a station where life ended (beta and final)

1. Every walker, wrapped up in himself, perhaps walking through meadows, across a common, standing on the flat roofs of a building, is alone even when they are standing with others, the daylight effectively binds them together, connects them in the network of an enormous web. Consider how as they walk across the common for the very last time, the three men are screaming in fury into their smart phones (whoever thought given them phones was a good idea?) they are disconnected from everything, from themselves and from one another. Passing the bystanders that they terrify, disconnected from the bushes, grass, trees and tarmac, as they walk the last 100 metres along the pavement to the station, enjoying the fear and terror they cause. Let us introduce the soon to be dead and the one who is to be hospitalized. Stuart Hall, Apple and Seb Brown walked along the platform, cropped hair, shaved heads, exercise pants, jeans, Doc Martens, big muscular strides — Hall’s jacket said “White”, Apple and Brown’s advertised the latest fascist party. Brown was the shorter of the three, six convictions for assault, two cases of rape that failed in the court. His first conviction was at fifteen for beating a young man into a coma. It only got increasingly violent from there. His arms, like his friends covered in swastikas and other symbols of fascism. Hall and Apple had another five convictions between them. Hall had a shiny metal baseball bat. Apple, well the less said about Apples love of inflicting pain and suffering the better. Their social imaginaries are full of thoughts of being the descendants of fascist warriors, worshippers of Mars. You might want to ask what constructed these three violent walkers who are about to meet their end, what kind of society made them, in actuality little can be said that you will not have heard before. There is (a) CCTV video of the three of them walking across the station forecourt, onto the platform and everything that followed. They started by damaging the notice boards in the ticketing hall. They tormented a middle aged woman who became frightened and ran off out of the station. They walked southwards along the platform hitting vacant seats and the metal uprights of the canopy. At the far end of the platform there were some more benches. And then they discovered her sitting on the bench. A Japanese or Chinese woman , She was in her 30s. Black shiny hair tied back, black leather jacket zipped closed, dark grey leggings with shiny black ankle boots, a brown leather bag with strap work across her body. A housewife or an office worker they thought, a husband at home with the children. Easily scared. The three of them approached her in a line, “Hey girl had a fuck today ?” She ignored them. The warrior waited she hoped they would simply go away. It had been a long day. She was tired, Eyes half closed, half asleep. looking out onto the railway tracks. Brown prodded her. She ignored him, not moving. They thought she was scared hoping for a train or rescue. Brown and Hall were both increasingly incensed, angry at being ignored. Apple slower to anger enjoying the build of Adrenalin. So Brown took his butterfly knife out of his jacket pocket, Hall swung the baseball bat to one side. She still didn’t move. She didn’t react. Brown waved the knife across her chest, a fraction of a centimetre from her chest, closer each time, the third time cutting a slice into the surface her leather jacket. It could not penetrate the kelver protection in the lining of the jacket. He screamed “…….. abuse abuse blah blah etc etc… “ An accountant standing on the other platform on his way home, coincidentally from some meetings at the police station, was on the phone to the police, he told the police later that it all happened so fast that he could scarcely believe it. The station CCTV cameras recorded the three men’s abusive behavior, showing their demise in glorious technicolor. Brown swung the knife again and Hall and Apple cheered. She grabbed his hand with her right hand and hit Browns arm with such force that she fractured his elbow joint, pushing the hand holding the knife along the swing towards Browns body, the blade went straight through his ribs and buried itself in his lung. She rose pivoting and punching him in the throat. It was a perfect dance move, liquid, modern, precise. Brown fell to the ground and died almost immediately. She continued the fluid movement and stepped to the left away from Brown’s body. What is the destiny of the warrior? The warrior turned facing Hall and watched the third man who was slightly further away by the platform edge. Neither Hall nor Apple knew whether to fight or flee. Hall simply made the wrong decision, because she still looked like a Japanese or Chinese housewife to him. He attacked with the baseball bat, it never made contact, she stepped forward and punched him twice in the throat. He fell down gasping for breath and when his heart stopped in the ambulance he had to be resuscitated. Apple should have run at this point but instead attacked, she pirouetted on one foot, slightly overbalanced and her arms spread out to stabilize and attacked him with elegant ferocity, fracturing his ribs and punching him multiple times in the face and throat. Apple fell back onto the rail tracks the back of his head hitting the steel rail with a horrible wet thud and lay staring at the sky. She surveyed the damage she had inflicted on her attackers. Visibly sighed and sat down on the bench and waited for the police. When the police arrived they found a man with a knife in his chest, another dying on the railway tracks and the third gasping for breath. She was on the phone speaking to someone.

