A/N: I don't own Ashes to Ashes... you know how it goes.

Yet again, many apologies for the delay since posting the last chapter. I'd intended to post earlier, but I've been away twice and was landed with an unexpected commission.

Gene and Alex come back into the story in this chapter, along with - well, read and find out.

Thanks so much to my four lovely reviewers, Katie Duggan's Niece, original-star-girl-78, LouBelle04, and Good Friday. Gals, you rock! If anyone feels like reviewing this chapter, please, please do - and I'll try not to delay so long before posting the next chapter!

Jason breezed into the station at nine on the dot. "Morning, Paul. Any updates?"

"Yes, Sir. The Guv was on the phone before I got in this morning. He and DI Drake are on their way back. Their tribunal wrapped last night, but it was too late for them to start back then. He expects to be here by one o' clock. I've told the team."

"Thanks." Probably sooner than one, given how the Guv drives. Jason didn't know whether to be glad or sorry. The Guv's return would give more authority to his investigation, but he guessed that the Guv would be displeased that someone else had been taking the initiative in his absence. He was not a man given to sharing his power.

"And Terry would like a word. He's in the office."

"Great. See you later."

Terry and Slate approached him as soon as he walked through the swing doors. "Boss. Jack and I decided to watch Sita's place last night instead of leaving it to night shift. At just gone three we saw what looked like a torch being shone upstairs an' went to investigate. She'd given me the keys."

"And?"

"Found a little piece of teenage shit in 'er bedroom, sprinkling petrol all over the place. Jack floored 'im before 'e could get a lighter out. We checked downstairs. He'd wrecked the cooker an' pulled some wires from the wall."

"Hoped to make the fire look like an electrical fault," Jason said grimly. "Bastard."

Terry looked uncomfortable. "That's not all, Boss."

"What else?"

"When Jack took 'er back last night to get some things, she left a pillow under the bedclothes, to make it look like she was there if anyone on the other side of the road looked in the window. We found he'd stuck a knife in the pillow. Big 'un. She'd 'ave been done for if she'd been there."

"And then he'd have set the place on fire to cover his tracks. Incineration's too good for him."

"Jack an' I got plod to secure the site, an' forensics are going over it now. We brought the scrote back 'ere an' interviewed him."

"What did you get, more "no comments"?" He waggled his fingers.

Terry's face broke into a grin. "Better'n that. His first mistake was to ask for a lawyer, an' e' said 'e wanted Earnshaw."

"Surprise, surprise."

"Name of Rory Penn. Nicks bikes an' old ladies' purses for a living. We put it to 'im that it was unusual for a small-time crim like 'im to have a high-powered lawyer like Earnshaw, an' we further put it to 'im that we already 'ad five of Earnshaw's clients in custody on serious charges. He cracked. He's right out of 'is depth in all this. He'd wanted to get a stage further in 'is criminal career, so 'e applied for a job at the Boiler Room yesterday, an' the owner gave 'im a choice. Sleep with 'im, or kill Sita an' torch 'er place. His wrong choice an' his bad luck we were there."

"And our good luck," Jason exulted. "Well done, boys. We can nail the bastard now and put a stop to this once and for all."

"Yeah, but go to 'im now, we can get 'im for being behind the attack on Sita's place, but we still 'aven't anything to link the rest of the crew to 'im," Terry said gloomily. "They work for 'im, but 'e can claim that they were acting without 'is knowledge. Earnshaw's the lawyer for all of 'em, but the court won't accept that as proof."

"You're right. I've been doing this from the wrong angle." He clapped Terry on the shoulder. "Give me the file, and you two go home and get some sleep. You've done a night shift on top of a day shift without being asked. I'll make sure you get paid for that." He cast his eye around the office. "Poirot. Job for you. We need some research on this nightclub-owning bastard. Find out if he's got any past form. Anything that can link him to the activities of the five we've got banged up. If there's any dirt, we want it dished. Can do?"

"Roger that, Boss." Poirot's glance travelled down the front of the file, and his eyes widened. "Bloody 'ell!"

