The day was just dawning when the British Airways flight landed at London Heathrow. The frosty air was punctuated by a small crowd of radio and tv crews outside the newly opened Terminal 4. The advertisement boards nearby for the planned east to west London cross-rail scheme were peeling after successive bouts of freezing rain, ruining what was a nice and clear winter's morning.
"Over there!" said one of the several reporters having spotted a small group exit arrivals, the small crowd of reporters, cameramen and sound engineers made their way towards this small pair, flanked by a couple of suited old men.
"Sir, sir!" said one reporter for ITN "do you have a comment or any further word on your outrageous activities in Tokyo?"
"Have you anything to say about the comments made by the Japanese Internal Minister about your actions in the past few days?" shouted a newspaper reporter holding a voice recorder aloft.
"No commen-" said Gallagher, looking very shattered from a long, long flight in Economy Class.
"PM programme, BBC Radio 4 Sir, do you ha-"
"I said no bloo-"
"I think it is time to leave the DCI alone now gentlemen" one of the older men said as Gallagher, Wills and the two others got into a Ford Galaxy people carrier. As soon as the door shut though the quiet manner of these new men was dropped.
"What in the blazes were you thinking?" said one, a tallish man of 65 in a black suit and greyish hair accompanied by a perfect Oxbridge accent "that was the streets of Tokyo not Londonderry!"
"I'm sorry Sir" Gallagher just looked out of the window, possibly wondering what might have been?
"I've got some bad news Gallagher" the Gallagher's old Superintendent, this one smaller and slightly younger than the first, he was in what looked like a suit fresh from Saville Row "you're being transferred."
Gallagher turned to look at the two men and Wills kept his mouth shut, watching his Commander in Cheif take the flack.
"What about my outfit?" Gallagher asked.
"You're all being transferred out of the Transport Police" the Superintendent said sadly.
"We tried to argue your case but the pressure came directly from the Home Office and onto my superiors" the older man said angrily "and you're damn silly actions didn't help matters"
"They made them worse" the Superintendent nodded sadly.
"So where are we being transferred to?" Wills finally spoke, looking quite worried at the prospect of having to pack all of his stuff up in his office again.
"The Metropolitan Police, you are still going to be based at the new Stratford Labor Station but you are now part of the Metropolitan Police" the older man said with a grim smile "and we can't do anything now"
Gallagher looked at the older man strangely "I'm sorry Sir, but who are you?"
"He did introduce himself when we met at arrivals Harry" the Superintendent looked confused "Superintendent James Hughes, he is Transport Police's liason officer with the Security Services."
Gallagher looked back at Hughes who gave a knowing smile in return. Later when Gallagher and Wills were dropped off at their temporary Office in the Transport Police Kings Cross HQ, Gallagher was struggling through mental hoops in his jet lagged state.
"Liason officer my arse" Gallagher suddenly blurted out bluntly after showing his Warrant card to the reception "he's a plant."
"A plant guv?" Wills asked as he pressed the 3rd floor button on the lift "by whom?"
"Oh I know Wills" Gallagher rubbed his eyes "just make me a brew okay?"
"Secretary!" Sir Andrew smiled "How are you? I trust everything is fine?"
"It is" the Foreign Secretary threw a suspicious look at the Private Secretary "why do you ask?"
"Oh just enquiring Secretary, hoping that our little disagreement a night or two ago didn't sour our working relationship?" the smile from Sir Andrew was already making the Foreign Secretary ill.
"No, not in the slightest" smiled the FS weakly "and how did it go then?"
"The pair have come back home, my men have just touched down in London now Secretary."
"But, they were meant to have been apprehended in Tokyo"
"Yes but not all plans come off a success Secretary" Sir Andrew rubbed his hands slightly "complications arose, not enough evidence, lack of juristiction you know how the Japanese are with foreign policy discussion."
The FS stared, simply stared at Sir Andrew "b-but what about the Home Secretary?"
"Oh. Well he knows where the pair are. They're in Manchester in an IRA safehouse, he has already authorised the security services to make arrests Secretary" Sir Andrew looked out of the window "The Home Secretary will arrest these two, and he will take all the credit."
"That is absurd!" the FS spat "how can he possibly take the credit?"
"Because it was not him who signed off a mission to Japan and pressurised several lesser departments to release millions of tax payers money in aid to help speed the arrest and extradition of two RIRA suspects, Secretary" Sir Andrew looked at the FS with a look that a Headmaster would give to the usual suspect who was sent up after catapaulting ink blots at a teacher.
"There must be a way, some way of salvaging something from this debacle!" the FS looked up at Sir Andrew as he fell back into his leather chair, his face was white as a sheet "my head will roll for this you understand? My blasted head!"
"Calm down Secretary" Sir Andrew said firmly, his face as solid as granite "everything is in hand but may I give you a word of advice for the future?" he leant forward, pouring a glass of water for the Secretary while keeping his hawkish eyes on the FS "if one wants to do a damn silly thing in the future, please don't do it in such a damn silly way."
"And so this will be the main maintenance depot, enough room for up to five large labors" the contractor said as he showed Gallagher around the new Police Labor unit HQ in Stratford "and more than enough for three Fairfax Patlabors mate"
"Excellent" Gallagher forced a weak smile "a perfect location for all this eh pal, with the Thames Eastury project starting in a few months"
They were standing in what was going to be the maintenance depot, near enough to completion with all the fittings and maintenance equipment yet to be installed. Gallagher noticed another man walking out of the yard and into the building towards, he was dressed in a Met uniform.
"Oh yes DCI Gallagher" said the policeman as he approached Gallagher, putting out his hand "Superintendent Eddie Collins, head of the Met's Riot squad."
