The Wolf and The Moon Ch. 01

"Why the drop-off?" Tanya asked. "They heard I was entering and they're shaking in fear?"

I grinned and the Sheriff barked a little laugh, then I said "They can't use crowbars, just Police batons. Some suggested we use nothing, and turn it into UFC-style cage matches, but there's no interest in that, either. I'll add that the differences in opinions over decertifying the Union are adding to a general consideration to boycott the Matches."

Though Lt. Mary Milton had won her lawsuit against the Police Union (Author's note: 'Sausage And The Law', Ch. 01,03), efforts by SWAT Team members Kalsu and Patrick, as well as about half the Police Force, to formally decertify the Union were ongoing. But younger Officers, led by Ron McElwane and Mullen Grant, were fiercely in opposition to decertification.

"Speaking of Police Officers fighting," growled Sheriff Griswold, "how are things between Roark Coleman and Joanne Warner?"

"I-yi-yiiii." I said, grimacing. Tanya also had a pained look on her face. The Sheriff's eyes flickered from me to her, back to me, back to her. I finally said "Roark seems to be getting along pretty well with his team, Teddy Parker and Julia Rodriguez. Of course, Teddy just got married, and to Janice Holloway, no less, so it's taking a lot to bother him."

That made Tanya laugh out loud, and the Sheriff's mustaches twitched merrily. Then I said "Joanne Warner has been doing a lot of good research for us, what with her Top Secret clearance, and she's helped Tanya with the renovations to the Lieutenant offices and the new Interrogation Room. But she doesn't have a Detective team, not like Teddy and Theo do, and she's not happy about."

Tanya added "She did a good job with the renovations, lighting a fire under their asses and getting what she wanted done, done. But she's also literally in fear of being put in the Captain of Physical Properties slot, and just between the three of us, I think she'd quit the TCPD rather than take that position... even if we promoted her to Captain."

"Wow." growled Griswold.

"And promotion to Captain is not going to happen for her, at least not any time soon." I said. "And what's worse is something I haven't said out loud before, but I might have to some day: Joanne Warner simply isn't as good a Detective as Roark Coleman is. He's sharper at processing crime scenes, and while neither is great shakes at interviewing, Roark has upside potential. Joanne, despite every opportunity I've given her, is simply limited in her interrogation skills, and she is not improving."

"So what's your solution, Crowbar?" the Sheriff asked, peering at me.

"I'm not sure yet, Sheriff." I replied. "And I freely admit that I'm failing in my duty to have a good and equitable solution..."

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

We arrived without incident, and landed at the Municipal Airport to the southwest of Teresa's hometown. The flight was two and a half hours, but with the two-hour time zone change, we were arriving at 7:35am local time. The military base and airfield were north of us, west-northwest of the town.

The Municipal Airport was so small that it had no Tower. We taxied in to the BOW Enterprises hangar. As we disembarked, Teresa said "This airport used to be so small that it was the kind where a small aircraft would click its radio mike on and off seven times to get the runway lights to come on. But it's getting busier now. The Tower at the military airfield controls traffic and remotely controls this airport's lights, so they brought us in."

I said "Will it keep growing enough to get a Tower of its own? Maybe even a terminal building?"

Pilot Dave came up and said "I doubt it, sir. Most of the goods being produced will go out by the new railroad line. And a lot of the new industry, like the data center, is service industry. This airport has been refurbished and extended to handle executive jets, and we'll have to see if traffic will increase enough to warrant more service."

Teresa said "And the military airfield will also handle traffic as they did before, especially sensitive materials being made here." I nodded, knowing that BOW Enterprises and the Burke Silver Mines were involved in making electronics, some for uses that were classified.

I looked around, and made an observation. "Whoaaaa." I said, more of a gasp. "Is that plane whose I think it is?"

Teresa looked over and also gasped. "Yes. Yes it is. That's my Aunt Clarissa's company plane. What is she doing here?"

"I dunno." I replied. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

The other BOW plane came in and landed seven minutes after ours did. The Government plane was landing at the military airfield, so we loaded our luggage into a BOW Enterprises SUV, then piled into another other SUVs and drove into Teresa's hometown. A van and the other SUV went north along the main road, while ours went to the house we'd stayed in before.

