Anythingdrabble Challenge 180 - Implausible

[m_findlow]

Title: Implausible
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: PC Andy
Word Count: 500 words
Rating: PG.
Notes: Written for Challenge 180 - Absurd at anythingdrabble
Summary: Andy is having a hard time getting his new boss to believe him.

PC Andy Davidson pinched the bridge of his nose as he clutched the phone receiver in his spare hand. His frustration was growing and his reciprocal patience wearing thin as he tried to stay calm and level-headed on his end of the phone.

'Yes, I know how this must sound, but I'm telling you that there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of it.' He was sure there had to be one somewhere, he just didn't know what it was. Torchwood were supposed to be helping him out by coming up with a plausible cover story that he could put in his final report. One that could stand up to the kind of scrutiny his new Detective Chief Inspector would believe. It turned out that the new DCI had however gotten wind that Torchwood existed - someone had obviously spilled the beans on that one - and that any bit of paperwork that read as even slightly suspicious was going to get the third degree of interrogation for the poor sod who'd penned it. In this case, Andy. Trouble was, he was having a hard time believing most of it himself. Trying to get the Gestapo from the fifth floor to swallow it was not what he'd prepared for.

'Now look,' he said, hoping that didn't sound too stand-offish, 'I admit that some of the eye witness statements mentioned, ah… strange lights in the sky, but I can one hundred percent confirm that I spoke with a scientific specialist who confirmed that what those people saw was nothing more than a localised geomagnetic build up of charge particles in the air that, when confirmed to a narrow space, collide and cause sparks of light as a by product.'

'You expect me to believe that crock of horseshit, Constable? They saw spaceships and I want to know what this Torchwood mob are doing to cover it up.'

'I assure you, sir, I was there and there were no spaceships,' he lied. 'It'll just be some locals from Pontypridd come down for the weekend getting their wires crossed. Half of them have never even seen a double-decker bus. Probably think that's alien too.' Gwen had promised him - promised! - they'd retconned everyone, but clearly they'd missed a few. Brilliant.

'I hear you put in an application for promotion to sergeant.'

'Yes, sir.' Oh, dear. That didn't sound good.

'And how many other reports have you filed in the last three years denying that there was anything unusual going on?'

'Zero, sir,' he said, hoping that sounded a lot more convincing than everything else he's said so far. I'm aware that there are special ops groups operating in the city, but their remit is classified and they don't interfere with normal police operations. I've never been approached and asked to withhold information from a formal police report.

There was a low growl on the other end of the line. 'Fine. But I'm watching you, Davidson.'

Andy sighed. Gwen would owe him big time for this.