Welcome to my third fanfic! OK, now this is going to get a little confusing but try and keep up, please. I believe that Limbo and the Real World aren't in proper alignment with each other, so people that pass away in the real world can end up in any time period of the past. The period which officers end up in change constantly. So, my story begins in 2010 and will end up in 1972, so the first four or five chapters will occur a year before Sam Tyler drops in. Now, introducing my OC: Ruby Amelia James, aspiring police officer. Let's hear her story.

Monday 9th January 2010

The sky was dark and grey. In London, what was new? At least in Australia, they were sunny almost 24/7. Hell, in winter time, it had some warmth. Ruby contemplated her change of scene as she sat in Detective Superintendent Gerald Davison's car on the way to the Great Manchester Police Academy. That was the only damn reason she was back in London. She did enjoy London but she didn't enjoy the people in it. Davison was a good man, raising her as his ward, but she rarely saw him. She felt no emotional obligation to him beyond the gratitude for taking her in and letting her do her studies to become a police officer in peace.

Ruby glanced at the driver in the front, a tall, thick-set man named DS Jefferson. He was her personal bodyguard for this trip and one that Ruby detested. Jefferson treated her like she was an ignorant 5-year-old kid who wouldn't know the difference between a lollipop or a baton. She was a 16-year-old with a bone fide gun license, which she constantly reminded him whenever he got on her nerves. She was a police officer in training, another fact which conveniently slips his mind whenever he decides to play the 'let the grown ups handle this' card on her. The Jeep they were in suddenly made a harsh turn around the round about as Jefferson glanced in the review mirror at her.

"We'll be there soon, Miss James" Jefferson said to her in his usual monotone voice, "We'll be seeing your friend Michael soon"

"His name is Micah, Jefferson" Ruby replied before looking back out the window, "Say it with me: Mee...Cah..."

Jefferson scowled into the review mirror, "Just shut up and enjoy the ride, kid"

There it was again: kid. Ruby bit her tongue to hold back from snapping at him but she needed this ride. There was no way that she was missing Micah's graduation day. Ruby smiled to herself as she thought of her best friend in his uniform, ready to face the criminals and scum of the world (or at least Manchester). She had met Micah in high school in Australia, when she was in Year 7 and he was Year 10. She still remembered the first day they met, one of the best days of her life...

The school yard was full of unruly hooligans picking on nerds and promiscously-dressed ladettes smoking like chimney stacks and flirting with skinny boys in over-sized clothing, with their jeans done up, showing half their underwear, acting like they are so tough. Ruby surveyed the scene around her from her corner near the canteen, her I-pod playing her 70s and 80s music in her ears no-stop. A catchy song was on, 'Ballroom Blitz' by Sweet. Whenever it got to the chorus, she felt like starting a fight. What she didn't realise was that she didn't have to wait too long for one. As she watched the quadrangle aimlessly, she felt a hand place itself on her shoulder. She immediately froze. Ruby glanced at the hand out of the corner of her eye. Large, hairy, dirty bitten fingernails, a sinlge scar on his pointer finger. She inwardly groaned.

"Hello, Rube" Frank Greggs' voice she could unfortunately hear over her I-pod.

Greggs was an all-round burnout stoner git, who spent his time sexually harrassing the girls of the school. She had a very memorable meeting with him when she had first started at the school two weeks ago. Now, whenever he got the chance, he was come and taunt her. She usually ignored him and walked off, but she was definitely not in the mood to walk away, especially with her adrenalin racing around her body like it was competing in the Melbourne Cup. She turned and looked up at the towering bully. He had a shaved head, dressed in the over-sized clothes that all the other 'lads' dressed in. His pimply face didn't seem to bother him much, as anyone that commented on it was threatened with his gorilla-sized fists. Ruby was a short person, half a head shorter than Greggs, but she wasn't scared of him. He was just a hooligan, like ever other deadbeat at the school.

"Listen, Greggs, I am not in the mood to put up with your passes to grope my tit. You remember what happened last time and I'll be sure to make this time twice as bad" Ruby growled at him, her fists curled into balls, shaking at her sides.

Greggs smirked at her, "Oh, come off it. You know you want me"

"Yeah, I want you with your head stuck down one of the boys' toilets, filling your mouth so full of toilet water that it'll take more than the supermarket's stock of Listerine to wash the taste of shit out of your mouth" Ruby snapped at him.

Greggs' eyes flashed angrily at her as he grabbed her arm, tightly, "Listen, you piss-weak bitch..."

"I didn't seem so piss-weak when I nearly broke your nose in Maths" Ruby pulled away from him, but that only seemed to make his grip on her tighten.

"Oi, get off her!"

They both turned to see a boy standing behind Greggs. He had long black hair hanging around his shoulders, falling down in waves around his face. He face Greggs with a resonate calmness but Ruby could see anger burning behind his dark brown eyes. He was a stocky boy, wearing the school shirt and green camoflage pants, with a shoulder-bag slung over his shoulder. He clutched and flexed his fists with a steady rhythm like he was counting, getting ready for something.

Greggs sneered at him, "Says who? You and what army?"

