Teresa's Christmas Finale Ch. 01

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"UUUUHHHHH!!!!" gasped Roy McGhillie. He drove his cock balls-deep into Becca Larrington and began ejaculating his large load into her.

"Yes!" Becca gasped as she wrapped her legs around her lover's back, eagerly taking his inches into her womanhood, and happily taking every drop of his potent, virile sperm into her furthest depths. She could feel Roy's body relaxing as he achieved his release, and a wave of pleasure washed over her as she knew her body had given the man she loved such intense happiness.

"Oh baby, I love you." Roy said, then pressed his mouth to Becca's in a deep, warm kiss.

"I love you, too, baby." Becca said, kissing him back.

As they lay in post-coital bliss, Becca said "So you and your dad are coming to our house tomorrow for Christmas?"

"I'll be there." Roy said. "Dad has been under the weather; he might sit this one out."

"That's too bad." said Becca. "And thank you for coming to get me last night."

"I'm glad you didn't get in that car with that bozo Russell." said Roy. "Your friend Jennifer is in the hospital with a concussion and broken ribs, and lucky it wasn't worse."

"Why did Commander Troy take my statement last night?" asked Becca. "Why didn't you or one of the other Officers do it?"

"Because you're my girlfriend." said Roy. "He knows we're dating, so he had a high-level Officer do it... in this case, himself. And your statement about Billy being drunk before getting in the car will help him get what he deserves."

"Oh, we all know his Senator daddy is going to get him off." said Becca. "He'll throw his weight around, get his son off with no damage, and everyone else has to pick up the pieces."

"In any other county," said Roy, "that would be true. But this is the Iron Crowbar's County... and he was pissed last night. We'll see if Billy Russell gets off light, or not...

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

The Toyota Camry stopped at the checkpoint along the Nextdoor County Highway going into Town. The woman driving rolled down the window.

"Good morning, ma'am." said Patrolman Barker. "May I see your drivers license, please?" He noted the young woman in the passenger seat, possibly the driver's daughter.

The woman showed her license, with an address from the City. "Visiting family, ma'am?" Barker asked, as he'd been trained to do.

"Yes." said the woman. "What is this about?"

"We're looking for a fugitive, ma'am." said Barker, handing the woman her license back. "Thank you for your cooperation. Have a good Holiday." He waved her through, thinking that her face looked somehow familiar.

As they drove towards Town, the girl said "Whew. I always get worried at those stops."

"That's why I tell you to relax and keep your cool." said the woman. "They're looking for something specific, and it's likely not us. Unless my dear baby brother has anticipated me much more brilliantly that I would expect."

"If that had been my sister's boyfriend," said Goth Girl Kathy Larrington," he might've recognized me. Enough to hold us."

"No, they're after Thomas Cook." said Elizabeth. "He's under indictment, and my baby brother would really like to see Cook in jail. That's why I'm risking bringing you to see your mother and sister; my baby brother is very preoccupied with many things, right now."

"I do appreciate you doing this for me." said Kathy. "What are you going to do while I'm with my family? Want to stay with us?"

"No, that would be too dangerous for your family and for me." said Elizabeth. "Don't worry, I'll find somewhere to be, and keep my head down. We'll meet at the rendezvous point on the morning of the 26th...."

Part 4 - The Attack

2:10pm, December 24th. Phyllis Troy was walking her granddaughter Carole back to her car. Carole was not making things easier, as she was not being mindful nor coming along easily.

"But Grandma," said Carole, "I want to tell Santa Claus to bring Marie something!"

Carrying the last minute gift packages, Phyllis said "Carole, Santa knows what Marie wants, and what you want, too. Come on, your mother is waiting for these spices for the pie she's making."

"But Grandma!" Carole wailed as they got to the car.

"Please, Carole!" Phyllis said with some exasperation. "Get in the car! We're going home------"

Suddenly, two masked men burst out of the driver and passenger doors of the white car parked behind Phyllis's Ford Escape. Phyllis dropped the packages as the men rushed her. She sidestepped one and threw him aside with Aikido, and turned to face the other while trying to get the door of her car open and Carole inside...

*ZZZZZZT!*

The TASER wires shot through her sweater and into her back, and 50,000 volts of electricity coursed through her. She felt herself falling.

"Grandma!" yelled Carole. "HELP! HELP! Leave my grandma alone!" The second man grabbed Carole, who was screaming at the top of her little lungs, as the first man poured the juice into Phyllis, his teeth gritting with his hatred.

