LOMFIC: Kingdom Come, Chapter 2
Title: Kingdom Come
Author: ac_123
Chapter: 2/9 ("China Girl")
Charactes/Pairings: 1975!Sam/Gene, 2008!Sam, Maya
Rating: Blue Cortina
Summary: A new friend? A new enemy? While investigating the murder of a wealthy Mancunian man, Gene meets and causes friction with a newly-demoted ex of Sam's.
Disclaimer: I do not own. I wish I did. That would be cool.
Warnings: murder (but that's par-for-the-course here), mentions of sex and violence
A/N: If anyone read this and saw a mention of a girl named "Bunny", just ignore it. That referenced to a now-deleted chapter and is now removed. Sorry if it caused any confusion.
Companion Fic Brown Cortina for sexy business. (NOTE: I'd like you to read this!)
1-My Death...
**********
Gene rubbed his closed eyes and sighed. He had a hangover and the painkillers had yet to kick in and coffee had yet to become availiable to him. He looked at his watch. He was a little late, but he was sure that Sam would make a fuss about it. Little nancy boy...didn't know when to shut the hell up and leave him alone. Never did and never will.
The elevator doors opened and Gene stepped out onto the CID floor. He heard laughter and instantly hated it. Whoever was so happy needed to shut the hell up 'cause they were giving him a headache.
He walked through the front doors. In one corner, everyone was talking and laughing, sitting in a circle on the desks. Gene froze as he stood in the doorway. He was still pissed that these people had the audacity to have a good time while he was suffering, but Gene couldn't help but notice the light atmosphere in the room, almost like the members of CID were having a party. That was when he was noticed the Paki bird. She was sitting in the center of the circle, the center of everyone's attention. She was holding a styrofoam cup of coffee and wearing a dazzling smile.
Gene was ready to attract attention to himself when he started to hear what their topic of conversation was.
"He's like a neanderthal. Almost completely primeval. Shoulda seen the way he looked atta computer like he never saw one before in his life" the one girl, Claire, said while trying not to laugh.
"Hah, yeah. Rumor says he was arrested on his first day for punching a PC" the one named Tony added.
"Heard Tyler yell at him for assaulting a suspect" the ass named Matthew added as he sucked on a cigarette.
The new Paki girl laughed. "Poor Sam. Having to deal with the likes of tha--" The girl noticed Gene at the door. Her smile fell. The rest of CID turned around, each one growing increasingly pale once they saw Gene standing there.
Part of Gene wanted to get the hell out of there. They wanted to talk about him, fine, he'll leave them to talk about him. But that would be the sad, please-pity-me Tyler way out. So instead of turning around and running away, Gene closed the door and walked to his desk, taking out his fags--he finally got a pack the night before--and a lighter and light up as he sat in his chair. He felt their eyes on him as he waited for the stupid computer thing to turn on. He looked back, taking his fag out of his mouth as he did and blowing a cloud of smoke out of his mouth. "Don't let me being here stop ya from talkin'" Gene said. "Don't wanna be a killjoy." The computer finally turned on and Gene turned back towards it.
The cowards stayed where they were as Gene tried to find something to do on the computer. He learned how to play solitare on the damned thing, and since he had no folders on his desk, he opened the program and began his meaningless game.
"Ahem." Gene turned to look at the Paki girl, apparently brave enough to stand up and come over to him right after he caught her talking about him. She held her hand out. "My name is Maya Roy."
Gene turned back to his computer screen. "Name's Gene Hunt."
Out of the corner of his eye, Gene saw Maya draw her hand back. "If there is anything you need, ask--"
"Don't bother sayin' it, Love. Heard it enough to satisfy the rest of me life" Gene cut Maya off. He breathed in some smoke, then blew it out of his nose, enjoying the burn that it caused.
Maya stood there for a few more moments before turning away, returning to her seat.
Sam decided to prevent the almost-inevitable awkward silence by walking into the room. "Gene, we have-- Oh! Maya! I forgot you were returning today."
Gene heard her mumble, "Thought you would."
"Gene" Sam continued. "We got a call from a penthouse. A maid found her boss unconscious in the kitchen this morning and couldn't resuscitate him."
"Betcha it's the butler" Gene mumbled as he closed his game down and turned off the computer.
"Let's get down there before we begin blaming the staff, yeah?" He gestured to the other CID members. "Maya, Ashley, I want you two to come with us."
Gene glanced at Maya, who was standing and putting on her jacket. She met his eye and nodded before following Sam's lead.
**********
"Who's that Maya broad?" Gene asked, lighting a fag as Sam drove them to the crime scene.
"What have I told you about cigarettes in my car?" Sam asked, sounding much too much like an overbearing mother.
"That you don't like people to smoke in it" Gene answered. He held the cigarette between two of his fingers, letting the smoke drift up.
"Put that out!" Sam demanded.
"I ain't smokin' it" Gene taunted.
"Put it out" Sam repeated, this time with more force.
"Nope."
Sam sighed. Gene glanced over and noticed the adorable scrunch in Sam's nose. He looked away.
"Maya" Sam answered, "was the DI before you. A few years ago she disobeyed an order which almost ended in her being..." Gene could tell what the end of that sentence was and also that Sam didn't have the heart to say it. "Anyway, since then our ability to work together had suffered and right before you came here, she did something to hinder an investigation and so I demoted her. She took a few days off, during which you took over as DI."
Gene grunted. He leaned back and held his chin up, sitting very still and very quiet. Something tickled at the back of his mind. Something that Sam had said before. Something that felt important now but was, at the time, quite small. Gene rolled the cigarette between his fingers. If only he could remember...
"Is there something wrong?" Sam asked.
Gene raised his eyebrows. "Now ain't that an annoyin' question. Only thing that's gettin' on my nerves just as much is 'Come to me if there's anythin' ya need' an' your sorry arse," Gene turned to Sam. Sam glared at him for a moment before returning his attention back to the road.
"You know, it's this attitude that will keep you from making long-lasting bonds that are based on respect and trust" Sam said in a matter-of-fact way.
"Please, ain't no one here I would want to make a 'long-lastin' bond' with anyway" Gene grumbled.
"You're such a child!" Sam exclaimed.
"Are not."
"Are too."
"Are not."
"Are too."
They continued this argument until they reached the penthouse.
**********
The penthouse was in a building Gene had never seen before, had never thought would exist back in the seventies. All red brick and built so that it looked older than it was; disgust boiled in Gene's stomach towards this place. The pretentiousness it held just by existing. He glared at the mocking building before following Sam inside. The receptionist had pointed them to the elevator, telling them that there were already some police there and that they were all on the seventh level penthouse.
The seventh level penthouse was just as pretentious as the building it sat in. The floors were polished hardwood, the walls were all white stucco decorated with paintings that looked like crap and cost too much. The furniture was all matching black leather in the entertaining rooms with glass side- and coffee tables. There was one carpet that was an alternating white, gray, and black pattern. The kitchen, where the body lay face-down on the marble-topped island, was white-walled as well with oak cabinets, a steel refrigerator, marble-topped cabinets strewn with fancy gadgets and sharp instruments.
Gene and Sam were let under the cordon while Maya and Ashley waited on the other end.
"Name's Joseph Sternum" a PC informed Sam and Gene as they looked at the dead man. He was wearing a suit, the jacket of which was sitting on the back of the chair. He had a full head of gray hair and looked to be in pretty good health. "'e's fifty-two years old, works at a local accountin' firm, an' 'e lives with 'is wife an' the live-in maid."
"Are the maid and wife here?" Sam asked.
"Maid, who found the body" the PC said. "'er name's Mei Lee Ching. She's in the office if you wan'to talk to 'er."
"Where's the missus?" Gene asked.
"'er job" the PC answered.
Sam nodded. He walked around the body, which was sitting in a chair and slumped over, forehead pressed into the countertop. Next to him was a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal. In his lap was a newspaper, presumably that day's. Sam bent down, neck twisting and face rising so that he could get a closer look at the neck. Then he stepped away, backing off.
Sam pressed his fingertips together and then placed them against his face. After a moment, he began to speak. "I want forensics to come in and check for any kind of poison they can think of; arsenic, cyanide, mercury, Polonium-210 if they can't find anything else. Until then I need someone to very carefully take all injestible items in as evidence so that they can be inspected for poison as well."
"'ow do you know 'e wasn't strangled?" Gene questioned.
"There aren't any markings on the neck" Sam said, gesturing to the body. "Even if he was killed with a soft material then there would be some sort of left-over marking, such as a bruise." Sam walked to the two women behind the cordon. "Maya, Ashley, I want you two to go from floor to floor, asking the residents about Mr. Sternum. See if there was any bad air between him and any of the other people in the building, staff included."
Maya nodded. "Sure. We'll call you when we're done."
Sam nodded. "Good." Sam turned back to the PC from before. "Where's the office? We need to speak to this maid."
**********
Mei Lee Ching, the Chinese immigrant maid, was bawling her eyes out in the office when Sam and Gene entered. She was young, most likely in her mid-twenties, thin, and had a soft voice that even when she was crying, sounded like the cooing of a bird. She had shiny black hair that was pulled back in a bun that was impaled with pens. She wore a navy blue knee-length dress, a white apron, stockings, white trainers, and there was a pad of paper in one pocket of the apron, making it bulge.
Gene looked around the office, not enjoying how white the walls were or how there was leather furniture and an ugly rug even in here. The television was too thin and the twenty-third century-looking computer was alternately mocking him and giving it an evil glare.
"Miss Ching" Sam soothed, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Please calm down Miss Ching."
"He dead!" she cried. "He dead! He have no heartbeat! He no breath!" Mei Lee continued to cry.
"Miss Ching, could you please calm down. We need to ask you a question or two" Sam said, stroaking her back.
"He dead! He dead!" After that, Mei Lee began babbling in Chinese.
Gene growled. He turned to the upset maid and shouted, "Shut up! I'm glad to know that you're smart enough to understand that your boss 'as kicked the bucket, but you don't need to repeat it over and over! Now shut up and answer our questions or we take you in for disruptin' a police investigation!"
Sam and Mei Lee stared up at Gene, both quiet. Gene could tell that Sam was ready to stand up and tell him off, but then Mei Lee sniffed, hiccupped twice, and rubbed at her eyes. Gene's yelling seemed to have calmed her, rather than rile her more like Sam feared he would. "S-Sorry. I no see dead person in all my life" Mei Lee explained. "I n-not used to having to call police either."
Sam pat her back. "It's okay, Miss Ching. If you don't mind, could you tell us about your boss?"
Mei Lee sniffed. "M-Mr. Joe very nice person. He treat me well, even offer extra room to me when I not pay rent at last flat. I sad for him often."
"Why?" Sam asked.
"His wife, Mrs. Nancy, she not as nice. She very mean. Loud and bossy. She not want me to move in or even want to hire me, but Mr. Joe say that I ignore her because she a bitch."
Gene had to stifle a chuckle. Sam glanced at him warningly before turning back to Mei Lee. "Miss Ching, could you tell us more about Mr. and Mrs. Sternum's relationship? Did they fight a lot?"
Mei Lee nodd. "They fight always. Always bad. Mrs. Nancy always leave when they have bad fight. I always make Mr. Joe coffee after so to make him happy." Mei Lee began to tear up. "He so kind. He always drink cups I give him."
"Shh, shh... It's okay Miss Ching" Sam comforted. Mei Lee wiped at her eyes, hiccupping a few more times before getting herself under control again. "Miss Ching, what did you do this morning?"
Mei Lee took a deep breath. "I...I wake at five, I bath, I make coffee and I set out milk and cereal for Mr. Joe. I look into Mr. Joe and Mrs. Nancy room and see that Mrs. Nancy is not there. She leave for work very early but never before I wake. They have fight night before, so I figure she leave during night."
