Case of the Lost Drone Ch. 02

"As soon as you fired on them, they turned tail." said Chow in his dispassionate voice. "They probably realized that someone had some serious firepower arrayed against them, and they could not afford to be shot down... and identified."

"Okay, enjoy the pizza." said the Chief, taking one of the boxes for himself. "I'll be in my office when you're done, Commander, Captain, and Mr. Chow. The rest of you can go home when you're done." Norm, Cindy, and I grabbed a pizza box each and followed the Chief into his office.

As we sat and ate, the Chief said "So, Don, who were they? What were they doing coming after you? And why the heavier pursuit?"

"Well, sir," I said, "we now have proof... at least with our eyeballs... that there is a manned facility in Clinton County, that they want no visitors and no publicity, and that they'll use deadly force to protect whatever secrets are there."

"And you think Roger Eldon and his son flew their drone in that area." said Moynahan.

"Yes sir." I said. "Bettina asked them to, and none of them realized the danger. But there should not have been that much danger. Maybe the Feds knock out the drone, maybe they arrest Eldon and his son and question them... but to murder them in cold blood, and on top of that go to the Eldon home and blow away Carla Eldon, that's overkill in the most extreme degree, pun not intended. Even Area 51's protectors don't just kill people, they arrest them."

"Truuuue." said the Chief.

"So what's next?" Cindy asked. "FOIA requests for what's there? Federal warrants?"

"We have nothing upon which to base a warrant request." I said. "We might try FOIA requests, but this is kind of like that now-shut-down Federal Facility north of the City, and they'll likely deny the FOIA requests in the name of national security. I might add, guys, that we need to be careful ourselves, lest agents invade our homes the way they invaded the Eldon's home."

"Which is why I am not letting the grass grow under our feet." said the Chief. "I am going to contact both the FBI and people I know in the military, tonight, and raise some very public hell. They likely won't try to kill us if the cat is already out of the baaaaaag."

Chow said "If you contact them that fast, sir, they'll know it was us that shot their choppers down. They may just get warrants and come arrest us, then 'disappear' us later."

He and Cindy looked over at me, and the Chief looked at me, too. I was nodding, but was going into a reverie. After several minutes, I came out of it. Seeing that I was being watched, I knew that it was my decision to make. And I made it.

"Let's put the night shift on 'high watch'," I said, "and tell them to watch for any suspicious vehicles or unusual traffic. Vehicles with Government tags should be watched, even followed. Chief, I think Norm is right... we should not reveal our hand too quickly. Of course they'll realize who that was tonight, but they don't know for sure, at least not yet... especially about who the choppers on our side were. And I'll be stunned if they figure out that Hugh and his team were involved."

"Unless we have another 'Julie Newton' in the Force." said Cindy, meaning a treasonous mole.

"Let's hope not." I said. "What I want to see next, is who reacts to tonight's battle, and what they try to do. I'll talk to Jack Muscone in the morning, and you can talk to your military friends tomorrow, as well, Chief."

"And be sure to tell your wife tonight." I heard a voice say from behind me. It was my wife's voice. I whirled around to see Laura at the doorway.

"I've already been contacted by the CIA Director and Jack's boss, the FBI Executive Assistant Director." Laura said. "This is already lighting up Washington, and they wanted to know the real story through me. So... what do I tell them?"

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

She was blonde, in her thirties, long-legged, and her magnificent body was toned to perfection. She was one of the hottest prostitutes in Washington, D.C., and men paid at least a thousand dollars an hour for her services... and most of those men couldn't last that hour.

She was lying on the sofa in Senator Samuel Russell's office, her legs spread wide, and the Senator was on top of her, thrusting his throbbing cock in and out of her with deep, powerful thrusts. It had been a tense past few days, and Russell needed a release. The hot blonde was a 'perk', the money to pay for using her tight, wet pussy coming from powerful lobbying interests, in this case the Chief Financial Officer of BigAgraFoods.

Russell plowed steadily into the woman as she gyrated beneath him, meeting his thrusts with practiced expertise. She could feel the tension in his body, and knew he would relax considerably as he fired his load into the tip of the condom sheathing his prick. She gripped his asscheeks in her strong hands, kneading them, pulling him into her to get him going faster and harder, which he did.

