The Other World

This story is part of an ongoing series.

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

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the lovely redheaded reporterette, from in front of the Federal Building on Courthouse Square, at 7:00am, Wednesday, March 1st. "We are bringing continuing coverage of convicted prisoner Leonard Lotz, who remains at large after escaping from The Asylum several days ago!"

Bettina continued as a photo of Lotz appeared onscreen. "The FBI considers Lotz to be armed and extremely dangerous, and consider recapturing him to be a top priority. Channel Two News has learned that the FBI is considering putting Lotz on their famous 'Ten Most Wanted' list. If you see Leonard Lotz, do not approach him, but call the FBI immediately. He is an exceptionally dangerous man."

"In other news," Bettina continued, "the FBI filed a legal complaint against the State as they demanded that George Aurus, the Black Velvet Killer, be transferred to Federal custody. Lawyers for Aurus vigorously contested the FBI's demand. In a surprise move, Commander Donald Troy of the TCPD, who captured Aurus, joined in the State's rebuttal to the FBI. Commander Troy stated that Aurus's crimes were exclusive to this State, the FBI had shown nothing that allowed them jurisdiction over Aurus. Commander Troy further stated that Aurus's life might be in danger if he were transferred to Federal custody. State Attorney Jenna Stiles represented the State's position in Court."

"Wow, how's the FBI taking that?" asked Theo Washington as we drank coffee in MCD.

"I dunno." I said. "I haven't heard from them in a few days. Hold on... let's listen to this weather report."

Bettina was saying: "And the Channel Two News Weather Team is putting out an alert for today and tonight. It is overcast and getting darker now, and huge storms are expected to blanket the State this afternoon. And after the cold front moves through, temperatures will drop into the thirties if not lower! The Channel Two News Weather Team will keep you informed of all you need to know about this storm front and its dangers to you..."

"Wrap up warm." I said. "There's an east wind coming." Cindy nodded. Teresa looked at us kind of funny.

"Sir, if there's no Federal jurisdiction, why do they want to take custody of Aurus?" asked Jerome Davis.

"That's what we want them to explain to the Court." I said. "If they've got a legitimate reason, then they need to bring it out. If not, then they need to mind their own business and go away."

"Is your FBI account still working?" Cindy whispered to me.

"I don't know." I said. "I haven't tried it." I didn't mention that my reticence was influenced by a past 'dream' state.

"Mine still works." said Cindy. "I got on and sent Lindy a thank-you email for her help with the Aurus case. We'll see if any hornet's nests are stirred up." I smiled a brief, mirthless smile.

Then I heard Teddy Parker speak up: "I'm curious why they're so hot about Leonard Lotz. They've been putting out APBs about him, having the media repeatedly talk about him. What's the big deal about him?"

"The FBI has jurisdiction over bank robberies. Lotz was put away for bank robbery." I said.

"Yes sir," said Parker, "but putting him on the Ten Most Wanted list? When he's never killed anybody, and The Asylum did not consider him to be a threat to commit violence?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"Didn't you visit him at The Asylum, Commander?" asked Theo Washington.

"Yes, in connection with the George Aurus case." I replied.

"And it helped?" asked Theo.

"We caught him, didn't we?" I asked back. Then I realized my folly.

"I should not have said that, at least not that way." I said. "Lotz's information did not break the case for us. I interviewed him to round out the picture of Aurus. Lotz's escape was... coincidental."

"You know what we think of those, Commander!" Joanne Warner exclaimed happily in a 'gotcha' voice. "You visited him; he escaped prison. Two coincidences; therefore, none." Cindy was grinning very happily at that one, and fist-bumped Joanne.

Dammit, trapping me with my own words... I love my team, I love my team, I love my team, I love my team...

"I am delighted to see that you guys have learned

that

much from me." I said with my own grin. "Okay, I'm going to go to work. You guys carry on."

Part 2 - Crime and Meetings

Chief Sean Moynahan had begun a new routine of having a full Staff meeting at 8:00am, right at shift change, every Wednesday morning. He could disseminate information from the Sheriff's Staff meeting the day before, and could get midweek input on what was going on in his Police Department.