"Why did you look into their room?" Sam asked.
"Make sure Mr. Joe and Mrs. Nancy awake. Mr. Joe awake, so I go and start laundry. I leave for errand. I return and I hear Mr. Joe's phone ringing. I walk into kitchen and I see Mr. Joe is...is..." Mei Lee burst into more tears.
Sam calmed Mei Lee down until she was back to hiccupping and sniffling. "Miss Ching, what was the errand you ran?"
"D-D-Doctor..." Mei Lee answered.
"Which doctor did you go to?" Sam asked.
"A-Address is in planner in room" Mei Lee answered.
Sam nodded. "Thank you Miss Ching. You did a very good job."
Mei Lee nodded, then began to cry again.
**********
Gene leaned agaisnt the doorway of Mei Lee's room. He watched as Sam flipped through the day planner that he had found on the top of the bed. "Find it?"
Sam shook his head. "I can't tell, it's all in Chinese." Sam turned to Gene, waving the planner in the air. "We're going to have to take this to Mei Lee to translate it or take it down to the station and have it translated there."
"Let's take it to the station. Don't like that girl. Somethin'...wrong with 'er."
Sam's brow creased. "That's ridiculous, Gene, there's nothing wrong with her."
"Feel like she's 'idin' somethin'" Gene said, shoving his hands into his coat pocket.
Sam looked aggravated. "This job isn't based on feelings. I think she's telling us the truth, so until that's been proven wrong, she's nothing more than an innocent victim."
"And this job isn't based on what you think" Gene retorted. "I follow my gut and, believe it or not, it leads me in the right direction every time." Except maybe that once with the textile mill, but this Sam doesn't need to know that.
"Sounds like luck" Sam said. "But luck tends to run out when you least expect it." Sam stepped up to Gene. They were very close. The last time Gene was this close to anyone was standing in the shower with Sam, chilling water running over them and clearing away the fresh jizz on their bodies, Sam's arms holding onto Gene like Gene was about to leave him...
"Gene? Did you hear me?"
Gene blinked. He looked into Sam's brown eyes, seeing nothing more than slight annoyance. "Naw. I was tryin' ta remember what I had for breakie this mornin'. It was good, need to have it again soon."
Sam's eyes narrowed. "I said that I wanted you to take this to Mei Lee so she could translate it." Sam shoved the planner into Gene's chest.
Gene took the planner and held it into the air. "On it" he said before turning around and walking away.
**********
"Is...is all you need?" Mei Lee asked.
Gene nodded. He folded the scrap of paper in half and put it in his pocket. "For now, Love" he said. "But I would be expectin' another visit in the near future if I were you."
Mei Lee seemed worried by his words. Whether it was the way Gene had said them or it was their meaning, what he had said scared her.
Gene turned and left the room. As he walked out into the hall, he felt someone bump into him. Gene took a step further down the hall, trying to keep from having the person who ran into him from falling over. It was then that he saw who it was and decided that he didn't care whether or not she had fallen over.
"Oh! I'm sor--" Maya began to say. She stopped herself when she saw who it was. "Oh, um, hello. Sorry, I didn't see you there."
"Yeah," Gene said dismissively. He turned away from her, starting to walk away.
"Do you know where Sam is?" Maya asked.
"I'm goin' ta see him right now" Gene replied. He wasn't inviting her to come with him, yet he didn't tell her to piss off when she fell into stride next to him.
"The neighbors all seem to say the same thing" Maya said. She didn't say anything else.
"About what?" Gene asked.
"The Sternums; the neighbors all said that Joseph was quite nice without the presence of his wife and Nancy was tolerable without her husband. Together, though, was like opening up hell."
Gene grunted.
They fell back into the silence. This time it lasted until they came across Sam, who was overseeing Forensics as they collected prints, took pictures and did whatever they did. Sam didn't notice his DI and DS as they approached the scene and, therefore, kept his back turned on them.
Maya coughed. "Ahem!"
Sam turned around. "Oh, you two are back. Do you have the address to the doctor Mei Lee saw today?"
Gene nodded. "Yep" he said.
Sam gave Gene a quick nod. He turned to Maya. "Are you done with the interviews?"
Maya nodded as well. "Yes. All the neighbors say--"
"Later, okay?" Sam said. He gestured to the two of them. "I want you two to go to the address from Mei Lee and confirm that she was there this morning and at what time." A man from Forensics called out for Sam, prompting him to turn his back on Maya and Gene and see what the problem was.
Gene glanced down at Maya. She was wearing a deflated, yet accepting, expression, almost as if she was used to this kind of treatment. He didn't wait for her to catch his eye, Gene was already halfway through the penthouse by the time Maya realized that he was no longer next to her, causing her to run to catch up to him.
"Where are we going?" Maya asked.
Gene dug through his pocket and pulled out the slip that had the address on it. He handed it to Maya, who scanned it before folding it back up and insisting that they take her car.
**********
The car ride was silent, which was just peachy with Gene. He had no desire in speaking to the broad and he was sure she had no desire to speak to him. After that morning, he doubted anyone who had been in the office had the desire to speak to him.
"What've you learned from Mei Lee?" Maya asked, shocking Gene.
He blew air past his lips. "Dead guy and wife hated each other. The wife hated her but the dead guy wanted to be her best friend."
Maya hummed. They fell silent yet again, allowing Gene's mind to drift off to the buildings that were speeding past outside.
"So...you're from Hyde?" Maya said.
"Yep."
More silence.
"Well, what's it like there?"
"Lot like here" Gene said.
"Really?" Maya asked, feigning interest. "How? Are the buildings the same?"
"Nope."
"Oh...uh, then how--"
"It's a crime-filled swamp full of scum that's tryin' to suffocate all the good fish and plants out of it" Gene said, a little quirk upwards in the corner of his mouth.
Gene didn't see it, but Maya took a long look at him, seeing his small, nostalgic smirk and wondering why that was a good thing. She looked back to the road. "At least you have something that reminds you of home" she said, nodding a little, something which also went unnoticed. "Have you...made any friends yet?"
"Nope."
"Oh..."
"Not plannin' on makin' any either."
"Why not?" Maya asked. "If you're going to be staying with us then you need to--"
"'Make life-long connections' blah blah blah" Gene said. "I got all that shite from Sam already and I'll tell you the same thing that I told him: there ain't no one here that I would want to make friends with." Gene shifted in his seat and looked out the window, ending whatever conversation had been going on between him and Maya.
**********
The receptionist at the doctor's office--which turned out to be a gynecologist's--had initially refused to pull Mei Lee's file. Then Maya and Gene flashed their badges and Gene mentioned how this could be obstructing a police investigation which would lead to severe consequences. The receptionist promptly walked off to see where Mei Lee's file was.
"Hey" Maya whispered to Gene.
"You say anythin' about how that was incorrect procedure, I'll--" Gene began to threaten, before Maya cut him off.
"Good job."
Gene's eyebrows rose. He looked at her. "You approve of that?"
Maya winked. "Not eveyone round here is as uptight as Sam."
The receptionist walked back. "Here we go!" she said, holding up a manilla folder. Before she even got back to her desk, Gene leaned forward and snatched the thing out of her hands. The receptionist's mouth opened, as if she was going to tell Gene off, then closed it, figuring that her life and job were more valuable then replying to someone's rudeness.
Gene flipped through the file, Maya looking over his arm. At one point, she stopped him. "Here it is" she said. "Says here that Mei Lee was here at seven-thirty in the morning."
The receptionist nodded. "Yes, she was the first patient we saw today."
"What was she here for?" Gene asked.
Maya's thin finger tapped a line on one of the papers. "To confirm her pregnancy."
**********
Sam sat behind his desk, regarding Gene and Maya with seperate, equal gazes. "Miss Ching is pregnant" he said, repeating the words that Gene had just given him. "Then...congratulations to her. I don't see how that affects the investigation, though."
"It could" Maya said, stepping forward. "Mei Lee is pregnant, she says Joseph Sternum was extrordinarily kind to her and Nancy Sternum hated her guts." Maya shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe Nancy hated her because Mei Lee and Joseph were having an affair."
"Just because a maid says her boss was nice to her doesn't mean she's sleeping with him" Sam said coldly. Maya's shoulders sagged a little as Sam continued to pick away at her theory. "Mrs. Sternum was known to be a very angry and controlling woman while her husband was the exact opposite. Mr. Sternum could have tried to consolidate the rudeness Miss Ching was faced with every day with being kind to her, extra tips and such."
"One hell of a tip" Gene muttered.
Sam turned to him. "Pardon?"
"Wouldn't be surprised if Sternum was screwing around with the maid" Gene said. "Also wouldn't be surprised if he told her it was over the moment she told him she coulda been preggie. Betcha she slipped the poison into his coffee before goin' to the doctor's."
"I think it's the wife" Maya chirped. "She works in pharmaceuticals, correct? I'm sure she has more than enough knowledge of lethal drugs and just as much a reson to kill her cheating bastard of a husband."
The image of his ex-Missus waving a gun popped in Gene's mind. He had to stifle his smirk or else be asked why he thought such a statement was so humorous.
"Maya, I think we should look at everything individually before jumping to such rash conclusions. I don't want this to end up like the Raimes case" Sam said as he stood up.
Maya's defenses instantly went up, the air surrounding her shifting. "What do you mean 'end up like the Raimes case'?"
Raimes?
Sam's eyes said that he was backtracking, looking for the right words to use to respond to a question prompted by something he didn't mean to say. "You know what I mean" Sam said. His voice was low, warning, but tinged with something, with an emotion, that Gene couldn't discern. It was either fear, anger, or worry.
Maya leaned close to Sam, eyes hard and posture confident. Her voice shook as she whispered, "These people aren't Colin Raimes." Then, she turned around and strode out of the office.
Colin Raimes. Raimes. Raimes. That name sounded familiar. Why? Gene hadn't faced a Raimes before, had he? He didn't think so, but the name rung a bell. It was important, somehow. Why? He'd never worked with a Raimes. He'd never been mates with a Raimes. He hadn't done service with the Raimes. Raimes Raimes Raimes; why was it so familiar?
"Something wrong?"
Gene turned to Sam, who had his arms crossed over his chest. Gene shrugged. "Looks like there's somethin' more wrong with you."
Sam sighed. His arms uncrossed and one of his hands ran through his hair. After a moment of silence, Sam spoke. "Nancy Sternum is coming in at one. I want you to be in the interrogation room by then."
Gene nodded. "Yeah" he mumbled before walking out of the room.
**********
Gene had to pass the Canteen to get to the bogs, which was the only reason he was in that hallway, he said to himself. He hadn't meant to run into Maya, even though he had thought of asking her about the Raimes case so he could figure out why that name sounded so familiar. He didn't want to find her so that he could ask her what happened between her and Sam, not her being demoted by him, but what really happened, even though that crossed his mind as well. No, the bogs were down that hallway, so that was why he was near the Canteen, which was where he heard Maya and Claire speaking.
"I don't get him" Gene heard Maya say. "I tried being nice and asking him about Hyde, start conversation and all, but he gave me the cold shoulder."
Gene stopped walking down the hallway--to the bogs--and stood at the edge of the corner, around which was Maya and Claire, who spoke next.
"We told you he was strange" Claire insisted. "Fact that he didn't wanta talk to ya probably means that he thinks he's better than all of us."
"Or he's angry that he walked in on us talking about him" Maya said, a little regretfully.
"But he doesn't talk to anyone except Sam" Claire said. "And he occasionally says good morning to that one PC, but that's the extent of it. Why do you want to get to know him so much anyway?"
"He seems...different. Odd, you know? And not in just the way you all were saying... He's hiding something. And I want to figure it out."
