Fifteen Years on the Force (A Short Story)

I’m sitting in the waiting room, surprisingly calm. I was expecting to be nervous because this is my first time in therapy and my first thought was that the therapist would be unforgiving and ruthless as they dive into my mental state and rip it apart, but when I spoke to the receptionist, she was calm and sweet. She, the receptionist, Dianna, noticed that I looked a little nervous, and immediately clocked that it was my first time, probably because she’s seen many people look the same way, but she did console me by explaining that therapy is controlled by you. If you want to have a simple chat just to get a load off, then by all means come down and have a chat, except having a simple chat requires you to have £150 in your pocket at the time.

I’m not worried about the money. For years I’ve been working as a Police detective and have worked my way up to the highest there is before jumping rank and becoming Captain, something I’ve thought about doing so many times, but always reaching the same conclusion: I like where I am.

The waiting room held many interesting items, including an extremely relaxing waterfall that instead of making me want to go to the toilet every five minutes, is calming my nerves and almost putting me in a trance like state as I watch each drop fall from the top into the basin at the bottom.

The door to the therapist’s office was just down the hall from where I’m sitting. It has been closed since I got here, meaning either she’s busy with a client, or is getting a shed load of work done before seeing me. Whatever she’s doing, the surprisingly loud clock on the wall in front of me was telling me time’s fast reaching my appointment, with only seconds to go. It has to be right, otherwise people would get confused, which means in less than five seconds, the therapist would come out of her office, invite me in, and begin the session.

As soon as the clock struck the hour, the door to the therapist’s office opened, and she stepped out, smiling broadly. I stood up and waited for her to come over, where she reached out with her right hand for a handshake, a gesture which I quickly and gratefully accepted.

“Hello, Frank, it’s good to see you.” The therapist looked to be in her mid-forties, with bags under her eyes, probably from the stress of the job over the years. Her hair was tied neatly in a bun, and she continued that professional look with smart dress code: A plain velvet silky shirt, with regular suit trousers. 

I accidentally breathed in too much as I stood up and as I said, “hi,” I blew it all out, unintentionally blowing in her face, but she didn’t flinch or make a comment, she just stood there with confidence and just asked if I would like to enter her office now.

“Yes, thank you.” Maybe I was more nervous than I thought I was. I blame the waterfall for false intentions.

I walked into her office. It was bigger than I expected, but now that I'm looking around, it makes sense it's this big, to give the impression of freedom, instead of claustrophobia; independence; and the modern art on the walls giving the wall a sense of individuality, originality, and openness.

“Make yourself comfortable on the couch over there,” she pointed to the cream leather couch by the wall to my left. In front of that was a single, but just as comfortable looking chair, which, before she sat down on it, made her way to the table behind her, picked up a notebook, a folder, and a pen, then sat down. I mirrored her actions.

“My name is Dianna,” she said sweetly. Oh, she has the same name as the receptionist. “Yes, my receptionist and I have the same name, and yes, it did cause some confusion at times, but we’ve organised a strong system to identify who’s who. I call her Dee, and she calls me Di, because she doesn’t like Dee, which is fair enough, isn’t it?” That was probably a rhetorical question in order to break the ice, but I blurted out an answer anyway.

“Yes, I can see why you wouldn’t like the name, Di,” I said.

“Exactly,” she nodded, “but if it works, then why change it. We’re so used to this system, if we were to change it, we would probably unknowingly revert back to the one we have now and just carry on from there until one of us notices, if one of us notices. “But that’s enough about me,” that probably was an icebreaker to get things moving. I wonder if she does that with all her patients. Probably, I don’t know.

“Let’s talk about you. Your name is Frank, and that’s about all I know, so why don’t you tell me more and we can go from there.”

“Erm, well, I’m not here to discuss myself, as strange as that may sound,” I began, tensing up slightly as I was expecting Dianna to ask why on Earth I’m here if it’s not for myself, but instead she just sat there, calmly.

“I see,” she said casually, not making a note, “you want to try and understand someone else, and would like my professional advice,” she hit the nail on the head first time.

“Yes.”

“OK, well, I still would like to know about you before we move on, if that’s OK?” she asked.

“Sure.” I realised that I had slipped down on the leather, so I pushed myself up to sit upright, planted my feet firmly on the floor in an attempt to keep me from slipping down again, and began introducing myself to Dianna.

“Well, you know my name’s Frank,” she nodded quietly, “and I have been a Police detective for fifteen years.” She pulled a facial expression that told me she was interested. “I started at the very bottom, where I was working at the desks, filing paperwork and processing phone calls and making the Captain’s tea when the person in charge of the desk to the right of me was absent.

“I loved it, but I never intended staying there. I’ve always wanted to be the second in command. Not Captain, no. I’ve never wanted to be the man in charge, but only his right hand man, if you will. I would have tonnes of responsibility, but with considerably less stress, you know,” again she nodded to show that she understood. I continued.

“I spent two years filing paperwork, gradually building up a reputation through my good work and organising the many workplace parties on important occasions: Christmas, Halloween, and all that jazz. It was a heck of a lot of work, but I enjoyed every minute of it, so I didn’t have any aftereffects. I felt tired after a long day, or a particularly difficult day, sure, but I always looked forward to tomorrow morning, and I always woke up with strong determination and excitement for the day ahead.

“It wasn’t long before I was promoted. An offer came up to go higher, and I took it immediately. All I had to do was pass a couple of tests, which I did with flying colours, and soon, in my third year working on the Police force, I was leaving the desk permanently and heading out. The Captain gave me my badge and my gun, signed all the necessary paperwork, and by the end of the week, I was stepping out of those doors on my first official duty as a true detective. I was standing on the second stepping-stone on my way to the top – or should I say, to the second rung of the ladder,” Dianna nodded for a third time.

