Chapter 55: Released
Jack was exhausted. After showing agent Franks his bank account, it took another hour before they could actually leave, and it was now two in the morning. Wendel had confirmed that Denise had arrived and was consulting with Madison. And Jack had confirmed with Madison in his soul space that she was still conferring with Denise. Denise had told Madison that her interrogation would be mind numbingly exhausting and had suggested that Madison take a nap. Denise could claim that they were still conferring, even while Madison slept. So, Madison's physical self was curled up in a corner of a conference room, while her soul space self tried to sleep. Jack had disabled his parallel self, then cranked up the time ratio to 10:1 so that Madison could hopefully get a full night's sleep. She would need it.
Wendel had insisted on driving Jack home, and as they pulled into Jack's driveway, he noticed that his front door was partially open. As they got out of Wendel's car, Jack asked, "Will they pay to fix my door?"
"No. Any damage done while in the performance of their duties is outside the scope of reimbursement. The police can, and have, blown up houses, and not paid a single cent for repairs. The FIS are usually not as heavy-handed as local police, but they have, on occasion, thoroughly trashed homes in their search for evidence."
"Damn. Seriously, blown up houses?"
"Yes. In one case, the family, whose home was destroyed, were not even involved in a crime. The police were chasing a suspect, and the suspect fled into the family's home. The police then blew up and bulldozed the home in their attempts to flush out the suspect. And, the police refused to pay anything in restitution. The case went to the supreme court, but they refused to hear it."
"Fuck me, that's brutal."
Jack pushed the door to his house open and walked into the living room. What he saw left him stunned. The couch was destroyed, slashed into small ribbons, and the coffee table was smashed. The T.V. was gone, the stereo speakers were gutted, and the carpet was torn up. That by itself was a real gut punch, but worse was that someone had utterly destroyed the walls and ceiling. The sheet rock had been ripped out and scattered in shredded chunks all over the room. Even the wiring had been ripped out. Fran and Jacob had put a lot of time and energy into this home, had made Jack feel welcome and loved in this home, and someone had destroyed it. Desecrated it.
"What the fuck?" blurted Wedel, when he walked in behind Jack. "This...Touch nothing!"
He gently grasped Jack's shoulders, turned him and walked him back outside while saying, "Let's wait in my car. I need to call some people to come over and record this. This is unconscionable. No one in their right mind could possibly justify the level of destruction I just saw. Someone has lost their damn mind."
Remembering the voice he had heard as he was headed to the conference room, he thought, Fucking Jackson. I bet it was that little weasel that did this. The rage Jack had felt growing inside him turned cold, like an arctic winter. He was going to make them pay. Whoever did this, they would pay. Even if he had to make use of Genesis Heart to see it done. He'd let the lawyers have a go at it first. But if they failed, and it seemed likely. Then he would find another way.
Wendel pulled out his phone and started making calls, but Jack paid no attention. He was plotting. At the very least, he could probably plant drug money in the house, or houses of whoever did this. Finding drug money would probably be tedious, but once he found some, making it appear in someone's home would not be difficult.