Chapter Text
After 2 months working at Brighton Police Department there were three things that Phil Watson knew:
- Always bring your own coffee; the machine at the station never works
- Avoid the new American guy. He’s annoying as shit.
- Control your facial expressions in front of the Chief.
Phil scoffed internally, fixing his tie in front of the bathroom mirror. The chief. His boss. The kid who was nine years younger than him and yet held a higher position, despite his measly 5 years of experience compared to Phil’s 15. In almost comedic timing his phone loudly pinged - too loudly for 7am on a Monday morning - with an email from the man himself. “Hey Phil, sorry for the short notice but could I see you in my office in 15 minutes?”
There was a fourth thing he had learned actually; it took 12 minutes to get to the station with no traffic, 15 with, and more if he wanted to stop off at Costa on the way. Looks like he’d have to forgo the coffee for today.
He typed a quick reply and sent it off before hopping in the car. The traffic lights all seemed to be working against him today, switching to red as soon as he approached as if to spite him. But it gave him time to wonder what the chief wanted to see him for this early. Was he gonna get promoted? (Unlikely.) Fired? (Not that unlikely.) Transferred? (Hopefully not.)
As much as he complained, Phil liked the chief. Really, he did. They were good friends despite the age gap, having worked together in the past. Despite the chief being, well, the chief, he often looked to Phil for advice, as he’d only recently (as in last week) taken up the position after the last chief got transferred. Until then they had been partners, and since he was promoted Phil was left partnerless and slightly bitter that someone so young was chosen over him.
Bitter, but not surprised. After all, it wasn’t like he was transferred to Brighton for good conduct.
Soon enough he arrived and found himself in front of the familiar mahogany door. He didn’t bother knocking; the floorboards were loud enough to alert the chief of his arrival.
“Hey Will.”
Wilbur gave him the look.
“Hello Chief .”
“That’s better.” He flashed a smile. “Take a seat. Sorry to call you in so early.”
“I’ll forgive you if you buy my lunch.”
“No can do I’m afraid, I have a meeting. But I can give you the next best thing.” Phil raised an eyebrow. “Well, since I’ve been promoted that means you need a new partner right? Have you met Techno yet?”
“Oh. Oh no Will come on, I’m old enough to work by myself aren’t I?”
His expression grew uncomfortable. “If it were up to me, I'd say yes. But...since you’ve received disciplinary action in the past 12 months I’m not allowed to let you work solo.”
“Come on, I’m 33 years old, I don’t need babysitting, especially not by that prick.”
“Phil.” Before he could continue, a knock on the door interrupted him. “Come in.” Suddenly Phil felt his blood run cold. Had the person behind the door heard him?
And then in stepped the last person Phil wanted to see.
Techno was the new American guy, and to further damage Phil’s pride he was even younger than Will was. Wilbur and Techno got on, and whilst Phil and Techno barely knew each other it seemed that they wouldn’t. They’d had limited interactions since Techno arrived, but all of them had been unpleasant at best. There was something about his manner of speech that felt entitled. Rude, sometimes. Unfriendly. Phil had to bite his tongue a few times, because he was already on thin ice and he didn’t want to cause any problems.
Phil was a good person, really, he was, but no-one except for Wilbur knew that. It had been a rough few months for him.
“Hey Techno.” Will greeted. “Did you get that report I sent you?”
“Yup.” Techno stepped forward, slapping a few sheets of paper onto the desk.
“Perfect. Phil, can you have a read? The witness is coming in later today and I’d like the both of you to take her statement.” He could see the look of disdain on Phil’s face. “Please?” He added, quietly.
“Alright.” Phil sighed.
“Thanks. I’ll let you get on with it then.”
He stood up and headed for the door, with Techno following close behind. Okay, he reminded himself , this guy is annoying but I have to do my best to get on with him. Maybe I just got the wrong idea.
Once they reached the lobby area, he turned to talk to Techno. It wasn’t until then that he realised how tall his new partner was. Not as tall as Wilbur, though. The first time he was introduced to Wilbur, Phil couldn’t stop his mouth from falling agape. Why of all people did he have to be paired up with the 6”5 guy? Wilbur had laughed and sheepishly apologised. Techno wouldn’t do that.
“Sooo, we’re free until midday, wanna grab breakfast?”
“Sure.”
Short answers, as always.
“Great, I’ll drive. How’s Costa?”
“Fine by me.”
.
.
