Women's Work Ch. 01

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

Saturday, April 2d. At 1:45pm, Laura and I walked along College Street to the walkway that led to the front doors of First Baptist Church. The church faced south, and the bright Spring sunshine felt good on our backs as temperatures finally began going up a little bit.

Going into the front atrium, we were greeted by my nephew Todd, wearing a gray tuxedo. He gave us a program, and said that we had reserved seats near the front.

As we went into the main Sanctuary, I was impressed by it. It was relatively new, and the gray façade outside gave no indication of the sheer size of the large, auditorium-style room within. The carpet was a dark red, and there were two aisles that led to the front podium and the choir section behind it. Behind and above that was the baptismal pool. Me, I'd gotten sprinkled, not dunked, when I'd been a small child in Apple Grove.

We sat down towards the front as the chamber filled up. Including the upper deck, this room could easily fit 2000 people. Very impressive, I thought to myself as Cindy Ross came in and sat down beside me. Her sister Molly was at the Cabin, keeping a lot of kids. Chief Moynahan and Chief Griswold also came in and sat with us. Tanya Perlman was here, as well, in her first truly public appearance since being wounded and paralyzed. She was sitting just in front of the front right pew, along with Mrs. Veasley, both in their motorized wheelchairs. Jack Muscone and his FBI Team were all on the front row.

Flowers bedecked the entire church, white roses and other arrangements that gave away this occasion as the wedding it was. Just before 2:00pm, the organist began the processional music, which was a little too loud for my liking. The bridesmaids and groomsmen came down the aisles. Some of the ladies were college friends of the Bride, and Detective Diana Torres of the TCPD was also a bridesmaid. She looked much, much more beautiful in her salmon-pink dress than a police uniform, I noted. And the Matron of Honor was no less than the wife of the Sheriff, Mrs. Melina Allgood. I have to admit she looked fantastic.

Todd was one of the groomsmen, as was his fellow champion triathlete, Teddy Franklin. The Best Man was Barry Oliver, who had become very good friends with the groom, Seth Warner.

The organist paused, then began playing 'Here Comes The Bride'. We all stood, per time-honored tradition. And when the Bride appeared in the doorway, escorted by her father, an almost audible 'Awwww' seemed to course through the church.

Joanne Cummings was the very vision of a blushing, beautiful, happy bride as she came down the aisle in her white dress and veil. I happened to catch Elsie Gringer, the Town's Social Queen, surreptitiously but furiously writing notes.

After the ceremonial of the giveaway, Pastor Raymond K. Westboro, with his beak nose and wearing his ministerial robes, went through the ceremony. When he got to the part about 'speak now or forever hold his peace', I instinctively looked around... either the paranoid or cop part of me was halfway expecting something dramatic to happen.

Fortunately... this was not television, and the ceremony continued without a hitch... well, with the happy couple getting hitched...

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

Most people went through the back doors of the sanctuary and down the hall towards the Fellowship Hall. But there were stairs along there, so Jack Muscone and I escorted Tanya and Mrs. Veasley around to an outside door that gave wheelchair access to the Fellowship Hall. As we went in, I happened to look down to my left, and saw a half open door to another room. Curious, I went down and looked.

It was a chapel. The stained-glass windows of brilliant colors were shining as the sunlight came through them. There were a few rows of old wooden pews.

"Ah Commander." I heard a voice say. Turning, I saw Pastor Westboro beside me, "Admiring our Chapel?"

"Yes, Pastor." I said. "I never even knew this was here. It's very beautiful, especially the windows."

"Ah, if you would join our flock on Sundays, you'd see it much more often." said Westboro, ever the recruiter. "This was the original church, built when the Town was built in the 1800s. It was reconstructed a few times, then we finally bought the land facing College Street and built a bigger Sanctuary. We preserved the old windows, rebuilt the walls, and we use this space for small services, funerals and the like."

"Very nice. I seem to feel the Lord's presence in places like this more than those large, modern auditoriums." I said.

"I understand. I know what you mean." said Pastor Westboro as I allowed him to guide me back to the Fellowship Hall, which was on the upper floor. Classrooms and offices were below us.

