The Whole Nine Yards Ch. 01

Cindy said "What's special about this case?" I handed her the folder that I'd kept and brought in, and she looked at it and saw the issues. After a moment, she said "If it weren't for the fact this girl is closely associated with Dr. Lionel Carmela, I'd probably agree it'd be smart to drop it. We are really using a triphammer to crush nuts with the felony murder charges."

I said "I agree that the Enemy is going to use the optics of it against us as hard as they can. They're going to say we're destroying a good young woman's promising career just because she's black, in addition to the murder charge for merely participating in a protest. And they're going to use her to protest the murder charge for all the 'Jacquez 200'. That is what the Enemy has to stop, and they know it. They can't have their violent protesters actually bearing the consequences of their actions."

"Exactly." said Miriam Walters. "And I understand the point you're trying to make, Commander. But is destroying this girl's life really making that point? Is this girl the one to make that example out of?

"Mizzz Patterson?" asked the Chief.

Paulina said "The worst argument I ever had with Don was the time I threw the book at Coach Grimes for keeping kids in his home without notifying Child Services." (Author's note: 'In Black And White'.) Seeing the unrequited fire flash in my gray eyes, Paulina stared hard at me as she said "To this day I don't regret that decision, and would do it again."

Paulina continued: "To me, it's like what Franklin Washington and I always heard from those arrogant County High kids and their parents when they were busted for drugs and we prosecuted the cases hard. 'Oh, he's a good kid! Oh, it's just a little weed'... or cocaine as the case often was. And those parents always accused us of trying to destroy their kids's lives because they were white and rich. No, we prosecuted them because they were criminals."

Paulina: "I put myself through college and law school, and I never used marijuana nor any other drug without a proper prescription. I also never felt the need nor made the really bad choice to violently demonstrate or obstruct the Police from arresting a rapist. So I definitely have no qualms at all about making an example of this criminal."

"But is she really a criminal?" Miriam asked. "A protester, yes. But a murderer?"

"Yes. It's the law." Paulina replied with alacrity.

"Okay, then." said Miriam, who was between a rock and a hard place. Overruling Paulina would lead to a renewal of hostilities for breaching the fragile agreement between her and Paulina. But the optics were going to get ugly.

Miriam continued: "I asked you to be at this meeting, Commander Ross, because we're really going to have to get our ducks in a row in our message about this."

"That's an 'Easy Button' answer." I replied. "We're prosecuting a criminal to the fullest extent of the law."

"And we'll have more riots in the heat of summer." Cindy replied. "With our guys having to be fully armored."

"I'll be right there with them, sweating through it." I said. "My point is that what I just said is a consistent message with our past messages and actions. Now is not the time to start backtracking, or showing weakness."

"Is it really 'weakness' to quietly drop the charges against this one girl?" replied Miriam Walters, "who is not a criminal, and indeed is a promising college student?"

I replied "You think Burt West or Lionel Carmela won't pounce if you try to (air quotes) 'quietly' drop the charges? And others won't use her example to try to weasel out of their own culpability for their crimes?"

"I'm not dropping the charges," said Paulina, "though I'll take a plea deal... as long as it includes a guilty plea for felony charges of some kind. She's not walking away from this unscathed."

"I thought..." drawled the Chief, "that we were discussinggggg our message to the Public..."

Part 4 - Candy Council

6:30pm, Tuesday, July 14th. Edward Steele asked me to come to his office in City Hall before the Town & County Council meeting. His office was small enough that Tanya P. Muscone could rightfully complain about it, should she ever serve on the Council herself.

"We met this afternoon in a 'Committee of the Whole' meeting, about the MOV applications." said Edward. "Daniel Allgood was there, because the Democrats know that if he's not, J.P. Goldman would run the meeting. And if you think Daniel's strict..." He did not finish the sentence, and did not have to. I nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Yeah, I can see that." I said. "So what happened?"

"It's... a mess." said Edward. "Malinda Adams is with us that Ellen Brooks deserves 'consideration' (air quotes) for an MOV, but she doesn't want to award it to Kevin Randolph, and she's against Kalsu getting even a Police Medal for his part in it."

Steele: "Of course Kelly Carnes is against anything positive for the Public Safety Department, and Reginald B.F. Lewis made a point to say that the rescue was, and I quote, 'part of the Police actions of brutality against People of Color'. J.P. Goldman immediately accused Lewis of racism, and it took ten minutes for the shouts back and forth to be brought under control."

