Thank you to all the people who read the last chapter and a big "ta mate" to all those who took the time to write a review.

Welcome to the dark and not-quite-sinister corner that is…

Chapter 20

With a whiskey bottle in one hand, and television remote in the other, Gene Hunt in the small hours of the morning made a sorry picture. Gene slowly came to and realising where he was groaned, loudly. With energy he was sure he'd never had, Gene pulled himself up from the settee into an upright position. He felt like death warmed up and was sure that the banging in his head was not construction workers outside. Looking around through a haze of drunkenness and gritty blackness Gene realised that beyond the sofa was darkness.

"Genie, Gene Genie. Genie, Gene Genie. Genie, Gene Genie, wakey wakey Gene!" He could hear the voice beyond the blackness approaching with quickening speed and he couldn't bare it, the yellow girl.

"Bang!" the girl yelled; appearing suddenly in front of Gene making him fall back only to miss the settee that suddenly wasn't there.

"Bang, bang you're dead, fifty bullets in your head." The girl sang smugly.

"Leave me alone!" Gene yelled finally finding his voice.

"Oh but why? You are so alone Genie Gene Genie. She misses you, maybe she'd like you home again, bang, then you're home." The girl mocked.

"You're not real." Gene spluttered, pushing himself further away from her.

"Are you going to tell Sammy-boy the truth, does she know the truth, do they know the truth, will you tell them, will you tell them?" She continued, skipping closer.

"Six feet under, bashed you're head, lying by omission, of things not said!"

"Shut up!" Gene yelled.

Waking up, Gene could feel himself tremble with anger.

Why the bloody 'ell did she have to come? He asked himself as he heaved himself up. Outside he could see the sun just rising with a blood red back drop. He'd never been one for 'superstition bollocks' but still,

"Shepard's warning." He muttered to himself before staggering into the bedroom to get ready.

He wished he knew why it all had to be so crewel. There he was all alone and the one voice he could cope without was his Misses. Sure, long work hours and skiving big event to go drinking with the lads didn't do their marriage any good, but now he was stuck doing the longest shift of the lot, and for now, it felt like he wasn't going to be home soon.

Within the week Sam Tyler was back in CID. Although still bandaged up and him arm in a sling he seemed pleased to simply be back working. Gene grumpily returned the keys to the kingdom to Sam and gave him a equally toneless "Welcome back, Guv."

Sam had set to with some paperwork but Gene had decided that it was only fair to let him in on the Morgan case and its high profit media following. Already that morning both Gene and Sam had fort their way past reporters some local, a few national, to get the scoop on the latest developments.

"You ready to meet the man behind the media?" Gene joked and Sam nodded.

"Interview, for the n-tenth time, Frank Morgan." Gene said and Sam smiled to himself,

So he has taken something on board.

"Coppers, DCI Tyler, DI Hunt, Solicitor, and," Gene coughed before continuing, "Defendant." Gene lent back in his chair and waited a while before continuing.

"Anyway, I don't know what y'think you're pulling getting 'alf the Journos in the city plus some on your side." Gene began.

"With due respect Mr Hunt," The solicitor began.

"DI Hunt." Gene corrected.

"With respect, the media is simply going where the news is."

"You must excuse my college, he doesn't appreciate the media." Sam tried to explain.

"No, I just don't like having to carry a cricket bat to get into A Division."

"Anyway," Sam cut in, realising that they could be going down a one way street, "I have looked at the case notes and I have some things I want to ask."

Sam gave Gene a glance who looked about ready to boil at any second.

"Firstly, you continually, throughout previous questionings, implied my college had some sort of involvement with the crime, quote, 'You'll go down too, Hunt.'. This was said during the first interview, quote, 'you should consult you're college on matters of where I was at the time.' and so on." Sam said, trying to keep a level tone of voice.

"What are you implying Inspector?" The solicitor said and Sam resisted sighing, loudly.

"I am implying, if you will, that the defendant is under the notion that DI Hunt has been taking back-handers from him." Sam said, and Gene leaned forwards.

"A word." Gene whispered into Sam's ear and they both stood.

"Excuse us." Sam said, before gesturing to the PC overseeing the proceedings to keep an eye as the pair of detectives went out into the corridor.

"You can't possibly believe that I'm a bent copper?!" Gene exploded and Sam was taken aback.

"What?! You think that I'm that bad at judging character to not know when someone's lying?" Sam pressed, good arm at his side, hand clenched as a fist.

"Well the thing is Sam," Gene began, the broke off.

"What, Gene?" Sam said, and seeing the look on Gene face gestured to the empty room opposite, "Step into my office." He said.

"The thing is Sam," Gene repeated, sitting down on a hard plastic chair one side of a desk and Sam sat down opposite him. Sam nodded expectantly.

"Morgan got in contact with me a few days before you're accident, I didn't realty know what he was on about, 'till you had gone into hospital, an' he asked me to be his inside man." Gene paused to see Sam's reaction but he simply looked on blankly as if taking it all in.

"So, he told me to meet him by the Canal to discuss final details, and that's when I found out about the bomb scare and the robbery."

"Why you?" Sam asked carefully.

"He was, for some reason, under the impression that I had been working for him for some time, since before I came here." Gene gestured around the room with his hand. "But I used my 'amnesia' so to speak, as a cover for sounding like a div' when I asked a load of questions."

"You could have got away with it." Sam muttered.

"Yeah, I know I could have, but I had a rare attack of 'do the right thing', so I didn't." Gene said, standing.

"Err, a question Gene," Sam said, standing as well, "Why is there a paramedics report filed in the evening of the arrest?"

"Oh." Gene said with a slight smile, "That would be the fractured ribs I gave him during the arrest. I had been aiming for the kidneys."

Sam sighed and rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to tell Morgan's solicitor that one.

I hope you enjoyed that chapter, I'm glad that I'm now writing chapters with Sam back in the game but as you know, for drama etc, sake I have to write him out for a while.

Anyway! Comments et –you've heard it all before –cetera, always appreciated. Cheers.