Beyond The Blue

The next morning I’m up early and head to the gym for a while trying to clear my mind because for as much as Connor told me not to worry about what is going on with his scans and the specialist wanting to see Connor again. I get back home and check my watch realising that I’m running behind schedule so rush upstairs to get ready.

As I get ready, Connor is still laying in bed playing on his phone “Jess said she’d drop Logan off at about 2:00 after they drop Mia over at Darcy’s… if it’s an issue I can call Jess and you can just have the weekend without the stress” I say to Connor as he puts his phone down on the bed and looks offended.

“I’ve been looking forward to this all week and we’ll be good,” I say as I’m starting to think that Connor is more excited about this than what Logan could be. “Well as long as you are sure because I don’t want to force my family onto you” Sometimes I worry that with me looking after Logan and Mia and him being around I’ve forced everything on him.

Connor looks at me “I don’t see things as them as my family, I see them as our family because that’s all they ever have seen me as is family, not an outsider” I crawl back onto the bed and hug him tightly because my family is so special to me and people think that we can be a bit much.

Getting ready for work, I put on my clothes and make sure that everything is alright with tonight and Connor tells me that he has everything under control and that this isn’t the first time where he’s had to look after Logan and that he knows the same rules apply whether it’s Uncle Trent or Uncle Connor in charge.

I head off for work, somehow still managing to get there early as Steph is getting there at the same time “Morning you” she says awfully cheerful for a mother early on a Saturday morning. “Let me guess you got out before the kids were awake,” I say as she nods but then shrugs at the same time.

“More or less I had one getting up as I was heading out so that was alright, I left Brad to hold onto the fort,” she says as we go inside and grab coffee before sitting down. “Did you have any issues with your child in bed still… wait let me guess he was probably already awake before you?” she says referring to Connor laughing as I shake my head.

“Not this morning, he actually slept in for a while then woke up when I came from the gym,” I tell her as she looks across at me “He doing alright generally? I try to ask him and everything he tells me is that he’s really good but I know when he’s not telling me everything”.

Sitting there I fill Steph in with the details “I think so, he got a phone call from the specialist that his lung scan came back with some potential abnormality in it so that he has to go back for another scan and check-up Monday morning” I tell Steph who looks worried at first but then has a sense of confidence.

“I’ve known Connor for so long that I’ll tell you that if he’s not worried about something then he is pretty much usually right and he didn’t seem too upset by it did he?” she says as I nod and tells me that there it is, if Connor isn’t worrying about it then I shouldn’t.

We finish our coffee and head down to the briefing room where Branko greets me like he hasn’t seen me in months even though it’s only been a few days since we saw each other. Steph and the others just laugh at how excited he gets to see me as we sit down to get our briefing from Eve.

“Good morning everyone, as many of you are aware there is a major protest in the CBD this morning so there is a high police presence in the main part of the city and the surrounding areas,” Eve says as I’m hoping that we are not being posted there because protest policing is one of the worst because you’re damned if you do something and damned if you don’t and the shit you cop. Darcy came off work in one of his first protest shifts with a black eye after some woman threw a whole bottle of water at him which thankfully didn’t do any damage.

Eve looks down at her clipboard “If I’ve already spoken to you this morning then you will need to see Inspector Fowler of the Public Order Unit right now, the rest I will give you instructions over the next few minutes” she says as I can tell it’s all a bit hectic.

Watching a large number of officers go out including Henry and Jerome, I stand there relieved that I’m not going out there and hopefully going into the car with someone. “Ok for the rest of you some of you will be covering Central shifts, some will cover Public Transport Command and the rest on normal duties,” she says as I sit there intrigued about what we are going to get.

Eve keeps reading “Covering Public Transport Command, Hannan and Kovacic” I take a deep breath glad that I’m with Branko doing this shift and I can feel him grabbing my arm like an excited kid as Eve tells us that we are just to monitor safety around the various stations on the cities train network and that there are no limits to where we can go today.

