LDN

Romeo & Juliet

A ventilator forces life into James while an IV tube flows out. And large surgical lights hover above, illuminating his pale skin, chapped lips and lifeless body. If not for the weak rise and fall of his chest, and the heart monitor that steadily beeps beside him, one might think he was already dead.

Dr Craner, one of the hospital's best general surgeons, takes a moment to check for compromised blood vessels before continuing to stitch the aggressive tear in James' small intestine. As always he asks one of the surgical nurses to play some music, moments later Tchaikovsky's Romeo & Juliet fills the operating room with dramatic cadences that mirror the turbulent highs and lows of James' life.

It was James who first faced the police when they came for his older brother. They banged violently on the front door causing an irritated James to swing it open with so much strength that it slammed against the wall and caused flakes of paint to chip away.

He thought he'd be met with one of his annoying next door neighbours, but was stunned to see three men armed with the metropolitan police's notorious black uniform. His body instantly went into defence mode: his pupils dialated, he began to take in rapid breaths and his face contorted into a look of disgust.

James' natural instinct told him to guard himself and everything he loved against the police. Because he had witnessed them cause so much damage in his community over the years, from rogue squads carrying out aimless raids of people's homes to officers harassing young students on their way to and from school, which he experienced first hand. Although he knew they weren't all corrupt and hateful, James had encountered far too many police officers that thrived off of abusing the power they held. And if they weren't abusing their power, they were neglecting those that needed them the most. Because they thought that the kind of people that lived on estates weren't worthy of their full protection.

"Are you fucking crazy?" James asked in a curt tone.

"No need for a attitude son. We're lookin' for Kai, is 'e home?" One of the three men said with a thick cockney accent.

Before James could even open his mouth, Kai came sauntering into the hallway. A look of surprise flickered in his grey eyes as he regarded the police officers. And then just like James, his entire demeanour changed. He interpreted the very site of the police as a threat.

"What do you want?" Kai spoke bluntly, his deep voice booming.

Dealing with the police was nothing new to him. They were constantly pulling his car over, questioning him or trying to get him done for something they couldn't prove. He was so sure that this would be just another futile exchange and wanted them to hurry up and get it over with.

"We 'av a warrant for your arrest."

Kai's kissed his teeth. "What for?"

He didn't know why the police were wasting his time when they couldn't possibly have anything concrete on him, he made sure of that.

The officers mouth stretched into a smug smile. "The murda of Akelle Jones."

It was as if someone had a remote control and decided to press fast forward. Because everything began to move in high-speed and James could feel himself getting lost in the rush of it all. Kai began to protest, saying he hadn't done shit. But his words counted for nothing and soon enough one of the officers, a lanky man with red blotchy skin, was restraining him. While another snapped a pair of handcuffs around his wrists and the police caution was read aloud, the words distorted by that potent cockney accent.