The fic that wasn't
AN: Well, this was a fic that I started for the ficathon but ended up discarding because I couldn't figure out how to insert the "shoe" and "old book" part of the prompt I was given. There's obvious similarities to my ficathon fic so I dont think I'm going to repost it at the community but I thought I'd keep a copy on my lj.
Title: er.. untitled *is lazy*
Wordcount: 1,700
Rating: Blue Cortina
Summary: culf's prompt of Litton and Sam in a hostage situation ( minus the shoes and old book )
It was a typical bathroom. Lime green walls, a dark green bath with some hideous floral-patterned shower curtains, a peach coloured sink (opposite the bath) and a toilet in the corner. The only unusual thing about it was the fact that Litton had been locked in it alone for, what felt to him, like hours.
That was why he was almost relieved to hear the sounds of a new, but oddly familiar, voice yelling outside the bathroom door.
When the door was opened and Detective Inspector Tyler was dragged in kicking and screaming by his two captors, Litton sat back and calmly watched as Tyler fought the two men. He knew he should probably feel inclined to help but didn't believe it was worth the risk. The men were thieves not murderers. Two scared men who might do anything to get out of Manchester, easily, but still just thieves. They weren't out to kill anyone and so (he figured) compliance was the best way out of the mess. Well, the best way out until he had a gun in his hands. Then both men were going down in a blaze of lead if Litton had anything to do with it (“self defence” always looked good in the papers). But from where he was, his gun confiscated and sitting in the tiny bathroom watching the two armed men beat down on the smaller one, he knew the odds weren't stacked in his favour and so he watched and waited.
Finally the two men overpowered Tyler, the stockier one landing a punch into his gut that left the Inspector writhing in pain on the ground, unable to defend himself from the following kicks to his ribs.
"So you're the feisty one eh?" the taller one said wiping blood from his lip. It looked like the D.I had managed to land a few punches of his own; Litton couldn't help being a little impressed.
When Tyler didn't respond the man grabbed him by the hair, yanking his head upwards so that they were making eye contact.
"Well I know how to deal with coppers like you" he sneered, and without warning he smashed his pistol into the side of Tyler's face. There was a loud crack and Litton had to assume something was broken. The man then let go of Tyler, who in the absence of the support hit the ground face first.
"Now do you know what the wonderful thing about having hostages is?" The man asked with a sneer, squatting on the ground so he could whisper into Tyler's ear. "You only need one." Pressing the barrel of the gun into Tyler's temple he dragged him up and threw him towards the shorter, brawnier man; who pushed Tyler into a seated position in front of the sink and then secured his hands by pulling his arms backwards and handcuffing his wrists in the small gap between the sink and the wall.
Tyler groaned but was incapable of struggling. Instead he just glared up at the taller man who was obviously the brains of the operation.
The man laughed "Now I'm going to leave you coppers alone in here while we have a conversation with your friends." he turned to Litton. "Now, seein’ as you're yet to piss me off I'm not going to bother with tying you up. But if I happen to return and you're not here I will shoot your friend. We clear, mate?"
"As crystal." Litton drawled, thinking it wise to refrain from pointing out that by that logic the man would be left with no hostages.
Turning his back on Litton the criminal sauntered toward the sink and bent low to swat the side of Tyler's face with the palm of his hand.
"See ya later, love!"
With a final chuckle he left, followed by his partner who pulled the door shut behind him, locking it.
"Bloody poof!" Litton sighed finally getting up and moving toward Tyler. "I bet he probably got a hard on from bashing you up like that." Meeting Tyler's eyes he cringed. If looks could kill Litton was sure he'd be a smouldering pile of ash.
"Well at least he was fighting. I noticed that you were quite comfortable where you were, Litton. What's the matter, didn't want to risk your manicure?" he spat. Rolling his eyes, Litton sat back down and leaned against the bathtub.
"Surprising as it no doubt is Inspector, I don’t follow the Hunt school of policing. I tend to place a higher value on my life than to pointlessly waste it fighting against two armed men."
"I 'spose it had nothing to do with the fact that you’re all talk and no trousers then." Litton shook his head at the idiom; Tyler was clearly spending far too much time with Hunt.
"What would you have had me attack them with, Inspector?"
"I seem to recall you having a half-decent right hook, then again I guess you must save that for other policemen." Litton bristled at that, trying not to look too pleased at the veiled compliment.
"Oh, so in your plan I knock out one of our captors and when the other shoots me it's what? Au revoir Litton, but thanks for trying?!"
Tyler didn't look at him.
