Flying Under Radar
Disclaimer: Not mine, dammit! And beware of the lesbians! ;o)
Lyrics to 'The Answer' property of whoever owns them, not me.
Apologies if Xian-Tau means anything it shouldn't, like if I just insulted anyone's grandmother/ questioned parentage, that sort of thing. I just made it up, so it probably (hopefully) doesn't mean anything at all.
CHAPTER FOUR
Arm in arm, Sam and Jo walked into the club. Spotting a table, Sam steered Jo towards it, so they could get their bearings and casually observe the rest of the people in the club, most of whom seemed to be on the dancefloor. Scanning the crowd, Sam unhitched the cameraphone from her belt, leaning forward to whisper to Jo,
"Behind you, George Walker, IC1 white shirt, navy cargos, and believed to be armed."
Laughing as though Sam had just told her a joke, Jo grinned at the camera.
"Cheese!"
Joining in the laughter, Sam handed Jo the phone, to see for herself the first target of the evening. Realising she was blocking Sam's view of Walker, Jo asked Sam what she wanted to drink, and went to the bar to fetch two diet cokes. When she returned, she found that by pretending to be typing a text message, Sam had taken pictures of Walker dealing, and spotted two other dealers, Jerome Collins, IC3 tan jacket, green t-shirt and jeans, and Xian-Tau Roku, IC5 lilac blouse, navy skirt and nose stud. Scooting along the bench thing until she was sitting next to Sam, Jo watched as Sam scrolled through the photos. Just as Sam pressed 'next' to view the last photo, Jo remembered that they were supposed to be a couple, and put her arm around Sam's shoulders, making her jump, pressing the next button on the phone again. Peering at the screen, Jo couldn't work out what the blurred red blob was.
"Wha's that?" she asked, her pitch increasing with curiosity. Blushing furiously, Sam snapped the phone shut and put it on the seat next to her, on the opposite side from Jo.
"Nothin' " Sam lied, as casually as possible, shivering slightly as Jo began tracing delicate patterns on her bare shoulder with her fingertips. Leaning in close, Jo whispered,
"You know you can tell me anything, don't you Babybear..."
Jo leant in towards Sam, their faces barely inces apart. Feeling her heart beat quicken, Sam was confused when Jo flirtingly raised an eyebrow and simply backed away again. All became clear, however, when Jo's face split into a massive grin, as she waved the cameraphone at Sam. She had sneakily retrieved it when 'flirting' with Sam, reaching across Sam whilst she was distracted. Flipping it open, she hastily scrolled through the pictures, easily fending off Sam's half-hearted attempts at snatching the phone back as she did so. Finding the picture in question, Jo squinted at it but still couldn't work out what it was. Sam decided to resort to threats, if she was ever to get the camera back before Jo worked out what the picture was of.
"Jo..." she growled warningly, "If you don't give that camera back, I'll be forced to tickle you..."
"Won't work" Jo pouted childishly, "I'm not ticklish"
"You're bluffing" teased Sam, relieved that Jo's attention was diverted from the camera.
"No I'm not" Jo retorted, but the smile that crept across her face belied her words.
"Last chance!" Sam warned, flexing her fingers threateningly.
"Only if you tell me what that is" Jo bargained, waving the phone at Sam.
"Your arse!" Sam conceeded, causing Jo to loosen her grip on the phone in shock. Snatching back the damned camera, Sam carefully clipped it to her belt loop, all the while not looking at Jo.
"You're joking...right?" Jo asked uncertainly.
"Yeah, sure" muttered Sam as convincingly as she could, still not looking Jo in the eye.
Just as she was about to explain, or try and formulate a plausible excuse, a flash of light caught Sam's eye. Scanning the opposite side of the room, Sam's eyes widened as she saw Ruby Jaimeson, the fourth and final dealer on their list, threatening a weedy looking guy, who couldn't have been more than 19. As she reached for the camera, however, her view of Ruby was blocked by some people on the dance floor, and when they had moved out of the way, neither Ruby nor the man were anywhere to be seen.
Conveying this to Jo as they sat sipping their drinks, Sam couldn't help but wonder what she had got them both into.
Sitting watching couples slow dance to Perfect Moment by Martine McCutcheon, Jo was reminded of the night before, when she and Sam had danced in Sam's bedroom, underneath a ceiling of stars. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the song finish. 'The Answer' by Britney Spears began playing, and having spied George Walker in the crowd of people mingling on the dancefloor, Sam grabbed Jo's hand and tugged her to her feet.
"C'mon Jo, let's dance!"
Joining Sam on the crowded dancefloor, Jo scanned the crowd for a few seconds, before dancing up close to Sam.
"Walker, right?"
"Yep, I think he was with Collins, but I'm not sure."
Stroking a strand of hair from Jo's face, Sam voiced her concerns.
"There's the four we've seen, plus the boss and his 'friend', that makes six. We're dangerously close to being outnumbered."
Wrapping her arms around Sam's waist, Jo suggested they react.
"Let's have Mickey reduce the odds in our favour then, who do you suggest we eliminate?"
