A bit of Halloween Fun
I wrote this in 2009 for Discovered in a Live Journal's Re-Discovered on All Hallow's Eve Challenge. Just happened upon it and thought I'd put it up on my own journal.
Summary: The lads encounter an old mate of Bodie’s.
Disclaimer: All things related to The Professionals belong to others. I simply borrow them now and again for my own entertainment
""At first cock-crow the ghosts must go/Back to their quiet graves below"." -Theodosia Garrison
What the hell happened between the time we left our flat and now? Bodie was happy this morning - hell he was grinning from ear to ear after I left him boneless in the shower. His eyes were dark and sated and he wore that smile - the one he reserves solely for me.
So Cowley sent us off to this obscure hamlet to go through the house of some long retired government official who croaked a few days ago. Bit of a lark for the likes of us - a little country air and a low probability of being used for target practice. Of course, the Cow did his usual vague routine - man must think we’re bloody mind readers - and told us, in response to Bodie’s attempt to pin down what we were supposed to be looking for, 'you’ll know it when you find it'. The Cow has a way of getting right up your hooter.
Maybe that was the problem: Cowley pulling out the old ‘need to know game’. Still, he does that to us so often that if he ever just came out and told us exactly what he wanted and why, I’d be convinced he was setting us up for the kill.
Christ, he’s tense. He was fine when we left headquarters: was making his usual jokes, even. Sometime in the last 20 minutes or so, though, he’s gone silent. What is it about this little excursion that has him looking so grim. “Bodie mate, what’s going on? You look like your pet moggy just died.” Hit a cord with that I did - especially if I was hoping to be locked in a speeding auto with a pissed off jungle cat.
I didn’t get an answer to my question until we pulled up in front of the house and got out of the car. “Something’s not right, Doyle. Can’t you feel it?”
Frankly, I wasn’t feeling anything but concern. This isn’t like Bodie - not at all. He’d face down the devil himself wearing a grin. “No, I don’t - explain it to me.”
“Feel like we’re being watched. The hairs on the back of me neck are standing up, and I’m cold, Ray, cold to the bone. Something’s not right.”
I looked around cautiously. Bodie had just admitted he was off balance. Hell, I’ve seen him out gunned and outnumbered and never break a sweat, and I've watched him run in where angels - and anyone with half a brain - feared to tread. So whatever the problem is, it’s serious. I took a step closer and gripped his bicep. I’d have done more, wanted to, but we were standing in the drive.
He insisted on circling the house; checking windows, behind the bushes...I knew that look and the actions - my partner was on high alert. And I was thoroughly stumped as to the reason. Once his sweep was complete he headed for the back entrance. Considering we had the keys to the front lock, I was a bit confused, but followed closely behind, taking a chance and running a hand gently across his hip.
He pulled his weapon, and I followed suit. He eased the door open and was barely inside before he froze - seeing nothing to have prompted this behavior I placed a hand on a tense shoulder, shocked to feel the tremors running through the strong body.
I yanked him out of the house without really thinking, and we would have ended up in a heap if Bodie hadn’t reached out and steadied me. Looking at him, my face must have mirrored the confusion I was feeling because he cleared his throat and started to talk. “Sorry, Ray. Don’t know what’s going on. Just know I can’t go back in there.” He looked away; embarrassed, as always, by any show of weakness. I lifted up his chin and smiled. “S’okay, mate, I‘ll go ferret out whatever it is we’re supposed to be looking for.”
“No!” He bit his lower lip, and grabbed hold of my wrist. “Not without me.”
I wanted to take him home, put him in our bed and hold him until morning, but Cowley would likely not approve of me following my instincts. Deciding the quicker we got started, the quicker we could go, I entered the house, gun drawn, knowing my partner had my back.
It was an ordinary house as far as I could tell, which simply made my partner’s behavior all the more difficult to understand. This man’s instincts had saved my life so many times I’d lost count, so I wasn’t going to discount them, regardless of what my own senses were telling me.
We made our way methodically through the first three rooms. Bodie was becoming more agitated the further into the house we went. Oh, he tried to hide it, but I knew him too well: could read him like a book across a football field, let alone from across the room.