“Over the course of the next thirteen years, I put my fair share of blood, sweat, and tears into the force. Sometimes, literally. As I was working my way up over the next few years, tackling more and more cases, and difficult ones, I have been shot, stabbed, nearly run over, nearly blinded when someone threw a kettle of boiling water at me – it splashed over my face, but somehow it didn’t enter my eyes. I have done so much running after criminals, and caught many of them, and I have lost a couple of my workmates along the way. Great men have been knocked down whilst trying to serve justice to those who think they can do what they want and get away with it. Close friends of mine have left the force due to stress, depression, they were scared and scarred, and I nearly left myself.

“A serial killer, a very smart person, went on a rampage through the city, and no one was able to find any patterns, he had bested us in so many ways, and when we were fortunate enough to get close, he took us down, and me with them. I was left in hospital for a couple of weeks, recovering from a very hard kick to the chest, among other wounds.”

“You’re talking about the Tongue-tied Assassin. The person who couldn’t talk and with each murder he committed, he cut their tongue out.’ She shuddered as she tricked herself into thinking about him again.

“I am,” I confirmed.

“I read about him in the newspaper. The journalists did a good job dampening each detail, but they still left little to the imagination, and I hated that.”

“The situation looked bleak,” I continued, “the odds were stacked against us, it felt; we lost a couple of good men. I genuinely felt as if I had reached the end of my career. I thought that I have done all that I can, but life had another plan, and sitting in a hospital bed was its way of telling me that it will always get its own way.

Dianna’s only reaction so far was nodding. I was expecting her to react differently when as I explained the toughest part of my Police career, but all that she showed was that she’s paying attention, absorbing every word, and I didn’t mind that. Her calm body language allowed me to continue, because even though she didn’t have to explicatively show it, I knew she was sympathising with me. Even though I’ve never been to a session before, that was the moment when I knew she was a true professional therapist.

“How did you catch him?” she asked.

“Like all serial killers, keeping up with so many things all at once to keep yourself from getting caught; he made a mistake, and that put us back in the running. He left some evidence at a murder he had committed whilst I was in the hospital, and that led us straight to him, and it was impossible for him to get out of it. We locked him away for life, and things could slowly repair themselves. I took a couple of days off work, as did a couple others, and when we returned, we were refreshed and ready to resume our work. We have never seen anything like that before, and, touch wood,” I tapped my cranium, “we don’t see anything like it again.”

“How long did it take before your entire department returned to normal?” Dianna asked spontaneously.

“Oh,” I had to think about that one, “about a week and a half,” she nodded as if she accepted that answer, but it probably was more to show that she understood what was going on.

I continued. “I also resumed working my way up the ladder. I had overcome the most difficult case of my life, and so to give up getting to where I want to go would be the worst thing to do. I had put my entire heart into that job, but after that case, I somehow found even more strength and determination, and in two years I was exactly where I wanted to be. I was right beside the Captain. I have been there for seven years and I have loved every minute of it. I have built up a massive amount of respect with the Captain and my fellow work colleagues. When the Captain’s out of the office, I’m in charge; when he’s in the office, he asks for my opinion before doing what he thinks is best; and when we’re out and about on the streets, I’m allowed to enforce what is necessary to make sure this city is as safe as it can be. I have all the power I’ve ever wanted, without having absolute power that the Captain has, you know.”

“That has all changed now,” she said. She was right to say that. Things have changed. I wouldn’t be here if things hadn’t have changed. “Because of this person you’re here to talk about.”

“Right,” it was my turn to nod. “It was about three months ago when he arrived. Well, when I say arrived, I meant, he came into my life, not necessarily joined the Police force, except via consultancy. As much as TV and films have led you to believe, the Police very rarely use consultants. In fact, it’s not recommended to seek that kind of work because sometimes new cases are as rare as chicken teeth.

“The Police have all the necessary resources to handle the toughest of cases. Yes, we do get the odd one that pushes our force to the limit, such as the one I’ve just explained, but they are just as rare as consultants getting new cases.

“And this new person was getting all the new cases,” Dianna intelligently deducted. I confirmed her answer by starting at the beginning, but Dianna caught me before I could say it.

“I must stress that I cannot give a true professional analysis of this person if he’s not sitting in front of me.”

“Oh, I totally understand that,” I said quickly. “No, I’m just here to see if there’s anything you can say.” Dianna wrote something down in her notebook. I was about to ask what that was, but stopped myself when I realised that I didn’t actually have the right to ask until she brings up the matter herself in a general conversation.

“You’ve got my attention,” she said, “tell me about when you first met this person.”

“It was a while since I met him. Beforehand, I’ve just been hearing about him from my Captain.”

“Fair enough,” she said casually, “what did he say?”

***

The first day I heard about this man was during a promotional event organised by the world’s most successful security company. For years, the company hired all the best scientists they can to manufacture and build the world’s most impenetrable safe, and they managed just that.

State of the art security system with incredibly strong metal so thick a tank’s missile couldn’t break through it, and a number mechanism so random, it’s impossible to predict. The odds of guessing the 14-digit number code on your first try are so slim, it falls into the category of impossible. The company decided to test their system by getting in touch with the world’s brightest minds to see if they could break through and enter the vault. It was a heavily promoted event, but that didn’t bother the company. They knew what they were doing.

All the scientists who worked on the system were accounted for but even then, when the system was online, every scientist admitted that they understood how it works, because they developed it, but how to beat it, they have no idea how to do. They set up an extremely convoluted algorithm that essentially grows stronger the longer it’s operational. My Captain said that he wouldn’t dare to try and understand how it works, but he does know that the code used was developed specifically for that security system. That safe in that event was the only piece of that code in the world, ever.

It’s self-learns new techniques to make the 14-digit code completely impossible to predict, no matter what you try. The only way to do that is via another algorithm, which hasn’t been invented yet and would take years to do so, and even then, by the time that rival code has been developed, it might not be strong enough to break the defences the other algorithm has developed by itself.

