A Death in the Family Ch. 03

"Yezzz." said the Chief. "And that brings up something else. Don, I know it was hard on you to have to hold back, and I appreciate you not being insubordinate and doing what I told you. But Captain Croyle... she was openly insubordinate at one point. And I can't just let that go. You understand that, don't you?"

"Sir," I said, "she just answered your question truthfully. And she did hold back, even though I have to agree with her that she would've been faster than Irwin coming out of that tunnel."

"And she would be dead now." replied the Chief. "Don't get me wrong; losing Irwin is hurting me as a leader as much as it's hurting you. But if Teresa and Todd had died there? Then their children would be orphaned. I know you'd take them in, but I think you understand me when I say---"

Just then, Cindy barged in, with two large sacks full of bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits. "I'm betting the Police Commander needs to eat."

"Yes." I said. "Yes I do." I took a biscuit and wolfed it down. Cindy handed me a second one as Jerome Davis came back in and helped himself to one. The Chief and Sheriff also indulged.

As Cindy and Jerome sat down, Captain Tanya Perlman drove in, followed by FBI SAC Jack Muscone. And following him was FBI Supervisory Agent Melina Allgood. I observed that she still did not look well.

"You okay?" I asked her as she sat down beside me.

"Yes. I'm fine." Melina said. "Just getting over a cold and the flu."

"Why did you shoot out the KXTC van's tires?" I asked.

"I'll tell you later." Melina said.

"Okay, now that you're all here," said the Chief, "I want to understannnnd what happened last night. Who were Quint Starr's 'associates', for lack of a better terrrrrrrm?"

"They were prison ex-cons." I said, having read the autopsy reports and the Data Guyz analysis. "They were amped up with drugs, but that paradoxically caused them to freeze up when things got chaotic, and our well-trained SWAT Teams had no problems taking them down. They had standard issue M-4s, but no body armor. Quint Starr was also drugged up, but on basic amphetamines that just accentuated him being the nutjob he was."

"Where was Trent Ridge in all this?" asked Jack Muscone. "Was he not working with Quint on this?"

"We're not sure." I said. "I was hoping you FBI people were monitoring communications in the area, and picked up something that might lead us to Trent."

"No, we didn't. And it wasn't for lack of trying." said Muscone.

"I don't think he was there." said Cindy.

"I don't, either." I said. "At least not as part of the Freelance Hit Team. I think this little action of Quint's was separate from Trent."

As everyone looked at me, I I settled in and started explaining: "Trent tried to kidnap Carole the other day, but was trying to hide his identity at first. What does kidnapping Carole do for them? I think maybe that was the intended prisoner exchange for Peter Blassingame. I'm not happy about that explanation, but it's the only thing I can think of right now that fits."

I continued: "Quint's operation was to get the Mutanix, which someone... and someone big... really, really wants. It also may have had to do with the fact that Todd Burke's mother is an Israeli Mossad Agent, and this was intended to be revenge for that." Seeing the looks at me, I said "What, you didn't know this already, with Kathy Larrington buried in our cemetery?"

"We've seen and heard nothing, Crowbar." growled Griswold. "Carry on."

"Yes sir." I said. "When Trent failed, Quint added getting Blassingame to his list of demands. If Trent had succeeded, Quint would only have asked for the Mutanix while Trent negotiated for Blassingame."

"Pincer movement." said Melina. "Two-pronged attack, with the Iron Crowbar's family in the middle."

"Blassingame?" asked Muscone. "Acting on his own, or for the benefit of his fellow Swamp Frogs?"

"You're asking the right questions." I said. "And we're assuming one thing: that one entity was controlling both of them. What if... Trent and Quint were acting separately? Completely separately?"

"That doesn't make sense." said the Chief. "At least it doesn't seeeeem to."

"Why would you think that?" Melina asked me. "Along those lines?"

"We pretty much know that Trent and Quint acted together to help steal the nuke." I said, referring to the EMPTY QUIVER event. "But they subsequently disappeared, and did not work with Keiko Shimono and Jerry Barsbane to get the Mutanix. And the evidence is scant that Trent and Quint worked together or have been together again. Quint came here during the SPS smuggling case, but Trent did not. He stayed with Keiko Shimono in the City." (Author's note: 'Shipping and Handling'.)

"But he was here to murder LCDR Waring." said Muscone. "And he and Quint worked together on that."

