"Damn, Cowley, who in the hell does he think he is? He's an old man, jealous of us younger men who get out and do all the actual work. He sits back and orders us around uncaring of how we'll fare."

"Say, that's a bit harsh, Riley," Anson said, catching the last bit as he entered the restroom.

Stan Riley of the B-squad just sniffed at one of Cowley's boys. The tag most of the B-team and support staff called the A-squad. Supposedly they were the elite boys. Riley sniffed again. They just pandered to the ego of the old man, their work wasn't much different.

The "A" boys did stakes-outs and the occasional gun battle, just the same as them. He didn't believe half the stories, as he knew men liked to exaggerate their positions. He also knew that on an honest day, they'd be complaining bitterly same as he.

Stan Riley looked at Anson and the others in the room, "You may be saying nothing at the moment, but you know as well as I that Cowley should move aside for a younger man. His old ways are a thing of the past, just as he should be. We need a man not afraid of utilising all the men under his control."

"A man such as yourself, Riley?" A Scottish voice asked from behind.

Riley looked over at Anson, "Thanks for the warning," he muttered.

"Ack, man, I heard you down the corridor, as did every one else in the building."

"Well, I'm not afraid, I'll stand by what I said. It is the truth, after all," he said belligerently.

"Is it now?" Cowley stared at Riley until he could feel him squirm. "Nine a.m. My office." He left without any further words.

Riley gave Anson and Snow a disgusted look before he left the room.

The old buzzard couldn't stand a few home truths. If the other agents weren't such wimps, they'd have said the same themselves as well.

`On an honest day, they'd have backed me,' Riley told himself. He'd heard all the agents grouse about the Cow often enough. From the first day of training he'd heard it. In fact, Cowley was worse upon longer acquaintance. The more senior agents would have quite an earful to impart on an honest day.

Riley snapped his fingers, "That's it," he said aloud to no one in the car park. His brother-in-law was a chemist. He'd fix them up. He'd make it an honest day.

The B-squad agent was in early. He doctored the water supply used for the coffee and tea machine. Hardly a man came in mornings without grabbing a beverage. He was quite pleased at the number of A-squad men that had an early call in.

Riley knew that top agents Bodie and Doyle frequently had complaints about Cowley. The head of CI5 had put them in danger many times. They were sure to produce a few scathing remarks. He wanted to be sure that the Cow would be able to hear them. He set his plan in motion.

Riley stuck his head into the restroom, "Doyle, Bodie, Cowley wants you in interrogation room five. He's bringing someone in." He left quickly to get Cowley involved.

The two agents looked resigned. They refilled their coffee cups before complying. They walked down the corridor sipping their beverages. They entered and closed the door behind them.

Bodie sat on the far side of the table. "The Cow wants...why are we always doing what the Cow wants?"

"It's the job," Doyle quipped truthfully.

"Our job to keep this island clean and smelling, even if ever so faintly, of roses and lavender."

"He can be a bastard." Doyle remarked without rancour.

"Yup, but a fair one. A damn fair one. No special favours, he lives by the same standard he expects from others." Bodie said begrudgingly, truthfully. He silently questioned himself, he hadn't meant to say any of that aloud.

Doyle nodded, now pensive, "Integrity. After Cook, he and his integrity were one of only two reasons I stayed with CI5."

"Leave? You were going to leave?" Bodie was very concerned at how his heart hammered in fear of that thought.

"Didn't. Said I couldn't," Doyle reminded his partner.

Bodie replayed Doyle's words now that the pounding had stopped. "Only one of two reasons? What was the other reason you stayed?"

Doyle didn't want to answer that one, but felt compelled to tell the truth. "You."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. Couldn't let someone else watch your back, you reckless bastard. It'd kill me if you died."

"Why?" Bodie felt his heart pound for a different reason.

"You daft pillock, I care about you."

"Care?"

"You going to parrot everything I say?"

"Care how?" Bodie repeated.

Doyle tried to hedge and found he couldn't. "Care. Exactly what it means. I care about what happens to you. Don't want to see you hurt or dead. Don't ever want that."

