Comeuppance: Epilogue
Comeuppance is a punishment or fate someone deserves. Many in this tale about corruption at the highest levels have received their 'just desserts,' but not all. The protagonist, Jack Armstrong, meted out comeuppance to deserving crime lords in chapter one, then the tale delved into the stories behind the devolution of his sister and wife, and his efforts to resolve their stories with videographic evidence at his disposal.
As in all my paltry tales, I inserted storylines around the people, places, and things around Jack, including cultural information that some consider wasting their time. Guess what? There is more in the Epilogue that many wanted, so if you're one of them, don't waste more time - move on.
Also, I warned that there was no 'happy ending' to this tale. The guilty have been/ are being punished or have met the fate they deserve, which means the end of this tale of comeuppance.
Characters still exist and may interact in future tales, but this one is done.
****
When you are waiting to learn the fate of two people you love, no news isn't good news. The days drug by, but Jamaican authorities would only say they had found the scene of the plane crash and had not been able to send divers down due to storms in the area, and the dangers posed by a named tropical storm moving toward their island from Africa.
The three lawmen returned home the day after the crash, but Carl, Jack, Abraham, Charlie, and Alfred remained at the coastal Happy Place, fishing, drinking, telling stories, and sharing remembrances for three days after the plane crash. They would have stayed longer, to avoid the mess at the ranch, the press, and the investigators, but they got a summons from the FBI.
Jack wanted to blow it off, but Abraham didn't want the feds getting a hard-on for Delta Cross. If they chose, they could make being in the security business a lot less fun and lucrative, so they packed up and headed northwest. Most of the trip was spent on the phone talking to attorneys. No one knew whether their interviews with the FBI were routine eyewitness interviews, or 'gotcha' questioning based on Sue and Croc's internet exploits, questions about where they got the military goods and the money to buy them, or questions about the disappearances of April and Janice.
Regardless, legal advice and representation was needed.
Carl, Jack, and the others returned home two days after news of the plane crash was reported, to meet with the FBI, which had questions. Jack and Carl's attorney and friend Donnie Baker was their legal representative, as well as Alfred's; his partner, Bill James, represented Captain Cross and Charlie.
When their attorneys came to the interviews with them, the team of special agents questioned their need for legal representation. "Let's see," Jack answered, "since we've had six federal agents from three agencies here for months, and they participated in planning, in the battles, and in the aftermath, it's doubtful that you need details about what they witnessed.
"Therefore, you're looking for a scapegoat - someone, or a few someones, to blame all this on, and lower the clamor for justice in Washington... or maybe to shift the blame away from the guilty in Washington.
"Well, boys, we may look like we just fell off the turnip truck wearing our faded jeans and dusty boots, but we're not the suckers you're looking for; it wasn't us, and you already know what we know. If you don't, ask your own agents!"
The middle-Eastern looking gentleman with a well-trimmed black beard tried to appear offended; his two partners, one of whom had been in Cow County for at least two months, looked abashed.
Umar Nahyan took the initiative; he introduced himself, and then reassured Jack, "Mr. Armstrong, we've just trying to clear up a few matters about which we're uncertain. It is our duty to interview all those involved, so we can get a pure and unblemished picture of what happened and why, and clear each person involved of any wrong doing.
Jack surreptitiously glanced at James, who had been involved with the planning and execution of the defense. While maintaining a neutral face, he lowered his right hand with his thumb extended downward. Jack turned back to Umar, and said, "I don't believe you. If you were being honest, the Special Counsel would be here, or at least acknowledge that he's listening. You're trying to trick the rubes, so, yeah, we have legal representation, and this meeting will be recorded on our side as well."
"That's not allowed, but we will provide you with transcripts of the interviews..." Umar began, before being rudely interrupted by laughter.
When things quieted down, Jack looked at his attorney, and said. "They don't have warrants, and I'm not prone to walk into a trap, so I'm out of here. Before I go, I do have one question for you, Mr. Omar Nahyan. Your surname - Nahyan - isn't that the same as one of the royal families of the Emirates? You know, like Sheik Ahmad Ali Al Nahyan? The one whose plane crashed off the coast of Jamaica, killing my wife and sister."
