0 comments/ 12843 views/ 3 favorites Trilogy: The Dawn's Early Light By: WifeWatchman Trilogy: The Dawn's Early Light The chronological order of my stories is as follows: Todd & Melina series, Interludes 1-5, Sperm Wars series, Russian Roulette series, Case of the Murdered Lovers series, Case of the Murdered Chessplayer series, The Swap series, Interludes 6-10, The Murdered Football Player Series, Case of the Black Widow series, Teresa's Christmas Story, Case of the Black Badge series, A Case of Revenge series. The Trilogy. Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas. This story contains graphic scenes, extreme 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 or racist 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 8 - Opening a Media Can of... On July 19th, Cindy Ross and Teresa Croyle sat in Cindy's hospital room and watched the special TV broadcast. The show was called 'Channel Two Magazine with Bettina Wurtzburg', and was a half-hour primetime show. Cindy had been making remarkable progress in her recovery, and was starting to bitch about things. Nurse Jones, the lovely black nurse that I had enjoyed several pleasurable sexual encounters with, had adopted Cindy as her special patient, and would fuss over her when Cindy tried to do to much. Cindy was irritated until I told her to just roll with it, that it was Nurse Jones's way of showing she how much she cared. Seeing how Cindy was doing, the doctors were discussing letting her go home in a few more days, especially as she was getting restless and ornery, but they also didn't want her moving around a lot: her lung still needed healing time. We'd been forewarned what the last segment of Bettina's TV magazine show would be about: Teresa Croyle. Bettina went through the story of Teresa's race with her sister Alexis, then her sister's death at the hands of a drunk driver, showing images of Alexis's gravesite, which Bettina had had to travel many miles to acquire. The reporterette glossed over Teresa's father's insanity. There were clips of the Chief, of me, and especially of Harold Malone talking about Teresa's excellent police work in the Town & County Police Vice Squad, of her being wounded in making a drug raid, of her many successful arrests. But Bettina didn't gloss over what she reported next: "Detective Croyle was accused of assaulting a man in police custody last Christmas Eve. Dean Allen was drunk and had plowed into a car, killing a mother and her two children..." The screen showed that mother and two young children, then their graves. The TV report continued: "Dean Allen's father, State Senator Nathan Allen, not only arranged for his son to receive a sweetheart plea deal and escape jail time, he forced Detective Croyle's resignation and banishment from the Town & County Police. She now works with another police department in the State. Phil Kearns, whose family was wiped out by Dean Allen, filed suit against the younger Allen... but then found himself kidnapped and incarcerated in the State Asylum on what has been determined to be an illegal warrant. He was only freed by an FBI raid on that facility several weeks ago. Local Police and the FBI believe Senator Allen was involved in the illegal warrant that had Kearns incarcerated." Bettina ended with an absolutely devastating editorial comment: "So while Phil Kearns recovers from undeserved torture at the State Asylum and continues to cope with the death of his entire family, and while the Town & County Police have been denied the services of Detective Teresa Croyle, Dean Allen goes free... virtually unpunished for killing three people while drunk. And Senator Nathan Allen continues spending your tax dollars as a State Senator. One truly wonders where the Justice is in that. This is Bettina Wurtzburg for Channel Two Magazine. Good night." -------------------------- I entered Cindy's room moments later. "Good evening, ladies." I said as they tried to wipe away the evidence of tears shed over the last half hour. "Was this your doing?" asked Teresa, her eyes boring into me. "You better believe it was." I said, having no problem taking ownership of making that happen. "Why?" Cindy asked, challenging me even while being laid up in a hospital bed. No bullets could take out her guts, I happily thought. "Well," I said, "it goes like this: I need a leader for the Vice Squad, and the one I want by August 1st is sitting in this room right now. But in order to get Teresa reinstated, I need the Council to back me. In order to do that, I need the good People of the Town and County to let the Council know their views. To make sure those views are positive, I asked Bettina to make a few comments about Teresa's life and career, and I might have suggested mentioning the Allens as part of it. As you can see, my reasons are totally self-serving, purely selfish." My last comment fooled no one present. "How in the world did Bettina get that by Katherine Woodburn?" Cindy asked, even as she was beginning to fall asleep. "Woodburn is in Washington, D.C., meeting with the Democrat National Committee and other Media editors and publishers, to map campaign strategy in several States." I said. "Bettina went by the adage 'It's easier to get forgiveness than permission.'." One look at Cindy showed me it was time to leave and let her sleep. I left her with her bodyguard and best buddy, and went to call Bettina and congratulate her on an outstanding news show... -------------------------- Dr. Wellman and Henry Wargrave had watched the TV special from the superlative comfort of Wargrave's study in his home, sipping rare and fine whiskeys as they viewed the broadcast. "Very nice story." said Dr. Wellman. "They left the most important name off the closing credits." said Wargrave, almost laughing with delight as he saw through the whole plan. "Who's that?" asked Wellman. "That story has 'Iron Crowbar' written all over it, in everything but a glowing neon sign." said Wargrave. "I'm not sure what he thinks he's doing, but it's going to be fun to watch Senator Allen whine about it for the next few days..." ------------------------ "Katherine, what the hell is going on?" screamed Senator Nathan Allen into the phone. "You're in Washington?... Listen, did you even see it before it aired? Do you realize the damage it's doing to me?.... Good for Harold Malone? Fine, but what about what your bitch reporter said about me and my boy?... Wait, don't you dare hang up..." Allen looked at his cell phone. "Goddammit, she hung up. She hung up!" he growled. The several members of Allen's campaign staff, who had been called into his home for an emergency meeting just one hour after Bettina's broadcast, had sat silently through the phone call. "I'm not sure anyone even watched that show, Senator." said his curly-black-haired campaign manager, trying to be positive. "People will see just how biased it is." said the Queen of Opposition Research. "They'll know that this is a media collaboration with the Republicans and that it's full of lies." "We're running some polls now, Senator, and will run some tomorrow." said the curly-brown-haired campaign staffer. "We'll know if there is any damage soon." He did not mention that it would be hard to further erode the reputation of Senator Nathan Allen. -------------------------- "Allegations that I was involved in sending Phil Kearns to the Asylum are totally ridiculous." said Sen. Allen to KXTC blonde reporterette Diane Williams in a spot interview the next day. "And that policewoman did assault my son while he was handcuffed and helpless, and she should've been prosecuted for her crimes instead of being allowed to resign from the force. The name of Teresa Croyle remains a stain on the good names of those wearing the blue uniforms of those who protect and serve our County..." Diane Williams nodded as Allen spoke, getting the footage that Katherine Woodburn had ordered her to get, but knowing that this was not going to help the Senator's cause... ------------------------ "This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" said the lovely reporterette on the morning of July 22d. Channel Two News polling has shown that Senator Nathan Allen's poll numbers have dropped to a staggering low of 34% over the weekend. Our report on Detective Teresa Croyle attained the highest ratings that program has ever had, and Townspeople are responding very favorably about her... and