"And my new commander I understand it" Gallagher nodded and shook Collin's hand firmly "quite a cheeky smile you have there sir."
"Cheeky?" Collins grinned "I would rather call it 'eccentric'" he took a look back out through the large cargo doors "quite a big space of land the Met has managed to get ahold for us, soon the rest of the administrative staff for the Riot division will move here."
"Amazing how easy it is to get ahold of a few School playing fields these days Sir." Gallagher chuckled "you are your own man right?"
"I bloody well hope I am!" laughed Collins "why would you think otherwise?"
"I've just had a few 'career officers' rule my daily affairs recently Sir thats all."
Collins kept his grin, looking more like a prankster that had been rumbled halfway through his gag than a Superintendent. He slapped Gallagher on the back "Harry, the reason why the Riot division works so well is in how I protect them. I am almost too busy but you are my man and I am my own man. End of story."
Gallagher grinned back "in that case then sir, I look forward to working for you."
"There!" chuckled Collin's loudly "thats the spirit! A drink to celebrate?" He turned, looking to the Contractor too "I hear Straford has a fair few good pubs nearby!"
The Contractor however had to get back to installing the fittings to the new Stratford HQ. Gallagher and Collins retired a newby pub and sat down after buying a couple of pints along with some pork scratchings.
"You're an interesting character Harry" Collins crunched on his pork scratchings "I've heard alot about you."
"I never knew I was that well known in the rest of the police"
"Oh you are, well to some of the brass anyway. Apparently your move from Transport Police was quite wasn't just a move to re-organise" Collins looked at his pint of beer "apparently it was approved at the very top. The people right at the top put pressure on us to move you."
Gallagher didn't look suprised "I'm just a wee pawn in some bigger game" he sipped at his pint "the players want to keep an eye on me, make sure I don't cause trouble, especially since this RIRA business has finished."
Collins leaned back, regarding the DCI for a momment before leaning forward "let me work some branches" he said quietly before crunching on some more Pork Scratchings.
"Have you lost a tooth yet?" Gallagher looked at the bits of pork rind which made the sound of sand and iron filings being crunched every time Collins put some in his mouth.
"Not yet, why?"
"No reason."
Sir Andrew waited outside the office inside the deceptive building that was Number Ten, Downing Street. He browsed portfolios, made mental calculations in his head and generally thought of a way out of this mess. It might be obvious to quietly suggest that the Japanese government and industry had defrauded the British Taxpayer of millions of pounds but what would that acheive?
Washing dirty laundry in public never brought any results in and in this case it would only bring investigation by a flood of bodies. From Commons Select Committees all the way through to the WTO itself the UK would be censured and the horrible truth would come out.
Another way presented itself in Sir Andrews mind however. One which would save the Foreign Secretarys neck (for now). And this is what was being discussed at the momment between the PM and the FS.
A side door opened, it was the Prime Minister's Principle Private Secretary.
"Alfie!" Sir Andrew smiled warmly as he got up.
"Oh no, no please don't" Sir Alfred gave a cheeky grin in return "you are of course a guest" he looked around "have the catering staff not tended to you yet?" he asked, changing his look rapidly to one of worry "Francis!" he shouted loudly, clicking his fingers. Sir Alfred was an elderly yet very bloated man, obviously he had enjoyed his time as both a Public Servant and a member of one of the eldest of Cambridge's Colleges.
"You really do like to spoil your departmental freinds Alfie" Sir Andrew said turning to the the Prime Ministerial Office Intern as he scampered up the stairs, looking haggared "Yes Sir?"
"It is five past five in the evening Andrew" Alfred looked at his pocket watch "do you want something to eat or a glass of sherry?"
"Sherry would be wonderful!"
"Sherry it is then" he turned to the Intern with a stern look on his face "well! Get to it man!"
"They never learn do they?" Sir Andrew chuckled lightly "Oh the aspirations of modern youth."
"Yes quite, blasted American Students on work experience!" Sir Alfred snorted "come over here, spouting their Yale, Neo Liberal claptrap."
"They'll learn Alfie."
"They'll have to, they simply can't their affiars with those kinds of attitudes!" Sir Alfred said grumpily as he took his glass of sherry from the intern along with Sir Andrew "Enough of today's youth!" he turned to Sir Andrew "to our good health!" He toasted "and what brings you here?"
"Ah the usual, the everlasting struggle to prise victory from the time old jaws of defeat Alfie." Sir Andrew said as he clinked glasses with Sir Alfred.
Sir Alfred looked sadly at Sir Andrew "has your pet been causing bother again?"
"Sadly yes" Sir Andrew nodded, taking a slight sip "I've curtailed any serious damage but we still need to make sure nothing else serious happens."
"And that is why he is meeting with PM now?"
"Exactly why he is meeting with PM now."
Sir Alfred smiled and took a gulp from the sherry "I can assure you Andrew that any proposal your department makes in light of the current difficulties will be smiled upon by the PM."
Sir Andrew smiled back "I thought as much, I can assure you that the PM can rely on the FS's support in the future beyond the election."
Sir Alfred chuckled deeply "And that is why our departments have such good relations Andrew" he took another sip "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours."
"Very good Alfie" Sir Andrew nodded in agreement "I am delighted that we agree on such sensitive issues, especially when British trade is at stake?"
"Oh?" Sir Alfred raised an eyebrow "do go on Andrew."
"Ah just another round of investment opportunities squandered thanks to the deception and frankly fraudulent activities of a few..bad apples in the Far East."
"Quite" nodded Sir Alfred, looking at Sir Andrew's face "very 'sinister' indeed."
"And well, we just simply cannot stand back, I reccomend that the Department for Trade and Industry block Japanese competition in domestic contracts, say for the financial year starting in a few months" Sir Andrew sipped some more Sherry "just minor cuts in contracts here, prevention of investment in companies there, targeted strikes Alfie."
