[oom] 3x08 (i)
She's dreaming again. The difference is, she knows she's dreaming. Not even the creative demons of her own subconscious mind could mask the ridiculousness of this little snippet.
The first thing she becomes aware of is a tapping. Someone's rapping their knuckles against a thick plate of glass. It's perpetual, and incessant. Someone is trying to get her attention.
Tap tap tap tap tap.
She can also hear Molly's voice, shouting for her. "Mummy, come on! You've got to get up! Mummy, please!"
( Tap tap tap tap tap... )
The first thing she becomes aware of is a tapping. Someone's rapping their knuckles against a thick plate of glass. It's perpetual, and incessant. Someone is trying to get her attention.
Tap tap tap tap tap.
She can also hear Molly's voice, shouting for her. "Mummy, come on! You've got to get up! Mummy, please!"
( Tap tap tap tap tap... )
[oom] 3x07 (ii)
Getting out of the office feels good. Less stagnant. He’d say it was a chance to get away from his thoughts, but that wouldn’t be right, exactly. They go with him, just hidden a little behind the roar of the Quattro’s engine, and the prospect of a nice bit of trouble.
ANC. Bloody terrorists. He doesn’t care to think about it further than that. As they troop down wooden stairs to the drinking den, he can hear angry voice rising up to meet them. Someone’s getting called a Judas, by another person who’s bloody furious.
Tasty.
‘Are we in Dalston, or did we just take a wrong turn into Bogo-Bogo land?’
( It's not the done thing to say. )
ANC. Bloody terrorists. He doesn’t care to think about it further than that. As they troop down wooden stairs to the drinking den, he can hear angry voice rising up to meet them. Someone’s getting called a Judas, by another person who’s bloody furious.
Tasty.
‘Are we in Dalston, or did we just take a wrong turn into Bogo-Bogo land?’
( It's not the done thing to say. )
3x01 A proper reunion
She sat at her desk, writing her notes.
Dead copper on the news.
Dead copper in front of me.
The television cut away from the programming to a field of white noise, and of course she crossed the room to kneel in front of it.
"Is there anybody there?"
Nothing. She kept staring. Hoping for something. Some clue. She whispered quietly, as if someone might over hear.
"You know it's weird. I can see why Sam wanted... Why he needed to come back here. There's something about this world, about my place in it that's important."
The television snow cleared, and she could see the silhouette of the young man in uniform, half his face a dark shadow.
"Who are you? What do you want? Do you want help, is that it? I can't -- I can't help you. I can't even help myself." She stared at him, standing in that wide green field, his gaze impassive. As if he was seeing her, but not somehow.
"Can you tell me what any of it means?"
The television picture reformed onto the programme, Top Gear of all things. And the image of the Audi Quattro speeding through the snow.
She writes one final word on the page:
GENE
It all revolves around him.
She takes a deep breath, and lets it go. And before it's gone, there's a soft knock at the door. This late? It couldn't be anyone else. So she puts her notes away and looks down at her big fluffy socks. Yeah, so much for grace and elegance, Alex.
She opens the door and steps back a little, unconsciously inviting him in.
Dead copper on the news.
Dead copper in front of me.
The television cut away from the programming to a field of white noise, and of course she crossed the room to kneel in front of it.
"Is there anybody there?"
Nothing. She kept staring. Hoping for something. Some clue. She whispered quietly, as if someone might over hear.
"You know it's weird. I can see why Sam wanted... Why he needed to come back here. There's something about this world, about my place in it that's important."
The television snow cleared, and she could see the silhouette of the young man in uniform, half his face a dark shadow.
"Who are you? What do you want? Do you want help, is that it? I can't -- I can't help you. I can't even help myself." She stared at him, standing in that wide green field, his gaze impassive. As if he was seeing her, but not somehow.
"Can you tell me what any of it means?"
The television picture reformed onto the programme, Top Gear of all things. And the image of the Audi Quattro speeding through the snow.
She writes one final word on the page:
GENE
It all revolves around him.
