Story Idea 2 Intro The man wearing the tan suit and sunglasses took an elevator to the top floor of the skyscraper and walked into the shining office of the Simon Water Company, INC. “May I speak to Mr. Simon?” the man in the suit asked in a suave voice. “Yes sir,” the secretary replied as she pressed a button on the desk. Two glass doors at the far end of the room slid open and the man with the suit stepped into a huge glass-walled room. The floor was made up of perfectly applied marble tiles arranged in a mosaic pattern. A sheet of water splashed noisily down an artificial waterfall. There was a huge teak desk at one end of the room, right next to the glass wall. The swivel chair and its occupant turned to face the man with the suit. The man in the swivel chair was almost three hundred pounds, by the look of him. “Well, Senator?” the fat man gestured towards another swivel chair in front of the desk. “Hello, Simon, I’ve come with the papers you can sign to take control of Elm Park’s water supply.” “Why are you doing this, Senator?” the fat man replied. “I’m doing it because I’m losing money, and fast. Living like a senator requires a big budget, and at the moment I don’t have that. That, of course, is the reason that I’m doing this deal with you, so I can get the kickback.” “What about the people? Their water taxes will go up, even mine, although I’ll be supplying the water.” “To heck with the people! They were saps enough to get me into office; I think they’ll take new taxes without too much trouble. As for you, I think that I could bend the laws a little bit to help you out.” “How about sixty percent for me, forty percent for you?” “That sounds fine to me.” “I appreciate doing business with you, Senator.” Part One: The Build-Up I woke up that morning with a feeling that something was going to happen. Frank Lansing, New York Police Department; Detective’s Division. I got dressed in my plainclothes, strapped on my shoulder holster, and made a beeline for the front door of my apartment. I got into my Mustang and drove to Burger World for a shake and an egg-and-cheese biscuit. I drove directly to work from the Burger World and arrived around nine. I walked over to my desk and sat down slowly as I ran my eyes over the morass of paperwork that covered my desk. I picked up the papers from the Conkleton safecracking case and stuffed them in my filing cabinet. I picked up the morning paper and skimmed over the articles until I came to the city politics section. I began to read. Suddenly, I came across a paragraph that I just had to read. The title was: ‘New taxes on water after ownership of Elm Park is transferred’. The article went on to state that Elm Park had been bought by the Simon Water Company and that they were raising taxes on the water through the city board. I brought the article to my boss, Chief Brandon. He was already reading it. “What do you think?” I asked him. He looked up. “About the water company? I don’t know, it’s not within my line of work. However, Lansing, I’ve got a job for you.” I waited expectantly. “Senator Mark Talon has started making abnormally big purchases at high-end stores downtown. These purchases are out of the scope of the senator’s paycheck, which suggests some other source of income. I just want you to keep an eye on him, because he’s faced several charges on drunk driving and vandalism before. He’s rather a rough customer and, this is off the record by the way, I have no idea how he got elected in the first place. So, just keep an eye on him and if you find out how he gets this extra money then I’m proud of you. Good luck. He’s at Palace Mall right now.” I quickly drove down to Palace Mall and parked. The mall was busy that day with customers crowding each other in the stores. I walked down to the local BunnBoy and bought some Cinnamon sticks with icing. An artificial river flowed through the center of the mall and people rented boats to go shopping. I rented one and cruised along, looking for the Senator. I spotted him at a jewelry store. He was buying a huge diamond necklace with a wad of cash. Something was pretty fishy here, and I had an idea in my head that it wasn’t because of the goldfish alongside my boat. I docked my boat and took the escalator to the jewelry store. The senator was gone, but I spotted him walking along the mezzanine towards an elevator that would take him to the next floor. He looked over his shoulder furtively and I stopped, looking down towards a hardware store. He stopped looking at me and resumed his way towards the next floor. I quickly stood up and walked towards the elevator leading towards the next floor. We crowded into the elevator along with a big fat man and a few other customers. The senator and I were wedged in next to the doors. I looked at my iPhone and checked my email in order to pass the time, not once daring to look towards the senator. When we got out I waited until everybody had left and then got out. Talon headed towards a monorail leading towards the top floor. He suddenly ducked through a door right next to the monorail terminal. I ran after him and opened the door, only to discover that the door opened onto the truck loading ramp. I got back in my car, disappointed, and drove back to headquarters. “Well?” Chief Brandon asked. “No luck,” I muttered as I walked over to my desk. “What did he do?” “Well, he walked to Kruger’s Jewelry Store and bought a diamond necklace with cash Then, I trailed him until he lost me through the loading ramp door.” “If he bought it with cash I think that we can trace it. Go back and get Kruger to let you look at the cash. Text me the numbers on the bills and I can find out their complete history.” I quickly drove back to Palace Mall