HWSNBN (He Who Shall Not Be Named)

Chapter 4

Gavin was phoned the next morning, just after I’d woken up and was asked by John to bring me with him into work.

“Is he giving me a job?" I hugged and kissed Gavin before he could answer. “Good morning, my love.”

He kissed me back, pulled away and giggled. “We better stop or I’ll never get you there, and lose mine in the process.” Very true! I laughed, pulled the covers back and leapt out of bed.

“I’m going for a swim, coming?” I heard his laughter as I hit the water and was on my second length before he dived in. You little tyke. I’ll get you for this.

He swam down to the bottom and tried to keep up with me. You’ll have to catch me first. I began swimming at my normal speed and left him standing. I looked back. He was stood on the bottom with shock on his face. How the hell do you do that?

Don’t know - just can.

I ran through all that while we sat opposite John, who’d been on the phone for quite a while, getting put through from one section to another. He looked relaxed now and chatted quite casually to whoever he was talking to. Gavin followed my thoughts and he knew I wanted a drink, but we had no way of getting one; stuck, waiting for the phone call to finish.

John prattled on and I’d had enough. I stood up. John excused himself, to the person he was talking to and waited for me to speak.

“John, I’m gagging for a drink. Where do you make the tea around here?”

He smiled at me. “I’m sure Gavin knows where it is. Get me one, would you? I’m nearly finished here. We can talk over a cuppa.” He carried on with his call and we legged it out of his office.

Gavin laughed at me. “Well…he was waiting for us to ask.” He took hold of my hand and we followed the corridor to a small kitchen, where a young woman was making tea for a number of people.

“Hi, Beth. This is Jane, my other half.”

She smiled. “Hello, Jane. Nice to meet you.”

“You too, Beth.” I picked up three mugs.

“Jane, that other kettle has just boiled. Are you getting a roasting, Gavin?”

“I haven’t found out yet, he’s been on the blower since we arrived. Never heard him talk that much.”

Beth picked up her tray of hot tea. “Good luck, whatever it is. Hope to see you soon, Jane? You should bring her down the pub, now you’ve got a girlfriend.” She looked back to me. “He would never come on his own, shy I suppose.” She grinned at Gavin. “Sorry pet, giving away all your secrets.” He laughed as she left the tiny kitchen.

Christ, if only they knew! I giggled, handed him a mug and sugar. We didn’t get the chance to ask ‘chatterbox’ if he took it, and went back for the grilling Gavin expected – only I knew different.

He used his elbow to open the door and we found John with ‘smug’ written across his face. I gave him his tea. “You’re wife will bow down to you, tonight, John.” He burst out laughing and that set us off. Gavin was in a kink and nearly dropped his tea. We eventually calmed down enough to drink it. John winked at me. He knew I was well aware of the serious talk he was about to have with us.

“Jane’s right. I’ve been promoted to Commissioner, but it’s you two I have to thank for it.” Gavin opened his mouth to speak and John put up his hand. “No need for that lad, I have a lot to tell you both. You heard them switch me through to different sections…well, I ended up talking to someone called Reece, from MI5. He oversees the cell of hybrids near London and will do the same here, too.” Gavin glanced at me.

“Let him finish, Gavin.”

You know, don’t you? I smiled at him then turned back to John.

“Gavin, as from today you’re promoted to Detective Inspector and Jane will be on Inspector pay, but she won’t be promoted for a year. She has to learn the job, but Reese explained that it wouldn’t take long for her to hit her stride.

“They transferred you here, Gavin, because you showed strong leadership in the ten hybrids they recruited, in that debacle, the Home Office set up. They have nothing to do with any hybrid cell, now. You’ll hear why, at some point.

“Jack Tomlin is in the London cell. He was sent to the back of beyond and opted for a place in the Armed Response Unit…”

“Bloody hell, he wouldn’t have liked that! Sorry, sir.”

John smiled at him. “He didn’t. He never fired a round and you can drop the sir when your team aren’t around. It’s John from now on, and that goes for you both.” Gavin’s eyes were out on stalks. John just smiled at him and carried on.

“Jane, they’ve known about you for years.”

“Yeah, and I bet everyone here does, too! I was in all the papers when he was caught, so how do I face them now?”

He shook his head gently. He knew I was upset. “Long before that – when you were at school, Jane.”

“So, now you know how thick I am!” Gavin took hold of my hand and squeezed it.

John leant forward with his elbows on his desk. “Let me explain something to you, Jane, to stop you beating yourself up. One of your teachers, the headmaster of the small village school you attended, flagged you up to MI5. They were asked to look out for children with a bad attention span, plus those that forever talked to themselves. They weren’t told why. MI5 have known about hybrids since the 1940s and have employed them, instead of a horde-of-humans; mainly for clerical duties – nothing like this.”

“So you really don’t think I’m thick?”

“Far from it, Jane. You may not have any academic qualifications, but what you do have is exactly what they’ve looked for, for years. Alli Burgess; wife to Harvey, who was the first one they chose, has the same gifts as you, and from her first day she was incredible in the job.”

“Bloody hell!” My hand shot up to my mouth, “Whoops!” John laughed his head off and Gavin giggled beside me. “It just fell out!”

