To Tickle A Dragon
By JK Fie'r
Disclaimer: I don't own The Bill or Harry Potter.
Warnings: Kiwi spelling
Other notes:
First off, I hereby offer thanks to Adela Nightmoon, for correcting my spelling of a canon Harry Potter word in the previous chapter. bene facis!
Secondly, I offer a slight warning about this chapter. See, it's not really a chapter. It's actually what happens when I'm panicking slightly over what to write to keep people guessing (and therefore, with luck, still interested), while I take a little trip, during which time I'm not likely to be able to access this website.
Therefore, I give you the first two interludes of To Tickle a Dragon. Tell me what you think of them. If they are liked, I will continue writing them, posting them within the chapters as I go along. If you don't want them, then I'll just collect and post them as a sidefic (If I end up doing this, the title will be draco titillatio – Tickling the Dragon).
In any case, I implore you to review and give forth your verdict on the matter.
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Interlude Number One: To whit.
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The first thing that Gina noticed as she walked past the house was the owl perched on the chimney. It glared balefully down at her.
"To-who."
To whom, Gina mentally corrected, holding back a chuckle. The last thing she needed was P.C. Hollis spreading it about the station that she was losing her senses.
"Oh, look, a barn owl," said Hollis as he proceeded along the street with her. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen one in daylight before."
The owl took off just as the door to the house opened. A particularly angry man stalked out, being followed by a rather harried-looking woman.
"I've had enough Jane!" he called, glaring briefly at someone hidden in the door's shadow. "First me Dad dies, now this? No. He's not going."
"Dan," the woman called, grabbing onto his arm. "Dan, think of the chances he could have. All of the possibilities-"
"What, and end up like Dad did, always muttering about how electricity is such an odd idea? Not happening." He shook her off with a twist of his shoulder.
"Do you really think you could stop him from going? Daniel, look at me. Look at me!"
Hollis looked like he was tempted to interfere. Not good notgood notgoodnotgood…
"Leave it Hollis."
"Ma'am?"
"Just… leave it."
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Interlude Number Two: The Charge of the Light Brigade
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It was really all about the badge.
These days, the badges worn with the uniform were made out of cloth, not the metal that they took their design from. The actual metal badge itself was carried separately, in a special wallet, the miniature shield hidden within a leather casing.
Neither would provide enough protection to hide behind against a paint pellet, much less a real bullet.
Still, it was the principle of the thing.
The epaulets, on the other hand, were still made of metal, even on the street uniform. Pips, stripes, and number, each made out of metal. What was really tough was that two sets of them had to be worn. One set over the bullet-proof vest, and one set under it.
It hadn't been like that when Gina had first joined up. Only the one set was worn then. Kevlar (or whatever it was that the things were made of; Gina wasn't too sure about the specifics. All she needed to care about was that they worked) vests hadn't been much needed.
Also, if memory served correctly, they hadn't dug into her shoulders so much.
But the badge… Never mind that the things weren't even worn anymore. They were supposed to be a shield, a symbol of protection. Not against the public, not even against the criminals, though some might view it as that.
No, the badge served as a protection against all those dark places that a copper must face in their career.
Those times that all seems lost, and that the option of packing all in seems like a good plan.
That's what the badge was really for.
Still, when one's personal 'weapon of choice' resembled nothing so much as a twig, complaining about the size of the shield that was meant to do all those things seemed almost hypocritical.
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MTFBWY!
JK Fie'r