TEN MINUTES LATER...
Roman sat by the shop window, Harry Harcrest beside him and still cuffed to his wrist. It was the mirror of their earlier scene, only instead of a bar to stare at they had only a view of the bustling docks. And instead of a bowl of stew between them they had a disgruntled steambot fiddling with a blowtorch.
"You know... I sometimes wonder... is there more to life?"
Harry looked across at the sergeant, his expression blank.
"Sure, the Aether Watch would be lost without my valour... but still... I feel I'm meant for something more."
"Dun worry, Sir. Ah'm sure they'll be sum good criminals soon," Harry said, as if apologising for his own kind.
"Her Majesty's Navy will never have me back," Roman continued. "That's where enemy of callibre are. Chinese Privateers. Russian Skylancers. The Diesel Sharks of the Serengeti. Rogues with backbone, you know?"
Harry nodded sympathetically as little sparks flew between them.
"We had the Officer Code too, back then. It didn't matter what side you were on, or if you were black, white or yellow. If you were an officer, you got treated with respect by the enemy. You know, I once shared a glass of champagne with a Chechen Skylord? Tried to stab me with a soup spoon. But before that, he was a charming fellow. You don't get that kind of thing in the Police business. There's no code of decency. I mean, look at this..."
He swept his right hand towards the window, forgetting it was cuffed to his prisoner, and Harry yelped as his wrist was pulled into the path of the blowtorch. Kai quickly pulled it away then gave Roman a slap on the head.
"GAAGH! Ahem. Sorry, old boy." He grinned at the steambot as it resumed its work, then carried on speaking as Harry sobbed quietly beside him. "This whole port is full of island-men, Harry. Everyone keeping to themselves and scratching their own living. There's no common cause, no camaraderie. It's a rotten thing, Harry - a damned rotten thing."
There was a dull THUNK as his cuff came loose. Roman gave his wrist a rub then glanced at his prisoner. "Well, it seems our union is at an end, young Harry."
Harry's eyes widened slightly as he sensed an opening. "Er.. right... well, ah'll be off then, Sir..." He got up, edged slowly towards the door, wiped the sweat from his brow, then opened the door and waddled swiftly into the street.
Roman didn't seem to notice. He was staring off into the distance, his eyes dull and contemplative. "Maybe it's time to give up police work."
Beside him, Kai watched the fat and wheezing criminal Harry Harcrest running off down the main street. "You may be right."