Those who do have access to the vault receives an encrypted text message that looks like a mess of characters. They have to learn how to read that if they are to enter the vault. If they fail, then no one enters the volt, ever, until someone is able to crack the code, but as I said, that cannot be done without a specialist piece of coding that hasn’t been invented yet. Also, if anyone who isn’t assigned to receive the text messages, tries to enter the 14-digit code, they have to walk through a facial recognition doorway which follows the same coding as what’s inside the vault door. No one can crack and hack into that and make themselves recognised by the software.

Members of the public were invited to attend if they so wish and watch as the world’s greatest minds tried to break the unbreakable, and my Captain went. He said that “seeing those minds in real life was a treat, but even more so when you see them stumped”. I wasn’t able to attend due to a hospital appointment. It had been a while since I was in one of their beds due to the serial killer I told you about, and they just wanted to check up on me, to see how I was doing, especially considering I’m still on the Police force and doing a lot of physical work.

My Captain said that he enjoyed every minute of it, but there was something in his voice that told me he was saving the best moment to last. Throughout the event, my Captain was standing next door to someone, who appeared to be studying, analysing, and working stuff out in his head a rapid speed. He didn’t pay any attention to him because he was casual-like.

***

“But he was able to break open the security lock,” Dianna stated.

“That’s where I’m heading, yes; I’ll skip to that part.”

***

As expected, the world’s greatest minds failed at cracking the safe. It remained unhackable. “Remained” being the key word. When the test was over, he raised his hand, catching the organisers” attention. At first they thought he would ask a question about the safe, but instead he asked if he could have a go at cracking the safe, which didn’t get a laugh, but instead a silent curiosity. My Captain did say that it felt as if everyone was laughing internally, but they were able to show some dignity.

The organiser did say, “this is the most advanced security system in the world. A group of the world’s smartest minds struggled and were unsuccessful. I’m sorry, but I doubt you will stand a chance.”

“Which adds to the reason why I want to try,” he said casually, not flinching or becoming embarrassed. In fact, he looked pretty confident, which gave the organiser more of a reason to let him, to see him walk back into the crowd with his tail between his legs. The more the organiser and this man stared into each other’s eyes, the more the organiser would allow him to have a go, which they did.

“Very well,” the organiser said. “Take your time and do your best.”

My Captain said that he has never seen anything like it before. He simply walked up the keypad, paused and looked at it for two seconds before putting in the correct 14-digit passcode. The safe door clicked open, he grabbed the handle and pulled it, revealing the empty vault. Everyone was mesmerised by what just happened. They were stunned, including the organiser, which my Captain says is proof that he has nothing to do with them, because at first he believed he was undercover. The reaction of everyone in that room, including him, was truly, genuinely, surprise.

“Thank you for your time,” he nodded to the organiser, and without another word, he walked out of the room, and no one has seen him since. My Captain doesn’t even remember what he looks like.

***

“Our conversation about what happened that day was on the very next day. That was also the day he received an anonymous text message. He wouldn’t tell me what it said, but something told me it was from this man, because of my Captain’s expressions, but my Captain and I have met him after that event, yes.”

“And how did you feel at this moment, when he told you this story?” Dianna asked softly.

“Surprise, disbelief. I trust my Captain; I have the utmost respect for him, but it just didn’t seem right that someone from the streets, with no prior training with anything to do with the safe could come in and immediately enter the code. It was hard to believe, but like I said, I trust my Captain.”

“Just because he says it happened, doesn’t mean you have to believe it,” Dianna said wisely. “I can understand why you would say you do believe him, because he’s your Captain, but that doesn’t mean you have to change how you feel internally.”

“Well, I had my doubts,” I said, and she nodded and wrote something down in her book. Whatever I had said probably had quite a lot of meaning in.

“Were you the only one who knew about this person?” she asked.

“I was at the time, yes,” I confirmed. “He told me about this strange person the night before, and he made sure that I wasn’t going to tell anyone on the force until he felt the time was right.

“Makes sense,” Dianna.

“It did make sense to me as well,” I said.

“Was there a reason why he wanted to mention this person, or was he just bringing him up to get it off his chest, because something as strange as that does tend to sit on for a while.”

“There was a reason, yes,” I nodded, “which is why he was just as surprised – probably even more surprised than me – when he received an anonymous text message.

“He contacted the Captain the next day,” Dianna deduced intelligently again.

“He didn’t tell me what was on the text, though. Actually, he didn’t even say that the text was from him, it was his reactions that told me just that, and from how he suddenly got up and said he needed to go out somewhere to meet someone. He didn’t console me, he didn’t discuss anything, he just left, leaving me questioning things, you know.”

“And how did that make you feel?” Dianna asked.

“A little frustrated, if I’m honest. I’ve been by his side for years. He asks for my opinion, I give it to him, and he then does what he thinks is best. This time, he just upped and left.

“It does seem strange that he hasn’t shown that kind of behaviour during your time working with him. You’ve known him for fifteen years.”

“That’s what was so surprising that. We’ve built up a solid friendship. We have the utmost respect for each other.”

“And it all changed when this person entered the Captain’s life,” Dianna asked.

“Yes,” I said. Then I realised what she had actually said and what I had agreed to.

“And this man became a consultant for the force. The Captain refers to him for his opinion just as much, if not, more than he does you. From what I can make out, he’s a very smart individual who the force would definitely benefit from, but you dislike that he didn’t have to work as hard to get to where he is with the Captain as you did.”

I was struggling to comprehend what she was saying.

“I didn’t come in to have you assess someone else, I wanted to talk about someone else, this person.”

“Frank,” Dianna sat up straighter than she was and closed the book to indicate that she was no being serious, “I have been a therapist for quite some years now. I’ve talked with everybody. Enough people to pick up every trick of the trade, and I know how to decipher what people are actually saying in seconds. If anyone wants to come in and talk about someone else, to give a professional assessment on a particular person other than who’s sitting in front of me, that tells me that they had this strong connection, and now it’s either broken or being tested, and you would like to know how to deal with that.”

“You think I’m the problem,” I said.

