"So we've got three armed bastards against one", the tall DCI summed up as he looked on at the situation before him, "not bad odds at all".
The team - Gene, Alex, Chris and Ray had just arrived in the Quattro after answering a call from Viv at the station.
A suspect in a spate of armed robberies had been persued to a derelict house in an area awaiting demolition. Plods had sealed off the area and called for back up.
Just moments earlier the red Quattro of DCI Gene Hunt had roared into the street and ripped through the police cordon tape as if it were nothing but thin air.
Then, as was it's trademark, it had swung its rear end round and skidded to a halt, smoke spewing from the tyres.
"Actually there's four of us", D.I Drake interupted Hunt's train of thought.
Leaning against the Quattro, Gene blinked from the house, to his D.I and then back at the house again.
"Sorry", he said with a sharp wit to his voice, "I obviously meant to say - three armed bastards and one posh bird. There, four, happy now Drake?". .
Alex rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly as she shut the passenger side door with a little more force than was actually required.
"Do we know where in the building this bastard is Guv?", piped up DS Ray Carling.
"Plods say the building's boarded up at the back", said a 'trying to sound usefull' DC Chris Skelton as he chewed on some gum, "So he's deffo still in there".
"Okay gentlemen", Gene blew a frustrated sigh, "Lets get this dick 'eads attention and get him outta there be it on foot or in a box"
"Right Guv", agreed Ray reaching for his gun.
Gene too reached into his large black overcoat and produced his emaculately kept gun.
The sound of three lethal weapons being armed became apparent and Gene stepped forward, towards the building, followed by Chris and Ray.
"Now hold on, just wait a minute", Alex stepped infront of the three of them, her bright blue top blowing slightly in the light sunny breeze despite her white jacket.
"There are other ways", Alex said, holding her hands up as if ordering her colleagues to halt in thier tracks, "Have you never heard of negotiation? No, of course you haven't, you just send in Task Force Hunt".
Gene lowered his gun in frustration with his D.I.
"Oh for gods bloody sake Bolly!", he began, "That's a blagger in there you know, not the bleedin' Pope! He's not going to come out with his hands up if you offer him a cuppa and a flash of yer tits!".
"Maybe for a flash of her tits he will", Ray thought out loud.
A few moments of silence followed as both Gene and Alex stared at Ray.
"What?" he said and raised his shoulders in a big shrug, "I was just thinking out loud".
"Anyway", Alex continued, "has there been any attempt to establish contact with the suspect?".
Everyone looked at Gene.
Gene, in turn, eyed the surroundings.
Plod had the area taped off and were stood as if keeping a perimiter guard. Some were shoo-ing back curious members of the passing public, asking them to "Move along now".
"No I very much doubt the Plods have discussed the finer points of Shakes-bloody-spear with 'im", Gene said pointing to his uniformed colleagues with thier black domed helmets.
"Right", Alex nodded, ignoring the usual sarcasm that was now a part of daily life.
She turned towards the building.
The windows on the lower level were boarded up. The door had been too until the suspect had kicked it in.
The upstairs windows were not boarded up but had been smashed to bits, most likely by local stone throwing thugs in the months the house had been derelict.
Graffiti was also present with several 'tags' sprayed on the walls.
And rubbish. Rubbish was strewn everywhere. Old car tyres around the wall of the house, crushed beer cans, broken glass etc.
It was clearly a rough area which had seen better days.
"Lets, much as it may pain you Guv", Alex began in a confident tone of voice, "try a more mature and modern approach".
"Is she calling us immature?", Ray complained.
"Dunno", Chris shrugged.
"Look I'm not calling anyone anything", Alex attempted to reasure them. This was getting silly.
"I just think it's pointless rushing in like this is a game of Cowboys and Indians".
"Indians? He's not a Paki is he?", Ray asked, "I thought Viv said the suspect was a white male?".
"I mean...", Alex gave up and threw her hands up in the air in defeat, "...forget it Ray, it was a figure of speech".
Ray and Chris simply looked to each other and shrugged once again.
"Was there actually a point to any of this Bolly or do you just get a kick out of confusing these two lemons?", Gene asked, his gloved trigger finger tapping the gun impatiently.
"I'm going to try and talk him out", Alex stated.
"No you are bloody not" Gene refused, squaring up alongside Alex as if to block her path towards the house.
However, it hadn't been a request. It had been a statement of fact. A statement of Alex fact.
"I am going to establish communication, find a way to gain his trust, and offer him a way out alive", Alex stated in full confidence of her abilities. After all, she had done this so many times in the future that it was second nature to her.
"Oh I'll order the red carpet and the limousine now then shall I?", Gene retorted, "Or should I just hand him my car keys and say 'on yer way now son'?"
"Don't be so childish", Alex cursed. She was going to prove her point to him on this matter.
She would prove that there was no need for bloodshed. If it took ten minutes or ten hours, D.I Alex Drake would have this guy out of that house alive.
Sorting out his offences and charging him could then be dealt with later at the station...again, alive.
"Okay boys...", Alex announced, "...bribery!".
"What?", Gene asked, now totally lost by her. Chris and Ray were in just the same state.
"If I do this and succesfully extract the suspect from the house", Alex began with a charm offensive clearly resonating in her voice, "then all the drinks tonight are on me!".
"Roger that D.I Drake!", Chris smiled a big huge grin as he thoughtlessley scratched an itch on his face with the barrel of his gun, looking like he was about to shoot himself.
"Mine's doubles", Ray said nodding with enthusiasm, "all night!".
Alex smiled and nodded, satisfied.
"Suddenly I feel your faith in my abilities has gone somewhat skyward gentlemen", she stated, allowing herself a somewhat cocky smirk.
Gene held Alex's gaze, niether of them willing to break the stare. It was as if a visual tug of war was taking place.
"You really think you can do this?", Gene said and paused as his lips formed his characteristic 'thinking' pout, "talk that twat into coming out and getting himself nicked?".
"Absolutely", was Alex's simple response.
Gene took another long pause and looked at the house again. He needed that bastard and alive would look so much better now the thoughts of superiors actually counted for something, and especially so soon after Scarman's less than ideal visit to the station.
"I must be bloody barking", Gene began, "But go on, show us what this pschology stuff of yours can do. Go and hypnotize him or summin'".
Alex nodded in thanks.
"How long have I got?", she asked, turning her attention towards the building.
"Until I change my mind", Gene said, his tone flat.
"Alright", Alex agreed. Fair enough, after all, this approach was new to Gene, he couldn't be expected to understand it until he had seen it in action.
"Oh and Bolly...", Gene called as Alex began to walk towards the graffiti covered house.
She turned.
Gene was stood tall, his gloved hands now pointing his gun towards the house, ready to fire.
"...I've got you covered", he called in a commanding yet reasuring tone, "Gene Genie'll be watching your arse like a hawk!"
Alex couldn't help but grin at his comment.
"I bet he will", she muttered and turned away to walk towards her target.

