Chapter Text
Sam betrayed him.
He betrayed them all, but Gene feels that it couldn't hurt anyone more than it hurt him.
Now he is sitting there, staring at the desk. Not raising his gaze even as Gene enters. That isn't the Sam Gene knows.
But then again, the Sam Gene knows wouldn't take a backhander, not in a million years.
Apparently, though, he has.
~*~
“This is utter nonsense.”
“There's evidence against you.”
“So? C'mon Gene, you can't really think I'd turn a blind eye to something like that.”
“No. I don't. But, and I can't believe I'm saying this, the evidence is really quite crushing.”
“I'm sure it'll fall apart as soon as we take a closer look.”
Gene nodded, believing him.
~*~
“There's evidence against you.”
Silence.
“And a witness.”
Still no response. Gene wills himself to sit still. Arms crossed, leaning back in his chair. Stay calm.
“This witness claims she saw you, talkin' to Miller. She says she saw 'im give somethin' to you. You accepted. Put it away.”
He leans forward, placing something on the table. A wad of money.
“This. Was found in your jacket.”
Sam raises his head slightly to look at the notes. Gene thinks he snorts, but he could also be imagining it.
“A few hours later, a man wound up dead. Killed.”
Still Sam isn't looking at him. Look at me. Look at me you bastard, laugh at me, say I'm wrong. Gene's fingers tense.
“We are certain it's Miller who did it. Can't prove a thing though, 'cos there were no one else in the area to witness what 'appened. A plod on duty was sent away mere minutes before by a DI...”
Here, Gene has to break off. He leans forward, places his hands on the desk. Fingers curled into fists.
“Sam.”
Maybe it's something about his voice that makes Sam finally raise his gaze to meet Gene's. He doesn't know what to make of his DI's expression. There is a certain... blankness there, a blankness that almost scares him. It seems to confirm his worst nightmares. He lets a few more moments pass, doesn't feel he can trust his voice not to break up.
“DI Tyler. Did you, or did you not accept money from a known criminal individual.”
Say something.
Sam looks at him.
Tell me I'm wrong.
Sam lowers his gaze.
~*~
“The boss wouldn't do this.”
“Yeah.”
“Then why's that bird sayin'--”
“How the bloody hell should I know!”
“Sorry, Guv.”
“Guv, maybe someone else should conduct the interview...?”
“No. I'll do it.”
Annie nodded, though concern was written all over her face, while Chris kept looking troubled.
~*~
Sam is on the floor now, coughing. For a moment, Gene doesn't know how he got there, or why he's coughing, half-way curled into himself. Then he realizes that it was him. He couldn't bear the silence any longer. It made him desperate. It made him angry.
He had grabbed the over-sized lapels of Sam's shirt and pulled him close.
“Did you accept a bloody backhander, yes or no?!”
And still Sam hadn't said a word, just stared at Gene with shock standing in his eyes, shock and... something else. Gene had felt the familiar roar build up in his head, and then he had lashed out. A swing to the side of Sam's head, sending the smaller man flying to the floor, and the next moment Gene is standing over him and he can't help it, he has to kick, he has to.
~*~
“I knew it.”
“You what?”
“Nothin', Guv.”
“If you've got somethin' to say, say it loud and clear, DS Carling.”
Ray was silent for a second, looking slightly insecure. Then he snorted.
“Well, 's obvious, innit? All this 'whiter than white' lark, always was fishy. No way he's as squeaky clean as 'e wanted us to think 'e is. Knew it'd 'appen at some point.”
Gene walked away.
~*~
“I asked you a bloody question!”
Sam smiles, bitterly. Blood is dripping off his split lip.
“You won't believe me.”
Gene presses his lips together even tighter. He is gripping Sam's shirt again, holding him up by the fabric. “Try me.”
Sam scoffs. “I can see it. Your mind's set.”
No. No, it isn't. I want to believe you. Why can't you see?
Gene punches him again.
“It's a simple enough question, DI Tyler.”
Why won't he say it? Doesn't he trust Gene?
“If you trusted me, you wouldn't be asking.”
That isn't true. Gene lets go, Sam stumbles backwards, but the reprieve is short. Gene grabs him and pushes him face-first against the wall, arms twisted onto his back. You don't understand. I trust you. I trusted you. I want to trust you. I need to trust you. Tell me I'm wrong. I need you to tell me I'm wrong.
“Did you, or did you not –“
“What does it matter?!”
Finally, Sam starts to struggle, but it's too late, way too late. It's just the same it was with Harry back then, the bloody same, and Gene can't bear it. The roaring is in his head now, and he knows he shouldn't be doing this, but hell, he can't stop. It's too painful.
“It matters if it's Sam 'Whiter Than White' Tyler!” Gene yells, punctuating each of the last few words with another shove and another twist of Sam's arms, until the smaller man chokes out something that might have become a scream, if he were anyone else but Sam.
“Jesus, Gene –“
“That's DCI Hunt,” Gene hisses, affirming his point with another shove and a twist, which draws that choked sound from Sam again. Gene would feel better about this if Sam were actually screaming. Which is ridiculous in itself, because there is nothing, absolutely nothing that could improve, justify this situation in any way.
“Now answer. The bleeding. Question!” Gene puts more pressure on Sam's arms and back with every word.
“Christ – I didn't –!”
