Fic: The Art of Being Lost and Found (37/?), blue cortina, dakfinv
Title: The Art of Being Lost and Found (37/?)
Author: dak
Word Count: 1139 (this part); (54,181 in total, so far)
Rating: blue cortina
Warnings: none here
Summary: Post 2.08. When the Guv goes missing, CID is saddled with an inept "interim" DCI. To find Gene, and the truth, Ray must team up with a hated enemy.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15
Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28
Part 29 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34 Part 35 Part 36
“Ray Carling, you bastard!”
“Reggie Lane, you twonk.”
Ray shared a firm handshake with his old friend and offered him a fag. Reggie took it without question, lighting up while staring at the quiet Tyler.
“So, who’s the ponce?” Reggie asked, blowing a stream of smoke up into the air.
“Just a...colleague. Don’t mind him.”
“I’m your DI,” Sam rolled his eyes.
“Were,” Ray shot back. Reggie stared at them oddly as he took another drag. “Long story. So, Reg, you have them files I asked about?”
“Aye. Set ‘em out for you in our interview room. This way,” Reggie led them down the gray hall.
“You use your interview rooms?” Sam asked, trailing behind Ray and Reggie, who walked side by side.
“Have to. Only place with thick walls. Here we are,” Reggie unlocked a door to their left and ushered them inside. “Found all I could on any Sallys and Lindas.”
“We asked for Sally Carmichael and Linda Wheeler specifically,” Sam huffed, pushing past Ray and Reggie so he could take a first look at the files.
“Right. Cos all the prozzies in Manchester give you their real names, don’t they? Oi, Ray. Where’d you dig this one up?” Reggie laughed.
“You don’t want to know,” Ray sighed.
“I’ll keep checking, but you know how it is in Collators. And I’ve got me own work to do, you know.”
“Cheers, Reg. This’ll be a good start.”
“Right then,” Reggie nodded. He hesitated, watching Sam caress a file. “So, uhm, you need anything, give us a shout.” He tried to leave but was distracted as Sam picked up the file and sniffed it. “He alright?” Reg whispered.
“Just leave him to me,” Ray smiled and pushed the curious Reggie out the door. “Can’t you act normal for five minutes?”
Sam finished inhaling the file then set it back on the table and picked up another.
“Where’d you find him?” Tyler asked, running his fingers over file number two.
“He’s Dolores’ boyfriend Johnny’s cousin from his Aunt Velma’s second marriage.”
“I don’t know any of those people.”
“Good. Now sit down, stop sniffing, and start searching,” Ray crossed the room and took a seat on the opposite side of the table.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a police file.”
“Giving you a hard on is it? Never mind. Don’t want to know.”
Ray quickly tried to dismiss that image from his mind as he grabbed a folder from the top of the pile. Sam finally took a seat and began scanning the file already in his hands.
“Photos,” he blurted out.
“Want to capture the moment, Tyler?”
“Dammit,” Sam cursed, ignoring Ray. “We should have brought photographs of Linda and Sally.”
“We don’t have any.”
“We could have found some.”
“We know what Lydia looks like, and she and her sister are twins.”
“Identical or fraternal?”
“What?”
Sam suddenly leapt from his chair and threw his file across the room.
“Pointless! This is bloody pointless! We don’t even know what we’re looking for!” Tyler was screaming and pacing the room frenetically. Ray prayed Reggie was right about the room having thick walls. “Even if we find them, how will we even know? What are we even doing here?” He slammed his fists against the wall repeatedly before resting his head against the cold plaster. “Be here. Shouldn’t...I shouldn’t...Not ready....I’m not...” he muttered to himself, fingernails scratching at the paint.
“We’re here to find the Guv.” Ray replied, remaining in his seat. “We’ve tracked down loads of scum without knowing what they look like. We do it all the time.”
Ray watched as Sam’s shoulders shuddered. Slowly, the tired man turned round and rested his back against the wall, his arms hanging loosely by his sides.
“I don’t know if I can,” he whispered. A pained laugh snuck it’s way into his voice and Sam slid down the wall, cupping his head in his hands. Ray sat there awkwardly unsure if he should look at the file or at Tyler.
“Well,” he coughed, deciding to look at the file. “I had to drag you along, so you might as well be of some use. You can’t handle a few files, fine. Sit there. I’ll find summat for you later.” He waited for some noise, for Tyler to stomp across the room, take a seat, and start fondling his beloved paperwork. There was only silence. After five minutes, Ray finally dared to look across the room.