are increasingly angry at the Allens. Town & County Councilman John Colby has told Channel Two News that he has been inundated with calls and email contacts by citizens, requesting both the reinstatement of Detective Croyle to the Police Force and investigations into Senator Allen and his son Dean." After a few more comments, Bettina then said "In much happier news, Detective Cindy Ross was released from University Hospital last night, and is continuing her recovery at home. Her doctors are absolutely stunned at how rapidly she has been able to recover from injuries that they said very likely should have been fatal. Police spokesman Lt. Scott Peterson has stated that Detective Ross will not return to active duty until she completes further rehab. Everyone at Channel Two News joins in the good wishes for Detective Ross to continue to make a full recovery. This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" ----------------------- "That was a stroke of sheer genius, that news story." said Town & County Councilman John "Jack" Colby as he and I ate breakfast at his Country Breakfast Restaurant the next morning, July 23d. "Not only myself, but the Mayor and other Council members have been inundated with calls from Townspeople, demanding that we get Detective Croyle back to your Police Department." "So, do I have my Vice Squad Lieutenant on August 1st?" I asked. "You sure do." Colby said. "The Mayor has already been making the phone calls. He did get one from Senator Allen in protest, but not even Malinda Adams will speak to the Senator right now. I don't know how Allen thinks he can win in November." "Too easily: they intend to rig the election for him." I said, then shoved a large scoop of eggs into my mouth. "You're fucking kidding me." Colby said, letting his baritone voice get a bit too loud. "Don't worry about it." I said after swallowing the eggs. "The Force is going to be with us on that." "I probably don't want to know what you have in mind." said Colby, very perceptively understanding. "And by the way, I don't know how you got Bettina to do that hit piece on Allen, but you hit another home run, Mr. Crowbar. How did I get Bettina to do it? It was easy enough: I simply asked her to. I gave her the information about Teresa, worked with her to produce the story. And what did she ask in return? Well, let's just say that we ended our last session of discussion with her sliding her hand into my crotch and feeling up my cock and balls. "One day I'm going to get the payment from you that I want." she said, her eyes boring lustily into mine. Then she walked away. leaving me very aroused. Let's just say that Laura got royally fucked that night. As Colby and I continued to talk, my police cellphone began ringing. When I answered it, I got a huge shock. "What?!?!" I gasped into the cell phone. "Yes, I'll be right there." I hung up the phone. "I have to go." I said to Jack Colby. "The Station just called. Eleanor Burke wants to turn herself in." As I sped to Headquarters, I realized fully that this was be the opening move in Ned's great chess game against me. It was starting... the Game was on. Part 8 - Ned Takes Action I was wearing my "black" police uniform, which the SWAT team normally wore, and of course I had on armor under the shirt. The shirt was black and made of a lightweight "rip-stop" cloth with the cloth TCPD badge sewn into the shirt above the left pocket in metallic gold thread, and my name embroidered on a strip of black cloth over the right pocket, very similar to a military name tag. Then came black pants and the black military boots I'd worn through Airborne School-- those were not standard police uniform, but no one had the guts to tell me I couldn't wear them. Last but not least came the heavy-duty utility belt which held my holstered gun, handcuffs and radio, And, of course, my full-brim Tilley hat was on my head. I approached the center of the carefully-mowed grass park that was Courthouse Square. There was Eleanor Burke, sitting alone on the bench in front of the statue of the great President of the United States, one of the Founding Fathers, for whom our County was named. The streets around the square had been closed off, and a cordon of police officers ringed the square on the other side of those streets. Eleanor Burke had called the station and said she wanted to turn herself in, but only to me personally. The Chief had not liked her terms that I come get her in the park, but I'd agreed to them. "Thank you for coming, Lieutenant." said Eleanor as I stopped in front of her. The day was slightly overcast but with no real threat of bad weather. I could almost hear the tension and silence in the air as nearly all of the on-duty Police Force watched from the distance. "Won't you sit down?" "It's not safe for either of us here." I said. "Why don't we go to the Station and talk there." "Because I'm not going to hand you this gun in my pocket until we've talked." said Eleanor. I could see that she was holding a .38 caliber snub-nosed revolver, very similar to the one she used to try to kill my wife. I sat down. "Okay, what do you want to talk about?" I said, wanting to get this overwith, not knowing if Ned had snipers in any of the buildings around us. "Only two things." replied Eleanor. "First, I'm sure you hate me for trying to kill your wife. It was nothing personal to you, and upon reflection I have come to regret doing it. I won't ask your forgiveness, but I'm glad for your child's sake that I did not succeed." "And next?" I said, not caring to discuss that situation any further. "If I turn myself in now, will you promise to not send me back to the Asylum?" Eleanor said. "I am of plenty sound mind, but I would rather shoot myself here and now than go back to that living hell. And if you make that promise, I'll give you a report of things going on there that will stagger your mind." "You've got a deal on that." I said. I'd long since talked with Paulina and the Chief, and also gotten DA Krasney's approval that we hold Eleanor in our jails and not let the State have her back in any way, at least until she'd been tried in our Courtrooms. Eleanor took the gun out of her pocket and, holding it in a way she could not fire it, handed it to me. I did not handcuff her until I'd walked with her to the edge of the Courthouse Square nearest the City Hall side, and then I instructed Rudistan and Morton to handcuff her with her hands in front of her. They whisked her off to Headquarters. While there, Eleanor gave statements to Inspector Britt Maxwell, who had come into Town for the purpose of interviewing Mrs. Burke, of her experiences and observations of what had gone on at The Asylum, adding to the considerable evidence being collected to bring some serious charges against a lot of State Asylum people. She also discussed in very calm and rational terms how Ned had broken her out of the Asylum. She said she had had no idea of where she'd been held by Ned, and had managed to get out of his car when they were driving someplace. She had run away and Ned and his girlfriend had not been able to catch her. I knew there was something wrong with the escape-from-Ned part of the story. It was firmly in my mind that Ned had let Eleanor escape on purpose, or more likely had actually released her with instructions to turn herself in. Dr. Bonnie Karpathian would report that Eleanor appeared to have symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome, where a captive begins identifying with and supporting his or her captor(s). I just had to let the story play out, and I knew it wouldn't be long. ----------------------------- "Okay, Dolores," Jeanine said, "we're taking Doug to the doctor." It was the early afternoon of July 24th. "Yes, ma'am," replied the lovely maid, "I will stay here and watch over Jack." The observers watched as Jeanine and Todd got into the car with little Doug, hearing Todd say "Aunt Laura got us an appointment at the University clinic, so they're waiting for us." They drove off. Dolores almost jumped out of her skin when the doorbell rang. She went to the front door and saw a young man with wispy brown hair, wearing a FedEx uniform. When she opened the door to take the package, two burly men and a woman dressed in Goth clothing suddenly burst through the door, grabbing Dolores. "Go get Todd's baby." said Ned as the men held down the struggling Dolores. She was