A Death in the Family

This story is part of an ongoing series.

The chronological order of my stories is listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

Feedback and

constructive

criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

Part 1 - Prologue

8:00am, Monday, May 27th... Memorial Day. At the north end of Cemetery Hill, a ceremony was taking place. The first memorial monument to be built in the cemetery was being established, and it was in the memory of those who had fought and died for our country in war.

Father Alberto Romano was consecrating the memorial with prayers. There were a number of old veterans there, many of them members of the American Legion that had sponsored the monument. Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Sean Moynahan was there, in uniform, as was Admiral (Ret.) Leonard R. Cordell. Joanne Warner was also present, wearing her Army Reserve uniform.

And in our formal Police uniforms were Your Iron Crowbar, Commander Cindy Ross, and Captain Teresa Croyle. Admiral Cordell had asked us to be there. He spoke of his Captain in Viet Nam, and his gratitude that his Captain's daughter could bring her family to this monument to remember the Medal of Honor winner and the other servicemen that had died. Other veterans talked about those they'd served with who had made the supreme sacrifice for their country and their comrades.

Cindy had invited Susie Haskins to come to the ceremony with her, and to visit Mrs. Veasley's grave afterwards. Susie had been at First Baptist Church on that darkest day when the Consultant of Crime tried to wipe out the church and everyone in it (

Author's note: 'A Tiny Slip', Ch. 02-03.

), and Susie and Cindy had later given each other Mrs. Veasley's Bronze Star ribbon in times they each needed courage. (Author's note: 'Gods and Crowbars', Ch. 04; 'Causing A Commotion', Ch. 03.) Cindy put a quarter on Mrs. Veasley's tombstone, as she was with Mrs. Veasley when Mrs. Veasley had died. Susie put a penny beside Cindy's quarter.

Meanwhile, Davie Marsdon had accompanied Susie and Cindy to the ceremony. He did not like having to wear a suit and tie, but he did like hearing the stories the veterans told him. He went with me to the grave of old Mr. Davis, and I told Davie about Mr. Davis being in the Pathfinders on D-Day, and I added how his spirit went on as he stood up to corrupt people while being in a wheelchair. (

Author's note: 'Falsely Accused', Ch. 06.

)

"What are Pathfinders, Mr. Crowbar?" Davie asked.

"You know how Airborne Paratroopers jump out of planes and land on a landing zone on the ground?" I asked. Davie nodded, and I said "Pathfinders go in, sometimes jumping out of planes in the dark, and mark the landing zones with lights. They bury them in the ground so that only the Paratroopers's planes can see the lights. Because of the Pathfinders, the 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions were successful on D-Day, and helped liberate Europe from the Nazis."

"Wowwww!" Davie exclaimed. "They're awesome! I want to be like them one day!" Hearing that in his voice, I knew Davie would realize that dream one day. I did not know it at the time, but he'd achieve a whole lot more...

Part 2 - What You CAN Do

Wednesday, May 29th. Molly Evans was in the rehab room at University Hospital. Also in the room were Tanya Perlman and Derrick Waters, 'Train No. 93', the former Bulldogs defensive end. Molly was using the parallel bars to help support her as she walked on her wounded right leg.

"You're doing well on the leg." the physical therapist said. "How does it feel?"

"It hurts." Molly said. "It hurts like hell."

"Good." said the therapist. "That means it's healing up." Molly didn't know if that was true or not, but she pushed through the pain and walked to the other end of the bars.

"Doing okay?" Tanya asked.

"Yeah." said Molly. "I'm just... I feel tired."

"You need to breathe." said the therapist.

"You sadists have been making me take deep breaths for days." Molly said. "That hurts more than walking on this leg."

"Dr. Cordell says you're doing very well." said Tanya. "So keep it up!"

"All right, Derrick." said the therapist. "Your turn."

"Hoo boy." said Derrick.

"Come on, Derrick!" Tanya said, rather sharply. "You're getting there!"

"I dunno if I'll ever get there." said Derrick. Still, he wheeled up to the parallel bars, and pulled himself to a standing position. He was looking down when he realized someone was right in front of him. He looked up... into the gray eyes of Your Iron Crowbar.

"Commander Troy!" gasped Waters.

"Don't tell me what you can't do, Number 93." I said, my eyes boring into his. "Show me what you

can

do! Now move!"

