1985

9.00

Mike and Dave moved through the streets of central London, the sun was up on an overcast day. The roads were dirty and the people were dower.

They unapologetically pushed through commuters in party uniform and proles off to their daily chores. As people saw Dave and Mike they made an effort to avoid them. Mothers hid their children, party members crossed the street. To touch them would be to be touched by death. They were a black plague. Messengers of evil able to make people disappear into the basements of the ministries, never to be seen again.

They arrived at a typical central London terraced house. Mike used a key to enter the front door. Inside the house was gutted, upstairs were two holding cells and downstairs was an open plan assembly area with a large blackboard. The house was currently occupied by an armed riot squad of fifteen and Captain Frank Carter giving a briefing.

Frank was a coot wearing sunglasses. His head wrinkled and bald like a testacle, it squeezed out of his dark brown suit. He smoked too much and didn't get enough sleep. Death somehow seeped out of him, followed him like a cancer. He saw the detectives enter, he continued his briefing.

'Dave, Mike. You'll enter through the front door,' said Frank, he pointed to a diagram of a terraced house on a blackboard. 'Information from senior party members is that these lot are expect to be armed. Take a couple of shotguns and flack jackets.' Uniform handed the equipment to the detectives.

'Simultaneously uniform will enter through the roof. Information tells us it's a ten strong group of terrorists headed up by one Pauline Bird. We have been reliably informed that they have direct links to Goldstein.' Said Frank, raising an eyebrow. No one could tell where he was looking on account of the sunglasses so they all remained stiffly alert.

'Inner party want Pauline alive, all other terrorists are expendable. We're all on a need to know basis, so that's the brief. Any questions?' The group stood silent.

'Thought not. Dave a word.' Frank signalled Dave into a small office in the corner of the room.

They entered the office and Frank moved behind a tiny desk, he sat down still wearing his coat, picked up an ink pen and toyed with it. Official party documents and some photos of the suspects were on the desk.

'Talk to me about Mike, any changes in behaviour recently?' Frank stuck his chin out. It was cold in the room, a breeze came through the exposed brickwork and off the cement floor. There was a large two way mirror on one wall.

'I don't really know him.' Said Dave, avoiding eye contact.

'Don't really know him. Been working together on and off for five years Dave.' Frank stared at Dave through his sunglasses, leant back feigning suprise.

'We don't really talk. He gets the job done.' Dave shrugged.

'Yeah. Ever wondered how he stayed so fat?'

'No.' Dave bit his top lip.

'Any changes in behaviour of late?' Frank put the pen down.

'He went back to see his family the other day, first time he's mentioned he had a family.' Dave looked straight back at his reflection in the glasses. Frank gave Dave a blank smile.

'This job, we're on it's big. We're being watched. I'm being watched. Inner party stuff.' Frank's eyebrows raised just above the lenses of his glasses. Dave felt a bolt of ice through his back that ended in his colon. More and more he felt there was someone behind the two way glass.

'I want you to keep an eye on him. Some senior party members have thrown his name around, he's getting the wrong sort of attention.'

'There's good attention?' The question was flippant, Dave saw Frank squint at the remark.

'You know Dave, you're always this close...' Frank indicated a centremetre gap with his fingers. 'We go back and you have a nose for this, but don't think for a second you're in some way not just a tool for Big Brother like everyone else.'

Dave stared back, 'Yes sir. Is that everything?'

Frank stared at Dave for a moment, letting things feel awkward. Dave took the hint the conversation was over and went over the the office door.

'Oh and Dave.' said Frank. Dave turned back his hand on the door to exit. 'There's no record that Mike has a family.'

'Right.' Said Dave, he opened the door and left.