The Garden of Lir

Artisan

A late night vigil 17 years ago for a murdered woman was held by candlelight.
The murdered woman was 20, a student, she would look after her grandmother in the holidays, was a genuinely kind soul, she was the cousin of Badger.
Her murderer was a police officer, a known felon and brutal human being who had been allowed to continue in his job.
In court a white judge had given this white officer a pardon, his third for unacceptable behaviour.
The girl, Tina was walking back from her grandmas house when this officer attacked her in the street, pulling her into a back alley and strangling her because he had fantasied about doing it after his wife left him for a man who didn't take pleasure in hurting innocents.
The night of the vigil Badger, her mother and grandmother were there, the same grandmother that Tina would look after, a better grandparent you couldn't ask for.
A peaceful remembrance had ended in police officers brutalising the women.
Badger had seen her mother thrown against a police car and handcuffed while her grandmother was thrown to the ground, a 67 year old woman.
The next day these same officers were seen at a soccer match mingling and taking selfies with thugs who were throwing litter in the street, not the kind of people the police wanted to mess with.
Nothing else could be expected in a country forever run by fascists.

Ihtizaz was born in Wales to a Muslim family, it had been a kind community but there were hardships along the way, racism was something that he was able to handle in his own way, usually with his fists.
Unkind white teachers were always quick to shame him and see he took the blame.
What hit him hardest was when his family were on the mainstream news as immigrants trying to get across from France who had died in a lorry.
It was just a statistic to this posh woman reading the news with dead eyes and no sympathy in her voice.
That all seemed to change as soon as she got to talk about what a 'National Treasure' some transphobic author was and doing her best to see a paedophilic member of the English Royal Family was nothing more than a naughty school boy who had thrown a stone through a window.
Ihtizaz was starting to learn the British Isles were being run by pacifistic Nazis.

Green had a wife, his wife had suffered with schizophrenia and was taken ill one day.
A little scheme he'd never heard of called 'Do Not Resuscitate' that had been active in the country for years saw to it that people had got beds ahead of her because they were deemed more educated, more wealthy, had paler skin and put more into the Governments already overflowing pockets should be saved first.
Green's wife died outside on a stretcher in February after being outside for four hours in snow.
Did anyone take responsibility? No!
Was anyone held liable? No!

Badger had met Ihtizaz and Green on her travels and they had exchanged stories, none of them liked authority figures.
When Eirwen and Glynn had given them a taste of payback the three had been all in.
Yes Badger, Ihtizaz and Green had murdered hostile police officers and it was thrilling for them.
After years of grieving they had got their payback on the goblins of their overlord oppressors.

As the three left Glynn and his Generals to their fate she stopped.
'I know we've done what we've done but now we must have a code, only to let them make the first move. Just like we've had families so did those bastards. Anyone proud of a copper is no better but now we need to be better.'
'I'll still kill them if they try to kill us!' Green would never forget his wife.
Ihtizaz nodded. 'It felt so good to make the tools we used to put them down.'
'We're artisans.' Green replied proudly.
'The three of us aren't going alone, any ideas of who to take with us?' Badger asked. 'I think Olwën is a good choice, she knows how to fight.'
'Rahim "The Joop".' Ihtizaz.
'Our kid "Grey".' Green.
Badger thought about it, seemed fine to her, six people were enough.
'Right let's round them up and get gone before nightfall, we know our way and where to camp without fucking things up unlike those morons.' Badger thumbed towards the basement.
'I'd still have them lot hung then we start afresh.' Green suggested.
Ihtizaz didn't agree.
'No otherwise when we say we want to change for the better it means nothing, torture is good enough.' Badger had the final say.
Green wasn't happy about it.