Rafferty stood on a street corner a few feet from the Yard entrance. He rubbed his

  face as he thought about what he could do for the rest of his life.

  He had been questioned by a new detective constable for hours. The man wanted to

  know everything he had done in the last two days. He stuck with sleeping and

  drinking off his depression after finding out that Corklin was dead.

  The murdered man was the only one who could clear his reputation.

  Now he stood on the corner and wondered what he was going to do next. He doubted

  Sir Laurence was going to keep him on.

  He had taken Mick Brown, but his identity had been revealed to Inspector Hawley

  and the remains of the Brown Gang. Killing Brown had been enough of a reason for

  them to come calling, but knowing he was a masked vigilante outside the law would

  just add fuel to the fire.

  A cab rolled up to the corner. He frowned as the passenger leaned over. Sir Laurence

  gestured for him to get in.

  Rafferty slid in the back seat. He frowned at the glass between them and the driver.

  “It’s for his protection,” said Sir Laurence. “Are you reinstated?”

  “No,” said Rafferty. “The Yard has dozens of questions about my involvement in all

  this.”

  “I know,” said Sir Laurence. “I’m afraid I can’t push from my office to get you

  rehired. The other job is still open.”

  “So you want me to play dress up and chase down thugs in the night?,” said Rafferty.

  “Seizing Mr. Brown’s books have given us enough information to look at his partners

  through legal means,” said Sir Laurence. “I imagine that some of the dock criminals

  will move around as we clear one gang up for another to take its place.”

  “And you want me to harass these growing gangs?,” asked Rafferty.

  “I would prefer surgical strikes where you cut away the parts we’re interested in,”

  said Sir Laurence. “I expect things will go worse than that.”

  “What about Hawley?,” asked Rafferty.

  “I talked to the Inspector,” said Sir Laurence. “He has been read in to the public face

  of the organization. He knows he is not to talk to anyone until he is released.”

  “When will that happen?,” said Rafferty.

  “Possibly never,” said Sir Laurence. “The war we’re undertaking will possibly create

  a hole in the power structures of Europe that the Commandoes will be needed long

  after our lifetimes are over.”

  “So we’ll be fighting another world war,” said Rafferty.

  “We’ll be fighting a different sort of war,” said the knight. “We’ll be fighting in the

  shadows to do things that no other force could hope to do. More public branches will

  be moving to help the Allied Command in planning and execution behind enemy

  lines.”

  “And we will be helping the war effort by keeping problems here at home down,”

  said Rafferty.

  “There won’t be any glory in it,” said Sir Laurence. “You already knew that when you

  were assigned to look into the Brown Gang. The mask is more important than the

  man.”

  “Who was the man who saved my life outside of the Unicorn?,” said Rafferty.

  “You don’t need to know that,” said Sir Laurence. “I’m recruiting more Commandoes

  from across the commonwealth. You’re the first, but not the last.”

  “What’s next?,” said Rafferty.

  “I’m going to drop you off,” said Sir Laurence. “Then you are to take a week to think

  about things. Call the Operator when you’re ready. There will be an assignment

  waiting on you.”

  “The spy network?,” asked Rafferty.

  “MI-6 wants to leave it in place,” said Sir Laurence. “Capturing Bones has forced

  them to look elsewhere for a contract killer.”

  “So we’re going to foil them by letting them try to kill someone and taking out their

  shooter?,” said Rafferty.

  “No,” said Sir Laurence. “I already have things in place. Enjoy your week. Remember

  to file a report about everything you have done. We’ll need it to find other links to

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Brown’s operations. If you want to keep going after that week, call the Operator.”

  Can I ask a personal question?,” said Rafferty.

  “Just one,” said Sir Laurence.

  “How much of this have you done before?,” Rafferty asked.

  “Quite a bit actually,” said Sir Laurence. “The old organization was asked to disband

  after the war. The ministry didn’t need us, and wouldn’t for a long time was the

  common view. After the Prime Minister met with Hitler, the call went out to

  reactivate my old unit. The problem was there was only two of us left. So I was asked

  to take on the responsibility to execute the Commando Program’s birth, and I agreed.”

  “Thank you,” said Rafferty. “That explains a lot.”

  “I’m going to let you out here,” said Sir Laurence. He rapped on the window. “Try

  not to do anything stupid before you call.”

  The cab pulled to the curb. Rafferty got out, looking around. He had paid sporadic

  attention to where they were going. He smiled. He had been put out within walking

  distance of the Unicorn. He should have expected that.

  He walked down to the pub and stepped inside. The regulars hadn’t started coming

  in yet. He had time to get something and head for home before he had to start

  answering questions from the crowd.

  “Oi!,” said Josie. “It’s the prodigal son returned at last.”

  “How’s it going?,” said Rafferty.

