(no subject)
Visions of Bodie & Doyle:
A tribute to the 2014 Big Bang
Another big 'thank you' to everyone involved in the making of the 2014 Big Bang: writers, artists, moderators, cheerleaders....I loved the stories and artwork of the fifth (is it really the fifth?) Challenge and your hard work is very much appreciated.
Bodie; tall, dark and disconcerting. Capable of charming with platitudes one minute and bringing down with a cool jibe the next. A man of so many contradictions that Doyle hadn’t yet been able to figure him out. Ex-sailor, ex-soldier, ex-paratrooper, ex-SAS; and if half the rumours about him were true, ex-mercenary. Doyle wondered how he could have fitted all that into such a relatively short life. The rumour mill also had it that Bodie was no ordinary recruit, that he was a mole, sent in undercover to spy on the other hapless recruits and report their ineptitudes back to Cowley, maybe even to throw the proverbial spanner in the works just to see their reactions. His general disdain and the jaundiced eye he seemed to cast over the other mere mortals in the group just fed the paranoia. But if it were true, and Doyle wouldn’t have been surprised at such evidence of Cowley’s machinations, it would at least explain why he was such a general prick. What worried him, with only six of them now left, was that he could very well end up with being partnered with said prick for this next exercise.
Cold Water Morning:Fictionwriter
"An undercover agent in East Germany has offered....some highly important intelligence. It seems the East Germans are willing to trade it for a favour - the assassination of one of their own disgraced agents here in Britain.” He stopped and looked at Doyle. “They also want the man who killed Martin Cleff.”
“Van Neikerk is dead.”
“The East Germans don’t know that.”
“So you want me to be Van Neikerk again......" He didn’t like where this was going....
Cowley studied his agent. “There’s more to this than I’m being told, and I don’t like it. There’s a very real danger to you, Doyle. I want you to think on that before you agree to this....” Scenes from a Partnership:Merentha13
Finally the noise of latches moving came, and then the door was being pulled open, and Bodie
blinked in surprise.
The young woman pushed her glasses higher up her nose and smiled...."He asked me to let you in.
You are Bodie, I suppose, and not a door-to-door axe-murderer?"
"Bodie," Bodie affirmed, and cleared his throat. She was not so especially attractive as to
make him stumble in the normal way of things - oddly dressed in a lumpy off-purple batik smock,
her feet bare and her wrists disappearing under wooden bangles - but he'd not expected this. Really
not expected Ray to have a girlfriend.
"I'm Cozy," she told him, and laughed at his expression. "Yes, I know. It's 'Cosette', really.
My parents are huge fans of Victor Hugo.....
Bodie acknowledged all this with a nod......either she had no interest in Ray, or had been with
him long enough to stop making a particular effort....
Half As Much As I Do:Halotolerant
“Bodie snorted. "The DSTI? Since when do civil servants down on Victoria Street get to dabble
with state secrets?”
“That's enough, 3-7,” snapped Cowley. “Your uninformed opinion on this matter is not what we
re here to listen to.........”
“Didn’t think we had any secrets worth nicking anymore, that's all,” he muttered.
“And when was the last time you read the Financial Times, 3-7?”
“When they stopped giving the racing tips, sir,” rejoined Bodie, straight-faced.......
“Well, laddie…” began Cowley, but Sir Allen put up a restraining hand.
“Oh, it's all right, Cowley. I'm not at all surprised that ... ah, Bodie, is it?.... Bodie
subscribes to the notion flogged by any number of our tabloids that Great Britain is no longer
great and no longer leads the world in anything but industrial disputes and football vandalism.” A Put-Up Job:Unbelievable2
It was a free afternoon and he ran his errands: laundry, groceries, new socks. He had been
distracted when he left his flat and completely forgot to set the locks properly....Bodie was
at the forefront of his mind and he had walked off without checking the door....
When he returned with his purchases in his arms, he had walked into his lounge without a
moment's hesitation. His wandering brain hadn't registered the fact that the door was easily
opened with one key instead of two. Walking into the living room, he had been so caught up
in his musings that when he saw the woman from the junk shop where he'd bought a gold ring and
a terrarium, he was more curious than frightened....
Doyle clearly remembered asking her, "How'd you get in here?". He also clearly remembered her
dropping the ring from her left hand and raising her right arm. That was when he saw the glint
of gold in her grasp....His reaction to seeing the silenced gun was non-existent. She'd fired
before he took another breath.
