Before we start massive thanks to all reviewers you keep me going. I also appreciate the alerts and favourites. I hope everyone is still reading and enjoying. I'm ever so sorry for the long wait, unfortunately real life keeps butting in.
Disclaimer: I don't own ashes to ashes.
Previously on Moet & Chandon: Ray has been suspended and replaced by DI Beth Price, who is being intimidated by Keats although Gene now knows and well we'll see how that works out for Keats. The gang are investigating the murder of a ballerina from the Royal ballet who DI Price knew and trained with. Gene wants to send Beth in undercover as a dancer but she refused. Oh and Gene and Alex kissed but he then ran out on her, why? Who knows he's a complex man is DCI Hunt. And thats all you've missed on Moet & Chandon.
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Beth was sat at her desk toying with her name plate when Gene Hunt entered CID. Chris and Shaz were already in and not working as usual with various other members of the team loitering about, Alex only conspicous by her absence. Terry seemed to be considering working but no-one was actually doing anything, that is untill their lord and master entered the room then there was a flurry of movement as they all tried to look busy.
Did they think he didn't notice? He feigned ignorance for a moment whilst considering stopping at Beth's desk to make sure she was okay before remembering that he wasn't a poof and continuing on to his office, barking: "Granger tea five sugars, and the rest of you better have some results by lunchtime or I'll know for sure your only pretending to work" without turning around. Upon reaching his office he turned back to face the room, once again noticing the sudden burst of activity as everyone carried out his orders.
Beth however did not move, or even acknowledge him. Okay so Gene Hunt did not do girly feelings but he did have a duty of care towards his team and she hadn't said a word to him since their chat in his office the previous evening, not even when he rescued her from Keats' grubby claws. He may not do feelings but even Gene could see that something was up. He was just about to call her into his office when Alex walked through the double doors their eyes met accross the bustling squad room each silently daring the other to look away.
"Drake your late." She had no excuse this morning, not even a hangover. Not that a hangover was a valid reason for lateness but at least it would have ment she wasn't trying to avoid him, but this morning?
"Sorry Guv" Alex mubled as she set her jacket on the back of her chair looking away from him.
"Mmmhmmm" Gene cleared his thoat getting her attention again and pointing in the direction of his office. Reluctantly she got up from the seat she'd just taken behind her desk to walk ahead of him into his lair.
Alex watched as he walked around the desk and took his seat. Should she bring up last night? Or wait for him to?
Gene shuffled his chair in then spoke, quieter than she had been expecting. "DI Price," He guestured towards where Beth still sat at her desk "Doesn't seem herself this morning, I have a feeling it's to do with her chat with dear old Jim last night. I was wondering if..." Gene looked a little embarassed, he hated asking for help and admitting defeat but he knew this wasn't his area of expertise. "You could talk to her?" he finished up quickly looking anywhere but at Alex.
Alex hadn't been expecting this at all, as far as she knew Gene Hunt didn't do girly feelings. Well that would be why he was getting her to talk to Beth, and maybe why they weren't talking about last night. Should she leave without saying anything? Well she wasn't going to bring it up, she managed to catch his eye and nodded turning to leave straight after.
"Bolly?" She turned back to face him.
"Guv?"
Oh so we're back to Bolly and the Guv again then? The thought was mutual, was the intamacy there had been between them gone?
"I'll uh talk to you later, we've got work to do."
Repeating her ealier actions Alex nodded and turned away, this time leaving the office and heading for Beth's desk thinking about Gene's words: 'I'll talk to you later' what did he mean by that? Anyway no time to dwell murderers to catch. "Beth?" She lent down to speak quietly to DI Price "Are you okay?"
Beth gave Alex a bright smile and placed her name plate back down on the desk. "I'm good thanks, you?"
Alex was more than a little suprised by this response, she haddn't looked alright two minutes ago. "Are you sure? If you want to talk..."
"I'm fine" Beth cut across her. "Stronger than I look." She smiled again which Alex returned hesitantly and walked over to her desk taking her seat and glancing back at Beth who mouthed 'Thanks' then got stuck into the file she was working on.
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The morning dragged by in CID, no new cases and nothing more on any of the current ones. The blokes were wasting time as usual playing darts and reading dirty magazines, while the girls used the time productively to get some of their paperwork done. Sometime midmorning (although it felt much later) Alex sighed, got up pushing the paperwork away and stretching she looked over to Beth who had glanced up when she heard the chair scrape. "Tea?"
"Defintaley" Beth stood up too and followed Alex to the kitchen where she sat at the table while Alex put the kettle on and pulled mugs out of the cupboard dumping a tea bag into each one.
"Sugar?"
"No, I could go for a biscuit though."
"Errm," Alex pulled open the biscuit cupboard to find the boys had already been there leaving only one packet. "Pink wafer? It's all we've got left I'm afraid."
