Hey! Sorry for the delay in this chapter! Thank you to Rixxispooks, talkingtothesky, Iaveina and losttimelady for reviewing chapter 6! This instalment is a lot longer so I hope you all enjoy it!
Stomping over stones and various pieces of rubbish, Sam Tyler grimaced, realising that his concerns were well justified. Not over reactive or silly; they were very real. He expected his DCI to take his complaints seriously, as the second in command, and to appreciate his words of wisdom.
And - even if Gene was in his usual grumpy, 'shut up you ponce, Tyler' type mood - he was going to fight tooth and nail with him. As per bloody usual.
Beginning to feel a real sense of indignation, Sam began to walk faster, feeling his nostrils flair, his breathing deepen as he made his way to the monstrosity of a building, the grey concrete adding to his notion of annoyed misery.
He snarled in the Gov's general direction, thinking of him already sat there in his office, sprawled out, drinking Whisky as if it was going out of style and puffing on so many fags, anyone would have thought his name was Stephen Warren!
Plodding up the stairs, his eyes narrow, poisonous, his mind pacing at a thousand miles a second, he slammed open the doors, the sound of glass rattling against the flimsy wooden frames only helping to make his mind more unsettled, making his hands more shaky; he desperately wanted to throttle the Gov right now. Sure, Gene was about four or five inches taller than him, much stockier (or lardy as Sam usually put it) and with more brute, force and ignorance than Man United and City fans put together, it was also clear that his DI could pack one hell of a punch when he put his mind to it.
Not usually agreeing with such notions, he couldn't help but think that desperate times called for desperate measures.
Seeing the still figure of his Governor, sat comfortably in his recliner, already nursing a tumbler of Whisky (as predicted) and a cigarette in his other hand (also as predicted), Sam seethed even more. He didn't even look like he even cared about young Casey coming into his place of work. He didn't even seem to mind that she'd bare witness to the type of man her Father really was; a loud mouth, cursing thug with a terrible attitude problem and a horrendous alcohol problem.
The door swung abruptly open, crashing into the plastic glass windows. Gene, flinching only slightly, sat still with his legs cross on the desk, his off white loafers tarnishing some of the formerly crisp papers underneath.
"Morning Gladys, never 'eard of knocking?"
His sarcasm did nothing for Sam other than piss him off even more. His lips twisted, his nose turned upwards. "Shut up!"
Gene wasn't even taken aback by DI Tyler's aggressiveness. He removed his legs from the table, taking another drink of Whisky. "It wouldn't 'ave killed ya to say a nice 'ello would it?"
Sam snorted. "Ok, hello - Daddy."
Gene took in a sharp breath, slamming his tumbler down. "Ok, Tyler, what's crawled up your arse and bitten your jacksey?"
"You!" he spat, pointing nastily. Gene stood up; he wanted to be in the best position to knock the little fucker out. "Do you have any idea what kind of danger you're putting your daughter in by letting her gallivant around with us?!"
Gene sniffed, throwing the cigarette butt on the floor, diminishing any last spark. His pockets held his fists, tightly clenched; the fabric was the only thing stopping Tyler from getting knocked out for the second day running.
"Of course I do, Tyler. I'm not a complete moron!"
"Some days I truly doubt that." Sam sniped, his voice as seemingly confident as when he entered the room. He couldn't find the courtesy to keep his remarks to himself.
Gene's eyes turned colder, stepping forward to address Sam more thoroughly. More like to get closer to Sam to shut the bastard up quicker. "Look, Dorothy. I don't want 'er 'ere either..."
"Then why is she?!" he cried, shocked at his own desperate pleas.
"Because..."
"No, I'll tell you why you have to have her here," Sam began, his face turning more crimson by the second. "Coz you daren't let her spill your big 'secret'. Heaven forbid anyone realises that Casey's your illegitimate child! You're a disgrace!"
Sam regretted his last few words; it was the anger from seeing the Test Card Girl and a lack of sleep finally getting to him. After a fortnight of pretty much uninterrupted nights, he wasn't quite use to the infringement of his peace.
"I'm sorry." he spoke, his voice muffled with his own shock.
