2 comments/ 2789 views/ 1 favorites Dream within a Dream Ch. 01 By: WifeWatchman The chronological order of my stories is now listed in WifeWatchman's biography. Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas. This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above. ***** Part 1 - Prologue "This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the lovely redhead reporterette at 7:00am Monday, August 24th. "Channel Two News has learned that Lieutenant Janet Dixon-Riordan of the Nextdoor County Police has resigned her position with the Force after allegations of corruption in the drug trade of that county. She protests her innocence, and has filed a lawsuit against the SBI and Agent Sergeant Sharples for defamation of character." Bettina continued: "But no matter the outcome of that, her effectiveness with the Nextdoor County Police's anti-drug units, considered one of the State's very best, has been destroyed. The Nextdoor County Police Chief made a statement saying the SBI was deliberately sabotaging his Department's drug units in order to have the SBI's Narcotics Task Force encroach upon the County's sovereignty. The NCPD Chief also stated that he will never cooperate with the SBI in the future, and that he'll avail himself of Commander Troy and the TCPD's expertise if his Police Force needs assistance. Nextdoor County already has a contract with the Town & County's Crime and Arson Labs to circumvent the need to use the State's Crime Labs." Bettina continued: "It is incidents like these, and deep tensions between the SBI and local law enforcement agencies, that could become a huge issue in the race for Governor. SBI Director Jack Lewis is widely believed to be running, and will announce his candidacy as a Democrat over the Labor Day weekend. "The Republican Party has not said who might run against Lewis, but denied that they have approached Town & County Police Commander Donald Troy as a potential candidate. Asked for comment, Commander Troy issued a statement that he definitively is not running for Governor nor any other political office, and that he is not a member of any political party." As we listened in MCD, I said "That's not all I said. I told Bettina that I would never run as a Republican after what they did to John Cummings in the last election, and that I consider the Republicans to be cowards and Democrat appeasers. Funny how she left that out." "Yeah." said Detective Joanne Cummings, John's cousin. "They'll never bring that up if they can help it. They're part of the problem." "Agreed." I said. "The Democrats, Republicans, and Media are a cartel, a triumvirate of pure corruption." Have I mentioned that I have no respect for the political parties, and an even deeper hatred for the deeply corrupt Media? At that moment, we received a surprise visitor, as Cindy ushered her older sister Molly into MCD. "Look who I found wandering in the hallways." Cindy said. "Hi Molly!" I said happily, hugging the lovely, pregnant blonde warmly. "How's the baby?" "Wonderful." Molly said. "How's his dad?" "I'm surviving." I said. "Thanks to all these guys. What are you doing up here?" "I have an appointment with someone later this morning," Molly said, "so I thought I'd stop by and see you guys." I could see Cindy out of the corner of my eye; she was as confused and surprised at Molly's presence as I was. "Okay," I said, "Well, here's a cup. Have some coffee." *BUZZ!* *BUZZ!* *BUZZ!* It was my personal cellphone. My nephew Todd was texting. "Hey guys!" I said. "My nephew Todd says he's the proud father of a new baby boy!" Amidst applause, I said "I'm going to go on up to University Hospital. Captain Ross, you can come see your new first cousin twice removed." That meant grandchild of Cindy's first cousin, my sister Elizabeth. Todd's child was also Cindy's third cousin. If you're confused by all that, you are not alone. "I'll come along later, and bring Teresa." Cindy said quietly. Part 2 - Births and Deaths "Hi Uncle Don!" Todd said happily, presenting me with a real cigar with a blue bow on it as I stepped off the elevator onto the maternity ward floor of University Hospital. "Aunt Laura is examining Jeanine. They had to do an episiotomy; he came a couple of weeks late and is 7 pounds, 13 ounces!" "Good grief!" I said. "What's his name?" I asked. "Michael Todd Burke." Todd said. "The first name is not my idea, but I'm okay with it." "Speaking of Michael, where is he?" I asked. "In the waiting room." Todd said. "Since nothing gets by you anyway, I'll tell you that he was not allowed into the delivery room with us, partly because he's not the father, but partly because Aunt Laura specifically forbade it. And he's not wanting to see you, either." "No surprise there." I said. "How are things between you and him?" "Oh, not bad." Todd said. "He's almost apologetic about Jeanine leaving me for him. I'm not particularly happy about it, but if if's what she wanted, then I won't make an issue of it." We went into the waiting room, where Michael Burke was. "Commander." he said shortly by way of greeting. "I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes." He left without shaking hands or any further acknowledgement of me. As we watched the TV, I heard Priya's commentary on KSTD: "Tomorrow night at 11:00pm, Lance Priemus is scheduled to be executed by the State for the murder of a black police officer and his wife eight years ago. Local residents will remember the case and the controversial trial that followed." Priya continued: "Priemus has claimed that he has been denied proper counsel as well as a proper course of appeals. The case was racially charged at the time and during the trial, but the Reverend Joseph E. Williams of the A.M.E. Church has taken up Priemus's cause publicly, saying he should not be executed before the facts of the case are re-examined. He and SBI Chaplain Steven Ikea are with Priemus now, and Pastor Raymond Westboro of the First Baptist Church, of which Priemus had been a member, is also in Jacksonville." "I don't know why," I said to Todd, "but I feel like I just heard something very important." "What, the execution of a criminal?" Todd asked. "Yeah." I said. "Something about that is setting off my 'spidey sense'. "Uh oh." came a voice from the hallway. "That usually means someone is about to get something made of iron shoved up their butt." It was Cindy Ross who'd said that as she entered the waiting room, with Teresa in tow. They both hugged Todd as they congratulated him and received cigars. Cindy hugged me in congratulations, also, and I returned it. Todd was then fetched by a nurse and left us in the waiting room. It was about 10 minutes later that Laura came and got me. "You and Cindy can have a couple of minutes. Jeanine is exhausted; it was a hard delivery for her." We followed her in the room. Cindy and I congratulated Jeanine, who was lying sleepily on the bed. The lovely black woman, Nurse Jones, had been taking the baby's temperature, and at Todd's direction handed him to me. I held my great nephew, who was scrunched up but a very big newborn baby. He had all his fingers and toes and looked healthy. I contemplated the miracle of Life as I handed him to Cindy. After a few more minutes, Cindy and I made our goodbyes. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Ninety minutes later, I was called on my cellphone by Nurse Jones. I came back up to the Hospital, where Nurse Jones caught me at the front door. "There is a woman in the lobby waiting room." Nurse Jones said. "She says she's Todd's family, but when I suggested she go up to the maternity level waiting room, she said she'd wait before doing that." I looked in the lobby waiting room, seeing the backside of a woman covering her face with a shawl. It was her lovely legs that gave her away to me. "It's good." I said. "I'll handle it." "Who is she?" Nurse Jones asked. "Like she said, she's family." I said. I walked into the waiting room and in front of the woman. My sister Elizabeth was looking up at me. "Come on." I said, throwing my shoulder forward in a gesture for her to follow me. Silently she did so. We went to the elevators but I went past them to an elevator that normally was not available to the Public. If I'm a Police Commander, I might as well use the power and privilege of it, I thought to myself. I looked out before getting off the elevator on the maternity ward floor. There was no one in the immediate vicinity. I had Elizabeth go into a small breakroom nearby, then went to Jeanine's room. She and Todd were with the baby. "Dad is out getting us something to eat." Todd said. "What's up?" "Bring the baby for a second." I said. Todd did not ask questions, but collected his new son and we went into the hallway. Luckily no nurses took note of us as we brought the baby into the breakroom. "Mom!" gasped Todd when he saw his mother. "Why didn't you just come on up?" "I think it's best I not be seen." Elizabeth said. She turned her attention to her new grandson as Todd handed him to her. There was something close to a tear in her eye as she looked down on him. "Another boy." Elizabeth said. "Always boys. Carole's the only girl." Her words triggered something in my mind, and I was having a reverie as Elizabeth spent a few moments with little Michael Todd. The door to the breakroom opened and Nurse Jones looked in. "Okay, Commander," she said, "we need to get that baby back in his mother's room, pronto." Todd took the baby back, kissed his mother, and quickly headed back. I escorted Elizabeth back to the lobby and outside. "Thank you, baby brother." Elizabeth said, trying not to show emotion. "I'll be going now. You have too much going on in this God-forsaken County to be worrying about me." "Well, then... congratulations, Grandma." I said to her in a teasing voice. She cut her eyes at me, then nodded and walked off towards the visitors' parking lot. She ducked between some cars, and I saw why: Michael Burke was driving into the lot. He strode up to the entrance, carrying two sacks of Egg McMuffins, his face registering surprise when he saw me. "Still here, Commander?" he asked, his voice unfriendly. "Yep. For professional reasons." I said. "My profession. Congratulations to you. Goodbye." With that I strode to my Police SUV as Burke entered the Hospital. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Meanwhile... Detective Sergeant Molly Ross Evans of the Midtown Police Force entered the Nextdoor County Police Headquarters. She checked in at the Duty Desk, showing her badge and saying she had an appointment with Lt. Dixon. A moment later, the beautiful redhead came and got her. "Come on to my office." Janet said. Once inside, she had Molly sit down. Offers of coffee were politely declined. "I'll get right down to it." Janet said. "You might have heard of what happened to me." "Yes." Molly said. "It was disgusting, malicious. If you need help beating their false accusations, I can contact Commander Troy." "Oh, I've already talked to Don." Janet said. "He's going to bring the crowbar down on the bastards so hard they'll wish they'd never heard of my name. But in the meantime, I've resigned from the Nextdoor County Force here. With my divorce going through the works, and the publicity over all the crap that's gone down, I need to just get away anyway. And that is why I've called you." Molly looked surprised as Janet said "You have been recommended as my replacement. If you accept, you'll be the Lieutenant of the Vice Division here, which is 99% drug interdiction. We're not as big as Midtown, we're nowhere near as financially well-equipped as Commander Troy's Police Force, but it's a good job, these are good cops you'll be working with, and the people here in Nextdoor County are good people. Well, there's the rich ones around Lake Reservoir that think they rule the world, but you can handle them." "Oh, wow." Molly said. "I'm... uh... I'm flattered. I'm also a bit stunned; I wasn't expecting this." "I know." said Janet. "I also know you're pregnant with Commander Troy's child. And your sister is the Captain of Detectives over there. You'll be a closer to them, a lot closer, without the pesky nepotism laws to worry about." Molly's heart was surging as she realized the personal benefits of the opportunity. "It sounds great. But I'll have to think about it. I've got a great team and situation in Midtown." "Tell you what." Janet said. "Let's go talk to the Chief, who is a good friend of old Chief Griswold, then you can meet the people here. And then you can make your decision. I know it won't be easy to uproot from Midtown, but don't close the door on us yet." "Oh, I'm not doing that." Molly said. "I think it could be a really great thing." With that, Janet led Molly to the Chief's office... Part 3 - The Dream "So... what do you think?" Tanya asked. We were in her office, as she had asked me to come and look at the written questions submitted by Dr. Bonnie Karpathian pertaining to the Black Widow. Some were simply about Angela Harlan. Others delved into Tanya's relationship with Pete Feeley, then her handling of things after his death. The last several questions were about the raid that proved fatal to Angela. "Should I have a lawyer look at them first?" Tanya asked. "I wouldn't blame you if you did. Or at least get Paulina to glance at them." I said, referring to the lovely Assistant District Attorney. "I'm not answering those towards the end." said Tanya. "I'm wondering if I should answer any of them." "Well," I said, "just between us and the lamp-post, and I'll deny it if anyone else ever asks, but my advice would be to only answer the ones about Angela herself. Don't answer anything about your own state of mind at any time. Maybe I'm paranoid, but..." I let the sentence hang. "I hear you." Tanya said. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Back in my office, I was working on my computer, finishing some paperwork and looking at the previous day's duty logs. I drank some coffee and leaned back... ... and suddenly I was back in what looked like the hallways of University Hospital, but the rooms were totally empty, and dark... dark like that painful night that Cindy had been shot and I was waiting to hear if she survived it. Down the darkened hallway stood a woman... and I saw that it was Angela Harlan. She was again nude except for the high-heel black pumps as she strode down the hallway towards me, the heels clicking on the black tiles of the floor, the mane of black hair flowing behind her. I felt like I was unable to move. "Things weren't as they seemed to be, were they, Don?" she said to me, her voice seeming to echo in the hallways, and in my head. "I wasn't what you thought... and I'm not what you think of me now. And she's not what you will think, either..." "Who is 'she'?" I asked. Angela just grinned, then turned and walked back down the hallway. I was suddenly right back in my office, everything normal, but seemingly quiet. The matchstick Trojan Horse was seemingly looking at me. I looked back at it for a second, then cleared my head and got hold of my senses. "Good grief, what is in that coffee?" I thought to myself. And then I let myself remember the past few days... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * After the first dream of the Black Widow at my house, I had remembered the envelope of information she had left after her death. The next morning, I went and got Cindy and we descended into the secure basement. We went into the Evidence Rooms and I led Cindy into a back area, filled with boxes. I selected a box and brought it off its perch. Most closed-case evidence went to the storage facility that was connected to the Courthouse, but this box had remained behind on my orders, because of its special nature. I opened the box, and saw that the contents were still there. "This box contains the information Angela Harlan left behind after she died." I said. I rummaged through the papers and found what I was looking for. "This is a list of bankers." I said. "I didn't realize it at the time, of course, thinking it was just potential Black Widow targets. But look at it now." Cindy took the paper. "Mr. Harkins, Second National Bank. Ricky Morris, J.P. Goldman Bank. Hamilton Phillips, Grove & Partners, P.C. Richard Hudson, Reems & Berry Insurance... oh my God, Don!" "Yes." I said. "At the time I thought these just might have been Black Widow targets. What we didn't know then but can see now is that Angela gave us the names of people we now believe may be associated with Superior Bloodlines and/or our Consultant of Crime." "Some other names are here." said Cindy. "Charles Franklin, City & Counties Bank; Lawrence Kendrick, People's Bank of New York; Henry Boxman, Rainbow Insurance of San Francisco; Perry Richards - DFW Regional Banks, which are in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area." "Needless to say," I said as I photographed the sheet of paper with my personal iPhone, "I'll be looking into these people." "What's this?" Cindy said as she rummaged through the box, finding another slip of paper. "It says 'found out about the four'. Any idea on that?" "Yes, and I'll tell you about that when we get upstairs." I said. "How did you come to remember this?" Cindy said. "Just popped into my head." I said, not giving my partner the real reason. She peered at me, then turned to put the box back up with what I faintly thought was a look of understanding beyond the spoken word... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "The Four," I said to Cindy in my office, with my anti-bugging device full on, "is a small group of people that originally consisted of Thaddeus Ward of Ward Harvester, Karen Warner Harlan, Coach Brian Harlan, and Angela Harlan herself. When Angela was waxed, my sister Elizabeth took her place in the group. And when Coach Harlan died, he was replaced also... but I'm not sure who replaced him." "Two men, two women." said Cindy. "Is that a pattern or a coincidence?" "Pattern, I think." I said. "I'm not sure who 'Number 4' is. I was thinking he might be Sharples, then I had an idea it was Thomas P. Cook. And then I get a vague idea it might be our Shadow Man himself... but he'd be extending himself if it was him, so I dunno." "What's their purpose?" Cindy asked. "Industrial espionage." I replied. "Industrial secrets. They were competition with the Corrigan Cell, among other things. They'd planned to take Dynacorp and use it as a base along with Ward Harvester, but Seth and BOW Enterprises got in the way of that. So now they're using Elizabeth's smuggling pipelines to move technological secrets from point to point." "So why haven't we busted them yet?" Cindy asked. "Based upon what evidence?" I countered. "Hell, I only know they exist because of Angela's note, which I am guessing is the reason she waxed Burleson. For all we have on them, they could be just a foodie and wine-tasting group instead of a criminal syndicate." "Seems Angela Harlan is much more useful to us in death than she was in life." Cindy said, a hint of bitterness in her voice. "Don't let Tanya Perlman ever hear this," I replied, "but if Angela had not gone bad... she might have been one of the best Detectives we ever had, or anyone else ever had... present company included. She was onto this stuff before we ever were." "Yes," Cindy said, "but she did go bad. And I'm going to make sure you don't go bad. This Shadow Man makes people do crazy things." Dream within a Dream Ch. 01 I didn't say anything... but I knew Cindy had just stated an epiphany to me... