Vox Populi Vox Dei Ch. 02

This story is part of an ongoing series. The chronological order of my stories is listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

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.

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Part 7 - The Voice of the People

As U.S. Attorney Richard Baldwin's car came to a stop, he looked out to see that over 1,000 people were ringed around County Jail, most of them on the road in front.

Many of them were college students, a lot of them women. They were holding up signs that said many things, most of them being about bringing justice to a rapist. Large blow-up photos of Wendy Withers and Steven Henry were also being held up by the crowd.

Among the older people in the crowd, there were a lot of crowbars. Most of them standard black, but a lot of them blue and some of them red. One thing was for sure... the People of the Town & County and the University were energized and ready to help obtain Justice for two young people whose names U.S. Attorney Baldwin didn't even know...

"Only one thing we can do." said Baldwin. "Driver, go right through them. If they don't get out of the way, run them over." The driver relayed that to the other vehicles over the radio.

"Negative!" said a voice over the radio. "Do not advance into that crowd. There's too many of them. They could overturn our cars. And we don't know how well armed they are!"

"They'll scatter like partridge when we show them we'll run them over." said another voice on the radio."

"It's your call, Mr. Baldwin." said the leader of the Federal Marshals beside him.

"What's your recommendation?" asked Baldwin, passing the buck.

"As much as I would like to drive through them," said one of the other Marshals in the vehicle, "if you hurt or kill even one of them, especially one of those women, the optics will be horrible. And the Press is filming us right now. It would end your career." Baldwin looked over to where the man was pointing, and he groaned at the sight...

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

"This is Priya Ajmani, KFXU Fox Eight News!" shouted the gorgeous Indian reporterette at 4:30am, Sunday, August 11th. "We are bringing you continuing coverage of the standoff at County Jail, as Federal Marshals attempt to enforce a Federal Judge's order to turn Peter Blassingame over to Federal jurisdiction, and are being blocked by nearly a thousand University students!"

"The situation is extremely tense," continued Priya, "as the Town & County Police Department has formally refused to help the Marshals get through the barricade of students, citing the demonstrators's First Amendment rights. Many of those students are holding signs demanding justice for rape victim Wendy Withers, who Peter Blassingame allegedly violently raped and then murdered----"

*POW!* *POW!*

"What was that?" Priya asked, whirling around, still on the air. "Uh, ladies and gentlemen, we've just heard what sounded like explosions, but are so far unable to determine where those noises came from..."

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

"What happened?" asked Baldwin, still sitting in the backseat of his vehicle.

"We sent in the elite assault team." said the leader of the Marshals. "We've lost contact with them..."

"What elite assault team?!" Baldwin yelled. "What the hell is going on, here?" Totally in shock, he realized that he'd been duped, that he had not been told the full plan...

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

The elite assault team had cut off the lock of the grate covering the tunnel mouth, and opened it. Lights were flashed down the tunnel. "No wires, no lasers, no infrared." said one man.

"Proceed with caution. Go on in." said the leader. The first two men began moving down the concrete tunnel---

*BOOM!* *BOOM!*

"Man down! Man down!" shouted the man that had gone in behind the first two. "IED! The tunnel is mined, I say again, the tunnel is mined! Two men down!"

"What is their status?" called the leader into one of the small radios with with his team was equipped.

After a long pause, the answer came back: "They're dead."

"Damn!" muttered the leader. "All right, let's clear that tunnel. The element of surprise may have been lost. Proceed with caution, but we have to hurry!"

"Wilco." came the reply. One man fired a tube, and a semi-liquid spray spewed out down the length of the tunnel. It began foaming up as it hit the ground.

"Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole!" said a man...

*POW!*... *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!**BOOM!*

"Tunnel cleared." came the call over the radio.

"Let's go!" cried out the leader. "Move! Move! Move! Move!" Men filed into the tunnel.

"I'm at the end of the tunnel!" said the forward man. "I'm----"

*ZZZZZZT!* "AUUGGGHHH!"

The end of the tunnel was covered with a fine mesh of a wire net or fence. Interwoven into the metal were fibers that were highly conductive to electricity. A lethal charge of electricity was running through the wires, and when the man ran into the net, it was all over for him.

