‘Looks like every woodentop in town. Bosses trying to look like they know what they’re doing, incident tape around the alley entrance.’

‘Serious, then.’ Steve took another mouthful of his pint. ‘You fancy joining in?’

That got him a disparaging grin from the self-proclaimed king of the short-timers.

‘Do I look fucking stupid? I’ve got less than a year of my thirty left, and I’m off duty. And the first rule of off duty is…?’

The answering chorus was immediate.

‘Keep your fucking head down!’

Except none of them really believed him. Deano, the last of the old-time street coppers. A throwback to a bygone age. Put simply, a warrior. A man you knew would have your back, no questions. A man who would instinctively front up to even a hint of a scrap like a black-clad jack-in-the-box. A man who would sprint fifty yards and rugby-tackle a belligerent drunk just for the hell of it. And swear blind to the desk sergeant that the poor guy had slipped and fallen badly. And in the early days, that had worked. Most times, at least.

But not anymore. Six-foot-four thugs with cropped hair in uniform weren’t the zeitgeist anymore. Not even if their motives were mostly pure. Now it was all body cams and reasoning. Management oversight and Professional Standards, the Met’s version of AC-12. With the occasional chance to shoot some stupid bastard with a Taser. If you got lucky. No life for a warrior like Deano. So when he denied the urge to get stuck in, it was mainly due to lack of opportunity.

‘Exactly. Keep your fucking head down. So they can have it, whatever it is. Right, come on, Den, it’s your round.’

Den’s round was the last of the four, all Mickey was able to stay for. He shrugged at their good-natured jibes, standing up and pulling on the Belstaff.

‘Time and tide, boys, time and tide. Got an early one tomorrow. You know the rules.’

‘We know Roz’ll have your nuts off if you don’t get home!’

He grinned at Deano, shrugging.

‘I resemble that remark.’

Tapped fists with each of them in turn. The ritual salute of the street coppers from times long past. What he used to be. What they all used to be. What Deano still was, the only one of them.