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Causing a Commotion Ch. 01

This story is part of an ongoing series. The chronological order of my stories is listed in WifeWatchman's biography, which is currently not updating. Stories after Ethical Dilemmas are: We'll Always Have Paris, Causing a Commotion.

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 - Agents In Action

"I got the moves baby, you got the motion,

we got together we'd be causing a commotion..."

---Madonna, 'Causing A Commotion'


The seedy, smoke filled strip joint in the City's southern area known as the Red Light District was lit mostly by blue neon lights along the walls and behind the bar. The men in the bar, mostly middle-aged, watched as the young woman danced and twirled around the pole, not really caring that she looked and acted as disinterested as them. The bar seemed loud yet muted at the same time, and everything from the lights to the music to the liquor connoted a cheap, lackluster entertainment experience.

A woman with blue-black hair and straight bangs approached a swarthy, mean-looking man with black hair and a mustache and goatee that formed a circle around his mouth. Her body was an hourglass shape and her legs looked good in her platform heels, certainly better than the girl working the pole.

"Hi, Sailor." the girl said to the man. "Wanna buy a girl a drink?"

"No." said the man. "Get lost."

"Wow." said the woman, persisting. "Tough day at work? I can make it a lot better for you."

"You heard me, bitch." said the man, turning and glaring at her. "Get. Lost."

"Okay, it's your loss." the woman said. She got up and walked towards the door to the back areas of the club, where the restrooms were. The man followed her with his eyes until she was gone, then turned back to his drink and the 'show'. He did not notice another woman, with a huge mane of black hair and thick, horned-rimmed glasses, wearing a sweater-shirt and jeans, get up and leave by the front door.

It was 11:30pm, Saturday, September 22d. The hot woman that had been dissed did not go into the restrooms, but through the door to the kitchen areas. She quickly went out a side door, often used by employees to go out and smoke. The woman in jeans came up to her.

"Bastard turned me down flat." said Callie Carrington. "Rude about it, too."

"Yeah, I saw." said Cindy Ross. "Something's not right about this. Any of it." Having an insight, she asked "Did your source tell you if Mills has been picking up various women? Or just one?"

"Didn't say." said Callie.

"Let's go back inside and watch." Cindy suggested. They went back in the kitchen door and out to the bar area. Cindy's original table, one of the furthest from the stage, had not been taken while she was out. She and Callie sat down. Leon Mills, once an SBI Lieutenant and now a wanted fugitive on the run, and the man Callie had tried to pick up, did not seem to notice the women when they came back in.

"What do you think is going to happen?" asked Callie.

"I don't know." said Cindy. "Let's just watch and see what Leon does."

It did not take long. A rather skanky looking redheaded woman, wearing a halter top and tight 'Daisy Dukes' jeans, approached Mills and sat down beside him. He turned to her, as if interested in her 'services', and they began talking for a few minutes.

"Let's go." said Cindy. She quickly led the way back to the kitchen door and out. Taken aback by Cindy's speed, Callie could only rush to catch up.

Peering around the edge of the building into the front parking lot, they watched as Mills and his new friend came out, walking arm-in-arm. Cindy said "When he gets to his car, let's jump him. You tell the girl to get lost, and I'll get the cuffs on him."

They quickly walked out into the lot, following Mills and the girl. As he got to an old car and unlocked it, he opened the passenger side door for the girl.

*ZZZZZT!*

The TASER struck Mills in the lower back. "Arrrgh!" he grunted as he went to his knees. Now masked, Cindy and Callie rushed up. As Cindy pulled Mills's arms behind his back and cuffed him, Callie told the woman to get lost.

"No, you get lost, bitch!" the woman said. She sprang out of the car and rushed at Callie. Callie warded off a blow with her CIA-taught martial arts, but the woman was better: she parried Callie's attempt to take her down with a couple of hard blows to the body, then a blow to her face. Callie went down, more shocked than hurt.

"Take him!" Cindy said. "I've got her."

"Come and get it, bitch!" said the redheaded woman. Cindy did so. The woman tried a vicious kick, found it thwarted, then found herself being pummeled with a series of blows. Cindy then whirled and drove her own raised foot into the woman's face, and the woman went down like a rag doll, knocked unconscious.

Callie had Mills's car keys. She opened the trunk, and the two women managed to hoist Mills into the trunk. Then they grabbed the woman. As she was thrown into the trunk and the lid slammed shut, a youngish looking man appeared.

"Hey!" he said. "What are you doing?"

"Police." Cindy said. "We're making a bust. Get lost."

"Not until I see a badge." said the reddish-brown-haired man loudly. "Show me a badge!"

"Okay, you want a badge?" Cindy said, her hand going to her back pocket. "Here's your fucking badge!" Her arm shot out in a vicious blow to the man's face. Not reacting in time, he reeled, then felt the full force of Cindy's 360 turn that ended in her kicking him in the face. He, too, was out like a light.

"Let's go!" Cindy said. She and Callie got into Mills's car, both of them wearing latex gloves. Cindy was driving, and the car scratched off as they pulled out, and just in time: people were starting to pour out of the dive bar to see what was going on...

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

"Who the shit is that bitch?" Callie asked, her face and body still smarting from the blows she'd taken.

"I don't know," said Cindy, "but her fighting skills were way too damn good for a working girl."

"Yeah." said Callie. "She should've been going for a gun in her purse."

"Yeah, like I said," Cindy replied, "something is way off about this whole thing. We'll have to ask them about that..."

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

Leon Mills woke up, his whole body aching and sore from the TASERing he'd received. He found himself to be sitting in a chair, his hands manacled behind him. A full mask without eyeholes was covering his head.

He felt someone behind him press his finger to what felt like the flat glass of an iPhone, then heard the computerized sound of an app. Someone was reading his fingerprint he realized.

"What do you want?" he asked, the mask muffling his voice. A hard blow to the side of his head made his ear ring.

"Shut up." said the voice, a low growl but still definitely a woman's voice. "I'm the one asking the questions, and when I'm good and ready."

Mills heard the chime of the app again. He wondered if someone else's fingerprint was being taken, and then realized that the woman he'd picked might've been kidnapped with him. He heard whispered voices in the distance behind him.

The mask was suddenly taken off by someone standing behind him. He looked around. They were in a poorly lit, empty room, possibly a storage room. He saw the girl he'd picked up, tied up and in a chair next to him. In front of them was a beautiful woman, wearing a 'Batgirl' mask, her lustrous black hair flowing out of the back. She was wearing a form-fitting, all black suit, not quite a Batgirl suit, but definitely something that showed off her magnificent body.

"Okay, slugs." the woman said, her voice a low growl. "I don't have much time. I want answers, and I want them fast."

"Go fuck yourself, bitch." spat the redhead.

The woman came up to her. "Jenny Van Dyke." she said. "You've been running drugs through five States, and up and down the River and the Big River south of Southport. Multiple LEOs and the FBI are verrrrrry interested in meeting you."

"How do you know who I am?" the woman said. "And who the fuck are you?"

"I am your worst nightmare." the woman said. "Fortunately for you, doll, I'm not interested in you at all. I'm interested in Leon Mills, here. Former SBI Agent, been using the SBI to run drugs throughout the State."

"You scumbag!" Jenny shouted at Leon. "You're a god-damned cop?"

"Even worse," said a masked Callie Carrington, still wearing her black-hair wig, "he's a wanted cop. Oh, my dear Leon, you picked up the wrong girl. Should've gone with me, a winner, instead of this piece of shit."

"Who you callin' a piece of shit, bitch?" snarled Jenny Van Dyke.

"Leon, let's stop playing around." said Cindy, also masked and wigged, coming around to Leon's front. "Where are Jack Lewis and Richard Ferrell?" She saw Leon's eyes become jet? Had he recognized her? she wondered.

"I have no idea." said Leon. "Ferrell vanished a long time ago. Lewis up and left me behind several weeks ago. Left me hanging, too. Cops are after me, now. I'd tell you where he was... if I knew."

"Mighty poor acting job." said the beautiful 'Batgirl'. "Leon, you better start talking, and fast. And bitch..." she said, turning to Jenny, "if you know anything, you better start talking, too. Tell me what I want to know, and you'll walk. No harm, no foul. Play games with me, fuck with me, and I've got no reason to let you live. At all." The menace in her voice connoted a certain sincerity to her threat.

