Jack held his ribs as he squeezed out the words, ‘Fuck off, Mike,’ then Mike’s hand reached down and dragged Jack to his feet. By the time Jack was fully upright, Stanford had joined them.

‘PC McGinty, read him his rights,’ Stanford instructed. The look of excitement on McGinty’s face gave Stanford a far better feeling of satisfaction than he would have got if he’d taken the honour for himself. Mike beamed his approval and shook Stanford’s hand. Mike thanked them both for a great few days and for being allowed to briefly feel like a copper once again. ‘If you ever need my old brain again, you have my number. It’s been a pleasure, boys.’ And, with that, Mike returned to the area car and was driven away.

Later that evening, the squad room was buzzing with the overlapping chatter of invigorated officers reliving their exciting evening and comparing scrapes and bruises. ‘Thank you, Jack.’ Stanford’s tone was sincere. Although he knew that Ridley had an inter-station duty to help when help was requested, he also knew that Jack’s input was above and beyond anything he’d expected. ‘DCI Ridley’s lucky to have you.’

Jack’s eyes twitched in pain as the adrenaline began to fade and his body started to complain about being slammed to the ground, then jumped on by four policemen. ‘Enjoy your victory, sir. It was hard-earned.’

Jack turned and, to a chorus of ‘’Night, sir,’ he headed home for a hot bath, a glass of wine and a cuddle with his beautiful, beached whale of a fiancée.

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Jack got home around nine. As he turned into the end of his street, he was still imagining the fantasy evening ahead of him: Penny would be out, Maggie would be in her pyjamas, the wine would be open, and the dinner would be in the oven ready for him to serve. He was exhausted from the obbo with Mike Haskin and Richard Stanford but also elated from their success and subsequent arrest of Panagos. Stanford would be dining out on that one for years to come.