Chapter 6 James Gets Promoted
741 Words
Chapter 6 James Gets Promoted Barry Itch was contemplating his options on how to proceed. Since Michael Fuller resigned, the team needed a new detective. Looking at the length of service and chain of command the natural officer to promote would be John Dean, who had always been close to Michael Fuller and had a lot of experience as he had served in the team for 15 years. But Barry Itch had some objections to promoting John Dean since he considered it likely that John Dean had been an accomplice or at least known something about the cocaine scandal involving Michael Fuller. Secondly, he did not feel that John Dean was a natural leader at all. It's one thing being the right-hand man of a genius who solves most of the cases singlehandedly and an entirely different thing being the one in charge presuming responsibility. Third and finally he had never liked John Dean on a personal level.
Another option would be to promote someone from another team to lead this team. Barry did not enjoy this idea either as there had been no-one who had stood out positively in the other groups. In the best of worlds, he would get an outstanding detective to transfer from another metropolitan area, Brisbane had a few good ones, for instance, so the CSMI got in some new blood and some fresh ideas. This plan would take some time, however.
Barry Itch looked at James Locker's file. James Locker had had an unusual and bizarre development. James Locker had suffered from severe depression for the last seven months medicated with heavy antidepressants. Strangely enough, James Locker had an outstanding track record for this period, outperforming even Michael Fuller. Barry Itch finally found the solution: He would offer James Locker a three-month amendment to his contract where he was serving as a provisional detective for the team. If he turned out to be a great detective, he could always be offered the position permanently afterwards, and if not, the official version would be that James Locker was only intended for the temporary position and it was always Barry's intent to get the replacement from another metropolitan area.
Barry called James to come over to his office, and a few minutes later James entered the office
James Locker:
- Good day sir. What gives me this great pleasure?
Barry Itch:
- It's about Michael; he suffered from some severe liver problems yesterday and will probably be away for at least six months. I told him that the most sensible thing to do would be to resign considering his age which makes him eligible for sick leave pension if we look at his liver condition as a work-related issue.
James Locker:
- Oh my god, this is a tremendous loss for the team, Michael is the best detective Sydney has ever seen.
Barry Itch:
- Yes, and that’s why I called you here, but first I need to know. How is your depression going?
James Locker:
- Oh, it has improved a lot, I make it through most nights without my antidepressants, and I have not experienced any daytime issues for over two months.
Barry Itch:
- That is great to hear. Well, I have some good news for you. I have reviewed all the police inspectors at the CSMI, and you are the one with the best results over the last six months. You even superseded Michael Fuller’s outstanding performance
James Locker:
- I am delighted to hear you say that sir.
Barry Itch:
- And I am happy to see such advancements among my subordinates. And that's why I called you over. I plan to hire an outstanding detective from another metropolitan area to take command of the team. But since it will take time to find and recruit the right candidate the team will need a provisional detective for three months, and that's where you come into the picture. Would you be interested in this opportunity?
James Locker:
- Well, sir. I must say this came as a surprise and I have not considered the option until now. But of course, it’s a great opportunity, so I accept your offer.
Barry Itch:
- Great, please sign this contract then. Your first task will be to lead the team meeting that I am setting up this afternoon. Godspeed Detective.
James Locker:
- Thank you, sir, see you this afternoon.
- Writer