Sir Alfred thought for a second before smiling broadly "I can push that through" he chuckled "give me a day and a half and it will be given the Prime Minister's blessing."
The evening began with a phonecall. It shook Gallagher awake. Well it shook Gallagher out of staring at the ceiling.
"Harry?" it was Collins "You might want to get up and get dressed pretty damn sharpish."
"I'm off duty sir" mumbled Gallagher, rubbing his eyes before seeing that the telephone receiver was the wrong way around "can it no wait?"
"Not really, I got word back from my pals at the NCS. They're going to hit a safehouse in Manchester and I..oh I got you onto the task list."
Gallagher's eyes shot open "where do I go?"
"You'll need to travel to Manchester and report in at the Central Police HQ. There'll be a man there to put you on the raid team" Collins explained "you're just a spectator though, you're not the arresting officer okay?"
That was all Gallagher needed, he left his flat near the affluent developments of the London Docklands and grabbed a taxi.
"What? Now?" Wills blinked, rubbing his eyes "but its seven in the evening, I need some sleep after that flight guv."
"Euston at seven thirty or you're off the division" Gallagher snapped into the mobile before calling off, leaving a rather exhausted Wills sitting up in bed.
"Who was that darling?" came a voice beneath the covers, it was his girlfreind. In the background Beck played gently over the chilled waves of air comming in through a vent in the bedroom.
"Nothing Jen, nothing just business" Wills yawned, getting out of bed "listen love I have to go to..Manchester"
"But you're off duty!" Jen blinked "for christ sake Will can't you stay still for a sodding momment?!"
"Sorry babe" Wills said, putting on a fresh suit and grabbing his wallet and warrant card "I'm a copper" he winked at Jen, giving her a smooth kiss "its what I do."
"Evening, MG Rover, Heavy Rover heavy research department, Chris speaking."
"Is that what they call ye now like Chris?" Macca rubbed his free hand on a teatowel, getting a scowl from one of the Japanese engineers as he mucked up the phone handle with grease.
"Matt!" Chris laughed down the phone "where did you get this number mate? How you been?!"
"I got the place, I'm in Japan right now would ye beleive, maintaining London's first proper Patlabor no less!"
"..You mean the Fairfax?"
"Aye including the Fairfax man" Macca leant back, picking up a clipboard "I need to ask a few questions that alright like man?"
"Nah its alright, sorry about all the confusion, we had a couple of problems in communication with Rolls Royce Engineering."
"Ye I was going to mention that" Macca looked at the Pilots report "those new miniturised turbines, they suck in air like a five pound special down the river area like mate."
"Thats so you can cool the actual turbines themselves Matt." Chris pulled out the engineers breif on the Fairfax "the only way we could modify the Ingram to get the necessary air into the turbine was by slightly widening the front intakes."
"Well thats all well and good mate but they're acting like hoovers."
"Come again?"
"They suck up everything within sight" Macca looked outside "our pilot had to face the Fairfax upwards slightly because of the amount of dust and shrubbery it was picking up."
"Ah."
"And then theres tha problem about tha size of the bleedin' thing man" Macca flipped over onto his own notes "the thing is about 25% wider than an Ingram and 15% fatter thanks to the Deisel turbine engines fitted. Now we've successfully fitted the Rolls Royce gas turbines we have so much space we can fit enough Natural gas for a weeks constant running!"
"Look" Chris sat back, listening "you have to-"
"And then to top it all off, when we do switch the new turbines on, they cause a power surge which blow half of the circuitry" Macca looked at the pilots report.
"Matt, I'm going to blunt." Chris said reading through the Fairfax breif "the Fairfax still isn't finished."
"Sorry?" Macca said, blinking "crackly line over here, I thought you just said-"
"That the Fairfax you have is a prototype?"
"Aye yeah thats what I thought you said."
"Well I'll be honest Matt, you thought right" Chris rubbed his head "we're putting the main model into production this week, when it comes out the final model Fairfax will be roughly the same dimensions and size as the Ingram."
"So you just sent us the model just to get some cheap feedback on the wee product then Chris?" Macca dropped the clipboard on the desk, looking quite annoyed.
"Well actually we got a call from Longbridge, they had someone from the board who really wanted us to release something, anything for the Police to use over at the Labor expo in Japan." Chris flipped through the clipboard "when they called we hadn't even calibrated the Fairfax to stand yet, let alone with the extra weight we wanted to put on the back."
Macca sat and listened as Chris continued onwards, looking outside at the British Engineers waxing and buffing their Fairfax phoney.
"Basically the model you have there is a very early prototype, something which we got off of Shinohara to get us going, they changed all the instrumentation and everything else over for us." Chris put the breif down, turning off his computer "if you ask me Matt mate, it wasn't a board decision at all, someone else put pressure on Rover to get something, anything out, make an excuse you know what I mean?"
"My apologies for not seeing you at Heathrow Harry but I am quite media shy." Sir Andrew said over the phone. Gallagher was speaking on a mobile phone as he stood in the area between carridges as the Virgin Trains Pendolino raced it's way at 140mph up towards Manchester.
"Maybe you could have told me I was being transferred in a way other than sending some slimey wee git in a suit to tell me." Gallagher looked out at the English Countryside as it flashed by.
"Unavoidable I'm afraid, I was told about your transfer at the last momment, nothing I could do."
"So what now?"
"You are on your way up to Manchester yes?" Sir Andrew was standing by a public phone near the toilets in a resturant in Westminister "keep on what you're doing now, just do what you need to do Harry."
"And then?"
There was a pause.
"Harry, what do you think my aims are in this all this business?"
