Fic: Appearances (Part Twenty-One) by Mikey, brown cortina
Title: Appearances, Part Twenty-One of Thirty
Authors: mikes_grrl, with angeweeks on ‘Gene dialogue duty’ and more than a little credit to draycevixen for plot assistance.
Rating: Brown Cortina (NC-17)
Pairing: Gene/Sam
Warnings: AU, post-2.08, and probably not in character.
Disclaimer: All owned by Kudos, kudos to them. I’m just having fun.
Word Count: 53,000~ total (part Twenty-One, 1,700)
Summary: Sam tries to broaden Gene’s horizons but Gene won’t listen to reason (surprise) and sure as hell won’t ‘dialogue’. Meanwhile the city is experiencing a rash of hate crimes, a few of which are perpetrated against gay men, just as queer activism hits Manchester.
NOTES to Part Twenty-One: OoooOOOoooo, I feel particularly evil with this installment. *whistles like Drayce at the harpsicord*
Appearances:
Prologue; Part One; Part Two; Part Three; Part Four; Part Five; Part Six; Part Seven; Part Eight; Part Nine; Part Ten; Part Eleven; Part Twelve; Part Thirteen; Part Fourteen; Part Fifteen; Part Sixteen Part Seventeen; Part Eighteen; Part Nineteen; Part Twenty
( Undercover-AU:
I. Undercover
II. Exposed
III. Smirk )
Appearances, Part Twenty-One
“He thinks you’re a cheating bastard. And here I thought that was my line of work.”
“Shut up.” Gene nearly ripped his coat putting it on, while David leaned against the front door frame.
David’s eyes darkened dangerously. “You cheated on him. You seduced him, cheated on him, acted like a jealous bastard and broke up with him. What the HELL would he want from you after all that?”
“Who the hell’s side are you on?”
“You son of a bitch! How can you even ASK me that?”
“Is this about you or me?” Gene slapped the bonnet open handed, angry but careful not to hurt the paint.
“I thought it was about Sam. But you’re a selfish bastard, and it’s always about you, innit?”
“Fighting for me now?”
“I made my choice, and it was always for you. I wasn’t going to let you throw your life away for me. I don’t see Sam making the same choice.”
“No, he wouldn’t.”
“I like him, Gene, but don’t do this, it will ruin both of you. Sam’s a smart boy, doesn’t even want you back now. Walk away!”
“Do NOT tell me what to do!”
“Right, because that works so well! Why the hell do you think I took on that Bramhall Neanderthal? Because your bags were packed for London! I tried to get you to listen to reason, but you never fucking do!”
Gene took a huge breath to keep from laying David out on the drive, then started digging for his keys. “After you, I never tried until Mark, and that took him to his grave. Now I got me another chance, and I’m still kicking at my luck like I’m nineteen all over again. I’m done playing bloody games.”
David’s eyes narrowed and he pointed at Gene, practically stabbing him.
“So now your done playing games? NOW? Now your going to go sweep the boy off his feet? You do this, and all hell will be on your head. You fight for him, you get him back, then what? You’ll be a fag drummed off the force, living on the dole because nowt a fucking cat house in the city will hire you! You ready for that, Gene? Is Sam worth THAT to you?”
“Mebbe he is.”
“Fine! But are you ready for that?”
“Why do you care, David? This is between Sam and me.”
“Yeah. Funny how I always have to clean up the blood.”
Gene refused to answer and walked off again to the driver’s side of the Cortina, stopping only long enough to watch as David threw himself in the passenger seat. Gene opened the door and peered into the car. “Get out.”
“No.”
“Get. Out.”
-----------------
Annie was shocked, speechless, horrified and confused.
“But…but…he has a girlfriend!”
“Yeah.” Sam sighed, closing his eyes, as they went over this for the third time.
“Sam…I don’t get it…I mean, if he’s, you know…”
“Annie, I don’t have time for this. I need to you get over to the hospital, get the family to help you find Shelton, and figure out what he knows. You’re a woman, he’ll feel safe talking with you, and if you let him know that we’re already aware of his brother’s lifestyle…”
“ ‘Lifestyle.’ ” Annie parroted again.
