Mike Scantlebury

Mickey is badly hurt. He was attacked by a gang of thugs on Christmas Eve and he stood no chance. If he hadn't been rescued - but he was, dragged off the pavement by a woman he hardly knew, taken into her tenth-floor apartment and looked after while he tried to recover. Six weeks passed. Mickey has never been a victim, but he was assaulted and now he can hardly walk. When Melia phones - out of the blue - announcing it's St Valentine's night and she wants to take him out, he has to refuse. Unfortunately Melia catches sight of Melia's landlady and cuts the video call, hurt and confused. She didn't recognise Romla, didn't realise that Mickey's Angel was a woman she knows, used to work with, years before. They could have talked. They had so much in common.Unfortunately, the other thing that Mickey and Melia have in common also divides them. Mickey's Dad. He has appeared, popped out of nowhere, and wants to resume communications with his son. Not bad for a father who ran out on his family when Mickey could hardly walk. Now, when that is true again, he is as useless as ever. Mickey can't stand him and makes every possible excuse to avoid him.Meanwhile, the Housing Crisis goes on. The feud between local building firms, which Mickey walked into, and is the direct cause of his injuries, has not gone away. The many sides try to woo Mickey, bring him back into the game. If only he could - but he needs carrying everywhere. Even when he gets called to the local hospital in Manchester, they can't help him. But maybe a miracle worker can. Mickey has been asked to play nursemaid to a young man in trouble with the Law. Fortunately or unfortunately he has a large and growing following. They believe he is some kind of prophet and Healer. He works his magic on Mickey.Mickey is like a stallion coming out of the starting gate at a racecourse, but he can't get back onto the track. Britain is in Lock-down. A strange virus has been brought in from the East and everyone has been told to 'Stay Home', not go out, not travel. That's exactly what Mickey has been doing Two months is too long. He does his best to stick to the Guidelines but there are Mysteries to be solved, questions to be put and answers to be sought. With Romla's continuing help, Mickey drags his damaged body around the city, turning over stones and refusing to be fobbed off.If only people didn't continue to get murdered And the biggest surprise of all is that the lastest victim is somone uncomfortably close to home.

England is a country obsessed by housing. Some people want to buy houses, some want to sell. Everyone wants to make a profit, build up capital and, probably, create a pile of money they can retire on and, hopefully, leave to their offspring. In other words, nobody has any idea what they are doing and, as any business person will tell you, are highly unlikely to succeed in their aims. Mickey, trying to enjoy the quiet life in North Salford, keeps coming across these failures. Some of them are his oldest - and bestest - friends. Mostly, he doesn't mind, but his best friend Don is a policeman dragged into a feud between building firms. Them Mickey meets his really best friend, a man he hasn't seen for years, and he's a property mogul too. Then Mickey is asked to work with and mentor a jailbird, a young man with a bright future and a disastrous past. The kid wants to build a house - on television. If only people weren't getting hurt - literally - Mickey might be able to walk away. But cuts, bruises, and then a real dead body, stands in his way. Concerned, overwhelmed, he does what he does best - try to help. Unfortunately, it's just not good enough, this time.

The Arms Dealers are in town Manchester, in the North West of England, is trying hard to pretend that death dealing salesmen haven't taken over their premier exhibition space for the week. Even the elected Mayor of the county of Greater Manchester has set his face against it. Sure, he wants jobs and business to come to his part of the world. But he was hoping for something better, more humane.Not that it bothers Amelia Hartliss. She's employed by British Security, and spying on the event is just another day for her. Except that she meets an amusing young busker outside, singing songs she loves, and she is therefore distressed to find him dead, on the same day Meanwhile, Melia's cousin Liv is finding life hard at the University, where she works. She is now living on campus, and sharing a flat with her boyfriend Don. But he's a policeman, and never seems to be at home. Other people are looking for him, and she's not sure why, but when people start bothering her, they are drug dealers and gangsters. It distresses her that they all seem to have guns. Where have those come from?If only the cousins could find help, but when Melia reports in to regional Office, she is staggered to find that her boss is serving tea. There seems to have been a complete shake-up of responsibility, thanks to a misguided training course in 'Team Building'. For her, it means she has no team to rely on. She's on her own.Only one more complicating factor, one of the weapons people that Melia starts to investigate is a rather charming young man called Tryst. It gets embarrassing when she ends up in his flat. Maybe they are becoming too close, and it's more than a 'professional' relationship. Melia isn't sure. Mickey is out of town, and anyway, he's not her boyfriend all the time, is he? He's a lot more unreliable than that.She's going to have to watch her step