There are two patrols set to cover the Public Transport Command and thankfully for us the other is Steph and Charlotte so it’s going to be a pretty chilled sort of day at least in theory though with so many people and events on today, it’s probably going to get extremely hectic.

As we start to head out, Eve stops me for a chat for a moment “Hey Trent, can I talk to you for a minute before the four of you head off” she says as I nod and I tell them I’ll catch them up.

I get nervous for a minute “Trent, I wanted your advice on how Probationary Constable Kovacic is going in your eyes because he didn’t receive the greatest of reviews yesterday” she says as I nod and know that Branko is not to everybody’s taste.

Nodding my head, I knew this would come that there would be a lot of doubt about Branko because of his personality “Branko’s like a puppy, he’s got a lot of energy and he’s not sure quite how to use it properly yet if that makes sense”.

Eve nods her head “I think Branko is a really good cop but he’s just young and wet behind the ears, I know his history and probably as inconvenient as it's going to sound, you’re gonna need somebody with a lot of patience to put him with and someone young that can respond” I say as Eve keeps nodding in agreement.

“I thought that might be the case because I know he responds really well to you and you worked together as a team so well on Levi’s situation but then in the eyes of Alan Marsh who he was with yesterday, it was a bit more than he thought Branko was out of his depth and might need to be sent back’ she says as I nod.

I laugh as she says that “With respect to Alan because he and Dad go way back, Alan tends to think that I’m too wild” we both laugh as I say that and Eve nods her head. “Look it’s not my place to tell anyone how to do their job but Branko just needs someone that can give him enough rope to be who he is but then still have the ability just to reel him back in and respond to him calmly,” I say before thinking about it some more.

“Branko and I get along because he’s able to feel comfortable and I think Steph is a good choice and Steve Sutton, someone who won’t get flustered by him but still respect his abilities and just teach him”. Eve agrees and takes some notes and thanks me for talking before I head out to join the others in the car.

“What was that all about? Me probably” Branko says as I shake my head. “Nah, Eve was just telling me that I’m in control of what we do today,” I say smirking as Steph hits me across the chest and just shakes her head. “That is absolutely rubbish Constable Hannan, I’ve been a cop longer than you have, though my Dad isn’t a superintendent,” she says mocking the situation.

Branko sits in the back while Charlotte looks concerned “Is everything ok between you two? Did something happen?” she says a bit panicked about working together as I relive Charlotte’s worries.

“Nah we’re just messing about that’s all, Sergeant Branning just wanted an update on another case I’d worked on that was all, nothing important,” I tell her as we drive to the Public Transport Command’s main base to get instructions.

Our instructions from the boss who began in the unit at the same time it was being run by Ange and Dad, tell us that we are just to patrol around the bus and tram stops around the city, train stations and the Ferry wharves and if we get a chance to do ticket inspections. The PTC up is located at the main train station in the city so we decide to split up for a while and just wander around to make sure everything is ok because even on the best days, train stations usually draw out the worst in people.

As Branko and I head towards the underground section, I can’t help but ask him about Ethan and how their relationship is going. “So how is everything between you and Ethan at the moment? Still all good?” I ask almost hoping that there is something wrong so that my instincts can be 100% right.

“Yeah they’re all super, we spent the week together just me living out of his apartment you know, normally I only do it at the weekend when we’re both free but something about this week was just nice but I think because he has to go to Hong Kong, Vietnam and then onto the UAE for work over the next 3 weeks, we’re just taking the time together,” he says as I nod still thinking there is something suss about what is going on in Ethan’s work especially given Branko doesn’t really know.

Talking to Branko, I feel there’s something about him that I feel really connected to which is weird because even though he is super hot and just has that charm about him that if I didn’t have my own super stud I’d never say no to him. Thinking about Branko and the ways that Ethan could hurt him, I quickly realise that I don’t see Branko as any sort of romantic or sexual interest but like a little brother that I feel like I need to teach and protect.

Having been the youngest sibling, I’ve never really had the chance to be a big brother to anyone and I was always the little brother which is fun but not being able to share and play the big brother is something that I always got jealous of Darcy getting to do.

