End of the Line Ch. 01

The chronological order of my stories is now 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

Monday morning, October 17th, 5:45am. I was at Town Fitness Centers. The swimming wasn't enough, so I began riding the exercise bike to get some cardio. It was all good, except it agitated the pain in my lower back.

"Everything okay, Commander Troy?" asked Wanda, one of Cindy's partners. She was about 5'5" tall, in extremely good shape, and had a mane of dirty blonde hair that reminded me of Farrah Fawcett from years before. Wanda's face was attractive, not beautiful but certainly not ugly, and I suspected she'd had a bit of plastic surgery. But her most stunning feature was that she was over 50 years old, but looked like she was in her 30s. She'd been a contestant in the 'Miss Physical America' competitions that Cindy had been a part of, and (Wanda) had done very well against the much younger women. I could see why as I looked at her legs, too.

"Please, call me Don." I said. "And my back is irritating me."

"May I?" Wanda asked as she felt along my spine as I sat on the bike. I certainly did not object. "Oh, I can feel that slight bulge." she said. "Did you dislocate your back in the past?"

"I was told it wasn't dislocated," I said, "but it sure hurts sometimes. I'm supposed to see an Eastern doctor on Wednesday."

"Good." said Wanda. "Eastern medicines are overlooked in the West, but they can be very helpful. I studied Yoga in Thailand for two years. Would you like me to try to massage your back?"

"I'd love that." I said, knowing that Wanda's invitation wasn't just for a massage... she'd been giving me looks as I had been giving them to her. "But I'll have to take a raincheck. I have to get ready for work."

"Cindy invited Ariel and me to your cabin at Lake Watchacoochie this weekend." Wanda said. "Maybe we can get in some mutual massages."

"Mmmm, that sounds like a plan." I said. I felt my cock stirring, despite an intense blowjob from my wife Laura less than an hour before, and I knew I'd better get out of here before...

"I'll see you soon." I said.

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

At 6:15am I arrived at Police Headquarters. I'd been getting into the habit of doing my toilet (shit, shower, and shave) in the locker room of the Police Headquarters gym. I had noticed over the last week or two that more and more Officers were doing the same... and they were working out in the gym, being led through Tai-Chi and other yoga forms by Cindy Ross.

Then Cindy invited Officers to oppose her in the ring for Police Boxing Matches training. Only a few had the stones to do it, one of them being Micah Rudistan, who was actually pretty agile for his body type. Joanne Warner also took every opportunity possible to train with Cindy, no matter how often she got beat down. Such work would help her in the field, I knew.

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

And speaking of gorgeous older women... you know what 7:00am means: Bettina!

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" yelled the lovely redhead from in front of the Courthouse. "Channel Two News has learned that former TCPD Officer Robert Brownlee is appealing the dismissal of his lawsuit, asking the Appellate Court to force a ruling to install him in the Operations Officer role with his full rank of Commander restored. Judge Rodney K. Watts dismissed the lawsuit, and the appeal will be argued before Appellate Judge Leahy this afternoon! Due to the need for a speedy resolution of this case, believed to be before November 1st, the Brownlee legal team will push for an expedited result."

"In other news," said Bettina, "the acrimony in the political campaigns is heating up! Early voting begins today, and it is expected that the lines at the two early-voting posts will be long. Any Town or County resident may vote at either of the two polling locations, which are at the Old Mill Building, where Police Precinct 2 is located, and at the Old Post Office building in the northern part of Town."

"And it is not likely that the early voting will reduce the rancor that has pervaded the local and State elections!" Bettina went on. "Governor Val Jared continues to accuse suspended SBI Director Jack Lewis of corruption, and promises to prosecute Lewis as well as SBI NTF Director Richard Ferrell if and when the several investigations into Lewis and Ferrell's conduct are finished. Meanwhile, State Legislature Democrats are calling for a special session to impeach Val Jared, stating that the Governor's suspension of Director Lewis is unlawful and politically motivated. Public Policy Polling has the race moving to a slight edge for Lewis, 49-47%, well within the margin of error."

"And in the District Attorney's race, it's pure 'scorched earth' as both candidates throw haymakers at each other. Jenna Stiles has relentlessly accused incumbent Gil Krasney of racism and sexism, and Krasney has accused Stiles of recklessness, race-baiting, and a poor record as A.D.A. Krasney continues to lead the race, 48-44%. And now for Sports, with Nick Eastwood! Nick!"