As we entered the small library, he gasped and sank to his knees, hands scrabbling at his throat. I spun around, gun at the ready, but we were alone in the room. Hell, we were alone in the house! “Sunshine?” I knelt beside him, vaguely registering an odd smell that reminded me of singed flesh as I ran a hand along his cheek.
“Can’t breathe,” he whispered.
I gripped him by the elbows and lifted him to his feet. We were getting out now. Whatever the Cow wanted, he could bloody well come and get himself. I manhandled him outside and down the back lawn to a bench. Squatting between his knees, I waited expectantly.
After a couple of shaky breaths, he put a hand over mine, where it rested on his thigh. “Ta, mate.”
“What happened?” He tucked his chin in tight and closed his eyes. “Bodie, for Christ sake, one minute you’re fine and the next you’re gasping for breath and pale as a ghost. What the hell is going on?”
“Won’t believe me,” he muttered, closing his eyes.
“This is me, Sunshine…course I will.” I took a deep breath knowing I had to calm down if I was going to get anywhere. Bodie was running scared. I’d only seen him this way one other time; the time he found me bleeding out on a rug in me flat.
“Something’s in there,” he said, softly. “Felt like someone was squeezing the breath out of me…happened once before…in Africa.”
“What did you do?” I asked as I stifled the urge to pick him up and run. He has a weird sense of humor, and normally I would think he was pulling my leg, but I knew the look of fear in those blue eyes couldn’t be faked. I patted his thigh in encouragement.
“Witch doctor from the village, he did something - not sure what. Told me it was someone from the other side trying to bring me over.”
I fell back on my arse as the significance of his comments worked through my addled brain. “You’ve lost it, mate,” I muttered wishing desperately to take the words back even as they spilled from my mouth. He jerked away and was headed into the house before I got to my feet. “Bodie, NO!” I ordered as he disappeared from view. I ran, castigating myself for being such an idiot. I called out again as I entered the kitchen. The silence that greeted me raised my hackles, and I moved quickly through the next two rooms with my gun drawn.
“Damn you, Bodie,” I shouted. Before my words died in the air I heard an inhuman yowl that froze me in my tracks. “BO-DAY,” I screamed and burst into the next room, stopping short as soon as I cleared the doorway. Bodie was grappling with - well, I don’t know how to describe it - but whatever it was, it was doing its best to steal my partner’s life, and no one, no thing, was going to take that man from me. So I threw myself at the darkling form and felt a chill run down to my bones as I fell right through it. I staggered to my feet in time to see the form straighten and move in my direction. I was unsure what to do. I had no idea how to defend myself. Turns out I didn’t need to do anything as Bodie, the big dumb crud, had struggled upright and moved between us to protect me. So I did what came naturally and moved to his side, and together we somehow managed to back the thing into a corner.
I was catching my breath when it took on a slightly more concrete form. The smell of rotting flesh suddenly gagged me just before the thing began to speak. “Next time, Bodie. Soon,” it promised before dissipating as the church bells began to peal.
When I could think straight I looked around and found Bodie on the floor, leaning against the wall, knees held tight against his chest. “S’okay, mate, s’okay…it’s gone.” I rubbed his back slowly as I tried to come to grips with what had happened, while at the same time stopping myself from shaking the man to get answers. While I didn’t really want to deal with the fact that thing had called my lover by name, the voice had had seemed oddly familiar to me, and I needed to know why.
Bodie had always been far more accepting of the unexplainable then I - maybe it was his time in Africa; maybe it was simply his bullheaded approach to life - but I needed an answer or I wasn’t sure I could ever let him out of my sight again.
By the time Bodie slowly uncurled, dusk had moved in, and I could barely see him. “Lights Ray, turn on the lights.”
I did as he asked, and eased back down beside him. I leaned lightly against his side, and relished the soft sigh my presence elicited. I was working my way up to demanding answers when he spoke. “Let’s find whatever the hell it is Cowley wants and go home.” With that he rose, swaying slightly as he gained his feet. He reached out a hand and helped me up. I held on tight, and he pulled me into a one armed embrace. We stood together, but it wasn’t nearly long enough for me before he pulled away. “I’ll take the upstairs,” he stated as he stepped away.
“Bodie?”
“Finish the job, and we can go home, Sunshine,” he responded before disappearing from view. I found it - at least I think it was “it” - behind a small coat of arms in the library. I called for Bodie, and we left the house. On the way to the car there was an odd sound and a movement so close to my head I threw myself to the ground.