Umar / Omar turned red beneath his black beard before replying, "Yes, we are kin, but only distantly. I was educated in the United States and now have dual citizenship. I don't personally know the gentleman of whom you speak."
"Fact check that when we get home, Alfred. Something seems off to me." Jack said, and then turned and left with Carl and the others trailing close behind.
"We WILL get a warrant, Mr. Armstrong, and next time we will be more insistent!" Nahyan yelled out the door.
"Then next time you need a much bigger room; my entire legal team will be here, and there aren't enough chairs for us in there," Jack said over his shoulder.
That warrant must have been harder to come by than Omar thought, because he soon packed up and left the area. When questioned, Elias, James, and Rene opined that the powers in DC would prefer to let sleeping dogs lie when it came to Jack and his allies in Cow County.
****
A week passed while the storms passed the island, and then another; the wreckage had been moved and scattered by the storm currents, and the government had onshore storm damage, injuries, and deaths of citizens that were more pressing than recovering plane crash victims from the sea.
It was during week three that the Sheriff got the call: the remains of three male bodies had been recovered. The denizens of the deep had feasted on the bodies, making physical identification impossible, but the CSI was able to draw some conclusions.
The pilot's body - so identified because he was wearing a uniform, was strapped into the pilot's chair, and had identification in his pocket - was in much better condition than the other two, and mostly intact. The plane had broken in two upon impact, with the rear section now standing at a 45 degree angle to the bottom in thirty feet of water. Two bodies were found trapped in that section. There were lacerations on their bodies, possibly due to contact with the jagged, broken metal in that section of the plane. They were missing their clothing, their genitals, and most of their internal organs, upon which the sea life had apparently feasted.
Their remains had been recovered and were in the hands of a medical examiner, who was running DNA tests for identification purposes.
Although luggage with female clothing, makeup, and passports was found in the luggage compartment, no other bodies were found in the area. Jamaican authorities surmised that the lighter female bodies were washed or pulled out of the rear section and floated or were pulled away from the wreckage.
That was a grisly and disturbing picture for their survivors, but a wider search was not planned due to the urgent situation on the storm-ravaged island.
****
Jack formally and personally grieved the loss of his wife and sister, as did Carl, their friends, and what few kin they had. Many others also grieved the loss of Janice and April, aka Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel. Those tales were resurrected, and their journal, dubbed "The Heroic Journey of April and Janice," again drew heavy airplay and YouTube hits.
Dominating even the hero worship, however, were exhortations that anyone responsible for enslaving and/or abusing these and the other brave women be brought to justice, which suddenly became a talking point for politicians and candidates.
Not that they actually wanted justice - they would gladly bury the whole thing in favor of generous 'donations' from the very wealthy accused - but the public outcry was compelling and convincing, especially when your opponent was embracing it, so the outrage was unanimous.
Committees were formed in both houses, rhetoric was spouted verbosely, they primped and posed, and the special counsel was verbally assaulted for his failure to timely capture the scoundrels, and ordered to report to the committees. He ignored the verbal cyclones and went about his business quietly... but interviews were being held, and documents, both paper and electronic, were being carefully reviewed by his investigators, and a special grand jury had been convened.
The convening of the grand jury seemed to open flight corridors to late-summer vacations in exotic locales by persons of interest, from which they waited to see the indictments.
The government men, state and local, had moved on from the Armstrong Ranch by Labor Day. The Delta Cross foot soldiers moved on a week later, leaving only a few experienced members, armed with MANPADS and other sophisticated weaponry, scattered in the area - just in case. The helicopter and UAV pilots also remained - just in case - but the UAV command center returned to the Law Enforcement Building in town.
The sheriff seized the ranch across the river from unknown owners hidden behind shell corporations, and promptly announced, via various mediums, the intent to sell it in ninety days unless the owners stepped forward to present their defense.
And to be arrested for the illegal activities staged there, but that wasn't broadcast. No one immediately responded, so Jack let Rene know he would be a bidder when the time came; Rene smiled.
With only seven mouths to feed at the ranch, including their new full-time ranch hand, Jose, Chita and Cilla no longer came each day. Instead, one or the other brought packaged heat-and-eat meals twice weekly and stored them in the XL barndomenium refrigerator. The young ladies were pleasant and friendly, but respectful of the mourning period for Carl and Jack.