"I'd like to tell you if I had an interest in what you wanted to acheive."
"Ah! You say that but in the back of your mind you must be thinking about why in the hell I have just travelled countless thousands of miles?"
"Well if ye would like to tell me I would be very happy man."
"Because I want to stave off decline Harry." Sir Andrew looked over at his table which was starting to fill up "One thing that me and my predecessor and his predecessor and his predecessor since the late 19th century have been doing here at the Foreign Office has been in the effort of acheiving an end to decline, a turnaround in fortune. One thing that we saw by 1890 Harry was the fact that British domination could not last forever, that as a small nation our livelihoods, no our very fortunes as a sovereign state depended on those outside of our borders. Whereas states like America and Japan can depend on their own internal markets to keep them going in times of strife, the British economy entirely depended on heavy exports."
"But decline is a very loose word" Gallagher pointed out as the lights of houses flashed past "it can be used on quite a few things aye?"
"Yes, it can. The decline of British Cricket, the decline of moral values, anything." Sir Andrew responded "but decline is a special word in the British psyche. It is the culmination of 100 successive years of disaster and misadventure, all of which the Foreign Office predicted but failed to prevent. We had predicted the rise of the high tech industry in Germany and the far east where the Board of Trade and the Treasury didn't. We had predicted the rise of militarism and facism in Europe which could not be confronted on our own where literally nobody else except Churchill refused to see. We saw it all come true, the ghosts of the corn laws and our dependence on dumping our goods on areas of the world which we had subjugated have come back to haunt us Harry. The poverty, war and deprevation which we had so eagerly fed upon for over 300 years has come home."
"And what does all this have to do with our Japanese adventure?"
"It is merely just another exercise in trying to flex what little muscle we have left. We Harry are a spent force, our energetic and creative lifeblood expended so wastefully on the fields of the Somme and Flanders, the deserts of Libya and Egypt and the jungles of Burma. Our Imperial gold lies in Fort Knox and our 'allies' abuse their leases of land on our soil like we were just another defeated nation. And among all of this decline I try and re-establish the UK as a world power like my predecessors did when in reality we have no power left at all. Time and folly has made sure of that Harry my good man."
"So if we hadn't have helped, who else would? The Americans? Were we simply there to prevent the Americans from further establishing their hedgemony on the Far East?"
"If you want to put it that way Harry? Yes." Sir Andrew looked back to this table "I'm terribly sorry but I am dining with my European counterparts tonight, I shall be in contact in a few months, I wish you luck and success on your new assignment."
Harry and Wills had arrived in Manchester by that evening. After checking in at the central Police station in Manchester they checked into a Travelodge and got what sleep they could. The next morning at around 4am they were picked up in an unmarked van. Several men in jeans and jackets greeted them.
"Morning DCI Gallagher I presume" one of the men put his hand out "DCI Weir, National Crime Squad working in liason with the Terror Branch."
"A pleasure" Gallagher shook Weir's hand firmly "this is my colleague DC Williams, when do we leave?"
"Immediatly" Weir banged against the cab of the transit van "its an address near the city centre, we already have an armed response unit there watching the front and one of my men watching the back. No joy so far."
The van went around the City of Manchester for a scerene five minutes before turning down one of the many streets which adorned row upon row of Victorian "two up two down" terraced housing. It slowed to and then stopped "we're here guv" came a voice from the cab.
"Right Jones, Davids you two with me in the front, Gallagher and Williams you want to make yourself useful?" Weir smiled.
"Of course!" Gallagher's smile widened as he looked out of a small tinted window.
"Great, you two go in through the back, look for a bloke in a Ford Fiesta near the middle of the street, give him a nod and he'll join you at the right momment."
Gallagher opened the door and slipped out, Wills followed as Gallagher crossed the street and passed the target house. All of it's windows had their curtains closed. Nobody seemed to be in by Gallagher's reckoning. Still though they reached the end of the street and turned down the dirt track that seperates pairs of houses, faded brick walls fencing off a person's 3x6 meter strip of grass from the outside world.
As he and Wills walked down the narrow dirt track they saw a battered old 1996 reg Ford Fiesta. A man slipped out of the fiesta and moved towards them, nodding to the seventh garden gate down the line. They joined at the gate.
"We're still waiting on the governor" the over plainclothed officer said, listening in on his radio.
"Ram ready, armed police ready" the radio crackled "Webb you ready?"
"Guv" Webb said into the radio, your two spectators are here too."
"Good" Weir after a pause "all units, green light, all units go go go!"
"After you guv" Webb smiled. Gallagher obliged, kicking in the garden gate and rushing in, pulling out his extendable baton.
What they met was a leashed up German shepard foaming at the mouth.
"Jesus bloody christ!" Gallagher blinked as he jumped aback, nearly getting his hand chomped off "somebody do something about that wee bloody dog!"
As Wills went at it with CS spray Gallagher looked up, curtains were ruffling as he heard the front door being knocked down with a door ram and the cries of "Armed police! Armed Police!" Gallagher ran passed the whining dog and lunged at the back door, almost breaking it off of the frame with his weight. Getting up he took a quick look around, Webb in hot pursuit. Nothing.
Running through the living room and upstairs, following Weir and his oppos they all ended up in the back bedroom wheer the Armed police had cornered one of the suspects. Another fell out of the closet. Both were still in their underwear, half asleep and in serious shock.
Gallagher took a long stare at the pair from his view from the landing. After thousands of miles, endless paperwork and a cut hand from breaking a car window, Gallagher had finally reached his prey.
"Pity you're not the arresting officer eh guv?" Wills patted Gallagher's shoulder.
