A2A A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 10
Author's Note: Chapter 10 is out, please read and review! Updating speed will be slower than usual, as I have a funeral to take care of.
"You took Miss Price to the cells!" Gene exclaimed in horror as the rest of the gang didn't seem to mind.
"Well we were busy at the moment, and we…."
"So you decided to put her in a bloody prison cell till you guys can finally solve the case!"
"That's right." Benito replied, indeed there was a lack of manpower in the CID force.
"By the next minute, she could have been killed by one of those bloody Caldwell's lads lurking in the prison!" Gene now began to raise his voice.
"Alright, Guv." Drew now apparently after suffering that bout of sadistic hysteria, somehow a bit of coffee and some harsh Gene-talk woke him up.
"I'm sorry, we were just playing a joke."
"A Joke!" DSI Harrison stepped into the office, and the rest of the officers immediately stood up, the DSI was hell recognisable with his police decorations, his decorations include a Queen's Medal earned in Northern Ireland.
"Sir…." Gene immediately knew he had to defend this bunch of rats like how he used to defend Ray and Chris.
"This is atrocious, how could you allow one of your lads to just beat the prisoner till he's now utterly comatose!" DSI Stratton was screaming at Gene, and he wasn't one foot near the small office of his.
"Sir, it was that twat who started hitting us first." It was Chris who was now trying to defend his actions.
"So you're saying that the prisoner decided to escape, and so you had the right to beat them to kingdom come."
"They're scum." Ray took a cigarette and smoked it, this was going to be a bad day.
"Hell I know that, DS Carling, but when you beat scum to hospitals, you get D&C choking you like Vito Corleone!"
"At least I'm not one Mccluskey."
"What!" DSI Stratton knew the reference of a corrupt copper, especially one from a Coppola film.
"You know I'm supposed to be promoted to somewhere else, now I think I might be asked for early retirement!" DSI Stratton hollered as Shaz was unsure whether it was right to prepare a cup of coffee for the stressed-up man.
"With all due respect, Sir," Gene finally broke his silence, after having a silent cup of whisky as his DSI continued to lambast his crew.
"Yes, DCI Hunt, you would like to explain for your subordinates…"
"Yes, I intend to do so, Sir."
"Don't you think it is wrong for them to do so, to actually whack a prisoner in custody till he's now in some King's Cross Hospital waiting for life support to be plugged out of him."
"You're exaggerating…" Chris noted DSI Stratton's mastery in exaggeration.
"Yeah, a few more minutes of that, and he will be that way!"
"Sir, that man indeed attacked my fellow officers…."
"But I don't expect these people to whack back ten times harder."
"With all bloody respect, Sir." Gene could not calm his anger down now, as DSI Stratton became more irritating as the minute goes.
"That man is a scum, murder suspect, and a dangerous man, he has attacked my copper, and you want my coppers to apologize to such a dangerous scum, it's like asking bloody Skipper to say sorry to Ronnie Biggs!" Gene's outburst soon got DSI Stratton to stop his violent reaction.
"I've known my team for darn many soddin years, and I can tell you this Sir, that they are not bloody scum, and their job is to fight the scumbag now dying in his soddin hospital bed! If you want to blame that bastard's death on anyone of these people here, I will tender my resignation straight away!" Gene fired back a salvo that he never did, threatening to resign was definitely a tactic that usually doesn't work for smart superiors, especially one like DSI Stratton.
"…" DSI Stratton however knew that DCI Hunt was one of the best DCIs around, and he too didn't like the idea to give in to scumbags. DSI Stratton left the office, no one applauded like Lord Scarman, it was definitely a deafening sort of silence, one that spoke volumes over Gene's fierce loyalty to the team as Ray, Shaz and Chris looked somewhat admirably at him.
"By the way where's our new DI?"
"DI Alex Drake's supposed to report to work today, you didn't receive notice, did you DCI Hunt?"
"Nope, but I think I know what to do, Sir." DSI Stratton finally left the office for good.
"Right! What's our new case."
"Some Prozzie boat, got a tip-off from informant, it's The Princess Di."
"Let's get ourselves armed, shall we!" Gene marched out of the office, emerging victorious and definitely more heroic.
"What is it, DCI Hunt?" DSI Harrison, Stratton's successor didn't seem as angry and volatile like his predecessor, but one could sense anger from his snarling tone.
"Nothing." Gene didn't know what to say, he had only worked for them a couple of months, and the bond between he and his team doesn't even seem to work.
"Well DCI Hunt, it seems your team is getting WAY out of control!"
"You think it's a joke, a spitfire lawyer who might one day be the attorney general of this kingdom, who knows!" DSI Harrison was more assured of Miss Price's gift of the gab than he was about Gene and his team.
"Sir, it was a pragmatic move to do so." Drew decided to make some logical sense into his actions now, while Kat looked somewhat frustrated just like everyone else in the office, it was very tense.
"Pragmatic, what a pretty word to use." DSI Harrison continued, ignoring Drew's excuse.
"It seems that you guys don't have enough manpower!" DSI Harrison now suddenly turned his anger into a somewhat cold musing.
"Yes, it seems that we need one more here." Gene decided to add on now that the storm was now quite over, he was lucky it wasn't DSI Stratton, that man would make hell out of a teacup.
"Yes, DCI Hunt, since you can't seem to control your officers, I've decided to get help for you."
"You're not transferring him out, are you?" Katherine was nervous about this, she knew that Gene for how bloody bastard he sometimes is as a boss, his efficiency and being a good copper still made her feel safe, not like all those political creatures out there.
