Hi guys...really nervous, first fic and all. Hope you like. All reviews welcome, good and bad. A huge thanks to my co-writer, CarrotLucky13 and of course my wonderful beta, StarryTwiglet!

Disclaimer: All characters from Ashes to Ashes belong to the BBC and Kudos...I'm just playing!

Chapter 1

The Quattro skidded to a halt outside the disused warehouse. The front doors swung open and Gene and Alex stepped out, closely followed by Chris and Ray trying to scramble out of the back seat. Abandoning the Quattro, the four marched towards the building, cordoned off by forensics. Striding through the entrance, they were hit by a foul smell: the smell of rotting flesh. Whilst her colleagues proceeded straight to the victim's body, Alex stopped and stood still. She looked up at the rusty walls, taking in her surroundings, already beginning to build up a profile of their killer. The psychological cogs in her head began to turn. They were in a disused warehouse, right on the edge of town. Not another building in sight, just miles of dead grass and cracked concrete. Alex could tell that the person they were looking either wasn't very confident in their actions, choosing such a remote place to carry out their brutal attack, or they were being very, very careful.

Then there was the murder itself. The victim was a young Asian girl, probably a prostitute, Alex thought to herself. She had been badly beaten and had had her throat and wrists slashed. There was blood everywhere. This ruled out Alex's theory of the killer just being careful, demonstrating to her that this was a first-time killer. In some ways, this worked to the team's advantage: there would be plenty of forensic evidence to go on. Or so she hoped.

"Oi, Bols! Get your skinny arse over 'ere!"

The sound of Gene's voice snapped Alex out of her reverie. Standing over the body, he glared at her. Ray stood next to him, white as a sheet and Chris was nowhere to be seen; he had already run outside to throw up, unable to cope with the smell any longer. Alex strode over to join her colleagues.

"She's been dead for a while. Kids were out kicking a ball around when they stumbled across this. Young girl, Asian, early twenties, most probably bled to death….prostitute?" said Gene, looking to Alex for confirmation.

"Hmm maybe…." Alex trailed off.

"What you thinkin' there, Bolls?"

"Well it's obviously a hurried and frenzied attack, which suggests that this is a first-time killer we're dealing with." she stated, sharing with Gene what she had deduced from the scene earlier.

"So, what you sayin'?"

"Maybe this is gang related. I've seen cases like this before. New members must prove themselves by completing some sort of initiation task. It can vary from minor crimes like shoplifting to much more serious crimes, like this. Has there been anything recently which might point to a new gang in the area?"

"Well there was a spot o' trouble a while ago, but then we banged up their king pin. Haven't heard a peep outta them since"

"Maybe someone has taken over control and they're back on the scene?"

"Hmm maybe. The right-hand man could have taken over I s'pose. Terry Nicholls his name is. Owns a club in South London."

"Right. Let's get down there and speak to him."

Alex and Gene began to head back to the Quattro when they heard Ray calling them back.

"Guv! Ma'am! Think you need t'see this!"

The pair hastily approached the back wall of the warehouse where Ray was crouched down, studying something.

"What we got then, Raymondo?"

"It's a pipe, Guv. But look, there's blood on it."

Gene's brain sprang into action.

"Didn't forensics say that the only injuries sustained by the victim were the cuts that killed her? Didn't say anything about being hit with a heavy object…."

"So whose blood is this?" interrupted Alex.

"Ray, get forensics back 'ere an' tell Chris to stop being such a bloody fairy. I want ya both to make a list of all known associates of Terry Nicholls. DI Drake and I will join you as soon as we've spoken to Nicholls 'imself."

Ray nodded and jogged off to retrieve a shaky Chris.