Alex walked slowly yet confidently towards the house.
A cat stopped to look at her but then scarpered over a fence.
She thought this through some more.
She didn't know the layout of this house but the suspect was almost ceratinly upstairs.
As the lower windows were boarded up, the upstairs would allow him to monitor what was going on outside, and that would be important to him.
She refused to look back at her colleagues. If the suspect was watching, he needed to know that he was dealing with her and her alone, that she wasn't some lackey.
His world would now consist only of himself and her. The only way out now was through her.
"Hello!", Alex called as she stopped a few metres from the house.
She stood in the middle of the cordoned off road and waited.
No reply.
Perfectly normal, they never replied first go.
"I'll assume you're listening then", Alex continued, "My name is D.I Alex Drake and I'm unarmed".
Still nothing, again, perfectly normal.
"And wether you want to believe it or not, I am your only way safely out of here".
Again she waited. She never ever expected an instant response in any of the similar situations she'd been called to.
They just listen at first. Take in what you say and then eventually, they just have to say something back, they just can't help it.
"I know you're wanted for several robberies", Alex began, "but it would look better in court if you didn't turn this into a siege".
He should be mulling that one over now, thinking of the consequences.
How much longer would the sentence be if he turned this into a shoot out?
"And if you come out now", Alex explained, "We can look into dropping the charge of resisting arrest".
That's it, she thought. Throw him a line and reel him in.
She'd resolved several situations like this over the years. Thrown them the line of salvation and they had emerged saying how events had simply gotten out of thier control and overcome them.
"If you don't come out", Alex turned to serious tone, "you may force thier hand".
Again she waited, allowing him to process the pros and cons of the words she spoke.
She had to turn her words into metaphorical breadcrumbs to lure him out with, when the truth was that these officers were itching for a fatality outco...Alex stopped herself mid thought, remembering what happened the last time she used those exact words on a criminal.
'Famous last words', she thought.
Right, he'd had enough time to process that.
Time to be his friend again.
"Is there anything you require in there?", she called, aiming her question at any of the upstairs windows, "Are you hurt? Is there any medication you need to have on you?".
Good, she thought, make him feel cared about. Make him feel there is someone to trust.