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

Much later that afternoon, indeed almost evening, the Bride and Groom came out the front of the Church to formally leave for their new lives together. A Police Honor Guard raised and crossed swords, creating an archway for Joanne Warner, née Cummings, and her husband Seth to walk through. Then came all the rice throwing as the couple made their way to a car. After emotional hugs with her family, the car drove Joanne and Seth away.

"Where are they going on their honeymoon?"Laura asked, still holding some rice in a little bag.

"Florida, I think." I said. "Daytona Beach, then Jacksonville for a concert. Then they're going up to the historic Savannah, Georgia and historic Charleston, South Carolina sites."

"I've watched you scan the crowds ten times." Laura said. "What are you looking for?"

"I've been wondering if we'd see Seth's sister show up." I said. "And of course, there's always the possibility of someone even more sinister coming around and trying to mess up our party."

"Melina said that Seth did not invite his sister, but Joanne did---" said Laura.

Just then we were interrupted by Elsie Gringer and her niece, Bettina Wurtzburg, "Oh, it's the loveliest couple in the County!" gushed Elsie. "I can only hope that Seth and Joanne will look as happy as you two when they grow up!"

I laughed, understanding Elsie's joke. "I hope I never have to grow up." I said. "And of course my lovely wife will look like she's 21 forever." Laura smiled.

Elsie said "You are a shameless flirt, Commander. May I take a photo of you two?"

Though Elsie might not have known it, taking a picture of a Deputy Director of the CIA was not always a good thing. Nevertheless, Laura allowed it and we posed for a quick picture together. I notice Laura had lowered her hat's veil just a bit, which would help cover her face ever so slightly, and being as tall as me in her high heels, she could get away with bowing her head a bit to help. Small things that most wouldn't notice...

Part 2 - The Escape

"All right guys, we're having a little party tonight." said Senator Richard Langdon in his Midtown State Senate offices. "The early one is a fundraiser for SBI Director Lewis. Then we'll have a smaller, more private party for the really big donors. So we're going to need some girls."

"No problem, sir." said his aide. "How many? Any specialties?"

"Usual number, about twelve." said Langdon. "Standard stuff, no kink."

The aide called Watch Captain Lockhart, who called contacts in State Women's Prison in Madison County, to the east of Midtown, and placed the order for 'comfort women' to be made available for the sexual use of wealthy political donors.

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

"So, your son got married today?" asked the female guard as she escorted Karla Warner back to her cell from the prison library.

"Yes." said Karla. "Seth came and visited me earlier this week. She's a cute girl; he adores her. Only problem is that she's a cop."

"Maybe she'll keep him out of trouble, then." said the guard. Just as she was about to leave, the guard whispered to Karla "It's on for tonight. Be ready to move, and when we come get you, don't say anything. Make sure you're in the last van."

Karla nodded. The guard then went further down the hall and gave a sign to the woman in that cell, then another. Then she stopped at one final cell. "Are you ready, Goth Girl?" she whispered.

"You bet." said the woman. The guard gave her the same admonitions she gave Karla, then moved on.

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

The four vans passed through the gate of the prison and up to the end of the finger of the building that protruded out from the main prison. In this wing were the kitchens and laundry, and at night there were almost no people on the entire wing.

"All right ladies, you know the drill." said the lead guard. "Four per van. You four... you four... you four... hey Charlie! I thought there were just twelve."

"One extra set tonight, Tom." said the other guard. "We got a call that the party got bigger."

"Okay, you four ladies in the last vehicle." said the first guard, Tom. The four women nodded. Tom didn't think much of three of them being older, only one being a hot young thing that State Senator Langdon normally liked.

"All right, here come the vans." said another guard. The vans pulled up. The women were escorted into them, guards closing the doors. Karla Warner and three others got into the last van.

"All right, take them to the safehouse to change into some dresses. A little extra makeup for the ones in the last van, yes?" joked Tom. "And then to the Midtown Marriott Hotel. Our guys will be waiting for you at the back service entrance." The driver affirmed the instructions, then the convoy pulled out.

Karla had noticed that the driver of her van was a woman, dressed up to be disguised as a man. She looked at the other three women, all who had knowing, expectant looks on their faces. As they neared Midtown, they got off the highway, following surface streets.

