Chapter Fifteen - Running Gun Blues
They arrived at the office together on Monday, which wasn't unusual enough to turn any heads. Sam felt that the truth of this weekend must be blazing out from them, for everyone to see, but things were just the same as any other Monday morning. CID was sparsely populated with the officers diligent enough to arrive in on time. Chris and Ray made their way in, one just after the other, yawning and slumping into their chairs. There was no chat for a while, as everyone woke up, drinking coffee and smoking fags. Gene had disappeared into his office for a shave, as was his habit, and Sam found himself leafing through the charge sheets from the weekend. It had been quiet, just the usual Saturday night drunks that were let out again on Sunday, shame faced. When Gene came back out of his office, clean shaven and adjusting his loose tie, Sam couldn't help but look up at him, appraisingly. He was a handsome man, really. Sam was surprised he'd never noticed it before. Gene caught his eye only momentarily, but Sam was sure he saw warmth in that look that hadn't been there before Friday. Gene parked himself in one of the chairs, lit a cigarette and swung his feet up onto the desk.
'So?' he said, out of nowhere. Everyone looked at him - he only had eyes for Chris. Chris blinked at him, nonplussed.
'What, Guv?'
'So what happened on Friday, you brain donor?'
Chris' eyes lit up.
'Oh! Eh... yeah! It was great!' He seemed transported by the memory, smiling. Sam looked at Ray, who was much less upbeat.
'What did you get? Upstairs inside?'
'She's a lovely bird, Guv. It wasn't like that.' Gene looked disappointed, and Chris' grin took on an extra edge.
'All right - upstairs inside, but don't tell her I told you.' As if Gene knew the lady in question and was ready to go round her house to get Chris into trouble. Mind you, you never knew when the Guv might take it into his head to get you into trouble, so maybe it wasn't such a daft thing to say.
'You seeing her again, then?' asked Sam, joining in for the first time.
'Yeah Boss, Friday night.' Chris looked so pleased with himself, Sam was really glad for him. He looked over at Ray again, who was pretending to study something on his desk. Gene had noticed, too, and wasn't as willing as Sam to let it lie.
'Well then Raymondo, what's your story?' he asked, trying to look innocent. Ray took a draw of his cigarette before answering.
'Wasn't that interested in her, Guv. Just went along to help Chris out, you know.' Sam thought he could read between the lines here, and smiled inwardly. It was good for Ray to get knocked down a peg or two, and it sounded like this woman had done just that. He wondered if Gene would insist on the truth, but before he could find out, Chris threw them a curve ball.
'You have a good weekend, Boss?' he asked. Sam felt a surge of paranoia that he stamped down before it could show in his face. Of course nobody knew about his weekend, that was impossible. Still, he wasn't really sure what to say, with Gene sitting so nearby, listening in.
'Yeah thanks Chris. A quiet one.' He tried to sound normal. Chris nodded, and it seemed like it had worked, until Gene tried to sabotage his efforts.
'Nothing to report then, Tyler? You didn't go on a bender?' The Guv's eyes sparkled, though his face was blank. Sam kept his own face as straight as he could as he answered.
'Nah Guv. No blow outs for me.' They looked at each other, faces studiedly casual with laughter just under the surface. Chris seemed to sense nothing wrong, and carried on the conversation.
'What about you,Guv? You and the missus visit the in-laws, did you?'
Sam's chest tightened at the mention of Gene's wife. He'd successfully forgotten about her, forgotten that Gene was a married, if separated, man. He'd also forgotten that their new romance, for want of a better word, wasn't the only secret they were keeping from the rest of the station. He felt a flare of guilt and unease. Gene's voice was quite steady as he answered.
'No - well, she did. You know how it is, a woman sometimes wants a bit of time with her family.' This was close to being the truth, but of course Chris thought nothing of it. Sam thought he saw Ray's brow crease briefly, but he didn't speak. Sam felt as though they'd come near to a cliff edge, and been drawn back at the last minute. He'd managed to cocoon himself in only the good feelings from the weekend, and ignore the potential problems and complications. If you could get past the complication of them both being straight men, everything else seemed to pale. Of course, this was just a convenient way to think about it; there were other people who could be affected by the new relationship between the DCI and DI of A division, either while it carried on or in the event that it went wrong and there was tension between them. Shit. This was a horrible idea, a huge screw up waiting to happen. They'd be better off never mentioning it again, writing it off as a lost weekend that, in time, might seem like it had happened to someone else.