As we head to the underground, the first sign of trouble is kicking off as someone heading to the protest is already getting aggressive which isn’t a good sign when the station security is telling him to move on because he is making other people uncomfortable. Walking over, I take the lead “Can we be of any help?” I ask the security guard who tells us in broken English that the guy was being loud and shouting on the train and then at other passengers trying to enter and exit the station.

“Hey buddy, what’s the matter?” Branko asks as the guy just looks at him and refuses to speak as I go over to try and help. “Look mate, nobody is trying to cause you any harm or anything but just the people on the train and then leaving the station are finding you a bit uncomfortable to be around that’s all,” I say as calmly as I can before he looks at me and Branko.

“You do not have the authority over me, as a human being I have the right to share my beliefs with other human beings and are not controlled by corporate entities such as the State Police Corporation Priority Limited,” he says as I let out a sigh by his antics which are tiresome but reflective of what is building.

I start to speak but then Branko takes over surprisingly calmly “Look, we’re not trying to tell you that you can’t share your beliefs because you are entitled to your beliefs, but we just want people to be able to go about their day calmly because do you like it if we came up to you and just started shouting,” he says as I nod and reassure the guy that we don’t want to hurt him or arrest him right now, but just help everyone else.

Branko looks at him as he nods his head although still not happy “Look, you just want to go down to the protest this afternoon with the people who believe in the same things you do and make your point right” the guy nods more responsive to Branko than he is to me. “You’re not going to achieve your point here shouting at people and if anything they’re not going to listen to a random human being are they but if they see your point, we can get our view out there,” he says as the guy reluctantly picks up his bags and starts to head off.

I stand there proud of how in control of the situation and the guile that Branko had to defuse the situation with calmness for both sides of the issue. “You don’t actually believe the stuff that he said do you?” I ask because for as much as it’s weird that someone who believes that would be a cop, there are some about that mostly do.

“Fucking hell no, a bunch of whacked-out crackpot nonsense,” he says as I smile as we just keep our distance behind the guy to make sure that he heads out of the station normally which he does and heads off on his way.

Branko and I walk back down to the underground platforms “I’m really proud of the way you handled that because that had the potential of getting nasty very quickly” I say as he smiles like a kid who just got told by the teacher he did good work. “Thanks, Trent, I just thought that if he saw me as being new and young it might get through to him a bit more that I might be more receptive to what he said” Branko smiles at me as I just look at him.

“How fucking old do you think I am?” I say to him as I get worried about his answer as he looks at me and realises that I want him to guess how old I am. “I’d say that given you’re engaged probably 30 but look 25,” he says as I just glare at him and he walks at an angle away from me scared about what I’m going to do.

“The reason I look 25 is that I am 25,” I say as he looks at me surprised about how old I actually am as he nods. “Well that probably doesn’t make sense then,” he says as we decide to do some ticket checking as Branko drifts to the hot guys heading towards the beach for the warmish Saturday afternoon. Everything seems to be normal enough although I decide that it’s probably for the best that I take Branko back upstairs and not let him get too carried away.

We meet up with Steph on the main concourse “Much happening up your end?” I ask as she shakes her head. “Not much really, a few people that were a bit loud but nothing much, you?” she asks as I just tell her about the guy heading to the protest and we sit down to get a coffee.

As we sit there, a few of the express trains get in and a lot of the people heading to the protest turn up and whilst a lot are silent, there are quite a few that are already in the mood to get argumentative with staff thinking that the rules of having to pay a fare shouldn’t apply to them.

The trouble starts to brew so we get up and Branko again takes the lead as Steph looks at me “Is that wise?” as I nod to her to give him some leeway right now without telling her what to do.

“ATTENTION ALL… WE UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU WANT TO TRAVEL, WE ARE NOT HERE TO STOP YOU BUT FOR THE SAKE OF ORDERLY TRANSITION SO YOU GET THERE, PLEASE JUST TAP OFF” Branko shouts almost in total command of the situation again understanding the point that these people are trying to make and just ensure that there isn’t any fights or chaos which there will no doubt be down at the protest.