"Oh yeah..." he moaned softly. "Oh, fuck..." He thought about is wife at home, how he'd had to apply some punishment to her after his sexual liaisons with other women were exposed. He had shouted into her face that he would continue fucking other women, and that she was going to sit at home and do nothing... or she could spread her legs for some of the young male Congressional aides like all the other bitches that were married to his colleagues in the Senate.

The thoughts of him dominating his wife aroused Russell, and he began pumping the prostitute harder. He felt his nut rising, and realized that he was going to come too quickly. But it was too late, and the woman beneath him was too good. He looked down into her beautiful face, her eyes closed, and saw her big breasts bouncing on her chest, and it was too much...

"Uhhhhh..." he gasped as the first spurts of semen fired from his pulsing prick, only to be captured by the thin material of the condom. More spurts followed as he jabbed his cock into the hot whore again and again until he was spent. He let his body relax onto hers, feeling the pleasing lassitude of his release...

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

"Goddammit." Russell said, the pleasure of the afterglow of that hot fuck dissipating with the jarring ring of the phone. He dismounted the blonde beneath him and walked over to his desk. "What the fuck is it?" he snarled into the phone...

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

"This is bad." said Russell. It was now 4:00am local time. He was in his office in Washington. With him were U.S. Senator Roy Lester (R) and FBI Assistant Director Dana Fox. "What's the damage?"

"Two drones downed, and two of our choppers were blown out of the sky." said Fox. "My guys chased them over the State Line, and almost walked into an ambush. The enemy had considerable firepower... military-level firepower... and a sophisticated anti-aircraft weapon system."

"Who the hell could bring shit like that against us?" asked Lester.

"Welcome to the Iron Crowbar's world." said Russell. "Did you talk to the Hammondsville LEOs?"

"Yeah, I talked to the Sheriff there." said Lester. "He said his Police had a meeting with the TCPD people, but it was mostly to make a cooperative effort to interdict a new drug ring that is crossing from my State to yours. Nothing too unusual. The Police Chief took the Commander and Captain that came along on a tour of the State Line and roads that the perps might be using... at least that was the Police Chief's story."

"And later that night," said Russell, "the god-damned Iron Crowbar and his pitbull dyke Captain drive that old green car of theirs right past our facility, two drones go down, then two helicopters get shot down by more helicopters. Do you believe in coincidences?"

"Who besides the Iron Crowbar knows how to fly a helicopter?" asked Dana Fox.

"The TCPD hired someone out of the Army to fly the TCPD's two choppers... one is a Bell 206 and the other a Cobra that belongs to the Iron Crowbar. He somehow got a special license to own and operate it." said Fox.

"The now-retired FBI Deputy Director got him that." said Russell. "And we can't seem to get it rescinded."

"I don't know who else there can fly military aircraft there." said Fox, then he thought about it and said"Oh... their Police Chief. He was an Air Cavalry Troop Commander in the Army. He was a Captain in the Midtown Police for years, then hired as Chief by the TCPD. I'll bet he can fly military aircraft."

"So the bottom line," said Russell, "is that the Iron Crowbar is behind what happened tonight. Am I right on that?"

"Very likely, Senator." said Fox.

"I think it's time we show that fucking local cop that that is all he is.. a local cop." snarled Russell. "If he wants to pretend he belongs in the big leagues, let's show him what the big leagues really are about. I'm getting tried of that piece of shit, Fox. I want you to take care of him."

"We can't kill him." said Fox. "If we do, we'll bring down the wrath of the half of the half of the Government that is not with us. They'll come after us with everything they've got."

"Then find a way to do it that won't cause us problems." said Russell. "Maybe destroy the bastard's useless reputation first. Remember, Dana, they allow themselves to be constrained by the Law, they play it straight, they color within the lines. We don't, and that is our advantage. So take the fucking Iron Crowbar down... by whatever means you need to get the job done..."

Part 11 - The Better Mousetrap

At 8:30am, Friday, January 12th, the Angels meeting started. I asked Teresa to go first.

"The Officers are wondering why we're on heightened alert, and watching for Government vehicles." said Teresa. "I told the Precinct leadership to disseminate to them that the Eldon murder case may draw the attention of unwanted outside agencies. And so far, nothing out of the ordinary has been observed. Our Patrol cruisers at the State Line and County lines report nothing unusual, either."

