Her Last Bow

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

"

Should old acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should old acquaintance be forgot,

and auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,

for auld lang syne,

we'll take a cup o' kindness yet,

for the sake of auld lang syne.

"

As the clock struck midnight, ushering in the new year, fireworks were set off in the lawn behind the University President's home. Other fireworks burst out all over the Town, including from Promontory Point on the ridgeline above us.

But I wasn't noticing these things. I was being kissed by my wife Laura. She had wrapped her arms around my neck and plastered her mouth to mine, and now our tongues were twining as we made out like teenagers, heedless of who else was there and who else might be watching.

We were at the New Year's reception giving by University President Sidney P. Wellman and his wife Sally. It was a large and well-attended gala event, with champagne and

hors d'oeuvres

, and beautiful women in beautiful gowns. Laura and I had danced together for much of it, and we were slow-dancing when midnight struck.

After our kiss, Laura dropped her head onto my shoulder. "Just hold me like this." she said quietly. "I just want to stay here in your arms." I had no problem with that.

"I love you." I whispered to her.

"I love you." she whispered back.

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

"Oh, look at that darling, happy couple!" sighed Elsie Gringer, the Town gossip columnist and Bettina Wurtzburg's aunt. "So much in love."

"Yes." said Phyllis Troy, my mother. "That they are. And very well matched. Perfect for each other."

"Oh, and there's Sheriff Allgood and his wife." said Elsie. "They're a young couple very much in love, also."

"Yes... and also well matched." Phyllis said. Elsie noticed the ever-so-slight chance in Phyllis's inflection as she said it.

"Oh, do you know something that I don't, Phyllis?" Elsie asked in a teasing way. She knew darn well that Phyllis Troy knew a lot that she, Elsie, had no hope of knowing.

"Nothing of importance, my friend." Phyllis said. "Nothing of importance."

"The question is..." said Elsie conspiratorially, "... just how well matched are our Sheriff and our Police Commander? From what I'm hearing, not nearly as close as their sister wives are."

"Oh, I think rumors such as that are badly embellished." said Phyllis. "They both have their jobs to do, and their wives to keep up with. Their jobs are easy; keeping up with those two women is a task to give even Hercules pause..."

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

"Okay," said Maggie Ross as she held her grandson Ian, "it's settled, then. I'll go home and pack up, then I'll be down here and moving into that townhouse Cindy bought near Northwest Mall and Ronald Reagan Park."

"It's a nice place, in a decent area of Town." Cindy said. "My condo is just south of there."

It was New Years Day, and they were in the Cabin, talking and making plans for their futures. Maggie started looking around.

"However did Don get such a wonderful property as this?" asked Maggie. "I know he has some money now, but he could not have had much when he first came here?" Cindy had a strange, queasy look on her face, which her mother noticed. "What?" Maggie asked.

"Er," Cindy said, "when Don bought the place, it was more of a shack than this beautiful A-Frame home. He rebuilt it when the first Cabin... was burned to the ground."

"With him and his family in it." Molly added. "Cindy woke up in the middle of the night with a bad feeling and called him, and that's how he got everyone out alive."

Needless to say, Maggie was flabbergasted, and even more so when her daughters told her more of the battle with the Consultant of Crime.

"Wow." said Maggie. "And that reminds me, Cindy... you haven't said anything about Jenna, except that she lost her election race."

"Yeah." Cindy said. "We broke up. We talked some after the Election. Jenna said she felt like she couldn't compete with my friends and family for my love. I, of course, never saw it as a competition, so I don't think that was all of it."

"Oh, look at this, I think Ian needs a diaper change." Maggie said. "Molly, why don't you take him upstairs and change him, while I talk with Cindy for a moment."

"Uh, sure." Molly said. She hauled both boys upstairs, leaving Cindy and her mother alone.

"So why am I getting a vibe," said Maggie, "that Jenna is not the reason you're feeling sad and alone right now."

"I..." Cindy started, then said "Good grief, you can read my mind as well as Don can. But I'm not feeling sad, nor alone. I've got great friends, especially in the Police Force, and family... not only my father, but Don and his family are my family now. Molly's here, and you're moving down here..."