"Not another Election " The Prime Minister of Britain has called yet another General Election in the middle of 2017, less than two years since the last one. Mickey is summoned into action to defend candidates and preserve democracy, but where is his usual team? Where are his trusted colleagues? Why has Melia disappeared? Caulfield been transferred? Why is Liv been sent to a Mental Hospital? And who is 'Gulf', and why is he plotting against the Corsch Corporation? All that, all of it, can't have anything to do with votes, surely After all, Mickey's boss, Captain Gibson, doesn't seem to be worried about any of those mundane, everyday things. He feels more threatened by the British Army and their plans for an immediate coup to replace whatever government there is, elected or not - without a popular vote Britain today. Who had any idea that things had got so bad, or that they are just about to get worse. For everyone.

Amelia Hartliss is used to seeing the worst of human nature, but even she is shocked to see that unscrupulous criminals have made it their business to rip off the most generous charity in Salford. The Booth Foundation has a history of helping people, some of the poorest and most deprived in the city. Surely no one could be so mean minded as to take the bread out of hungry mouths? Unfortunately, that is exactly what is happening. The seemingly trustworthy workers are all now under suspicion, and their links to local gangsters are being explored. Melia needs to grit her teeth and hold her nose as she delves deeper into the excesses she is uncovering. Luckily, she has the help of other colleagues in the Unit, such as computer expert Terry. Even Melia's cousin Stan lends a hand. Unfortunately, Melia's most reliable ally, her boyfriend Mickey, is more of a problem. Where the heck is the man? Why can't he be found when he is really needed?

Many people are worried that the world is facing an energy crisis, when the oil runs out and the current generation of nuclear fission reactors reach the end of their useful lives and are retired. What can replace them? What can generate the electricity we so deserately need?Some people think the answer is nuclear fusion. It has no residue, and is clean and infinitely replaceable. It is the process that powers the sun. Wouldn't it be wonderful if someone invented a process that worked?Melia thinks she has met such a man. But wait a moment, isn't he a well-known and experienced conman? How does she know she can trust him? How does she know this isn't simply his latest scam? After all, the briefcase he is carrying seems so bland and unimportant. Could it really be holding the key to the future of energy in Britain? That thing?Then people get murdered, and the situation really starts to get serious. Melia is sucked in, fighting not only for the world but also for her family, and a childhood friend, and her memory. If only her boss, the awful Caulfield, wasn't involved too, things would be easier. Who knew the man who she'd always thought of as the spawn of the Devil, had brothers?

Gold is on everyone's mind, the millions in value represented by a haul of gold bars, that disappeared from Salford's docks in 1966. It seems a lifetime ago, but people are remembering former times, inspired by a local project run by the BBC, called 'All Our Stories'. They're asking people to remember the things in their lives that are most important to them, but perhaps they never realised that once Jan Branch gets her audio recorder out and lays it on the table, mysteries and anecdotes are going to come out that aren't all happy memories. They were tough times, back in 1966, and people did anything to try and make a living. Jimmy was good at it, moving in the business of takeaway food, and making a success of it. But he came from a criminal family: his Dad died, after years in prison, and his brother fled overseas. So why has Ben come back? Why now? What does he want? Melia starts to investigate and has to ask what everyone was thinking: what happened to the gold? Why did it never emerge after 1966?

