Whistleblower Ch. 02

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 7 - Standoff

The four Polk County Sheriff Department vehicles pulled into the State Office Complex parking lot, all lights turned off. They did not come up to the building, but parked in the middle of the parking lot in a 2x2 formation, the driver-side doors to the insides, shielded by the other cars.

The Deputies got out, all of them between the cars, looking warily over the almost pitch-black lot. Only small pot lights illuminated the entrance of the otherwise dark building.

"Why are we here, Sheriff?" asked his chief Deputy, Ormond.

"Somebody was running a spy drone that was traced to here." said the Sheriff. "We're going to confiscate that drone and arrest whoever was using it."

"What if they had a warrant to use it, Sheriff?" asked another of the Deputies.

The Sheriff turned on them. "I am getting sick and tired of the insubordination and backtalk. If you don't like what I'm doing and are not willing to support me, hand me your badge and go home now."

*KLICK!* *WHIRRRR!*

The bright lights suddenly turned on from all around the edges of the parking lot, illuminating the local LEOs... and blinding them.

"My name is Special Agent in Charge Jack Muscone; I'm with the FBI!" called out Muscone from behind the lights. "Keep your hands away from your weapons, and walk slowly to the sound of my voice. Again, keep your hands away from your weapons!"

The four Deputies did as they were told. The Sheriff did not, but stood where he was. A voice from much nearer said "You might as well come along, Sheriff. You're surrounded, and we have weapons trained upon you." The voice was SBI Lt. Norm Chow's.

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

Inside the State Office Complex, the five locals were taken to separate rooms. Muscone and Chow went in to talk to the Sheriff, while I went with Martin Nash to talk to the chief Deputy.

"So what's going on, Deputy Ormond?" I asked. The Deputy told us that the Sheriff had called them all out to look for someone using a drone.

"In the larger sense," I asked, "what's going on with the Sheriff? He's been hostile to us since we got here."

"Let me put it this way." said Ormond. "BigAgraFoods is the biggest employer in this area. They run a processing plant and dairy plant near Van Waring, and a meat packing plant near Aragon. U.S. Senator Russell is from these parts, has extended family all in this area, married into other old-money families. Now I don't know if Larry Wheeler was a whistleblower, but I do know a lot of people in this area are upset about that internet group leaking BigAgraFoods emails. They consider it a personal assault on their families."

"And they don't care that a man was murdered?" Nash asked.

"I didn't say that." said Deputy Ormond. "Larry Wheeler was a very respected man in Rocktown. But it's sensitive. And Senator Russell is not doing a thing to help by putting considerable heat on our Sheriff, who is getting old and is looking towards retirement, to sweep this whole thing under the rug."

"What's your personal position on this?" I asked. "Don't take this the wrong way, but are you getting pressured? Or feeling the pressure?"

"Not really." said the Deputy. "I want to solve the case, find out who murdered Wheeler, and put the bastard or bastards away."

"And when it's over?" I asked. "Aren't you worried about the backlash?"

"I'll answer the question with a question, Commander: Are you?" said the Deputy.

"I don't live here."

"But you live in your County, where BigAgraFoods is headquartered." said the Deputy. "What I'm trying to say, Commander, is I followed that BigPharmaCorp case you solved. And I committed then to uphold the law here regardless of the consequences... or the politics."

"I appreciate that." I said. "What about your fellow Deputies?"

"They're good guys." said Ormond. "But they have families, unlike me. So they have that to consider."

"Are their families being threatened?" I asked.

"No, at least not out loud." said the Deputy. "But it's the kind of thing where they don't have to say it out loud. And the Sheriff has already threatened our jobs..."

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

"He's starting to push back hard." said Muscone. "Wouldn't answer any questions, finally said to either let him call a lawyer or let him out of here. And legally, he's pretty much right. We either have to let him out of here, whereupon he'll run straight to Russell, or we have to arrest him and charge him with something."

"I'll go speak to him, then he can leave." I said. With that, I went into the breakroom where Chow was watching the Sheriff. Eyes filled with hatred looked upon me as I approached him (the Sheriff).

I sat down and pretended to look through a file of papers. "I've looked through some of the cases you've solved." I said. "That Gruder case was very interesting, and very good work. You've had a very good career for 30 years, and you have a great reputation."