“RIGHT!” Sam growled and started pacing the small office. Annie stepped closer to the door. “I don’t care what you think about it, Annie. I don’t give a damn. But that boy Jimmy might be hurt, seriously hurt, and I need you to act like the objective, dedicated police detective I know you are and go talk to Shelton.”
“Just, tell him that I know his brother’s a poofter?” She said, bowing up a bit in frustration.
“Yeah, and that he was screwing Larry Fletcher, and that he was going to write for the gay, no, queer news rag that Larry is starting. You do that, Annie, you tell him that and it might be enough to make him crack.” Sam pointed at her, throwing down the orders yet again, hoping that she was finally moving beyond shock to actually do what needed to be done. “It’s an order, Annie. As your superior officer, I’m ordering you to shoulder this information and do your damn job.” Sam threw his hands out in frustration.
Glaring at him, Annie turned on a dime and marched out. He followed her out of the office and watched as she slammed her chair and desk drawers and pens and notebooks before clutching her purse to her side and leaving, without once looking him in the face. He shook his head, amazed, because it was not as if he had come out to her himself.
As she left, Sam finally looked at his own phone and debated calling Gene back, but flashed on the idea that he might interrupt a noon-time shag in process. He stuffed the thought to the back of his mind and started over, this time realizing that he did not have the luxury of waiting for Gene to make it into the station for a briefing on the situation, and that Gene had officially dumped the whole mess in Sam’s lap with strict instructions to solve it himself anyway. Sam grabbed his jacket and tucked his notebook into his jacket, then headed out and got precisely as far as the lobby.
Jackie Queen stood at the front desk, locked in a snarling match with Phyllis. Sam stopped dead and tapped on the counter. He did not have time for this but she was as dangerous to Gene - to them - as a loaded gun right now. As always, actually.
“Queen.”
“DI Tyler. Good to see someone with a brain still works here…”
“Now you listen here, you tart…” Phyllis shook a pen at her.
“Stop it.” Sam slashed the air with his hands. “What are you doing here, Queen?”
“Those beatings aren’t getting’ solved, and DCI Hunt ain’t talking to me about the cases. And now I hear that a drag queen got beat up too, a couple of weeks back, and the police aren’t even investigating…” Queen pulled out her notebook and eyed Sam as she stood with her pen poised to strike.
“I am not authorized to comment. I can confirm that we have not had any reports of any drag queens being attacked. Phyllis? Anything on the books for someone calling that in?”
“I’d remember a bloke in a dress, Boss. No.” Phyllis glanced at him quickly and returned to glaring daggers at Queen.
“I have it on reliable authority.” Queen trilled, her eye brows rising.
“Nonetheless, I don’t. And I cannot comment on the other cases. I suggest you wait until DCI Hunt has time to contact you…”
“Are you saying he’s too busy with other work to effectively handle the investigation into these vicious murders?” The pen twitched in her fingers.
“I am not saying anything, and if you print that I did, I have witnesses right here to testify that you are taking my comments out of context.” Sam pointed at Phyllis and the two plods standing nervously to the side acting like collateral damage.
Queen snarled and snapped her notebook closed. “You lot are covering something up again, I can smell it.”
“What you smell is the cabbage from the canteen, which I assure you is as bad as the odor would indicate. Now, if there isn’t anything I can help you with…” Sam gestured to the front door. Queen glared at him and stomped out. Sam turned to Phyllis, whose lips were pursed and her eyes sparking.
“Don’t think that was anything to bother the Guv with, do you, Boss?” She said crossly, returning to her paperwork. Sam knew she was basically looking for his blessing on her decision, so he just nodded and walked off.
Queen was waiting for him outside. “You can cooperate, or I can force the matter.”
“What you’re best at, Queen. If you don’t mind, I’m in a bit of rush.” Sam sped down the stairs outside, but even in her high heeled mules, Queen was not giving up.
