“Uh, yes… it is,” he said, ushering the old woman towards the end of the street. “How about you stand over here? Wouldn’t want you getting knocked off your feet.”
The lady tutted and shook her head. “Oh, I’m not worried about these tossers. I just came to say that my grandson’s a lovely boy and I think you’d make?—”
Then another male came running out of the property, and Oliver snarled when he realised he had a terrified looking girl tucked under his arm. Oliver pulled a canister of pava from his belt, bolted back down the street, around the fence and into the front garden. The man growled as the girl wriggled free, her knees grazing on the garden path as she scuttled away. She couldn’t have been older than eleven, with a dirty grey dress covering her skinny body.
Hand flying to his radio, Oliver shouted, “Charlie papa one, male attempting to flee on foot with a juvenile.” He followed the man, ducking left then dodging as a fist flew towards his face. Then the man tried to head butt him, but Oliver wasn’t falling for that again, so he emptied the can of pava straight into his face.
“Ahhh!” the man screamed, hands flying to his eyes. Oliver rammed his foot into the back of his knees, sending him crumpling to the ground. Rolling him onto his front, Oliver pulled his arms back and slid on the cuffs with a satisfying ‘click.’
“You’re under arrest on suspicion of child exploitation,” he began, the stench of the pava making his eyes water. “You do not have to say anything, but—Jesus,” he coughed. “—but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questionedsomething which you later rely on in court. Anything you say may be given in evidence.”
Oliver barked out the caution so fast any lawyer worth their salt might argue it was an unlawful arrest. But the magic words were still the magic words, regardless of how fast they were said.
“Charlie papa one, male detained,” he said, crouching next to the man. He was vaguely aware of Lucas’ voice over the radio, but the man on the ground was shouting and swearing so loudly he could barely make out the words. In the blink of an eye, another man appeared at the door, his long greasy hair plastered to his face.
“Stay where you are!” Oliver commanded, aware that his one and only set of handcuffs were attached to the prisoner on the ground.
“Fuck you,” the man snarled, producing a tiny stun gun from the inside of his boot. Not giving the man a chance to use it, Oliver sprang forward, pulled out his baton, and smashed the metal rod into the man’s hand. There was a sickening crunch as the bones in his wrist shattered, but Oliver wasn’t taking any chances. So, withdrawing a second canister of pava, he sprayed it into his eyes and dragged him to the ground. Remnants of the chemical wiped across Oliver’s cheek and into his left eye, causing a sudden and extremely unpleasant stinging sensation.
“Fuck!” He growled, eyes watering uncontrollably. “You’re under arrest on suspicion of child exploitation—” he said, making his second arrest of the day. And he found he was rather enjoying being the exhibits officer, after all.
“Reed!” Lucas roared as he appeared in the doorway. His face was flushed and his chest heaved as he glared down at the scene unfolding in the front garden.
“That one—” Oliver huffed, eye streaming as he pointed at the man under his armpit. “No cuffs…both…arrested?—”
Growling, the alpha ripped the handcuffs off his utility belt and snapped them into place. “Are you injured?” He said, glaring at Oliver’s only working eye.
Oliver grinned, “No. But I may have pava’d myself a little.”
Lucas barked out a laugh, hauling both suspects to their feet before marching them towards the back of the riot van. Oliver followed, gripping the first man by the arm as he shoved him into one of the two secure cages. They both spat and shouted as he and Lucas slammed the doors shut.
“Did you really pava yourself?” Lucas asked, pushing Oliver’s hair out of his eyes.
“Well… the prisoner got most of it, but this is my pava so… yes?”
Lucas grinned and shook his head. “I’d say you’ve earned yourself a cake fine, DC Reed.”
Because—unbeknownst to the public—the police operated on an internal scale of stupidity. Doing something mildly stupid whilst on duty, such as leaving your warrant card by the printer, the officer might get away with only buying biscuits for the team. Doing somethingincrediblystupid, such as losing a prisoner, that would cost you an entire banquet of cakes from Sidoli’s. Getting one’s own pava in one’s own eye… that probably fell somewhere in the middle.
Oliver was about to protest when a third man suddenly appeared at the door. He and Lucas spun around, eyes widening in horror when they realised what he was carrying.
“Is that—” Oliver began, eyes trailing to the massive block of silver powder tucked between the man’s arms. It was so large that he was struggling to hold it.
“Love Dust.” Lucas pulled out his taser. “Stay back, Oliver. We don’t want that thing rupturing.”
“It could be anthrax.” Oliver said, only half joking as he backed away.
“Then we’ll all be dead,” Lucas replied. The man took a step forward, the weight of the package making his movements slow. “Stay where you are,” Lucas shouted, pointing his taser at the man’s chest.
“Do it. See what happens,” the man sneered, his accent distinctly Eastern European.
“Drop it. Carefully,” Lucas growled, the power in his voice giving the other alpha pause.
The muscles in Oliver’s legs twitched as he held back the urge to spring forward and tackle the man to the ground. If it truly was Love Dust, then the man wouldn’t give it up without a fight.
“Oi!” Nancy yelled as she appeared in the doorway.
Oliver’s eyes went wide. “Nancy, no!” he cried as the beta karate chopped the man to the side of the neck. He jolted, the jerk of his arms sending the package flying forward. Time seemed to slow as the silver block hurtled through the air, landing right at his and Lucas’ feet. Powder exploded everywhere, and for one horribly disorientating moment, Oliver couldn’t see a single thing as sparkles blanketed his vision. He shouted for the others to move, but stupidly inhaled at the same time.
