Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with the amazing program that is Ashes to Ashes, much as I would love to.
This is a one-shot that takes place between episodes 2 and 3 of series 2 so MAJOR SPOILERS! It's Galex of course. Please R&R it means the world to hear what you think. Hope you enjoy.
Choosing Sides
"D.I. Drake?"
Alex turned on her heel at the sound of Superintendant Macintosh's voice.
"Yes Sir?" She asked, arms folding across her front as she tried to wipe the look of displeasure off her face.
"Have you got a minute? I'd like a word, now." Alex bit back a sigh and smiled.
"Of course Sir." She followed him back down the corridor to his office. Mac held the door open for her and gestured inside. Alex crossed the threshold somewhat apprehensively; the last time she had been in this room had not been a particularly comfortable experience.
"If you put your pretty little fingers near my private property again, I'll cut 'em off."
Something in the Super's words had suggested to her that, despite the casual tone and jokey smile, he was serious. Superintendant Macintosh was someone you definitely didn't want to get on the wrong side of. Unfortunately for Alex, that seemed to be precisely what she had done.
"Shut the door Gene."
It had been Mac's manner towards Gene that had made Alex suspect that they were both involved with the corruption. She had been so relieved to subsequently discover that the Guv, her Guv, was in fact playing the system, working from the inside to bring that bastard SuperMac down.
Alex stopped just shy of his desk and turned to face him. Mac remained by the door, blocking her way out.
"I just thought, after the last few days, that we should have a little chat Inspector, just so we understand each other." Alex stayed silent. "D.C.I Hunt and I have had a discussion about you, Alex." He went on, watching her carefully.
"About me Sir?"
"Yes. You see Alex, I know Gene values your input and your expertise very highly, and I know he has a lot of respect for you."
"And I for him." She spoke up, making clear her support for Gene; they were in this together now. Alex understood why he had kept her in the dark, and she knew she had to continue to play by Mac's rules, as Gene was, whether she wanted to or not.
Mac smiled grimly.
"Of course you do." He turned way from her, closing the door completely and – Alex started – turning the key. They were locked in. Mac left the key in the slot though, which gave Alex some comfort.
"Have a seat Alex." Mac went on, pointing at the small leather sofa in the corner. Reluctantly she sat. Superintendant Macintosh took an object out of his bottom desk drawer before sitting closely beside her. A bit too close.
Glancing down to the object in his hand, Alex was shocked to see it was a gun.
"The trouble is Inspector, you have the capacity to become a bit of a problem, if you don't know which side you're supposed to be on, and I see it as my job to remind you which side that is."
He leaned closer to her as he spoke, his voice slow and quiet but measured, dangerous. Mac's hand closed on Alex's wrist.
"This side is the side you need to be on Alex. It's the side you will be on, if you're clever, which I know that you are. So I suggest you use that pretty little head of yours," Mac grazed Alex's cheek with the edge of the gun. "-to make sure I don't have to do anything I really don't want to do." He continued, his eyes travelling slowly down her body.
Alex was frozen in fear. She knew Mac could be intimidating but right now he was terrifying. Her heart was beating so fast when he had raised the gun towards her, the cold metal pressing against her cheek, sliding down across her jaw and over her throat. Mac's hand retained a strong grip on her wrist, anchoring her beside him. His breath crept over her skin; she could practically feel his eyes appraising her body. Alex tried not to shudder in disgust.
A knock at the door made her start. SuperMac let go off her arm and moved away, depositing the weapon back in his desk.
"Get the door would you, D.I. Drake?" His voice had resumed its casual, almost friendly tone.
Getting up quickly, Alex hurried over to the door. She turned the key in the lock and pulled the door open to reveal Gene Hunt.
"Bolls." The expression on Gene's face showed his surprise at finding his D.I. in the Super's office.
Mac cut in before Alex had the chance to speak.
"D.I. Drake and I were just having a little chat Gene." He told him, as Alex opened the door wider. "I think we understand each other better now, don't we Alex?" The question was directed at Alex suddenly, giving her barely a moment to think.