"Be careful of this curiosity of yours, Maya. It's the same that's gotten you demoted and kidnapped."
"It's also the same that's gotten me all the way up to DI" Maya retorted. It was quickly followed by a pair of laughs, the squeak of doors opening, the squeak of doors closing, and then silence.
Something cold sat heavy in Gene's stomach. He leaned against the wall. This wasn't good. Maya taking a personal interest in him so as to figure out what made him tick, not good. That would mean she might discover that Gene hears Sam's voice on a daily basis, though it's not the same Sam. It's another Sam, a Sam that's currently his DI in nineteen seventy-five, who is sitting next to a comatose Gene. She might find out that Gene has three gaping black holes in his chest that only he could see. She might tell Sam, who has the power to write Gene off to the looney bin and there was no way in all the nine Hells that Gene was going to be rooming with Crane and Kramer.
Gene sighed and closed his eyes. That's when he heard the heartbeat.
Gene's head snapped up. He looked around. The heartbeat was thumping slowly, right between his eyes. Gene held onto the wall as the world turned and turned and turned around him, a strange and new effect that the heartbeat was having on him. He took tentative steps forward, down the hall and towards the bathroom. His stomach knotted and unknotted, stretched and shrunk, bent over and forward before doing the samba. At times, Gene couldn't see the hallway, only bright flashes of white light, blinding him. His hands were moving around like crazy, groping the wall, feeling for any sort of door that could possibly lead to a bathroom, be it the women's or the men's, as long as it had a toilet he could stick his head in.
At one point, the wall gave way and Gene stumbled into a new room. He bumped into something hard and pointed, and his stomach lurched, objecting to the thing that stopped its nauseating dance. The room spun faster, colors blurring into white, gray, nothing. Gene managed to get into the stall and fell onto his knees. The heartbeat became louder and louder, started to rebel against his skull. Gene could imagine it moving around, cracking into the bone, trying to get it to move so that it could burst out of his head. Good riddance, but it wasn't that easy.
Gene was lucky enough to have his head above the toilet when he finally heaved.
"What's wrong? His heart rate is crazy!"
Sam?
"What do you mean it's his meds?"
"S...Sa--" Gene heaved again.
"A side effect? Shouldn't you know what they do?"
Gene felt himself smirk. His Sammy, taking charge of a situation. Probably spends half his free time thinking of ways to bother the medical staff with questions and other drivel. Gene threw up again.
"I'm not leaving!"
"S-Sam..."
"I don't care what policy is, the Guv would want me here to make sure you lot don't mess up again!"
"Atta boy Sammy" Gene slured before dry heaving.
"No, you can't make me leave!"
"Sammy..." Gene rolled off of the rim of the toilet, landing heavily against one of the walls of the stall. His head lolled to the side. Everything was blurry and fading quickly, but his stomach was finally settling and the heartbeat was starting to silence itself. "S...Sammy... Don't go..."
"I can't...needs..."
Sam's voice was fading. He was being taken away by one of the nurses. But Gene didn't want him to go. Yet Gene didn't have the energy, he realized, as his eyes finally slid close and unconciousness took Gene away from this fucked-up dream.
**********
Pain. Pain. Pain.
Hot. Hot. Hot.
Cold. Cold. Cold.
There was a soft touch to his cheek. The figure was dark. It was female. It had blond hair. It spoke. She wasn't from England.
She touched his face, hair, shoulders, arms, wrists, back, hips, legs, ankles, feet. She was inspecting him. Her fingers didn't feel right.
"I'm sorry."
She had nothing to be sorry about.
"I'm so very, very sorry."
**********
Gene woke up to gentle fingers on his face, checking his pulse and his temperature. The voice was still foggy and he couldn't tell the gender quite yet, but he had a suspicion that it was Sam. Not the cold, emotionless thing that acted higher and mightier than Gene's Sam, but the tender one who liked to piss Gene off, push his buttons, get him to yell and boil and think before taking Gene in a desperate embrace that could last for days if the world would just but out.
Gene leaned into the soft hand and sighed. He opened his eyes and watched as colors began to form shapes. His eyes shifted in the direction of the owner of the hand that was cupping his face. His heart almost fell when he saw that the skin was dark and, as the world returned to perfect, painful clarity, that it was Maya who was caring for him, not the Sam that Gene wanted right now. Gene made a face, and Maya made a face back at him.
"You're welcome" she said, annoyed at the unspoken ungratefulness of the man on the ground. She took her hand away from Gene's face.
"For what?" Gene asked.
"For waking you up and keeping another woman from finding you in the lady's toilet" Maya answered as she stood up. She crossed her arms and stared down at her superior officer.
Gene struggled back onto his feet. He stumbled once and ignored the sympathetic look on Maya's face. He pushed past her as he exited the stall and made his way to the door. He burst out into the thankfully empty hallway and turned to the nearby clock. It was a quarter to one. He'd been out for over an hour. Gene wondered how long Maya had been by his side, then pushed the thought out of his mind. It didn't matter if she had been there for an hour or a minute. If he was supposed to believe what the voices were telling him--oh, how crazy that sounded--Maya didn't even exist. She was a dream.
"I think that you should go home" Gene heard Maya call out to him.
"Piss off" Gene retorted as he made his way down the hall and to the interrogation room.
"You're ill, you need to go home!"
A cold chill ran down Gene's spine. "I'm as fit as a pair of custom-made panties."
"I still think you should go home" Maya said. She had caught up to the quickly-walking man, hand reaching out to hold his arm and keep him still. That didn't work, as Gene just walked faster to escape her hand.
"Can't now. I got a job to do right now, Love. Wanna complain? Take it to resident pain in the arse."
Gene walked aggressively the rest of the way to the interrogation room, just in time to meet Sam as he showed up.
**********
Nancy Sternum was a very cold, straight, sharp woman. Her eyes were black and empty, her hair was brushed back into a professional bun and created a steep widows peak right between her eyes. Her nose was narrow and pointed, her lips were thin and pressed so tightly together they were almost ready to rip off her face. Her hands were tightly clenched together and in front of her black blazer and white blouse. She looked at Sam's hands as they moved about and Gene had a disturbing feeling that she wanted to eat Sam's fingers.
"Mrs. Sternum, what did you do this morning?" Sam asked after starting the tape.
"I woke up, got dressed, went to work" Nancy answered.
"Mei Lee said that you weren't in the bedroom this morning when she came in to check on you and your husband" Sam said. "Why is that?"
"I had a meeting with a potential client very early this morning, at six thirty, so I made sure to be up and out of my house by five" Nancy said. "My office is an hour away and I generally like to be there early so I can get tea and a scone before the day officially begins."
"Was there anyone who would've wanted you husband dead?"
Nancy shook her head. "I can't think of anyone who didn't find him agreeable. We normally stay away from those kinds of people."
"Was there anything difficult happening in his life that would prompt him to commit suicide?"
Nancy paused. After a few moments, she answered, "Yes. We were beginning to get a divorce."
"Why were you divorcing him?"
Again, Nancy hesitated. This time, the pause was longer, more nervous. "We had...irreperable issues."
"'eard that before" Gene mumbled.
"Pardon?" Nancy asked.
"Means 'e was kickin' boots with another bird" Gene said simply.
Nancy Sternum's face went snow white. "We were having issues."
"So then it was another bloke?"
Sam groaned and shoved his face into his hands. Nancy Sternum went red. "How dare you insult my husband in that fashion! He was not...a perverted queer. He was a respectable and upstanding straight man."
"He was sleeping with Mei Lee, weren't 'e? You caught your husband with his pants round his ankles an' his todger up another woman's--"
"Gene!" Sam shouted. "That isn't a proper way to interrogate a victim."
Gene was relentless, though. "Ya ever tell Mei Lee things about chemicals an' their effects?"
"I didn't want to hire to that little yellow bitch, but Joseph thought that she had a good work ethic and would be loyal to us" Nancy answered. "I believe I could count on one hand all the times I have spoken to her."
"Thank you, Mrs. Sternum, you are allowed to leave" Sam said immediately after Nancy finished. Sam was rubbing his head and trying not to strangle someone.
Nancy Sternum stood up and walked out of the room, leaving a waft of cold air behind her. Sam turned the tape off before turning to Gene, who was sitting silently and calmly next to him.
"What was that about?" Sam asked.
"What?"
"How could you assume that her husband was cheating on her when all she said was that they were having issues?" Sam said.
"'Cause I heard it before" Gene said with a shrug.
"Where?"
"From me ex-wife" Gene said, just as calmly.
Sam suddenly grew silent. "Oh...erm...I'm sorry about... Do you mind me asking?"
"Literally caught me with my pants down and my todger in--"
"I don't need that image, thank you."
Gene leaned in close, face inches from Sam's. Sam's eyes were bright, shining in the same way his Sam's would shine when Gene was this close. "You know you want it."
Sam stood up suddenly. "We need to see if the autopsy report came in. I'm sure it has by now."
"You're changing the subject" Gene teased. "You know what that means?"
"That our last subject was improper and not one that should be discussed" Sam said as he walked towards the door.
Gene stood up and followed Sam. "It means I'm right and you don't wanta admit it."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No. Oh, Maya."
Gene's eyes narrowed once he saw his new nemesis walk down the hall. She ignored Gene completely as she placed a hand on Sam's shoulder and guided him away. "I need to talk to you about something."
"Of course." Sam turned to Gene. "Gene, go down to the morgue, I'll meet you there."
Gene nodded, then plotted the death of Maya Roy.
**********
Gene stood over Joseph Sternum's cold, dead body. The medical examiner, who just so happened to be a very attractive young woman, stood opposite Gene. She pointed a gloved hand at Joseph's middle. "On investigating the stomach contents I noticed that there was a lethal number of severe ulcers, meaning that he abused a form of ibuprofen for an extended period of time."
"And that means?"
"He was popping painkillers for kicks at tea time" the woman said. "Still, I couldn't find more than normal traces of the actual drug in his stomach and blood, so it can only be assumed that whatever painkiller he took was too strong from his stomach and the entire thing was an accident."
Gene grunted. He didn't buy it. This entire thing, Mei Lee's pregnancy, Mrs. Sternum's reaction to the way Gene insisted that her husband was cheating on her with Mei Lee, the fact that he died right when divorce papers were being filed. It smelled like trout that had been sitting out in the sun for a week during a heat wave in July.
"There a chance that the painkillers were slipped into somethin'?" Gene asked.
"Not without him noticing. But, like I said, he could've been slipped pills that were too powerful for his stomach to handle." The woman medical examiner paused. "Actually, there's a chance that, depending on the pills, they could've been cracked open and the medicine inside would've been placed inside something that was used everyday in small doses. Like...toothpaste." She shrugged. "But that would entail extreme care and knowledge of pills and medicine."
Gene nodded. That means either Mei Lee had been giving Sternum extremely powerful pills or Nancy had been cracking them open and slipping them into his toothpaste. That meant this could have gone way of accident or slow, painful murder.
"Gene!"
Gene turned around to see Maya and Sam approaching. There was a low growl that rumbled out of his throat which caused the medical examiner to shuffle away. Once Sam was closer to Gene, he began speaking again. "Maya told me what happened. I want you to go home now and get some rest."
"I'm perfectly fine" Gene insisted.
"You were found unconcious in the woman's toilet next to a toilet full of voimt" Maya said. Gene shot her an angry look. She shot one right back at him.
"Part of a hangover. I've had colds worse than what happened today" Gene said.
"Still, I want Maya to take you home" Sam said. "I think it'd be for the best, considering your strange behavior since arriving."
"That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard!"
"I don't care. I want you to go home" Sam said with force.