and took the monorail directly to Kruger’s. Mr. Kruger was a small, thin man, with greying hair and a small French moustache. “Hello, Detective Lansing, what can I do for you?” he asked. “Was Senator Talon just here?” “Yes, he bought a necklace.” “Do you have the cash he paid you?” “Yes. I was just checking the bill history and it appears that it was given to him by the Simon Water Company, INC. Why, are you trailing him?” he asked with a grin. “How’d you know about that?” I replied. “Word gets around. Chief Brandon let all the merchants in town know about the senator’s big spending.” I quickly called the chief on my cell phone and reported. “Hello, Sir. Kruger did a check on the cash and it apparently was transferred from the Simon Water Company, INC.” “Good work, Lansing. Take a quick trip down to the Simon Water Company and just scout around a little. I’ll talk to Kruger.” Fifteen minutes later Chief Brandon walked into the jewelry store and I left for the Simon Water Company. Their offices were located downtown, on Wall Street. I drove down to the skyscraper where they were located and took the elevator to their top-floor office. A secretary was sitting at a desk in the lobby. “I would like to see Mr. Simon,” I said. “Do you have an appointment?” “No,” I replied as I flashed my badge. “I’m sorry, but Mr. Simon is unavailable at the moment.” “Tell him that I’m here to find out why Senator Talon was here.” The secretary’s jaw dropped. “How…How’d you know?” “The senator paid Kruger money for an expensive diamond necklace. We traced it back. I want to talk to Mr. Simon. Now. Uh-uh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The secretary had pulled a small pistol from out of her purse. I wrenched it away from her. “I’m arresting you on Attempted Assault. Now, open the door or I might have to get tough.” She just sat down in her chair and barred her arms. I whistled and two policemen, Riley and Stephen, ran in. “Alright, boys, she thinks she’s a tough. Put the handcuffs on, and bring her back to the station under arrest for attempted assault and carrying a concealed weapon without a license.” I turned to the secretary. “Sorry, lady, but you will have to learn to respect authority. You pushed me too hard, and you normally shouldn’t do that to a Plainclothes Detective. Where’s the button to open the doors? I wouldn’t want to bust this place up just because you were unkind enough to not let me know where one measly button was, now would I?” She indicated a button alongside her desk drawer. I pushed it and the doors slid smoothly open. I walked in as the two officers pulled the secretary away. A fat man was sitting at a teak desk near the window. “Ah, Detective Lansing! What can I do for you?” “You can tell me why you paid Senator Talon over a thousand dollars in cash.” The fat man appeared amused. “I really wouldn’t recommend asking that question again, Detective. I really wouldn’t.” “Why did you do it? Come on, just because you’ve engaged in more than your share of black market deals doesn’t mean that you can’t tell me why.” “You want it the hard way, huh? I can’t divulge it.” “Do you want me to get tough with you, Simon?” “No. However, I don’t like you, so I think I’ll sue you for everything you’ve got due to the fact that you have slandered me.” “Slandered you?! How?” “I have never made a deal on the black market. The grey market, yes, but never the black market. I’ll sue you for two-hundred thousand dollars tomorrow; then I’ll sue the police department for ten times that the day after.” “Are you threatening me? I’ve had enough with your secretary, but I really expected you to be slightly more descent than her. Where’d you pick her up?” “My local pub back near my country house in England.” “Figures. If you sue me, then I AND the police department will countersue for FIVE MILLION. See you tomorrow at the courtroom. Oh, and bring a paper bag.” “Why?” “So your ‘secretary’ can collect what’s left of your belongings after the case.” “You know, we can settle this out of court. Fifty thousand, just so you forget the whole thing and leave this park thing alone. It’s more than you can handle.” “Thanks, but no thanks.” I walked out of the room. The doors slid behind me as I made my way down to the parking garage where my car was parked. I needed a lawyer, and fast. On the way to the law firm I called Brandon. “How’d it go?” he asked. “He’s suing me for two hundred thousand, for slander.” “I don’t want to hear about it. I’m sure you did the right thing. However, I’ll contact Murray and he’ll meet you at the law firm so you can explain and work out your plan of action. Good luck.” I arrived at the law firm and walked inside. Murray was a thirty-year old with a head of brown, messy hair and wore glasses. “Alright, Lansing, what’s the beef?” Briefly I recounted my story to him. He sat in his chair chewing a pen. When I finished he motioned me over to his desk. I sat down and he began. “Now really, this is quite simple. We do what you said and countersue for five million due to the fact that he unjustly attempted to sue you without provocation. Basically we play his game our way. It’s easy enough, if you’ll let me work out the details. We’ll be at the courtroom tomorrow at noon.” The next day at noon found me a nervous wreck. I bit my fingernails as Murray paced up and down alongside our desk. The claim was brought to Murray and we both looked at it. Just as I had feared, I was being sued for two-hundred-thousand dollars, for libel. “How are we going to get out of this?” I asked. Just then, two CDs were brought in. Murray popped them into his laptop. A sound recording was played, and it was our conversation. “Well, we could technically settle this out of