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Back in the present, I was doing my research on my secure-line computer. Every one of the names on Angela's list was coming up all gold and roses, as far as getting evidence was concerned. Their banks all had associations with Gresham & Mason law firms and/or their attorneys. And many of the banks had accounts for 'Victory Christian Ministries' or other groups with Christian-sounding names... Part 3 - Desperate Chase The heat of the summer day only served to add to the stillness and the quiet of the air. I looked out over Reservoir Lake, not even bothering to throw my fishing line into the water, just watching as the man sitting beside me flicked his line with the expertise of a practiced hand. "So Chief," I said to Chief Griswold as we (really, just he) fished in the lake behind his house, "what's bothering you?" "You're good, but not that good." Griswold replied affably. "My wife talked to you, didn't she?" "You once told me that a magician should never reveal his tricks." I replied. That got a smile from the old Chief. But he was right. Earlier in the day, I had been working in my office when Helena buzzed me and told me that I had a surprise visitor... Mrs. Griswold. I had her come into my office. "Something is really bothering him." Mrs. Griswold said to me. "He won't say what it is, but I know... it's that execution that is going to happen tomorrow. I think he knows something about it, something that isn't right. Could you come and say hello later today?" Of course I said I would, and here we were in the early evening, fishing. "Well, she's right." Griswold said. "She can read my mind. Happens after years of marriage; can't keep a secret from that woman. You'll find out that about your wife after enough years." "She already can read my mind. My wife is trained in secrets of the highest order." I replied. "Thankfully, my dog Bowser runs interference for me." Griswold chuckled again. "Well, we both know that you are the one who the darkest secrets dread the most." he said. "But you're right, something's bothering me. And it's that execution in Jacksonville tomorrow night." "Why is that?" I asked. "Let me make a short story long and tell it to you." said Griswold. "A few years before you came to the Force, just after the merger and just after I'd become Chief, I came into contact with Lance Priemus. On the outside, he appeared to be a respectable businessman. Behind the scenes, he was a con artist, fraudster, and was using his business as a backdoor pipeline for drugs." "Captain Malone was in charge of Vice, and the investigation dragged on for some months." said Griswold. "I began realizing something was wrong; it was my first real thought that Malone wasn't on the up-and-up. So I had a few of people I trusted, including Harold Bennett, then-Lieutenant Charles, and our new rookie Detective on the Force, Tanya Perlman, do a quiet investigation. They came up with plenty of evidence to arrest Priemus, and I went to then-A.D.A. Krasney with it. He was willing to bring the case to the Grand Jury, but he gave me another idea instead." Griswold continued: "I went with Charles to see Priemus. We showed him what we had, we arrested him and took him through booking, but instead of the interrogation rooms, I brought him to my office. We made him a deal: if he became a C.I., and helped us bust the people behind the pipelines, including the dirty cops involved, then his case would be quietly dropped, or we might even give him immunity if he would have to testify against someone big. We'd have five years under the Statute of Limitations to bust him if he turned on us, so that was hanging on his head, too." "He agreed to do it," Griswold went on, "and for a year we amassed a huge amount of information. Didn't quite get to Malone, but we found names of suspect Uniformed officers, we found a distribution link, we were getting close to the funding. And on top of it, Priemus was becoming aware of someone behind the organization, and gave me the first hint of what you now call the 'Shadow Man', though I didn't know that at the time. We thought we were about to make a major, major bust. And then... it all came apart." I could see the pain on the old Chief's face as he continued, looking out over the lake: "Priemus was busted over in Westphalia. The story went that he and some friends had been drinking and partying near the City. They apparently drove down to Westphalia, where they were stopped by a black police officer. They got the drop on him, took his gun, put his own handcuffs on him, then forced him into their car and drove him to his own house." "There, the two men took turns raping the cop's wife in front of him while the woman in their group taunted the cop. Then the cop and his wife were both murdered, and it was a pretty grisly way of doing it, from what I remember." "Yes." I said. "I heard some details of that." "Yes," said Griswold. "It was very, very bad. Multiple non-fatal but painful stab wounds over time, causing intense pain, then their throats slit. The crime lab over there came back with DNA from a semen sample, and it was only one guy: Priemus. Apparently the other guy used a condom, and Priemus was too inebriated to notice. "That didn't come for few days, though; they got Priemus because the cop had radioed in the license plate when he stopped them, and it was Priemus's car tag number. The cop did not have a camera in his vehicle, by the way." "So," said Griswold, "everything Charles and Bennett and Perlman and I had been doing was shot to hell. I realized then that I'd violated a cardinal rule of confidential informants: when you develop one, develop another for corroboration... and replacement, if need be. We had nothing." "To shorten this up: Daniel Allgood joined us in Internal Affairs, becoming the head of it over time. Perlman wanted to keep investigating, but it was clear she was too good at crime scenes to be allowed out of MCD. So you, Don, were not the first to try to corral her into the CSI group." said Griswold. I smiled at that one. Griswold said "And Malone saw what was going on, and backed off. I got about twelve potentially dirty cops off the Force, cleaned up a lot of the 'soft' stuff going on, like taking bribes to not give out a ticket or to look the other way at a small-time drug transaction in one of T-Square's clubs. Things calmed down for a while." "So why is this bothering you?" I asked. "It's twofold." said the Chief. "First, there were some real anomalies in the Priemus case, anomalies that would never stand up to Iron Crowbar scrutiny. First, the car tags called in were Priemus's... but it wasn't his car being driven. It was the car of the woman who was with them. The car that was pulled over was light blue; Priemus's car, a different make and model, was black." "Ooooooo..." I said. "Wait a minute. The officer that pulled them over and called it in... wouldn't the radio dispatch have given him that information? He'd see the discrepancy and be more cautious? Maybe call for backup? Certainly he wouldn't be susceptible to being ambushed..." "See?" Griswold replied. "It already is not standing up to your scrutiny. But let me go on: after finding the police car abandoned on the road, the Westphalia County Sheriff's Department sent deputies to the home of the officer and his wife, where they discovered the bodies. They then went to Priemus's home and found him there, passed out, and I mean passed out to the point they couldn't really revive him. They took him to the hospital, where he slept it off with an I.V. to rehydrate him, then they arrested him." "Upon interrogation, Priemus did not remember anything past being at a nightclub with his friends. He said he did have plenty to drink. The nightclub cameras showed him and his two friends, then later showed them in the parking lot getting into the woman's car... with her license plates on the back." "The two others, the man and woman, were found and arrested. The woman turned State's evidence, and then the other man also took a plea deal." said Griswold. "They said Priemus was the leader; that he'd ambushed the cop, that he was a racist and had the idea to violate the black wife in front of the black husband, and that's what they did." "Wow." I said. "Did the Westphalia Crime Lab do any toxicology, any blood tests on Priemus?" "Yes." said Griswold. "But it only shows Priemus was legally drunk. No other drugs." "Yet he was so passed out the officers at the scene could not revive him and took him to the hospital." I said. "You're already catching on." said the Chief. "It gets more strange. Priemus's lawyer contacted me right after the arrest, and said Priemus wanted to give me some information. Wouldn't tell the lawyer what it was, he would only tell me. So I went over, saying it was related to a case in my County in which Priemus was involved. But the Police there wouldn't let me talk to him." "And it wasn't a refusal, but excuse-making." Griswold continued. "Stuff like 'oh, he's in with his lawyer right now'... 'oh, he's in his cell for lunch'... then finally they said he was being transferred to a more secure facility... which was the Men's Prison near Midtown, and once he was in there, I was flatly denied access. Always seemed to be the same guard, too, but I didn't realize that until long afterward." "Channeling your inner 'Crowbar', I'm sure." I said. "Yes." said Griswold. "And as the case went on, I could see that it was being expedited... and to the point that Priemus's rights were being violated. You remember the Timothy McVeigh Oklahoma City bombing?" "Sure." I said. "He allegedly said he didn't want appeals, and it was the fastest time from arrest to execution at the Federal level that I can remember." "Exactly." said the Chief. "Some criminals are on Death Row for twenty years, go through layers of State and Federal appeals. But not McVeigh, who they said didn't want and thus refused all appeals. Well, it was the same for Priemus. One of his lawyers told me it was the worst abuse of the appeals process he'd ever seen by the Courts at every level. So Priemus is going to be executed tonight, and there's nothing I can do about it." "Anyway," continued the Chief, with a sigh, "I told the lawyer that I'd been denied all chances to see Priemus. He said he told Priemus, but that Priemus still wouldn't tell him anything, and said to just forget about it. And all I could do at the time was keep working here. "I knew something was wrong, but just could not get to it. I'd get leads on crimes, have my people go after it, only to find it'd already happened and we were too late... or nothing would happen, that we'd been found out and the crime called off. I don't mind saying that I knew it was too much for me." "So I hired the best people I could find and put them to work. Perlman in MCD wanted to keep working on things, but there would always crop up a case taking her attention. Malone was making some spectacular, really spectacular busts in Vice, but stuff was always just getting through. Of course Malone had Ikea and Geiger working for him, then Croyle came along and I thought she was honest but was being used as a front. It took you to figure out what Malone was up to, favoring one gang over the others." Griswold then began to grin as he continued: "And then, against all advice, I hired this young woman who'd been a physical fitness guru. I hired her for her physical abilities, to help Tanya if anything went down, but I could tell she had a lot more in her head than she was being given credit for. Malone bitterly opposed her hiring, said he thought she was a dyke-- a lesbian, I should say, to be politically correct-- and I said I had no evidence of that and hired her anyway. That one has worked out very well." "I daresay." I said, knowing how well Cindy Ross had done. "But that wasn't my best hire." said the Chief. "When Campus Police Lieutenant Maxwell told me about a certain redheaded guy that had brought in his nephew for drug crimes on campus, had figured out some things they never had any idea about, and who'd been a Captain in the Military Police in the Army Reserve... well, I didn't have to be a psychic like Harvey Eckhart to know I needed you in my Police Force." "And I appreciate you taking the chance on me." I said. "I wouldn't have missed this for the world. We are getting close to busting one of the greatest criminal operations in history... literally." "By the way," said Griswold, "Britt Maxwell also told me that from the day you walked into Dr. Fredricson's office, the celebrated sex professor was looking at you as if she was hopelessly in love with you. That's worked out, too." "Yes, love at first sight... and the feeling was mutual." I replied. "So Chief, why didn't you tell me about this Priemus business before?" "I didn't connect the dots for a long time." said Griswold. "And then you got onto this Shadow Man's scent, and it was kind of in the back of my mind but you were rolling and Malone was gone. In hindsight, I should've remembered and should've said something." "No biggie." I said, knowing that things like this happened. "In fact, I just came across some old evidence that I had no idea would be so helpful when I first saw it." I told him about Angela Harlan's list of bankers. "Well, Chief," I said as I got up, "I probably can't stop this execution, but I'll see what I can do about getting information from Priemus. I have a feeling he knows something that can help us." "Good luck, Crowbar." the Chief growled. "Good luck." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "He is growing like a weed." I said as I held baby Peter Donald Feeley. I had called Tanya, then come over to her house. Officer Pete Feeley's mother Pamela had retired to her own room to give me a chance to talk to Tanya. "So what do you know about that Priemus case?" I asked. Tanya said "That's one of those cases where I wish we'd had you with us then. He was a C.I. for us, then got busted on the other side of the State. It looked weird from the get-go, but we had our own stuff to worry about and we didn't have an SBI Reserve then. So we had to move on." "Anything that he gave you then, that you didn't understand then but think it might be helpful now?" I asked. Tanya thought about it. "No." she finally said. "We were using him to get information on drug pipelines. And we got good stuff and made some good busts, or at least Malone and Vice made the busts. But Captain Malone is gone now, so I don't know if there's anything Priemus had that could help us now." "Did Priemus have any weird habits that come to mind now?" I asked. "The only thing I can remember that struck me," said Tanya, "is that he always went to church. If one didn't know better, one would think he was as religious as Joanne Cummings is now. I always thought he was trying to weasel into the church's confidence and scam them, but who knows..." "Which church?" I asked. "Oh, First Baptist." said Tanya. "Priemus was good friends with Thomas P. Cook, who was a deacon then, I guess 'deacon' is the right word, and also Perry Richards." That name struck a chord. "Who's he?" I asked. "I don't think I know him." "Oh, he worked at the County Regional Bank down in Coltrane County for a while." said Tanya. "But he lived up here. He was a handsome man, married but working through several married women in the church. Nothing new there; ask your mother or Elsie Gringer about how much adultery goes on amongst the members of First Baptist and First Methodist churches. Anyway, Perry had a full head of hair, could've been a politician with his made-for-TV looks." "Sounds like you knew him very well." I said with the merest hint of true understanding. Tanya grinned her cherubic grin as she said "What can I say? I like sex with handsome men, present company included. Anyway, Perry moved to the Dallas area to work with another bank. Coltrane County is boring as hell, of course, and he really jumped at the chance to go to a bigger city like Dallas." "I see. Someone made him an offer he just couldn't refuse." I said. I tickled baby Pete under the chin, making him laugh. "Well, I better go so you can put this little man to bed. I'll see you in the morning..." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Two o'clock in the morning, Tuesday, August 25th. I was furiously working on my laptop computer. I had just finished looking into the files Susan Wexler had secreted on the chip in the DVD jewel case. Sure enough, a woman's name was showing up as a C.I. for Susan, but she had been even more... My researches were interrupted as my wife came down to the den. "It's late, darling." Laura said. "Can't it wait until the morning?" "No, honey." I said. "It's about Lance Priemus, who is scheduled to be executed at 11:00pm tomorrow-- actually tonight, now. So time is of the essence." Laura disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a tall glass of ice-cold sweet tea. I expressed my gratitude, then drank it down thirstily. That, of course, gave my sneaky wife time to look at my computer screen and see what I was working on. Good 'Company' agent, she is. "Finding anything?" she asked. "First, look at this." I said. "It's the medical examiner's report of the black wife that was raped and murdered. Notice anything strange?" Laura read the report. "Stab wounds to the breasts, nipple cut off, stabbed in her anus with the knife, extensive vaginal damage from the rape... grisly stuff. So what's the issue?" "The vaginal damage. Think two men would do that much damage taking turns a couple of times?" I asked. "And here's Bettina Wurtzburg's medical exam that was part of the evidence file on her. She was gang-raped by at least four men, multiple times." "Pretty similar damage." Laura said, looking at the information. "So yes, you have a point there. Unless one or both of the two men are really well-endowed, that is pretty significant. But I'd have to actually make an examination myself to see for sure. So, anything else on this Lance Priemus?" "He had a connection to a Perry Richards from the Dallas area." I said. "An investigation was opened by the Texas Rangers and the FBI on Richards for money laundering, but they couldn't get anything concrete on him. By the way, you get one guess who gave them the tip on Richards." "I'm stumped." Laura said, not really wanting to play the game at this hour of the morning. "One Detective Angela Harlan, who was working down there at the time." I replied, then said as I went into a near-reverie, "You know... Harlan may have been onto the whole Oldeeds child smuggling ring down there, or at least tugging on some threads. She had some involvement in investigating Sharples, who himself was investigating Oldeeds, and she had a list of bankers or insurance people that all are panning out as possible connections to the Superior Bloodlines web." "Too bad she went bad." Laura replied. "Yeah." I said. "Laura, I've been meaning to ask you... we've been cutting back on me taking those 'gray viagras' since Wargrave had me put through that brainwashing process... are there any side effects to the pills, or to withdrawing from them?" "What do you mean?" my wife asked, fully attentive now. "I've been having... weird dreams. Almost like visions." I said. "Just at odd times, odd hours, usually when I'm tired." "What kind of visions?" Laura asked in her professional, professorial voice. "Just... well, it's like someone is talking to me, telling me things." I replied. "Then I follow what the voice said, and a good lead shows up." Dream within a Dream Ch. 01 "Well," Laura said, "you were under tremendous stress at the time you underwent that process, you've been subjected to levels of these drugs for some time. Tell you what, after you get this Priemus thing worked out, come to my office Wednesday morning, and I'll run the usual battery of tests. It'll be for my research, too, and you're due in for that anyway. And then you can walk down the hall and talk to Bonnie Karpathian about the Black Widow case." "I am not looking forward to that." I said. "I understand." Laura said. "Anyway, come on up to bed and get a few hours sleep, okay?" "I'll be there in a minute." I said, and Laura knew that 'a minute' would not be a minute as I said "You'd be surprised how hard it was finding the names of the two people with Priemus the night of the murder. I finally got a 'Danny Ellis' and his wife 'Dora Ellis'." "What happened to them?" Laura asked. "Danny went to prison for his role in the murder." I said. "Surprisingly light sentence for accessory to murder, then paroled out after just three years for good behavior and jail overcrowding. That issue of early releases was what got the Democrat defeated and Val Jared elected Governor, by the way." I went on: "Anyway, Ellis got out, then got blown away in the City during a drug raid... led by one then-Lieutenant Susan Wexler. One of her officers shot Ellis. It was ruled a good shoot, but records after that are sealed, and I don't have time to bust through that right now." "What about his wife?" asked Laura. "Dora Ellis." I said. "Turned State's Evidence in the crime. Blamed Priemus all the way. Said her husband was abusive towards her and she was too scared to not go along with them, but her husband was just Priemus's lackey, too. Husband corroborated that he was abusive towards her, surprisingly enough. She said Priemus led the whole thing, acted like a savage beast the entire time, and she was as scared of him as she was her husband. Divorced the husband while he was in jail, then went off the grid. Hasn't shown up since." "Remarried?" Laura asked. "Maybe," I said, "though I've found no record of that yet. I'm missing something..." "You're tired." my wife said. "Come on, it's bedtime." I relented, closing down the laptop and letting my wife escort me upstairs to bed. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Commmannnderrrrrrr..." I heard the voice say as I thought I was sleeping. "What, Angela?" I asked in my dream state. "She's not what she seems." said Angela's voice. "What was her maiden name, by the way?" My eyes popped open. I was in my bedroom, my wife asleep beside me. I sat up, then got up and rushed back downstairs. I think Laura woke up, but she didn't come after me. I got onto the computer and looked. Dora Ellis. It took a while... her DMV records seemed to be missing in this State, but a blanket search found DMV records in California... "Oh my God." I said quietly. Her maiden name was 'Dora Boxman'... she was the daughter of one Henry Boxman of San Francisco... whose name had been on the Black Widow's list... Part 4 - The Long Wait 6:00am, Tuesday. I'd called the Chief and asked him to come into his office early. "You want to go down to Jacksonville to try to talk to Priemus before they execute him?" Chief Bennett asked. "Yes sir." I said. "I've uncovered information that I need to ask him about before he's executed tonight." The Chief peered at me. "Don, you were up all night working on this, weren't you?" "Yes sir." I said. "There is no way in hell I'm letting you drive, then." said the Chief. "Of course you'll take Captain Ross, and I'll personally work with Croyle and Perlman on anything they need. But I want you to take Martin Nash, too. He and Ross can take turns driving." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To get to Jacksonville, the easiest and fastest way was to go by the four-lane highway to Midtown, then the Interstate towards Southport. Martin Nash was driving, and at 9:30am we arrived at the State Capitol. I'd called ahead for an emergency appointment with the Governor, which he'd quickly accepted. As we were ushered into the Governor's private office (as opposed to his public office with the big conference table), I said "Governor, may I introduce my partner, Captain Cindy Ross?" "Why you certainly may!" exclaimed the Governor. "It is such an honor to finally get to meet you, Captain. I've heard so much about you and your accomplishments." "Thank you, sir." Cindy said politely as she shook the Governor's hand. "And this is Detective Martin Nash, one of our best officers on the Force." "Ah, yes, I think I've met you, Detective Nash." said the Governor. "But it was at a reception with FBI officers in the City, if I recall." "Yes sir." said Martin Nash, who then quickly added "My girlfriend works with the FBI and I escorted her to the reception." "Ah, I see." said the Governor, and I'd noticed his eyes squinting, as if trying to remember something as he peered at Nash. Then Jared remembered our presences. "Ah, please, sit down, have some breakfast with me." said the Governor, directing us to a table where there were four place settings. Some eggs, bacon, biscuits, and fruit were on the side table. This was not ceremonial: the Governor filled his plate and made sure we did the same. I was hungry and took the opportunity to eat a good plate full of eggs and bacon, as did Martin Nash, following my lead. Cindy stuck with the fruit. "So, Commander," said the Governor, "I'm glad you were able to come early. Things are going to explode later today as that execution in Jacksonville draws near. The Media always makes a huge mockery of Justice, making us look like butchers for following the law and carrying out a death sentence. They love to concentrate on my role as Governor, which will be to confirm that no clemency is being given and telling them to proceed." "I understand, Governor, and I appreciate you making time for us." I said, "And the execution is why I'm here. I have two requests of you, related to each other. I really need to talk to Lance Priemus before he is executed. Can you get me a pass to see him? And can you delay the execution for any length of time so I can spend some time talking with him? It's vitally important to one of my cases." "I'm sure that it's important, since you came here like this." said the Governor as he ate. "I can try to get you a pass to see him, but the Prison System can deny you access anyway. It's a pretty rigid system when someone is on Death Watch, which started 24 hours before the time of the sentence being carried out." "What about a delay?" I asked. "That... is far more difficult, I'm afraid." said Governor Jared. "A stay of execution may come from the State Supreme Court or the US Supreme Court, but that's not likely. Judge Leahy of the Appellate Court in your area is usually rabid about issuing stays of executions, and the State Supreme Court has to rap his knuckles and override him. But he actually announced he'd be taking an extended weekend out of State, and won't be back until Wednesday. I'm really stunned at that one." The Governor continued: "As to me, I could stop the whole thing, give him clemency, commute his sentence to life in prison. But there's two reasons why I have to reject doing that. First, you all know I ran for Governor as a law-and-order candidate, and I believe in the Jury System and the Courts that gave this sentence, and I believe it should be carried out. If I try to delay it, that might open the door to a rush of appeals and make a mockery of the whole process." "What if he's innocent?" I asked. "What if he was set up?" The Governor peered hard at me. "I know you're not one of those wishy-washy types that would ask that just to delay or hinder the sentence from being implemented. And you're probably the only person in the State right now that I would even listen to if you have some evidence to back up your assertion." Nash and Cindy were peering at me as hard as the Governor was. "Well, sir," I said, "it's not really an assertion. There are some strangenesses, some issues that I've found, but I don't have anything solid that I could take to a Court to get a stay. And no, I wouldn't tax your patience to take my word on a whim." "It's too bad about the timing." said the Governor. "But I'll call down and try to get you inside to see him." "I'd appreciate it." I said. "Maybe you could pretend to be a preacher and get access to him." said Cindy. "Except that all three of those preachers already down there know me personally." I said. "So Governor, what is the second reason you said you can't stop the execution?" "Purely social politics." said Jared. "Black civic leaders were all over this case from the beginning of it. White-on-black crime. Priemus actually got the 'aggravated murder' and the death penalty because the victim was a police officer, but the Black civic leaders concentrated on the skin colors... they don't have that many white-on-black crimes anymore, since the FBI all but wiped out the Ku Klux Klan decades ago." "So they really pushed this one hard." continued the Governor. "Reverend Williams is the only one making a case for Priemus's innocence. And if I were to even delay the execution for anything but hard evidence showing his innocence... I don't have to spell out what the Media will make of that, do I?" "No sir." I said emphatically. "You do not." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * It was already beginning to be a madhouse at the State Prison at Jacksonville. A gathering of people, mostly young, were outside. They bore signs that protested the death penalty in general, some of them calling Governor Jared 'the butcher of Westphalia' and such stuff. There was also a group of mainly blacks, who were eager to see Priemus die for murdering a black police officer, and their signs were pretty ugly towards him. Fortunately, the well armed guards were able to open a corridor so that we could drive my Police SUV inside the compound. That was the easy part. Once inside, the Warden of the Prison came up to us. "The Governor called, but unfortunately it's out of even my hands. Only lawyers and clergy meet with the prisoner. His family will get to see him about 9:00pm tonight, but that's it." said the Warden. "I'm sorry, but once that Death Watch clock starts, it's really tough." "I understand." I said to the Warden, then turned to Cindy and Martin and said "We're stymied." We were shown into a waiting room, which had magazines and a television, which was showing one of the cable news networks. We sat down to wait. "Okay, Commander," Cindy said quietly, "you slept most of the way to Midtown, then to here. What's up with this?" I said "I'm not saying he's an innocent man, but I think Priemus was set up to take a fall. I think he may have been drugged, and either participated in the crime not knowing what he was doing, or he was unconscious and they jacked him off and put his semen in the dead woman's vagina. The license plates mysteriously changed from the time the car left the parking lot at the bar to when they were pulled over. Priemus's appeals have been expedited and squelched like none I've ever seen before. And last but not least, Appellate Judge Leahy took vacation time right when this was happening, which is a 'Jupiter leaving its orbit' kind of strange." Martin Nash said "With respect, Commander, that's a pretty large number of people conspiring to put a man to death." "Yes." I said. "And I am wondering why they're bothering to go through with the whole thing. Hell, it'd have been easier to shoot the man in the back of the head, dump his body, and be done with it. The guy was on the periphery of a drug cartel; it'd be attributed to a drug-related execution." I got out my iPhone and showed my officers a photo. "This is Dora Boxman Ellis, the woman who turned State's Evidence on Priemus. She may show up around here, and I'd be greatly interested in talking with her. So if you see her, give me a head's up." Just then the Reverend Joseph E. Williams, black pastor of the A.M.E. Church in my Town came into the room. He was wearing a light grey suit similar to what I often wear, with a black shirt and his white clerical collar around his neck. "Why Commander Troy!" he exclaimed. "They said you were here." He surprised me by turning our handshake into a hug. "Hello Captain, Detective." he said to the others. "Why did you all come down here?" "I'm hoping to talk to Priemus before they execute him." I said quietly. "Anything you can do to help me with that?" "Uh, let's sit down over here." Williams said, leading me to a nearby table that had a couple of chairs. Once we were seated, he said, his voice barely above a whisper, "There is no way I can get you inside to talk with him. The prison is on lockdown. He's isolated in the death chamber area. He wants to talk to his lawyer alone, but they won't allow it; there is always someone in the room with them. I've sat with condemned men before, and I've never seen anything like what is going on here now." "Why do you think that's happening?" I asked. "I have no idea." said Williams. "Look, Commander, I know you've been investigating that White Supremacy group that Malone was part of. I know it, the whole black community knows it. And they're saying Priemus was part of that group and that is why he raped that black officer's wife in front of him then murdered them both. But I don't buy it, not all of it. And I don't want to see an innocent man go down for something he didn't do, not like this." "Do you think you can ask him some questions for me?" I asked, hating to do this, but desperate to somehow get a question to Priemus. "Just one, really. Ask him who his ultimate boss was, who the 'Shadow Man' is. I think he'll understand if you ask it that way." "I'll try, Commander, I'll try." promised Williams. "I don't know if I can get any alone time with him, though. Chaplain Ikea sticks to him like glue; I don't know why. Then Pastor Westboro comes in and out. He was one of the pastors of First Baptist when Priemus attended services there, and he came down right when I did. I've been trying to help the lawyers get Priemus a stay, but it's been so tough that even your crowbar can't pry us anything to crawl through." Just then another figure came in, wearing a clerical collar, tall and slender, curly hair a bit messy. It was the ever-loathsome Steven Ikea. I had not seen him since the day I physically destroyed him at Ward Harvester a year before. "The Lord's blessings upon you, Commander Troy." Ikea snarled sarcastically. "May He forgive you your hideous sins. Still carrying that filthy instrument of the Devil, I see." He was talking about my red crowbar, which the prison officials had allowed me to bring inside with me. In fact, we were still armed with our guns, too. "And about to use it on you again, Ikea." I replied. "Your day will come, Commander." said Ikea levelly. "And it will be a glorious day watching you receive the Lord's vengeance for your iniquities. The Lord will smite you down as you helplessly wave that crowbar in defeat." "Ah now, Chaplain Ikea," said another voice, belonging to the man that had entered the room. He was wearing a black shirt and black pants, and the white clerical collar. He was taller than Ikea, as tall as me, and his beak nose under the spectacles he wore was unmistakeable. It was Pastor Raymond Westboro of the First Baptist Church, and Town & County Councilman as well. "Forgive the Commander his crowbar." said Westboro. "It is his Palladium. What would he be without it?" "Yes, Pastor." Ikea said shortly, looking darkly at me. "If you'll excuse me." With that, Ikea stalked out of the room. "I'll go see if I can get a word in with the prisoner." said Rev. Williams quietly as he got up. He also left the room. "Ah, Commander, Captain, and Detective Nash." said Westboro, his bright eyes looking over us. "I must say I'm surprised to see you here. Protesting the execution of the prisoner?" "No, Pastor." I said. "We were hoping to talk with the prisoner before his sentence was carried out. He once operated in our County, and I was hoping he'd clear up a few small things before he meets his Destiny." "Ah yes, I remember." said Westboro. "He seemed to be such a stalwart member of our Flock. His fall was most saddening. He has repented of his crimes, and the Lord Jesus's forgiveness will shine for all to see as he goes to his Reward. But you, Commander, you're not a forgiving man, are you?" "Depends." I said. "But my job is to enforce the Laws of the State, solve crimes, and protect the good People of the County... many who attend your church, Pastor." Westboro chuckled. "Yes, that is true. By the way, they're serving lunch in the cafeteria, and I do suggest you eat, as they will not serve dinner due to the impending execution. If there's anything I can help you with, please let me know." He left the room. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * It was a long wait. We did eat lunch in the last half hour the cafeteria was open. I noted that a number of off-duty guards were eating, as well as some staff and people who had been allowed in to watch the execution. I did stroll down the hallways. looking around. As I came to the area that was the first locked-door checkpoint to the jail, I noticed one man staring me down. He was a bit overweight, but probably fit enough underneath like Sergeant Rudistan on my Force, but his face was chubby and he had a drooping mustache like Dick Ferrell. To my surprise, the other guards melted into the interior of the prison, leaving this man 'alone' with me, albeit on the other side of the door of iron bars. "People usually try to break out of here, not into here." he said. "Don't even think of trying it, Mr. Iron Crowbar." "Trying what?" I asked affably. "We're not idiots, Commander." he said. "You have the advantage of me. What's your name?" I asked. "I'm Watch Captain Lockhart." he said. "This is my prison. I am in charge here, I run it. And you're not getting inside... unless you want to commit a crime and come in wearing an orange jumpsuit instead of carrying that red noodle in your hand." The effrontery was amazing, I thought to myself. What was up with this guy? And I knew I had something of a reputation around the State, but he seemed to really know who I was and why I was here. "I'll pass on that." I said. "You have a nice day, Captain Lockhart. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again soon." "For your sake, you better hope not." said Lockhart. Going back to the main room, I saw Nash and Ross playing chess on Cindy's cellphone, taking turns with their moves. They looked up at me as I came in. "Well, no chance of seeing Priemus." I said. "They have encased him in hoops of iron, and there is no way to pry him out to talk with him." "What were you hoping to get?" asked Cindy. "Names." I said. "The Shadow Man's name, in particular. Maybe some top lieutenants in the organization." Nash asked "Sir, do you find it suspicious that there are no less than three Reverends here with him?" I replied "Ikea is the one I'm not feeling. I can understand Westboro, who knew him before, and Priemus may still be a member of First Baptist. Williams has been working on the legal angles of the case. Ikea? That's the strange one." "He hasn't learned any manners since the last time you saw him... and whipped his ass." Cindy said. "Which I think you witnessed despite being on restricted duty, if memory serves me correctly." I said. Cindy knew full well what I was saying by that. Nash didn't know the whole of it, nor of what Cindy had been carrying slung on her shoulder, nor what had happened in the metalworks classroom of Town High School later that night. Dream within a Dream Ch. 01 "A beautiful piece of work, it was, too." Cindy replied, deadpan straight, not rising to the bait. Part 5 - The Executioner's Song As evening came on, the waiting room began to fill up. Priemus had little family, just some cousins. They stayed in there a while before being asked to go to another part of the prison. Some reporters that were being allowed to witness and report on the execution had been shown into the waiting room with us. Priemus's lawyer came out right around sundown. He was youngish, probably still idealistic. He introduced himself as Jeff Nations and said he was headed out to make one last try at a stay of execution. He then left. Some moments later, Reverend Williams and Pastor Westboro came into the room. Only State Chaplain Ikea was allowed to stay with the prisoner on his last walk to the execution chamber. "I never had a chance to even speak to him." said Williams quietly to me a few minutes later. "Guards just would not leave us alone, even after I protested... especially after I protested. Something's up, Commander, something's up. And I think you know that." I just nodded, then thanked Reverend Williams for trying on my behalf. The crowd outside was getting a bit larger, many burning candles. It was not as large a crowd as I'd seen on newscasts in the past; this case had not really generated much Media interest beyond excoriating Republican legislators as bloodthirsty savages determined to use the death penalty to scourge the populace. Yeah, I'm exaggerating; and yes, I hate the Press. "Ladies and gentlemen," said a youngish man in a suit with very black hair, "I am Assistant Warden Cox, and I am here to brief you on what is going to happen tonight, barring a stay of execution. The prisoner is having his last visit with his family, and will be served his last meal in about half an hour. He requested steak, chicken tenders, and pizza." "After the last meal, he will be escorted by the Warden, prison guards, and and the Communications Officer, who will receive any messages if there is to be a stay of execution. The prisoner will also be escorted by the SBI Chaplain Ikea on his final walk to the death chamber." "The prisoner will be strapped to the table, and then three drugs introduced into his body via two tubes, one in each arm." said the spokesman. "The first drug is a sedative that will render him unconscious. The second is a fast-acting paralytic, which will cause the muscles to stop working completely, including the diaphragm. The third is a potassium compound that will stop the prisoner's heart, rendering him instantly dead." "In this State, there are three men behind a wall that have three buttons to push in front of them. They will push these buttons in order at the same time. Only one button actually delivers the drug, and the whoever's button delivered the first drug may or may not be the one to deliver the second drug when the second buttons are pushed, and so on. Are there any questions?" "Yes." said a reporter. "I'm John Hardwood, KXTC News. Lethal injection has been outlawed by several States as being painful, and therefore cruel and unusual. Will this prisoner feel pain as he is executed by the State?" The young man replied "There has been controversy over the painfulness of this procedure. However, if properly done it will be painless for the prisoner, and death will be pronounced quickly. Yes?" A reporter from the City asked "Will you be in touch with Governor Jared the entire time, in case he changes his mind and gives clemency to the condemned man?" "Yes." said Assistant Warden Cox. "We are in touch with the Governor, who of course could stop the whole procedure at any time. We're also prepared to receive and act upon any stays from the Courts, should they come. Any other questions?" There were none. "Okay, we'll escort you to the witness room now. Police officers with weapons will be required to clear them and have plastic ties placed on them." This was done to my weapon as well as Cindy's, Nash's and several other officers in the room. Some of these officers were from Westphalia, here to witness the execution of the man the State and a Jury had said had murdered one of their brothers-in-blue. We were then led down a long, darkened hallway. There was an occasional window to the outside, and I could see the group of death penalty protestors along the outside fence, the candles shining brightly in the darkness of the night. The witness room was like a small theater room, with rows of chairs with armrests. The family was at the front left, and the reporters dominated the front rows of seats. I and my fellow officers sat near the back. The Reverends Williams and Westboro were near the door, to my right. Watch Captain Lockhart was also in the room, standing by the door as if guarding it. There was a TV in the witness room. It had been turned to the news, which was of course about the impending execution. Another TV beside it was closed-circuit, available to neither the Press nor the Public. It showed the hallway the prisoner was walking down, the Warden leading, the Chaplain beside him reading Scripture out loud. Only the Warden and Communications Officer came into the death chamber with the condemned man. The Prisoner, Lance Priemus, seemed calm, but there was a sheen of sweat glowing on his brow. He did not resist as he was strapped onto the table. The Communications Officer was holding a telephone to his ear. The television screen of the media broadcast was showing in every detail possible that Governor Jared was on the phone, was denying clemency, and ordering the Warden to proceed. The Warden read from a script the Court order to put Priemus to death, then asked if the prisoner had any last words. Lance Priemus looked up at the window, and I prayed that he would shout the name of his traitor, the Shadow Man. But he only shouted "Deuteronomy 32:35!" then let his head fall back to the table. The Warden left the room. The closed-circuit TV showed the three guards ordered to press a button. It actually just dripped a saline solution, to make sure the lines were clear. Then the guards were ordered to press the first of the three buttons. The prisoner was looking straight up at the ceiling. I watched, expecting him to close his eyes, but I saw his face getting red, then redder. "AAAUUUUGGHHHHH!! AAAUUUGHHHH!!" Priemus screamed, his arms and legs fighting the straps as he tried to move. He was obviously in tremendous agony. None of us had noticed the guards had been ordered to press button two, which they'd done. After seconds more of screaming, the prisoner fell unconscious. Then the guards were ordered to press the last button, which they did with an unlimited capacity for obedience. I'd felt Cindy's hands grasp my shoulder and squeeze it as she watched the horrific scene in front of us, followed by her burying her face in my arm; she could not bear to watch. I glanced around the chamber, seeing Nash's mortified face, the shock on the faces of the reporters... and in one person, the merest hint of a gleam of the eye. "Something's gone wrong!" I heard someone shout. "Something's not right here!" For Priemus, it was finally peace. It was anything but peaceful as reporters tore at the door, almost knocking down the two ministers as they rushed to leave and get the story out. I noted behind the glass that prison officials, including the Warden, were scurrying about, and that the room was becoming like a disturbed ant bed. I saw that the doctor was checking on the prisoner, making the certification that meant that whatever secrets he'd held were now gone. Lance Priemus was dead. It is amazing how slowly politicians act... until their jobs are threatened. I saw the Warden and his young assistant come into the witness room, their bulging eyes staring at me. Other police officers and guards had been looking around in confusion, but followed the the Wardens' look, and I soon and suddenly felt many pairs of eyes looking right at me. *BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!