"Yes Sir." Gene's eyes narrowed at the passivity in her tone.
"I need to talk to D.C.I Hunt about a meeting Alex..." He trailed off, dismissing her. Alex slipped past Gene and out into the corridor, glad to be out of that oppressive office. She re-engaged her brain and managed to put one foot in front of the other. Hearing the door shut behind her, Alex repressed a shiver before pushing her way into the toilets.
Her heart rate was gradually slowing down; Alex bent over the sink and splashed cold water on her face to try and compose herself. She tried to forget about the gun pressed against her cheek, Mac's hand on her wrist, his breath on her neck-
Alex jumped as the door banged open.
"Oh sorry Ma'am, I didn't mean to-"
"It's fine Shaz." Alex assured the young P.C. She clenched her fists, not caring that her nails dug into her palms; anything to stop her hands from trembling.
"Ma'am are you sure you're-" Again Alex spoke over her.
" No, there's nothing wrong Shaz." She answered distractedly, heading out of the bathroom to avoid any more of her friend's questions.
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When Shaz returned to the main hub of the station's activity, Alex was sat at her desk, head down, reading a file. Going back to her own desk Shaz noted that the Guv had also returned from his meeting with Superintendant Macintosh and was currently throwing darts at his board with renewed vigour.
The remainder of the afternoon was spent going over case files, writing up reports and, in the case of Chris and Ray, sleeping and smoking, often at the same time. Shaz kept one eye on her boss; she was worried by how withdrawn and quiet she was all of a sudden. Alex had been fine this morning, but now... something was definitely bothering her.
Acting on her police instincts, Shaz got up and headed into the kitchen. She made a tray full of teas and dished them out to everyone, landing the penultimate one on Alex's desk.
"Thanks Shaz." She smiled, but it was slightly forced, as if something was on her mind. Shaz nodded, and then took the final mug in for the Guv.
Seeing the young P.C. outside his door with a cup of steaming tea, Gene gestured for her to come in.
"Ta Shaz." He said, taking the drink she was holding out for him. Gene took a sip gratefully before setting it down on top of the report he was pretending to read. He looked up; Shaz hadn't moved.
"Was there something else Granger?"
She looked unsure, glancing over her shoulder at the rest of C.I.D, dozing at their desks – well all except Alex. Gene leaned forward and rested his arms on the desk, looking up at her.
"Just spit it out Granger." He said, but his voice was concerned and had dropped down a notch.
"It's about the boss, Guv." Gene motioned for her to continue. "I think something might be bothering her, she's suddenly acting very quiet and withdrawn. She was in the loos earlier when I went in and she looked really worried, a bit shaken up too." Shaz spoke quietly so Alex wouldn't overhear. "I just thought I should say something..."
The Guv nodded in understanding.
"I know what y'mean Shaz; I'll talk to her after work." Their eyes met for a moment; they both cared about Alex and had both noticed her sudden change of mood. Gene however, thought he knew what it might be down to, but wasn't going to tell Shaz that; the fewer people who knew about Mac the better. However Granger was a bright girl, thought Gene, so she may well have her suspicions already. But she had been through enough, so he wasn't going to give her anything else to worry about.
Shaz left the office, shutting the door behind her, confident that whatever was concerning Alex, the Guv would sort it out. The Manc Lion would always protect them.
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It was almost six when Gene stuck his head round the office door and called after Alex, just as she was following the others out.
"Bolls, my office!"
She sat down in the chair, Gene mirroring her behind the desk.
"You sure you're alright Bolls?" He asked, studying her face.
"I'm fine." Alex assured him, folding her arms across her chest and dropping her gaze from him.
It was obvious to Gene that she wasn't fine; he wished that she would be honest with him about how she was feeling, it's not like she didn't freely vocalise her thoughts the rest of the time.
"Is it about Mac?" He questioned carefully. "Did he say something in the meeting that upset you?"
