It was a cool March day in Wellington when an inconspicuous car departed the city, traveling north. The vehicle carried in its passenger seat one Greyson Roberts, at present a constable in the New Zealand Police and one selected to conduct surveillance on certain subversive elements that may be developed or developing in the country.

With the incoming National Government riding on a tide of anticommunism spawned by coups and civil wars spurred on by communists in Czechoslovakia, Italy, China, and most recently Iraq, the Prime Minister had personally, in his capacity as Minister of Police, directed the New Zealand Police to step up surveillance on the Communist Party of New Zealand.

Senior Constable Roberts, a scrupulous and dependable man, had been selected to head up these efforts by the Fraser government and had been running the CPNZ desk for close to two years by early 1950, though the NZP had given him few resources and, until recently, the Government did not seem to take too keen of an interest in the goings-on of this electorally impotent party mostly consisting of rabble-rousers and union men too radical to be successful in Labour politics.

Now, Roberts arrived in the predawn light under the eaves of the Royal New Zealand Police Training Centre at the Trentham Military Camp. He had been summoned by someone quite a few rungs higher than he-- an Inspector Sutton had issued the summons on behalf of a Superintendent Cunningham.

Roberts stepped into the office of the RNZPTC Superintendent, who had vacated in favor of this Cunningham character. He stood at attention as Sutton and the College superintendent departed.

"SC Roberts," Cunningham intoned, looking through a folder. "Greece, Crete, Italy. You've seen some combat."

"Yes, sir."

"You've heard what's happened in Iraq, now?" Cunningham asked.

Roberts nodded. "Communists, sir."

"I'm told you're well acquainted with the communists here in Wellington," Cunningham continued. "Appointed to surveil their activities in 1948. Report on them."

"Sir, the CPNZ has not evidently been up to anything beyond carrying red flags out at the occasional strike or protest. My desk has turned up no evidence of contact with the Soviet Union, and nothing seems to indicate any proclivity towards armed insurrection or anything quite like we've seen in Czechoslovakia. Or Iraq, I suppose."

"You're confident in this assessment, Roberts?"

He paused. "Sir, if I might speak freely?"

Cunningham gestured his agreement.

"I have been running a one-man operation with minimal resources. When I sleep the CPNZ is not surveilled as there is no one else to do it. The operation is far from expansive enough for me to have confidence in my report," Roberts stated.

Cunningham smiled and ashed his cigarette. "Well, I have news you might be glad to hear, then. The Ministry of Police has been given a budget for handling the CPNZ, now, and as you've been sitting behind that desk for two years now you're to be put in charge of an expanded operation. You'll have £1,000 discretionary budget and we'll be appointing two PCs to assist with around-the-clock surveillance on the party headquarters, if one exists, or prominent members if not."

Roberts smirked. "Thank you, sir."

Cunningham reached below the desk and produced a pair of shoulder boards. "You'll be promoted to sergeant, too."

"Thank you, sir."

"Congratulations, Roberts. Now, we brought you out to Trentham for cause," Cunningham continued. "You'll be undergoing training with military intelligence types, guys who worked alongside British intelligence during the war. Six weeks and you'll learn phone tapping, tailing suspected offenders, the tricks of the intelligence trade."

Cunningham stood, grabbing his coat from the back of the chair. Roberts became aware again of the rain pattering on the window pane. The superintendent stubbed out his cigarette in the ash tray, the last wisps of smoke snaking towards the ceiling. "You're in the Government's sights, now," he said, clapping Roberts on the shoulder as he stepped around the desk. "You'll do fine, lad."

Greyson Roberts is undergoing intelligence training as the NZ Government expands its surveillance of communists inside of New Zealand.