Hard Battles, Part 7
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“Rubbish. Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish, rubbish! Tell me William, were you fucking pissed when you wrote this?” Jason waved the stash of report papers under DC William’s nose. William cowered as he shook his head.
“Then why is this so FUCKING RUBBISH?!” Jason roared, throwing the handwritten notes right at William, who flinched violently. Grabbing hold of William’s front, Jason dragged the man close to him to whisper menacingly into the man’s face, “Do it again. You hear me? Write it all out again, or you’ll be wishing you were in hell, you got that?”
William nodded quickly and repeatedly, feeling his face redden as the Manchester detectives sent pitying looks at his way. Wishing he was back in Liverpool, William scurried back to his seat as Jason stormed out of CID’s main room. Ray whistled derisively and spat out, “Bastard.”
William winced, “Don’t say that! He’ll hear you!” He was shaking and jumped when Annie laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“It’s alright, William - he’s gone now. And don’t let him bully you into writing yesterday’s interviews report again! Look at this - you’ve written out this report perfectly! Sam would give his left arms to see something like this in the collator’s den.”
“It’s not perfect enough Annie, I wasn’t detailed enough.”
“You’ve written ten pages! Listen, speak to your guv - tell him how much of a bully Jason is!”
William shook his head miserably, “The guv’s just as bad...” He sighed, “Shame Kevin’s dead - he was nice - told me I’d make a fine detective someday.” His eyes flicked to Chris, who was nervously biting his nails.
“Done your report, Chris?”
“Yeah,” Chris gestured at the single paper in front of him, that was covered with orange stains.
William gasped, “Your boss’s gonna kill you!”
Ray sniggered, “Like ‘ell he will!” He waited for Chris to snigger with him, and frowned when he was met with silence. Ray turned and took in Chris’s dishevelled appearance, “You alright, Chris? You’re as pale as a sheet, you are. And why’s your shirt on back to front.”
“Is it?” Chris didn’t seem bothered, and was instead, gazing firmly at his hands that were clenching and unclenching.
Ray raised an eyebrow, “Bleedin’ ‘ell, don’t tell me you’re worried about handing that report in to Tyler! You know that the twonk ain’t gonna yell at you like that other DI.”
“No, it’s not that,” Chris replied shortly.
Just then, the station’s doors swung open and Gene Hunt strode in confidently, shoulders set, raring to go. Behind him, Sam stumbled in, looking dazed with his bloodshot eyes and slow, weary steps. Every so often, he’d massage his forehead, unsuccessfully willing his headache to disappear. Gene strode straight on to his office, but Sam was brought short by Chris.
“Report, boss.”
“Oh. Right, Chris,” Sam accepted the piece of paper delicately. “Thanks.” He scanned through the paper quickly, with William watching on with wide eyes, just waiting for an explosion.
“Good, Chris. You’re definitely improving - hardly any mistakes at all, and it’s longer than your last one!” Sam smiled at Chris, encouragingly, “Next time, do you think you could wait till you finish ‘fore writing your report?”
“Sure thing, boss,” Chris nodded slowly and sullenly as William resisted the urge to scream “It’s not fair”. Sam was about to ask Chris what was wrong but was distracted upon spotting Annie at the corner of the room. He moved towards her quickly.
“Hey!” Sam greeted her with his grin, which was quickly replaced by a grimace as sharp jolt of pain echoed in his skull, “Sorry, I’ve got a hangover. This headache is killing me!”
Annie smiled back, “I’m not surprised - after all that drinking you did last night. You were acting as though each drink was going to be your last!”
“I need to know, Annie, did I do anything strange last night?”
“Like what? Why?” Annie’s eyebrows twitched in perplexion.
“I don’t know...the guv was acting really odd this morning...oh god, what if I thought he was you and kissed him!”
Annie laughed, but Sam didn’t share with her amusement. He was worried - Gene had barely spoken a word to him since he woke Gene up that morning - barely managing to dodge an instinctively swung baseball bat.