“Didn't what?!”
“Take a bloody bribe!!”
Too late, too late Sam, you're too late. Gene can't see much past the red mist any more. Only if he continues, only if he gets rid of all this pent-up energy, will he be able to see clearly again, will he be able to stop....
He grabs Sam's shoulders and turns him around, fists in his shirt and pushing him back against the wall again, taking in the blood smeared across Sam's face and not noticing it all at once. “The witness saw you!”
“It was a set-up for God's s –“
Gene doesn't let Sam finish, kneeing him in the gut instead. Sam doubles over with a grunt, eyes wide, but he's straightened up forcefully again, because Gene needs to look him in the eye.
“A set-up, eh? An' you fell for it like the bloody naïve little tit you are, is that it?” Gene's grip tightens, his knuckles starting to dig into Tyler's throat, but he doesn't care, though he does care, but he doesn't.
“I didn't –!”
“The truth, Tyler!” Gene cuts him off with another shake, his face this close to Tyler's painfully contorted one. “I need the bloody truth, and I need it ruddy now!”
The next moment, a sharp stab of pain shoots up from Gene's leg, and he cries out with pain and surprise, stumbling backwards and crashing down to one knee.
Sam kicked him. Tyler actually kicked him. He's standing above Gene now, breathing heavily, holding his side in a protective way.
“The truth!” he yells, voice laced with pain and despair and everything that makes Sam Sam, “If you wanted to know the truth you wouldn't 'ave suspected me in the first place! For God's sake Gene, I though you were better than that! False evidence, sloppy statements, an obvious motif, it's bloody textbook!“
Gene stares up – up! - at his DI, his deputy, who stares back with that look of his, that look he regards Chris with, Ray with, the whole bloody department with except for Flash Knickers, that look Gene hates more than anything else when it's directed at him, making his blood boil.
“If you'd investigated this just one tiny bit more thoroughly, you would've seen it's all rubbish, but no, you 'ad to do it your way, act like a bloody cowboy, all high and mighty, one glance at the statements and you knew I must've taken a backhander, of course, it all makes bloody sense! That one time I needed you to--“
Gene throws himself at Tyler, because no-one cuts Gene Hunt off during an interrogation, and no bloody suspect bloody fights back, that simply isn't how it goes. And Tyler still puts up a fight, trying to deflect Gene, recovering his usual annoying, exhilarating self, but it doesn't matter, because he is a suspect, and suspects are filth.
Being this much larger than Tyler, he throws the smaller man off balance in no time, and then they both are on the ground, Gene on top, and he hits him, his face, his chest, deflects a flailing arm, pins Tyler's wrists down, punches again, punches –
He senses the kick even before his opponent has a chance to place it. Gene rolls off him, getting to his feet in a flash, but he doesn't allow the man on the floor to gather himself up, suspects should stay on the ruddy floor, and so Gene stomps down on the man's side, finally, finally drawing a pained scream from him.
“The truth is, you've been leading all of us on, preaching water and drinking wine, and don't you dare deny it!” Gene is shouting, his voice sharp and uncontrolled, sending wild swirls through the red mist. “And now that you've been found out, y'don't even think it necessary to cover up yer ruddy tracks, because you thought I'd protect you! Didn't you?!” A kick. “DIDN'T YOU?!”
Another kick, and the man curls up into himself with a groan, a sweet and terrible sound to Gene's ears.
“How bloody dare you –“ a heel in the man's thigh - “go and” - the tip of his loafer buried in his side - “underestimate CID” - a heel down on his arm - “and” - loafer in ribs - “bloody” - heel in shoulder - “BETRAY” - heel in midriff - “ME?!” Loafer against head.
He's betrayed CID, he's betrayed everyone, again, he's gone and betrayed Gene, he's betrayed him, Sam has betrayed him.
Sam has betrayed him.
Sam.
Sam.
Gene stops so suddenly that he nearly loses his balance. Sam. The red mist swirls, indignantly, fighting. Sam.
Gene stares at the ground without seeing a thing. The red mist contracts, then expands, and finally is gone, just like that, from one moment to the next.
But there still is red. Splatters.
Someone coughs. Gene blinks. The red is still there.
Someone groans weakly. Gene blinks. The red is still there.
Someone opens the door. Gene blinks. The red is still there.
“Guv, there's new evidence and a witn– Jesus Christ!”
It's one of his officers, Gene knows. He doesn't know which. Suddenly, none of them seem to have discernable faces. There's only that one face, and it's covered in blood.
The figure on the floor – Sam – coughs again, and then Gene's view is obscured by the officer – Ray – kneeling down next to Tyler, trying to turn him on his back, but Tyler cries out, and Ray hasn't even properly touched him, but the smaller man curls up even further nevertheless, as though to protect himself from, from...
From Gene.
He takes a step back. Has to, or else he would keel over as the realization hits him full on.
“Boss – oi, Boss!!”
Ray's voice sounds muffled now to Gene's ears.
“Chris! Chris y'div, call an ambulance!!”
Even quieter.
“Boss, talk to me! Tyler!!...”
Inaudible.
Ray turns at that moment, staring at Gene. He mouths something, eyes widening with realizations of his own.
“... Guv.”
Gene's world freezes.
DCI Hunt turns around and walks out of Lost and Found, leaving bloody tracks in his wake, not uttering a single word.