Even as he thought this, he knew it was hopeless. This would run its course, whatever that might be, and Sam didn't want to stop it. Not when he'd just had the best weekend, the best sex and the best sleep he could remember having in such a long time. He was powerfully attracted to Gene, had been all along, and he couldn't honestly imagine turning his back on him now. Of course, that wouldn't stop him trying to get home. Of course not. It would just be, you know, a welcome distraction in the meantime. He wondered what Gene was thinking.
Gene was thinking back to the moment he'd woken up this morning, with Sam's arm draped over him. Before Sam had come out of his sleep, Gene had turned his face in towards that head of tousled brown hair and drawn a deep breath. The smell of Sam, his shampoo, the lingering smoke from Gene's own cigarettes, the undertones of sweat all combined to make something richer than the sum of its parts. He'd heard Sam talking about pheremones before now, and he thought he might finally understand what he'd been on about. He'd taken another slow breath, closing his eyes and fully appreciating this quiet moment, knowing that if Sam woke up now and caught him, he'd deny what he was doing. Anyway, it was time for work. The city wouldn't police itself, and he couldn't leave that shower of halfwits to run the show for themselves. Besides that, if he spent any longer on his own with Sam he might turn into a complete poofter; if two days had been enough to send him smelling hair and cuddling, who knew what might be next? He removed his arm from round Sam's shoulders and tried to gently ease himself out from their embrace.
Sam had woken up at the movement, blearily looking up at Gene, reaching up to rub his eyes.
'Time is it?' he'd asked, voice thick with sleep.
'Time to get up, Sunshine,' Gene had answered, giving away none of the tender feelings he'd been having. 'Up and at 'em.' Sam had moved to let Gene remove his arm, and he got up out of bed with a feeling of regret. When he'd come back from the shower he'd found Sam sitting up, reading a Reader's Digest he must have found in a drawer. He looked up at him. Gene tilted his head toward the bathroom.
'There's towels on the side,' he said shortly, and Sam nodded then swung himself lithely out of bed. Gene couldn't help but watch that perfectly formed arse on its way out the door, and stood for a moment after it was out of sight, lost in his own thoughts. Slowly, he'd got himself dressed, towelled off his hair, made his way downstairs to catch a bit of breakfast news and his first nicotine fix as he waited for Sam to be ready. Before long, Sam had come downstairs too, and they were both ready to start the week.
'Another day of crime fighting awaits, eh Guv?' said Sam, and Gene had given a huff of laughter.
'Another day indeed Sam. Gotta keep the streets clean.' He'd heaved himself off the couch and towards the door, finding his shoes under a chair on the way. Sam struggled into his boots, then slid his leather jacket on over the fresh shirt he'd brought from home. Gene donned his own coat, then they stood looking at each other at the door. Sam broke out in one of those patented Tyler grins, almost perfectly triangular, and Gene smiled back. He'd reached out and clapped Sam on the arm.
'Come on, partner. Let's go to work.'
Sam had laughed at that as they left the house. 'You've been watching too many films, Guv.'
His reverie was broken as he realised Phyllis was in the room, speaking in a tone that suggested she might have been talking for quite some time. He raised his eyebrows at her.
'Lord, if you weren't the Guv I swear I'd rattle your earhole... I said, we've got a shout. Robbery at the Post Office down Brown Street. Do you fancy it, or d'you want to wait for the next one?' Gene got to his feet fast, reaching for his coat.
'Tyler, you're with me. You two, try and head them off at Charlotte Street. We'll come at it straight down Brown Street. Phyllis, get all cars on it, get them blocking all exits. NOW!' Phyllis bustled off, clearly not appreciating the Guv's tone, and Sam, Chris and Ray bolted after Gene as he took long strides out to the car. The rest of the division scrambled after them, ready to join the chase.
Once in the car, Gene bombed it along, as usual, and Sam held on grimly. It was a ten minute drive for anyone else but the Guv nailed it in six, screeching to a halt in front of the Post Office and barrelling out to accost the first person to cross his path. The unfortunate staff were lined up outside, open-mouthed and shaken.
'Where did they go?' bellowed Gene, getting up close and personal with one of the women, who must have been seventy if she was a day. She stared at him for a moment before bursting in to sobs. The woman next to her put an arm round her, and glared at Gene.