"Thank you Bettina!" said Nick Eastwood, reporting from the University Athletic Complex. "The good news is that the Bulldogs have this weekend off and two weeks to prepare for the undefeated Wildcats on October 29th. The bad news is that the Wildcats also have an open date this weekend and two weeks to prepare for the undefeated Bulldogs! State Tech will play the Tigers on Saturday, and with State Tech's increasing reputation for dirty play, look for the Tigers to make a special effort to demolish the Engineers!"

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

The C-Level meeting began in my office at 8:30am. Present were myself, Captain Cindy Ross, Lt. Wes 'Coldiron' Masters, and Lt.(P) Teresa Croyle. That '(P)' is actually the Army's designation for 'promotable', as Teresa had been approved for a promotion to Captain, which would occur on November 1st.

"So how is the transition to Vice, Coldiron?" I asked.

"Smooth so far, sir." said Masters. "But we are badly understaffed." Teresa nodded vigorously.

"I know." I said. "And it's not going to get any better, I'm afraid. We're working on it, though."

"Sir," said Masters, "if I happen to know some good people from other Police Forces that might want to work here, is there any way we can get them in?"

"Like from Midtown?" I asked. Masters nodded. I said "I'll ask the Chief about it. He's already mentioned how your old Department is beginning to struggle. And two of their I.A. people resigned and left, as well."

"That sucks." said Teresa Croyle, who'd spent six months in Midtown P.D.'s Internal Affairs Unit. "Are they being threatened, or bribed?"

"Whichever works best." said Coldiron. "The truly honest ones, that were put in I.A. because they were honest, are being told they and their families will wake up dead if they persist in pursuing the upper-level Officers, including three Captains, that have been bought off. And they're trying to push new people into I.A. that are already on the take."

"They need some people with crowbars down there." Cindy said.

"They need a lot more than that." I said. "And it will depend on the Election. If Jared wins, there are plans to weed out the trash. If Lewis wins, there will be no hope."

Considering that everyone in the room but Cindy had lived in Midtown for at least some time, that news brought gloom to the room.

"What's their recourse?" asked Teresa. "If their own I.A. is corrupted, what can be done?"

I replied "Theoretically, the SBI's Office of Ethics and Review could be called in for an external audit. However, Britt Maxwell has her hands full investigating the SBI itself, and Midtown hates the SBI as much as the rest of us do. Like I said, Governor Jared has plans on how to deal with all this, but if he's defeated then it will all be for nothing."

As the meeting went along, I noticed that Teresa was getting more and more introspective. So after the agenda items were done, I told Cindy to meet with Coldiron about MCD assignments, and asked Teresa to stay a moment.

"Something bothering you, Captain-to-be?" I asked.

After a moment, Teresa said "Yes sir, and I've been struggling with the idea of telling you, or not. I've already told Todd, and he just said he'll support whichever decision I make."

"Ah, family stuff." I said. "Let's hear it."

Teresa marshaled her thoughts, then started in: "Sir, on Saturday there was a party for little Jack Burke. He turned three on Saturday, and I was invited to the party because I'm his godmother."

"Sounds good." I said. "Was it up at Lake Amengi-Nunagen?"

"No sir." said Teresa. "Michael Burke sold the house in this County, the one he lived in with Eleanor, and he bought a townhouse in the River Valley subdivision. One or both of them come down here from time to time on business, mostly him with University Trustee business."

Teresa went on: "Todd didn't go to the party, but Michael wasn't there either. I was talking to Jeanine, and she told me that she was concerned about some things. She said Michael had been meeting with some strange people. One of them is a Board Member at BigPharmaCorp, and another was Tom Riordan, who is also a University Booster. And there was another couple, named Doug and Roberta, but she couldn't remember their last name."

"Interesting." I said, trying to appear less acutely interested than I really was.

"Jeanine said that Roberta talked to her about some organization, and was probing her, Jeanine, about her feelings on race relations and how whites are being treated in the country. Jeanine shut it down rather quickly, and the woman didn't speak much more to her the rest of their time there."

"Where is 'there'?" I asked.

"Oh, the Lakeside Inn & Suites in Nextdoor County. The newly refurbished resort over there."

"Doug and Roberta... maybe their last name was 'Jackson'?" I asked.