hurling insults in Spanish at her attackers, but said in English as she viciously fought her captors "You leave that baby alone! Leave him alone!" Ned came up and kicked Dolores hard in the side, in the ribs, making her groan in pain and begin crying. "Shut up, bitch." he said. "I'm here for Todd's baby, and I'm going to take him." A moment later, Goth Girl Kathy came into the room, holding a baby in her arms. "Is this him, Ned?" she asked, knowing that Ned did not mind his name being used; the Police needed to know who they were dealing with on this one. "He's the only baby here. I guess they took the other one with them." "Good enough, we'll take him." Ned said, then looked down at the pretty Latina maid still being held down. His cock began getting hard. "Okay guys, lay her flat and hold her arms." Ned ordered. "I'm going to get some Spic cunt." He opened his pants and lowered them halfway down his thighs, then reached down and tore Dolores's panties off of her before violently throwing her legs apart and kneeling between them. "Yeah, this is going to be some good skank Spic cunt." Ned snarled as he stroked his cock where Dolores could see it. He applied some lubricant he'd brought to his hand, then smeared it all over his hard, thick, eight-inch shaft, then took more lube and smeared it on the maid's exposed labes. Smearing more lube on his fingers, he plunged them roughly into Dolores's twat, roughly scraping the sides of her cunt as he got the lube up into her. "Come on, Ned, they might come back home soon." Kathy said as she held little Jack. "We've got plenty of time, bitch. Okay, hold her tight, guys, I'm going in." Ned said. "He mounted Dolores and brutally plunged forward, driving his meat deep into her resisting, tight cunt. The sound of her scream followed by her cursing in Spanish added to the young rapist's intense pleasure. Dolores tried to fight her attackers off, but Ned drove a hard closed-fist punch into the side of her face that stunned her. An open-handed hard slap to the side of her head made her ears ring. Ned began fucking her harder, thrusting steadily but brutally. He was very much enjoying raping this young Latina woman, just as he'd enjoyed raping so many other women before, including his own mother. The thought of Elizabeth, of what he'd done to his mother while making his uncle watch, flooded Ned's mind. It was one of his favorite memories, and he allowed himself to re-experience it as he raped the brown-skinned woman beneath him. It was not long before he felt his nut rise as he steadily fucked her with surprising stamina and power. "Oh yeah, oh YEAH! OHH UHHH!!!!" Ned gasped out as he climaxed. After letting a couple of spurts shoot deep into Dolores's ravaged cunt, Ned pulled his large cock out and began jetting onto her belly, making sure to get some on her clothing. Trilogy: The Dawn's Early Light Once finished, Ned asked the other two men if they wanted to fuck Dolores. They knew it was not really a request, and took turns violating the abused maid. When they were done, Ned told them to raise her into a sitting position. He carefully drove his fist into Dolores's face, hitting her on the mouth and nose, places that would bleed more and bruise more easily. Finally, after another couple of brutal kicks into her ribs, Ned ordered the retreat and the perps left. ------------------------- "Yes, he'll feel much better after we give him this medicine." Jeanine said as she put the key in the lock. "Hey... the door's unlocked." she said. She opened it and went into the house, followed by Todd carrying young Doug. "OH MY GOD!" Jeanine screamed as she saw the unconscious form of Dolores on the floor. "Here, hold Doug." Todd said, handing his wife the baby. He quickly knelt and felt for a pulse. "She's alive. Shit, I'll call 9-1-1-- oh Geez, where's Jack?" 
Jeanine flew down the hallway to the babies' room then screamed "Todd! Jack's not here! Oh my God, Jack's gone! Oh my God!" Panic began setting in and Todd had the double duty of calming Jeanine down while calling for an ambulance for Dolores. Part 9 - Tensions Running High "She was beaten pretty badly, but I think she's going to make it." said Dr. Morgan at University Hospital, speaking of Dolores. The sun was beginning to set as the afternoon had given way to evening. "Can we talk to her?" I asked. "A baby has been kidnapped. We need to know anything she can tell us, so don't give us the 'doctor boilerplate'." Dr. Morgan sighed, knowing that I'd just pre-empted the standard bullshit doctors give about patients needing rest. "Okay, but make it very quick. She's been in and out the last hour." I went into the room. Todd and Jeanine were sitting in chairs and Dolores was in the hospital bed, an IV in her arm. Dolores's eyes were open, though she looked groggy. "Dolores, can you hear me?" I asked. "Don... Don... they took Jack..." Dolores gasped, tears in her eyes. "Who? Do you know who it was?" I asked. "One of them... the leader... the woman called him 'Ned'." Dolores said. "Wispy brown hair, thin?" I asked. Dolores nodded. "Woman dressed in black, in Goth stuff?" I asked. Dolores nodded. "Did they say anything about a ransom when they took the baby?" I asked. "No... he just said he was taking Todd's baby... I tried to stop them... oh Dios! I could not stop them--" Dolores said, becoming agitated. "Shhhhhh! Shh! Shh! Shh!" I said, calming Dolores down. "You could not have stopped all of them. Don't worry, I'm going to get Jack back, okay? I'm going to get him back. You just get better, okay? I need you to testify against the bastard when I bring him in, okay? Will you get better for me so you can do that?" Dolores nodded. I motioned for Jeanine and Todd to come outside. In the waiting room, I said to them "I think Ned took the wrong baby. He wanted to take Doug. By the way, where is Doug?" "Aunt Laura has him." said Todd. "She and Grandma have him and Carole and Jim at the Psychology Building, and a lot of cops around the place." "That's as safe a place as they can be in this County." I said. "Okay, we're not going to publicly state they got the wrong baby, so if you hear something on the news, don't worry about it. We're going to get little Jack back." "He... he's all alone out there." said Jeanine, trying hard not to break down. "There was a woman with the group that invaded your home." I said. "I'm hoping that she has enough maternal instincts to take care of little Jack. And Ned isn't going to hurt the baby, at least not yet. He's using Jack as a pawn, to get at me. And when he tries, I'm going to get the baby back safe and sound. Ned won't be so safe and sound when I'm done, though." I went to the Psychology Building. Laura had the three kids in the nursery behind her office. My mother Phyllis was there, and both women were armed. To my surprise, Melina was also there, holding her biological son, Doug. "Any news?" Laura asked. "It's Ned, all right." I said. "And all we can do right now is wait for him to contact us, unless we get a huge break. I'm pretty sure he's going to want me personally to do something. It's like the last time he kidnapped those kids... just to get a shot at me, the bastard. Okay ladies, you're safe here. I've got to go to work." It was then that Melina said, trying to be complimentary, "Don, I appreciate you working as hard to save Jack as you would Doug." Something struck me wrong with that. "Why wouldn't I?" I asked my ex-wife, somewhat confrontationally. "I...I mean... since he's Jack Burke's baby..." Melina said, then realized her error. "I don't care who's baby it is... it's a baby that needs my help, and it's my job to save him. I'd do no differently for any baby than if it were my own." I then stalked out of the room. Behind me, Melina said "Damn... I didn't mean for it to come out like that... I need to apologize to Don..." "I understand, dear." said Phyllis soothingly. "Everyone is just tense right now." Laura was less forgiving. "Yes, you do need to apologize to him, but don't worry about that now. He's got a lot on his mind." She paused, thinking of the enormous pressure on her husband's shoulders at this moment. "Geez, how does he hold up like he does?" ------------------------ "This is Bettina Wurtzburg with breaking news!" said the lovely redhead reporterette. "The Town & County Police have just confirmed that the main suspect in the kidnapping of Todd and Jeanine