CHAPTER 21

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Still rated M.

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A.N. Unashamedly fluffy in some parts :) Also we know Gene wouldn't be out of hospital this quick considering the beating he took but for the purposes of moving the fic along he needs to be back. We are writers hear us roar! :P

Isobel was sitting silently in the passenger seat of the Fiat, Marc was now driving. Having dumped the Rolls Royce and Alisa she and Marc were now hurtling towards the Hovercraft port ready to leave the country and the whole debacle behind them. Marc was whistling merrily as he drove, finally able to complete his revenge on Gene Hunt.

He'd been devastated when Isobel had left him. He'd thought they had a strong relationship but when he'd come home one night he'd found a hastily written note on the kitchen worktop and all Isobel's clothes and personal effects gone. Marc had been at the station after yet again being arrested by Manchester's finest and questioned for three hours in Lost and Found. Hunt hadn't been there for most of it. He'd left it to Carling and that idiot Skelton before turning up right at the end announcing that Isobel had been informed of Marc's arrest by "the lovely Gladys" (Hunt had earned a glare from his DI at that point) and that she had been rather distressed. Marc had leapt up in an effort to attack Hunt but his lapdogs knocked him to the floor and held him down. Hunt gloated to Marc about how he wasn't getting away with this one, he was nicked good and proper. Luckily Marc had a fantastic lawyer who had managed to get him out of Hunt's grasp yet again. When Marc had arrived home and read Isobel's note he had vowed from that point that he would get his revenge on Hunt for all the trouble he had caused. Especially for the fact that Isobel had left him.

It had taken him four years to track Isobel down and a further two to convince her that he was a changed man. He smiled to himself as he remembered how she'd kept the fact that she had taken him back a secret from Marisol and Alisa. The look on their faces when he walked into Enchante that night was priceless. They thought they could separate Marc and Isobel but how wrong they were. Marc had a hold over her that could never be broken no matter how hard they tried.

It had been a few months later that he had learned of Hunt's move down to London. From that point he began to enact his revenge on both Hunt and on the three women. He needed to let them know that Marc Rousseaux was not a man to be messed with. His plan had been a series of bank raids in Hunt's area of London and then to deploy Isobel, Alisa and Marisol to charm their way into Hunt's life and distract him enough from the robberies so that Marc could set him up for a fall. With the evidence planted it had seemed that Hunt had been finally put in his place. But thanks to his plucky DI, Hunt had been cleared and the plan had changed. Marc made a mental note that if he came into contact with DI Alex Drake ever again she would get what was coming to her. To correct this he had Marisol sent in to drug Hunt so that they could buy themselves some more time. Once Hunt had been in their "care" Marc hadn't been able to control his anger and hatred of the man and had lashed out nearly beating the man to death.

After he had taken care of Hunt it was time to deal with the rest. Marisol had been the first to go. Letting her go first had been his way of honouring his friendship with Alejandro. The poor woman had been through enough. Then it had been the turn of Alisa. He'd let Isobel deal with that. Let her betray her friend and eliminate any loose ends. Hearing the shots fired had brought a smile to his face. And now he had to deal with his precious Isobel. For her was reserved the worst of fates.

He looked over at Isobel in the passenger seat. So quiet. So deep in thought. You're going to regret ever crossing me ma Cherie

Alex stepped out on the ward that Gene was on and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. It had been on hell of a day. God knows what she would have done if she had found Gene dead in that flat. Her stomach did a flip as she remembered the state they had found Gene in. She'd held onto him whispering to him to stay with her and conscious, while at the same time stroking his cheek gently. Gene of course hadn't made it easy for her. He had squirmed every now and again to press closer to her chest and delighted in her reaction every time he mentioned how firm her breasts were. When the ambulance had arrived they bundled him into it but Gene had refused to let go of Alex and in the end the paramedics had to take her with them in the ambulance.

She shook her head. This was the last thing she needed to be thinking right now. Gene was alive and although battered and bruised would live to fight another day as the Gene Genie. It made her so angry to think that these women could have taken him away from her. All through the interview with Alisa she had kept asking her "Why did you use Gene? What was your motivation?" but Alisa never gave her an answer. Marisol had been the same. It seemed that neither of them knew the real reasons for what they were doing. They were pawns in a bigger game. Marc Rousseaux's game.

Alex continued down the corridor passing a group of night shift Nurses who were talking animatedly at their station.

"Ooooh Kim how was Mr Hunt's bed bath?"

"Interesting to say the least. Under all those bruises he's got quite a strong body. Probably not your type Lottie, you like 'em lean"

Quiet sniggering

"Oi! Cheeky mare. I like 'em like Mr Hunt too." She smiled and gestured to two other nurses "You should let Dibz and Charlie do it next time. I they're sick of bed bathing Mr Leys….all that hair on his back…"

The two nurses visibly shuddered with disgust.

"Or me and Libby" piped up another who's name tag read Marie "I don't think you and Lottie should get to run your hands all over that body…."

"And if you comment on how tall he is what does he say?"

"Bigger in every department!" Came the chorus

"Ahem" Alex cleared her throat

Most of the nurses scarpered, still giggling about Gene's "department, leaving only the one named Charlie to man the desk

"Can I help you madam?"

"I'm here to see DCI Hunt"

"I'm afraid it's out of visiting hours and…." She stopped when Alex held up her ID "Right DI Drake go right through but don't wake him. He needs his rest"

Alex nodded and made her way further down the corridor towards Gene's room and on reaching the door she pushed her way quietly inside.

Gene was lying peacefully on the bed. His hair was tousled and the top buttons of his night shirt, which Shaz had kindly brought in, had been pulled open. The covers had been pushed down with his moving in the bed and Alex went over and pulled them back into place before taking a seat next to the bed and studying his sleeping form.