"Jeanine couldn't remember, but------ wait, those names sound familiar." Teresa said, becoming thoughtful.

"They should." I said. "Doug and Roberta Jackson were the parents of Jefferson Davis Jackson, who died while having sex with Tom Riordan's wife at the Lake Ocheekobee Golf Club in Coltrane County." That was the 'Murdered Football Player' case we'd investigated.

"Oh yeah!" Teresa said. "That's it!"

"Is Jeanine still in Town?" I asked. Teresa nodded that she was and I said "Doug and Roberta are from around my old haunts of Apple Grove. Get DMV pics from that State, and if you can meet Jeanine quietly before she goes back home, show her the pics and ask if they're the ones."

"Yes sir, I will." said Teresa. "Sir, is something going on with them? Jeanine seemed pretty concerned."

"I don't know." I said. "But tell Jeanine to be careful. You heard about 'Operation Apple Grove' last Spring?"

"Some of it, from Cindy." said Teresa. "I understand you cleaned up some trash up there. 'White trash' in particular."

"That's a good way of putting it." I said. "Okay, get with Jeanine if you can, and we'll see if there are any threads for us to tug at. And thanks for telling me this, Teresa. It could be important."

"Yes sir. If you'll excuse me, sir..." Teresa said. I excused her. After she left the office, I got out my Police cellphone and speed-dialed a number.

"Hello, Jack." I said to FBI Special Agent in Charge Muscone when he answered. "Where are you right now?"

Part 2 - Plots and Plans

"So you're going the legal route?" asked Katherine Woodburn.

"Yes, Senator. This ought to be a shoo-in." said Kelly Carnes. "This ought to be a done deal. Easy-peasy."

"Why do you sound so sarcastic when you say it?" asked Thomas P. Cook, with a sardonic grin on his face.

It was 9:00am, and they were in Cook's business office, which was in a building near the Courthouse, and east of the Federal and State Office Buildings. Most of the renters were lawyers, paying exorbitant rates for the location and convenience. Cook's office was richly appointed, though not overdone. Kelly liked the superlative comfort of the guest chairs. Katherine liked the light brown paneling and the dark mahogany desk. What both women detested was the man behind the desk.

"Because if there is one person that can fuck up a no-brainer, shoo-in, easy-peasy, slam-dunk case, it's Robert Brownlee." Kelly said. Cook laughed heartily.

"You're right, you're right." he said. "Don't you agree, Senator?"

"Yes I do." said Katherine, though without a trace of humor in her voice.

"Well, Brownlee will will be here in about five minutes." said Cook. "We'll do whatever we can to make sure he doesn't fuck this one up."

Moments later, Robert Brownlee arrived. He had shaved, but looked as if he still needed one. His wavy brown hair looked a bit unkempt. The look on his face was one of hatred of the world.

"Have a seat, Robert." said Cook. "Is your legal team ready for the Appellate hearing today?"

"Yes, Councilman, we're ready." said Brownlee as he sat down. He was wearing casual clothing, and it looked like he'd gotten the items out of a pile on the floor.

"Are you going to be wearing a pressed suit and tie to Court?" asked Kelly Carnes derisively. "Judge Leahy appreciates immaculate dress." Everyone in the room wondered if Brownlee even understood the word 'immaculate'.

"No, I'm going to be wearing my Police uniform today." said Brownlee. "My legal team and I want to make a point with the Court, and the appearance in uniform will help."

"If you'll excuse me," said Katherine Woodburn, "I have a speech to give to the Town & County Chamber of Commerce. Good luck in Court, Mr. Brownlee." She made quick goodbyes and left.

"Are you still with the Police?" asked Cook. "Technically, you're still in limbo."

"That's the whole point of the exercise." said Brownlee. "My lawyer wants to make the point that I am still in the Police Force, and never was not a part of it through my illness."

"All right, Robert." said Cook. "Councilwoman Carnes and I filed amicus briefs with the Superior Court and the Appellate Court on your behalf. Go get a haircut, clean up, and get ready for Court."

"One piece of advice." said Kelly Carnes as Brownlee got up to go. "Leahy hates the Iron Crowbar with a passion. Make sure you and your legal team let him know you want back in the TCPD to be a check upon the Iron Crowbar's vaunting ambitions."

"No doubt about that." snarled Brownlee. He left without another word.