Marlie is thrilled to be getting ready for her wedding. The setting is magical, a country house hotel in autumn, set amongst lawns, lakes and forest. But then she is surprised and devastated to see her future bridegroom seized by masked men, and carried away. Frantic, she has to enlist the help of her entire family to recover her man and save the day. Luckily for her, this is the Farley family and nothing, not even armed men, helicopters and guns, can stop them rushing to each other's aid. If the terrorists thought they were going to have an easy day of it, they reckoned without the courage and ingenuity of her sister, her mother, and Marlie herself. Of course, says Marlie, this nightmare is going to have a happy ending. There is no alternative.

75 years? You must be joking No, it's true. The United States Air Force arrived in Britain, which was just as well, as the Brits were having a hard time getting their butts kicked by the Nazis. But that particular battle was won in 1945. The Yanks didn't go home. Then there was the Korean War, (which was shared). Then Vietnam, (which Britain failed to join). The Americans stayed put. Even when the Berlin Wall came down, they wouldn't pack their bags. What's it going to take to move these foreign soldiers off British soil? Even the Prime Minister doesn't have an answer. She thinks they will be there for ever. So, it's a bit of a mad surprise when a bunch of U.S. Generals turn up at Downing Street and offer to quit. What kind of game is this? What are they playing at? What are they hoping to gain? More important, for people in British Security like secret agent Mickey, can they even be trusted, or is this just another twist and turn in the international game of thrones that is known as the Cold War? Mickey wonders if such offers should even be taken seriously. But when the bodies start piling up, and people are getting murdered for no apparent reason, he is forced to knuckle down and start solving the latest in a long line of mysteries.

Melia may be an experienced Special Agent, but she has to follow orders, just like everyone else. And if that means nurse maiding the most obnoxious man in England, well, that's just her bad luck. Bad luck to be stuck in a car with the Editor of the worst tabloid newspaper - ever. A man who doesn't know when he's not lying - which is when his mouth is closed. A man who doesn't understand sexist and racist language, just uses them every day of the week. A man who exploits women and uses men, not necessarily in that order. Of course people want to kill him! Bad luck for him then, that a pop singer is offering money to anyone who has a go. That brings volunteers out of the woodwork, every wierdo and nutcase that ever drew breath. Well, Melia wonders, for once, am I on the wrong side? Would the world be a better place with one less Ian McGregor?

Manchester England is famous around the world. It's been that way for a while. These days, it's all about football and music, but back in Victorian times it was factories, slums and social reform. But in between such ups, there's been some downs, such as in the 1990s, when Manchester City Council was desperate for improvement. They came up with a striking idea - bringing the Olympic Games to Manchester. It didn't so difficult. All it would need would be to convince the International Bidding Committee that Manchester was the place to be for the foremost sporting spectacular in the world. That would mean choosing the city in the North West of England over such marvellous cities to visit as Sydney, Barcelona and Beijing. It's tough competition, and residents like Mickey start feeling the pain. Not just pressure on funds, but people he knows start being made redundant. Then people die. This is getting serious! Because he also has his friend Jim to protect, and his girlfriend to save. It's a deadly race!

Amelia Hartliss is employed by British Security Services to defend the nation against attacks. She is used to that, but in the normal run of things, the assaults are coming from abroad, from extremists not born and raised in this country. It is therefore a nasty surprise to find terrorists on her own doorstep, right in her home town. It's a new challenge, and a bigger fight than anything she's ever seen. If only she had help - but her time and attention are being distracted by her cousin Liv, who is asking Melia for help in clearing the name of a mutual friend who has been sent to prison for a crime he says he didn't commit. It's a nasty business, made worse by the fact that the 'crime' is something that polite people don't like to talk about. Her absence only makes things worse at Regional Office, where the Deputy Director finds himself with a new job - clearing out the stable. He has an idea: Melia could be the first to go.

The General Election of 2015 is tearing the country apart, dividing friends and family, colleagues and workers. Up north, in Salford, the rivalry is even worse, aided and abetted by a series of terrorist outrages that has everyone on their toes. What is going on? Why are they being targeted? Only Mickey and Melia seem to have the ability to answer the questions, even though they aren't even close at the moment. They each have their own assignments. Mickey is on a canal barge, heavily disguised, working his way close to local politicians. Melia meanwhile, has been delegated to work with the Canadian Navy, temporarily berthed in Salford Docks with an enormous submarine. Why are they there? They have brought a present for the British government, they say, but seem surprisingly reluctant to hand it over. Melia wants to ditch the responsibility, and might have done, but for a rather attractive Lieutenant, who is taking up all her attention. Maybe, after all, Mickey will lose his place in her affections. Disaster!

