Slender Man Ch. 01

"You are free to check my work behind me." I said. "If I have made an error, I will be grateful for any of you to point it out to me."

"Perish forbid anyone try to do that!" exclaimed Cindy Ross. Her sister Molly Ross Evans burst out laughing.

"Once again folks," I said, being very serious, "if what I just told you gets into the wrong ears, it could be fatal. Most of you in here will remember that a couple of years ago we took out a rogue CIA cell. Well, Superior Bloodlines, who I believe is connected to these experiments and may be funding part of all of this, may have the backing of another such rogue Government cell... maybe in the CIA, maybe elsewhere within the myriad bureaucracies.

I continued: "And until we can isolate and excise that cancer... if these people know how close we are to exposing them and taking them out, they will stop at absolutely nothing to save themselves. They have already murdered Jeanine Burke, Michael Burke, Wayne LaCroix, and eliminated their own Jeff Fuqua. Once again, folks, we are at war for incredibly high stakes... including life and death."

"You throw the best parties!" Tanya Perlman said cheerfully. I chuckled at Tanya's morbid humor, but most in the room did not...

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

12:00 noon, Wednesday, March 8th. An historic event was occurring: the Deputy Director of the FBI was for the first time trying a Double Cheeseburger Plate at the Cop Bar!

Jack Muscone was already eating his, and the look on his face was one of culinary bliss. The DepDirector took a big bite out of his, then another.

After dabbing his mouth with the napkin, the DepDirector said "Not bad. Not bad at all. I see why you love them so much, Jack. I'm not much of a burger fan, but if I was... this would be right up there."

I was also having a Double Cheeseburger plate, and Cindy was daring to be different by having the Fish & Chips basket. We were in the back room of the Cop Bar, which we had to ourselves. I'd swept for bugs, and Cindy had her bug-killer in action.

The Deputy Director might not have been entirely truthful about being in Washington. His plane landed at County Airport within an hour of my meeting earlier in the morning breaking up. I suspected he'd actually been in the City, and Jack had texted him immediately after the meeting with some code words that prompted extremely fast action.

"Your theory holds well, Commander." said the DepDirector. "Everything fits. It explains why even I can't get information on that Federal installation. It explains why that installation is there. And it explains the Aurus case, and Lotz."

"Yes sir." I said. "And sir, you cannot tell anyone about this. We don't know who the moles are within the Government."

"You mean Les Craig?" the DepDirector asked.

"I mean Les Craig, I mean Dana Fox, I mean Clark Webster." I said. "And, so sorry, I mean Lindy, and Sandra, and Eduardo and his wife. We gotta circle the wagons, and be careful who we trust. Even good guys have to be suspected until we're sure. And your offices may be bugged, sir. There is no telling from where someone could overhear you and give the information to the wrong people."

"I understand." said the DepDirector. "It's like the Corrigan days. But let me now fill you in on some things I couldn't talk about before. This is the first time you are hearing about this, also, Jack."

The DepDirector started: "After Laura retired and her handler, the Old Mother, passed away, some things subtly changed in the CIA. But we knew why already: that list of double agents Laura obtained contained some key names, names of people that were in some sensitive positions... by that I mean they could not have been in those positions because our checks would've caught them as double agents. Ergo, someone was able to put them there and bypass the security checks in doing so."

He continued: "To say we leaned hard on those guys we caught is an understatement. We put them through what you went through, Don, though the drugs we used were not as deadly. Unlike you, they broke pretty easily. They told us that there was definitely another rogue cell; in fact, there were two."

"One of them is supporting Franklin Gray and his 'Stormbringer' operation." the DepDirector said. "Jonas Oldeeds's organization, led by his wife and Robert Patterson, is part of that. Also, these bastards that killed the Burkes and brought in those nerve agents are a part of it."

"The other... we now know what it is, it's supporting Superior Bloodlines and this Eugenics program. It's the Big Boys. Do you know who Conrad King is?"

"Jack King's father, former friend of Henry R. Wargrave... and on a first name basis with Elder George Bush."

"That's right." said the DepDirector. "I'm not trying to implicate President Bush in any of this, but Conrad King has been behind Superior Bloodlines for a long time. They are the true Elites of the Nation and the World, with people in GoldmanSachs and the Rothschilds, the Bilderberg types. They are deep, much deeper than the other group. Rooting them out may well be impossible, though we may yet shut their front group down."

