by deity
Sergeant Cooper is driving down Glebe Point Road responding to a call, already certain it relates to the collection of young homeless filth that stain the area and making it a regular stop in his beat. If it isn’t this lot it’s the Abbo’s in Redfern or the gooks in the city, he thinks to himself as he turns a corner. While he was grateful for his transfer from the western suburbs where the serious trouble is, he has since noted that it always seems to find its way in here to the city.
‘Unit 216, come in’ The CB unit crackles to life.
‘This is 216, base, copy’ Coops answers.
‘Coops, we’ve got a fire in Chinatown, it’s a commercial high-rise on the corner of Sussex & Dixon, the boys in red are already there, so if you could head over to provide any necessary assistance’
‘Sure’ grumbles Coops in reply.
‘Over & out’ he says as he replaces the handset.
‘Bloody gooks’
Jemma ignores the comment from across the car console. They rise over a small hill and can see the fire in the distance. As they approach the grids of traffic and commerce are replaced by disorder and chaos. Smoke billows above, plumes of it cascading out of the building like a belly dancer in full-flight. Crowds stare, accumulating in pockets which are shielded from the heat and debris. Among this melee the firemen spring into action accompanied by the slithering of hoses gushing into action.
They pull up a block and a half away and as Jemma prepares to enter the melee, Coops decides he won’t be required, ‘Here’s your chance, kid’ he says his voice dripping with sarcasm as he motions toward the scene before them.
Jemma welcomes the chance to escape and heads towards a fire-engine at the centre of the activity. The action flies thick and fast around her, she bides her time not entirely sure who to approach or how.
Eventually a Fireman brushes past her and says, ‘I was wondering when the boys- and girls- in blue might arrive’ as he connects a hose into the truck and tightens the fitting.
‘Unfortunately we’ve not yet got much to tell you, let alone the time to spare. I can tell you that we’ve been here half an hour and no-one has come forward with any info yet, so it doesn’t look to promising. And our forensic team won’t get in there for a while yet, maybe tomorrow morning if all goes well’
With that he heads back toward the blaze, ready for action as the hose unravels behind him.
She returns and reports to Coops- “no witnesses yet, difficult to tell, looks like arson or disrepair of building responsible. But this is only preliminary, the forensics will probably start investigating tomorrow and hopefully we will have something a little more concrete then.’
Jemma embellished the report, she didn’t want it to seem incomplete, and she can’t stand the thought of being chastised by Coops. As it was, she needn’t have bothered as he barely raises an eyebrow. Jemma tells him she will look through the crowd for anything suspicious and hastily moves off again.
She surveys the crowd but nothing is distinguishable among the sea of faces. All around people squabble and squash desperate to see what all the fuss is about or gain a better vantage point.
Jemma thinks she recognizes a face in the crowd that quickly disappears, what’s her name? A kid from school all those years ago. Otherwise she sees nothing here, just chaos and a place for a lunchtime sticky-beak. Anyone she asks just shrugs their shoulders and tries to be rid of her as quickly as possible, fear, distrust, suddenly everyone is in a hurry to be somewhere else. Back at the patrol car she tells Coops of her poor results and he begins another of his gripes.
‘That’d be right, thousands of people around here in the middle of the city but no-one saw nothing. No-one can stop and help. Bloody typical!’
Coops surveys the scene with a sigh. Here he is imparting his experience upon some kid. How could they have matched the poor girl with him, she won’t last the year out like this. Another fantastic initiative from some bureaucrat up above. The kid hates him. He hates the situation but can hardly blame the kid, he isn’t real fond of himself either.