Aware that if the full list of dealers were present, the tables could easily turn against them, Jo and Sam had developed a plan to even things up. Running a PNC check on the known dealers had turned up their registered vehicles. Walker and Collins had cars registered, and Jaimeson had a motorcycle registered in her name. Knowing that the doormen were associates of the dealers, the plan was to see if any of the dealer's vehicles were parked in view of the doormen. If so, Mickey would arrange for a tow truck to arrive and proceed to remove the vehicle, on suspicion of it containing drugs. When the doormen told the vehicle's owner, they would be asked to accompany the vehicle to the station, where they would be searched, and hopefully arrested for possession of drugs, a lethal weapon, or even both.
"Depends if their vehicles are in view or not. I'll text Mickey."
Mickey, r ne vehicles present & in sight? All 4 r here.
Walker and Collins had disappeared again, so Sam and Jo danced together, occasionally glancing around the dancefloor, trying not to act too suspiciously. Looking at all the couples dancing together, Sam sighed. It was hard trying not to feel lonely on couples night, even with the lovely DC Masters there to distract her, and she was doing a fair job of that. Watching Jo dance, Sam grinned, and made another sweep of the club, surreptitiously glancing over Jo's shoulder. On the other side of the club, two women were passionately kissing, one of them looking awfully familiar. The crowd shifted, and Sam was able to get a better view. The curly hair was what had sparked the memory, and now Sam was certain. It was Tess! Thinking quickly, Sam knew she had to get Tess out of the club before Jo saw her. She would have to find out some time, but not tonight, it would jeopardise the operation, and if Jo wasn't concentrating properly, it could even put them in danger. Checking her phone, Sam looked up at Jo.
"Jo, Mickey still hasn't replied, and I need to ring Jack, check up on that greek horse."
"You what?" Jo frowned, before it dawned on her. Sam was referring to the Trojan unit that was supposed to be on standby in case the dealers were armed with more than knives. Giving Sam her phone, Jo held her hand out for Sam's phone. They had already agreed that they would be in mobile contact at all times, so Jo needed a phone.
"I'll wait at the table, see if Mickey replies," Jo said, threading her way through the other dancers towards their table. Nodding, Sam made her way towards the entrance, out of sight of Jo. Opening the message editor, Sam hastily typed a message.
Tess, it's Sam. Jo & I are undercover at Radar.She hasn't seen u yet, get out while u can, b4 Jo sees u or it hits the fan, whichever comes 1st.Im not gonna tell her, thts up 2 u.Dont reply 2 this msg, I'm giving Jo her phone back.
Remembering to delete it from sent messages, Sam was pleased with her cunning ploy for about two seconds, before she realised that sooner or later, Tess was going to break Jo's heart. Resolving to be there for Jo when this happened, a subdued Sam returned to their table.
Greeting her with a peck on the cheek and an arm around her shoulders, Jo was surprised to see Sam looking so subdued.
"You alright babe?"
Cheering up slightly at being called 'babe' Sam nodded.
"Fine, just a little tired. The horse is fine, by the way, and Jack says hi."
"Great, Mickey texted back, and Walker is the only one in place, so I gave him the go-ahead."
"Cool, should be good." Yawning, Sam rested her head on Jo's shoulder.
Smiling at Sam's antics, Jo hugged her close and planted a kiss on the top of her head. They were supposed to be a couple, after all.
The Answer
Yeah, I've been waiting for you,
So patiently...and now you're here.
You're my answer...thank you,
Yeah... I think you're my answer
Here I go.
You're the answer,
All this time I tried to find you,
I've been yearning,
I've been yearning inside
You're the answer to the question that's been burning,
I've been burning inside
When they ask me who I love,
You're the answer you're my answer
You're my answer.
Patiently I waited for this day to finally come,
Knowing some way somehow I would find that special one,
Someone perfect, someone true, someone that I knew, was you.
I knew it was you
Who could hold me tight, keep me warm, through the night,
Who could wipe my tears, when it's wrong, make it right,
Who could give me love, 'til I'm satisfied,
Who's the one I need in my life.
You're the answer,
All this time I tried to find you,
I've been yearning,
I've been yearning
You're the answer to the question that's been burning,
I've been burning inside
When they ask me who I love,
You're the answer you're the answer baby
You're my answer.
I can hardly speak because I'm underneath your spell,
Savour every moment that I have you to myself,
Put my lovin' to the test,
Cos baby this is destiny,
Yeah, this is destiny
You could hold me tight, keep me warm, through the night,
Who could wipe my tears, when it's wrong, make it right,
You could give me love, 'til I'm satisfied,
You're the one I need in my life.
You're the answer,
All this time I tried to find you,
I've been yearning,
Yeah I've been yearning
You're the answer to the question that's been burning,
I've been burning inside
When they ask me who I love, when they ask me
You're the answer you're my answer
You're my answer you're my answer
You're the answer,
All this time I tried to find you,
I've been yearning,
I've been yearning for you
You're the answer to the question that's been burning,
Burning, burning
When they ask me who I love,
You're the answer you're my answer
You're my answer.
Who could hold me tight, keep me warm, through the night, who can hold me
Who could wipe my tears, when it's wrong, make it right, wipe my tears away
Who could give me love, 'til I'm satisfied, who can give me love
Who's the one I need in my life.
You're the answer, you're the answer
All this time I tried to find you,
I've been yearning,
I've been yearning
You're the answer to the question that's been burning,
I've been burning
When they ask me who I love,
You're the answer the answer baby
You're my answer.
You're the answer.
You're my answer, yeah, you're my answer.