End of the Road (The Rozzers) (5 page)

“Jonesy, this is the man in charge of us, Sergeant Smith.” They shook hands.

“You and your men have handled this very well, Sergeant Smith; well done.”

I looked into Smudge’s eyes and realised he wasn’t looking too good. He was in shock, real shock, not the simulated shock I was used to. He too was a victim, yet he had had to keep playing his part, playing the sergeant. He might be a military man but he was just a career construction man, never seen action in his life and he was really suffering that night. He’d been through what I’d been through, but he also carried the burden of responsibility for all of us, and his job was on the line too.

Was I in shock? Were we all suffering? I looked at the civilian first aider. Yes. I looked at Donk and Pizza who were milling around. Yes. I glanced back at Cat, still inside the squashed car. Yes, of course. Everybody caught up in this tragedy was suffering from shock; everybody, it seemed, except for these two cops, two men who seemed to be in complete control.

I glanced after the other cop who was now directing the reversing ambulance up to the back of the toppled digger. So in control, directing and organising. Me? I just wanted to sit down at the side of the road and have a good cry. Is that how we all felt? When did the cops cry? Do cops cry?

The paramedics removed Cat from the back of the car before climbing in themselves. If anybody should be crying, it should be Cat. He walked towards us and I hugged him. A great big man hug.

We all turned and looked up at more approaching sirens, with so many blue lights flashing through the darkness it almost made me dizzy.

“Here come the cavalry,” said Jonesy. “Sergeant, keep all your men together. Your work’s done for now, but we’ll need to speak to you all before we’re finished up here and it might take some time. I presume that’s your truck?” He nodded up the road at our semi-illuminated lorry. “Get everybody in there and wait around, would you? Take a breather but whatever you do, do not move that truck from where it is.”

“Understood,” replied Smudge.

We walked along the road in total silence, heads down. Back to our truck, a place of warmth and comfort, a place that had been full of jovial, meaningless conversation less than an hour ago. Several tears were shed by those big, strong soldiers on that short walk back to normality. Nobody said a word until we reached the truck.

Cat went to the rear to examine the towing eye again. I joined him there. I frowned as I bent down to see what he was looking at. I couldn’t understand what he was holding in his hand.

“Cat! Can you believe it?” I shouted, relieved. He just smiled back at me, his relief clear even in the darkness.

I reached into my pocket and took out the souvenir I’d taken from the church yard earlier. I briefly looked at it before chucking it into the ditch at the side of the road.

“Now where the hell did you throw all of that beer, Sarge?” I asked, and the sergeant forgave me my cheek and laughed heartily.

We all did.

Part one of THE ROZZERS by DIEM BURDEN

o0o

CHAPTER FIVE

I swallowed deeply as I always did before entering any office of authority, and this man was
the
authority – the ‘Old Man’, the boss, the officer in command of my squadron: Major ‘Arty’ Cummins

“Come in!” came the reply to my respectful tap.

I entered and saluted smartly. “Lance-Corporal Burden reporting for pre-release interview, sir.”

“Ah yes, good. Come in Corporal Burden and close the door, would you? There’s a good chap. Oh, and pull up a pew.”

I did as I was ordered as the major turned to the new computer at his side. I watched as he scowled at it before hitting the keyboard hard, several times.

“Useless ruddy thing.” He smacked the keyboard one last time, much harder. “Waste of space if you ask me. More trouble than they’re ruddy worth.”

He turned towards me, smiling mechanically, as he opened a file on his desk. He briefly scanned the contents in silence before looking over his half-rimmed glasses at me.

“So, you’re leaving us, are you? Don’t suppose there’s any chance I can convince you to stay on, is there?”

“No sir, absolutely none.”

“I see.” He looked down again, disappointed with my firm stance against his beloved army. “Married now, aren’t you?”

I nodded.
You should know; I had to get your permission
,
in writing
.

“Good, good. So, what are you planning to do with yourself on the other side then, huh?”

I knew this question was coming and I had prepared for it. “The Prison Service, sir.”

“The ruddy Prison Service? Whatever for?” He removed his glasses and stared at me. He looked as if I had just told him I was going to join the Argentinean Navy. I hadn’t been expecting this response.

“Well, er... secure job, sir? Good pension?”

He smiled a tolerant smile at me. “Yes, I suppose security is important, what with a young family to support and so on.” He put his glasses back. “But, the
Prison
Service?” He shook his head in disbelief.

I had never really cared much for what he thought, but the fact that he was shocked and disappointed at my choice concerned me. I didn’t know what more to say so I just shrugged. I felt like a child in the headmaster’s office.

“Look, Corporal Burden, let me be frank with you.” He removed his glasses once again and stared at me for a few seconds. “I don’t think for a minute that you will be happy to go to work every morning for the rest of your working days, knowing that you are going to spend ten hours locked up in an overcrowded Victorian building, full of the scum of society who all hate your guts and who would think nothing of sticking a knife in your back the minute your head is turned. And all for a ruddy pension.” As he spoke his voice rose in pitch.

I winced. I hadn’t been committed to it; it was just a thought, something to tell him. However, Major Cummins had just established that I would never be joining the Prison Service because what he had just said was absolutely the bloody truth. It wasn’t for me. My new career would have lasted less than my Sixth Form studies had. I looked at my boss with grudging respect.

“Put like that, sir, maybe I’ll think of something else.”

He stared at me. “Listen, I’ll let you into a secret.” He glanced at the closed door behind me for effect. “The squadron is going back out to Belize for six months next year, just about the time you are due to leave us. You were there the last time, weren’t you, back in ’85?”

