The Guardians of Justice

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

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Fox Two News!" shouted the redheaded reporterette from in front of City Hall at 7:00am, Monday, October 1st. "The Guardians of Justice have struck again!"

"The shadowy cyber-terrorist group released another bundle of emails and other documents," said Bettina, "this time showing that MegaTech Industries and the National Security Agency, the NSA, collaborated to allow MegaTech's 'Alicia' smart speakers to be used by the NSA to listen in on conversations in homes that have the 'Alicia' devices!"

Bettina went on: "MegaTech Industries CEO Elliot Sanders is in China on a business cooperation meeting, but COO Kara Zorn issued statement denying the GOJ's allegations. No one from the NSA nor any Federal Government agency would comment, but the office of U.S. Senator Samuel Russell issued a statement that the Guardians of Justice are traitors that are trying to undermine the American People's faith in their Government, and that their lies should not be given any credence. U.S. Senator Richard Nunn, however, says he will subpoena Sanders and Zorn, as well as the leadership of the NSA, to appear before his Committee to answer questions regarding MegaTech Industries's collaborations with the NSA."

"In local news," Bettina said, "candidate for Sheriff Della Harlow blasted her opponent Antonio Griswold and Police Commander Donald Troy for, quote, 'exploiting children for political purposes', close quote. Her complaint stems from an

incident

at last night's Republican rally. Roll tape."

Tape rolled, showing Carole taking the microphone and yelling "GRIZZ MEANS BIZZ!", with Chief Griswold and Your Iron Crowbar right behind her.

Back to Bettina live: "Republican candidate for Lt. Governor Sharon Marshall also spoke at the Griswold rally. Candidates Karl Handel and Brian Cagle did not participate in the rally, and House Ways and Means Chairman Wilson Hammonds condemned Marshall for appearing at the rally, saying that that it hurts the Party for her to be seen with Commander Troy, who was investigated by the Independent State Counsel for collusion with the racist Governor Val Jared. Hammonds and Jared are both Republicans. And now let's go to Sports with Nick Eastwood. Nick!"

"Thank you, Bettina!" said the handsome young blonde Sports reporter. "The Bulldogs and Wildcats both won this weekend, putting them on yet another collision course on the last Saturday of the month! Bulldogs defensive end Derrick Waters, known as 'Train No. 93', had a Conference record eight sacks against the State U. quarterbacks, as well a four other tackles for loss. He is being mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate. Also getting mentions for the Heisman is Wildcats receiver Jamaal Washington, who had 290 receiving yards and 130 rushing yards as the Wildcats defeated the Tigers in a cross-divisional match..."

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

"Aww, Carole was so cute!" gushed Joanne Warner as MCD and Vice Detectives drank coffee in MCD.

"That's huge publicity for the Chief." said Teddy Parker. "They should make that into a campaign ad."

"Della Harlow would go berserk over that." said Theo Washington said with his 'movie star handsome' grin.

"How could she call that 'exploitation'?" asked Jerome Davis. "Especially after she used that photo of Charlie Griswold being given a medal to attack his father? Talk about exploitation..."

"To her and her supporters, it

was

exploitation, and Harlow all but called it 'molestation'." said Julia Rodriguez. "I also noticed that Bettina made sure to call it an '

incident

', as if it were a bad thing."

"The J.D. is making some good observations about the Press, there." said Captain Tanya Perlman as she drove in. 'J.D.' meant 'Junior Detective', which Julia was, and for which she took much ribbing.

Just then, the Police Chief, Police Deputy Chief, and Police Commander came into MCD, joined by the Police Chief Emeritus. "We need you young whippersnappers's help." said Chief Griswold.

Following him in was FBI Special Agent in Charge Jack Muscone, along with his daughters Tiffany and Jennifer. Jennifer was carrying young Peter D. Feeley, and Tiffany was bringing in a birthday cake.

"It's Pete's birthday, today." I said. "It is hard to believe he is already

four

years old, isn't it?" There was much agreement.

The four candles on the cake were lit, and everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to Pete as his stepsisters-to-be helped him blow out the candles. Pete got one bite of cake, and his step-sister finished off that piece. Then the Detectives 'helped' with the rest. Needless to say, that cake disappeared as fast as doughnuts did around this place.

Deputy Chief Ross declined a piece of cake. She was without her green crowbar, but her face looked its own shade of green.