"Oh, no thanks I don't really like them they taste too much of pink."
"Pink? " Alex looked bemused "They can't taste of pink it's a colour not a flavour."
"What about orange thats both."
"True, but pink tastes of strawberry, or raspberry." As she spoke Alex drew a pink wafer from the packet for herself.
Beth was shaking her head "Pink wafers don't though I swear it's pink."
The kettle boiled and Alex turned to make the tea placing her pink wafer in her mouth so her hands were free for tea making. She bit off the end and chewed slowly as though savouring the taste while waiting for the tea to brew. "I see what you mean, it's not really any flavour."
"It is, it's pink" Beth got the milk from the fridge and passed it to Alex. Who took it struggling to keep the patronising look that was trying to break the surface from appearing on her face. She failed. "Well what would you say they taste of then?"
Alex thought for a moment but was saved from answering by Chris coming in to take the rest of the packet. "Chris"
"Yes Ma'am"
Alex looked at Beth then back to Chris "What flavour would you say those are?"
Chris looked a little confused as though he'd just been given a difficult maths problem, was it a trick question? "Well... They're pink aren't they." He turned taking the whole packet and could be seen dumping them on Ray's desk.
Beth's face said I told you so but he mouth just giggled, she was silenced when Gene appeared in the doorway.
"Ladies, tea breaks over suspect for you to interview." He threw a file at Beth and took the unfinished pink wafer from Alex hand.
"Accomplice from the robbery" Beth read from the file.
"Yeah" Gene was speaking through a mouthful of pink wafer. "Want you two to have a chat with him, and then when you find nought you can come and get a bloke to do it properly."
Alex said nothing she recognised the tactic, she'd had an English teacher who'd done the same thing. He'd told her there was very little chance she'd manage to get a C in her O-Level so she'd worked really hard just to prove him wrong and got an A. Beth however did not take this very well and took a step towards Gene narrowing her eyes and folding her arms over the file against her chest. "Because being women we can't interview a suspect 'properly' I suppose."
Gene had scowled at the air quotes but he knew why she was doing it. "Correct, you lack the ability to hit people when they won't tell you what you need to know."
Alex gently slipped the case file from Beth's arms and went to grab a tape recorder for the interview leaving Gene and Beth in the kitchen. She may not agree with his methods but he was just trying to take her mind of Keats and keep her focused on the job at hand.
"There are other ways of getting a suspect to talk you know Guv" Beth pushed past him into the squad room and gathered the things she'd need for the interview.
"I know what you're going to say" Alex had reappeared from the tech room and was watching Beth.
"Do you?"
"Yep some of your psycho bollocks no doubt bout how I shouldn't piss her off."
"You don't know me as well as you think you do then" Gene looked at her "That's probably not how I would have done it but she'll probably spend the rest of the day trying to prove you wrong." She took a few steps towards her desk then turned back to face him "Your getting quite good at the psycho bollocks" She mimicked his words and gave him a small smile which he didn't return.
"'He's in interview room two Bolly." She nodded and went to grab a pen and notepad from her desk. "Oi Dorothy!" Gene shouted across the room still not having moved from the kitchen doorway, Chris and Ray looked up in surprise both glancing at the door and then at the Guv. He used to call Sam Dorothy, it had been three years since they'd found Sam's car in the river but they somehow still expected him to walk into CID and start banging on about evidence and doing things by the book.
Both women had looked up when Gene shouted, then at their feet, and then at each other. They were both wearing red shoes.
"I think he means you" It was Alex that spoke, he'd have called her Bolly she reasoned.
Beth took a small step forward up onto tippy toes and shut her eyes, clicking her heels together three times she said: "There's no place like home." Slowly she opened her eyes and looked around "Nope still here can't possibly be me" She grabbed some things off her desk and walked out of the room hearing Gene shout:
"I'll be in my office when you need me." As the double doors swung behind her, Alex shot Gene a look before following Beth out the door.
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"You're like the opposite of feminism." Alex and Beth were re-entering CID a while later Beth having got a full confession but Alex didn't entirely approve of her methods.
"No, I am a real feminist..." Beth was interrupted by Gene strolling out of his office.
"So girlies need some help from the Gene Genie? Perhaps you'd like me to try some of me own brand of interrogation?" Beth was about to reply but Alex jumped in:
"No need Guv DI Price used her own special interrogation techniques." Gene looked confused and Beth slipped into the seat behind her desk hoping neither Alex or Gene had noticed her absence, she was wrong they both turned to look at her.
"What?" Beth threw up her hands "I don't see what the problem is; I got a full confession and there's not a scratch on him."
"A full confession?" Gene wasn't going to show that he was impressed "Bruise free groin slap?"
"No" Once again Alex jumped in before Beth could answer; her face was set and her voice hard. "DI Price got the suspect to confess by flirting with him."