court, for twice the amount Simon wanted, or we can go the full hog and countersue.” “Hey, I remembered something. Brandon has some security tapes of Simon’s activities. We could get those and then have evidence to use against him and to prove my statement true.” But, when we got to the station, Brandon was firm. “I’m sorry, Lansing, but it would look like we had faked the tapes in order to get you out. Our funds are with you, but we can’t do the tapes…Wait a minute.” We quickly walked into his office and sat down. “I think we could arrange for you two to ‘have the tapes fall into your hands’. Don’t tell anybody about this. You and Murray can do the job tonight, but watch out for the officers on the night shift. If anybody recognizes you we’re screwed. Good luck.” Murray and I walked back out to the car and drove to my apartment. “What will we need?” he asked. “I’ve never been on the wrong side of the law before.” “Neither have I. Here’s the plan. I’ve got some old wrap-around sunglasses which we could wear, along with two panama hats and two tuxedos. We could go to the premier of that new movie tonight, which is playing in the theater right next to the station, then get out on the roof and walk across to the station. We could use your car, but splatter paint over the license plate. I think it would work.” “You seem to have a knack for this sort of thing,” Murray grinned. “Yes, yes I do.” That night we pulled up in front of the movie theater. Both of us were wearing the sunglasses, hats, and tuxedos. We bought two tickets and walked into the room. There was a small spiral staircase leading up through the projector room and to the roof. I motioned towards it as Murray and I sat down. He nodded. After about half an hour I got up as to go get some popcorn. Murray got up five minutes later. We met each other in the shadows near the staircase. I was carrying my M1919, loaded with rubber bullets. Murray clutched a sunglass case in his hand. We quietly began to ascend the creaky staircase. Nobody looked in our direction, thankfully. When we reached the doorway to the projector room I hesitated before stepping in. The employee operating the projector was staring at a panel with his back to us. I motioned for Murray to come in. We began to edge towards the next staircase. We were halfway across the open space when the employee turned around and stared straight at us. Before he could utter a word Murray and I had tied him up in a corner. We got onto the roof without further trouble. It was a ten-foot drop from the roof of the theater to the roof of the station. I quickly lowered Murray and he stood below me, arms outstretched. I gingerly lowered myself over the side and slipped down to the roof. We walked across doubled over and opened the hatch leading to the top of the elevator shaft. I saw the elevator descending below us. Murray and I waited on top of the elevator until we saw the door to Brandon’s office open. We squirmed in, only to find the elevator coming back up! Murray ran into a corner, while I ducked into a supply closet. I waited until the officers had gone, then I tiptoed over to the safe where the tapes were stored. Suddenly, something hit me a terrific whack over the head and I dropped to the floor. I stood up dazedly and Murray looked sheepish. “I thought you were a guard,” he hastily explained as I glared at him. “Let’s get this stuff out already,” I growled. Murray pulled out a mini burglar kit from his sunglass case and we quickly had the safe open. I pulled the tapes out, and then we cut a hole in the window with a glass cutter and lowered ourselves to the ground. As I lowered down, I tripped over a trash can and stumbled to the alley below. There was a terrific noise as the sirens in the station activated and floodlights swept the area. “Come on, we’ve been seen,” I muttered in panic to Murray as we raced towards his car. A line of trash cans blocked the alley between us and the car. A burly policeman skidded out of the station and ran after us. Just as he caught Murray’s leg, Murray kicked him in the mouth. We jumped over the trash cans, got into the car, and sped off to my apartment. The next morning, there was a ring at the doorbell. I answered it. It was Chief Brandon. “Lansing, I’ve got something new for you. There was a burglary at the station last night and it would be nice if you could solve it,” Brandon boomed as he stood on my doorstep. As soon as we got inside, he asked: “How’d it go?” “Brilliant. A policeman chased us, but didn’t see our faces. Otherwise it was pretty clean.” I drove down to the water company offices with Murray later that day. We walked in to his office. He was sitting at the desk, looking like he had won; only to have his balloon popped. “We got the tapes,” I smirked. “They have you and Talon paying Rock Conkleton for stealing your police record.” “Oh Lord,” he muttered. “I and Talon will get out of town and stop the lawsuit, just as long as these tapes never exist.” “Yeah, we’ll get out of town,” Senator Talon said as he walked in. “Sorry, Talon, but even though I’m going to get rid of the tapes when Simon leaves town, you still are under arrest for inappropriate embezzlement of public funds. You used a state check to pay Conkleton. I believe you need to come with me,” I grinned as I snapped the handcuffs on over his wrists. There’s not much more. After Simon called the lawsuit off and left town, and after Senator Talon was convicted of embezzlement, there was a barbecue at my house. I ‘accidentally’ dropped the tapes into my grille and soon all that was left of the evidence was a mash of molten plastic floating among the charcoal briquettes. The End The Adventure of the Crooked Senator, 6-8, Page 1. 1