I then looked right at the Sheriff and said "And I don't understand why you'd throw all of that in the sewer for the likes of a filthy U.S. Senator like Samuel Russell."

The Sheriff just returned my look with his own, malignant hatred continuing to emanate from his eyes.

"I'm going to solve this case and expose the murderer after sunrise." I said. "You'll either come correct and do the right things, or you continue to take the quick and easy path and go down with the rest of the filth."

"I want a lawyer." said the Sheriff. "Either let me call my lawyer now, or let me go. Otherwise, I'm going to have you up on charges."

"Okay." I said. "Why don't you go ahead and call the SBI or FBI to arrest me."

"You think I'm kidding?" said the Sheriff. "Senator Russell is already going to destroy you. If you think Senator Nunn, who is hated by his Republican colleagues in the U.S. Senate, worse than Ron Paul was hated by the Republicans... if you think that Grassroots-loving pipsqueak will be able to help you, then you got another 'think' coming. I'll take my chances with Senator Russell rather than a sure death by helping you in any way."

I looked over at Muscone, who looked like he wanted to beat the shit out of the Sheriff. "Well," I said, "let's let him go."

"What?" asked Muscone, taken aback.

"Let the Sheriff leave." I said.

Part 8 - Slender in Senator's Home

"I don't believe this." said U.S. Senator Samuel Russell. "He said he was going to expose the killer in the morning?"

"Yes, Senator." said the Sheriff.

"Shit." said Russell.

"This is a very bad situation." said the Chief Operating Officer of BigAgraFoods. "Senator, we've been financing your campaigns and giving you generous contributions for years. Now the time has come for you to do your job and clean this mess up, but instead we have the Iron Crowbar on our asses."

"Troy ain't shit." muttered Russell. "We're going to take care of him-"

"Are you kidding?" shouted the COO, his restraint breaking. "This guy took down Cubbard at BigPharmaCorp! He took down Wallace Bedford and his white supremacy group! He took down that bastard Westboro, and you have no idea how scared we were of Westboro. If Troy says he's going to expose the killer in the morning, are you willing to bet your very life that he won't be able to do it?"

"Yes, I am." said Russell. "Mike!"

"Yes, Senator?" said Michael Malarky, the Senator's aide.

"Please show the gentleman to the door." said Senator Russell. "And I'll see you in the morning. I'm going to bed."

"Okay, Senator." said the COO of BigAgraFoods. "You will regret this."

"We'll see about that." said Russell.

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

4:00am, Friday, August 4th. Senator Samuel Russell was sleeping fitfully when he heard what he thought was a floorboard creak. He opened his eyes and looked around. Only the light of the moon from the window illuminated the room, and barely. He saw nothing. His eyes closed.

*CREAK!*

His eyes snapped open. Standing over him was a huge man, in a black suit and black tie, and his face ghostly white and devoid of all facial features!

"AAAUUUGGGHH!!" Russell screamed as the Slender Man advanced upon him...

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

*WHAM!* *WHAM!* *WHAM!*

"We've got to get in there!" shouted Michael Malarky to Russell's other bodyguards. They redoubled their efforts, and finally the door gave way.

"Senator!" shouted Malarky as he turned on the light and came to the bed. He saw that U.S. Senator Samuel Russell had been severely beaten about the head and shoulders, an ugly bruise already forming under the Senator's left eye, which was swelling shut.

"The window... he went out the window!"

"Turn out that light." ordered Malarky, drawing his gun. He went to the window.

"Look!" said the other bodyguard. On the ground, near the driveway, illuminated only by the moon, was a tall man in a black suit and tie, and a face empty of any features.

"Shoot that bastard!" uttered Malarky, doing it as he said it. The bodyguards's guns erupted until they were emptied. Slender Man stood still, not moving, not fazed. Then it seemed that a cloud darkened the grounds, and the entity disappeared.

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

"There's no one out there now." said the Sheriff, who had been called to the home. "No footprints, either, other than your guys's, here." He peered at Russell. "Senator, do you need a doctor? Your face looks pretty bad. Why don't I take you to the hospital..."

"No." said Russell. "The Press would be all over it."