“You mentioned about the serial killer that you almost quit the force over, and subsequently your dream, before mentioning this person. If you really wanted to discuss this person, you would have started with that event where he opened the safe door with no prior knowledge of the safe or anything connected to the safe. That highlights that you dislike this person getting to where you are now without putting as much work as you had into the force.”

I was stunned. Dianna is an intelligent person, but to jump to conclusions like that before I’d finished telling her what I have to say, that’s not fair. I will admit that I did feel slightly annoyed with this person, but it was the way he entered our lives, and what he did when he was there that made me need to come here.

“May I continue,” I said calmly.

“Please,” Dianna said, becoming reengaged with my words. “What happened when the Captain returned from meeting with this person?”

***

He came back happy but surprised. I wasn’t expecting anything less – why would I? – but I guess it was because you do rarely see him happy, or indeed as happy as he was. I mean, he came in whistling as if all the problems in the world were briefly on hold. He walked passed my desk, acknowledged me with a minute salute to the temple, then walked into his office, sat down at his desk, used his computer for a minute or two, which he always does. Every time he returns to his deck after being away for more than a half an hour, he checks his E-mails, which he gets a load of every single day. After he had checked his E-mails and found none he needed to respond to, began completing a crossword.

***

“What’s unusual about that?” Dianna asked, detecting my tone of voice.

“He constantly complains that he has so much work to do and no time to do any of it, so suddenly having time to fill in a crossword was unusual, but that wasn’t actually the most unusual aspect about the whole scenario I was seeing.”

“What’s that?”

“He hates doing crosswords because he always says that he can’t complete them. “The clues are too cryptic for my liking,” he says.

“I see,” Dianna said simply.

I continued.

***

I watched him complete this crossword in minutes. He stared at it for a second or two before filling a word in. He repeated that until he had finished. He placed the newspaper on his desk and resumed checking his E-mails. The rest of the day went as normal.

We received a phone call from someone who was suspicious of their next door neighbour. The night before, he took the bins out and muttering under his breath the lines, “I’m going to kill you, you’re dead to me, you and everyone you know and love. Don’t you dare test me, or I will make sure your life be made hell.” After we went and investigated, it turned out he was practicing his lines for the play he’s in that night. We apologised for the disturbance and recommended that he practises his lines indoors if they may provoke suspicion, which he immediately agreed and apologised to his neighbour, and gave her a free ticket, which I thought was quite generous.

The next day, however, things started to get a little weird again. It started off normally: the Captain came in, said his hellos to everyone in the office, held the morning meeting, and made sure everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing. The moment the meeting broke and we all went our separate ways, he received a text message which he had to take up straight away. This time, however, once he had read the text, he instructed me to follow him.

***

“Isn’t that what you wanted to happen the day before,” Dianna asked me.

“Yes, but let me finish,” she wrote something down in her book. I wasn’t sure what part, so I continued anyway.

***

He said we have to go by car, which we did, and he drove me to an apartment block in the middle of the city. I asked what was going on, and he said that there was a person dealing drugs from the fourteenth floor. I asked how he knew that, and he said that he was given the information to him from an anonymous source. We are obligated to follow up any such calls of drugs if we have enough evidence suggesting such, unless we get the call after we’ve already caught the person.

Anyway; I knew that the anonymous source was that strange person. I was about to ask how he knew about the drugs being on the fourteenth floor, but my Captain told me to get out of the car and prepare to enter the building.

I then asked him why SWAT hasn’t been told, and my Captain told me that he didn’t need to, because the person wasn’t armed and/or dangerous, just that he’s dealing illegal drugs under the radar, and have built up a successful business from doing so.

***

“I Won’t bore you with the details, but it was a successful extraction. We arrested the man, took him down back to the station, and by following all the proper protocols, he was sent to the prison for life for harbouring many thousands of pounds” worth of drugs in his apartment, and selling many thousands more.

“All from one text message your Captain received that morning,” Dianna said with a sense of surprise in her voice.

“Exactly. Once I knew what I had to do, I did it, but only after he was put away, I started asking questions. I wanted to know how that person – whoever he was – was able to give him the necessary information.”

“And what did your Captain say?”

“He said that he was unable to explain at the moment, but when he can, he will.”

“That sounded suspicious,” Dianna practically said the next line.

“Right, I was curious, but if I were to investigate, I knew how many laws I would be breaking, especially privacy, because I would be hacking into my Captain’s phone. All I could do was ask questions, but considering my Captain was the only person I knew of who had any answers and that he would quickly get tired of me trying to push him for any information, no matter how small, I had to sit on my hands.”

“Was that tough, because your Captain could have obtained that information illegally?”

“No,” I answered without hesitation. “I’ve known my Captain for fifteen years. Whilst this is the first time he’s exhibited extraordinary behaviour, I know for a fact that he would never commit any crimes to get the job done. My Captain is a firm believer in justice, and catching and locking people away the right way, without playing dirty.” Dianna nodded. She didn’t try and probe me further on that question, because I knew how much passion I put into that statement.

“So, was it tough, sitting on your hands?” she asked again.

“It wasn’t at first,” I answered, predicting the next question.

“When did it start becoming difficult to remain quiet?” Dianna asked casually. Even though she asked that professionally, I couldn’t help but detect a sense of interest in her voice.

***

A couple of days went by without any contact with this person. The days were like any other normal day. The Captain and I were called to a meeting about health and safety. It’s something that happens every year, and is just a basic update on what not to do in this situation and that situation. All you have to do is turn up and you’ve passed. That’s basically the most eventful part of the entire couple of days. For the rest of the time, I was stuck behind my desk filing paperwork.

Ever since I had a taste of the world outside, paperwork slowly became something I had to force myself to do, instead of being enthusiastic about, but I did enjoy catching up on all that I had unintentionally gotten behind on, so that was nice.

However, one Friday afternoon, when I was filing away my last piece of paperwork for that day just before my shift ended, the Captain burst out of his office, brandishing his phone in one hand, saying that we have to move now, because there’s a homicide about to happen.