If Bodie hadn't been so damned arrogant, Doyle wouldn't have been shot...
Head Games:LilyK
"How long apart are the contractions?” He ignored the ‘shit’ he heard from behind him, keeping
his eyes firmly on Gerda’s face.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Behind her anger, he could see the fear on her face.
“Look, love. I know we’re not exactly your favourite people, but at the moment we’re all
you’ve got.” He reached out a hand and gently laid it alongside hers. It said something about
her fear that she didn’t automatically push it away. Bodie could feel her tense as another
contraction took hold, and took her hand in his....
“About twenty minutes apart.” Gerda spoke quietly......
“We need to find somewhere..... There isn’t much time.”
Doyle straightened his coat and turned the collar up. He handed them both some chocolate,
and slipped another packet into his pocket.
“I’ll be as quick as I can....”
Storm Force: Marjoram_Max
"The stars."
"Oh. Right. Yeah. A lot of them."
Bodie had been looking directly at Doyle. Now his stance didn't change, but his eyes seemed
to slide through Doyle, gazing beyond. The light and shadow on his face seemed to soften.
"Moved around a lot, I did. Sometimes in cities, sometimes in little villages. Once or twice
in the middle of nowhere. Night comes down suddenly there. Compared with here, at the equator
it's like turning off a light. Well, a very slow light. And then it's pitch dark. Or it would be
if it wasn't for the stars. They're just..." He indicated a semicircle with his arm. "Everywhere
in the sky. Thousands. There's entire pale patches up there, and the stars themselves are huge.
Burning. And when the moon is there..." He shook his head. "You could probably read a book by it.
You can certainly take a compass bearing. Did that often enough. Not just in Africa..."
Doyle listened intently, watching Bodie's face. Why did Bodie always have to reveal pieces of
himself at the most inconvenient times? Whistle Blower:ML Mead
Doyle saw Featherstoneheugh nod, ever so slightly, and Bill and Ben or whoever they were set off
towards the unaware student. Their movements seemed casual but with a clearly co-ordinated walk
past they managed to nudge him first one way and then the other and then, Doyle saw, he was down
on the grass and the two thugs were putting the boot in. The most sickening part, Doyle thought,
was that nobody stopped them, nobody even spoke, and he himself could not break cover to protect
this young man from the vicious and mindless racism of this group. When the lad was curled in a
ball, trying to protect his face, the books were carefully trodden into the flower bed, forming
an inharmonious blur in the planting. And the bodyguards simply sauntered back to their leader's
side, smiling as they came. Doyle wondered if it had been the same in Hitler's early days in Germany..... South Coast:moth2fic
Bodie felt his empty stomach begin to crawl. A cold sweat broke out under his hairline which
was nothing to do with his hangover. He knew he was looking at something - or rather, someone -
he recognised......(He) still recognised the distinctive eyes, the boyish, soft-lipped mouth.
Echoes came in flashback, faded imprints of intensity. A buzz at the base of his spine, a faint
grasp and relax in his balls.
Oh no no no. Nononononono. Not possible. Not last night’s catastrophe.
“You all right?” he vaguely heard Doyle say.......Doyle’s voice was low. The timbre was
nsistent....There was a brief pressure under his elbow, getting his attention.
No Mere Abstraction:JoJo
He still couldn't believe how easily they'd taken him, already dark outside.....two bruisers
had jumped him from behind. They'd had his hands tied behind his back and had stuffed him into
a transit van before he'd had time to think....
He'd focused on stifling his panic, a very natural response to having a sack shoved over his
head but one he couldn't afford. The calmer he was the more likely they were to think he'd
already resigned himself to being taken prisoner and he had to be ready if he got any opportunity
at all to break free...
When the van finally stopped he was unceremoniously bundled out....and then led through what
he guessed must be a warehouse....
When they dragged the sack off his head his suspicions about their location were confirmed.
This could be his chance as one of them would have to get close enough to put the gag on him.
That train of thought came to an end when a gun muzzle pressed against his temple. Under My Skin:Draycevixen
“How long have they had him?”
“He was taken at least sixteen hours ago,” Cowley replied.
“What makes you think he’s still alive?” asked Bodie. “If the Russians know he has the name of
their man on the inside, they’ll kill him and everyone he might have told.”
“Because they'll think he's a spy, and they'll want to interrogate him first,” said Cowley.