Derrick was looking into my eyes as he began walking with herky-jerky steps, but walking nonetheless. I backed up as he moved forward. "Come on, Derrick!" I said. "Time to stop playing games. Don't disappoint me. Keep walking!"

We got in several more steps, then Derrick started collapsing. I grabbed him and we went to our knees together.

"Ten feet." I said. "That's better. But it's not fifteen feet. That's next."

"Yes sir." said Derrick.

Tanya had told me that Derrick's progress was slow, and in her opinion it was more mental than physical. So going to Molly's rehab had been an excuse for me to see how Derrick was doing. And I used Derrick's fear of disappointing me to overcome his fear of trying to walk fifteen feet.

"I know it's tough, Derrick." I said as the therapist helped him back in his chair. "I've been there; my back has been broken twice. And I know that you can overcome your injuries and walk again, just like I'm doing."

"Yes sir." said Derrick. "I will get there. I promise you."

"That's what I want to hear." I said. "I'm holding you to that promise." Then I looked up and said "That goes for you too, Chief Evans." Molly just gave me a thumbs-up.

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

"It's official." said Cindy as we sat in my office later that day. "Callie and I are postponing the wedding until this Fall."

"And why is that?" I asked.

"Molly being in the hospital really took up our time." Cindy said. "And my father is going back to Malaysia for the summer. He would've stayed, but I could tell he wanted to get over there and help Quint Danielson, who is doing a terrific job, by the way."

I nodded. "Okay, then. "Just don't schedule the wedding for the last Saturday in October." Bulldogs v. Wildcats, dontcha know.

"I'm a blonde, but not a dumb blonde." Cindy said, making me laugh. "We're looking towards September. I'm also working around what Tanya and Jack want to do. I wish they'd set a date."

"Double wedding?" I asked. Cindy shook her head vigorously in disagreement.

"That would be a two-ring circus." Cindy astutely said. "Callie and I want something quiet, just family and friends and Vision people at my father's compound. Tanya and Jack... that's going to be a spectacle on a national scale..."

Part 3 - 'Sandstorm' and Crowbars: The Police Boxing Matches

Saturday, June 1st. The music of Darude's '

Sandstorm

' started up on the loudspeakers, and the 200 people inside roared their approval and began waving red, blue, or white streamers. The cheers only got louder as the Defending Champion came out of the women's locker room, dressed in her white plastic armor with red trim, a special football helmet, and carrying a red crowbar. Teresa Croyle made her way to the ring in the center of the gym, climbed in to join the waiting referee Micah Rudistan, and waited for the Challenger.

And the Challenger emerged, dressed in white plastic with blue trim and a special football helmet, and of course carrying a crowbar. The Challenger weaved through the throng of boisterous, cheering onlookers and arrived at the ring for the ritual.

"Would you like a shot... at the title?" the Champion, Your Iron Wolf, asked loudly.

"Don't mind if I do." replied the Challenger... Your Iron Crowbar. The room erupted as I climbed into the ring...

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

It had been two weeks of trash talk, bets made, and rising anticipation. In the quarterfinals, Teresa had defeated Julia Rodriguez more easily than expected; it would seem Tanya's seedings had been extremely accurate. Cindy Ross had overwhelmed Hugh Hewitt, again seemingly more easily than anticipated; it was obviously she wanted it more. A lot more.

My match with Lt. Ivar Irwin had been tougher. Irwin had done some training with his Captain of Operations (Teresa), and the results showed. He was ready for whatever I threw at him, and was using the defensive tactics he'd learned very well. His basic Police weaponless tactics were also very good. Fortunately for me, he was still susceptible to feints and deceptive tactics, and I was able to get him to overcommit to maneuvers and then deliver some punishment. Halfway through the third round he made one of those overcommitments, and exposed elbow and shoulder joints. I knew what to do with those.

Afterwards, Irwin said he appreciated the chance to compete against me, and was glad he was able to make a good showing. I told him that he'd fought very well, and to keep up his training; he was already a 'contendah', and would be more so in the future.