She takes a deep breath, and lets it go. And before it's gone, there's a soft knock at the door. This late? It couldn't be anyone else. So she puts her notes away and looks down at her big fluffy socks. Yeah, so much for grace and elegance, Alex.
She opens the door and steps back a little, unconsciously inviting him in.
[oom] 2x08,ii: Operation Rose
She let herself into his office, still high on the progress she'd made with Tiny Tim, and high on the praise her superior officer had bestowed upon her not half an hour before, for revealing that the blag they were trying to run down was indeed, Operation Rose. This was just like what they'd done with Mac, and even though that had ended in chaos and tears, she was certain that this time, they were ahead of the curve.
"Tiny doesn't know anything about King Dong, but he's scared, Guv. He says the rot runs right to the top and they are everywhere. Trust no one."
"Tiny doesn't know anything about King Dong, but he's scared, Guv. He says the rot runs right to the top and they are everywhere. Trust no one."
[oom] 2x07,iii: It's all shit, isn't it?
[[ cont'd from here ]]
The note was directions for the construction site. It lead them to a cache of guns and ammunition. (Right passed PC Summers' unmarked grave, and how stone cold could her heart feel to cross those same muddy steps again. He couldn't keep her here. No one could. No one.)
Chris tracked the address where he was receiving the phone calls from and she went, alone. She'd sussed out Summers the elder's lair. The entire wall of his make shift flat, floor to ceiling, was covered with newspaper clippings, evidentiary files, photographs of her and the Guv for the last six months. Everything from Kevin Hales onward.
Beneath it was another drawing of a rose and the note, "We're not done yet."
Operation Rose. It all came down to Operation Rose.
~~~
The Guv declined to accept Chris's resignation. Ray storms out, perhaps forgetting times when he'd been the beneficiary of that same beneficent if gruff hand. Shaz looks heartbroken. One by one the team leaves the squad room, abandoning Chris to his fate alone.
~~~
Gene shows up at her doorway, just about closing time, two glasses and a bottle of wine in his hands, too drunk to care what it might look like.
"It's all shit, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is." She can't even begin to tell him how much she agrees with that assessment.
"You and me, Bolly. You and me."
The note was directions for the construction site. It lead them to a cache of guns and ammunition. (Right passed PC Summers' unmarked grave, and how stone cold could her heart feel to cross those same muddy steps again. He couldn't keep her here. No one could. No one.)
Chris tracked the address where he was receiving the phone calls from and she went, alone. She'd sussed out Summers the elder's lair. The entire wall of his make shift flat, floor to ceiling, was covered with newspaper clippings, evidentiary files, photographs of her and the Guv for the last six months. Everything from Kevin Hales onward.
Beneath it was another drawing of a rose and the note, "We're not done yet."
Operation Rose. It all came down to Operation Rose.
~~~
The Guv declined to accept Chris's resignation. Ray storms out, perhaps forgetting times when he'd been the beneficiary of that same beneficent if gruff hand. Shaz looks heartbroken. One by one the team leaves the squad room, abandoning Chris to his fate alone.
~~~
Gene shows up at her doorway, just about closing time, two glasses and a bottle of wine in his hands, too drunk to care what it might look like.
"It's all shit, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is." She can't even begin to tell him how much she agrees with that assessment.
"You and me, Bolly. You and me."
2x07,i: The Bullet's Out
Mum? Mummy. Mummy! The doctor got the bullet out. You're going to be okay. He said if you get plenty of rest, and if there are no complications, you're going to wake up. You're going to be fine! Mum? Mummy?
Her head was killing her, and her tongue felt thick in her mouth. But she was in hospital, she knew. The bullet was out and she'd be waking up from this nightmare any moment now. She didn't know which was worse, the throbbing in her skull or the ache of anticipation in her chest. She'd said her goodbyes, on paper anyway. She'd steeled herself with the reality that yes, as much as she cared for them all, she was going home.
That's why she was dozing in the back of the van, a miracle really, considering the whole team was on stakeout, waiting for the huge drug deal they'd been tipped off to. So she let him boss her around, make her stay in the back of the van sipping that tepid watery brew that Shaz called tea, listening to them raising a ruckus on the radio. Really, Daddy Bear, Big Bear and Baby Bear? Honestly?