"What's up?"

"If this is who I think it is, then we'll 'ave enough dirt on 'im to send 'im to Siberia till the year 2000. Your Dad told me about someone with this name once."

"Why?"

Poirot seemed guarded suddenly. "It's the Guv's story, too. I'll leave 'im to tell it. Wouldn't be fair on 'im if I told you. I was never part of it like 'e an' your Dad an' Chris were."

"WHAT?"

"Guv'll tell you. He's back at lunchtime, isn't 'e? I might be jumping to conclusions. Might not be the same bastard. Leave it to me, Boss. I'll do a Drake an' make the connections."

-oO0Oo-

The Guv blasted into CID at just after 1.00 with Alex in his wake.

"Right! An' 'ave you all been good little boys an' girl while we've been away?"

Jason boldly stepped forward. "We're investigating a protection racket in Soho, Guv. A nightclub owner's been extorting money and terrorising the district. He's hand in glove with Soho Square station. There was an attempted murder with arson last night. We've got a string of witness statements and charged his gang of five, but we're looking for connections to charge him too."

Gene's face was at its most boot-like. "Been a busy little bee, 'aven't you?"

"I hope you're pleased that we've taken the initiative, Guv?"

The entire room held its breath.

"Let's see what you've been up to, then."

They approached the whiteboard, which Jason had updated, and Jason took Gene and Alex through the case. Gene listened, firing out the odd question, until Jason had finished.

"... and Poirot's researching the owner. Hopefully we'll get something to link him to his merry men and to Soho Square."

There was a long silence.

"Hm. Not bad. Better than the last time I left you alone with the toy cupboard. Then I found you'd been fraternising with D an' C."

"Actually I did see DCI Morgan in Soho the night before last, but we only exchanged a few words," Jason said helpfully. "He said that D&C had received complaints of police corruption in Soho."

Gene's face was shuttered. "Anything else?"

"No, Guv. He offered to take me home, but I wasn't going the same way as he was."

Gene visibly relaxed. "Good. That witness bird OK?"

"Sita? Yes, Sandro and Teresina are looking after her. She's very upset, but she says that she'll still testify."

"Brave girl. Take it you 'aven't been to Soho Square yet?"

"No, Guv, I thought it best to make all the connections first. We haven't got any hard evidence yet that they're involved, only that they've been turning a blind eye and that nobody from the Boiler Room is ever charged. The five we've charged are still refusing to implicate their employer, and until we've got the evidence to nail him, we won't be able to establish a connection between him and Soho Square."

"Hm." Gene looked at the whiteboard. "Eighteen months ago. Just around the time Mac died. That left a power vacuum in Soho, and this Boiler Room outfit must 'ave stepped in." He turned to Alex. "We knew Mac 'ad connections with officers in other stations, but we were never able to prove anything."

"That's right." Alex remembered the statements for the bank accounts of Met officers who had hidden Mac's money. The rest of the team, except for Lisa, nodded wisely.

Jason felt left out of the conversation, just as he had when he had been talking with Poirot that morning. "Excuse me, Guv, who is Mac? Terry mentioned him yesterday."

"Was," Gene said shortly.

"Superintendent Mackintosh. A corrupt officer with whom we tangled the year before last," Alex explained quietly. "He was involved in the murder of a copper in Soho and the killing in prison of the copper who committed the murder for him, and who'd murdered a potential witness. We investigated both cases. The Guv and I worked to bring Mac to book, and he tried to frame me for corruption and get the Guv transferred to Devon. He committed suicide when he was faced with exposure."

Nobody was ever prosecuted under Operation Countryman, Jason suddenly remembered. "Oh. I see. Do we know if he was involved with any nightclub owners?"

"We do know that 'e was up to 'is knackers in corruption in Soho." Gene's face was shuttered again. "The Boiler Room's opened since Mac's time. If he was involved with Soho Square, it might explain why they're protecting the club now. Just who is this owner? His name's not on the board. Any form?"

