Sergeant Baitinger put the shield up over his head as he passed under the attic opening and into the threshold of the bedroom, right at the end of the hall.
The Bucks will be meeting Kettering for the second time in 10 days, having beaten them 3-2 in an ill-tempered Setanta Shield northern semi-final at the Bucks Head.
When they were silent in the pause at a traffic light, her father touched the open shield of his palm to the back of her head, the unobtrusive caress he had offered when driving her to boarding school.
Radhi, the head of the Commission on Public Integrity, said the criminals in government shield their activities by threatening anyone who is willing to act against them.