Gene was in a foul mood. Nicholls was giving nothing away and to top it all off, he'd had a phone call from the Superintendent: he wanted the case solved, and fast, before the press get wind of it. The pressure was mounting on Gene and his team to solve this one and until forensics got back to him, they had precisely nothing to go on. His eyes wandered from the file in his lap to his DI. She was sat at her desk, phone in one hand, listening intently, scribbling down the odd bit of information. He couldn't help but notice how great she looked. He wanted her. He wondered what it would be like to kiss her, to hold her. Oh, what he would give to wake up next to her every morning. Don't be so stupid, Gene. She's way out of your league mate, he told himself. He quickly shook those thoughts from his head and diverted his eyes as he noticed her hang up the phone and make her way towards his office.

She knocked politely and he motioned for her to enter. Perching herself on the corner of his desk, she began to speak.

"Just had forensics on the phone. Blood on the pipe wasn't the victim's, but the fingerprints were. She must have hit her attacker with the pipe in self defence."

"'ave we got a match for the blood?"

Alex shook her head.

"I've got Shaz going through the files as we speak. I honestly don't think we'll find anything though. As I said, I think this is their first offence."

"Yeah. You keep saying that. I think we should haul in all Nicholls' known associates, see what we can dig up."

"Why, Gene? We're not going to get anything out of them. Do you honestly think they will tell us anything?! I know you're under pressure from the Super, but rushing things isn't going to help anyone. We need to build up a solid case. We need to build up a profile of the suspect!" Alex was becoming increasingly frustrated with Gene now.

"Oh, you an' your soddin' profiles! Well it's not your decision is it, 'DI' Drake!" spat Gene, emphasising the word 'DI'.

"You want to revert to your usual Neanderthal technique and start cracking skulls? Well fine! Just don't expect any help or support from me!" she shouted.

Gene snapped.

"Why do you have to be such a bitch about everything?!"

Alex stared back at him, looking both shocked and hurt. He looked down at his desk, ashamed. He had gone too far. He hadn't meant to say that. He sighed and looked up. She was gone, the doors to CID swinging shut behind her. The rest of the team hurriedly looked away, trying to cover the fact that they had been listening intently to their row.

That evening, the team decamped to Luigi's as usual. Chris had his arm draped across Shaz's shoulders, whilst Ray sat opposite them, drinking himself steadily into a state of unconsciousness. Gene sat alone in his usual corner, quietly nursing a glass of whisky, contemplating the day's events. Despite their almighty row, Gene had listened to Alex's advice and ignored his urge to start 'cracking skulls'. Alex hadn't returned to work after she had stormed out, making Gene feel even worse about the whole thing. He had wanted to run after her, but was stopped by another phone call from the Superintendent, calling to check on their progress.

Gene knew he had to make things right with Alex. He couldn't solve this without her. Christ, I'm going soft. When have I ever depended on a woman to help me do my job?, he thought. Alex was no ordinary woman though. She made him feel….well, alive? Yes, for the first time since Sam's death, he felt alive. Since she had walked into his life, he had felt something which he had never felt before, not even with his ex-missus. He was falling for her and there was nothing he could do to stop himself. His mind was made up. He was going to do something he'd never really done before. The Gene Genie was going to apologise. He quickly downed the last of his whisky, muttered his goodbyes to the team and headed up the stairs into the cold night air.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Gene crossed over to the other side of the road so he could get a clear view of Alex's window. The light was on. She was home. Taking a step forward, Gene began to feel nervous. What if she didn't accept his apology? What if she wouldn't even speak to him, just slammed the door in his face? He couldn't cope if she rejected him like that. He crossed back over the road and climbed into the Quattro. He sat there only for a matter of minutes, but it felt like hours to Gene, just trying to build himself up. His confidence restored, he moved to get out of the car, but was stopped by something. A tall, slim figure was approaching. Hang on, he thought. He recognised that figure didn't he? Evan bloody White. His heart sank. He had no chance now. He watched in anguish as Evan climbed the stairs to Alex's flat. You stupid, stupid man. You've left it too late. There's no way you can compete with Evan. It's over.

Feeling completely broken, Gene started his engine and sped off into the night.