A/N
Sorry for the wait! Once again, thank you for the reviews and story alerts! Makes my day to know that you're all enjoying the story enough to WILLINGLY want to continue reading it. Unless Keats has a gun to your head, then I appreciate your desperation and the depths of your self-preservation!
Disclaimer: Once more, not mine! Gene Hunt, Alex Drake and Chas Cale belong to Kudos, Monastic, BBC, Matthew Graham etc. etc. the guards and the Camaro belong to my imagination, but will be up for grabs on e-bay shortly!
"You know the drill." the guard told Gene and Alex as he opened a door for them. They walked slowly into a cold, barely lit room and Alex couldn't help the shiver that ran through her. It was a place just like this where she had talked to Layton before the death of her parents. She could still hear the echoes of their conversation, his whispers and riddles. Gene moved forward briskly and sat down in the plastic chair facing the clear divide, waiting for Chas Cale to be shown in on the other side. Alex stood back, leaning against the wall with folded arms. She figured the less she said to Cale, the more she could keep calm and collected. It would be easier to let Gene interview the man, after all he was the one who saved her from Cale's clutches the last time.
A buzzer resounded through the room and the heavy door on the other side of the divide opened. Chas Cale was pushed through roughly by a guard, his hands in cuffs. He looked worn and haggard, his face pinched and pale. He looked half the man he was before he was put away, and even then he was past his best. Chas looked over at the occupants dully. When his eyes met Alex's cold stare, the ghost of a smile appeared on his face, but was quickly schooled as he spotted Gene sitting down.
"Well, well, if it isn't DCI Hunt." Chas laughed weakly as he sat down in the chair.
"You have 5 minutes." The guard called out, before locking the door on their side of the room.
"5 minutes and Kwik-Fit 'ere will probably wither away." Gene commented, glancing over Chas.
"How long's it been Gene, eh?" Chas rasped.
"Not long enough. Prison doesn't seem to agree with you, does it Cale?"
"I would probably get on better if I was allowed to see my wife." Chas' expression turned sour, his eyes downcast.
"Should've thought about that before you decided to play Meat Locker Murder Mystery." Gene retorted calmly.
As soon as it was brought up, Chas looked over at Alex. She stood stock still, her face set in a severe frown. He forced a sickly smile.
"And why aren't you talking, luv? Giving me the cold shoulder?"
Alex moved forward slowly, her arms still crossed.
"Must still be slightly frozen from being trapped in the meat locker." Alex hissed, before stepping back to her original position.
"She's got fire, how do you manage her?" Chas asked, unfazed by Alex's venom filled comment.
"Gettin' back on topic," Gene replied, staring at Chas coldly, "we've got ourselves a bit of a puzzle on our 'ands."
"I'm listening."
"A bank robbery occurred this evening. Now 'ere is the funny thing; the two suspects 'ad guns and used yer little 'boom boom' trademark."
Chas took in the information and sat back, a smile gracing his face once more.
"And you think ... what? That I somehow miraculously broke out of prison to do it and then got back in before the guards knew?"
"If you robbed this bank, you'd be a seizure salad right now, Cale, I'm not stupid. 'Owever, I'm 'aving this strange thought that you are somehow connected."
"You're actually serious..." Chas' eyes glittered dangerously as he moved closer to the divide, "obviously you are looking at copycats."
"Oh we definitely are," Gene agreed, also leaning closer, "but I 'ad a little message left for me as well."
"Ahhh, right, your nickname." Chaz grinned.
"So if you aren't somehow involved 'ere, Chas, then I'm the Queen Mother's left nipple." Gene Hunt pulled back and waited for a reply.
"I wake up every morning, I get ready, I go to the toilet in a bucket in the corner, I sometimes answer a phone call, I have lunch, I exercise, I have my dinner, I go to bed. Where in that do I have time to plot a bank robbery?" Chas asked calmly, his voice stronger, "you can ask the guards, do what you must, Hunt, you will be most disappointed with what you see."