“That should keep him alive... for a while, at least..Once they realise he's of no use to them,
then they’ll kill him,” said Cowley. “We need to get him out of Afghanistan and safely back here
before that happens.”
“Yeah, so you can get the name of your mole,” said Bodie. “Look, I’ve been out of the game for a
year, why me?”
“...You were one of the best.”
Standing on the Edge of Forever:Angelci5
“If Verity is mine or yours-what if she’s not the only bastard either of us whelped?”
“You’re a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, aren’t you?” Bodie wanted to slug something or
kick the wall, none of which would do a bit of good. They had more important matters at stake namely Ruth in the hospital and assailants after them all. Coming to blows wouldn’t help. “Ray, one month later you were…”
“Shot,” Doyle exhaled as if the single word had sucked the air out of his lungs. Much like the
bullets had done.
“And I wasn’t thinking of much else for a good while.” During those first few days when Doyle lay at death’s door, it was a wonder that Bodie had been able to think clearly at all. Not to mention run down the location of the woman who’d shot Doyle. His emotions had been all over the place, terror and anger mixed in equal portions with anguish. Just recalling early December of 1980 could still put him in a cold sweat. It occurred to him belatedly that his love for Raymond Doyle had started way back then-that the threesome with Ruth and the fourth forgettable girl had been the first taste of what he now craved. And he’d very possibly fathered a child. It was a lot to comprehend. Verity's One of Us:Dawnwind
What if Bodie wasn’t in? He’d have to do all this again. What if he had a secretary at this
posh place? He thought about that as his hands found the card, and the coins. She’d be blonde
and gorgeous, he knew. He gritted his teeth as the dial rotated back around from the final
number. There was a pause, then the ringing tone.
Would he pick up? Would he know it was Doyle? Would he know what Doyle wanted, or would he have
to spell it out? What if…?
There was a click as the receiver was picked up. The pips rang out, and he fumbled his money
into the slot with shaking fingers. A voice answered.
‘Bodie.’
‘Hello, sunshine.....’
Half Past The Point Of No Return:Murphybabe
“Shall we make conversation?” Bodie gestured discreetly towards the women. He wasn’t in the
mood, to be honest, but it was Doyle’s night.
Doyle shook his head. “Gone off birds,” he said. Doyle played it for a smile, but Bodie
thought there was some truth behind it. It would take some time for Doyle to get over Kathie.
“Ah, well.” Bodie looked around, hoping to amuse Doyle. “How about that fella, then?” He
nodded towards a balding, paunchy man at the bar.
Doyle rolled his eyes. “Not my type.”
“Oh, you have a type?”
“Haven’t we all?” Doyle gave him a sidelong look.
Bodie’s stomach tightened as lust pierced through him. Thank God he had mastered the art
of the poker face. “Oh, yeah?” Was Doyle unaware or playing, or....? What’s yours, then?”
Fuck - unwise.
“Oh, too dangerous,” Doyle murmured, as if he’d heard Bodie’s thoughts Condition of Employment:PFL
Mr Bodie remembered the conversation he had engaged in with Mr Doyle while at the ball. Was it
just last evening? Good Lord. Mr Doyle had said his chances were scuppered. That could mean so
many varied things, possibilities were countless. It was only wishful dreaming on his part to
believe that it meant the same as what he declared. Hellfire! He had said it out loud, quite
blunt, in fact. The love that dare not speak its name. What was he thinking?
Mr Doyle had been surprised, he remembered that clearly. It was a wonder that Mr Doyle hadn't
thrashed him. Gentlemen just didn't speak of such oddities aloud. Even though he was loath to be
called a gentleman, he knew that both he and Mr Doyle were of that ilk. They were not crass
enough, even at their worst, to be anything less.
Cowley's Inscrutable Five:KrisserCI5
"I suppose you were in there to add to the capitalistic tendencies of the British shopper, were
you?”
Doyle’s face turned slightly red......“Nah, I was just looking for a birthday present.”
Bodie was stunned. It was his birthday in a few weeks and Doyle almost got himself killed,
buying him a pressie? Bodie had seen many gut-wrenching things in Africa and other parts of
the world, but the spasm that hit his entrails at that moment threatened to send him to the loo.
Fury crossed his handsome face. “You dumb crud, you took on five of the baddies, just to get
a birthday present?”