( note regarding the 140mph West Coast Mainline Virgin train I am going to be kind and presume that with Labor technology, Railtrack/Network Rail could deliver a rail line with 140mph running all the way up to Glasgow from London. Hard to imagine I know but work with me here.)
"Over there!" said one of the several reporters having spotted a small group exit arrivals, the small crowd of reporters, cameramen and sound engineers made their way towards this small pair, flanked by a couple of suited old men.
"Sir, sir!" said one reporter for ITN "do you have a comment or any further word on your outrageous activities in Tokyo?"
"Have you anything to say about the comments made by the Japanese Internal Minister about your actions in the past few days?" shouted a newspaper reporter holding a voice recorder aloft.
"No commen-" said Gallagher, looking very shattered from a long, long flight in Economy Class.
"PM programme, BBC Radio 4 Sir, do you ha-"
"I said no bloo-"
"I think it is time to leave the DCI alone now gentlemen" one of the older men said as Gallagher, Wills and the two others got into a Ford Galaxy people carrier. As soon as the door shut though the quiet manner of these new men was dropped.
"What in the blazes were you thinking?" said one, a tallish man of 65 in a black suit and greyish hair accompanied by a perfect Oxbridge accent "that was the streets of Tokyo not Londonderry!"
"I'm sorry Sir" Gallagher just looked out of the window, possibly wondering what might have been?
"I've got some bad news Gallagher" the Gallagher's old Superintendent, this one smaller and slightly younger than the first, he was in what looked like a suit fresh from Saville Row "you're being transferred."
Gallagher turned to look at the two men and Wills kept his mouth shut, watching his Commander in Cheif take the flack.
"What about my outfit?" Gallagher asked.
"You're all being transferred out of the Transport Police" the Superintendent said sadly.
"We tried to argue your case but the pressure came directly from the Home Office and onto my superiors" the older man said angrily "and you're damn silly actions didn't help matters"
"They made them worse" the Superintendent nodded sadly.
"So where are we being transferred to?" Wills finally spoke, looking quite worried at the prospect of having to pack all of his stuff up in his office again.
"The Metropolitan Police, you are still going to be based at the new Stratford Labor Station but you are now part of the Metropolitan Police" the older man said with a grim smile "and we can't do anything now"
Gallagher looked at the older man strangely "I'm sorry Sir, but who are you?"
"He did introduce himself when we met at arrivals Harry" the Superintendent looked confused "Superintendent James Hughes, he is Transport Police's liason officer with the Security Services."
Gallagher looked back at Hughes who gave a knowing smile in return. Later when Gallagher and Wills were dropped off at their temporary Office in the Transport Police Kings Cross HQ, Gallagher was struggling through mental hoops in his jet lagged state.
"Liason officer my arse" Gallagher suddenly blurted out bluntly after showing his Warrant card to the reception "he's a plant."
"A plant guv?" Wills asked as he pressed the 3rd floor button on the lift "by whom?"
"Oh I know Wills" Gallagher rubbed his eyes "just make me a brew okay?"
"Secretary!" Sir Andrew smiled "How are you? I trust everything is fine?"
"It is" the Foreign Secretary threw a suspicious look at the Private Secretary "why do you ask?"
"Oh just enquiring Secretary, hoping that our little disagreement a night or two ago didn't sour our working relationship?" the smile from Sir Andrew was already making the Foreign Secretary ill.
"No, not in the slightest" smiled the FS weakly "and how did it go then?"
"The pair have come back home, my men have just touched down in London now Secretary."
"But, they were meant to have been apprehended in Tokyo"
"Yes but not all plans come off a success Secretary" Sir Andrew rubbed his hands slightly "complications arose, not enough evidence, lack of juristiction you know how the Japanese are with foreign policy discussion."
The FS stared, simply stared at Sir Andrew "b-but what about the Home Secretary?"
"Oh. Well he knows where the pair are. They're in Manchester in an IRA safehouse, he has already authorised the security services to make arrests Secretary" Sir Andrew looked out of the window "The Home Secretary will arrest these two, and he will take all the credit."
"That is absurd!" the FS spat "how can he possibly take the credit?"
"Because it was not him who signed off a mission to Japan and pressurised several lesser departments to release millions of tax payers money in aid to help speed the arrest and extradition of two RIRA suspects, Secretary" Sir Andrew looked at the FS with a look that a Headmaster would give to the usual suspect who was sent up after catapaulting ink blots at a teacher.
"There must be a way, some way of salvaging something from this debacle!" the FS looked up at Sir Andrew as he fell back into his leather chair, his face was white as a sheet "my head will roll for this you understand? My blasted head!"
"Calm down Secretary" Sir Andrew said firmly, his face as solid as granite "everything is in hand but may I give you a word of advice for the future?" he leant forward, pouring a glass of water for the Secretary while keeping his hawkish eyes on the FS "if one wants to do a damn silly thing in the future, please don't do it in such a damn silly way."
"And so this will be the main maintenance depot, enough room for up to five large labors" the contractor said as he showed Gallagher around the new Police Labor unit HQ in Stratford "and more than enough for three Fairfax Patlabors mate"
"Excellent" Gallagher forced a weak smile "a perfect location for all this eh pal, with the Thames Eastury project starting in a few months"
They were standing in what was going to be the maintenance depot, near enough to completion with all the fittings and maintenance equipment yet to be installed. Gallagher noticed another man walking out of the yard and into the building towards, he was dressed in a Met uniform.
"Oh yes DCI Gallagher" said the policeman as he approached Gallagher, putting out his hand "Superintendent Eddie Collins, head of the Met's Riot squad."
"And my new commander I understand it" Gallagher nodded and shook Collin's hand firmly "quite a cheeky smile you have there sir."