"I don't know shit." said Jenny. "This guy picked me up at Neon Blue, and the next thing I know these two whores were all over us. And now you're telling me this bozo is a cop? I got nuthin'..."

"I don't know. I don't know." said Cindy, in a decent imitation of the Iron Crowbar. "Maybe I'm just not making myself clear."

She grabbed Leon by the neck and began squeezing, choking him. "Leon, if you want to live, you tell me where Lewis and Ferrell are."

Leon said nothing, even as he was choking and gasping. As his face began to turn blue, Cindy released her grip on him.

"How about..." Callie said, holding up a large syringe full of a black liquid, "I inject your balls with this acid?"

"I told you." Mills said. "I don't know where they are. Haven't seen them in months, either of them. Lewis bolted, left me behind, hanging in the wind."

"Yes, yes he did." said Callie. She reached and unzipped Mills's pants. "And I'm about to cook your hanging balls with this acid."

"Do your damnedest. I don't know anything." said Mills.

Callie reached into Mills's pants and fished out his cock and balls. "Damn, you're small." she said derisively. "Robin eggs for balls. No wonder you're not scared; nothing to burn out, here."

"So." said the 'Batgirl' woman, "you doing deals with Jenny here? She your supplier these days?"

"Don't say a word, you fucking bastard." warned Van Dyke. "Or I'll cut those robin-egg balls out of you and make you eat 'em!"

"Feisty little bitch, aren't you?" said 'Batgirl' derisively. "Tied up, about to be tortured to death, and still running your worthless whore mouth..."

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

Two hours later...

Detectives Tony Long and E.J. Jefferson came up to the car, which was parked in the parking lot of the City Diner, along with armored City Police Officers. "All right, keys are in the ignition. The anonymous tip said wanted fugitives are in the trunk."

The explosives dog sniffed around but did not alert. "I'll take the risk." said Jefferson. He put the key in the lock and opened the trunk. Inside, trussed up like turkeys for Thanksgiving, were Leon Mills and Jenny Van Dyke.

"Well, well, well." said E.J. Jefferson in his falsetto voice. "Leon Mills. Jenny Van Dyke. The City Police would like to extend an invitation to you to have a nice visit to our Headquarters..."

Part 2 - Ramifications and Repercussions

The Black Beauty drove up to the gates of the World Headquarters of 'The Vision' in Coltrane County. Cindy Ross was driving. She pressed a button, and the monitor screen on the car's dashboard presented a number pad. She keyed in the code, and the gate opened to admit them.

Driving inside, they went in to the nearly abandoned facility. The Security men inside the gate and the man at the front reception desk knew the three women, and said hello to them. Cindy put in the keycode to the elevator to her father's office, and they rode up.

"Anyone want a drink?" asked Cindy as they got off the elevator and went into the office.

"Sure." said Callie. "Canadian is fine with me."

"Scotch for me. Single malt." said the beautiful black haired woman. With her Batgirl mask off, they could see that she was the legendary and feared CIA sniper, Melina Troy Allgood.

Cindy poured the drinks, then handed them out. They sat down on the two sofas in the middle of the huge office room.

"Well, that was a bust." the platinum blonde said, disappointment in her voice.

"Yes, we did bust Leon's balls." said Callie with her beautiful grin. "I always wondered what would happen if I really did inject Coca-Cola into a man's balls. Leon cried a lot."

"I'm sure it hurt." said Melina. "But not all that much, apparently. He didn't tell us a damn thing."

"He didn't know anything." said Cindy, very sure, having felt the vibes at the time. "I mean, he and Jenny have been working the drug trade in the State for some weeks now, but he had no idea where Lewis and Ferrell are."

"Well," said Melina, "at least a small dent was put into the State's drug trade. Jenny Van Dyke was a good smuggler and distributor in the Southport area. She was part of Jimmy 'Coffin' Cerone's operations, until he went legit and ran for political office. She may have worked with your dear cousin Elizabeth for a while, as well."

"I'll say this." said Cindy. "Jenny's martial arts skills were good. As in really good. A lot of training, she's had. That suggests to me that she's part of an organization, or has been part of an organization, that made the effort to give her that kind of training."

"Not the CIA, for sure." said Melina.

"I'll run a full workup on her tomorrow... well, today." said Callie. "In the meantime, it's almost 4:00am. Let's go to the University Diner and get some breakfast."

"Good idea." said Cindy.

"I'd better go home." Melina said. "The way the fucking Press is, these days, someone would take a photo of us, and try to use it against Daniel in his campaign."

"Photographed with the Deputy Police Chief?" Callie replied, then laughed. "Yeah, I can see where that would be a scandal." she said, teasing her fiancée.

Cindy glared (lovingly) at her fiancée for a second, then said to Melina: "Seriously, don't sweat shit like that. Let's go eat."

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

Sunday, September 23d. Callie was sitting at Laura's desk in Laura's office, using the extremely secure line and typing away merrily on her computer. Cindy was sitting next to her, using her iPad to access TCPD records.

"Okay, Jenny Van Dyke." Callie said. "No CIA record, not on the 'Disavowed' list, either. She's believed to be 34 or 35 years old, and she has a 12 year record of prostitution, drug-running, and smuggling. Maybe we should ask Don's sister if she knew Jenny back in the day."

"And I would," said Cindy, "if we could find my dear cousin Elizabeth. Fat chance of that happening right now. Anyway, what else does the Company have on Jenny?"

"Says here she enrolled at the University here, but was busted turning tricks the next Spring and dropped out of School." said Callie. "Picked up numerous times over the next few years, then disappeared almost completely. However, her fingerprints were picked up on some plastic bags that contained nearly pure heroin in them, high grade stuff. That was in Southport, about three years ago."

"So the FBI and DEA got interested in her." Callie continued. "They got word from informants that Jenny was hooking in Chippewa Crossing, which is near Turpin Heights, in the State south of Southport."

"I've had the dis-pleasure of visiting the place." Cindy said, remembering the 'Film Noir' case that earned Don a bullet in the back. "It's sleazy, much sleazier than where we were last night."

"I've never been there, but I've heard it's bad." said Callie. "So the FBI finds out she's built up a pretty big drug distribution ring down there. And then... nothing. The investigation stops, nothing more is noted by the FBI, except for one notation: a CIA Agent vouched for her as an undercover operative. Someone named... Tomoko Shimono."

"There's that name again." Cindy said. "But that would explain some things, too. If Jenny was working with Shimono, and they were working for the Consultant, and with Elizabeth... yeah, she might find martial arts useful. So, that begs the question: what is Jenny doing in a seedy City bar with Leon Mills?"

"You don't think she was picking him up for just sex?" Callie asked.

"Nooooo." Cindy said. "It was staged to look like that, but I'd be willing to bet that a whole lot more was going on between them..."

Part 3 - The Iron Crowbar

" Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

---Exodus 20:8-11


I try to honor that Commandment. I try to reserve Sundays as a day of no Police work, as time for my family. And most often, I'm successful. Today, however, would not quite be one of those Sundays.

We were at The Cabin. Laura and our kids, Molly and the boys. The three boys and I watched an NFL football game, where the New York Football Giants overcame a 20-0 deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons. I felt sorry for the City of Atlanta, that they had to endure the utter shame and humiliation of their football team constantly blowing leads and finding defeat, and for decades. Disgusting failures, the Falcons were.

Carole and Marie were not interested in football. I knew they were doing something involving dressing up and clothing, because the redoubtable Bowser was staying at least 20 feet away from them at all times, and often coming over to me for skritchins... and protection. Being a smart Police dog, Bowser wanted no part of being subjected to being dressed up by the girls.

Lunch was hamburgers and hot dogs and 'fixins'. It was becoming mildly shocking just how much five kids were able to eat in one sitting. My mother would say that big appetites at young ages was an 'inherited' trait...

The doorbell rang, and I went to see who it was. It was FBI Special Agent in Charge Jack Muscone. I let him in. He was wearing a suit and tie, as always.

"Jack, do you ever wear anything but a suit and tie?" Molly asked, teasing him. "Especially on a Sunday?"

"Sure." said Jack. "But today my daughters and little Pete were baptized with water from the River Jordan. Tanya and I appreciate you bringing us some, Don."

"My pleasure." I said. "We had these kids baptized with some of what I brought home, and Father Romano baptized Teresa with some."
After a few moments of small talk, Jack said "Don, can I talk to you out on the deck?"