“You lot got too many secrets. You can either come clean with what yer hiding about this case, or I’ll come clean about you.”
The whispered, vicious tone of her voice stopped Sam in his tracks, and he turned to face her. “What?”
“You. I know you. Been seen at those private parties, yeah? You know the ones I mean? Harold in layout, he’s a bit of friend, yeah? He knows you, seen you about. And we got you regularly visiting the Polytechnic to hook up with the students, yeah? Oh we got photos, you hanging out there, leering at those innocent kids…that blond boy, he your type, is he, DI Tyler?” Queen hissed and moved into his space, but Sam did not budge. If Queen had that much on him, then she might have that much on Gene. Sam’s mind went into overdrive.
“I don’t know what you are talking about, and if you think you can blackmail me with the idea of going to Hunt with this speculation then…”
She leaned back and waved one hand in the air. “Oh he knows about you, I’m sure. One thing I respect about Hunt is his ability to sniff out the truth. He knows. But he’s all about his ‘team’, yeah? I don’t think he’s keen on getting his ‘deputy’ locked up on indecency charges, is he? I…”
This time Sam stepped into her space. “I don’t know what you think you have, but you don’t. Nothing. I’m clean. You’ve got nothing to blackmail me with…” Sam snarled the words and she shifted forward.
“I’m not blackmailing YOU. I’m going to Hunt with our proof; what do you think he would give up to salvage your career, DI Tyler? Salvage the reputation of CID? Maybe a lot. Maybe the truth about this case!”
In fairness, Sam was certain that at this point Gene would not give up a hangnail to save him, but Queen did not need any more leads into personal territory than she already had. Changing tactics, he stepped away from her and shrugged. “Maybe not. Maybe he’ll just take it personally that you are trying to wreck the reputation of CID with ridiculous accusations. Even if you have photos, it’s all circumstantial and you still got nothin’.” He turned to walk off, and Queen shouted after him.
“We both know what rumors do, Tyler! We both know I don’t need more than I got!”
Sam tuned her out as he finally got to his car and drove off.
>----------
Authors: mikes_grrl, with angeweeks on ‘Gene dialogue duty’ and more than a little credit to draycevixen for plot assistance.
Rating: Brown Cortina (NC-17)
Pairing: Gene/Sam
Warnings: AU, post-2.08, and probably not in character.
Disclaimer: All owned by Kudos, kudos to them. I’m just having fun.
Word Count: 53,000~ total (part Twenty-One, 1,700)
Summary: Sam tries to broaden Gene’s horizons but Gene won’t listen to reason (surprise) and sure as hell won’t ‘dialogue’. Meanwhile the city is experiencing a rash of hate crimes, a few of which are perpetrated against gay men, just as queer activism hits Manchester.
NOTES to Part Twenty-One: OoooOOOoooo, I feel particularly evil with this installment. *whistles like Drayce at the harpsicord*
Appearances:
Prologue; Part One; Part Two; Part Three; Part Four; Part Five; Part Six; Part Seven; Part Eight; Part Nine; Part Ten; Part Eleven; Part Twelve; Part Thirteen; Part Fourteen; Part Fifteen; Part Sixteen Part Seventeen; Part Eighteen; Part Nineteen; Part Twenty
( Undercover-AU:
I. Undercover
II. Exposed
III. Smirk )
Appearances, Part Twenty-One
“He thinks you’re a cheating bastard. And here I thought that was my line of work.”
“Shut up.” Gene nearly ripped his coat putting it on, while David leaned against the front door frame.
David’s eyes darkened dangerously. “You cheated on him. You seduced him, cheated on him, acted like a jealous bastard and broke up with him. What the HELL would he want from you after all that?”
“Who the hell’s side are you on?”
“You son of a bitch! How can you even ASK me that?”
“Is this about you or me?” Gene slapped the bonnet open handed, angry but careful not to hurt the paint.
“I thought it was about Sam. But you’re a selfish bastard, and it’s always about you, innit?”
“Fighting for me now?”