Standing by the ticket machines, everybody seems to be a lot more willing to go through orderly and the usual troublemakers that apparently cause trouble don’t seem to be around with our presence. As we stand there, one of the security guards comes up to us and tells us that there is an incident downstairs “Branko’s over there so do you want me and Charlotte to go down there and you can watch him?” I ask Steph who nods as we head downstairs.

We get down to one of the retail stores and a man is acting confused and belligerent to the young retail clerk behind the counter over the price of a multipack of energy drinks right now. “She’s trying to rip me off like they all do,” he says raising his voice right now quite agitated as I stand there with Charlotte who is trying to come up with a plan.

“Who’s trying to rip you off?” I ask as he stands there not really making any sense saying that he has a knife in his pocket that he is willing to use. “They are… the aliens” I look across at Charlotte and let out a deep breath because this is a situation that could go in many different ways.

I try to keep the situation calm “Who are the aliens and where are they?” asking to get into a position where he feels comfortable to talk to me even when he is probably not trusting me. “They’re everywhere you know, she’s one,” he says pointing to Charlotte as I’m worried that this is getting racist but then when he points out to one of the station workers going past, I realise that he is just pointing out people at random.

“Do you think I am an alien?” I say to him as he shakes his head “N.. no you aren’t, you’re a good one”. I nod towards him trying to get Charlotte onto his good side “Well if I’m not an alien then do you think I’d be with one?” he shakes his head.

Trying to keep calm, the poor shop attendant is petrified right now about what is happening as she doesn’t really have anywhere to go. “Look, my name’s Trent and this is Charlotte ok? We just want to make sure nobody gets hurt because you don’t want to hurt anyone do you?” I ask as he shakes his head and I can see in his eyes that he doesn’t either.

Listening to him talk, I can hear how he has had a sharp decline in life over the past few years having lost his job in an economic downturn which in turn saw him lose his house and family before becoming homeless and turning to drugs and alcohol. The last few years have been tough on him and Charlotte uses her soft tone to talk to him as he tells us that he wants the energy drinks to take back to his friends who have been good to him and trying to get back and see his two daughters.

As we talk for a few minutes, Charlotte has called for another unit to come in and pick up the guy who still won’t tell me what his name is but thankfully he calms down enough to believe that nobody is out to hurt him and he surrenders easily. In the end, the situation ends with him trying to pay for the drinks which the girl accepts the money for as one of the Central Units takes him into the station to get him some help.

“The way you stayed so calm with him was amazing,” Charlotte says as we head back looking at the time having been down there for an hour but it felt so long with how tense it was down there even though I always thought there was never the intention of hurting anyone, the situation can turn so quickly that you never know.

I look at Charlotte and shrug “It’s just part of the job, there is no point in getting agitated because if we are agitated then it upsets them and puts everybody in more danger, a bit like Branko did up there with the people going to the protest, if we got agitated it creates more problems” I say as we get back to the others who have been on a train ride checking tickets in the time that we were gone.

“How was he?” I ask Steph getting a moment alone with her while the other two grab something to eat. “Talks more than my two which I thought was impossible but he was good” I laugh as she says that about Branko and for me it’s a good sign that someone else thinks that he is good because I’ve put a lot of energy into being his mentor because I can see things that others can’t.

For the rest of the afternoon, Branko and I split up from Steph and Charlotte as we are required to do tram monitoring for a while which again gives me a chance to talk to Branko about Ethan. “So what sort of work is Ethan doing while he is overseas?” My questions are always general in nature the same way that he wants to know about things with Connor.

“Uhh not really sure, he never really wants to go into big details with me because it’s all investment-related and he uses big terms that I don’t really get” Branko’s answer doesn’t fill me with a lot of confidence about Ethan and that if Branko gets caught up in it, willful ignorance is not a legal defence at all and it could bring down this kid with a heart of gold and a head that probably doesn’t think everything through.