"Sure." I said. We made our way out on deck. I sat in the metal loveseat, and Jack sat in the chair to my right, next to the table. It was a nice day outside, sunny and warm but not hot.

"Did you hear about the bust the City Police made last night?" asked Jack.

"No." I said. "What happened?"

"They got Leon Mills." said Muscone. "And a wanted drug smuggler, Jenny Van Dyke."

"Really?!" I said, some excitement in my voice.

"Don't get too excited." said Jack. "A lot of strange things happened. First, Mills and Van Dyke were kidnapped. An undercover City cop tried to intervene, and one of the women knocked him out cold."

"Women?" I asked.

"Yes." said Muscone. "Two women. Wearing obvious wigs. And the one that knocked out the City cop was wearing a mask."

"Then, a few hours later," continued Muscone, "an anonymous tip was called in to E.J. Jefferson. They went to the City Diner parking lot, where they found Mills and Van Dyke in the trunk of Mills's car."

"Good." I said. "I need to tell E.J. that I need to talk to Mills."

"They're expecting your call." said Muscone. "But here's the problem. Mills and Van Dyke were worked over by the two women and a third woman, who they said was wearing a 'Batgirl' mask. One of the women that kidnapped Mills shot some kind of liquid into his testicles. The examining doctor thinks it was something like Coca-Cola. Mills has a bad case of blue balls... swollen and hurting... but he's expected to recover."

"The bad news," said Muscone, "is that Van Dyke demanded a lawyer, and she called Nathan Masterson of Gresham & Mason, P.C. He also took Mills under his legal wing, and intends to raise hell about Mills's injuries. Thankfully, the City Police videotaped everything they did regarding those two from the moment they opened the car trunk, so they won't take the fall for the torture. But who knows what might happen with the judges they have over there."

"True." I said. "So what did the undercover cop say? What was going on with Mills?"

"The undercover guy was with City Vice." said Muscone. "A relatively new drug pipeline had opened in the Red Light District, and they'd traced it to the 'Neon Blue' bar... I think it's called that... and noticed that Mills had picked up the same redheaded woman for four or five Saturday nights. Last night, a brunette tried to pick him up and he shooed her away, then the redhead came in and left with Mills. I might add that this undercover guy did not know that Mills was a former high-level SBI Agent."

Muscone went on: "The brunette that tried to pick up Mills was one of the two women that kidnapped him and Van Dyke, so the undercover man said. City Vice is speculating that these women were part of a group with competing interests, as in having their own drug operation. The martial arts skills displayed by the women also drew City Vice's interest. They had their data gurus bring up some data, and after seeing the results, Jefferson and Long called me. Care to guess whose name they came up with?"

"To call you, it would have to be either an interstate criminal or a CIA or ex-CIA or Disavowed-CIA person. My dear sister Elizabeth comes to mind when it comes to women in drug rackets, but my sister gave up the drug trade some time ago, and she is not with the CIA." That was an understatement, to be sure.

I went on: "Ergo... the only woman I can think of that has smuggling and CIA connections, and would have you sitting here talking to me about it on the deck of The Cabin, the great view notwithstanding... is Tomoko Shimono of the old Collins/Chen murder cases and attempt to blow up the nuclear plant."

"Four hundred years ago..." said Jack, shaking his head. But he was grinning, too. "That had to be, what, over two years ago?"

"Getting near three years ago. And it was while the Consultant was still alive and kicking." I said. "I always believed she was Westboro's deep mole in CIA and technology things. She was 'disavowed', and I haven't heard a peep about her since Westboro's timely passing... until now."

Muscone said "The Deputy Director thinks the current CIA Director is possibly using disavowed agents to augment his extracurricular operations, which involve undermining Israeli-related companies here and abroad. He may have been using May Cialis for such operations. It would make sense if Tomoko Shimono were involved; she would be perfect for such operations."

"But our question is more local." Muscone continued. "Is Shimono involved with these two women that took out Mills and Van Dyke?"

"And brought them back for the Police to find?" I replied. "That is a 'strangeness' to me, so I don't think Shimono is working with them. I would also suggest those women wanted something from Mills; ergo, burning his balls... 'better living through chemistry' at its very finest." I was nodding my head as I spoke, halfway in a reverie...

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

5:00pm, Sunday, September 23d. Jerome Davis was riding shotgun and I was driving my Police SUV as we drove towards the City to interview Leon Mills and Jenny Van Dyke. Their hearings would be the next morning, and I knew we needed to talk to them quickly.

Jerome was using the onboard computer to look up information. "Looks like Jenny Van Dyke was a pretty well-known drug runner in the Turpin Heights area a few years ago. The FBI and DEA opened investigations of her, then dropped them when word came out she was an undercover operative. Notation here says that someone in the CIA that vouched for her... a Tomoko Shimono."

"Tomoko Shimono is now on the CIA's 'disavowed' list." I replied. "And I've heard nothing of her for a while. Let me ask this: who in the FBI made that notation? Les Craig?"

Jerome typed a few seconds, then said "It... it doesn't say. The entry is there, but the name of whoever entered it is left blank."

"Interesting." I said. "Okay, if their lawyer is there, you'll talk to Mills first, which hopefully will leave me a few minutes to talk with Van Dyke before the legal beagle can get in there."

"Sir, you can't question her without a lawyer present." Jerome very correctly said.

"I'm not going to ask her any questions." I replied...

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

After greetings with E.J. Jefferson and Tony Long, we were taken to the interrogation rooms. The City Police Officers went with Jerome into Mills's room, and sure enough that drew Nathan Masterson there. Aided by Sapper Warren, I snuck into Jenny Van Dyke's interrogation room.

"Oh, yeah... they sent the good looking guy to talk to me." Jenny said flirtatiously, with a smile. I gave her a smile back, then, and without a word, I sat down on the other side of the table from her, and very dramatically put on a pair of octagonal-framed eyeglasses.

My action had the desired effect. Jenny recognized the family resemblance. "Oh my God." she said, smiling again. "You're her brother, aren't you?" I just nodded as she said "Yeah, she talked about you. A lot. She said you were as good as she was, but you were on the wrong side of the Law... the good side." She leaned back and said "So, how is Elizabeth doing?"

"Very well, last time I saw her." I said, which was true...

"She was the best, the very best." Jenny said, reminiscing. "She helped me set up in Southport and Turpin Heights. We had a great thing going. And then she walked away from it all. Turned herself in. I never understood why she did that."

"She wanted to live." I said. "And she did. She survived Westboro, as did you."

"Oh, him." Jenny said, her face falling. "Yeah, he was one mean bastard." She then looked up at me, making the connection. "But weren't you the guy who took that bastard down... Mister Iron Crowbar?" I just nodded my acquiescence.

Then I said "I can't ask you any questions without your lawyer present. So I can't ask you about Tomoko Shimono, and her involvement in your old drug ring."

"Who?" asked Jenny. "Never heard of her."

Just then the door flew open and Nathan Masterson charged in. "What the hell are you doing, Troy, questioning my client without me present?"

"He didn't ask her a single question." said Sapper Warren. "We've got it on tape, so zip your lip, Masterson."

"Yeah, right." muttered Masterson. "Jenny, this guy is a rattlesnake. Don't even give him the time of day..."

"Relax, baby." Jenny said. "He didn't ask me a thing. Didn't need to." She gave me another flirtatious smile, which irritated Masterson all the more.

"What do you want with my client, Troy?" Masterson said.

"I just wanted to let her know that my sister would never approve of a Jew-hater like you, Masterson, being Jenny's lawyer, here." I said, looking at Jenny. "Oh, I can't advise you to get new and better representation than this Jew-hater, here, Jenny... so I won't."

"Oh really?" Jenny said sourly, glancing skeptically at Masterson.

"What of it, you fucking kike-lover?" snarled Masterson.

"O-kayyyy, I think we're done here." I said. I then got up. "Okay, Sapper, let's go talk to Mills. Nice meeting you, Jenny."

"You too, handsome." Jenny said.

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

The interrogation rooms were split by an anteroom in the middle with one-way windows looking into each room. I went into that middle anteroom, where Jerome, Tony, and E.J. were.

"Masterson must've realized you were here." said Jerome. "He suddenly got up, told us to stop talking to Mills, and rushed out."

"Heh." I said. "So what did you get out of Mills?"