***

“Did you spot the key word there?” I paused to ask.

Dianna re-listened to the conversation in her head before noticing the oddness. “About to happen,” she said.

“Got it in one,” I clicked my fingers with enthusiasm. All I heard we have to move now, and homicide. It wasn’t until after we stopped it from happening that I realised what he said and what we had actually done.”

***

We raced down the road, with the sirens blaring and the lights flashing. It was evening – twilight, if you will – so you could see the lights from a mile away. We pulled up in front of someone’s house in the suburbs, jumped out of the car, ran down the garden path, and the next couple of minutes were filled with the two of us trying to knock down someone’s front door.

Once it finally gave way and smashed against the wall, we ran inside and stopped someone from committing murder. We found a middle-aged woman tied up against the kitchen table, crying her eyes out with terror. What had happened was, two friends decided to have a night in and watch a have a marathon of their favourite films, but one thing led to another, and a fight broke out.

How it escalated from an argument to someone committing murder baffles me, but the facts were right in front of me. We caught the other middle-aged woman in the living room, sharpening a knife.

She was sent to jail. It was as simple as that. It was only when I finally walked in through my front door, sat down on the sofa with my dinner did I realise what the Captain said, and what he was holding at the time. I’m a well-trained detective; it wasn’t hard to piece together the facts.

My Captain received another text from this person, with details of a murder that was about to happen. Again, I was brought into a scenario that I have no knowledge about.

***

“My job is to follow orders, but from my Captain and higher, not from some stranger on the other end of a phone. That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“So your curiosity rapidly grew.”

“It did.”

“Did you do anything the next day, or did you wait a couple more times before acting?” Dianna asked. I knew if I answered that in a particular way, it would tell Dianna exactly what she needed to hear and therefore will write down something in her folder.

“I did start asking questions,” and Dianna wrote something down in her folder.

***

When my Captain sat down at his desk the next morning, he immediately received a text message, but he didn’t do anything, or say anything to us. He just continued to sit there and go about his work.

I knew he was busy, but I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. I got up from my desk and knocked on his door.

“Enter,” he said, and I did.

“What do I owe the pleasure, Frank,” he said.

“Sir, I know how annoying this may sound, but I came to ask about this person you’ve been in contact with. I’m going to be honest and say that it’s throwing me off guard with you running around with this person. I request that you share that information as I believe it may hinder my work here at the station and whilst outside, where it’s vitally important that I know everything that’s going on.”

I sounded confident, and I stood with a firm posture. I said all that needed to be said, so I remained quiet, waiting for his response. At first, he remained blank. I did have this sensation at the back of my mind that I had crossed a line, but then he stole a fleeting look at his computer screen. His eyes darted from side to side as if he was reading something, and he nodded before standing up and walking around his desk, grabbing his coat along the way.

“OK,” he said simply, pulling his coat on and holding out his hand to indicate we’re leaving. I was taken aback by his actions, my mannerisms told him that. I didn’t want to be told that we were leaving, which jolted me into moving and leaving his office, grabbing my coat on the way.

***

“What are your thoughts so far?” I asked Dianna. She closed her folder and breathed in deeply as she thought about what to say.

She breathed in deeply as she thought about her answer. “As I’ve said before, it’s hard for me to give a professional analysis of this person without talking to him. He does seem like a very intelligent person. Are you going to tell me that you’re going to meet him?” she asked.

“You’ve already said that, though?” I asked.

“I know, and my opinion of him hasn’t changed. I’m sensing you’re not very happy with that answer. You’re expecting me to pull him apart and decipher that he’s a bad person in some way or another.”

I was taken aback by her explanation. So much so that I was unable to respond properly. Dianna waited patiently for me to continue.

***

He took me to the outskirts of the city again and pulled up outside an ordinary looking house.

***

“May I ask why you felt as if you should have stated what the house looks like?” Dianna asked, throwing me off course slightly.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged.

“Do you believe this person is extraordinary?” she asked me.

“Well, I was going to explain what he did before you interrupted me,” I stated.

“My apologies,” Dianna nodded, acknowledging that I am allowed to continue.

***

We got out of the car and my Captain led the way down the garden path to the front door, where he knocked three times. The door opened straight away, and standing behind it was a teenager. He couldn’t have been more than 16 years old. Black hair, and was wearing a red T-shirt with the periodic table printed on, and a pair of jeans that have had a lot of wear a tear. He couldn’t have been any more of an ordinary looking person, yet the Captain has brought me here to introduce me to the man who is apparently smarter than the greatest minds on the planet combined.

***

“Smartness doesn’t have to be presented,” Dianna said almost philosophically. “He doesn’t have to dress up in a fancy suit – he is allowed to dress casually. How he wants.”

“Oh, I know,” I said probably a little too quickly. “I wasn’t questioning his clothes per se, just it was a little hard to believe that a sixteen-year-old teenager could be as smart as the Captain says he is, that’s all. I mean, he looked a little young to be that smart.”

“He could have a high IQ,” Dianna suggested.

“Having a high IQ only means you have a more powerful brain; it doesn’t help you learn the facts of the world without having to dig through so much information. Being sixteen years old, and from what he’s presented to us over the times he’s been consulting with us, it quickly became questionable how he was able to know so much at such a young age.”

“You’re right, having a high IQ does make your brain more powerful,” Dianna agreed. I sensed a but coming. “But, that’s the point, really. He’s able to retain a lot of information. He’s quick to learn something that’s brand new to him. He’s probably this type that needs more and more new information to keep away from boredom, and he would rather stay in and read a book than go outside to a nightclub.

“Funnily enough, that’s what I thought. Well, something similar along those lines, anyway. But when he invited us both in, things started to get a little… strange.”

“Frank, before you continue, may I ask you something.”

“Sure?” Paranoid would have been too strong a word, but I did have my suspicions on whether she would make another accusation about me before hearing all the facts.

“You haven’t told me his name, yet.”