2.The police took her to Mugeyeong police station which is the main office of the serious crime and homicide division in the area. It is a pretty standard regional police station, two and a half floors, concrete steps and a wheelchair ramp going up to the ground floor main entrance. It is a forty year old systems building, last refurbished ten years ago. It is about 80 metres across and 20 meters high. The roof is flat with a concrete balustrade, behind which solar panels can be seen facing southwards. The building has a concrete frame within which the prefabricated components of the window sections are slotted between the grey concrete uprights. The lower half of each section containing pale blue panels that are fading from the sun and weather, the upper half being made up of sealed triple glazed window units with Venetian style blinds hanging inside the inner unit. Some of the offices have roller blinds on the inside of the windows. There are fire exits at both ends of the building and a rear entrance. There are floodlights pointing forward at the car park in front of the building. It is still light when they arrive and she makes them pause so she can survey the building. The woman police tries to pull her forward but cannot make her move. They take her to the front desk and try to book her in. She refuses to say a word. Her face expressionless under the led and tube lighting. They book her in under nameless, identity unknown and take her upstairs to the offices for interviewing and further investigation.

3.[Defense lawyers]: Not long after the police arrive at the police station we received a call — A client has just called and asked for a lawyer to take a case, please go to Mugeyeong police station. What is the case ? we asked, I don’t know the details, an important client has been arrested and is at the police station. It involved some people dying, that was all they knew. She is very important. The inside of the police station is mostly painted in municipal grey and with the pale blue that the police seem to prefer. The section of the floor she was being held in is an open plan office with three sets of desks arranged in groups of 7, the dividers are a soft grey colour with white boards strategically arranged. each desk having one or two monitors, with tough laptops or low profile desktop computers. Photons flood the room from led lights set into the ceiling, some of the desks have additional desk lamps, strip lighting or angle-poise lamps. There is the low humming from the air heat exchange unit. The detectives on the floor are dressed in various styles of business casual clothing, shirts, tee shirts, jeans, trousers, trainers or boots. Its 2/3rds men and 1/3rd women. There are a few officers dressed in the local police uniforms. She is escorted onto the floor and passed over to the duty inspector who in turn hands her over to Detective Inspector Ross. It’s sometime after nine when we arrive, when its an important client we always travel in pairs, in this case myself and my assistant. Detective Inspector Ross was waiting for us at his desk, situated at the end of the third row of desks. Ross had interrogated thousands of people over the years and was extremely effective at interviewing suspects and extracting confessions from them. He was meeting a wall of patient silence. He was just back from holiday and was already wishing he’d taken a few extra days off to avoid this case. There is a tendency for interrogators to shout and browbeat suspects/witnesses who are too silent, in this case Ross had taken one look at the CCTV footage and knew there was no advantage in using aggression. He judged that it might even be dangerous. It took about fifteen minutes for us to get through to the room where they were keeping her. She had not said a word, hadn’t even looked interested. They tried various european languages, then mandarin, korean, and finally japanese, she had smiled at their bad pronunciation. They had taken photographs, fingerprints, checked her wallet and bag. She had refused to take off or unzip her jacket. They were trying to find her details so that they could log the crime, identifying her as either a victim or an aggressor. In the outer office there had been a steady stream of police viewing the CCTV recordings: “Christ, look at that, how did she do that ?” was the immediate response. The video was copied onto PC’s and IPADs and eventually uploaded where it stayed for half a week before vanishing. The accountant and a few other witnesses were interviewed which established that the three men had threatened and attacked her after verbally threatening and abusing the woman further down the platform […] DI Ross was unusually pleased to see us, the police normally prefer to interrogate people without our presence, but to our surprise, he said “We are getting absolutely nowhere, she is simply refusing to cooperate. Perhaps she will speak now you are here” We went into the dark green painted interrogation room and tried to speak with her, she thanked us for attending but said nothing except for…. “I haven’t eaten since lunch, is it possible, for me to have something to eat, perhaps some tea and water ?”. My assistant went down to the canteen on the ground floor and came back with a couple of sandwiches, chicken and bacon and a cheese sandwich, a cup of tea and a bottle of water. She scraped the mayo off the chicken and bacon sandwich. She wolfed the sandwiches down in a predatory fashion. “I was starving” she said sipping her tea as Ross returned with his Sergeant and tried to question her again, whilst we sat beside her. This continued throughout the night. A trace of a smile appeared on her face at around 5 AM. She asked for water when the Sergeant went out for drinks. We went and sat in Ross’s office drinking coffee from the star buck’s next door that had opened at 6AM. We watched the video a few more times. She asked for a breakfast sandwich.

