One Night In Bangkok Ch 03

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 11 - Imminent Danger

"Look out!" I yelled. I half-tackled, half-pushed McGinty towards the back of the SUV and between it and the car parked behind us. I noticed the large black car come whizzing by, swerving to hit us.

*CRUNCH!*

The car sideswiped mine and it's right-side mirror must've tagged my driver door mirror, which went flying in shards of broken glass and plastic. The car had swerved back into the street, and it sped on down the road. O'Brady had run from the sidewalk onto the street behind us, his gun drawn and ready.

"Don't shoot!" I yelled. "He's gone."

"Yeah." said O'Brady. "I got a partial plate... Quebec November Xray."

"We'll see if we can get something from any street cameras in the area." I said. I then turned to McGinty. "You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah... yeah..." said McGinty, trying to catch his breath.

"Were they trying to kill you, or Commander Troy?" O'Brady asked.

"Probably both." I said. Then I saw the damage to my car door. "Goddammit." I muttered. "Now I gotta waste time getting that fixed."

"First world problem, Commander." said Shane O'Brady. "And the least of our problems right now. We've got to get McGinty to safety."

"I'll be fine." drawled McGinty, and I could see the adrenaline rush was kicking in for him. "This ain't my first rodeo..."

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

We went to eat at the City Diner. As we waited for our food, I called the City Police and told Detective Warren what had happened, and asked him to see if he could get footage from any street cams. Then I called Myron Milton and asked him to do the same thing... more in a hacking way, of course. They both said they'd see what they could find, and get back to me.

"Are you going to tell the FBI about this?" asked O'Brady after our food came and we began eating. Per the 'Cerone Doctrine', I did not let the fact someone had tried to kill us affect my appetite; I ate heartily.

"Eventually." I said "But not until I hear from the City Police and my own people."

"If you do, they'll come in and try to take over the case." snarled McGinty. "The Feds want one thing: all the glory. They'll let us work like dogs over it, but when it's ready to bust open, they swoop in and take all the credit. That's why they helped City P.D. put me through the ringer: Sullivan and I were right on the cusp of busting that ring."

"The SBI is even worse about that." said O'Brady. "At least they were. Commander Troy is one of the few that just gets the work done and doesn't worry about the glory."

"Butter me up, butter me up." I said "Right now I'm more worried about the danger to you, McGinty. I think it was you that car was trying to hit. Do you have someplace you can go, and be safe?"

"I've got a couple of bolt holes to run to." said McGinty. "And I'm not sure it wasn't you they were after, Commander. Your name draws attention, and your being here might've spooked the bastards."

"Very possible." I said agreeably. "Very possible. So... despite all of this excitement, I have not forgotten that you said you had some information for us, but we got sidetracked with the past. So whassup?"

"Oh yeah." said McGinty. "I talked to a guy I know, who is also a City Police informant. He said that he was contacted about doing a really, really big drug deal, but it's supposed to go down in Westphalia, not the City. From what this guy told me, it really looks like it might be our guy 'Birdie Edward'."

"Good." I said. "See if you can confirm that, and maybe we can make a huge bust. If it goes well, you'll get a lot of the credit for it." That made McGinty a lot happier, and he finished off his large plate of food...

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

We let McGinty off at a street corner a few blocks from his run-down office, per his instructions. As we began driving off, O'Brady said "Well, maybe he

is

on our side, if they're trying to kill him."

"Could be." I said. "Could well be. And I told him not to go back to 'Bangkok'; he might come over all dead if he does. You might want to heed that advice, as well." O'Brady nodded.

After letting O'Brady off at his car, I began the drive home. I first heard from Sapper Warren of the City Police.

"Camera coverage of that area is spotty." reported Warren. "Some of the cameras there don't work, and some that do had some staticky interference on them. We know it was a Lincoln automobile, so we're looking for Lincolns with 'Quebec November Xray' plates."

"And something else has developed." Warren continued. "A lawyer showed up, claiming to be the attorney for that loser Mitt that you busted today. His name is Nathan Masterson, of the Gresham & Mason law firm. He was absolutely furious when we told them the Feds had taken custody of Mitt, but the warrant was all good, so we told him to take his temper tantrum to the Feds." I chuckled and thanked Sapper for the information.