"I won't need an army to take you down" the boy replied calmly to him. Ruby could feel the fear flowing through Greggs. The boy's calm voice was scarier than any shout or furious threat that he could have screamed at him.

Greggs suddenly threw Ruby to the ground. The boy remained still, calculating, but his eyes quickly flashed at her, making contact with her dark blue orbs. After a moment, Ruby broke away and looked back at Greggs. Greggs cracked his knuckles and face off against the boy, ready to throw his punches despite the fact the boy was nearly a head taller than him. Greggs stood there for a moment in smug contemplation, before suddenly throwing a punch in the boy's direction. As if waiting for exactly that, as fast as lightning and with expert fluidity, the boy blocked Greggs' punch and retaliated with a punch to his right shoulder, sending Greggs stumbling back in shock. Ruby could see the steam coming from Greggs' ears as he suddenly charged forward at the boy, fists ablazing. Ruby quickly bound to her feet to help the boy, but all the boy did was swiftly move to the side and let Greggs run headfirst into the wall behind him. Ruby couldn't stop the laughter escaping her lips as she heard Greggs' skull go crack against the bricks and fall unconscious to the ground. The boy grinned at the stoner's unconscious body before looking back to Ruby.

"You OK?" The boy asked

"I'm fine. I'm used to dealing with this creep" Ruby replied, "I'd have him arrested for sexual harrassment, but then I couldn't humilate him in front of his victims"

The boy raised his eyebrows, "Have him arrested? You got some connections with the law?"

"My education is being paid by Detective Superintendent Gerald Davison of the Great Manchester Police" Ruby shrugged, "I guess I have some connections"

"A Londoner, eh? Thought the accent sounded familiar" The boy replied, walking around the sleeping Greggs to get to Ruby, "I wanna be a copper, someday"

"Really? So do I" Ruby grinned, "My parents were a DI and DCI. I hope to be at least a DI"

"DC would be good enough for me at the moment" the boy said, "What's your name?"

"Oh, sorry" Ruby held out her hand, "Aspiring DI Ruby Amelia James, nice to meet you"

The boy took her hand, smiling, "Aspiring DC Micah Richard Blake, it's a pleasure"

They had been best friends ever since. They had other acquaintences in their years, with whom they discussed pop culture and the stuff every teenager talks about, but the time between Ruby and Micah was spent discussing important issues which they both cared about. Ruby's parents and brother, Micah's alcoholic uncle, philosophy, their crime studies... every important topic was discussed only personally between them two. Then, as a birthday present for his seventeenth, Ruby secured him a place at the Great Manchester Police Academy after putting a call in to Davison. The expression on Micah's face had been one that Ruby now aspired to put on his face for birthday presents and so. It was a mixture of surprise and pure joy. For the past two years, they communicated via e-mail and photos, their friendship only strengthening via their long distance. Now that Ruby had now graduated high school at the age of sixteen, the youngest graduate at the school thanks to the fact she had skipped Year 2, now relinquished to Ruby the freedom to go back to London and see Micah's graduation from Police Academy. The main thing she looked forward to was seeing the expression on Micah's face as he stood in his suit as a freshly graduated Detective Constable, ready to purge Manchester of its scum and scoundrels.

Suddenly, she was dragged back from her memories by the sound of some techno crap coming from DS Jefferson's phone. Ruby inwardly groaned at the sound. Jefferson, a 40-something grown man, is always wanting to relate to the younger generations by making himself 'hip'. But Ruby hated the techno crap and just thought this made Jefferson look even sadder than he was. As Jefferson turned off into the next street, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered it while driving.

"Detective Sergeant Jefferson speaking" he said

"Talking on the phone while driving? Tsk tsk" Ruby said to him, "And you're supposed to be the example"

Jefferson ignored Ruby and listened to the phone, "A hostage situation? Where at? The academy?"

Ruby leapt forward and ripped the phone from Jefferson's hand before he could say anything else. Jefferson glared at her while Ruby got on the phone.

"Hello, Ruby James here. Jefferson can't take the call any further at the moment" Ruby then looked up at Jefferson, "Tree"

Jefferson looked back at the road and swerved around a roundabout, almost running into a tree that sat at the centre. Ruby rolled her eyes and focused on the call.

"Hello, Ruby, DC Francine Potts speaking" the voice said on the phone

"What's the situation?" Ruby demanded.

"A failed graduate, named Thomas Deeds, holding a standard issue shotgun, has taken three hostages inside the academy and shoots at whoever gets close. You gotta get over here post-haste"

"Who are the hostages?"

"Three graduates, DC Andrew Granger, DC Kenneth Schwartz and DC Micah Blake..."

All sound around Ruby dulled out. The only thing that Ruby could hear now was the thumping of her own heart in her ears as fear raced through her veins, increasing her heartbeat to 300 beats per minute. Not Micah... Not Micah... She wasn't going to lose Micah...

"Step on it, Jefferson!" Ruby barked at Jefferson, "We need to get to the academy in less than five minutes otherwise you'll go straight through the windshield and I'll drive the car!"

Thank you for reading. Now the story gets interesting. Next time, see how Ruby goes to save her best friend. Rate/Review/Do what you do.