Every word that I said

'Watching cityscapes turn to dust'

Twelve years prior

'Joe, welcome.' The young man smiles, walking into the room. 'How are you this fine day?' Joe looks out the window, there isn't a cloud in the sky, the day is perfect, almost too perfect.

'I'm good thank you, sir. Lovely weather.'

'Do take a seat?' Twenty-one-year-old Joe complies, sitting on the seat that had been allocated to him. He had been called to new Scotland yard under a very conspicuous circumstances and now he was in a room of three men, a commander he knew to be called Clive, his boss James and some other guy he didn't recognise, a rather large, balding man. 'Recently you applied to be on operation Lemon tree?' Joe thinks back, before nodding. 'Well we've reviewed all the applications and we believe you are the best fit for the team.' Joe sits up a little straighter, obviously surprised. 'Except we want to hire you in a different role.'

'Sorry?'

'We want you to be the undercover agent. If you chose to take up this role, this will be your handler.' He motions to the other man, 'This is Konstantin' the man waves his hand as Joe takes him in. 'We appreciate this isn't what you originally signed up for, but we've conducted research both in your background and the organisation you would be infiltrated into. We've already got two undercover agents in the field.'

'When do I have to give you my answer?'

'Tomorrow.' Oh shit, Joe thinks to himself, 'we appreciate this isn't much time.' Fuck, this is no time, 'it would be a two-year operation, roughly, and you would receive an adequate pay, once you've finished.'

'Can I go home and think about it?' He scans the room, before adding, 'please?'

'We will see you here tomorrow, 4PM sharp.' Joe rushes out the building, jumping on the bus almost immediately. He doesn't quite know how he got between London and Chippenham, but he somehow did.

'Joe, I wasn't expecting you?' Graham greets him gruffly, pulling him in for a hug, 'you okay?' He sighs, closing the door behind him.

'No dad. No, I'm fucking not.'

'Oi, what's happened?' They move towards the living room as Joe tries his hardest not to cry.

'I've been offered a new position.' He begins, 'it sounds amazing, I'll be properly doing police work.'

'Now Joe, I don't think you came over here because you've had a job offer.'

'No.' Joe takes a deep breath, studying his dads face. 'No, it's not, but I have a big decision to make, in less than twenty-four hours.'

'Then why are you here?'

'I need your input, obviously dad.' Joe can't help but sound a bit stressed, he can't help it. He's really unsure about what to-do. This was the ideal job, it involved actual work. He needed the one person he trusted voice, his dad.

That night Joe explains the situation to Graham, they go through the pros and cons as to what it means and the potential gain for Joe, Graham reiterates that it would only be two years maximum, according to Clive. He would be able to develop his skills and the successful completion of the assignment would result in a very big promotion for Joe. Graham reminds Joe that it was important, and they wouldn't ask him if they weren't sure he could do it, he would have gone through loads of checks and tests. He would be bringing down some very dangerous people, possibly saving lives.

On the other hand, there was all the other things to consider. He would be able to see his family very rarely, he would have to create this whole, new life. It would be hard, but the prominent themes is that it was the sort of police work Joe had signed up to-do, to catch criminals and he would be at the forefront of the operation, he could be a hero.