"Who do you think did this, Senator?" asked the Sheriff. "Troy? Or the BigAgraFoods people?"

The question seemed to stun the Senator. "Well... that masked bastard didn't have or use a crowbar, just his fists flailing at me. He was powerful, too; his blows to my face were really, really hard, like he was wearing brass knuckles or something. It could've been those BigAgraFoods bastards, the ingrates."

After a minute, Russell said "Okay, Sheriff, you go back to watching Troy, and keep an eye out for communications from them or any more drones. Mike, I need to talk to you privately..."

Part 9 - Gathering the Evidence

"You look good in a suit and tie." said Molly as she sat by Eddy the Bounty Hunter in the back of the Black Beauty."

"Thanks." said Eddy with a grin. "But I think I look better with my own face."

"Very true." said Molly, her voice flirtatious as she let her hand stroke Eddy's thigh.

Cindy was driving and stopped the Black Beauty before they got to the State Office Complex and the Holiday Inn Express. Eddy quickly got out of the suit jacket, black tie and white shirt, and put on a black pullover, similar to what the Iron Crowbar often wore.

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

"So according to what the Mouseketeers found," I said, "Larry Wheeler's computer was never hooked up to BigAgraFoods servers in our County.

"That's right." said Cindy. We were in the conference room command post, and Jack Muscone and Norm Chow were sitting with us as Cindy related what the TCPD had found the day before.

"That fits." I said. "Okay, here's what we're going to do-"

We were interrupted by a commotion outside. The Sheriff strode in, followed by one of his Deputies, a couple of local State Patrol Troopers, a couple of U.S. Senator Russell's security team. In counterweight was Julius Jefferson and Jack Muscone of the FBI, State Troopers from my County, and all of the SBI-SIS team.

"This is a warrant to examine your hands." said the Sheriff, displaying the document. "I also want to know where you were every minute from the time I left here."

"I was here, in this building." I said. "I never left."

"Who can vouch for that?" snarled the Sheriff.

"I can." said Jack Muscone.

"I can, too." said Norm Chow.

"Let's see your hands." said the Sheriff, his ploy about my vouching having failed.

I held up my hands. "The wedding ring probably won't come off." Which was true; my finger had 'grown' around it, and taking it off would require some vaseline and some effort.

A security team person examined my hands. "No swelling or bruising, sir." he said. "No marks at all."

"Fuck." growled the Sheriff, the disappointment on his face very obvious.

After the Sheriff and his entourage left, everyone began asking what was going on. I said that I had no idea.

It was later, when Cindy and I were talking alone again, that she said "Even if I didn't know what was going on, I can see that you knew what was going on."

"How?" I asked.

"You were just a bit too eager to show your hands and show your innocence." said Cindy. "And, of course, you never bothered to ask what that was about."

"Good observations." I said. "Of course, you were in the unique position to see and understand that..."

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

7:30am, Friday, August 4th. Agents of the Law descended upon the home of the late Larry Wheeler.

Martin Nash had the videocamera. As Cindy Ross and Lindy Linares took Susan Wheeler into the kitchen, I spoke to Benny.

"Benny," I asked. "Did anyone come here before us yesterday? About your dad?"

"Someone came here," said Benny, "and talked to my mom. She told me to stay in my room."

"About what time?"

"Just after the sun came up." said Benny. "About this same time yesterday."

"I'm going to show you some pictures." I said. "Was it any of these people?" I began flipping through pictures on my Police iPhone.

"Wait, that's him!" said Benny when I got to a picture.

"Are you sure?" I said. Martin had the videocamera right there. I showed the photo to the camera as Benny confirmed it.

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

"Ma'am," I said to Susan Wheeler, who'd been brought into the living room, "it's time to tell the truth. Someone came here before we did yesterday, told you your husband was dead, and then threatened you and your family."

"No." said Susan sullenly. "That didn't happen." I looked over at Jack Muscone, who was sitting beside me. Martin Nash had the videocamera going.

"Ma'am," I said, "I could play the 'bad cop' game, and remind you that lying to a Federal Agent is a Federal crime. But I'd rather tell you that this is Special Agent in Charge Muscone of the FBI, that he can bring in Federal Marshals to protect you and your children, and to take you into Witness Protection. You'd be relocated far away from here, and safe from the people that murdered your husband. All I need for you to do is confirm who came to your house yesterday morning."