4.I said, we said, to Ross that it was a classic case of self defense. “True, but something about her is wrong. She is obviously waiting for something but what ?” I agree, I said, but you have no possibility of holding her. If she starts speaking about it, it may get even worse. “We have two dead men and a man in a coma, I would like to charge with manslaughter.” But it was clearly self-defense, we have witnesses and video to prove it. Nobody would charge her and expect a conviction. This was the core of our discussion about the event and continued all night. At seven AM Ross phoned his Detective Chief Superintendent, who begrudgingly came to the station on the way to his office. We all sat down in the glass walled meeting room around the table at around eight AM. He read the testimony of the witnesses three of four times. Then watched the video from where the three men entered the station to when the police arrived. He watched the fight sequence half a dozen times. “That is one dangerous woman.” He told the technical sergeant to turn it off and looked at us expectantly.”I’d like to hold her with a view to arresting her for manslaughter, failing that, failing that excessive violent defense. The excess being the knife in the man’s chest and the two punches in his throat and the kicks…” Ross said.”Go ahead” he said looking at me and my assistant. “That is insane, she was assaulted by a man with a knife, another with a baseball bat and… so of course she is allowed to defend herself. DI Ross knows that he cannot possibly believe that with this evidence he could take this case to a jury.””Ross, Have you been able to establish her name ?””Not yet, she won’t speak””And I cannot tell you who she is, as I have been asked not to. I can supply details of the client through the office which contacted us. It’s ten, eleven hours since she was brought here. There is no chance of any successful prosecution.”(I had no idea who she was and only found out later) “…Nor is the accused obliged to identify herself, she after all has done nothing illegal or wrong. Nor has she been cautioned. So she is allowed, encouraged to remain silent.””Is there any known relationship between the victims and the woman ?””We don’t have any information about that” Ross said.”Do we have anything about her from our files ? fingerprints, dna etc. Is there evidence of any crimes ?””Nothing at all. There are no records. If we arrest her, then we may find other things …””A charge that there is no chance of successfully prosecuting…” I Interjected.Ross groaned. To the DCS’s visible amusement. “The complete autopsy reports have not been delivered….”The DCS looked cynically at him — “Well the two dead men certainly did not die of heart attacks or old age.” The DCS grunted as he looked at the paperwork again, he told the Duty Sergeant to go and fetch her. She came in carrying a bottle of water that she collected on the way from the interview room. I could see her scanning the open plan office as she walked towards the meeting room. We talked and exchanged a few more views, more or less repeating what we had said when she wasn’t there. We repeated the conversation just so that she knew what we were talking and thinking about. She sat facing the door and looking out of the room into the station towards the exit. She was looking pale and tired. Sergeant Taylor came into the room carrying a breakfast roll, a drinking yogurt and an orange juice. She handed it to the woman. She nodded her thanks and started to eat the roll. It was now after 9am, the morning shift was arriving, people looked with interest at the room, understandably curious at what was going on. She was looking with interest at us speaking. She looked as if she wanted to join in the discussion but wisely kept silent. The DCS asked her a few questions which she did not reply to. He told her that he thought she was very irritating. She looked like she wanted to smile at him.”O.K. In fact I think your grasping at straws, Ross. I have heard enough.” He stretched back into his chair. “ The issue of self-defense is pretty clear, if someone is attacked with a knife and a baseball bat, a person is allowed to defend themselves so that the attack is ended. There is no way the prosecution people could win this case.”He looked between the four of us before facing her. “Ross is right it is an unusual case. I think the calmness with which which you faced the attackers/and/victims alarming. But I do not think that excessive violence was used. Which is also demonstrated that the third man will be prosecuted when we can do so…” He paused and looked at Ross who shrugged.” Your request for an arrest warrant is refused. The witness/accused is to be released.” The sergeant began to prepare the discharge paperwork. Ross was about to answer when she suddenly smiled. Beamed, the tiredness flickering away. She was looking past him across the room, what she was waiting for arriving. “They have come for me…”The DCS turned and looked at the man who he recognized and his Sergeant who were walking across the room.”Is that who you mean ?” “yes, and that’s his DI/Sergeant…” The five of us watched them walk across the room, the duty Inspector intercepts them to say good morning.