"Come on, let's go!" shouted the man with Carole. The first man reluctantly stopped TASERing Phyllis and got into the car. They scratched off as they hurried out of the parking lot, just as other people were coming up to Phyllis...

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

"I meant to leave at noon," I said, sitting at my desk in my office at Police Headquarters at 2:30pm, "but I just cannot seem to get out of here. With the Chief on vacation and in Midtown, the party never stops in the Commander's office."

"You're not alone." said Cindy. "Okay, Theo and Mary are on call. The Precincts have their Holiday shifts ready------"

*BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!*

It was my desk phone. I considered not getting it, but decided it should be answered. I picked up the receiver. "Troy." I said curtly.

"This is the First Precinct Duty Desk, sir." said the voice at the other end. "We just responded to a call at the Mall. Your mother, Phyllis Troy, was found unconscious by her car in the parking lot. She's being taken to the Hospital now."

"What happened?" I asked. "Heart attack?"

"Sir," said the Duty Desk Officer, "they found TASER wires at the scene. She may have been TASERed and whatever she bought stolen. I'm sorry, sir, I don't have anything more."

"Okay, thanks. Keep me informed of what you find." I said, then hung up. Cindy was staring at me. "They found my mother at the Mall. She was TASERed. They're taking her to the Hospital."

"Let's get up there, then." said Cindy.

"Just one minute." I said. I got out my personal cellphone and speed-dialed my wife's number. "Hi, Laura." I said. "I just got a report that my mom was TASERed at the Mall, and they're taking her to the Hospital. Have you heard anything?"

"No." said Laura. "No one's called me yet. What about Carole?"

Words cannot describe the paralyzing shock of pure fear that ran down my spine at those last three words. "Carole?" I asked back.

"She was with your mom." said Laura, and I could hear the fear creeping into her voice, as well. "Your mom took Carole to the Mall... oh my God...."

"Laura," I said, using my 'command' voice with my wife to keep her from breaking down, "get to the Hospital, right now. See if my mother is awake when they bring her in. I'll start checking on things from here."

"Okay." Laura said, and then disconnected. I know what my face looked like... Cindy's was mirroring it.

"Don, what is it?" she asked.

"Oh, geez..." I said, working to get control. I then looked up at Cindy and said "Laura said Carole was with my mom..." Cindy blanched, and almost collapsed. She held onto my desk to support herself.

I got on the phone to the First Precinct Duty Desk. "Was there any word on my daughter when the report of my mother came in?"

"No sir." said the Duty Desk. He then radioed the Officers at the scene, to which I was listening. The report back could not have been any worse: there was no sign of my daughter.

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

It was the most worrisome thing that could happen: an attack on my family. I fought the fear and said "Let's go to MCD." Cindy followed me as I came in. It was beginning to get active in the room, as word of the attack on my mother was now in full circulation.

"Okay, someone call Myron and get him in here, stat." I said.

"He's at his desk, sir." said Joanne. "He's getting camera footage of the area."

"Good." I said. "As soon as he gets a license plate, we need to put out an Amber Alert." That froze the room into silence.

"Amber Alert, sir?" asked Theo, his voice shaky now.

"Yes." I said. "My daughter was with my mother, and is now nowhere to be found." I could feel the shock wave rippling through everyone.

Just then, Myron Milton flew into the room. "Sir!" he called out. "Our radio signals are being jammed!"

"What?" I said. "How?"

"I don't know, sir," said Myron.

Then the Duty Desk Sergeant ran in. "Sir," he said, "KXTC just called. Their signal is being jammed.

"Turn the TV on." I said. There was a weird static on KXTC and KSTD. As we watched, it began focusing. The image of Thomas P. Cook appeared on the screen. Joanne hit the DVR to begin recording.

"Hello, Commander Troy." said the almost metallic sounding voice. "You've taken everything from me. And now it's time to pay you back and with the entire County watching."

There were gasps in the room, but I didn't notice them. My entire hara was totally focused on the screen.

"I wonder, Commander Troy," said Cook. "Have you ever truly felt loss. The loss of someone you love, right before your eyes, the taking away the only thing that ever gave meaning to your life."

The picture changed, showing Carole in her cold-weather blue jumper, sitting on a wooden chair with a cushion on it, her hands manacled behind her with metal bracelets, which were attached to a chain that was affixed to the back of the chair so that my daughter couldn't move. I felt rage at what had been done to my baby girl.