It was the urgency in Chris's voice that made her sit up and take notice.
"Ray! Ray!"
She was out of the van and moving before the conscious thought could register. The construction sight was a nightmare, and she could hear them brawling in the harsh shadows of the sodium lights. One of them had the Guv around the neck and was holding a knife to his throat.
"If one of you so much as blinks, I'll cut his throat so wide, he'll be using his tongue for a tie."
The bastard tries to drag him off around a corner, and he's yammering the whole way, telling her exactly where he is. She picks up a two by four and hits for the six, catching the man right at the base of the skull. The Guv finishes him off with a punch to the gut and she grins as he goes down hard.
( "Say hello to Mummy Bear!" )
Her head was killing her, and her tongue felt thick in her mouth. But she was in hospital, she knew. The bullet was out and she'd be waking up from this nightmare any moment now. She didn't know which was worse, the throbbing in her skull or the ache of anticipation in her chest. She'd said her goodbyes, on paper anyway. She'd steeled herself with the reality that yes, as much as she cared for them all, she was going home.
That's why she was dozing in the back of the van, a miracle really, considering the whole team was on stakeout, waiting for the huge drug deal they'd been tipped off to. So she let him boss her around, make her stay in the back of the van sipping that tepid watery brew that Shaz called tea, listening to them raising a ruckus on the radio. Really, Daddy Bear, Big Bear and Baby Bear? Honestly?
It was the urgency in Chris's voice that made her sit up and take notice.
"Ray! Ray!"
She was out of the van and moving before the conscious thought could register. The construction sight was a nightmare, and she could hear them brawling in the harsh shadows of the sodium lights. One of them had the Guv around the neck and was holding a knife to his throat.
"If one of you so much as blinks, I'll cut his throat so wide, he'll be using his tongue for a tie."
The bastard tries to drag him off around a corner, and he's yammering the whole way, telling her exactly where he is. She picks up a two by four and hits for the six, catching the man right at the base of the skull. The Guv finishes him off with a punch to the gut and she grins as he goes down hard.
( "Say hello to Mummy Bear!" )
[oom] 2x06 The Operation Was A Success
Summers dared to call her at the office.
"DI Drake."
"So Alex. They're about to start operating on you. You might not have much time left."
"I know."
"Your new life could soon be over. It's a shame. Together we could have made such a difference to this world we find ourselves in."
"I am making a difference."
"That's sweet, Alex. Do you really believe that?"
"Why are you so keen for me to get involved? Feeling a bit lonely?"
"They're not holding out much hope for the operation. ( Lots of brave faces for little Molly. I'll say goodbye now )
All dialogue from 2x06 of Ashes To Ashes.
"DI Drake."
"So Alex. They're about to start operating on you. You might not have much time left."
"I know."
"Your new life could soon be over. It's a shame. Together we could have made such a difference to this world we find ourselves in."
"I am making a difference."
"That's sweet, Alex. Do you really believe that?"
"Why are you so keen for me to get involved? Feeling a bit lonely?"
"They're not holding out much hope for the operation. ( Lots of brave faces for little Molly. I'll say goodbye now )
All dialogue from 2x06 of Ashes To Ashes.
[oom] 2x05 Operation Rose
She'd fallen asleep on the couch again, watching the BBC logo spin endlessly, waiting for word from Molly. Something, anything, just to keep her connected to her real life, to her daughter. Something to keep her from forgetting why she was fighting so hard to get home. To remind her why, now, in what felt like their darkest hour, she couldn't let herself weaken, not even for a single night.
The white static of the television breaks into a programme and she starts awake.
A children's programme, with a ventriloquist talking to Orville, the large green duckling perched on his knee.
The childlike voice makes her heart clench, but at least the news is good.
She's made it to the hospital. The prognosis is grim, but she's still alive. She's safe away from that madman and the constant cold drip of water.
There's still hope.
~~~
"Burglary at number two Stanley Road, Guv. Are you still near there?"
The call comes in over the radio and her heart stops.
"Stanley Road."
"Give it to plod, Viv."
