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Repetitions of the Future	By : gallygaskins Category: 1 through F > Ashes to Ashes Views: 1463 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Ashes to Ashes and I do not earn any money from this fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 4
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Chapter 5 – What about a boat?

CID was uncommonly busy when DCI Gene Hunt walked in, everyone seemed to be working on the cases in hand and there was a lot of buzz about Layton as countless conversations where going on about that subject around him. Ignoring it for the time being, he strode round the back of DI Drake’s desk and rolled out the whiteboard that she had used those few days leading up to the Prices’ death. He stood back and looked at it, it read ‘Billboard – Gently Does It!’, ‘10 am Ash Street’, ‘Timer/Cassette Player’, ‘Blue Ford Escort – W Reg’ with a picture of a car, ‘School’, ‘Tim & Caroline Price’ and ‘Bomb’ in a big cloud, most of these had been crossed through as if Alex had been satisfied they’d been dealt with. The final word was ‘Layton?’, and it was obviously there because at the time Alex wrote it she didn’t know where Layton fitted into the scenario at that time.

He took out the bits of paper from his jacket pocket, unfolded them and laid them out in front of him. He sat at her desk, grabbed the roll of sticky tape that sat in the top filing in-tray on her desk and began methodically piecing the bits of torn paper back together. Then he put those that seemed to be in some kind of order in that order, patching them together with more tape. By looking over both the evidence that lay on her desk and that which was on the whiteboard, Gene was able to ascertain that what Alex had told him was true and, assuming that she had come to 1981 from the future, Layton was most definitely the man that had pulled the trigger, hitting her in the head with a bullet and sending her to Gene for a second time. He remembered his words, “Bye little lady, any problems you just call the Gene Genie,” and smiled, was this really fate? Had she called out to him for help and he had come running? In 2007 he’d be 66, retired and 30 some odd years her senior; if he was even still alive at that age he could only ever be a father figure to her, again he’d only get to be her friend.

He sighed heavily, clawing his fingers through his hair as realisation hit him; he was far too old for her. However, she was still his DI and she was in trouble. She needed him, the Gene Genie, she needed him to find her and get her back to her daughter and that was exactly what he was going to do. “Raymondo, what do we have on Layton?”

“Before the Prices’ went up in smoke,” Ray related, in his usual cocksure way, “I told Drake that he had form for using explosives, and one of the officers at the ‘Scrubs’ told me that he’d been prattlin’ on about ‘ow ‘he’d been something back in the day’ and ‘ow ‘Drake knew ‘bout his future’. It don’t make much sense to me but maybe it’ll help tie up some loose ends eventually.”

‘It already has,’ Gene thought mulling over the words of his DS. So Layton had form for using explosives, which tied in with what both Alex and Evan White had told him. But what about Layton’s words; Alex must have said something to Layton when Gene had taken her to see him at Wormwood. She must have waited until after Gene had quitted the room. It made sense, she wouldn’t have wanted to give anything away before that point but to Layton, when he was on his own, it wouldn’t have mattered. After all, she would have assumed that Layton was going to be safely ensconced in his cell at the time of her parent’s death.

Gene thought more about the events that had lead up to Alex’s parents’ death. It hadn’t been until they got to court that fateful morning that they both were told by Evan that Layton had been released due to his case being successfully overturned by Tim Price and his legal team. Was that why Evan was at Wormwood just after Alex’s and Gene’s visit? And why had Evan quit? Gene sighed again, it seemed like he would have to see Evan and get some explanations to his questions. There was another too, what was Evan doing at the Bomb site? Evan would have known that the Price’s were picking up their daughter from school but that didn’t really explain why he was there.

Gene looked up from the papers that lay in front of him, in order to question his staff, “anything from dabs or forensics?” He asked.

Chris rifled through some of the paperwork on his desk, turning over folders and statements trying to find what he was looking for; he’d be glad when Shaz returned to work; she’d have been able to pick up the file straight away. He cleared his throat, “dabs have got back to us and apart from DI Drake’s prints, the others that they’ve found are inconclusive.”

Gene scowled, “Inconclusive?”

“Yeah, someone knew what they were doing and wiped their prints. Forensics said there’s not much there, they have found a hair that isn’t one of Drake’s but obviously can’t match it yet. And the print is from a Dr Marten boot, size 11.”

“What colour is it?”

“Eh?” Ray asked, unsure of the question.

“The hair, what colour is it?”

“Oh, erm, dark brown, straight and a bit longer than your length.” Chris informed him.

Gene knew even before he had to say it, “Layton!”

“Guv?”