"You okay, Cindy?" I asked.

"I must've eaten something bad." said Cindy. "I got sick when I woke up this morning."

"Your crowbar is at The Cabin." I said to Cindy. "I'll get it back to you after lunch."

"Don't bother." said Cindy. "That particular crowbar brought me nothing good. Bad

karma

in that one; I need to get another one."

"And young Susie Haskins will provide you with as many as you need." I said. "That girl raised over a hundred thousand dollars for the new Animal Facility, and that's before Dr. Eckhart and the University made matching donations. That's a lot of nails."

"Impressive." said Cindy. "Susie is an awesome little girl. If I had a daughter, I'd want her to be like Susie..."

Part 2 - Washington 'Justice'

Back in my office with the Perlman family and Cindy, I put Pete on my desk. He looked over and immediately walked (on my desk) over to the wall... where his parents's badges were hanging in their frame. Cindy and I had our iPhones out, Cindy taking video and me taking photos as Pete reached out and touched the frame, then turned and looked back at me. Yes, a copy of that photo might one day be a future gift for Peter D. Feeley...

And Pete's mom got a little bit emotional about it. She excused herself and drove out, and was followed a few minutes later by Tiffany, Jennifer and Pete. They were escorted down the hall by Cindy, who said "I think the FBI guy wants to talk to you, Don."

"Indeed I do." said Jack, sitting down in a hot chair once we were alone. The bug killer was 'on'. "I just wanted to give you an update on what's going on in Washington."

"I heard there was a commotion surrounding the CIA Director." I said, perhaps with a wee touch of sarcasm in my voice.

"He definitely had to buy a new desk." said Muscone. "There was also an intruder at his home last night. You might know that already, though. What I came to discuss with you is the reaction in Washington. Samuel Russell is furious about this latest GOJ document release, and he's not the only one. My boss, the EAD, gave me an earful at 5:00am this morning, when the GOJ documents first came out. He's under pressure to get results on finding the GOJ, and he wants me to ask you to help find them."

"Oh,

now

they ask." I said with a half-grin and a very sarcastic voice. "They nearly killed Professor Milton because they thought I was the Guardians of Justice, and now they send

you

to ask me to find them... because they can't get the job done themselves."

"Look, you know I'm one of the good guys, and I'm your friend." said Jack. "But things are getting out of hand. The CIA Director, who was a strong favorite of the President himself, was forced to resign. Flip side of that is that the CIA Director is about to become the darling of the Press on their news shows, spewing some shit about the Israelis, and also unloading on Travis Gowron and Bill Nunn. And Samuel Russell is going to follow up with a full-blown assault on what he calls the 'treasonous Grassroots' that are falsely attacking good people and good companies like BigAgraFoods and MegaTech Industries."

"Strong letter of protest to follow." I quipped. Then I felt something... a vibe. I peered at Muscone, then asked "What's going on in the FBI, Jack? And by that I mean

you

... and Team Lazarus."

"How

do

you do it?" Jack asked, looking at me in wonder. "The EAD and I only talked yesterday about things, and I haven't said a word to the team yet."

"So give me the advance copy." I said, settling into my comfortable 'Command Chair' and staring Muscone down.

"Well... it's a trickle-down effect." said Jack. "The current FBI Director is pretty neutral, and he was always supportive of the Deputy Director in his quest to annihilate Superior Bloodlines, but he's considering retirement. People above him are considering his retirement, as well, so they can put someone in more 'agreeable' to them... and by that I mean someone who will be a 'yes man' to the Swamp Frogs."

"To that end," continued Jack, "the future of every FBI executive in Washington is in doubt, including my boss, the EAD. There was talk about pushing me up to Washington, but I nixed that quickly; I said I was staying here, working out of the City... either for the FBI or someone else. BigPharmaCorp has reached out to me about being their national head of security, and I could live here and do that."

"As to my team," said Muscone, "my boss and the Washington brass are not happy about Southport. Andrew Parsons and David Rovers are not going to be considered for promotions at the rate they're going, so the Brass is thinking of Ted Crenshaw to be the Supervisory Agent down there. If I'm pushed upstairs, or leave, then Martin Nash likely becomes Supervisory Agent in the City, and Julius Jefferson will stay with him. Lindy Linares will also stay in the City, either with Nash or with Cardigan's cyber group."