5. Leaving…He phoned at around 6AM apologizing to her, asking if she could come and look after their child. He explained why and where he was going, she arrived around 8 AM limping up the path her left leg in a support, he couldn’t manage to ask how she was. She looked at the control he was struggling to maintain and immediately took over dressing the child ready for the morning. He packed a change of clothes for his wife in the traveling bag. His sergeant, actually she was a DI, but he always referred to her as his sergeant arrived around 8.15. You came ? he said to her as he made more coffee. Yes, I came to make sure we walk her out of the station, I’m better for this than anyone else. The babysitter was feeding breakfast and chatting to his daughter as they left. At the station She parked the deep blue colored Porsche Cayanne in front of the station. She had taken the keys from his hands before they left, I’ll drive, you might crash. She parked in a disabled spot, put the police badge on the dashboard. They walked to the front desk hanging identification lanyards around their necks. We’ve come to see a witness you have upstairs, you don’t have a name for her. My name however is, waving the Id pass at them. They signed into the computer system. She refused to give a name — the desk sergeant said. Good, that is what I told her to do. He told him. The sergeant looked disconcerted and told a constable to take them upstairs. They arrived with the constable who directed them to the meeting room, he was walking them along the passageway between the desks when the duty inspector intercepted them, offering his hand, taking a slightly obsequious stance. Asking if there was anything he could help them with. He gestured at the meeting room, saying something.
The defense lawyers reviewed and then signed the discharge papers for her. She was about to be discharged from the meeting room, she was given her bag, it’s contents and the other objects. She was looking better, happy, the tiredness flickering away. She was looking across the room as she took her copy of the paperwork. She took a few of the defense lawyers business cards. She suddenly smiled, and spoke for the third or fourth time “They have come for me…” Ross was about to answer. She was beaming, the tiredness flickering away. She was looking past him across the office. The DCS turned and looked at the man who he recognized and his Sergeant who were walking across the room. “Thank you. I’m sorry to have caused you so much trouble. Do you want a witness statement from me, later? “
The DCS took Ross to greet them, they left the door open. The man said something shook the DCS’s hand, said hello to Ross. Followed them into the meeting room. “I brought a change of clothing, you should change before I take you home.” The constable escorted them to the disabled toilet. She stepped in, he offered the bag to her and she grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the room with her. The constable leaned against the partition wall and listened to her moving, them talking, telling him what had happened, as she changed, water ran, washed, sat on the toilet, washed again, dressed, tied her her back with a clean hairband. She emerged wearing clean black leggings, a cream silk shirt that ended at her waist with half sleeves, tattoos emerging from her sleeves, her slightly round stomach more obviously sticking out carrying her damaged jacket over her arm. The constable looked at her obviously pregnant body. “Congratulations. How many weeks ?” “Three or four months, I’ve lost track…” He was carrying the bag with the clothes. His DI/Sergeant watched the CCTV, read the witness statements. Looked around the meeting room with a rueful and wintry smile. “So no charges. A sensible result. A pregnant woman kills a man who is attacking her with a knife, imagine taking that to court, never going to work. If you need her as a witness for their prosecution you can contact her through our office.” Ross and the Defense lawyers watched them drive off in the Porsche.

6.Later after having a shower she came downstairs and put her cool hands on his face, the babysitter and the DI/sergeant both looked at her stroking his face. He lent back into her body as she hugged him. “Thanks for rescuing me…” The DI looked at them both, “I have to go and be shouted at by our, your boss. She may call you to harangue you later. Expect no sympathy from me…” “I will have to get my jacket repaired…” she said…

Originally published at https://www.driftwork.work on February 10, 2021.