"A mother knows, my dear." said Maggie, not letting Cindy off the hook. "A mother knows. When you were growing up and never had boyfriends, the reasons became apparent when you realized your orientation. And I think what I am seeing in you, and what I believe your cousin Don sees, a loneliness in side you, something unfulfilled, was because of your breakup with Jenna... but it's not. Is it?"

Cindy capitulated: "Keep that up, and Don will hire you for the Police Force." She paused, then said: "But you're right. There was another woman... her name's Callie. We had a fling--- I thought it was a fling. I've tried to pretend it was a fling. She's an entrepreneur, has her own company, she's gorgeous, sweet..."

"So what's the problem?" Maggie asked.

"She lives in California, for openers." Cindy said. "And I met her through one of our cases. She was in trouble with the Law, though innocent of the crime we were investigating. And her company... well, she's a porn star. And now she produces porn films with another woman from one of our cases, named Annemarie..."

Maggie shook her head. "And you were... well, still are... head over heels in love with that woman. Well... I think it's going to be very exciting living in this Town."

"Mom, you have no idea how 'exciting' this Town is." Cindy replied. "Especially when hanging around with the Iron Crowbar... and his mother."

Part 2 - Healing Touch

"I swear to God I think she can read my mind." said Teresa Croyle.

It was Wednesday, January 4th. She was lying in bed in a guest room of Todd Burke's home in the Heritage Cloisters subdivision north of Town. With her was Cindy Ross, who had been helping Phyllis Troy in nursing Teresa back to full health.

"It's easy to see where Don inherited his powers." Cindy replied. Just then, Phyllis came in with two large bowls of her medicinal herbal chicken soup.

"See?" Teresa said. "I didn't even get a chance to tell her I was hungry, and she's bringing soup."

"Your growling stomach told me before you could, my dear." said Phyllis. "Now you both need to eat properly. You're healing very well, Teresa, and need to keep that up. Cindy, you need to eat, as well. All that training you've been doing must take a lot of energy."

"Oh, what training would that be?" Teresa asked wickedly.

"That would be for the Police Boxing Matches." Cindy said levelly. "And Phyllis, when all that is over, you'll have to be nursing your son back to health. I intend to thoroughly whip his ass and reclaim my title."

"You might get to do the first part, but the second part will not be happening." Teresa said resolutely.

"We shall see." Cindy said, pointing with two fingers at her own eyes, then at Teresa's. "You're not training while you're lying in that bed, after getting your ass shot off."

"Somehow," Phyllis said, "I think you're giving her motivation." She knew well that Cindy was indeed being much more supportive of Teresa than an outsider would've guessed from her words. Cindy just shrugged.

"I'm giving her motivation to get out of this bed and start training again." said Cindy. Teresa pointed two fingers at her own eyes, then at Cindy's.

"Well, you shouldn't need me too much after this weekend." said Phyllis as the women ate their soup. "And that's a good thing: I'm going to have to be babysitting Carole and Jim next week. Their mother will be in Washington for 'meetings'. Melina is going out of Town next week, as well, and I told Daniel I would help with their kids, also. Carole will like that; she just loves little Patricia, though she, Carole, has come to hate hearing the word 'meetings'."

"I'll bet." Cindy said. "Is that why Don's so edgy this week?" Phyllis just nodded.

"What's this about?" Teresa asked.

"The silver lining to you getting your ass shot off." Cindy said. "With the Precincts merged and the new structure in place, Commander Troy went on a New Year's inspection of both Precincts on Monday, carrying Commander Harlow, Captain Marc Aaron of Physical Properties, and both Precinct Captains along. And I don't think I have ever seen so many Police Officers needing to go to the bathroom as during that inspection."

Cindy continued: "Don literally went through every Police cruiser, and ripped people new ones for the slightest lack of cleanliness in the passenger areas or the trunks. He checked spare tires. He checked the oil in over half the vehicles, and the drivers of the ones that weren't in peak condition were singled out for serious ass-chewings."

"And then he inspected the buildings, the Old Mill Building and the County Jail building. And by the time he was done, Captain Aaron's hand was falling off from writing it all down. And if that weren't enough, he went through Police Headquarters, and I have to admit that we weren't ready for the tornado that ripped through there. It was brutal."

