Flying Under Radar
Disclaimer: Still don't own many of the characters, and am getting very depressed about it. :(
Quite a long (ish) chapter this time, to make up for the time between now and my next update. I have imminent A level modules, and really should be revising. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, this is for you. And be warned, my muse is rapidly developing a cheeky side :D
CHAPTER TWO
Realising that there is no way the operation would be anywhere near as effective without Jo as it would with it; Sam is faced with her only choice. Deciding that if she can't keep Jo out of the op, Sam is determined to keep the entire business as short as possible, to try and keep the friction caused between Jo and Tess to a minimum. Realising the extensive planning this will take, Sam settles herself for a late night at the office.
Having just finished writing up her report from the visit to Elena, Jo is heading out of the office when she notices that Sam has well and truly settled herself for the night, with piles of papers scattered across her desk, a nearby chair and even a few on the floor. Catching Sam's eye, she smiles and mouths "G'Night" before leaving to meet Tess for a drink. Putting down the phone, Sam scribbles something on one of the many forms in front of her, before trawling through the other piles of paperwork to find the forms she needs to complete. Finally setting her pen down sometime around midnight, Sam yawns, before shrugging off the tiredness that is clouding her mind. Reading through her plan of action once more, Sam realises she may need some help to fully implement certain areas of it. Resolving to ask Jo for her help, Sam grabs her coat and makes her way home, details of the operation swimming in her tired mind.
The next day, a harried looking Sam strode into CID just as Jo sat down at her desk. Having spent the early part of her morning ensuring the safety of Elena and Jessie, on top of 'The Night of Paperwork' as she had tiredly named it, Sam was already craving a caffeine hit. Seeing this, Jo handed Sam her freshly poured cup of coffee, and retrieved a second for herself.
"Late night Sarge? You looked pretty settled when I left last night, how late did you work?"
"Oh, not long," Sam brushed it off, "By the way," she lowered her voice "you met Tess for a drink didn't you, how're things going with you two?"
Shaking her head, Jo seemed to have resigned herself to the inevitable." Superficially, we seem ok, but when I'm with her, it feels like she's barely there. I guess I'm just gonna have to let her go."
Wincing sympathetically, Sam felt relieved; it didn't sound like anything she, or indeed anyone did, would have much of an effect on the state of Tess and Jo's relationship.
Bringing Jo up to speed, Sam informed her that there was now an officer posted outside ICU at St. Hughes, and Jessie had been moved to a secure rehab unit. It wasn't ideal, but at least they could be sure of her safety until the dealers were caught.
"God Sam, do you just not sleep?" Jo asked. "It must have taken ages to sort all that out, and plan this drugs op as well!"
Smiling tiredly Sam agreed. "I'm really pushing it at the moment; all I want to do is crawl into bed. Once I've briefed you, I'm just going to go home and crash, it's my day off today, anyway."
"Okay then, get briefing! I wouldn't want to keep you from your duvet" Jo joked.
"Alright, shall we use the incident room; it'll be quieter in there, easier to talk."
In the incident room. Jo sits at a desk, and Sam perches on the desk.
"Now you told me earlier that you were willing to go undercover to try and catch these guys in the act, get some concrete evidence to secure a prosecution. Are you still up for that?"
"Course" Jo affirmed.
"And there's no one at Radar, or that you might meet at Radar that knows you're a copper?"
"Nope."
"Right, good. Was kind of counting on that... Anyway, um, there are too many dealers and henchmen and stuff for one officer, so I'm going undercover as well. I thought it would be better if another woman went along, so there could be a reason to be seen together more than once. Is that okay with you?"
"I'm fine with it Sarge, but are you? You're gonna have to work really hard to fit in, and you'll attract a lot of attention whatever you do. I mean, from an objective point of view and all that, well...you're gorgeous. You'll be beating them off with a stick, and that's hardly the way to run a successful undercover op."
