Swamp Frogs Ch. 01

"Inside information." said Teresa. "Seriously, between Todd's lobbyists and Chief Griswold, the consensus is that the Governor will dig in and not suspend Don. As to a pardon, Don has said he won't accept one; he'd rather go to trial."

"Won't they just impeach the Governor if he doesn't suspend Commander Troy?" asked Teddy Parker. "Isn't that the trap they're setting for the Governor?"

"How would that work?" asked Joanne. "The Legislature is not in session."

"As I understand it," said Jerome Davis, "the State Supreme Court can call the Legislature into Special Session if it's about the Governor, such as a mental capacity issue or impeachment. The Court would have to be petitioned by Legislators or the Lieutenant Governor."

"And Collins would do it in a heartbeat." said Joanne. "He's such a sleazebag."

"As is Robert Mullen." said Teresa. "So... changing the subject... Commander Ross, tell us about that meeting with the Media."

"Ohhhhh, God." Cindy said. "I truly do understand Don's hatred of those bastards. I have never seen such sanctimonious arrogance in my life. I'm not even sure why they wanted that meeting... nothing could possibly have come of it."

"They wanted to have their cake and eat it too." said a voice, followed by a pitcher of beer being set on the table. "Mind if I join you?" said Fire Marshal Zoe Singer, whose rank equalled Cindy's.

"Sure," said Cindy, "but no ranks here. We're equal-opportunity beer drinkers, here."

Everyone laughed and Zoe agreed, then said as she sat down: "I think those Press bastards are used to having their way, and crushing anyone who dares oppose them. But this time they've run into a buzzsaw in Commander Troy, and they genuinely don't know what to do."

"But ma'am," said Joanne, "they have just goaded Commander Troy relentlessly, attacked his family personally. And they didn't expect him to retaliate?"

"No, I really don't think they did." said Cindy. "And in that meeting, as Zoe can attest, they absolutely would not acknowledge in any way that they were part of the problem. It was truly... amazing." She was shaking her platinum blonde head in disbelief at the memory.

Zoe said "I think they were equally shocked that it's not just Commander Troy that hates them. They seemed genuinely shocked that Captain Thompson was opposing them so strongly, and their expectations that the Sheriff and Chief Moynahan would bend to their will and promise to rein in Commander Troy did not materialize. They really thought most of us would be on their side against Don, and were in disbelief that none of us, none at all, took their side."

"Which goes back to their own arrogance and sense of self-importance." said Cindy.

"So, changing the subject," said Teresa, "what is going on about Chief Griswold's son?"

"I looked it up today." said Joanne. "It's really sad. According to Police reports, Charlie, as he was called, drove up University Avenue at a speed exceeding 70 miles per hour, almost crashed making the curve onto North Street, then gained speed as he drove west. When he got to the Bypass connection, he was driving over 100 miles per hour. Charlie apparently lost control of his car and ran headlong into the bridge support. He may have been swerving to avoid another car, but no one else stopped, so they weren't sure."

"I remember that." said Zoe. "We had to cut Charlie out of the car, and were stunned that he was still alive. His neck was broken and he had severe head trauma. So he's still alive?"

"Yes ma'am." said Joanne. "At the time, University Hospital was not as equipped to handle neck and back issues, so he was life-flighted to Eastern State's hospital. He survived, and doctors were again shocked when he opened his eyes. Unfortunately, he can't move, can't speak, can barely breathe. About all he can do is blink his eyes, which he does a lot."

"Chief Griswold never talks about it." said Teresa, "He hasn't even spoken to Don about it. Captain Malone told us in Vice once that Charlie had been dating Rita, now the 'Lashes & Lace' woman, or he had a crush on her, and she either broke up with him or rejected him. Police at that time believed Charlie was trying to commit suicide."

"No wonder Chief Griswold hates Rita." Cindy said. "So now the Press is trying to dig up the story. And no telling what lies they'll make up about it to hurt the Chief politically..."

Part 4 - The Special Grand Jury

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Fox Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Thursday, July 19th, from in front of the State Office Building on Courthouse Square. "Fox Two News has learned that Independent State Counsel Robert Mullen is bringing Commander Donald Troy before the Special Grand Jury today!"