“A trait of all hybrids, so I’ve been told,” John was barely able to say. He calmed down and picked up his phone. “Bring three mugs of tea, would you, please?” He turned back to us. “Well…we might as well have another while they finish your new offices.” Gavin baulked and turned to me with a cheeky grin. Can’t bloody believe this!

Well you better, it’s happening.

John winked at me. He knew we were talking in our minds.

Beth brought the tea in and glanced at us before she put the tray down.

John said to her, “Thank you, Beth.” She looked stunned he actually knew her name. “While you’re here, I’d like to introduce you to your new Detective Inspector.” Her head swivelled fast to stare with wide eyes. Gavin nodded to her.

“Congrats Gavin; sorry, sir.”

“You can forget sir, Beth. I don’t like it and never will.”

John spoke up, “Beth, you will be working in the new team, joining Gavin and Jane. I don’t know if you know this, Jane sees the dead, reads minds and is perfect for the Murder Squad being set up here, as we speak.”

“I did hear something from a couple of the lads, sir.” John grinned.

I piped up, “I suppose your new Commissioner did look battle-worn, after I finished with him, yesterday.” Gavin and John giggled.

She smirked and turned to John. “Congratulations on your promotion, sir.”

He smiled a thank you. “Beth, everyone in your team are upgraded to detective, as of now, so no uniforms in future. And another thing, you’ll be one of the two team leaders, under Gavin and Jane.”

“What?”

John ignored the fact she hadn’t called him, sir. He knew how surprised she was. “Beth, you’ve shown a lot of initiative, since you joined up…”

“Excuse me, sir. I’m only twenty-one?” Christ, my mum will think I’ve slept with him for this!

No they won’t, Beth. Just hear him out.

She looked at me in stunned silence.

John carried on, “You’re a young team and perfect for this job. Don’t mention it for the moment, Beth. I’ll come out to announce it, personally, once I’ve shown them to their new offices.”

“I understand and thank you, sir.” She curtseyed, she was so excited. John smiled as she left the room.

Gavin couldn’t hold his question, any longer, “Can I ask how you’ve accepted all this and not run a mile from us, John?”

John thought about his answer for a few seconds, “I, or come to that, no one in this nick has ever felt threatened with you here, so why would that change? You’ve always conducted yourself with the greatest respect towards everyone here and out in the field.” He turned to me. “And Jane, if you hadn’t pointed me in the right direction yesterday, none of this would’ve come to light. I thank you for that – plus, my promotion.”

I giggled. “If it wasn’t for Gavin, opening my eyes to a life, I wouldn’t be blisteringly happy, John. It’s all down to him.”

“From my conversation with Reese, it seems you two were destined to meet. The same for Alli and Harvey. His age stopped at twenty-four and he’s been that age for just over a hundred years.” That shocked me a bit. Gavin squeezed my hand. What did I tell you, Jane?

Yeah, but a hundred years! Gavin smiled with the faintest of nods. It’ll be the same for us, one day.

John’s phone rang, he picked it up and listened for a couple of seconds. “Thanks, we’ll be right over.”

I gathered the empty mugs. I knew we’d pass the kitchen.

John led the way and they waited for me to dump the tray. John chatted as we walked.

“Remember when you first came here and they were just finishing this extension, Gavin?”

“Do I? Two parking fines, that cost me. Bloody jobs-worth, and I wasn’t the only one. Half the team were caught by that traffic warden. We all had police displayed on our dashboards. Must have thought it was effing funny, upping his tally with us?”

“I’ll sort him out. You’ll all be reimbursed and he’ll wish he hadn’t pulled that bloody trick. I’m here to make your lives easier so you can get on with the job. I did forget one point though; you’ll be on call, twenty-four seven, I’m afraid. That’s how the other cell is run.”

“Fine by us and I’ll only call the team out when necessary, John.”

He patted Gavin’s shoulder, “I knew you’d understand.”

He opened a door and took us into the new extension. It was plush, compared to the main building. Carpeted floors, even in the hall we were in. He opened the first door we came to and took us into a rape suite.

“Harvey insisted on one when he was promoted. They used to use the normal interview rooms, before that, and he was adamant it wouldn’t happen again. They use the lounge room for more than rape victims – bereaved families, too. They have a heavy load down there, and from the crime figures, you’ll be just as busy. It’s escalating out of control, everywhere. You haven’t said much, Jane. Are you okay with this major change in your life?”

“To be honest, John, I’m chuffed to bloody bits with all of it, and can’t wait to get started.” They both chuckled.

John showed us the whole block, where the team would work, with our office leading off that. New equipment everywhere that I’d never seen before; interview rooms, the new cells in the basement and a canteen on the top floor, along with other offices, he told us, new hybrids would use when they joined us, as well as the human side of the team.

All through our conducted tour, Gavin and I glanced at each other when something new was shown to us. We were thrilled, and even in our minds we didn’t converse, we were so speechless.

John took us back to our office, “I’ll leave you to check out your equipment in here. Now I must talk to the team and bring them through.”

“Thank you, John. You’ve made us very happy today and we promise to work our socks off for you.”

“You didn’t have to say it, Gavin. That’s one thing I knew for sure.” He nodded and left. We cuddled each other, with no words to describe how we felt, so our embrace was silent in mind and body.