Report #3270, Transcript Section #10
(Operation SANDMAN)
©1998 Shane Ivey

Keeper:
So, McCannon, for the last twelve hours you have been doing paperwork on the Williams shooting, then observing the chaos after the Ezekiel shooting. And what else?

McCannon:
Did I ever get anything back from Daniels about Kluwer?

Keeper:
Daniels interviewed Kluwer shortly after the Williams shooting...

McCannon:
And who was it again that went up in smoke (literally)?

Keeper:
The interview was inconclusive. Kluwer did not document the "tip" which he says led him to investigate Williams and the church.

McCannon:
Is there any way I could have been getting as much info as possible on him in the intervening hours?

Keeper:
He wrote only the sketchiest report of the tip itself: time of day, date, and the information conveyed, along with the details presented which led him to believe that the informant was credible.

Lundquist has joined the conversation.

McCannon:
I assume the informant info is something I never got?

Keeper:
He presented this summary to the judge to obtain the search warrant. In talking to Daniels he did not budge from his story that in carrying out the search he found the drugs in Williams' belongings.

Keeper:
He also still maintained that Williams confronted him with a screwdriver outside, forcing him to shoot him.

Keeper:
The informant info is just a "phone call report" form which Kluwer filled out after the call. He then presented it to the judge. You haven't seen it, but Daniels obtained a copy after the shooting.

Keeper:
The spontaneous combustee was Bertrand "Bato" Leguerre, an apparent refugee from the Third Court Warriors.

McCannon:
Is there a way I could get Daniels to part with the contact info?

Keeper:
He can show you the form, "Exhibit B" or whatever. He won't hand it over, though.

McCannon:
That's cool. Is there anything pointing to who tipped him?

Keeper:
Not to the actual source, no. In fact, Kluwer embellished the tip a bit. He added some details which you did not give him, details about where Williams hides his drugs, a couple of other things. Details to make the warrant credible.

Keeper:
Of course, if you wanted to help Daniels by telling him that little bit of information, I'm sure he would be more than grateful... ;-)

McCannon:
Nope. Just covering my ass.

Keeper:
Were you asking Daniels anything else?

McCannon:
No.

McCannon:
Where are Heckle and Jeckle?

Keeper:
Oh, Daniels interviewed Williams as well today, after Williams was released from the "Critical" list at the hospital.

McCannon:
(Danforth and Rogers).

McCannon:
How did that go?

Keeper:
Williams, of course, said vehemently that he didn't have any damn drugs and that damn cop put the screwdriver down on the ground and shot him for no reason.

Keeper:
Then the doctor asked Daniels to come back when Williams is less likely to hemorrhage from getting excited.

Keeper:
You don't hear from Heckle and Jeckle for the rest of the day, actually. Around 11:00 you wrap up the last paperwork and interviews and such and can call them, if you like.

McCannon:
Sure.

Keeper:
Lundquist, your phone buzzes right after Lemonde takes his leave.

Keeper:
bzzzzzt. . . bzzzt. . .

Lundquist:
"Hello?"

Keeper:
It's McC.

Lundquist:
"Hey there."

McCannon:
"What's the word?"

Lundquist:
"Not much. Where are you?"

McCannon:
"At my office. Where are the ruffians?"

Lundquist:
"Right here, at the safehouse."

McCannon:
"Have they gotten into any mischeif?"

Lundquist:
"No. Are you coming out to the house?"

McCannon:
"Probably. What's on tap for the evening?"

Lundquist:
"A little trip. I'll fill you in when you get here."

Keeper:
To clarify, this conversation is occurring after last session, right after lemonde took off.

Lundquist:
Yeah.

Lundquist:
I'm heading back to the safehouse.

McCannon:
"Alright. I'll call the missus and let her know."

Keeper:
Lundquist, you and Rogers are going back to the safehouse?

McCannon:
Calling the wife and kids to check in.

Keeper:
Jeanine McCannon sounds exasperated but resigned, again. "When are you coming home, Joe?"

McCannon:
"Soon, honey. Soon. I've got a few other things to do tonight, but I'll try to get tomorrow off. We can take the kids to the zoo or something? Deal?"

McCannon:
"Then maybe drop them at your mother's...?"

Keeper:
You hear her smile a little. "All right. Try not to stay out all night, though."

McCannon:
"O.K. Love you."

Keeper:
"You too. Be careful."

McCannon:
Hang up, grab my overcoat and get the car (heading to the safehouse by the usual convoluted route).

