The Professionals Circuit Archive - Breaking the Camel's Back      
Breaking the Camel's Back

 

by Ice Bear 

 
 Ray Doyle sighed wearily at the top of the stairs that would lead him to
the operatives' rest room. He desperately needed some tea before he
tackled his report. As he exited the room, cup in hand, he heard his boss
bellow: "4-5, my office, now!" Stopping for a moment to slump against the
door jamb he slurped downed half the contents of the cup before heading
into the lion's den.

 He flashed a small smile Betty's way as he opened the door. He was almost
to the desk before he realized someone else was in the room besides the
Controller. He pivoted back to his left. "Bloody hell!" He spat out as he
moved to the couch. Kneeling beside it, he lifted a shaking hand to hover
over a heavily muscled thigh. "What the hell happened?" He asked in a
normal tone, after his eyes had scanned the haggard face as he listened to
the belabored breathing.

 "The Reynolds case exploded. I needed more men." George Cowley responded,
not bothering to look up from the paperwork on his desk.

 "You...you," Ray Doyle stopped and took a deep breath. His right hand
settled on the chest for a moment before moving up to cradle a bruised
cheek. "He was on sick leave...doctor said he wasn't fit for
duty...wouldn't be for anything other than records and not even that for
at least another week." While his outraged speech was aimed at the man at
the desk, his eyes never strayed from the man in front of him.

 "I didn't have enough men." The Controller repeated calmly.

 "So you took him! You knew he wouldn't say no to you. He respects
you...too bad you never bothered to return the favor. He wasn't with me
because the doctor said no, but that didn't stop you. Oh no, not the great
bloody George Cowley, you bastard. Christ probably rose from the dead
because you were a man or two short." Green eyes spat fire but the hand
that stroked the cheek was gentle.

 "Sunshine?" Exhausted blue eyes opened to find worried green ones at
close range.

 "Bodie mate, what the hell have you done now? You are supposed to be at
the flat recovering." His voice was soft.

 "Sorry, pet. Father needed a few extra hands." He straightened up slowly
and Ray moved to sit beside him.

 "Are you alright?"

 "Just a little stiff. I am a bit out of shape, you know." A slight smile
graced the weary face.

 "Let's go home. Get you a hot bath and a massage before bed. Sound good?"

 Bodie stood with his partner's assistance, blue eyes darkening as he
turned to face his boss. "Good night, sir."

 "3-7...4-5, I need..." Doyle interrupted him before he could complete the
sentence.

 "I'll talk to you later, sir." The last word was almost spit.

 By the time they reached the car park, Doyle was supporting most of the
younger man's weight. He got him situated in the passenger seat, pausing
to run a finger over a pale cheek. "Do we need to go to Casualty?" He
waited patiently, green eyes softening as blue eyes appeared beneath long
lashes.

 "No. Saw the doc when we got back. Just need a soak and a kip, and I'll
be good as new, Sunshine. Promise."

 At their flat, Ray let out a small sigh of relief when the lift door
opened. Urging the man in, he waited until the doors slid closed before
taking his partner in his arms. "Bloody hell, Bodie," he whispered into
the soft black hair, "you trying to turn me grey before me time?"

 "Our Susan showed up, said the Cow wanted to speak with me. Didn't figure
out anything was up until she headed away from headquarters. Got to that
warehouse on the Thames we've staked out half a hundred times. Cowley said
he had so many people on your op that he needed help to take Reynolds.
Handed me a gun." The lift stopped and they pulled apart.

 Once safely inside their flat with the security locks in place, they
resumed the embrace before Ray carefully maneuvered his lover to the
couch. "What happened next," he asked, settling his mate against his
chest.

 "Evans -- the new agent seconded from the Paras was about to get his
bloody head shot off."

 "And?" Ray encouraged after a long pause.

 "Couldn't very well let him do that, could I? I managed to distract the
stupid sod with the gun and took him down. After that we got the upper
hand, and Williams found Reynolds trying to lock himself in a walk in safe
on the third floor."