Jason had removed the name after his talk with Poirot that morning. "Poirot's researching him - "

Right on cue, Poirot came bustling through the double doors. "I've made the connection, Boss! The owner of the Boiler Room is the same bastard as your Dad an' the Guv an' Chris knew in Manchester. Stephen Warren."

"Bloody 'ell!"

There was a sharp intake of breath from the assembled coppers, and Gene turned as white as a sheet. Poirot saw his Guv for the first time and seemed to fold himself into the smallest possible space.

"Oh. Er. Guv. Hadn't seen you there."

"Since when did I become invisible?" Gene snarled, and the luckless Poirot diminished still further. "No answer? Good. Drake. Collins. Poirot. My office. Now."

-oO0Oo-

With the four of them crowded into the office, Alex was quite reminded of old times, when Ray and Chris were called in on her discussions with Gene. Poor Poirot appeared to be taking Chris's habitual place as the butt of Gene's displeasure.

"Right. Poirot. What 'ave you got for us on that bent blight on humanity, that murdering, throat-slitting, blackmailing, cop-corrupting, fruit-picking, uphill-gardening, fudge-packing fairy queen called Stephen Warren?"

Jason, who had thought himself inured to the Guv's excesses, was appalled. Alex, he saw, looked shocked but resigned. "My God! Guv, that is disgusting!"

"Not half so disgusting as Warren," Gene growled. "Poirot. Report."

Poirot blushed. "Collins asked me to check out if we 'ad anything on the Stephen Warren who owns the Boiler Room, so I 'ad a word with the secretary of the Soho Residents' Association. Nice lady."

Gene glared. "Get to the point."

"She'd 'eard from some of 'er members that the Boiler Room was giving trouble an' that the cops didn't want to know. There's a private tec operating out of Wardour Street. He doesn't belong to the Association, but she went to 'im an' asked if he'd help. He looked Warren up for 'er in exchange for a donation from Association funds." He looked at the file. "Stephen Warren, born in Dublin 1930, knocked around there as a small-time criminal till he came to England in 1958. Worked as a bouncer, then as minder to Stan Rainbird in Manchester. Rainbird died in suspicious circumstances in 1965."

"How, suspicious?" Alex asked.

"He 'ad a heart condition an' was found dead in his flat," Gene said shortly. "Hadn't been taking his pills. Warren 'ad access to the flat before Rainbird died. Police suspected at the time that he might 'ave nicked the pills and put 'em back after Rainbird died. Nothing ever proved."

"A pity," Alex said thoughtfully."We probably wouldn't be able to prove anything after all this time."

Gene shrugged. "Rainbird was just as much of a blight as Warren. Top brass at GMP turned a blind eye an' 'oped Warren wouldn't be as bad. Their mistake. Go on, Poirot."

"Rainbird had no family. Warren took over 'is empire and, er, and 'is contacts with the police - "

"We know all about that!" Gene snapped.

" - and he renamed Rainbird's club The Warren. Found guilty of the murder of Joni Newton in 1973, jailed for fifteen years, released early on health grounds in April '82," Poirot gabbled.

"Health? The bastard's tougher than a British Rail steak sandwich!"

"Lawyer claimed he had a dodgy ticker."

"It might even be true, after nine years inside," Alex interjected.

"An' who was the lawyer who got 'im out?" Gene demanded of Poirot.

"Hugo Earnshaw, Guv."

Gene looked uncommonly satisfied. "The one who's been claiming the Boiler Room Boys are innocent little lads making their way in the world?"

"The same, Guv."

"Thought so. Warren must 'ave ditched the lawyer who couldn't stop 'im getting sent down for topping Joni. Go on."

"Earnshaw handled Warren's first unsuccessful appeal in '75 and since then he's looked after 'is business interests. Warren left Manchester after 'is release on 'is second appeal. Earnshaw 'ad handled that too. Earnshaw 'ad sold The Warren while 'e was inside an' converted all 'is assets to cash. Warren moved down 'ere an' opened the Boiler Room in July 1982."