There was a bandage over the wound on his head and the splits on his lips were beginning to heal over but were still quite an angry red. The swelling around his eyes where he had been beaten was a little better than it had been earlier but it was still rather bad. It was a miracle that he could even see out of them at all. The rest of his body was hidden by the covers but she knew in her heart that the body underneath was a network of bruises, cuts and bandages. Alex longed to reach out and touch all the places on Gene that were damaged and reached over but balked at it as her hand lightly touched the fabric of his night shirt. Instead she moved her hand to his forehead and brushed a stray lock of hair out of his face. Gene whimpered lightly in his sleep as Alex touched him but he soon settled down again. Alex smiled and brought her hand to rest over his heart like she did the first day she got to 1981. It was still beating as strong as it did that day and that fact lifted her heart. Nothing could keep him down.

Alex laid her head on the pillow next to his and closed her eyes, the sound of his steady breathing and the strong beat of his heart gently lulling her to sleep.

It had just gone eleven am and CID was a hive of activity with everyone in before their shifts were due to start. All coffee mugs were well and truly topped up and bacon and egg sarnies had been ordered in to fuel the team as they covered every escape route that Marc and Isobel would possibly try. Ray lead the team as their DI had called in to say she would be a little late as she was picking up a few things for Gene. Shaz had smiled knowingly at Chris who, bless him, looked as bemused as ever; Ray on the other hand just huffed and took the role as acting DI very seriously… even more so since the bastard they were after had hurt their leader and idol.

Not that Ray would ever admit that he had been that affected by Gene's ordeal but truth be told it had reminded him of the car bomb that had shaken him up those few years ago. The post traumatic stress he had gone through and had only seen his Doctor about after constant pestering by DI Sam Tyler.

All airports and sea ports had all been put on high alert and Hover Speed had also been issued with descriptions of both Isobel and Marc with a warning that Mr Rousseaux was a very dangerous man who would potentially stop at nothing to get out of the country. Armed and Dangerous were the new key words for the day.

The doors swung open and the room fell silent at the sight of their DCI, propped up by Viv and Alex. Gene pulled away from Alex and strode to his office before slumping into his chair. Alex mouthed a silent thank you to Viv before following Gene into his office.

"Are you sure you should be here? The Doctors were pretty adamant that you required more time to heal Gene."

A gentle hubbub of voice began to ripple around the room as the shock of DCI Hunt's return wore off.

"I'll be fine Bolls. Nothin' a stiff drink an' a couple days with my feet up in front of the telly won't solve… but not till afta' we've caught that bastard Rousseaux. I wanna be the one leanin' over him as I 'andcuff 'im an' read 'im his rights."

Alex picked up the bottle of Whiskey and placed it out of reach of Gene.

"Find just ease up on this stuff whilst you are taking tablets at least please."

Gene just rolled his eyes muttering something under his breath; he huffed before barking orders at the rest of CID from his office.

"Well don't just bloody stand there gawpin' at me ya useless lot! Someone bloody well get me a drink whilst the rest of you lot tell me an' DI Drake 'ere what you've found out!"

There was a sense of mild panic as everyone scrabbled their paperwork together; Shaz on the other hand calmly walked into the office waited for Gene to down his double whiskey before speaking.

"Would you like a coffee Guv?"

"Ta."

"Can I get you anything ma'am?" Shaz smiled her bubbly and cheerful smile and Alex was pleased to have another calming presence in CID.

"Tea please… actually I'll come give you a hand." Alex had noticed Ray hovering in the doorway clearly wanting to speak to his DCI in private.

Marc had gotten cold feet after they had set off and decided to make a detour that lengthened their journey but gave them time to buy hair dye and clothing that he insisted would make them fit in with the holidaying types. Unknown to Isobel, Marc had gotten them new Belgian identities meaning she would have to speak French or very poor English and the passports only needed the photos to be attached. It was last minute changes like this that made Isobel wonder whether Marc had ever meant for her friends to come with them.

The occasional sign on the M2 flashed past identifying Rochester, Maidstone and the junction for the M20. Belle wondered what was had been the point of building a road that nobody seemed to use and had a large part of it missing. It was silly little things like this that she used to distract her mind from the thoughts that really wished to plague her. As much as Isobel wanted Alisa to tell the police where they were going Isobel also knew that the moment they were caught and Alisa revealed that she would be a marked woman.

Isobel glanced across at Marc blinking back the tears as she gripped the door hand of the car so tightly her fingers were white. She wanted to ask him why he had done this to her, made her go back to the way things had once been before. Isobel had believed him for so very long that he was a changed man… a better man but she had been blinded by stupid wretched love.

Marc reached and ran his fingers through Isobel's now short, black hair that he had forced her to have done.

"I love the new look on you Belle. You look so dark and sensual my beautiful girl. When we get to France ma Belle we can get married again and try for a family at last."

Isobel couldn't even force herself to smile; instead she continued to stare at the road ahead.

"What's the matter Belle?" Marc's smooth tones had become deeper and clipped; she could tell he was getting angry.

"I just never imagined us having to run away… again."

"Such is life and these things will happen."

"No. These things happen because of you Marc…" Her voice cracked and wavered as Isobel barely stopped herself from yelling at him. She stared at the road straight ahead steadying her breathing, "All the times I've cried to hide the pain away! I want my self respect back Marc."

There was silence in the car and for a moment Isobel honestly thought that Marc was about to lunge over and hit her but instead his hand lowered from playing with her hair to cover the hand that rested on her knee. He squeezed gently and smiled at Belle briefly before continuing to watch the road.

"Of course Belle, I understand. You'll get your sense of freedom my angel just let's sort this little problem out and then I promise you… everything will be different."