"Hey, if I can keep Phil Hunter at bay, dealing with a bunch of horny lesbians will be like a walk in the park!" Sam joked. "Anyway, the idea is pretty basic. We go 'clubbing' and find out who seems to be dealing, who's in charge, if there's a base of operations anywhere in the club, and once we've found out as much as we can, we call in the cavalry and arrest the lot of them. Mickey will be watching the doormen, who are letting armed dealers into the club. I've arranged for uniformed back-up to be waiting around the corner, for when we have to make arrests, or if it turns nasty. Anything I've missed?"
"Not exactly missed, Sam, but why so rushed? Wouldn't it be safer to establish ourselves as regulars, find out bit by bit who's up to what, where the drugs seem to be coming from, what weapons are being carried, that sort of thing?"
"Well yeah, I did have to rush it, but the truth is, I couldn't do this op without you Jo."
"So what's the big rush? I'm not going anywhere Sam."
"I know, but...well...It's.." Sam stammered, blushing deeply.
"C'mon Sam, what's going on?"
Unable to lie to Jo, Sam had to tell her, but needed to find a way to avoid hurting her feelings, especially her pride.
"I just didn't want to get you tied up in this case, working undercover every evening, with no time left for yourself, y'know, to spend with Tess. I couldn't bear it if I put you on this case, and your relationship fell apart because of me. You said it yourself, Tess is your world. I can't take that away from you."
Heartened by Sam's concern for her feelings, Jo attempted to assuage Sam's guilt at involving her in the investigation.
"It's okay Sam, honestly. There's nothing anyone can do, I don't think Tess and I can be helped anymore. Sometimes love just isn't enough, y'know." She turned to Sam, her eye's brimming with tears.
"But thank you for being so considerate, I truly appreciate it."
Roughly dashing the tears away, Jo recovered, and brought the focus back to the briefing.
"Right, so...you, me, armed drug dealers and a club full of women. Sounds like an interesting night out." she joked.
Checking her watch, Sam saw that Jo had about an hour until the end of her shift. Yawning, Sam finally accepted that if she was to be of any use tomorrow, she just had to go home and sleep. But she still hadn't asked Jo. Oh well, now or never...
"Um, Jo, I was wondering if you could help me out. See, I've never been to a gay club before, so I don't know the social protocol and stuff. I mean, what do I wear, how do I behave, that sort of thing."
"Sure Sam, I can help you, but my shift doesn't finish for another hour, and I need to write up the case report for the mugging I handled yesterday, while you and Phil were at St. Hughes. And you look dead on your feet; you really need to get to bed."
Sam's protest was cut off by a yawn, so she gave in, and decided to go home.
"Tell you what, why don't I go home and sleep while you write up those case notes, then you could come round after your shift, I mean, if you want."
"Yep, sure, it'll be easier to help you pick out an outfit as well. Okay then, see you later, around 3 ish, give you time to have a proper kip."
Glad of the coffee, which had just about kept her awake enough to drive home, Sam tidied her house briefly, before changing into her favourite winter pyjamas and collapsing into bed. Time flies when you're unconscious, and what seemed like minutes after she lay down to sleep, Sam was woken by the doorbell. Not wanting to leave Jo waiting outside in the cold, Sam answered the door. With sleep tousled hair, her face totally devoid of make-up, and sporting the cutest pair of pyjamas Jo had ever seen, Sam looked like a little girl, and Jo had to fight the temptation to start reciting 'Wakey wakey sleepy head' which was her 3 year old nieces current favourite.
"Sorry Jo, I guess I was more tired than I thought. Do come in and make yourself at home and stuff, this is the lounge, kitchen's through there, there's drinks in the fridge and glasses in the cupboard next to the fridge, if you want anything. I'm just going to get dressed, I'll be down in a minute."
And with that, DS Samantha Nixon trundled off upstairs, in her fluffy blue pyjamas with teddies on, yawning as she went.
True to her word, Sam reappeared after a minute or two, now wearing jeans and a jumper, looking considerably more awake than she had when she first answered the door.
Finding Jo in the lounge with a glass of juice, and a steaming cup of coffee waiting for her, Sam flopped down at the other end of the sofa, before picking up her cup of coffee and taking a sip.
"Thanks for this Jo, you must have read my mind."
"S'alright," Jo said. "So, what do you want to know about first?"
"I don't know. Um, what's the general relationship between men and women in Radar?"
