There’s no arguing. Police work is just a lot of head-kicking these days: anti-Thatcher protesters, striking miners, race rioters and Greenham Common femos. Even the Ripper for a while. But mostly it’s fighting each other, boredom, and the need to pee.
Parked in her van, a few dark streets from the police station, Acting Detective Sergeant Clara Mode was fighting her driver’s side window. The weather had just turned and no matter how hard she pulled on the winder; the window refused to budge, and a bitter wind pierced the cabin. She also needed to pee.
The dispatch radio crackled to life.
“Noise complaint in Elm Street. Shouting and disturbance reported. Is there anyone not on the Shelby Estate call out? Who can respond? Over.”