Chapters (45)
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- Prologue
- 2046
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- About the Author
‘Oh well, I’d better go. Promised I’d take the kids swimming.’
‘Yeah, see you tomorrow.’
The duty starts. The corridor falls into silence. She walks down, checking each door is locked, the windows are secure and, taking the scanner from the discreet cupboard, she checks the side tables and vases for placed listening devices or bugs and goes through the same ritual every officer does at the start of the duty and several times during their shift. When he gets back she will repeat the sweep through the rooms of his apartment and then again as many times as he deems fit.
Transfers are not uncommon. The skill sets are the same. Diplomatic protection officers guard politicians and dignitaries, which is much the same as the royal protection officers guarding the royal family. Transfers within six months of being posted are uncommon though, so her request was initially refused. The problem was not having sufficient reason to request the transfer, but she could not use the real problem, she could never use the real problem. Only the sergeant knew the real problem and even he did not know just how bad it really was. In the end, a discreet suggestion that one of the aides was showing undue attention was enough for the transfer to go through. After the debacle of her one-day posting on the door, they realised it was the safest option to prevent any negative PR.
Safa loves the job. All British police are armed now so being an armed officer is nothing special, but to be a Close Protection Officer is still to be the cream of the elite. She had only been in the job for two years when Holborn happened. She was first on the scene and the last person to see Ben Ryder alive before the train blew him apart. She already knew who Ben Ryder was. Everyone did, and it was because of him she wanted to be a police officer in the first place. Then Holborn happened and that touch of fate or destiny or simple staggering coincidence sparked her desire to achieve the best she could. Besides, she hated investigation-based police work. She was too headstrong, too physical and detested the slow, plodding world of gathering evidence to compile court files and write reports of who did what to who and why.
This world is by far the best. The military and police cross-over skills are fantastic. The knowledge of weapons, strategies, tactics, combat, both armed and unarmed. The level of fitness required, the constant training, house entry, VIP escort, static guarding and high-speed vehicle manoeuvres. It is so far removed from normal policing she is amazed she is still able to call herself a police officer.