Out of the Dark, Chapter Fifteen, Part One
Be patient; the end is near
Fandom: The Professionals
Author: Francis Kerst
Genre: Slash
Pairing: Bodie/Cowley
Rating: Mature
Warning: none
Archiving: Anywhere
Summary: just talking
« Good morning, sir »
Sir ? What was it about ?
He had been standing in the doorway for a while, waiting for the man to notice his presence.
He stepped forward, moving cautiously and stiffly, unnaturally upright, as he strove to walk straight and steadily. The long, hot shower had erased some of his hangover and eased the pain in his leg; he managed to reach the chair in front of Bodie, where he sat down with as much dignity as he could muster.
« Good morning Bodie. »
The lad was eyeing him with mild amusement. “Sit down and have a cup of tea.”
“How gracious of you!”
“Oh? Am I not usually so?”
“Not that much.”
“Grumpy, eh?” He filled him a cup of now tepid but strong beverage and pushed the plate of buttered toast and boiled eggs to his side of the table. “But I forgive you. You really don't look like yourself today.” He winked.
This elicited a frown from Cowley, soon followed by a smirk from Bodie.
“How do you know? Last time we talked, you hardly recognized me at all.”
“Yes I did. And I told you so.”
“You recognized someone you'd seen a long time ago; are you aware you are supposed to have lost whole swathes of your memory?” He bored his gaze deep through the other man's eyes, still as blue and candid as ever. “At a time you may not remember, you agreed to give me your full support to help you recover it, if it was in any way possible.” He drank his tea avidly, not touching the toast. He was thirsty, his throat was dry and his voice not as steady as he would have wished. But his old masterfulness was returning.
The erstwhile genial face of the young man in front of him had stilled and become unreadable. Cowley pursued: “I must now ask you the same thing again.”
Bodie raised his funny shaped eyebrow. “So, you assume I haven’t recovered it already?”
“Have you?” --/-- “Anyway, I must check.”
The other shrugged. “As you please. What do you want to know?”
“Let’s start at the beginning. Who am I?”
Bodie grinned, visibly relieved. “That's the easy part: you are George Cowley, that's how you introduced yourself when we met; or must I call you Major George Cowley?”
“When did we first met? And where?”
“Come on ...”
“Just answer my questions.”
“I’ve already done so yesterday. This, at least, I remember. Have you forgotten?”
“Don't dither, it's important.”
“If you say so ...” Bodie sighed ostensibly. “I saw you first in that stinky rat hole in Katanga, surely one of the devil's abodes.”
“I don't disagree; when did it occur?”
“After I had been captured with two of my men; we'd been sold away I reckon.” He pondered: “There was also that nosy bloke, who claimed to be a war reporter from The Guardian. What was his name? MacLeod?”
“MacLaren.”
“That was it. You came for him. He was one of your mob, wasn't he?” Cowley didn't answer. “Whatever; it was lucky for me.” The grin popped up again, wider. “The best luck I had had in weeks.”
“Is that all you remember about MacLaren?”
“Well, he was with me, in the same bedroom, at the hospital: the military hospital I mean, not the other one.”
“You remember Repton?”
“Only too well.” The youthful face shut up anew. “But don't ask; I won't tell you anything.”
“I won't force you.” Too soon, thought Cowley, I'll see to that later. “What happened next?”
“I guess I was released eventually; how, I don't know.” He hesitated. “You took me from Repton and brought me to this place.”
“You are not sure?”
“Sounds logical.”
“Indeed. But don’t you have more precise recollections of the trip? Of your sojourn here?”
Bodie looked confused. “I do have some memories but vague, dreamlike.”
That last word brought Cowley's mind to places he had no wish to explore. “Don't worry: it's not that important,” he said hastily, eyes shifting to avoid the interrogative gaze of a perplexed Bodie.
“Really? Why were you so eager to know if I had recovered any part of my memory, then?”
“Not every part of it, only a specific period of time, before your engagement with the Katangese rebels.” He had not intended to start the interrogation so early, especially without the control and support of Angus. But since Bodie was offering him such a golden opportunity …
The young man was now showing perfect composure. “The month before? It was the ordinary business in between missions; deals about money, equipment, that sort of thing; nothing thrilling.” He paused. “Actually, I don't see what could be so interesting in my past to anybody but me.”
Cowley stared at the fresh, innocent face. He spoke slowly and solemnly. “That part of your past happens to be of the utmost interest for a bunch of people who wield enough power to let you have a future … or not.” He paused. “Think about it: The next deal you'll set might well be the biggest and the last one.”
Bodie laughed: “I certainly expect the last deal of my life to be the biggest. ”
As usual, comments are very welcome. They might even inspire me and boost my motivation to write