"Why?" Bodie's voice was almost a whisper.

"Damnit, Bodie," Doyle exploded, "I love you."

Bodie smiled, "Love you, too, Sunshine."

Doyle was mad now. His partner wasn't understanding what he was really feeling about him. He jumped out of his chair and moved around the table to face Bodie, pushing his chair against the wall. He pressed his hands against the wall on either side of Bodie, practically yelling, "No, you dumb crud, love you. The other kind of love."

Bodie looked into green eyes that were spitting fire and relaxed. Christmas came early. "Same here, Sunshine. Have for a long time. Nearly died myself when I found you shot and bleeding. Didn't want to leave at all but Cowley made me."

"He put us together, you know. Chalk and cheese."

Bodie smiled in remembrance, "Got to get him a large bottle of Glenfiddich, then."

"At the beginning, I honestly didn't think it was going to work."

"Arrogant sod, you were."

"Me arrogant...?" Doyle questioned incredulously.

"Arrogant but beautiful," his eyes were locked on full lips.

Doyle saw this and felt excitement sizzling in his belly. He ran his eyes appraisingly over Bodie, "Truth is I've always liked your touching me."

Bodie felt the eyes devour him and watched those same eyes dilate with desire. He felt the blood rush south, proving his own desire. "Truth is I can't keep my hands off of you."

Doyle licked his lips as he watched an outline of a bulge begin to press against his trousers. That was his and he wanted it.

"Truth is I've often wondered what you taste like," and he set his words to action. He knelt and nuzzled Bodie's groin and felt the semi-hard erection fill out. He mouthed it through the fabric and besides the swelling, he could feel as well as hear the low groan of need. He unzipped and freed the now straining erection. He wasted no time playing, instead he licked the thickness just enough to get it wet then sucked the leaking head in smoothly.

"Truth is I often wondered what it would feel like to have that gorgeous mouth wrapped around me ...ahh..."

Words were lost to sensation. No thought to where they were, Bodie's whole existence became centred about his groin and the moist cavern he rested in.

When his breathing returned to a regular cadence, he turned to smile at Doyle, "Loved that. Could live there. Want it again as soon as I can get hard again."

Doyle was astounded at Bodie's open and revealing words, but his own need pushed his mental rambling aside and he rubbed against Bodie's thigh.

Bodie knew what his partner needed. He freed his leaking erection with deft fingers. "Always wondered what you tasted like as well." He sucked Doyle in hard and fast. His partner's sensuality was always close to the surface.

Doyle was quickly lost in the maelstrom of sensation from Bodie's mouth. He bucked his hips and hands held him down as a tongue worked him over. He wanted it to last longer but he couldn't hold it back, he erupted like a sizzling volcano. He woke and felt no shame at finding himself lying on the floor, legs tangled with Bodie's.

Bodie threaded his fingers through Ray's hair. "Want to do that again, mate, as soon as you're able. What a turn on, you wiggling and bucking like that," Bodie told him honestly, no longer wondering why he couldn't keep his mouth shut. "Truth is, want to do it every day. Don't want you to share it with any one else. Don't want to share you with anyone else." He really looked at Ray, hair wild, clothes askew and felt his cock thicken and his mouth go dry. "Want to fuck you, mate. Want you to fuck me, too."

"Here, now?" Doyle couldn't believe it, but he could feel a tingle of activity below. The wanton look of desire mixed with something else could get him to deliver the goods immediately.

"Nah, don't want to hurt you. Need the fixings."

"Later, then." Doyle's tone made it a promise.

"It's a promise." Bodie's mind played with that word - promise. "I've never been promised to anyone, but I want to promise you and be promised to you."

Doyle couldn't stop his own emotion from welling up and spilling out. "Damn right, you're now promised to me. Exclusive and permanent. From this moment on. No birds, no blokes."