Keeper:
A little after midnight, the safe house is one of the few houses on the block which has lights showing past the window-shades.

McCannon:
Go in the back door.

Keeper:
Lundquist and Rogers are there. Danforth is listening to the various bugs.

McCannon:
Grab a beer and sit down in the living room. Who's here?

McCannon:
"Hey, guys. How's it shakin'?"

Keeper:
Danforth grunts noncomittally. "Lemonde found our bugs. He left them alone, though. He's playing it cool."

Keeper:
"I still think we should have gone out and busted some heads."

McCannon:
Grimacing at him, "You were dropped as a baby, weren't you, Danforth?"

McCannon:
"Repeatedly?"

Keeper:
"Fuckin cops."

McCannon:
Slap Rogers on the shoulder. "Hey, kid! What's the word?"

Keeper:
Rogers, meanwhile, has a message forwarded from Agent Jones. "Well... Death in the family. It seems my old aunt has died in Baltimore."

Lundquist:
...Which is DG-codespeak for what, exactly? ;-)

Keeper:
Nothing.. his mom's sister died. :-)

Lundquist:
Only you would smile at such a thing, Keeper. :-)

McCannon:
"Shit. Sorry about that, man."

Keeper:
"Look, I'll be gone tomorrow for a while. Shouldn't take more than the day to ride down for the funeral and come back."

Lundquist:
"Tough break. Well, I guess we can do without you for a bit."

Keeper:
"Thanks. I'll turn in, then, if nothing's urgent?"

McCannon:
"Yeah, you go lie down. We can handle things from here. See you inthe morning."

Lundquist:
"Danforth, anything new from the church?"

Keeper:
"Not a thing. Nobody's been there since the secretary left."

McCannon:
"So, what's the fallout?"

Lundquist:
"Well, how would you feel about getting our hands a little dirty?"

McCannon:
Taken a little aback. "What d'ya mean?"

Lundquist:
"Something that might not be strictly legal, but which we feel might be called for under the current circumstances."

McCannon:
Sits down again. "I'm listening."

Lundquist:
"This Dreaming Man is bad stuff. It's more dangerous than simple smack. We know that much. What we don't know is how much more dangerous."

Lundquist:
"Given that, it might be prudent for us to take a better-safe-than sorry approach to this problem."

McCannon:
"Uh-huh."

Lundquist:
"Danforth and I had discussed going out an taking out a few DM dealers. Either beat them up so bad they can't walk for a while, much less deal drugs, or else something more permanent."

McCannon:
Stays silent a long time.

Lundquist:
"The idea is that once it gets out that somebody is targeting DM dealers, then other dealers won't be quick to sell the stuff."

McCannon:
"It's the wrong approach."

Lundquist:
"This shuts off the supply of DM reaching the street right away, before it can do any more harm."

McCannon:
"But it doesn't deal with who is producing it."

McCannon:
"They're the real problem."

Lundquist:
"Yeah, but it gets their attention. Someone is whacking their dealers. They'll come to find out why, and when they do, we'll be ready."

McCannon:
"The producers won't. They'll send thugs."

Lundquist:
"That still puts us closer to the people pulling the strings."

McCannon:
"You're right - we need to knock the monkeys out of the tree, but we don't need to burn it down."

Lundquist:
"And as part of this, we can interrogate some of these dealers."

McCannon:
"A set-up like this - the street-level dealers aren't going to know who is supplying them - not directly."

Lundquist:
"No, but we can move one level up the food chain anyway."

McCannon:
"What do we know? Who are these dealers we can finger?"

Lundquist:
"Our man Knight bought some of the stuff earlier. He can point us towards his source, for starters."

Lundquist:
"We can also go check around the street ourselves."

McCannon:
"That's it? That's all we've got?"

Lundquist:
"The Ezekiel shooting stinks. The shooter said he was approached by some guy in a windbreaker who somehow, for lack of a better word, 'hypnotized' him into killing the reverend."

Lundquist:
"Our analysis of videotape of the shooting supports this. And with DM's unknown characteristics, I'm willing to believe an awful lot... The shooter did test positive for DM."

McCannon:
"Right. That's the guy we need to be tracking down."

Lundquist:
"How? Short white guy in a windbreaker? There's nowhere to go with it."

McCannon:
"Which the white guy might have slipped him."

McCannon:
Picking up the phone. "Is this a secure line/"

Lundquist:
"Probably not... More likely, he was a user already, and the drug simply made him vulnerable to the mental suggestion."

