OOM: 2x08, iii. Funny thing, trust.

[the_gene_genie]

 

He’d done what he always does, of course. Pretended it didn’t matter for the most part. But it had mattered, more than he would ever articulate. He remembers telling Ray how she hated this place and hated him, how nothing was making sense, and thinks at how things changed; at one time, he’d have been more than happy to just follow the man’s suggestion and simply get pissed. But first Tyler and then Drake had infected him with a work ethic and the thought of slacking off because of her made him sick.

So much of this makes him sick, when he thinks back.

~ ~ ~
 

Tiny Tim is taken ill in the cells. Poisoned, by the look of things. If these coppers behind Operation Rose will try and kill a man in a cell, there really isn’t anything they’re going to stop at. He has to put the problem with Drake aside for now. Staying focused on work is easier than thinking about it anyway.

He has to tell Jeanette about her brother. She doesn’t take it well, especially when the realisation hits her that she very well might be next. She’s spoken to him, after all.

‘They got to him, they’ll come for me!’

She’s touching him, fingers in the lapels of his coat, on the verge of tears. She’s scared, it’s obvious. And she’s a decent girl. One who needs him.

‘I’m so scared. They will come for me.’

‘Yeah well, they’ll have t’get through me first. Come on.’

Luigi’s should be safe. And he can tell himself that he’s protecting her and trying to get more information but the truth is...well, he doesn’t know what the truth is. But she’s not complicated. She’s asking him for help. He can do that.

‘I knew Tiny was caught up in something with bent coppers. He was scared from the start but the money was gonna be sky high.’

She pauses, looking down. He leans on the bar facing her. Perhaps a bit closer than strictly necessary but she doesn’t seem to mind.

‘There’s no one you can trust, is there?’

‘Funny thing, trust.’

Like how it’s there one moment and gone the next.

‘Am I wrong to trust you?’

He just looks at her. She’s got big, green eyes and they’re staring up at him like she needs to hear that he’ll look after her. Yeah, it’s a funny thing, trust. You work on it and think it’s unbreakable and in the end, you get it from a bird  you’ve known five minutes.

Drake’s behind him. He can smell her perfume.

‘Guv.’

He doesn’t bother to turn around.

‘I’m busy.’

He doesn’t bother hiding the anger in his tone either and she gets the hint, walks away. Jeanette’s eyes follow her.

‘Look, I know you don’t wanna hear this but I think I heard her name being mentioned.’

‘She’s my DI.’

‘But can you trust her?’

He turns his head to look at where she’s sitting with the others. Can he trust her? No.

...does he think she’s involved in a heist with a gang of bent coppers?

 

No.

But there’s something very wrong about all this. He keeps hearing her words and then forcing himself to stop thinking about them. They come back, they go, come back...there are no answers. It doesn’t matter how he thinks about it, that was her voice on that tape, talking about fighting him. What’s he supposed to do with that?

And she’s back.

‘I told you to get out of my sight.’

‘You need to hear this.’ She looks at Jeanette in a less than friendly manner. ‘This is CID business, why don’t you go and find a tapas bar.’

‘She’s with me.’

‘This is serious.’

‘Do I appear to be laughin’?’

Jeanette obviously doesn’t want to get caught up in the row and insists she’ll be alright, even after he asks her to stay. He gives her some money for a taxi; he doesn’t like her getting pushed away by Drake but the woman, unfortunately, seems to have a point. The others are on her side. They need to get ahead of these bent coppers, it has to be the priority. He just...wishes he didn’t have to look at her.

They repair to CID. Looks like even Chris did something right for once. For the first time, they’ve got an idea of what’s going down, even if it is one more thing that’s bloody hard to believe.

‘Gold? They wouldn’t dare. Too audacious.’

They found reinforced bags at Tiny’s garage. They’d assumed they were for tools but maybe not.

The idea seems simple. The blaggers will let a genuine robbery go down on the truck. Once they’re in possession of the gold, the coppers will swoop in and take it for themselves. Anyone sticks their beak in, it’ll just look like an arrest.

Pretty good plan, as robberies go. Sitting there in his chair, looking at her talking to him, to everyone, like she isn’t a complete fruit-loop, like they should all believe what she says, like she’s some sort of authority when for all he knows, she could be in on it...

‘Hang on a minute.’

‘Inspector. You are trying my patience beyond its normal, generous limits.’

‘Only one of these routes goes east. I remember this. I studied this at Hendon. It’s 1982, that’s why this year is so important to Summers.’

He can’t listen to it. He didn’t miss the past tense she used, there. He can’t...no. She’s mental. Or just trying to wind him up past breaking point.

‘Summers. What the bloody hell...’

‘King Dong, it’s not King Dong on that piece of paper it’s King Doug. It’s King Douglas Lane, look, here.’

She points at the map and babbles on about how she studied it but can’t remember but she’s sure and she’s so excited about knowing and he just wants her to shut. The Hell. Up.

‘...and we can stop Summers.’

‘Summers is dead.’

‘The other Summers.’

Even Ray’s confused and calling her on it. Enough. He gets up out of his chair, trying not to think about how she would know all that.

‘I am tryin’ to get my head around your connection to all this, Drake, because it is chillin’ me to my bones.’

‘Guv, I am handing you a collar on a plate.’

‘I have heard you on that tape attacking me, askin’ the same question over an’ over, should I fight Gene Hunt?’

‘Summers wanted you to hear that tape, he wants to drive a wedge between us!’

‘Summers? What, the other Summers, the one from the bloody future!’