"Oh boy." said Teresa. "How did Special Ops fare?"

"Not too badly, actually." Cindy said. "Since you've been upgrading them, they had their shit together for the most part. The Commander actually said he was impressed with the cleanliness of their weapons in the Armory." Teresa nodded.

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

"Come on in, Commander." said Chief Moynahan. I had just been called to his office. Already in the room with the Chief was Lt. Wes 'Coldiron' Masters, Lt. Molly Evans of the Nextdoor County PD, and Lt. Frank Soltis of the SBI's Office of Ethics and Review.

Something was up, I could tell. I peered at all of them, then stepped up to Frank and extended my hand as I said "Congratulations,

Chief Soltis.

"

"How in the world?" Soltis asked as he shook my hand. I was congratulating him on becoming the new Chief of the Midtown Police Department.

"Who told you?" Molly asked with a smile on her pretty face.

"Nobody." I said. "I just hope you didn't think you were dealing with an Agency of the Weak Minded."

"Oh, we never think that around

you

, Commander." said the Chief. "You are way too eager to prove us wrrronnnng. But really, how did you know?"

"I come in this room to see what was once the very best unit in the Midtown Police Department huddling together. They're looking at me as if something is up, and they're wondering if I can figure out what it is. I know Molly has nothing new going on, as I talked to her and her Police Chief recently. I know Lt. Masters has been running Vice very well and without absences, especially while Cpt. Croyle is recovering and Cpt. Ross is helping with that."

"So, that leaves Chief Moynahan and SBI Lt. Soltis." I continued. "Since hearing about Midtown shaking up their police leadership, I've been worried they will try to steal back my Chief from us. But I'm not getting any sense of worry from Lt. Masters nor Commander Harlow, nor any calls from the Sheriff or the Town & County Council. Ergo, by process of elimination, that means Frank Soltis has been hired as the Midtown PD's new Police Chief. And an excellent hire that shall be, methinks. Congratulations again, Frank!"

"Good grief." said Molly. "Nothing gets by you."

"Well, some things do." I said. "But I try."

"Yes, you're right, Don. Have a seat, by the way." As I found a chair to sit in, Moynahan said "Yes, I turned Midtown down, but gave them the names of all three of these outstanding Officers. Apparently Mr. Soltis's work with the SBI Ethics and Review Depart-ment attracted their interest, as they have a lot of sewage to clean out down therrrrre."

"Yes, yes you do." I said.

"I hope I can count on your occasional help with that, Don." said Frank. "The SBI Reserve Inspector showing up will scare the hell out of the cockroaches we're going to shed light upon."

"Sure, I'll be glad to help when I can." I said. "And by the way, I can suggest a house for you to rent."

"Oh, I already told him about the house." said Molly, who was that house's co-owner with me... the house that Melina and I had lived in years before, then Molly had lived in while working in Midtown.

"And I think I'm going to take you guys up on it, since it's empty right now." Frank said.

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

After lunch, I was back in the Chief's office, but only with him, Cmdr. Harlow, Cpt. Ross, and Lt. Masters.

"Okay, guys," I said, "the FBI has asked me for some help next week, following up on those recent cases. I'm not amused, since we're a bit shorthanded with Captain Croyle still healing up, but if you're okay with it, Chief, then I'll get whatever they need done as quickly as possible and get back."

"I'm okay with you going, Commander." said the Chief. "But don't rush to get back and leave something undone. Captain Ross and Lt. Masters have MCD and Vice running smoothly. Criminals are scared to death of you right now, and are laying low. Sergeant Charles and Sergeant Hewitt have the SWAT Teams doing well, and I need to evaluate them and others for Lieutenant as Captain Croyle's assistant in that area. So go, and get the hell out of our way for a few days." Cindy couldn't help but grin at that one. I love my team, I love my team, I love my team, I love my team...

Part 3 - The Mission

It was a rather somber Mountain Nest on the morning of Monday, January 9th. Laura was fretting about, her luggage packed. Carole was fussy, and Jim knew something wasn't right.

It had been a quiet weekend. Laura played and talked with Carole and Jim a lot during the day, and Laura and I made love like demons possessed during the nights. But now Laura had to go to Washington... well, to Langley, Virginia... and that moment we'd all knew was coming but tried to not think about was finally here.