The air in the car was stiff, so Phil took the initiative to break the ice. “How come you moved to England then? It’s a long way from home.”
“Personal reasons.”
“Oh.”
…
…
“So how-”
“Look, Phil,” Techno finally spoke up, “you don’t have to pretend to like me. We’re colleagues, not friends.” Suddenly Phil had an inkling that Techno had heard what he said in Will’s office. He had been too harsh in his annoyance.
“...I don’t know what you’re talking about!” he laughed sheepishly. “Partners should get to know each other, right? But if you don’t want to answer any questions, feel free to ask me some instead.”
“Okay. You used to live in Newcastle, right? Why did you get transferred here?”
It was Phil’s turn to go quiet. He hadn’t told anyone where he’d worked previously. “...How-?”
“People talk, Phil.”
“...If people talk then you already know the answer, don’t you?”
“Nope. I didn’t stick around to hear the details.” Phil’s grip on the steering wheel tightened as he tried to think up an excuse.
“Just wanted a change of pace, you know? Plus, it’s a little cold up north.”
“Uh-huh.” He definitely didn’t buy that.
They soon arrived at the coffee shop and got their orders. After a quiet breakfast they headed out again, when suddenly the radio piped up. “Robbery in progress on Richmond Place.”
“Got it.” Phil quickly replied. He wasn't expecting any action this early, but luckily they were only a few streets away. The operator continued giving a description of the culprit before Techno suddenly interrupted.
“He’s there, stop the car.”
The car grinded to a halt and Techno immediately bolted from it. Phil pulled over and parked sloppily before running after him.
Techno was fast - scary fast - and Phil thanked god that he was on the same side as him. He’d hate to be the one being pursued by Techno, and reminded himself not to piss him off to that extent. Eventually he grabbed hold of the robber’s arm and yanked him to the ground, kneeling on his back to take a pair of handcuffs from his belt. “You’re under arrest.”
Once Phil had caught up he began to realise how unfit he was, panting like a dog in summer. Meanwhile Techno practically looked like a model, with shoulder length hair gently swaying with every movement.
“Good job.”
Techno simply nodded, and they returned to the car with the criminal.
.
.
“Name?”
The culprit stayed silent. Of course they did.
Techno stepped closer to them, large figure intimidating as he bent down to look them in the eye. But they simply looked down, avoiding eye contact.
“We have to take your fingerprints anyway.” Phil tried again. “We’ll find out whether you tell us or not. But you might as well cooperate if you want a lesser sentencing.”
Techno was getting impatient. He grabbed them by the hair and pulled their face up, causing them to wince.
“Hey.” Phil warned.
“Karl.” The boy finally answered. “Karl Jacobs.” And Techno let go.
“And would you care to tell us why you tried to rob a corner shop?” Phil almost felt bad for the guy honestly. He was clearly young, a little scruffy, and didn’t seem like most of the criminals that came through the doors of the police department. His facial expression showed remorse.
“I needed the money. To look after my little sister.”
Phil thought he might’ve been imagining it, but he swore that Techno’s face shifted slightly. Maybe he felt the same about the boy.
From there things went quite easily, and soon enough they were wrapped up for the day, standing on the car park. It was lightly drizzling as was usual in September, and Phil had forgotten his umbrella, as was also usual, so Techno walked him to the car.
“Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow, get home safe.” He started up the engine and gave a small wave, which Techno returned, before driving off. He watched the boy disappear in his wing mirror and wondered what Techno had to return to. He had no family here. Did he have a significant other? A house? A dog? Phil put the thought out of his mind for now. Probably unlike Techno, he had a date tonight. He’d been seeing Kristen since just after he moved to Brighton, and most days she was the only person he talked with at length, apart from colleagues.
“And there’s this new guy working with me, he’s strange, man. I can’t explain it.”
“Why?” She asked after a sip of brandy. “Is he the loner type?”
“Yeah something like that. He’s quiet. Seems like the kind of guy you wouldn’t want to be your enemy.”
“Well be glad he’s your ally then. Maybe you should go easy on him, he’s young in a new country. He’s probably just shy, like I was when I moved here.”
“Yeah…shy.” He downed the rest of his lager, thinking about what Techno had asked him in the car. Why did you get transferred?
It was obvious that he lied. He could tell by the tone in Techno’s voice that he didn’t believe him. He began to wonder if “personal reasons” was the truth too, or whether Techno had lied to him just the same.