"I just asked him what he was doing in the City with a known drug-runner." Jerome said. "Mills said he was just picking up a whore to get a piece of ass. We didn't get much further."

"You gonna give it a shot, Commander?" asked E.J., who clearly wanted to watch me interrogate Mills.

"Why not?" I said. I handed the red crowbar to Jerome, then went into the hallway, where Masterson was waiting.

"You still here, Jew-hater?" I snarled at him. "I'm going to interrogate Mills now, so get in there and represent your client."

I went into the interrogation room, followed by the clearly rattled lawyer. When Mills saw me, his eyes lit up, but in a sardonic, disrespectful way.

"Well, if it ain't the Iron Crowbar." Mills said. "So tell me, how is Charlie Griswold doing?" He was trying to bait me into doing something to him, and he was about to get more than he bargained for.

"Leon, you're going to be tried for conspiracy to commit Charlie Griswold's murder." I said. "We have plenty of proof to get a conviction. Aggravating circumstances, so we'll be going for the Death Penalty."

"Stop trying to intimidate my client with your lies." warned Masterson.

"Think I'm lying, Mills?" I asked. "You'll see tomorrow, during your arraignment. Here's my proposition... give me Jack Lewis, tell me where he is... and I'll work with the City D.A. to get you reduced charges."

"My client is going to be released tomorrow." said Masterson. "Your fellow cops tortured him, violated his rights in the worst possible way."

"Not my fellow cops." I said. "But let me be clear, Mills: your incompetent lawyer here is giving you very, very bad advice, and making promises he can't keep. But if I make a promise, you can be assured that I will keep it. And the promise I'm making to you is that if you do not give me Jack Lewis... then I'm going to hold Charlie's murder against you."

"Threatening my clients again!" said Masterson. "That alone will get him freed tomorrow."

"We'll see." I said, getting up. "I'm not sure I would want to be freed and allowed to walk out of here, not without serious protection. Better get your legal beagle to guarantee your safety, Leon. The Police won't. The FBI won't. I won't."

With that, I turned and walked out. I went back to the anteroom.

"Er, Commander," said E.J. "That was pretty close to the line. The judges here tend to be activist, and might interpret your words as threats."

"Don't sweat it." I said. "The judge is going to be swamped with extradition requests at that hearing, including a few Federal ones. And if he does let Mills go..." I didn't continue; I just gave a little smile, a smile that bore no good will towards Leon Mills.

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

It was growing dark as Jerome and I went to the Federal Building. Inside the FBI offices, we found Jack Muscone. Talking with him was his boss, the EAD, wearing his trademark three-piece suit.

"How did it go with Mills and Van Dyke?" asked Muscone, as he had us sit down with them in the conference room.

"As well as could be expected," I said, "considering they're lawyered up. I did get something valuable out of Jenny Van Dyke, so it's wasn't a wasted trip."

"That she knew your sister?" asked the EAD. I just shrugged.

"That," I said, "and the fact that Leon Mills is here in the City, when everyone was saying he was in the Southport area. That might be suggestive with regard to where Jack Lewis is."

"You think Mills is helping Lewis?" asked the EAD.

"Lewis and Ferrell need money." I said. "Jenny Van Dyke's presence suggests drugs, which desperate criminals sell to make money. So Leon Mills going to her does not shock me."

"What about Tomoko Shimono?" asked the EAD. "Fill me in about her involvement with that case of yours."

I did so, with Jack Muscone filling in some details of the Feds's pursuit of the disavowed CIA agent. The EAD seemed very interested.

"Jack, it sounds like we really need to pursue this Shimono woman." said the EAD. "Let's get an APB out for her. And see if we can get Mills and Van Dyke into Federal custody, to see if they can give us a lead on Shimono. Commander, can we count on your help in this pursuit?"

"Indirectly, sir." I said. "But I've been told by my boss, that being my wife, to concentrate on 'local' things. I'm going to be concentrating on pursuing Jack Lewis and Richard Ferrell."

"Good enough." said the EAD. "Okay, I need to go call Washington and brief them." He made his goodbyes and left.

As we got up to go, I said quietly to Muscone: "Jack, do me a favor, and please don't mention this to anyone else. We were looking at Van Dyke's records, and she was vouched for as an undercover agent by Tomoko Shimono. Can you find out which FBI Agent made that notation in the file?"

"I'd think it'd be Les Craig." said Muscone. "He was in Southport all that time."

"I'd appreciate it if you'd confirm that, or not." I said.

"Hmmmm, when you ask things like that, you have some idea in that red head of yours." said Muscone, making Jerome laugh. "Spill it."

"I think you'll understand my need for secrecy when you get the answer." was all I'd say in reply...

Part 3 - Morning Coffee

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Fox Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Monday, September 24th, from in front of City Hall. "Fox Two News has learned that former SBI Lieutenant Leon Mills was arrested in the City over the weekend!"

Bettina began: "Leon Mills is wanted by Local, State, and Federal authorities for various crimes, including conspiracy to commit the murder of Charlie Griswold, son of Town & County Sheriff Candidate Antonio Griswold. City Police said that Mills and another person were arrested after Police acted upon an anonymous tip. But Nathan Masterson, attorney for Mr. Mills, said that Mills was tortured and injected with acid before being found by Police, who deny any involvement in any torture of Mr. Mills."

"In State news," said Bettina, "politicians are throwing their hats into the ring for the Lieutenant Governor position! Attorney General Karl Handel, who is not up for re-election as A.G. for two more years, has announced he is running for the Republican nomination, as is State Secretary of State Brian Cagle. Republican Legislators were urging State House Speaker John Paul Newton to run for Lt. Governor, but Mr. Newton issued a statement saying he was not going to run for the position."

"On the Democrat side," continued Bettina, "State Senator Maxine Watts had declared she will run for her Party's nomination. She will be opposed by Coltrane County's State Representative, Isaac Jacobson. State Senator Katherine Woodburn has said she has no interest in running for the Lt. Governor position at this time, but she has urged other Democrats to consider running."

"While no one can run for two positions at the same time, per State Law," said Bettina, "anyone can run for their Party's nomination in the caucuses, and only the actual nominee will be prohibited from running or re-running for other positions. We have with us Karl Frazier of Public Policy Polling. Karl, what's the situation?"

"Bettina," said Frazier, "it's somewhat of a paradox that the Democrats are so confident of a 'wave' election in the Legislature that they don't want to give up their seats in the Legislature to run for Lieutenant Governor. But we do expect Sean Stockton to consider a run on the Republican side."

"What about Wilson Hammonds?" asked Bettina.

"I believe the Republicans were pushing John Paul Newton to run for Lt. Governor so that Hammonds could be Speaker." said Frazier. "But if the Democrats win both Houses of the State Legislature, and it increasingly looks like will happen, then Hammonds would be no more than Minority Leader. So we'll see if he goes ahead and runs for the Lt. Governor slot."

"What about locally, Karl?" asked Bettina. "It looks like Daniel Allgood is beginning to pull ahead of Eldrick X. Weaver."

"It's still very close, Bettina." said Frazier. "There's plenty of time for Allgood to say something stupid, like Republican candidates always do."

"What about the Sheriff's race, Karl?" asked Bettina. "Any hope for Della Harlow?"

"Chief Griswold does have a solid lead." said Frazier. "But Commander Troy's unpopularity, his attacks on the Press, who are just doing their jobs, and his heavy-handed Police tactics could sway voters..."

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

"I am a political atheist, and I don't really care who wins." said Cindy. "But this train wreck of a Lt. Governor's race is a lot of fun to watch."

We were in the Chief's Conference Room. The Chief had decided that neither my office's sofa nor 'hot chairs' were sufficiently comfortable for him, so he had a piece of hard plastic put in from the door to the nearest spot at the near side of the table, so that Tanya could drive up to the table on it. Teresa was to Tanya's right, and the Chief at the near end of the table. I was to the Chief's left on the far side, and Cindy to my left. We were watching the monitor on the wall at the far end of the table as we drank our coffee.

"The train wreck will be October 9th," I said, "when the caucuses get together to cast ballots. It's going to be war on the Republican side."

"If the Democrats' only choices are the... polarizing ...Maxine Watts and the relatively minor Jacobson," Tanya said, "that's going to be... 'interesting', too."

I realized that everyone's eyes were turned to me. "What?" I asked.