"Where does Ferrell fit into this?" asked Jack Muscone.

"I'm not sure." said the DepDirector. "He may just be a hired gun for either group. He may not even know he's a product of these experimental breedings. What do you think, Commander?"

"I think it's stupid of him to have stayed in this area this long after being sought for several crimes, including attacking Tanya and conspiracy to help Sharples kill me." I said. "So why would he stay? The only reason? Because he does know. And he always has. I told y'all in the morning meeting that his mother was one of the women at Millwakee. What surprises me is that no one has asked who his blood father is."

"Ohhhhhhhh." said Cindy, with that 'why didn't I see that before?' look on her face. "Yarborough himself."

"Could well be." I said. "I'm hoping we can find a picture of Yarborough, any picture, and see if there's a family resemblance."

"Damn, you two are good." said Muscone.

"Not good enough, I'm afraid." I said. "We have miles to go before we sleep... miles to go before we sleep..."

Part 6 - More Answers, More Questions

3:00pm, Wednesday, March 8th. Myron and Mary Milton came to my office. Cindy sat on the sofa as they took hot chairs. Mary had a folder full of materials, which she placed upon my desk.

"Where's Krueger?" I asked.

"He's working on some data for Vice." said Mary. "Having to do with Jerry Saint, and also on Kevin Greeley's financial backers for 'Punk' and 'Pink'."

"I see." I said, and I did see... the looks on the Milton's faces. I took off my badge and laid it on my desk. "Put 'em on the desk, people. You too, Captain." They all put their badges next to mine, with Cindy coming up and sitting in the third hot chair, as I got out the bug detector. It glowed: Internal Affairs was listening in. I took out the bug killer. Internal Affairs was not listening in any more.

"Speak freely." I said. "How bad is it?"

It was Mary who spoke up after she and her husband exchanged a glance. "It's not the end of the world, but it's bad enough, sir. And it's been building for a while."

"David doesn't like the hacking?" I asked.

"He doesn't mind that, sir." Mary said. "It's hacking into Government computers and touching classified information. A couple of weeks ago he made some remark calling us a couple of 'Edward Snowdens'. Myron ripped him a new one, saying we weren't sharing anything with the Nation's enemies, only Commander Troy, who has proper clearance. Krueger said that we should not be looking at classified information at all, and especially not by hacking into Government computers. Nothing more was said, but after that, the trust has seriously eroded. We don't do anything when he's around, anymore.

"And why did no one come to me about this?" I asked. The Miltons just looked at each other. "I see... you were seeing if Krueger went to I.A... or worse."

Myron nodded. "Sir, I think you know how my father feels about the Federal Government, and you know that I share those feelings. We've seen how the CIA treated Barry Oliver, and we know what happened to you. We also know there are good people like Agent Muscone and your wife. And Mary and I know the full measure of who and what you and Captain Ross are, sir, ma'am. We have no problem helping you, and there are very few things you could ask of me that I would refuse to help you on."

"Yes, I know, and I appreciate it." I said.

"So, sir, we were making sure Krueger wasn't working with someone in the Federal Government." said Myron.

"And the relationship between the three of you is no longer good?" I asked.

"Sir, we'll work with him, at least I know I will." said Mary. "But we're not going to let him know if and when we're crossing any lines."

"Sir," said Myron, "if he goes to I.A., or to the Feds..." I held up a hand to stop him.

"Okay, say no more." I said. "I think this might be an easy fix. I'll call you back in later today or tomorrow morning." I handed them their badges, and Cindy hers, then put my own back on. "Y'all scoot, and say nothing to Krueger about this talk."

As they were leaving, I opened the file in front of me. On top was a photograph.

"MARY!" I screamed out.

"Sir?" she said, coming back into the office.

"This photo, who is it?" I asked.

"That's Dr. Yarborough, sir. Only picture of him I could find." Mary replied. "It's from the mid 1960s, sir. City University took film photos for the Faculty I.D.s. They were supposed to renew them every year or two, but Yarborough never did, just used that original one his entire time while on the Faculty there. They also used that photo for the Yearbook that year, and it's the only Yearbook his picture is in. And by chance, someone put that yearbook into digital records."

"Fantastic." I said. "Thank you, Mary. You can go."