Burke's son Doug Burke is none other than Todd Burke's brother, Ned--". I watched, knowing that we were telling the Media and thus the world the lie that Doug had been the one taken. I could only hope Ned didn't find out that he'd taken the wrong baby, and preemptively kill little Jack. "This is the same man who kidnapped three children in an attempt to assassinate his uncle, now Police Lieutenant Donald--" Bettina continued. "Ned has also committed three murders in the County over the last two years, and is believed to have run drugs in the area. He had been hiding in the State Asylum as an employee, using the name 'Donald Kyle Irons', until recent events exposed his presence there. So far there has been no contact from this killer to the Police, nor has the family been called..." "You know, Ned," Goth Girl Kathy said as she fed Jack a bottle, "they've got it wrong. You didn't take your brother's kid, you got the other one." Ned came over and peered at little Jack, seeing the embroidered 'Jack' on the baby's bib, which he'd been wearing when he was captured. "I see." Ned said. "So I suppose I should just kill this baby now?" "No, leave him alone!" Kathy said defiantly, holding onto Jack a little harder. "Besides, you need him for your plan." "Yes, you're right." Ned said, his voice eerie. "In fact... it's a good thing for him that he's the wrong kid... I was going to kill him in front of my dear brother Todd, but since he's not Todd's son, there's no reason to kill him at all. I hope you appreciate my letting him live, Kathy." "I do, honey." Kathy said. "You're the best." Part 10 - Contacts At 4:00pm the next day, July 25th, an email arrived in my police email box. It was a video from Ned. After having it checked thoroughly for viruses and finding none, I played it in the MCD room, with a very attentive audience of the Chief, Jack Muscone, his team, and my MCD Detectives. Ned's face filled the screen. It was an amateur film, poorly made. There was a sheet hung up as a backdrop behind Ned so that we could gather no clues to his whereabouts by analyzing his surroundings. "What I want," said my disgusting nephew, "is the return of Eleanor Burke. I'm sure you remember the warehouse at Ward Harvester, dear Uncle Donny?" Ned's voice was mocking, insulting, as he spoke. "Well, they're just finishing with the new building on that site. That is where you will bring Eleanor, Uncle Donny. Twenty-four hours from now, at 4:00pm. Come in through the backside truck entrances. "You can bring one, and only one, female EMT to take Jack Burke's child to safety once the swap has been made. Oh yes, I know which baby I have, and I'd rather see the child of your college roommate, the stud that seduced your fiancée, live... though I won't be saying the same for my dear brother Todd's filthy progeny." Ned's words were a huge clue to me about something else I'd long suspected, but I let that go and concentrated on the present danger as Ned continued: "In addition, I want unfettered access to the County Airport. A plane will be waiting for me there to take me away from here. I'd better not see a single cop at Ward Harvester, except for you, dear Uncle, or else the baby dies. "If anyone at all gets in my way as we go to the airport, Eleanor will die and so will the innocent citizens who right now are sitting on a bomb and don't even know it. I'll give the bomb's location once I'm safely out of the County." "It's been a fun repartée these last couple of years, Uncle Donny, but the game is over. See you tomorrow!" The picture faded to black. "I suspect there's no bomb." I said. "That's just a ruse for Ned to keep himself safe." "Why the EMT?" asked Jack Muscone. "Why can't you just bring the baby out?" "Because Ned plans to kill me." I said. "He's apparently decided to let the baby live, but all of this is to get me there so he can kill me." "Then you're not going." said the Chief. "With all due respect, Chief... bullshit!" I said, looking my boss dead in the eye. "There's no way I'm letting anyone else go and risk the baby's life, and there's no way I'm letting anyone else take the risk for me. I could never live with myself if I did." "I understand." said the Chief. "But I'm not letting you throw away your life, even for a baby's. We'll find another way." "Damn straight, we will, Chief." I said. "It won't be me dying tomorrow afternoon." "Ah, you have a plan." said Tanya Perlman. I was glad that at least one person had the brains to figure it out, I thought rather curtly. "That's right." I said. "And I'll tell y'all about it tomorrow morning. We have until early afternoon to get ready." Little did I know... ----------- At 5:00pm, I was in the nursery behind my wife's office. Carole had been so happy to see me when I walked in that all I was hearing was "da-da!" for several minutes. No matter what chaos was going on in the world, I hit the 'pause' button to hold my daughter and feel the love. Todd and Jeanine were there, as well as Daniel and Melina, and there was a touch of tension in the air beyond the tension of a kidnapped child. Melina then got a phone call on her cell and went outside to take it. "Todd, let's talk outside a minute." I said. My mother was observing us from under her eyelids as we went into Laura's office. I took Todd into the clinic areas on the other side of the office. "Todd, I need you to contact your buddies, the one's that saved me at Ward Harvester, the ones that saved us in that raid that wounded Cindy a few weeks ago." "What are you talking about, Uncle Don?" Todd replied, feigning uncomprehending astonishment. He was not a good actor. "Don't play fucking games with me, Todd." I said, bearing down on my nephew, needing to break him to my fist, and fast. "I know what the fuck has been going on, and I need your friends now more than ever, if we're going to get your brother's son back alive." Todd paused, then realized his best course of action was to trust his ol' Uncle Don. "Okay, Uncle Don, what do you need?" I spent the next few minutes telling him... ---------------------- "You son of a bitch!" Melina whispered angrily into her cellphone. She was just outside the Psychology Building, trying to not let the policeman at the door hear her. The person on the other end of the line... was Ned. "Yes, I am that." said Ned, laughing. "My dear Melina, if you want your lover Jack Burke's baby back alive, then you will do what I tell you. You will take that rifle that you used to shoot Jonas Oldeeds... oh yes, I know all about that, dear Aunt Melina... and you will shoot your ex-husband, my dear Uncle Donny, tomorrow afternoon. There's a little balcony to the air conditioning units on the southeast corner of the building that will serve nicely for you to put a 7.62 NATO round in his back." "There is no way in hell I'm doing that, you fucking prick." Melina hissed. "Ah, you'll regret those words... when you're holding your husband Daniel's dead body. I'll have him shot dead right in front of you, bitch. Now you know what you have to do. If you don't, Jack Burke's baby dies, your husband dies, your sister Laura dies. All because you wouldn't do the right thing and put a bullet in dear Uncle Donny's back..." ----------------------- We were still in the nursery, and I was talking to Daniel about how the Sheriff campaign was going when Melina finally returned to the room. She was working hard to appear normal, but I could tell something was amiss. And her usually-pale skin was even more pale: she was white as a ghost, to coin a phrase. I saw that my mother had noticed it also, and was peering hard at Melina. "Daniel," said Melina, "I think we need to go." "Hey, let me have a few words with him first." I said. "Daniel, let's talk out here." Once in the clinic area, I told Daniel that something had happened to cause Melina to be different, and that I didn't expect her to tell him or anyone else about it. "I think it was that phone call." I said. "Listen, Daniel, I need you to trust me on this one. I need you to trust me to handle the Ned situation all the way through to the end." Daniel just nodded, and I began telling him what I suspected and what I needed him to do... ---------------------- "It's big." said Agent Dick Ferrell on the phone. "I just got word that something's going down with the Iron Crowbar's nephew and that kidnapping. This may be our chance." "Yes, I've gotten similar word." said