by John Mathews
“Here they are, Mr. Madison.” Jordan Davison handed John his glasses and helped him to his feet. “Let me brush off these pieces of gravel on your back. Are you hurt?”
John adjusted his spectacles. “No…well at least I don’t think so. Pretending to fall like that was easier than I thought.”
“You did a remarkably convincing job. You’ve faked your own death twice now. I think there’s something to be said for that.”
“I didn’t really know that I had it in me,” John replied with a faint smile.
Jordan pointed along the right side of the building. “Please – walk that way and you will see a glass door that opens into a small office room on the right. Go inside and have a seat next to Kevin Thompson who is already there waiting. But don’t talk with him. You two are to remain seated and quiet until the others join us.”
John nodded and started walking towards the glass door.
FOURTEEN
Nancy quickly surveyed the room. There was a long table with a swivel chair. On the table was a stack of manila folders, an ink pen, a laptop computer, and a small recording device. She sat down, and was immediately taken aback by the life-size poster on the back wall. A dark, intimidating figure was kneeling down, wearing a black mask, and staring at her with two black pits for eyes. His right hand was elevated and holding a tattered leather satchel.
Nancy sat down in the chair and opened the laptop. She hit the on button, and after a minute, a screen came up asking for a password. Then she opened the first manila folder. Inside it were pages taken from the scrapbook that she had found in the room with the fake library. The pages had reports on investigations into corrupt organizations and government officials in the state of Kansas.
With knots in her stomach, Nancy picked up the small recording device. Reluctantly, she hit the play button. The deep, scratchy voice from the video spoke again.
“Nancy Dorsey, or should I say the narcissistic witch who casually defrauds the state of Kansas while sacrificing the lives of innocent people. You had little problem taking 250 grand to protect lies made about the actions of Michael Jaworski more than three years ago. That bribe had Jeffrey and Kevin out of prison in a few short years while Michael rots despite the fact he is completely innocent. But it was all part of your long-term plan, wasn’t it, Nancy? After all, your ex-husband left you swimming in debt, and you just can’t seem to lower yourself to a less than lavish lifestyle. I think that snooty little head of yours needs more than just a facelift.”
The voice paused for a moment and Nancy squirmed in her chair.
“But Nancy, this is not the beginning of corruption in the court system since you’ve been one of the state’s prosecuting attorneys, is it? There have been countless other scandals tarnishing the due process on which this country was founded. Judges have been turning a blind eye to attorneys covering up evidence and getting paid off for YEARS. So I guess you must have thought that it was time you joined the party. Well now I am giving you your chance to set things right again.”
“On the table in front of you is a stack of manila file folders. Each one is stuffed with evidence from corrupt cases in the state of Kansas in the past ten years. You don’t need to read the details in all of them – I’ve already done that for you. I’m going to use you as a key witness for some upcoming court proceedings. Simply flip through the pages in each folder. You will see your name printed and marked with a sticky note on the bottom of some of the pages. Put your signature down next to each occurrence of your printed name as a witness to testify against these unscrupulous officials. Seems easy enough, now doesn’t it? And by cooperating you will avoid any charges being brought against you for your participating in the unjust verdict of Michael Jaworski.”
The voice was silent for a bit. Nancy picked up the ink pen and moved the stack of folders in front of her. Then the recording continued.
“That’s just part one, Nancy – now for part two. You received an illegal bribe of 250 grand. None of that money belongs to you and I feel that it can be put towards a much better use. Open the laptop in front of you and type in the password ‘donation’. A screen will come up with a website for my organization. You will click the donate button on that website and forward 250 thousand dollars from your bank account. I appreciate your generous contribution and this money will be a huge supporting factor in the multitude of projects that we have in front of us. You will have fifteen minutes to complete your tasks. You may begin.”
Nancy turned off the recording device and sat motionless with the pen in hand. Too dumbfounded to move, she felt numb and had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Fifteen minutes didn’t matter to her. She felt as if she was being stripped of her livelihood. She ruffled through the pages in the manila folders, scribbling her name next to where the sticky notes were. I can testify against the others all he damn well wants me to. Corruption has been going on these damn courts for decades – it wasn’t ME who started it. And this is the first time that I’ve even been a part of it!
She finished signing the documents and stared at the laptop screen for a moment. Then she typed in the password and a page came up. There was a button that said ‘donate’. Nancy sat still, rapping the pen on the table.
Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. She sat anxiously for several minutes, finding it difficult to breathe, and finally threw the pen against the wall. “I won’t do it,” she screamed. “It’s unfair! This case is finished. We made a deal. There isn’t anything I can do to change that. Why should I have to give back money that’s mine?” She waited for a couple more minutes which seemed much longer. “Did you hear me, Jordan Davidson, or whoever you are? You can take a lot of things from me but you can’t have my money!”
There was a sudden ripping noise. A tall figure with a black leather mask came into the room through an opening behind the poster on the back wall. He tore the poster down with one hand to appear suddenly in front of Nancy. It was as if he had been in the poster itself. He had the same black eyes and was holding a tattered leather satchel in his right hand. He slammed the satchel on the table. It broke open and some papers came flying out.
Nancy winced at the sound the satchel made against the table. “Please, whoever you are, just listen to me for…”
“NO! I’ve heard all from you that I’ll ever need to. I knew you were greedy, but to sit there and defend bribery for money that never rightfully belonged to you is the limit.” He rapidly spread the papers out on the table.