"Not all of us are so proficient at unarmed combat as to take that chance, Tyler."
Judging from the lack of response, the smaller man had either finally accepted Litton’s explanation or had fallen unconscious. A slight twitch of the shoulders convinced Litton it wasn’t the latter so he continued.
"And aren't you the one that’s usually spouting protocol like you wrote the book? What the hell did you think you were doing getting Mouthy and Knuckles all riled-up like that. They had you, no way in hell you were getting out of it."
Sam cringed.
"They saw me sneak in through the window. If I hadn't fought back they would have noticed Chr- DC Skelton holding the ladder and he would have been brought into the mess as well."
"That div who spilt tea all over the floorplan in the Cole case?" Sam smiled.
"Not one of his finest moments, but yeah that's him."
"Well, that explains why you were fighting when they dragged you in here, but after that you could've stopped and just gone along with it." Sam turned away and mumbled something incoherent.
“Pardon?”
"I almost had ‘em” he bit out.
Litton laughed.
"You got a lucky punch in!" he snorted. Slowly, like he was fighting it, Tyler grinned.
"So what about you, Litton? All we got was the Super telling us R.C.S. needed assistance with a hostage situation as their D.C.I was currently indisposed. Didn't even find out you were the hostage 'till your team filled us in. Coincidentally that was about the only information those useless prats managed to collate."
"Hey that's my team you’re talking about. My multi-award winning team!" Tyler smirked.
"Sure, whatever,” he paused slightly and then cocked his head to the side as if he’d just thought of something. “So how'd you get into this mess?"
"My team and I disrupted the wonder-duo’s armed robbery of the store across the road. We thought there was only one man doing the job but Knuckles came at me from behind and pressed a gun to my head. I believe this hovel belongs to Mouthy's mum"
"So your marvellous team just followed at a safe distance and then called the real police?"
"If by 'real police' you are referring to A-Division, which is a stretch, then yes they called them for assistance."
“I wouldn’t go insulting our only chance of getting out of here. The R.C.S. hasn’t really done much worth bragging about.”
“Oh, so you’re suggesting what we do is wait for your team to get us out of here?”
“No, I’m suggesting you look in that cabinet up there and see if you can find a hair pin.”
“A hair pin.” Litton repeated, not sure whether he’d misheard.
“So we can pick this bloody lock.” The man said, pulling his arms forward to bang the metal chain against the porcelain enamel. Taking the hint Litton started rifling through the cupboards.
“Tell me Tyler, does every detective in your building take lessons from petty criminals or just the highly ranked ones?”
“You’ll have to ask the Guv, picked it up from him.”
Finally finding a set of small brown ones Litton grabbed one and bent the pin out into a straight piece of wire.
“Why am I not surprised?”
Kneeling down next to him Litton grabbed the handcuffs and followed Tyler’s instructions best he could.
It only took about three minutes of fiddling (and whinging from the Inspector who wouldn’t stop offering to do it himself) for the handcuffs to open with a click. Tyler was on his feet in seconds, rubbing his wrists. Just as the smaller man opened his mouth to speak the door swung open with a loud thud as Hunt and Carling barged through it, leading by their shoulders.
“Took your time, Guv.” Tyler snarked, wiping at his cheek which was sporting a large dark purple bruise. Hunt didn't appear to be too concerned.
“Excuse us for not sitting on our arses like the proverbial princesses you two are and waiting to get rescued. We actually ‘ad work to do.” Tyler laughed, while Hunts eyes flashed menacingly.
“If I recall it was your spectacular plan to sneak in through the window.”
“I don’t recall telling you to get caught, Gladys.”
“Oh no, course not, but it was your job to distract them!”
“You blamin’ me for this?!” Hunt roared.
Cringing as the “conversation” took off into the higher decibel register Litton looked over to Carling who was grinning with Skelton standing behind him, eyes darting between the two men in front of him.
“Are they always like this?”
Carling raised an eyebrow, but didn’t tear his eyes away from the action.
“Like what?”
“Arguing like an old married coupl-” a sharp kick to the shin brought Litton down to his knees before he could articulate the last syllable.
“You really want to finish that sentence?”
Litton looked up to see Hunt and Tyler glaring at him with equal ferocity.
“I’ll just -er, check on my, er team.”
As Litton quickly exited the room to the sound of raucous laughter he consoled himself with the knowledge that his hasty retreat was guaranteed to have secured him the first shot at talking to the press, in addition to saving him from another broken nose courtesy of the Tyler-Hunt double punch. There would be plenty of time for inter-division punch ups later when he wasn’t sans the rest of his team.