The last match was Jerome Davis v. Micah Rudistan. Rudistan's potty mouth was part of his strategy, but in Davis he found someone immune to it. And Davis had been training with his father and other Navy personnel in personal combat tactics. I'd even heard a rumor that FBI Executive Assistant Director Owen Lange, once a Navy man, had worked with Jerome in secret. In any case, Davis just used Micah's taunts as mental fuel, and he didn't say a word as he mercilessly administered the worst beatdown Rudistan had ever received. Davis even did something we didn't think possible: he shut Rudistan's mouth down as well as his hopes for the title.

Then came the semi-finals. Teresa took on Jerome Davis, and it was a tough match. Both sides got in crowbar blows to the other's plastic armor, but it was Teresa that was pressing the advantage, and was able to use a few moves to throw Davis hard to the floor a couple of times. As the second round was about to end, Teresa managed to get Davis in a throw, and held on and take him down. The three-count (no yielding by Davis) applied just as the bell rang... and the rule was that one could

not

be saved by the bell.

And then the gym totally filled up, for what many were calling the true championship match: Red Crowbar v. Green Crowbar. I had the red-trimmed armor and red football helmet, and Cindy the blue. The rules were suspended to allow us to use our own crowbars. And that's when the fight started...

It was far and away the toughest personal combat battle I'd ever fought, with the possible exception of the night the Slender Man broke my back. Cindy was ready, and she was fiercely determined. It did not help my cause that her weeks of worry over her sister Molly's recovery was helping to fuel Cindy's desire to win. But I was equally ready, and equally determined to win.

*WHANG!* *CLANG!* *WHANG!* *WHACK!*

Those sounds echoed through the gym again and again as one of us parried each other's blows and someone got a lick in on the other's armor. Cindy was using everything she'd ever learned to achieve two black belts as well as other tactics she'd been adding to her repertoire. And I was using every skill I'd learned since I became a four-year-old Aikido student, augmented by some basic judo and then military and Police weaponless combat tactics.

Neither of us could press an advantage. Cindy did a lot of feinting, a LOT of feinting, but I never bit. And every maneuver that I could do failed: Cindy had the vibe, and could tell what I was doing! That was what made her my toughest opponent!

At the end of three rounds, we were both still standing. For the first time ever, a Police Boxing Matches (Freestyle Division) match was going into 'overtime': the rule was in effect that quarterfinalists and semifinalists would box until there was a clear winner. The crowd was roaring, and I could feel the energy of the whole room.

I could also feel something else... well, I could observe it. Cindy was tiring. For the last month she'd sat in a Hospital waiting room, or at her sister's bedside at The Cabin or the Mountain Nest, while I still got my workouts in. I began pressing the attack, subtly but persistently, as a starfish persistently puts pressure on a clam. I also began moving around more, adding to Cindy's tiredness.

Early in the fifth(!) round, I felt that I had my chance. I thought about an attack to my left, backhand-swinging my crowbar at Cindy's side to catch her armor in the ribcage. But my body did something else; I moved right, and executed a great judo move to take her down. She literally had frozen in place, and it was 'ovah'. Once I had her pinned, she yielded.

I'd been practicing that 'conditioned reflex' move for months, to use Cindy's mental powers against her, and it had worked. As I moved to the neutral corner and Cindy slowly got up, I wondered if that would work on Carole in the future. (Answer: no.)

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

As top seed, Teresa had the choice of armor color, and she chose the red. For the first time ever, I donned blue-trimmed armor. I'd said the football helmets were special, and they were: Coach Marshall of the Wildcats had sent me a perfectly-fitting Wildcat helmet, gold with red and black stripes down the middle. Instead of the Wildcat logo, though, the icon of Clan Crowbar was on the sides, the six gold-trimmed red diamonds shooting out from a center point against a black background, bordered by a gold-trimmed red circle.

Todd had managed, probably through a generous donation to their outstanding Veterinary School, to get Auburn University to send a helmet in Teresa's size, white with burnt orange and blue stripes down the middle. But instead of the Auburn logo, her helmet also sported the icon of Clan Crowbar.

As we came to the center of the ring, referee Micah Rudistan made that most important of announcements: "The rule is sus-pen-dedddddd... to allow the boxers to use their... own... crowbars!..." The gym erupted into cheers.

The referee admonished us to keep it clean, no intentional head shots, no shots to the face plastic at any time, and definitely don't hit the referee. Teresa and I clanged our red crowbars together and went to our corners. The bell rang, Rudistan yelled "Box!", and we were AWN!