To his surprise, Gene's expression didn't budge. His hands clenched even tighter in his pockets that was true. But what scared the Governor the most was that his DI's words were a hundred and ten percent accurate. For more than the five-millionth time in his life, Sam Tyler had been painfully truthful. This time though, it cut too deeply through the nerve.
It didn't seem that the Gov was too bothered about accepting his Inspectors apology, no matter how sincere it had seemed to be. "I know you have your reasons, Gov," Sam began, wiping a hand across his stubbly chin. "But you need to remember that she is in danger - she has no training, no experience. She needs qualifications - you can't just let her in like this."
"Oh shut up, Dorothy!" Gene ordered, slashing through the almost inane ramblings. "I do know this so stop treating me like a bloody idiot!"
"Then why don't you do something about it?" Sam's voice was now calmer, a lot less menacing but with an air of exasperation as a not so fond accompaniment.
"You know bloody well why." Gene snarled.
Sam decided to give in for once in his life; there was no point in keep banging your head against a brick wall unless you were in desperate need of a concussion. He glanced up at the clock. "I'd better go collect our new recruit." he decided, leaving the Governor to sulk at his own demise.
Walking to the outside of the concrete block, Sam felt a little nervous as he made his way down the corridors and steps; it had felt like decades ago (or in the future) since he'd trained anyone. It was a very precarious position; he had a duty to turn Casey into a fine Police Woman, to help her prove to obvious doubters that she was worth more than they'd ever felt. But - at the same time - it was a vulnerable, young, inexperienced, world weary girl who he was to be training.
Not to mention the fact she was the Gene Genie's daughter...
With his hands in his trouser pockets, he saw the young girl in question perched resignedly on the edge of the brick wall, her arms clutched around a note book that hung to her chest. She was staring at her shoes, hoping that the black, as discrete as possible kitten heels were shiny enough for the Gov's liking. Her sandy hair was tied into a half pony tail, her fringe loosely hung behind her left ear. She pushed her locks back as they fell into her face, her eyes still transfixed to the ground as she continued to wait for her new boss, gingerly examining her watch.
DI Tyler was pretty impressed with the way she presented herself; her pastel yellow, floral shirt wasn't too garish and the matching grey bootleg trouser and waistcoat combination was perfectly professional without being flirtatious but with a huge dollop of cheek to it; exactly how he'd expected her to turn up looking like.
Sam cleared his throat a little, starling Casey a little. Her hand over her heart, she laughed at her own day dreaming state.
"Sorry, I didn't mean..."
"Its ok!" she stood, swinging her bag to her knees. "I was in a little world of my own."
"You'd better be fully alert by the time we get inside though."
"Don't worry, I'm focused now."
They exchanged small, cautious smiles before making their way into CID, Sam feeling a little awkward. Needless to say, he hadn't hung out with many sixteen year old girls for quite a few years.
"So, uh, have you been in the offices before?"
"No, uh, I haven't," Casey blushed a little. "My class went on a school trip there once. Thought it would be a good idea to pull a sickie that day..."
"Oh," Sam nodded, feeling slightly guilty for asking. He quickly moved on, keeping the conversation strictly work related, of course. "How long have you wanted to be a copper for?"
He pulled the door open for her, watching her walk through hastily, trying not to appear surprised that a gentleman opened a door for her. "I guess forever. Well, I say that - I've always wanted a job of authority because I guess I never felt like I've had any," she tittered uneasily, attempting to disguise her obvious discomfort at the conversation. "So it seemed like a natural choice, especially since I already had connections."
They smirked at her wryness; she had certainly taken a leaf from the Women's Movement book!
"Ok, just as a warning - if the Gov yells or swears at you, it's perfectly natural so don't take it personally..."
"Don't worry, I've already sussed him out from our encounters yesterday. It's him who had better be watching out."
Sam's eyes widened, thinking that perhaps young Casey would soon live to regret her borderline naive confidence.
"I think he wants you to report to his office as soon as we get in...WPC Carlisle."
She nodded, blinking away any last shred of anxiety that was troubling her; she'd all ready made herself look like a blubbering baby in front of everyone yesterday, when she ran out of the offices crying. She was determined not to make the same mistake twice in twenty-four hours.