“Oh, haven’t I?”

“No.”

“Oh.” A beat of silence.

“May I ask his name?” Dianna pushed.

“Yes, you may. Harrison.”

Dianna nodded, but said, “and you think this is bad, somehow?” she analysed.

“No. Well,” she can read me like a book. Then again, that is her job, I guess. “It just didn’t make any sense, that’s all. “It’s just, how many smart people do you know that has names to suit their intelligence.”

“I don’t follow,” Dianna said.

“Well, you’ve got: Theodore, Phineas, Einstein, Newton, Aristotle, Leonardo…”

“I don’t understand, sorry,” Dianna pushed, “are you saying that he shouldn’t be smart from the way he dresses and his name?”

“No.”

“Because it does sound like you are, I’m afraid,” she said sternly.

“Can I explain what I mean by continuing the story. I believe it will add some context to my “opinionated accusations”,” I think I should have had more control on how I said that, but Dianna didn’t say anything, but instead let me continue.

***

He invited us to sit down on the sofa, and we did; and then he disappeared into the kitchen, only to return with two glasses of drinks. One with water, and the other with freshly squeezed grapefruit.

***

“And you’re saying that as if it’s weird because…?” Dianna asked, rolling her pen between her forefinger and thumb, probably getting ready to write something down depending on my answer.

“Because that’s my favourite drink. I’ve only just met him and he’s giving me my favourite drink. At first I thought that it was just pure luck that he did that, but that didn’t make any sense. If he wanted to play it safe, he would have just given us two glasses of water, because grapefruit is a very specific drink, don’t you think, if you think about it, and it’s also my favourite.”

“You’re asking how he knew that? Did you ask him that?”

“After I had processed exactly what he had done, I did ask how he knew grapefruit was my favourite drink.”

“And what did he say?”

“He didn’t say anything, actually. He just said. ““I brought only one grapefruit from down the market. I handpicked it myself; made sure that it was ripe enough to be squeezed to perfection so to keep the taste as grand as it always is.” It’s as if he knew he would need it even back then, when he brought it. The thing is, I know when market day is: It’s on a Tuesday, and when we went to go see him, it was on a Friday. The event was on Tuesday night, and my Captain insists that he didn’t talk to this person. Somehow, he knew exactly what to buy for when.”

“I see,” Dianna. “And you believe this does fall into the category of having a high IQ?”

“Well, it just doesn’t make any sense, that’s all,” I persisted.

“You’ve mentioned.”

***

Knowing that I wouldn’t be getting a straight answer from him, the next question I asked him was how he was able to figure out how to unlock the safe, and he said.

“I’ll explain that later.”

***

“He still hasn’t by the way.”

***

That was the final question I asked him. I knew that if I were to ask any more, I wouldn’t be getting any straight answers from him. You would have thought that for someone as smart as he is, he would’ve been able to explain how he was able to know so much. I resorted to doing the only thing I could at the moment, which was to lean back in my chair and drink my grapefruit.

My Captain said, “this is Frank. He’s my right-hand man. He’s been on the Force for fifteen years.”

“Hello, Frank,” Harrison nodded, sitting down on the chair in front of us. He wasn’t sitting straight, instead he was leaning back, but his back was straight. He caught my wandering look and explained. “This is the best way to sit if you want to keep your back in good shape.”

“I heard about that on QI, I believe,” I said.

“They did,” he said simply. “That was a funny episode. You’re here to find more information about me, aren’t you?” he said suddenly. “You were right to guess my age to be sixteen years old. Yes, I can understand how perplexing it is to see a young person such as myself helping your Captain. How can I have knowledge others do not? That I am not willing to one-hundred percent disclose just yet. Your Captain does trust me, because I proved what I am capable of. I’m confident in saying that you wish for me to do the same.”

“Yes,” I said almost immediately. Harrison didn’t react in any way to my sudden actions, but my Captain did jump slightly. I regathered myself up and said with a bit more dignity. “Yes, please.”

“Very well,” he nodded. “But first,” and he stood up from his chair and disappeared out of the room, heading upstairs.

***

“You haven’t described what his house looks like,” Dianna pointed out.

“Well, it was just an ordinary-looking house, albeit, a little bit more organised than some others that I’ve been in, but I am a Police Officer and I have been in many, many disorganised houses; it does seem logical that a standard, tidy house looks pitch perfect, you know.”

“I do,” Dianna nodded.

“I mean, it has a kitchen – I could see that from where I was sitting, and it did look presentable, and there was a chess game on the table in the living room, ready to be played whenever without having to spend a while placing each piece on the correct tile.”

“What did he go upstairs for, or didn’t he tell you when he came back down?”

***

He was only gone for a minute when he came back, with a blindfold.

“You like playing chess,” Harrison said, turning towards the chessboard. “You haven’t played in a while, sure, but once you’ve learnt the rigorous rules and strategizing that comes with chess, it becomes muscle memory; almost impossible to forget unless you go for years without a single game, but that isn’t the case with you, just a couple of months.”

He kept a solid eye on me as he spoke. I watched him watch me, but before I could say anything, he said.

“You think I’m analysing you. You think I’m reading your facial expressions, little ticks, small mannerisms that you’re subconsciously disclosing. You didn’t say anything about the grapefruit, but it’s your favourite drink. I mentioned I brought it on the market, which I know you know is on a Tuesday, long before you even knew about me, and even longer before you would come here, because not even you knew you were coming here.

“You’ve acknowledged that and have resorted to trying to work out how I knew without having to ask too many questions. That’s understandable; you don’t want to appear annoying to your Captain. He brought you here to meet me – asking questions is part of that. However, I feel that my answers may not be adequate enough.

“When I went upstairs, you were wondering how best to test my abilities, to see if you could figure a flaw in my logic, or “guessing”, or whatever you would like to call it. I do agree to play your chess game; that’s what this blindfold is for.”

He tied it around his head, making sure to completely cover his eyes. Once he had made sure the blindfold stayed on his head, he turned around and with perfect accuracy and confidence, walked around his house, as if he was able to see properly.