"That's Bryan. Well come on let's go!"
"Who's Bryan?"
"It's Pete's dad. Just start the car!"
"Who's Pete?"
"He's Molly's father. We've got to get to the Drakes."
"The Drakes. Oh don' tell me they 'ave the misfortune to be related to you."
Alex isn't even listening. "Oh this is gonna be seriously weird."
Gene looks at her, and then back at the lads. ( "That'll make a nice change." )All dialogue from Ashes To Ashes 2x05
The white static of the television breaks into a programme and she starts awake.
A children's programme, with a ventriloquist talking to Orville, the large green duckling perched on his knee.
The childlike voice makes her heart clench, but at least the news is good.
She's made it to the hospital. The prognosis is grim, but she's still alive. She's safe away from that madman and the constant cold drip of water.
There's still hope.
~~~
"Burglary at number two Stanley Road, Guv. Are you still near there?"
The call comes in over the radio and her heart stops.
"Stanley Road."
"Give it to plod, Viv."
"That's Bryan. Well come on let's go!"
"Who's Bryan?"
"It's Pete's dad. Just start the car!"
"Who's Pete?"
"He's Molly's father. We've got to get to the Drakes."
"The Drakes. Oh don' tell me they 'ave the misfortune to be related to you."
Alex isn't even listening. "Oh this is gonna be seriously weird."
Gene looks at her, and then back at the lads. ( "That'll make a nice change." )All dialogue from Ashes To Ashes 2x05
[oom] 2x03 Holding On
She could hear the medical machinery, could hear the sinus rhythm pinging, slow, erratic. Later she would remember screaming at them to keep trying, but now, all she could feel was the massive surge of electricity coursing through her torso. It was like being kicked by a mule. It literally lifted her off the floor and slammed her against the wall of her flat.
She slid to the ground, pleading for them to keep trying. She's not dead. She's still here.
The last thing she remembers before slipping into darkness was that horrible sound. Flat and mechanical, the lifeless, steady tone meant one and only one thing.
( (Her name is Molly.) )
She slid to the ground, pleading for them to keep trying. She's not dead. She's still here.
The last thing she remembers before slipping into darkness was that horrible sound. Flat and mechanical, the lifeless, steady tone meant one and only one thing.
( (Her name is Molly.) )
[oom] 2x02 I Thought I'd Lost You
(female, bullet wound to the head)
There's a young girl standing in the hall way of CID, her long hair obscuring her face. She's supposed to know this girl but she can't remember from where.
(pupils fixed and dilated).
She's in a school uniform and she turns to look over her shoulder at Alex.
"Molly?"
(press 10 millilitres)
She can't remember her face. She can't remember what's happening, why she keeps hearing the voices. It's like a waking dream. The world lurches beneath her feet and she's pounding on the door to interview one. Someone is calling her name.
(come on, Alex. breathe.)
( She has to get home. Before she forgets herself entirely... )
All dialogue taken from 2x02 Ashes To Ashes.
There's a young girl standing in the hall way of CID, her long hair obscuring her face. She's supposed to know this girl but she can't remember from where.
(pupils fixed and dilated).
She's in a school uniform and she turns to look over her shoulder at Alex.
"Molly?"
(press 10 millilitres)
She can't remember her face. She can't remember what's happening, why she keeps hearing the voices. It's like a waking dream. The world lurches beneath her feet and she's pounding on the door to interview one. Someone is calling her name.
(come on, Alex. breathe.)
( She has to get home. Before she forgets herself entirely... )
All dialogue taken from 2x02 Ashes To Ashes.
[oom] 2x01 Neither Rose Nor Lion
Alex was on her second pot of tea, trying to put off going to sleep as long as she could. She was pacing through out the flat, like a caged animal testing the boundaries of its confinement. She couldn't focus, couldn't think, couldn't reason.
( She would never smell a rose again without it making the pit of her stomach fall away. )
( She would never smell a rose again without it making the pit of her stomach fall away. )
[oom] 1x07 The Man With The Child In His Eyes
The voice was perfectly clear in her head. As if he was standing in the room with her.