Gene's fist flew so quickly into Sam's stomach that even Gene couldn't see it. He didn't even realize what had happened until he saw Sam curling into his stomach, Maya's hands in his armpits, trying to keep him up. Gene walked away, an immense amount of relief lifting off of his shoulders.
**********
In the end, Gene had been just short of forced into Maya's car. The ride to his flat was silent and when Gene stepped out, he expected Maya to drive away. Instead, the persistent bitch stepped out of the car and followed him up the stairs. Gene had a moment where he considered turning around and telling Maya to fuck off and leave him alone, but then figured he could get to yell at her more if she came to his apartment. And he could learn about the Raimes case, which kept niggling in the back of his mind. So he didn't stop her from following him up into the cold, modern apartment that Gene hated so much.
Once in, and the door was closed, Maya let rip.
"What the hell is wrong with you? You do not punch superior officers in the gut, especially not when they're trying to help you!"
"I don't need his help!" Gene said. "I don't need anyone's help!" He took off his jacket and threw it onto a chair.
"Then sorry I stayed by your side for a half hour to make sure no one found you and get you into even more trouble!"
"Apology accepted!" Gene walked into the kitchen and looked around for one of the bottles of whiskey he had bought over the past week. There was only half of one left. Gene made a note to get more as he poured himself a glass.
"Could you be any more...impossible?" Maya asked, following Gene into the kitchen.
Gene picked up his glass before turning around and leaning his back against the counter. Maya pointed at him. "You shouldn't be drinking that."
"Piss off" Gene said before taking a drink.
"Why don't you like Sam?" Maya asked, wisely picking and choosing her battles. "Why don't you like me? Why don't you like anyone?"
Because none of the people here are real. "I don't like Sam because he's got a stick so far up his arse he resembles an ice cream treat. I don't like any of the divs at CID because they never tried to like me and I don't gotta work for their acceptance. And I don't like you because you stick that brown little nose of yours into other people's business. More importantly, you're sticking that brown little nose of yours into my business."
"What?"
"Don't act stupid you Paki pain in the arse. I heard what you were sayin' to that one girl. You think I'm a puzzle that needs to be solved. You think that by gettin' close to me, you'll get to learn everythin' there is about the mysterious Gene Genie. Well guess what, girly, I ain't a puzzle. And bein' the non-puzzle that I am, I'd prefer you keep your nose on your face, where it won't get flattened once you rub me last nerve out of existence!"
Maya stared at him for a second, seemingly stunned. When she finally spoke, it was in an outraged voice. "Do you have something against my heritage?"
"I ain't met a Paki that I liked, if that's what you mean" Gene said with a nod of the head.
"How is that? Tell me, what have my people done to gain your hatred?" Maya insisted.
Gene stepped very close to Maya. He could see the slight fear in her eyes and, he had to admit, it made him feel so much better. "Your people have caused intense pain to people very dear to my heart."
"So you do have one?" Maya asked, voice not trembling even though the rest of her body was.
At that moment, there was a mysterious ringing. Gene looked around, wondering if Sam was playing music in Gene's hospital room, as Maya pulled out one of those mobile phone things and answered it.
"Hello? This is Ma--" Maya was cut off. Gene could hear the mumblings of what could have been another language. "Mei Lee? Mei Lee, please calm down. I'm here, don't worry. What's wrong?" Maya's eyes roamed the room before her face became pale. "Mei Lee, I'll be there as soon as possible. Just...just find yourself a safe place to hide, one with a lock, and bar the door. I'll be there as soon as I can." There was another pause. "Yes, I'll stay on the phone with you."
"What is it?" Gene asked.
Maya pulled the phone away from her face. "Mei Lee was at the penthouse when Nancy Sternum came in and pointed a gun at her."
Gene was striding over to the door before Maya finished her sentence. "Let's shift it, then!"
"Where are you going?"
Gene turned to her. "You think I'm gonna miss a shoot-up because you and some bird say that I should stay 'ome? Guess you really don't know the Gene Genie." Gene turned back towards the door.
**********
The only objection Maya had was that Gene didn't have a gun with him. Gene said that he didn't need one, and Maya accepted this. As they drove at break-neck speed towards the Sternum penthouse--Maya had allowed Gene behind the wheel because she didn't think she could drive while on her mobile--they nearly T-boned a police car. Gene stopped and the other car swerved onto the pavement, just missing the corner of a wall and a very quick-moving woman.
"'old on, I know that guy" Gene commented. He rolled down the window.
"We don't have time to say hi!" Maya whispered angrily, mobile tucked against her shoulder.
"Liam!" Gene shouted out the window.
PC Liam got out of the car. "DI Hunt?" the confused young man said. "Wha're you doin'?"
"C'mere lad!" Gene ordered.
PC Liam obeyed and walked over, looking confused as he looked into the car and saw that Maya was there. "Oh, DI...er...DS Roy. I 'eard you was back."
"Listen," Gene said, cutting Liam short, "you got your gun on you?"
"Yeah."
"I need to borrow it."
"Why?"
"There's a bit of bother that DS Roy and I 'ave to take care of. Good boy," Gene said as Liam handed over the gun and Gene tucked it into his pocket. "Now, call the station and give word that there's trouble at the Sternum penthouse, an' be damn sure that DCI Tyler hears this, got it?"
"Yes sir."
"Good lad" Gene said. He rolled the window up and then took off to the sound of tires squealing, something that reminded Gene of his precious Cortina.
**********
Gene and Maya made sure to flash their badges the moment they entered the lobby. They didn't need the poncey arse--who, Gene noted, looked disturbingly like Litton--behind the desk to ask them what they were doing and where they were going. Especially with guns.
The ride up was silent if you excluded Maya's attempts to calm Mei Lee down over the mobile phone. "We're almost here, Mei Lee. We're in the elevator. Don't worry Mei Lee, we're almost there. Only a few more seconds..." Maya jumped a little. She tucked her phone into his shoulder again. "I think Nancy Sternum has started shooting."
Gene held his gun up. "Don't worry, Love, I'll keep the nasty bitch away from ya."
"Should I tell Mei Lee that?"
"Wasn't talkin' to Mei Lee" Gene said with a wink.
Maya glared at him.
A moment later, the elevator doors opened. Gene and Maya both sprung into action, drawing their guns and holding them aloft, pointing them around and keeping alert.
"Nancy Sternum" Gene shouted. "Come out, you're surrounded by armed bastards!"
"Mei Lee? Yes, that is DI Hunt. Yes, that means we are here." Maya stayed silent for a moment. She tucked the phone into her shoulder again. "Mei Lee wants to say that she's very glad to hear you again."
Gene gestured for the phone. Maya placed it in his palm. He brought it up to his ear before saying, "Mei Lee? Di'n't I tell ya that you were goin' to see the police again? Now aren't you glad I promised that?"
"Much DI Hunt" Mei Lee said, sounding relieved and extremely happy.
Maya stepped forward, holding her gun an arm's length away. "Nancy Sternum, come out now! We are putting you under arrest for attempted murder."
Nancy Sternum stepped out of a connecting hallway. She had a rifle in her hands, holding it with ease and expertise, almost like she was used to hunting things. It wasn't really all that odd, seeing the sharp, cold, emotionless woman standing so calmly with a deadly weapon pointed at two human beings, not at all like when the ex-Missus discovered that Gene in the act of having an affair with Sam. She was shaking, crying, and easily coerced out of not putting a bullet through Sam's head. Nancy Sternum, on the other hand, was going to have the damn thing surgically removed before she even considered dropping it.
"Nancy" Maya said, "resisting arrest will only make things worse for you."
"Fuck you" Nancy said, and Gene realized then that this Nancy Sternum was not the Nancy Sternum he had met earlier. This was the Nancy Sternum that the other one had been hiding behind; this was the Nancy Sternum that had drove her husband into having an affair with a younger and, let's admit it, prettier woman, a woman that this Nancy Sternum hated just on the basis of her nationality. This was the racist, insane, controling, trigger-happy Nancy Sternum.
"Put the gun down" Gene ordered.
"Why?" the unraveled woman asked. "Some emotionless bastard and a dark-skinned bitch...what're you two going to do to me? You can't kill me."
"We are being presented with a life-or-death situation, we are leagally allowed to remove such risk by any means necessary" Maya said.
"Shut up!" Nancy shouted. "You..." she gestured at Maya, "stupid...filthy...inbred bitch. Probably a lesbian too, working in such a male-dominated field. Means you're either a slut or a lesbian."
"I am neither" Maya said strongly, chin high and proud.
"And you" Nancy said as she pointed the gun at Gene. "I can smell adultery on you. You cheated on your wife, didn't you?"
"Best decision I ever made" Gene said proudly.
"How can you say such a thing?"
"'Cause I was far 'appier with the person I was 'avin' an affair with then I was with me own Missus" Gene said. "Sad to say, but the truth's never the 'appiest thin' in the world."
"Put the gun down" Maya instructed.
"No!"
"You're not making things easier for yourself!" Maya said.
"Leave me alone!"
"Put the gun down now!" Gene bellowed.
Nancy burst into tears. She fell onto her knees, the barrel of the gun falling onto the ground. "I was a good wife" she said between sobs. "I was a good wife, and he chose the maid over me!" She looked up at the officers, looking for pity. "It was even changed in his will. He managed to figure out what was going on and changed his will so she gets everything!"
Maya and Gene glanced at each other. Gene gave the phone back to Maya before approaching Nancy. He ripped the gun from her grasp and threw it away before grabbing her by the suit jacket and pulling her to her feet.
"Nancy Sternum" Gene said as he forced her hands behind her back, "you are under arrest for the murder of your husband, Joseph Sternum, the attempted murder of Mei Lee Ching and for resisting arrest."
*****
Gene and Maya were hiding from the crush of press in the lobby of the penthouse. Mei Lee had come out of her room and was having her statement taken. Nancy Sternum was sitting in a car, sobbing hysterically while the driver waited for all the reporters to move so he wouldn't hit any of them. Sam was standing outside, giving the press what they wanted: a story full of juicy details that they can feel their ravenous editors and just as hungry readers with. Bunch of Jackie Queens in this world, be they real or fake.
Gene tapped out a ciggarette and then offered one to Maya, who thanked him and took one as well. The Litton-like man looked like he was going to complain, then Gene threw him a look and he shut up. Gene returned to lighting his ciggarette.
Maya waved hers. "Mind if I get a light?"
Gene lit it without saying a word. Maya thanked him, but still he stayed silent.
"So...you cheated on your wife?" Maya said, returning to that old attempt to make conversation.
"Yep" he agreed.
"Why?" she asked.
"Started out as a drunken, lustful mistake that turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made" Gene answered, thinking of the way Sam would smile at him like Gene was the whole world.
"You still with the person you cheated on your wife with?" Maya asked.
Gene hesitated for a moment. In several ways he still was with Sam. Sam was sitting beside Gene's comatose body, and he was in this possible-dream, possible-real world that Gene was stuck in. Yet, Gene wasn't really with Sam right now, because being with someone meant that you were, well, with someone, and while he was with the Sam by his body, he wasn't with the Sam standing outside, acting like he was made for the cameras.
"Yeah, I still am" Gene said after a long exhale of smoke.
The smoke from Maya's ciggarette trailed up, curling and dancing around her and the glazed-over look in her eye. "You know what you said about me keeping my nose out of your business?"
"Still stand by what I said" Gene said with a nod.
"Good" Maya said, a smirk forming. "I wouldn't want my victory to be too easy."
Gene smiled as well. "I don't like to loose."
"Me neither." Maya held her hand out to Gene, looking up at him as well. "DS Maya Roy, it'll be a pleasure figuring you out."
Gene gave her the once over before smiling himself and taking her hand. "DI Gene Hunt, it'll be a pleasure keepin' you from doin' that."