“Just a few bats, Doyle,” my partner reassured from above. “It’s that time of night. And put your gun away, it’s against the bloody law to harm them. You can rape a 14 year old, fill them with drugs and whore them out without ever seeing the inside of a jail cell, but harm a bat in England and it’s an entirely different story.” I clambered to my feet, eyes sweeping the grove of trees. “S’okay, Ray, they’re gone.”
On the drive back into the City I was still processing all that had happened. Luckily the Cow wasn’t in, so we dropped our find with Betty and ducked out. I needed to be home; I needed Bodie in my arms; and I needed answers - in that order.
Of course, he had other ideas, disappearing into the bathroom the moment my back was turned. But I was used to long stake outs so I got a drink and moved into the bedroom, shucking my trainers before stretching out on the bed and making myself comfortable. He joined me twenty minutes later, warm and a bit pink from the shower.
He must have read my mind as he started talking before I could get my questions out. “That house, it was 15 miles from the prison.” He grabbed my glass and took a gulp while taking in my blank stare. “The prison where Keller died.”
He felt me tense, and wrapped himself partially around me before continuing in a voice barely above a whisper. “All Hallow's Eve, Ray, the night the boundary between the living and the dead dissolves. Keller wanted me to stay with him after he took that bullet for me in the SAS; and he wanted me to stay with him after he turned…” I suddenly had an image of Bodie standing over the blanketed figure on the stretcher, face blank as Keller spoke to him. I’d been too far away to hear the words, but I’d seen my partner’s reaction and knew whatever Keller said upset him. Of course, the Cow interrupted and so much happened after that, what with the SAS coming in and MI6 and the locals, that I never did get around to asking him about it.
“You didn’t want to go with him.” Maybe I was stating the obvious, but I needed to get him to talk it out - not something he was ever particularly eager to do. Instead of answering, he tucked his chin on my shoulder and wrapped his arm tighter around my waist. “Pet, Keller can’t have you, you’re mine.”
“Didn’t want to go with him, never did.” Well, that made me feel a whole lot better. I hadn’t liked Jimmy Keller from the first moment I’d laid eyes on him, and Bodie had been so secretive - and in hindsight upset - when his former mate showed up that I’d honestly had no idea what he thought of the man.
“Did he say anything else to you?”
“Said if I didn’t go with him, he’d take you instead.”
Well, that explained his stepping in between us. “Guess he didn’t figure on you stopping him.”
“He didn’t figure on us stopping him. Alone, I’m not sure I could have held him off, but the two of us - we’re unbeatable, Ray. Always have been.” He earned a kiss for that.
“Close those blue eyes, luv, and get some sleep. It’s been a long day, and God knows what Cowley will ask of us tomorrow.” He obeyed, but opened his eyes immediately as I pulled away. “Just going to do a quick wash up.” I slipped into the bog and leaned heavily back against the closed door.
I had seen some strange things in my time - the City of London held many surprises for those who prowled its underbelly; but the sight of that thing - of Keller - trying to take away the man I love - that topped them all. I quickly brushed my teeth and ran a wet flannel over my face and chest. I wanted to get back to Bodie; in fact I was getting more nervous by the second.
He clearly wasn’t suffering any anxiety from the separation as he was fast asleep, curled around my pillow. I pulled the duvet up to his hips and went out into the lounge. Standing in the window, I looked out into the black of the night. “Not this time, Keller, not ever. He’s mine.”
- - - - -
Waking up, I felt warm and secure and smiled as I moved into the warmth at my back. Greeting the world in Bodie’s arms was my favorite way to start the day, and my favorite way to end one for that matter. I wiggled around so I was facing him and ran a finger down the relaxed face. I felt like I was waking from a nightmare, and maybe that is what it had all been - a bad dream. It wasn’t unusual for blokes in our line of work to have a nightmare or two: it went with the territory. Having convinced myself that was the case, I ran a hand down my bedmate’s muscular chest, stopping to rub lightly against a nipple. I smiled as he arched into my touch. Sleep filled blue eyes opened and graced me with a tender, soppy smile before I tweaked the nipple again, causing him to throw his head back and sigh. I froze at the sight of the deep hand shaped bruises on my lover’s throat.
