Let Them Breathe

By C.C. Chamberlane

The murder of George Floyd, in such a public manner, was disgusting. Safely in the control of police, Officer Chauvin continued the pressure on Mr. Floyd's neck as he repeatedly said, "I Can't Breathe." Officer Chauvin never moved until Mr. Floyd's life was taken from him. Sadly, George Floyd was not the first to have this happen, nor was he the last. Derek Chauvin has been convicted of murder but that provides little solace to George Floyd's family.

Megan Hernandez now plans to work with whomever she can to protect people like George Floyd, Daunte Wright, Patrick Lyoya, and many others from suffering such a terrible death while in the care and control of police. She will use all the skills her government taught her, and then some, to help fix this problem and help ensure that ALL citizens are treated equally.

• Language: English
• Publisher: C.C. Chamberlane
• Release date: Oct 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005797089

C.C. Chamberlane

Author C. C. Chamberlane’s latest offering, Let Them Breathe, continues the story of Megan Hernandez, joining ABBADON, SAMAELA, The First Female Navy SEAL, and Saving Ukraine. Let Them Breathe finds Megan disgusted by the senseless deaths of people of color while in police custody. You can follow her and Michael as they work from within the system to try and fix it.

Book preview

Prologue

When Megan Hernandez first saw the video evidence of George Floyd screaming the words I can’t breathe while Police Officer Derek Chauvin squeezed the very life out of him, she was disgusted and alarmed. Disgusted at how this could happen any time, much less today, and alarmed at how long it took to come to light.

The more she dug into the issue the worse it became. She knew, almost immediately, what her next focus would be. It was just a matter of connecting with the right people who felt the same as she. People who were willing to demand better, from themselves and everyone else. People who would risk everything to help drive the world towards equality.

Chapter One – Background

My last mission really took a lot out of me. The challenge of going up against the leader of a world superpower was life and death every minute. Fortunately, I had two of my SEAL teammates with me for the mission of all missions. It has been almost ten months since then and while, thanks to Jonathon, I also have more than enough money to retire on, I am having a tough time getting my head around that concept.

It doesn’t help that all my friends have continued to move forward in their own careers and those careers occupy a great deal of their time. I am definitely happy for all of them and enormously proud to be their friend.

I watched Norie run a perfect, but messy, election to defeat five worthy challengers and secure her favorite boss’s old job. When Jackie Lacey retired as Los Angeles Country District Attorney Norie knew she had the inside track. I had even helped Norie to get elected.

Colin Sharpe was now the SAC (Special Agent In Charge) of the Los Angeles bureau of the FBI. At one point he wasn’t too sure if he was on his way out or not but was happy he stuck around. He is definitely the right man for the job.

Jonathon and Luke’s company is wildly successful, and they now had more money than they would ever need or could possibly spend. They wanted to contribute to society and, being original Southern California guys, decided they wanted to protect the environment.

They had started their own environmental activism company, funded by some of their millions, and were going to do everything possible to help California stay California. Whatever that meant and whatever it took.

So, they were all growing and contributing. Even Arlo and Sage had started up an online company that distributed some of their favorite products including hemp items, CBD oil, and other paraphernalia. They were taking a whole new generation back to the pot parties of the sixties.

As I ran down the sand at Newport Beach I struggled with many thoughts, virtually every day. I was still training the same as I always had, and I was in as great a shape as I ever was. More than one Navy person had told me, including SECNAV, that I could still be a SEAL. When push came to shove, I finally decided, after wrestling with my thoughts for months, there was no way I could actually retire yet. What would I do?

Sure, I loved my new sailboat and mooring it at Catalina was a brilliant idea. It was always a wonderful escape for me, and I really enjoyed inviting my friends to visit. But there was only so much of that life of leisure that one could reasonably endure. Enduring it just wasn’t right, I wanted to enjoy it when I finally did pull the plug on my career.

I always felt that some opportunity would present itself to me and I just needed to be open to it when it happened.

Chapter Two – Norie’s Rise

Norie was one of my best friends on the planet and had been for a while now. I knew what her aspirations were, and we spoke often about whether she was ready or not. She knew that Jackie Lacey had been grooming her as a replacement to be the next District Attorney of Los Angeles county. Had it have been a simple appointment of a successor, Norie was a shoo-in, but that was not the case. A District Attorney is an elected position, and it always comes with an unbelievable level of scrutiny, while campaigning and even after in office.