"That's true." I said. "Touché. In all this excitement, I'd forgotten that."

"Mark that down for historical reference." said Cindy, teasing me.

After the requisite waving of the red crowbar at Cindy, I continued: "Jerry Barsbane and Dick Granger were working together, and that's a Blassingame link. Keiko Shimono's presence was felt in the 'Four Square' cases, as being involved with MegaTech Industries, with a lot less connection to Blassingame. So I'm seeing a bunch of scattered chess pieces on the board that we're trying to make work together... but maybe they're not, at least not always, and not all that much."

"And to that end," I said, "Quint pulling that dangerous and unlikely-to-work stunt last night was, at least in my humble opinion, an attempt to get the Mutanix technology... which Keiko Shimono has always wanted. Getting Peter Blassingame out of jail is his father's lodestone... a father who has not to this point shown interest in obtaining the Mutanix. So I'm seeing two birds, i.e. two different objectives, and only after Trent failed did Quint bring up getting Blassingame."

"Makes perfect sense, now that you've explained it that way." said Jack Muscone.

"Ohhhhh, shit!" exclaimed Tanya Perlman.

"What?" asked Cindy, seeing Tanya looking at me, and me nodding my head.

"Yes, you see it, too." I said to Tanya. To everyone I said "Lady Ironside is seeing that Trent will still try to get Peter Blassingame out. With Quint and his mercenaries dead, that leaves Trent with few options, except to try Plan A again... which he knows is the only I'd even consider negotiating about it... kidnapping Carole, or one of my children... or one of y'all's children."

Phone calls were made, getting our children to safety. A few moments later, we reconvened in the Main Conference Room.

I said "Laura said that Todd is doing much better this morning. They're still waiting to see if his... well, a certain body part, recovers or dies, necessitating its removal."

"And if he'll be only half the man he was." Melina quipped quietly.

"Ouch." Cindy said, getting the joke.

Women!, I thought to myself. "Not funny." I said out loud, giving Melina a 'look'. Melina declined to show any remorse for that remark.

"All right." said the Sheriff. "We need to find this Trent Ridge character and put him down like the rabid dog he is. Any ideas?"

Jack Muscone said "Navy CIS is ready to send some Agents here to help. And so are we. Cardigan's cyber team has been given Trent Ridge and the Barsbane/Shimono cabal as their highest priority. As eager as you guys are to find them... we're just a eager if not even more so."

"It's not that we don't welcome their help," I replied, "but having a small army... or navy... of Federal Agents crawling all over this County is not going to cause Trent to raise his head and show us where he is. If you do have Federal Agents here, keep them on the 'down low'. If I spot them... and I will... they ain't doing it right."

"I'll let them know." Muscone said drily.

"Where Federal help can best be applied is the communications and web arenas, like what SAC Cardigan is doing, I'm sure." said Chief Moynahan. "Give us a lead, let us know where he is, and we'll take care of it... and him."

"And that's part of my dilemma." said Muscone. "The Feds want Trent alive. They want to know who his bosses are, who was behind the EMPTY QUIVER operation."

"Oh, I fully intend to capture him alive." I said. Eyes glanced in my general direction, then moved swiftly away. I then said: "As to where Ridge is... if I were him and in his position now, I'd be laying low in a safehouse somewhere. And probably not in this County."

"Waiting for the Swamp Frogs to kill him?" Melina said. When we looked at her, she said: "He's of almost no value to them now. His being alive and possibly arrested is as much a danger and liability to them as any benefit to them. He's smart enough to know that, as well. He's used to being a mercenary in the middle of enemy territory, and thinking fast on his feet. I would expect he's made arrangements outside the scope of his previous benefactors."

"Want a job in an FBI BAU unit?" I quipped.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that insult." Melina replied. When I didn't reply, everyone looked at me, then realized I was in a full-blown reverie.

"Melina," I said, "you didn't shoot out the tires of the second van, did you?"

"No, just the first." Melina said. "The second one got the message, and did a 180 out of there."

"And where did that van go?" I asked.

"One second." said Tanya. After consulting with her tablet, she said "Our perimeter Officers said that it came back to the Press pool, then went back up the road, meaning it went north. We didn't have assets there to pursue, as Bettina's van was being impounded and she and her crew arrested. A 'source' with another network---"

"Whose name I won't say, but her initials are (P)riya (A)jmani." said Cindy.