Author: ac_123
Chapter: 2/9 ("China Girl")
Charactes/Pairings: 1975!Sam/Gene, 2008!Sam, Maya
Rating: Blue Cortina
Summary: A new friend? A new enemy? While investigating the murder of a wealthy Mancunian man, Gene meets and causes friction with a newly-demoted ex of Sam's.
Disclaimer: I do not own. I wish I did. That would be cool.
Warnings: murder (but that's par-for-the-course here), mentions of sex and violence
A/N: If anyone read this and saw a mention of a girl named "Bunny", just ignore it. That referenced to a now-deleted chapter and is now removed. Sorry if it caused any confusion.
Companion Fic Brown Cortina for sexy business. (NOTE: I'd like you to read this!)
1-My Death...
**********
Gene rubbed his closed eyes and sighed. He had a hangover and the painkillers had yet to kick in and coffee had yet to become availiable to him. He looked at his watch. He was a little late, but he was sure that Sam would make a fuss about it. Little nancy boy...didn't know when to shut the hell up and leave him alone. Never did and never will.
The elevator doors opened and Gene stepped out onto the CID floor. He heard laughter and instantly hated it. Whoever was so happy needed to shut the hell up 'cause they were giving him a headache.
He walked through the front doors. In one corner, everyone was talking and laughing, sitting in a circle on the desks. Gene froze as he stood in the doorway. He was still pissed that these people had the audacity to have a good time while he was suffering, but Gene couldn't help but notice the light atmosphere in the room, almost like the members of CID were having a party. That was when he was noticed the Paki bird. She was sitting in the center of the circle, the center of everyone's attention. She was holding a styrofoam cup of coffee and wearing a dazzling smile.
Gene was ready to attract attention to himself when he started to hear what their topic of conversation was.
"He's like a neanderthal. Almost completely primeval. Shoulda seen the way he looked atta computer like he never saw one before in his life" the one girl, Claire, said while trying not to laugh.
"Hah, yeah. Rumor says he was arrested on his first day for punching a PC" the one named Tony added.
"Heard Tyler yell at him for assaulting a suspect" the ass named Matthew added as he sucked on a cigarette.
The new Paki girl laughed. "Poor Sam. Having to deal with the likes of tha--" The girl noticed Gene at the door. Her smile fell. The rest of CID turned around, each one growing increasingly pale once they saw Gene standing there.
Part of Gene wanted to get the hell out of there. They wanted to talk about him, fine, he'll leave them to talk about him. But that would be the sad, please-pity-me Tyler way out. So instead of turning around and running away, Gene closed the door and walked to his desk, taking out his fags--he finally got a pack the night before--and a lighter and light up as he sat in his chair. He felt their eyes on him as he waited for the stupid computer thing to turn on. He looked back, taking his fag out of his mouth as he did and blowing a cloud of smoke out of his mouth. "Don't let me being here stop ya from talkin'" Gene said. "Don't wanna be a killjoy." The computer finally turned on and Gene turned back towards it.
The cowards stayed where they were as Gene tried to find something to do on the computer. He learned how to play solitare on the damned thing, and since he had no folders on his desk, he opened the program and began his meaningless game.
"Ahem." Gene turned to look at the Paki girl, apparently brave enough to stand up and come over to him right after he caught her talking about him. She held her hand out. "My name is Maya Roy."
Gene turned back to his computer screen. "Name's Gene Hunt."
Out of the corner of his eye, Gene saw Maya draw her hand back. "If there is anything you need, ask--"
"Don't bother sayin' it, Love. Heard it enough to satisfy the rest of me life" Gene cut Maya off. He breathed in some smoke, then blew it out of his nose, enjoying the burn that it caused.
Maya stood there for a few more moments before turning away, returning to her seat.
Sam decided to prevent the almost-inevitable awkward silence by walking into the room. "Gene, we have-- Oh! Maya! I forgot you were returning today."
Gene heard her mumble, "Thought you would."
"Gene" Sam continued. "We got a call from a penthouse. A maid found her boss unconscious in the kitchen this morning and couldn't resuscitate him."
"Betcha it's the butler" Gene mumbled as he closed his game down and turned off the computer.
"Let's get down there before we begin blaming the staff, yeah?" He gestured to the other CID members. "Maya, Ashley, I want you two to come with us."
Gene glanced at Maya, who was standing and putting on her jacket. She met his eye and nodded before following Sam's lead.
**********
"Who's that Maya broad?" Gene asked, lighting a fag as Sam drove them to the crime scene.
"What have I told you about cigarettes in my car?" Sam asked, sounding much too much like an overbearing mother.
"That you don't like people to smoke in it" Gene answered. He held the cigarette between two of his fingers, letting the smoke drift up.
"Put that out!" Sam demanded.
"I ain't smokin' it" Gene taunted.
"Put it out" Sam repeated, this time with more force.
"Nope."
Sam sighed. Gene glanced over and noticed the adorable scrunch in Sam's nose. He looked away.
"Maya" Sam answered, "was the DI before you. A few years ago she disobeyed an order which almost ended in her being..." Gene could tell what the end of that sentence was and also that Sam didn't have the heart to say it. "Anyway, since then our ability to work together had suffered and right before you came here, she did something to hinder an investigation and so I demoted her. She took a few days off, during which you took over as DI."
Gene grunted. He leaned back and held his chin up, sitting very still and very quiet. Something tickled at the back of his mind. Something that Sam had said before. Something that felt important now but was, at the time, quite small. Gene rolled the cigarette between his fingers. If only he could remember...
"Is there something wrong?" Sam asked.
Gene raised his eyebrows. "Now ain't that an annoyin' question. Only thing that's gettin' on my nerves just as much is 'Come to me if there's anythin' ya need' an' your sorry arse," Gene turned to Sam. Sam glared at him for a moment before returning his attention back to the road.
"You know, it's this attitude that will keep you from making long-lasting bonds that are based on respect and trust" Sam said in a matter-of-fact way.
"Please, ain't no one here I would want to make a 'long-lastin' bond' with anyway" Gene grumbled.
"You're such a child!" Sam exclaimed.
"Are not."
"Are too."
"Are not."
"Are too."
They continued this argument until they reached the penthouse.
**********
The penthouse was in a building Gene had never seen before, had never thought would exist back in the seventies. All red brick and built so that it looked older than it was; disgust boiled in Gene's stomach towards this place. The pretentiousness it held just by existing. He glared at the mocking building before following Sam inside. The receptionist had pointed them to the elevator, telling them that there were already some police there and that they were all on the seventh level penthouse.
The seventh level penthouse was just as pretentious as the building it sat in. The floors were polished hardwood, the walls were all white stucco decorated with paintings that looked like crap and cost too much. The furniture was all matching black leather in the entertaining rooms with glass side- and coffee tables. There was one carpet that was an alternating white, gray, and black pattern. The kitchen, where the body lay face-down on the marble-topped island, was white-walled as well with oak cabinets, a steel refrigerator, marble-topped cabinets strewn with fancy gadgets and sharp instruments.
Gene and Sam were let under the cordon while Maya and Ashley waited on the other end.
"Name's Joseph Sternum" a PC informed Sam and Gene as they looked at the dead man. He was wearing a suit, the jacket of which was sitting on the back of the chair. He had a full head of gray hair and looked to be in pretty good health. "'e's fifty-two years old, works at a local accountin' firm, an' 'e lives with 'is wife an' the live-in maid."
"Are the maid and wife here?" Sam asked.
"Maid, who found the body" the PC said. "'er name's Mei Lee Ching. She's in the office if you wan'to talk to 'er."
"Where's the missus?" Gene asked.
"'er job" the PC answered.
Sam nodded. He walked around the body, which was sitting in a chair and slumped over, forehead pressed into the countertop. Next to him was a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal. In his lap was a newspaper, presumably that day's. Sam bent down, neck twisting and face rising so that he could get a closer look at the neck. Then he stepped away, backing off.
Sam pressed his fingertips together and then placed them against his face. After a moment, he began to speak. "I want forensics to come in and check for any kind of poison they can think of; arsenic, cyanide, mercury, Polonium-210 if they can't find anything else. Until then I need someone to very carefully take all injestible items in as evidence so that they can be inspected for poison as well."
"'ow do you know 'e wasn't strangled?" Gene questioned.
"There aren't any markings on the neck" Sam said, gesturing to the body. "Even if he was killed with a soft material then there would be some sort of left-over marking, such as a bruise." Sam walked to the two women behind the cordon. "Maya, Ashley, I want you two to go from floor to floor, asking the residents about Mr. Sternum. See if there was any bad air between him and any of the other people in the building, staff included."
Maya nodded. "Sure. We'll call you when we're done."
Sam nodded. "Good." Sam turned back to the PC from before. "Where's the office? We need to speak to this maid."
**********
Mei Lee Ching, the Chinese immigrant maid, was bawling her eyes out in the office when Sam and Gene entered. She was young, most likely in her mid-twenties, thin, and had a soft voice that even when she was crying, sounded like the cooing of a bird. She had shiny black hair that was pulled back in a bun that was impaled with pens. She wore a navy blue knee-length dress, a white apron, stockings, white trainers, and there was a pad of paper in one pocket of the apron, making it bulge.
Gene looked around the office, not enjoying how white the walls were or how there was leather furniture and an ugly rug even in here. The television was too thin and the twenty-third century-looking computer was alternately mocking him and giving it an evil glare.
"Miss Ching" Sam soothed, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Please calm down Miss Ching."
"He dead!" she cried. "He dead! He have no heartbeat! He no breath!" Mei Lee continued to cry.
"Miss Ching, could you please calm down. We need to ask you a question or two" Sam said, stroaking her back.
"He dead! He dead!" After that, Mei Lee began babbling in Chinese.
Gene growled. He turned to the upset maid and shouted, "Shut up! I'm glad to know that you're smart enough to understand that your boss 'as kicked the bucket, but you don't need to repeat it over and over! Now shut up and answer our questions or we take you in for disruptin' a police investigation!"
Sam and Mei Lee stared up at Gene, both quiet. Gene could tell that Sam was ready to stand up and tell him off, but then Mei Lee sniffed, hiccupped twice, and rubbed at her eyes. Gene's yelling seemed to have calmed her, rather than rile her more like Sam feared he would. "S-Sorry. I no see dead person in all my life" Mei Lee explained. "I n-not used to having to call police either."
Sam pat her back. "It's okay, Miss Ching. If you don't mind, could you tell us about your boss?"
Mei Lee sniffed. "M-Mr. Joe very nice person. He treat me well, even offer extra room to me when I not pay rent at last flat. I sad for him often."
"Why?" Sam asked.
"His wife, Mrs. Nancy, she not as nice. She very mean. Loud and bossy. She not want me to move in or even want to hire me, but Mr. Joe say that I ignore her because she a bitch."
Gene had to stifle a chuckle. Sam glanced at him warningly before turning back to Mei Lee. "Miss Ching, could you tell us more about Mr. and Mrs. Sternum's relationship? Did they fight a lot?"
Mei Lee nodd. "They fight always. Always bad. Mrs. Nancy always leave when they have bad fight. I always make Mr. Joe coffee after so to make him happy." Mei Lee began to tear up. "He so kind. He always drink cups I give him."
"Shh, shh... It's okay Miss Ching" Sam comforted. Mei Lee wiped at her eyes, hiccupping a few more times before getting herself under control again. "Miss Ching, what did you do this morning?"
Mei Lee took a deep breath. "I...I wake at five, I bath, I make coffee and I set out milk and cereal for Mr. Joe. I look into Mr. Joe and Mrs. Nancy room and see that Mrs. Nancy is not there. She leave for work very early but never before I wake. They have fight night before, so I figure she leave during night."