Prince William of England, second in line to the throne, is asked by his grandmother to represent her at the Olympics events happening in the North of England in 2012. The Prince is pleased at the request, appearing in public as the Queen's representative, but then less than happy when people start shooting at him and threatening his life in a myriad of unpleasant ways. Then Melia arrives. Amelia Hartliss, or 'Heartless' as she is known, has been sent from the local Regional Office of WSB, the country's foremost anti-terrorism unit. She is a professional, but in the weeks spent in the Prince's company, she finds her nature as a mature and passionate woman is tested to the limit. She is attracted to the young man, and is surprised to find that the feeling may be mutual. As the terrorists close in, the two dissimilar people have to work together to survive, forging a bond that is more than their duty demands.

Britain is in the middle of a huge political upheaval. A Referendum has been called with a simple Yes/No question: should the United Kingdom stay in Europe, or cut links and float off into the ocean? Passions are running high and national security is at risk. Those charged with protecting lives and property, such as Mickey's unit, the WSB, are stretched to the limit, fighting existing terrorists as well as some new, unexpected threats. Meanwhile, the pressure from Europe is only part of the day-to-day problems, with interest from other international allies and rivals, like the USA and China, Japan and Russia. Captain Gibson, struggling to field a full team, is forced to press some of his desk jockeys into action, inexperienced people like his Deputy. Happily, he could be useful, though. He was at school in Hong Kong and met the Reverend Umh, now returned to the UK on business. If only Mickey was around more, all would be well.

Melia is asked to work undercover. It's uncomfortable. For one thing, she has to live in a tent, in the middle of the windswept and desolate Barton Moss, an area of countryside unexpectedly found in the middle of the City of Salford. Gratifyingly for her, her on-off boyfriend Mickey has been ordered into the same operation - but, unfortunately for both of them, he is on the opposite side, with the Police! Their relationship becomes as tense as the stand-off between the demonstrators and the drilling operation that faces them, each one unwilling to give an inch in their battle either for or against the new source of gas and oil in Britain - made available through 'fracking'. It's a controversial move, but the UK government is determined to catch up with their US counterparts, and they are happy to support the new technology. Meanwhile, Melia is distraught, losing all faith in her new bosses at the Unit; struggling to support her failing cousin; and determined to hold on to Mickey, one way or the other.

Amelia Hartliss is having a pretty bad day, dropping in at Salford University to help a friend and finding herself in the middle of a visit by the Prime Minister of Britain. After all, she's complaining: Why wasn't I told? As a foremost operative in the country's most important Security unit, she should have been assigned to protect the man, from dangers, such as attacks and attempted kidnaps. It can't be a coincidence then, that that's exactly what happens, and Melia is the only agent on the inside when it does, while all the other possible helpers are locked out. She tries to keep a low profile, but can't prevent herself being dragged in, putting her body between the leader of the country and those that mean him harm. Perhaps they can come to some accommodation, after all, the PM is willing to listen, but there is a weakness that plagues him - his brother. If Melia can only prevail on him and her Unit bosses to stop escalating the situation, maybe she can cope with the baddies and ensure nobody gets killed.

Amelia Hartliss is called 'Heartless' by her friends and foes alike, and with good reason. But at least she has always had the assurance, up to now, that she was doing wrong for the right reason. Now she isn't so sure: she has been forced by her boss to infiltrate a conspiracy at the top level of local government, development organisations and health bodies in the North of England, and the depths of depravity sicken her, despite her many years of experience and a feeling she had that she had 'seen everything'. Not quite; human beings have an unlimited capacity to disappoint, as one victim puts it, and Melia has to use all her determination and ingenuity to foil a dastardly terrorist plot to poison the water supply of a major city. But worse, the conspirators are poisoning the minds of the local population too, and turning them against the weakest members of society. It's truly sickening.