"Good." I said. "Okay, Green Crowbar, what's new?"

"The Vice Detectives were not here this morning," said Cindy, "because they've been doing night-time operations gathering intel on this drug ring coming in. It's definitely trying to establish itself in our County, and it's competition to T-Square."

"And there is one other thing, sir." Cindy continued. "We can get Mary into the Police Academy Advanced Course in February, even though her pregnancy is becoming advanced; she's due in late March or so. I'm thinking we need to do that, because once she has the baby, it'll be tough on both her and Myron, not to mention the baby, for her to be at the Academy."

"That's a good point." I said. "I've already scheduled her for the February 5th class, and we must make sure she attends it. Also, I want you to personally work with Vice a lot more. I guess you'll be the new Captain Malone on that."

"As long as I don't end up like the old Captain Malone." said Cindy. Teresa's face became inscrutable at that, so I moved the meeting along.

"Once Mary goes to Advanced Course, I'll start working with Vice more, as well." I said. "Of course, I've said for years that I'd do that, and never have."

"That's because you had such a great Vice Lieutenant in there for so long." said Teresa Croyle, talking about herself.

"True." I said. "Though you kept me awake a lot of nights, earning all those Purple Orders."

"Touché." Teresa replied. Cindy just shook her head.

"Anything else?" I asked both of them.

"You heard anything at all from the FBI or anyone else?" Cindy said, referring to the helicopter incidents.

"No." I said. "Myron reported yesterday that someone was trying to hack the TCPD's computers. Not the servers that store data, but hacking to see what we were doing on our computers. He got tired of it and sent a wicked feedback loop virus to them, and the hacking stopped... at least for now. But I didn't hear from Muscone, and I thought I might. The EAD talked to Laura yesterday, but he has no new information, either."

"Is that good or bad?" asked Teresa.

"In the overall, I think it's bad." I said. "If they were up front, or were going to be up front, they'd be talking to us. The silence is deafening."

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

It was my Police cellphone. I answered it. "Oh, hi Jack. We were just taking your name in vain over here... yes... okay... okay... yeah, come on over... 10:00 is great. Bye."

"That was Muscone, of all people." I said as I hung up. "Said his ears were burning because we were talking about him. Seriously, he'll be over here at ten."

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

At 10:00am, my office door opened and in walked Jack Muscone. And someone else walked in: the Executive Assistant Director of the FBI who was his boss. I could feel the mental power of the man, who was dressed in his rather trademark three-piece suit.

After shaking hands with both of them, I asked "Sir, would you rather go to the Conference Room? It might be more comfortable."

"Thank you, Commander, but I'll be quite comfortable in here." the EAD said. "My question is whether or not the security here is adequate."

"Yes sir, it is." I said.

"What about Internal Affairs listening in?" asked Muscone.

"Oh, that." I said. "Don't worry. I tore out the wires in this office and the Chief's office, and in a way that they'll have to tear down walls to fix the wiring."

Muscone barked a laugh. "What did they say to that?"

"Not a damn thing." I said. "I told them that we are obligated to keep conversations on personnel private, and that tearing out the wires was the only way of doing so. Haven't heard a peep of complaint since."

My office door opened again, and my lovely wife Laura came in. She shook hands with the EAD and Jack, and hugged me as I kissed her on the cheek. She then sat down on the sofa as the EAD and Jack sat in the hot chairs. I sat in my 'Command Chair', most very glad to have the lumbar support.

"First I'll ask you," said the EAD, "if you have anyone to replace Captain Ross as your co-FBI-Consultant... and bodyguard."

"No sir." I said. "I was thinking about Detective Joanne Warner, who has a TS clearance already. But she seems to have 'other' obligations, these days." I made a point to not look at Laura.

"What about Captain Croyle?" asked Jack.

"The problem there, and don't tell Captain Ross this," I said, "is that when I'm not here, Captain Croyle is in charge. I could take Cindy with me, but I can't take Teresa when I'm not here. Anyway, there's Washington, Parker, Davis, McGhillie, and Purvis to consider."

"I'll can tell you right now that I like McGhillie and Davis." said the EAD. "But it's up to them."