"Wow, they've blocked off our version of the town square." Teresa said as we drove east on the road that was the north boundary of the section, which was much larger than our Town & County's Courthouse Square. The Police and Fire Department buildings were on the northeast corner. To their south, and stretching south for a 'goodly' distance was the town's cemetery, where Teresa's family as well as the teacher Mildred and her husband and their families were buried.

Across the field to the west of the cemetery was the City Hall and Government complex To it's north was the Municipal Auditorium, and to its north was the town Library.

"There's something covered in a tarp in front of the Police Headquarters. Maybe a statue?" Cindy observed. "And another one way down there in front of City Hall. Any ceremonies going on here today?"

Teresa said "They're dedicating the Police Station in my father's name tomorrow, so maybe that is a part of it. I have no idea what the one farther down at City Hall is about."

"Any ideas, Todd?" Cindy asked, perhaps getting a vibe from him.

Todd flashed his brilliant grin, then said "As Uncle Don is fond of saying: Time will tell..."

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

Tanya and Pete were staying in quarters on the military post with the Muscone family, as their facilities were more handi-capable than where we were staying. So after we arrived at 'The Gasthous', one van took them out there.

"I'll give you the grand tour." said Todd as we went inside 'The Gasthous'. The upstairs had four bedrooms, each with two queen-size beds (a tight fit) and a bathroom consisting of a toilet, vanity, and small shower. There were two keycards in a plastic holder on each of the doors. "Take the keycards for your rooms." said Todd. "And leave them there when we leave to go home."

I had the bedroom facing the front of the house, on the left side as one looked at the front porch from outside. My boys would be in the room with me. Laura and Paulina would have Carole and Tasha with them. Todd and his boys shared the third room, and Teresa and Molly were in the fourth bedroom.

We changed into our 'nice' clothing for the upcoming ceremonial events, which for me was a black sportscoat, black slacks, and a mock turtleneck silver-gray pullover shirt.

As we gathered in the living room, Ian announced "Dad, I'm hungry. Can we get an Egg McMuffin or something on the way?"

Todd said "We're going to have a brunch at our first event, so you can pig out with me."

"You don't need to 'pig out', Ian." said his mother Molly. A few minutes later, she whispered to me: "I'm getting concerned about how much Ian eats, not to mention the quality of the food."

I asked "Is he getting a lot of good exercise?"

"When he's with Jim and Ross, yes." Molly said. "They'll run him and themselves into the ground. But he also spends a lot of time building the Troy Transcontinental Railroad, or else he's practicing putting and swinging golf clubs, which doesn't burn too many calories."

"It's something to watch." I said placatingly...

We did not stop at McDonald's, but upon finding out that those Federales who had come in on the FBI plane were still checking into their quarters there, we did stop at the old Diner we'd eaten at the last time we were here. It was busy, but most of the clientele were the older, longtime residents. Many remembered us said hello to us.

We had the back room to ourselves. And Ian was not the only hungry Troy in the group: his sister Carole, cousin Todd, and his daddy (me) also ate ravenously. And Teresa ate enough for two. If I didn't know better, I'd be checking her face to see if her cheeks were rosy...

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

10:00am local time, Saturday, April 23d. We'd driven north along the main road and soon found ourselves in what almost was a whole second town. It somewhat reminded me of Rome, the largest town near my boyhood town of Apple Grove. There were restaurants like Applebee's and Chili's, fast food places like McDonald's, Burger King, and my favorite: Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers. A strip mall with a Kroger, some Chinese takeout places, and other stores were already up and in business. A few new subdivisions of houses and condos were also being built.

"Wow." I said to Todd. "Have you guys really brought in that many people and that much business?"

"No sir, not us." Todd said. "But the Government data center, some expanded military training centers... and probably other things they're not telling us about... as well as a big distribution center and some chemical manufacturing businesses made possible by the Midwest & Pacific Railroad starting back up, they're really driving the population growth, though that growth is still relatively modest."

"What about water?" I said. "This isn't total desert, but it's not the Mississippi River valley, either."

"True." said Todd. "But there's enough. And yes, Your Federal Government is keeping a sharp eye on things with regards to that. You should've been in the Corps of Engineers instead of the Military Police, Uncle Don."