“Well, Justin’s birthday’s coming up soon, and I don’t get much time off.” Doyle stopped there
as he saw the devastated look on Bodie’s face....When Hope Despairs:lbc
A tribute to the 2014 Big Bang
Another big 'thank you' to everyone involved in the making of the 2014 Big Bang: writers, artists, moderators, cheerleaders....I loved the stories and artwork of the fifth (is it really the fifth?) Challenge and your hard work is very much appreciated.
Bodie; tall, dark and disconcerting. Capable of charming with platitudes one minute and bringing down with a cool jibe the next. A man of so many contradictions that Doyle hadn’t yet been able to figure him out. Ex-sailor, ex-soldier, ex-paratrooper, ex-SAS; and if half the rumours about him were true, ex-mercenary. Doyle wondered how he could have fitted all that into such a relatively short life. The rumour mill also had it that Bodie was no ordinary recruit, that he was a mole, sent in undercover to spy on the other hapless recruits and report their ineptitudes back to Cowley, maybe even to throw the proverbial spanner in the works just to see their reactions. His general disdain and the jaundiced eye he seemed to cast over the other mere mortals in the group just fed the paranoia. But if it were true, and Doyle wouldn’t have been surprised at such evidence of Cowley’s machinations, it would at least explain why he was such a general prick. What worried him, with only six of them now left, was that he could very well end up with being partnered with said prick for this next exercise.
Cold Water Morning:Fictionwriter
"An undercover agent in East Germany has offered....some highly important intelligence. It seems the East Germans are willing to trade it for a favour - the assassination of one of their own disgraced agents here in Britain.” He stopped and looked at Doyle. “They also want the man who killed Martin Cleff.”
“Van Neikerk is dead.”
“The East Germans don’t know that.”
“So you want me to be Van Neikerk again......" He didn’t like where this was going....
Cowley studied his agent. “There’s more to this than I’m being told, and I don’t like it. There’s a very real danger to you, Doyle. I want you to think on that before you agree to this....” Scenes from a Partnership:Merentha13
Finally the noise of latches moving came, and then the door was being pulled open, and Bodie
blinked in surprise.
The young woman pushed her glasses higher up her nose and smiled...."He asked me to let you in.
You are Bodie, I suppose, and not a door-to-door axe-murderer?"
"Bodie," Bodie affirmed, and cleared his throat. She was not so especially attractive as to
make him stumble in the normal way of things - oddly dressed in a lumpy off-purple batik smock,
her feet bare and her wrists disappearing under wooden bangles - but he'd not expected this. Really
not expected Ray to have a girlfriend.
"I'm Cozy," she told him, and laughed at his expression. "Yes, I know. It's 'Cosette', really.
My parents are huge fans of Victor Hugo.....
Bodie acknowledged all this with a nod......either she had no interest in Ray, or had been with
him long enough to stop making a particular effort....
Half As Much As I Do:Halotolerant
“Bodie snorted. "The DSTI? Since when do civil servants down on Victoria Street get to dabble
with state secrets?”
“That's enough, 3-7,” snapped Cowley. “Your uninformed opinion on this matter is not what we
re here to listen to.........”
“Didn’t think we had any secrets worth nicking anymore, that's all,” he muttered.
“And when was the last time you read the Financial Times, 3-7?”
“When they stopped giving the racing tips, sir,” rejoined Bodie, straight-faced.......
“Well, laddie…” began Cowley, but Sir Allen put up a restraining hand.
“Oh, it's all right, Cowley. I'm not at all surprised that ... ah, Bodie, is it?.... Bodie
subscribes to the notion flogged by any number of our tabloids that Great Britain is no longer
great and no longer leads the world in anything but industrial disputes and football vandalism.” A Put-Up Job:Unbelievable2
It was a free afternoon and he ran his errands: laundry, groceries, new socks. He had been
distracted when he left his flat and completely forgot to set the locks properly....Bodie was
at the forefront of his mind and he had walked off without checking the door....
When he returned with his purchases in his arms, he had walked into his lounge without a
moment's hesitation. His wandering brain hadn't registered the fact that the door was easily
opened with one key instead of two. Walking into the living room, he had been so caught up
in his musings that when he saw the woman from the junk shop where he'd bought a gold ring and
a terrarium, he was more curious than frightened....
Doyle clearly remembered asking her, "How'd you get in here?". He also clearly remembered her
dropping the ring from her left hand and raising her right arm. That was when he saw the glint
of gold in her grasp....His reaction to seeing the silenced gun was non-existent. She'd fired
before he took another breath.
