This meeting probably wouldn't be allowed to take place by law but oh well, artistic licence, and Chris needs this chapter. Have fun, and thank you for your reviews!

Clean

Ray and Chris showed their warrant cards to the female guard, who led them down a flight of stairs into a stone-walled room. A cheap metal table stood in the middle of the room surrounded by three plastic chairs, two on one side and one on the other.

Ray and Chris took their seats. Presently a woman with short dark hair entered the room and sat gingerly in the chair opposite them. She kept her eyes on the table and nervously played with her hands.

"Hello Shaz," said Ray. Chris said nothing. He didn't even look at her.

"Drake says your trial has been fixed for next week."

Shaz looked up then, all though she didn't look at Ray. She nodded then dropped her head again.

There was silence then, punctured only by Ray exhaling cigarette smoke. Then-

"Why'd you do it Shaz?" Chris asked.

"Don't know," she whispered and Chris stood up suddenly and walked away from her. The sudden loudness of the chair scraping made Shaz jump and she watched him apprehensively as he turned back.

"Don't give me that," Chris snarled. It was all coming out now, all the rage he had suppressed for the past week beneath six feet of misery and depression. "Why did you let Leanne own you? Why did you put Ray in jail and let them kidnap me? Why did you change that evidence?"

"I didn't know it was Leanne. I didn't know she was like that."

"Bollocks," said Chris, running a hand through his hair. He was vaguely aware of Ray's eyes flicking between him and Shaz as though he was watching a tennis game.

"I thought I was helping you, I swear. They were going to kill Ray, I thought if he got put away, he'd be safe there, they wouldn't be able to get to him. They said they'd kill the Ma'am if I didn't send them you. They said they wouldn't kill you, that you'd be safe."

"You should have told someone," said Chris, his voice shaking, "The Guv or Ma'am or someone. Even me."

"Drake didn't," said Ray suddenly, "She was getting letters too, that's why she left. She didn't tell anyone either, they said they'd kill the Guv. She ended up taking a bullet for him."

Ray dropped the cigarette end on the floor and ground it under his heel. "You caught Leanne with that man, didn't you Chris? Yet you didn't say anything either. If you had, you wouldn't have been abducted, I would have been out of jail a few days earlier."

Chris was silent. Shaz gave Ray a small smile and Ray frowned back.

"I'm not on your side yet, Shaz. Far as I'm concerned, you've all done something wrong. You obviously, Chris hid evidence when he caught Leanne and Capstone, Drake hiding her letters then quitting the Met and even the Guv for all the crap he gave Drake about being a bad officer."

"And I suppose you're so perfect, Ray," said Shaz, before she could help herself.

"I am actually," he said and smiled at Shaz, much to her surprise, "This is the one time that I am completely clean."

Chris stood behind his chair. "Ray, mate, give us a minute will ya?"

Ray gave Shaz a quick, small smile then left. Chris grasped the back of his chair so tightly, his knuckles turned white.

"DI Drake caught me with Leanne at your birthday. She could have told you but she didn't. She left it to me. I should have told you but I was too much of a coward."

"So what, we both fucked each other over?" Shaz said sarcastically. She didn't care any more. Chris hated her, Ray should hate her, the Ma'am was disappointed in her and the Guv had arrested her. If she was to stay in prison then so be it. "What I did to you was so much worse."

"Yeah, yeah it was," said Chris, gritting his teeth, "And what about what you did to Ray, eh?" He pointed at the door that Ray had just left through.

"I tried to save his life. Leanne was going to have him killed!"

"What were you going to do next though? Were you just going to leave him there in prison?" Chris shouted. Shaz was crying openly and Chris turned away from her to shout at the wall behind him. "And what about me? Were you just going to leave me there?"

"No," said Shaz, "I was going to go to the Guv, to Drake. Say what had happened and try and find you. Find out who had sent those letters."

"Do you really think they'd have killed Ray or Drake?"

"I didn't know. I couldn't take that risk. But I know now that they would have done."

"When the Ma'am got shot," Chris realised, turning back. "They were going for the Guv. Because of the letters."

There was silence as Chris turned everything over in his mind. He hadn't realised at the time that Drake's shooting had been part of a bigger picture. It had seemed sinister enough at the time but now that he could factor in her letters…

"Chris," Shaz said cautiously, "I understand if you hate me. I understand if you think I'm a bent copper and a bad person and that I should be locked up. But I was trying to do the right thing. It wasn't, I can see that now. But at the time, I was so scared."

A tear leaked out of Chris' eye. It ran down Chris' cheek and by the time it had reached its chin, he had made up his mind.

"DI Drake has an idea of how to get you out of here."

"Do you want me out of here?"

Chris looked up and stared deep into Shaz's eyes. Even after everything they had been through, everything they had done to each other, he still felt butterflies in his stomach in her presence.

"Yeah, I do. I want to help you."