"Something dreadful is going to happen. I'm going to take someone."
Water dripped from the ceiling and she stood over the table, watching the white sheet pull back from the corpse on the table.
She'd never seen the face of Pierrot look quite so diabolical, his greasepaint streaked, a slash of red across his mouth, and his finger dipped in blood, drawing a question mark on her calendar.
( Through the looking glass, Alex, and into the nightmare, proper. )
"Something dreadful is going to happen. I'm going to take someone."
Water dripped from the ceiling and she stood over the table, watching the white sheet pull back from the corpse on the table.
She'd never seen the face of Pierrot look quite so diabolical, his greasepaint streaked, a slash of red across his mouth, and his finger dipped in blood, drawing a question mark on her calendar.
( Through the looking glass, Alex, and into the nightmare, proper. )
[oom] 1x05 The Smoking Gun
She'd never seen him quite so focused on bringing one particular individual down. Whatever Simon Neary had done to get on DCI Hunt's radar, it must have been particularly nasty. Turns out Neary had his hand in any number of rackets: drugs, women, guns. They'd tried to find a way in. Tried very hard. The Guv even went so far as to lend his snout a suit. When said snout turned up draped in the barbed wire, still wearing the suit, Alex began to understand the rage she saw churning through him.
Guns were the detail she fixated on. Getting the guns off the streets would mean Layton had never got his hands on one, and she would never have been shot in the first place. It was a facile explanation, but nothing was moving on the Price investigation.
And she could feel Molly slipping away from her. It chilled her to the bone. Hardened her resolve.
Maybe that's why she took on this informant and this op with such a vengeance. It didn't go as well as she'd hoped.
She ran the informant as best she could, in the current climate. The Guv wasn't exactly supportive or understanding, and his rampant homophobia was an utter disgrace. And his micro-management of her investigation. He insisted on accompanying her to the meet, along with the whole team.
The look on the lads faces when they'd entered the gay club had been absolutely classic.
Neary was a predator, far too clever to fall for her little inside game. And she was too focused on getting home to really think about Marcus and the way she was playing God with his life. She'd hate herself for that later. Right now, she just wanted to get the guns.
It had all gone to shit in the end. Despite the way she'd dragged his heart through the mud, Marcus had agreed to wear the wire. But he'd ended up shooting Neary himself, in self-defence. The poor lad was devastated, and she felt responsible. She took him home to his parents, encouraged him to talk to his family. To keep that connection alive.
And that's when she saw the lesions on the back his neck.
This place really was hell.
Guns were the detail she fixated on. Getting the guns off the streets would mean Layton had never got his hands on one, and she would never have been shot in the first place. It was a facile explanation, but nothing was moving on the Price investigation.
And she could feel Molly slipping away from her. It chilled her to the bone. Hardened her resolve.
Maybe that's why she took on this informant and this op with such a vengeance. It didn't go as well as she'd hoped.
She ran the informant as best she could, in the current climate. The Guv wasn't exactly supportive or understanding, and his rampant homophobia was an utter disgrace. And his micro-management of her investigation. He insisted on accompanying her to the meet, along with the whole team.
The look on the lads faces when they'd entered the gay club had been absolutely classic.
Neary was a predator, far too clever to fall for her little inside game. And she was too focused on getting home to really think about Marcus and the way she was playing God with his life. She'd hate herself for that later. Right now, she just wanted to get the guns.
It had all gone to shit in the end. Despite the way she'd dragged his heart through the mud, Marcus had agreed to wear the wire. But he'd ended up shooting Neary himself, in self-defence. The poor lad was devastated, and she felt responsible. She took him home to his parents, encouraged him to talk to his family. To keep that connection alive.
And that's when she saw the lesions on the back his neck.
This place really was hell.
[oom] 1x04 Missing Link
It was just another murder, until her mother's phone number showed up in the back of the victim's diary.
It had to be a coincidence.
It was just another murder, until the Home Office came and carted the body away without so much as a by your leave. That the dead man worked at Edgehampton Weapons Research Facility might explain that. Her mother's involvement was merely coincidental.