Leading the young woman to the Governors office, Sam couldn't help but feel nervous for her. Vague memories crept back to the front of his mind of his first day in Manchester CID. True, it wasn't likely that she was from the future (or at least under the impression that she was). But he just hoped that the Detective Chief Inspector would take it a little easier on her, considering everything.
He pressed his hands against the grimy, smoky glass, deciding to take the lead this time, to introduce her properly.
Gene was staring into thin air, taking great interest into the perfectly elliptical smoke rings coming from his mouth.
Sam realised that it wouldn't be a happy reunion, by all accounts. "Er, Gov, WPC Carlisle is here..."
"Mornin'." he replied, flatly, not even looking over to her.
"Good morning." she replied, holding her bag closer to her chest and standing taller, as if she was in the Army trying to impress a growling officer. Sam had to admit he was impressed by her tenacity and politefullness, even with someone as utterly awkward as Gene Hunt.
Gene grunted in response, throwing his cigarette to the ground.
Sam gulped; this was certainly going to be less than easy. "What shall I assign our new officer to do?"
Swaying his head over to him, Gene guffawed, shaking his head. "Ya know Tyler, for someone who's meant to be so bleedin' intelligent, you can be bloody forgetful sometimes!"
Sam shrugged, seeing Casey tense a little. "Yeah, perhaps I am."
"I told you that you are in charge of WPC Carlisle, DI Tyler. That means that you find the little plonk summats to do."
Casey became a little more rigid; she'd never faced that kind of direct sexism before. As much as she wanted to go over to him and give him a piece of her mind, she decided against it; she knew it wasn't worth getting kicked out of the force before the first morning on duty for!
The Inspector glanced over to her, biting his lip, obviously deep in thought. "Ok, I'll perhaps take you to your desk, show you where everything is?"
Gene choked on his own sarcasm. "This is the Police Force, Dorothy, not some Girl Guides outing! She can work it out as she goes along, can't you?"
Gene's eyes, cold and firm, stared directly into his daughters. For the first time, he actually took notice of her. She jerked back, almost frightened of what his stare could lead to.
"Ok, I'll show you to your desk then." Sam decided his voice dry and mocking towards his Gov. He smiled meekly towards Casey, opening the door for her. He glanced back at Gene, already preoccupied in his morning Whisky to really give a damn.
Pushing her blonde locks away from her face, Casey bowed her head, feeling the multiple stares from CID on her. Sam noticed her flushing, going back to his original fears of her attention.
"Ok, so, you'll be sitting here. DC Cartwright sits behind you and my desk is here in front of you..."
He stopped, realising how patronising he must be sounding. Casey's face was pink, trying to ignore any hint of an over bearing parent tone in his voice. Yet, she wasn't entirely sure what that sounded like anyway.
As he was about to give her the basic rundown of who everyone else was, two lurchers made themselves known, both with their lips glued to a cigarette, reeking of last nights booze and stale fags.
"Is this our new 'colleague', DI Tyler?" Carling quizzed, his lips upturning in satisfaction.
"Yes, this is WPC Carlisle." Sam nodded, hoping that Ray was going to keep his pervy mouth shut.
DS Carling could tell just how young she was, questioning his own racing mind and bulge against his fly.
Chris - on the other hand - swallowed and held his hand out, hoping that the pretty lady would take it. "Nice to meet you," he greeted, an unsure smile wavering on his lips.
Casey accepted his hand shake, a playful grin making her eyes less weary, more peaceful.
"If you don't mind me askin' love, just 'ow old are you?"
"Ray, that's not the kind of question you ask a young bi-, I mean, lady."
Sam smirked at Chris' sudden correction, finding it all rather cute. However, there wasn't anything cute about the grizzly bear sauntering from his office, struggling to pull his jacket over his broad shoulders, juggling a newly lit cigarette between his fingers.
"Oi, you dozy lot, shout out to Skerbeck school. Attempted burglary last night, poncy teachers thought it would only be a good idea to call the coppers now."
Everyone glanced at Casey, her peachy lips agape, her eyes wide with horror. "That's my old school." she murmured, her voice smaller than a homeless man's dinner.
"C'mon you tarts, get moving!" Gene cried, doing his best to spur his team on in his own unique way.
To be continued...