  “It was an exciting few minutes after the police hauled you off, Jimmy,” said Tolliver.

  He poured a glass of beer from a spigot behind the bar. He handed it over.

  “I’m sure,” said Rafferty. “It’s been a long boring talk in a featureless room for me

  the last day, or so. I would like to have your famous chicken dinner if you don’t

  mind.”

  “I don’t see why not,” said Tolliver. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” said Rafferty. “I have a job offer to consider, but my days as a detective

  constable are over as far as the Crown is concerned. You already knew that, so there’s

  not much to add to it.”

  “Working for that toff we saw you with, Jimmy?,” said Josie.

  “I’m thinking about it,” said Rafferty. “It’s investigative work, it pays, and it’s

  something I’m good at.”

  “Finding bad apples is a knack you have,” said Tolliver. He poured himself a shot of

  whiskey. He sipped it. “What happens to the neighborhood?”

  “Nothing,” said Rafferty. “Apparently I will have time off so I can keep an eye on

  things around here, and the old place. I don’t know what I will be doing next, but it

  won’t be anything rougher than what I was doing for the Yard.”

  “How many times you get shot at working for the peelers, Jimmy?,” said Tolliver.

  “Maybe you should consider things before you jump into them.”

  “I still have to pay the rent,” said Rafferty. “Not all of us are a rich landlord,

  restauranteur, and wine dealer with an interest in exotic cheeses.”

  “You said you wouldn’t say anything about the cheeses,” said Tolliver. “That is

  between me and my supplier.”

  “As long as that supplier wasn’t Mick Brown, you should be okay,” said Rafferty.

  “You did for him, chum,” said Tolliver. “You better watch your back when the rest

  of those blokes get out of prison. They’ll figure out if they want to start over, or join

  someone else, and then some of them will come looking for you.”

  “I think that would be a bad idea for them to do,” said Rafferty. “War is coming on,

  and settling scores will be a bad idea.”

  “Having bad ideas never stopped no one from trying them out,” said Tolliver.

  “I can’t argue with that,” said Rafferty. He glanced at his glass. He had drank half

  while they were talking. He might need to keep an eye on that. He didn’t want to get

  so drunk that his reflexes suffered.

  Mick Brown’s gang wasn’t the only people who might want to have a talk with him

  now that he wasn’t protected by the Yard’s authority.

  The change of living quarters had probably been a good idea even though he had

  thought he had been compromised as early as his first night going after Brown.

  He had to be more careful dealing with the next target on Fletcher’s list. He didn’t

  want them even thinking they could threaten the Unicorn to get to him.

  He doubted that Fletcher wanted him to burn everything to the ground.

  He was not opposed to the idea. He doubted he would have to be that extreme chasing

  down other criminals. Some of them would be reeling from what had happened to

  Brown. It would make them easy targets.

  He sensed that Fletcher would use him to target criminals known to be operating

  against the government in some fashion. It would be up to him to expand the list of

  potential targets he might want to chase down.

  He wondered if he could get information on criminals that weren’t targeted by the

  Commandoes.

  Josie appeared with a plate of grilled chicken, brussel sprouts, and a piece of celery.

  She put it on the bar with a flourish.

  “Looks good,” said Rafferty. He finished his glass of beer. “Can I have another?”

  Josie drew more beer from the tap for him. She handed the glass back.

  “Thanks,” said Rafferty. “The toff gave me a week to think about the job. I’m going

  to call him tomorrow and see what he has for me.”

  “Be careful, Jimmy,” said Josie. “Running against the likes of Mick Brown can’t be

  good.”

  “Don’t worry,” said Rafferty. “I’ll protect the Unicorn with my life.”

  “That goes without saying,” said Tolliver.

  Rafferty smiled as he dug into his lunch. He felt this was worth fighting for even if

  you didn’t know who you were fighting, or why. Fletcher would do what he could for

  him but if he needed to be sent out to get something done, it would be to get

  something done and not to waste time on a goal that meant nothing.

  And Fletcher would help him protect his neighborhood as part of the deal.

  He still had to work out where he stood with Hawley, but that could wait until he

  knew where he stood with himself first. Most police did vigilante actions sometimes,

  but now he had to do it as part of a job. That wouldn’t sit well with the inspector.

  He wondered how much Fletcher revealed about his organization. He might have

  traded Brown’s records for silence. On the other hand, he might have said be silent,

  or it’s to the tower with you. If you were going to abuse the law to set up masked men

  to target criminals, you were not going to stop because an inspector said something.

  Rafferty finished his food and beer. He smiled as he headed out the door. He needed

  to get a nap and then head out into the night life and look around.

  Other bad men wanted Brown’s spot. This would be his chance to look at some of

  them.

  He might have to visit them later as his other face.