If Bodie hadn't been so damned arrogant, Doyle wouldn't have been shot...
Head Games:LilyK
"How long apart are the contractions?” He ignored the ‘shit’ he heard from behind him, keeping
his eyes firmly on Gerda’s face.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Behind her anger, he could see the fear on her face.
“Look, love. I know we’re not exactly your favourite people, but at the moment we’re all
you’ve got.” He reached out a hand and gently laid it alongside hers. It said something about
her fear that she didn’t automatically push it away. Bodie could feel her tense as another
contraction took hold, and took her hand in his....
“About twenty minutes apart.” Gerda spoke quietly......
“We need to find somewhere..... There isn’t much time.”
Doyle straightened his coat and turned the collar up. He handed them both some chocolate,
and slipped another packet into his pocket.
“I’ll be as quick as I can....”
Storm Force: Marjoram_Max
"The stars."
"Oh. Right. Yeah. A lot of them."
Bodie had been looking directly at Doyle. Now his stance didn't change, but his eyes seemed
to slide through Doyle, gazing beyond. The light and shadow on his face seemed to soften.
"Moved around a lot, I did. Sometimes in cities, sometimes in little villages. Once or twice
in the middle of nowhere. Night comes down suddenly there. Compared with here, at the equator
it's like turning off a light. Well, a very slow light. And then it's pitch dark. Or it would be
if it wasn't for the stars. They're just..." He indicated a semicircle with his arm. "Everywhere
in the sky. Thousands. There's entire pale patches up there, and the stars themselves are huge.
Burning. And when the moon is there..." He shook his head. "You could probably read a book by it.
You can certainly take a compass bearing. Did that often enough. Not just in Africa..."
Doyle listened intently, watching Bodie's face. Why did Bodie always have to reveal pieces of
himself at the most inconvenient times? Whistle Blower:ML Mead
Doyle saw Featherstoneheugh nod, ever so slightly, and Bill and Ben or whoever they were set off
towards the unaware student. Their movements seemed casual but with a clearly co-ordinated walk
past they managed to nudge him first one way and then the other and then, Doyle saw, he was down
on the grass and the two thugs were putting the boot in. The most sickening part, Doyle thought,
was that nobody stopped them, nobody even spoke, and he himself could not break cover to protect
this young man from the vicious and mindless racism of this group. When the lad was curled in a
ball, trying to protect his face, the books were carefully trodden into the flower bed, forming
an inharmonious blur in the planting. And the bodyguards simply sauntered back to their leader's
side, smiling as they came. Doyle wondered if it had been the same in Hitler's early days in Germany..... South Coast:moth2fic
Bodie felt his empty stomach begin to crawl. A cold sweat broke out under his hairline which
was nothing to do with his hangover. He knew he was looking at something - or rather, someone -
he recognised......(He) still recognised the distinctive eyes, the boyish, soft-lipped mouth.
Echoes came in flashback, faded imprints of intensity. A buzz at the base of his spine, a faint
grasp and relax in his balls.
Oh no no no. Nononononono. Not possible. Not last night’s catastrophe.
“You all right?” he vaguely heard Doyle say.......Doyle’s voice was low. The timbre was
nsistent....There was a brief pressure under his elbow, getting his attention.
No Mere Abstraction:JoJo
He still couldn't believe how easily they'd taken him, already dark outside.....two bruisers
had jumped him from behind. They'd had his hands tied behind his back and had stuffed him into
a transit van before he'd had time to think....
He'd focused on stifling his panic, a very natural response to having a sack shoved over his
head but one he couldn't afford. The calmer he was the more likely they were to think he'd
already resigned himself to being taken prisoner and he had to be ready if he got any opportunity
at all to break free...
When the van finally stopped he was unceremoniously bundled out....and then led through what
he guessed must be a warehouse....
When they dragged the sack off his head his suspicions about their location were confirmed.
This could be his chance as one of them would have to get close enough to put the gag on him.
That train of thought came to an end when a gun muzzle pressed against his temple. Under My Skin:Draycevixen
“How long have they had him?”
“He was taken at least sixteen hours ago,” Cowley replied.
“What makes you think he’s still alive?” asked Bodie. “If the Russians know he has the name of
their man on the inside, they’ll kill him and everyone he might have told.”
“Because they'll think he's a spy, and they'll want to interrogate him first,” said Cowley.