Agent Steven Ikea, who was in the County. "Bring a team on up here. It's going down tomorrow, and we're going to have our chance to strike." Part 11 - Preparation We did not want leaks to the Press, nor to possibly rogue police officers. In the Chief's conference room were the Chief, myself, Jack Muscone, Captain Charles, Hugh Hewitt and Martin Nash. We formed plans that Cpt. Charles would give to teams of uniformed men the next day. Nash was leading the overall effort, while Hewitt had his instructions for the SWAT team. We had maps of Ward Harvester on the table, and I was pointing out where we'd secrete units and their vehicles until I was inside and occupying Ned's attention. I had privately given Hewitt some extra information, that we'd be getting some secret help. I might have mentioned black-clad, motorcycle-helmeted, high-firepower persons that preferred to stay anonymous. The EMT to come with me was easily solved. Detective Apprentice Diana Torres had begged me to let her do it. "I can wear an EMT uniform over my armor vest." she said. "Your nephew won't know the difference. Please, let me do it." "Thank you, Detective Torres." I said. "I'd be honored to have you with me tomorrow. Go home now and get some sleep." I was already writing in my mind the request for a Police Commendation Medal for Torres. At 10:00pm, all the preps were done. I asked everyone to go on home and come back, and to clear the Headquarters of all but the most very essential personnel. "We have to be careful about that." Chief Griswold said. "We've gotten tips that CIA operatives are going to try to get Sarah Collins out of here, by armed invasion if necessary." "We'll leave her guards, in fact, we'll triple them." I said. "I just need Sergeant Thompson to be at the Duty Desk tonight." Sergeant Thomas was a very tall, very athletic, very big black man whom I trusted, especially to keep his mouth shut. And I would need that tonight. "By the way, Chief, we'll burn the Sarah Collins bridge when we get to it." Last, I went into my office and pulled out the burner phone. I called the number and left my message... -------------------------- An hour later, the Headquarters was nearly empty, as the Chief had given orders to clear it. Senior Patrolman Micah Rudistan and I went into the holding cells containing Eleanor Burke, which were not the ones where Sarah Collins was being held in confinement and isolation under heavy guard. "Come with me, Eleanor." I said. I escorted the lovely Cougar up the hallway to the door that perps were normally brought into. The Duty Desk sergeant had to clear us to go out, and I'd pre-arranged with him to let me take Eleanor out, telling him I'd have her back by dawn. As we drove down the road South and out of town, Eleanor finally spoke up. "You're not taking me back to that Asylum, are you?" "No, we're not going that far." I said. "So where are you taking me?"
 "To see a friend." I said. I told Eleanor that Ned had demanded that we trade her for the kidnapped baby that was her grandson, but that I wanted her to meet a friend first. "I'm willing to be traded for Jack's child." Eleanor said. "You don't need to do anything else." "I prefer saving both of you." I said. Eleanor looked sharply at me but said nothing. Driving in silence, we entered Coltrane County. I kept my eyes peeled for Coltrane County Police patrols; meeting up with one of those might harm my plans. Fortunately, there were none before I turned right onto a familiar small road. Soon we were at our destination: the World Headquarters of Dr. P. Harvey Eckhart's 'The Vision'. The young man Tommy, who had figured prominently the year before in the murder of Jefferson Jackson, met us at the car. "Mrs. Burke, Lieutenant, if you would come this way, Dr. Eckhart is looking forward to receiving you." I took my briefcase out of the SUV and we followed him inside. We were taken to the elevator that went straight up to Eckhart's luxurious office. When we got off the elevator, the office was in nearly complete darkness. "Ah, my young friend, there you are." the voice said, seeming to come out of nowhere. Then I saw the flash of white hair as Harvey Eckhart come around the corner from a hallway on the other side, with several of his young acolytes, including Tommy's girlfriend Candy. "Mrs. Burke, how nice to meet you." said Eckhart politely. "If you will go with my young friends here, they will show you to a room where we give a relaxing massage. You'll be in very good hands, I assure you." Eleanor looked at me and I nodded to her. I unhandcuffed her and she was led away to what I surmised were the therapy rooms not far away. "Thank you for helping me, Dr. Eckhart." I said. "But is there enough time?" "I'm glad to be of service." Eckhart said. "Such a nasty business, kidnapping poor children and babies. Definitely time to end this farce that your nephew is creating. And yes... while we will have to administer some strong drugs that will have Mrs. Burke groggy for some time, her depleted condition will make her more pliable for the treatment. Now, I must ask... what are the trigger words you'd like to use?" "I was remembering some of the old Mission: Impossible television shows." I said. "And there was that one episode where the words into the control chamber were 'January, Suborbital, Denomination'. Let's use those words." "Ah, excellent choice. I enjoyed those shows, also." praised Eckhart. "Now, for the one thing that is obviously on your mind: your end of the bargain." "Yes." I said simply. "What I want, young Donald," said Eckhart, "is everything you have on one Mister Henry R. Wargrave." Trilogy: The Dawn's Early Light I opened my briefcase and took out a thick file folder that contained a sheaf of papers, wrapped in rubber bands. "Somehow that was the first thing that came to my mind that you'd want." "And they call me psychic?" said Eckhart, smiling. He took the papers to his desk, flipped on a small desk lamp that gave an eerie blue light, and began examining the papers. How he was reading them in the semi-darkness, I did not know. "Oh, if you practice with this light and let your mind flow," said Eckhart as if he were reading my thoughts, "then you'd be able to read by this lamp also, young Donald.... now yes, I've seen all this... and this... not much original here." "I would imagine you've seen everything I could possibly obtain," I said, "except my own personal notes, which are included with those papers." "Yes, that's likely true." Eckhart said, "but-- oh wait, I haven't seen this. So Wargrave broke off with Oldeeds, did he? Hmmm, and that nasty little rogue CIA cell that your friend Muscone is breaking up, that was his doing. I knew some of that, but not to this extent... Ah, and your notes here are quite interesting." Eckhart read for a few minutes, then asked suddenly and quickly "Tell me, Donald, what is Wargrave going to do next?" "He's cleaning up the mess left by Jody Corrigan's rogue cell." I said promptly, not really consciously thinking about it. "He's already cleaned out the University projects and left Dr. Heinz dead, so the next thing to do is... kill off the rogue cell people that can finger him." "Yes, good!" Eckhart said sharply. "And who will that include?" "The people that tried to kill me?" "Yes. Good!" Eckhart replied again. "Don't worry, I have Mr. Gruff fully protected, but there is one more loose thread, is there not?" And then it hit me. The killer of Jonas Oldeeds. I said nothing as thoughts tore through my mind. "Yes, she wasn't part of Corrigan's rogue outfit that tried to eliminate you, but Wargrave doesn't know that." Eckhart said. "He's going to try to kill her?" I gasped. "No, no." said Eckhart. "He's going to do much worse... he is going to set it up for her to be arrested by the State Bureau of Investigation, by having them find the rifle she used to kill that spawn of Satan that was Oldeeds." "Damn, as if I don't have enough to worry about, already." I said, understanding. "True, and there is nothing you can do for now about this." Eckhart said. "But you're now on guard against Wargrave. By the way, he hates your lovely wife immeasurably. Guard her and your children well, young Donald. Now, why don't you sit down on the couch over there, and contemplate what we've learned tonight... I looked out the window. The ground seemed an eerie gray color, but I could see the darker ribbon of