I said "Everything is 'race' with people like Lewis, and it's only going to get worse."

Steele: "True. Furthermore, Susan Weston keeps saying that you, Don, want to give out medals like candy. She wants to downgrade them, all of them, especially Kalsu's, who she continues to insist was in no personal danger. I invited her to look at the photos of the damage to the ambulance, and she wouldn't even look at them."

I said "We should insist she go with the SWAT Team next time they have a mission."

Steele: "Heh. Exactly. Anyway, Sheila Sorrells suggested creating an EMS Cross and awarding it to Randolph, as all of us Republicans are steadfast in that we will not permit EMS personnel being awarded the Fire Cross in lieu of an EMS award or an MOV. But Dagmar Schoen wants us to hold out for the MOV for him, and I do agree with that. And Susan Weston is right there again, saying Randolph wouldn't deserve even that. She really wants to downgrade these awards, and she's the former cop on the Council! Any idea why she's like that?"

I said "No reason I can see. It goes well beyond any personal hatred she might have for me, or for Tanya Muscone. And Sheriff Griswold can't remember her being denied an award while she was with the TCPD that would have embittered her. But I'm a little surprised that Sheila Sorrells suggested any award at all for Randolph. She's relatively quiet about it, but she's definitely a Leftist."

Edward said "I think she was trying to find a middle ground. She knows the optics will look bad if we don't award them something... we caught hell for not awarding Irwin a posthumous MOV... and while she has no opposition this year, she knows her seat is not the Democrats's safest seat, nor is Weston's or Carnes's."

I said "I hate to burst your bubble, especially this early in the election season, but I'll tell you right here and now that Carnes is going to mop the floor with Bill Redmond."

"Stop bursting my bubble." Edward said, meaning it humorously. "Anyway, the Mayor wants to push for a vote tonight, and unlike his normal practice, he is very willing to break a tie on this one..."

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

7:30pm, Tuesday, July 14th. Standing next to Commander Teresa Croyle and Sheriff Antonio Griswold, I gauged the audience in the Public Council Chamber. The 300 seats were filled to capacity, most of them black, and most of them well dressed. 'Antifa' and 'PCGW' (and other Environmentalist) shirts were still being forbidden in the public Chamber during Council meetings.

"Why do we have a full house tonight?" Teresa asked quietly as the Council Members filed in.

"I don't know, not for sure." I whispered, though I had my suspicions.

Old Business was dispensed with quickly, with the Mayor promising an Executive Session on the MOV applications after the public meeting. Then he asked for New Business, and Reginald B.F. Lewis asked him to begin hearing from the audience.

The first person to go to the podium was a well-dressed black woman who said she was a University Student. And she confirmed my suspicions when she said: "The District Attorney is charging my friend and fellow student Breonna Bryant with Felony Murder just for exercising her rights of Free Speech as she protested White Police brutality against People of Color. I ask you to stop that racist abuse and free Breonna!"

"FREE BREONNA!" yelled much of the crowd in unison. They only yelled it once, though.

The Mayor looked puzzled. "Commander," he said to me, "just what is she talking about?"

I took a microphone at the side of the room, which could be taken into the audience to have people ask questions from their chairs, turned it on, and said "She is one of the 'Jacquez 200' that was arrested while preventing Police from serving a warrant and arresting Jacquez Wilson. We have solid proof she committed multiple felony offenses, and we've referred the case to the District Attorney's Office for prosecution to the fullest extent of the law." The crowd booed loudly, some screaming racial epithets at me.

Daniel Allgood stood up, taking his microphone with him. "Okay, I'm going to say this once. We have nothing to do with that. That is the arena of the District Attorney's Office and the Courts. I have no power to do anything about her case nor any other, nor does this Council nor any of its Members, save an individual paying someone's bail."

"Therefore," said Allgood, "if you're here to clog up the microphone and waste our time on it, don't bother. I'll stop anyone who brings this up again, and we'll have Deputies escort you out---"

The audience began yelling, chanting and catcalling. As Mayor Allgood tapped his gavel, Deputies and TCPD Officers began pouring into the Chamber, the result of a text from the Iron Wolf. Seeing that they were about to get arrested, they shut up all at once, as if on cue.