Lundquist:
"Yeah, that's secure." (?)

McCannon:
"Six of one..." Dial the number of a guy I know in the video room of the department.

Lundquist:
"Our surveilance of the church has turned up some interesting stuff as well. It looks like Bato was a reformed user who was trying to go straight."

Keeper:
McCannon, your friend's sleepy voice answers. "Film. What?"

Lundquist:
"The reverend was helping him. Lemonde and the reverend, plus several of the church's staff, were aware of some mysterious conspiracy, which is repsonsible for distrbuting DM."

McCannon:
"Yeah, and they killed him for it."

McCannon:
"Mac here. I got an interestin' problem here for ya."

McCannon:
"Have you been watching the reels of the Ezekiel shooting?"

Lundquist:
"They felt powerless to do anything about it, other than complain loudly in the weekly sermons. However, we made contact with Lemonde, and I told him we were working to stop these distributors of DM."

Keeper:
"Oh, good," he says without enthusiasm. "I was hoping for a problem. I mean, just this morning I was thinking, I hope to God somebody has a prob... Ezekiel shooting? Sure. It's been a slow news day except for that."

Lundquist:
"I kept it vague, but I'm hoping he'll come around to our side and tell us whatever he might know. There's a good chance he has some information we don't."

McCannon:
"Take a close look at the footage. You'll notice a white guy with a windbreaker near the shooter just before the shooting."

Keeper:
"All right, just a minute." A minute passes. You hear assorted clicks and whirrs. "Huh. Yeah, I think I see him. The shooter gave him a dirty look."

McCannon:
"Can you run a copy of that pic against the known felons and international fugitives databases and see what you come up with?"

Keeper:
"Pic? What pic? I just have the back of his head."

McCannon:
"They didn't get his face on any of the footage?"

Keeper:
"Not really. Best angle looks like an oblique shot, from the rear left. It still doesn't show anything real useful."

Lundquist:
"We already explored that angle with Osborne, and he said he didn't have enough to go on."

McCannon:
"Alright. I'll get back to you."

Keeper:
"Sure thing." (click)

McCannon:
Start calling the news stations, IDing myself, and asking about footage (looking for a clean shot of the white guy).

Keeper:
You get the same response. There were four cameras rolling during the shooting. None of them got a good view of the white guy. Either he was being very careful which way he walked, or he was lucky, or both.

McCannon:
How about police sketches based on Pace's testimony?

Keeper:
Nobody has requested one, yet. The official investigators of the Ezekiel shooting think his "white guy" scenario is a fantasy.

Keeper:
They have the killer, after all. If they don't hear that there's more to it, or he doesn't have something very very juicy to offer, they aren't going to bother investigating further.

McCannon:
Good point.

McCannon:
"Hey, Lundy. Can't we take a less violent approach."

McCannon:
"Say, posing as rival drug lords or interested buyers?"

Lundquist:
"That's going to be tough to pull off. None of us look all that much like interested buyers."

Keeper:
Danforth says something derogatory about McCannon's manhood.

McCannon:
"Why's that. Necessity is the mother of invention, right? And I'm feeling positively maternal today."

Lundquist:
"We could always just grab a dealer and bring him back here for questioning, same as we did for Bato."

McCannon:
"So, I gather is Danforth."

Lundquist:
"But every day that they keep dealing in DM there's more people getting hooked on it. And we don't know what it's doing to them."

Lundquist:
"I'm finding it hard to get away from the necessity of stopping the flow of drugs as completely as possible as soon as possible."

McCannon:
"Yeah, but going in guns blazing does only two things - leaves all our potential informants dead and cuts us off from the true threat."

Lundquist:
"Nobody's saying we don't question our 'informants' before taking them out. And we don't have to go in with guns blazing... We could just rough them up, drop hints that it's not healthy to sell DM anymore."

McCannon:
After thinking a while, "I'm thinking we focus on one - and only one - dealer. We bring him back here and question him in the roles of thugs hired by a rival gang lord."

Lundquist:
"Okay, I can do that."

McCannon:
Keeper - I have or can get a local drug lord's name (preferably a BIG one).

Keeper:
Sure. The Third Court Warriors seem to be the ones who crop up anytime DM is mentioned. There's also a "Bloods" gang in the area.

Keeper:
For a serious player, you'd have to go outside of Harfleur.

McCannon:
Fine. Do I know of any serious bosses outside (but near) the area - preferably one who stakes a claim here?

