If An Illusion Is All I Have
Chapter 10: The Cat
Author: Jess_Who
Fandom: Ashes To Ashes
Pairings: Alex, Gene, CID, Molly, etc
Rating: 12A (Rating may change)
Disclaimer: Only a fan, not the owner.. :'(
Spoilers: None really. Set in 1982
Note: Beta'd by the exceptional Rantandrumour. Sorry for the delay, I'm lazy and its my birthday so I can do what I want, dems the rules. The cats called Grumpy... in case you were wondering.
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"Guv, just got a call in," Alex announced, "Harper wants to talk to you at his office."
Alex refused to feel guilty for the lie she was telling to the man who was more than just a boss to her. It was merely a fabrication, she told herself. She knew damn well that was Harper's voice and she was not going to allow him the mercy of remaining anonymous after he had withheld information like this from her.
Gene would understand, she hoped.
"Right get your coat," Gene said moving swiftly across the checker-board floor with his black coat half on and half off.
"I'm going to stay here and help Shaz cross reference names from the hire logs with anyone that we might have a history with," Alex said.
"All right. Chris stay here. I want Harper to be pissing himself with fear not laughter. Ray, mush!"
#
Shaz was sat folded neatly in the back of an unmarked Police van, Alex next to her clipping a mike under her shirt.
"Shall we test to see if it s working, Ma'am?"
"I don't suppose it matters, Shaz. They're going to check to see if I'm unarmed, with a battery pack like this they are going to notice it. Have you got Chris's pen knife?" Shaz handed it over and watch as Alex hid it in her boot.
"Let s hope they're not clever enough to find the knife, Shaz smiled, listening to the whisper of Alex's voice replying from the headphones hanging around her neck.
"Let s," Alex agreed. "Shaz have you had fire arms training?"
"I know how to shoot, Chris showed me. I don't have a license though."
"Good enough I suppose. Take this." Alex handed over a gun with a chip missing from the handle. "Keep it on safety."
"I can't use this, Ma'am," Shaz said worriedly looking from her boss to the weapon.
"It's okay Shaz, it s just in case. The sight alone might be enough."
"Okay, Ma'am." With shaking hands Shaz took the gun. "But I'm really not sure about this, the Guv-"
"Fine. Give me ten minutes to get inside then radio him. There is an alley at the back of the house, they might use it as a means of escape, make sure he gets it covered," Alex said getting up and pushing the side door of the van open. "Wish me luck."
#
Alex held her gun in front of her, elbows locked as she scanned the front of the house with both the weapon and her eyes.
The cool she had retained while conceiving this little operation was beginning to flake away with every crunch of every footstep on the graveled path. The more she thought about it the more it felt like a bad idea, but she continued to fight the urge to U-turn and get back up. This was about her daughter; she did not have time to be scared. Alex knelt, her gun trained on the front door whilst she blindly searched in the under growth. Panicking slightly she almost toppled over and had to steady herself with both hands. She jumped to her feet, gun poised as she threw head back and forth, assessing whether or not she had been noticed. She thanked her lucky stars her little ground level appointment had only been witnessed by a young ginger cat perched on a nearby wall. She looked at the cat for a moment. Was it frowning at her? Alex did a double take. She watched the slender cat stretch and flick it's amazingly long tail, before tipping off the wall and in front of her eyes he skirted around the bushes and jumped on to the window ledge, sending her a teasing glance and slipping through the open window.
Alex smiled. That cat was a genius. The more she praised him, the more she realised the cat looked like a certain DCI, surely her mind was playing tricks on her.
Alex slid between the bushes and the brick house, twigs snagging her clothes and coarse bricks scratching against her skin. With a quick glance around her, Alex peered into the window as she pulled it open further.
"Shaz, radio Gene I'm going in." she said at a volume she hoped Shaz would catch, before she climbed through the window.
There was no way she going to tell Shaz that a pretty cat with a frown had made her change her mind.
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Chapter 11: Little Girl