Deliver Us

For my twin, you know who you are.

This started out as a response to a Boyd's birthday challenge, but writing has been like trying to wade through treacle for me just lately, so it over shot the time scale by a mile, in order to get the inspiration to finish it, I have decided to post it in chapters, and this is the first.

The challenge was:

Send a very reluctant Boyd abroad with at least one of his CCU colleagues either as a 'treat' for his birthday, or for work coinciding with his birthday. Must include an unusual birthday present, a birthday phone call from someone unexpected and either a swimming pool, a casino or a hedge maze (or a combination thereof). Must be set somewhere between "Final Cut" and "Waterloo".

"Do you have to keep doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"That." She used her hand to gesticulate. "Tutting and sighing, you haven't stopped since we left London."

"Maybe that's because I really don't want to be here."

"Neither do I, it's you that wants to go and question him."

"Yeah well, that was when I thought we could bring him to the UK."

"Well you should know by now that life isn't that simple."

"I live and learn."

"I thought you'd have enjoyed a jolly to the south of France anyway."

"It's not a bloody jolly, it's a flight followed by a long drive to speak to an ex copper, and then a night in a crappy hotel only to get up tomorrow morning for another long drive and another flight back to the UK."

"It could be worse."

"How exactly?"

"It could be raining." As Grace finished the sentence the sky turned a very dark shade of grey.

"Oh nice one Grace, did you bring the bloody voodoo dolls with you as well."

Grace smirked at his words and looked out at the dark clouds above them. "We might drive through it."

"The way my luck is running we're probably driving straight into it."

"How far do we have to go?"

"We should be there in about fifty minutes, unless we hit any problems."

"And what about the hotel we're booked into."

"It's back towards the airport."

"So if we've got to drive back towards the airport, why didn't we just fly straight back home?"

"Because we will have missed the last flight back."

"Well then wouldn't it have made more sense to check into the hotel and then drive out here?"

"I wanted to get the travelling done and then go to the hotel."

"But…."

"Grace shut up; you're really beginning to get on my tits with all these questions."

"Oh I do apologise."

"It's fine."

"I was being sarcastic."

"Yeah I know."

"Don't take it out on me because it's your birthday tomorrow and you want to do what you always do on your birthday."

"You know it's my birthday tomorrow?"

"Of course I know. I also know that you always take the day off, so that you can sit at home and get drunk, alone!"

"Oh whatever Grace."

"Why do you do that?"

"I just don't like a lot of fuss, and to be honest I didn't even know that you knew when it was."

"Of course I know when it is."

"I never get anything for it."

"Because you never want to see anyone."

"Whatever."

"Do you have to keep saying that, it's like travelling with a bloody teenager?"

"Whatever!" He replied with a smirk.

"Fine, wake me up when we get there." Grace reclined the passenger seat of their hire care and closed her eyes.

It was about another hour before they arrived at their destination, and by that time Grace was well and truly asleep. Boyd nudged her gently. "Oi, sleeping beauty, wake up, we're here."

Grace stretched and yawned before looking out at the large building in front of them. "Is this it?"

"Yep."

"What an odd place to have a casino."

"To be fair you could say that about Las Vegas or Reno, they're in the middle of deserts."

"Yeah but they're not just one single solitary casino in the middle of bloody nowhere."

"Apparently this is really popular; it's not that far from the coast, so they get a lot of rather wealthy holiday makers coming over."

"What do they come in, bloody helicopters?"

"Well it does have the space for them, and anyway, you could build a casino practically anywhere and people would find it. Shall we get this over with?"

"Lead the way."

They walked into the large casino and found who they were looking for, ex detective Eddie Marks, who they needed to speak to regarding their latest cold case.

It was forty five minutes later when Boyd came stomping back out of the casino and headed towards the car, unlocking the vehicle he took his jacket off and threw it angrily on to the back seat, slamming the door shut again at the same time as angrily loosening his tie.

"Can you fucking believe that, we have spent the best part of a day travelling to question that arsehole because he refused to come to the UK or speak via the telephone or video link, and it takes him just over half an hour to tell us what we already knew, what a complete and utter waist of fucking time."

"Yes I agree, but I think you need to calm down a little, getting wound up like that won't help anyone."

"I'm not wound up, I am fucking livid, and if it was up to me I'd make sure that idiot got the fucking bill for today, what a complete fucking nightmare."

"Look I think the best thing is if we get out of here, we'll find somewhere to get a coffee before we drive to the hotel."

"Fine." He got in the car and again slammed the door, before starting the engine and driving off at high speed, causing the wheels to spin noisily against the dusty tarmac. Most of the area they had driven through was quite remote and they seemed to drive for miles before coming to a solitary garage, whilst he filled up the car Grace paid and bought two coffees from a vending machine inside the garage shop, it really was very minimalistic, it had no seating area so they sat and drank the coffee in the car.

"Have you calmed down now?"

"I was just bloody annoyed."

"Yeah I kind of picked up on that."

"Well do you blame me?"

"No, but putting your blood pressure through the roof because of some idiot who's too paranoid to talk on the telephone is pointless."

"Mm, maybe you're right."

"I'm sorry what did you just say?"

"I said maybe you're right."

"I think my hearing is going, I could have sworn you said I was right."

"No Grace, I said maybe you're right, there's a big difference."

"It's still the closest you've ever come to saying what everyone else already knows."

"Which is what exactly?"

"That I know best."

"Yeah of course, except when you don't, obviously."

"Obviously." She agreed and laughed with him.

Boyd took the empty coffee cups to the bin, and stretched exaggeratedly before getting back into the car and starting the engine. They had been driving less than 15 minutes when the car started to splutter and eventually ground to a halt. He immediately tried to start it again without success.

"What's wrong with it?" Grace asked without thinking.

Boyd glanced sideways at her, a look of utter disgust on his face at the stupidity of her question. "Do I look bloody psychic?"

"Did you put enough diesel in?"

"What?"

"I said did you put enough diesel in? Did you fill it right up?"

Boyd had a horrified expression on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"I put petrol in."

"I know I saw you."

"No Grace, I mean I put petrol in, it's a diesel car and I put petrol in it."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes I'm bloody serious."

"Well what the hell do we do now?"

TBC