Marianne Shelley

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Marianne Shelley is a detective with the London police and acts as the liaison between the Templars and the London Police. She hints that she may also act as liaison with the Council of Venice.

Missions

Involved In

London Calling

Sign of the Times

Dialogue

Yourself

You know what surprises me? Nothing. I used to work Vice. The cases that shake you in your faith, any kind of faith. You set up walls to keep it appart from you, but it still gets inside. Under Your fingernails, into your lungs. Then I saw what your secret world can make a man do. Member of Parliament. He's dead now. I hope. I chose not to think about it, at first. The Met has a whole filing system for the ones they don't think about. "Agenda 71." It's a very governmental euphemism. But I had to look, didn't I? And the Agenda 71 cases go back centuries. Centuries of Templars or Illuminati or blood-moth worshippers or bog-standard sociopaths never understanding the cost of what they're dealing with. Centuries of people like me cleaning up the blood and horror at Her Majesty's behest. Hmm. My dating game doesn't half suffer when it's time to swap work stories.

The locals

It's a multicultural crowd around here. Not the kinds of cultures I lerned about in diversity training. Best to treat it like the Notting Hill Carnival, only the masks don't come off. The Templars want to clamp dowm more - on freedom of speech, freedom of expression. Freedom to be a cult of Diana or an escapee raven from the Tower. So do my superiors. The secret world is an embarassment to the higher-ups, a scandal waiting to happen. But it's not the time and this isn't the place for martial law. So far. Keep your ears open to everything, is my advice. Not just your bosses. Don't get me wrong - Sonnac's a class act, everything considered. Dosen't refer to people as "peasants" while they're in earshot. But he's still a politician, and no matter how many times I hear the pitch it never sits right with me. "Leave it all to us, because we know best." Hm. I must have problem with authority. '

The secret London

Really, it's a relief to have all the weirdness in one place. Concentrated weirdness. Not any easier to explain to the rest of the Met, the House of Commons... or the Daily Mail. But Ealdwic's manageable, mostly, if I don't sleep. Better than chasing you lot around the city like a blue-arsed fly. London is an ancient, spiteful place. All madness and plague and poll tax riots. Even before I got this gig, I saw that police don't just protect the city, they protect people from the city. The Templars burned down half of London befor to stop it. They haven't ruled out the option of doing it again. Turns out patience isn't a Templar's virtue. I have more of an old-fashioned view on policing and the due process of law. D'you know, it was the Met that caught the Ripper in the end. No magic show, no heroics, all on the quit. Just detective work and determination. And tha was 1936.

The secret world

If you don’t want to get on my bad side – either of them – you should know why I came to the Templars. Not because I wanted in. I wanted to help keep them out. This city makes enough problems without secret societies going at it cloak-and- dagger. All the old cities do, the ones built on the bones of convicts and highwaymen and withes. I’m not trying to piss on your chips. I’m no expert on the secret world, I avoid it as much as I can. But the people banging on about this great darkness are the ones who invited it in in the first place. Now here you are at the neutral ground between ancient forces. A corner pub with 2-for-1 drinks nights and pre-Roman catacombs in the basement. You want my recommendation? Never stop asking questions, or you’re the same as the rest of them. And the steak and ale pie’s not bad.

The Templars

The Templars? Love them, salt of the earth. Have you been listening to anything I said since we met? Well, I probably do need to brush up on my interpersonal skills. Years of passive-aggressive standoffs have done a number on my gregarious, friendly nature. Look, I’ve seen things… beyond what could be fairly asked of anyone to witness. I expect you have too, or you will soon enough. That’s the Templars way, to take every threat into your own hands no matter the cost. I can accept that you’re a necessary good. I can’t sleep any easier, though, or just clap you on the back and leave you to it. Whatever the Templars are now, whatever you are now, once you were just muddling along like the rest of us. Collateral damage to an unkind universe. Watch that savior complex.

The Morninglight

The Morninglight are trouble. Maybe not the same kind of trouble as your secret world, but the jury’s still out. If you ask me, and come to think of it, you did, one cult with delusions of grandeur is as dangerous as the next. Just the uniforms that change. Oh, yeah, they’re a cult, the Morninglight. Chat up the young and hungry, sell them on a better idea of a future. The kids we used to get coming in hand the same story. With the sun in their eyes, it all looked so much better than the world they came from. And everyone wants to believe they can make a difference. The lucky ones got out early. That was a couple of years ago, back when we could actually get them out. Then the cult got smart, and got Hollywood. They’re untouchable now they’re on the talkshow circuit. You can get away with anything, if you can do it smiling on the cover of Heat.

Trivia

• The voice actor for Marianne Shelley is Rachel Atkins