‘Cops and robbers are certainly a thing of the past,’ said Ross with some feeling.
‘The dim and distant past,’ said the Hawk. ‘And it doesn’t help that Holbrooke, among others, has lost confidence in Superintendent Milner as head of Royalty Protection, and wants him replaced as quickly as possible.’
‘For any particular reason?’ asked Ross.
‘Yes — when he phoned him at Buckingham Gate and left a message asking him to get in touch urgently, Milner didn’t bother to respond until a week later. And after Holbrooke had fully briefed him on the latest terrorist threat, all Milner had to say on the subject was, and I quote, “Don’t worry yourself, old chap, we’ve got it all under control.”’
‘Which prompts me to ask, sir,’ said Jackie, looking up from her notebook, ‘is the fact the Commissioner doesn’t think Milner is up to the job the only reason we’re all being assigned to Royalty Protection?’
Commander Hawksby remained silent for some time, before saying, ‘No, it isn’t. In fact, even Holbrooke doesn’t know the full story, because I still consider it an internal matter.’ He closed the file in front of him and added, ‘Stop writing,’ which they all obeyed without question. ‘The Commissioner also has reason to believe that Milner and some of his inner circle are bent, not least because he appears to be living the life of a minor royal on the salary of a Superintendent. And if that turns out to be the case, we are going to need incontrovertible proof of what he’s been up to for the past decade before we can even think about arresting him. Not least because, stating the obvious, he has friends in high places, some of whom he’s worked with for several years. With that in mind, Milner will be getting four new recruits joining him in the near future, but they won’t include Ross Hogan, who will be reporting directly back to me.’
‘Am I going undercover again?’ asked Ross.
‘No,’ said the Hawk. ‘In fact you couldn’t be more out in the open,’ he added without explanation.
No one else asked the obvious question, or interrupted while the boss was in full flow.
‘DCI Warwick will be joining Royalty Protection as Superintendent Milner’s second-in-command, but not until the rest of you are all fully up to speed with the problems you’ll be up against, which could take at least a couple of months. And remember, we don’t want Milner to find out what we’re up to. So make sure you don’t express any opinions to other colleagues outside of this room. We can’t afford to give that man the slightest opportunity to cover his tracks before we even turn up. DCI Warwick will be given considerable latitude to root out any other officers who consider themselves above the law, while at the same time trying to find out if they take the terrorist threat at all seriously.’
The commander turned to William. ‘The first problem you may encounter will be Milner himself. If the biggest apple in the barrel is rotten, what hope is there for the seedlings? Don’t forget that Milner has been in command of the unit for over a decade, and considers the only person he has to answer to is Her Majesty the Queen. You’ll have to tread carefully if you’re going to stick around long enough to find out how he’s getting away with it,’ the Hawk added, handing over the baton to the one person at the table who had already been fully briefed.
‘During the next few weeks,’ said William, ‘I want you all to carry out some in-depth research on how the Royal Family go about their public duties, while at the same time assuming you’ve never heard of them. Start with a clean sheet and treat them as if they are all criminals who need to be investigated.’
‘That should be fun,’ said Jackie.
‘You can start by booking a tour of Windsor Castle on an open day when no members of the Royal Family are in residence. Your single purpose is to get the lie of the land while at the same time checking security. I want you all to be a yard ahead, not a yard behind, by the time you report for your first day as Royalty Protection officers.’
‘Any bets against me getting into the castle unnoticed?’ said Ross.
‘Don’t even think about it,’ said the Hawk. ‘You’re in enough trouble as it is. But if you should bump into any recently retired protection officers, you’re free to go on a fishing expedition. Just make sure you don’t end up as the bait, because if you do, you can be certain their next call will be to Milner, and you’ll have to be taken off the case.’
‘However,’ said William, ‘when we do eventually report for duty, you can expect to be ignored, insulted, even ridiculed, by officers who don’t realize they may not be there in a few months’ time. But try to remember they won’t all be corrupt; some may well feel the same way about Milner as the Commissioner does, while I fear others will be beyond redemption. Team meetings will continue to take place here at the Yard every morning between eight and ten, when we can share our latest findings, and hopefully find out exactly what we’re up against, even before we turn up. Any questions?’
‘You didn’t mention what role I’d be playing,’ said DI Hogan, trying to look offended.
‘That will depend on whether she offers you the job.’
‘She?’ said Ross.
‘Her Royal Highness, the Princess of Wales,’ said William, turning to face his old friend, ‘has requested we join her for tea at Kensington Palace at three o’clock tomorrow afternoon.’
Ross was silenced for a moment, unsure if this was William’s idea of a joke.
‘Sadly, I can’t make it,’ he ventured casually. ‘I have a more pressing engagement tomorrow afternoon. I need to get my hair cut.’
The rest of the team waited for the Hawk’s response.
‘The only pressing engagement you’ll have tomorrow afternoon, Inspector, should you fail to turn up at Kensington Palace on time, will be at the Tower of London, where you’ll find I’ve put DCI Warwick in charge of torture. DS Roycroft will operate the rack, and DS Adaja the thumb screws, while DC Pankhurst will have the difficult task of finding a large enough block to put your head on. And you needn’t ask who the executioner will be. Any more frivolous questions, DI Hogan?’
This time the laughter was supplanted by even louder banging on the table. After it had died down, William was the first to speak.
‘You can all have the rest of the day off before we begin working on our new assignments. However, I’ll expect you to be in my office by eight tomorrow morning for a full briefing on your individual roles. Just make sure you’ve read these carefully before then.’ He passed each of them a thick file.
Paul glanced briefly at his file, before saying, ‘Can I point out, chief, for the sake of evidential accuracy — something you’ve always felt strongly about — that if we all turn up at eight tomorrow morning, having read our files carefully, we won’t actually have had any time off?’
‘You’re quite right,’ said William not missing a beat. ‘But should you fail to be on time and have not read all the documents, DS Adaja, we will have two Detective Constables in our ranks, and I may decide that one is surplus to—’
‘I’ll be on time, sir,’ said Paul, picking up his file before William could complete the sentence.
‘I’m glad to hear it,’ said the Hawk, ‘but for now, you, Jackie and Rebecca can leave us, while I have a word with DCI Warwick and DI Hogan.’
The Hawk didn’t speak again until the door had closed. ‘Now, as you both well know, we have an even more serious matter to discuss. Miles Faulkner is back in prison, resuming the sentence for fraud and deception he was serving before his escape, but there are going to be some very serious questions about how you got him back from Spain to Belmarsh. I assume,’ he said, leaning forward and placing both elbows on the table, ‘that you both have a credible explanation for the extra-curricular activities you got up to in Spain, which Mr Booth Watson will certainly describe to the jury as kidnapping and theft, not to mention a gross violation of his client’s human rights?’