"What are you going to do about Krueger?" asked Cindy.

"Listen in." I said. I dialed a number on my Police cellphone. "Hello Chief Soltis!" I said into the phone. Understanding came into Cindy's eyes as I said "Yes, I'm good, and you?... Caught 'em, eh? That's good... So it's getting better down there?... Well, I might can help. You still need a trustworthy Data Mining guru?... Yes, I might have your solution... extremely trustworthy guy... his name is David Krueger, one of my Detectives... been through the Police Academy, he's a full Detective here... no, not a thing wrong with him, just the opposite... okay, I'll talk to him about it, then you can interview him if he's interested... okay, talk to you later. Bye."

Cindy nodded. "That would work out great, if David will go back down there."

"I think he will." I said. "He had friends down there, still does, with the Governor's staff. His integrity is very good, maybe too good. Soltis badly needs people he can trust, and Krueger would do well helping to weed out the shit eaters down there. Now... look at this photograph."

Cindy looked. "Yes, resemblance to Ferrell."

"Not only that," I said, standing up and unlocking my whiteboards, "I'm about to show you something that could get you killed one day. You know the guy I said was standing over me while I was being tortured? The one I saw at the State Capitol?"

"Yes." said Cindy. "Go ahead and show me. We'll die together, if need be."

I took the photo off the whiteboards and handed it to Cindy. She looked at it. "Okay, so whassup with it?" she asked.

I was on my 'clean' laptop computer. I brought up the composite photo that showed him without his glasses, and put it on the right side of a split-screen on the program my computer was running. I scanned in the photo of Yarborough and sized it on the left side.

"Watch." I said. I pressed the button to superimpose the faces.

"Oh my God." Cindy said quietly. There was no doubt the two men very, very closely resembled each other. "The same man?"

"Can't be." I said. "Yarborough is long dead. I'd say they're brothers..."

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

"Amazing." said Chief Moynahan as Cindy and I sat in his office, showing him the two photos and a third one showing the first two superimposed. "So this clown that was apparently supervising your torture is the brother of this filthy eugenics professor."

"Yes sir." I said. "And that clown is an extremely powerful man somewhere within the United States Government, and exceptionally dangerous."

"Harrumph. No doubt." said the Chief. "Well, Commander, you have had a very productive day."

"And it's not over yet, sir." I said. "We have another issue that has come up..."

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

"Come in, Mr. Krueger." said the Chief as David Krueger was escorted into his office by Captain Cindy Ross. I was sitting in one of the chairs in front of the Chief's desk, and he had David sit in the other one.

"Soooo, Mr. Krueger," said the Chief, "I'll just get right to it. You know that before coming here, I worked in Midtown, in their Police Department."

"Yes sir." said Krueger, who was looking a bit wary as he listened to the Chief.

"You came from Midtown, too, did you not?" the Chief asked.

"Yes sir." said David.

"How did you like it in Midtown?" asked the Chief.

"I was busy as part of the Governor's staff," said Krueger, "but it was a good place to be."

"Good." said the Chief. "As you may knowwwwww, one of my people, Frank Soltis, has become Police Chief down there, and he is working very hard to clean up the rot that has infested that Police Department. And one thing he needs is a very, very trustworthy data guru."

The Chief continued: "I believe you would do very well down there, helping Chief Soltis clean up the place. He wants to interview you, and I'm holding the Iron Crowbar's crowbar hostage to get him to consider letting you goooo."

"As much as I would hate to see you go, David," I said, "I think it'd be a great opportunity for you. Maybe a promotion, too, Chief?"

"Yes, the head of their Data Branch is a Lieutenant slot." said the Chief. "You're a young man for that post, Mr. Krueger, but then again, Chief Soltis is a young man, and the Iron Crowbar is not exactly over the hill, himself. In fact, the Iron Crowbar here is going to be working with Chief Soltis to help clean out the rot, and I daresay having you down there would help both of them tre-MEN-dously."

Krueger nodded. He was no fool, and he asked me "Have you lost confidence in me, sir?"

"Not one bit." I said, being sure to look at him squarely in the eye. "I would never let the Chief suggest this to you nor to Chief Soltis if I did not have confidence in you and think this was a great opportunity for you. You can stay here if you want to, but this is a chance to do something more, be part of something better, and be upwardly mobile more quickly than you could here. It's... kind of like when I first got here."