"I don't know about Radar, but at most gay clubs, they get along pretty well, just ignoring each other really. There's always a few fag hags to be aware of though." Seeing Sam's frown, Jo elaborated. "Some gay men have straight female friends that really enjoy the gay scene, so hang out at gay clubs with them. Sometimes you get straight blokes coming in for 'free entertainment' or so they reckon, but the door staff are usually pretty good at keeping them out."
" 'kay, that's pretty simple, ignore men, and women who hang around men." Sam summarised. "What's the attitude towards drugs, cos I'm sure I heard from somewhere that on the gay scene, getting stoned is the new drunk..."
"They seem to be a little more relaxed about drugs, especially 'softer' stuff like weed, but as far as I remember, Radar is pretty hot on kicking people out if they get stoned in the club. Doesn't mean to say that things haven't changed though, with the introduction of this Giovanni guy."
"Right, okay, um... general etiquette?"
"Pretty much the same as in any other club, but beware, jealous lesbians can get pretty nasty!" Jo smiled wryly.
"Even flirting?"
"Depends...some women are pretty similar to men, flash them a bit of flesh and they're yours, others prefer to find out your life story before they'll agree to anything...Depends what you're after, a quick shag or lifetime commitment."
At this, Jo grew distant, remembering how Tess had broken her heart, turning Jo down when she got down on one knee, leaving her alone in the restaurant at the focus of the disapproving stares of all the other patrons. Snapping out of it, Jo realised her last comment had had a strange effect on Sam. The look on her face was a mixture of shock, confusion, amusement, worry, and oddly enough, lust.
Focusing on the worried aspect, Jo gave Sam a get-out-of-jail free card.
"Tell you what, if anyone really bothers you tomorrow, text me, and I'll come and play the overprotective girlfriend, y'know, to get rid of anyone pestering you."
"That's...thoughtful, Jo. Thanks. That brings up another issue, though. How do we communicate apart from text messages?"
"Well, we could meet up a couple of times, on the pretext of flirting or something, but that's still pretty limited." Jo suggested.
"Yeah, good idea." Making to stand Sam added, "I'll have a think on that, but you still need to help me pick out what to wear. I don't go 'normal' clubbing anymore, let alone visiting gar bars." Following Sam upstairs, Jo had already guessed what Sam's bedroom would be like: elegantly furnished, with everything kept in its proper place, no mess anywhere. Walking into the room, she had to fight to keep her surprise from showing on her face. The room was divine! The windows were surrounded by long flowing white curtains, matching the drapes over her four-poster bed. The bare floorboards and pale blue walls made Jo feel like she had stepped into a holiday home in California. Realising she was gawping, Jo checked herself, before noticing that Sam had, in fact, disappeared. Turning slowly on the spot, Jo saw a second door, leading into a large walk-in closet. Ever the comedienne, Jo saw the opportunity for a joke, and took it.
"Where are you Sam?" she called, already having to stifle a giggle.
"I'm in the closet!" Sam called back, before reappearing, blushing like mad. "Ha ha, very funny, now are you going to help me pick out an outfit or not?"
Joining Sam in the closet, and boy did she have to work hard not to laugh out loud at that thought, Jo began scanning the racks of clothes.
"So what style d'you wanna go for Sam?" Jo asked. Looking up from her search amongst her jean collection, Sam was undecided.
"What kind of style should I go for?"
"Um, well, I dunno. Hmm...can I ask you a personal question?"
"By all means. Whether I'll answer or not is a different matter." Sam replied lightly.
"Okaaay, do you have any tattoos?" asked Jo, not really expecting the prim and proper DS to have anything of the sort.
"I do actually, I've got a baby koala bear at the nape of my neck, from when I travelled around Australia as a student." Taking off her jumper to reveal a whitevest , Sam turned around so Jo could see the tattoo.
Gently sweeping Sam's hair over one shoulder, Jo examined the imprint of the cuddly little baby bear on Sam's skin. Sam shivered as Jo's cool fingers played across the base of her neck, brushing her hair aside. Suddenly noticing she was noticing the smell of Sam's hair, Jo practically jumped backwards.