“Raymondo, for some reason DI Drake has been kidnapped by Arthur Layton, she needs our help and we must do everything we can to find her before he does something stupid.”

“Stupid, Guv?”

“Yes, like hurt her or kill her. It wouldn’t be beneficial if she was found dead!” Gene got up from Alex’s desk and made his way through the office to his own. On his travels he overheard the hushed interaction between Ray and Chris, Ray asking the question ‘beneficial to ‘oo’, Chris merely shrugging his shoulders. “Ray, in here, now!”

Ray summoned up whatever he could to get up from his seat, “hurry up!” He heard the DCI shout as he saw Gene closing all of the blinds at his office windows. Ray crossed the threshold and was told to close the door behind him. He did as he was told and took a seat on the table that sat to the right of the Guv’s desk.

“I assume you’re going to apologise for your indiscretion?” Gene asked.

Ray, knowing he’d been caught in the act shrugged his shoulders. “Err, aye, Guv. Sorry Guv!”

“Mmm,” Gene frowned, unsure if he should really be telling his DS what he was about to. “Ray, as you may be aware I am much more serious than usual due to the fact that my DI has disappeared,” he saw Ray nod his head sullenly, “Alex … DI Drake,” he corrected, “has imparted information to me that as evidence reveals itself, I am tending to believe. She’s told me stuff about Tyler that there was no way she could’ve known. And the stuff she’s told me about ‘erself, well lets just say that although it was, at times, incomprehensible … it has credence. Now I know this may be a stretch for you Ray, but I’m asking you to take a leap of faith for me, I may come up with some information that seems quite ridiculous at times but I need you to trust me that what I’m telling you is factual and will help us find Bolly. Right?”

“Ok, Guv, of course. I’ve always trusted your instinct and I’m not gonna stop now. You ‘ave my word, I’ll trust you with this one. No questions asked!”

“Thank you. So, to start with Alex was shot by Layton, they have history. He also helped kill her parents. The reason she knew so much about the bombing with the Prices’ was because the same thing happened to her parents. Inform Chris that he and the rest of the team must carry on searching for and trying to get sightings of Layton. You and me’ll then go through the case files that we’ve worked on since Bolly arrived, ok? There might be something that connects all the dots with all those bits of paper on her desk.”

“Ok, Guv, I’ll start organising it,” getting up from his seat, Ray made his way toward the door.

“Thanks, Ray, I appreciate this.”

“I know boss, don’t worry, we’ll find her for you!” Ray’s eyes shot skyward as he realised his mistake.

“What d’you mean by that?” Gene asked perplexed, leaning forward over his desk, scowling at Ray’s back.

Ray turned back to his boss, “well, err,” he shook his head, “we all know ‘ow you feel ‘bout her. We found that doodle you did, then the way you both acted around one another and the looks. I know most people think that I miss things but I do work in CID and I’m not blind, Guv’!”

Gene shook his head and quickly half smiled allowing the frown to reappear quickly, “is it that obvious?”

“No, Guv’. It’s lost on most of ‘em, I suppose I’ve been around you that long I can read you better. We’ll knuckle down and find both ‘im and ‘er.”

Gene watched Ray as he turned and walked through the doorway carefully shutting the door behind him. “I hope so,” he said to himself, “I can’t lose her, not like this anyway!”

*********

Alex awoke to the sound of footsteps and shuffling above her. She could hear muffled voices, two of them and both were male. One she was sure was Layton but the other, although sounding familiar couldn’t quite place it. She listened as best she could but was unable to make any words out so she sat in the now darkened room following movements instead.

It wasn’t long before the conversation was finished and one of the men walked from the boat and up the wooden gangplank. She heard a car started and then the other set of feet were walking around the boat getting ever closer to her prison.

She winced and covered her face as she was momentarily blinded by the door being opened. Looking back to the doorway she could make out the bony silhouette of her captor as he walked to the table and threw something on its top. He produced a can of Coke from his pocket and put that on the table as well. “Dinner is served, madam,” he sneered. “Hope it’s to your likin’, not that it matters. That’s all you’re gettin’!”

She looked up to him from where she sat, if only she’d had the strength she’d have got up from her statuesque position and beat the bastard to kingdom come. But, she realised, her leg was out of action and she could do nothing to help herself escape. As a human being whose number one instinct was to survive she had no other option than to wait until Gene could do the job for her. She knew he would and with relish, it was just a matter of time. “Thank you,” she said politely, “although if I’m expected to eat in the dark, I’m not going to be able to make it to that table without causing more damage to my leg.”

“Hurtin’ you, is it?”

“A little, yes!”