"Why did you look into their room?" Sam asked.
"Make sure Mr. Joe and Mrs. Nancy awake. Mr. Joe awake, so I go and start laundry. I leave for errand. I return and I hear Mr. Joe's phone ringing. I walk into kitchen and I see Mr. Joe is...is..." Mei Lee burst into more tears.
Sam calmed Mei Lee down until she was back to hiccupping and sniffling. "Miss Ching, what was the errand you ran?"
"D-D-Doctor..." Mei Lee answered.
"Which doctor did you go to?" Sam asked.
"A-Address is in planner in room" Mei Lee answered.
Sam nodded. "Thank you Miss Ching. You did a very good job."
Mei Lee nodded, then began to cry again.
**********
Gene leaned agaisnt the doorway of Mei Lee's room. He watched as Sam flipped through the day planner that he had found on the top of the bed. "Find it?"
Sam shook his head. "I can't tell, it's all in Chinese." Sam turned to Gene, waving the planner in the air. "We're going to have to take this to Mei Lee to translate it or take it down to the station and have it translated there."
"Let's take it to the station. Don't like that girl. Somethin'...wrong with 'er."
Sam's brow creased. "That's ridiculous, Gene, there's nothing wrong with her."
"Feel like she's 'idin' somethin'" Gene said, shoving his hands into his coat pocket.
Sam looked aggravated. "This job isn't based on feelings. I think she's telling us the truth, so until that's been proven wrong, she's nothing more than an innocent victim."
"And this job isn't based on what you think" Gene retorted. "I follow my gut and, believe it or not, it leads me in the right direction every time." Except maybe that once with the textile mill, but this Sam doesn't need to know that.
"Sounds like luck" Sam said. "But luck tends to run out when you least expect it." Sam stepped up to Gene. They were very close. The last time Gene was this close to anyone was standing in the shower with Sam, chilling water running over them and clearing away the fresh jizz on their bodies, Sam's arms holding onto Gene like Gene was about to leave him...
"Gene? Did you hear me?"
Gene blinked. He looked into Sam's brown eyes, seeing nothing more than slight annoyance. "Naw. I was tryin' ta remember what I had for breakie this mornin'. It was good, need to have it again soon."
Sam's eyes narrowed. "I said that I wanted you to take this to Mei Lee so she could translate it." Sam shoved the planner into Gene's chest.
Gene took the planner and held it into the air. "On it" he said before turning around and walking away.
**********
"Is...is all you need?" Mei Lee asked.
Gene nodded. He folded the scrap of paper in half and put it in his pocket. "For now, Love" he said. "But I would be expectin' another visit in the near future if I were you."
Mei Lee seemed worried by his words. Whether it was the way Gene had said them or it was their meaning, what he had said scared her.
Gene turned and left the room. As he walked out into the hall, he felt someone bump into him. Gene took a step further down the hall, trying to keep from having the person who ran into him from falling over. It was then that he saw who it was and decided that he didn't care whether or not she had fallen over.
"Oh! I'm sor--" Maya began to say. She stopped herself when she saw who it was. "Oh, um, hello. Sorry, I didn't see you there."
"Yeah," Gene said dismissively. He turned away from her, starting to walk away.
"Do you know where Sam is?" Maya asked.
"I'm goin' ta see him right now" Gene replied. He wasn't inviting her to come with him, yet he didn't tell her to piss off when she fell into stride next to him.
"The neighbors all seem to say the same thing" Maya said. She didn't say anything else.
"About what?" Gene asked.
"The Sternums; the neighbors all said that Joseph was quite nice without the presence of his wife and Nancy was tolerable without her husband. Together, though, was like opening up hell."
Gene grunted.
They fell back into the silence. This time it lasted until they came across Sam, who was overseeing Forensics as they collected prints, took pictures and did whatever they did. Sam didn't notice his DI and DS as they approached the scene and, therefore, kept his back turned on them.
Maya coughed. "Ahem!"
Sam turned around. "Oh, you two are back. Do you have the address to the doctor Mei Lee saw today?"
Gene nodded. "Yep" he said.
Sam gave Gene a quick nod. He turned to Maya. "Are you done with the interviews?"
Maya nodded as well. "Yes. All the neighbors say--"
"Later, okay?" Sam said. He gestured to the two of them. "I want you two to go to the address from Mei Lee and confirm that she was there this morning and at what time." A man from Forensics called out for Sam, prompting him to turn his back on Maya and Gene and see what the problem was.
Gene glanced down at Maya. She was wearing a deflated, yet accepting, expression, almost as if she was used to this kind of treatment. He didn't wait for her to catch his eye, Gene was already halfway through the penthouse by the time Maya realized that he was no longer next to her, causing her to run to catch up to him.
"Where are we going?" Maya asked.
Gene dug through his pocket and pulled out the slip that had the address on it. He handed it to Maya, who scanned it before folding it back up and insisting that they take her car.
**********
The car ride was silent, which was just peachy with Gene. He had no desire in speaking to the broad and he was sure she had no desire to speak to him. After that morning, he doubted anyone who had been in the office had the desire to speak to him.
"What've you learned from Mei Lee?" Maya asked, shocking Gene.
He blew air past his lips. "Dead guy and wife hated each other. The wife hated her but the dead guy wanted to be her best friend."
Maya hummed. They fell silent yet again, allowing Gene's mind to drift off to the buildings that were speeding past outside.
"So...you're from Hyde?" Maya said.
"Yep."
More silence.
"Well, what's it like there?"
"Lot like here" Gene said.
"Really?" Maya asked, feigning interest. "How? Are the buildings the same?"
"Nope."
"Oh...uh, then how--"
"It's a crime-filled swamp full of scum that's tryin' to suffocate all the good fish and plants out of it" Gene said, a little quirk upwards in the corner of his mouth.
Gene didn't see it, but Maya took a long look at him, seeing his small, nostalgic smirk and wondering why that was a good thing. She looked back to the road. "At least you have something that reminds you of home" she said, nodding a little, something which also went unnoticed. "Have you...made any friends yet?"
"Nope."
"Oh..."
"Not plannin' on makin' any either."
"Why not?" Maya asked. "If you're going to be staying with us then you need to--"
"'Make life-long connections' blah blah blah" Gene said. "I got all that shite from Sam already and I'll tell you the same thing that I told him: there ain't no one here that I would want to make friends with." Gene shifted in his seat and looked out the window, ending whatever conversation had been going on between him and Maya.
**********
The receptionist at the doctor's office--which turned out to be a gynecologist's--had initially refused to pull Mei Lee's file. Then Maya and Gene flashed their badges and Gene mentioned how this could be obstructing a police investigation which would lead to severe consequences. The receptionist promptly walked off to see where Mei Lee's file was.
"Hey" Maya whispered to Gene.
"You say anythin' about how that was incorrect procedure, I'll--" Gene began to threaten, before Maya cut him off.
"Good job."
Gene's eyebrows rose. He looked at her. "You approve of that?"
Maya winked. "Not eveyone round here is as uptight as Sam."
The receptionist walked back. "Here we go!" she said, holding up a manilla folder. Before she even got back to her desk, Gene leaned forward and snatched the thing out of her hands. The receptionist's mouth opened, as if she was going to tell Gene off, then closed it, figuring that her life and job were more valuable then replying to someone's rudeness.
Gene flipped through the file, Maya looking over his arm. At one point, she stopped him. "Here it is" she said. "Says here that Mei Lee was here at seven-thirty in the morning."
The receptionist nodded. "Yes, she was the first patient we saw today."
"What was she here for?" Gene asked.
Maya's thin finger tapped a line on one of the papers. "To confirm her pregnancy."
**********
Sam sat behind his desk, regarding Gene and Maya with seperate, equal gazes. "Miss Ching is pregnant" he said, repeating the words that Gene had just given him. "Then...congratulations to her. I don't see how that affects the investigation, though."
"It could" Maya said, stepping forward. "Mei Lee is pregnant, she says Joseph Sternum was extrordinarily kind to her and Nancy Sternum hated her guts." Maya shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe Nancy hated her because Mei Lee and Joseph were having an affair."
"Just because a maid says her boss was nice to her doesn't mean she's sleeping with him" Sam said coldly. Maya's shoulders sagged a little as Sam continued to pick away at her theory. "Mrs. Sternum was known to be a very angry and controlling woman while her husband was the exact opposite. Mr. Sternum could have tried to consolidate the rudeness Miss Ching was faced with every day with being kind to her, extra tips and such."
"One hell of a tip" Gene muttered.
Sam turned to him. "Pardon?"
"Wouldn't be surprised if Sternum was screwing around with the maid" Gene said. "Also wouldn't be surprised if he told her it was over the moment she told him she coulda been preggie. Betcha she slipped the poison into his coffee before goin' to the doctor's."
"I think it's the wife" Maya chirped. "She works in pharmaceuticals, correct? I'm sure she has more than enough knowledge of lethal drugs and just as much a reson to kill her cheating bastard of a husband."
The image of his ex-Missus waving a gun popped in Gene's mind. He had to stifle his smirk or else be asked why he thought such a statement was so humorous.
"Maya, I think we should look at everything individually before jumping to such rash conclusions. I don't want this to end up like the Raimes case" Sam said as he stood up.
Maya's defenses instantly went up, the air surrounding her shifting. "What do you mean 'end up like the Raimes case'?"
Raimes?
Sam's eyes said that he was backtracking, looking for the right words to use to respond to a question prompted by something he didn't mean to say. "You know what I mean" Sam said. His voice was low, warning, but tinged with something, with an emotion, that Gene couldn't discern. It was either fear, anger, or worry.
Maya leaned close to Sam, eyes hard and posture confident. Her voice shook as she whispered, "These people aren't Colin Raimes." Then, she turned around and strode out of the office.
Colin Raimes. Raimes. Raimes. That name sounded familiar. Why? Gene hadn't faced a Raimes before, had he? He didn't think so, but the name rung a bell. It was important, somehow. Why? He'd never worked with a Raimes. He'd never been mates with a Raimes. He hadn't done service with the Raimes. Raimes Raimes Raimes; why was it so familiar?
"Something wrong?"
Gene turned to Sam, who had his arms crossed over his chest. Gene shrugged. "Looks like there's somethin' more wrong with you."
Sam sighed. His arms uncrossed and one of his hands ran through his hair. After a moment of silence, Sam spoke. "Nancy Sternum is coming in at one. I want you to be in the interrogation room by then."
Gene nodded. "Yeah" he mumbled before walking out of the room.
**********
Gene had to pass the Canteen to get to the bogs, which was the only reason he was in that hallway, he said to himself. He hadn't meant to run into Maya, even though he had thought of asking her about the Raimes case so he could figure out why that name sounded so familiar. He didn't want to find her so that he could ask her what happened between her and Sam, not her being demoted by him, but what really happened, even though that crossed his mind as well. No, the bogs were down that hallway, so that was why he was near the Canteen, which was where he heard Maya and Claire speaking.
"I don't get him" Gene heard Maya say. "I tried being nice and asking him about Hyde, start conversation and all, but he gave me the cold shoulder."
Gene stopped walking down the hallway--to the bogs--and stood at the edge of the corner, around which was Maya and Claire, who spoke next.
"We told you he was strange" Claire insisted. "Fact that he didn't wanta talk to ya probably means that he thinks he's better than all of us."
"Or he's angry that he walked in on us talking about him" Maya said, a little regretfully.
"But he doesn't talk to anyone except Sam" Claire said. "And he occasionally says good morning to that one PC, but that's the extent of it. Why do you want to get to know him so much anyway?"
"He seems...different. Odd, you know? And not in just the way you all were saying... He's hiding something. And I want to figure it out."