"All right, the car is here." Laura said, meaning the car that was going to drive her to City Airport. "Bye, Carole, take care of your dad, okay?" she said as she gave Carole a long hug goodbye... as if she'd never see her daughter again.

"Okay, Mommy. Hurry back." Carole said, having heard me say that in the past. Laura was holding back tears as she put Carole down and then took Jim from me and gave him a warm hug.

"Bye, Mommy." Jim said, hugging his mom, not really understanding yet.

"Bye, Little Man." Laura replied. "Be good for your dad and your sister, okay?"

"Yes, Mommy." Jim said.

Bowser was sitting at the door, just looking up at Laura as she got her luggage and her computer in it's bag. "Mommy, say good bye to Bowser." Carole said.

"Bye Bowser." Laura said, somewhat shortly, not reaching down to pet the dog. My wife then gave me one last hard kiss. "I love you, darling." she said.

"I love you." I said. Then Laura hurried out and went to the car. She'd asked me not to follow her out, and I just watched from the door, holding Jim, as she got into the Government limousine. It pulled out, and was gone.

"Daddy!" Carole said. "Mommy didn't pet Bowser goodbye, and he's sad."

"I know, Fussbudget." I said. "Why don't you and I pet him for her, okay?" Carole suited the deed to my words, and gave Bowser plenty of skritchins. Jim found Buddy, who was sitting in the den, and did the same.

My mom came up from her basement apartment just as another car pulled into the driveway. In it were my nephew Todd and his assistant Mariko. Teddy Franklin was driving.

Todd came up to the door. "Todd!" Carole yelled out and ran to him. My daughter was one of many women that were irresistibly attracted to Todd. He grabbed her and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek as he greeted her.

After a moment, he said "Are you ready to go, Uncle Don?"

"Yes." I said. I hugged my mom goodbye, and Todd hugged her as well. Then I hugged and kissed the kids goodbye.

And I made damn sure to give Bowser the most loving goodbye skritchins that I possibly could.

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

Laura was sitting in a conference room at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Va. The room was about as secure as a room on this earth could possibly be. There were videoconference linkups to the White House, the National Security Agency, Air Force One, and a few other places, but they were not being used.

Laura was not alone in the meeting. The Director of the CIA and his aides were seated, as was the Director of National Intelligence, and the chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency. And also sitting in the room was Jack Muscone's boss, the Deputy Director of the FBI, sitting in for the FBI Director, who was ill.

And there was one more CIA Agent in the room, who would be Laura's partner for this, her final field mission for the CIA: her sister Melina.

"There is a massive weather front over Germany right now, moving east towards Poland, Belarus, and the Baltic States." said a Navy Commander, who worked with the National Weather Service's less-well known division that served worldwide military interests. "It is expected to dump up to twelve inches of snow over the next two days. You cannot be inserted until the weather front passes through."

"Thank you, Charles." said the DNI. "So here's the full story: we know there are several abandoned Warsaw Pact posts in several eastern European nations. We've detected activity at two of them. One of them," he said as he pointed to a map, "is believed to be in use by Sergei Molotov; the other, by agents of the Eastern European Front, a paramilitary group with ties to George Schwartz, and devoted to returning Socialism to the European States. The EEF is in league with former

Stasi

agents as well as Schwartz. Sergei Molotov has been in contact with Chechnyan Islamists, dedicated to overthrowing the Russian Government and imposing a caliphate in the Chechnya region."

The DNI continued: "We have solid intelligence reports that Molotov has acquired lists of Russian, German, French, and American double agents, and possibly the CIA's NOC list. The damage he could cause with this knowledge is tremendous, incalculable. The location where we believe he is has old but serviceable computers and linkups to satellite transmissions. We believe he has stored the information there. And that is what you need to do, Dr. Fredricson: go in, get those lists so we know what data we're dealing with, then destroy the facility."

"They don't ask much, do they?" Melina said irreverently, getting a stern look from the DDI and the CIA Director. Undaunted, Melina asked "Sir, why Dr. Fredricson? I could assemble a whole team that can do this with greater chances of success and returning us alive."