Tuesday 12 August 2014

Tuesday, August 12, 2014 -

The Rattan Woman

by James Simpson
Published: Jul 3, 2014
Words: 17,014
Category: general
Orientation: mixed
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OPENING EXTRACT
Julie, or WPC Julie Storey to give her full title, was furious. She had just been hauled through a gruelling disciplinary process lasting weeks, and eventually been officially warned for inappropriate behaviour.

She was seething, and seriously considering throwing the job in. All she had done was to pointedly look the other way and make no comment when a furious mother had pulled her unruly brat of a son's trousers down and walloped him twice in the supermarket. She was on her way to arrest a shoplifter who was a known troublemaker and a potentially violent junkie and considered the woman's behaviour, although rather crass, to be perfectly understandable, and that it was her duty to deal with a proper criminal rather than a harassed mother.

Unfortunately, the whole scene had been witnessed by one Alexandra Smart, a prominent civil-rights lawyer who adored being the 'rentagob' media mouthpiece for all kinds of groups who were supposedly discriminated against. These ranged from immigrants, asylum-seekers, detained terrorists, to single mothers and children.

She had videoed the whole scene on her mobile phone, taken Julie's number and reported the incident first thing Monday morning to the Chief Constable. Using her contacts in the liberal press she had turned it into a cause célèbre and made the police-force take disciplinary action against Julie who point blank refused to apologise.

Her inspector, a wise woman who had seen it all before, had eventually persuaded Julie to take a holiday in the sun and try to forget it, reminding her that the vast majority of the force and population regarded her as a martyred heroine rather than a wrong-doer.

Julie eventually returned to work, and on reporting back on Monday morning was summoned to a meeting with her inspector and the same Assistant Chief Constable who a couple of weeks previously had very reluctantly issued her warning.

She walked along the corridor, by now in a foul mood; the benefits of a fortnight of sun, sea and sin had worn off in a flash. I'm fucking well going to resign, take the bastards to a tribunal and sell my story to The Daily Post, if they fuck with me again, she thought as she entered.

To her surprise she found her seniors relaxing in armchairs, drinking coffee, and was summoned to sit down and offered coffee herself. The atmosphere was positively warm and friendly.

Julie wondered what kind of stunt the bastards were going to try to pull this time.

The Assistant Chief Constable opened with small talk, complimenting her on her tan and asking about her holiday. He then cut to the crux of the matter.

"Now constable, you will doubtless have seen all the press interest in your return to work. I had to run the gauntlet of a pack of idiot reporters asking me fucking stupid questions, as I'm sure you did. I also understand there is no significant other in your life at this time... we therefore consider it would be in the best interests of you and the force if you agreed to be seconded away for a few months."