"Be careful of this curiosity of yours, Maya. It's the same that's gotten you demoted and kidnapped."
"It's also the same that's gotten me all the way up to DI" Maya retorted. It was quickly followed by a pair of laughs, the squeak of doors opening, the squeak of doors closing, and then silence.
Something cold sat heavy in Gene's stomach. He leaned against the wall. This wasn't good. Maya taking a personal interest in him so as to figure out what made him tick, not good. That would mean she might discover that Gene hears Sam's voice on a daily basis, though it's not the same Sam. It's another Sam, a Sam that's currently his DI in nineteen seventy-five, who is sitting next to a comatose Gene. She might find out that Gene has three gaping black holes in his chest that only he could see. She might tell Sam, who has the power to write Gene off to the looney bin and there was no way in all the nine Hells that Gene was going to be rooming with Crane and Kramer.
Gene sighed and closed his eyes. That's when he heard the heartbeat.
Gene's head snapped up. He looked around. The heartbeat was thumping slowly, right between his eyes. Gene held onto the wall as the world turned and turned and turned around him, a strange and new effect that the heartbeat was having on him. He took tentative steps forward, down the hall and towards the bathroom. His stomach knotted and unknotted, stretched and shrunk, bent over and forward before doing the samba. At times, Gene couldn't see the hallway, only bright flashes of white light, blinding him. His hands were moving around like crazy, groping the wall, feeling for any sort of door that could possibly lead to a bathroom, be it the women's or the men's, as long as it had a toilet he could stick his head in.
At one point, the wall gave way and Gene stumbled into a new room. He bumped into something hard and pointed, and his stomach lurched, objecting to the thing that stopped its nauseating dance. The room spun faster, colors blurring into white, gray, nothing. Gene managed to get into the stall and fell onto his knees. The heartbeat became louder and louder, started to rebel against his skull. Gene could imagine it moving around, cracking into the bone, trying to get it to move so that it could burst out of his head. Good riddance, but it wasn't that easy.
Gene was lucky enough to have his head above the toilet when he finally heaved.
"What's wrong? His heart rate is crazy!"
Sam?
"What do you mean it's his meds?"
"S...Sa--" Gene heaved again.
"A side effect? Shouldn't you know what they do?"
Gene felt himself smirk. His Sammy, taking charge of a situation. Probably spends half his free time thinking of ways to bother the medical staff with questions and other drivel. Gene threw up again.
"I'm not leaving!"
"S-Sam..."
"I don't care what policy is, the Guv would want me here to make sure you lot don't mess up again!"
"Atta boy Sammy" Gene slured before dry heaving.
"No, you can't make me leave!"
"Sammy..." Gene rolled off of the rim of the toilet, landing heavily against one of the walls of the stall. His head lolled to the side. Everything was blurry and fading quickly, but his stomach was finally settling and the heartbeat was starting to silence itself. "S...Sammy... Don't go..."
"I can't...needs..."
Sam's voice was fading. He was being taken away by one of the nurses. But Gene didn't want him to go. Yet Gene didn't have the energy, he realized, as his eyes finally slid close and unconciousness took Gene away from this fucked-up dream.
**********
Pain. Pain. Pain.
Hot. Hot. Hot.
Cold. Cold. Cold.
There was a soft touch to his cheek. The figure was dark. It was female. It had blond hair. It spoke. She wasn't from England.
She touched his face, hair, shoulders, arms, wrists, back, hips, legs, ankles, feet. She was inspecting him. Her fingers didn't feel right.
"I'm sorry."
She had nothing to be sorry about.
"I'm so very, very sorry."
**********
Gene woke up to gentle fingers on his face, checking his pulse and his temperature. The voice was still foggy and he couldn't tell the gender quite yet, but he had a suspicion that it was Sam. Not the cold, emotionless thing that acted higher and mightier than Gene's Sam, but the tender one who liked to piss Gene off, push his buttons, get him to yell and boil and think before taking Gene in a desperate embrace that could last for days if the world would just but out.
Gene leaned into the soft hand and sighed. He opened his eyes and watched as colors began to form shapes. His eyes shifted in the direction of the owner of the hand that was cupping his face. His heart almost fell when he saw that the skin was dark and, as the world returned to perfect, painful clarity, that it was Maya who was caring for him, not the Sam that Gene wanted right now. Gene made a face, and Maya made a face back at him.
"You're welcome" she said, annoyed at the unspoken ungratefulness of the man on the ground. She took her hand away from Gene's face.
"For what?" Gene asked.
"For waking you up and keeping another woman from finding you in the lady's toilet" Maya answered as she stood up. She crossed her arms and stared down at her superior officer.
Gene struggled back onto his feet. He stumbled once and ignored the sympathetic look on Maya's face. He pushed past her as he exited the stall and made his way to the door. He burst out into the thankfully empty hallway and turned to the nearby clock. It was a quarter to one. He'd been out for over an hour. Gene wondered how long Maya had been by his side, then pushed the thought out of his mind. It didn't matter if she had been there for an hour or a minute. If he was supposed to believe what the voices were telling him--oh, how crazy that sounded--Maya didn't even exist. She was a dream.
"I think that you should go home" Gene heard Maya call out to him.
"Piss off" Gene retorted as he made his way down the hall and to the interrogation room.
"You're ill, you need to go home!"
A cold chill ran down Gene's spine. "I'm as fit as a pair of custom-made panties."
"I still think you should go home" Maya said. She had caught up to the quickly-walking man, hand reaching out to hold his arm and keep him still. That didn't work, as Gene just walked faster to escape her hand.
"Can't now. I got a job to do right now, Love. Wanna complain? Take it to resident pain in the arse."
Gene walked aggressively the rest of the way to the interrogation room, just in time to meet Sam as he showed up.
**********
Nancy Sternum was a very cold, straight, sharp woman. Her eyes were black and empty, her hair was brushed back into a professional bun and created a steep widows peak right between her eyes. Her nose was narrow and pointed, her lips were thin and pressed so tightly together they were almost ready to rip off her face. Her hands were tightly clenched together and in front of her black blazer and white blouse. She looked at Sam's hands as they moved about and Gene had a disturbing feeling that she wanted to eat Sam's fingers.
"Mrs. Sternum, what did you do this morning?" Sam asked after starting the tape.
"I woke up, got dressed, went to work" Nancy answered.
"Mei Lee said that you weren't in the bedroom this morning when she came in to check on you and your husband" Sam said. "Why is that?"
"I had a meeting with a potential client very early this morning, at six thirty, so I made sure to be up and out of my house by five" Nancy said. "My office is an hour away and I generally like to be there early so I can get tea and a scone before the day officially begins."
"Was there anyone who would've wanted you husband dead?"
Nancy shook her head. "I can't think of anyone who didn't find him agreeable. We normally stay away from those kinds of people."
"Was there anything difficult happening in his life that would prompt him to commit suicide?"
Nancy paused. After a few moments, she answered, "Yes. We were beginning to get a divorce."
"Why were you divorcing him?"
Again, Nancy hesitated. This time, the pause was longer, more nervous. "We had...irreperable issues."
"'eard that before" Gene mumbled.
"Pardon?" Nancy asked.
"Means 'e was kickin' boots with another bird" Gene said simply.
Nancy Sternum's face went snow white. "We were having issues."
"So then it was another bloke?"
Sam groaned and shoved his face into his hands. Nancy Sternum went red. "How dare you insult my husband in that fashion! He was not...a perverted queer. He was a respectable and upstanding straight man."
"He was sleeping with Mei Lee, weren't 'e? You caught your husband with his pants round his ankles an' his todger up another woman's--"
"Gene!" Sam shouted. "That isn't a proper way to interrogate a victim."
Gene was relentless, though. "Ya ever tell Mei Lee things about chemicals an' their effects?"
"I didn't want to hire to that little yellow bitch, but Joseph thought that she had a good work ethic and would be loyal to us" Nancy answered. "I believe I could count on one hand all the times I have spoken to her."
"Thank you, Mrs. Sternum, you are allowed to leave" Sam said immediately after Nancy finished. Sam was rubbing his head and trying not to strangle someone.
Nancy Sternum stood up and walked out of the room, leaving a waft of cold air behind her. Sam turned the tape off before turning to Gene, who was sitting silently and calmly next to him.
"What was that about?" Sam asked.
"What?"
"How could you assume that her husband was cheating on her when all she said was that they were having issues?" Sam said.
"'Cause I heard it before" Gene said with a shrug.
"Where?"
"From me ex-wife" Gene said, just as calmly.
Sam suddenly grew silent. "Oh...erm...I'm sorry about... Do you mind me asking?"
"Literally caught me with my pants down and my todger in--"
"I don't need that image, thank you."
Gene leaned in close, face inches from Sam's. Sam's eyes were bright, shining in the same way his Sam's would shine when Gene was this close. "You know you want it."
Sam stood up suddenly. "We need to see if the autopsy report came in. I'm sure it has by now."
"You're changing the subject" Gene teased. "You know what that means?"
"That our last subject was improper and not one that should be discussed" Sam said as he walked towards the door.
Gene stood up and followed Sam. "It means I'm right and you don't wanta admit it."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No. Oh, Maya."
Gene's eyes narrowed once he saw his new nemesis walk down the hall. She ignored Gene completely as she placed a hand on Sam's shoulder and guided him away. "I need to talk to you about something."
"Of course." Sam turned to Gene. "Gene, go down to the morgue, I'll meet you there."
Gene nodded, then plotted the death of Maya Roy.
**********
Gene stood over Joseph Sternum's cold, dead body. The medical examiner, who just so happened to be a very attractive young woman, stood opposite Gene. She pointed a gloved hand at Joseph's middle. "On investigating the stomach contents I noticed that there was a lethal number of severe ulcers, meaning that he abused a form of ibuprofen for an extended period of time."
"And that means?"
"He was popping painkillers for kicks at tea time" the woman said. "Still, I couldn't find more than normal traces of the actual drug in his stomach and blood, so it can only be assumed that whatever painkiller he took was too strong from his stomach and the entire thing was an accident."
Gene grunted. He didn't buy it. This entire thing, Mei Lee's pregnancy, Mrs. Sternum's reaction to the way Gene insisted that her husband was cheating on her with Mei Lee, the fact that he died right when divorce papers were being filed. It smelled like trout that had been sitting out in the sun for a week during a heat wave in July.
"There a chance that the painkillers were slipped into somethin'?" Gene asked.
"Not without him noticing. But, like I said, he could've been slipped pills that were too powerful for his stomach to handle." The woman medical examiner paused. "Actually, there's a chance that, depending on the pills, they could've been cracked open and the medicine inside would've been placed inside something that was used everyday in small doses. Like...toothpaste." She shrugged. "But that would entail extreme care and knowledge of pills and medicine."
Gene nodded. That means either Mei Lee had been giving Sternum extremely powerful pills or Nancy had been cracking them open and slipping them into his toothpaste. That meant this could have gone way of accident or slow, painful murder.
"Gene!"
Gene turned around to see Maya and Sam approaching. There was a low growl that rumbled out of his throat which caused the medical examiner to shuffle away. Once Sam was closer to Gene, he began speaking again. "Maya told me what happened. I want you to go home now and get some rest."
"I'm perfectly fine" Gene insisted.
"You were found unconcious in the woman's toilet next to a toilet full of voimt" Maya said. Gene shot her an angry look. She shot one right back at him.
"Part of a hangover. I've had colds worse than what happened today" Gene said.
"Still, I want Maya to take you home" Sam said. "I think it'd be for the best, considering your strange behavior since arriving."
"That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard!"
"I don't care. I want you to go home" Sam said with force.