* The cellphone ringing... was mine. Seeing who it was, I answered it. "Yes, Governor?..." To be continued. Dream within a Dream Ch. 02 The chronological order of my stories is now listed in WifeWatchman's biography. Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas. This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above. Part 6 - Investigation "That Carole is becoming a handful." said Phyllis as she and Laura sat down in the den of the Mountain Nest. "Just like her daddy was at that age. I'm glad I'm staying in the guest bedroom. I don't think I have the energy to go downstairs." "And it's safer for you to be up here while Don is away." Laura said. "Well, we finally got them to sleep, and Bowser is right under Carole's crib, as always. Let's watch the eleven o'clock news before we head to bed." She used the remote to turn the TV to Channel Two. "This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded reporterette. "We are bringing you live coverage from Jacksonville, where the State execution of white supremacist and cop-killer Lance Priemus has just taken place. But something went terribly wrong during the execution! We now go to KXTC's John Hardwood at the scene!" "Yes, Bettina, something just went horribly wrong!" shouted Hardwood from outside the gates of the prison, as if shouting made the story be more important or would give it more drama. "I was in the witness room, watching the execution. Lance Priemus was being injected with the lethal cocktail of drugs that would end his life when he started screaming in agony! The first drug is supposed to sedate him and the second drug should've paralyzed him, but I and everyone else witnessed him screaming in pain, writhing in pain and trying to break free of the straps holding him onto the table!" "What? What's that?" Hardwood said, then looked back at the camera again. "Bettina, we've just gotten word that Commander Donald Troy of the Town & County Police is at the scene, and that State Governor Val Jared has already called him into SBI duty and asked him to lead an immediate investigation! I repeat: TCPD Commander Donald Troy is now in charge of the investigation into what went wrong in the execution of convicted cop-killer Lance Priemus..." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * As I hung up my cellphone, I turned to the Warden. "Warden, you probably know that the Governor has just deputized me into the SBI and instructed me to investigate what went wrong." "Yes, Commander." said the Warden. "We are at your service. Whatever you need." "I need the Jacksonville Police Department to send their Crime Lab team here immediately." I said. "With plenty of evidence bags and containers for liquids. I need for you to lock down this prison; no one is to enter or leave, except that Crime Lab team. Any guards or officers that were on duty and inside need to be inside; if they left, they need to be called back immediately. Record who is here and who might have left. I need for all of the video taken from all of the cameras in this prison for the entire day to be preserved as evidence. Next, I want some scissors so I can cut this tie off my gun and the guns of my officers, here. Last, get the Media out of this Prison. Immediately and completely." I turned to Cindy and Martin Nash. "Sorry guys, but we've got a long night ahead of us." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 5:00am, Wednesday, August 26th. It had been a productive six hours. The Jacksonville PD Crime Lab had been pretty good, and had taken evidence of the drugs used in the execution, carefully noting which line they came from, all of it being videotaped. The JPD had also bagged the videotapes for evidence, and had put them in a guarded room in which no Prison guard nor officer was allowed to enter. We also interviewed every guard on duty. I'd taken great pleasure in going into the death chamber and surrounding rooms, then looking at Watch Captain Lockhart and saying "Well, Lockhart, I guess I get to come back here in spite of you." "Won't do you no fucking good." snarled Lockhart. "Cop-killer is dead." He had me there, I realized. Early on, there had been one issue. A family member of Priemus, a man becoming overweight and speaking with a heavy Southern accent, had become angry. "My cousin just died a horrible, painful death." he thundered. "That's just not ri-ight." "Sir," I said, "that is why the Governor has asked me to investigate this." "Who the hell are yuuuu?" the man drawled. "I'm Commander Donald Troy, working with the SBI--" "Hell, you're one of them, then." said the man. "Why the hell should I trust yuuu?" Cindy was becoming indignant and about to say something. I put a hand on her shoulder, which immobilized her, then said "You know, sir, you're right. Detective Nash! Please call FBI Agent Les Craig in Southport. Ask him to send an FBI agent up here to work with me, or at least to observe my investigation. Do that now, Mr. Nash." Nash fished out his cellphone and walked out of the room. I turned to the man. "Will that do?" I asked. "Yeah, I guesso." the man said, still surly but knowing he'd just had his bluff called. At 3:00am, I was interviewing one of the three men who'd been tasked with pressing the buttons. He said they were brought in after the whole thing was set up, and he had no idea of anything but pressing the buttons. Just then, Cindy burst into the room. "Guess what?" she exclaimed. "Dora Ellis was in the crowd and Nash spotted her. He arrested her on the spot and is bringing her inside!" * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "You have no right to arrest me." Dora hissed. She was not an attractive woman. Her brown hair hung limply down the sides of her face. She was beginning to put on weight, the kind of weight that would stay with her for the rest of her life as she aged. "So why did you come down here for the execution of the man you had convicted with your testimony?" I asked. "Am I free to go?" Dora asked. "Not yet." I said. "Answer my questions, and then you can be on your way. Again, why did you come down here?" "Am I being detained against my will? Do you have a warrant to arrest me?" Dora snarled. "If not, I demand to be released immediately." "You are being detained on the probable cause of suspicion of involvement with the nature of Lance Priemus's death." I said. "I want a lawyer. I demand a lawyer... NOW!" Dora said, her face getting uglier in its ferocity. "Fair enough." I said. "Nash, call this woman's lawyer for her." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The lawyer strode in about 20 minutes later. "I am Forrest Gillis, of Gillis & Partners, P.C. in Southport, and I am representing Mrs. Ellis." "Formerly of Gresham & Mason, I perceive." I asked as I peered at the thirtysomething man. "How... how did you know?" the man gasped, his eyes widening as he stared at me. Then he got control of himself. "Why are you detaining my client, Commander Troy?" "Ah, I see you know me, too." I said, grinning. I opened the briefcase I'd brought with me, and had left in my SUV until an hour before. "I just happen to have here a copy of the plea deal Mrs. Ellis made with Westphalia's Prosecutor's Office." I said. "She was and is required to cooperate with authorities, and answer all questions pertaining to the Lance Priemus murder case. As Priemus's execution is part of that case, and as it is obvious to me that someone arranged the drugs in the wrong order so that he would die painfully, and with Mrs. Ellis happening to be on the scene, I believe she has to answer my questions on this." "If she doesn't," I continued, "I'll drive straight up to Westphalia and tell them Mrs. Ellis has violated this agreement, and they will come after her for conspiracy to commit murder with aggravating circumstances, which carries no Statute of Limitations in this State. She'll go to prison, and may end up on that same table Mr. Priemus was lying on just a few hours ago." "I'm not talking to this son of a bitch." hissed Dora. "Commander, I need a moment with my client." asked Gillis. "By all means." I said, then turned to Nash. "Detective, escort them to the little room over there." It was a closet. "You'll have privacy, at least." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Okay," said Gillis after they were done and had returned, "I'm going to monitor your questions, and I'll advise my client not to answer any that I think are outside the scope of that agreement. If we disagree on what's what, I'll tie it up in Court for years." "Good enough." I said. "Dora, why did you come down here to witness the execution of Priemus?" "Morbid... curiosity." Dora said, her voice a sneer. "Have you seen Priemus since his trial?" "No." "What have you been doing with your life since the trial?" "That's outside the scope of the agreement." the lawyer Gillis quickly said. "Dora, are you the daughter of Henry Boxman of San Francisco, California?" "That's outside the scope." said Gillis. "I beg to differ." I said. "And I'll show it: Dora, was Lance Priemus a White Supremacist?" The lawyer and Dora looked at each other, and the lawyer whispered something to Dora. "I wouldn't know." said Dora. "Oh?" I asked. "I have a transcript of your testimony in the Priemus trial. You said he was constantly calling the police officer and his wife the 'n-word' while he was raping her in front of him. Then you testified that he said, and I quote, 'this is what niggers deserve!' as he slit the man's throat. Is that not accurate?" "Yeah, that sounds right." Dora said, her voice disinterested. "So, one more time... was Priemus a White Supremacist?" "Again, I don't know." Dora said. "Using the n-word doesn't mean he's part of the Klan or anything like that. Yeah, he hated niggers, but so what?" "Like you do, judging from what you just said?" I asked. "I got nothin' for 'em." said Dora. "But that don't mean nothin'." I glanced over at the legal beagle, who was peering at me with something bordering of avid interest on his face... but also concern. "Okay, so one more time," I said, "and per this plea deal agreement you must give truthful answers: so you are confirming to me that neither Lance Priemus nor yourself were or are members of any White Supremacist group?" The lawyer quickly whispered something to Dora. "I can't speak to Priemus." Dora replied. "I don't know either way who or what he was a part of. I had nothing to do with the Klan." "Or any other group?" I pressed. "Are you now or have you ever been a member or associate of any white supremacy organization?" "What's the point of this?" asked the lawyer. "Answer the question, and truthfully." I said. "And in front of all these witnesses." Several officers, including Nash, Ross and FBI Special Agent In Charge Les Craig were watching and listening. "No." said Dora. "I am not a member of any white supremacy organization." "And you never have been a member of any white supremacy organization?" "What is the fucking meaning of this?" Dora shouted. "I just said--" "YOU JUST SAID..." I shouted, then returned to calmness "that you are not presently a member of any white supremacy organization. Now I'm asking you to state for the record and truthfully: have you ever been a member of any white supremacy organization?" "No, asshole." Dora said. "What about your father, Dora?" I asked. "Is he or was he ever a member of any white supremacy group?" "That's enough." said the lawyer. "That's outside the scope. And I've had about enough of your badgering my client. Wrap it up, Commander, or I'll have her invoke and fight you like hell for years if you try to fuck up the plea deal in Westphalia." "Oh, I'm done." I said, getting up. "Or more accurately... Dora is." I turned to Cindy. "Captain, I need written affidavits from everyone here of what they just witnessed and heard." The lawyer Gillis looked very, very uncomfortable as he escorted Dora out of the room. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The drive back was long, and we were tired. FBI Special Agent Julius Jefferson had happened to be in Southport, and volunteered to drive us all the way back up to our Town, whereupon transportation would be provided by the FBI to get him to his home. With all the evidence loaded into the back of my Police SUV, we headed home. "You obviously had something up your sleeve while you were questioning Dora." Cindy said as she and I sat in the backseat, letting Nash ride 'shotgun'. "What was that all about?" "She fucked up." I said. "I got her to lie about not being in a white supremacy group. She should've invoked and let her Gresham & Mason legal beagle fight for her." "And her father?" Cindy asked. "Is in California, and safely out of my reach for now." I said. "Now no more questions until we get home. I've got to think about all this." With that, I settled into a reverie... which quickly turned to sleep. "Oh, Commannnnnderrrr..." I was dreaming again, at least I was dreaming that I was dreaming it. I was driving on some limitless road through farm fields. The light was a pale, yellowish haze, actually drained of color. And there in the shotgun seat was Angela Harlan, naked, her firm breasts bouncing up and down, her nipples hard. "What now?" I asked, my voice eerie in the dream state. "You're on the right track." Angela said. "But remember... she's not what she seems to be..." "Who?" I asked. I opened my eyes, and was back in the SUV, and we were riding on the Interstate towards Midtown. I turned and saw that Cindy was staring at me. "Did I talk in my sleep?" I asked. "Just the word 'who?'." Cindy replied. Her own voice was sleepy, and soon we were both falling back into our dream worlds... Part 7 - Agents, Chemical and Federal We got back just at 1:00pm, Wednesday, August 26th. We first stopped at the Crime Lab building, transferring the evidence with all the proper signatures, and with me making some suggestions to Dr. Woodrow about what tests to run with immediate priority, and what safety precautions to take. After I instructed a Uniformed officer drive FBI Special Agent Jefferson to the Federal Building, Cindy said quietly to me "I heard you making suggestions to Dr. Woodrow. Do you have an idea of what happened?" "Several theories," I said, "which require facts to bear out. That is what the Crime Lab will give me. Okay, I need to go talk to the Chief real quick. Write up your report as soon as you can." I went to the Chief's office, into which I was immediately admitted. "Wow, that must've been a horrible thing to witness." said Chief Bennett after I told him what had happened. "Any idea what caused the botched execution?" "I'm waiting for the Lab to run the tests," I said, "but I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that the order of the drugs was switched, or else a different drug was introduced first, which caused Priemus great pain." "A mistake, or deliberate?" asked the Chief. "That depends on the tests." I said. "Either way it's going to be politically explosive. So how did Croyle and Perlman do while the Crowbar Cats were away?" The Chief told me that nothing had happened the night before, and that Perlman and Croyle had done well leading their units doing nothing in particular. After being dismissed, I went into my office and called my wife. "I'm back in the office." I said. "We'll do the checkup tomorrow. Tell Bonnie I'll talk to her after the checkup." "Okay, darling." Laura said. "By the way, the FBI is beginning its investigation of Sharples giving Priya that information about Janet. Jack Muscone might want to talk to you about that." "Not until I've had some sleep." I replied. After telling my wife I loved her (very true) and hanging up the phone, I told my assistant Helena that I was not to be disturbed until the lab results came back. Then I curled up on the sofa for some sleep. The Black Widow did not visit me. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * At 4:00pm, I was buzzed awake by Helena. A minute later, Dr. Woodrow and J.R. Barnes of the Crime Lab came inside, handing me a folder with the expedited results. "The saline solution went in first." said Dr. Woodrow. "That's normal, but there was an extra compound that was inert in and of itself. Then the first chemical, which was supposed to be a sedative, was actually what was normally the third compound to be administered, the potassium solution. This solution also had a compound that was inert in itself, but inside the bloodstream reacted with the extra chemical from the saline solution... and the resulting chemical was a toxin you might be familiar with." I looked at the sheet of paper. "Holy shit!" I said. "That's a military chemical agent!" J.R. Barnes asked "Do they have binary agents like that in the military, sir?" "Absolutely." I said. "In fact, our artillery-fired chemical weapons have to be binary in case of a leak. When the shell is fired, the chemicals are mixed by the spinning of the round and is toxic when it arrives on the target. This was the same thing... just by injection instead of artillery. Jeez..." I then looked up. "Gentlemen," I said, "this also just became classified information. Dr. Woodrow, contact the FBI about it, and they'll notify the Army. It'll remain in our evidence servers, but under encryption and every aspect of it sealed and treated as classified information. Make sure the Lab knows of the potential danger so that these chemicals are not accidentally mixed and we have a really bad thing happen in our Crime Lab." "I've already isolated the compounds from each other." said Woodrow. "And we're in the process of protecting the evidence as classified information. But you or the Chief have to personally notify the FBI or the Army." "Then I have a phone call to make, right now." I said. I suited the deed to the word. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The press conference was being held at Courthouse Square, in front of the State Office Building on the north side, at 5:30pm. As I made my way to the podium for my statement, I noticed that local citizens were milling about, and some stopped to watch while others went on their way. I noticed several old people sitting on benches, some openly watching, some pretending not to but furtively looking over. I thought I saw Old Mrs. Boddiker in the distance with another old woman, who was wearing a shawl even on this warm day and whom I didn't recognize. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to observe; my bodyguard of Uniformed officers was moving me to the podium like a river of humanity flowing down the sidewalk. Being a press conference about a huge story, it was very well attended by elements of the rabidly voracious Media. I noticed the blonde Diane Williams from the City, rudely pushing through people to get a prime spot in front. Priya Ajmani was getting jostled around by a couple of men until she elbowed one of them in his nuts. I also noticed representatives of the National News Networks were present; they were following the botched execution story, which had a huge national following by now. "Ladies and gentlemen," I said to start the press conference, seeming to feel the eyes of the State and even the Nation upon me through the many cameras, "my name is Commander Troy, and at the request of the Governor I am the lead investigator of the execution incident, in cooperation with State and Federal authorities. We have determined that the order of the introduction of the drugs was changed, but also that foreign chemical agents were inserted into the bags of drugs normally used for the executions. These agents reacted when mixed to form chemicals that caused Mr. Priemus great pain before he died." Dream within a Dream Ch. 02 "There is no way this could be accidental." I continued, which hushed any buzz in my audience. "There is no way that these chemicals could be accidentally introduced during the manufacture of the drugs, nor be the result of any natural reaction of the drugs. Therefore, I have informed the Director of the State Bureau of Investigation that this should be considered a murder-with-malice case, and I've requested they open a further investigation as such." "Furthermore," I said, "due to the special nature of the foreign drugs introduced into the system, I've notified the FBI that their assistance will be required, and they will be sending Special Agents to work with the SBI in investigating further. That is all I have for now. Thank you." "Commander!" screamed out Bettina Wurtzburg, "will you be personally working on this case going forward?" "That'll be for the SBI and FBI to decide." I said. "Commander, what were the foreign drugs that caused the prisoner to suffer so greatly?" asked John Hardwood. "I am not at liberty to discuss details of that nature." I said. "Those details will have to be given to you by the FBI. Thank you for coming, and I'll be taking no more questions at this time." With that, I made my way off the makeshift podium, but it took a cordon of Uniformed TCPD Officers to get me through the crush of shouting reporters to a police cruiser and out of there. I would see it later on TV: Pastor Raymond Westboro was using the moment to call for the end of the death penalty by lethal injection, and really for the end of the death penalty in the State altogether. The reporters were in a Media feeding frenzy as they got the opportunity to talk to an actual witness of the death of the unfortunate Lance Priemus, and Pastor Westboro really laid it on thick for them... Part 8 - Doctor Appointments and Dreams My wife often had the lovely black Nurse Jones assisting as Laura performed my examination and took blood and urine samples. But not today, and for good reason. It was Thursday morning, August 27th, at 9:30am, and we were in the clinic attached to my wife's office. The media frenzy was still going on regarding the execution, and this was a good place for me to hide out. Director Lewis had publicly thanked me and my Crime Lab for finding out what happened, then announced that a special Task Force was taking over, led by Deputy Director Robert Gaston and Agent Carter Fischer. And then FBI Special Agent In Charge Jack Muscone barreled in and said the FBI was taking over the lead of the case. The FBI had put out word that "insecticide-like chemicals" had been introduced to the bags of drugs. Technically that was true: some of the most potent insecticides in use today, which are not easily available to the Public, are very similar to military chemical agents. But my wife was using this opportunity to talk about something else, hence the need for privacy: Company business. "The FBI interviewed Sharples yesterday." Laura said. "He had his lawyer present. He readily gave up his phone for examination. The text Priya received was from that cellphone's number, but the text wasn't there in his phone. And by that, I mean it never was there: as you know, erasing a text doesn't truly erase it, and the FBI's forensic people determined that it had never been on that phone." "So he removed the SIM card and used it in another phone?" I queried. "The forensics people think that did not happen. They didn't see evidence of the SIM card having left that phone." Laura said. "It is possible to mimic a SIM card if one has the correct, very sophisticated, and highly classified equipment... but tell me this, darling: does Sharples seem like the kind of guy who is smart enough to do something like that?" "He is cunning, street-smart if not brain-smart." I said. "Obviously he would've had help to do something like that. Not to mention to obtain that information in the first place." "Exactly." Laura said. "Dr. Casey B. Walker has torn what little hair he had right out of his head over this." "He thinks I somehow did it, of course." I said, peering at my wife. She met my glance. "Yes." she said simply. "He thinks you're involved. He still does not understand how you showed up at that warehouse to get Priya so quickly, and then he extrapolates out that if you could do that, you could accomplish this Sharples thing." "And what are my means, my motives, and my opportunities for doing so?" I asked. "But he's half right: it wasn't hard at all to find the warehouse where Priya was taken... which I'm sure you've told him pissed me off greatly that she was subjected to that by him." "Oh, he's aware." Laura said drily. "As is all of Langley and the FBI. So, how did you find her so fast?" "By having a matchless knowledge of this Town and County, as any good Police Commander should." I said. "Captain Ross will tell you that I am constantly asking her and my Detectives where streets and buildings are, and I fully expect them to know as well as I do. It was pretty easy to determine." "Good try." Laura said. "But it won't hold. You don't have x-ray vision." "Don't I?" Laura began to understand. "Well, if I were inclined to help Dr. Walker against you, which I'm absolutely not, I'd suggest to him that one Myron Milton somehow got onto us. His father deeply hates the Company, and there are a lot of people out there very scared of what Myron himself can do with computers." "Myron is an excellent police officer." I said. "His father, however, is an eccentric, and he and Myron don't exactly have a normal father-son relationship. So, enough about that... what's going on with these dreams I've been having?" Laura replied "Nothing physically wrong with you, you're in great shape... of course I know that from the way you fuck me every night." I grinned as she continued: "I'll have the semen, blood and urine samples back tomorrow. I'm also going to give Todd an exam later today, and I'll compare results." "Are you going to take the semen sample the way you took mine?" I asked. "With a hot juicy blowjob?" "Why, that sounds like an excellent idea!" Laura said, as if it were a sudden thought. "I just might do that." I grinned again as Laura said "And you'll be getting interviewed by Bonnie Karpathian at the same time. Better take a 'gray viagra'; I saw how she was dressed in anticipation of seeing you. She wants your 'other' iron crowbar, and I suspect she's going get it..." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I was lying on my back, naked. Bright but hazy lights were almost blinding me. I felt the wetness of the warm, wet pussy enveloping my cock as the woman bounced up and down on top of me. Looking up, I could see the mane of black hair, the firm breasts bouncing on her slender body, the nipples rock-hard and standing out like spikes. "Ohhhh yeahhhhh," she moaned, "sooooo good, Commanderrrrr..." she moaned. I was fucking up into her black fringed pussy as hard as I could, our groins colliding as she let her weight fall down. "She's not what she seeeeeems, Commanderrrr..." I heard Angela's voice say as she rode me hard. "Remember..." Suddenly the lights were back to normal. It was bright, as sunlight was streaming through the windows. I was on my back on the couch, and it was Bonnie Karpathian on me, my cock buried nuts-deep inside her sopping wet cunt. She was riding me hard, moaning and gasping and tremendously enjoying fucking me. I reached up and squeezed the large, soft mounds of her big breasts. She leaned over and I sucked first one teat then the other into my mouth. "Oh God, Don, that's so good!" Bonnie gasped. I felt the pleasure building up in my hard cock. Grasping Bonnie's ample ass, I suddenly lifted her up and twisted around. We fell to the sofa, Bonnie on her back and me on top of her, still buried in her black-fur-fringed snatch. I slammed my mouth to hers as I began to fuck her furiously. Bonnie spread her legs wider, pulling them back to give me easier, better access as I drove into her, piledriving my meat into that sweet, wet cunt. As I nuzzled her neck and suckled her earlobe, I again thought of Angela Harlan, seeming to hear her voice even as I fucked Bonnie's cunt into a creamy lather. "Oh yeah, keep fucking away, Commanderrrrr... let it go, work that nut out! Work it ouuuuuuttt..." "UHH!" I gasped as I felt my nut rise. "I'm going to fucking come!... UHHH!!" The gray mist that fogged my eyes rose again as I felt my semen jetting out into Bonnie's eagerly receptive cunt, clutching firmly at my thick, iron-hard shaft as she climaxed yet again, one of many orgasms she'd experienced during our mating... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Well," said Bonnie as we got dressed, "we could put off the interview for a few days. Of course, I'll do everything I can to fuck you again then, too." I chuckled. "I'd have no problem with that. But let's go ahead and get it overwith. I have a feeling I'm going to be very busy over the next few days." And with that, we began the interview. Bonnie was snuggled up next to me on the sofa as we talked. I was a bit surprised at the direction her questions went. "If you can," Bonnie said after a few introductory background questions, "try to separate Angela Harlan's crimes, and tell me about her as a police officer. Was she a good detective? Run of the mill?" I thought for a second. "She was pretty good while she was here with us." I said. "Competent, but didn't really show outward brilliance. But that might've been her holding back on us, or her focusing upon her mission to destroy Selena Steele." "I will say this." I said. "I've run across her name as having investigated some things in Texas, and it appears she was very good down there. People who knew her but don't know of her crimes would say she was sharp and persistent." "I got that impression, too, when I went down there." said Bonnie. "Why do you think she left Texas? Just following Selena Steele?" "I..." I began, then paused. A line of thought in my head had just torn open. I had to fight to not go into a reverie over it. "I... guess she was just following Selena. I have not considered any other reasons." I said. But was that all it was? my mind screamed at me. "In my interviews with some of your Detectives and Officers," said Bonnie, "they seem to think that Angela came up here because her cousin Brian was here, then she attacked Dawdle because he was investigating the University's athletics programs for PEDs. Would you agree with that?" "No." I said. "Well, let me put it this way: that's too simplistic. First, some of my officers don't know all that much about the Selena Steele angle, which I think is why Angela showed up here. Now she did exterminate Dawdle because of the threat to her cousin, but that doesn't explain any of her other killings, either here or anywhere else." "So," said Bonnie, "let's just get to the big one: why do you think the Black Widow targeted Peter Feeley?" I sucked in my breath and exhaled, my eyes looking not at Bonnie but out in front of me. "I don't know for sure." I said. "My team and I had some conversations about it in the aftermath, but it was never quite clear why Pete was targeted. I've always sort of let it go as a target of opportunity, since I don't like to think about it at all." "Because you lost a police officer?" Bonnie asked. "Not only losing an officer..." I said, "... but I've never let go of thinking that we lost him because I failed to take action in time to save him. His loss was my failure." "Does that drive you?" Bonnie asked. "Does that make you work harder?" "Absolutely." I said. "I don't want anyone else to die... because I was weak." "The Black Widow is dead," said Bonnie, "as are the members of her gang. You've taken revenge, and you've solved numerous other cases. Does that help mitigate the pain you're obviously feeling?" I turned and looked Bonnie dead in the eye. "Not one bit, Doctor." I said levelly. "Not one bit." "This is beyond the scope of my research," said Bonnie, "so I'll understand if you don't want to answer: what will it take to get over that pain?" It only took a second for me to say "I'm glad you understand why I'm not going to answer that." "Okay," said Bonnie. As we concluded and I prepared to leave, she said "Don, is there any way you can coax Lieutenant Perlman into answering my written questions? I submitted them weeks ago." "I'll talk to her." I said, not revealing that I already had talked to Tanya. "But it's totally her call on what, if anything, she wants to answer." I left Bonnie's office. I decided not to go to see Laura, as she might be interviewing Todd... and fucking his brains out, which I normally would love to watch but wasn't in the mood right now. I left the building, walking towards my SUV. "Whaddya say we go get a beer?" I heard a voice say. There stood Cindy, waiting for me. "Yeah, I could use one." I said. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * She's not what she seems... Those words haunted me as Cindy and I took our tall frosty mugs of ice-cold beer to the outside patio and our table in the very back under the umbrella awning. It was not quite shift change time, so there was almost no one at the Cop Bar yet. "So, how did it go?" Cindy asked. "Not too bad, I guess." I said. "The funny thing was, I started realizing some things that I'd never thought of before." "Anything you care to share?" Cindy asked. "Or will I need to pry those thoughts out of you with a crowbar?" "Well, let me say this." I said. "We know Harlan followed Selena Steele up here, tried to frame Selena for capital murder. But I've also come across some things as I was investigating Sharples and also some of these Shadow Man and Superior Bloodlines connections. And I keep coming across Angela Harlan's name. She was considered one hell of a badass Detective down there, and I think she was actually beginning to get on the trail of some of the things we're just discovering now." "And she left you some names connected with all that." Cindy said. "But don't tell me she wasn't bad... sometimes I wish you'd kept me as well as Tanya out of Feeley's crime scene. I will never forget that." "Neither will I." I said. "For me, I let it burn deep. It drives me to finish all this. No, Angela was a horrific serial killer, but let me tell you what I'm thinking by asking this question: why was Angela following Selena Steele from State to State? And I still never got an answer for why she selected Feeley as a target." Cindy replied "I think we all came to a consensus that he was a target of opportunity, that she just wanted to kill a police officer, maybe to distract us?" "Well," I said, "as I talked to Bonnie today, some things came to me. Maybe there was a reason Feeley was chosen, that it wasn't random or just because he was a police officer. Maybe he knew something he should not have known, but didn't realize it... sort of like Tammi Edmonds." "I'll buy that for a dollar." said Cindy. "Maybe a Canadian dollar, though. And Selena Steele?" I replied "We've been in and out of banksters all this time while pulling on threads related to our Consultant of Crime. But we've neglected to look really hard into Selena Steele herself." "Ahhhh." Cindy said, nodding her head. "That is a point. Maybe Harlan started following Selena, then it somehow turned personal and Angela went bad?" "I don't know." I said, quaffing down the remainder of my beer. "But I'm going to need you to hold down the fort and run the Detectives for a while. I might be doing a lot of research over the next day or two..." Part 9 - A Severe Loss At 6:30am, Friday August 28th, I received the bad news that I sensed had been coming for some time. I had been called into the Chief's office, so that I could hear this at the same time he did. "So you're going back to the LAPD?" the Chief asked. "Yes sir." said Lt. Claire Michaels, leader of my SWAT teams. "I appreciate the experience here, and I've learned a lot from Commander Troy, sir. But as they say: home is where the heart is. L.A. is my home." "Nothing like the big city." I said. "But what else? There is definitely a 'something else'." "Not much gets by you, sir." Claire said. "I have to say that the whole thing with Sharples, and what he did to expose Lorena Rose on that undercover mission, really bothered me. The guy should be in jail... or worse. Where I come from... he'd have been fragged by now." "I understand." I said. "And his time is coming. "And then there's Deputy Chief Brownlee." said Lt. Michaels. "I'm tired of getting orders for ammo and equipment canceled for no reason, having the schedule for the outdoor range fucked up to the point I can't get my guys the training they need. If you want a public reason why I'm going, that's the one you can use. Brownlee is a fucking turd, and I don't want any part of him." "Neither do I." I said, looking at the Chief. "Of course, I daresay moving makes your impending breakup a bit easier." Claire's eyes brightened as she realized I understood. "Uh, yes sir, that was not working out, either. Hugh's a good guy, but I shouldn't have gotten involved with him. And I wasn't sure exactly how our working relationship was going to work out after our personal relationship ended, either." Chief Bennett asked "So... who do you recommend as your replacement in the SWAT units? Sergeant Charles?" "He'll do." Claire said. She also suggested the young man that was the brother of Todd's friend, 'The Leader'. "I've had my eye on Sergeant Charles for a while." I said, more to the Chief than to Claire Michaels. "So this resignation is effective September 15th. Make it September 30th, take your vacation for those last two weeks; you've earned that. Talk to Charles, get him ready to take over for you, at least on an interim basis. And I appreciate all you've done for me while you've been here. The SWAT teams are all that much better because of your leadership." "Thank you, sir." said Claire. "I... I do want to say that my time with the Detectives working for you was the best learning experience I've ever had. I don't know how you do it, but I'm just aspiring to get halfway there." "And you will." I said as we all stood up. "Well, good luck to you, Lieutenant, and don't be a stranger; give us a call or drop in sometime." "Thank you, sir." Claire said. She shook hands with me and with the Chief, and exited the office. "Too bad she's leaving." said the Chief. "One more problem for you to solve, Don." "Yes sir." I said. "But it also gives me a chance to solve some problems. But you heard her, sir... Brownlee is becoming a cancer within this Police Force. I hope we don't lose any more good people because of that piece of shit." "Yes, I know." said the Chief. "The Sheriff and I have been talking about it. We're going to start having Captain Della Harlow liaison directly with the Sheriff's Chief of Staff, Deputy Sheriff Oswald, bypassing Brownlee." "He'll go ballistic." I said. "He can't harm Captain Harlow, but he could really fuck up her subordinates, and I can't babysit that situation." "You don't have to." Bennett said. "Leave it to me and the Sheriff. Okay, I need to make some phone calls. I'll talk to you later about SWAT." Understanding that I was being dismissed, I left the Chief's office. So Claire was gone, and she was thinking by pasting it on Brownlee she was helping us. But that wasn't the real reason she was leaving: this was not an Agency of the Weak-Minded, I thought to myself. I knew that with Callie Carrington exposed, someone had anticipated that Los Angeles would need reinforcements in the war against Superior Bloodlines... Dream within a Dream Ch. 02 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "This is Priya Ajmani, Five Alive News!" shouted the lovely Indian reporterette at 8:00am, Friday, August 28th. "Five Alive News has confirmed that Lieutenant Claire Michaels of the Town & County Police Department is resigning and returning to the Los Angeles Police Department. Lt. Michaels was in charge of the TCPD SWAT Teams, and stated that her resignation was due to logistical non-support from Deputy Chief Robert Brownlee. The Police Department has not issued any statement about the resignation of Lt. Michaels or their plans for the SWAT Teams going forward, but Commander Donald Troy did issue a statement thanking Lt. Michaels for her professionalism and hard work in the creation of the SWAT team and its excellence..." "How in the fuck did Priya get that so quickly?" Cindy asked as Crowbar's Angels and I watched in my office. "You just told us, and you only got it an hour and a half ago." "I know." I said. "I'm sure you ladies caught the important part of Priya's little newscast there?" Blank looks from