"Cheeky?" Collins grinned "I would rather call it 'eccentric'" he took a look back out through the large cargo doors "quite a big space of land the Met has managed to get ahold for us, soon the rest of the administrative staff for the Riot division will move here."
"Amazing how easy it is to get ahold of a few School playing fields these days Sir." Gallagher chuckled "you are your own man right?"
"I bloody well hope I am!" laughed Collins "why would you think otherwise?"
"I've just had a few 'career officers' rule my daily affairs recently Sir thats all."
Collins kept his grin, looking more like a prankster that had been rumbled halfway through his gag than a Superintendent. He slapped Gallagher on the back "Harry, the reason why the Riot division works so well is in how I protect them. I am almost too busy but you are my man and I am my own man. End of story."
Gallagher grinned back "in that case then sir, I look forward to working for you."
"There!" chuckled Collin's loudly "thats the spirit! A drink to celebrate?" He turned, looking to the Contractor too "I hear Straford has a fair few good pubs nearby!"
The Contractor however had to get back to installing the fittings to the new Stratford HQ. Gallagher and Collins retired a newby pub and sat down after buying a couple of pints along with some pork scratchings.
"You're an interesting character Harry" Collins crunched on his pork scratchings "I've heard alot about you."
"I never knew I was that well known in the rest of the police"
"Oh you are, well to some of the brass anyway. Apparently your move from Transport Police was quite wasn't just a move to re-organise" Collins looked at his pint of beer "apparently it was approved at the very top. The people right at the top put pressure on us to move you."
Gallagher didn't look suprised "I'm just a wee pawn in some bigger game" he sipped at his pint "the players want to keep an eye on me, make sure I don't cause trouble, especially since this RIRA business has finished."
Collins leaned back, regarding the DCI for a momment before leaning forward "let me work some branches" he said quietly before crunching on some more Pork Scratchings.
"Have you lost a tooth yet?" Gallagher looked at the bits of pork rind which made the sound of sand and iron filings being crunched every time Collins put some in his mouth.
"Not yet, why?"
"No reason."
Sir Andrew waited outside the office inside the deceptive building that was Number Ten, Downing Street. He browsed portfolios, made mental calculations in his head and generally thought of a way out of this mess. It might be obvious to quietly suggest that the Japanese government and industry had defrauded the British Taxpayer of millions of pounds but what would that acheive?
Washing dirty laundry in public never brought any results in and in this case it would only bring investigation by a flood of bodies. From Commons Select Committees all the way through to the WTO itself the UK would be censured and the horrible truth would come out.
Another way presented itself in Sir Andrews mind however. One which would save the Foreign Secretarys neck (for now). And this is what was being discussed at the momment between the PM and the FS.
A side door opened, it was the Prime Minister's Principle Private Secretary.
"Alfie!" Sir Andrew smiled warmly as he got up.
"Oh no, no please don't" Sir Alfred gave a cheeky grin in return "you are of course a guest" he looked around "have the catering staff not tended to you yet?" he asked, changing his look rapidly to one of worry "Francis!" he shouted loudly, clicking his fingers. Sir Alfred was an elderly yet very bloated man, obviously he had enjoyed his time as both a Public Servant and a member of one of the eldest of Cambridge's Colleges.
"You really do like to spoil your departmental freinds Alfie" Sir Andrew said turning to the the Prime Ministerial Office Intern as he scampered up the stairs, looking haggared "Yes Sir?"
"It is five past five in the evening Andrew" Alfred looked at his pocket watch "do you want something to eat or a glass of sherry?"
"Sherry would be wonderful!"
"Sherry it is then" he turned to the Intern with a stern look on his face "well! Get to it man!"
"They never learn do they?" Sir Andrew chuckled lightly "Oh the aspirations of modern youth."
"Yes quite, blasted American Students on work experience!" Sir Alfred snorted "come over here, spouting their Yale, Neo Liberal claptrap."
"They'll learn Alfie."
"They'll have to, they simply can't their affiars with those kinds of attitudes!" Sir Alfred said grumpily as he took his glass of sherry from the intern along with Sir Andrew "Enough of today's youth!" he turned to Sir Andrew "to our good health!" He toasted "and what brings you here?"
"Ah the usual, the everlasting struggle to prise victory from the time old jaws of defeat Alfie." Sir Andrew said as he clinked glasses with Sir Alfred.
Sir Alfred looked sadly at Sir Andrew "has your pet been causing bother again?"
"Sadly yes" Sir Andrew nodded, taking a slight sip "I've curtailed any serious damage but we still need to make sure nothing else serious happens."
"And that is why he is meeting with PM now?"
"Exactly why he is meeting with PM now."
Sir Alfred smiled and took a gulp from the sherry "I can assure you Andrew that any proposal your department makes in light of the current difficulties will be smiled upon by the PM."
Sir Andrew smiled back "I thought as much, I can assure you that the PM can rely on the FS's support in the future beyond the election."
Sir Alfred chuckled deeply "And that is why our departments have such good relations Andrew" he took another sip "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours."
"Very good Alfie" Sir Andrew nodded in agreement "I am delighted that we agree on such sensitive issues, especially when British trade is at stake?"
"Oh?" Sir Alfred raised an eyebrow "do go on Andrew."
"Ah just another round of investment opportunities squandered thanks to the deception and frankly fraudulent activities of a few..bad apples in the Far East."
"Quite" nodded Sir Alfred, looking at Sir Andrew's face "very 'sinister' indeed."
"And well, we just simply cannot stand back, I reccomend that the Department for Trade and Industry block Japanese competition in domestic contracts, say for the financial year starting in a few months" Sir Andrew sipped some more Sherry "just minor cuts in contracts here, prevention of investment in companies there, targeted strikes Alfie."