“Do you know what these are? Don’t bother looking – I’ll explain it to you. These are documents signed by John Madison and Kevin Thompson about what really happened in that court case you were involved in more than three years ago. There are sworn statements in them that you received a bribe from Mr. Thompson to hide critical evidence against him and Jeffrey Eldridge to falsely accuse Michael Jaworski. I can just turn these statements in and we can wait for your own court trial. Then the court can rightfully decide your fate, and you’ll lose the money regardless.”
Nancy wiped tears from her eyes, her voice quivering. “But it wasn’t even my idea to take the money. That’s just how things work…”
“No, that isn’t how they work. You’re talking like you are completely unaware of the laws that you’re supposed to uphold. Now you’ve got exactly two minutes left to decide. You’ve already agreed to testify against other corrupt government officials. Either donate the money to our foundation or have new charges brought against you. I’ll wait.”
Shaking like a leaf, Nancy hit the ‘donate’ button on the webpage. Ten minutes later she had wired 250 thousand dollars from her bank account. She slammed the laptop closed and looked directly at the masked man. “I sure hope you’re happy. Now get me the hell out of here. I’ve got things to…”
“It’s been a real pleasure doing business with you. You can walk through that opening in the back wall which will take you outside. Turn to your left and go a few paces. You will see a glass door. Enter a sma
ll room through that door and have a seat next to your other friends. Do not speak with them, but just wait there patiently.”
FIFTEEN
Jeffrey looked both ways down the narrow alley and decided to go to the left, away from the main street. It was dark all around him except for the glimmer from an old street lamp. He ran with urgency and quickly came to the end where the alley turned to the left. He darted around the corner and was abruptly greeted by half a dozen police officers and another armed man.
“Get on the ground with your hands behind your back, right where we can see them! And don’t move.” The officers acted quickly and Jeffrey complied.
They cuffed him, brought him to his feet, and told him to get into a squad car. Jeffrey got in the back seat but kept his head peering out the window for a moment. He looked at the armed man. “Why am I being arrested, man? I haven’t done anything…”
“You are being brought in on new charges. I can read you your rights if you want.”
“Nah, I’m good. You can speak with my attorney.” Jeffrey accepted the answer and the car door was closed.
***
Nancy waited in anticipation, feeling uneasy but glad to see John and Kevin in the same small office room with her. The dead silence in the room was broken when the door opened and two men came inside. One of them was totally unfamiliar to the group. The other solidly-built guy was Jordan Davidson, only now he wasn’t wearing a black leather mask. His bold face with a strong jaw line, deep brown eyes, and shaggy brown hair seemed surprisingly friendly. He stood in the front of the room to speak to the others.
“I guess you all know who I am – at least under the name I’ve given you. I’ve been keeping my real name hidden up until now. This is my partner.” He nodded towards the other man with him. “I suppose the three of you want to know exactly what’s been going on here?” John, Kevin, and Nancy stared anxiously.
“We’re FBI agents and this has been the trial run for a new division under the CCRS branch. That’s criminal, cyber, response and services in case you didn’t know. We are part of the Corruption Investigative Division. We proactively research and investigate corruption in all levels of the judicial system. Our goal is to better the due process for every American citizen by insuring integrity in the courts. For a first time project, I think we did a darn good job.” His partner grinned.
“The three of you have complied, more or less, with the conditions asked of you. As a result, you won’t have any new charges brought against you for the corruption of evidence and illegal bribery in the case involving Michael Jaworski. As for Jeffrey Eldridge, he wasn’t quite as fortunate.”
“What happened to him?” Nancy asked inquisitively.
“He’s been taken in by local authorities and will have a criminal solicitation charge brought against him for coercing Michael. He’s also looking at an aggravated burglary charge for breaking and entering with a weapon, based on new evidence. He’ll be facing some years in prison while we work hard to free Michael.”
“And what about the rest of us?” Nancy just wanted to go home.
“You are all free to leave. I appreciate your generous contribution of 250 grand, Nancy, to our branch. That will serve us well with future projects. You will be coming to court as a witness to testify on other corruption cases. What you do after that is up to you, okay?”
She sighed and nodded.
“John Madison, you can return to your work after a 30-day leave of absence. I thank you for assisting us with this project. Without your help something awful could have happened dealing with a loose cannon like Jeffrey. And we really needed his admittance to guilt for evidence to help free Michael. Thanks to you I feel that we have that. You did a good job working with us on the inside to keep everything moving along.”
John smiled.
“Kevin Thompson, you will be put on a ten-year probationary period and your financial accounts and online activities will be closely monitored. We’ve been in touch with your father and he is to fill out a monthly report on you to your probation officer. He’s not so happy with you since this has cost him an additional 300 grand, which is a generous donation to our cause. If and when we need you to testify in court on Michael’s behalf, you will be subpoenaed. Got it?”
They all nodded in agreement.
“Perfect. I’d love to stay and chat, but we have work to do. Let this be a lesson to all three of you. Don’t sacrifice your future and doing what’s right for immediate gratification. If any of you ever mess up again, I guarantee that you’ll be doing time. Don’t screw around with the court system. We’ve got eyes and ears tracking everything. Good luck to you all, and just call me Jordan Davidson.”
He and his partner exited and closed the office door behind them. For a long while there was total silence in the room.