""The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends and the other begins?""
-- Edgar Allan Poe
T
Summary: The lads encounter an old mate of Bodie’s.
Disclaimer: All things related to The Professionals belong to others. I simply borrow them now and again for my own entertainment
""At first cock-crow the ghosts must go/Back to their quiet graves below"." -Theodosia Garrison
What the hell happened between the time we left our flat and now? Bodie was happy this morning - hell he was grinning from ear to ear after I left him boneless in the shower. His eyes were dark and sated and he wore that smile - the one he reserves solely for me.
So Cowley sent us off to this obscure hamlet to go through the house of some long retired government official who croaked a few days ago. Bit of a lark for the likes of us - a little country air and a low probability of being used for target practice. Of course, the Cow did his usual vague routine - man must think we’re bloody mind readers - and told us, in response to Bodie’s attempt to pin down what we were supposed to be looking for, 'you’ll know it when you find it'. The Cow has a way of getting right up your hooter.
Maybe that was the problem: Cowley pulling out the old ‘need to know game’. Still, he does that to us so often that if he ever just came out and told us exactly what he wanted and why, I’d be convinced he was setting us up for the kill.
Christ, he’s tense. He was fine when we left headquarters: was making his usual jokes, even. Sometime in the last 20 minutes or so, though, he’s gone silent. What is it about this little excursion that has him looking so grim. “Bodie mate, what’s going on? You look like your pet moggy just died.” Hit a cord with that I did - especially if I was hoping to be locked in a speeding auto with a pissed off jungle cat.
I didn’t get an answer to my question until we pulled up in front of the house and got out of the car. “Something’s not right, Doyle. Can’t you feel it?”
Frankly, I wasn’t feeling anything but concern. This isn’t like Bodie - not at all. He’d face down the devil himself wearing a grin. “No, I don’t - explain it to me.”
“Feel like we’re being watched. The hairs on the back of me neck are standing up, and I’m cold, Ray, cold to the bone. Something’s not right.”
I looked around cautiously. Bodie had just admitted he was off balance. Hell, I’ve seen him out gunned and outnumbered and never break a sweat, and I've watched him run in where angels - and anyone with half a brain - feared to tread. So whatever the problem is, it’s serious. I took a step closer and gripped his bicep. I’d have done more, wanted to, but we were standing in the drive.
He insisted on circling the house; checking windows, behind the bushes...I knew that look and the actions - my partner was on high alert. And I was thoroughly stumped as to the reason. Once his sweep was complete he headed for the back entrance. Considering we had the keys to the front lock, I was a bit confused, but followed closely behind, taking a chance and running a hand gently across his hip.
He pulled his weapon, and I followed suit. He eased the door open and was barely inside before he froze - seeing nothing to have prompted this behavior I placed a hand on a tense shoulder, shocked to feel the tremors running through the strong body.
I yanked him out of the house without really thinking, and we would have ended up in a heap if Bodie hadn’t reached out and steadied me. Looking at him, my face must have mirrored the confusion I was feeling because he cleared his throat and started to talk. “Sorry, Ray. Don’t know what’s going on. Just know I can’t go back in there.” He looked away; embarrassed, as always, by any show of weakness. I lifted up his chin and smiled. “S’okay, mate, I‘ll go ferret out whatever it is we’re supposed to be looking for.”
“No!” He bit his lower lip, and grabbed hold of my wrist. “Not without me.”
I wanted to take him home, put him in our bed and hold him until morning, but Cowley would likely not approve of me following my instincts. Deciding the quicker we got started, the quicker we could go, I entered the house, gun drawn, knowing my partner had my back.
It was an ordinary house as far as I could tell, which simply made my partner’s behavior all the more difficult to understand. This man’s instincts had saved my life so many times I’d lost count, so I wasn’t going to discount them, regardless of what my own senses were telling me.
We made our way methodically through the first three rooms. Bodie was becoming more agitated the further into the house we went. Oh, he tried to hide it, but I knew him too well: could read him like a book across a football field, let alone from across the room.
As we entered the small library, he gasped and sank to his knees, hands scrabbling at his throat. I spun around, gun at the ready, but we were alone in the room. Hell, we were alone in the house! “Sunshine?” I knelt beside him, vaguely registering an odd smell that reminded me of singed flesh as I ran a hand along his cheek.