“I assure you I cannot see a thing. Although my mind’s eye is quite strong. Your Captain tested my knowledge by asking me to predict what’s going to happen next.” He pulled out a chair from the table the chessboard was on and sat down in his usual slouched position. “I did so and won his confidence over. I believe that by restricting my sight, I will be able to win you over as well.”

I looked at my Captain for any advice, but all he said was he’s looking forward to the game. I gingerly made my way over to the table and sat down opposite him.

“You’re going to play a game of chess without being able to see?” I found myself saying.

“Your scepticism proves why I need to play this game. It will allow you to see what I am capable of.”

“So you can carry on working as a Police Consultant without having me questioning your every move.”

“Oh, I’m confident you’re going to do that even after this game,” he said. “This game of chess is a way to start building your trust.”

“You believe there will come a time when I will trust you without a doubt?” I asked, wondrously.

“If I play my cards right,” he said simply, ‘looking’ right at me. “I know you’re wanting to play this game, and I do recommend we start immediately as your Captain has an engagement he needs to attend to shortly. He may need your assistance.”

“There are so many questions stemming from what you’ve just said. The first being that you believe this game won’t take long. We haven’t started yet, unless you’ve already figured out exactly what moves I’m going to make and therefore conjured up counterattacks.”

“Every game is different. Every move is an adaptation of the previous; changing the game in an almost uncountable number of ways. Predicting a few out of trillions would take a supercomputer many years before any definitive results can be observed. May we begin.”

***

“And he played flawlessly,” Dianna intelligently deciphered.

“It was as if he could see. I had to admit, it did look remarkable that he was able to precisely reach for each piece, move it to where it needs to go, and place any that he’s taken from me to one side.”

“Sounds like he was exhibiting strong proprioception,” Dianna explained.

“That’s what he said. You see, the game went on for about fifteen minutes, and he had gotten me into a tough situation. It took me about half a minute for me to make my move, and when I did, he immediately made his, and in doing so, won the game.”

***

“Checkmate,” he said, smiling. I sighed plainly.

“If you didn’t predict my moves, how were you able to counter them without seeing?” I asked a bit monotonically.

“When one sense is restricted, the others automatically increase to make up for that one lost sense. I blocked my sight, so my hearing increased. From deciphering the sounds, and my current knowledge of my surroundings, I was able to accurately recreate an image in my mind’s eye. I used proprioception mixed with my strong imagination.”

“And high intelligence,” I added.

“You could say that.” I wasn’t sure if he was being modest or not.

***

“Come to think about it, that was the first time he fully explained something to me straight and true. Everything else was indirect and too cryptic for my liking.”

“I see,” Dianna said, writing something down in her book.

“You see what?”

“It seems that a portion of your disliking him comes from the fact that he didn’t explain a few things. When he exhibited these out-of-the-blue actions, your curiosity kept building up and building up, and because you gave up asking him because you didn’t want another indirect answer, that curiosity becomes something more, adding to that dislike.

“Frank, from what you’ve talked about, Harrison is an extremely smart person. His age doesn’t matter, just that he’s a gifted individual with a high IQ. Sometimes, when a smart person sees the world, he’s blinded by his own connections. He’s making so many in one go, it can be a little overwhelming, but sometimes they don’t understand that only he can make those connections. It seems that Harrison believes that we all can see everything that he does, and therefore doesn’t need to explain.”

Dianna’s analysation of Harrison hit the nail on the head once more. The moment she said that, it slotted into place, as if she forced open a door and let what I couldn’t see in to the foreground of my mind… but, there’s a problem.

“But what about the fact that I asked two questions, and he didn’t say anything straight at all.”

“In his mind, he did. He probably explained all that he needed to, and you would just understand. When you gave up from asking, he probably got the idea that you do fully understand.”

Oh. Well…

“I’ve never known anybody to be so smart, they don’t explain things.”

“Yes, an extraordinarily high IQ is rare, but with every gift there comes a drawback, whether it’s big or small. He sees everything around him, except that the people around him aren’t as smart as him – no one can know everything, and that’s just one of the very few pieces of information he doesn’t know.”

“So you’re saying that I’ve been the problem all along.” Am I misunderstanding something. Should I be feeling angry? Probably not. Maybe I’m having a little difficulty understanding the truth.

“No. I haven’t said anything of the sort,” Dianna defended herself. “You came here because you wanted to better understand this individual. You believed Harrison was strange and wondered if someone like me could dive into his mind and tell you his problems and how best to fix them. I told you multiple times that I am unable to give you a full diagnosis without seeing him first.

“I also explained that you disliked the fact that he has become someone the Captain trusts with so little effort compared to your fifteen years. That makes sense, but by disliking that, you’re neglecting your strengths.”

Yeah, well, compared to Harrison my strengths are nothing. He sees so much at any given moment, leaving me in the dust. Wait, Dianna did say with professionalism and confidence that I do have strengths, though. I do know mine, don’t I? I mean I’ve just been working on the force, working my way up to where I’ve wanted to be. I’ve learnt a lot, yes, but have I forgotten to pay attention to my strengths because they’ve soaked so deeply into my everyday life, I just do it, rather than think about what one I need to utilise.

“What would you say my strengths are?” I asked.

“Well, memory would be one of them,” Dianna said without hesitation. “You successfully relayed a long story to me with accurate dialogue and dates and times. I’m confident that if I were to request more details, you would be able to accurately give them. You’ve used this to your advantage on multiple occasions, I trust. Not only is your memory a strength, but you also have strong will power, and patients, and intelligence of your own; all traits, among others, you need to be as good as a detective such as yourself.”

“I have been complimented on my memory before?” I stated. But again, compared to Harrison… “But Harrison seems to never forget a thing. In fact, it’s almost as if he literally knows everything. My Captain has called him to assist on multiple murders and other crimes, and it takes him hardly any time at all to figure out who done it.”

