Woman in Love Ch. 03

Cindy said "Maybe coincidences do exist, and the two events are unrelated."

"We definitely should consider the two incidents separately." I said. "One thing that comes to mind is that a not-as-well-trained Police team might've started shooting when that firecracker went off. And then KXTC is ginning up all kinds of shit, ranging from why are TCPD Officers doing Parole searches, and why we opened fire on blow up dolls. And, of course, we'd have Amber suing our asses off."

I continued: "However, the bigger question for me is: why would a couple of obviously very-well-trained killers want to take out Toddler and his crew?"

"They were paid to." said Teresa.

"Sure," I said, "but by who?"

"Jacquez Wilson." said Cindy.

I shook my head. "I'm willing to bet that Jacquez or his boys were the ones in that old car, and planned to take out Toddler and his crew himself. And I'm willing to bet he and they were totally shocked to see that someone else was taking care of their business for them. No... someone else wanted Toddler's crew taken out. And there's only one reason I can think of that explains why: someone is protecting McCombs, and maybe Hendricks and Hatch."

Teresa said "One other thing I thought of was that those gun charges the Black Community wanted dropped? Well, they're dropped." I pointed at Teresa with a nod, acknowledging her idea.

Teresa continued: "What I don't like about my own idea is that the Black Community is always looking for something to be offended about, and the gun charges suited their agenda well. Now they don't really have the issue anymore."

"They'll find a new issue, and soon." I said. "Okay, let's all go to the mountain top and get some sleep. Cindy, you can ride with me to The Cabin..."

Part 16 - The Morning After

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Thursday, May 21st, from the west side of Riverside Drive, with the Quick Stop in the background. "Four men are dead in a massacre shooting!"

Bettina began: "Last night, four men were killed at the Quick Stop behind me here at Jefferson Avenue and Riverside Drive. The names of the four men have not been released, but Channel Two News has learned that they are the same four men that were involved in the drug arrest and finding of a firearm in their possession, which they hotly disputed."

Bettina: "Video taken at the scene by bystanders and shared with Channel Two News shows an old Impala racing into the parking lot and around the side. Gunfire was heard, and the car sped away, leaving four men on the ground. Channel Two News has learned that all four men died instantly of their wounds." As she spoke, the video was shown.

Bettina: "In a statement to the Press just before we came onto the air, Chief Sean Moynahan of the Town & County Police stated that the investigation is in its early stages, and what happened is still being determined. Bystanders told Channel Two News that Commander Donald Troy was personally investigating at the scene, but Troy has refused to respond to repeated attempts by KXTC for comment on the matter. And now let's go to trusted political reporter Lester Holder for more on this story. Lester!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said Penis Holder, coming onto the screen. The skating rink was in the far background, indicating he was on Jefferson Avenue. "Civil rights leaders and the Black Community are concerned about the level of violence displayed last night in the mass murder, which resembled the St. Valentine' Day massacre in Chicago under Al Capone. Leaders fear that the unchecked violence shows that the Town & County Police are overwhelmed, and cannot guarantee the People's safety. Candidate for Mayor Eldrick X. Weaver, and Council candidate Edgar Silas are demanding a meeting with Commander Donald Troy and Mayor Daniel Allgood to discuss the violence against black Citizens in the County. Back to you, Bettina."

"Thank you for that important report, Lester!" said Bettina. "And in State news, Channel Two News has learned that deeply unpopular Governor Val Jared plans to call up the National Guard either today or tomorrow, to violently quell peaceful protests in Midtown and The City. The Governor stated that he has every right to unilaterally send the Guard into the City, especially since Mayor Lucian Phelps is, quote, 'coddling the violent criminals while leaving citizens at the mercy of those criminals', unquote."

Bettina: "Mayor Phelps said he would order the City Police to shoot-to-kill any National Guardsmen that come into the City without the Mayor and City Council's permission. Candidate for State Senate Maxine Watts of The Badlands, the areas hardest hit by the violence, said this. Roll tape."

Tape rolled, showing Maxine Watts saying "The racist Governor should not only be impeached again, he should be put on trial for the deaths of the blacks killed by racist white cops! Jared's racism incited these riots, and he should be shot dead himself!..."