“I just know that there’s an investment with issues in Vietnam and then he has to meet the investors in Hong Kong and the UAE” I nod as it is quite a plausible business trip these days and from what I do know, Ethan’s company that he works for is predominantly based in Abu Dhabi.

Branko lights up when he talks about Ethan and the thought of having what he calls a millionaire boyfriend which is cool for him but whether what Ethan does is totally legitimate or not bothers me even though as Connor said it probably is.

“So speaking of boyfriends and fiancé, how’s your blonde stud doing?” he says to me as I smile at his compliment of Connor. “He’s doing good, working on the gym most of the time really and focussing on getting better,” I say as Branko nods. “He any chance of coming back soon? I’d love to see him in action before the old farts kick me back to the academy” he says as the first signs of self-doubt come into Branko’s thinking.

I shake my head at both things he says “Nah not really closer, he still has quite a few months before he can even have the medical check for the most basic of returns which I don’t think he’ll have because he’s so focussed on the gym and being there as a Dad and Uncle” I say as Branko nods not bringing up the question about the Dad part because I don’t give him the chance.

“And why are you saying before they kick you back to the academy? I told you that some of the older officers are gonna be a bit grumpy but you just gotta suck it up and I’ll let you in on a secret, your mentor is very happy with you” I say as he goes to hug me but remembers we are in public.

The last hour of our shift is managing the large crowds coming home from the protests and subsequent events as well as the incoming crowds for a busy night in the city and trying to help the almost incompetent station staff move people in and out.

Getting back to The Junction, I take my shirt off in the locker room and check my phone to see a selfie of Connor and Logan playing Superman together as he has even found a cape to put on and his glasses as I just smile and realise how deeply lucky I am to have both of them. Even though I’m shirtless, I notice Steph walking past and show her the photo and she just lets out a big aww “Damn, I never knew he looked so good in glasses, such a shame he’s gay” she says as I look at her with a glare but a smile.

“Oh you know what I mean Trent,” she says as we say good night and Branko comes in after having a debrief with Eve who was waiting for us to come back in. “Oh damn, not sure who’s better looking at that, Superman or the supercop here,” he says patting me on the back as I punch his arm.

Branko rubs his arm for a minute and laughs “That’s common assault Constable Hannan” we both laugh as he says that. “You do know that Superman isn’t blonde though right?” he says as I roll my eyes and put my phone away before getting changed. “To me, he is,” I say as Branko nods and quickly gets changed because even though Ethan is away he has a big night on the town planned that I remind him not to get into too much trouble.

Heading home, today whilst eventful was still a good day because it was doing what I enjoy doing with people that I call my close friends especially Steph but recently too becoming really close to Branko and our friendship even though I think I see him as a little brother.

Pulling up at home and walking in, I notice KFC sitting on the bench and then walking into the living room, every bit of organisation that I’ve put into my living room has gone as I see two kids under a makeshift fort as I stand there shaking my head.

It takes a minute for the first of them to see me as I look at the big kid getting up still with his Superman cape on and his glasses and a cheeky grin on his face. “Having fun there you two?” I ask as Connor gets up and I’m not sure who has had the better time so far this afternoon out of him and Logan as I stand there shaking my head.

“Oh great the evil clean everything up villain is home,” he says as Logan comes out of the fort or the “Fortress of Solitude” as Connor tells me that is what it is called and not just a simple fort.

Logan cleans up some of the toys that he has all over the floor right now as Connor takes off his Superman cape but keeps his glasses on as he follows me upstairs and checks on my day “So how was it out there, Did you end up on protest detail?” he asks as I shake my head.

“Thankfully not, I ended up following in the footsteps of Dad and working with the Public Transport Command today with Steph, Branko and Charlotte” Connor just smiles and knows that would be a good day. “So what was it like with Branko today?” he asks as I fill him in.

“Really good, he’s apparently been on the wrong end of a few reviews lately and it’s dented his confidence a bit but he was confident and stood up to a few potential issues today which is good,” I say as he laughs before I tell him to tell Logan to pick a movie to watch while I go and have a shower.