“I made my choice, and it was always for you. I wasn’t going to let you throw your life away for me. I don’t see Sam making the same choice.”
“No, he wouldn’t.”
“I like him, Gene, but don’t do this, it will ruin both of you. Sam’s a smart boy, doesn’t even want you back now. Walk away!”
“Do NOT tell me what to do!”
“Right, because that works so well! Why the hell do you think I took on that Bramhall Neanderthal? Because your bags were packed for London! I tried to get you to listen to reason, but you never fucking do!”
Gene took a huge breath to keep from laying David out on the drive, then started digging for his keys. “After you, I never tried until Mark, and that took him to his grave. Now I got me another chance, and I’m still kicking at my luck like I’m nineteen all over again. I’m done playing bloody games.”
David’s eyes narrowed and he pointed at Gene, practically stabbing him.
“So now your done playing games? NOW? Now your going to go sweep the boy off his feet? You do this, and all hell will be on your head. You fight for him, you get him back, then what? You’ll be a fag drummed off the force, living on the dole because nowt a fucking cat house in the city will hire you! You ready for that, Gene? Is Sam worth THAT to you?”
“Mebbe he is.”
“Fine! But are you ready for that?”
“Why do you care, David? This is between Sam and me.”
“Yeah. Funny how I always have to clean up the blood.”
Gene refused to answer and walked off again to the driver’s side of the Cortina, stopping only long enough to watch as David threw himself in the passenger seat. Gene opened the door and peered into the car. “Get out.”
“No.”
“Get. Out.”
-----------------
Annie was shocked, speechless, horrified and confused.
“But…but…he has a girlfriend!”
“Yeah.” Sam sighed, closing his eyes, as they went over this for the third time.
“Sam…I don’t get it…I mean, if he’s, you know…”
“Annie, I don’t have time for this. I need to you get over to the hospital, get the family to help you find Shelton, and figure out what he knows. You’re a woman, he’ll feel safe talking with you, and if you let him know that we’re already aware of his brother’s lifestyle…”
“ ‘Lifestyle.’ ” Annie parroted again.
“RIGHT!” Sam growled and started pacing the small office. Annie stepped closer to the door. “I don’t care what you think about it, Annie. I don’t give a damn. But that boy Jimmy might be hurt, seriously hurt, and I need you to act like the objective, dedicated police detective I know you are and go talk to Shelton.”
“Just, tell him that I know his brother’s a poofter?” She said, bowing up a bit in frustration.
“Yeah, and that he was screwing Larry Fletcher, and that he was going to write for the gay, no, queer news rag that Larry is starting. You do that, Annie, you tell him that and it might be enough to make him crack.” Sam pointed at her, throwing down the orders yet again, hoping that she was finally moving beyond shock to actually do what needed to be done. “It’s an order, Annie. As your superior officer, I’m ordering you to shoulder this information and do your damn job.” Sam threw his hands out in frustration.
Glaring at him, Annie turned on a dime and marched out. He followed her out of the office and watched as she slammed her chair and desk drawers and pens and notebooks before clutching her purse to her side and leaving, without once looking him in the face. He shook his head, amazed, because it was not as if he had come out to her himself.
As she left, Sam finally looked at his own phone and debated calling Gene back, but flashed on the idea that he might interrupt a noon-time shag in process. He stuffed the thought to the back of his mind and started over, this time realizing that he did not have the luxury of waiting for Gene to make it into the station for a briefing on the situation, and that Gene had officially dumped the whole mess in Sam’s lap with strict instructions to solve it himself anyway. Sam grabbed his jacket and tucked his notebook into his jacket, then headed out and got precisely as far as the lobby.
Jackie Queen stood at the front desk, locked in a snarling match with Phyllis. Sam stopped dead and tapped on the counter. He did not have time for this but she was as dangerous to Gene - to them - as a loaded gun right now. As always, actually.
“Queen.”
“DI Tyler. Good to see someone with a brain still works here…”
“Now you listen here, you tart…” Phyllis shook a pen at her.