“Can’t breathe,” he whispered.
I gripped him by the elbows and lifted him to his feet. We were getting out now. Whatever the Cow wanted, he could bloody well come and get himself. I manhandled him outside and down the back lawn to a bench. Squatting between his knees, I waited expectantly.
After a couple of shaky breaths, he put a hand over mine, where it rested on his thigh. “Ta, mate.”
“What happened?” He tucked his chin in tight and closed his eyes. “Bodie, for Christ sake, one minute you’re fine and the next you’re gasping for breath and pale as a ghost. What the hell is going on?”
“Won’t believe me,” he muttered, closing his eyes.
“This is me, Sunshine…course I will.” I took a deep breath knowing I had to calm down if I was going to get anywhere. Bodie was running scared. I’d only seen him this way one other time; the time he found me bleeding out on a rug in me flat.
“Something’s in there,” he said, softly. “Felt like someone was squeezing the breath out of me…happened once before…in Africa.”
“What did you do?” I asked as I stifled the urge to pick him up and run. He has a weird sense of humor, and normally I would think he was pulling my leg, but I knew the look of fear in those blue eyes couldn’t be faked. I patted his thigh in encouragement.
“Witch doctor from the village, he did something - not sure what. Told me it was someone from the other side trying to bring me over.”
I fell back on my arse as the significance of his comments worked through my addled brain. “You’ve lost it, mate,” I muttered wishing desperately to take the words back even as they spilled from my mouth. He jerked away and was headed into the house before I got to my feet. “Bodie, NO!” I ordered as he disappeared from view. I ran, castigating myself for being such an idiot. I called out again as I entered the kitchen. The silence that greeted me raised my hackles, and I moved quickly through the next two rooms with my gun drawn.
“Damn you, Bodie,” I shouted. Before my words died in the air I heard an inhuman yowl that froze me in my tracks. “BO-DAY,” I screamed and burst into the next room, stopping short as soon as I cleared the doorway. Bodie was grappling with - well, I don’t know how to describe it - but whatever it was, it was doing its best to steal my partner’s life, and no one, no thing, was going to take that man from me. So I threw myself at the darkling form and felt a chill run down to my bones as I fell right through it. I staggered to my feet in time to see the form straighten and move in my direction. I was unsure what to do. I had no idea how to defend myself. Turns out I didn’t need to do anything as Bodie, the big dumb crud, had struggled upright and moved between us to protect me. So I did what came naturally and moved to his side, and together we somehow managed to back the thing into a corner.
I was catching my breath when it took on a slightly more concrete form. The smell of rotting flesh suddenly gagged me just before the thing began to speak. “Next time, Bodie. Soon,” it promised before dissipating as the church bells began to peal.
When I could think straight I looked around and found Bodie on the floor, leaning against the wall, knees held tight against his chest. “S’okay, mate, s’okay…it’s gone.” I rubbed his back slowly as I tried to come to grips with what had happened, while at the same time stopping myself from shaking the man to get answers. While I didn’t really want to deal with the fact that thing had called my lover by name, the voice had had seemed oddly familiar to me, and I needed to know why.
Bodie had always been far more accepting of the unexplainable then I - maybe it was his time in Africa; maybe it was simply his bullheaded approach to life - but I needed an answer or I wasn’t sure I could ever let him out of my sight again.
By the time Bodie slowly uncurled, dusk had moved in, and I could barely see him. “Lights Ray, turn on the lights.”
I did as he asked, and eased back down beside him. I leaned lightly against his side, and relished the soft sigh my presence elicited. I was working my way up to demanding answers when he spoke. “Let’s find whatever the hell it is Cowley wants and go home.” With that he rose, swaying slightly as he gained his feet. He reached out a hand and helped me up. I held on tight, and he pulled me into a one armed embrace. We stood together, but it wasn’t nearly long enough for me before he pulled away. “I’ll take the upstairs,” he stated as he stepped away.
“Bodie?”
“Finish the job, and we can go home, Sunshine,” he responded before disappearing from view. I found it - at least I think it was “it” - behind a small coat of arms in the library. I called for Bodie, and we left the house. On the way to the car there was an odd sound and a movement so close to my head I threw myself to the ground.