Five minutes later, Mary Milton called me. "Sir," she said, "cameras right in the area where you were attacked were apparently disabled; they began showing 'Slender Man' static right at the time that car tried to hit you. But Myron was able to pick it up a few blocks away before it attacked you. It's a Lincoln, and we got the full car tag number. It's registered to a company called 'Airport Limousine Services, LLC.' and I'm sure you've deduced that it's a company that people hire for rides from the Airport to places in the City."

"Yeah, that's a deduction even the FBI can make." I quipped, which made Mary laugh. "Did you get anything on it after the attack?"

"No sir." said Mary. "It went into the Railyards District, where they destroy cameras if they find them. We've got 'no joy' on the car after the attack."

"That's okay." I said. "Who owns 'Airport Limousine Services, LLC'?"

"They are a wholly-owned subsidiary of State Parcel Service, sir." said Mary. "I checked, and SPS has several subsidiary companies that have contracts with City Airport, from transporting food and other products, to moving services, to cargo trucks and containers."

"That's great work, Mary." I said. "Thanks a lot. How's Louise doing?"

"Oh, she's wonderful, sir." Mary said, and I could hear the happiness in her voice at the mention of her child. "She and Myron are playing some game right now. I'm the one missing out on her growing up."

"Whatever you do, do not miss out on that." I said. "Thanks again." We disconnected the call.

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

It was nearly midnight when I got home to the Mountain Nest. Laura was sitting on the far sofa against the wall, drinking a drink and reading that widely circulated periodical, '

Sexual Psychology

'. I made myself a drink and went and sat down beside her.

"How was your day?" I asked.

"

Your

daughter was a handful of it today." Laura said. "She did not want to go to bed, and she threw a fit. So we sat in 'timeout', and then I realized that she didn't mind 'timeout' because it meant she wasn't getting ready for bed. And when I told her that 'timeout' would continue upstairs with her brushing her teeth, the temper tantrum started up again."

"What was the cause?" I asked as I sipped my drink.

"You." Laura said. When I looked at her, my wife said "Well, she wanted to wait up for you to get home. Yesterday Bowser was worried about you; today, it was Carole's turn."

"She had reason to be worried." I said. I recounted the attack that ended with the destruction of the mirror on my SUV.

"Sounds like you've stepped into yet another steaming pile of trouble." Laura said, meaning it humorously. I chuckled, and agreed.

Then she grew serious as she said "I ran some checks on that P.I., McGinty. He's on the FBI's watch list and the No-Fly list, due to potential associations with White Supremacy groups. He's also believed to hold some serious blackmail material on a number of high level politicians, maybe even U.S. Senator Russell."

"I'd love to raid his file cabinets for that." I mused. "Though I doubt he keeps stuff like that in a filing cabinet where people could get at it. Anything on why he was fired from City P.D.?"

"Yes." Laura said. "I accessed the City I.A.'s files, and then I went and found the FBI's report on it, compiled by none other than Les Craig while he was in Southport. City I.A. had been watching McGinty for a while, but didn't have a lot, especially after he began working with Sullivan and going undercover more. They opened a file after Sullivan's murder, based upon a tip against McGinty, and I read the FBI report of their investigation. Actual information in both files is scant, as if something were redacted by actually being removed from the reports."

"Why was Les Craig, of all people, in charge of the FBI's investigation?" I asked.

"Neither report really said." said Laura. "My guess is that this was a whitewash, pun not intended, and the City Police needed to cover up for mistakes made that led to Sullivan's death. They used it as an opportunity to get rid of McGinty. As to Les Craig... I have no idea why. Maybe he was asked to do it."

"Or maybe," I mused, "Les Craig knew McGinty was part of the budding White Supremacy networks being formed, realized that McGinty was a liability that could expose some things, and so he went in to help neutralize McGinty before things got worse for them."

"Why not just kill McGinty, then?" Laura asked.

"Dead bodies are messy." I said. "If he's found dead, there will be an investigation, and who knows what might come out. Same if they tried to 'disappear' him. I always thought that was why Butch Fulmer in the 'Pink Panther' case was left alive for so long. And maybe... someone thought McGinty could be useful, so they left him alive to do certain jobs for them."

