Chapter 20: Hospitalization

Mom got a text from Kelly that she and the kids would fly home early Saturday. Seamus was acting fussy, and it would be very late by the time they arrived on the East Coast. She told me she would call back when she got the kids fed and settled down. I was going to have to con my mother into loaning me her phone, so that she wasn’t listening in while we talked.

It was late enough in the afternoon that it was time to watch the press conference on television. I turned it on and dialed through the offerings to Channel Nine, and then turned the speaker in the remote control as high as it would go. We had to sit through the end of a talk show and a bunch of commercials before they announced they were interrupting the regularly scheduled show for a special news conference.

At 4:00 Brad Wagner, the evening anchor, came on and announced they were waiting for the press conference to start. Then he gave a condensed version of what would be covered, describing everything in the most lurid of terms. The attack on my home was ‘a raging battle’, the wreck on Lakeside Drive was ‘a high-speed collision’, and my wounds were ‘life-threatening’ and I was in ‘critical condition and fighting for his life!’

I looked over at my mother and asked, “If this is critical condition, what’s worse?”

“What I will do to you if you ever get shot up like this again! Now, ssshhh!”

I looked at Dad and smiled. Then I turned back to the television. I could tell they were using the big conference room at the station for the press briefing, and they had a podium set up at one end. After another couple of minutes of voice-over telling everybody what they thought was going to happen, several people walked through a door behind and to the left of the podium and took up positions. First up was Lieutenant Sherry Walker. She was in Services and was the designated press officer. As a cop she was middling at best, but she was attractive and made a good impression on camera. Next out was Chief Crowley, followed by Bo Effner, the District Attorney. They came up and stood next to Sherry. Last to enter were Hank and Bullfinch, and they stayed off to the side and in the back. Even though they were both white shirts, today they were in their MPD dress uniforms.

Sherry said something to somebody and then nodded to the others. She stepped up to the podium and said, “Thank you all for coming. My name is Lieutenant Sherry Walker, and I am the Press Affairs Officer for the Matucket Police Department. The format for this afternoon will be that first the Chief of Police, Chief Michael Crowley, will make a brief statement as to recent events, and then Mister Bo Effner, the Matucket District Attorney will make a statement of his own. Afterwards there will be time for a few questions. Thank you.” She stepped back and motioned for the Chief to take her place.

Chief Crowley stepped up to the podium and laid some papers out, and then put on his reading glasses. He hated wearing them and it was a common joke around the station. Then he looked up at the cameras and said, “Thank you. My name is Michael Crowley, and I am the Chief of Police for the Matucket Police Department. I am here to briefly describe the events leading up to the incident which occurred in East Matucket last night. After that I will turn the podium over to the District Attorney for Matucket County, Bo Effner.”

Then it got amusing.

“Monday morning, agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security came to Matucket for what they referred to as an emergency meeting. They requested most of the Matucket Police Department’s leadership to attend, along with Sergeant Graham Reaper of our Tactical Response Team. At that time, they made the most astonishing announcement. A group of Somali terrorists had managed to escape FBI surveillance and were somewhere in America, possibly coming to Matucket to kill Sergeant Reaper and his family. The terrorists had evaded their surveillance Saturday evening and the FBI had no idea where they were. We were warned Sergeant Reaper was a target. When I informed them that we would need to inform the County Council and the County Executive, we were specifically ordered not to on grounds of national security. When we asked what assistance they could provide, neither Homeland Security nor the FBI were able to offer any. We were informed that resources were not available. The Matucket Police Department and Sergeant Reaper were on their own.

“Sergeant Reaper was able to get his family to safety. He also helped create a plan to capture or neutralize any terrorists coming after him. The information we had suggested that they knew of Sergeant Reaper’s home in East Matucket. Since Monday, the Matucket Police Department has been deployed in anticipation of just such an attack. Sergeant Reaper remained in position for four days in a muddy ditch in freezing rain as part of this plan. Shortly before midnight last night, six terrorists attacked Sergeant Reapers home. After identifying himself as a member of the Matucket Police Department and ordering them to lay down their weapons, they began firing on Sergeant Reaper and his home. Sergeant Reaper then returned fire with great skill and courage and neutralized the threat. Unfortunately, Sergeant Reaper was seriously wounded during the fight and is only now recovering from surgery at Matucket General Hospital. Shortly afterward, a seventh individual tried to escape in a truck but was forced off the road by Senior Patrolman William Mayburn. Senior Patrolman Mayburn then subdued the individual and arrested him. He is currently under guard in the prison wing of Matucket General Hospital.