"It's murder and murder is not about politics. It's about money, sex or bloody women -- cannot imagine why."
She thought DCI Hunt was wrong. (And also an ass.) Maybe that's why she never mentioned Caroline's phone number in the victim's diary. Maybe that's why she popped round to Caroline's in the middle of the day, only to find her and Evan sharing a lunch of wine and cheese. The murder victim was her handy man. Pure coincidence, even though Caroline was aware of the man's government connections.
(Her room -- her twelve year old self's room was just as she remembered it. But of course it was. Dreams are like that.)
Her mother's involvement remained solidly in the domain of coincidence until the photos in the dead man's foot locker turned out to be of Caroline Price and Evan White shagging on the living room floor.
(And she'd knew. She'd seen it, even then. She just never knew what it was she'd seen.)
After that, the possibility that it might be a government cover up seemed a welcome prospect. Was it MI-5 that had planted that car bomb? Was that who assassinated her parents?
The business with the RWF was dodgy, all around. The evidence disappearing from lock up. The coded message that Viv decoded. Dodgy as hell. And the Guv knew it just as well as she did.
That he was just as on edge as she was, was not a coincidence. She was rather glad he was up for following the directions on the decoded note, because if he hadn't been, she would have had to go alone. And that wouldn't have ended well.
Not that getting locked in a top secret document vault with him was exactly the ending she was hoping for.
...
(When did he become such a well of strength for her? How did that happen?)
...
It was a lucky thing that the lads figured out where they were. Even if it was a somewhat compromising picture they arrived to. Didn't matter. That rush of cool air felt like heaven. (It's not real, Alex. It's not real.)
Ray had solved the case while they were otherwise indisposed.
She gave Caroline the negatives back. And Evan's apology meant something. A small something, but something. So what if they had feet of clay. She was an adult now. She was supposed to be able to understand these things.
She didn't understand him.
He felt... real.
*OOC: All dialogue is from 1x04 of Ashes To Ashes.
It had to be a coincidence.
It was just another murder, until the Home Office came and carted the body away without so much as a by your leave. That the dead man worked at Edgehampton Weapons Research Facility might explain that. Her mother's involvement was merely coincidental.
"It's murder and murder is not about politics. It's about money, sex or bloody women -- cannot imagine why."
She thought DCI Hunt was wrong. (And also an ass.) Maybe that's why she never mentioned Caroline's phone number in the victim's diary. Maybe that's why she popped round to Caroline's in the middle of the day, only to find her and Evan sharing a lunch of wine and cheese. The murder victim was her handy man. Pure coincidence, even though Caroline was aware of the man's government connections.
(Her room -- her twelve year old self's room was just as she remembered it. But of course it was. Dreams are like that.)
Her mother's involvement remained solidly in the domain of coincidence until the photos in the dead man's foot locker turned out to be of Caroline Price and Evan White shagging on the living room floor.
(And she'd knew. She'd seen it, even then. She just never knew what it was she'd seen.)
After that, the possibility that it might be a government cover up seemed a welcome prospect. Was it MI-5 that had planted that car bomb? Was that who assassinated her parents?
The business with the RWF was dodgy, all around. The evidence disappearing from lock up. The coded message that Viv decoded. Dodgy as hell. And the Guv knew it just as well as she did.
That he was just as on edge as she was, was not a coincidence. She was rather glad he was up for following the directions on the decoded note, because if he hadn't been, she would have had to go alone. And that wouldn't have ended well.
Not that getting locked in a top secret document vault with him was exactly the ending she was hoping for.
...
(When did he become such a well of strength for her? How did that happen?)
...
It was a lucky thing that the lads figured out where they were. Even if it was a somewhat compromising picture they arrived to. Didn't matter. That rush of cool air felt like heaven. (It's not real, Alex. It's not real.)
Ray had solved the case while they were otherwise indisposed.
She gave Caroline the negatives back. And Evan's apology meant something. A small something, but something. So what if they had feet of clay. She was an adult now. She was supposed to be able to understand these things.
She didn't understand him.
He felt... real.
*OOC: All dialogue is from 1x04 of Ashes To Ashes.