"The Ward Harvester warehouse." said Cook, as the scene then showed the eight pallets, stacked over six feet high with bags of ammonium nitrate, in a circle around the chair with wires for blasting caps connected. Then the detonator was shown, with "00:10" on the LED screen. "By the time you get there, she'll already be dead. If her weight leaves the cushion on the chair, the ten second runoff will start. If any of the wires are broken, the ten second runoff will start. If I see you or anyone attempting to rescue her, I'll set it off myself. So, Commander Troy... will you watch your daughter die? Or will you die with her?"

The screen faded to black, then the static began again. It was otherwise totally silent in the room. I felt all the eyes upon me, and knew this was 'suck it up' time, that the ranks on my shoulders were now going to be tested and paid for with the requirement that I continue to lead these Police Officers despite my personal pain and fear.

"Call Second Precinct." I said. "Tell Captain Thompson to begin evacuating half a mile in every direction around Ward Harvester. If that stuff goes off, a lot more than one person will be killed if we don't get the area cleared. Tell them to not go on the Ward Harvester property, but to set up a cordon around it."

I turned to see Teresa Croyle coming in. She was wearing all black, a pullover sweater and black slacks, and black high-top running shoes. Her badge was on her black belt, and her 'Clan Troy' icon was on its necklace around her neck. "How can I help, sir?" she said when she saw I'd noticed her.

"Take charge of the SpecOps people." I said loudly to Teresa. "Deploy them to the west of the building, at least a quarter mile distant. And Captain Croyle: you are not to send in any of your SpecOps people without my explicit permission. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir." said Teresa. She turned to go as I said "Okay, let's get out there." I dimly noticed that Cindy had used her iPhone to record me during those last few minutes. I did not have time to contemplate or discuss it...

Part 5 - The Wait

We came up to the building across the street from Ward Harvester, and settled in behind a concrete barricade. It was way too close for the explosives in the Ward Harvester warehouse, but I had to see what was going on.

I had binoculars, and could see down the concrete road to the bays and into the open bay doors. Between two pallets I could make out Carole, still sitting on the chair, occasionally fussing and fidgeting but mostly just sitting there.

"Sir, an area half a mile around is evacuated." said Sergeant Rudistan, who was my radio point man at the moment. "They're continuing to evacuate in wider circles. Traffic is cut off on Riverside Drive, MLK, Jefferson, and no one is crossing the River between the two Bypass bridges."

"Okay, good." I said. Then I looked up. "Fuck. Drones."

"They're Press drones, sir." said Cindy, who was tuned into the broadcasts on the computer in her SUV behind us.

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

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Fox Two News!" shouted the redheaded reporterette. "We are bringing breaking news of a hostage situation at Ward Harvester! Earlier today, Carole Troy, daughter of Commander Donald Troy, was kidnapped and her grandmother knocked unconscious. We are getting a feed from an unknown source inside the Ward Harvester warehouse, showing young Carole Troy to be handcuffed to a chair inside a ring of pallets of ammonium nitrate explosives!"

"Some citizens will remember the huge explosion of the Ward Harvester warehouse several years ago, which occurred just after now-Commander Troy rescued three children. Now it's his daughter trapped inside."

It was worse than that, I realized. I remembered from my Army training that a circle of explosives like that created a 'Ring of Fire', and that the energy inside the ring was compounded and devastating. Against troops in the open, a 12-foot-diameter ring of napalm and detcord would wreak death. This more powerful ring of explosives around my little girl would be...

"Sir," said Rudistan, "John Hardwood is demanding we let his news van come through and come to where you are now."

"Tell our people at the checkpoints to deny the Press access." I said. "Get on the radio and make sure all points know to stop the Press... with lethal force, if necessary."

"Yes sir." said Rudistan, who relayed my orders exactly, including the authorization of the use of lethal force.

I got on the radio. "Can someone get those drones out of there before one of them sets off the detonator?"

The radio then crackled weirdly and a voice came on: "This is John Hardwood. Fuck you, Troy! You don't tell the Press what to do!" Cindy would later say that that moment was the only one where I turned beet red in anger. And yes, I was feeling it.

"The Ambulance and Fire Department people are just over the hill behind us." Cindy said, mostly to distract me.