"Mr. Crowbarrrrr," drawled the Chief, "do you have any prognostications on these political racessssss?"

"As 'unpopular' as I am?" I quipped. "No, not really. And I have to agree with Commander Ross... it's hard for me to really care, right about now."

"Yeah, it's football season." said Teresa. I pointed at her and nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Since I have you all here nowwww," drawled the Chief, "let's take a moment and talk about actual Police business. What is the Leon Mills situation?"

"Mills was captured by City Police, acting upon an anonymous tip." I said. "It's a very strange story, though. He and a woman named Jenny Van Dyke were kidnapped from the parking lot of a bar called 'Neon Blue'. Sleazy strip joint. It is believed that the kidnappers were two women---"
"How do they know that?" asked Cindy.

"I understand that their clothing did not hide the basics of their female anatomies." I replied. "And there's another reason, which I'll get to in a second. Anyway, an undercover City Vice cop saw the kidnapping and attempted to intervene. One of the women said they were cops, this guy asked to see a badge, and the woman knocked him out cold with what was described as a 'vicious martial arts kick'. Know anyone that could do that, Cindy?"

"I'll see if I can think of some names." Cindy replied. "You said the guy that was knocked out was a cop?"

"Yep." I said. "Undercover City Vice. They'd spotted Leon at the bar, and were seeing who he might've been meeting. And they were lucking out: the woman Mills picked up for several straight weeks was Jenny Van Dyke, once the queen of the Southport/Turpin Heights drug trade."

"And these kidnappers messed up City Vice's plans, yes?" asked the Chief.

"They're saying they did, Chief," I said, "but my own opinion is that City Vice could've been moving on this a lot faster. They seemed content to watch for weeks rather than make arrests, so I dunno. Anyway, a few hours later Detective E.J. Jefferson got a tip, and it led to Mills and Van Dyke being found and arrested."

"Mills and Van Dyke both said that their kidnappers were women, which confirms the observations at the bar." I said, looking over at Cindy. "They also said that a third woman was at the location inside a building they'd been taken to. And they both said that one of the kidnappers injected Leon's testicles with a liquid, maybe trying to get him to talk about something he might have known."

"Mmm, talk about blue balls." said Tanya, shaking her head but grinning. "They messed up him picking up that hooker, then injected his balls with something. I almost feel sorry for the guy."

"I don't." I said. "I wish I had known that Mills had been found and was under observation. Neither City Vice nor these kidnappers did me any favors, any favors a'tall. I'd have interrogated him... properly... and if he knew where Jack Lewis was, I would now know."

"Your 'plausible deniability' is very quickly flying out the win-dowwwww." said the Chief. "But you did talk to them yesterday, I understand. What did you find out?"

"I said that Van Dyke was once the queen of the Southport-Turpin Heights drug trade," I said, "and that's generally true. That was back in the days of the Consultant, and when Elizabeth was all over the smuggling trade in these parts. Also, you guys remember the Collins/Velasquez/Chen cases?"

"Oh yeah." said Tanya brightly. "We nicknamed that one the 'Eyes Only' case."

"Yes." I said. "There was a woman that played a role in that, especially Roy Chen's murder. Her name was Tomoko Shimono. She disappeared shortly after we solved that case."

"I remember hearing her name." said Cindy. "Disavowed CIA agent, wasn't she?"

"Yes." I said. "Her name is still on the 'Disavowed' list, but nothing at all has been heard from her since that time."

"What happened to Jenny Van Dyke?" Cindy asked.

"After Elizabeth turned herself in," (Author's note: 'Interlude 8'.) "and after the Consultant died, Jenny got out of her drug distribution business when the Feds became interested in her. After that, she hasn't really been heard from, until recently. The City Police think she's been hooking for the past couple of years, maybe being a drug 'mule' and providing transportation for large quantities of really hot stuff."

"And now she's hooking up with Leon Mills, pun not intended." said the Chief. "I do know the Feds put out an APB for Tomoko Shimono. The FBI may even put her on their Ten Most Wanted List. Things are quiet around here, Mr. Crowbar. Do you want some time to help the Feds find this Tomoko Shimono woman?"

"Like I told the EAD, Chief." I said. "I'm going to stick to more local things, particularly the pursuit of Jack Lewis. And I'll say no more, for the sake of... 'plausible deniability'."

"Good man, Mister Crowbarrrrr." said the Chief. "Good man."

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

"This is Catrina Pierce, KSTD Five-Alive News in the Morning!" said the beautiful new reporterette for KSTD. She was athletic like Amber Harris, but her hair was a more platinum shade of blonde, more like Cindy's... but Catrina had dark roots. "Five-Alive News is bringing you continuing coverage of the ongoing battle for the Lieutenant Governor position!"

Catrina's story matched Bettina's for the most part, but she did have an addition: "Town & County Representative Billy Williams has announced he is exploring a possible run for the nomination as a Republican! Mr. Williams is a strongly Conservative representative, and said that someone needs to oppose Wilson Hammonds's attempts to control the caucus process. Mr. Hammonds reacted strongly, saying that the Republican Party would never allow, quote 'Grassroots traitors' unquote, to be the Party's nominee."

"Additionally," said Catrina, "Westphalia's State Representative, Sharon Marshall, has said she might run as a Republican. Republicans strongly discouraged her from running, saying she'd have to give up her seat if she were nominated, and they fear her seat is one that could flip to the Democrats if she is not the Candidate in that district..."

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

"New reporter for KSTD." said Tanya as I sat with my Angels in my office, watching the broadcast. "What happened to Cynthia Freeman?"

Cindy said "According to Priya Ajmani, Catrina Pierce was the Women's Sports reporter for KSTD, and she was swapped with Cynthia. Those photos of Cynthia fucking for her job were pretty devastating to Cynthia's psyche, and male reporters are already making jokes about her."

"Maybe next time Cynthia will refrain from calling me 'abusive' and a racist." I said.

Cindy said "Priya said the Media members in the State thought that Cynthia was too new for you to have anything on. After those photos of her came out, and the little note mentioning Bettina... they are scared shitless about what you might do next."

"Are you saying Don is winning the war?" Teresa asked, excitement creeping into her voice.

"No, I didn't say that." Cindy replied. "But now they're using proxies, like Karl Frazier, to take shots at Don."

"As if Karl Frazier is clean as a whistle?" I said derisively. "Yeah, right."

"All right, I have bookkeeping to do." said Cindy, getting up. "Y'all have a great day." She left, closing the doors a lot more gently than she had some days before.

"All right, what's new?" I asked.

"Car thefts." said Tanya. "We had four over the weekend, and one last Wednesday and one last Thursday. That's a lot in a short amount of time."

"Any patterns?" I asked.

"Two of them were stolen right out of driveways in the Heritage Cloisters subdivision." Teresa said. "We've got an HOA meeting tomorrow night, and I fully intend to be present, in uniform, asking them what's going on with the security there."

"Do me a favor: don't go in uniform." I said. "They may try to turn it around and ask why the Police aren't doing more." Teresa nodded. "So where were the other cars taken from?" I asked.

"One from the ungated parking lot of the new 'Jasmine' club." said Tanya. "My first impression was that T-Square had it done to get people to think about using the valet parking there, for more security, dontcha know."

"As an aside," I said, "how's that club doing?"

"Really well, on weekends." said Teresa. "They're getting the middle-aged, suburban clientele that T-Square wasn't getting into 'Rhythms & Rap' and other dance clubs. And they're getting clientele from all over the County, including the northern suburbs, if you get my drift."

"Cool." I said. "Sorry to interrupt, Tanya. You were saying?"

"Two cars from Heritage Cloisters, two from the Mall parking lot." said Tanya. "And one from the Sunrise Hotel parking lot on the Coltrane County highway. We got some video of every theft... except the ones in the Heritage Cloisters. Young people, wearing hoodies. Perps are both black and white, we think."

"Any gang colors?" I asked.

"Not on the videotapes, which are not all that great." said Tanya.

"Rudistan told me that we're not seeing any open gang clusters or congregations, either." said Teresa. "Which may be one reason we're not picking up any major drug imports into the County."

I nodded. "Have the Force really keep their eyes peeled. With Leon Mills getting busted, and Jenny Van Dyke also, someone may feel they can come in and set up shop. I'm still wondering why we're not getting anything on that front."