"Right, so... You'd fit in well if you wore something that showed that off, quite a lot of lesbians seem to have tattoos, in my experience...and no I don't" Jo added, at a curious glance from Sam. Picking out a matt black halter neck top, Sam waved it in Jo's direction.
"What do you think about this? I haven't worn it for years, don't even know if it still fits!"
"If it fits, I think it'll look fantastic" agreed Jo, eyeing the garment approvingly. Without a second thought, Sam began to take off hervest. Swiftly turning her back, Jo averted her eyes, already feeling the hot flush upon her cheeks. Smirking to herself, Sam changed into the halter neck, which was in fact part of a swim suit, so had a built-in underwiring bra type thing, so Sam removed her bra and put it on top of her neatly folded vest, which was on the shelf next to her previously discarded jumper. Tapping Jo on the shoulder, she whispered,
"You can turn round now." Feeling sheepish, Jo turned around, and was astonished at the simple transformation that seemed to have taken place. Sam had tied her hair up in a high ponytail, with loose strands of hair framing her face. Pirouetting on the spot, the koala momentarily reappeared, as Jo took in Sam's appearance.
"Wow, you look really good, that top goes well with jeans. I reckon you could pull off smart-casual really well. Especially with your hair up like that, shows off little baby bear there."
"Great, that wasn't as tricky as I thought. Tell me, apart from scarves..." Jo smiled. "Do lesbians know how to accessorise?"
"Depends what you have in mind. Keep it simple and casual, and you'll fit in fine. Although don't be surprised if you get asked for your number, cos that outfit really does look good."
Shivering again, Sam grabbed her jumper, accidentally knocking hervest and bra to the floor. Sam didn't notice, as she had her head stuck halfway in her jumper by this point. Stooping to pick up the top, Jo froze when she saw the bra tangled with the top. Rapidly bundling it back on the shelf, Jo tried oh so hard to avoid noticing the silky soft material of Sam's lingerie, honestly she did, but the delicate lace edging definitely caught her attention. Finally having managed to free her ponytail from the grasp of the jumper, Sam saw the bundle on the shelf and realised what she had done. Realising Jo had seen her look, she couldn't exactly ignore the blush creeping its way up Jo's neck. Feigning nonchalance, Sam muttered her thanks. Stepping out of the closet, Jo realised it had gotten dark while they had been choosing Sam's outfit. Flipping the nearest light switch, Jo was astonished to see the ceiling light up with the sparkle of thousands of fairy lights. Turning slowly as she stared at the ceiling, Jo was entranced by the delicate little lights.
Following Jo out of the closet, Sam was about to turn on the main light, when she saw Jo gazing at the ceiling. As she turned on the spot, the light bulb inside Sam's head came on instead.
"Hey, you've just given me an idea" Sam exclaimed.
"We're in a gay club, yes?"
"Ye-es" Jo agreed cautiously.
"And there's music?"
"Yep" said Jo with a little more conviction.
"So won't there be dancing?"
"Of course" said Jo, still not sure where this was going, but slightly afraid of where she thought it might be going. Surely not...
"So if we choose a slow song to dance to, we can talk, and it'll just look like we're whispering sweet nothings to each other."
Feeling her heart leap into her mouth, Jo found her worst fears and wildest dreams come true all at the same time. She hadn't felt this confused since her physics teacher had tried to explain the electronics topic to her, way back when she took her GCSEs. Her confusion must have shown on her face, as Sam decided to demonstrate, grabbing Jo's right hand in her left, and resting her right hand lightly on Jo's hip. Leading them in small circles, Sam leant forwards, and whispered in Jo's ear.
"Look over my shoulder, there's a mirror fronted cupboard, we just look like a couple dancing."
More than a cupboard, there was in fact a floor to ceiling mirror covering a shelving unit. Watching the couple dancing in the dim light of the fairy lights, Jo was amazed by how well they seemed to fit each other. For some bizarre reason it took a while to hit her that it was actually her and Sam reflected in the mirror. Pulling back, Jo started to move away, but was halted by the look in Sam's eyes.
Sam tightened her hold, wrapping her right arm around Jo's waist. Encouraged by Jo's lack of movement, Sam leant in closer...