"Heh." I said. "I barely passed Differential Equations in college. But seriously, I'd hate to see this place grow -too- fast and then get hurt in an economic contraction. I'm thinking in terms of Apple Grove having done fairly well controlling the access to the aquifer as well as controlling growth."

Todd said "We've been in constant contact and consultations with the local government people around here. Since Harmon and Kenny Belton were brought down, they've been eager to work with people to bring in new businesses." (Author's note: 'Centuries', especially Ch. 03 for the Beltons's downfall.) "I talked to them about Apple Grove and Fillmore County, and they sent some people on a fact-finding mission there. Hopefully, they'll do the right things here, as well."

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

Our conversation ended abruptly because we were pulling into the parking lot. We were ushered into a side door that led to an empty warehouse room with a bay door for loading trucks. It was brightly lit, and had been set up for a reception and a brunch that would be served later.

Everyone was gathering together. Laura and Jim came up to us, as did Jack Muscone and his daughters. Cindy, Callie, Tim Jenkins, Benjamin, Betsy, and Maggie Ross also were nearby.

"Ah, there they are." I said as Clarissa Belvedere Esterson toodled up to us in a wheelchair. Most people reacted in surprise. Not at Clarissa, but at the lady escorting her... my mother Phyllis.

"Grandma!" Carole exclaimed, and rushed over to hug her grandmother. Her grandsons followed, but it took Carole saying "Tasha! Get over here and hug your grandmother!" to get Tasha to get her rear in gear and go over.

Clarissa received hugs from Teresa and Todd's boys, then accepted a hug from Carole. "Do I get a hug from you, too, Tasha?" Clarissa asked, and received a good hug from my younger daughter.

"Are you having health issues I need to know about, Aunt Clarissa?" Teresa asked.

"No, Child, nothing out of the ordinary." Clarissa replied. "I can get up and walk around. But it's going to be a long two days, and having to stand and walk a lot would wear me out."

"Why walk, when you can ride?" Carole said. Seeing everyone looking at her, and Laura looking at her disapprovingly, my daughter added "Well, that's what the Cal-vary guys like Chief Moynahan say."

"Heh heh heh heh." chuckled Chief Moynahan. "That's 'Cav-al-ry', but you're right." He then introduced the former Police Chief of the town, who years before had been the Policewoman that had helped Teresa on that most horrible but most impactful of Christmas Eves...

Meanwhile, others were gathering. Todd had me come with him to introduce me (and Teresa) to the town's Mayor and Council. I knew Police Chief Harold Bennett, of course, and I'd met other Officers from our previous visit.

A few moments later, Todd got things going. He welcomed the dozens of people there, introduced himself and Teresa. He turned things over to Teddy Franklin, who introduced his fiancée, a very lovely Hispanic woman named Maria Rose. Most of the kids looked bored, with two exceptions: young Jack Burke was carefully watching all of the politicians and other speakers at the event, seeing how they acted and interacted; and Carole Troy, who was studying everyone's body language and facial expressions with her eyes, and perhaps getting mental vibes from them, as well.

We broke up into smaller groups and were given guided tours of the facilities. Jim showed great interest in the technology, especially the CNC machines, and asked many astute and pertinent questions. I noticed Laura made no effort to admonish him, but did unnecessarily tell Carole to stay with the group and not stray. Carole practically glued herself to me, as did Tasha.

Ross liked the 'clean' rooms, where microchips were assembled in what had to be a totally dust-free environment. Ross kept his own rooms just about as clean, and made a point to tell Ian that Ian should keep his room that clean, as well. Ian made a point to ignore his brother's not-so-brotherly advice.

As we were finishing the tour, having seen much of the plant as well as the office spaces of the administrative areas, my spatial awareness told me that we'd not seen everything. I said to Todd: "Todd, we haven't seen all of the plant, have we?"

"And you won't, Uncle Don." Todd replied. "Well, I wouldn't mind show=ing -you-, what with you having a Top Secret clearance and all. But yes, we have a secure area where we work with classified stuff, including research and manufacture. And that's not part of today's tour."