"Where 'e's been staying ever since, on my doorstep, terrorising the people on my patch, an' corrupting the station next door," Gene spat, disgusted. "What about Earnshaw? Any word on 'im?"

"I'm still digging, Guv. Contacts I'm talking to so far are keeping tight-lipped. What I've got, is that he's stinking rich - swish cars, big country pile, hideaway in the Med, motor boat, you name it."

"Hm. Wouldn't 'ave got all that from being a brief."

"Might he have inherited at least some of it?" Jason suggested.

"Might have done," Poirot admitted. "Went to a public school. He doesn't seem to 'ave many clients, an' those 'e does have, are suspicious bastards. All big crime lords an' their hangers-on."

"Right. Poirot, well done. See what else you can find. Off you trot. Drake, Collins, a word."

Poirot gathered up the file and fled. Gene waited until the door was closed, and then turned to Jason.

"Collins. Before we go any further, there are things you should know. Drake knows already." He favoured Alex with a brief glance before turning his attention back to Jason. "Poirot mentioned Warren's "contacts with the police" in Manchester." He waggled his fingers. "I was one of 'em."

"Guv?" Jason's mind whirled.

Gene sat on the edge of his desk, still fixing Jason with his intense blue gaze. "When I started out as a copper, the system worked on give an' take. Checks an' balances. I'd taken my first backhander when I'd been in the Force a month, back in '53. It was a way of life. I took bungs from Warren, like we all did. Including your dad, in case you're wondering. We turned a blind eye to 'is little games, he kept the lid on the crap in his manor. "

"My God." Jason sank into a chair.

Gene looked at the ground. "Not the thing I'm proudest of in my career. It all changed when Tyler joined the team. He made it clear straight off that he wouldn't 'ave any deals with Warren. The bastard got one of 'is girls to set 'im up, an' when she didn't follow through, 'e killed 'er. Sam an' I got one of 'is men to testify against 'im. Warren was sent down. I've never taken a bung since, an' nor did your Dad. Wanted you to know 'ow things were with Warren an' me, before we pay 'im a little visit."

Jason was shocked, but a few moments' reflection reminded him of what he had learned in the real world, about the police in the North at that time. He had read the Red Riding quartet. It made him feel to sick to think that the Guv, and even more that his father, had been a part of that corrupt world. But he appreciated the courage that it had taken for the Guv to make such an admission. He knew that if he were to say so, the Guv would take his head off. He saw the sorrow, love and understanding in Alex's eyes.

"Thanks for telling me, Guv. But won't that make it difficult for you if you arrest Warren now? He could try to blackmail us. If he testifies at his trial that he used to bribe you, it could end your career."

"No, it won't." Gene's face was granite-like. "It all came out at 'is trial for Joni's murder in '73. Thing is, 'is arrangements with the police 'adn't stopped with me. Went right up to the Chief Super an' the Deputy Commissioner, just like Rainbird before 'im. They were desperate to keep their arses clean, so I was ordered to say I'd been taking 'is bungs to keep 'im sweet while I worked undercover to get evidence against 'im. Got me out of the shit when I didn't deserve it."

"He could still try to bring you down now, by claiming at his trial that you were corrupt back in 1973," Alex said anxiously.

"Risk we've got to take. I'm not letting 'im get away with trying to turn Sita into a crispy chapati. Besides, the trial'll focus on the rot at Soho Square. I'd be old news. Bent copper unbent, moi. They'll know me now as the man who took down Supermac, busted Operation Rose, an' opened the can of worms at Fenchurch West."

"Before we start planning the trial, Guv, can I point out that we still don't have any hard evidence involving Warren or Soho Square?" Jason said cautiously.

"Evidence?"

"Yes. You know, the stuff that we use to persuade the courts to send our suspects down." Alex's voice brimmed with sarcasm.

"Oh, E-Vi-Dence!" Gene slapped his forehead in a theatrical manner. "Why didn't you say so? Haven't any of Warren's little birdies in our cage sung yet?"