As the second man came up, his IR eyepiece showed that a large number of heat signatures were coming into the underground room at the end of the tunnel. "Fire at will!" the leader of those men said.

The invaders did not know that it was Precinct Captain Hugh Hewitt. They did know that his team had begun pouring 'assault rifle' fire into the opening of the tunnel, the bullets ricocheting as they sped down the concrete tube."

"Retreat!" shouted the leader, as he saw his team was compromised and defeated. The command was not needed; the men were already running away as fast as they could. And unlike true Navy SEALs, they left three dead men behind...

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

5:00am, Sunday, August 11th. As the first glimmers of dawn broke on the eastern horizon, a helicopter flew towards County Jail from across the State Line to the west. As it neared the facility, someone in the chopper began saying into a megaphone "Federal Marshals! You are ordered to stand down and make way for our vehicles! Stand down! We are authorized to use lethal force..."

And then, from County Airport to the east, a Cobra gunship flew up. It almost met the other chopper head on, and both aircraft hovered just west of the Jail, face to face.

"This is the Town & County Police!" the chopper pilot heard in his radio, and to his shock it was a woman's voice. "You are an unauthorized aircraft flying in restricted airspace."

"We are Federal Marshals executing a Federal order." tried the pilot. "We order you to stand down and allow us to proceed!"

"Enemy aircraft," said the woman, "you are deemed hostile and are continuing to fly unlawfully in restricted airspace. Do you wish to engage?"

"They've locked on." said the co-pilot. "We're being painted. Our radar and radio is being jammed."

"God damn." muttered the pilot. "We were told this was a small, local Police Force! Where the hell did they get that kind of firepower?"

"Bogey at three o'clock high." said the co-pilot. The pilot looked to his right and saw the second Cobra gunship coming up. The radio crackled and then a voice said: "This is Chief Sean Moynahan of the Town & County Police. Once again, you are a hostile aircraft in restricted territory, and I have given the 'weapons free' order authorizing you to be shot down. Do you wish to engage?"

Apparently not, Captain Teresa Croyle noted as she watched the aircraft she was facing off with turn around and fly west. She followed it to the State Line in Commander Troy's Cobra, and only when she was assured it was not trying to circle around did she fly back home...

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

6:00am. It was getting light. The students were chanting "Rape is rape!" and "Go home Feds!", sensing a victory by the People over the exercise of raw Federal Government power. U.S. Attorney Richard Baldwin was on his cellphone.

"No, we can't break through." Baldwin was saying. "Our helicopter was interdicted by two TCPD Cobra gunships. Why the hell didn't someone tell me they had those?... No, I don't know anything about an underground assault team; nobody told me about that, either! All right, I'll give it one more try..."

After hanging up, Baldwin called the number of the TCPD. "This is U.S. Attorney Baldwin. Put me on the phone with Commander Troy, right now."

"Hold the line, sir." said the dispatcher. A second later a voice came onto the phone:

"Hello, Mr. U.S. Attorney!" said Lieutenant Micah Rudistan with a great deal of joviality.

"With whom am I speaking?" snarled Baldwin.

"This is TCPD Lieutenant Rudistan, sir." said Rudistan. "And your vehicles are blocking me from getting in to work this morning."

"Get Commander Donald Troy out here to my car, the first one, right now." said Baldwin. "If he doesn't come out, we'll start shooting people to get in there and execute this Federal order."

"Just one moment, sir." said Rudistan.

A few minutes later, Lt. Rudistan came through the swarm of students and approached the vehicle, accompanied by four heavily armed and armored SWAT Team members. He came up to the left back window, and Baldwin rolled the window partway down.

"Where's Troy?" snarled Baldwin.

"Yes, sir, I have a message from him for you, sir." said Rudistan, ever jovially. He held up an iPad tablet and said: "He asked me to tell you: 'Let's watch some TV.'."

An instant later, the video feed showed Peter Blassingame sitting behind an interrogation table, his hands handcuffed behind him. Behind him was a man in all black, with no identifying features. His head could not be seen, but that would not have mattered; he was wearing a black full head mask.

Of greater importance to Baldwin, the man was holding a Smith & Wesson Model 66 revolver, the business end pressed against the right side of Peter Blassingame's head. Baldwin and the Marshals groaned at the sight.