As part of these meetings, he even went to the point of having us sit in particular places around the Main Conference Room table. He sat at the end nearest the door. To his left sat Deputy Chief Della Harlow. To her left was Lieutenant(B) Janice Holloway of Administration. To Janice's left was Captain 'Brick' Briscoe of Public Relations. The next chair would be occupied by Lieutenant Curly Goodwin of Internal Affairs, or Chaplain Romano when he attended, or another guest. Today Lt. Goodwin was in the chair.

At the other end of the table was me, Your Iron Crowbar. To my left was Captain Cindy Ross, Chief of Detectives. To her left was Captain Teresa Croyle, Chief of Operations. to Teresa's left was Precinct Captain Briggs, and to his left was Precinct Captain Thompson.

We all would gather early, chat as we drank coffee, and when the Chief came in we would stand by our chairs, almost at attention. He would sit down, and then invite us to do so, and we'd all take our chairs. He had apologized for the formality at the first meeting, then explained that this was how he wanted it for this meeting. And of course, we complied. It was "speak when spoken to", and as a result it usually went at a reasonable speed.

I rarely spoke at these meetings. I listened like the Chief did, even though I rarely heard anything new, as Cindy and Teresa kept me well informed of things, and I kept the Chief well informed.

"O-kayyyyy." the Chief said. "The first thing from the Sheriff's meeting is this bulletin from the FBI. They are asking all local jurisdictions to be on the lookout for Leonard Lotz, and to disseminate the information about him to all Police Officers." He handed out sheets of paper, which were copies of the FBI's Wanted poster for Lotz.

"Do they believe him to be in this area, Chief?" asked Teresa.

"They believe it is very possible." said the Chief. "The Asylum is near here, we have a range of people from college students to the elderly for him to disappear within, and he can make his way to the State Line, if he hasn't already."

"Who issued this, Chief?" I asked as I read the bulletin.

"The FBI's National Security Branch office in the City." said the Chief. "It was specifically issued by FBI Special Agent In Charge Les Craig."

After a pause, the Chief continued: "In addition to putting out the nationwide alert for Lotz, the FBI has asked us to prioritize the search for Lotz to the extent our busy schedules allow. And since Commander Troy has brought in Mr. Aurus, we mostly have paperwork to do." There was a murmur through the room in acknowledgement of my success in bringing in Aurus. "Or would someone like to challenge that supposition?" asked the Chief.

"Yes, Chief." said the fearless Teresa Croyle. "We have some serious training coming up. The Town High School Vocational School is building houses on the Fire Department Range, and my SpecOps people will be training in urban combat before the Fire Department sets fire to one of the houses for their training. And in light of recent events, we'll be doing more riot control training. That is Federally mandated anyway, so we're killing two birds with one stone."

"Chief," said Cindy, "we are developing information on possible drug shipments coming into the County. Vice is gathering the intel and we may have a plan of action for this weekend."

"Who's doing that?" asked the Chief. "T-Square? Or someone trying to feed the Campus that filthy shit?"

"Data is sketchy, but it looks like the Punk scene, sir." said Cindy. "Maybe they think we're not paying attention, there."

"Not paying attention. Heh heh heh heh." chuckled Moynahan. "Yeah, right."

He then went through the rest of the meeting. I learned that Administration was gearing up for tax season, May 1st promotions and awards, and a customary visit from the Grand Jury being empaneled.

"That reminds me," I said with a smile, "we

do

have the gym reserved every weekend from late April to the first weekend in June? And work orders to put up the boxing rings?"

"Handled that myself, Commander." said Della Harlow. "The only thing more important than the Police Boxing Matches is pay and medals."

"I'm not sure medals are ahead of the Matches." Cindy said softly, her ice blue eyes taking on a determined look. Next to her, Captain Croyle also looked determined. Woe betide...

"Do we need to have Medics from University Hospital?" asked Chief Moynahan. "I really do fear that one day someone is going to be seriously hurt."

"That's covered." I said. "And we happen to have a fantastic doctor who will be on the scene. She's good looking, too." Cindy and Teresa chuckled.

"Sir?" asked Janice Holloway in surprise.

"My wife, Lieutenant." I said. "Best doctor in the world. Obviously I'm somewhat biased." There were more chuckles.

"And a very lucky man to have that woman as your wife." said the Chief. "Okay, this meeting is not a beauty contest; let's move on."