Sam was sitting with his knees curled to his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around his legs, and his head bowed. Ray quickly looked away, but found it difficult to focus on the file in front of him. After several more futile minutes, Ray slapped the file shut.
“Driving is bloody tiring,” he cursed. “I’m going to find Reggie. See if we can’t take these back to the hotel with us, instead.”
Sam made no reply, simply relaxed his arms and picked at his fingernails.
“Be right back,” Ray muttered and hurried himself out of the stifling room.
*
After climbing the several flights to their stairs, Ray was well and truly knackered. It was barely eight o’clock, but the day had been draining in more ways than one. Sam shuffled up behind him as he forced open their creaky room door. He heard Tyler sigh again as they entered, no doubt a reaction to the peeling wallpaper.
“I’m going to bed,” Ray announced, rummaging through his bag for his toothbrush and night clothes. “We’ll get up early and look through these files. Find nowt, we’ll go back to the station. See what else Reggie’s found for us.”
“What happened?” he heard Sam ask.
“You went nutty at the station.”
“What happened to my flat?” Sam elaborated.
“Don’t know. Guv handled that. Took all your stuff, boxed it up. Gave the keys to your landlord, I think.”
“Landlady. I had a landlady.”
“Whatever. Probably been let by now. Can’t think you’d miss that dump of a flat.”
“I don’t. I...” Sam looked around the room, staring at the wallpaper for an unhealthy amount of time. “I’m tired. I should sleep. I will sleep. Do you have my pills?”
“Thought you didn’t want them,” Ray asked suspiciously as he grabbed the paper bag.
“I don’t like the day ones. The night...they help me sleep. They keep...Just give me the damn drugs.”
“Steady on,” Ray sighed as he sorted out the proper ones. “There you are.”
Sam couldn’t grab the pills fast enough and tossed them down his throat in one fluid movement. Ray watched as Sam closed his eyes, swallowed, and stopped his hands from shaking.
“I don’t sleep with the lights on, in case you were wondering,” Sam mentioned as he searched through his bag. “But if I scream, don’t let it scare you.”
Author: dak
Word Count: 1139 (this part); (54,181 in total, so far)
Rating: blue cortina
Warnings: none here
Summary: Post 2.08. When the Guv goes missing, CID is saddled with an inept "interim" DCI. To find Gene, and the truth, Ray must team up with a hated enemy.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15
Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28
Part 29 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34 Part 35 Part 36
“Ray Carling, you bastard!”
“Reggie Lane, you twonk.”
Ray shared a firm handshake with his old friend and offered him a fag. Reggie took it without question, lighting up while staring at the quiet Tyler.
“So, who’s the ponce?” Reggie asked, blowing a stream of smoke up into the air.
“Just a...colleague. Don’t mind him.”
“I’m your DI,” Sam rolled his eyes.
“Were,” Ray shot back. Reggie stared at them oddly as he took another drag. “Long story. So, Reg, you have them files I asked about?”
“Aye. Set ‘em out for you in our interview room. This way,” Reggie led them down the gray hall.
“You use your interview rooms?” Sam asked, trailing behind Ray and Reggie, who walked side by side.
“Have to. Only place with thick walls. Here we are,” Reggie unlocked a door to their left and ushered them inside. “Found all I could on any Sallys and Lindas.”
“We asked for Sally Carmichael and Linda Wheeler specifically,” Sam huffed, pushing past Ray and Reggie so he could take a first look at the files.
“Right. Cos all the prozzies in Manchester give you their real names, don’t they? Oi, Ray. Where’d you dig this one up?” Reggie laughed.
“You don’t want to know,” Ray sighed.
“I’ll keep checking, but you know how it is in Collators. And I’ve got me own work to do, you know.”
“Cheers, Reg. This’ll be a good start.”
“Right then,” Reggie nodded. He hesitated, watching Sam caress a file. “So, uhm, you need anything, give us a shout.” He tried to leave but was distracted as Sam picked up the file and sniffed it. “He alright?” Reg whispered.
“Just leave him to me,” Ray smiled and pushed the curious Reggie out the door. “Can’t you act normal for five minutes?”
Sam finished inhaling the file then set it back on the table and picked up another.