"Soooo," said the Chief, "you can at least interview with Chief Soltis and his people, and then let us know what you think."

"Yes, I can do that." said Krueger.

Part 7 - Slender In Farm Fields

7:30pm, Wednesday, March 8th. I was driving my Police SUV around Town, heading out of the northern suburbs towards North Street and to the Bypass. Cindy was riding shotgun. The sun was disappearing behind the horizon, and the quality of the light was quickly fading.

"What did Krueger say?" she asked.

"He saw right through us." I said. "But he's going to interview with Chief Soltis tomorrow. It really is a good opportunity for him, and I hope he takes it that way and doesn't think we're kicking him to the kerb."

"I agree on all counts." Cindy said. "So, no 'Slender Man' sightings yet, which is why you're patrolling like this." I smiled at Cindy's correct analysis.

"There is one other reason I asked you to ride around with me." I said. "What did you think of that lunch today?"

"Two things, sir." said Cindy. "First, the Deputy Director is beginning to realize the truth about Les Craig--"

"What truth is that?" I asked quickly.

"That he can't be trusted." Cindy replied. "I know you mentioned Dana Fox and Clark Webster, but its Craig that's the problem."

"You think he's dirty?" I asked.

"Maybe." Cindy replied. "My idea is this: I'm getting a sense that the Federal Government in Washington is divided almost in two. There are those that are part of what we call the Elites or the Elitists, and members of both political parties are among them, and they use political power for their own gain. Then there's the group that's not a part of that, and the Deputy Director and your wife are among them.

"Unfortunately, the Elites are winning." Cindy continued. "Your wife retired, and I don't blame her, and they're working to kick out the Deputy Director. Les Craig is angling for a position of power, and the Elites are grooming him for it. That makes your rescue of the Towson boy doubly fortuitous, as it prevented me from making a huge mistake and leaving the TCPD for the FBI."

"I'd have taken you back in a heartbeat." I said. "But is this all your observation and deduction? Or was it helped by a few fireside chats in Coltrane County?" By that I meant fireside chats with her father at 'The Vision'.

"Not much gets by you, Iron Crowbar." Cindy replied with a smile. "As you say, it's observation, deduction, and knowledge that are the keys to success. And I do listen when knowledge is being poured into my ears, despite your occasional claims to the contrary."

I laughed. "Well, your information and your source is good. I'll just say this. Today the Deputy Director suggested that there were two groups of people that we're dealing with. I invited you on this ride to tell you that I do not agree with that. We are ultimately dealing with the same group of people. We take down White Roots, we'll have a chance to take down Superior Bloodlines. We take them down, and we might break the Oldeeds Organization down, as well."

"You still want to bust them?" asked Cindy.

"My father, your uncle, died before his time, and Oldeeds was no small part of that." I replied flatly.

Cindy nodded. "So where do we go from here?"

"Well, I'd love to bust Ferrell, for Jack and Tanya's sakes." I said. "And then... well, we'll have to see. Lots of moving parts. Kind of like the chase after Westboro, but maybe this time we can hit them without them knowing we're after them... Westboro knew what we were doing every step of the way, and how I continue to be alive, I don't know."

"Chief Griswold said it just wasn't your day to die, as the Klingons say." Cindy said.

The Police radio became active. "All units, be advised of a Slender Man sighting near the River Valley Country Club. Suspect may have gone onto the golf course."

"This is Alpha-12." said a Patrol cruiser's crew. "We are moving to that location now."

"Alpha-4 to Headquarters," said another Patrol cruiser, "be advised that we have been flagged down, and there has been another Slender Man sighting at the field at the end of Pine Street. We are investigating now."

"BREAK! BREAK! BREAK!" came the next call. "Clear this channel of all chatter to receive an important message. Be advised that 9-1-1 has received a call of a missing child. Ten year old girl, blonde, wearing a blue shirt, blue jeans, and a dark blue coat. She was last seen with a very tall man in a suit getting into a brown sedan..."

"Holy shit!" Cindy said as I drove my SUV through the median of the Bypass to get to the northbound side, blue lights flashing.

"This is Commander Troy," I said into the radio. "Be sure to put out an Amber Alert immediately! Cover all roads leading to the State Lines and County lines!"