shadow of britain

Chapter 713 If the mountain doesn't come to me, I will go to it

Only a true king can draw the sword, and only the strongest knight in England can sit at this round table.

--Thomas Malory, The Morte d'Arthur

Field sat next to Arthur. Compared to when Arthur first met him, Field looked obviously much older.

He is clearly a young man under 30 years old, but one can always smell the scent of a hero in his twilight years.

Just as Officer Cowley and his other subordinates in the Criminal Investigation Department privately complained, this seemingly promising deputy minister could sneezes into a room full of corruption.

Just a few years ago, he was an upright police officer well-known throughout Scotland Yard and an expert in handling cases who had been commended many times by the Home Office. How come he had become like this in just a few years?

Field's decline is inseparable from the departure of his old boss Arthur Hastings, who promoted him, from Scotland Yard.

When Field was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department, his case-handling skills were almost all taught by Arthur himself. Thanks to the attention and care of his old superior, his path to promotion has always been smooth.

On the eve of the parliamentary reform, while Arthur was busy leading the Police Intelligence Bureau to monitor protests, the work of the Criminal Investigation Department was almost handed over to him without reservation.

And Field also repaid Arthur's trust very well. Not only did he successfully take over the responsibility, but he also did even better than when Arthur was in charge.

However, a gunshot was heard under the Tower of London, and Field's detective journey suddenly took a 180-degree turn.

After Arthur left, Director Rowan, at the behest of the Ministry of the Interior, launched a major purge of the Police Intelligence Bureau, vowing to eradicate the daring Hastings gene in this new department.

Among the middle and senior level police officers in the Police Intelligence Bureau, except for the capable Director of the Fifth Department, Ledley King, and the leader of the Ghost Team, Thomas Plunkett, who made great contributions in the Reform Riots, the rest all received transfer orders and were transferred to various marginal departments to serve.

The overhaul of the Criminal Investigation Department is being led by Deputy Commissioner Sir Richard Mayne.

As soon as the rectification work began, Field's area of ​​responsibility was adjusted from criminal case detection to internal police training. Later, he was sent to various police districts for rotation supervision on the grounds that front-line police officers lacked case-handling experience.

If there had not been a murder mystery with a great social impact in London during this period, and the newly promoted group of young people had not been able to find a breakthrough, so Field had to be temporarily recalled to put out the fire, he might have been kicked away to who knows where by now.

During this period, Field had the idea of ​​surrendering to Director Rowan.

However, on the one hand, he is not as slippery as Ridley, and on the other hand, he is not as eloquent as Ridley.

Besides, Field didn't think that giving in would make his superiors think he had surrendered.

Scotland Yard is, after all, the Army's Scotland Yard. Police officers like him who have been promoted from the bottom are inherently different and cannot get along with most people.

The reason why the sharpshooter Plunkett was spared was because he was originally from the army, a serious "green jacket", who had sniped a French major general in the Peninsular War and fought side by side with the Duke of Wellington in the heavy rain at the Battle of Waterloo. In addition, his performance during the London riots showed that he was able to stand firm.

If Director Rowan wanted to arrest him, the other superintendents and inspectors who came from the army might not agree. This would most likely anger the public and might even incur the wrath of the Duke of Wellington.

Field is not as flexible as Ledley, and is unwilling to lower his face and say "I have been wandering for half my life without meeting a wise master."

He was not an Englishman like Plunkett, who followed the Duke of Wellington all the way from the Iberian Peninsula to Waterloo.

Besides, the position he occupies is so critical and prominent that it is far from being comparable to Tom's position in charge of archives and Tony's position in charge of daily security patrols in Greenwich.

Therefore, it is only natural that his situation is the most uncomfortable.

Officer Cowley had been complaining that Field was mentally ill and had actually gone to Leicester Square in the middle of the day to rush for performance, but Field was also full of anger. If it weren't for the difficulty of finding a high-paying job in London, he would have submitted his resignation report long ago to his superiors after being excluded by Scotland Yard.

The only thing that Field could comfort himself with was probably the fate of Inspector Brendan Jones, who was in charge of the Tower Hamlets area.

The unfortunate man first followed Superintendent Clemens, who was responsible for the poor operation of the Manchester-Liverpool Railway and was later forced to commit suicide. After that, Jones followed Sir Arthur Hastings, who was shot at the Tower of London and lay in a coffin at St. Martin's Church for three days.

Just looking at Jones's resume, not only is it of extremely poor quality, but his tendency to bring bad luck to everyone makes everyone wonder: Is this guy somewhat dirty?

This also led to no one in Scotland Yard being willing to support Jones. In addition, he was in charge of the Tower Hamlets area with a very high crime rate. Therefore, Jones being criticized at Scotland Yard's regular senior police meetings in the past two years has almost become a regular feature.

If there were no one willing to go to Tower Hamlets to take the blame, and if Director Rowan thought it was appropriate to put Jones in this position of scapegoat, Jones would probably have been taken down long ago.

As for Jones, Field used to look down on him. He thought that a guy like Jones with mediocre abilities could climb to the position of police inspector purely by luck and by clinging to the thigh of Superintendent Hastings.

But after a few years, Field's impression of him changed greatly. Although Jones's ability was not outstanding, at least in the past few years, Tower Hamlets had made no major mistakes despite constant minor mistakes under his careful management.

He was able to endure the hardships in such a harsh living environment, doing his job conscientiously without complaining about the hardship or humiliation.

Moreover, when the Ministry of Internal Affairs launched an investigation, Jones did not reveal any dirty laundry about Superintendent Hastings, forcing the investigators who viewed him as a breakthrough to return empty-handed. This made everyone look at him differently.

It was from Jones that Field finally understood what Bacon's famous saying meant.