“Just a few bats, Doyle,” my partner reassured from above. “It’s that time of night. And put your gun away, it’s against the bloody law to harm them. You can rape a 14 year old, fill them with drugs and whore them out without ever seeing the inside of a jail cell, but harm a bat in England and it’s an entirely different story.” I clambered to my feet, eyes sweeping the grove of trees. “S’okay, Ray, they’re gone.”
On the drive back into the City I was still processing all that had happened. Luckily the Cow wasn’t in, so we dropped our find with Betty and ducked out. I needed to be home; I needed Bodie in my arms; and I needed answers - in that order.
Of course, he had other ideas, disappearing into the bathroom the moment my back was turned. But I was used to long stake outs so I got a drink and moved into the bedroom, shucking my trainers before stretching out on the bed and making myself comfortable. He joined me twenty minutes later, warm and a bit pink from the shower.
He must have read my mind as he started talking before I could get my questions out. “That house, it was 15 miles from the prison.” He grabbed my glass and took a gulp while taking in my blank stare. “The prison where Keller died.”
He felt me tense, and wrapped himself partially around me before continuing in a voice barely above a whisper. “All Hallow's Eve, Ray, the night the boundary between the living and the dead dissolves. Keller wanted me to stay with him after he took that bullet for me in the SAS; and he wanted me to stay with him after he turned…” I suddenly had an image of Bodie standing over the blanketed figure on the stretcher, face blank as Keller spoke to him. I’d been too far away to hear the words, but I’d seen my partner’s reaction and knew whatever Keller said upset him. Of course, the Cow interrupted and so much happened after that, what with the SAS coming in and MI6 and the locals, that I never did get around to asking him about it.
“You didn’t want to go with him.” Maybe I was stating the obvious, but I needed to get him to talk it out - not something he was ever particularly eager to do. Instead of answering, he tucked his chin on my shoulder and wrapped his arm tighter around my waist. “Pet, Keller can’t have you, you’re mine.”
“Didn’t want to go with him, never did.” Well, that made me feel a whole lot better. I hadn’t liked Jimmy Keller from the first moment I’d laid eyes on him, and Bodie had been so secretive - and in hindsight upset - when his former mate showed up that I’d honestly had no idea what he thought of the man.
“Did he say anything else to you?”
“Said if I didn’t go with him, he’d take you instead.”
Well, that explained his stepping in between us. “Guess he didn’t figure on you stopping him.”
“He didn’t figure on us stopping him. Alone, I’m not sure I could have held him off, but the two of us - we’re unbeatable, Ray. Always have been.” He earned a kiss for that.
“Close those blue eyes, luv, and get some sleep. It’s been a long day, and God knows what Cowley will ask of us tomorrow.” He obeyed, but opened his eyes immediately as I pulled away. “Just going to do a quick wash up.” I slipped into the bog and leaned heavily back against the closed door.
I had seen some strange things in my time - the City of London held many surprises for those who prowled its underbelly; but the sight of that thing - of Keller - trying to take away the man I love - that topped them all. I quickly brushed my teeth and ran a wet flannel over my face and chest. I wanted to get back to Bodie; in fact I was getting more nervous by the second.
He clearly wasn’t suffering any anxiety from the separation as he was fast asleep, curled around my pillow. I pulled the duvet up to his hips and went out into the lounge. Standing in the window, I looked out into the black of the night. “Not this time, Keller, not ever. He’s mine.”
- - - - -
Waking up, I felt warm and secure and smiled as I moved into the warmth at my back. Greeting the world in Bodie’s arms was my favorite way to start the day, and my favorite way to end one for that matter. I wiggled around so I was facing him and ran a finger down the relaxed face. I felt like I was waking from a nightmare, and maybe that is what it had all been - a bad dream. It wasn’t unusual for blokes in our line of work to have a nightmare or two: it went with the territory. Having convinced myself that was the case, I ran a hand down my bedmate’s muscular chest, stopping to rub lightly against a nipple. I smiled as he arched into my touch. Sleep filled blue eyes opened and graced me with a tender, soppy smile before I tweaked the nipple again, causing him to throw his head back and sigh. I froze at the sight of the deep hand shaped bruises on my lover’s throat.
""The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends and the other begins?""
-- Edgar Allan Poe
T