Brunch followed the tour in the warehouse area where we'd first assembled. Those that had not eaten at the Diner were hungry, especially those enduring the time zone change. I was also hungry enough to eat a plate of food, at least tasting everything, and Teresa was again eating as if she were half-starved. Carole and Tasha were sharing a plate of small fruit-filled pastries, under Laura's watchful eye that they eat slowly and with good manners. Ross and Jim ate some food, as if they weren't all that hungry, but Ian was more than making up for them by wolfing down some pastries.

As we finished, Jack Muscone brought his cup of coffee over to where I was and sat down next to me. He said "I'm only here as the guy who escorted Tanya Muscone to Teresa's Town, but there seems to be a lot of Government people here today. I see people from the FRA (Federal Railroad Administration), the IRS, the NSA, and the DOD... military and civilian."

I replied "The FRA is here for the Midwest & Pacific Railroad's opening ceremonies, and a lot of the others are here for the Data Center that we'll be going to see after lunch. But are you making the same observation I am about the guests here today?"

Muscone looked around, then said "I'm seeing what you see, but I guess I'm not observing whatever you are."

I said "I'm seeing what's -not- here... the Press. I know they were invited, but there are literally -no- reporters here... not any locals nor anyone from this State or region, not from our Town & County, where BOW Enterprises is headquartered, and where former local schoolgirl Teresa now lives, and none from the national networks, not even Fox Cable, though this really is an event with national ramifications."

Jack said "Well, I remember you saying things like the Press not liking stories about church picnics and puppy adoptions at the pound, so I'm not totally surprised. Maybe they'll be at the Data Center, showing the American People just how much data on them can be stored there."

I said "I suspect they won't be there, because they don't want people to know..."

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

Buses arrived to take us to the Data Center. They were like school buses, or like military buses that brought new recruits into boot camp. We had to show ID and give our names as we boarded, which were recorded on paper.

We were driven north. The land began becoming more arid and less grassy. We turned off the main road and went east for a couple of miles. What looked like a granite office building with rectangles of windows appeared on the left side of the road, the front entrance facing south.

There was a double fence surrounding the facility about a hundred yards out. They were far enough apart that one could not traverse both at the same time, with a packed dirt road between the fences that a vehicle could drive along. Signs on the fence warned that this was a U.S. Government facility and that lethal force was authorized to kill anyone who trespassed.

"I'll bet there's sensors in the fence and along that road." said my son Jim, who was sitting next to Laura across the aisle from me and Carole. He was observing the terrain with a military eye.

"And video cameras are covering every inch of the road, too." I said, having made that observation.

Behind the inner fence to the building, the land was flat and totally devoid of anything; not a blade of grass much less a bush or tree was present to obstruct anyone's vision or to hide behind. Jim said "Wide open fields of fire. Dad, do you see any bunkers they can shoot from? There aren't any bunkers or shrubbery near the building."

I was impressed with my son's acuity. I said "They can cover the terrain from the roof of the building, and the windows closer up."

Jim said "I'll bet they have drones fly all over the place, too." He'd thought of the newest technologies, which my 'old school' mind sometimes didn't immediately consider. I agreed with his analysis.

We pulled up to the double gate. Soldiers in military uniforms went to each bus and boarded. On our bus, the soldier said "Hello, everyone. I'm Sergeant First Class Wayne Johnson. On behalf of the Director and the Installation Commander, I welcome you to the Silver Mine Country Data Storage Center."

SFC Johnson: "This facility supports highly classified missions, and many areas are sensitive and off limits to the Public. Therefore, we ask you to stay with your group and not stray off. When outside, stay on the paved sidewalks and obey all signs denoting off-limits areas. While inside, stay together as a group, and only walk in marked-off paths between the breakroom, restrooms, and along the tour route."

He stayed on board as we were driven in and up to the front door. We all went inside, where a young woman in civilian clothes but in the colors of an Air Force enlisted person guided us along a path with painted lines on the floor. We were taken to a large classroom that was empty of chairs, tables, or desks, giving us room to assemble.

To our surprise, someone was waiting for us in the large classroom: no less than the Army Chief of Staff, General Alexander McFarland. "I'm here to inspect the facility before it comes fully online." he said after hugging his daughter Alison.