Disclaimer not mine

Paper Work

Ray watched as Sam and Gene returned. Annie glanced at Sam as Gene marched past them in to his office and slammed the door. The team were silent as the door slammed so hard the hinges screamed in protest as the glass rattled. Annie closed her eyes as the glass rattled and Sam slumped in his chair.

"Well?" Annie was the first to speak. All eyes were on Sam. He glanced towards the office where Gene was staring out of the window at the London skyline as the rain fell.

"we found the car" Sam sighed "We arrested Keats, he's in the cells"

"What about Ma'am?" Sharon was immediately worried as he looked at the floor.

"There was a tape recording" Sam closed his eyes "Other than that we don't have a clue"

Annie stood and crossed the room to his desk. She couldn't help but watch her boss through the office window. She saw Gene glaring in to space. He was so still for a moment she wondered if he was actually breathing. Gene was never quiet, never still.

"It's killing him Sam" Annie nodded towards the office where Gene was alone. Sam sighed as Ray nodded.

"Yeah"

"Who's going to interview the scumbag?" Sharon glanced at the group. Ray shrugged his shoulders and glanced towards the office. He really wanted just five minutes alone with Keats but he knew it would never be allowed.

"Me" Sam stood up and watched as Annie nodded "And him"

"Gene" Annie sighed.

"He can't" Sharon answered

"He 'as to Shaz" Ray explained "Sam's right. Keats was a DCI and that means no one below a DCI rank should take the lead"

"He's right" Annie sighed as Sharon rested back on the desk.

"Be careful"

"Thanks Shaz" Sam sighed.

"Yeah try to stop the Guv from killing him" Ray sighed as Sam closed his eyes. That would be the difficult bit.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Annie was alone in the office, desperately worried about her team. Not just Alex. She was convinced Keats knew more than he was letting on. She was worried about Gene and Sam interviewing him and she was beginning to think time was running out. She poured through the documentation in front of her. The more she read in the file the more she was beginning to worry about Alex. The file briefly outlines all of Keats' time in the west London nick as well as his apparently distinguished career. It really did seem that Keats was the golden boy of the Met. Annie shook her head, Keats was dangerous scum but he was very well connected and very rich scum. His privileged childhood, time at university and then fast tracked at Hendon all pointed to him having an easy ride to the top. She read his reports from Hendon and Grammar School which had showed him to be a lazy student with a tendency towards bullying. She sighed Keats was the exact opposite of Gene. While Gene had worked his way up from being a kid in a rough Secondary Modern school in Manchester to a DCI. His working class background had always set him aside from the likes of Jim Keats. Then Alex and Molly Drake had walked in to his life. Annie sighed as she remembered the instant attraction and constant arguing between her friend and senior officer. She could see how Keats would be instantly jealous. He saw Alex as a prize whereas Gene saw her as his equal. She was still staring at one of the files as Ray walked back in to the room.

"Found anything?" He placed a mug of tea in front of her. Annie shook her head.

"No. You?"

"Nuffin"

Annie sipped her tea as she turned the page in front of her.

"Oh my God"

"What?" Ray was looking over her shoulder in seconds. He had no idea what the DS was worked up about. "Peter Andrew Drake? Who the 'ell is that?"

"Alex's ex husband. Molly's biological dad. Although what she ever saw in him is beyond me. I told her that at the time, we fell out a bit" Annie looked up at Ray. He glanced back at Gene's empty office.

"What's e doing in Keats' file?"

"According to this" Annie read on "Jim Keats arrested Pete three years ago"

"What for?"

"Assault and Battery" Annie sighed. She had never liked Alex's ex husband.

"Right. Oo did 'e smack?" Ray already knew he wasn't going to like the answer.

"Francis Jones aged 29. The girl Alex caught him in bed with. She kicked him out that night. Fran was Molly's babysitter when Molly was a tiny baby" Annie explained. "I heard she married Pete not long after"

"Scum" Ray clenched his fist

"And he did more than smack her Ray" Alex handed him the report.

"When did Alex divorce this arsehole?" He felt sick as he read the A4 page.

"Five years ago, just before we moved down. Remember I was on to Gene to get another DI on the team. After Sam's accident I was worried he'd try to take on more than he could manage"

"Yeah"

Ray had to ask. He didn't want to but he knew it might be relevant to the case. "He hit this Fran bird about. What about Alex? Did he hit the boss?"

"I think so"

"What!" Ray was immediately angry. "Alex is a fucking copper! Why did she put up with it?" Annie could see Ray was loosing his temper, which was never a good thing. Annie understood it either.

"It was a long time ago. Remember she met him when they were kids" Annie drank her tea. "His dad thought the world of Molly. Only grandchild you see. He died four years ago but I remember Alex telling me David Drake kept a garage on the other side of London. They were burgled when Peter was a kid. He kept that garage for years, just in case" Alex sighed.

"In case of what?"

"Dunno"

"Lock up garage? Unused since the death of grandpa Drake? Miles from the family home? Was he some type of crook?" His eyebrows shot up as Annie nodded.

"Small time, more of your Del Boy type character" Annie sighed "No harm really. Not like his son"

"Does he still have it?"

"Peter's dad died years ago"

"Look, Drake is a violent bully that seems to be best mates with a corrupt copper. Both men have a grudge against our DI" Ray watched as Annie nodded.

"I'll get the address. You get Sam and the Guv" Annie picked up the phone as Ray almost ran from the Squad Room.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alex sat alone in the dark. Her face stung and she was sure the strange man had broken her cheek bone. Holding one hand to her swollen cheek she gingerly got to her feet as the room spun around her.

"I'm coming home Gene" She whispered as she stared at the locked door. She didn't know how but she was defiantly going home.

A/N more soon.