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

"So the demonstrations are peaceful," Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle said, "but the Governor incited them?"

"And advocating the murder of the Governor is neither racist nor hateful, I guess the Media will tell us next." I replied. "But we're not supposed to notice the hypocrisy nor the calls for Jared's murder."

Sheriff Griswold added: "Nor Holder and Black leaders's sudden concern for the safety of our Citizens, which they did not seem to have the other day when they were trying to set up Police-free zones."

We were drinking coffee in the Chief' Conference Room, and the Sheriff was present for this one. And most of us were dragging, as we'd been up very late the night before.

"Why did you give a Press statement, Chief?" Teresa asked, making me work hard not to openly wince.

"In situations like theeeeese," said the Chief, "it has to be dunnnnnn. We had to say something, and a generic statement that the investigation is on-go-innnng gives them something while being relatively generic and harrrrm-lesssss."

"What is going on with that business about civil rights leaders demanding meetings with the Mayor and Commander Troy?" asked Captain Tanya P. Muscone.

"Same old crap optics and politics." growled Our Sheriff in reply. "If they refuse, the black leaders and the Media will call Crowbar and Daniel racists for not meeting with them. If they have the meeting, it makes them look like weak appeasers, and allows the black leaders to tell the Press 'we called them the racists that they are to their faces!'."

I said "That's true, but in this case I think there's even more to it. They should be demanding to meet the Chief, not me. They're calling for me to deliberately insult the Chief, and in several ways." The Chief nodded in agreement.

"So," said the Sheriff, "this might be a good time to get our ducks in a row on what we're going to do about these murders, and what we're going to present to the world and the Media about it."

"What do you mean, Sheriff?" Cindy asked.

"I see what the Sheriff means." I said. "We have something of a paradox, and a conundrum. We in here know that the Jacquez Wilson did not kill those four, but he would have if someone hadn't beaten him to the punch. Still, he did not do it, but I'm not sure we want it advertised that two guys in camo and using highly sophisticated weapons blew away four people like that."

I went on: "The problem is... everyone saw the car come up, heard gunfire, car drove away, dead bodies left behind. If we don't make an arrest, the Media will be demanding to know what we're waiting for. If we say we don't have evidence, which is true, we will be slaughtered in the Court of Public Opinion, unless we reveal what we know... and again, I really don't want to do that."

"So issue a warrant for Jacquez Wilson." Cindy said simply. "As a material witness, if nothing else."

I looked at her and said "Do you want to go serve that warrant, and go arrest Wilson? The Block House is a fortress. It once had room for two pool tables, but now has room for only one... because they installed an inner concrete wall. It's a frickin' double hull. And it's never empty; at least three of Wilson's people are in there at all times. They eat there, sleep there, and Wilson himself often stays there for days at a time."

I continued: "It would take a genuine military team to penetrate; our best SWAT Officers just for starters. And it would be a bloodbath; Wilson won't be taken alive, and he'll try to take as many of us a possible with him."

"Is that place lined with explosives?" asked the Chief.

"I don't know, sir." I said. "They may have some plastique stored in there, but I don't know if the walls or doors are lined with anything. I do know they have guns out the wazoo, and illegal ammunition... i.e. cop-killer bullets. And the bottom line is that I really don't want to risk our Officers's lives nor anyone else's trying to serve a warrant on Wilson... unless we absolutely have to. And right now... we don't absolutely have to."

"Changing the subject... anyone think the City PD will shoot at the National Guard?" Tanya asked, almost whimsically.

"What City PD?" Teresa replied. "Over 800 sickouts yesterday. Either the Mayor is making an empty threat to try to stop the Governor, or he's badly out of touch with reality, like the Mayor of New York City."

"IS the Governor going to send in the National Guard?" asked the Chief.

"I don't know." said the Sheriff. "I talked to him last night, and he admits it'll be a bloodbath either way. He's probably going to crush the Inner Midtown violence first, and see what the response to that is..."

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

As the coffee klatch broke up, Sheriff Griswold did a righteous thing. Tanya and I followed him to the Intel Center.

"Sheriff on deck!" said Tanya as we went inside. Everyone stood up politely.

