Hercules died
about two weeks before Shannon Stone was scheduled to testify in the
Congressional hearing for Senator Alan Wells' Bill HR 1724. Three days
later, Shannon found in her mail box a red envelope, the kind that flies
around the city on St. Valentine's Day. On the envelope was printed,
with a black marker, "DO NOT TESTIFY, OR ELSE." There was a slight
bulge in the envelope. She knew what was in it before opening it. She
opened it, tipped it, and the expected object fell on to the table - a
bullet with "Tervor" written on it. She scooped the bullet back into
the envelope with a business card. She then slipped the envelope into a
larger one, which she placed into her brief case.
Outwardly, she was cool and collected, but inwardly she was seething with a mixture of fear, anger, frustration and what could pass as hatred. Her outward calm was based on her trained and disciplined legal mind, which had instantly launched itself into the analytical mode. The first thing it drew was the bottom line, and that is her withdrawing from the hearing. Once that was set, she began at once to seek better alternatives.
After her experience with that hunter-buddy cop, the first thing she did not do was to call the police. Not that they necessarily would, but they conceivably could just bury the bullet, burn her file and erase the case. Putting Trevor under guard or having him spirited away might keep him safe for days or weeks, but what about months and years? And pinpointing the perpetrator was beyond her means. It didn't take her long to explore all conceivable avenues and arrive at nothing but dead ends, except one, and that was to call Senator Alan Wells, which was what she did.
Alan heard her out without interrupting her, then said, "Then, Shannon, it should come as no surprise to you that I too, have received a death threat."
SS: "Interesting."
AW: "Except that instead of a bullet, it was an arrow shot halfway through my front door, with my name written on its vanes."
SS: "When?"
AW: "Couple of weeks back."
SS: "And?"
AW: "And I reported it to police, and the FBI, as well as the Congress, and then of course it went up to the President."
SS: "And?"
AW: "They have put me under armed guard twenty-four seven. But I'm going through with it."
SS: "I would too..."
AW: "I think not, Shannon. Yours is a different situation. For one thing, you won't receive a tenth the amount of protection I as a senator do. For another, they could mark you and Trevor for life. They could mark me for life too, but at least they're not targeting my kids. They still could, of course, and if so I'll deal with it as it happens. If you withdraw, I wouldn't blame you. Your case is already well known and fully documented. You being there is the cream on top, but not absolutely necessary."
SS: "I'll think more about this, Alan, but either way, I will leak a story to the Washington Post. I want the public to see these bullies, for what they are - cowards who threaten children. Then the police will have no choice but to handle the investigation in an above-board manner."
AW: "Sounds good, Shannon, but..."
SS: "But...?"
AW: "If your story is leaked to the press, the first person they would point their fingers at would be you. What makes you think that they wouldn't do you harm for that?"
SS: "If not I, then who?"
AW: "Tell you what. I will do it for both of us. I'll say that you have contacted me about possibly withdrawing from testifying due to this threat against your son. In order to withdraw, you'd have to talk to me anyway, so they can't pretty well blame you for it."
SS: "Well, can't say that this won't make me feel a little safer. Thank you, Alan."
AW: "Of course there is a still safer way."
SS: "Which is?"
AW: "Which is that I don't mention you at all, while you just quietly withdraw. No one would think any less of you for it."
SS: "Absolutely not. Please feel free to release my information. It is the least that I can do, and I want it done."
Outwardly, she was cool and collected, but inwardly she was seething with a mixture of fear, anger, frustration and what could pass as hatred. Her outward calm was based on her trained and disciplined legal mind, which had instantly launched itself into the analytical mode. The first thing it drew was the bottom line, and that is her withdrawing from the hearing. Once that was set, she began at once to seek better alternatives.
After her experience with that hunter-buddy cop, the first thing she did not do was to call the police. Not that they necessarily would, but they conceivably could just bury the bullet, burn her file and erase the case. Putting Trevor under guard or having him spirited away might keep him safe for days or weeks, but what about months and years? And pinpointing the perpetrator was beyond her means. It didn't take her long to explore all conceivable avenues and arrive at nothing but dead ends, except one, and that was to call Senator Alan Wells, which was what she did.
Alan heard her out without interrupting her, then said, "Then, Shannon, it should come as no surprise to you that I too, have received a death threat."
SS: "Interesting."
AW: "Except that instead of a bullet, it was an arrow shot halfway through my front door, with my name written on its vanes."
SS: "When?"
AW: "Couple of weeks back."
SS: "And?"
AW: "And I reported it to police, and the FBI, as well as the Congress, and then of course it went up to the President."
SS: "And?"
AW: "They have put me under armed guard twenty-four seven. But I'm going through with it."
SS: "I would too..."
AW: "I think not, Shannon. Yours is a different situation. For one thing, you won't receive a tenth the amount of protection I as a senator do. For another, they could mark you and Trevor for life. They could mark me for life too, but at least they're not targeting my kids. They still could, of course, and if so I'll deal with it as it happens. If you withdraw, I wouldn't blame you. Your case is already well known and fully documented. You being there is the cream on top, but not absolutely necessary."
SS: "I'll think more about this, Alan, but either way, I will leak a story to the Washington Post. I want the public to see these bullies, for what they are - cowards who threaten children. Then the police will have no choice but to handle the investigation in an above-board manner."
AW: "Sounds good, Shannon, but..."
SS: "But...?"
AW: "If your story is leaked to the press, the first person they would point their fingers at would be you. What makes you think that they wouldn't do you harm for that?"
SS: "If not I, then who?"
AW: "Tell you what. I will do it for both of us. I'll say that you have contacted me about possibly withdrawing from testifying due to this threat against your son. In order to withdraw, you'd have to talk to me anyway, so they can't pretty well blame you for it."
SS: "Well, can't say that this won't make me feel a little safer. Thank you, Alan."
AW: "Of course there is a still safer way."
SS: "Which is?"
AW: "Which is that I don't mention you at all, while you just quietly withdraw. No one would think any less of you for it."
SS: "Absolutely not. Please feel free to release my information. It is the least that I can do, and I want it done."
No comments:
Post a Comment