There were no reports from Internal Affairs, and the Precinct Captains only reported average numbers of tickets and responses to calls. The Chief began wrapping it up.

"Okay, there's one more thing I want before I let you all go: Mr. Leonard Lotz was a bank robber. He may think he can rob our banks right under the noses of the best Police Force in this State, if not the Nation. So let's put some plainclothes surveillance on the banks in this area. I'll leave the details to you, Commander, and your people."

"Yes sir." I said. I understood the reason for the Chief's, and the Sheriff's, caution... J.P. Goldman, a Town & County Councilman as well as a University Trustee, owned one of those banks...

"And maybe we'll get lucky and catch this Lotz guy for the FBI." said the Chief.

"With respect, Chief," I said, "if I catch Lotz, I'm not giving him to the FBI. I'll take him back to The Asylum before I give him to Les Craig."

Everyone in the room was shocked... except Cindy and the Chief, who said "I will discreetly tell the Sheriff that, so he will be ready for the incoming a-rowwwwws."

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

The Angels meeting followed the Chief's meeting. I had Cindy call in Lt. Masters to be one of the Angels today.

"So we've got some drugs coming in?" I asked.

"Maybe sir." said Lt. Wes 'Coldiron' Masters. "We have C.I.s that we pay a small amount of cash to get counts of how many people are in various clubs, and some of our Officers moonlight as Security in those clubs and give us information.. We find that if attendance spikes at a certain club or in a certain area, it often means that drugs are being brought in to be purchased and distributed. This past weekend, a club called 'Punk' had an above average crowd, and we're hearing they're pushing having a big 'party', as they call it, this coming weekend."

"And you think there will be drugs brought in?" I asked.

"Very likely, sir." said Coldiron. "What we don't know yet are the amounts. We're working on getting information from our C.I.s"

"Okay." I said.

"Sir," said Teresa, "if I may add something?"

"By all means." I replied.

"I think this is a very unusual situation, sir." said Teresa. This club, 'Punk', is relatively new. I'm surprised they'd want to make it a drug buy spot so soon after opening."

"Who owns this club, 'Punk'?" I asked.

"Sir," said Cindy, "you remember that metrosexual we picked up during the working girls bust? Kevin, I think his name was? He started up 'Punk' and another club called 'Pink', which caters to lesbians."

"Anyone you know go there?" I asked.

"No sir." Cindy said with a solemn, straight face (pun not intended). "These women aren't my crowd. We're talking the militant lesbians, the rough crowd and the political activists."

I nodded, then Cindy continued: "Mr. Kevin started 'Punk' because the Cub Club is out of favor with the Punk scene in this County. 'Punk' has been doing well since it opened. If he's bringing in drugs in quantity, it's probably because he's being asked to by the clients, as opposed to the pushers."

"All right." I said. "I don't need to tell you what to do, but I will anyway, just to hear myself say it: get with the Mouseketeers, see what you can find out about the financials and ownership of 'Pink' and 'Punk'; see if there' someone bankrolling Mr. Kevin on this. And then see what's going on with the pushers Okay, what else?"

"Sir," said Teresa, 'should I assume that looking for Leonard Lotz is our prime mission right now?"

"Absolutely not." I said.

"You know what they say about assuming, Teresa." said Cindy. "It makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'." That earned Cindy a 'Teresa Cunt' look, the equivalent of waving a crowbar at someone, but more deadly.

"That phrase is for the dirty nasty Legs out there." I replied. "I'm sure Captain Croyle will understand when I say that in the Airborne, our saying was that if you assume something, it gets another Paratrooper killed. But to answer you, Ms. Croyle: yes, have the Force be on alert for Lotz. Put surveillance on the banks, as the Chief wants. But also put it out there that if Lotz is seen, Commander Troy himself had better be the first person to hear about it, even violating the chain of command if need be. Time will be of the essence."

I continued: "Lotz may not be a Paratrooper, but I do fear he will be killed if the FBI gets custody of him. They will 'disappear' him. Having said that, I think he is going to stay out of this County."

"If I may ask, sir," asked Masters, "why do you believe that?"

"Because he told me that when I interviewed him." I said. "We have a tape of that interview, by the way, if any of you want to see it."

