But if he doesn’t give them a reason to leave Keats behind, will he really have done his best for them? If they go with Keats, they’ll end up the same way as Viv.
It’s enough to make him force a deep breath, hesitate…and take the radio from her hand. No, he can’t let them go without one last try. It doesn’t matter how much he doesn’t want to.
‘I’ve had a look at your investigation. It’s bloody impressive. You’re just missing one crucial element – me.’
The bravado in his tone - he’s never told such a bare-faced lie in his life.
‘Granger. I’m promoting you to DC, effective immediately. Which is my way of sayin’, get your stocking-tops back here, pronto-tonto. We need that jewel switch, otherwise a decent brief's gonna have them Dutch boys clog-dancin’ their way out of court.’
He clicks off for a moment. Her smile is encouraging, and he’s not too proud, now, to admit that if she weren’t here, he wouldn’t be able to do this. He’d still be on the floor.
‘Christopher. Raymondo. What is a Sheriff without his finest deputies?’
He tries not to think about their faces on hearing him. They’ve been with him longest of all, and taken most of his shit. Never mind that they needed it. Never mind that they were the quickest to leave.
‘I’ll tell you what he is – he’s nothin’. I don’t like bein’ nothing. It’s not attractive. I need you lads. An’ when it’s all over – we’ll go to the pub. The boozer. Our boozer.’
There’s no response from any of them. It’s hard, speaking into a void. The swagger he’s forcing starts to feel stupid, and he falters a bit.
‘I know you won’t let me down. You never have. Well, maybe once or twice, but…uh. Mostly not.’
She’s not smiling now. She looks a bit sad, like she really thought they’d talk to him. He takes a breath.
‘See you in the field.’
He tosses the radio down next to her, and refrains from saying told you. But at least he tried. And just like always, the decision’s up to them. It’s apt, really. That’s all he’s ever done; give them the opportunities, and leave it to them to step up if they want to. That’s the theory, anyway. They’ve all managed it this year, so…no, he’s not going to hope. If they’re going to walk away from Keats, and back to him, it has to be their choice.
He looks down at her. There’s nothing left to say. He just shrugs one shoulder and walks away, into his office.
no subject
But if he doesn’t give them a reason to leave Keats behind, will he really have done his best for them? If they go with Keats, they’ll end up the same way as Viv.
It’s enough to make him force a deep breath, hesitate…and take the radio from her hand. No, he can’t let them go without one last try. It doesn’t matter how much he doesn’t want to.
‘I’ve had a look at your investigation. It’s bloody impressive. You’re just missing one crucial element – me.’
The bravado in his tone - he’s never told such a bare-faced lie in his life.
‘Granger. I’m promoting you to DC, effective immediately. Which is my way of sayin’, get your stocking-tops back here, pronto-tonto. We need that jewel switch, otherwise a decent brief's gonna have them Dutch boys clog-dancin’ their way out of court.’
He clicks off for a moment. Her smile is encouraging, and he’s not too proud, now, to admit that if she weren’t here, he wouldn’t be able to do this. He’d still be on the floor.
‘Christopher. Raymondo. What is a Sheriff without his finest deputies?’
He tries not to think about their faces on hearing him. They’ve been with him longest of all, and taken most of his shit. Never mind that they needed it. Never mind that they were the quickest to leave.
‘I’ll tell you what he is – he’s nothin’. I don’t like bein’ nothing. It’s not attractive. I need you lads. An’ when it’s all over – we’ll go to the pub. The boozer. Our boozer.’
There’s no response from any of them. It’s hard, speaking into a void. The swagger he’s forcing starts to feel stupid, and he falters a bit.
‘I know you won’t let me down. You never have. Well, maybe once or twice, but…uh. Mostly not.’
She’s not smiling now. She looks a bit sad, like she really thought they’d talk to him. He takes a breath.
‘See you in the field.’
He tosses the radio down next to her, and refrains from saying told you. But at least he tried. And just like always, the decision’s up to them. It’s apt, really. That’s all he’s ever done; give them the opportunities, and leave it to them to step up if they want to. That’s the theory, anyway. They’ve all managed it this year, so…no, he’s not going to hope. If they’re going to walk away from Keats, and back to him, it has to be their choice.
He looks down at her. There’s nothing left to say. He just shrugs one shoulder and walks away, into his office.