The Nuclear Option Ch. 04

"I dunno." I said. "We've got Bettina's payback to deliver first."

"Ooooo-weeee..." said Tanya with a grin and sparkling eyes, "how are you going to do that?" She noticed me glance at Jack, and she looked over at him.

"Stay tuned for further announcements." said Muscone...

Part 24 - Back To The Grind, and 'Meetings'

"This is Keith Madden, KXTC Channel Two News!" said the cub reporter at 7:00am, Tuesday, March 12th, from behind the anchor desk of the KXTC studios. "Bettina Wurtzburg is on assignment. Channel Two News has learned that the State House Judiciary Committee will issue subpoenas for TCPD Commander Donald Troy and SBI Lieutenant Norm Chow to testify before their committee's ongoing probe of Governor Val Jared."

"State Democrats say that Robert Mullen's Independent State Counsel report was not the end of the investigations into Governor Jared's alleged crimes for abuse of power, but merely the beginning." continued Madden. "Judiciary Chairman Justin Madoff has said he intends to keep digging until he finds proof of crimes by Jared, and that he fully expects Commander Troy to comply with their subpoenas and truthfully answer questions about allegations that he exercised Police brutality against two women who made credible claims of sexual harassment against the Governor."

"In other news," continued Madden, "FBI Special Agent in Charge Jack Muscone answered questions at a Press Conference in the City yesterday regarding what is being called an 'exercise' by the military in several counties in this part of the State over the weekend. Mr. Muscone gave no new information on the incidents, referring questions about the incident to the U.S. Army, but when asked about the abuse of Citizens's rights in having their cars searched at gunpoint without warrants by military personnel, he said that the orders of the military leaders were 'misinterpreted' by the soldiers at the checkpoints, and that the personnel involved were being given refresher training..."

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

"Wow." Sheriff Griswold said as we watched in the Chief's Conference Room. "What's that about, Tanya? Poor Jack having to take all the arrows for the military's fuck-ups."

"I dunno, Sheriff." said Tanya. "But Jack told me last night that the military actually suggested he say that, and that they preferred that near-admission of violating people's rights to having the truth about the nuke getting out."

The Sheriff replied "I was asking more along the lines of him giving that Press Conference at all... and letting the military brass blame the little guys for the problems and making the FBI guy take the Press arrows."

"I'm more curious about why Bettina is not making the morning broadcast." Cindy said. "Why is that gutless coward bitch in hiding now?" Sheriff Griswold's mustaches were twitching merrily at just how far Cindy had come over to our side against the Press.

"And if not Bettina," I added, "why not Amber? After all, she's confined to the studios and can't do anything else, anyway."

The Sheriff noticed the slight gleam in my gray eyes. As the broadcast ended, he said "Crowbar, can I see you in your office for a moment?"

"Yes sir." I said.

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

Once seated in my office and fortified with cups of Navy coffee, the Sheriff peered at me and said "So, Crowbar... why didn't Bettina make that broadcast?"

"Just between us and the crowbars, sir," I said, "rumor has it that Bettina really wanted to name the biological father of Betsy in her broadcast. She missed her opportunity to do it yesterday, and doing it today would be illegal because Judge Watts sealed it as part of the adoption papers. So Burt West, who is shitting his pants as he waits for my next move against KXTC, kept Bettina off the air to keep her from doing something stupid and going to jail for it."

"Har!" barked Sheriff Griswold happily. Then he peered at me again, and asked "And how did you hear of that? I wouldn't expect Bettina nor West to just call you and tell you."

"Oh, people hear things, and want to repeat those things." I said. "We have leaks in the TCPD here, as you well know. Well, so does KXTC. And one person talks to another, and so on and so on, until we have six degrees of separation, where everything comes... to me."

"I'm glad I'm on your side." said the Sheriff. "So... will you tell your Clan Senior Advisor what you are going to do about Bettina? Or to her?"

I just smiled. "By this time tomorrow, Sheriff... you will know." The Sheriff nodded, and I could see he was trying to figure it out.

(Author's note: dear readers, you have the clues, too. Can you tell what the I.C. is going to do to Bettina?)

"Well, Crowbar," said the Sheriff, "all I'll say is that you've done very well handling that. Very well."

"Thank you, sir." I said, the praise making me feel like a son who has received the blessings of his father...

