The Underworld
22nd March 2003, 04:51 AM
A different type of story now, one I've been thinking about for some time now..........let's roll.............
Story Title: The Grandfather Paradox
Genre: Crime/Mystery/Fantasy
Setting: Dorrigo, NSW, Australia
Main Character(s): Chief Constable Brendan Walkers (53)
Officer Danny Hollars (28)
Time Period: 2 - 3 months in 2003
Storyline: Follows the amazing policework after an atrocity in the town.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prologue
Officer Danny Hollar of Dorrigo Police sat on the steps outside the police station, holding a lit cigarette in one hand and a coke in the other. He switched between then slowly but regularly. It wasn’t a lunch break, but there was nothing much else to do around Dorrigo.
Dorrigo is located about an hour inland of Coffs Harbour, in New South Wales, Australia. It’s on the famous Great Dividing Range, and the town’s population is about 1250. Yes, it’s a very small, isolated town with a very small police station – the focus of this story. But back to Officer Hollar.
He was still sitting there, gazing out into the skateboard park across the ‘road’. The main drag in Dorrigo was a bit like a disused bush road in outer Sydney, in that it was quite sandy and quite disused. A traffic jam in peak hour in Dorrigo could be defined as two cars waiting in line while a car pulls out of a carpark.
You could easily say Officer Hollar (let’s call him Danny) was bored of his job – of course it is very easy to get bored out in Dorrigo. Just then though, Chief Constable Brendan Walkers tapped loudly on the back-facing window of his office, and gestured for Danny to come inside.
‘Right Danny, let’s see a little more work now – in your office,’ instructed Chief Walkers.
‘What do you mean, “a little more work”?’ asked Danny.
‘I mean that I want you to go to your office and start making progress on your cases, and typing some documents, and….’ Chief Walkers was cut off.
‘I know what “a little more work” means, and I don’t get is exactly what I should be doing,’ remarked Danny, ‘Chief, nothing interesting ever happens around here. I can’t go and make progress on some cases, because there are none, I can’t go and type documents, because there’s nothing to type documents about. I moved up here to get away from the cities, and I joined what I thought would be the most important, exciting job in town – a cop. But I’ve been here four months already and the best we’ve got was that incident two weeks ago with the three seventeen year olds drinking alcohol – which is hardly a crime. I’m sick of it. I want something interesting to do!’
Constable Walkers thought about this for a while, and then slowly spoke again.
‘So what you’re saying is,’ began Constable Walkers, ‘Is that you want more crime. Obviously, we’re doing our job so well that there’s no crime anymore and you don’t like that. You’re not gonna be happy until half the town’s murdered and Osama bin Laden turns out to be working an underground drug market in the back of the convenience store up the road!’
‘I only wanted something to do. So I wouldn’t feel as if I’m spending my life wasting time. But I don’t think that’s going to happen,’ said Danny, gravely. He then reached to his shirt pocket, and pulled out a piece of paper which he placed firmly on Constable Walkers desk.
‘Here’s my notice,’ said Danny, ‘I’m moving back to Sydney.’
******
Constable Walkers didn’t bother Danny for the rest of the day. Danny quietly emptied his ‘office’, took a few cigarette breaks and finished off the shift with a long walk. Once he returned to the office about five o’clock, he tried to leave without even saying goodbye. He got out the door but was then quickly confronted by Constable Walkers.
‘So, when are you leaving?’ asked Constable Walkers. Danny then produced another piece of paper from that infamous shirt pocket. It was a flight ticket.
‘Tonight,’ replied Danny gingerly, and continued to walk off.
*****
Danny didn’t own all that much, so it wasn’t hard to pack up. He was making the final check of his small house on the ‘outskirts’ of Dorrigo, when the phone rang. Danny went to pick it up, not all that happy he’d been interrupted.
‘Danny, Danny, Danny,’ cried the voice on the phone. Whoever it was was truly sobbing their eyes out.
‘Danny it’s me, Constable Walkers.’
Danny was well and truly astonished.
‘What’s wrong Brendan?’ asked Danny.