three pairs of eyes greeted me; I was disappointed and knew I still had a lot of work to do to get them up to speed. "Nothing?" I asked, peering from officer to officer. "I'm not getting it." said Teresa. "Why don't you just tell us?" "No." I said. "That's too easy. You figure it out and tell me. There was a clue there, as important as any crime scene clue, and you all have to see through it because I'm not always going to be here as a crutch." "Uh," Cindy said, feeling what I was seeing in all their eyes: the beginnings of anger at me for what was perceived as unwarranted and overly harsh treatment, "why don't we get through the agenda for the meeting. We've all got work to do." "Okay." I said. "Whaddya got?" Cindy said "All of the reports from the prison execution incident are uploaded to the servers, consolidated and cross-referenced. Myron is waiting for your permission to send it to the SBI." "Oh heck yeah, send it immediately." I said. "I don't want them bitching about us making them wait for anything like that. I'll look into it later." Cindy said "The FBI wants to interview every Detective and our Data people about Sharples. They're investigating a leak of classified information, and want to see what our guys knew about how much Sharples knew about things." I said "First of all, that permission will have to come from the Chief, if not the Sheriff himself. Second, even if they give that permission, make damn sure our guys know their rights to have an attorney and/or a Police Union rep present at any of that questioning. I want to work with the FBI, but there are lines not to be crossed." I continued: "We may also need to consult with the D.A.'s office and the Union on who can be interviewed based upon probable cause. The vast majority of our officers have no involvement with any of that; they should not be subjected to interrogation unless the FBI can 'show cause' to interview them. What else? Anything from the duty logs?" "No sir." said Teresa. "Trouble free night last night." "Okay." I said. "Rumors? Innuendo?" I often asked this half-jokingly at the end of a meeting, and it sometimes produced interesting results. But with the tension in the air, the normally 'ranks-off' conversation wasn't happening. Nevertheless, Teresa said "I heard that Nextdoor County PD is getting a new Lieutenant for the Drug Division." "Oh?" Cindy said. "Who's that?" Teresa's eyes widened at that, as did mine. Teresa said "Let him figure it out." She was pointing at me, and now it was Cindy's turn to be wide-eyed at the blatant disrespect. "That's no problem, Lieutenant." I said acidly, my eyes boring into Teresa. "I keep my eyes and ears open, and I understand the clues I observe. Let's just say that Molly Evans is finally going to get that Lieutenant bar she deserves, albeit with Nextdoor County instead of Midtown--" "What?!" Cindy gasped. "Captain Ross doesn't know that, by the way." I finished. "She told you?" Cindy said. "She didn't say a word to me!" "Nor to me." I said, looking back at Teresa, my eyes boring right through her. "Like I said, I observe, deduce and infer things, like you ladies should be doing... and it's that same process that keeps me from taking your head off for insubordination, Lt. Croyle. I know it's August, but get your shit together. Now all of you get out of here." "Uh, can I see you privately for a moment, Commander?" Tanya asked. "It's personal in nature." I acquiesced. As Cindy and Teresa got up, Cindy said "My office, Lieutenant." She was going to do her job and administer the ass-chewing I'd refrained from administering. Once alone, I said to Tanya "Shoot." "I think the clue in Priya's newscast was that she mentioned Brownlee by name." said Tanya. "I thought he and she were on the same side, so that shows that somebody is either out of favor or has switched sides, or both." "Out of favor." I said. "You're right: for her to mention Brownlee like that, and so publicly, is not good for him. So not to rush you, but I've got to get my reports in to the SBI on the Priemus case so they can relieve me of investigating it. What else?" "I just wanted to let you know I answered about half of Dr. Karpathian's questions and sent it to her. I bcc'd a copy of it to you, to keep you in the loop." "Thanks for doing that." I said. "My own interview was pretty rough. I can only imagine how it was for you." "It was okay." Tanya said. "There is one other thing. and it's what I really wanted to touch base with you about." She hesitated, then gathered her courage and said with a rush: "I know I'm supposed to go through Captain Ross, but I'd like to ask your permission to bypass her and come straight to you on something I want to investigate privately..." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "What in the fuck was that?!" Cindy demanded as she faced Teresa in her Captain's office. Teresa was standing practically at attention in front of Cindy's desk. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over--" Teresa started. 
"Don't answer, just shut the fuck up!" Cindy ordered. "Good grief, I thought we were past this with you." Teresa did not reply. Cindy sat down. "Sit down." she said. Teresa obeyed as Cindy continued "Well, the Commander let you off the hook with that 'August' comment. I'd forgotten about your history in the month of August. Captain Malone would have to keep an eye on you in August, the month of the race with your sister before she died." Cindy's ice blue eyes were boring into Teresa as hard as the Commander's had been as she said: "But you gotta get it under control, sister. And don't fuck with the Iron Crowbar, especially when he just got done with Dr. Karpathian interviewing him about Pete Feeley." "Oh... I didn't know that." Teresa replied. "Yep." Cindy said. "Okay, consider your ass chewed out and don't do anything like that again. So... who leaked that to Priya?" Teresa replied "I have no idea. I didn't know about it at all until the Commander told us at the start of the meeting. Who do you think did it?" Cindy replied "The Chief." Seeing Teresa's look of surprise, she said "Michaels gave the Chief and Commander her resignation. Ninety minutes later Priya knows of it, but KSTD apparently didn't during their newscast. Brownlee might've heard of it when it hit Personnel, but I doubt he'd tell Priya that Claire resigned because of him--" Both women made exclamations as it hit them. Cindy said "Oh, that's what Don was getting at... Priya outright said the resignation was because of Brownlee. She threw him under the bus. Okay, that's solved, but continuing on: there are so few people who knew, it limits who it could be." Teresa replied "If she sent an email to resign, that broadens the scope of people who might know. Of course... that means someone either was looking for it, or is looking at all our emails." Cindy said "I'll get Myron on that, see who's accessing emails. Might be a clue to who the leak is. Chief Griswold would be screaming right now if he were here." Teresa said "It could be Chief Bennett. But it could be--" She stopped short. Cindy peered at her. "Go ahead, say it." Teresa gathered her courage and replied "It could have been Don himself..." Part 10 - Foursome "This is Nick Eastwood, KXTC Sports!" said the handsome blonde man on the 6:00pm newscast. "Football season is starting up again, and our University Bulldogs open the season tomorrow with a tough conference game against the Purple Hawks of State University." State U was my University's arch-rival in another State. They were not tough, but the University's team was not that good, either, so Nick was setting the table. Nick continued "The conference champion Wildcats will be playing our Enemy, State Tech, at Tech's home stadium. The Wildcats are a heavy favorite to beat the Engineers. Back to you, Amber!" "Thank you, Nick." said Amber Harris at the news desk. "This is the one game all year where all of us will be rooting for the Wildcats to really pour it on!" That was a shot at State Tech, whose player had deliberately tried to hurt Nick Eastwood and indeed had badly injured him, costing Eastwood a pro football career. Word on the street was that every school playing State Tech would have a little something 'extra' for Tech's quarterbacks... As Laura and I watched at The Cabin, my wife said "Nick and Bettina will be here in a little bit. You better start up the grill on the deck." Laura had invited Nick Eastwood to come up for an evening of dinner, drinks, and sex. My 'date' for the evening would be the lovely redhead, Bettina Wurtzburg. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I poured four glasses of wine. "Tonight, everything is off the record." I said. "Off the record." said Bettina. "Off the record." said Nick Eastwood. "Off the record." said Laura. We clinked our glasses and drank of our wine. Formalities done, we moved to the deck of The Cabin to watch the sunset and eat the feast we'd prepared. Steaks and salads, corn-on-the-cob and other veggies from the grill. Sitting at the metal mesh table, most of the talk was innocuous, but Laura and young Nick were openly flirting, leading me to converse with Bettina. Laura was looking stunning in a frilly white dress that seemed to flow on her luscious body, and very high-heel blue pumps that accented her long, shapely legs and magnificent ass. Bettina was dressed in a multi-color flower-print dress, and high heel sandals with reddish straps that showed off her shapely feet and legs. It was dark as we finished eating and drinking a good bit more wine, and we all took our dishes into the kitchen. As Bettina and I cleaned up the dishes in the sink, we looked into the greatroom and saw Laura sliding her hands around Nick's neck. My wife gave the handsome blonde stud a deep, warm kiss. Seeing my wife kissing another man like that made my cock harden and throb. Bettina noticed, and slid her hand to my crotch, massaging my rapidly engorging cock through the thin material of my slacks. "Mmmm, I am going to really enjoy fucking this big, hard cock tonight." Bettina said. I leaned over and kissed her luscious, lipsticked lips. We broke the kiss to walk into the greatroom. "Honey," Laura said to me, breaking her kiss with Nick as she saw us, "I'm just going to go for it with this handsome young stud. But I do have a surprise to tell you first, Nick." She let her eyes bore into his as she said "Nick, I promised you that if you beat State Tech last year, I would let you fuck me in the ass. We've had to delay that, but I'm going to fulfill that promise tonight. I want you to fuck me in the ass while my husband watches... or not." She then mashed her mouth to Nick's in a hot kiss as the surprised young stud processed what he'd just been told. "Damn, too bad this is off the record." Bettina teased. "Every man in this County wants to fuck that luscious ass." "I'm looking forward to seeing it." I said, as much to Laura and Nick as to Bettina, "but it'll be while I'm fucking the hottest reporter in the State..." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Bettina and I were lying on our sides on the sofa against the side wall, me behind her in a "spoons" position, my cock deeply penetrating her sopping wet snatch. On the floor in front of us was Nick and Laura. He was totally naked, his hard, athletic young ass bobbing up and down as he steadily and deeply pumped his huge cock in and out of my wife's deep, wet pussy. Laura was lying on her back, naked except for the pumps, her legs high in the air as her thighs were caught under Nick's strong arms. He was nuzzling her neck as she moaned deeply. I enjoyed the sight of her spread wide and being fucked, even as I drove my iron-hard meat into Bettina's red-fringed cunt. "They look sooo fucking hot!" Bettina had whispered to me as we'd watch Nick mount Laura and begin fucking her after he'd eaten her pussy to sopping wetness for several long minutes. I'd done the same for Bettina, tonguing her tasty twat. Then Bettina had sucked me as Nick got over Laura in a soixante-neuf, pumping his huge dick in and out of my wife's mouth and throat as his tongue explored her clit, labes and cunthole. Now as we were fucking, I whispered to Bettina "Have you fucked that big cock yet?" "Just once." Bettina said. "Women have to fuck to get their jobs on the set, but the men have to fuck me if I want them to. I fucked Nick during his interview, but that was the only time. He's been busy trying to get Amber Harris knocked up." "Mmmm," I said, "is he the father? She's obviously pregnant." Bettina looked back and up into my eyes. "She just told us last week. How did you know?... never mind, don't answer that. Everything's obvious to you that we have no idea about." "Some things, anyway." I said, leaning down and kissing her upturned lips. I didn't tell her that Laura was Amber's gynecologist... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The time had arrived. Laura stopped Nick before he came inside her pussy, and had him help her spread out some plastic sheeting on the floor, then had Nick squirt some lubricant into Laura's ass and coat the inside of her rectum. She'd given herself an enema before dinner and otherwise prepared for the invasion of her sweet ass by Nick's huge cock. She lubed Nick's cock up, stroking it slowly as she had him put an anal plug into her ass and piston it back and forth. Then followed more lube and a larger dildo, and my wife was groaning as it went into her backside, stretching it out. Then came the moment of truth. Bettina was wide eyed and I was aching hard as I watched Laura ease her head down onto the floor, her asscheeks high in the air. Nick's cock was taut and throbbing as he knelt into position behind Laura and put the cockhead right against the stretched hole of her anus. He pushed forward, but found resistance. Laura directed him to put more lube on his cockhead and into her ass. After doing that, Nick grasped my wife's hips and pushed forward. "UHHHH!!" Laura gasped as her rectum was invaded by Nick's hard male meat. Nick pushed in, eased back out, pushed in some more. It took what seemed like an eternity, but with more lube and hard pushing from his muscular body, that big cock slid into Laura's ass until Nick was buried to the balls. "Oh Jesus, he did it!" Bettina gasped. I nuzzled her neck and slid my cock back into her pussy from behind as I watched Nick begin to slowly pump his cock in and out of Laura's ass. He occasionally applied more lube as he pulled out, then sank back in. How my wife was taking it, I don't know, but she was moaning deeply and actually trying to push her ass back to Nick to accommodate the meaty inches as he sodomized her. "Ohhhhh, fuuuuuuuckkkkk..." Nick gasped. "I can't believe I'm fucking your ass!" "Just shut up and do it!" Laura ordered. "Easy, baby, easy... yeah, just fuck my ass slow and deep..." As they buttfucked, Laura reached under her and began stroking her clit. Bettina saw that and reached down to strum her own clitty as I drove into her pussy from behind with hard, deep strokes. "I'm gonna come." I said to Bettina. "I am going to fucking fill your pussy up with my come, baby!" "Oh yeah, do it!" Bettina gasped. "Come inside me, Don! Oh yeahhhhhh..." I felt her cunt clamp down on me as she came, and I just shoved my own dick in nuts-deep and released... "Uhhhhh..." I gasped quietly as thick jets of ropy semen blasted into Bettina's steaming hot cunt. Even as that gray mist fogged my vision, I could feel the pleasure of the release, hear the smacks of Nick's groin slamming into Laura's asscheeks, hear the moans and groans of everyone in the room... "Oh yeah, that's the way to do it." I heard that husky voice say behind me. Angela's voice... "That's right, Don, shoot that load into that snatch!" I opened my eyes, but only saw Bettina's red head in front of me and, looking over her, Nick sodomizing Laura. Laura's tight rectum was too much for Nick's cock. "I'm going to come!" he announced. "I'm going to come in your ass!" "Oh yeaahhhhh," Laura moaned. "Do it! Shoot your hot cum up my ass, Nick! Fill my ass up with that load!" Nick grabbed Laura's hips, slammed his meat into her as he pulled her back to him, and groaned as he let it go... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 2:00am, Saturday, August 29th. I was sitting on the deck of the cabin in the metal mesh love seat, looking out over the lights of the Town. I saw the light of a train coming out of the western horizon as I heard the door open. "Mind if I join you?" Bettina asked as she came up to me, wearing only a bathrobe and her high heels. "Sure." I said, letting her sit down next to me, her right side pressed into my left side as she cuddled into me. "Mmm, that was amazing sex." Bettina said. "It was even better the second time in your bed." "Yes, it was." I said, leaning over and kissing her mouth. "You like that slow, deep missionary sex." "You seemed to enjoy it, too." Bettina said, grinning. "So, off the record... what really happened to Priya on that night she disappeared?" "Off the record or on it," I said, "we're not going there." "There's a lot of rumors going around," Bettina said, "that reporters are in danger from some criminal group. Are we being targeted?" I knew this was Bettina's sneaky way of trying to get answers via another route. This is not an Agency of the Weak-Minded, Bettina, I thought to myself. "I don't think so." I said. "But change the subject." "What shall we talk about?' Bettina asked. "How your wife took Nick's big dick in her ass so easily? Or what wives are banging other men, according to my aunt?" "Sounds like a good subject." I said. "So who are you going to shock me with?" Bettina replied, snuggling into me for warmth as she looked out over the twinkling lights of the town, hearing the railroad train's whistle as it crossed a road just over the River, "Senator Katherine Woodburn and U.S. Congressman Condor, for openers." "Oh?" I asked. "He's not fucking his sweet young intern anymore?" "Oh, I'm sure he is." Bettina said. "But he and Katherine have been having some lusty liaisons at the Hyatt Hotel. They think we don't know anything about it. But also, and you need to hear this one: ADA Jenna Stiles's assistant, Gor-don... he's been fucking at least one of Katherine's political aides in her office in Town." "Yes, that is indeed something I need to know." I said. "I'd love it if Gor-don would tell Brownlee that... Brownlee wants Priya Ajmani bad, but he's being prickteased by her, and maybe by Katherine Woodburn and others..." "By Priya, yes." said Bettina. "But Katherine hates the bastard. She wouldn't let Brownlee fuck her with your dick... well, I shouldn't say that, because I heard a rumor that Katherine pretends to hate you but would really love to fuck your brains out." I felt Bettina's hand slide under my robe and massage my hardening cock as she said it. Dream within a Dream Ch. 02 "Mmm, that feels good." I said. Bettina got up, opened her robe and straddled me. I opened my robe and let her mount me, and groaned as I felt my hardening cock slide up into her juicy wet cooze... "Ohhhhhh, yeah..." Bettina whispered, wrapping her arms around my neck. She rode me slowly as I pushed my cock up into her, feeling her grind her hot ass, her juices smearing my balls. Our tongues twined in deep, delicious kisses as my hands explored Bettina's asscheeks, her sides and her breasts as she pressed the tops of her feet onto my thighs for leverage and rode me... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 3:00am. Bettina and Nick were up and dressing. Nick had to go cover a ballgame. Bettina said that she normally was up at this time. "You see me at 7:00am." the lovely reporterette said. "By that time, I've been working for three hours." After they left, Laura came to sit with me on the deck. She groaned as she sat down beside me. "God, my ass is sore." she said. "Nick's cock is so fucking huge." "Your pussy must be sore, too." I said. "After you two cleaned up, I know he wanted to make love to you long and slow in the other bedroom." "Oh yes, we did that." Laura said. "It was... very nice. Nick is very good, especially for his age." "I think you like those young men." I said. "Should I be jealous that I'm getting too old, and you'll trade me in for a newer model?" Laura snuggled into me as she said "Noooo, I'm never letting you go, darling. I like fucking those men, but I'm going to spend the rest of my life cuddling up with you. As long as you stay alive and don't let the bad guys get you." "Not gonna happen." I said. "I intend to give our daughter away at her wedding." We settled down into quiet, thoughtful melancholy. I knew that I had to face some serious dangers before that intention would come true... To be continued. Solution next episode! Dream within a Dream Ch. 03 The chronological order of my stories is now listed in WifeWatchman's biography. Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas. This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above. ***** Part 11 - The Burn "This is Nick Eastwood, KXTC Sports Sunday!" said the handsome young man on the Sunday news broadcast. "He looks very relaxed, doesn't he?" said Laura as she watched. "He damn well should, after what you did to him Friday night." I said. Eastwood said "Coach Bronson and the University's Bulldogs are still reeling from the loss to the State U Purple Hawks yesterday. The 24-10 loss was made worse by numerous unforced errors such as penalties at crucial times, two costly turnovers, and poor special teams play that gave the Hawks an easy game." Eastwood continued, smiling a bit more brightly: "Also in Conference play, the Wildcats destroyed State Tech 56-0. Not one but two Wildcats were ejected for targeting the State Tech quarterback with helmet shots to the head and neck area, and two State Tech defensive linemen suffered season-ending knee injuries when they were chop-blocked." Eastwood continued, relishing his words: "The State Tech coach complained that the officials were not calling the Wildcats for the chop blocks and other personal fouls. The Wildcat coach replied that the State Tech coach had little room to complain after the game against the Bulldogs last year. Back to you, Amber!" The newscast turned to Amber Harris and Chuck Pringle at the KXTC news desk. "Chuck," Amber said, "the Wildcat's Coach Richmond made that comment about last year's Bulldogs-Engineers game, where our colleague Nick Eastwood was deliberately injured. Do you think that there is an atmosphere of retaliation against State Tech? And are the officials going to look the other way on rough hits against State Tech players?" "I don't know, Amber." said Chuck Pringle. "Coach Richmond has always been known as a coach of integrity, that works to build his players' characters as well as their athletic talents. So his comments yesterday caught everyone off guard. I've been told by Conference officials that they'll be looking into it, but the atmosphere of what happened in last year's game may continue to haunt State Tech this season. Their quarterback had better keep his head on a swivel." "Chuck, what about Coach Russ Bronson?" asked Amber. "He took over for the late Coach Brian Harlan, but the team did not play with any enthusiasm, and they seemed poorly coached. Is it too early to say Coach Bronson is on the hot seat?" "Not at all, Amber." said Pringle. "I've talked with several University sources, who all say that if Coach Bronson can't turn things around quickly, he might not survive the season. What Coach Bronson absolutely does not want is to go into the late October game against the Wildcats needing to win to keep his job..." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * After Sunday brunch with Laura, I headed to the Federal Building off Courthouse Square in Town for a meeting with FBI Special Agent In Charge Jack Muscone. I was surprised but not surprised to see that his boss, the Deputy Director, was also in the FBI offices in the otherwise quiet building. "Thank you for coming in today, Commander." said the DepDirector. "It's been a busy time for all of us." "Yes sir." I said. "First of all," said the DepDirector, "I want to thank you for bringing us in on this execution case, and for being discreet and quiet about the nature of the chemical poisons that were used. The use of these drugs has put Washington on pins and needles: if someone could do this in a State execution, imagine the fear of terrorists using a chemical weapon against our citizens." "That is a possibility." I said. "Though I have the feeling that it was intended just to make Priemus die a horribly painful death." "What have you found?" asked the DepDirector as Jack listened in with avid interest. I brought up my computer and plugged it in to a small projector, displaying my screen on the wall for them to see. "I've been looking very hard into this Dora Ellis." I said. "She was the woman who turned State's Evidence on Priemus. Her husband was also part of the killings, but he is now dead. I'll talk about him in a minute." I continued: "Dora Ellis is the daughter of Henry Boxman of Rainbow Insurance of San Francisco. Rainbow Insurance has had a few insurance situations similar to Reems & Berry in this Town. They've also had associations with Gresham & Mason in California and their subsidiaries. I'm still trying to get into his personal life and associations." "Dora worked with her father when she was younger, in college." I said. "She was a member of several extremely liberal campus organizations, including one that got in some trouble for accusing every male student on campus of being rapists. Some of those male students sued her group for slander, and named her personally in the lawsuit. Her father had to work to get her out of that mess, but was pretty much able to do so with the help of extremely sympathetic school officials." I continued: "She then went to Texas, particularly the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Now let me ask you FBI guys: why is that unusual?" Jack said "Pretty conservative place for a very liberal woman to go, I'd say." "Exactly." I said. "Her major in college was 'Women's Studies'. I don't know what job she's expecting to get with such a degree, outside of a campus job or doing work with politicians. But she did none of that. She began working with a bank, a branch of DFW Regional Banks, headed by one Perry Richards. Have either of you heard that name before?" Neither FBI Agent had, so I filled in some blanks. "Perry Richards was in my Town & County for a while before going to Dallas. While in Texas, he was investigated for money laundering, though the investigation fizzled. And in another interesting coincidence, the Detective who first got onto the money laundering was Detective Angela Harlan while she was working in Texas." "Oh, wow." said Jack Muscone. "And is the Black Widow popping up in other places in connection with any of this?" "Funny that you would ask exactly the right question, my friend." I said. "Seems Ms. Harlan did leave some notes with her Police Department in Texas, and she definitely had Dora Boxman on her radar. Dora left Texas shortly after Angela made notes on Dora, suggesting Dora realized she was being watched, or was informed of Harlan's interest." I went on: "Dora came up to Westphalia, worked at Twin Cities Bank and then City & Counties Bank. She met Danny Ellis, whom she married, and Lance Priemus. I delved into the City Police's computers, as well as asking Detective Ventura to have a peek on the up-and-up level. Sure enough, Captain Susan Wexler had sealed Dora's records, suggesting she'd made Dora a C.I. Of course, Wexler might've also made Dora one of her agents of crime. Director, did you ever find out if Wexler had any white supremacy associations?" The DepDirector's lips were pursed, then he finally said "Well, I guess I should tell you, since you'll find out eventually: Wexler worked with certain organizations in the City. I don't know how much she really was a part of them, or if she just worked with them in mutually beneficial business arrangements, as she did with Henry R. Wargrave." "The web is being weaved." said Jack Muscone. "You've put together a lot of strands, here, Don." "Yes." I said. "What I want to do is go to Westphalia, get Dora's plea deal revoked, then offer to reinstate it if she gives us some information that can help us solidify what we're getting on these bastards." Jack seemed enthusiastic about that, but the DepDirector frowned as he peered at me and said "So tell me, how will you get the deal revoked?" "She lied about not being in a White Supremacy group." I replied. "And which group is that?" "Superior-- oh..." I said, realizing where the DepDirector was going. "Yes." he said. "Superior Bloodlines is still very much in the shadows, behind the scenes. Their people are lawyers, bankers, insurance agents, and other upstanding citizens in their communities." "We can still get the Court to do away with the plea deal, can't we, sir?" asked Muscone. "No, we can't." I said forlornly. "We'd have to show that SB is a white supremacy organization. I think we have enough to do so, but all we'll be doing is telling the world what we know about them, and that we know they exist and what they're up to. They'll change tactics, put up smoke screens, and we may or may not have Dora tell us anything at all." "Now Commander," said the DepDirector, "if you can associate Dora Ellis, her husband, her father, or Priemus to any other racist organization, such as the Klan or the 'White Roots' redneck group, then I'll be glad to have FBI lawyers back you up all the way on this." "Who is 'White Roots'?" Jack asked. "Rednecks." I said. "Some are bikers, but most of them are the very stereotypical types of Southern rednecks. Dora could fit in the category, but I never found an association for her with them or anyone else. And I was looking for things like Klan associations with the banks she worked at." "What if we created that connection for you?" asked the DepDirector. "Sir?" I said, "you mean create a false narrative?" "Or provide something that suggests her present associations are actually this offshoot group, leaving the racists in the business suits out of it." said the Director. "Noooo, we can't do that." I said. "If it ever, ever came out... and knowing our Moriarty, it would... then that'd do us irreparable damage. Not to mention that I really do want to do this legitimately and by the Constitution. I want to see Moriarty stand trial, to show the world his existence and his crimes, and take down the hundreds of people working for and with him." The DepDirector nodded. "Good call." he said. "And we don't need to fake it. You'll be getting some stuff from me very soon that will help you execute your plan." He got up. "Okay, there's one other thing that needs to be done, and I'll leave Special Agent Muscone to do it." With that, the DepDirector left. "Don," said Jack "we have to interview you about the Sharples information that went to Priya Ajmani. And I have to tell you that your rights will be read to you, and you can have legal counsel present for it." "Let's do it, then." I said. "And I will invoke my rights if I feel the need..." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "My name is Bond. James Bond." said the man. "You're kidding me." I said. I looked at the FBI lawyer, who was wearing an expensive gray suit. He was an older man, with a graying mustache and black-rimmed spectacles, and hair that was three different shades of gray. "No, and I get that a lot." he said. "As a police officer, you know how this works. I'll begin the recorder, read you your rights, ask if you understand them, and then we'll begin." "Okay." I said. All that was done, from reading the rights, me acknowledging them, to asking my position in the TCPD and me making sure to add that I was an FBI consultant... which I think irritated the legal beagle. "Commander, you received a package of information from a reporter, is that correct?" "Yes." I said. "And how did she obtain it?" "That calls for speculation, doesn't it?" I asked. The man looked over at Jack Muscone, who just looked back at him with a 'Why are you looking at me?' look. "Okay, we'll do it the hard way, then." Agent Bond said, his voice becoming surly. "What did she tell you concerning how she obtained it?" asked Bond. "She said she obtained it from Leonard Sharples, a former officer on the Town & County Police Force, now working with the SBI, to my latest knowledge." "What did you do with the package?" asked the man. "Brought it to the FBI." I said. "Did you show anyone else the package?" "Yes, my partner, who is--" "That's enough to answer the question." said the man, trying to cut me off. "No it's not, and I demand you let me finish the statement." I said. "The person I showed it to is also an FBI consultant and has a Top Secret clearance. I knew that, so I knew I was not breaking any laws regarding handling of classified information." "From now on, answer my questions and leave the explanations to my discretion." Bond said. "Then this interview is over." I said. "I'm not fooling around with your potential trap questions." Special Agent Bond looked at me, totally stunned, then looked at Muscone, who said "He's right, Agent Bond. You're not going to trick him with the 'Scooter Libby' treatment." "I hope you're not suggesting that I would be attempting to do so." said Bond, knowing full well that that had been the insinuation. "Commander Troy, I'll remind you again that you have the right to counsel, and if you're concerned about the questions I very much suggest you acquire counsel." "I'll do so when I feel the need to." I said. "Do you have any more questions?" I should end the interview, I thought to myself, but I want to see where he goes with this... "Yes. Our investigation is showing that SBI Agent Sharples did not transmit the message to reporter Ajmani. Do you have any idea how that might have been accomplished?" "I can't speak to your investigation and conclusion on that." I said. "I only know what I was told by Ms. Ajmani." "I'm stating it to you now." said Bond. "The FBI's investigation has determined that Sharples did not transmit the message. Do you have any idea how that message might have been transmitted to Ms. Ajmani's cellphone, appearing as Agent Sharples's number as the point of origin?" "That again calls for speculation, which I decline to do under the auspices of this interrogation." I replied. "Furthermore, the question is too broad and general." I added: "Mr. Bond, I'm aware of the laws about lying to Federal agents. I'm also aware of the tricks played by the FBI with the questions and those laws. Ask me much more specific questions if you want me to answer them." "Answer the question I've asked." said Bond. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Muscone was confused at the lawyer's behavior. "Do you have any more questions?" I replied, ready to pull the plug on this charade. The lawyer looked at me practically through his nose. "Yes, I do. Do you know Professor Marvin Milton." "Yes, I have met him." I said. "Have you and he ever worked together on anything?" "Like what?" I replied. "Anything. Anything at all." said Bond. "You have to be more specific." I said. "No. The question is if you and Professor Marvin Milton of the University have ever worked together on anything at all, any law enforcement case, any gathering of information or evidence, anything at all?" "At this point, I decline to answer that question nor any further questions without legal representation." I said, easily seeing the trap being laid for me. "I am not yet invoking my Fifth Amendment rights, but will not answer further questions without legal representation." "Are you taking the Fifth Amendment?" Bond asked. That was a question. I remained silent. "Are you taking the Fifth?" the lawyer asked again. "I refer you to the answer I just gave." I said. "At this point," said the lawyer, "you have to answer, or you have to invoke the Fifth. And then you can't discuss any aspect of the case with anyone, at all." "You're full of shit." said Jack Muscone, very aware of what had just happened. "And I just witnessed you violating Commander Troy's legal rights. Don, I don't know what this bastard is up to, but let's just stop this bullshit and get out of here." We left the room and the building together. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "He was partly right." I said as Jack and I drank some normal, yellow lemonade on the deck of the Cabin. "If I invoke, I can't talk about the case at all. And obviously I might have to talk about aspects of it while we pursue the Shadow Man." "Yeah." said Muscone. "I called my boss already, told him how that had gone. He was pretty upset, and very suspicious at the way the lawyer handled that. But he also wondered why you stopped talking at all when asked about Professor Milton." "He knows why; he's not an idiot." I said. "That was a trap being laid on behalf of the CIA. While you were talking to your boss, I was talking to mine: my wife. She's pissed at the whole thing, too, and she's going to investigate from the CIA side." "You got that signal jammer?" Jack asked. I brought it out of my pocket. "Turn it on." he said. I did so. Jack started in: "I need to share with you some things, friend to friend, off the professional record. I think you did the right thing rescuing that reporter from the CIA. But doing that stirred up a huge hornet's nest in Washington. Some of the CIA brass are tearing themselves apart over it. And the FBI came in hard, especially my boss, on your side. Sure, it was a chance to take shots at the CIA like we love to do, but they really did cross the line on that one." Jack continued: "That might have died down, but then this Sharples thing came up. This is the second time classified information has come up either in public or to a reporter in your County. Casey B. Walker, who really is an honest man, loves his country and the CIA but is sometimes a bit too passionate, has actually said out loud that he thinks either you or your wife is behind the leaks. Your wife is not to be trifled with, and she snapped his head back so hard that Walker nearly got fired." "And the Sharples information... that put a dent into several things, several ongoing investigations." said Jack. "I know you're aware of some of it because you solved that Porno Set murder case, and some stuff came out in the wash concerning that. Maybe sheer coincidence that that happened in your County, but it was... yet again... in your County." "Where the Consultant of Crime also happens to live." I replied. "I don't even want to go there, at least not yet." Jack said. "My boss is only interested in Superior Bloodlines. He is absolutely obsessed with them. He thinks taking them down is necessary to saving the nation. His zeal for that is as strong as Casey Walker's zeal for counterintelligence. If your Consultant, who my boss is still skeptical about, is related to Superior Bloodlines, then my boss will be interested. If not, you're on a different path than him." "Our Shadow Man is indeed related to SB as well as other things." I said. "I'm afraid, Jack, that if I point out the connections too soon, then your boss... in his zeal... will go after him and them like a bull in a china shop, and *poof!* my case will be gone... and Peter Feeley's death will go unavenged." "What?" said Jack, his neck practically snapping as his head turned to look at me. "I am convinced," I said, speaking it out loud for the first time, "that Peter Feeley was specifically targeted for murder by the Black Widow. And until I fully avenge that death, I must live with my shame and dishonor for that crime." "Wow, dude." said Jack Muscone. "I had no idea about that. I'd say let it go, but I get where you're coming from. Is that the only reason you want to bring the bastard down?" "No." I said. "He tortured puppies, and my rescue dog was one of them. I want vengeance for Bowser, and also for the poor dogs that died. But more, I want him to be publicly exposed, shamed before the world, and his crimes known by all." Dream within a Dream Ch. 03 I added: "It's not enough to kill him, I could do that today if I wanted. But that leaves his organization in place, and only needing a new leader to fill it. No, I want to bring him down, within the constraints of the Constitution, put him on trial, imprison his network of hundreds. And then, and only then, can I face Pete Feeley's gravestone and also his son and say that my work is done on his behalf." "So what are you going to do now?" asked Muscone. "Work on the clue your boss gave me today." I said. "Was it not obvious?" "I guess not." said Jack. "Then again, I'm not in danger of being burned at the stake like you constantly are." "White Roots, Jack." I said. "White Roots." Part 12 - Dora's Doom Monday morning, August 31st. At 9:00am I was in the Chambers of Judge Karl Zeigler of the Westphalia District Superior Court. It was his Court that had sanctioned the agreement with Dora Ellis several years before. "Your Honor," I said "First, these are the sworn affidavits of several persons, including police officers and an FBI Agent, that they heard Dora Ellis state under questioning pertaining to the 'State v. Priemus' plea agreement that she was never part of a white supremacy organization." "However, I have this documentation that while she worked at a bank in the DFW area, she opened an account for a group called 'White Roots'. They are a small group of redneck militia types in eastern Tennessee. Dora not only opened accounts for the group, which they used to move money around, but she also attended functions of this group in Tennessee. This FBI undercover information from three years ago provides proof of that." I put down pictures showing Dora at a function of this militia group in the Tennessee mountains. "Only members can attend those function, Your Honor." I said. "Therefore, Dora lied essentially under oath and definitely under the auspices of this plea agreement. I'd like the plea deal rescinded, and the opportunity to question her. I further believe this plea deal negates her right to plead the Fifth--" "This is preposterous!" gasped Forrest Gillis, representing Dora's interest in this hearing in Chambers. I'd surmised that he would not say anything so that he could see exactly what I had, but now he was fighting for his client. "She's given up no rights, she hasn't lied, and this bozo hasn't proved a thing!" I saw Gillis reach his hand into his coat pocket. He was going for his cellphone to surreptitiously send a message that would ultimately warn of my move against Dora. Alas, radio signals were not getting to nor from his cellphone, nor any others in the room; it is possible that my favorite little device was active, and had fresh batteries to keep the power going. The judge looked at the information. "I have no idea at all about the legal implications of all this." he said. "I would imagine that it will be tangled up in the Courts for years. But you've got enough for a start, in my opinion, Commander. Do you know where this Dora Ellis is now?" "Yes sir." I said. "She's within the State, and we're ready to make the arrest if you issue the warrant." Indeed... Dora was in my Town & County, trying to hide in plain sight, so to speak. She'd have to do better to fool Your Iron Crowbar... "Okay, I'm issuing that warrant now." said the judge. "You may proceed to bring her in for processing and a preliminary hearing." "Something wrong with your cellphone, there, Mr. Gillis?" I asked Gillis. His face turned beet red as he brought his device on out, seeing there was no signal. "What is that, there?" asked the judge, his face turning harsh as he looked at Gillis. "Nothing, Your Honor." said Forrest, putting the cellphone away. Only then did I pull my cellphone out, having turned off the jamming device with one finger before dialing a number on said cellphone. I was calling Captain Ross. "Bring the Blue Crowbar down." I said into the phone. "Bring it down hard." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Dora was meeting with two men in the back of the Farmers Market Restaurant on the southwest side of Town, actually on the west side of the River across from the old King & Ebenezer plant. Farmers came here to sell their products, many of them actually agents for BigAgraFoods, pretending that this was an old-time and honored institution of barter and sale. "Okay, so I'll bring the chemical agents out in two separate shipments of 'farm products'," said Dora, "and we'll distribute them to places in the nigger-towns. I'll need you, Mr. Cook, to get the distribution devices from Ward Harvester that will disperse the agents. When the signal goes out, we'll hit 'em hard. We'll kill hundreds at each site before they even know what happened." "And then they'll blame Islamist terrorist groups for the attacks." said Thomas P. Cook. "Our people in the Media are ready to chant that mantra. They won't say it's only niggers being wiped out." Just then, the third person at the table felt the buzzing of his cellphone. He looked at the message, and worked hard to keep his face from blanching. "If you'll excuse me," he said, "I need to go to the restroom. It may be a few minutes. You keep negotiating and putting the plans in place, Mr. Thomas." With that he got up and went towards the back. He quickly snuck through the back areas and out the back door, seeing a vast farm field before him. He strode around the building to his car, got in and pulled quickly out, going north along County Road 5. Two TCPD police cruisers whizzed past him as they hurtled at high speed towards the Farmers Market and the restaurant, their blue lights blazing but no sounds emanating from their sirens. Other police cars and a van hurtled over the bridge over the River and shot up from the south. At the restaurant, they poured out of the vehicles. "I need to hit the restroom, also." said Cook. The other man calling him 'Mr. Thomas' had been a code warning. He would heed it just in time, and made his way out of the room just as the heavily armed, uniformed officers crashed into the room. "GET YOUR HANDS UP!!" shouted the SWAT Assault Team, their military-style rifles and the lasers on them trained upon Dora Ellis. Within seconds she was slammed to the floor, searched for weapons, handcuffed and carried out of the room, screaming and cursing. Within seconds, all Police were gone, and the patrons of the restaurant were left utterly shocked and confused... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Court hearing at 2:00pm in Westphalia was swift. Dora Ellis was charged with being in violation of her plea deal, and was told that she was to be arrested and processed. Her lawyer was fighting every step of the way, and the judge said that she might get bail but could not leave Westphalia's county, and that she'd be ankle-monitored. After being processed, her picture taken again (she refused to hold up the nameplate with her name on it), fingerprints and DNA samples taken, she was brought into an Interrogation Room. "Don't worry," said the lawyer Gillis. "I'll have you out of here in no time. This bullshit won't hold once we get Judge Leahy of the Appellate Court on it." "Why didn't you fucking warn me?" Dora asked under her breath. "I tried to." whispered Gillis. "The cellphone signals in the judge's chambers were dead. They may block transmissions from in there." He did not mention that his cellphone signal had come back strongly, and as the Iron Crowbar was transmitting the order to bring the hammer down on Dora, he was warning someone else... someone far more important and powerful than Dora. The door to the Interrogation room opened and in walked the tall, broad-shouldered redhead, wearing civilian clothes and carrying a red crowbar. Dora looked at him with contempt; the lawyer looked at him with a mixture of fear and anger. Right behind the Iron Crowbar was an athletic woman with platinum blonde hair and ice-blue eyes, and carrying a blue crowbar, also in civilian clothes. "Dora," I said, sitting down, "you are going to sit in jail for years waiting for the appeals and court cases to work their way through the system. Each new appeal by your Gresham & Mason legal eagle here will be carefully considered as new precedents, taking considerable time to process." "I'm not with Gresham & Mason." said the lawyer. "And I'll have her out of here by sundown." "And if you don't?" I replied. "Gosh, just one night in this jail, Dora... at the mercy of the police officers that remember your lover Lance Priemus killing one of their own and his wife, under some pretty ugly circumstances." I shook my head. "Tsk tsk, I sure wouldn't want to be you." "Don't let him scare you." said the lawyer. "Oh I'm not trying to scare her." I said. "I'm just painting the picture here. But I'm also in a position to offer you a deal, Dora, a new deal. You tell me what I want to know, and the original plea deal will be reinstated. You'll walk out of here, and your daddy can hide you somewhere safe from me. But if you don't talk, and literally within an hour or so... then none of it is going to matter if you are still here after sundown." "I am sick and tired of these bullshit threats." said the lawyer loudly. "This is being recorded, you know." "I hope so." I said. "I hope my offer was recorded. Dora, your lawyer told you that you'd never be arrested, that your plea bargain was inviolate... and now it's being torn to shreds. Your lawyer is telling you that you have nothing to fear, but I think you know in your heart that your very life is at stake here. That's not a threat. I think you know what's going down, here." "I'd rather die than talk to you." said Dora. "You have no fucking idea what you are up against. You are just a puny little ant compared to us. Yes, I might die, and I'm willing to die for the 'Cause', but when you're swatted like the bug you are, will it be worth it for you?" "And what 'Cause' is that?" I asked. "Just don't say any more, Dora." advised the lawyer Gillis. "Hold on a minute." Dora said. "So, Mr. Iron Crowbar, what are you offering me, and what do I have to give in exchange?" "Again," I said, "you truthfully and fully answer my questions and your plea deal is reinstated. You can leave this State, which I highly recommend that you do and never come back." "How about this." Dora said. "I'll tell you what you want to know about Priemus. I won't betray my family or anything outside of what happened with Priemus, but I'll tell you the whole truth about him... and then I walk free." "Geez, Dora," I said, "I could tell you what happened with Priemus now. In fact... why don't I just do that, and you correct me where I go astray, okay?" Cindy was watching from the corner of the room, trying not to laugh, having heard and seen me do this many times. I started: "You were lovers with both your husband Danny Ellis, a small-time drug pusher, and Lance Priemus, also a small-time Mafia-wannabee who dressed well and talked the talk but did not walk the walk. Apparently Priemus fell out of favor with your people, either your family or the bankers or the man working behind the scenes, who is the real Puppetmaster here. Maybe they found out he was a C.I. for the Town & County Police Department." The lawyer's face became gravely concerned when I said that. I continued: "So you and Danny were told to take Priemus out... and how it was to be done. You were given a drug with which to spike his drink at the bar. Once he was under that, you got him into your car then drove him away. You stopped to change the license plate on the back of the car so that it would come up as his name. While doing that, Danny was cajoling Priemus and talking about raping a black woman." I said "Then you drove by where you were told a black cop would be waiting on the side of the road. Someone wanted him eliminated, too; maybe he found out about a drug operation going into the City. But at any rate he was slated to die and told to go set up a speed trap at the place where he did. You drove by, he went to stop you, called in the license plate, then got out of his car to ticket you." "And then," I said, "your confederates jumped him. Not Danny or Lance, who were in your car, but the people in the car following behind you. It was them that got the jump on the cop, disarmed and tied him up, then you transported him to his own home." "You got there," I went on, "and the wife came to the door, where Danny said the husband was drunk and he wanted to help get him inside to sleep it off. She opened the door and was captured by Danny, Lance, and those in the other car. Then the husband was brought inside at the point of his own gun and with you, Dora, threatening to kill his wife." "Inside, the wife was raped repeatedly in front of her husband. And not just by Danny and Lance, but the men in the other car. You see, that's where everyone else has gone wrong all this time... they never considered that this was an organized event with more people. But the medical examiner's report, which was to be scrubbed of anything that didn't point to Priemus, left one thing in: that the woman had sustained more damage during her rape than your testimony under the plea deal would generally account for, that generally would happen with just two men raping her a couple of times. I got that 'second opinion' from a medical doctor; indeed, a gynecologist of the highest ability. "I suspect you gave Lance oral sex to get him hard, then had him rape the wife in front of the husband. The other men wore condoms to keep their DNA from being found, then Lance went last, sufficiently riled up by your sexual ministrations and the cheers and jeers of everyone else. Drugged, pack mentality, all that stuff. He rapes the woman not knowing what he's doing. Then you take him home to sleep, change the license plates back, and let things develop from there." "Lance took the fall." I said. "Yes, he was a white supremacist like you were, that's how you met him. He may have murdered before; I certainly don't think a totally innocent man was put to death by the State. But he did something that pissed someone off... and that someone was so hateful of him that he had poisons introduced into Lance's execution drugs, to make him feel great pain before he died. That's a lot of hate, a lot of hate, to make that kind of effort to do that for no really beneficial reason." "And with you there watching, as well." said Dora. "But the thing was committed by then. And it was beneficial: it makes everyone else realize that they'd better toe the line or they, too, will be feeling some real pain." "So, who did it?" I asked. "Did you promise Watch Captain Lockhart sex to arrange it?" Dora's eyes did not flicker. "No. I had nothing to do with all that. I might've fucked that piece of shit Lockhart to get what I wanted from him, which was loyalty. But I don't think you realize how many of us there are, how many places we're embedded inside of, and what we can do. But that doesn't matter. I didn't care how Lance died, as long as he did die. I don't know how those drugs were put in there. I really just don't care." "I think you're lying." I said. "You know. You see, Dora, you are not what you seem. You were caught selling drugs for Danny, and Captain Susan Wexler of the City Police offered you a deal: be a C.I. for her and she'd get you off. Then she came to you and said that you weren't to be a normal C.I., but you could help her take down the Black gangs that were polluting her City. You jumped on that, and helped Susan take down Black rings while White drug pushers went untouched. They were paying Wexler for exclusivity, and you helped Wexler provide that. 'White Roots' was that gang, and Danny was also a part of it. Captain Wexler helped you make some serious money." "But once all was said and done," I said, "With Priemus in prison, on death row thanks to your testimony... someone turned on you. Danny was killed off... yes, Dora, he was killed by the very people you're still trying to protect, not just as part of a drug raid... and you were told to be in the crowd at Jacksonville Prison, where you were all too easily caught by my people. Figure it out, Dora, you're being betrayed. Your usefulness to him has ended." Dora just looked at me. I stared into her eyes and shouted "Say his name!" "This is ridiculous." said the lawyer. "Dora, this guy is baiting you with lies. Don't believe a word of his shit." "No," said Dora, "every word he said was the truth. Yes, there was a second car of people. Yes, it was a massive gang rape, and I enjoyed watching every minute of that nigger bitch getting what she deserved. Priemus wasn't that drunk, though; he enjoyed his part of it very much. But so sorry, Mr. Iron Crowbar, I will not betray our great leader. His name shall not pass my lips." I got up, knowing I had heard the last word of Dora Ellis on this matter. My gambit had failed; she had spurned my offer not only of her freedom but of her life. And she knew it: as I turned to go, Dora said loudly "Commander, I may die, but I won't betray my good race as you are doing. I'll die for the sake of the Cause! Tell my father I'll die a WHITE woman!" I left that room, Cindy following. After that, there was nothing more to be said. Part 13 - Epilogue Tuesday morning, September 1st. After watching Bettina's news report, Cindy and I went into my office. Chief Emeritus Griswold had come in and joined the coffee klatch. After talking to everyone for a few minutes, he also came to the office and was now sitting next to Cindy in front of my desk. I noted him peering at my Trojan Horse, then the framed badge of the late Corporal Peter M. Feeley hanging on the wall. "Interesting artwork, wouldn't you say, Ms. Ross?" asked the old Chief. Cindy's eyes fell upon the matchstick Trojan Horse, then the painting of the Fall of Troy propped against the wall on the floor in the space between the shelving and the back wall... and she fell into a reverie... Meanwhile, Griswold said to me, "So, Crowbar, you've taken this case to new levels that we never dreamed of in the past." "Dream... funny you should use that word, Chief." I said, not revealing why I saw the unintended pun in the Chief's words. "But it would not have mattered if you'd have known then every thing that we know now. Our Moriarty would've cut bait and retreated further into the shadows, been more careful about his tracks, and I wouldn't be building the case against him that I am now." "I'm glad to hear that." said Chief Griswold. "I've been wondering if I could've done something that would've made a difference back then." "No," I said, "it is what it is. Well, maybe the fish in your lake would've appreciated it if things had been different." The Chief chuckled as Cindy came out of her reverie. I was wondering what she was thinking, but just then my assistant Helena buzzed me, saying Jack Muscone was here. I invited him in. Jack looked pensive as he came inside. "I just got word," Muscone said, "that Dora Ellis was found dead in her holding cell early this morning." Cindy let out a little gasp and Griswold was peering at me out of the corner of his eye; I would imagine that my face showed that this news lagged a couple of steps behind my vision. "She was in protective custody." continued Jack. "And she wasn't killed by the police there as retaliation. She wasn't physically injured. Apparently someone got a drug to her that she self-ingested. The coroner over there is expediting an autopsy." "She killed herself, then?" Cindy asked. "Looks like it." said Jack. "The FBI wants to know if the same drugs were used that killed Priemus. That would be your Shadow Man's way, wouldn't it?" Dream within a Dream Ch. 03 "Hmmm..." I said, thinking about it. "Not necessarily. This woman stated that she was willing to die for her 'Cause'. They might have allowed her death to be as painless as possible because of her loyalty. But just as we saw in the 'Black Badge' case... the penalty for becoming useless or obsolete... is death." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "I cannot understand it." he said. "I cannot understand why none of my otherwise excellent sources cannot get those Jack Burke tapes out of the Police servers." "It hasn't been for lack of trying." the woman said. "The physical videotapes were destroyed by the Iron Crowbar himself. They were burned, so there is no hope there." She continued: "I've consulted with a couple of experts on the files. There are three levels of security there. First is access to the two servers, a main and backup, upon which the digitized tapes reside. There is password protection on the files with sixteen required characters, and 128 possible entries in each character slot. Second is password access to the files themselves, which is another full round of encryption." She continued: "Third, the files themselves are encrypted by something that makes the 'Rijndael AES' look easy by comparison. It's almost like a one-time pad for each videotape. The password has to be applied on the computer or server that also has the decryption key, so even if we copy the file and get the password, without that key we can't decode the videos." She added: "Commander Brownlee got to the files before his access was restricted, but was fully stymied... and then his computer was infected by one of the nastiest viruses I've ever seen, so the files were destroyed before we could get further copies." He stood up, then began pacing back and forth. "That is some very high-level data encryption, there. Far beyond any standard Government procedure. Even the Federal Government uses the Rijndael AES system, but Troy went even further. I'm not sure this is within his capabilities; someone helped him with that." "The CIA?" she asked. "Oh no, not them." he said. "Someone who is of a very high-ordered mind. Somewhere near the level of my own." The woman was careful not to be seen smirking at his self-confidence to the point of arrogance as he continued: "We should consider the possibility of Professor Marvin Milton, who hold the Sir Isaac Newton Chair of Advanced Mathematics at the University. As you know, his son is a police officer highly favored by Commander Troy." After a pause, he asked "Are you sure there are no copies of these tapes on CDs?" "There could be; in fact, there probably are." she replied. "But they'd have to be put into a computer with the decryption key already on the computer, and in the right place on the hard drive or server. Otherwise, it's just 'white noise'." He nodded, continuing to pace as he drove his great mind towards the solution of this most vexing of problems. "If these files were ordered released to the public, they'd have to be decrypted. So the Iron Crowbar must've put the passwords somewhere, and others would know where to look in the event he was... no longer with us." "I'm not so sure about that." the woman said. "Troy has said that he'll go to prison before allowing the tapes to be made public. The Chief and Sheriff have also said they'll never release the tapes, as well. So if he is the only one with the passwords, he might not have them written down... and if he dies, the solution goes down with him." "That would be unfortunate." he said. "We must get those tapes!" He felt as much as saw the woman peering at him. "Oh yes." he said. "We allowed Brownlee to share the names of the women on the tapes with the SBI as a diversion. But the key is what is actually on those tapes. It is absolutely imperative that we find that information... as well as the identities of every single woman on those tapes. I don't want to have to torture and kill over thirty women and none of them be the right one..." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "It's late, Cindy." said Jenna Stiles, dressed only in a see-through negligee. "Come to bed." "I'll be there in just a minute." Cindy said, wearing only her light green see-thru teddy and high heel slides. "I've got to research one little thing..." With that she typed in the word she wanted to understand. "Inert... rare... transition... no, that's not it... oh, capitalize it... ohhhhh, that's it..." she whispered, mostly to herself. And she understood. Finis... for now.