Suddenly, the other person in front, riding shotgun, turned and said "Hold on, ladies! Now's the break!" With that, the van sharply turned right at high speed, then the driver accelerated as they went into a residential area.

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

"Hey, what's up with that?" asked the driver of the police car behind the van. "Follow them!" The driver turned, sped up, and turned on the blue lightbar and sirens.

"What's going on, Tango-Uniform-4?" asked the radio, who was the driver of Van No. 3.

"The last van peeled off!" shouted the shotgun-seat rider of the police car. "In pursuit, call for backup!" The chase was on!

As the car hurtled to catch up to the van, a truck suddenly pulled out in front of it. The driver hit the brakes, the tires screeching loudly in protest, and the car spun out, ending up broadside just inches from the truck. The cops exited their vehicle and ran up to the truck's cab, eager to teach the driver an unforgettably painful, perhaps fatal, lesson. To their shock, the cab was empty... the truck had been moved by remote.

As other cars came up, the officers frantically searched for someone that might be controlling the truck. There was no one. Then one cop looked up.

"Goddammit!" he gasped. "There's a drone up there. See it?" He pointed, and the other officers had to look hard to see the black drone against the black sky.

"Van spotted on Fremont Road." called the radio. Cops converged upon the scene. The truck was empty. The six women had made their escape.

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

"What?!" State Senator Richard Langdon exclaimed as he held the cellphone to his ear. "They did what?" Anger was etched on his face as he listened to the report. "Okay... yeah, you did right sending the other girls back. Listen, keep this under wraps, do not let it get out that there has been an escape!" He hung up.

"What is it, Richard?" asked the deeply corrupt Rep. Justin Madoff, who was eager to sink his thin, inadequate cock into some Prison Pussy. "Problem?"

"Yeah, you could say that." said Langdon. He called another number. "Yeah, put the backup plan into motion. Get some girls here from Kristin's." He hung up. "We'll get the boys laid, Justin. It's just going to cost me a hell of a lot more tonight." He did not elaborate further. Justin Madoff did not ask.

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

The Warden entered his office at 1:00am, Sunday, April 3d. "All right, what's the status?"

"Midnight bed-check in Cellblock 'Danger' revealed four missing prisoners." said the Watch Captain. "A spot-check alarm was raised for the entire facility, and the four were not found."

"Any ideas how they got out?" asked the Warden. "Were they part of Langdon's group of whores?"

"No sir." said the Watch Captain. "Cellblock 'Danger' is where our most dangerous prisoners are housed. They're not permitted to go anywhere else, or be a part of Langdon's projects or any other ones at the facility. I'll add that all twelve of the girls Langdon called for were returned when the 'Able Witchcraft' alarm was raised."

"Sir, that's not quite true." said a guard as he came in. He'd been the leader of the contingent escorting the 'Prison Pussy' detail to Langdon's hotel party. He was youngish, black, had served in the Army in Iraq and gained a reputation for cruelty towards his enemy in battle. His nickname was 'Blinder', because of what he did to the eyes of Iraqis who were unfortunate enough to be captured by him.

"The escapees were added to the 'Prison Pussy' group." said 'Blinder'. "We were told more had been asked for. When we called our guys with Langdon after the escape, they said no extras had been ordered."

"Who told you that?" asked the Watch Captain. The man named names.

"Round those guys up." said the Watch Captain. "Personally take charge of that, 'Blinder'. We need to know the truth."

"Yes sir." said the guard, with great relish.

"Does Senator Langdon know?" asked the Warden quietly.

"Yes sir, he does." said the Watch Captain. "He wants the information suppressed from the Media and the Public for as long as possible, to clear any chance of his operation being exposed. His people also called me later, said they'd prefer this not get out for 48 to 72 hours, then act like it happened more recently and only tell the SBI quietly."

"Harrumph!" said the Warden. "Langdon is hoping those girls will clear the State. If they're caught, they might tell someone how they got out... as part of his little contingent of whores. Well, that whole thing has been utterly blown, and I don't really regret that. But if these women kill someone... that'll be bad."

"Warden," said the Watch Captain, "I do think you need to cover your ass to the point that you call SBI Director Jack Lewis. If this gets out, he needs to have cover himself, since he's running for Governor."