the River in the distance. Thoughts were racing through my head, tormenting me as I tried to grasp and make sense of them, trying to see where to go next... --------------------- Not long before dawn, Eleanor was returned to me. P. Harvey Eckhart warned me to not say the trigger words in her presence until the moment they were needed. Eleanor indeed looked glassy-eyed and groggy. We made our way down to the lobby and I got her into my car, driving back into my County without incident. I got her returned to her cell and went back to my office on the other side of the building, looking outside. It was dawn, and I watched as objects outside began becoming visible, then brighter as the light strengthened. In a while, I could see over the enclosed parking lot, making out the Fairgrounds to my right, and buildings of Town across the street to my left. By the dawn's early light, I saw an American Flag lazily waving in the breeze in front of one of those buildings. It was the beginning of July 26th, and I tried not to let it occur to me that this might be the last dawn that I would ever see. Part 12 - The Wait At 10:00am I was awakened from a catnap in my office by my cellphone ringing. It was my wife Laura, asking me to come to her office. When I got there, I found that everything with the kids were fine. It was my wife that looked dazed. "I've been ordered to go to Washington. Now. Right now!" she said, showing me the email from her direct boss. "They've already booked my flight from the City, and are sending a limo to drive me to the City." "Did you confirm this?" I asked. "Yes, I called him after I got the email. It's genuine, it's a direct order, it was coded correctly and everything. Whatever it is, it's big, but... "But what?" I asked. "How in the hell can they ask me to leave now, with your confrontation with Ned today and our children in danger?" "When do you have to leave here?" I asked. "Within the hour." Laura said. "Don, there's no way in hell I'm going to go, with what's going on!" "Honey," I said. "I think you should go." "What?!" Laura exclaimed. "Look, if you go you'll be out of the way of any danger." I said. "The kids are well-guarded, they'll be all right. And there's nothing you can do about the Ned situation, either." "But Don, this might be the last time--" she did not finish the sentence. Her hand went to her mouth as the tears burst from her eyes. I took my wife into my arms and hugged her, a hug she returned with desperate tightness. I knew what my wife was feeling, and I was feeling those same fears myself. "It's going to be all right, honey." I said. "C'mon, let's go into the bedroom and talk." We went to Laura's bedroom next to her clinic, where couples would make love for her research. We spent the next hour together, but not talking and not for research. We made love. And we fucked as if we did not know if we'd ever be doing this again with each other... --------------------------- Laura hugged the kids goodbye and left to go pack. I called Jack Muscone on the cell phone. He was at Police Headquarters, and I gave him the 'red alert' code. "I need you to follow my wife on the way to the City." I said. "She may be in great danger." I told Jack I'd call him again when he was on the way. Minutes later, Laura came back and the limo arrived to take her to City International Airport. I kissed Laura goodbye and made her get in the limo, and watched as the limo drove south towards the road that led to the City. Jack Muscone called a few minutes later. "Okay, I'm tailing the limo." said Jack. "What's up?" "Laura always booked her own flights to Washington, but this time they booked it for her." I said. I then told him what I further suspected and what I wanted him to do in his capacity as an FBI Special Agent In Charge. He called me back 30 minutes later. "I've got my whole team ready, and a few more people that want to help. They'll meet us at the airport..." After hanging up the cell phone, I went to the nursery and played with my daughter, then held my son for a while. My mother was watching me as I watched my son, and I think she knew well what was going through my mind at the time. Finally, I kissed his little forehead, kissed my daughter and hugged and kissed my mom. It was time to go to Headquarters. -------------------------- The Chief treated me to lunch at the Cop Bar at 1:00pm, where I ate one of those delicious double-cheeseburgers that Jack Muscone would make excuses to come to Town for. I could tell that Chief Griswold was very worried about what was going down. I tried not to show my own worry, letting myself breathe, just enjoying the food and the Town and the day. It was getting hot when we got back to Headquarters. I called Todd, who assured me that everything was fine. I called Daniel Allgood, who assured me that everything was fine. I went over plans with the SWAT team, who assured me that everything was fine. I listened as Captain Charles explained to Uniformed teams what they'd be doing, after ordering them to not touch their cellphones from that moment until after the mission was over. Captain Charles assured me that everything was fine. I tried to get in another catnap, but sleep simply would not come. I checked in my mind over every parameter I could think of. The rest of the Force all left me alone, knowing that I was preparing for what might be my supreme mission and moment. ------------------------- Molly Evans and Teresa Croyle entered the nursery behind Laura's office. "Thank you both so much for coming." Phyllis said. "I know you'll both defend these children with your lives if need be." "You betcha." Molly said. "But what's this all about?" "Unfortunately I can't explain right now, but I have to go out for a while." Phyllis said. "I told the Duty Desk to call your numbers after Don makes the exchange so that you'll know everything's all right. Au revoir, ladies, and thank you so much again." With that, Phyllis scooted quickly out of the office. She got in her car and called Cindy Ross to make sure Cindy was at home. Cindy had tried to visit Headquarters a couple of times, much to her Lieutenant's and her Chief's dismay, which was verbally expressed to her in language that should not be repeated here in this family environment. "Hello, dear, how are you feeling?" Phyllis asked Cindy when she got to Cindy's apartment. "Good!" Cindy said. "Bored! Cooped up! Ready to do something!" Phyllis replied "I really hate having to ask you to do this, and you must promise not to overtax yourself, but I need help and you're just the one to do this with me." "Does your son know about this?" Cindy asked. "Am I going to get fired for it?" "No, dear. If--" Phyllis paused, then said "when Don survives the baby exchange for Eleanor, he might get ticked at you, but this one is going to be all me. I just need a little bit of help from you. Now here's what we need to do..." ------------------------- I dressed in my "black" uniform, which allowed ease of movement, allowed body armor under the shirt, and looked good. If I were going to die in the line of duty today, I was going to look damn good doing it, I thought to myself. Over it, I was wearing a light rain jacket. It was red, with a huge oval University of Georgia "G" logo on the back, and a smaller one centered on the front. Under the jacket was another layer of armor. When Tanya Perlman had asked me why I'd picked that jacket, I said the contrast of the white background of the oval football-"G" and the red jacket made better contrast that my other choice, a blue jacket with a Florida Gator head logo. "I need that letter as a target." I said. "I can't armor-plate my head." I went to the Chief's office. "It's 'Go' time, sir." I said. "Daniel Allgood borrowed my Police SUV, in case you see it." said the Chief. "I don't know why you wanted him to use it, but he's using it." "Thanks, Chief." I said, not telling him the reason Daniel would need that vehicle. "You know, this reminds me of that night you went to Ward Harvester to rescue those kids." the Chief said. "Come back in better shape this time, okay?" He offered his hand, and I shook it. "Wilco." I said. Then realizing that a handshake wasn't enough, the Chief gave me a hug, which I returned as a Brother-In-Arms. Thankfully, the wait was over. It was time. ------------------------- At 2:00pm, Laura sat down in her seat on the plane. At least they'd been kind