Then I said "But that's all theorizing without data. What I want to do is provide some data for the sexual theories in that magazine you're reading."

"Like how well a husband ravishes his wife sexually after the adrenaline rush of danger on his job?" Laura asked.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good theory to test." I replied. Laura headed upstairs while I put the glasses in the sink, set the burglar alarm, and turned off all the lights...

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

On the way to bed, I peeked into Carole's room. She was wide awake, and immediately sat up and loudly whispered "Daddy!" I went into the room and accepted a hug from my firstborn child.

"Hey, Fussbudget." I whispered, seeing Bowser sitting up in his basket and watching us. "I heard that you gave your mother some trouble tonight."

"I wanted to wait until you got home before I went to bed." Carole pouted. "I was wurrrrried about you."

"Well, there's no need to worry." I said "And even if you were, that's no reason not to mind your mother and get ready for bed like she asked you to, is it?"

"I guess not." Carole conceded, though reluctantly.

"Okay, we'll talk about that tomorrow." I said. "You lay down and go to sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow at school."

"Okay, Daddy." Carole said agreeably, laying down. "Nite, Daddy."

"Good night." I said, pulling the covers over her and kissing her on her forehead. Despite the protests of my back, I went down to one knee and petted the redoubtable Bowser, and got him settled into his basket. As I stood back up, I looked over at Carole. She was already sound asleep.

Part 12 - Wednesday Woes

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Wednesday, March 20th, from in front of City Hall. "In a shocking development at the Town & County Council meeting last night, Sheriff Antonio Griswold unveiled his plans to restore the Emergency Medical Service, the EMTs, as a County-supported organization!"

Bettina began: "In what will surely be a controversial move that will upset many in the Fire Department, Sheriff Griswold outlined his plan to restore the EMTs as a completely separate branch within the Public Service Department, and not as part of the Fire Department. The new EMS will have their own stations rather than be housed within the Fire Department stations, and a new rank structure that does not include what he called 'onerous restrictions' that the old EMS Department had."

Bettina went on: "Opposition to the plan is already building. Councilwoman Kelly Carnes issued a statement last night saying that County Law prohibits the EMS from being separate from the Fire Department, and any new EMS will have to be under the

rule

of the Fire Department. And Councilman Reginald B.F. Lewis said that he was not opposed to a new EMS, but would insist upon three Police precincts again before he would support the new organization..."

"And in other news," Bettina said, "Eldrick X. Weaver announced that he will file a lawsuit against the County over Mayor Daniel Allgood's refusal to let people speak at the public Council Meetings. Last night Mayor Allgood yet again cut off citizens's attempts to address the Council over the improved safety that having three Police precincts would bring to the Town & County."

"And in Midtown," Bettina said, "it appears the Legislature is no closer to any new bills being passed as the clock runs down on this Session. Several common-sense gun control measures were defeated by the NRA's iron grip on Republican legislators, while the State House Democrats are focused entirely upon investigations that they believe will lead to the impeachment and conviction of Governor Val Jared..."

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

"I go visit the City," I said as we drank coffee in the Chief's Conference Room, "and all hell breaks loose over here. What

were

you thinking, Sheriff?" Everyone chuckled.

"Har har." Griswold grunted. "They way I see it, they're not talking about

you

, Crowbar, and they're not blaming you for this or anything else right now."

"True, that." I said. "I'll just keep calm and be very grateful for the lack of attention."

"I heard you got some 'attention' last night." Tanya Perlman said. "Somebody tried to run you over."

"Yeah, that was a rowdy Captain of Detectives in her Tank." I quipped. "I dunno what it is, I'm not as fast as I used to be. I used to could get out of the way more easily than I can now."

"You better get fast again, and soon." said Cindy Ross. "The Police Boxing Matches are just over a month away, and I won't be caring about your excuses on the way to my title."

"You better start caring about and making your own excuses after I beat you down silly for the title." replied Teresa Croyle with alacrity.

"One of you is not even going to be in the Finals." I replied. "You will have already found out that I'm still plenty fast enough to whip your asses and not even worry about the names."