"Heh!" said the Sheriff. "Folks, that is not necessary for me. Sit back down." Everyone sat back down, and Griswold growled: "I want to thank all of you for your great work, especially during the taking down the Police-free-zone, and also last night. You're doing a tremendous job in here. And I want to give recognition to some great work last night by Terry Halston, seeing those camouflaged perps, and getting that video. Well done, Halston. You're making a difference already."

"T.t.thank you, sir." said Halston as the Sheriff shook his hand. Everyone else applauded.

"Crowbar, Muscone, you're with me." said the Sheriff, dragging us out of there with him, leaving behind an energized Intel unit with very high morale...

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

To start the Angels Meeting, we watched the KFXU broadcast. Though certainly no Angel, the Sheriff watched with us.

"And in State news," said Catrina Pierce, "within the last hour, Governor Val Jared called up the National Guard as well as State Patrol Troopers trained in anti-riot tactics. Political leaders in Midtown and The City are scrambling to find ways to prevent the deployment of those troops. The Midtown Mayor and Council issued a statement in support of the Midtown Police in their efforts to contain the violence in the Inner Midtown district. It is not clear what the response will be in The City, but the Police Union has announced that City Police will not obey orders to shoot at State Patrol Officers nor National Guardsmen, nor engage them in combat in any way..."

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

9:15am, Thursday, May 21st. Alison McFarland came to my office, and handed me an envelope. "That's the bail money you gave me for 'Jesus Freak' and Mr. Handsome's bail." she said. "I went and reclaimed it after it came out they were dead. Anything on the record you can give me about any of that?"

"Have a seat." I said. Alison sat down, and I said "Anything said is deep background, and embargoed until I give you permission to run with it, okay?"

"Sure." Alison said.

"It's too early to tell what exactly happened last night." I said. "But I'll give you a few cluuuuues. I commend your attention to the wounds the four men sustained, and also to the evidence accumulated at the crime scene last night."

Alison nodded. "I'd say there's nothing there we can't find anyway, but you're suggesting I look at things a bit differently than that airhead Amber is going to." I shrugged my shoulders in response, and the blonde Alison said "Amber gives blondes a bad name."

"No doubt about that."

The voice was the platinum-blonde Cindy Ross's, and she'd just walked into the office, as was normally her right to do. "Consorting with the Press, Commander Troy?"

I shrugged my shoulders in response, then said "The Examiner is the exception to the rule when it comes to the Press."

Alison said "I just came by to tell Commander Troy that my special on EMS Chief Cordell will be coming up soon. KFXU picked it up for a prime-time special."

"That's great!" I said.

"Are you going to do the continuation with Commander Croyle?" Cindy asked, and only I could pick up the very slight hostile inflection in the Green Crowbar's voice.

"Yes." Alison said. "Commander Croyle was very accommodating. And that brings up another thing... I've been able to locate some of her family, on her mother's side. I'll give her that info on the way out..."

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

10:00am. The meeting convened in Classroom 'E". The Sheriff, Chief, me, Cindy, Teresa, Tanya, Rudistan, Jerome Davis, Julia Rodriguez, Teddy Parker, Lisa Monroe and Joan Laurer were in attendance. So were FBI EAD Owen Lange, SAC Jack Muscone, ASAC Karina White, SSA Melina Allgood, Special Agent Tim Jenkins, DEA SSA Dwight Stevens, CIA Officer Callie Carrington.

The Mighty Miltons had not wanted to interact with the Federal Agents, and I had excused them... over Captain Tanya Muscone's objections. I told her we'd talk about it later.

I was sitting in the middle of the long table, facing the matrix of screens. The Chief was at the end nearest the door, and the Sheriff at the end on the far side. Today Cindy made a point to sit next to me, to my left... and not by either Callie or Tim Jenkins, who were sitting far apart.

"It's your meeting, Commander Troy." said the Chief. "And this is very good coffee, Lieutenant Davis." There was a general acclaim as Davis thanked the Chief.

"Okay," I said, "I asked for our FBI friends to join us because last night's quadruple homicide may affect their investigations, and we're also at the point where you here in the TCPD need to be filled in on some things. But first, let's get the autopsy report and any new information that has come in. Captain Muscone?"

"Yes sir." said Tanya, bringing up an image that covered half the matrix of monitors. It was a computer-generated drawing of four bodies, with markings showing where the bullets had struck the bodies of the four victims.