Alex shook her head, but her body language indicated that he was close. Deciding it probably wasn't particularly wise to discuss Superintendant Macintosh while still in the station, Gene suggested they head over to Luigi's for a drink. Nodding in agreement, Alex got up and he followed her out of the office, switching off the lights as he did so.
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The two of them occupied their usual table in the corner of the trattoria, Gene with a pint and Alex with a glass of red wine. Luigi had brought them both their usual, then left them to it, sensing that the officers weren't in the mood to chat tonight.
Ray wandered over to them from the bar, but Gene spoke before he had even opened his mouth.
"Piss off Raymondo! Not in the mood." D.S Carling took the hint and left them to it, deciding instead to re-start the drinking-slash-lighting-your-fingers game with Chris; something Shaz tried very hard to dissuade her boyfriend from joining in with.
The small television was spouting random comments about the football, met by grunts of either agreement or disapproval from the group of men gathered round, drinks in hands and cigarettes in mouths. The rest of CID, plus some locals, were scattered around the other tables, eating Luigi's famous pasta dishes, drinking, smoking and chatting.
All this noise and activity seemed only to highlight the silence emanating from the corner table. Gene took another swig of beer and glanced over at Alex. Now on her third glass of Luigi's 'house rubbish', he thought she might be more willing to talk to him about what was bothering her.
"Remember when you asked me to let you in?" He said, breaking the silence at last, his words not slurring as much as they usually would be at this time.
"You said you wanted me to talk to you, to trust you..." Alex dragged her gaze up from her glass to his eyes, knowing instantly where he was going with this. Gene seemed to realise this, so he didn't bother to elaborate. She maintained the eye contact; her face more open than it had been all afternoon.
"Did Mac say something?" He asked after a moment, searching her face for a clue. "Did he do something?" Gene went on. As soon as he had said it, Alex's gaze faltered, her eyes glanced downwards.
Gene felt a tightening in his stomach.
"He didn't... hurt you, did he Alex?" He asked it quickly, needing to know. She met his eyes again, and shook her head.
Alex took a deep breath.
"He had a gun." She said, her fingers fiddling with the stem of her wine glass. "He locked the door, and got it from his desk. He started going on about how he had been talking about me... with you."
"With me?" Gene questioned, although he was more preoccupied by the fact that Mac had locked Alex in his office and that he had had a gun.
"About how I was a problem, because I didn't know which side I was on. He told me I had to be on his side or he'd..."
"He threatened you?" Alex nodded slightly, looking down at the tabletop rather than at Gene.
"He was so... creepy. The way he... he was too close to me, I could feel his breath... he grabbed me." She subconsciously touched her arm with her other hand, her thumb tracing the place where Mac's fingers had enclosed around her wrist. "And the gun, he... I thought he was... And the way he was looking at me... when he said he would... it was like he was going to..." Alex trailed off, squeezing her eyes tight shut to stop the memory from overwhelming her.
"Oh God, Alex." Gene reached for her hand, holding it gently between his. "I'm so sorry. That bastard... I'm gonna-"
"I understand why you didn't tell me what you were doing, before." She interrupted. "I underestimated him, what he's really like, what he's capable of... And I underestimated you... I'm sorry Gene."
"You don't have anything to be sorry about Alex. It's that bastard Super that's gonna be sorry when I've finished with him. I didn't wanna drag you into this Bolls. He's a dangerous bloody bastard and it seems like we're both on his bad side now. That's why I didn't tell you... was trying to protect you. Bloody good job I did of that."
"I'm fine Gene, really. He can't scare me that easily." He wasn't entirely convinced by her tone, but he smiled, and Alex smiled back, albeit weakly.
"Super duper Macin-sodding-tosh is gonna be sorry he crossed us Bolly. You and me. A team. Fighting the rot together." He raised his glass. Alex copied him.
"Together." She agreed, clinking her glass against his with a determined smile.
They would get through whatever was thrown at them, together, because the one thing in this crazy mixed-up world that Alex was now certain of, was that she and Gene were definitely on the same side.