Jack then paused, and my vibe got stronger. "And Sandra Speer?" I asked.

Jack exhaled, then said "It is very likely that Sandra will be reassigned elsewhere. And between you and me and the lamp-post, she's not fighting reassignment in any way."

"Where are we talking when we talk 'reassignment'?" I asked.

"New York City." said Jack. "Maybe Los Angeles, or Charlotte."

I nodded glumly. Greta was barely a part of my life now, and I hated it that my daughter was not part of my life. And now she would be further away, even less a part of my life.

Jack understood when he saw my face fall. "I need to get my kids to school." he said, getting up. "We'll talk later, when I get more information out of our people in Washington."

"Thanks for the update." I said. Left alone, I could not stop the pain flowing through me.

Yes, it hurt.

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

At 8:00am, my Angels came into my office. Teresa had just gotten in.

"Okay, let's watch some TV." I said. Cindy controlled the remote, and she turned on the wall monitor.

"This is Cynthia Freeman for SNN News!" said the beautiful reporterette. "We welcome our affiliates State-wide for news that is just breaking! Independent State Counsel Robert Mullen announced just minutes ago that he will subpoena Republican State Representative Sharon Marshall of Westphalia to answer questions regarding his probe of Governor Val Jared's using the power of the SBI to investigate Donna Rodman and Hillary Braselton, who'd made credible claims that the Governor sexually harassed them! Roll tape."

Tape rolled, showing Robert Mullen saying "We must investigate anyone who may have colluded with Governor Jared and Commander Donald Troy to commit or cover-up criminal acts and abuse of power. Representative Marshall appearing at the Republican event with Commander Troy in his Town & County is very suspicious, and she needs to answer our questions for her, under subpoena if need be."

Back to Cynthia live: "Representative Marshall is running for Lieutenant Governor, to fill the unexpired term of Graham Collins, who was assassinated while in FBI custody." said Cynthia. "She made a strong, angry statement, saying that Mullen was the one abusing his position and authority to help his friend, Attorney General Karl Handel, against her in the Lieutenant Governor's race. A.G. Handel is also running for the Republican nomination for the position."

"And now let's go to Margaret Tucker with our SNN affiliate in Midtown, for breaking news out of Washington, D.C. Margaret!" said Cynthia.

"

That's right

, Cynthia!" said the (much) older reporterette. "SNN News has learned that the CIA Director's scheduled interviews with CNN and MSNBC have been canceled due to illness, and have been rescheduled for tomorrow. The CIA Director resigned for health reasons, but was expected to reveal in the interviews blockbuster news about Israeli actions against Americans and Russians in Europe recently..."

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

"Cynthia's back." said Teresa, stating the obvious.

"According to Senator Woodburn's excellent Press Secretary," said Cindy, speaking of the lovely Priya Ajmani, "Catrina Pierce wasn't all that happy about being put into the political news role and having to deliver fake news, i.e. lies. She wanted to go back to Sports, and when we add to it that she has been seen having lunch with Nick Eastwood a couple of times, we begin to understand some things. But don't be surprised if Cynthia finds work elsewhere, and soon. She's still very, very damaged goods in this State after

somebody

released photos of her... job interview techniques."

My Angels laughed, but I only gave a wan smile and nodded. Tanya was peering at me. "Don, you okay?" she asked.

"Er, yes." I said, trying to get my head back into the game.

"Worried about Mullen going after Marshall?" asked Tanya.

"No." I said. "In fact, I'll predict right now that Sharon Marshall will be our next Lieutenant Governor, come November. Mullen just gave her

huge

publicity, and name recognition, though that wasn't his intent.

"Really dirty of Mullen, using

his

office to promote Handel." said Teresa.

"Think that's what's happening?" Tanya asked. Teresa nodded.

I said "He's helping his buddy, but it's more to derail Marshall and get an Establishment weenie into the Lt. Governor position. Marshall's candidacy totally blindsided Hammonds and the Establishment, and they're responding desperately with moves that just reek of corruption."

"There was something else about that broadcast," said Cindy, obviously thinking hard about it, "but I can't figure out what."

"It was what was

not

said, at all: the Guardians of Justice's document dump about the 'Alicia' smart speakers." I said.

"That's it!" Cindy declared, not unlike Schroeder in 'Peanuts' cartoons.