I showed her the picture of the man her son had identified. Susan nodded, then burst into tears. "Yes, that's him. Please... please protect us from them!"

"Don't worry." said Jack. "Lindy, let's help them pack suitcases. We'll move the rest of their stuff after we get them settled somewhere else."

Part 10 - Solution

"We had to get a Federal warrant." said Muscone as we drove at high rates of speed to the airport. "The local Court wouldn't give us one. Dunno what that's going to do to your murder case."

"I have faith." I said.

"In the system?" asked Muscone. I just arched my eyebrows at that, and said nothing.

We pulled into the airport, and in the nick of time. Two Sheriff Deputies were stopping Senator Russell from boarding his plane. He was haranguing them furiously, until we pulled up with a screech of tires on asphalt.

"What the fuck do you want, Troy?" snarled Russell, who had a huge bruise under his eye.

"Damn, Senator, that's some shiner, there." I said. "Who the fuck did that to you?"

"I slipped on my exercise treadmill." said Russell. "Again, Troy, what the fuck do you want?"

"I have a warrant to serve." I said. "Someone has been identified as a suspect in the conspiracy to cover up the murder of Larry Wheeler. Mr. Michael Malarky, you are under arrest-"

"Like hell!" muttered Malarky. He had already drawn his weapon and come up behind Senator Russell, taking Russell hostage and putting his gun to the Senator's head.

"Mike, what the fuck are you doin'?" gasped Russell, who meekly did not try to resist.

"What I have to do, Senator." said Malarky. "Back off, Troy! You too, Muscone! We're getting on that plane, and we're flying out of here."

"No, you're not." I said, keeping my voice calm and even as all the Agents, State and Federal, trained their firearms on Malarky. "Malarky, you should know that Russell is the worst hostage you could've taken. I'll have no problem shooting him to get to you."

Malarky cocked his gun. "We'll see about that. But don't bother." With that, Malarky transferred the barrel of the gun from Russell's head to his own... and pulled the trigger.

I grabbed Russell and pulled him forward, into Nash's waiting arms. Malarky had collapsed to the ground. He was dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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

11:30am, Friday, August 4th. Federal Marshals had whisked the Wheeler family away. They would never be seen in this State again, nor known by their original names.

The Media was now converging, and it was a typical Media Feeding Frenzy. Fox News Midtown, spearheaded by reporterette Meredith Peller, was the first to arrive, followed by KSB News from the City, then KXTC and KSTD. John Hardwood physically bumped Bettina Wurtzburg out of the way, and so I made sure to give Bettina an interview, and also let her know she'd get an exclusive once we were back home, all within Hardwood's hearing. Hardwood fumed and looked at me with unappeasable hatred.

U.S. Senator Samuel Russell and his security team and aides were grilled hard by the SBI and FBI. Nearly all demanded lawyers and refused to talk with us. Senator Russell was not one of those. He said he knew nothing about what Malarky had done, then demanded to be either arrested or released.

Russell also had the U.S. Constitution-stated right to invoke that he was going to Washington, D.C. to fulfill his Senatorial duties; ergo, we could not stop him from boarding his plane and flying out of here. He did so, though nearly alone, as we held his staff and security just to make the point that we could.

As he boarded the plane, I said "By the way, Senator... do not think for one minute that I was fooled by that little act you and Malarky put on. You're up to your eyeballs in this, and despite him killing himself for you, I will find something on you, and then take you down.

"We'll see about that, Troy." snarled Russell. "You have no idea how deep the pile of shit you are in really is... and I'll be piling on more. I am going to destroy you, Troy. When I am done with you, there will be no more Donald Troy." He turned and boarded the plane.

Russell's leaving would prove to be a mistake, however... he left Senator Richard Nunn here at the scene, with no one to counter what Nunn might say.

As the Press converged, I had Norm Chow take the lead for the SBI-SIS, and Jack Muscone took care of the FBI side. Chow was the Media's worst nightmare:

"Was the local Sheriff involved in the murder of Larry Wheeler?"... "No."

"Was Senator Russell involved in covering up the murder of Larry Wheeler."... "We have no evidence of that. Yet."