 "Nice fairy tale, love. Now, tell me what really happened."

 The blue eyes closed; black lashes stark against overly pale skin. "The
Cow sent me in with Evans and one of the other newbies. I think Macklin
needs to reconsider his training -- they couldn't have found Reynolds if
he'd opened the bloody door for them. Took more than an hour and a lot of
ammo to get to him." Feeling the tenseness in the body behind him, Bodie
pulled forward and carefully forced himself to his feet. "Need a kip,
Angelfish," he said as he limped into the bedroom, tossing his polo neck
into a chair as he went.

 "Shower first, love, and make sure you take your pills," Ray added as he
moved to follow. He sat heavily on the bed, head in his hands as he heard
the water come on. His partner hadn't even been out of the hospital for a
fortnight. How could Cowley...no good going down that road, the Cow would
do whatever it took to get the job done, regardless of who got hurt.

 In fact it was the Cow's fault Bodie ended up in the hospital in the
first place. He'd sent him on an undercover op solo, and the dumb half
Irish bastard had been exposed to a hefty dose of sulfur dioxide when his
cover had been broken. That had resulted in a serious case of chemical
pneumonia, and his partner had spent nearly a week on a ventilator and
three and a half weeks in the hospital before the doctor was willing to
send him home. How dare the Cow....

 "Goldilocks, your offer of a massage still good?" He looked up and had to
smile. While his partner had lost more than two stone in hospital he still
had a beautiful body, especially when he was wearing that warm, soft smile
reserved for solely for him.

 "Course, you prat! Now, settle down so I can get to work." For twenty
minutes he worked his fingers over the silky skin he loved so much. "Had
me worried," he whispered, as he felt the muscles in the big body finally
start to relax. "What the hell's the Cow thinking, calling you in?"

 "Didn't know he was calling me in," Bodie responded, turning onto his
back so he was facing his partner. He grabbed a hand and placed a kiss on
the wrist before pushing up to rest against the pillows. He waited till
his partner joined him, and they lay entwined. "Wouldn't have gone. Know
what the doctor said...think maybe the Cow was just trying to save HMG me
pension," he tucked his head into a bony shoulder as he spoke.

 "What do you mean by that?" Ray demanded, shocked at the serious tone. He
pulled away so he could look at his partner directly.

 "Kill me now and he won't have to invalid me out -- cuts down on the
paperwork and saves a pension. Figures it will keep you with the mob as
well." The tone very matter of fact.

 "Is that what you really think?" Ray straddled his partner's hips and
looked into the cold blue eyes. They blinked closed for a long moment
before opening again.

 "Not sure, Ray," he started hoarsely, as anger and resignation warred for
dominance on his face. "He knows the doctor doubts I'll ever be in the
field again. Hell, he knows the doctor wasn't even convinced I should be
out of hospital. Why else would he send me into that warehouse?"

 "Not sure, Bodie-mate, but I do know that he doesn't get another shot at
you. Tomorrow we'll resign." Hard green eyes made it clear that was the
end of the discussion.

 "But you're not ready to leave!" Bodie's effort to sit up was easily
stifled with a hand on his chest.

 "Get this through that thick skull of yours once and for all. Nothing is
more important to me then you -- nothing and no one. Tis hard. Hate to
think after all we've done for Queen, country and Cowley that this is what
it comes to, but you have to admit it would be vintage Cowley triple think
-- especially if he thought it was a way to minimize his losses.

 He doesn't get another shot at you, love. And I think it's time we made
it clear to him that anything untold happens to either of us, we have
contingencies in place that he won't like."

 "You sure this is what you want, Ray?"

 "I'm sure I want you, love. I wasn't about to let him shot you that time
with King Billy, and I sure as hell won't stand by and let him hurt you
again." He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on the pouty lips of his
partner. "So what would you like to be when you grow up, William," he
asked with a hint of a challenge in the tone.

 -- THE END --

 *January 2008*

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