Jacquelyn Phillips Lacey had blazed the trail on a number of fronts. She had been the first woman to hold that position and the first African American to do so since the office was created in 1850. She was instrumental in keeping the peace during her eight-year run as District Attorney, but it wasn’t all wine and roses. She had made enemies both inside and outside the LAPD.

Her biggest issue was she had an amazing grasp of jurisprudence and the legal system, and she was tremendously talented at reading the temperature of the population. She could, with a very high degree of certainty, ascertain whether a trial had a chance to be successful or not. She refused to cost the taxpayers tens of millions of dollars to try someone, who had a low possibility of being convicted, simply to make a name for herself. It simply was not in her DNA to act in that manner.

While these were admirable qualities, they are the very same qualities that could harm Norie’s run for the office. When Ms. Lacey announced her retirement there was a lineup of people waiting to enter the race. Many people thought they could improve on Jackie Lacey’s track record, while running the largest Prosecutor’s Office in the USA. The list would end up being whittled down to five candidates including Norie. These elections were always battles and this one would be no different with some worthy candidates. When Jackie Lacey was first elected, she won by quite a slim margin over the candidate in second place and this election was expected to be no different.

That was why, when I had the chance to help my friend, I knew I would. With the scrutiny these candidates were under, even the slightest misstep could mean a loss. Once Norie and I saw the list of candidates I knew there was one that could be quickly exposed. Thanks to some previous work I had done I was aware that one of the frontrunners had actually abused his wife on more than one occasion. The information had been buried and now this particular guy was in the pocket of the LAPD.

They knew that if he got in, they had enough on him to ensure he would be against any of the current rhetoric about de-funding the police. What they did not know was that I had met with his wife a few years ago when she was trying to escape him. I knew where she had moved to, and I believed I would be able to locate her again. It would only be a matter of connecting her with a reporter or even just a video statement describing the abuse.

I had to really work Norie hard to allow me to help in this way, but she finally capitulated, and I was on my way the next day. I retained all the information on cases that I worked for the last few years, and she was in that pile. I began to review everything I had and headed for her last known location. It was pretty much a witness protection operation that had started with Colin’s help but there were no guarantees. I knew I would likely have to lie to this poor woman to get her to tell her story but felt justified in doing so. Obviously, this guy was a bad actor and having a corrupt person as DA for Los Angeles Country was going to help nobody, except the police.

Chapter Three – A Tough Election

Norie was quickly immersed in a maelstrom of news, lies, and innuendo as the campaign started to get heated. I knew I HAD to find this woman quickly and then get the confession to the right news media. There were plenty of news people in LA trying to make a name for themselves any way they could. Due to the nature of the content all I might need would be an influencer to get it started on the internet.

I had already determined that once I had the evidence, I would speak directly to the candidate first. It would be much better if he were to simply remove himself from the election. I would take the angle that doing so would save his career and, with the money he made, that would be too big a risk.

I soon found myself in Chandler, Arizona a suburb of Phoenix. She was living there with her two children under an assumed name. It took me another couple of days to find her, but I finally did. When I approached her at her son’s school and told her why I was there, she recognized me immediately. She got a scared look on her face when she asked if he had found her. I explained she had absolutely no worries there and that I would tell nobody. I then said that I really needed her help and asked if we could go somewhere for an iced coffee. It was June and, as usual, it was already crazy hot in Arizona.

Soon we were catching up a little bit and I began to explain my issue.

I told her how we needed to do anything we could to stop him from winning and her telling her story could accomplish that. She argued vociferously for the first hour but then settled down when I explained how the LAPD basically owned him. I described what that might mean for other women like her. For good measure I added that there was a high probability he was abusing his new wife too, although I had no proof. In the end she consented to a recording on my iPhone where she related her horrific story of abuse at the hands of this candidate. I got it all recorded, made a backup under a different file name, and headed back to LA. It was much easier than I expected but I think her knowing all we needed to do was scare him made it cleaner.

It was a nice week weatherwise, so I had ridden the big bike. I really enjoyed my first longer ride of the season, and I was anxious to get back on the road. When I got back to LA I met with Norie right away and told her that I would position myself as a blogger and then show him the recording. Norie agreed that was a good approach. It wasn’t until the next week I was able to get close enough to the scumbag to tell him what I had.