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

"Hello and welcome!" said Catrina Pierce at 7:30am, Tuesday, March 12th. "Thank you for joining us for the Fox Eight Sunrise Show! I'm Catrina Pierce, and with me as always is Meredith Peller."

"Good morning, Catrina. Good morning, everyone." said Meredith. "Here's what's going on this morning. Many in the Media were shocked when our competitor's reporter Amber Harris was arrested on conspiracy charges in connection with Gayle Tunnin's false charges against Daniel Allgood before last November's election!"

"Both Gayle Tunnin and Della Harlow were charged with conspiracy to slander Daniel Allgood, who eventually won the Mayor's race despite the false charges and despite an attempt to steal the election with fraudulent votes." said Meredith. "Tunnin and Harlow both accepted plea deals in exchange for turning State's evidence against Amber Harris, who was also at meetings planning the smear attacks upon now-Mayor Allgood. Harris was arrested by Town & County Police, and made the one million dollar bail set by Superior Court Judge Rodney K. Watts."

"And in State news," said Meredith, "attorney for Commander Donald Troy Mike G. Todd said that his client was willing and prepared to testify before the State House Judiciary Committee in connection with the ongoing probe into alleged abuse of power charges against Governor Val Jared, provided that the scope of the questions are limited strictly to that investigation itself. This shocked many legal experts, who expected Commander Troy to fight against the expected subpoena for his testimony."

"That Committee better be careful." Catrina warned. "Things get exciting around here when Commander Troy does something that surprises the so-called 'experts'. Let's go to our beat reporter Priya Ajmani in Midtown for another breaking story. Priya!"

"Thank you, Catrina!" Priya said. "Fox Eight News has just learned that the State Right to Life Committee has appealed the squashing of their lawsuit by Judge Rodney K. Watts of the Superior Court. Additionally, the Republican-dominated State Senate Committee for Health and Human Services will begin an investigation into the Department of Family and Children's Services, known as DFACS. State Senate HHS Committee Chairman Pence Richards, who has close ties to the State Right to Life Committee, said this. Roll tape."

Tape rolled, showing Pence Richards, who was short and stocky, and whose hair was dyed silver white and cut short, saying "The processes that allowed some to jump the line ahead of others, as well as giving a lesbian custody of a baby child, has to be thoroughly examined, especially after the State Right to Life's legitimate lawsuit was crushed in a local court."

More tape rolled, showing Ralph Corkle, once leader of the State Republican Office and now the spokesman for the State Right to Life Committee, saying "We believe our lawsuit was wrongfully dismissed, and we are appealing that ruling. We will have our day in Court on behalf of good Christian families that were passed over for adoption while lesbians living in sin are allowed to jump the line and adopt children."

Back to Priya live: "Neither the State Right to Life Committee nor Chairman Richards would comment on Judge Watts granting TCPD Deputy Chief Cindy Ross's adoption of a baby girl. And in other news, the Town & County Council meets tonight, and reports are that many Citizens will be demanding action after the abuse of their rights during the recent military training exercise. And the first meeting of the Town & County Commission to re-write the Charter will take place Wednesday. It will be a closed-door meeting, but Commander Donald Troy told Fox Eight News that the Commission will have open hearings in the near future. Back to you, Catrina!..."

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

"Who are you, and what have you done with Commander Troy?" Tanya asked as we watched the broadcast in my office. "Agreeing to testify before that lynch mob?"

"It's pretty much unavoidable." I said. "I might refuse, but AG Karl Handel is gathering the Republican Establishment Elite support for his run for Governor, and they're really after my ass. So to get their financial support, he'd bring those criminal contempt charges against me." Teresa and Cindy nodded as they began to understand.

"As it is," I continued, "the Legislature's trap is going to backfire after I truthfully testify on the matter. So as long as Mike Todd can force them to limit the scope of their questions, it'll be all right."

"How is it that Ralph Corkle is out of jail and with the SRLC?" asked Cindy. "I distinctly remember arresting that bastard after the Republican Caucus fraud." (Author's note: 'The Guardians of Justice', Ch. 02-03.)

"Yes, so do I." I said. "He got out of it... on technicalities. The FBI and others, including Martin Nash, tried to question him after he invoked, and Appellate Judge Leahy dropped all charges. The State Supreme Court refused to take up the case, so Corkle walked. On everything, including the kidnapping charges."

"That sucks." Tanya said. "By the way, where's Teresa? It's not an Angels meeting without her."