One woman came up to the microphone and said "You are denying us our First Amendment Rights of Free Speech and to petition the Government for the redress of grievances!" The crowd cheered, then stopped as Daniel tapped his gavel. He stood up again.

"I'll tell you why it's not violating your rights." said Daniel. "First, you can petition the Government in writing, but there is nothing that says we have to take your complaint verbally. Second, I just told you that this Council has nothing to do with the Court system... another Constitutional precept, the Separation of Powers, remember? So if you're addressing the wrong place, then your rights to waste our time with it can and will be severely curtailed. And Free Speech rights don't mean you can come in and disrupt an orderly Council meeting."

Another young black woman came up. "This is something different." she said. The Mayor indicated for her to speak, and she said "I would like for this Council to pass a resolution in support of the Police Union in their grievance against Commander Donald Troy, and to join the Union in demanding Commander Troy be fired."

"I so move!" Reginald B.F. Lewis said loudly. The audience cheered.

"I proudly second!" yelled Kelly Carnes.

"Exactly what is the motion you are making?" Mayor Allgood asked.

"A resolution to support the Police Union in their grievance against Troy, and adding our voice to the Union's voice calling for his firing." said Reginald B.F. Lewis. The audience cheered.

"Point of order!" barked J.P. Goldman. "We've already defeated a resolution along exactly those lines."

"Point of order." said Sheila Sorrells. "The previous ordinance proposal was for us to suspend Troy. Today's resolution is a non-binding resolution expressing our support for and solidarity with the Police Union against Troy."

Daniel Allgood said "I'm not sure just how much different it is, but since this is, as you say, non-biding, I'll allow a vote. Discussion?" J.P. Goldman was recognized... he was already out of his chair, standing up.

"I just want to say one thing to all of you out there in the audience." Goldman said. "The Union is grieving on behalf of a corrupt, rogue Police Officer that pointed his gun at an unarmed black man, called him the n-word multiple times, and tried to murder him. Commander Troy deflected the shot and took down the rogue cop who tried to commit the murder. So I'm not sure why you're cheering for the Union, nor why you would want any of us to support the Union protecting a racist white cop. And I will tell you now that I won't be supporting the Union, nor this resolution."

You coulda heard a pin drop. And I love it when the Leftwing Looneyverse has to choose between their so-called 'principles'... support a Union that is supporting a white racist cop that tried to commit murder, or support the guy the Media has told them to hate, who stopped the black man from being murdered...

Kelly Carnes spoke: "That is not what the grievance is about. The resolution is to support the Union that is trying to rid the TCPD of the dirtiest, most racist cop in its history, Commander Donald Troy. This is about getting rid of that racist cop that sired a halfbreed child."

You coulda heard a pin drop. Maybe it was because I was right there in the Chamber. Maybe it was because the Sheriff's face was more red with furious anger than mine was. And maybe, just maybe, because everyone was tired of a small, biracial child being subjected to racist hate speech.

"POINT OF ORDER!" five voices on the Council yelled. J.P. Goldman shouted "I demand Kelly Carnes be arrested for that racist hate speech!"

"I demand she be removed from the Council." said Dagmar Schoen.

Daniel Allgood said "Ms. Carnes, will you apologize and retract your statement?"

"Hell no! you illegitimate Mayor!" Carnes shouted. She then turned to me and shouted "You hear me, you racist cop? Your daughter is a halfbreed!" She then extended her right hand, the middle finger pointed straight up in that well-known universal symbol as she yelled "And you can burn in Hell, Troy!"

Sheriff Griswold had moved to put himself between me and Kelly Carnes. He need not have bothered; I was having to hold Teresa back. She had somehow whisked my crowbar out of my hand and was about to use it on the hatred-filled Carnes.

"Deputies!" called out Mayor Allgood. "Remove Kelly Carnes from the Council Chamber." Deputies moved quickly to take Kelly Carnes out of the room.

"O-kayyyy." said Mayor Allgood. "I appreciate your tremendous restraint, Commander Troy. And I will entertain a motion to go into Executive Session."

I left by climbing the steps and walking out the main (back) door of the Chamber. I didn't really notice, but I was told later that everyone, visitors and Deputies, got out of my way when they saw the look on my face as I went by...