"You did not hear me say that." said Tanya. "Anyhoo, she said the other van was carrying Amber Harris, who is under a strict bail agreement that would've been violated if we'd arrested her, so it was no surprise they left the scene."

"Hmmmm..." I thought out loud, remembering what Keith Madden had told me, but not telling the others. "Maybe Trent was at the scene last night."

"In the second van?" gasped Melina. When I nodded, she spat "Damn! You mean I had him? I could've shot his van's tires out?"

"Well," I said, "we don't know for sure. But maybe some discreet surveillance on Bettina and Amber, and KXTC's mobile vans, might yield fruit?"

"I think it's Todd's 'Fruit' you need to worry about." Melina said quietly to me as others were talking amongst themselves, 'Fruit' being a term used by the Japanese to mean a man's testicles.

"Cat claws are out, I see." I hissed back.

"Sorry." Melina said, anything but sorry. Mean streak, she had in her, I noted... as I had from time to time in the eight years of our previous marriage...

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

"Wow." Melina said as she looked around my office, seeing the citations, the 'I Beat Slender Man' statue, the two sets of jump wings, the framed U.S. Marine insignia. "Whodathunkit when we moved here seven years ago? And what the two of us have become?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean." I said as we sat down. "So... why did you shoot the tires out of Bettina's van, especially when I was about to blow her ass away?"

"That was one of the two reasons." Melina said. "You were shooting to kill, you would've gotten into a lot of trouble, and we need you working with us on these cases. Trent Ridge is one of the most dangerous criminals we've faced."

"He's a foot soldier." I said. "He's certainly no Consultant of Crime. So what was the other reason? You suspected Bettina's working with the perps again?"

"Not much gets past you." Melina said. "First, some background: you know how in Washington, someone in the FBI will leak something classified to the openly Leftist New York Times, or the Communist News Network, and the Times or CNN will eagerly go with it?" I nodded and Melina continued: "Well, they usually go after the source, the leaker, but they rarely if ever will they go after the news agency, nor the journalist that exposed the classified information."

"Too many First Amendment issues, I guess." I said.

"Well," Melina continued, "when you started that stuff about Bettina working with Les Craig and committing treason, it was thought to just be something to hold her back. But then we started investigating, and we've found real and serious collusion by Bettina and that fake blonde bitch Amber Harris with both criminal elements and Swamp Frogs."

"Consider me 'not surprised'." I said. "And it continues? What am I saying? If I'm right, it continued last night."

Melina nodded. "Yes. Last night, I thought that when Bettina crashed the gate that there might be a bomb on her van or the other one, not necessarily put there by the news crew, but by someone taking advantage of being a friend... or lover... of Bettina or Amber. I also considered that there were people in the van, or something else that might help the criminals inside when they got up to you. So, I blew Bettina's van's tires out. And I got the wrong one, if what you said is true about who was in the second one."

"We didn't find anything out of the ordinary when we impounded Bettina's van." I said. "And they're about to run out of vans. We keep confiscating them."

Melina smiled mirthlessly, which was the best we were going to get from her in the way of showing humor. "Anyway," she said, "you've been absolutely right to go to war with Bettina. We want to set a precedent with her, and if we can get her charged with treason, our people in Washington will start charging journalists there if they publish classified information."

"That would be a wonderful thing to see." I said. Have I mentioned... that I have a virulent hatred of the Press?

At that point, Melina noticed that I was peering at her. Very hard. "What?" she said.

"Your trip away from here." I said. "Your so-called 'illness'. I checked, and you weren't in Pennsylvania, where Jack Muscone thought you were. So... what was it? Really?"

Melina tried to stare me down. But we were no longer married, so she lost.

"All right, I'll tell you." she said. "If you promise not to tell anyone, especially your wife."

"Unless it affects your or someone else's safety," I replied, "I promise."

Melina said "I was not in Pennsylvania. I was at John Hopkins Hospital. I was going to have my tubes tied, but with Laura's cancer scare leading to her hysterectomy, they went ahead and gave me one, as well."

"And you didn't want Laura to do it? Or one of the other doctors here?" I asked. "Why not? The possible cancer scare?"

"No." Melina said. "Laura's my sister; she should not be operating on me. But the reason I went away to do it was for secrecy. I didn't want anyone here to know."

"Including your husband," I said slowly, increasingly certain. "N'est pas?"