“At approximately 11:30 this morning, a team of FBI agents showed up at the Matucket Public Safety Building and demanded that we turn over the captured terrorist, the bodies of the dead terrorists, and all evidence collected so far. They also demanded that they take over Sergeant Reaper’s home, again, as evidence. No warrants or court orders were provided. That’s not how things are done, not in Matucket County and not in America. Their demands were refused, and they were barred from participation or entry to any related crime scene. I will now turn the podium over to the District Attorney.”

Crowley gathered his statement and stepped away from the podium. Bo spoke to him for a moment away from the microphones, and then he went to the podium. “Thank you, Chief Crowley. I am Bo Effner, and I am the District Attorney for Matucket County. Like you, I learned about the battle against the terrorists this morning, while having breakfast. Chief Crowley informed me what had happened as soon as I got to the office. He also informed me of the FBI’s improper and ill-advised demands to take over the investigation. In this, Captain Crowley’s refusal to cooperate with the FBI, he is correct. While the MPD and the Matucket District Attorney’s office believe in the closest possible cooperation with the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies, you don’t just hand over people and evidence because somebody asks for it. If nothing else, that behavior can compromise prosecution. I have already obtained a restraining order from the Matucket County Court to prevent this from occurring. Tomorrow, I intend to do the same at the Federal Court in Atlanta.

“However, before I file for that restraining order, I intend to have the captured terrorist arraigned here in Matucket County for the attempted murder of Senior Patrolman Mayburn. In the likely event that further evidence warrants it, additional charges will be made at the appropriate time. The citizens of Matucket County, and of the great state of Georgia, are not simply local elements, and we will see justice done! Thank you.”

Bo stepped back, and Sherry stepped forward. “We’ll take a few questions now.” It sounded like everybody in the room spoke up.

Sherry pointed at somebody on the right, and a woman asked, “Have you questioned the terrorist? What is his name?”

Crowley said, “So far he hasn’t said anything to us other than ‘ Allah Akbar’, Arabic for ‘God is Great!’ He has refused to give us his name and we haven’t yet gotten the results back on his fingerprints.”

Bo stepped up and added, “The suspect’s name is not critical at this time. He has been arrested and read his rights, and I’ll file charges against him as a John Doe if I have to.”

Another reporter asked, “What weapons were found?”

The Chief shook his head. “I can’t answer that at this time. A number of automatic weapons were found, along with a rocket launcher. We have requested assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms in identifying the sources of these weapons.”

“Why is the suspect only being charged with the attempted murder of Officer Mayburn, and not Sergeant Reaper?”

I thought that was a good question, considering these assholes came pretty close to killing me. It was Bo who answered, “It’s simply a matter of timing. As of this moment, we can only prove that the suspect tried to kill Officer Mayburn. If, however, we find proof that the suspect was part of the group that attacked Sergeant Reaper and his family, then we can amend the charge. Meanwhile, Matucket County is going to hold onto the suspect. I expect a short trial and a quick verdict of guilty.”

“What kind of proof do you need?”

“Not going to get into that.”

The final question was, “Have you been to see Sergeant Reaper yet?”

Crowley answered, “Not yet, but as soon as we are done here, both the DA and I intend to head over to the hospital. I’ve known Sergeant Reaper since he was a teenager. He’s an outstanding officer and the entire force has the utmost respect for him. I wanted to go over earlier, but he’s been in surgery and treatment most of the day. I have talked to his parents, though, and they are optimistic about his eventual recovery.”

Bo stepped up and said, “I’ve known Grim since we went to elementary school together. We were on the football team together. My wife was a bridesmaid at their wedding, and his eldest child is my goddaughter. He is one of the finest people I know, and the thought that he was targeted because he is a police officer is repugnant, and I know the people of Matucket County stand with me when I say this will not be tolerated!”

At that point, Crowley and Bo stepped back and motioned Walker to shut it down. The reporter started blathering again, restating what Bo and Crowley had said, and offering some world-class speculation as to what was going on. One major topic was how Matucket County was fighting the federal government. Eventually they broke for a commercial and Dad turned off the television.

Next in the door were a couple of state troopers, one of them Captain Max Wornstein from the barracks over on South Peachtree. He knocked on the door and stepped inside. “Sergeant Reaper, how are you feeling?”

I gave him a curious look. “I’m okay. What’s up, Captain?” I introduced him to my parents, and they shook hands.