"Sir," said Tanya, "we think a lot of people, the University students especially, are going into Nextdoor County and maybe Coltrane County to get their supplies. We were thinking about setting up DUI checkpoints on the highways coming in, and maybe having drug dogs sniff cars while our Officers speak with the drivers."

"Yeah, we may just have to do something like that." I said. "But also do it on incoming traffic from the State west of us. And, as always, take some dogs to sniff around Point Hollow. If they alert, we may have to arrange stakeouts of that property."

As the meeting was concluding, Tanya asked "Sir, can I have Joanne and maybe Parker start looking into Tomoko Shimono? It's a longshot, but she's wanted in this County over the Chen murder, and maybe we'll catch a break on her."

"Maybe." I said. "Tell you what, have Parker and Rodriguez do it. And let me know if you find anything. Nobody else has gotten a whiff of her in what, nearly three years now? Of course, I expect more from my great Detectives." Tanya grinned and Teresa somewhat disdainfully shot her eyebrows up at that...

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

"My baby is growing up so fast." Laura said wistfully. "My daughter is in first grade already!"

The DepDirector chuckled. "Yes, you blink your eyes, and that two year old is suddenly grown up."

They were at the Lilibet House, having breakfast. The crêpes and coffee were among Laura's favorites, and the setting was much more elegant than the diners and breakfast buffets in Town. They were in the back room for privacy.

As they finished eating, the DepDirector said "What I wanted to talk to you about is the situation in Washington. I've done nothing but talk on the phone for two days. The Keating murder tore the lid off hell, but it also has the Swamp Frogs scrambling and circling the wagons."

"I've been getting sporadic information," said Laura, "but the CIA Director's web is so pervasive that people are afraid to talk to me right now. What's going on?"

"As you know," said the DepDirector, "the President and CIA Director are good friends, and they share a friendliness with Islamists and a hatred of Israel. We're getting word that the groundwork is being laid for the President to declare that the official United States position is that Israel is illegally occupying the West Bank and must return to its pre-1967 borders."

"Oh my God." said Laura. "That could lead to a break in diplomatic relations, or worse: outright war in the Middle East."

"Yes." said the DepDirector. "But it's by no means a done deal, and the President would risk severe political consequences, including possible impeachment, if he does go forward with it. He's really gotta prepare the political ground for doing it... and that's where the CIA Director comes in."

"All this is for that?" asked Laura.

"It's some of it." the DepDirector said. "But the CIA Director has a personal hatred of Jews and Israel that goes beyond the political. And he's also part of the Swamp, the Elites that were moving to control everything and everyone, working closely with big businesses and the Press."

The DepDirector continued: "As you know, U.S. Senator Samuel Russell has been the Establishment's linchpin in the Senate, while Senator Bill Nunn has been working hard to expose the Elitists and their plans. In the U.S. House, Representatives Travis Gowron of Florida and Tim Chavis of New York State, both Grassroots Republicans, were leading the investigations of Russell, Mitt Willis, the CIA Director, and the Elites."

"Well..." the DepDirector said sadly, "all three have been threatened, with their deaths and the deaths of their families. All three have gone to the FBI and Secret Service about it, but are very unhappy with the responses they've received. Gowron put his family in hiding and sleeps at his office, but Chavis hasn't been able to do that. They've both told me that they're not re-running for Congress, and are going to leave at the end of their terms at the end of the year."

"And Bill Nunn?" asked Laura.

"He's single, his parents are already deceased, so the only threat is to him personally." said the DepDirector. "But I've gotten word that if Nunn keeps pushing the Russell rape thing, and if he keeps bringing up the CIA Director, Russell will have Nunn murdered, and is all but openly defying us to do anything about it. Nunn won't be bullied... but I'm scared for him."

"What about my husband?" asked Laura. "The CIA Director has not been holding up his end of the bargain about leaving Don alone."

"Flip side of that, for right or wrong," said the DepDirector, "is that the CIA Director, and several of the Elites that Don has not arrested and perp-walked yet, believe that we haven't kept our end of the deal, that we should've stopped Don from making those arrests."

"That's a load of----" Laura started, but the DepDirector stopped her.

"I know, I know." he said. "But these Irrationalists are just looking for excuses. Anyway, the bottom line is that my friends think the Swamp Frogs feel cornered, and they're about to come out... energetically... and start tamping down on what they perceive to be their problems... including the Media even mentioning the CIA Director and the issues with Israel..."

Part 4- Whooooo Are You?

"So that's what I have." said Callie Carrington. She'd just briefed Laura on everything she'd discovered about Leon Mills, Jenny Van Dyke, and Tomoko Shimono.

"What happened at their hearings this morning?" Laura asked, though she seemed a million miles away.

"Jenny Van Dyke is being held without bond." said Callie. "The judge set a hearing for extraditing her to the FBI's custody to face Federal drug distribution charges. Leon Mills has another hearing for this afternoon, to determine two things: first, if the Town & County will get jurisdiction over him for the charges involving the death of Charlie Griswold; and second, to determine what if any involvement the City Police had in what Mills's lawyer is claiming to be torture at their hands."

"I don't know who kidnapped those two," Laura said with asperity, "and I don't want to know. But I do know that they fucked up a lot of things doing what they did."

Callie said nothing. Laura then said "Callie, why don't you call Cindy and take a long lunch? On me. Just save the receipts."

"Uh, sure." said Callie. "What do you want me to look at next?"

"I'll tell you that later... when I've figured it out myself." Laura replied. "Until then, put those papers Dr. Grier wrote in some semblance of order, from the least ridiculous to the most." Callie grinned, then accepted her dismissal and left to call Cindy.

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

"Callie, I'm really busy." Cindy said as she sat at her desk in her office. "I can't make it today..."

The door to her office opened, and a strawberry-blonde head peeked in. "Take the lunch." I said. "And consider that to be more than a request."

"Okayyyyyy, I'm told I'm free to meet you for lunch." Cindy said, her ice-blue eyes glaring at door from which the red head had just (wisely) withdrawn. "If Laura is paying, let's make it the Cattleman's Club..."

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

I entered my wife's office by the main entrance. Laura's assistant Laurie had also been ordered to enjoy a long lunch.

"Hello, Darling." Laura said, getting up to greet me with a hug and a warm kiss, which stirred my loins. "So, you wanted to meet about something important?"

"Yes." I said as we sat down on the sofa facing the windows of the office, Laura on my right side, curling her legs up under her. I thought of what had happened at those windows just over a year before, and the significant damage that had been done as a result. (Author's note: 'Falsely Accused', Ch. 04-05.)

I said "Let me start with a question: does the CIA keep DNA records of their people?"

"Yes." Laura said. "But after what Aldrich Ames did to betray the Company, that information is very tough to get. Just imagine if the Russians had that data, and could just run a DNA test and find out they had a CIA agent in their custody."

"Oh, I understand." I said. "So if I gave you some DNA information, you could see if it matched an Agent?"

Laura said "Well, let me tell you how it works. Every Agent has blood drawn when undergoing entry physicals, and of course we do a DNA workup on them, partially to identify their dead bodies if we find them."

Laura continued: "After Aldrich Ames, the digital data was separated into three databases, each controlled by a separate Directorate. The Directorate of Science and Technology keeps the actual DNA scans, along with a 128-bit encrypted key for each entry. The Directorate of Operations, which used to be the National Clandestine Services, has a database with that encrypted key, and a second unique 128-bit key as an identifier. That second key matches a line in the third database, maintained by the Directorate of Support, which maintains personnel records. That database has the Agent or other person's name."

More Laura: "No one person can ever have access to more than one of the databases. It's like the military's two-man control for the nuclear codes, or Coca-Cola's A and B factories kept totally separate. We just added a third layer. Each database requires two persons to enter passwords to access the data. On top of that, the CIA Director and Deputy Director must both sign off on permission to access the data."

"So the CIA Director would know," I said, "if you scanned for a DNA match with this." I held out a jump drive. "There's a file on this, with a DNA profile on it. I was hoping you could run it for a match."

"Yeah, he'd know." said Laura. "It's the only way to get the Agent's name."

"Let me ask this, then." I said, as if it were a sudden thought. "It may take two persons to access, but if you scanned only the database with the DNA scans, would he know?"

"Uhh... you know, you may have an idea, there." said my wife. "It's only when asking for the databases to link with each other that we have to get permission. But what good would it do if you don't have a match to a name?"