“And this makes you feel redundant.”

“In a way, I guess it does.” Does it? After what we’ve just discussed. Was that too strong of a statement?

“How many cases has the Captain called Harrison in to help with?” Dianna asked. “You don’t have to give me an exact number because I already know that it’s much less than all what you’ve tackled since Harrison came into the picture. I believe that his smartness makes it feel as if it’s overshadowing everything else. You just need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.”

“What, like he does without even trying,” I said, just stating the facts. “He walked into a room one day and within seconds knew exactly what happened, and the next minute we had the criminal in cuffs. I’ve never known an arrest to happen so fast after a crime. And another time when he alerted the Captain of a crash that’s going to happen down the road from where we are. And then there’s the time when he solved the case before he even arrived on the scene. Apparently the Captain gave him enough information to work out what happened. He sees literally everything more than me.”

“That’s exactly my point,” Dianna pointed at me for emphasis. What did she mean by that? “You’re angry because it comes naturally to him, but not to you. This is going to sound cheesy, but you are capable of seeing the bigger picture, because you had done for the last fifteen years. It’s natural to think about things when someone new comes along, and I admire your coming here, because otherwise you would have bottled it up and then would have created more problems than its worth, and believe me you don’t want that to happen.”

I was right when I said that I’ve been doing this long enough that it’s become so natural to me, I don’t have to put much thought into it as I did before. I’ve been reminded to snap out of that state of mind and think more. Although, I’m not sure if I have all the advice I need.

“So what do I do, then? What do I do when he finds a clue and just states it without explaining?”

“My professional advice is to carry on as you were before Harrison became a consultant. I can understand the urge to know how he does what he does, but trust works a two-way street. He wants you to trust him, and I suggest you do. When he makes a discovery, just go along with it, or if you really need to know, for various reasons, then remain calm, don’t raise your voice, and have a casual chat with him. You’ll be surprised what can be achieved with a simple one-on-one talk.” She was referring to this one now, but her point still stands, I guess.

She continued, “when the Captain does call him, it’s not because he favours you less, it just means he’s using Harrison as an asset, which I strongly advise you do the same. Once a professional workplace friendship has developed, a casual friendship will soon follow. It may take time, sure, but if you take it day by day, you’ll see that there’s nothing out of the ordinary.

“If someone tomorrow came in and proved to be smarter than I, and younger, I wouldn’t be worried, because I can also use that opportunity to learn more and grow as a therapist. You can learn more, and grow as a Police Detective. You never know, you may learn enough that there comes a point when you will be able to solve the crime before he does.”

“Or before he gets a good look at it, you mean,” I said matter-of-factly.

“Well, maybe, but my point still stands and I recommend you take it and use it. Like he said, he treated that chess game as a way of earning your trust, and I think it’s about time you started showing some,” she concluded with a stern look.

Her words hit me hard. I came in here to better understand Harrison, but ended up better understanding myself. Dianna said I’m not the problem, but I wasn’t making things better. I guess it does make sense that the reason why I dislike him was because I was struggling to accept the fact that he’s already so close to the Captain. That clouded my vision and blocked me from seeing the bigger picture – all what Dianna has just said.

I have to admit I am surprised with how Dianna managed to subtly turn the tables. She was stern when she needed to be, calm when she needed to be, and listened when she needed to. In fact, Dianna probably figured me out the moment I mentioned I wasn’t here to talk about myself. From then on, she just needed a few details and within just one hour, she’s successfully opened my eyes. I’m glad I did come here. I had my doubts, but Dianna has put right my problems. That’s incredible.

Dianna looked the clock on the wall. “I’m afraid that it’s come to the end of the session,” she stood up, reaching her hand out. I followed, gratefully accepting her handshake. It was a bit abrupt the way our session ended, but if it were to continue, I would have had to be charged for two hours instead of just the one, which I had paid for in advance before coming here.

“If you would like to book another appointment, please come and drop in. I’ll always be here if you need me,” she smiled calmly.

“Thank you, Dianna,” I smiled back, my body now more relaxed than before. “I have to say that you’ve certainly opened my eyes.”

“That’s my job,” she shrugged. “I don’t want to kick you out,” she continued, “but I do have an appointment in about two minutes that I don’t want to be late for.”

“Oh, yes, sure,” and I turned on my heels and headed for the door.

“Did everything go well for you today,” Dianna the receptionist said, with a soothing smile.

“It did, actually,” I nodded.

“Glad to hear it. Would you like to book another appointment?” she asked.

“I don’t think I need to do that just yet,” I smiled.

“Well, have a nice day and weekend,” she said, sitting back down on her chair and opening her notebook.

“Yes,” I said, starting to make my way to the front door, “thank you, and you, too.”

“Thank you, sir,” she smiled.

Outside, the temperature had dropped by a couple of degrees, but it was still nice and warm enough to need a coat. The city was starting to get busy as it neared the end of the working day. My Captain is currently sitting at his desk, probably doing some paperwork.

Just then, my phone buzzed, signalling an incoming call. I fished it out of my pocket and saw that it was from my Captain.

“Hello,” I began the conversation.

“Frank, there has been a homicide on twenty-third street. There’re multiple witnesses, but the interesting thing is that all five of them are pointing their fingers at someone different. Meet me at the entrance of the street and I’ll fill you in on the rest. I’m going to call Harrison to see what he can do.”

“I’ll be there,” I said, confidently, happily.

“See you then, then,” my Captain said, hanging up the phone. I switched the phone’s screen off and put it back in my pocket. I do understand that it’s going to take some time for me to get used to the new arrangements, but my talk with Dianna has been enlightening.

Grabbing my keys out of my trousers pocket, I pressed the button to unlock my car and climbed inside, making sure that the radio was on. I just can’t drive without the radio for some reason.

Turning the key, the engine turned over. It’s just a basic car, really; nothing special. I made sure that the road was clear, and when I surprisingly found no cars, I released the handbrake and started making my way downtown.

THE END

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)