"Martha the M.E. sent me this to give some perspective." said Tanya. "As you can see, each victim received at least two shots to the upper chest, and at least one to the head. The shot groups are very tight, suggesting the shooters were very well trained. Martha says she only recovered fragments of the bullets, but the entry wounds suggest .30 caliber rounds. "

Tanya; "One man, the one called 'Camo', was struck at an angle, then a slightly different angle, which suggests he heard the gunfire behind him, i.e. not from the parking lot, but through the fence, and was in the process of turning around when he was struck. The other two appear to have been facing each other and were struck at the same time. Martha's conclusion is that they were hit simultaneously by two shooters, then one finished off Camo while the other turned his attention to the man behind the dumpster."

Tanya: "That guy behind the dumpster, whose nickname was 'Mr. Handsome', wasn't so handsome after a bullet struck him right between the eyes. The two rounds to the front of his chest passed through and struck the concrete, and were fragmented and badly deformed, as well. But the key feature is that Martha confirmed what Commander Troy suggested last night... that this victim was sitting down, hiding behind the dumpster, his back to the wall of the store. The trajectory of the shots fired are conclusive that someone fired through an opening in the fence."

Tanya: "The only other thing Martha found was that Mr. Handsome had recently used marijuana, and there was codeine in his system, as well. The other three had no indications of drug use either recently or for at least the last three months. And that's really everything of significance from her report, except the time of death... which we knew anyway."

"True, that." I said. "Good report, thanks. Okay, any other forensic evidence we need to know about?"

"Just the absence of any," said Teresa Croyle, "which in itself is very telling. The plate on the car that drove up was stolen from a School System Truant Officer vehicle. There were no shell casings found in the parking lot, so it doesn't look like whoever was in that Impala fired any shots. In a related story, there were no drugs nor cash found on any of the four victims, nor in the dumpster or around the building. So it's not likely they were gathering to make a drug deal."

I said: "Jacquez Wilson may have told them he'd be bringing money or drugs for a deal, which is why they were found without any of that stuff. But I've interrupted you. My apologies. Go ahead."

"It's quite all right, sir." said Teresa. "So... after Halston found the video of those two creeps walking along the fence line, we went through there, both last night and this morning. There were no shell casings found, but we did get some bootprints where they stood while shooting the four victims. This morning at first light, the SWAT Team cleared the abandoned skating rink, then the CSIs went in. Nothing in there, not even any trash to show someone had camped out there, but there were bootprints in the dust in the back areas not made by our guys. Can't tell how recent those bootprints were made, but they were fairly fresh."

"What video is this?" asked Tim Jenkins. I had Tanya play the video from the previous night.

"Halston made an enhanced video, to show these guys a bit more clearly." Tanya said. It was not the enhanced video Halston showed us the night before, but an even better one, that showed the two camouflaged figures a bit more clearly.

"Professional grade." said Jack Muscone. "The criminals, that is."

"Who the heck are those guys?" Tim Jenkins asked. I looked over at EAD Owen Lange, who nodded and got up.

"This form requires you to not reveal what you are about to learn." said EAD Owen Lange as he began passing around the non-disclosure forms. "Some of you know some of this, but now is the time for Commander Troy to paint the full picture."

"Sir," said Lt. Rudistan, "I was going to say before we got off track... that Impala has been seen many times at the Block House, Jacquez Wilson's hangout, and Vice believes it's one of his rides. It may have some bulletproofing inside the door panels, stuff like that, and from what we saw on the video, it has a heck of a motor."

"That's true." I said. "I think we're safe in hypothesizing that Jacquez and/or his trusted lieutenants were in that car."

After everyone had signed the forms, including all the FBI and CIA personnel, Lange gave me the floor.

"First of all," I said, "I know that Lisa Monroe probably doesn't know this, having just transferred in. So I'll tell you this, and confirm what some of you have always suspected: that 'military exercise' we had a little over a year ago... it was what you thought it was. It was an EMPTY QUIVER event, a stolen nuclear weapon. It was brought here, to our Town & County. I found the weapon, and ended up handcuffed to it with 20 minutes on the timer." (Author's note: 'The Nuclear Option'.)