“Kiss me Annie,” Sam commanded her seriously. Annie looked at him confusedly and Sam explained, “Aren’t women supposed to know if their lover has kissed someone else by kissing them?”
“Have you brushed your teeth, Sam?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Then, I’m afraid it’s impossible for me to find out, but considering the fact that you haven’t got any bruises anywhere, I’m pretty sure you didn’t kiss the Guv.”
“Oh, yeah. I can’t remember last night at all though! Did I do anything?”
“Well, you sang a weird song you dedicated to me - about you chasing cars or something, and...you asked Nelson if he was god.”
Sam was curious, “What did he say?”
“That as long as he held the beer, yes, he was god. .” Annie laughed again but her laughter was drowned out by Freya’s shrill laugh, echoing from the other side of the room. Annie sighed, “I’m still sharing a room with her. I’m telling you Sam, it’s a nightmare! She complains, she moans, she criticises everything I do and have! If I don’t kill her by the end of the week, it’ll be a miracle.”
Sam brushed away Annie’s woes, “You should try living with the Guv - I have a sneaky feeling that he’s been using my toothbrush again.”
Annie smiled, and Sam leaned closer towards her, feeling that it’s been far too long since they were alone together. He touched her face gently, “Decided on when the wedding’s going to be yet?”
“Not yet,” Annie’s face brightened. “Let’s wait till this case is over, Sam. After that, we’ll sort things out - my dad’s so excited! He’s thrilled that I’m marrying a gentleman - still hasn’t got over the fact that you helped clean up after dinner! He absolutely loves you! But he wants a winter wedding, and my mum wants an autumn wedding, so they’ve been arguing non-stop. They’ve both planned out everything from the invitation cards to the - oh, sorry Sam. You don’t mind that they’re planning it, do you?”
“Nah,” Sam assured her. “I’m just glad they like me and I won’t have to run away with you to Holand or something.”
Annie was about to reply when - “GLADYS! IN HERE! NOW!”
Sam winced, “Sorry, Annie. He calls me, and I have to answer.” He left her sorting through files to walk into Gene’s office.
“Guv? Your cheery call informs me that you want to see me?”
“Sit down, Tyler,” Gene snapped.
“Why thank you, kind sir,” Sam rolled his eyes as he took a seat opposite Gene. He was barely prepared for Gene’s next statement.
“Payne wants to kill you.”
Sam almost slipped out of his chair upon hearing Gene’s straightforward words. He adjusted himself back into the seat quickly, muttering, “Anything else I should know? Is global warming going to kill the planet? Does life on mars exist? Is Harry Potter real?”
“What?” Gene was surprised at Sam’s reaction, “Are you still drunk, Tyler? Did you hear me right? I said - “
“I know what you said, guv. And it’s not news to me. Brody told me that himself yesterday...and I read the letter Payne sent you,” Sam met Gene’s glare with a set one of his own.
“You read the letter!” Gene stood up indignantly, “Why you nosy - “
“Of course I did!” Sam stood up as well, and wasn’t pleased to see that Gene still towered over him. “When a big oaf wants to share a bed with me, I tend to investigate the reasons why. ‘S why I’m a detective. But you’re not listening, I told you, Brody told me that - “
“Will you quit it with your Brody is Payne theory? You’re deluded Sam! Now, you listen to me. Until this whole Payne thing blows over, you’re going to stay either in the station where there’s plenty of lovely plonks to look after you, and in your flat, where I’ll be. Understood?”
Sam crossed his arms and hissed, “I’m not having you treat me like a child, Gene. I’m a fully grown man, and I’m quite capable of protecting myself, alright? I don’t need you to stand guard over me with a baseball bat!”
Gene argued wearily back, “You don’t have to prove to me you can hold yer own ‘gainst a bunch of thugs, Sam. I’m not taking any risks here, alright! Now, as long as you’re my Inspector, you do as I say, and when I tell you to stay in the station, you do it! If you don’t want to listen, I’ll just lock you up in a nice comfy cell, where Payne can’t get a hold of you.”