"She went to Randy Smith's funeral, which is today." I said. "She asked to go, and I told her to represent the TCPD well. Admiral Cordell went with her, and he is furious about the lack of help Sheri Smith and her one-year-old baby have been given."

"Teresa called last night," I said, "and said that the Army is doing the funeral and will give him the hero's burial he deserves, but the Office of Secure Transportation has not done a damn thing. Teresa called her lawyer Agnes T. Spires to help Sheri get the pension and insurance she's supposed to get; the OST would not return Sheri's phone calls. And with a full-blown retired Admiral breathing down their necks, they'd better get their shit straight------"

At that moment there was a knock on the door. Helena said "Guys, turn to KSTD." Tanya expertly used the remote to change the channel.

"And let's go to the State Capitol." said Cynthia Freeman at the SNN desk. The feed switched to a podium outside the State Capitol, where State House Minority Leader Wilson Hammonds was speaking for a group of Republican Legislators."

"We demand that Governor Val Jared appoint Robert Mullen as the Director of the new SBI-IDE." said Hammonds. "Only Robert Mullen has the integrity to lead the IDE forward in the War on Drugs."

"Will Robert Mullen enforce immigration laws like the SBI-IDE is supposed to?" asked a reporterette.

"Immigration is a Federal issue." said Hammonds. "Robert Mullen has the integrity to follow laws correctly, and also the courage to stand up to the racism of Governor Val Jared, and stand up to Jared's persecution of undocumented workers!"

*CLICK!*

I expertly used the remote to turn off the television monitor. "Enough of that." I growled. "Ladies, did you mess with my calendar? I didn't think April 1st was for a few more weeks." My Angels politely chuckled.

"I really want to hear what the Iron Crowbar thinks of that." said Cindy. "I can't figure it out."

"I dunno." I said. "It's just nuts on every level. First, there's no way the Governor would ever appoint Mullen, nor would SBI Director Goodwin. Second, they all but advertised that Mullen would not enforce immigration laws, which the IDE was partly created to do."

"Sir, they let the cat out of the bag on that one." Tanya said flatly. "They never intended for the SBI-IDE to help with immigration issues. That was all just to get the Budget passed. My only question is if the Governor knew they were going to backstab him on this, and so quickly, or if he genuinely, and stupidly, thought the IDE really would do any immigration enforcement?"

"Vee shall see." I said in my 'German' accent. "Time will tell on that. Time will tell..."

*BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!*

"Bet it's the Governor." Cindy said. I picked up the phone.

"Yes, Governor..." I said, with a raise of my eyebrows in Cindy's general direction, causing her to grin as I said "A meeting? Today?... Yes sir, I'll be there..."

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

Sgt. Andrew Prince flew me to Midtown in the TCPD's Bell 206 chopper. I was met at the helipad by SBI-OER Director Britt Maxwell and SBI-OER Lieutenant Norm Chow.

"I've already gotten my subpoena to testify before the State House Judiciary Committee." said Chow as we walked inside the State Capitol Office Building and to the elevators. "I don't know why they're making us go through this. My testimony will be exactly the same as what I told the Special Grand Jury and the Mullen Investigation."

"That may be part of it." I said. "They cannot release the Grand Jury testimony, and they probably don't have it. By asking you the same questions publicly, they can get your answers on record, even if the answers are not helpful to their cause."

"Again," said the beautiful Britt Maxwell, "why go through these hoops?"

"To keep the issue alive." I said. "The Mullen Report did not give them what they want, so they have to make it seem like the scandal is ongoing, that Jared is still guilty even though the millions spent on the ISC investigation yielded less than nothing for them. So, is that what this meeting is about?"

"No." said Britt as we got off the elevator and went down the hall to the office used by the Lieutenant Governor of the State. As we went inside, several people rose to greet us, including Lieutenant Governor Sharon Marshall, State Rep. Marsha Collins (R - Eastphalia), SBI Director James 'Curly' Goodwin, Lieutenant Gordon Grigsby of the SBI-BFE, and DEA Special Agent Dwight Stevens.

"Ah, thank you for coming, Inspector Troy." said Sharon Marshall as she came up and shook my hand, acting as hostess for the meeting. I shook hands with everyone else, and we sat down in an arrangement of chairs and the sofa that formed a circle.