'They went off that way,' she said, gesturing further along the main road and scowling. 'We've all had a shock, here, there's no call for you to go about shouting at us.' Gene was already walking away, and ignored her. Sam had stepped out of the car without closing the door, and gave the woman a conciliatory look as he asked, 'What kind of car was it?'. Despite himself, his eyes drifted to the only man in the group, who shrugged helplessly.
The angry woman replied. 'Green Capri,' she said, still scowling, undoubtedly further annoyed by this blatant sexism. Sam nodded his thanks then hopped back in the car as the Guv slid into the driver's seat. They had taken off again before he had the door fully shut, and Gene had grabbed the radio.
'Alpha One, this is eight seven zero. Suspects last seen heading east on Charlotte Street. In pursuit. Where's Ray and Chris?'
Phyllis' voice crackled back to him. 'Heading north up Portland Street. Over.'
Gene thought for a second, then said 'Tell them to carry on, and get all units eyeballing a green Ford Capri.'
'Roger that Guv.' Phyllis' tone was crisp, business-like. Sam looked out through the windshield, straining for a glimpse of the car they were after. He saw nothing. They roared along the street, dodging the other traffic, the Guv swearing roundly at anyone who got in his way. As they approached the broader Portland Street, he got back on the radio.
'Alpha One, come in,' he snarled, swerving round slower moving traffic one-handed.
'Alpha One receiving,' answered Phyllis, sounding tense.
'Get Chris and Ray off onto Piccadilly. We're heading to London Road. Anything coming in?' he asked, meaning to find out if anyone had spotted the getaway car.
'Roger that. No sightings Guv.'
Gene dragged the Cortina down a narrower street again, off the main run.
'Where are we headed Guv?' asked Sam.
'Got a feeling they're heading for the industrial estate. Gonna cut them off,' he replied, tersely. He skidded round another corner and floored it again. 'Get Phyllis to send all units down Fairfield Street and Mancunian Way. We'll box them in.' His face was grim, both hands clenched on the wheel. Sam radioed the instructions in, using a clear, calm tone. Phyllis acknowledged and then he saw it, the green Capri, half a dozen cars ahead of them on London Road.
'There!' he said, but Gene had already spotted them and sped up even further, roaring insults at their fellow drivers. Sam lost them in a sudden knot of traffic, but as the turn off for the group of industrial estates came up he thought he saw it peeling off and screeching away to the North. The Guv's instincts were frighteningly accurate, sometimes. They followed them off the main road and soon found themselves in among the factory buildings, but with no sign of their prey. Gene slowed down as they drove through, looking for a glimpse of them. Sam saw an open door up ahead, and pointed.
'There. The door's still swinging.'
Gene parked up outside, just past the door, and leaped out, reaching for his gun. Sam followed, this time not going by the book and contacting Phyllis. He was too caught up in the moment. He left his own weapon at his waist; running with a loaded gun was worse than running with scissors in his book. Gene's camelhair coat flew behind him as he ran to the door of the building and thumped into the wall next to it, back first and gun held up in both hands. Sam joined him, unholstering his weapon, and they made a silent count to three. Gene ducked low, stepping inside and to the right, as Sam covered him from round the edge of the entrance. They were just in time to see the last man running up a set of stairs at the back of the empty warehouse, and they both took off after him. Sam cringed against the bullets he was expecting at any second, but none came. They reached the stairs, Sam slightly ahead, and he charged up them. As he went through the doorway, he found himself grabbed and yanked into an unfriendly embrace. Metal pressed against his temple. His gun clattered out of his hand and onto the ground.
Gene was right behind him, and stopped in the doorway, levelling his own gun at the masked assailant.
'Drop it,' he said, voice even and commanding despite the furious chase.
'Don't think so, copper,' came the reply, the voice muffled by the balaclava the robber was wearing. 'Think me and my mates are going to walk out of here, with your friend escorting us, nice and friendly-like.'
Gene took the safety off his gun. 'You let him go. Do it NOW!'
There was an oily snigger from under the mask, and Sam felt the grip round his neck tighten.
'Not a chance. Why don't you step in here? Gently does it...' Sam knew the other blaggers must be behind them, but all he could see was Gene, standing with his gun pointed almost directly at him. He looked at him helplessly, cursing himself for running head first into this situation. Gene looked him in the eye as he stepped forwards a few paces, not unblocking the door just yet but getting a bit nearer. If the Guv was trying to communicate something with him, he had no idea what it was. Sam heard the safety go off on the gun pressed to his head, and swallowed hard.