Bettina started: "Legal experts are surprised that Mr. Mullen is putting Commander Troy on the stand before the Special Grand Jury after only one day of closed testimony, and they are equally surprised that Commander Troy is agreeing to sit before the Grand Jury on such short notice."

Then camera panned out as Bettina said "We have with us Dr. Romanov of the University Institute for Political Policy. Dr. Romanov, did Commander Troy reach some kind of plea deal or immunity deal with the Independent State Counsel? Is he going to testify against the Governor?"

"We don't know, Bettina." said Dr. Romanov. "Usually the Independent State Counsel would announce, or at least leak, any plea deal or immunity under which Commander Troy might then be compelled to testify to the Grand Jury. Since we have not heard of any such agreements, we must be wary of speculation regarding this issue."

"If there is no deal in place," said Bettina, "isn't it very unusual for Mr. Mullen to be putting Commander Troy before the Grand Jury?"

"Very unusual, and very dangerous for Commander Troy," said Romanov, "especially if he does not have some kind of immunity from prosecution for himself..."

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

"Oh, hell," said Cindy Ross as everyone drank coffee in MCD, "it's a trap, all right... and you get one guess which crowbar-carrying redhead is springing it."

"Mighty dangerous, though." said Chief Moynahan. "Going in front of a Grand Jury with no legal protection like that... it's a slippery slope. One wrong impression... and he could be indicted for something silly... or nothing at all, really."

Sensing the gloom in the room, Moynahan continued: "But I do want one thing to be very clear. Unless and until he's actually convicted of something, Commander Troy is not going to be suspended from his duties with this Police Force. We do not kow-tow to 'witch hunts' around herrrrrrre."

The mood in the room lightened considerably upon hearing that.

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

Grand Juries are an archaic leftover of the legal system. As far as I know, the United States is the only country that still uses them. They can be good, but they can also be devastatingly bad. I was about to find out how much so.

The Special Grand Jury convened at 9:00am, and I knew Robert Mullen was already in there with them, 'prepping' them for my testimony. I appeared in the anteroom to the Grand Jury chamber in my full-dress Uniform: full ribbons, Medal of Valor around my neck, white shirt and black necktie under the jacket.

At 9:30, when he came to get me, Mullen's face contorted with fury when he saw me. "I told you to wear a standard uniform!" he growled.

"This is the standard TCPD uniform when appearing before Juries of any kind." I replied. "You wouldn't want me to violate regulations, now would you?"

"You're a God-damn asshole, Troy." snarled Mullen. I smiled acidly, withholding an 'appropriate' verbal response.

We went into the chamber, which looked something like a classroom: fifteen people sat in desks that high-school and college students might sit in, and there was a standard desk in front, along with the chair for the witness. I was sworn in and sat down in the hardback chair. Maybe Mullen thought it would be uncomfortable for me, but I was grateful for the back support it gave me.

After the basic questions letting the Grand Jury know who I was and what I did for a living, Mullen began the questioning. It was similar to the day before: slow, painstaking, almost as slow as a Courtroom trial proceeding. Then Mullen got to his first 'gotcha':

"Did you investigate the Jasmine Nix assassination?" Mullen asked.

"I was asked to review the FBI's findings---"

"It's a yes-or-no question." Mullen almost shouted.

"No it's not." I said. "As I told you yesterday, the FBI asked me to review its findings, but I wasn't an original investigator. And since you can say that is or isn't investigating the case itself, a more complete answer is required."

"Yesterday's testimony is secret, you agreed to that." said Mullen.

"No I didn't." I said.

"You signed----" Mullen started, then remembered that I had not signed the paperwork. The Grand Jury members were peering hard at him.

"No, I signed no paperwork yesterday, as you know." I finished.

"Okay, you reviewed the FBI's findings?" asked Mullen, sensing the Jury's mood and moving along.

"Yes." I said.

"Did you find anything out of the ordinary?" asked Mullen. "Anything at all?"

"It was a murder case." I said. "Everything was out of the ordinary." Some of the Grand Jury panelists laughed. Mullen glared at them, then at me.

"Anything unusual compared to the many other murder scenes you've investigated?" Mullen went on.

"Nothing that grabbed my attention at the time." I said. "I agreed with the FBI's findings and conclusions, as well as those of the City Police."

"The shooter is alleged to have shot through a cut out circle of glass in the hotel room window." said Mullen. "Was that your conclusion?"