"It could do a great, great deal of good." I said. I explained why, then said "So, do you still have friends... or a sister... in the Directorate of Science and Technology?"

Laura smiled. "Yes. Melina's in the Directorate of Operations, but I do have some friends... and friends in the way we need them to be..."

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

"Mmmm, they cook steaks perfectly here." said Callie as she enjoyed her lunch. "Even better than the Chop House, if you ask me. Just don't tell Mr. Colby I said that." Part of the joke was that Mr. Colby owned both excellent steak houses.

"Your secret is safe with me." said Cindy. "But speaking of secrets... I did not mention to Don that it was you and me that kidnapped blue-balls Leon and Jenny Van Dyke. And now I don't think I can... that guy I knocked out in the parking lot? He's a cop. City Vice."

"Ouch!" Callie moaned.

"Yeah, I feel terrible about it." Cindy said. "Though at that point we were in for a penny, in for a pound."
"Yeah, we've dug a hole on this one." Callie said. "I don't know if Laura knows it was us, but she made a point to say the kidnappers fucked things up very badly."

"I figured Don would figure it out and tell me that he knew it was us." Cindy said. "He'd say 'You're not dealing with an Agency of the Weak-Minded, you know.'. But he hasn't said a word, so far."

"Maybe we should come correct and tell him." Callie said. "Don also says it's easier to get forgiveness than permission."

"Orrrr..." Cindy said, "we can let sleeping dogs lie on this one, and just not say anything unless and until we have to."

"And we definitely need to talk to Melina before we talk to Don." said Callie. "I don't want to get her in trouble, especially after she helped us so much with it."

"Don will be furious if we do tell him." Cindy said. "He'd have gotten the truth out of Mills about where Lewis and Ferrell are. We should've delivered Mills to Don..."

"What if Mills really didn't know where they were?" asked Callie. "Then Don might've killed him, and we'd all be in a world of shit. I think you did the right thing. Mills isn't going anywhere."

"I guess you're right." Cindy said. "Okay, we'll keep our mouths shut for now. If Don asks, I won't lie, but I don't believe that it is a lie to withhold the truth."

"Flawlessly logical, Mr. Spock." Callie said with her beautiful grin, which made Cindy grin...

Part 5 - Storm Clouds Gathering

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Fox Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Wednesday, September 26th, from in front of the Courthouse complex. "We are bringing you continuing coverage of several developments!"

"In State news," Bettina said, "Westphalia State Rep. Sharon Marshall has declared that she is in the running for Lieutenant Governor. Marshall is not considered to be a Grassroots Conservative, but she has increasingly sided with Governor Jared and against State Representative Wilson Hammonds of Pottsville, who experts say is the real Republican Party power in the State. Her entry into the race means that State Senator Sean Stockton, who ran a failed campaign for Governor two years ago, will likely not enter the race."

"On the Democrat side," continued Bettina, "experts are mildly surprised at how the Party is coalescing around State Senator Maxine Watts's candidacy for Lieutenant Governor. Her often harsh rhetoric has worried Democrat moderates, but she received the strong endorsements of State Reps Elijah McKinney of Southport and Tasheeka Harris of Midtown, as well as the Social Justice group 'Black Voices Raised'."

"And leaked documents are showing that Independent State Counsel Robert Mullen is having problems generating indictments of Jared aides Steven Fuqua and Alan Davidson. Both aides testified before the Special Grand Jury, but no indictments have been brought down. We have with us Dr. Romanov of the University's Institute for Politics. Doctor, what does this mean for Governor Jared?"

"It isn't necessarily a bad thing that the Special Grand Jury is not indicting these very minor figures in this investigation." said Dr. Romanov. "It only means they've considered their information as part of Mr. Mullen's case against the Governor for his potentially criminal actions."

"Doctor," said Bettina, "how much is Commander Troy an albatross around Chief Griswold and Sheriff Allgood's necks as they run their campaigns?"

"None at all." said Dr. Romanov, which caused Bettina's face to fall, and maybe even show anger. "Chief Griswold is embracing having the Iron Crowbar in his Police Department, and Sheriff Allgood has his own problems with racial and misogyny issues. Della Harlow and Eldrick Weaver would be better served to leave Commander Troy out of any political campaign conversations."

"Thank you, Doctor." Bettina said acidly, then turned to the camera again. "And in other State News, a Superior Court Judge in the City refused to issue an arrest warrant for U.S. Senator Samuel Russell, even after a Grand Jury brought an indictment against the Senator. The judge stated that the Senator is immune from prosecution while the U.S. Senate is in session. The City has appealed the ruling to a Federal Court."

"Also," said Bettina, "another judge in the City refused to release former SBI Lieutenant Leon Mills, citing that the City Police adequately showed that they did not administer the torture that Mills was subjected to. As Mills had a residential address in the City, he was released on $100,000 bail with ankle monitoring, pending his hearing to be extradited to our Town & County to face conspiracy charges in the murder of Charlie Griswold..."

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

FBI Special Agent In Charge Jack Muscone came into TCPD Headquarters at 8:53am, and was politely escorted by the Duty Desk Patrolman to my office, where I had him sit down after he helped himself to some of my coffee. I refilled my mug, as well.

"We, meaning the FBI," said Muscone, "are convinced that you had nothing to do with the capture and torture of Leon Mills."

"Glad to hear that." I said, somewhat acerbically. "What gave it away?"

"If it had been you," Muscone replied, "then Mills would not be in Police custody. He would be dead... or more correctly, 'still missing'."

"Oh, I dunno." I said. "I really do try to pick my spots when it comes to coloring outside the lines. Leon Mills wouldn't have been worth it. No, I'd've had the City Police pick him up, or arrested him as the SBI Inspector that I am."

"So you don't think he knows where Ferrell is?" asked Jack.

"Nope. Nor Lewis." I replied. I then peered at him and said in my best Emperor Palpatine voice: "I wonder if your feelings on this matter are clear, Lord Vader."

"They are clear, my master." intoned Muscone in a deep voice. He made the sign for me to turn on the bug-killer. I gave a thumbs-up: it was already on.

"I freely admit that if I had a choice between getting Ferrell or getting Lewis, I'd pick Ferrell." Jack said. "Mostly for what he did to hurt Tanya, but also for some hatreds that go way back."

"Yezzz, I remember what you did to him when we were investigating the Oldeeds shooting." I said. (Author's note: 'Case of the Executed Evangelist', Ch. 02.) "And you can have Ferrell. I want Lewis. For trying to kill Chief Griswold and ending up killing a U.S. Marine, and then for Charlie Griswold's murder." (Author's note: 'Semper Fidelis' for the Marine murder; 'Fathers and Sons' for Charlie's death.)

"Thank you." said Muscone. "Anyway, Mills has an apartment in the City, a cheap brownstone above a delicatessen just a little ways north of the area he was kidnapped. The City Police let us go along on their search of the place. There was nothing there, at all. Just some dishes, furniture, bed. But not a scrap of paper nor a computer. It looked like the dwelling of an illiterate."

"Did it look recently cleaned?" I asked.

"Uh... as a matter of fact, it did." Muscone said. "Think that means something?"

"It was the Consultant of Crime's calling card, back in the day." I said. "We'd go to someone's house or apartment, find it totally clean. Someone is playing Copycat, it would appear."

"Lewis?" asked Muscone. "Or maybe Tomoko Shimono?"

"I would suspect my dear sister Elizabeth," I said, "if I didn't know that she's not around to play that game. Lewis... I dunno if he ever dealt with the Consultant, or even knew who Westboro was, at least not ahead of the time I exposed Westboro."

"I'll tell the EAD about it." said Jack. "He may wet his pants if we get anything that shows Ms. Tomoko was behind it. He's got a bee in his bonnet about her. Anyway, there was another reason I came to talk to you. Washington is going nuts over the Samuel Russell indictment."

"Do tell." I said. "They gonna send him back home to face trial?"

"No." said Jack. "I've talked to Bill Nunn several times, and he and other Conservatives are really pushing it, openly demanding that Russell resign or at least return home and face the music. But a lot of Establishment Republicans are rallying around Russell, saying his wife's testimony proves he did nothing wrong, that it's a false accusation, and so on. Russell is all but threatening the Grassroots Senators, and Nunn is telling me that he is being pressured behind the scenes... the Republican Leadership is threatening to take away his Committee assignments, and not help fund his next campaign..."