'Listen Sunshine, this place is surrounded. You let him go and maybe we won't charge you with assaulting a police office,' said Gene. 'You're in enough trouble as it is.' The gun at Sam's head pressed harder, making him close his eyes briefly in a wince. Gene stopped moving.
'Step aside,' said Sam's captor. 'Now. Or this ponce gets it.' Sam saw a flare of anger in Gene's eyes, and he spun suddenly to the side and fired. Sam heard a scream from behind him, and felt the gun at his head waver away, distracted. He took his opportunity and threw his whole weight backwards, toppling both himself and the hostage taker to the ground. The blagger's gun went off as they fell, and Sam hammered his fist backwards into the outstretched wrist, partly dislodging the weapon. He flipped himself over and batted the gun completely out of the other man's hand, sending it skidding across the concrete, before punching him as hard as he could in the face. This earned him a grunt, and what felt like a broken fist, but he didn't let that stop him from grabbing the man's shoulders and bodily flipping him over onto his front. Later, he'd be amazed as always by the strength adrenaline provided, but for now he only wanted to get this situation under control. He heard a shower of running steps behind him as he folded the crook's arms up to his shoulder blades, causing another loud cry of pain, and knelt on them to hold him down. Only now did he look up to see what was going on in the rest of the room.
Gene had been joined by Chris and Ray, and now several plods were running through the door to add to the melee. Gene was kicking lumps out of one blagger, who lay curled up on the floor, bleeding. Ray had punched a second in the gut, hard enough to double him over, and was in the process of cuffing him as he stooped, winded. Chris had the last of the team cuffed already, hands behind his back and head hanging, blood oozing from a wound in his shoulder. Sam shouted one of the constables over to help him, and the PC cuffed the man on the ground. Leaving them behind, Sam jogged over to Gene and tried to stop him.
'Hey,' he said, grabbing the bigger man's shoulder. 'That's enough. It's over.' Gene turned on him, the fire still blazing in his eyes. Sam stepped back from the heat of that look. Gene turned away again, motioning to two plods who hadn't already stepped in to take custody of the gang.
'You two. Take this one an' all. Get him out of my sight.'
He walked out then, taking stiff strides, not looking back at Sam or anyone else. Chris had wandered over.
'You alright, Boss?' he asked. Sam continued to look through the doorway where Gene had disappeared.
'Fine Chris.' He dragged his eyes away, to look at the young man who'd helped save him. 'Fine, mate. Thanks.' He extended his gaze to Ray, who stood a short distance away. 'Thanks,' he said again. Ray grunted at him, and Chris patted his arm.
'No worries, Boss.'
Sam gave a half smile. 'See you back at the station, yeah?' With that, he headed off at slightly higher speed than was seemly. Gene was nowhere to be seen in the building, and Sam found him outside, leaning on the Cortina and smoking. He approached warily.
'Thanks Guv,' he said, shortly, standing in front of him. Gene stayed silent, looking at him in a way that was hard to read. Sam felt uncomfortable, not sure what was going on. Eventually, after long moments of stillness as the constables huckled the blaggers out of the building and into a van, Gene dropped and stubbed out his cigarette. Sam, who had been studying the ground, looked up at his face again. There was a stubborn pout in place, the eyes hard.
'Come on,' was all he said, as he climbed back into the car. All Sam could do was follow.
As they drove back to the station, at a more sedate pace, Sam brought Phyllis up to date and let her know to expect four for the cells. Then another silence fell. Sam was now sure he was in for a bollocking, and wished that it would happen sooner rather than later. This wasn't Gene's style, delaying the inevitable, dragging it out. He noticed that Chris and Ray had fallen in behind them, and wondered if the Guv was just waiting to get back to the station to make his humiliation more public. This was the longest car journey of his life.
They stepped back in to the station, Phyllis nodding her congratulations to them and a wide-eyed Annie behind her, looking to Sam for some information. He couldn't even rustle up a smile for her, but followed Gene past them and into the CID offices. As they got in to the main body of the office, Gene spun on his heel and Sam nearly collided with him.
'What the hell was that, Tyler?' he asked, sharp and low.
'Sorry, Guv,' was all Sam could say. He knew he'd made a mistake back there, running in blind, and he'd nearly paid for it. He started to feel shaky.
'Sorry? You're sorry? You will be sorry you little scrotum, you scared the crap out of me!' This, Sam hadn't expected, and he turned on instinct to see if anyone else had heard. He saw Chris and Ray advancing down the corridor, not near enough to hear the Guv's subdued tones. They would be here in a second though.