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

The Sheriff, the Iron Wolf, and Your Iron Crowbar did not go to the Executive Session. Chief Moynahan, EMS Chief Cordell and EMS Assistant Chief Zoe Singer were in there. Kelly Carnes was also in there... she hadn't been actually arrested, and she insisted on being in the meeting.

I invited the Sheriff and Teresa to my office for a 'medicinal' libation. Canadian Whisky was the medicine of choice.

"I've got to keep my eyes on you, Iron Wolf." I said. "You had my crowbar out of my hand before I even realized it. I thought you said you didn't need one."

"I don't." said Teresa. "But it would've made it easier to split that bitch's head in two---"

"And what did that bitch Carnes say about our daughter?" thundered Paulina Patterson as she came in. She'd been working late in her office here at Headquarters.

"Same thing the late, and I emphasize the words 'the late', Lester Penis Holder said about her." I replied, pointing my hand at a 'hot chair' for Paulina to sit down upon. "How'd you hear about it?"

"Bettina Wurtzburg just called me for comment." said Paulina. "When I asked what she was talking about, she told me what Carnes had said. It's been replaying on the Town & County Public Access Channel."

Teresa said "Bettina wasn't there. How did she find out so fast?"

Sheriff Griswold said "They usually have a 'cub' reporter there. He or she must've told Bettina."

I said "Then the 'cub' would've called Paulina... and me... for comment. But I haven't been contacted on my personal or Police iPhones, and the Duty Desk said I had no calls come in. So my 'edumacated' guess is that Bettina knew Carnes was going to say that."

"It's part of a plan?" Teresa gasped.

"So I read the riddle." I said.

"And what plan is that?" Teresa said. "I'll play Green Crowbar and say you're paranoid."

"The Green Crowbar can speak for herself, thank you very much." said the Green Crowbar, Cindy Ross, as she came into my office. "And I would never call the Red Crowbar paranoid in front of Our Sheriff; I know what the reply would be."

"I'm running out of chairs." I said. Cindy sat down on the sofa next to the Sheriff, who'd given his seat to Paulina. "So who told you?"

"The Chief called me and asked me to come in." said Cindy. "He's going to break out of the Executive Session and come here, where he and I will discuss our public response to Carnes's racist hatred. So what is the plan you are seeing?"

I said "The audience in the Council Chamber was packed tonight with mostly young blacks, and the first one to speak brought up the Breonna Bryant case." Paulina's eyes widened, then she looked downcast as I continued: "And Daniel really broke off the rest from bringing it up over and over again. But the seeds were laid."

I continued: "I suspect we're going to start hearing a lot more about that, about how eeee-vil Paulina and I are for prosecuting Bryant. So when Daniel shut off further talk about it, Carnes took the next step in the plan by calling my and Paulina's daughter the same racist name that the late Penis Holder did. That is not only to try to make me angry and do something in front of others, it's to connect Holder's death to the Bryant case, and therefore to make it look like Paulina and I are pursuing a personal vendetta against a successful black University student by charging her with murder when she was just 'innocently' (air quotes) protesting."

"That makes a lot of sense, now that you've explained the links of the chain." the Sheriff said. "Why do they keep trying this crap?"

"The party never stops in the Iron Crowbar's Town & County." said Teresa. "But Kelly Carnes has just crossed the irreversible line. Did she not see what happened to Penis Holder?"

Cindy said "Speaking of that, it looks like the Iron Wolf prevented you from shedding some blood tonight, Don?"

"Actually," I replied, "it was the other way around. I think Teresa secretly wants to carry a blood-crimson crowbar."

"I almost did tonight, and I don't apologize for it." Teresa said. "I'm just stunned at your restraint, Don."

"Well, I'm not going to do the obvious thing in front of over 300 people and on TV." I replied. "And for the sake of plausible deniability, I'll just say 'Deuteronomy 32:35', and then say no more..."

Part 5 - Stealing The Show

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Wednesday, July 15th, from the copse of trees near the Courthouse complex, with said Courthouse in the background. "White Republican Mayor Daniel Allgood refuses to let black people speak at last night's Council meeting!"

Bettina began: "In a brutally oppressive use of parliamentary tactics, Mayor Allgood denied hundreds of requests, mostly by black citizens, to speak at the public session of the Town & County Council. This occurred after one citizen stood up and asked the Council to do something about the plight of Breonna Bryant."