I nodded. It was my first taste of abroad at the tender age of nineteen and it was an amazing experience. The thought of going back out there again for six months, seeing the old places and exploring the country anew was very tempting, not to mention Mexico just across the border.

However, I wasn’t married back then and I’d seen what the six-month separation had done to some marriages the last time. The Old Man saw the flicker of interest spark in my eyes before being extinguished under the heavy weight of responsibility. He upped the ante.

“Maybe, no promises here but
maybe
you could go on tour with a
second
stripe on your arm?” He glanced down at my single stripe and raised his eyebrows.

I stared at him.
Was he serious?
I’d been a lance-corporal for over eighteen months and never believed I’d ever see another promotion. I was too non-conformist. However, the money was good, it was one step before sergeant and it was a respected rank. It was very tempting; Belize
and
promotion. It was also a good way of putting off this impossible choice I had to make.

Major Cummins had been my boss for about nine months at that point and I’d never spoken to him, and I’d doubted he even knew I existed before that day. Of his two hundred or so men I was a nobody; yet there he was offering me a promotion to encourage me to stay in the army! I pushed my luck.

“Only a maybe, sir?”

“I say maybe because I’d need to see a serious change in you, Corporal Burden. I’d be taking a chance as it is. Look, I know you are against most of what the army stands for. You can’t deal with the boredom of a peace-time army, yet none of us hope for war. But, whilst we are waiting for another Argentinean-type event to prove ourselves, we need to keep the men entertained. Stop them from getting bored and so on.”

It was then that I understood what was on offer. With the new stripe I’d be expected to give up who I was. I’d have to become one of the army-barmy fools I so despised, just to keep the men from getting bored. Get them to polish the vehicles down with diesel; there’s a good chap. A yes-man; a person without reason.

“Thank you, sir, but no thank you. I can’t leave my wife behind, not with a baby on its way and all.”

“Ah yes, if I recall, you turned down the Kenya tour for the same reason?”

I hadn’t; it had been for an important course – more qualifications I might need – but he was doing all right. The fact that he knew I hadn’t gone on the tour impressed me considerably.

“That’s right, sir.”

He stared at me for several seconds and I saw resignation on his face. “So, you’re one hundred percent committed to getting out then.” It was a statement, not a question, but I nodded all the same. “Construction work doesn’t interest you?”

I shook my head.

“No, I didn’t think so. Look, Burden, there’s a place in the world for everybody. Mine happens to be in the army for now, and yours isn’t. Whatever you do next, don’t make the same fucked-up decision you made to get here.” He had my full attention and admiration at that point. “You have responsibilities now, and from what you’ve said so far, I can see that you are taking them seriously.”

I nodded in agreement. His astuteness just kept impressing me. “So, what about your pre-release course; what are your thoughts on that? As you know, there are thousands to choose from and you might actually find one to qualify for something that might not only prove
useful
to you, but something you might actually
fit
into.”

“I thought maybe I’d do a computer course, sir?” I was serious. A month living in London and studying at an official institute, gaining certificates in all aspects of computing not only sounded like a great month out, but it would also give me the chance to get my hands on one of those things. Pizza had won.

He glanced at the Amstrad and scowled. “Good choice. Those things are the future, although they don’t seem to be much use at the moment.” He looked at me. “I guess they’ll improve, though, and, if you learn how to use one, you could always pop back and show me what I’m doing wrong.”

We both smiled and sat in silence for a few seconds.

“Awful business, that accident.” It had been several weeks since the soldier had died and I’d wiped his brains off my hand.

“Yes, sir, it was, very sad. Great that Corporal Stevens didn’t face any charges, though.”

“Yes, good news indeed. Conducted yourself rather well, I understand?”

I was surprised. Of course he was aware of the accident; his men had spent the whole of the next day writing out statements for the Military Police – but how much did he know of what actually happened?

“Yes, according to Sergeant Smith, you did very well: you kept calm, provided help, put yourself at risk in that car, supported your colleagues throughout and even bollocked the cops for being late!” He smiled. “You did the regiment proud, David.”

I blushed, unaccustomed to an officer using my first name, not to mention praise.

He sat back. “Yes, if you ask me, you have all the makings of a cop...”

“A cop?” The smile fell from my face. I was so shocked that I forgot to add the ‘sir’ bit.

“Yes, why not? Security, well paid, good pension. Plus, no two days are the same.” He leant forward. “Think about it, you are out and about, making your own decisions, living off your wits, helping people out. You’ll be away from the upper ranks and you’ll be your own boss for most of the day. I think it’s right up your street, seriously.”

All I could see was another uniform. More men without principles at the top and pointless bullshit below, not to mention having to give first aid now and again. I really didn’t want to be able to recognise the sound of an ambulance approaching.

I shook my head and smiled at him. “Thanks, but there’s absolutely no chance of that happening, sir.”

Part one of THE ROZZERS by DIEM BURDEN

o0o

EPILOGUE

The cause of the accident was attributed to metal fatigue in the neck of the towing eye, causing it to shear in two. Once the trailer separated from the towing vehicle, gravity forced the towing arm to drop down onto its single wheel, causing the front of the trailer to veer out to the right, as if overtaking our truck, directly into the path of the oncoming traffic. The heavy duty towing arm that swung out was fashioned into a point, like an arrowhead made of steel girders.

This deadly point met the Land Rover head on, slamming into the front of the flimsy vehicle as it was passing our truck, effectively slicing it in two. The engine went in one direction; the rest of the vehicle was thrown across the plain.