Teresa was at least as well trained as me in Aikido, and she was mentally disciplined as well. Our plans were simple: I was trying to take advantage of her nerve-damaged right side (

Author's note: 'Teresa's Christmas Finale'.

), and Teresa was trying to take advantage of my twice-broken back (

Author's note: 'Film Noir', 'Return of The Slender Man'.

).

I won't say that I had the advantage of being a male vs. a female, but I

did

have a huge advantage over Teresa in my height and arm length. Teresa had some compensations, such as quickness and being a smaller target, but I didn't have to go as near to her to land blows as she did to me. And that helped.

I was mostly swinging my crowbar backhand at Teresa's right side, and she was parrying the blows and dodging and weaving like Muhammed Ali. And she was trying to move very quickly and get in a shot at me, hoping that I couldn't spin around on my bad back. But I'd long since learned to pivot with my hips to take the strain off my back, and it was working.

The bell rang to end the first round, and the crowd was roaring. When the bell rang to begin the second round, I came out quickly, but Teresa did not. I hurtled into an attack. Teresa had pre-planned a counter, and she ducked and tried to bull rush me. In doing so, she exposed her right shoulder joint, and I knew what to do with that. I hooked her arm and tried to take her down. But she rolled with it, somersaulted out of my grasp, and was on her feet quickly. I barely got my balance back in time to parry the mighty crowbar blow that came straight at me.

I saw Teresa's eyes sparkle just a little bit as we feinted and circled each other again. She'd gotten one on me, no doubt. But that was her last moment of glory.

I stepped up the ferocity of my attacks, crowbar blows to the left and right. Teresa defended those, and I knew she was looking to counterattack and come inside and whale on me. I seemingly let her... and she took the bait.

*WHAM!*

I sidestepped left, then took her right arm and shoulder and used her own weight and motion to take her to the floor. She was on her belly, pinned. I had her right arm behind her in what must've been a painful hold, and my left arm was pushing her upper back and neck to the floor.

"Say the word, dammit!" I grunted. "Say the word!"

"Never!" Teresa growled back.

Still, referee Rudistan knew darn well that there would be no yielding in this match, so he slammed his hand to the mat three times, and it was over. I literally couldn't hear for the noise of the roars.

I let Teresa go and backed off, then went to the neutral corner. It took Teresa a moment to get up, and she angrily waved off Rudistan's offer to help her up. But once she was standing, she faced me and bowed low. I bowed back with equal exactitude, then we met in a handshake that became a man-hug.

Afterwards, the Chief presented us our trophies, as well as trophies to Morton for winning the Boxing Division and Louie Towson coming in second. Per tradition, wagered money changed hands when I was handed the Freestyle Champion's trophy, which I held up triumphantly. I had

earned

that thing, by God! I thought to myself.

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

"I don't think you even got hit in the head." said Laura as she examined me in the Police Station's infirmary room. "The Chief should ban you from competing; you're too much for everyone else." I knew what the real meaning of her words was: Laura was not a fan of our barbarian ritual, and she especially did not want her loving husband to get hurt.

"He

did

ban me the last two years." I said.

"Uh huh." Laura said. "But no Slender Man this time around."

"Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?" I quipped. Laura was 'not amused'.

"Okay, you're good to go." she said. "Your back's still intact, and you have no concussions or bad bruises."

"Do the parts that I use to make love to my beautiful wife still work?" I asked.

"I'll have to test those functions later tonight." Laura said. She gave me a kiss on the mouth, which of course I returned. She broke the kiss and said "Okay, shoo. I've got to examine Teresa."

When I opened the door to the hallway, Teresa and Cindy were waiting outside. Teresa looked at me and said "I thought you'd be an hour in there. She didn't test your sexual functions?" Cindy burst out laughing.

"Wasn't for lack of trying on my part." I replied. "See you in my office when you're done..."

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

I was in my office with Cindy when Teresa came in, carrying the red crowbar she'd used during the Matches.

"

Sumimasen.

" the Iron Wolf said, bowing to me.

"For what?" I asked, surprised, but bowing back.

"For not giving you a better battle." Teresa said as she sat down at my hand gesture. "Like the Green Crowbar here did."

"Harumph." I said. "You gave me one hell of a battle." Then I grinned wickedly and said "You'd have beaten the hell out of the Green Crowbar, here, too."