James Locker- The Duality of Fate

by Martin Lundqvist

  Adam Smith decided to make copies of the recording and use one of the copies to confront Barry Itch directly and force him to resign his job. The standard protocol would be to go to internal investigations, which Adam Smith found was a time-consuming and backstabbing way of dealing with things. He preferred confronting his enemies full on, and now he finally had a weapon against the man who had refused him any payrise and promotions in the last five years it was time to strike. He entered the office of Barry Itch were the latter was finalising a report to his superiors.

  Barry Itch:

  - Hi, Adam, are you enjoying the Saturday sessions with my wife? You must excuse me, but I am quite busy at the moment, I am finishing this report for the High Commissioner of the Police.

  Adam Smith:

  - Well, I can see why you and Wanda are a match at least. If I were you, I would not worry too much about that report for the moment. I am a lot more critical to your life as it is right now.

  Barry Itch:

  - I highly doubt that you will ever be an important person in my life or for my career Adam. Frankly speaking, I believe there is a very slim chance that you will ever get past police assistant in your career

  Adam Smith:

  - Well, that may be, but I will still have a higher rank than you will tomorrow!

  After saying that Adam Smith played the audio file with the conversation between Michael Fuller and Barry Itch the day Michael Fuller got busted with the stolen cocaine. While Barry Itch listened to this audio file, he felt a mix of fear and anger. Concern for his career and anger towards Michael Fuller who must be the man behind the recording. So Michael Fuller sold him out after all he did to be lenient towards him and keep him out of jail. To Barry Itch, Michael Fuller was the worst kind of traitor, and he was now free of his doubts that Michael Fuller indeed was the killer. Too bad that scumbag would drag him down the abyss with him. Unless... Adam Smith had come to his office with the evidence to confront him instead of running straight to internal investigation with the recording. Maybe it was possible to cut a deal with him? Barry Itch decided to give it a shot.

  Barry Itch:

  - Hey, Adam. I must say I am impressed. You have me in a steady grip now, and in spite of our past differences, you decided to come by my office which means you are looking for something.

  - Maybe I can give you a mutually beneficial deal that would benefit the both of us?

  Adam Smith:

  - Hmm. Mutually beneficial deal? Are you perhaps trying to bribe me?

  - I like that idea...

  - Show me your offer!

  Barry Itch:

  - Well, there is a position as a detective available since James Locker was only appointed provisional detective and is now in the hospital, I can fast track your application so to speak.

  Adam Smith:

  - Hmm, Detective Smith. I like that, and I am sure the ladies will as well. But there is a problem with the scenario. Every detective has to meet up with you for a daily briefing every day. I can't see how that would be endurable.

  - But don’t worry. I have another offer.

  - The Adam Smith "charity" needs some fundraising. What would be better than if the director of CSMI sponsors this fund with $10,000 and then receives an MP3player with particular recordings on it? I mean for sure the price is a little steep, but the money is for a good cause.

  Barry Itch swallowed hard. After all, he had a well-paid job and getting rid of that recording would indeed be a good investment. But he was incredibly worried about what Wanda would say, after all, she kept an eagle eye on everything and explaining a $10,000 spending would be a difficult thing to do. Unless of course, he forged a receipt for a charity to let's say Female right's in Uganda. If he sponsored such fund, his wife would be proud of him! Of course, there was the problem when it was time for the charity tax deduction in the yearly tax return, but the receipt might easily get lost sometime before then. Barry Itch decided to go with Adam Smith's proposal.

  Barry Itch:

  - Okay. I accept your offer, how do we do this business?

  Adam Smith:

  - Oh, that's quite simple. We go out and have lunch together; after all, we have been working together for five years it's time for us to hang out. You withdraw $10,000 and donate them to my "charity" you will then get a complimentary MP3player.

  Barry Itch:

  - I see. Well let’s go then

  After that, they left for lunch and the monetary exchange.

  7.16 Adam Smith rats Barry Itch out

  IT WAS 5 PM ON THURSDAY the 5th of September 2013, and Adam Smith was indeed happy with his day. He had managed to solicit a $10,000 bribe from his Nemesis at work Barry Itch, and the best of it was that he would rat Barry Itch out anyway! After all, Adam had made several copies of the recording between Barry Itch and Michael Fuller so giving one of them away was not a big deal. He had also learned from John Dean's mistake when it came to soliciting massive bribes in cash. Knowing that the banknotes he received from Barry Itch could be traceable, he chose a straightforward course of action to remedy this issue. By going around to different bars and put a lot of notes on the poker machines, playing a few games and then asking the devices to pay out the remainder. By doing this, he would have all the money in new notes as well as receipts on his winnings in case someone was to ask him why he had thousands of dollars in cash at his place. Happy with his choice Adam Smith walked into the internal investigations office at Redfern and filed a case against Barry Itch.