“Good, don’t expect me to play nurse maid, Alex.” Layton replied, grabbing the dinner from its resting place and throwing the package to her. He then picked up the can, opened it, took a gulp and licked the rim somewhat salaciously. Crouching down he positioned the can by her lifeless right foot keeping a leering watch on her all the while. He stood up again and quickly backed out of the room contemptuously laughing at her. She could hear the laughter continue until she again heard the faint hum of a car engine spark into life and driven off. She was alone once more.

As she felt the clammy newspaper in her hands, a faint whiff of salt and vinegar flew to her nostrils. Fish and chips, a Great British tradition and not normally her dinner of choice. However, it was food and she needed to keep up her strength especially considering she had to nurse her right leg back to life. She lent forward feeling for her foot, carefully moving her hand around to find the can without knocking it over. She found it, picked it up and brought it to herself. Pulling the cuff of her blouse down she wiped it around the rim, knowing it probably wouldn’t make much difference but making her feel better for doing it. She took a swig and gasped, she remembered that Coke was sweet but not like this. God, what she wouldn’t do for a glass of red wine or a spot of whiskey, along with some well needed company and witty repartee from DCI Hunt. Anything would be better than this.

Alex opened up the paper and used her fingers to feel for her food, eventually finding a couple of chips and putting them in her mouth. Considering she wasn’t used to this kind of cuisine she enjoyed it and ate up the contents of the newspaper heartily. She was about to screw up the paper and throw it when her brain kicked into gear and told her to tear off a corner. ‘Good idea’, she thought, at least that way she would be able to keep a track of the days better, especially if she was going to be spending an unfortunate amount of time on the boat. The one thing she had to do was keep her mind active, if she shut off then she was as good as dead.

She suddenly realised she’d not had the chance to look at her leg since she’d blacked out earlier and thought that this was as good a time as any to see what damage Layton had actually done. Her extensive training had encompassed many different fields and administering first aid had been one of them, ‘thank the lord otherwise Shaz would’ve been left for dead,’ she thought. She felt down her right leg methodically, checking along the tibia first before moving down the outside of her leg and her fibula. With the force that Layton had used against her leg he had managed to crack it into three pieces.

Alex decided that she needed to splint it, but with what? She could tear a couple of strips of fabric from the makeshift bed but she needed something straight to bind her leg to. She knew the table and chair were in the middle of the room but that would be too obvious if she started breaking up furniture, it would surely be noticed by one or either of her captors and the last thing she wanted was for them to realise what emergency repairs she’d administered on herself.

She remembered that there was a wooden structure in the bow end of the room and if that was as old as the boat she was imprisoned upon then she could possibly break some of it off. As her eyes had now become slightly accustomed to the light she was able to drag herself toward the front of the boat and feel around her to find the structure she had remembered seeing. She felt from left to right, top to bottom, back to front, everywhere she could in order to find something that she could get her hands behind and rip up. At last she found a fault and was able to get her fingers far enough in in order to put some force behind the wooden batten and lift it. It took some time and effort but she was eventually presented with a piece of timber that she could use.

She dragged herself back to her bed and found the one sheet amongst the blankets. Using the heel of her left boot she was able to start a tear in the fabric and tore off a couple of strips. She held the wood splint against her lower leg whilst she bound it with the fabric tapes, pulling tight and cringing against the pain. The job was soon done and she lent back against the cabin wall, virtually exhausted. She pulled at a blanket and laid that over her, then propped her head with the cushion that had emerged from the pile as she’d tugged to get the sheet free earlier.

It was then that hysteria took over, her exertion and situation suddenly hitting her full force and she quickly went from sobbing outlandishly to uncontrollably laughing before returning to the former. She thought about what she would be doing ordinarily and remembered her date. She was meant to be meeting Gene for drinks and a chat. At least that meant one thing, if he didn’t know already that she was missing then he’d know by now surely. If she hadn’t had turned up, he’d have gone up to the flat and tried to find her, wouldn’t he? She only hoped he would. She began crying again, tears gushing down her cheeks as she thought about him sitting there, waiting for her to arrive and becoming angrier with her as the minutes ticked on past their arranged meeting time. He would never quite be sure whether he should climb the stairs to the flat or join in with the rest of his colleagues as he waited for her to eventually show her face. She thought about how glum he’d look, whether he’d show resignation like he’d done that morning as well as on their dinner date when she’d turned him down.

She needed to cheer up and fast, what to think of? It was no good thinking of Molly, not even the good times, as that presented itself with severe problems of Alex missing her far too much. She couldn’t think of her parents or Evan, she’d had so much heartache to contend with there as well. It didn’t leave her with much so she finally decided upon Gene coming to save her like on the many occasions he’d done before.