"No, and it doesn't look like they're going to," Jason said despondently. "They all know their only chance is to keep their traps shut."

"We'll loosen 'em, then." Gene spoke with decision.

"Guv!" Alex exploded. "If you beat anyone up, it'll get back to Earnshaw, and then bang goes our chance of making a case against them!"

Gene looked smug. "Who said anything about beating 'em up? Won't lay a finger on 'em, Bolls, except to cuff 'em an' put 'em in the car."

"You're taking them out of the station?" She radiated mistrust.

"Just for a spot of questioning at a remote location."

"Will it involve a crane?"

"Perish the thought, Bolly."

"Or a cold store?" Her voice was heavy with suspicion. Behind Gene, she could see Jason bewilderedly mouthing, "Cold store?"

"Or a cold store. Trust the Genie."

"Right!" she said brightly. "Where are we going, then?"

"You are staying right 'ere. First thing, you apply for a search warrant for the Boiler Room an' Warren's offices an' living quarters. If the setup's like The Warren in Manchester, he'll be living above the shop."

"Do you mean your usual search warrant?" Alex said drily. "Because if you do, the crowbar's in your bottom desk drawer."

Behind Gene, she saw Jason's jaw drop.

"Did I say a crowbar? I said a search warrant. Bit of paper with a judge's autograph that lets us into Warren's burrow."

"The crowbar'll do that, but it doesn't have the judge's name on it," Alex muttered, not quietly enough.

"An' get the team to do some digging on Earnshaw and on the Soho Square brigade."

"Roger that, Daddy Bear. But why am I not coming with you?"

"Collins is with me. It's 'is case. Off you wiggle."

"Because it "could get messy?" " She waggled her fingers.

"No, Bolly. It'll get clean. Very clean. Mush."

Her glare before she swept out of the office spoke volumes.

"Er, Guv, what was all that about?" Jason ventured cautiously after the door had closed behind her.

"Drake disagrees with my methods of interrogation, as well you know. Great arse, cracking tits, but she's a bird, an' birds spoil our fun. Now. Get Lonsdale booked out, cuff 'im, an' meet me in the car park behind the station in half an hour. Got a mac?"

"Guv?"

"Mac? Anything waterproof?"

"No, I'm afraid I haven't."

"Get one out of Lost an' Found."

"But the weather forecast this morning said that today will be fine and sunny - "

"You 'eard me. Get yourself a mac out of Lost an' Found, an' get Paul to look out the two biggest umbrellas he's got there."

"Umbrellas, Guv?"

"You 'eard. See you in half an hour."

Jason wandered out of the room, mystified. Gene picked up his telephone and dialled a number.

"Trev. Gene Hunt 'ere. How's the second-hand car business treating you, mate? Listen, I want to borrow one of your motors for the afternoon. Got a convertible? Fine. Fine. I'll be along to collect it in ten minutes."

-oO0Oo-

Half an hour later, Jason looked out of the back door to see Gene awaiting him, not in the Quattro, but in a sporty pale blue Datsun convertible with a soft black plastic roof. It looked as though it had not been cleaned for a very long time. To his astonishment, Gene was wearing a massive mackintosh and sou'wester.

"Good Lord, Guv, you aren't ditching the Quattro for this?"

"Perish the thought an' him who uttered it. No, I've borrowed this off a mate for the afternoon. Where's our little extortion merchant then?"

"Paul's bringing him up from the cells."

"Right. When he's brought out, put 'im in the back an' cuff 'im to the back of the passenger seat headrest."

"Roger that. But why the fancy dress, Guv?"

"With what we're going to do, this will be strictly functional." He eyed Jason's modest mackintosh. "Yours'll do. Got the brollies?"

Jason produced them. "Paul says they're the two biggest in Lost and Found."

"Ta." Gene helped himself to the biggest, just as Paul brought Lonsdale out, cuffed and sullen.

"But where are we going in this car, and dressed like this on a sunny day?"

"We're off to see a bloke I know who owes me a favour."

TBC