"We got him," Dempsey said, breezing into Spikings's office and throwing the brown envelope down on the desk. "There's the evidence you wanted and Samantha's gonna phone us later with Golding's location." Spikings picked up the envelope, dropped it into his deak drawer and slammed it shut. Dempsey frowned. "Good work you two, don't mention it boss," he mocked.
"They're pulling the plug on the whole investigation," Spikings barked, leaning his knuckles on the desk and staring at the desktop as he fought to control his anger.
"What! But we got him where we want him! We got the evidence!" Dempsey exclaimed.
"It seems that the bureaucrats and the red tape quacks have moved in and will be 'looking into the unfortunate series of events in due time.' They don't want us involved. It's a cover up and gone are the days when we can do the job we're supposed to do. Damn it," he growled, thumping his fist loudly on the desk, "we can't even protect our own anymore!"
"But we got the evidence," Dempsey repeated, glancing at the desk drawer.
"Dempsey, they're not interested!" Spikings yelled. "Golding's got to them!" He turned his head sideways and gritted his teeth. "He's a snake in the grass, a viper, a bloody constrictor who's squeezing the life out of this country!" Dempsey and Makepeace slumped into the chairs in front of Spikings as he seethed and raged before their very eyes. "That retirement is becoming more appealing by the minute! Well to hell with them! You two can take the rest of the day off. I've had it up to here with the lot of them!" he finished, striding out of the office and leaving Dempsey and Makepeace staring at each other in bewilderment.
"The day off! Hell, I almost don't know what to do with myself…almost," Dempsey stressed, grinning at Makepeace. She unlocked her car and opened the door, turning to Dempsey with a wry expression. "You wanna go ahead with that picnic after all Harry?"
"It's a bit late for that Dempsey," she said, glancing at her watch.
"Okay, how about I take you out downtown? You know where 'everything's happening,'" he quoted her.
She smiled. "Well, maybe."
"Great, I'll pick you up in a couple of hours," he confirmed as she slid into the driver's seat of her car, closed the door and wound down the window. "We'll get somethin' to eat and then just see where the night takes us," he suggested as his grin widened.
"Hmm, I'll see you later," she laughed, starting up the car and pulling away.
As soon as Dempsey arrived home he stripped off his clothes and headed for the shower. He sang out loudly as he soaped himself down, amazed at how well things had gone between himself and Makepeace over the last twenty-four hours.
Oh boy are we going to have a good night tonight! She ain't gonna want it to end!
He stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel, wrapping it around his waist and strolling into the hallway towards the bedroom. Before he reached it however the sound of the telephone in the kitchen caught his attention and he did an about turn, entering the room and snatching up the receiver.
"Yo! If you're callin' us back in we aint commin.' No one's at home."
"You'd better hope someone's there. We have business to talk," came the sinister reply.
Dempsey's face fell. "Who is this?"
During the remainder of the phone call every bit of colour drained from Dempsey's face. He stood listening to the man who gave him little opportunity or option to answer back. He replaced the receiver and his mind was in turmoil. His first instinct was to dismiss the call and reject all demands that the man had made, however he had to rethink the situation as it occurred to him that it wasn't just himself that he had to think about anymore. He wasn't used to that. He was used to relying on his instincts and flouting the rules to get results in his own way. But now Harry was involved. The man had made that clear. And he realised with frightening clarity that anything he did from that point on could jeopardise her life. He was stuck, cornered. And the man knew that. How did he know that? Dempsey had some suspicions but for now he couldn't act on anything, he couldn't risk it. He would submit to the man's demands and bide his time. With that thought he picked up the receiver again and telephoned Spikings, informing him that they needed to talk, alone.
When he had left SI10 for the final time that day Dempsey had felt surprisingly disappointed. He had half expected his conversation with Spikings to provide some answers or solutions for him. But Spikings was unusually resigned that day. He had not been as affected by his announcement as Dempsey had expected and now he was faced with the reality of the situation. He had cornered himself into this now, but what else could he do?
By the time Dempsey had arrived back at his apartment he was livid with himself, livid with Spikings and livid with the world in general. He stormed around his apartment, snatching up random personal belongings that meant nothing to him and throwing them into an open suitcase. When he entered the kitchen he had worked himself up into a frenzy, sweeping objects off the table and counter tops and sending them crashing to the floor. He only stopped when there was nothing left to break and he stood staring at the telephone which was lying on the floor, making a loud beeping sound. He picked it up and dialled Makepeace's number, completely clueless as to what he was going to say.
"Harry."
"Dempsey?" she said with a questioning tone. He sounded odd.
"I gotta take a rain check on our date tonight. I'm sorry." It sounded lame but what else could he say?
"Are you alright?" she came back immediately.
No! No I'm not alright!
"Yeah. Somethin's come up. I'll see ya tomorrow," he said, hanging up and feeling completely wretched.
I won't see her tomorrow though! When will I see her?
The following hours were spent with him sat at his kitchen table staring at nothing in particular. He didn't want to think. He would be better off leaving there and then but he knew in the back of his head that he had unfinished business. He had to go to Harry's. He couldn't not, but he also couldn't face her. As the light of the day faded he struggled with his thoughts, surrounded by the broken remains of his life in London.