Getting my first subscriber to this story willed me to upload another chapter today. It's only a filler, really, to lead me into the events into the next chapter. Reviews would be greatly appreciated and thanks for sticking with it!
Gene passed their desks with not so much as a glance and went straight into his office, closing the door and shutting the blinds. He hung up his coat and retrieved the bottle of scotch from the top drawer of his trusty filing cabinet. As he poured the liquid into a small tumbler, his thoughts wandered back to Sam and his connection to Alex. How did she know him? And why was she so interested in his death? Gene understood that Alex had gotten here in the same state as Sam but could not see any other connection. He was disappointed that she could promise not to talk about him anymore as Gene knew that she would keep digging until she found what she needed... whatever that was. He just hoped that, if she found out the truth, Alex wouldn't turn her back on him or, worse still, unravel her entire surroundings. Gene knew that what she found would contradict his version of events and he just had to trust that she would be able to understand and except what he had done. He knew that the time would come if Alex stayed here too long and, seeing that he found the idea of her absence soul-destroying, it was inevitable that he would eventually tell her the truth about Sam Tyler. However, it was still unclear to him how much he would be willing to reveal to her in fear of destroying any chance of being with her.
Gene downed the scotch and poured another glass. As he was considering asking Alex on a date after this case was closed, the woman herself knocked and let herself in. He noticed that she had taken to simply ignore his habit of drinking on duty, but Gene also realised the expression on her face did not cover her feelings of concerns. He was immediately overcome with guilt.
"Gov, I was just thinking," Alex said as she made her way to his desk, "maybe we should pay another visit to Latford's place of work? They might be able to tell us if she had any unexpected visitors over the past few weeks." She paused and waited for his approval. "Well?"
"Yeah, why not," Gene replied rather unenthusiastically. "I'll grab me coat."
Alex was frustrated by his lack of energy in this case lately. He seemed distracted, but she knew that now wasn't the best time to push him on it. They left his office and Alex informed Shaz where they were going and told her where they were going. She replied with a quiet, "Yes, Ma'am," which somehow saddened Alex. She knew how frustrated Shaz was being stationed in CID because everyone knew that they were above her, rank-wise. As a result, Shaz was given tedious work that no-one else wanted to do, even if it wasn't Shaz' place to do it. On the other hand, Shaz rarely complained because deep down, she longed to be in CID and didn't want to blow her chances. Alex knew however that, if Shaz continued to be the doormat, she would never be given much more responsibility within in the team because she's no problem in her current role. At least she knew she had a friend and role model in Alex.
When Gene and Alex returned, so had Ray and Chris so Alex went over to quiz them about what they had seen at the depot. Gene had been right: there was a delivery not long after they had left. Chris said that they didn't see what was in the van, but the person driving the truck was a well-known associate of Barris'. They had managed to follow the van back to a flat a few miles away: proof that the delivery wasn't from another legitimate company.
"Shaz, can you run a check on this address and see if it's in the system?" Shaz gave a curt nod and left the office to run the checks. Alex made a mental note to buy her drink tonight as a 'thank you' for her work on this case. She turned and thanked Ray and Chris, then headed back to her desk.
For the first time in memory, Alex was at a loss as she was up-to-date with all of her work. She had finished wrestling with red tape and not much could be done on the Barris case until Shaz brought back some good news regarding the mystery address. Alex looked at the office clock and, as it was nearing 4:30pm, she relaxed a little as the Gov would soon call it a day and let the team go. Despite this, there was still a part of her that wished they had finished this case already. She had accepted that this case in particular had not brought her any closer to going home, and it had been a major distraction from getting any more information about Sam Tyler.
Alex enjoyed her work, but it was always overshadowed by the 'bigger picture'. The only positive she could squeeze out of cases like this was that she was slowly moving closer to Gene. The thought made her smile and blush a little and decided that, tonight, she was going to enjoy herself and not worry about the big picture. She was going to worry about what she was going to wear, and what she was going to drink, and whether Gene Hunt thought of her the way she did of him.