“Stop it.” Sam slashed the air with his hands. “What are you doing here, Queen?”
“Those beatings aren’t getting’ solved, and DCI Hunt ain’t talking to me about the cases. And now I hear that a drag queen got beat up too, a couple of weeks back, and the police aren’t even investigating…” Queen pulled out her notebook and eyed Sam as she stood with her pen poised to strike.
“I am not authorized to comment. I can confirm that we have not had any reports of any drag queens being attacked. Phyllis? Anything on the books for someone calling that in?”
“I’d remember a bloke in a dress, Boss. No.” Phyllis glanced at him quickly and returned to glaring daggers at Queen.
“I have it on reliable authority.” Queen trilled, her eye brows rising.
“Nonetheless, I don’t. And I cannot comment on the other cases. I suggest you wait until DCI Hunt has time to contact you…”
“Are you saying he’s too busy with other work to effectively handle the investigation into these vicious murders?” The pen twitched in her fingers.
“I am not saying anything, and if you print that I did, I have witnesses right here to testify that you are taking my comments out of context.” Sam pointed at Phyllis and the two plods standing nervously to the side acting like collateral damage.
Queen snarled and snapped her notebook closed. “You lot are covering something up again, I can smell it.”
“What you smell is the cabbage from the canteen, which I assure you is as bad as the odor would indicate. Now, if there isn’t anything I can help you with…” Sam gestured to the front door. Queen glared at him and stomped out. Sam turned to Phyllis, whose lips were pursed and her eyes sparking.
“Don’t think that was anything to bother the Guv with, do you, Boss?” She said crossly, returning to her paperwork. Sam knew she was basically looking for his blessing on her decision, so he just nodded and walked off.
Queen was waiting for him outside. “You can cooperate, or I can force the matter.”
“What you’re best at, Queen. If you don’t mind, I’m in a bit of rush.” Sam sped down the stairs outside, but even in her high heeled mules, Queen was not giving up.
“You lot got too many secrets. You can either come clean with what yer hiding about this case, or I’ll come clean about you.”
The whispered, vicious tone of her voice stopped Sam in his tracks, and he turned to face her. “What?”
“You. I know you. Been seen at those private parties, yeah? You know the ones I mean? Harold in layout, he’s a bit of friend, yeah? He knows you, seen you about. And we got you regularly visiting the Polytechnic to hook up with the students, yeah? Oh we got photos, you hanging out there, leering at those innocent kids…that blond boy, he your type, is he, DI Tyler?” Queen hissed and moved into his space, but Sam did not budge. If Queen had that much on him, then she might have that much on Gene. Sam’s mind went into overdrive.
“I don’t know what you are talking about, and if you think you can blackmail me with the idea of going to Hunt with this speculation then…”
She leaned back and waved one hand in the air. “Oh he knows about you, I’m sure. One thing I respect about Hunt is his ability to sniff out the truth. He knows. But he’s all about his ‘team’, yeah? I don’t think he’s keen on getting his ‘deputy’ locked up on indecency charges, is he? I…”
This time Sam stepped into her space. “I don’t know what you think you have, but you don’t. Nothing. I’m clean. You’ve got nothing to blackmail me with…” Sam snarled the words and she shifted forward.
“I’m not blackmailing YOU. I’m going to Hunt with our proof; what do you think he would give up to salvage your career, DI Tyler? Salvage the reputation of CID? Maybe a lot. Maybe the truth about this case!”
In fairness, Sam was certain that at this point Gene would not give up a hangnail to save him, but Queen did not need any more leads into personal territory than she already had. Changing tactics, he stepped away from her and shrugged. “Maybe not. Maybe he’ll just take it personally that you are trying to wreck the reputation of CID with ridiculous accusations. Even if you have photos, it’s all circumstantial and you still got nothin’.” He turned to walk off, and Queen shouted after him.
“We both know what rumors do, Tyler! We both know I don’t need more than I got!”
Sam tuned her out as he finally got to his car and drove off.
>----------