"No, DC Hill, just that now your team will have another DCI sitting here." Gene immediately knew the answer but made an expression of feigned shock with his eyes bulged widely open, it can't be Jim Jimbo Keats.
Can it?
"Who will that be, Sir?" Benito asked.
"That will be DCI Alexandra Drake, she will be here shortly." DSI Harrison flashed a nasty smile, as Alex was now beginning to walk into the office.
"Boom!" The door opened pretty wide enough as Alex made her entrance, the radio was switched on to Radio 4, and the music was quite aptly Dvorak's New World Symphony's menacing opening.
"Isn't that Miss Price?" Drew was shocked and so were the rest of their team who could only look in horror as the lawyer they just insulted suddenly became their new boss.
Alex didn't bother to make a greeting, she only smiled back chirpily this time, her hands in her pockets as she got her new clothes prepared, while WPC Phyllis Dobbs could only place her hands on her face. It's like watching a car crash in slow motion, or in this sense it's like watching a whole football team crash in slow motion.
"That was her undercover job, right now I shall leave you to welcome your new co-DCI now, have a good day." DSI Harrison was now quite sure it wasn't going to be a good day.
Gene could only look somewhat flabbergasted, like the rest of the team, the silence was now worse as Alex looked at the radio which was slamming the same chords of that Dvorak New World symphony over and over again. The officer nearby immediately switched it off.
"Hi." Alex decided to make a better impression now as the rest of the team exchanged awkward and meek greetings.
"Morning, Ma'am."
"So as you know, I'm DCI Alex Drake, your new co-DCI for this police division."
"Yes, Bolls, and fancy seeing you here yet again!" DCI Hunt decided to break protocol as the whole gang looked at him now.
"Well Guv, it's been a long time since I've seen you…"
"Not very long, Bolly, I thought you switched profession."
"You know each other, Guv?"
"Yes, Colchester Girl, she was my DI a year ago, then she was transferred and now she's back as DCI!"
"Why didn't you…" Katherine decided to stop asking the question, afraid to sound even more stupid now.
"Welcome on board, Detective Chief Inspector!" Gene made his usual greeting as he feigned reluctance and struggle for Alex to be the new co-DCI. The rest of the gang applauded albeit awkwardly yet again.
"Now Sha…. Kat, if I don't get my coffee and 8 sugars yet again…" Gene now went back roaring at Katherine, though he stumbled at Shaz yet again.
"Gene, she's a detective constable, not a secretary, go get the coffee yourself!" Alex shot back while Kat managed a quiet smile immediately along with the rest of the crew.
"Right!" Gene went back to his office and grabbed a cup of whisky.
"So how's the investigation now?" All Alex saw was a flipchart that had neat writings but apparently a lot of names crossed out.
"Well, Guv…." Benito suddenly halted, that reference obviously now conflicted with Gene's title.
"Just call me Ma'am will do." Alex smiled back at Benito, the smile was genuine and Benito reciprocated while Drew continues to struggle to accept that he was now going to be the joke of the Met now. Gene meanwhile was back outside looking at Alex controlling the proceedings swiftly.
"Norma Caldwell confessed to me, about the robbery." Alex immediately fished out from her bag a recorder Dictaphone.
"What secret?" Alex signalled Norma to go on as she pretends to be involved in some paperwork writing.
"You're not recording this down are you?" Norma asks very tensely.
"No I'm not, Norma…"
"It was me and some of my friends who were involved in the Burglary of the whatever house.".
"Who else was there?"
"Douglas, Bryan, Jane, James…"
"We snuck in with the Stewarts, we wanted to have some fun, you see…."
"So you just decided to burgle the mansion…"
"Yes, we did it with the Stewarts…"
"I'm sorry!"
"We don't really care about that soddin rivalry, we wanted to have some fun, so we ganged up together and went to rob the mansion."
"But who killed James?"
"I don't know, we hit the butler, we left in separate directions, we didn't want to let the police arrest everyone, you know!"
"Look! I can keep this secret for you, it's illegal, but I shall do that for you, client confidentiality."
The recording device stopped, Drew finally finished getting his act together and began to ask.
"It's clear we can go arrest them now." Drew quipped.
"With a recording, DI Jensen, I don't think it's quite possible that another lawyer like me would come thrashing down this police station to upset a bloody copper like you." Alex's retort immediately got some laughs out of the policemen, while Drew just continued looking pretty ashamed.
"What do you suggest then, Ma'am?" Katherine was now sitting on her own desk, she was definitely different than Shaz, who seemed more like a clerical officer.
"I think we should get some more details about them."
"About who?"
"The Caldwells and the stewarts…"
"There's your bloody information, DCI Drake!" Gene declares as Alex began to look at the piles of files sitting around the desks of Benito, Drew and Katherine.
"Well we don't need these." Alex immediately used her hand and swept the mountains of files down the floor. Much to the amazement of the other officers.
"You know we're…." DCI Hunt was about to go on a tirade when Alex interrupted him again.
"What we need is information about the young Stewarts and Caldwells, and I don't believe the archives have information about this."
"I'll go check." Phyllis immediately went off as Gene gave a piercing glance at her.
"Ok, Bolls, but remember do it discreetly, I don't want the both clans to come storming into Fenchurch and get me a bloody hell headache like you did!"
"Right, guys let's get going now!" Alex chirpily smiled as she clapped her hands while Gene signalled her to enter his office.
"Seems like our new boss is getting on the Guv's nerves."
"They a past item?" Katherine was a gossip girl in this sense.
"Nah, don't think so, but who knows, after all she's worked under him before!" Drew gave another flashy grin.
"I think you should apologize to her for your…"
"I know…." Drew's grin immediately switched off as Benito and the rest laughed.