Gene's fist flew so quickly into Sam's stomach that even Gene couldn't see it. He didn't even realize what had happened until he saw Sam curling into his stomach, Maya's hands in his armpits, trying to keep him up. Gene walked away, an immense amount of relief lifting off of his shoulders.
**********
In the end, Gene had been just short of forced into Maya's car. The ride to his flat was silent and when Gene stepped out, he expected Maya to drive away. Instead, the persistent bitch stepped out of the car and followed him up the stairs. Gene had a moment where he considered turning around and telling Maya to fuck off and leave him alone, but then figured he could get to yell at her more if she came to his apartment. And he could learn about the Raimes case, which kept niggling in the back of his mind. So he didn't stop her from following him up into the cold, modern apartment that Gene hated so much.
Once in, and the door was closed, Maya let rip.
"What the hell is wrong with you? You do not punch superior officers in the gut, especially not when they're trying to help you!"
"I don't need his help!" Gene said. "I don't need anyone's help!" He took off his jacket and threw it onto a chair.
"Then sorry I stayed by your side for a half hour to make sure no one found you and get you into even more trouble!"
"Apology accepted!" Gene walked into the kitchen and looked around for one of the bottles of whiskey he had bought over the past week. There was only half of one left. Gene made a note to get more as he poured himself a glass.
"Could you be any more...impossible?" Maya asked, following Gene into the kitchen.
Gene picked up his glass before turning around and leaning his back against the counter. Maya pointed at him. "You shouldn't be drinking that."
"Piss off" Gene said before taking a drink.
"Why don't you like Sam?" Maya asked, wisely picking and choosing her battles. "Why don't you like me? Why don't you like anyone?"
Because none of the people here are real. "I don't like Sam because he's got a stick so far up his arse he resembles an ice cream treat. I don't like any of the divs at CID because they never tried to like me and I don't gotta work for their acceptance. And I don't like you because you stick that brown little nose of yours into other people's business. More importantly, you're sticking that brown little nose of yours into my business."
"What?"
"Don't act stupid you Paki pain in the arse. I heard what you were sayin' to that one girl. You think I'm a puzzle that needs to be solved. You think that by gettin' close to me, you'll get to learn everythin' there is about the mysterious Gene Genie. Well guess what, girly, I ain't a puzzle. And bein' the non-puzzle that I am, I'd prefer you keep your nose on your face, where it won't get flattened once you rub me last nerve out of existence!"
Maya stared at him for a second, seemingly stunned. When she finally spoke, it was in an outraged voice. "Do you have something against my heritage?"
"I ain't met a Paki that I liked, if that's what you mean" Gene said with a nod of the head.
"How is that? Tell me, what have my people done to gain your hatred?" Maya insisted.
Gene stepped very close to Maya. He could see the slight fear in her eyes and, he had to admit, it made him feel so much better. "Your people have caused intense pain to people very dear to my heart."
"So you do have one?" Maya asked, voice not trembling even though the rest of her body was.
At that moment, there was a mysterious ringing. Gene looked around, wondering if Sam was playing music in Gene's hospital room, as Maya pulled out one of those mobile phone things and answered it.
"Hello? This is Ma--" Maya was cut off. Gene could hear the mumblings of what could have been another language. "Mei Lee? Mei Lee, please calm down. I'm here, don't worry. What's wrong?" Maya's eyes roamed the room before her face became pale. "Mei Lee, I'll be there as soon as possible. Just...just find yourself a safe place to hide, one with a lock, and bar the door. I'll be there as soon as I can." There was another pause. "Yes, I'll stay on the phone with you."
"What is it?" Gene asked.
Maya pulled the phone away from her face. "Mei Lee was at the penthouse when Nancy Sternum came in and pointed a gun at her."
Gene was striding over to the door before Maya finished her sentence. "Let's shift it, then!"
"Where are you going?"
Gene turned to her. "You think I'm gonna miss a shoot-up because you and some bird say that I should stay 'ome? Guess you really don't know the Gene Genie." Gene turned back towards the door.
**********
The only objection Maya had was that Gene didn't have a gun with him. Gene said that he didn't need one, and Maya accepted this. As they drove at break-neck speed towards the Sternum penthouse--Maya had allowed Gene behind the wheel because she didn't think she could drive while on her mobile--they nearly T-boned a police car. Gene stopped and the other car swerved onto the pavement, just missing the corner of a wall and a very quick-moving woman.
"'old on, I know that guy" Gene commented. He rolled down the window.
"We don't have time to say hi!" Maya whispered angrily, mobile tucked against her shoulder.
"Liam!" Gene shouted out the window.
PC Liam got out of the car. "DI Hunt?" the confused young man said. "Wha're you doin'?"
"C'mere lad!" Gene ordered.
PC Liam obeyed and walked over, looking confused as he looked into the car and saw that Maya was there. "Oh, DI...er...DS Roy. I 'eard you was back."
"Listen," Gene said, cutting Liam short, "you got your gun on you?"
"Yeah."
"I need to borrow it."
"Why?"
"There's a bit of bother that DS Roy and I 'ave to take care of. Good boy," Gene said as Liam handed over the gun and Gene tucked it into his pocket. "Now, call the station and give word that there's trouble at the Sternum penthouse, an' be damn sure that DCI Tyler hears this, got it?"
"Yes sir."
"Good lad" Gene said. He rolled the window up and then took off to the sound of tires squealing, something that reminded Gene of his precious Cortina.
**********
Gene and Maya made sure to flash their badges the moment they entered the lobby. They didn't need the poncey arse--who, Gene noted, looked disturbingly like Litton--behind the desk to ask them what they were doing and where they were going. Especially with guns.
The ride up was silent if you excluded Maya's attempts to calm Mei Lee down over the mobile phone. "We're almost here, Mei Lee. We're in the elevator. Don't worry Mei Lee, we're almost there. Only a few more seconds..." Maya jumped a little. She tucked her phone into his shoulder again. "I think Nancy Sternum has started shooting."
Gene held his gun up. "Don't worry, Love, I'll keep the nasty bitch away from ya."
"Should I tell Mei Lee that?"
"Wasn't talkin' to Mei Lee" Gene said with a wink.
Maya glared at him.
A moment later, the elevator doors opened. Gene and Maya both sprung into action, drawing their guns and holding them aloft, pointing them around and keeping alert.
"Nancy Sternum" Gene shouted. "Come out, you're surrounded by armed bastards!"
"Mei Lee? Yes, that is DI Hunt. Yes, that means we are here." Maya stayed silent for a moment. She tucked the phone into her shoulder again. "Mei Lee wants to say that she's very glad to hear you again."
Gene gestured for the phone. Maya placed it in his palm. He brought it up to his ear before saying, "Mei Lee? Di'n't I tell ya that you were goin' to see the police again? Now aren't you glad I promised that?"
"Much DI Hunt" Mei Lee said, sounding relieved and extremely happy.
Maya stepped forward, holding her gun an arm's length away. "Nancy Sternum, come out now! We are putting you under arrest for attempted murder."
Nancy Sternum stepped out of a connecting hallway. She had a rifle in her hands, holding it with ease and expertise, almost like she was used to hunting things. It wasn't really all that odd, seeing the sharp, cold, emotionless woman standing so calmly with a deadly weapon pointed at two human beings, not at all like when the ex-Missus discovered that Gene in the act of having an affair with Sam. She was shaking, crying, and easily coerced out of not putting a bullet through Sam's head. Nancy Sternum, on the other hand, was going to have the damn thing surgically removed before she even considered dropping it.
"Nancy" Maya said, "resisting arrest will only make things worse for you."
"Fuck you" Nancy said, and Gene realized then that this Nancy Sternum was not the Nancy Sternum he had met earlier. This was the Nancy Sternum that the other one had been hiding behind; this was the Nancy Sternum that had drove her husband into having an affair with a younger and, let's admit it, prettier woman, a woman that this Nancy Sternum hated just on the basis of her nationality. This was the racist, insane, controling, trigger-happy Nancy Sternum.
"Put the gun down" Gene ordered.
"Why?" the unraveled woman asked. "Some emotionless bastard and a dark-skinned bitch...what're you two going to do to me? You can't kill me."
"We are being presented with a life-or-death situation, we are leagally allowed to remove such risk by any means necessary" Maya said.
"Shut up!" Nancy shouted. "You..." she gestured at Maya, "stupid...filthy...inbred bitch. Probably a lesbian too, working in such a male-dominated field. Means you're either a slut or a lesbian."
"I am neither" Maya said strongly, chin high and proud.
"And you" Nancy said as she pointed the gun at Gene. "I can smell adultery on you. You cheated on your wife, didn't you?"
"Best decision I ever made" Gene said proudly.
"How can you say such a thing?"
"'Cause I was far 'appier with the person I was 'avin' an affair with then I was with me own Missus" Gene said. "Sad to say, but the truth's never the 'appiest thin' in the world."
"Put the gun down" Maya instructed.
"No!"
"You're not making things easier for yourself!" Maya said.
"Leave me alone!"
"Put the gun down now!" Gene bellowed.
Nancy burst into tears. She fell onto her knees, the barrel of the gun falling onto the ground. "I was a good wife" she said between sobs. "I was a good wife, and he chose the maid over me!" She looked up at the officers, looking for pity. "It was even changed in his will. He managed to figure out what was going on and changed his will so she gets everything!"
Maya and Gene glanced at each other. Gene gave the phone back to Maya before approaching Nancy. He ripped the gun from her grasp and threw it away before grabbing her by the suit jacket and pulling her to her feet.
"Nancy Sternum" Gene said as he forced her hands behind her back, "you are under arrest for the murder of your husband, Joseph Sternum, the attempted murder of Mei Lee Ching and for resisting arrest."
*****
Gene and Maya were hiding from the crush of press in the lobby of the penthouse. Mei Lee had come out of her room and was having her statement taken. Nancy Sternum was sitting in a car, sobbing hysterically while the driver waited for all the reporters to move so he wouldn't hit any of them. Sam was standing outside, giving the press what they wanted: a story full of juicy details that they can feel their ravenous editors and just as hungry readers with. Bunch of Jackie Queens in this world, be they real or fake.
Gene tapped out a ciggarette and then offered one to Maya, who thanked him and took one as well. The Litton-like man looked like he was going to complain, then Gene threw him a look and he shut up. Gene returned to lighting his ciggarette.
Maya waved hers. "Mind if I get a light?"
Gene lit it without saying a word. Maya thanked him, but still he stayed silent.
"So...you cheated on your wife?" Maya said, returning to that old attempt to make conversation.
"Yep" he agreed.
"Why?" she asked.
"Started out as a drunken, lustful mistake that turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made" Gene answered, thinking of the way Sam would smile at him like Gene was the whole world.
"You still with the person you cheated on your wife with?" Maya asked.
Gene hesitated for a moment. In several ways he still was with Sam. Sam was sitting beside Gene's comatose body, and he was in this possible-dream, possible-real world that Gene was stuck in. Yet, Gene wasn't really with Sam right now, because being with someone meant that you were, well, with someone, and while he was with the Sam by his body, he wasn't with the Sam standing outside, acting like he was made for the cameras.
"Yeah, I still am" Gene said after a long exhale of smoke.
The smoke from Maya's ciggarette trailed up, curling and dancing around her and the glazed-over look in her eye. "You know what you said about me keeping my nose out of your business?"
"Still stand by what I said" Gene said with a nod.
"Good" Maya said, a smirk forming. "I wouldn't want my victory to be too easy."
Gene smiled as well. "I don't like to loose."
"Me neither." Maya held her hand out to Gene, looking up at him as well. "DS Maya Roy, it'll be a pleasure figuring you out."
Gene gave her the once over before smiling himself and taking her hand. "DI Gene Hunt, it'll be a pleasure keepin' you from doin' that."