"Set those brackets up right, Chief." Teresa said.

"It won't be me setting them up." said Chief Moynahan. "I'm going to enter the tournament." Silence was instantaneous.

"Yes, you

should

be afraid. Very afraid." the Chief continued, enjoying the silence and our skeptical looks at him.

"We're using crowbars, not helicopters, Chief." Teresa said fearlessly. "And I do not make exceptions for who feels the pain and suffering at my hands."

"So who is going to make the brackets?" asked Cindy.

I just grinned as I said "The Police Officer that keeps running over me in her Tank." Tanya grinned, her eyes sparkling.

"Yes!" she cackled. "The power is mine,

mine!

" We all laughed.

Then I said "And you better set those brackets up right... or I'll accept Jack's offer to be his Best Man at your wedding."

"Bribery will get you everywhere, Commander." Tanya replied with an even bigger grin. "Doughnuts help, too..."

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

"Hello and welcome to Fox Eight University Sunrise!" said Catrina Pierce at 7:30 from the KFXU Studios. "I'm Catrina Pierce, and with me as always is Meredith Peller."

"Good morning, Catrina. Good morning everyone." said Meredith. "Here's what's in the news. The Town & County was rocked when Sheriff Griswold delivered his proposal to the Council for a new EMT service, separate from the Fire Department."

After giving details of the plan, Meredith said "Asked about the current law that requires the EMTs to be part of the Fire Department, Sheriff Griswold issued a statement saying that the law can be changed, and he also gave the reminder that the Town & County Charter is being rewritten by Commander Donald Troy's Charter Commission, which can effect that change."

"As part of the planning and development of the EMS Service and its new stations, the Sheriff's Department announced that Captain Marc Aaron of the Police Department will transition to the Sheriff's Department and be placed in charge of the project..."

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

"Ahhhhh" I said, looking at Cindy as my Angels and I watched in my office. "So you gave Captain Aaron to the Sheriff, eh?"

"More like I picked him up and threw him over there." Cindy replied. "Seriously, Sheriff Griswold knew I was really unhappy with Aaron's performance during the nuke crisis, and that I was wanting to make a change, there. So he approached Aaron about the EMS project, and Aaron wisely took it."

"And you're happy with that?" I asked, peering slyly at Cindy.

"Uh,

yeah.

" Cindy said sarcastically. "What?" she asked, seeing me unable to hide a grin.

"If you like it now," I said, "you're

really

going to love it when Chief of Staff Oswald retires."

"Oh." Cindy said as it hit her. "Shit." she muttered. Tanya and Teresa could not help themselves. Giggles erupted, followed by laughter, which was not stopped when Cindy glared at them. I was laughing too by that time, of course.

"Speaking of that, and to get serious," Tanya said, "Mary has renewed her complaints about Geiger. She really wants him gone from Vice. And after what happened in that meeting with the FBI the other day, I'm worried that she'll leave if we don't get him out of there."

"Yeah, I was afraid of that" I said. "Before discussing it... how are things with you and Jack on that little incident?"

"We have had a general policy of not bringing our work home." Tanya said. "We don't talk about cases, unless it's something really big that's affected both our Departments, like the TCPD Commander and FBI Consultant getting handcuffed to a nuclear bomb. But for the most part, we just don't talk about it."

"However," she continued, "Tiffany and Jennifer noticed that something was wrong and told us we had to air it out. So we did. It's not really an issue, anymore, as neither Myron nor Mary will no longer work with the FBI nor attend their meetings at all."

"What about the DEA?" I asked. "Mary may

have to

work with them, especially since I managed to get us autonomy from the SBI-IDE."

"She knows that." said Tanya. Then she grinned and said "Maybe we can send Geiger to the DEA as our liaison with them."

"That's actually not a bad idea." Teresa said.

"Good God, Dwayne Gregory would kill me if we did that." I muttered. "No, this is a problem. And it is a test of

your

leadership skills, Captain Perlman. I will also say this: we promoted Lieutenant Mary Milton into her current position with the expectation that she will do the job, and do it to the best of her abilities. I would absolutely hate to lose her, but if she cannot handle the situation of the employees under her command, she might want to reconsider her situation."