"I'm representing the Governor in this meeting. He is unfortunately unable to be here." Lieutenant Governor Marshall said, her words fooling no one present: this was her meeting. She continued: "My friend Marsha Collins is here for the Legislative and Republican Party interests, Inspector Troy is the de facto head of the SBI Reserve, Lt. Grigsby is the BFE representative, and of course Director Goodwin heads the SBI. We've also asked Special Agent Stevens of the DEA to join us, as we hope the SBI-IDE and the DEA will be able to work much more closely together than the old NTF was able or willing to."

That was an understatement, I thought to myself. Lt. Gov. Marshall then said "I've asked you all to come to help Director Goodwin and Governor Jared choose who the leader of the SBI-IDE will be. We were not going to push this so quickly, but Wilson Hammonds is up to his dirty tricks again. His demand to make Robert Mullen the IDE Director was an absolute joke, but Hammonds's real intent is to simply stir up trouble with the IDE, which he hates with a deep and abiding passion."

"The Democrats are also going to announce their choice for the IDE position, and that choice is going to be Robert Gaston." said Marshall. Seeing my face, she said "I don't think Commander Troy is very fond of that choice any more than he is of Robert Mullen."

"No ma'am." I said. "If you thought Jack Lewis was dirty as the SBI Director, and Richard Ferrell in NTF..." I shook my head vigorously. "Sheesh... Gaston would simply uphold that less-than-fine tradition."

"So, just to hear myself say it," said Sharon Marshall, "would you like the job yourself, Inspector Troy?"

"No ma'am, I would not." I said firmly. "I am very happy where I am, doing what I'm doing now."

"Yezzz," mused Marshall, "even after that incident this past weekend, that we're not supposed to discuss, but everyone here knows what you did. And you did an outstanding job neutralizing that threat." Everyone applauded me for narrowly avoiding being vaporized by a nuclear weapon. Okay, for stopping the threat, too.

"What about you, Inspector Maxwell?" said Marsha Collins. "If you took the IDE job, Lt. Chow could succeed you in the SBI-OER."

"I'm happy where I am, too." said Britt Maxwell. "And while I'd hate to lose Lt. Chow, he would be an excellent choice for the IDE job."

"No ma'am." said Norm Chow, in his level, calm way of talking. "That job is too political for me. Politicians... irritate me." I couldn't help but smile at that one.

"Okay, then." said Sharon Marshall, expertly steering the meeting along. "Director Goodwin will make the choice, and it'll have to be ratified by the Governor. Does anyone have any names to suggest to them?"

"And 'Steven Ikea' is a wrong answer." Britt Maxwell said brightly, her eyes sparkling. Everyone but me laughed.

"Good Lord, you people are trying to give me a heart attack." I said. "But seriously, I think your answer is right here in this room." With that, I raised my right arm and then clapped the shoulder of Lt. Grigsby, who was seated to my right.

"Sir?" asked a stunned Grigsby. "Er, I'm not sure I'm ready for this."

"I am sure." I said. "You're clean as a whistle, honest, you'll do a good job, and most importantly, you won't let the politicians try to dissuade you from doing the 'I' part of the IDE job... Immigration Enforcement. And you'll be acceptable to everyone for the Drug Enforcement part of the job. And I won't have to worry about the SBI-IDE messing with my Town & County, either."

"Ah, I knew you had an ulterior motive." Britt Maxwell said teasingly, her eyes sparkling as she looked flirtatiously at me.

"Sounds like you better get ready to be promoted, Mr. Grigsby." said SBI Director Curly Goodwin. "The Iron Crowbar has spoken."

"I appreciate your trust in me, sir." said Grigsby, more to me than to Goodwin.

"Okay, then." I said. "You all can interview Lt. Grigsby while Special Agent Stevens and I fly up to the City to make sure the FBI has adult supervision." Stevens chuckled and we made our goodbyes and left.

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

DEA Special Agent Dwight Stevens and I were flown by Sgt. Prince to the Federal Building in the City. Sgt. Prince then went to City Airport to refuel for the flight home while Stevens and I went to the FBI Offices.

We went into the large room, where Sandra Speer, Lindy Linares, Martin Nash, and Julius Jefferson greeted us enthusiastically. Sandra showed me the latest Greta photos; my daughter was growing up fast... and without me, I thought sadly as I looked at them.

Then Jefferson announced to all the other Special Agents there who I was and that I was the one that had successfully recovered the nuke. I may have blushed a little bit at the strength of the standing ovation I received.

"I'll take you to Jack." said Martin Nash. "He told me to come in with you, and he'll brief me on the aftermath of the incident at the same time."