"Oh" This time Gene did look a little impressed, he turned to Beth "Good work" Beth almost beamed Gene Hunt did not do praise but the look on Alex's face stopped her.
"No it is not good work, flash a bloke a bit of thigh and he'll confess to anything." She looked at Gene as though expecting him to agree.
"Well unless he's a poof" He smirked and looked at Beth "You flashed him?"
Beth who had been chewing the nail of her left index finger slammed her hand down on her desk. "No, I wouldn't lower myself to that." She glared at Alex who was now sitting at her own desk leaving Gene standing between them like an umpire at a tennis match.
"Shame, coulda got him to confess to a few murders."
"But if that's how you get results then we'll never know if the suspects are guilty, he could be innocent and the real criminals are still out on the street."
"He wasn't innocent, c'mon Alex were we in the same interview? It was clear he did it we just needed him to admit it; I wouldn't have done it otherwise. Look we got a full confession, no police brutality and it'll stand up in court can we..."
"No we can't leave it and when the jury find out how we got a confession they'll disregard it."
"But no-one will ever know"
"What?" Alex and Gene were looking at Beth.
"We recorded the interview on audio tape; we didn't film it no jury can see what I was doing."
"Oh God" Gene looked from Beth to Alex then back to Beth again "Please tell me you didn't suck him off for a confession, I know I wanted you to get results but..."
Beth looked appalled "NO! I can't believe you would think that I would..."
"What did you do then?"
"I just spoke to him like this" She leant forwards over the desk a little so he had a better view down her top, her voice was quieter and suggestive without being too seductive she was right anyone just listening wouldn't notice anything was different. "And then when he was close to spilling..." She trailed off and got up walking slowly around the desk and perching on the edge of it close to where the suspect would have sat but she was looking at Gene. She crossed her legs and slowly pulled her reading glasses she was wearing down off her nose. "I thought I'd sit closer to him" She was still using that suggestive voice, Gene would have told her anything she wanted to know even before she placed the arm of her glasses in her mouth.
"Oh please" Alex had stood up and was leaning over both palms flat on her desk. "For Christ's Sake they're not even real glasses."
"And?" Beth was regretting having admitted this to Alex, she was right they weren't real there was nothing wrong with her eyes. Beth just found that they made her look more authoritative and were a very useful negotiating tool. The two women were glaring at each other.
Gene sighed "We have the nonce in the cells and a full confession, which sounds like a good days work to me." He turned to address the room "Beer o'clock lads, get one in for me an all."
"You comin to Luigi's Guv?" Chris asked as he passed Gene on the way out Alex and Beth were slowly gathering their things both were sulking but the rest of CID had jumped up to leave as soon as the Guv had finished speaking.
"Yeah Chris I'll be right there." He stayed stood in the centre of the room watching the mass exodus and was quickly left with his two sulking DIs "Forget good cop bad cop, I've got psycho cop and sexy cop." He'd muttered it under his breath as he walked towards his office but Alex had heard. Did he really think Beth was sexy? Is that why he'd run out on her last night? "Coming to Luigi's ladies?" Gene had return from his office having collected his keys "I spose I owe you both a drink, job well done an all that."
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Later that evening Alex and Beth were back on speaking terms (thanks a few glasses of wine) and were sat in Luigi's slightly apart from the rest of the team leaving poor Shaz with all the blokes. Alex had brought up their 'discussion' from earlier.
"You shouldn't use your body to get results, you want to be treated as an equal to men then you can't act like that."
"Like what? Like a woman? We will never have equal rights to men, okay so we're allowed to vote but most people, women included still think that a woman's place is in the home and not a day goes by when I don't get told I shouldn't be in the police force."
"Women like us have to do the hard work; it won't be long till there are more women in the force, more female DIs and higher up too."
"You and I both know that's not true, a bloke the same rank gets paid more and probably always will. There will never be as many female higher ups as there are men and despite being damn good at our jobs we will never be given the respect we deserve because we are just girls." Alex made to speak but Beth carried on. "Feminism isn't about trying to be a man, I mean why would you want to anyway "They looked over at the team, someone had dared Chris to try and light his farts "You have to embrace the fact that you're different, and use the fact that you're female."
"But you're taking advantage of them."
"Not really, okay today with the suspect I used the fact that men will do pretty much anything if they think there is a chance of sex, but men like to think they're the big heroes and we can't cope without them protecting us so why not play to their egos occasionally to get what you want.
"What I want is to be respected as their equal."
"You're not their equal though" Beth finished her drink and stood up to leave "Aside from the Guv you're their superior." She left just as Gene came over having heard the end of their conversation.
He sat down next to Alex and refilled her wine glass. "I respect you Bolly" Their eyes met and he smiled.
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Thanks for reading please review. I am sorry about the pointlessness of this chapter; it hasn't moved the story on at all. Unfortunately muse has gone on holiday so the majority of this chapter is based on RL and real conversations.