He was doing a meet and greet down on Olvera Street, a famous Mexican street market just outside of downtown LA. It was a really fun place and I used to love going there when I was younger. I didn’t so much love going there this time. It sickened me to look at him up there all sanctimonious and speaking as if he were the second coming of Christ.

I waited until he was done and when he started to go around shaking hands I got in the line.

I leaned in when he got close to me and whispered, I have something from your wife you are going to want to see. He nodded at two of his men and I was ushered around back to where his SUV was parked. One of the guys wanted to frisk me and I laughed and said he really didn’t want to try that. I suppose something about my look helped back him off. The candidate came up to the vehicle, told his men to stay where they were, and opened the door for me. The vehicle was empty except for us.

When I showed him the first part of the interview his face turned white. He looked at me and said, how much does the bitch want? I told him he should be more respectful and said that she didn’t want any money. All she wants is for you to withdraw from the race. I added, it will be in everyone’s best interests if you handle it this way. He said he would have to think about it and right after he got out, and before I could exit myself, there was a goon on either side of me.

The one put out his hand and said that it would be much easier if I just handed it over. I chuckled and said, easier on who? He made the mistake of grabbing my wrist and trying to twist it. I first delivered a hard backhand blow to the guy on my left with my free hand and then I drove my fist into the other guy’s throat. He quickly let go of my wrist and grabbed for his throat as he tried desperately to suck in a breath.

The other made a move and I hit him with a wicked elbow that I was certain knocked out a tooth or two. At least the way my elbow felt that was what I assumed. The candidate looked a little shocked when I pushed the one guy out the door onto the ground and then climbed out.

I got right in his face and said, try anything that stupid again and you won’t even get the chance to withdraw. I walked away and told him he had 24 hours to announce he was dropping out of the race. I was not terribly surprised when the 24 hours elapsed and there had been no withdrawal. I figured he was far too cocky. That was fine by me. I had contacted a high-level influencer in LA who had over four million followers. She was an odd combination of a political blogger and a fashion influencer. The good thing is that meant she was connected to all the glitterati in Los Angeles so word would spread like wildfire. She wasn’t a Kardashian or anything, but she was up there.

I contacted the candidate and gave him one last chance before I sent the video to the blogger. Attesting to the new power of the internet and people like her, the video went viral within two days and that was that. He denied everything but still dropped out of the race. I really wasn’t expecting anything more to come of it, but I remained vigilant as always.

The balance of the campaign was relatively uneventful and Norie was elected. Not by a landslide but by a better margin than that which put Jackie Lacey in power. Many were surprised that she won. To see another minority take over that position was unexpected. Whether it was voter turnout, apathy, or the fact she really was the best candidate she got in rather than the silver haired, old money, white corporate lawyer she was up against. Maybe things really are changing in this country?

At any rate, Norie is in for at least four years, and she’s been doing a fantastic job already.

I’m confident she has converted quite a few people into supporters of hers rather than detractors. I had little doubt that she would accomplish great things during her time leading that office. It was going to be fun for me to watch my friend make changes in Los Angeles that could reverberate through the entire country.

Chapter Four – New Special Agent In Charge

Colin’s story was nowhere near as complicated as Norie’s. There are no elections in the FBI. It is supposed to be a meritocracy but often things don’t quite work out that way. There are almost always politics involved and many times the person who gets promoted is the one who best plays the game.

That was NOT how Colin got ahead. Playing the game and sucking up to superiors had never been his thing. He had always been a hard working, dedicated, straight-shooter and in this case the higher-ups recognized those traits in him. He was also a natural born leader and the ultimate do-gooder. Colin Sharpe exemplified what an FBI agent should be, how they should act, and even how they should think. At least as far as they knew. I knew a slightly different Colin Sharpe, but I was good with that. I understood the juxtaposition of his intellect and his empathy.

Sure he, I mean we, had crossed a few lines, but it was all done in an effort to get at the truth. He was about punishing the people who committed the crimes. Colin is most definitely one of the good guys and I was thrilled to see him get promoted.

Chapter Five – Luke and Jonathon

Luke and Jonathon’s story was quite a bit different than either Norie or Colin. They had turned their small investment company into a huge success. They had helped many of their friends to get rich as well, me included, although nowhere close to their level of wealth.

They weren’t Warren Buffet or anything, but they had billions under management and a high nine figure net worth for sure. Money wasn’t enough for them, nor was the success they had worked so hard to attain. They actually wanted to