  7.17 Barry Itch resigns

  IT WAS 7 PM, AND BARRY Itch had had a long and troublesome day at work. As If getting blackmailed for a large sum of money by the idiot Adam Smith was not bad enough, he was also criticised for the inadequate level on the report he handed in, to the chief of the police. This criticism was strictly speaking a direct consequence of the interruption Adam Smith had caused on his work and Barry Itch was determined to get his revenge on Adam Smith someday soon. The chief of police also informed Barry that John Dean was arrested for sabotaging the investigation and leaking case files to Michael Fuller which meant that the CSMI was in worse shape than ever in spite of all his efforts to improve the organisation. When Barry Itch believed that the day could not get any worse, he received proof of the opposite when the New South Wales Minister for Policy and Emergency services Michael Lawson called him.

  Michael Lawson:

  - Hi, Barry. You have had a few terrible days down at CSMI, haven't you?

  Barry Itch:

  - Well, I must admit you are right, but I can assure you that I have the situation under control and that I don't expect anymore more issues.

  Michael Lawson:

  - No matter how much I would love to believe you, Barry, I just cannot. A couple of minutes ago internal investigations received a recording of a conversation between you and Michael Fuller.

  - Somehow they found the content of this recording urgent enough to interrupt my speech in front of the New South Wales cabinet, and frankly speaking I understand why.

  Barry Itch:

  - But sir, that recording is taken out if it's context.

  Michael Lawson:

  - Well, Barry, I cannot see any context where it's okay that a director of a branch of the police is letting one of his detective's get away with a severe crime. Of course, the cover-up is even worse in this case as the man you covered for is now suspected of three murders and two attempted murders.

  - I am sorry Barry, but there is nothing I can do to help you, the internal investigations are not going to let this one pass, so it's probably in the best interest for both of us if you come to my office and sign your resignation.

  Barry Itch sighed heavily out of resignation. He should have seen Adam Smith's deceit coming a long way, but he did not. Anyway, there was nothing to do with Adam Smith now, because if he tried striking back telling the minister about how he bribed one of his policemen to keep his mouth shut, well it would just strike back at him. Barry Itch knew that the
recording was not enough to get him convicted in a court of law but also understood that with all the attention he would get when his way of managing the CSMI became public, he would be forced to quit the job anyway. And by resigning the post now on his behalf at least, he saved himself from public battering and could more easily score another excellent job for a private security company in the future.

  Barry Itch:

  - I accept, you offer and will resign immediately

  Michael Lawson:

  - Great, there will be a press conference tomorrow at 10 am at Governor Macquarie Tower. See you then

  - Oh and I am sorry that thing’s ended this way Barry, I know you have been working harder than any other director for the police, but sometimes hard work is just not enough.

  Chapter 8 Darkness unfolds

  8.1 A new leadership of Central Sydney Murder Investigations department

  It was the week before the election and the New South Wales Minister for Police and Emergency services Michael Lawson was overlooking his strategy in cooperation with his chief strategist Melanie Stephenson. The scandal at Central Sydney Murder Investigations where former star detective of CSMI team 1 Michael Fuller was facing charges for a series of assassinations and police inspector John Dean was facing charges for sabotaging the investigation had led to the resignation of Barry Itch, the director of CSMI. Due to these scandals, the confidence in the police was at a record low level, which was terrible news for the minister of the police one week before the election.

  Michael Lawson:

  - Hi, Melanie, good morning. Don't tell me how the polls are going; I am sure I don't want to know.

  Melanie Stephenson:

  - Well, you are becoming historic in a way, but I guess being memorable for being the elected minister who gets the least votes ever in re-election is not what you want to be.

  - It's a shame really because we did some significant changes to the police during your years in office, but they people will forget them due to this debacle.

  Michael Lawson:

  - Well, it's a shame, but who said anything about history being fair. Speaking of which, can you suggest any radical changes I can do to the police now that I am guaranteed not to win the election.

  Melanie Stephenson:

  - I do have some suggestions that would make you historical in a more positive way. You can be the first minister of police who appointed an aboriginal person to a director role within the police. Furthermore, you can nominate the youngest woman ever to be a police detective.

  - Here are the files of Dwayne Uluru a prominent aboriginal detective whom I suggest to be the next director of CSMI and Samantha Robinson an up-and-coming female police assistant who I recommend will be the new detective of CSMI team 1

  Michael Lawson had a quick look through the two files his chief strategist provided. From a competency point of view he believed that there would be more suitable candidates to fill the positions but just promoting the most qualified candidates would not make him historical in any way, so the suggestion certainly sounded like a great plan from a political point of view.