Keeper:
Bo Toth comes to mind. He's a racketeer and drug boss in the projects near JFK airport, a few miles from Harfleur.

Keeper:
A real local villain, from what you remember. Rumor has it that he keeps some cops and village council members in his pocket, as well as some local business leaders.

McCannon:
Have I ever had a run-in with him or his company?

Keeper:
Not directly. You've heard occasional references to him, that's all.

McCannon:
"O.K. Here's the plan. I go into the projects and speak with our friendly neighborhood drug lord. We're gonna need him when things get hairy."

McCannon:
"Then we track down one of the DM dealers and bring him back here."

McCannon:
"After we're done with him, we throw him to the wolves and watch the sparks fly."

McCannon:
"What d'ya think, Lundy?"

Lundquist:
"Yeah, that sounds like it would work. You're the expert on the local underworld."

McCannon:
Keeper - What kind of info do I have on Bo Toth. Likely hangouts, maybe?

Keeper:
He's silent partner in a restaurant about two blocks from the airport. That's listed as his usual hangout.

McCannon:
"Feel like dinner, Lundy?"

Lundquist:
"Yeah, let's go to the In-&-Out burger over on Radford."

Lundquist:
"You wanna tag along, Danforth?"

McCannon:
Dragging Lundy out by his ear. Drive over to the restaurant by the airport.

Lundquist:
"Hey this isn't the way to the In=&-Out Burger."

Keeper:
Danforth says, "I gotta listen to the bugs. Not like the cop will let you do anything useful anyway."

Lundquist:
"Yeah, okay. I'll call you if we need backup or anything."

Keeper:
You drive back into Queens and head for the airport. It's well past midnight; flights and traffic are sporadic.

McCannon:
What does the place look like?

Keeper:
You find the restaurant easily enough. It's on a street with several shops and businesses, all of them closed this late. A couple of streetlights are broken overhead. Cars are lined up at the curb in front of the restaurant, no doubt as many just parked overnight as patrons of the place.

McCannon:
No bouncer at the door?

Lundquist:
In the car, on the way over... "So why are we going here? To talk to this Bo character?"

Keeper:
A pastel green neon sign labels the restaurant, "Green Pines Inn." Very quaint.

Keeper:
From the outside you don't see a bouncer.

McCannon:
Walk in - what's it like on the inside?

Keeper:
It's dim and smoky. The place was remodeled a couple of years ago to be just big enough to pass the municipal smoking bans. Dark carpet, dark wood decor, fairly clean but old, a lot of stains. Plain-looking.

Keeper:
Inside there are maybe ten patrons in four groups. There's a small bar. A tired-looking waitress sees you and walks over.

Keeper:
Her voice is nasal, hardcore Bronx. "Table or booth?"

McCannon:
Let her seat us, perferably at a table where we can see the whole place. "Booth, please."

Keeper:
She leads you to a table and hands you menus. "Anything to drink?"

McCannon:
"Guiness, please." Let Lundy order, then ask her, "Is Bo around?"

Keeper:
She looks from one of you to the other. "I don't know anybody named Bo. I'll be back with your drinks." She walks off quickly.

Keeper:
She walks to the bar and talks to him for a second. He glances at you, then he pours your drinks and hands them to her. She steps back to the table to deliver them.

Keeper:
"Let me know when you're ready to order." Her voice seems a little nervous.

Host McCannon whispers to DG_Keeper:
Quick - what's the name of a stooley in the area?

DG_Keeper whispers to McCannon:
Ox Sayers. He's a boxer, Golden Gloves-type, who did some muscle work for a while before the cops caught up to him.

McCannon:
"Really? Ox sent us. We have something important to tell him. We can wait here for him, darlin'"

McCannon:
Pick up a menu and idle over the choices.

Keeper:
She turns and walks off, disappears through the doors to the kitchen.

Keeper:
A few minutes pass.

Keeper:
(You doing anything in the meantime?)

McCannon:
Double-Cheeseburger or Chicken Alfredo?

Lundquist:
I'm not that hungry.

Keeper:
Heh, okay... The waitress emerges and comes back over to your table. "Just a minute," she says to another patron who signals to her. She stops at your table. "You're supposed to go in the back. Now, do you want anything to eat or not?"

Lundquist:
"Basket of onion rings, chocolate shake, and some pie."

Keeper:
She sighs and gets her notepad out to write it down.

Lundquist:
"Make that 2 baskets of onion rings."