With that, Chas Cale stood up, using the table as support.
"Good luck." He stated simply. His eyes moved over Alex and he nodded with a smirk, before he walked towards the door. The guard granted his request and let him out, slamming the door behind him.
There was silence in the room after Chas Cale left. Gene just looked at his hands that were crossed in his lap, ignoring the stare at the back of his head from his DI. Alex sought through the information that Chas had given them. He hadn't slipped up, he hadn't let any information out that could link him. If only...
"C'mon Bolls. Nothin' more 'ere."
"Yes Guv."
Gene stood up and stretched slightly, before following Alex to the door. As they passed the main guard, however, Gene called her to a halt. Alex slowed to a stop and turned to look at him, questioning. Gene turned to the guard;
"Cale said 'e answered the phone. 'Ow often?"
"Not very," the guard informed him, "once a week, if that."
"I want 'is phone records. Do you record the conversation?"
"Yes," the guard nodded, "do you want them?"
"Phone records, Phone conversations, the lot. I want them as soon as a call is made. I'll 'ave the ones so far now."
"Yessir." The guard walked away to fetch the files in question.
"I think Bolls," Gene said quietly, turning to her, "that we 'ave found a time in Cale's day when 'e could organise a robbery."
"You know, Gene, I think you're right." Alex smiled, feeling a lot happier with the outcome of the trip.
The guard returned quarter of an hour later, a stack of folders in hand.
"These are up to when he first came in." The guard handed them over to Gene.
"A lot of files. Who does 'e get calls from?" Gene asked, quickly leafing through the numerous pieces of paper.
"The only people who call him are his nephews."
"Are there any topics of conversation that keep occurring on a regular basis?" Alex cut in, while Gene carried on flicking through the files.
The guard thought for a moment.
"Nothing that screams criminal. It was mainly family stuff. Lately they've been phoning him up to keep him updated on their hunting trip. Cale seems to like hunting, giving them tips on their trip."
"Cale couldn't 'unt a frozen chicken in the poultry aisle at Tescos." Gene remarked, his eyes narrowing.
"Well he knows what he's doing when he talks."
"Not as stupid as I thought 'im then." With that, Gene strode out of the prison, Alex close behind.
...
"Well, Bolls," Gene said as they hit the outside air. They walked slowly towards the Camaro parked outside the prison, "Let's call it a night, shall we?"
"What about the two employees you asked DI Lottman to pull in?" Alex asked.
"'E couldn't pull a tart in a brothel. Even if 'e did, I'm sure they wouldn't mind bein' in a safe police station tonight. We can just tell 'em their lives were in danger."
"I don't think they would believe it."
"Well then they can complain to whoever is there then, can't they?" Gene stopped that line of conversation, walking down a few steps. Alex looked at the back of his head and decided to ask the question she had been pondering on the entire drive to the prison. She knew it was going to lead to a slight awkwardness, but she had to mention it.
"What did you think of Penny?"
Gene didn't falter and replied vaguely.
"Nice lookin' bird. She obviously 'ad a soft spot for the Gene Genie."
Alex took her time before asking the next question.
"And do you have a soft spot for her?" The words came out slow, cutting through the air between them. Gene stopped when he reached the car and turned around, a slight lopsided smile on his face.
"Why? Jealous, Bolls?"
Alex decided to take the plunge.
"Of course not, Guv," she replied, gracing him with an impish smile of her own. She reached the other side of the car and opened the door, "it's just that..."
"Spit it out."
"... I think she is DI Lottman's aunt." Alex raised her eyebrows, allowing a bigger grin to break out on her face at Gene's dumbstruck expression. She quickly got in the car, leaving Gene still standing. He stood still for a moment, before muttering "bloody posh mouthy tart!" and getting in the car.
A/N
Reviews more than appreciated! Sorry for the shortness of this chapter as well, this story will get somewhere I promise! Thanks for reading!
Next chapter hopefully up soon!