"That appeared to be what happened." I said.

"So the shooter had to cut out a hole to shoot through, right?"

"Someone had to, yes." I said.

"And where was the cut out piece of glass found?"

"It wasn't found, to the best of my knowledge." I replied.

"It wasn't in the room? It wasn't on the killer's body?" asked Mullen, as if he were guiding me into a trap. "It wasn't on the ground outside?"

"I don't know where it was, if it was found at all." I said. "There were no notes of anyone stating it was found, nor any mention of it in the evidence."

"And you don't consider that unusual?" Mullen asked. "You just testified that you found nothing unusual. Yet you didn't consider the disappearance of that piece of glass unusual?"

"I didn't consider it at all." I replied. "You asked if I saw anything unusual in the reports, and I didn't. I can't comment upon, nor even expect to know about, things that are not there." I noticed the Grand Jury panelists peering hard at me; this wasn't going over well with them.

"I'd think most people would find that to be very unusual." said Mullen, with a sideways glance at the Grand Jury members. "Okay let's move on... I'll just ask directly: did the Governor ask or order you to investigate Hillary Braselton and Donna Rodman after they accused him of sexual harassment?"

"No." I said.

"Not directly? Not through intermediaries?" Mullen asked.

"No." I said. "No one at all asked me to investigate their crimes."

"Then why did you investigate those women?" asked Mullen.

"I initiated the investigation myself," I said, "after noticing anomalies about the alleged signature on the convention program, which gave me probable cause to begin that investigation."

"And what were those anomalies?" asked Mullen, genuine curiosity overriding his agenda for the moment.

"The signature on the program was the same as the way the Governor signs official State documents." I said. "He does not now, and certainly years ago did not sign autographs the same way. I'm the same way: when kids ask for my autographs, I sign them differently than the way I sign documents and checks."

I noticed a slight shift in the posture of the Grand Jury panelists; that had scored well with them. And since the corrupt Media had never and would never report accurately on the case, this was the first time they were hearing this information.

"Just one more question." said Mullen. "Reporter John Hardwood helped kidnap your daughter and rig the explosives that almost killed her. He was later found murdered. Did you murder John Hardwood in response for what he did to your daughter, Commander Troy?"

"I did not murder John Hardwood at all." I replied clearly.

"Are you willing to take a lie detector test to answer that question, Commander Troy?" asked Mullen, unable to hide a gleam in his eye.

"They're not admissible in Court." I said. "But if it'll convince you and this Grand Jury that I did not murder Hardwood, then wire me up." I was wiggling my fingers in suggestion to attach the electrodes.

Mullen was stunned, and his face clearly showed it. His latest gambit had failed, as had many others before it. I was told to step down, and was escorted out. Mullen stayed inside with the Special Grand Jury. I knew he'd be asking them to indict me for Perjury and Obstruction of Justice. My future was now in the hands of fifteen Citizens...

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

I arrived at home, the Mountain Nest, about 2:30pm, and changed into a regular uniform of light blue shirt with soft shoulderboards. I then drove to Police Headquarters, and reported to the Chief's office. He had me sit down and called Cindy in, having her sit down as well.

"Sooooo, Mr. Crowbarrr." said Chief Moynahan, "how did it gooooo?"

"I'm not sure." I said. "As expected, Mullen ambushed me. He asked if I murdered John Hardwood."

"Not exactly within the scope of his investigation." Cindy said.

"No, but he was trying to get me to react, and to cast doubts upon my integrity." I said. "When I said that I did not murder Hardwood, which is true, he asked if I'd take a lie detector test."

"Ahhhhhh." said the Chief. "He remembered your refusal to take one when he was the TCIG lawyer up here."

"Yes sir." I said. "So I shocked him when I said I'd take a lie detector test to prove I didn't murder Hardwood. I think that was his last shot at me. We'll see how the Grand Jury saw it."

"Good." said the Chief. "And since I've made it clear to the world that you will not be suspended until you're actually convicted of a crime, which an indictment is not, what is next on your agenda?"

"Mitt Willis." I said. "I need to see how the FBI is doing trying to get what's on that jump drive."

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

I called Laura to tell her I was back. She said I could give her the details at home tonight, and then said "Hold the line a second." A second later, I heard my firstborn child's excited voice.

"Hi Daddy!" Carole said.