McCannon:
"Yeah, a Double-Cheeseburger, extra grease. Thanks, sweetheart."

Keeper:
She gives you a very fake smile before turning and heading back to the kitchen.

McCannon:
Get up, pass her a ten, and head toward the back.

Lundquist:
I follow McCannon.

Keeper:
You both head to the kitchen. You push open swinging doors and see a narrow hallway leading back toward what looks like an office and a staircase. To your left a doorway opens into the kitchen. To your right you see bathrooms.

McCannon:
Head toward the office, but look into the kitchen and bathrooms.

Keeper:
Nothing unusual in the kitchen and bathrooms except some possible health code violations.

Keeper:
The office is wood-paneled and lit by a bright flourescent overhead. You see two tough-looking young guys in silk suits and two middle-aged men dressed similarly. The older men are seated at a desk. The younger men stare out at you cooly from behind dark sunglasses.

McCannon:
Step into the office and take a seat.

Lundquist:
"Hi there."

Keeper:
The young guys look straight out of Gangsta's Quarterly. Very urban fashion-plate.

Lundquist:
I take notes so I can look good next time I go into court.

Keeper:
One of the middle-aged men looks at you with a scowl. The other leans back in his seat and smiles. "What can I do for you, gentlemen?"

McCannon:
"You control the Harfleur area, right?"

Keeper:
He chuckles. "Control? We live in a democracy. I think the city council 'controls' Harfleur."

McCannon:
"Your boys deal there. You sell your shit there. That kind of control."

Keeper:
"I'm sorry," he says. "I don't think we've been introduced. My name is Bo Toth. Who are you?"

McCannon:
"McCannon."

Lundquist:
"I'm Mark Green."

Keeper:
"Well. I don't know either of you gentlemen. And I can't say that I care for your demeanor. Do we have any reason to be talking?"

McCannon:
"Yeah. There's some new blood in town, moving in on your turf. They call themselves the Third Court Warriors, and we'd like to give them to you."

Keeper:
"The Third Court Warriors? I think I read about them in the news. They're a small-time group of Haitian criminals, I think. I don't have anything to do with them."

McCannon:
"No, but they have something to do with you. Your racket and theirs overlap. Dreaming Man is catching on, and waht's more - it's dangerous shit."

McCannon:
"The cops and even the feds are onto the Warriors, and this is going to bring a shitstorm down on the area. Word is, you'll get caught in the crossfire."

Keeper:
He sighs. "I'm sure this is all REAL interesting, Mr. McCannon. But I'm busy. I don't care about drugs or gangs. Now, if you and your friend here will excuse us...?"

McCannon:
"Fine. You don't want the low-down on the last ticket out of Dodge, I can't help you."

McCannon:
Get up and leave.

Keeper:
"Thanks for coming," he calls after you. "Do enjoy your dinner."

McCannon:
Head back to the booth and sit down to eat.

Keeper:
The food is grease-intensive, as ordered.

McCannon:
Cool. Dig in.

Keeper:
Your watch says it's coming up on 2:00.

McCannon:
"So, Lundy? You still feeling frisky?"

McCannon:
Munch, Munch. Slober, Drool.

McCannon:
"Feel like taking on some Warriors tonight?"

Lundquist:
Yeah, let's abduct a hapless 3rd Court Warrior

McCannon:
Watching for anything to happen in the next half-hour (while eating).

Lundquist:
I'm not hungry, so I don't touch my food.

Keeper:
Nothing happens in the next 30 minutes. The waitress offers you drinks or dessert. The bartender looks at you blankly once in a while.

Keeper:
Lundquist's piles of onion rings get rapidly cold.

McCannon:
No they don't

Keeper:
Or they get rapidly devoured. . .

McCannon:
Drag Lundy out into the car and drive away.

Keeper:
Heh, okay.

McCannon:
Do we have any idea where to start with the Warrior's thing?

Keeper:
It's a short drive to 3C territory from the restaurant.

Keeper:
You know that the Third Court Warriors take their name from their hangout, an old townhouse on Third Court in Harfleur.

Lundquist:
I do need to get going kind of soon.

McCannon:
Did we ever get any backup help form Osbourne?

Keeper:
It's supposed to arrive in about six hours.

McCannon:
Go back to the safe house, drop off Lundy.

McCannon:
Then go home to Jeanie.

Keeper:
Okay. You get home very late.

Keeper:
We can wrap it up here with everyone finally crashing. Next time there should be some fireworks...