‘Well,’ started Constable Walkers, ‘You’ve got that big case you wanted.’
==============================================
Story Title: The Grandfather Paradox
Genre: Crime/Mystery/Fantasy
Setting: Dorrigo, NSW, Australia
Main Character(s): Chief Constable Brendan Walkers (53)
Officer Danny Hollars (28)
Time Period: 2 - 3 months in 2003
Storyline: Follows the amazing policework after an atrocity in the town.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prologue
Officer Danny Hollar of Dorrigo Police sat on the steps outside the police station, holding a lit cigarette in one hand and a coke in the other. He switched between then slowly but regularly. It wasn’t a lunch break, but there was nothing much else to do around Dorrigo.
Dorrigo is located about an hour inland of Coffs Harbour, in New South Wales, Australia. It’s on the famous Great Dividing Range, and the town’s population is about 1250. Yes, it’s a very small, isolated town with a very small police station – the focus of this story. But back to Officer Hollar.
He was still sitting there, gazing out into the skateboard park across the ‘road’. The main drag in Dorrigo was a bit like a disused bush road in outer Sydney, in that it was quite sandy and quite disused. A traffic jam in peak hour in Dorrigo could be defined as two cars waiting in line while a car pulls out of a carpark.
You could easily say Officer Hollar (let’s call him Danny) was bored of his job – of course it is very easy to get bored out in Dorrigo. Just then though, Chief Constable Brendan Walkers tapped loudly on the back-facing window of his office, and gestured for Danny to come inside.
‘Right Danny, let’s see a little more work now – in your office,’ instructed Chief Walkers.
‘What do you mean, “a little more work”?’ asked Danny.
‘I mean that I want you to go to your office and start making progress on your cases, and typing some documents, and….’ Chief Walkers was cut off.
‘I know what “a little more work” means, and I don’t get is exactly what I should be doing,’ remarked Danny, ‘Chief, nothing interesting ever happens around here. I can’t go and make progress on some cases, because there are none, I can’t go and type documents, because there’s nothing to type documents about. I moved up here to get away from the cities, and I joined what I thought would be the most important, exciting job in town – a cop. But I’ve been here four months already and the best we’ve got was that incident two weeks ago with the three seventeen year olds drinking alcohol – which is hardly a crime. I’m sick of it. I want something interesting to do!’
Constable Walkers thought about this for a while, and then slowly spoke again.
‘So what you’re saying is,’ began Constable Walkers, ‘Is that you want more crime. Obviously, we’re doing our job so well that there’s no crime anymore and you don’t like that. You’re not gonna be happy until half the town’s murdered and Osama bin Laden turns out to be working an underground drug market in the back of the convenience store up the road!’
‘I only wanted something to do. So I wouldn’t feel as if I’m spending my life wasting time. But I don’t think that’s going to happen,’ said Danny, gravely. He then reached to his shirt pocket, and pulled out a piece of paper which he placed firmly on Constable Walkers desk.
‘Here’s my notice,’ said Danny, ‘I’m moving back to Sydney.’
******
Constable Walkers didn’t bother Danny for the rest of the day. Danny quietly emptied his ‘office’, took a few cigarette breaks and finished off the shift with a long walk. Once he returned to the office about five o’clock, he tried to leave without even saying goodbye. He got out the door but was then quickly confronted by Constable Walkers.
‘So, when are you leaving?’ asked Constable Walkers. Danny then produced another piece of paper from that infamous shirt pocket. It was a flight ticket.
‘Tonight,’ replied Danny gingerly, and continued to walk off.
*****
Danny didn’t own all that much, so it wasn’t hard to pack up. He was making the final check of his small house on the ‘outskirts’ of Dorrigo, when the phone rang. Danny went to pick it up, not all that happy he’d been interrupted.
‘Danny, Danny, Danny,’ cried the voice on the phone. Whoever it was was truly sobbing their eyes out.
‘Danny it’s me, Constable Walkers.’
Danny was well and truly astonished.
‘What’s wrong Brendan?’ asked Danny.
‘Well,’ started Constable Walkers, ‘You’ve got that big case you wanted.’
==============================================