As he had his head turned away, Gene pushed him, lightly. 'You look at me when I'm talking to you, Tyler. You just look at me and listen up.
Don't ever, ever let me see you charging in somewhere like that again.'
The injustice of this rankled with Sam. 'Charging in?' he asked. 'Who do you think I learned that from?'
'Charging in without your gun up is very different. You could have been shot. You could have been shot, right in front of me.' Sam heard Chris and Ray come in, then, could picture the look of glee on Ray's face as he prepared to watch his DI get his arse handed to him. This made Sam feel angrier.
'Well, Guv, maybe next time you should just let it happen, teach me a lesson, how about that?' He saw Gene's eyes narrow and he was grabbed by the arm. He looked down at the bruising fingers with an expression of scorn.
'Let me guess - you want a word?' he said, sarcastically. Gene yanked him forward, managed to swap their places so he could give Sam a hard shove towards his own, private office. Sam went with it, stumbling but wanting to get away from Ray's mocking eyes, anyway. As they went through the door, Gene slammed it closed with a practised heel and spun Sam again, this time against the filing cabinet. He got into Sam's space, not holding him or pushing any more, but undeniably ready to do so if the situation called for it.
'I could have seen you shot,' he said again. 'You could have died.'
'No shit, Gene. That's what happens to us, every day.'
Now Gene did push him again, rocking the cabinet. 'Don't you come the smart arse with me. Don't you dare.'
'Well, Guv, stop shoving me around and I'll have a think about it,' he retorted, that old flame of anger now coloured with another emotion. Gene's touch held new meaning now, and even when it was less than gentle it still seemed to have the power to turn Sam on, under the surface.
Gene was scowling into his face, pressing so close to him that their stomachs were almost touching. 'Do I have to send you off on basic training again?' he growled.
Sam didn't reply to that, only looked Gene in the eye with an insolent stare. Gene wasn't finished.
'You disgraced yourself Tyler. And me. If my own DI can't catch a bunch of pansies like that without getting dragged in as a hostage...' Sam cut him off.
'Bunch of pansies, were they? Is that why you shot one of them and kicked another one half to death?'
'I shot one of them to save you. I look after my men,' his voice was louder now, and Sam wondered if it would carry to the others. The rest of A division must be getting back by now, they would have quite the audience. It wasn't enough to stop him raising his own voice, though.
'Look after us? By shoving us about and calling us names? Right, Guv. I feel dead looked after.' His words hit home, making Gene draw his face into a snarl.
'Well you should, Dorothy, because if it wasn't for me you'd be dead.' That was the first time Gene had called him Dorothy since before they'd kissed, and it stung.
'Oh it's Dorothy again, is it? Well, Guv, I'm glad to now how you really feel. You shouldn't hold back so much, you know?' This earned him another shove, and this time Gene held on to his lapels, using them to draw their faces even closer together. He dropped his tone again, keeping his words private, between them.
'You are pushing my buttons here, Tyler. That's not a smart move.' He still looked furious, but was there something else that Sam was picking up there? A reflection of his own lust? By God, he thought there was.
'Bloody hell, Guv. I don't know if you want to fight me or fuck me.' He said it quietly, but with all the listening ears right outside he felt as though he'd shouted it from the rooftops. It was dangerous, so dangerous... but there was a black fun to it, too. Gene finally flattened his body against Sam's, and for a moment Sam could feel something that wasn't Gene's gun in his pocket.
'You want the truth? Me neither.'
'Maybe we could find out, later,' said Sam, trying to keep his voice steady.
'Maybe we could, at that.' Gene dropped Sam's collar, stepped away. He raised his voice again. 'If I ever catch you pulling something like that again, Tyler, I'll demote you to DC faster than you can say "Shit, he's got a gun".'
'Yes, Guv,' Sam replied, the fight gone out of him with the promise of another night with Gene later.
'Get back in there and write this mess up. Oh, and I think you'll find that one of the robbers was injured when the hostage taker dropped his gun. Don't you?'
Sam understood, and while he may once have balked at the suggestion of lying in his paperwork, nowadays he could see the merit in it, now and again.
'Yes, Guv,' he said again, meekly this time.
'Good.' Gene drew a hipflask from his pocket and took a long draw. 'Get on with it.'
Sam did his best to look chastised as he left the office, catching Chris' commiserating shrug with a slight roll of his eyes. Inside, though, he was on top of the world. Tonight was shaping up to be fun.