Sir Alfred thought for a second before smiling broadly "I can push that through" he chuckled "give me a day and a half and it will be given the Prime Minister's blessing."
The evening began with a phonecall. It shook Gallagher awake. Well it shook Gallagher out of staring at the ceiling.
"Harry?" it was Collins "You might want to get up and get dressed pretty damn sharpish."
"I'm off duty sir" mumbled Gallagher, rubbing his eyes before seeing that the telephone receiver was the wrong way around "can it no wait?"
"Not really, I got word back from my pals at the NCS. They're going to hit a safehouse in Manchester and I..oh I got you onto the task list."
Gallagher's eyes shot open "where do I go?"
"You'll need to travel to Manchester and report in at the Central Police HQ. There'll be a man there to put you on the raid team" Collins explained "you're just a spectator though, you're not the arresting officer okay?"
That was all Gallagher needed, he left his flat near the affluent developments of the London Docklands and grabbed a taxi.
"What? Now?" Wills blinked, rubbing his eyes "but its seven in the evening, I need some sleep after that flight guv."
"Euston at seven thirty or you're off the division" Gallagher snapped into the mobile before calling off, leaving a rather exhausted Wills sitting up in bed.
"Who was that darling?" came a voice beneath the covers, it was his girlfreind. In the background Beck played gently over the chilled waves of air comming in through a vent in the bedroom.
"Nothing Jen, nothing just business" Wills yawned, getting out of bed "listen love I have to go to..Manchester"
"But you're off duty!" Jen blinked "for christ sake Will can't you stay still for a sodding momment?!"
"Sorry babe" Wills said, putting on a fresh suit and grabbing his wallet and warrant card "I'm a copper" he winked at Jen, giving her a smooth kiss "its what I do."
"Evening, MG Rover, Heavy Rover heavy research department, Chris speaking."
"Is that what they call ye now like Chris?" Macca rubbed his free hand on a teatowel, getting a scowl from one of the Japanese engineers as he mucked up the phone handle with grease.
"Matt!" Chris laughed down the phone "where did you get this number mate? How you been?!"
"I got the place, I'm in Japan right now would ye beleive, maintaining London's first proper Patlabor no less!"
"..You mean the Fairfax?"
"Aye including the Fairfax man" Macca leant back, picking up a clipboard "I need to ask a few questions that alright like man?"
"Nah its alright, sorry about all the confusion, we had a couple of problems in communication with Rolls Royce Engineering."
"Ye I was going to mention that" Macca looked at the Pilots report "those new miniturised turbines, they suck in air like a five pound special down the river area like mate."
"Thats so you can cool the actual turbines themselves Matt." Chris pulled out the engineers breif on the Fairfax "the only way we could modify the Ingram to get the necessary air into the turbine was by slightly widening the front intakes."
"Well thats all well and good mate but they're acting like hoovers."
"Come again?"
"They suck up everything within sight" Macca looked outside "our pilot had to face the Fairfax upwards slightly because of the amount of dust and shrubbery it was picking up."
"Ah."
"And then theres tha problem about tha size of the bleedin' thing man" Macca flipped over onto his own notes "the thing is about 25% wider than an Ingram and 15% fatter thanks to the Deisel turbine engines fitted. Now we've successfully fitted the Rolls Royce gas turbines we have so much space we can fit enough Natural gas for a weeks constant running!"
"Look" Chris sat back, listening "you have to-"
"And then to top it all off, when we do switch the new turbines on, they cause a power surge which blow half of the circuitry" Macca looked at the pilots report.
"Matt, I'm going to blunt." Chris said reading through the Fairfax breif "the Fairfax still isn't finished."
"Sorry?" Macca said, blinking "crackly line over here, I thought you just said-"
"That the Fairfax you have is a prototype?"
"Aye yeah thats what I thought you said."
"Well I'll be honest Matt, you thought right" Chris rubbed his head "we're putting the main model into production this week, when it comes out the final model Fairfax will be roughly the same dimensions and size as the Ingram."
"So you just sent us the model just to get some cheap feedback on the wee product then Chris?" Macca dropped the clipboard on the desk, looking quite annoyed.
"Well actually we got a call from Longbridge, they had someone from the board who really wanted us to release something, anything for the Police to use over at the Labor expo in Japan." Chris flipped through the clipboard "when they called we hadn't even calibrated the Fairfax to stand yet, let alone with the extra weight we wanted to put on the back."
Macca sat and listened as Chris continued onwards, looking outside at the British Engineers waxing and buffing their Fairfax phoney.
"Basically the model you have there is a very early prototype, something which we got off of Shinohara to get us going, they changed all the instrumentation and everything else over for us." Chris put the breif down, turning off his computer "if you ask me Matt mate, it wasn't a board decision at all, someone else put pressure on Rover to get something, anything out, make an excuse you know what I mean?"
"My apologies for not seeing you at Heathrow Harry but I am quite media shy." Sir Andrew said over the phone. Gallagher was speaking on a mobile phone as he stood in the area between carridges as the Virgin Trains Pendolino raced it's way at 140mph up towards Manchester.
"Maybe you could have told me I was being transferred in a way other than sending some slimey wee git in a suit to tell me." Gallagher looked out at the English Countryside as it flashed by.
"Unavoidable I'm afraid, I was told about your transfer at the last momment, nothing I could do."
"So what now?"
"You are on your way up to Manchester yes?" Sir Andrew was standing by a public phone near the toilets in a resturant in Westminister "keep on what you're doing now, just do what you need to do Harry."
"And then?"
There was a pause.
"Harry, what do you think my aims are in this all this business?"
"I'd like to tell you if I had an interest in what you wanted to acheive."
"Ah! You say that but in the back of your mind you must be thinking about why in the hell I have just travelled countless thousands of miles?"