"But you don't want to call Governor Jared himself." said the Warden. "Ohhhhh, shit... Okay, who were the women that escaped? Any of them particularly dangerous?"

"Three of them are considered very dangerous, sir." said an aide. "One of them is Karla Warner, murderer. Another is Eleanor Burke, who committed murder and attempted murder. The third is Cheryl Belle Dunston, who committed fraud... but her brother was murdered and she was implicated in the overall case. The fourth... oh my God."

"What?" asked the Warden. "Who is she?"

"Sir," said the Watch Captain, "do you remember when that guy, Ned Something-or-other, kidnapped a baby and drew the Iron Crowbar into an ambush?"

"Sure." said the Warden. "The Iron Crowbar turned that around, the Ned guy got played... and shot dead."

"Yes, and it was Eleanor Burke who did that." said the Watch Captain. "But the woman that was with Ned, the really dangerous one, is the fourth escapee. She goes by 'Goth Girl Kathy, she has family in the University Town up there..."

"Geez." said the Warden. "This is bad." He got up and paced around, thinking about the situation for a full five minutes. Then he said "Okay, we can't play around with this. I'm going to call Jack Lewis on it, get him in the loop. It'll probably be kept on the down-low, but they can begin searching, they can protect families needing protection. Watch Captain, call Langdon's people, tell him to lay low and that we're going to cover for his operation but will not be doing any more of it in the near future. Also tell him that someone has penetrated his operation, as it was used to make this escape."

Just then another aide rushed in. "Warden," he said, "we're getting phone calls from the Press about four escapees!"

"What?!" gasped the Warden, as others gasped also. "How the fuck did they find out?"

"I don't know, sir." said the man, who was thin and looked ready to jump under a bed at the slightest sound. "But they asked if four women had escaped from Cellblock 'D', if the women were dangerous, and if SBI Director Jack Lewis and Governor Jared had been called yet... and one of them asked if Eleanor Burke, by name, had escaped."

"Oh my God!" said the Warden. "We've got a fucking leak, here!"

"Maybe not, sir." said the Watch Captain. "It could've been someone associated with helping the escapees, to embarrass us and Director Lewis."

"Yeah, right." said the Warden. "Which Media stations?"

"KCAP in Midtown, KSB in the City... and the one that asked about Eleanor Burke: KXTC..."

Part 3 - Reunion

5:00am, Sunday, April 3d. I was awakened by the incessant buzzing of my personal cellphone. Bowser was in the hallway, barking his disapproval. I picked up the phone and sleepily said "Troy."

"I have little time," said a voice, a mechanical-sounding male voice, "so please listen without interrupting. There has been an escape from State Women's Prison. Four women: Eleanor Burke, Karla Warner, Cheryl Belle Dunston, Kathy Larrington, a.k.a. Goth Girl Kathy. The Governor has not been told."

"Can I confirm with the Prison?" I asked.

"You may do as you like." said the voice. "They'll never trace me. Take action." The line abruptly went dead.

"Hoo boy." I said.

"What's the matter?" Laura asked sleepily as I got up.

"Anonymous tip of a prison break. One of them is Eleanor Burke." I said. That got Laura fully awake. "I'm going to see if I can confirm it." I said.

I went to the office area that was behind the kitchen, and got on the computer. There were no internet stories. I logged into the Police website, and went through to see if they'd gotten any bulletins. Nothing. I called the Duty Desk; they'd heard nothing from the Prison System at all.

I called State Women's Prison, half expecting to get no answer. But someone picked up the phone. "This is Commander Troy of the Town & County Police Force. Has there been an escape from down there?"

There was a pause, then the person on the line said "We have four people unaccounted for, sir, but we are not calling it an escape as of this time. The prison is on lockdown. If you'll call back in a few hours, our Press Office might have more information for you."

"Okay, thank you." I said, knowing I'd get no more from them.

I sat and pondered. The person that had called me had not only known my relatively private personal cellphone number, but had called from a burner phone. I thought it might be Dr. Eckhart or his acolytes, but he or they usually would leave some kind of little word or indicator that would let me know it was him. Oh well, don't look gift horses in the mouth, I thought to myself.