"Mr. Baldwin," said the Marshal in the shotgun seat up front, looking at his smartphone which had just chimed with a text, "Federal Judge K.M. Landis has put a stay on that Federal order. He's the senior Federal Judge in this Circuit. The Town & County has already submitted an appeal to the Federal Appeals Court, and the Appeals Court also stayed Judge Taney's order until the appeal can be heard and ruled upon."

"And even more fun," said Rudistan jovially, "is that that stay of your illegal order states that Mr. Peter Blassingame will remain in the custody of the TCPD until and during his upcoming trial. There's an excellent Diner in Hillside, in the county to our east, sir; I recommend you and your Marshals try it... and not return to our County. The woman flying that Cobra has a bad attitude, and I'd hate to see you get hurt---"

"Get us the fuck out of here!" yelled Baldwin as he rolled the window up to block out Rudistan's happy, smiling face.

"Y'all have a great day, now!" Rudistan yelled, waving at the retreating vehicles. Seeing they had won, the crowds of students erupted into cheers.

Part 8 - Breakfast of Champions

The Country Breakfast Diner normally does not have an early breakfast on Sunday; instead, they have a big brunch buffet later in the morning into the early afternoon. However, when I got to Police Headquarters around 8:00am, the restaurant's large field kitchen had been set up where we normally did our Promotions and Medals ceremonies. Jerome Davis's father Jonathan had brought up some of the military retirees from Valley Villages who had learned to cook in the military, and they were cooking up the breakfast foods the Diner's owner John Colby had provided for us.

"This is for all you guys do." the military retirees said to the TCPD Officers as they went through the line. "It was a great day for the Constitution, because of you guys!" The first shift guys had gone through on their way to work, and the third shift guys were now following after being relieved. Second shift personnel had augmented the third shift, so they were eating good, too.

I went through the line next-to-last, with only the Chief insisting I go ahead of him. Tables were set up in the gym, and we took our food and delicious Navy(!) coffee there to eat.

Alison McFarland had been invited within the gates, where Keith Madden filmed her as she made a video story of what Mr. Colby and the veterans were doing for us. And she and Keith were invited to join us for the breakfast. I called her over to sit with us, somewhat to Cindy Ross's dismay, and of course immediately told her and Keith that everything was 'off the record', and they agreed.

"Alison was very helpful to us." I said as she sat down, seemingly to everyone, but with a little emphasis in the Green Crowbar's general direction. "She put out that podcast, telling everyone what was going on, which you know KXTC would never do. But that was cover in itself; she then made some calls and had those University women's groups start organizing those big groups that surrounded the Jail. We could not have held them off peacefully without all those people's help."

"Why would you need that to be cover, though?" Cindy asked, a bit acerbically.

"So that the Examiner looks to be like a relatively neutral news organization," I said, answering for Alison, "and Bettina can't accuse them of creating the news instead of reporting it."

"Not that I would mind." said Alison. "I'm not pretending to be anything but partisan in my attitude towards Peter Blassingame. When I heard what that U.S. Attorney was doing, trying to get Peter immunity so that his father might or might not give the Feds good or bad information... it made my blood boil. And those Campus women were even more outraged."

"I normally would not expect students like that to help the Police." Teresa Croyle said. "But they did, and things worked out well.

"Another thing that worked out well," I said, "was the outstanding flying of my Cobra. Chief, that looked like an Air Cavalry pilot up there." Everyone applauded Teresa, the Cobra pilot, making her blush.

"Heh heh heh heh." chuckled Chief Moynahan. "Yes, she did an outstanding job."

"All I know," said Teresa, "is that I don't need a crowbar... but when I was flying the Cobra, I was thinking 'I have got to get me one of these!'." Everyone broke out laughing.

"You're going to have your own Air Cav unit right here in the TCPD before too long, Chief." I said. "Maybe I need to write that into the Charter."

"Oh Lord, have mercy upon me." the Chief said with mock fear. "Malinda Adams would go in-sane over that."

That started up some banter, then Alison said to me "I think Malinda Adams is busy... she and D.A. Miriam Walters are working on getting District Attorney's Office Investigators." People around us who heard that quietened down.