"Fat lot of good they're going to do," I said, "if I can't figure this out." I felt Cindy looking at me as I strained to look through the binoculars... as if doing so would find an answer to this desperate situation....

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

BOW Enterprises, 3:14pm. They were in the underground command room. Todd Burke, Teddy Franklin, Takaki Mariko, and several others... and Takaki Misaki was there as well. He'd been visiting Todd in secret, and discussions and plans for the Misaki Clan were being discussed. Now, they had a crisis on their hands.

They were studying the feeds that they were intercepting from the Press drones as well as the camera transmitting from inside Ward Harvester.

"Ten seconds just is not enough time to get in there, cut Carole out, and get out of there." said Teddy Franklin. "Gosh, thirty seconds would not be enough time; that explosion is going to take out at least two blocks on all sides of the building."

"Can we freeze the detonator?" asked Todd.

"No sir." said Barry Oliver. "We're analyzing the radio signals in the area, as is Myron Milton. I just called him, and he said the detonator has a feedback loop with a second device under one of the pallets. If that loop stops, that'll set off the explosives."

"God damn, is there anything we can do?" Todd exclaimed in exasperation.

"Calm yourself, young Todd." said Misaki soothingly. "I know this is a desperate hour, but we must remain cool and collected, as you Americans say. We will find a way."

"Maybe the Iron Crowbar can find a way." said someone. "We can't get there."

"I can!"

Everyone whirled around. Teresa Croyle was standing there. "I can get her out of there, Sire. Please let me have the chance."

Misaki peered at Teresa. "How do you think you can do this, Teresa-san?"

"There's only one chance, Sire." Teresa said. "And I'm the only one here that can do it." She explained. "And it's Christmas Eve, Sire. There is no better day for me to die."

"Very well." said Misaki, understanding, and feeling moved. He then turned and called out "Get saké." Mariko quickly brought saké out.

Teresa came forward and ritually drank the ceremonial last drink that Misaki offered her. Everyone watched, knowing full well that this was a suicide mission.

"Sire," said Teresa, offering a scroll, "this... is my Death Poem. Please give it to Commander Troy."

Misaki accepted the scroll. "May the kami guide you, Teresa-san." Everyone bowed to her. Then Todd came up and began wrapping a white cloth with red stitches on it around Teresa's waist.

"This is a thousand-stitch belt." Todd said. "I was going to give it to you tomorrow."

"Thank you." said Teresa. Then she broke decorum and hugged Todd. "I love you. Take care of the boys for me!"

Todd hugged her back. "I will. Walk with the kami, my love." With that, Teresa broke away from him, bowed to everyone, and left.

Part 5 - Kamikaze Mission

3:40pm, December 24th. I was watching through binoculars, looking for a way, any way at all, to save my daughter. I was looking for hope. As long as there was hope, it was not over until it was over.

But I was not seeing any hope right now. Cook had done everything he could think of to eliminate any shred of hope. And he had done that very, very well.

Myron was monitoring radio signals. "No changes." he said. "All the drones are Press drones; none are emitting any strange signals."

"You'll know if the ten-second countdown goes off?" I asked.

"Yes sir." said Myron. "I've got a fix on the detonator's frequency. Passive, so my signal won't tick it off. If it starts, we've got enough time to duck and that's it... and the blast is going to hurt at this range."

"You're not helping, Myron." I said flatly.

"Sorry, sir." Myron replied. He was trying to do what he could, as were they all, I knew.

"All right, everyone, you all need to get back farther away from here." I said. Guess how well that worked.

"Not without you, Commander." said Cindy. "And I'm not even going to try."

"I'm not leaving, sir." said Myron.

"Me neither, sir." said Rudistan. "By the way, sir, your wife is at the Jefferson Avenue checkpoint. She wants to come in."

"Radio back and ask her to stay there, where she'll be safe." I said. "And ask how my mom is doing at the Hospital."

Rudistan radioed in, then said "Dr. Fredricson is visibly upset, but is staying put. She says your mother seems to be okay, but received burns from the TASERing."

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

3:40pm. "This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Fox Two News, and with me is Priya Ajmani of KSTD. We're on shared feeds, bringing you coverage of the desperate situation at Ward Harvester! Police have advised that no one will be allowed within a mile of the building, and traffic is being re-routed well away from the area. Our drones are able to give you some video coverage, but it is one static camera inside the building that is showing little Carole Troy, still sitting on that chair surrounded by an overwhelming amount of explosives."