  Michael Lawson:

  - Well, Melanie, it's an interesting idea, but I have some questions. CSMI team five which has been led by Dwayne Uluru for the last four years has the worst statistics of all groups, why would I pick Dwayne Uluru? Furthermore, the files say that Samantha Robinson has only been with CSMI team 1 for seven months and are still ranked as a police assistant. Why would she be promoted straight up to detective?

  Melanie Stephenson:

  - Well, see it this way. You might get a lot of female and aboriginal voters if you support a woman and an indigenous Australian. If they do not work out in their new positions and you lose the election, then it's your successors' headache to fire them. After all firing the first aboriginal director of a branch of the police. It would seem a bit racist and illegitimate to some groups.

  Michael Lawson:

  - What about James Locker, the current detective of CSMI team 1?

  Melanie Stephenson:

  - Well, he is only on a provisional contract for that role, and I am sure you will get a public understanding of a point of view that a person with proven mental issues is not suitable to lead a team.

  Michael Lawson:

  - You have convinced me. Let's go ahead with these suggested changes. Dwayne Uluru's first task while be to appoint his successor in team 5, as that question is not as politically relevant.

  After deciding on these changes Michael Lawson and Melanie Stephenson contacted the high command of the New South Wales police to have the changes implemented. They soon found out that both Samantha Robinson and Dwayne Uluru happily accepted their promotions.

  8.2 Rebecca Bell seeks comfort from Samantha Robinson

  IT WAS THE 10th of September 2013 and one week had passed since the arrest of Michael Fuller. During this time his daughter Rebecca Bell had been living in denial and hoping that it all would be a mistake and that the court would release her dad from all charges, or at least all the severe ones, she had no trouble believing that he had been driving while drunk. When Samantha Robinson's first decision as the newly appointed detective for team 1 one of CSMI was to hand over the case to the district attorney. The finalised police report indicated that Samantha believed that they had enough evidence to get a conviction against Michael Fuller which came as a decisive blow against Rebecca Bell's hopes about everything turning out fine in the end. Her first reaction when Samantha Robinson told her about the decision was to cry and call Samantha Robinson a fucking traitor who betrayed her and her dad. After the initial response she calmed down, and the following conversation took place between them.

  Rebecca Bell:

  - I am sorry for what I said before; this just came as such as shock for me. The entire concept of my dad committing several murders is just so unreal to me, so I hoped it would just be a nightmare from which I could wake up. Your decision to hand over the case to the district attorney proves that I am probably not going to wake up from it...

  Samantha Robinson:

  - Well, I know it's probably not any comfort for you, but it was a hard decision for me to make as well... I like your dad, and my gut feeling tells me that he is somehow innocent.

  - But I can't let my sympathies prevent me from doing my job, and my job is to present the court with the most likely suspect for a case and then it's up to them to decide whether he is guilty or not. If I was to determine who was guilty or not, I would be too biased and would not be able to my job.

  Rebecca Bell:

  - Yes, I know that I am soon finished with my police studies after all.

  - But I would still love to talk to him if I only could understand why...

  Samantha Robinson:

  - Well you know he will have visitor restrictions until after the trial, but I know what you can do meanwhile, that he would appreciate.

  Rebecca Bell:

  - Oh, what is that?

  Samantha Robinson:

  - Well, he told me after I notified him that his case would be handed over to the DA that he hoped that you would go on the whiskey tour to Great Britain and Ireland with his tickets now that he can't go. He reckons that it would be an excellent way for you to get closer to each other although you are apart.

  Rebecca Bell:

  - Well, I don't know. I have never been a great fan of whiskey, the taste is disgusting.

  Samantha Robinson:

  - Well, I don't think you need to be a fan of whiskey to enjoy this tour. You will see a lot of beautiful and exciting places accompanied by the yellow leaves of the British autumn.

  - Besides, I think a holiday would do you good to get away from your sad situation at the moment. Who knows when you get back in three weeks' time you might have come to terms with the entire situation.

  Rebecca Bell:

  - Yeah, I guess you are right.

  - Um, would you like to go with me? It would be awesome to go on a holiday with you sin
ce we never had a chance to do that back in the days when we were together.

  Samantha Robinson:

  - Well, I would love to, but I just got my promotion and can't leave now. Besides, I have a boyfriend now, so it would not be the same as if we had gone back then...

  Rebecca Bell:

  - I also have kind of a "partner, " but that fact is only making me feel worse. You see I know he's swamped for a couple of weeks, but still, he should be there for me in a situation like this!

  Samantha Robinson

  - Yeah, I agree with you. You should dump this bastard. Oh, this is making me so angry; I want to confront the asshole for doing this to you! What is JP short for so I can find him and yell at him?

  Rebecca Bell:

  - Oh the same old Samantha, coming to my rescue. I always liked that part of you, you know.

  - His name is James Pierce, or his real family name is not Pierce, but he wants to change it to get a new start.