"Not much gets past you." Melina replied. "I have my reasons for that, and I'll keep them to myself."

"That's not my business." I said. "But if you have any health issues, and I can help, let me know."

"Thank you." Melina said. "If you'll excuse me, I should be going. Trent's out there, and we are all in grave danger until he is taken down."

I nodded. Melina got up and left, leaving me to contemplate things...

Part 18 - Sunday

8:00am, Sunday, June 9th. Todd Burke opened his eyes. As consciousness came to him, he attempted to move his arms, but groaned as the pain in his back shot through him like wildfire.

"Easy. Don't move." he heard a voice say. He looked over to see a lovely sight: his wife's face.

He tried to speak, but found himself unable to move his mouth and jaw.

"Just relax." Teresa said. "They've immobilized your jaw. Do you remember what happened?" Todd nodded, barely moving his head.

"We'll talk about it later." Teresa said. "You just relax. Get some sleep..." She'd barely got the words out when Todd's eyelids fluttered shut.

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

Two hours later, Laura briefed me and Teresa in the waiting room.

"So far so good on everything." she said. "His vitals are strong. His white blood count is elevated, which is to be expected, but it hasn't shot up to an abnormal level. His right testicle is still alive. On the flip side, his pain threshold will be tested when the nurses change the dressings on his back and glutes. I think they'll move him to a private room this afternoon. What he needs most is rest, time... and his wife at his side, pushing him to get better." I couldn't help but grin at that.

"Thanks, Laura." Teresa said. Laura gave Teresa a hug, then went down the hall to the nurses station.

"So the Chief told Irwin's parents?" Teresa asked.

"Yes." I said. "His mother was devastated."

"Did someone tell his sister?" Teresa asked. "She's an Air Force Lieutenant in Germany."

"We sent a Red Cross message on the parents's behalf." I said. "The funeral is Tuesday. We hope she can make it here by then."

"Does Todd's mother know about this?" Teresa asked as we sat back on the waiting room sofa.

"I haven't tried to contact her." I said. "But knowing my dear sister... she knows."

"Think she'll try to come visit him?" Teresa said.

"I hope not." I said. When Teresa turned to peer at me, I continued: "It has occurred to me that one reason these bastards went after Todd was to get Elizabeth to show her face so they can kill her. Their hatred of her is as immeasurable as their hatred for me, due to what she did to help us in France twice, helping eliminate the Jew-hating CIA Director, and of course putting the Consultant of Crime against his will on a helicopter bound to crash and burn." (Author's note: 'The French Connection', 'We'll Always Have Paris', 'Causing A Commotion', 'A Tiny Slip'.)

"Wow." Teresa said.

"And here comes one more reason I hope Elizabeth doesn't show up." I said. Teresa looked up to see Todd's grandmother Phyllis Troy coming up.

"Hello, dear." my mom said to Teresa, hugging her warmly. "Hello, son." she said as she hugged me. "How is Todd doing?"

As Teresa talked to my mom about Todd's condition, then what had happened, something hit me.

"Mom," I said when Teresa stopped talking, "how did you know about Todd?"

My mom looked at me as if I was from Mars. "Why, from your text, son." she said. "I tried to call you, but it never would go through. So I drove down." It was my turn to look stunned.

"Mom, I didn't text you." I said. "I was waiting for Todd to recover a little more. And I would've called, not texted." After a moment, I said "Can I see your cellphone?"

My mom unlocked her phone and handed it to me. I attempted to dial my own phone number, which my mom had on speed-dial. My phone did not ring, and on my mom's phone it said it went to voicemail immediately.

"Mom," I said, "can I have your permission to let my techs look into this phone to see if there are any viruses on it?"

"Yes, of course." said my mom, clearly rattled.

"I'll take this down to Headquarters." I said. "Mom, if you'll stay here with Teresa, I'd appreciate it. If you go anywhere, have an Officer that Teresa knows by sight escort you. This is more than a little disturbing..."

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

"Thanks for coming in." I said to Myron Milton as he and his wife Mary Milton came in to Myron's basement office. "This is my mother's cellphone, purporting to get a text from me. See if it has the same issues Todd's cellphone had. My mother gave permission, so we don't need a warrant."

"Yes sir." said Myron. As he hooked my mother's cellphone into analyzing equipment, Mary asked me how Todd was. I told her everything I knew, then asked how their daughter Louise was, and got a gushing, glowing report from Louise's proud mom.