"Well if ye would like to tell me I would be very happy man."
"Because I want to stave off decline Harry." Sir Andrew looked over at his table which was starting to fill up "One thing that me and my predecessor and his predecessor and his predecessor since the late 19th century have been doing here at the Foreign Office has been in the effort of acheiving an end to decline, a turnaround in fortune. One thing that we saw by 1890 Harry was the fact that British domination could not last forever, that as a small nation our livelihoods, no our very fortunes as a sovereign state depended on those outside of our borders. Whereas states like America and Japan can depend on their own internal markets to keep them going in times of strife, the British economy entirely depended on heavy exports."
"But decline is a very loose word" Gallagher pointed out as the lights of houses flashed past "it can be used on quite a few things aye?"
"Yes, it can. The decline of British Cricket, the decline of moral values, anything." Sir Andrew responded "but decline is a special word in the British psyche. It is the culmination of 100 successive years of disaster and misadventure, all of which the Foreign Office predicted but failed to prevent. We had predicted the rise of the high tech industry in Germany and the far east where the Board of Trade and the Treasury didn't. We had predicted the rise of militarism and facism in Europe which could not be confronted on our own where literally nobody else except Churchill refused to see. We saw it all come true, the ghosts of the corn laws and our dependence on dumping our goods on areas of the world which we had subjugated have come back to haunt us Harry. The poverty, war and deprevation which we had so eagerly fed upon for over 300 years has come home."
"And what does all this have to do with our Japanese adventure?"
"It is merely just another exercise in trying to flex what little muscle we have left. We Harry are a spent force, our energetic and creative lifeblood expended so wastefully on the fields of the Somme and Flanders, the deserts of Libya and Egypt and the jungles of Burma. Our Imperial gold lies in Fort Knox and our 'allies' abuse their leases of land on our soil like we were just another defeated nation. And among all of this decline I try and re-establish the UK as a world power like my predecessors did when in reality we have no power left at all. Time and folly has made sure of that Harry my good man."
"So if we hadn't have helped, who else would? The Americans? Were we simply there to prevent the Americans from further establishing their hedgemony on the Far East?"
"If you want to put it that way Harry? Yes." Sir Andrew looked back to this table "I'm terribly sorry but I am dining with my European counterparts tonight, I shall be in contact in a few months, I wish you luck and success on your new assignment."
Harry and Wills had arrived in Manchester by that evening. After checking in at the central Police station in Manchester they checked into a Travelodge and got what sleep they could. The next morning at around 4am they were picked up in an unmarked van. Several men in jeans and jackets greeted them.
"Morning DCI Gallagher I presume" one of the men put his hand out "DCI Weir, National Crime Squad working in liason with the Terror Branch."
"A pleasure" Gallagher shook Weir's hand firmly "this is my colleague DC Williams, when do we leave?"
"Immediatly" Weir banged against the cab of the transit van "its an address near the city centre, we already have an armed response unit there watching the front and one of my men watching the back. No joy so far."
The van went around the City of Manchester for a scerene five minutes before turning down one of the many streets which adorned row upon row of Victorian "two up two down" terraced housing. It slowed to and then stopped "we're here guv" came a voice from the cab.
"Right Jones, Davids you two with me in the front, Gallagher and Williams you want to make yourself useful?" Weir smiled.
"Of course!" Gallagher's smile widened as he looked out of a small tinted window.
"Great, you two go in through the back, look for a bloke in a Ford Fiesta near the middle of the street, give him a nod and he'll join you at the right momment."
Gallagher opened the door and slipped out, Wills followed as Gallagher crossed the street and passed the target house. All of it's windows had their curtains closed. Nobody seemed to be in by Gallagher's reckoning. Still though they reached the end of the street and turned down the dirt track that seperates pairs of houses, faded brick walls fencing off a person's 3x6 meter strip of grass from the outside world.
As he and Wills walked down the narrow dirt track they saw a battered old 1996 reg Ford Fiesta. A man slipped out of the fiesta and moved towards them, nodding to the seventh garden gate down the line. They joined at the gate.
"We're still waiting on the governor" the over plainclothed officer said, listening in on his radio.
"Ram ready, armed police ready" the radio crackled "Webb you ready?"
"Guv" Webb said into the radio, your two spectators are here too."
"Good" Weir after a pause "all units, green light, all units go go go!"
"After you guv" Webb smiled. Gallagher obliged, kicking in the garden gate and rushing in, pulling out his extendable baton.
What they met was a leashed up German shepard foaming at the mouth.
"Jesus bloody christ!" Gallagher blinked as he jumped aback, nearly getting his hand chomped off "somebody do something about that wee bloody dog!"
As Wills went at it with CS spray Gallagher looked up, curtains were ruffling as he heard the front door being knocked down with a door ram and the cries of "Armed police! Armed Police!" Gallagher ran passed the whining dog and lunged at the back door, almost breaking it off of the frame with his weight. Getting up he took a quick look around, Webb in hot pursuit. Nothing.
Running through the living room and upstairs, following Weir and his oppos they all ended up in the back bedroom wheer the Armed police had cornered one of the suspects. Another fell out of the closet. Both were still in their underwear, half asleep and in serious shock.
Gallagher took a long stare at the pair from his view from the landing. After thousands of miles, endless paperwork and a cut hand from breaking a car window, Gallagher had finally reached his prey.
"Pity you're not the arresting officer eh guv?" Wills patted Gallagher's shoulder.
( note regarding the 140mph West Coast Mainline Virgin train I am going to be kind and presume that with Labor technology, Railtrack/Network Rail could deliver a rail line with 140mph running all the way up to Glasgow from London. Hard to imagine I know but work with me here.)