Sam’s eyes flashed, “You just don’t want to be known as the DCI who couldn’t stop a criminal from getting his Inspector. The papers would have a field day, wouldn’t they? Wouldn’t want them to write anything bad about the Gene Genie, would we? ”
SLAP
Sam went crashing to the floor, and already he could feel his cheek starting to bruise from Gene’s backhand. He looked up at Gene who was breathing heavily, looking at him through angry yet hurt eyes. Sam was already regretting his words.
“Gene, I - “
“Get out of my sight, Tyler,” Gene growled, and Sam was only too happy to obey. He swiftly walked out of the office, and past the oblivious detectives in the squad room. He sighed with relief upon reaching the collators den and finding it empty, and spent the next ten minutes mopping up the blood leaking from his mouth and wishing that he could rewind his conversation with Gene all over again.
*
“Boss?”
“Chris?” Sam looked up from his stack of files to see Chris moving towards him with tentative steps. “Something wrong?”
“Boss, I need to, like, speak to you.” Chris was hoping nervously from foot to foot. Sam frowned, not used to seeing the younger man so upset.
“What is it?”
“Not here, boss. Can we, like, talk somewhere out more private?”
Sam resisted the urge to point out that the room was empty bar them, but he followed Chris out of the collator’s den anyway, through the station’s backdoor into the backstreet, which was void of people but seemed to be full of bikes and small cars.
Sam shivered as the cold air suddenly met him, mentally cursing British weather for being so unpredictable - it had been sunny just that morning, but now, it seemed that the sun had been engulfed by the murky grey clouds. Wrapping his jacket around himself, Sam waited patiently for Chris to speak.
“Boss...I’ve done somethin’...” Chris started but stopped quickly. He was trembling, and somehow, Sam knew that it wasn’t from the cold.
“Chris?” Sam prodded gently, “What’ve you done? ‘S alright, Chris, you can tell me - I won’t get mad.”
Chris’s eyes were darting about everywhere, and his hands clenched and unclenched sporadically with nerves, “I’m sorry. ‘M so sorry boss!”
Sam laid a hand on Chris’s shoulder, trying to calm the younger man, “Whatever it is, we can sort it out. Has someone been bribing you to do something? Is that it? Are you in deep? It’s alright Chris, I can help you. We don’t even have to tell the Guv, if you don’t want to.”
“It’s not that, boss!” Chris shrugged off Sam’s hand abruptly, and stepped away, “Oh god, I’m so so sorry!”
“Chris...” Sam stared at Chris confusedly. His heart skipped a beat when he realised that Chris’s eyes were firmly fixed behind him. He spun around to see a black van parked just next to the station’s back door. The van’s backdoor slid open and five well muscled men stepped out, all their gazes on him, as they strode towards him with intent. He swallowed hard as he saw who hopped out of the passenger seat.
“Hello, Sam,” Brody grinned cheerily. His grin resembled one of a predator who’s finally gotten its prey.
Chest heaving, Sam turned to Chris, horrified, “Chris? I don’t understand...what?” Chris merely continued to walk backwards away from him, guilt evident all over his face.
“I’m sorry, boss,” Chris repeated again, his voice shaky and hoarse, “But they’ve got me parents - said they’d kill me parents if I didn’t bring you out here.”
“Chris,” Sam was well aware the thugs were nearing him, “Chris. Don’t. Don’t do this, Chris. They’ll kill me. They’ll - Chris!”
Before Sam could say anymore, his shoulder was seized from behind. With a guttural growl he twisted around to land a well aimed punch at the first thug’s face, which effectively broke the man’s nose. A sharp jab to the man’s ribs was enough to knock the man down. But before Sam could relish in the victory, another thug had grabbed hold of one of his arms, and twisted it behind his back. Crying out with pain, Sam was about to use his available arm to punch, but it was quickly restrained as well. Someone punched Sam hard in the gut, taking every breath from his body, and before Sam could call out for Gene, a swift strike in the face ended all thoughts, and Sam was slowly drowning in a sea of black. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.
