Several months passed; fairly smoothly too, with the exception of the incident at the Burlington mall and the proceeding incidents regarding a certain terrorist and his ship.
A shop had sprung up in the courtyard under The Hub called 'Caper's Epicurean', the building supplied high end gourmet salads and small meals while maintaining a shop filled with exotic delights ranging from rare infused oils to top quality fusion tea's. The real draw of the shop was its fantastic deserts.
Having realized early on that they couldn't compete against 'Christy's' in the hot beverage market, the shop focused on the things that Christy's establishment didn't provide, such as cold drinks, organic cola's and the like. This unspoken arrangement worked well for everyone involved; Christy could access much higher quality ingredients from her neighbours shop, Mister Caper would direct people to Christy's if they wanted quality tea or coffee and Christy would send her clients to The Epicurean for proper meals.
Not only was the deal beneficial for both companies but it made Commander Silsbury very happy indeed. Her new routine was to leave the Office late, eat at Capers, relax for a time doing work on her PDA, purchase a desert (they changed often which was nice) and head over to Christy's to eat it with a delicious cup of Chai (she was now sure that this fresh batch was not infected in any way shape or form).
She was near the end of her routine on that Friday night, she made a point of cooking at home on weekends (another reason she was happy to have Caper's next door, a sizeable amount of money from her weekly pay packet went on oils and spices etc.) and was making the most of her time on site by having a discussion with the current Chief Commissioner, Duncan McGuire and Inspector Lachlan McArthur.
'She's a Liability!'
'She's the best pilot we have in that area!'
'I'm sure it's not her, she's done something to the ship!'
'Ship or no, she's been worth it hasn't she?'
'I don't know McArthur, having to pay hush money after the incident on the Essex nullifies that worth in my mind.'
They were arguing about Sergeant Kiriko Hidamari, a number of BPA Officers had been suspicious of her since she first applied and those suspicions multiplied when she was seen outside of her ship. On her record it said 'Severe growth disorder', turned out that she had lied on her application and was little more than a girl. The only reason they found out was due to the report of a nurse aboard the Essex. Silsbury had taken the report and ordered the nurse to remove all information about the Officer from the records. Bribes had to be paid to ensure the security of the information.
'Weigh up the advantages; despite her age she, or her ship is one of the best pilots we have; she lives in Omega 49 so theoretically the chances of people finding out about her are small provided she stays in her ship on duty and doesn't come into Headquarters often.' McArthur argued.
'She's a child McArthur! She can't handle this kind of work, and if Child Youth and Family ever found out we would be given absolute hell for employing a minor!' Silsbury countered, unusually riled.
It was at that point that McGuire interrupted, 'McArthur, is she dedicated to this job?'
'Yes sir.'
'And you're sure that she can keep under the radar as far as being a child is concerned.'
'Provided she keeps out of the public eye when not in her ship and we cover with the growth defect argument, yes. Even if she is discovered we could say her background checks raised no flags, well forged or whatever, liability shouldn't stick.'
'Then I dennae see yer problem Commander.' Said Duncan as he leaned back in his chair, 'She stays around Omega-49 most of the time as I've heard and lives at a private residence, besides it could be useful to have an operative in that area, Gran Canaria is a port of call for all sorts, she could feed us all sorts of useful titbits.'
Lucy resigned herself, if the Commissioner had made his decision that was that, she resumed eating her chocolate mousse; it was a little too rich for her liking but not bad.
'Now, I 'ave somethin' important t' say,' McGuire continued.
'I've bin fillin' the gap of Chief Commissioner 'ere now for a while-' McArthur cut him off.
'That's right, why haven't you taken up the position officially?'
'That's jest the thing laddie'¦ I'm not.'
There was a slightly stunned silence from the other two occupants of the table.
'But Sir'¦ we've only just lost one Commissioner!' Silsbury managed.
'It's not fer me lass, what with McNabb leaving, Douglass Retiring and the like'¦ all the ould crew are gone, 'cept fer me.' He sighed slowly.
'I appreciate you two trying to help out, even that rascal Savins tried to settle me in by getting me a pet rock, but I've been in Manchester too long.' He broke off looking distant, 'It's a pretty system ye ken? Quiet too, I don't think I'm cut out fer all the hustle and bustle of running an entire operation from this place.'
He snapped back with a determined look in his eyes.
'I'm goin' back there. I'm retaking my position as Warden o' Newgate.'
'Who have you named as your replacement? Broyles? Kirkham?'
Duncan shook his head, 'They were picked by Palmer, not me, I don't know any of 'em well enough to trust 'em.'
'Who then?' Silsbury asked, she couldn't possibly think of anyone outside of the three deputy commissioners suitable for the job.
'You lass.'
The silence lasted a long time; eventually she managed to say 'why me?'
'I've read your file, didn't you think there was a reason you were promoted so fast?'
It was true; Silsbury had risen in the ranks faster than anyone in recorded BPA history, all due to hard work however.
'You've got somethin' in ya, Palmer saw it, I see it'¦ A real talent for leadership, brilliant organization, and plain hard headedness is probably most important!'
She was stunned, more stunned then she had ever been.
'But'¦ But I was a nuisance to Palmer! All that press, I punched a reporter on live broadcast and there are more incidents than I care to recall that he wasn't happy about.'
Duncan chuckled.
'Sometimes we 'ave to be un'appy about things, otherwise we wouldn't be a law enforcing force, we'd be a law altering force. Palmer saw that you have initiative and that you are willing to stand up for what you think is right. I believe that there isn't anyone else suitable for this job Commander'¦ Did you know you were on the tables for replacing McNabb as New London's Superintendent?'
'What if I refuse the promotion?' she asked faintly.
'Well you're within yer right to, but are you sure you want to? I mean the BPA needs a strong hand to guide it through these tough times.'
She didn't know what to do. She liked the rank of Commander, she got to patrol and go out in the field, she didn't know if she could handle being Chief Commissioner.
'At least take a trial period, like I 'ave.' Duncan said.
'Ok.'
The Warden smiled at her.
'If you'll excuse me Officers, I have a ship to catch.'
And with that, Duncan McGuire, Warden of Newgate, rose from his chair and walked out into the dark night.