'You once said that we had a connection. I think you were right.'
And the Guns Shot Above Our Heads
'You do, do you Bolls?' Gene regarded her through narrowed eyes, his lashes casting a shadow on his cheeks as he tilted his head down so he could look at her.
'Yes. I do,' she said, moving slightly closer and tilting her head back, her gaze flicking from his hooded eyes to the slight pout of his lips and back again. She badly wanted to kiss him but wanted him to be the one to move. Needed him to be. Their last kiss, initiated by her, had been a goodbye. This had to be something else. A tacit agreement that she could stay. That he wanted her to stay.
The texture of the atmosphere in the room changed, making the walls seem closer somehow, the light filtering in from the street serving only to illuminate the shadows. They were standing so close now that they were sharing oxygen; Alex could only see the faintest glimmer of Gene's eyes under his lashes. She felt her breath still in her lungs as his hand found hers, his thumb caressing the inside of her wrist.
The door to the office burst open, admitting the very unwelcome figure of DI Clarke. To Alex's surprise, Gene didn't move.
'Guv! Thought you might still be here.' The man spotted Alex, couldn't miss how close they were to one another. 'Oh.'
'Every bloody time,' Gene muttered. Still not looking away from Alex, he snapped, 'What?'
'We've got a shout, Guv.'
'It's the middle of the bloody night. May've escaped your notice, DI Clarke, but we're not on duty and I'm a bit busy 'ere.'
'I can see that,' Clarke said, clearly not thinking.
Gene's head snapped around and he glared at the man. 'What was that, Detective Inspector?'
'It's Carlisle, guv. Uniform think they've found him.'
'Bastard. Why the bloody hell didn't you say so, Clarke?'
'Saying so now, Guv.' DI Clarke had the decency to look embarrassed. 'Sorry, miss.'
Alex smiled and stepped forward, holding out a hand for Clarke to shake. 'DI Drake. What's going on?''
'No you don't, Bolly. You no longer work 'ere,' Gene said warningly, pulling his coat on.
'Bol- you're that DI Drake.' Clarke said.
Alex looked around at Gene who was busily emptying the contents of a drawer into his coat pocket. 'That DI Drake?' she repeated, raising an eyebrow at him.
He returned her look with a carefully blank one of his own. 'You're staying here, Bolls,' he said firmly, pulling his gloves on.
'You know I'm not,' she said.
'Guv, we really have to-'
'Right,' Gene snapped. He leveled a gloved finger at Alex. 'Stay put.' Then he turned on his heel, coat whirling out around him, a sight so achingly familiar that Alex felt her breath catch in her throat.
Remembering something, she fumbled in her pocket, yanking her warrant card free and opening it.
Detective Inspector Alex Drake. Exactly the same as before. She wasn't sure what she'd expected. A 'void' stamp, perhaps. But nothing.
'I do bloody work here,' she muttered, shoving it back in her pocket and shouting after Gene and DI Clarke, 'I'm coming with you!'
She caught up with them as Gene was starting the Mercedes. Clarke had the passenger door open and was about to get in when Alex appeared beside him, slightly out of breath. She leaned down and looked at Gene, raising an eyebrow expectantly.
'Oh for pity's sake!' he growled. 'Get in then, Madame Fruitcake. Clarke you get in the back.'
'Guv?' Clarke said, sounding a little taken aback as Alex slid into the passenger seat. She stifled a smirk, thinking how much it would have annoyed her if someone else had taken the passenger seat of the Quattro.
Gene rolled his eyes. 'Don't just stand there like a pillock, Clarke. Scum to catch. Get in, Inspector!'
The man had barely managed to shut the door when Gene screeched away from the station, swerving around the corner and into the nighttime streets of east London. Clarke was thrown clear across the backseat and struggled to right himself as the car hit three more corners in quick succession.
'Sorry about this,' Clarke said to Alex. 'The Guv treats speed limits as more of a suggestion than a hard and fast rule.'
'Don't ever apologize for my driving,' Gene snapped. ' Besides, got to show Bolly here what the Merc can do, 'aven't I, Bolls?'
She nodded when he glanced over. 'So long as we get there in one piece,' she said, smirking when she saw Gene roll his eyes. 'Where is there, anyway? What's going on?'
'Bird called Moira Allen came down the station a couple of days ago, wanted to give us information on her boyfriend, Daniel Carlisle,' Gene began. 'Unfortunately DI Clarke and my very good self were out at the time, leaving the goon squad to take her statement. Bastard!' This last was aimed at a black cab driver who'd stupidly believed the green light meant it was safe for him to cross an intersection.
