WARNING! This story is M-rated. This is a serious warning! If you don't like that stuff then don't read it. If you read it anyway then don't blame me!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters nor the original Inspector Lynley Mysteries – they belong to Elizabeth George and the BBC. I have borrowed the characters from the TV-Show and only own the ideas of my stories.
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Author's note and summary: Bad incidents and where they lead. Just a small idea from my notebook, worked out to a few chapters. Enjoy...
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Tension
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There had been a three days meeting of the highest ranks of England's police and important politicians. They discussed the latest police reform. Afterwards, when the politicians already had left, there had been an official statement in front of New Scotland Yard.
That is... There should have been that official statement. After only a few introducing words it had ended with a lot of blood and four people not surviving the machine gun assault.
Nobody had expected anything like that. Nobody could explain how this could have happened at all, given the modern standards of security precautions.
Everybody had become overstrung after the incident had happened.
The assassin was shot before he could do more harm. Among his victims who had not survived was the Assistant Commissioner, Sir Hillier.
He and two unlucky Detectives were given a state burial. All senior officers attended it in their uniform dress. One could imagine that the security precautions were put on a much higher standard than usually and everybody was on high alert, but the assassin seemed to be a lone perpetrator, so fortunately nothing happened.
Still, the situation strained everybody's nerves and the tension spared no-one in the Service, not the lowest freshman nor the highest long-serving Chief Superintendent, let alone all members with bayleaf wreaths on the shoulders.
DI Tommy Lynley and DS Barbara Havers, usually the best functioning detective team in the Met, also were edgy and nervous. They were not teasing anymore, they started to fight over the smallest of things. It was no wonder that DC Winston Nkata found it hard to work with them on their new case but the murder of a woman - obviously not related to the assault in any way - had to be resolved quickly. All the more since the brutal assault had stirred the whole of England. They needed a result as soon as possible. Many hours of overtime were signed off easily. Everybody was tired and tense.
DS Havers' mind even was running during the burial ceremony, so while the crowd walked towards the graves she typed some notes into her mobile phone.
DI Lynley did not approve of it at all and glared at her with anger. He did not know that she was not texting a message.
Even though it had been a good idea that had brought them forward with their case, he reprimanded her later. He could not even stop arguing about it on the next day and with their edginess not lessened after the burial, the quarrel culminated in a loud argument about minor procedural errors. After he barked the well known "In my office, Havers!" their yelling continued behind his closed office door.
As soon as the door was slammed shut, their team tried to be busy elsewhere and preferably not in the main office, just to make sure they would not be forced to deal with the Detectives' lousy moods when they would have finished shouting and one of them would storm out of that door eventually.
Eventually Barbara reached the point where she was completely unnerved by his idiotic fault-finding. This controversy did not lead them anywhere, and she did not refrain from telling him. In harsh words, she told Lynley what she thought, and turned before he could answer.
"I have enough for today." she grunted, not even looking at her boss. "I'll be back tomorrow."
He was baffled only for a second.
Barbara turned the doorknob, but before it was really open, Lynley's arm shot past her ear and he pushed the door close from behind her.
"Oh, no!" he gnarled. "This is not over yet!"
His eyes shot burning darts into hers when she turned with a deadly glare. Her eyes were narrowed and for a second she was fatally silent. Lynley knew instantly that the closing of the door had been a mistake and that he should step back, but in his anger he refrained from doing so. Threatening her with the same sharp look she was giving him, and using the advantage of his body height, he looked down to Barbara. She furrowed her brows.
"Just what do you think you are doing?!" she hissed, slowly emphasising every single word.
They looked into each other's eyes with anger. Their chests were heaving with forced and deep breathing.
They stood really close. It was an alarming situation. The tension could find another outburst at any moment.
"Sir?" she hoarsely asked when his features suddenly softened.
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