"You're right." Teresa said. "Not a word. Wonder why?"

"I'm going to go find out." said Cindy, getting up. "You guys have fun today."

"You doing okay?" asked Tanya as Cindy went to the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine." said Cindy. "Felt sick this morning, but it's passing. And I still have occasional light flashes behind my eyes. I should probably go to bed early tonight..."

Part 3 - Wile E. Coyote At Work

At 9:15am, my assistant Helena buzzed me and said I had a visitor. It was Chief Griswold. Of course I had him come in.

"I'll help myself to some of your coffee, Crowbar." he said, filling the mug that we all knew was reserved for him. He then sat down in one of the hot chairs at my invitation.

"I took my wife to her appointment with your wife this morning." the old Chief said as we sipped coffee from our mugs. "When was the last time you and Laura hung drapes?"

I knew what he was asking. "We haven't, either literally or figuratively." I said. "She decorated the Mountain Nest, and left me to do The Cabin. As to arguments, we've never really had one."

"I'm going to mind your business for you, Crowbar." said Griswold. "You need to have a talk with your wife, a long talk, a 'come-to-Jesus' kind of talk, and air out everything from whatever happened."

"She's upset with me?" I asked, shocked that Laura would say something to the Griswolds but not to me.

"No, she's more like a dog that knows he made a mistake and now fears his owner's reaction." said Griswold. "Laura is very worried about how you took her actions. She can't read you on it. That's what I'm seeing, anyway. She hasn't said anything, but I've been married to my wife enough decades to know when all is not right. And you observe things far better than I do, Crowbar, so that leaves me to deduce that you're not showing her what she needs to know. If you're mad as hell at her, it'd be better to tell her and get it worked out than to keep it inside."

I considered the Chief's words. "I'll consider what you've said, o Klingon marriage counselor." I replied. "So, is that why you came here? To save my marriage?"

"That's some of it." said Griswold. "Some of it is to see how you're doing; you've been through one hell of a lot the past few weeks... and months. And some of it is to see what progress you're making with catching Lewis and Ferrell."

"You're getting vibes like Cindy and her father. And Carole." I said with a smile. "I was just working on a lead."

"Harrumph." said Griswold. "That young lady is a handful, and then some. She may end up being a better detective than her dad." He meant it to tease me.

"Oh, she will be." I said, very sure. "Anyway, I was working on the Acme Group, Henry Wargrave's old consortium. Some interesting stuff is coming up. I'll tell you from the beginning, to get my own thoughts aligned if nothing else.

"Sounds good." said the Chief, settling in to listen.

"Henry Wargrave created the Acme Companies Group as a shell company encompassing several of his businesses," I started, "including Acme Consolidated, Acme Distributors, Acme Media Group, and Acme Venture Capital & Trust, LLC. All of these companies had legitimate functions up front, and functions that served his arms smuggling behind the scenes."

"When he died," I continued, "the Group was already nicely positioned to be a trust. And one block of shares sends its dividends and other payouts into the trust that takes care of his wife Lilly. The rest is supposed to be managed by the Board of Directors."

"The original Board of Directors included, but were not limited to: Mitt Willis, Donovan Donolan, Clarence Weatherby, Duane Llewelyn, Mitchell Baker, Edward Blassingame, Austin R. Murphy, and Conrad King. Willis, Donolan, and King are now deceased. Baker is in Federal prison. Weatherby is the COO of BigRoadAndRailCorp. Llewelyn is a BigAgraFoods outside Board Member."

"So" I said. "Of those names, Weatherby, Llewelyn, Blassingame, and Murphy are left as original Acme Group Board members. The others have been replaced, but the names are not nearly as big as those original players. And some of those minor leaguers have left and been replaced with other minor leaguers, mostly from California and Charlotte, North Carolina."

"And now, many of the ''Big Boyz' companies don't seem to care about it, or actively don't want to be a part of it, anymore. Roger Green, the current Interim CEO of BigAgraFoods, is not a part of the Acme Board, and Tom Cubbard of BigPharmaCorp never was, either. Elliot Sanders of MegaTech Industries was named to the Acme Board, but resigned from it within two months of being named, which coincidentally occurred when Kara Zorn was named MegaTech COO. And BigRoadAndRailCorp CEO Curtis Meigs declined an invitation to join."