"Bloody 'ell", Gene said synically as he listened in, "She'll propose to 'im next!"
Gene, Chris and Ray remained where Alex had left them next to the Quattro.
Chris and Ray held thier guns towards the house, looking for movement.
Gene however was like a lion ready to pounce.
He still held his gun firm, his eyes scanning the windows for the slightest hint of movement, a shadow, anything.
Ocassionally his eyes fell to Alex in an attempt to convince himself that she could deal with this and that she was okay, not in over her head.
"Just bloody get 'im out of there", Gene urged almost silently under his breath.
"Guv...", Ray called, holding a radio towards Gene.
His focus had been so engrossed on Alex and her crackpot plan that he hadn't even heard the call on the radio.
Gene took the radio, moving his gun away from guarding Alex momentarily.
"Go ahead Viv", Gene spoke into it.
"Guv, we've got a positive I.D on the suspect", Viv crackled over the airwaves, "He's a Lee Philips, aged 34, he's got convictions for robbery, assault and motor vehicle theft".
Gene tutted, "Oh a right ray of sunshine then by all accounts".
"Guv...", Viv butted in, clearly having more to say, "Go carefull, last year Philips was aquitted of shooting a Police officer in Birmingham and made a failed suicide attempt a few weeks later!".
Gene's eyes widened in horror and he tossed the radio back through the Quattro's open window.
"Drake!!", he bellowed, "Drake, get back here fast!"

Alex cursed under her breath.
She knew he'd do something to ruin it, he just couldn't help himself.
Alex turned back to Gene, ready to launch a verbal tirade in his direction when she realised how urgently he was now rushing towards her and gesturing for her to return to the safe distance of the Quattro.
With sudden alarm Alex looked back briefly at the house and saw the danger.
A shaven headed 'yob' appeared at the window with great speed.
With a crazed look and an unintelligable scream he leant out of the window brandishing a hand gun.
And that was when the shot rang out, followed closely by a second from another direction.
Alex niether heard nor felt the shot in the conventional sense.
There was a sensation in her head, above her left eye.
It made everything go odd and she felt the ground hit her.
Everything was blurring and she couldn't think coherantly.
The shuffling of footsteps was something she could vaguely make out, as well as the sensation of hands on her. Rolling her onto her back, lifting her up?
A voice.
Her hearing had audibly blurred too.
The shuffling stopped and she felt ground again. Like she had been lifted and carried to safety.
The blurred voices became slightly clearer.
Gene?
It was Gene!
"Just a scratch Bolls", Gene's voice huffed with a frantic air to it that she had never before heard, "Where's that damn ambulance!?"
Touch was something she could feel. Was someone holding her?
She squinted to see.
Gene again. Cradling her in his arms, his fingers touching her face, gently smoothing her cheek.
Alex tried to touch him but her body wouldn't respond with any movement.
"Ray got him Bolls", Gene said proudly.
Another sensation...was he squeezing her hand now?
Yes he was, he must be. And he was squeezing it tightly.
"Don't you close your eyes on me Bolly!", Gene urged as desperation encroached on his voice, "Unbreakable Bolly, remember? Un-bloody-breakable!".
Her vision fading, Alex's thought process was shutting down.
Images were now going black around the edges and slowly dimming, as if someone were slowly lowering the lights.
"Alex...", she heard Gene faulter using her real name.
"Alex?..."
The very vague initial sensation of hands pressing down repeatedly on her chest were noticable but within moments began to fade too...
An extremely faint image came to Alex's fading mind...
"Molly...", the thought itself slurring...

Light.
Very blurred light.
Sensations again.
Very vague sensations.
And voices.
Confusion.
Something about a response?
Another sensation. Something on her face.
A moment of low quality clarity and the vision cleared ever so slightly.
The thought process, off kilter, took in a few moments visuals.
An oxygen mask on her face.
And blurred forms around her.
Initial low hums cleared slightly. Just enough to become voices.
"Serious gunshot wound to the head!"
"Occured within the last ninety minutes!"
"Passer by walking a dog found her!"
Almost certainly voices beloning to more than one person.
"A Detective Inspector Alexandra Drake"
"Met are contacting next of kin"
"Had to be resuscitated twice on the way in!"
"Okay, prep for immediate surgery, we'll do what we can!"
"I've not lost a patient since the start of 2008 and I don't intend to start now!"
The darkness edged in again.
2008...
It felt as if the very number, "2008", was allowing her to relax suddenly.
"Pulse dropping"
The voices blurred again.
"Get some adrenalin!!"
The darkness engulfed her now, but a thought prevented the last speck of light from vanishing...
Molls...

End of Chapter 1