Jones is the perfect embodiment of "vices emerge in good times and virtues stand out in bad times."

Arthur sat next to Field, drinking beer and listening quietly to him talking about the changes in Scotland Yard in the past two years.

When Field finished speaking, he also put down his empty glass: "With what judgment you judge, you will be judged. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Field was silent for a moment, then responded: "Matthew 7:1."

Arthur took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth: "I know what you are expecting, but I will not feel sympathy for Jones's experience in recent years, because this is the retribution he must suffer for a series of previous crimes..."

Field raised his head and looked at Arthur, his mouth half open as if he wanted to say something.

But before he could think of his words, he heard Arthur speak again: "However, this does not prevent me from expressing my approval of the qualities and professionalism he has shown in this series of retributions. Making as few mistakes as possible is the principle of human beings. Not making mistakes is the dream of angels. The best good people in the world are often those who have made mistakes. A person often becomes better in the future because of some shortcomings. I am very glad that I did not kill Jones back then, otherwise I would not see him today. No matter what the environment is, he can do his job unswervingly. He is now worthy of the police uniform on his body. He is not only qualified, but even excellent."

Field heard the whistle of a barge on the Thames.

He turned the empty wine glass in his hand. "You are right. Just like what you taught me when I was investigating the scene, the truth is often hidden in the most conspicuous stains. Now I can really see some human appearance on Inspector Jones's police uniform..."

At this point, Field couldn't help but pause: "You...excuse me, do you still have a chance to come back? You don't know, now the Criminal Investigation Department is almost becoming the Army General Staff Headquarters. Those new idiots can't even tell the difference between fingerprints and shoe prints. Last week in Whitechapel..."

Arthur interrupted Field by tapping the table with the butt of his pipe. "Charles, I thought my name was a thing of the past at Scotland Yard."

Field straightened his back and quoted a famous line from "The Morte d'Arthur": "The wheel of fortune keeps turning, heroes will eventually fall, but legends will never fade. They tried their best to erase your mark on Scotland Yard, but anyone who is not blind can see that your portrait is hanging there. I don't care what others think, but in the Criminal Investigation Department, I only recognize you as someone qualified to guide me in handling cases."

Field's statement was so straightforward and direct that it was somewhat beyond Arthur's expectations.

He knew that he had a good reputation among the grassroots police officers, but for middle and senior police officers, a good reputation and being worthy of support were two different things, because they had to consider more than just the "royal" title and salary increase that Arthur brought.

But Arthur could indeed hear it, even if it was only three or two sentences, it was enough for him to understand how depressed Field had been in the past few years.

Although it is a theorem that monkeys scatter when the tree falls, this did not prevent him from feeling very angry when he saw that the Hastings faction of Scotland Yard was suppressed so much.

The portrait hangs on the wall of Scotland Yard, which represents honor, responsibility and pressure.

If he sees his old subordinates suffering and he cannot stand up to hold up the sky, he might as well replace the portrait with a circus clown. At least the image can better fit the protagonist's personality traits.

In a place like Scotland Yard, where military habits are very strong, a wimp who keeps giving in will not win any respect, but will only lead to a escalation of the situation like a storm.

Arthur cut a piece of ham and put it in his mouth: "Charles, do you believe in heaven?"

"Heaven?"

Arthur turned his head and looked him in the eyes: "I don't believe it."

"why?"

"Because I have been trapped in this hell for too long." Arthur's red eyes ignited: "People can control their own destiny. If we are controlled by others, it is not fate's fault, but our own. You said that the name Arthur Hastings is not a thing of the past in Scotland Yard, but I'm sorry, I don't see that in you."

Just a glance made Field's forehead sweat. He couldn't help but lower his head and apologize to Arthur: "I'm sorry, sir, we..."

Arthur raised his hand to signal him to stop. "Charles, I don't mean to blame you, I just want to point out that you were not careful when you spoke. You encountered a problem and wanted to ask me for help, which I don't blame you. However, I hope that if there is a next time, after I step down, you will learn how to fight for yourself."

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, even Officer Mike Cawley, who was sitting trembling beside him, couldn't help but tremble three times.

Is this still the amiable gentleman who wanted to invite him to drink just now?

It seems like it, but it doesn’t seem like it.

He really didn't say anything harsh, his tone wasn't excited, and he didn't even use a single swear word.

But every letter felt like a knife stabbing into the body. You couldn’t see the blood from the wound, but every cut was a heart-wrenching pain.

If Cowley had not previously understood how such a man could have his portrait hung in Scotland Yard, he now understood.

Sir Arthur Hastings, this is indeed a great man.

Whether it was Director Rowan, Sir Richard Mayne, or Superintendent Marshall, who was known for his majesty, none of the senior police officers at Scotland Yard had such an aura.

Just a few words can make people bow down and feel ashamed, but at the same time, they can make their subordinates feel unprecedented peace of mind.

Cowley dared to swear to God that since he entered Scotland Yard, this was the first time he saw his immediate superior being scolded so humbly. He looked like a primary school student who had made a mistake.

Field bowed slightly and said ashamedly: "I'm sorry, sir, we have brought shame to your name."

Arthur didn't say much. He calmly took out a stack of documents from his briefcase and placed them on the table. "I need you to help me check something."

"Sir, just give me your instructions." Field was afraid of missing any details, so he took out a pen and paper from his pocket: "What is it about?"

"The details are all in the file. You know my temper. I'll give you two days to find out."

Arthur paused, then continued, "However, to put it in a nutshell, while I am taking care of my own personal affairs, I also want to kindly remind Scotland Yard. Of course, I mainly want to remind Director Rowan: why the portrait at Scotland Yard shows me, not you."

(End of this chapter)