She remembered her first encounter with him and laughed to herself. She’d been so caught up in everything that when his strong arms had stopped her from becoming part of a car wreck then had effortlessly picked her up and carried her into CID, she’d not quite been able to believe the realism of it all putting everything and everyone down to her imagination. ‘And don’t bloody waggle your fingers when you say my name!” She remembered him shout at her.

It had been actually been from the moment he’d told her that he was going to do the right thing and that she should do the same that she’d started warming towards him. He’d quite rightly shouted at her when she’d finally turned up for work the following day, confronting her about her indiscretions with some yuppie tosser. At least it had shown, in some small way, that he cared about her and what she was getting up to.

Then they were locked in a vault in Edgehampton together and he’d gone on about her being some kind of test, giving her a strange look when she’d woken from her bad dream, asking her about that ‘Evan fella’, to finally putting his arm around her to comfort her when she’d asked him if she could really die. Of most of their ‘moments’ together that had been one of the best, cuddling up to the firm chest of the self professed ‘Manc Lion’, smelling his ‘man stink’ and firmly believing that that man could save her from anything.

He’d proved it too, she’d firmly believed she was going to die when he’d finally found her in the walk-in fridge in the Cales’ restaurant. He’d had to get her to begin breathing so administered CPR; she remembered nearly fainting as soon as she’d come to, his handsome yet rugged face so dangerously close to hers as he’d started to go in for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation just as she’d opened her eyes, his piercing blue eyes then searching hers as realisation that he wasn’t now needed setting in. From that moment on all she could imagine was having him finally put his lips to hers and kiss her whole heartedly. It could all have been so different now, but what would she have done if a decision had to be made about her future. She shook her head and screamed out, “Why does everything always have to be so bloody difficult?”

She lay down on the blankets covering herself as best she could to keep the chill from her bones. She wanted to sleep now, she wanted to dream. Gene would soon invade her slumber making her rest better and probably allow her to forget the dull throb of her broken leg. “Gene I need you,” she shouted pleadingly, then dropped her voice to a whisper, “I love you!” She closed her eyes and rested knowing that she would soon be asleep unaware that she’d had a reply … “And I love you, Bols! Don’t worry; your Gene Genie is comin’ to get you!”

***********

Gene had stayed purposefully in the office as he knew going anywhere else would be a chore. He nursed the glass of whiskey in his hand mulling over everything that had recently happened. He wasn’t prepared to go to Luigi’s with the others because he knew there was no-one waiting for him as there should’ve been and his company would be less than tolerant tonight without her calming influence.

He didn’t want to go home either; there was still evidence of her being in his apartment even to the simple gestures she had undertaken, like the washing up and the tidied living room. Rarely did he make his bed and that would’ve been the worst thing he’d have had to endure, knowing they’d been there together her head nestled into his chest, her arms about his neck as he’d bodily moved so close to her it had almost made his heart stop as he breathed in her scent.

He lit another cigarette and took a long drag. All he could think about was her, the way her hair danced as she flounced through his office, the wiggle of her hips, and the bounce of her breasts. Which brought him back to that red basque he’d seen when they’d been stuck in that vault together, he thought he’d never get through that without his fingers getting burnt and another thump to the chin. But he managed to get his mind out of the gutter when she’d asked him if she could die and he ended up comforting her by putting his arm around her. He still didn’t know if she was a C or D cup, he’d have to remember to ask again, she’d probably tell him now too, that was if he could ever find her.

“Where are you Alex?” He mused, “where would Layton think of taking you?” Maybe if he thought long and hard he’d be able to think of a viable place. He sat back in his chair and put his feet up on the desk in front of him, the cigarette burning away in his hand as a thought blossomed in his head. “Boats,” he said to himself, “’e’s got a thing about boats, maybe he’s got her on one. He shot her on one, she woke up here on one of his too, and I’ll get Chris on to it tomorrow. I’ve got to see Evan as well,” he reminded himself. He relaxed a bit more his gut instinct telling him he was along the right lines, scum like Layton had set patterns and they usually followed them to the letter.

His eyes closed momentarily as he allowed himself to shut down for a while but they were open just as suddenly with a start when he thought he’d heard her call for him. God, he must’ve had it bad if he’d imagined her shouting his name and saying she’d needed him. But it was her next comment that had astounded him, it was quiet but he knew instinctively what she’d said, “I love you!” “And I love you, Bols!” He said without even thinking about it, “Don’t worry; your Gene Genie is comin’ to get you!”
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Repetitions of the Future