'By the time we found out about it, Moira was missing, along with Carlisle. There's every chance she just got cold feet and ran off with him, but the Guv-'
'Not bloody likely. Statement like that? Girl was afraid for her life.'
'Why didn't you offer her protective custody?' Alex asked.
Gene glanced over at her. 'I wasn't there and as you so tactfully pointed out earlier, we're missing a couple of faces from the A team.'
Alex nodded and shot him an apologetic look. 'So what's Carlisle's story?' she asked.
Gene didn't respond, his mouth set into a thin line.
'He runs a couple of brothels,' Clarke supplied. 'Treats the girls badly. Most of them don't even speak English.'
The Mercedes squealed to a stop outside what looked like an abandoned factory and Gene reached across Alex, pulling the glove box open and removing two guns. He handed one to Alex.
'Might as well make yourself useful since you insisted on coming along.'
He got out of the car and nodded to the uniformed officer who had walked over to greet them.
'Didn't think you were on duty, Guv,' the man said, glancing at Alex and Clarke as they emerged from the Mercedes. Alex recognized him as someone she'd seen on and off at Fenchurch East.
'I'm not, Hales,' Gene said, checking his gun. 'But I want this bastard nicked and in the cells tonight. And if you want a job done…'
'Do it yourself,' Hales said, smiling grimly. 'He's definitely in there,' he nodded back towards the darkened building. 'One of my lads saw him go in about half an hour ago and he hasn't come out.'
'You sure?' Clarke asked.
'We've got the building pretty well surrounded, sir,' Hales said primly.
'Any sign of the girl?' Alex asked.
Hales looked at her and smiled. 'DI Drake, I thought you'd transferred, ma'am. Good to see you. And no, no sign of her.'
'Right,' Gene said, looking around the small group clustered around the Mercedes. 'Bolly, you and Clarke go around to the right. Sergeant Hales and my good self'll take the left. Uniform, keep up positions out 'ere. Don't want 'im slipping away.'
He glared around the group to make sure everyone knew what they were supposed to do, then grabbed a torch from Hales and headed off towards the building.
Clarke looked over at Alex, surprised to see a faint smile on her face. 'Something funny?' he asked.
'What? No, sorry. Shall we?' she said brightly, taking her own torch from one of the uniforms and leading the way towards the right of the building.
/\/\/\
Their search of the right side of the building proved fruitless and they made their way further inside.
As they moved through what had clearly been a canteen when the factory was fully operational, Alex became aware of Clarke sending her looks out of the corner of his eye. 'What?' she asked.
'I'd heard you'd transferred too,' he said, 'I was just wondering what made you come back?'
She glanced at him. 'Well…' she paused, realizing she didn't know the man's first name.
'Liam,' he supplied.
'Liam, how long have you been at Fenchurch East?'
'Classic evasion tactic, answering a question with a question,' he said, offering her a smile. 'About six weeks.'
'You would have started just after I left then?'
'I think so. I think I arrived the night you left, actually. I was under the impression it was all a bit… rushed.'
Alex snorted her amusement at that. 'I realized once I'd left that this was where I needed to be, I suppose.' She smiled, remembering something Ray had said, the first day she'd met him. 'It might not seem like it now, but you'll see eventually that where the Guv is, is the best place to be.'
Clarke opened his mouth to respond but Alex raised a hand for silence. They'd reached a door. In the silence they could both hear small sounds from within, as though someone was pacing up and down.
Clarke raised his gun and nodded to Alex, who threw the door open.
/\/\/\
Gene was searching a large office on the other side of the building when he heard a loud crash. He thumbed his radio, already heading towards the sound. 'Drake? Clarke? What's goin' on?'
When no answer was forthcoming he broke into a run, hearing Hales radio through to the uniformed officers outside, telling them to hold the line.
They reached a door with a sign proclaiming that it led to the kitchen. Gene tried the handle, only to find it was locked. He stepped back and kicked at it, forcing the door inwards.
He entered the room and glanced around. Alex was standing on the other side of the room, her hands held above her head, weapon on the floor. Clarke was lying unconscious on the floor. He followed Alex's line of sight and spotted Carlisle aiming a gun at her, his hands none too steady.
'Drop it, Carlisle,' he growled, his eyes flicking from the man to Alex, checking her over for injury.
'Drop yours, copper. Or I'll shoot her in the 'ead. You know I don't 'ave a problem hurting pretty girls like her.'
Alex opened her mouth to speak, but before she could draw breath a muzzle flared in the darkness behind Carlisle. He fell and Gene spun, looking for the shooter. Another shot was fired and she saw Gene go down, watching the world fall apart in slow motion.