enough to buy me a first-class ticket, she thought to herself. She was beset with worry, not knowing what was going on with Don, and knowing she'd have no cellphone access while the plane was in flight. Suddenly, she heard the voice of the flight attendant on the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, would you please exit the plane in an orderly fashion? Please exit the plane, and our staff will direct you from the waiting room. As Laura got off the plane, carrying her purse, walking in the line of passengers, she felt her left arm being grabbed. Looking to her side, it was Jack Muscone. He pulled her out of the line and had her come with him. "Jack! What's going on?" Laura asked as Muscone took her through a door that led to the outside. They walked down the stairs to the tarmac, and Jack led Laura to a waiting black car. He had her get inside, then joined her. As the car pulled out and headed to an access gate leading to the parking lots and the highway, the FBI agent filled his CIA counterpart in on the details. "There is a bomb aboard that plane." Jack Muscone said. "Your husband told me to have the plane searched, and sure enough my guys found the bomb in one of the cargo holds. My guys defused it, and are bringing it back to your County, again per your husband's request." "How did he know?" Laura asked, stunned. "He told me he wasn't sure, but he had a good idea about it." Jack replied. "He said he found out that you might become a target of Corrigan's group, and your sister Melina might be a target as well. He sent me after you." "The... the bomb... they were going to kill all those people, just to get at me?" Laura asked, half to herself, stunned and angry. "Looks like it." Muscone said. "I called your boss in Washington as I drove behind your vehicle bringing you to the airport. We had you covered the entire way, by the way. Your boss said he'd ordered you to a meeting, a meeting of several high-level people including Corrigan, but that he did not get your ticket for you, and he was shocked when I told him that your ticket had been procured for you by his office. He's looking into that, and I told him that I suspected Corrigan and Bartholomew Scott." "They were going to kill all those people, just to kill me..." Laura said again. Jack Muscone allowed her to come to grips with that as they sped west along the highway... Part 13 - The Final Confrontation I pulled my SUV up behind the new building of Ward Harvester, which had been built on the site where the building had been that had exploded with Ned and myself in it. I did not appreciate my nephew's sense of history and nostalgia on this site selection. It was almost 4:00pm. The sun was in its afternoon westerly drop towards the horizon, but it was still plenty light as Eleanor Burke and I made our way up some steps and through the one open trucking bay door. I slipped a little something into the pocket of her dress before we went in. We were entering from the South side; on that explosive night before I'd entered from the north side. I assumed Ned would come in from that side, but would not know until we got inside. Diana Torres, also armored, was wearing an EMT uniform and light jacket, as well as what looked like a bicycle helmet, but was actually light armor for the head. She stayed at the door that we had entered, waiting for my signal. The building was nearly empty, like a warehouse; the equipment had not yet been fully installed. I looked around. I could see where air conditioning units and fans were on the sides of the building, very near the ceilings. Balconies to service the equipment would be outside, not really visible to me, but would be perfect sniper perches. There might be snipers hiding behind the pallets at the far end of the building to my left, but I thought it was likelier that they were up high. And then I saw them. Ned and Goth Girl Kathy walked into the room from the other side, with Kathy carrying little Jack Burke in her arms. He was fidgeting and she was shushing him as Ned strolled forward, his eyes set firmly upon me. My own eyes were firmly set on him. I noticed he had a tiny clear plastic earpiece: he was in communication with confederates somewhere. He was wearing crude body armor, not much better than he'd worn the night he'd shot Tim Olivet in the back and murdered him. "Well, well, well." Ned said laconically. "If it isn't my dear Uncle Donny. How do you like my choice of location, Uncle Donny?" I said nothing, just staring at Ned, 'feeling' more than seeing Eleanor at my left side. I didn't 'feel' any other movement around the building. "Yes, Uncle Donny, you almost died here last time, and so did I, yes, so did I." Ned said, vigorously nodding his head. "So it's appropriate we meet here again...", he said, then added with emphatic menace, "...and this time for the last time. Don't you agree?" "Is the baby okay?" I asked, to get this on and overwith. "He's great." Kathy said in her too-loud, annoying voice. "I hope I have one just like him." "Okay, where's the EMT I told you to bring?" Ned asked. I turned and motioned for Diana Torres to come in. "When she gets up here, Eleanor will come over here and Kathy will give the EMT the baby. You, Uncle Donny... don't you dare move." And it went just like that. Kathy stepped forward to my right and handed Diana Torres the baby as I motioned for Eleanor to go stand with Ned, which she did. When Diana had the baby, she did what I had told her to do: she clutched the baby into her chest and hustled back to the truck bay door, disappearing with the child outside. I knew a couple of EMT trucks were sneaking into the Ward property right now, as well as a large contingent of Town & County's Finest. My duty to the Citizens of my county was done. It was now time for my duty to myself. "If that's all, I'll be going." I said, acting as if I were about to leave. "Why, Uncle Donny!" Ned said loudly, mockingly, "Leaving so soon? But we haven't even had a chance to have a nice little family chat, catch up on old times, you know?" If I needed further proof that my nephew was insane, I had it now. "Okay guys, now." said Ned, then continued, pretending to be miffed: "Now Uncle Donny, you didn't really think that I was just going to let you walk out of here, did you?" He chuckled, a sinister laugh. "Look at your chest." I looked down. Five little laser beam circles were glowing inside the UGA "G" logo in the center of my chest. "They're on your back, too." said Ned, an insidiously evil grin creeping onto his face. ---------------------------- Daniel Allgood climbed the stairs to the A/C service balcony at the southeast corner of the building. Just inside, lying prone, wearing black, was his wife Melina. She was aiming her rifle right at Don's back, and had trained her laser on the "G" on his back when she saw the other one light up. "Don't do this, Melina." Daniel whispered. "I... I have to." whispered Melina, barely audible, tears in her eyes. "Ned will kill the babies, he'll kill you, he'll kill Laura." "Melina, don't do this." said Daniel. "Don sent me up here after you. He knew Ned would try this. Trust Don, Melina. Come on, let's go." Melina glanced over at her husband, seeing his eyes, knowing he was right. She nodded, engaged the safety, and followed Daniel out and down the ladder to the ground. "Okay, I've got the Chief's car here; he let me borrow it." said Daniel. "We'll put the rifle in the back until we can drive it out of here." He opened the back of the Chief's SUV and Melina set the rifle down in the back and covered it with the blanket inside. Daniel locked the SUV door. "We can't drive out of here yet, not until it's over." ------------------------------ "Not much movement over there." said Steven Ikea, watching from a distance with high-power binoculars. "They're keeping the cop cars hidden in warehouses on the adjacent properties. Don just went in... oh wait, Allgood and his wife are coming down a ladder... oh this is it, Dick! She has a rifle! I think this is it!" "Okay, I'll call in to activate the warrant." said Ferrell, also watching with high-power binoculars. "And I'll get the teams ready. They've got a lot of guns but so do we." "She just put the rifle in the Chief's SUV." reported Ikea. "How long until that warrant gets activated?" "A few minutes. They'll call with the time." said Ferrell. The warrant had been printed