"Hi, Sweetpea." I said. "What's new with you?"

"Mommy said I'm going to be taking Ai-keeee-doh lessons!" Carole exclaimed. "Grandma and Marie are going to take them with me!"

"That's great!" I said. "Can I take them with you, too?"

"Grandma said you took them when you were my age." Carole said, sounding confused.

"Yes, but I can always get better, right?" I asked. "We should always try to get better, in everything we do, right?"

"Yes, Daddy." Carole said, absorbing the life lesson. The truth was that I was learning Aikido forms that didn't stress my (very) bad back. I was glad Carole was excited about taking Aikido; my own training at her age had been partially to keep me from getting beat up by my older sister Elizabeth without being able to put up a fight for myself...

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

I called Jack Muscone. His news was not as good.

"No," Muscone said, "Cardigan and his people have not been able to crack the code. They have confirmed that BigAgraFoods's computer upgrades will erase that file if it is found. Fortunately we found that out with a duplicate jump drive. But it's 'no go', so far, on anything we can use against them in a Court of Law..."

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

At 4:00pm Cindy came to my office. She was wearing a gray suit and a black pullover blouse, very similar to my favored attire except that her expertly-tailored suit was cut and sewn for a woman.

"Wow, you look great!" I said. "What's the occasion? Trying to impress Callie?"

"No, trying to impress the whole County." Cindy replied as she sat down at my hand-gesture bidding. "I'm going to endorse Jenna Stiles for D.A. this evening. I've always thought you looked damn good in this attire... for a man, of course... so I had a suit like it made for me. Armor-lined, as well."

"Well, you shall impress everyone, being the awesomest Commander." I said.

"Stoppit." Cindy said, though pleased.

"And the best looking Commander in a gray suit and black shirt." I continued.

"Aw, thanks." Cindy said, blushing a bit. After a pause, she said "So you're not asking about my endorsing Jenna?"

"Mmmm, no-ooo." I said. "That's your business, and you know the rules about not having a badge visible and all that. And don't ever be uniformed security for her once you've endorsed her, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera..." Cindy nodded.

I went on: "But since you want me to ask, I'll bite." I said, then added sarcastically: "You're endorsing Jenna? Really?"

Cindy grinned. "With Paulina out of it, I figure she won't get too upset with me if I do. And Jenna is a good person, and will do the job well. And my views generally agree with her views, even if I don't state them very often."

"You political activist, you." I said. "Who knew that under that gray suit beats the heart of an impassioned politician." Cindy laughed. We went on to other subjects...

Part 5 - Waiting

Laura made it a special night for me. After putting the kids and dogs to bed, we took a hot tub bath together. Then we went to bed, where my wife sucked my cock to throbbing hardness.

Then she rode me, sliding her wet pussy up an down my throbbing cockshaft, up and down, up and down, grinding her pelvis against mine when she had me nuts-deep inside her. I sucked her milk-filled tits as she rode me, making her moan with pleasure.

I slid my hands down and cupped the globes of her firm ass, kneading them in my hands as we grinded together. Laura began riding up and down on my cock again, and I slid my hands over her calves, down to her shapely feet. As I held them, I felt my nut begin to rise. Laura felt it too, and began working her pussy up and down my cock. Unable to hold on, I groaned and pumped my full climax up into her...

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

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Fox Two News!" shouted the redheaded reporterette at 7:00am, Friday, July 20th. "Fox Two News has learned that the Special Grand Jury convened by the Independent State Counsel will hand down its findings regarding Commander Donald Troy this morning!"

Bettina: "While we do not know if there will be any indictments of Commander Troy or Governor Val Jared, we do know that Independent State Counsel Robert Mullen asked the Grand Jury to indict Commander Troy for perjury, obstruction of justice, and using Police power to harass witnesses in a criminal case, that being the case of the two women who made very credible claims against Governor Val Jared for sexual harassment!"

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

It was a silent MCD that morning, and the coffee klatch pretty much didn't happen. It was nearly silent and all business at the Precincts as roll calls were made.

As 9:00am neared, I came from the Chief's office to the anteroom of my own. Cindy's assistant Lauren looked up at me with worried puppy-dog eyes. My assistant Helena was nearly in tears.

"Okay, hold all my calls and no visitors until I come back out... what's wrong?" I asked Helena.