"I don't see a problem with that." I said. "They're provided for by State Law, and if she thinks they'll help..."

"Seems like a waste, to me." said Cindy. "Our Detectives have always done a great job working with the ADAs, and we have the best Investigator on earth right here in Commander Troy."

"Butter me up, butter me up." I said. "Any idea what that's about, Alison?"

"Since this is completely off the record," Alison said, connoting her own warning to us, "I'll tell you one rumor that I've heard. D.A. Walters wants the Investigators to check up behind you, Don, and your Detectives, especially if you've moved on to other cases; but she also wants them to be there to help Savannah Fineman prepare for trials when Savannah becomes the main ADA for MCD."

"The inference being," I said, "that we might not be motivated to help Savannah if and when Miriam kicks Paulina Patterson to the kerb."

"Whaa?" gasped Teresa. "She would fire Paulina?"

"No." I said. "But Miriam is going to alter the structure of the D.A.'s Office, which she can do without any Charter or Council help because it ultimately falls under State Law. ADAs will be supervisors of areas, and Deputy DA's, DDAs, will be prosecutors under the supervising ADAs..."

When I stopped talking, Alison took it up, saying "And word I'm getting is that Paulina and Dwayne Gregory will be the first to be demoted to the DDA position."

"And Paulina might quit," said Cindy, "or she might sue over it. And yes... I would be very angry indeed if Walters did that to her."

Just then, Lieutenants DeLong and Rudistan came by. "By the way, Commander... Commander Troy," said Lieutenant DeLong, "I know you were there somewhere, but where were you during all the fun, if not in the helicopter?"

"I was... the last line of defense to Peter Blassingame." I said cryptically.

"Yes sir, that's best left unsaid." said Rudistan. "But it was sure fun seeing that U.S. Attorney's eyes bug out of his head when he had to follow your advice to watch some TV!" I grinned at that.

As the Lieutenants moved out, I said "Just don't ask about that. Just know that I was there as the final fail-safe. Fortunately, a thousand good Citizens raised their voices, and an excellent pilot raised her Cobra, and no good guys lost their lives..."

Part 9 - After-Action

9:30am, Sunday, April 11th. The Police Leadership, including the Precinct Captains, joined the Sheriff in the Main Conference Room for our after-action report. Also there was FBI Special Agent in Charge Jack Muscone.

"Sure you wanna be here, Jack?" I asked. "Shit is hitting the fan, and the Feds might not like hearing that you're sitting here with us."

"I think they know where I stand on all this." said Muscone. "And the Marshals sure as hell didn't tell me they were doing this in my region of the country. By the way, do you know who the leader of the Federal Marshals on this operation was?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't going to bring it up." I said, knowing how closely that leader's name was connected to Muscone's former wife's death.

"O-kayyyyy." said Chief Moynahan. "Let's begin. What's the damage?"

"No Police casualties, sir." said Captain Teresa Croyle. "No one in the crowd of civilians was injured, that we know of. Three dead in the storm drain. Two set off mines, and one ran into the fence at the near end of the tunnel."

"That was a lot of juice running through that fence." said the Chief, looking at me. I just shrugged my shoulders. Yes, it had been me (and the SWAT Team) that mined the tunnel, anticipating that the Enemy might try to use it. I'd personally hooked up the electricity to the fence, and it is possible that I had no concern about the lethal amount of electricity running through it.

"Any idea who the dead guys were?" asked the Chief.

"No sir, not yet." Tanya Perlman said. "Jack?

"We've run the prints," said Muscone, "but they didn't hit a match. I'm having them run the facial recognition programs on those bozos's faces to see if something comes up."

I said "Based on what the dead guys had on them, it looks like the unit had M-4s and Beretta 92FS pistols, smoke and explosive grenades, and were wearing military equipment and basic military armor vests. They had infrared eyepieces and earbud radios. They also had a land mine neutralization device, which they used to take out most of our planted devices."

"But their tactics were shoddy." I continued. "They ran right into the first mines and set them off, and maybe the guy that hit the fence just didn't see it, but he walked headlong into it. And they continued after losing the element of surprise, which shows that their desperation overcame their decision making."