The Quattro screeched up to the house just as the fire brigade was putting out the last of the flames. The call had come in a few minutes earlier of a possible arson attack, so with a great matter of yelling Gene had gotten Alex, Ray and Chris out of CID quickly.
Now, the fire chief was approaching them. He was solemn in demeanour, the effect somewhat intensified by the soot on his face.
"The entire house was engulfed when we got here. The family was sleeping…" Alex knew what he was going to say before he said it, "No one made it out alive," the chief said gravely. "The heat expanded the doors. The only way through them was with an axe, and by the time we chopped our way in, they..." He trailed off, but Gene and Alex knew what he was going to say.
Gene continued to talk to the fire chief while Alex stalked around the house. She felt an overwhelming sadness for the family that had been unable to get out alive. Suddenly, from the bushes, Alex heard a scratching sound. She stopped and turned slowly around.
"Who's there?" she called.
The scratching started up again, but she saw no one. Alex knelt down, peering into the bushes and laughed.
It was a cat. It was missing fur in several places, and had a smell of smoke around it. "C'mere, little kitty," Alex cooed.
Cautiously, it approached her, mewling curiously. Alex held out her hand and it rubbed up against her palm, starting to purr.
"Were you in the fire?" she asked the cat. "Did you escape?" The cat purred, nudging her hand. Alex collected the cat, holding it to her chest, whispering comforts to it. Suddenly, Gene's voice yelled out her name, causing her to jump and nearly drop the cat.
"Bolly! Where the bloody hell have you been?" he asked, walking around the corner of the house. "We're going back to the station now, so if you'll be so... What the bloody hell is that?"
"It's a cat!" Alex said delightedly.
"Yes, I can see that, Bolly," Gene said sarcastically. "Why are you holding a cat, when you should be getting your arse in gear to get back to the station?"
"I think it belonged to the family," Alex said, still cradling the soot covered cat.
"Well, stick it back in the house, then," Gene said. "That thing should have burned with them."
"Gene!" Alex said, horrified.
"Bolly, believe me, you're better off without a cat. If you want an animal, get a dog. Cats are the devil."
Alex shook her head in disbelief. "I'm going to keep him," she said stubbornly. "He'll need a proper owner."
"You're not taking that thing inside my car," Gene said dangerously.
"Fine," Alex said. "I'll take the bus. I'm taking the rest of the day off."
She stalked off, ignoring Gene's bellows, looking down at the cat. He looked up at her with bright green eyes and mewed softly.
"Let's get you some things, shall we?"
~(*)~
A few hours later, Alex was sitting on her sofa, the cat on her lap. Smoky, as she had decided to call him, turned out to be a shade of the brightest white, with a black streak that ran from the middle of his head down his back, broken only by the bald patches of burnt fur. Alex had spent thirty frustrating minutes trying to wash all the ash off Smoky as he tried to escape the water. Afterwards, however, she had gotten out her hair dryer to dry him, and he sat contentedly in front of the stream of hot air, purring happily as it dried his fur.
Alex looked at the clock. It was gone eight, and the whole team would be assembled downstairs in Luigi's. She had opted not to go tonight, instead deciding to stay with Smoky on his first night in a new flat.
There was a knock at the door. Alex sighed. She knew it was Gene. His knock was louder, more distinctive, than anyone else's. She got up from the sofa, walking over to the door, Smoky on her heels.
Alex had been right. Gene was standing outside her door, an expression of annoyance crossing his face as soon as he saw the cat.
"You kept it, then," he said flatly.
"Yes," said Alex, picking Smoky up and cuddling him in her arms. "I named him Smoky."
Gene just stared at the cat. "Wouldn't Toasty work better?" he asked sarcastically.
"Did you just come up here to take the piss, or did you have an actual reason?"
"I came up to see if you wanted to come down. Ray's trying to light his farts again, and I've already seen that enough."
Alex smiled, "I've got a bottle of wine open if you want to come in."
"One condition."
"What's that?"
"Don't get Toasty anywhere near me."
Alex sighed and opened the door wider, allowing Gene into her flat. He made his way in, giving the cat a wide berth.
"Where's the bloody wine?" he yelled as Alex closed the door.
~(*)~
Several hours later, they were both completely pissed, Smoky sitting on Alex's lap once more.
"Don't see why you need that bloody cat," Gene slurred.
"I've always liked cats," Alex replied. "Couldn't ever have one. Why do you hate them?"
Gene gave her a look that caused her heart to race. She knew that she was going to hear something that he would never tell anyone unless his guard was completely down.
"When I was ten," he started, staring angrily at the cat, "we had a cat. We found him as a stray during the war. Cat's name was Boom. Stu named him, he couldn't have been three. His favourite word was boom, 'cause that was what he heard all the time, the booms of the bombs around him. One day, my dad came home, raging drunk, slamming the door. I was sitting with Boom on my lap. The sound of the door scared him so much that he jumped, falling off the sofa. He put his claws out, and caught my arm. I started screaming, which made him cling tighter. Dad ripped the cat off me and gave me a wallop for being such a 'nancy boy poof' and then made Mum clean all my cuts with iodine. I haven't been able to stand them since."
"Smoky won't do that," Alex responded as reassuringly as she could. "The owners declawed him," she said, her voice taking on one of disgust.
"Don't care. I don't want Toasty anywhere near me."
"It's Smoky, Gene," Alex said, annoyed. "Just hold him."
"No."
Alex ignored him, dumping Smoky into his unwilling arms. Gene shifted uncomfortably, trying to persuade the cat to get off of him. However, Smoky didn't move, looking up at him with bright green eyes.
"Right, Bolls, you've had your fun. Now get 'im off me."
"No," she giggled. "He likes you. Listen."
Gene listened to the cat on his lap, amazed at the sound of purring. "Sounds like the engine of the Quattro," he said smilingly.
Smoky looked up at Gene again and rubbed his head underneath Gene's chin. Gene laughed, stopping when he noticed Alex staring at him smugly.
"If you're seriously gonna keep it," he said, "don't give him a poof name like Smoky. All the other cats will make fun of him. Make it something manly like Thor or summat."
Alex giggled. "Thor? I can't name him Thor! Thor had red hair. How about Snowflake?"
"Christ Bolly! That's worse than Smoky! You found him in fire, how bout Hades?"
"I'm not naming him after the God of the Underworld, Gene. What about Ares? God of war and manly courage."
"Yes. That one," Gene slurred. "He doesn't sound as much like a poof now."
Ares crawled back over to Alex as she and Gene sat silently on the sofa, eyes growing heavy. After what seemed like several minutes, when she was almost asleep, Gene spoke again.
"Or you could just call the bugger Toasty."
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