Gods and Monsters

X

Finchley, London

Captain Arthur Smiley's armed response van pulled up on the wet asphalt, roughly one hundred metres from where the suspect had supposedly been sighted. A perimeter had been set up so that no members of the public could get close enough to see what was about to go down. After this morning's incident at the train station, all Arthur wanted to do was lie down with his wife and kids, maybe watch a film or play a board game. Instead, he was out here for his second operation of the day. This morning the sky had been relatively clear, a bit surprising for London in Autumn. But then the more common clouds had blown in before erupting above. So now it was cold and wet, and even after this, Arthur would have a mountain of paperwork to scale before he could even think about getting home to his family. That was the job, though. He had tried being a stay-at-home dad for almost two years but found life just got too monotonous.

"You ready to go Cap'n?" One of his team called out from across the street. The man's small, fragile frame was the polar opposite of Arthur's.

"I'll be there in a minute, you tell the team I want two on the front entrance, two round the back."

"Where'll you be Cap'n?"

He paused for a second, more for dramatic effect than anything else. "I'll be coming in through the window!" Arthur shouted back.

The young chap looked pretty stunned at this, especially as the only window in the house that wasn't barred off was up another level. Arthur had never been one to stick to the status quo, but he got results and his reputation stopped anyone questioning him. The small man simply nodded to show he had received the instruction.

The calls began to come in over the radio. "Team one in position!"

"Roger that. Team two also in position. Waiting for your call Captain Smiley."

Captain Smiley. Despite Arthur's frame and reputation, his name wasn't exactly the sort to strike fear into London's criminals. He sounded more like a pirate in a children's TV show.

"Remember, the suspect is unlikely to be armed, but he still poses an incredible threat. Only neutralise him if absolutely necessary. Now on my go... three... two... one... breach!"

Both doors to the house were quickly smashed off their hinges as the teams entered the building, team one rushing into the living room.

"Living room's clear! Moving up!" The first call came.

"Kitchen's clear! Moving up too!" Team two responded.

The two teams pressed from the front and back of the house, clearing the rooms as they went before converging on the centre of the house. As both teams met in the hallway they began to scale the stairs. Team one went left at the top whilst team two went right. Five rooms up here, five rooms to be cleared. A light groaning could be heard although its origin was hard to pinpoint.

"Captain Smiley?" A member of team two radioed as both teams moved onto the next set of doors. No response. "Captain Smiley? Are you there?" Still nothing from the Captain. "Captain! Do you re-"

He was cut short as the suspect leapt from the shadows, bowling the officer over. Hot, sticky saliva dripped onto his face as he struggled with the creature. Both were trying to gain a foothold in the fight, the now-monster through sheer brutality, the officer trying to reach his gun, which had been caught between the monster's and his own chest making it unavailable to him. The monsters head dived at the officer's neck as he pulled away, doing everything he could to keep himself away from the creature. The other members of the team stood, stunned at what was happening in front of them, fumbling with their guns. One of the officers lifted his machine gun smacking the trigger three times, expecting the monster to be put down.

Nothing.

The gun refused to fire. The officer didn't even have to check to realise that he'd left the safety on. He quickly flicked the switch, but didn't have a chance to fire before the wall to their side tore open, the monster's head exploding into a gooey mess of blood and bits of flesh. The officer on the floor spat as some landed in his mouth, but he was grateful to be alive. Smiley stepped through the paper thin wall, now made even weaker after his volley of bullets.

"Suspect is down! I repeat, the suspect is down!" He called into his radio.

"What the fuck, Captain?" The officer who had failed to shoot cried out. "You could've shot him, shooting blindly through a wall, what the fuck?" He pointed to his friend laying on the floor, rubbing his eyes to try and remove the monster's blood. Arthur moved closer to the officer who was throwing the tantrum, towering over him now.

"Well if you hadn't been too busy fucking about with your gun and done your job properly, I wouldn't have needed to. The suspect's down now, and that's all that matters."

Arthur knew it was reckless, but he also knew he was good enough to pull off a shot like that. Truth was, he'd seen what was happening in the adjacent room through a mirror in the hallway. Didn't make it any less dangerous, though. Now the paperwork began. His gun would be taken away, he'd have to provide reports, be debriefed and all the other fun stuff they never showed you in police shows. He sighed as he left the house, crossing paths with whoever it was that had to go in and clean up the mess. Still, another day's work done and he was already thinking about what to watch later.

Continued in Part 11