“Where’d you find him?” Tyler asked, running his fingers over file number two.
“He’s Dolores’ boyfriend Johnny’s cousin from his Aunt Velma’s second marriage.”
“I don’t know any of those people.”
“Good. Now sit down, stop sniffing, and start searching,” Ray crossed the room and took a seat on the opposite side of the table.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a police file.”
“Giving you a hard on is it? Never mind. Don’t want to know.”
Ray quickly tried to dismiss that image from his mind as he grabbed a folder from the top of the pile. Sam finally took a seat and began scanning the file already in his hands.
“Photos,” he blurted out.
“Want to capture the moment, Tyler?”
“Dammit,” Sam cursed, ignoring Ray. “We should have brought photographs of Linda and Sally.”
“We don’t have any.”
“We could have found some.”
“We know what Lydia looks like, and she and her sister are twins.”
“Identical or fraternal?”
“What?”
Sam suddenly leapt from his chair and threw his file across the room.
“Pointless! This is bloody pointless! We don’t even know what we’re looking for!” Tyler was screaming and pacing the room frenetically. Ray prayed Reggie was right about the room having thick walls. “Even if we find them, how will we even know? What are we even doing here?” He slammed his fists against the wall repeatedly before resting his head against the cold plaster. “Be here. Shouldn’t...I shouldn’t...Not ready....I’m not...” he muttered to himself, fingernails scratching at the paint.
“We’re here to find the Guv.” Ray replied, remaining in his seat. “We’ve tracked down loads of scum without knowing what they look like. We do it all the time.”
Ray watched as Sam’s shoulders shuddered. Slowly, the tired man turned round and rested his back against the wall, his arms hanging loosely by his sides.
“I don’t know if I can,” he whispered. A pained laugh snuck it’s way into his voice and Sam slid down the wall, cupping his head in his hands. Ray sat there awkwardly unsure if he should look at the file or at Tyler.
“Well,” he coughed, deciding to look at the file. “I had to drag you along, so you might as well be of some use. You can’t handle a few files, fine. Sit there. I’ll find summat for you later.” He waited for some noise, for Tyler to stomp across the room, take a seat, and start fondling his beloved paperwork. There was only silence. After five minutes, Ray finally dared to look across the room.
Sam was sitting with his knees curled to his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around his legs, and his head bowed. Ray quickly looked away, but found it difficult to focus on the file in front of him. After several more futile minutes, Ray slapped the file shut.
“Driving is bloody tiring,” he cursed. “I’m going to find Reggie. See if we can’t take these back to the hotel with us, instead.”
Sam made no reply, simply relaxed his arms and picked at his fingernails.
“Be right back,” Ray muttered and hurried himself out of the stifling room.
*
After climbing the several flights to their stairs, Ray was well and truly knackered. It was barely eight o’clock, but the day had been draining in more ways than one. Sam shuffled up behind him as he forced open their creaky room door. He heard Tyler sigh again as they entered, no doubt a reaction to the peeling wallpaper.
“I’m going to bed,” Ray announced, rummaging through his bag for his toothbrush and night clothes. “We’ll get up early and look through these files. Find nowt, we’ll go back to the station. See what else Reggie’s found for us.”
“What happened?” he heard Sam ask.
“You went nutty at the station.”
“What happened to my flat?” Sam elaborated.
“Don’t know. Guv handled that. Took all your stuff, boxed it up. Gave the keys to your landlord, I think.”
“Landlady. I had a landlady.”
“Whatever. Probably been let by now. Can’t think you’d miss that dump of a flat.”
“I don’t. I...” Sam looked around the room, staring at the wallpaper for an unhealthy amount of time. “I’m tired. I should sleep. I will sleep. Do you have my pills?”
“Thought you didn’t want them,” Ray asked suspiciously as he grabbed the paper bag.
“I don’t like the day ones. The night...they help me sleep. They keep...Just give me the damn drugs.”
“Steady on,” Ray sighed as he sorted out the proper ones. “There you are.”
Sam couldn’t grab the pills fast enough and tossed them down his throat in one fluid movement. Ray watched as Sam closed his eyes, swallowed, and stopped his hands from shaking.
“I don’t sleep with the lights on, in case you were wondering,” Sam mentioned as he searched through his bag. “But if I scream, don’t let it scare you.”