I nodded. "I'll talk to both of them." I said. "So, sir, what brings you here to my humble office?"

"Humble is right." said the EAD. "I expected to see an office with the walls covered in your many citations and awards. Instead, I see a couple of your citations, the citations earned by your pet dog, and a child's drawing on the other wall... that got your ears correct." I chuckled.

"Yes sir." I said. "And the dog is credited with saving lives."

"Very true. Anyway, what I came to talk about," said the EAD, getting down to business, "and I've discussed this with Laura already, is what happened on the other side of the State Line Wednesday night. Now I don't know who was involved, and I don't want to know. But let me give you the ramifications."

He started: "As you know, Assistant Director Dana Fox is tasked with assignments doing with Homeland Security. His little excursion into California aside, he's been focusing on a few issues ranging from The Guardians of Justice, whom we've not been able to trace and who seem to have disappeared, to Top Secret installations being compromised. His failure regarding the Federal Facility north of the City, which was destroyed by a military aircraft, has been a black eye. He also paid a heavy physical price for what happened to Professor Milton."

I nodded, being very happy that I personally administered that 'heavy physical price'. The EAD continued: "What I am about to tell you is classified, and you've signed paperwork in the past that covers it. Yes, most of those nuclear missile silos were decommissioned and the land sold. But in Clinton County, an underground command facility remains. On Wednesday night, they detected what appeared to be a vehicle operating without normal lights surveilling them, and they sent up drones to check the intruder out. The drones were shot down."

"Then they sent up two manned helicopters." continued the EAD. "Those helicopters were shot down by unknown, hostile helicopters, killing what I am told were four U.S. Army personnel. The intruders ran for the State Line, and when four more manned aircraft gave chase, those aircraft were locked onto by something similar to Stinger anti-aircraft missile launchers... but more sophisticated."

The EAD went on: "AD Dana Fox has been assigned by top-level national security personnel in Washington to investigate this breach of national security. He does not expect cooperation from you nor anyone in this County, but he does expect that his investigation, and possible arrest of suspects that murdered military officers, will not be impeded."

"Sir," I asked, my eyes boring into the man, "was there a breach of that installation's security the weekend before?"

The EAD looked right back at me, and there was a battle of mental willpower going on... and I won. He finally nodded and said "You didn't hear me say this, but yes. A drone invaded the installation's airspace, and was shot down."

"And a man and boy were murdered." I said. "Then their home was invaded and the man's wife was murdered, shot multiple times. I won't even mention the family dog. What about that, sir?"

"Fox is going to say this is a matter of national security---" started the EAD. I was having none of it."

"This is not a matter of 'national security'!" I yelled. "This is 'Ruby Ridge' all over again!" There followed several seconds of total silence, broken by me:

"Maybe Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge was a white supremacist, but the FBI shot his son in the back and shot the family dog. They shot his wife Vicki, who was standing in the doorway of her home... armed with a ten month old baby. As Weaver and his daughter cringed on the floor, being shot at if they moved, and having to look at his wife's body lying in front of them, the FBI taunted him, yelling 'What's Vicki cooking for dinner?' When they finally arrested Weaver, the murderers congratulated themselves with bonuses and promotions. And when the truth began coming out, they tried hard to cover it up. Only the tireless work of radio talk show host G. Gordon Liddy brought those murdering bastards to Justice."

"This is worse." I continued. "Roger Eldon was no white supremacist. He was guilty only of flying a drone in an area he did not know was off limits. His son was guilty of nothing. His wife was guilty of nothing. Yet they were savagely gunned down, and every effort was made to cover up the crime by concealing the victims' identities and the fact they were flying a drone. And that was done by Agents of the Federal Government, perhaps of the FBI. You tell me who is right and who is wrong here, sir. And tell me if it is really 'national security' to obliterate a family, or is 'national security' being used to cover up first degree murder."

My eyes were boring into the EAD's, and I could see that he was very uncomfortable at the turn this conversation had taken. Finally, he looked back at Laura, who was sitting behind him, and said "You were right. Nothing gets past your husband." Laura just stared back at him; she was having none of this, either.

The EAD then turned to face me. "Okay, Commander, please do believe that I am on your side. And Jack Muscone here is your friend and your biggest fan, and is ready to help you in any way he can. Will you trust us to clean up this mess?"