Bodie smiled, all joy, no holding back, "No birds, no blokes, just you," he agreed just before rolling on top and kissing Ray. He feasted on lips and tongue and ears and throat. His hand found rebirth in the guise of burgeoning erection and handled it in the proper manner. He covered Ray's cries of release with his mouth. The wantonness of the local and the thought that all this was his exclusively from this point on was stimulus enough for him to join Ray in orgasm.



Inside the viewing room, Cowley and Riley watched the drama unfold in stunned silence.

Never actually surprised by human behaviour, Cowley had to admit to himself that this was more than he wanted to see. It was just too private. He ushered Riley out and down to his office.

The compelling personage of Alpha One pushed Riley into a chair and stood over him. "What did you do to them?"

"I didn't..."

"Don't bother lying. I saw your face, you caused this. What did you do? Some sort of truth drug?" The tone commanded the truth.

"An experimental pentothal that was in the lab. I put it in the coffee. Just wanted you to hear the truth about yourself."

He picked up the phone and called down to Fred and Gregory, thankful that the front and back guards brought thermoses from home. They would be unaffected. He ordered the coffee and all water dumped immediately. He ordered an immediate lockdown and was relieved to find that no personnel had left the building. He couldn't have agents running around compelled to speak the truth when asked. He turned back to Riley.

"What you did to these men and the rest of the staff was reprehensible." Alpha one barked at the B-squad agent. "I will have you brought up on charges."

Riley found his voice for the first time in an hour. "What about those poofters back there? You should be thanking me." Riley stood and made for the door.

"SIT DOWN," the Scot commanded, fully the controller of CI5. "My preference would be to see you rot in goal, but I can not allow you to do any further harm to the agents here." He used the full weight of his stare to show the truth behind his words. "You will sign a permanent D-notice on this action today. You are held to the Official Secrets Act regarding your employment with CI5. Employment that is now redundant."

"But..."

Cowley stood and leaned forward, "If you report one word, one hint that could impugn these agents or this organisation, then I will personally see that you do twenty-five to life without parole."

Riley knew that whatever Cowley's faults, he didn't bluff. No matter what he thought there was no option. He agreed to the permanent D-notice.

Cowley called for the separation notice and Betty brought one in immediately. Riley signed it and the matter of intent on the D-notice.

Before he opened the door, Riley asked aggressively, "What are you going to do about them?"

"That's my business."

The Scot's tone told him nothing. Same as always.

Cowley went back to the viewing room of Interrogation 5, hoping he wouldn't find further disarray within.

He found the agents still on the floor, hands where he couldn't see them and had no wish to discover their actual placement. One hand appeared though, as Bodie rolled his partner onto his back.

"I'm thinking it might be better not to have our end away on the floor of the CI5 interrogation room, Sunshine." Bodie told Ray before tucking him close.

Doyle shook his head, wondering how they ever got away with this much. Amazed at the flash of desire with just the thought of the danger at being discovered. "I can agree to that." With a wicked look, he added, "There's lot's of other areas to try."

Bodie wasn't sure if Doyle was actually serious, but for Ray, he knew he'd be willing to try. "You little devil."

Spooned together, Ray rested his head back down on his partner's shoulder. "Like this."

Bodie liked the feeling, too and couldn't believe he felt the need to say it aloud, "Yeah, it's the best." He closed his eyes, very tired all of a sudden. "Tired. Let's get some shut eye. Then, we should tell Cowley."

"Humm." Ray agreed. "He probably already knows."

"That's all right, then."

Cowley watched the two men fall asleep and pondered his best agents for a moment. It seemed that this had been more of a revelation to 3.7 and 4.5 than it was for him. Not that he had needed the graphic confirmation of his suspicions, but he was gratified to learn that they hadn't been keeping anything from him.

Together, they would actually present less security problems, less security checks, and less likely to become vulnerable to outside influences or temptation.

It would be cost effective, for they could share a flat. It would be agent security for him. They would be unlikely to get placement together outside CI5.

Yes, this most definitely could be to his benefit. Provided, of course, they informed him of this change of relationship in a timely manner. He didn't really hold any doubts, they were good lads.

-- THE END --

June 2004