out, with only the date and time needing to be filled in. "But we can't go in before they do that prisoner exchange for that baby. If we go in before then, it'll go to shit for them, and then it'll go to shit for us. Patience, brother. Have the patience of Job..." Trilogy: The Dawn's Early Light ------------------------------ "North side secured." said the voice into Todd's earpiece. "I'm listening in." The guy talking had just slit the throat of a rogue CIA agent who was aiming a high-powered rifle at Don. All five perps on the north side had been taken out, replaced by Todd's guys. When Ned's call came, it was Todd's people that trained the lasers on Don's chest, guided by the first man that was 'listening in'. Todd had his silencer-equipped .22LR pistol in the rogue CIA agent's ear. They were in the A/C balcony on the southwest side. "Get your finger off that trigger, or I'll shoot you." "Fuck you. Do it then." the agent, a professional 'wet boy', said. He began to squeeze the trigger... ---------------------- "Can I just say one thing?" I said, much to Ned's surprise, even as the red dots danced on my chest. "What's that?" Ned said, his face skeptical. I raised my voice and spoke loudly. "January..." "Hey!" said Kathy, quickly realizing something was up. "Suborbital..." "What the fuck?" Ned said, still peering at me in skeptical wonder. "DENOMINATION!" At the last word, Eleanor reached into her pocket and whipped out the .38 Special revolver I'd placed there before we'd come in, the one she'd had when I'd arrested her. She aimed and began firing rapidly at Ned, who was a foot away from her. The first bullet struck him in the side, getting between the crude front and back plates of armor he was wearing and going into his chest cavity. The second struck him higher in the side, ripping through both lungs and his heart, what little heart the bastard had. As he fell, Eleanor kept the gun trained on his side and kept firing. The third bullet struck Ned in the neck, ripping blood vessels and smashing through a neck vertebra and his spinal cord. The fourth struck him in the jaw, and the fifth in the temple, just in front of the ear, making liquid of what had once been a great brain. All of that happened within three seconds. And Ned was dead before his crumpling body even hit the floor. POW! At the same time Eleanor was pumping rounds into Ned, a bullet struck me in the back, right in the middle of the "G" logo. The armor held but the impact threw me forward to the ground. And it hurt. God damn! how it hurt! I would find out later that Todd's perp had fired, then Todd had shot the man in the ear, killing him and leaving the body there on the landing. "NO!!!!" screamed Goth Girl Kathy, lunging for Eleanor. Lying on the floor, I looked up to see Eleanor still firing the gun, hearing the empty clicks, then Kathy tackling the older woman. The gun went clattering across the floor. But it was too late. "NED!!! Oh God, Ned!!" Kathy screamed as she knelt over the body of my nephew. Seeing that it was too late, she lay her head down on his chest and began sobbing uncontrollably. She looked over at me. "He's dead... you killed him... you killed him, you son of a bitch!" Then her head collapsed on his unmoving chest again. I painfully picked myself up off the floor and stood watching as police officers poured into the building. The gun was secured and Eleanor Burke was swiftly carried away, out of the building. They were going to grab Kathy, but I stopped them, letting her cry over Ned's lifeless body. I stood inside the rapidly forming circle of police, watching silently, my mind filled wit the words of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from his novel The Hound of the Baskervilles: "Evil indeed is the man who has not one woman to mourn him." Part 14 - The New Threat After a few minutes, a still-sobbing Goth Girl Kathy was led away by two policewomen. To this day I do not know how it was done, but the five dead snipers' bodies disappeared, along with the living bodies of the secret commandos that had saved my bacon. EMTs had tried to examine me; I waved them off and ordered them to leave me alone, that I was fine. The EMTs that came to Ned's side found that he was well past the need of their services. Tanya Perlman and her Crime Lab team had shown up, and for the next 30 minutes it was like a disturbed ant bed, with police and other people crawling all over the place. Bettina Wurtzburg and her camera crew were being held well outside the gates of Ward Harvester. To my great surprise, old man Ward did not show up, nor did any of his people: we'd ordered the plant closed and temporarily abandoned after Ned had sent his video to me with the location of the swap. The first persons I saw come in along with the police were Daniel and Melina Allgood. They looked very relieved to see me. I just gave them a wry smile, half a wink and a 'thumbs up' sign. I could see by the look on Melina's face that she had just gone through some intensely emotional times. Then Todd came up, having snuck down off the landing, no one the wiser to his part in this drama. He said that Jeanine had little Jack, and the EMTs were checking out the baby. As I hugged him, I whispered "Thanks, bud. And give your buddies my thanks." "They were glad to help." Todd said quietly. "And it absolutely was worth it." I looked to see where Todd was looking. He was watching the EMTs place Ned's body on a gurney, to remove it to the morgue. Then a remarkable event occurred. As the gurney went past us, Todd stopped it. He pulled the body-bag tarp off of his brother's face, exposing it, and he looked down a second at it... and then I heard as well as saw Todd 'hawk and spit' right into Ned's dead face. "You god-damned bastard!" Todd hissed. "You cost me everything! Everything!!" Todd then turned away, letting the EMTs take Ned's carcass out of the building. I went over and patted Todd on the shoulder, not asking what he meant by those words. Time enough for that later. There was pain still here now, pain that not even Ned's death would take away. A few minutes later, my greatest worry dissipated. My wife Laura came into the building with Jack Muscone. As she and I saw each other, she began running to me, and we fell into each other's arms. I could feel my wife's body shaking, racked with silent sobs as she held on to me. By no means was I the only one to endure an emotional ordeal this day. Everyone waited for Laura and I to finish our hug and our emotional moment, then Jack Muscone came up to me and shook my hand as if I were a returning long-lost brother. "It was a near thing." he said, and I knew it was not about Ned's near-success in killing me. "Thank you, brother." I said, hugging him. Muscone wasn't much for that stuff, so it was a brief hug. He began filling me in on finding the bomb, and his team had brought it back to the County. Chief Griswold came up and shook my hand, a smile of great relief somewhere under those huge handlebar mustaches of his. He told me that the 'other operation' had been successfully completed, as well, adding to my relief. Then we heard yelling from outside. Officers began screaming for us to come out. The truck dock was paved for a good 30 yards, and on the far edge of that the Police Chief's SUV was parked. As I moved towards it I saw what the commotion was about: ten vehicles were approaching, flashing lights in their grilles indicating they were law enforcement. They hurtled in, almost hitting several officers, and came right up to where the Chief's SUV was parked. The doors to the lead car opened, revealing SBI Agents Richard Ferrell and Steven Ikea. The other cars emptied of agents, all carrying considerable firepower. SBI Director Jack Lewis was among the agents, in his trenchcoat and hat even in this hot weather. Deputy Director Tom Conlan was not among the group, which did not surprise me. I knew what was going on here, and these bastards could go fuck themselves! "Surround them!" I ordered my officers. "Shoot them if they move or shoot!" I then began making my way to the front of the groups in their stand-off, right at the back of the Chief's SUV. It was Steven Ikea's face that was full of glee, and I expected him to be the first to speak. I was right. He spoke loudly. "This is a warrant to search this vehicle... for the rifle that assassinated the Reverend Jonas Oldeeds!" To be continued.