Chris fought down the bile that threatened to rise up his throat with difficulty as he watched his Boss be taken down. He continued to watch them as they picked up Sam’s motionless, and now bloody, form and threw the Inspector into the van carelessly. Brody approached Chris with a broad grin, and Chris wondered how he could ever have adored the monster in front of him.
“Where’re me parents?” was Chris’s first question. Brody beamed at him.
“Oh, my men’ve probably dropped them at your house now. Don’t worry about them - they’re not hurt, just somewhat shaken but that’s only to be expected,” Brody said casually, seemingly unaware of Chris’s angry glare. “You’ve played your part well, Christopher! Good job! And mind you don’t tell anything to that Guv of yours, eh? Or they’ll know that it’s you who lured your boss out to be kidnapped by a raging madman!” Brody laughed, and it sent chills down Chris’s back.
“You...you aren’t going to hurt him, are you?” Chris asked hesitantly. “Don’t, please don’t.”
“Oh, Chris, of course not!” Brody slapped him on the back fondly. “Now get back into your station and keep your mouth shut, and you’ll have your boss back in no time at all.”
And with that, Brody left, his black van vanishing as quickly as it came.
*
“Chris! Have you seen the Boss?” Raj panted as he almost walked into Chris on the stairs.
“Nope, no. Why?”
“The guv told me to get the Boss, who’s supposed to be in the collator’s den, but he’s not there,” Raj sighed.
“Maybe...maybe he went out for some fresh air, like. Or something.”
“Yeah,” Raj nodded slowly, “well, if you see the boss, tell him that the Guv really wants to see him. Now.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Alright, I’ll see you.”
Chris carried on walking up the steps mechanically, reaching the men’s bathroom, pushing open the door and locking himself in a cubicle. It was only after he was sure that he was alone, did he cry helpless tears, trying the ease that big wedge of betrayal in his throat.
*
Gene stared at the offending slip of paper lying still on his table. He wanted to discard it, refuse to believe its mocking words, but the dread he had been feeling all afternoon seemed to confirm it. He tried to calm himself down, “Sam’s in the collators den, looking for dirt on Brody. The poof’s going to come in here now and complain about the spiders and how they scare him with their creepy legs. Twonk.”
KNOCK
Gene’s head shot up so fast, he felt dizzy for a moment. He prayed that it was Sam’s knocking, but even as he yelled “GET IN!”, he knew it wasn’t Sam because Sam never knocked. Never has, and never will, so Gene wasn’t really that surprised to see an out of breath Raj come in to announce that he could find DI Tyler anywhere.
A weight settled on Gene’s shoulders upon hearing those words. A big weight, a massively heavy weight that for a moment seemed like it would be too much for Gene Hunt to bear. His shoulders sloped down and oddly enough, he felt like crying because no matter how hard he tried, he never seemed to get it right. He failed with Stu and he’s failed with Sam, and that’s what he was. A failure.
Then, Gene Hunt became DCI Hunt, the “guv” of Manchester A division, and his shoulders rose to accept the weight, and he stood up, holding his back straight. He wasn’t about to let Sam down without fighting damn well hard. And secure in the belief that he will get Sam back, Gene ordered Raj to get every copper down to CID’s main room for an important announcement.
He crumpled the piece of paper and threw it in the bin, yet its words still flashed across his eyes, “You’ve failed, Gene. The next time you see your Sammy boy, he’ll be dead.”
Gene went out into the room, where every detective was gathered. He didn’t notice Chris shaking as he told the room about the recent days’ events. He didn’t notice how Annie’s face paled, and how Phyllis had to guide her to a chair. He didn’t notice his detectives’ worried glances.
The station was in uproar even before he finished his final line.
I do hope everyone enjoyed this chapter - and sorry for any mistakes - I was a bit rushed when writing this!
Please leave a comment and tell me what you think! It’s very much appreciated! =)