"Wow, not even a 'thank you' for all we're doing for him." said Cook, with some amusement.

"That guy is totally losing it, if you ask me." Carnes said.

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

"I just have one question." Cindy said as she and Paulina sat in my office, discussing Court issues with me. "That immunity the Commander offered Jayne Hallerton... I know he's within his bounds to do that, but what's the legal situation on it?"

Paulina replied "All of us in here are Officers of the Court. In addition, Commander Troy is part of the Police Command Group; therefore, he is a principal for the Police and, to a lesser extent, for the Court. He can authorize expenditures of money, and enter into binding contracts on the TCPD's behalf. As such, he can make an Immunity Agreement that would be binding on both sides. As to you, Captain Ross, you could probably do it and, as a Captain, your actions would hold up. But please do me a favor and don't test it."

I said "I wouldn't have done it at all, if it weren't for the time-critical situation we were in."

"And that's a consideration." said Paulina. "But obviously, I and my fellow Assistant District Attorneys, not to mention Krasney himself, would prefer you work in conjunction with us on things like that."

"What about the Brownlee appeal?" I asked. "How are we going to do on that?"

"The City Attorney is representing the County on that one." said Paulina. "He thinks we're going to do fine."

"Why does that worry me?" I asked, looking up at the ceiling.

"You don't have a 'warm and fuzzy' about that, do you?" asked Cindy.

"No." I said. "No I do not. Leahy is rabidly Leftist and rabidly anti-Police. He'll put Brownlee back in the TCPD just to fuck with us."

"He can't do that." said Paulina. "He can only reinstate the case Brownlee filed, that Judge Watts threw out, and force an expedited hearing."

"What if he tries?" I asked.

"Then it goes up to the next level." said Paulina. "The State Supreme Court. And it only takes one Justice to kick it back down if Leahy overreaches. So we expect it to be back in Watts's courtroom."

I nodded. Just then my Police cellphone chimed with a text. I fished out my cellphone and read it.

"Don, what is it?" Cindy asked, seeing my shocked face. I showed her the text, which was from an unknown burner phone. Her face showed similar shock when she read it. It said 'Brownlee to appear in Court in Police Uniform'.

"Okay," I said, "we have to move fast, here. Ladies, if you'll excuse me, I have to call the Sheriff. Cindy, if you'll tell the Chief we need to talk to him in about five minutes, I'd appreciate it..."

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

At 10:00am the Press gathered at City Hall, in front of the formal Office of the Town & County Sheriff. Sheriff Deputy (Captain) Scott Peterson took to the microphone.

"Thank you for coming." he said. "The Sheriff wishes to make a formal announcement. He will not be taking questions, but I will do so after his comments. Sheriff?"

Sheriff Daniel Allgood strode up to the microphone, wearing his Sheriff uniform with dark brown jacket over his khaki shirt and pants, khaki tie tucked into the shirt, his Police and Sheriff Department ribbons on the jacket.

"Thank you, Scott." Allgood said. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm hereby announcing that as of one hour ago, Robert Brownlee has been and is assigned to the Public Health Department as Second Assistant Public Health Officer. In this position he retains the same rank and pay grade as his former position in the Police Department. I have forwarded the official paperwork to the City Attorney and the Courts, and this will be presented to the Appellate Court to show our compliance with the Law in placing Robert Brownlee in an equivalent position to the one he left when he had his heart attack."

The Sheriff continued: "Let me be clear: Robert Brownlee is no longer part of the Town & County Police Force, and will not be again. He is not authorized to wear a TCPD uniform, and he is not authorized to carry or use a firearm as part of his Public Health Office duties, unless he acquires a special waiver and re-qualifies with that firearm. Thank you."

The Sheriff ignored the shouted Media questions as he stalked off into his office. Scott Peterson fielded questions. The thread of the Media's line of inquiry was obvious.

"Captain Peterson!" yelled Priya Ajmani, "is Commander Donald Troy behind this reassignment of Commander Brownlee?"

"No, Priya." said Peterson. "Sheriff Allgood made the decision as to where to locate Assistant Public Health Officer Brownlee."

"Did Commander Troy advise the Sheriff on this action?" yelled John Hardwood.

"The Sheriff took the decisive action." said Peterson. "Donald Troy is on the sidelines, his input did not and does not matter here..."

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