"I watched it yesterday." said Cindy. "Very interesting stuff about Millwakee."

"Yes, it was." I said. "Okay, you Captains can go. I need Lt. Masters to stay for a moment."

After Cindy and Teresa left, I said "Have you talked to Frank Soltis in Midtown lately?"

"Yes sir." said Masters. "It was pretty bad for a while, but it seems to be calming down some. Inspector Maxwell has been helping with the ethics issues."

"Good." I said. "I know you and the Chief were good friends with Soltis as well as teammates, but I want to make sure things work out well down there, also. So do me a favor and keep me in the loop."

"I'll do that sir." said Masters. I dismissed him to his duties.

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

Ten minutes later, Cindy was back.

"So what did you think of the Lotz interview?" I asked.

"Looked like some weird shit was going on there, at Millwakee." said Cindy. "I also asked my father if he knew what what was going on there, or anything about Yarborough. He said he didn't, but he'd have some people look into it. What should I tell him is the key to their research?"

"I don't know." I said. "Maybe if I don't give any direction, they'll come up with something on their own. Oh, wait... maybe see if your father can find Leonard Lotz's sister before the FBI does."

"You think she's important?" Cindy asked.

"Only if he goes to her, or if she comes here." I said. "So... what do you think of this Punk scene drug running?"

"It's stuff Vice deals with all the time." Cindy said. "It's really hard to catch the pushers once the drugs get to the level of the clubs or the streets. Coldiron is hoping to catch someone bringing in or selling the shit, then he'll lean on them to make them give up their suppliers, and so up the chain. That's the classic, old-school way. And by the way, I'm not as expert as I sound; since Teresa was promoted, I've been learning a lot from the guys in Vice."

"Don't put yourself down; you're doing very well overseeing them as well as MCD." I replied. "But this situation seems to have everyone's attention more than other situations. Why's that?"

"I think 'Coldiron' sees it as an opportunity to bust some amateurs, put the fear of God into them." Cindy said. "Me, it has a weird vibe to it. Something's not right about the whole thing, but I'm not sure what it is."

"Your vibes solve more crimes than most Police Departments' Detectives do." I replied with a grin.

"Commander Troy,

you alone

solve more crimes than most of this

State's

Police Forces do put together, and I'm not saying that to disrespect them." Cindy replied.

"Stoppit." I said, taking one of Captain Ross's own lines and using it on her. She burst out laughing like her sister Molly often does. "Seriously, nothing wrong with vibes helping people or stopping crimes." I said...

Part 3 - Whiteboards

After Cindy left, I turned to the left of my desk (the right wall as one looks in from the anteroom). I got up and unlocked what looked like double-doors on the wall near the window, making sure to close the drapes first. This wall-mounted cabinet opened into whiteboards. Yes, even Your Iron Crowbar uses whiteboards from time to time.

I wrote down all the salient points of the Lotz interview, all the comments made by George Aurus when I interrogated him, and many comments from my interviews of the people I'd interviewed while tracking Aurus. Then I added what I could that was not outright classified about Superior Bloodlines and the man I'd seen at the State Capitol.

Oh, yes, I thought to myself. I remembered what I needed to do...

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

"A little more supraorbital development." I said. Kim, one of our CSI photographers as well as one of our sketch artists, used her 3-D program on the computer to make slight changes to the face. It was spooky how accurate it was.

"Okay, the glasses were slightly more octagonal, but the angles were curved and smooth, not sharp." I said.

"I know what you want, there." said Kim. She brought up some brand of eyeglasses frames and put them on the face.

"That's it, but the color is more burnished, darker." I said. Kim made the adjustment. "That it. That's him. Save that to a jump drive, print me two copies... then erase all traces of it. And forget you ever saw that face."

"One of those, huh?" Kim said, having worked with me through the Westboro hunt.

"Yes." I said. "And this man has tried to kill me twice. I don't want any of you guys coming over all dead, so just forget you ever saw him."

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

The drawn-up image of my tormenter during my torture was now on the bottom right-hand corner of the whiteboards in my office. Myron Milton had been sent an encrypted copy under seal, which he knew to bring up if something 'wet' happened to the ol' Iron Crowbar... and he also knew he could take it to his father.