"They're not going to support him anyway." I said. "Graham Collins, before he was murdered, was openly saying he was going to run for Nunn's seat. Ditto that for the late Mittens Willis. They'll find someone else... maybe Wilson Hammonds... to primary Nunn, but that's not for a couple more years."

"True." said Muscone as he got up. "Oh, just one more thing. There's still chatter that you and Laura are in danger. To say the CIA Director is worked up about what happened in France is the understatement of the year. You guys keep your heads on swivels."

"We will." I said. I knew that the security around my daughter's school was strong, but I made a mental note to do some extra checking on it.

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

"We've got two separate tips, both from C.I.s." said Captain Tanya Perlman as she drove into my office at 3:00pm, followed by Lieutenant Mary Mahoney Milton. "Drug shipments into the County. Three men on buses that are going to come into the bus station at midnight, each carrying a very full duffel bag."

"Good." I said, indicating for them to sit down. "These good C.I.s?"

"Yes sir." said Mary. "They've been reliable in the past, especially the one we call 'Tilden'. Not his real name, of course."

"Someone going to pick them up?" I asked. "And where are they coming from, do you know?"

"No sir, on any pickups." said Mary Milton. "It's the bus from the City. It will depart and go west, to Hammondsville and points beyond."

"How are you going to handle it?" I asked.

"We'll have an unmarked car follow the bus in when it crosses the County Line from Nextdoor County." said Tanya. "We could ask Chief Molly Evans to have an unmarked car follow at a respectable distance through Nextdoor County, if you wish."

"Yes, do that." I said. "But talk to her personally, not to anyone else. Okay, what else?"

"Bus passengers, once they check their bags, aren't allowed to access their luggage until they reach their destination. The bags will be unloaded and brought to a pickup point inside the station. If we get a warrant, we can have a dog sniff the bags as they're being unloaded from the bus. If the dog alerts, we can see who picks up the bags, and arrest them before they leave the station... with full 'probable cause' to inspect the bags."

"Precinct 1, eh?" I said, thinking to myself. "The Bus Station is at the corner of University Avenue and North Street, big intersection in the northeast sector of Town. I take it anyone inside the station and checking the luggage will be in plainclothes?"

"Yes sir." said Mary. "We've done these stings at the bus station several times, sir. Our guys know what to do." She was 'hinting' that I should leave her to handle it.

"I'll leave you to handle it, then." I said agreeably. "Give Captain Croyle and Precinct Captain Carswell a courtesy briefing, verbally, on the phone or in person, not via emails. And make sure the warrant is 'all good' before doing it, but get the warrant as late as possible."

"We've talked to Franklin Washington already, sir." Mary said. "He knows how to get the warrant quietly and with no leaks." That was another hint in my specific direction.

"Like I said," I said, "I'll shut my trap and let you guys handle it. Call me if anything goes wrong, or if there's a serious incident report generated." That usually happened if shots were fired or someone got hurt, which I hoped would not happen.

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

"Big one tonight, eh?" Cindy said, as she, Callie, and Teresa were eating nachos and drinking Coca-Cola Zero on the deck of the Cop Bar at 8:00pm, still Wednesday, September 26th. The sun was going down, and cool weather was creeping in.

"Yes, which is why I asked you to have this snack with me." Teresa said. "It's not likely, but if anyone is watching us, or me, they'll see us doing our normal routine."

"Why would anyone be watching us?" Callie asked, instinctively glancing around as she said it.

"It's our first big drug tip in a long time." said Teresa. "And secondarily, Tanya said that Jack is getting information that Don and Laura are still under potential threat. They're going to be at home and nowhere near this drug bust, but we need to keep our eyes open just in case."

"Must be hard, being under constant threat like that." said Cindy. "I mean, I know they're both used to it, and take precautions, but it still has to be worrisome for them. My father has very heavy security, but I still worry about him at times. And you, Teresa, have been shot and blown up saving my father's people and Don's daughter."

"And Don has been kidnapped twice, as well." Teresa said. "Laura says he's a lot more careful now than he used to be, especially about his kids's safety. But he says that worrying about it is mentally destructive, so he tries to keep things in proper perspective."

"No, he just relieves stress by going to Israel and jumping out of airplanes." Cindy said.

"Stoppit." Teresa warned.

"It's okay, baby." Callie said, squeezing Cindy's shoulder. "He'd have been more badly hurt if the Chief had let him participate in the Police Boxing Matches!" Cindy and Teresa both laughed out loud at that, and the mood became much better...

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

Midnight, becoming September 27th. Cindy got a text on her Police iPhone.

"It's from a burner phone." she said. "But I know that number... it's one of our C.I.s... Tilden."

"Why is he texting you?" Callie asked.

"I developed him as a C.I. years ago." Cindy said. "Sometimes he forgets and sends me texts. Oh wow..."

"What is it?" asked Callie.

"He says... an Asian woman was spotted at the BigAgraFoods warehouse, and there's a light on in there." Cindy said. "He said the girl looked like the porn star Asa Akira... which is what we put out when we asked the C.I.s to be on the lookout for Tomoko Shimono. She looks like Asa Akira..."

"Wow, let's go check it out." said Callie.

"We need backup, at best... oh, shoot. That drug sting at the bus station is in progress now." said Cindy. "Tell you what. Let's get dressed and go down there. If anyone's there, we'll call for backup. That place is supposed to be abandoned. And maybe the bus station thing is a distraction for this."

"Going to call Don, at least?" Callie asked as they got dressed, including putting on light armor.

"No, not if we're just going to drive by." Cindy said. "We can handle this..."

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

My body's internal clock works too well. Laura and I had gone to bed at 10:00pm, made love, and then gone to sleep. But as it neared midnight, my sleep became fitful and light. I knew the bus station drug bust was about to go down, and I halfway expected a phone call...

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

Yep... oh wait... that's Laura's phone, I realized. She answered, then said "No, that's fine, I told you to call as soon as you got something..."

I heard Bowser barking his canine head off, then heard Carole say "Hush, Bowser!" Bowser did not like hearing cellphones go off in the night.

"I'll check on them." I said as Laura took the call. I went to Carole's room. She was petting Bowser to calm him down.

"Hey Fussbudget. Hey Bowser." I said as I went into the room. Bowser's eyes showed considerable relief when he saw me. I helped Carole pet him for a moment, then said "Okay, back to bed, both of you." I tucked Carole in, kissed her forehead goodnight, then petted Bowser as he settled back into his basket.

Going back to the bedroom, Laura was still on the phone. "Okay, thanks." She disconnected, then looked at me and said "That was one of my friends in the Science and Technology Directorate. They ran that DNA scan you gave me... and got a match."

Part 6 - Declaration of War

Cindy was driving Callie's car. Both women were wearing black clothing, similar to what they'd worn on their escapade in the City that had led to the capture of Leon Mills. They eased down the side road that connected two larger roads in the Warehouse District, south of Downtown. Callie had her binoculars out and was examining the building. It was the BigAgraFoods warehouse, where the deadly chemicals had been discovered, and where Mitt Willis had made the fatal mistake of playing 'Music Box Dancer' as he threatened the Iron Crowbar.

"There's a light on in there." said Callie. "But I'm not seeing any movement."

"There's a back door on the other side." said Cindy. She drove the car back along the route they'd come, then took a road and parked in the lot of the building behind the warehouse.

"All right." Cindy said. "We'll see if that door is unlocked. If not, we'll sneak around the side and see if we can look inside any windows. If anyone is in there, we'll come back and call for backup, okay?"

"Gotcha." said Callie. "Got your tracking devices on?"

"I hope to hell we won't need 'em." Cindy said.

"Me too." said Callie. "Got your crowbar?"

"Always." said Cindy, holding up the green crowbar.

They got out and made their way down to the door in the back corner of the warehouse. It opened outward. Callie tried the door, and found it unlocked. As she turned to give Cindy a thumbs-up, she saw the movement behind Cindy. "Look out!" she managed to gasp out.

*ZAP!* *ZAP!* *ZZZZZZZTTT!*

Both women were hit in the back by TASERs. As the electricity coursed through them, paralyzing them, Callie saw masked persons converging upon them. She felt something on the back of her neck; she was being injected with a knockout drug. She felt herself being picked up and thrown through the door into the building, then everything went black...

To be continued.

What is happening? Have you figured out what the Iron Crowbar was seeing? Some answers next time...
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