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George Pollock State KidIssue 45
Going to Where They Live
At City Hall, Mayor Harper and Police Chief Bronson, along with their top aides,monitored the proceedings at Granite City School --
on a Sunday.
At first, they had watched calmly, though with puzzlement, as Billy Stone introduced the panel and led a round of applause for them. They were okay with the proceedings even asthe well-dressed student moderator launched into his presentation. To their surprise, theyfound everything polite, intelligent and tasteful. It was definitely something that could besold as enlightened incarceration.But when Mrs. de Cruz came on and Officers Collins and Lee were searched, arrested,and led away, the two civic leaders stared disbelieving at the TV -- and underwent aseismic mood change. Into this scene of dropped jaws and soaring blood pressures, twounlucky East Side volunteers arrived to deliver envelopes of evidence. They were promptly detained and grilled by detectives.Chief Bronson put in a call to Granite City School.“Chief Bronson. Hi,” Vera said, answering the phone. She knew the chief well. “VeraO'Toole here. I'm helping out. Wasn't that wicked what Collins and Lee were doing?”“Yes, very. May I speak with your Dad?”“Sure, he's right here.”Captain O'Toole took the phone. “Yes, Chief.”The captain listened for a long time, grimacing and giving one-word replies. “Yes... Yes... No ... Yes ... No ... No.”Finally, as cold as Vera had ever heard him speak, he said, “Chief, I must request thatorder in writing. Also, without a written order from you to the contrary, I'm filing formalcharges against Officer Collins and Officer Lee on the basis of the evidence presented.I'm placing Joy Stojak under protective custody and I'm taking her father into custody onthe basis of her signed and witnessed complaint which you should have. Is there anythingelse, Chief?”Captain O'Toole held up the phone. “He hung up.”“What did he tell you to do?”“Never mind. It's my problem.”“Dad, it's
my
problem, too.”Captain O'Toole gave his daughter a father's disapproving look.“Why do you always clam up? You never share
anything 
with me. That's why I ran, Dad.When are you going to figure that out?”Vera turned to leave.
 
“Wait.”She stopped.“The chief ... he ... he ...”“Do it, Dad. Just talk to me.”“He ordered Captain Morrill and me to take the school.”“He's crazy!”“If we don't do it, we're relieved from duty.”“Good. He can take the job and stick it! He just wants to start shooting. He's wrong,Dad... and you know it!”Vera went straight to Billy with the news of the order, while Captain O'Toole and CaptainMorrill huddled.“Bronson can issue an order,” Billy said, “but he can't execute it -- and neither can your Dad or Captain Morrill.”“Why not?”“I don't think they're willing to harm innocents.”“How can you be so sure?”“I'm not. But at this point, I'm more worried about the higher-ups. They have more to loseand, I think, more to hide. They are more likely to go to extremes -- such as the NationalGuard. We have to calm their fears. So the message I'm sending them is this:
We have our bad guys. We're not going any higher. We won't tell the Feds what we know -- so long aswe get what we want.”
“You've got it all figured out, haven't you?”“That's the one good thing about Seg, Vera. It makes you think.”“What now?”“They talk. I act. They get weaker. I get stronger. At some point, our interests will meet.Just call me an optimist, Vera.”“I'm afraid, Billy.”“So am I. We're in the final, most dangerous, phase -- going to where they live.”They hugged.***Dictrict Attorney John Conroy had also watched Billy Stone on TV after receivingnumerous calls about it. “This is beyond belief,” he said to his wife. “A total outrage.What in God's name has come over Carson?”“I agree, dear,” said Mrs. Conroy, a painstakingly coiffed platinum blond with a deep tan.“But all I can think of is: How could that good-looking, beautifully-dressed, smart, well-spoken boy be where he is? Are you sure somebody didn't make a big mistake here?”“Obviously, someone
did 
make a mistake. But the question now is how to fix things
 
without destroying the District Attorney's office, the police department, the juvenile justice system, the Department of Social Services and the Department of Corrections.”“Not to mention some politicians we know.”“They're already jumping on the kid's bandwagon. Waters is on TV with a smile pastedon his face and giving interviews about truth and justice. It's enough to make me puke.”“Dear, a politician's vehicle of choice
is
the bandwagon, you know.”“I can just imagine what Waters and Richardson are cooking up.”“Scapegoat steaks? Bloody raw?”“This is serious. Do you mind?”“I
do
mind, dear. We have guests for lunch. I don't want my husband upset over absolutely nothing. What difference does it make if the kid gets out or doesn't get out?The only reason it matters is because it's on TV.”“You know, dear, in a perverse way, you're absolutely right. Without TV, without the press, we'd have no problem. But it's more than the TV. It's this particular kid. He knowswhat he's doing. He understands politics. He understands the power of images. The suit,the white shirts and ties, the fake objectivity, the soft-spokenness, the staged melodrama.It's all calculated to narrow our options to one.”“Setting him free.”“Yes. He's clever. He knows that if he looks and acts like a criminal, we can just go inand take him and no one would have a problem with it. So what does he do? He puts on asuit. He's polite, cooperative, unthreatening, reasonable, full of respect for the law. For Chrissakes he's even throwing statutes and procedures at us. On top of that, he comesacross as likeable.
 I 
even like the kid, for God's sake. If I do, everybody out there in TVland will, too. He's built a public-relations fortress around himself. However, my dear, for every defense there is an offense.”“I'm sure you'll find it, honey.”“It's not going to be easy.”“Why?”“Three things. First, he's betting everything. He knows we won't, because we don't haveto. This gives him a psychological advantage.”“And?”“He's not afraid of us. He thinks he's as smart and as tough as we are.”“To tell the truth, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if he were. Oops. I didn't mean that, dear.And the third?”“He believes he can win. You never want to be up against someone who believes he canwin.”“A kid couldn't actually do that ... or could he?”“Nah. He surprised us a little, that's all. You know the little twerp is putting the word outthat
we
have nothing to fear from
him
. Imagine that?”
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