Eckhart as he said "Your best helper, that is."

"Dr. Eckhart!" exclaimed Zoe Singer. "It's so good to see you again." She gave him a warm hug.

"And you, Miss Singer." Eckhart said. "You're looking very well. As are you... Captain Ross. Congratulations, my dear. Certainly well deserved!"

"Thank you, Doctor." Cindy said, smiling shyly. She also hugged Dr. Eckhart.

"Now why are you getting all the hugs, Harvey?" I asked. "What is your secret with these women?"

At that, Zoe Singer broke out laughing as Cindy rolled her eyes. Not only was Cindy a lesbian and Zoe bisexual but mainly a lesbian, but Dr. Eckhart said it best when he replied:

"Yes, ladies, just look at who is saying that." Eckhart said. "The man with the legendary crowbar... and I am not talking about that red piece of metal he carries around."

Cindy blushed as hard as I did, and Zoe laughed out loud again. I couldn't help but chuckle at Eckhart's humor. I could see why this guy became the great (and rich) legend that he was in the self-help industry...

Part 2 - Place Settings

At 1:30pm I knocked on the door of the Chief's office, just moments after he had first come in. He'd already brought a few personal mementos in, and I was his first official visitor.

"Welcome to your new home, Chief." I said. "I wanted to give you this little office-warming gift."

"Ah, you shouldn't have." said Chief Bennett. He unwrapped the tissues to reveal a mid-size painting of a deer on the edge of the woods in the snow. The branches of the trees formed an outline of a deer overlooking the real one.

"How did you know I was a hunter?" Chief Bennett asked. I just smiled as he said "This is very nice. Oh, have a seat." I sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk as he sat down in the chair behind the desk, which he'd brought from his old office.

"Do you hunt, Commander?" he asked. his voice a pleasant, fatherly drawl.

"I have in the past." I said. "Not as often as I'd like, though."

"What cartridge do you use?" he asked, testing me.

"7-08." I said, referring to the 7mm-08 cartridge. "Sometimes a .30-30. My ex-wife used the .308 when she and I would go hunting."