“That should keep him alive... for a while, at least..Once they realise he's of no use to them,
then they’ll kill him,” said Cowley. “We need to get him out of Afghanistan and safely back here
before that happens.”
“Yeah, so you can get the name of your mole,” said Bodie. “Look, I’ve been out of the game for a
year, why me?”
“...You were one of the best.”
Standing on the Edge of Forever:Angelci5
“If Verity is mine or yours-what if she’s not the only bastard either of us whelped?”
“You’re a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, aren’t you?” Bodie wanted to slug something or
kick the wall, none of which would do a bit of good. They had more important matters at stake namely Ruth in the hospital and assailants after them all. Coming to blows wouldn’t help. “Ray, one month later you were…”
“Shot,” Doyle exhaled as if the single word had sucked the air out of his lungs. Much like the
bullets had done.
“And I wasn’t thinking of much else for a good while.” During those first few days when Doyle lay at death’s door, it was a wonder that Bodie had been able to think clearly at all. Not to mention run down the location of the woman who’d shot Doyle. His emotions had been all over the place, terror and anger mixed in equal portions with anguish. Just recalling early December of 1980 could still put him in a cold sweat. It occurred to him belatedly that his love for Raymond Doyle had started way back then-that the threesome with Ruth and the fourth forgettable girl had been the first taste of what he now craved. And he’d very possibly fathered a child. It was a lot to comprehend. Verity's One of Us:Dawnwind
What if Bodie wasn’t in? He’d have to do all this again. What if he had a secretary at this
posh place? He thought about that as his hands found the card, and the coins. She’d be blonde
and gorgeous, he knew. He gritted his teeth as the dial rotated back around from the final
number. There was a pause, then the ringing tone.
Would he pick up? Would he know it was Doyle? Would he know what Doyle wanted, or would he have
to spell it out? What if…?
There was a click as the receiver was picked up. The pips rang out, and he fumbled his money
into the slot with shaking fingers. A voice answered.
‘Bodie.’
‘Hello, sunshine.....’
Half Past The Point Of No Return:Murphybabe
“Shall we make conversation?” Bodie gestured discreetly towards the women. He wasn’t in the
mood, to be honest, but it was Doyle’s night.
Doyle shook his head. “Gone off birds,” he said. Doyle played it for a smile, but Bodie
thought there was some truth behind it. It would take some time for Doyle to get over Kathie.
“Ah, well.” Bodie looked around, hoping to amuse Doyle. “How about that fella, then?” He
nodded towards a balding, paunchy man at the bar.
Doyle rolled his eyes. “Not my type.”
“Oh, you have a type?”
“Haven’t we all?” Doyle gave him a sidelong look.
Bodie’s stomach tightened as lust pierced through him. Thank God he had mastered the art
of the poker face. “Oh, yeah?” Was Doyle unaware or playing, or....? What’s yours, then?”
Fuck - unwise.
“Oh, too dangerous,” Doyle murmured, as if he’d heard Bodie’s thoughts Condition of Employment:PFL
Mr Bodie remembered the conversation he had engaged in with Mr Doyle while at the ball. Was it
just last evening? Good Lord. Mr Doyle had said his chances were scuppered. That could mean so
many varied things, possibilities were countless. It was only wishful dreaming on his part to
believe that it meant the same as what he declared. Hellfire! He had said it out loud, quite
blunt, in fact. The love that dare not speak its name. What was he thinking?
Mr Doyle had been surprised, he remembered that clearly. It was a wonder that Mr Doyle hadn't
thrashed him. Gentlemen just didn't speak of such oddities aloud. Even though he was loath to be
called a gentleman, he knew that both he and Mr Doyle were of that ilk. They were not crass
enough, even at their worst, to be anything less.
Cowley's Inscrutable Five:KrisserCI5
"I suppose you were in there to add to the capitalistic tendencies of the British shopper, were
you?”
Doyle’s face turned slightly red......“Nah, I was just looking for a birthday present.”
Bodie was stunned. It was his birthday in a few weeks and Doyle almost got himself killed,
buying him a pressie? Bodie had seen many gut-wrenching things in Africa and other parts of
the world, but the spasm that hit his entrails at that moment threatened to send him to the loo.
Fury crossed his handsome face. “You dumb crud, you took on five of the baddies, just to get
a birthday present?”
“Well, Justin’s birthday’s coming up soon, and I don’t get much time off.” Doyle stopped there
as he saw the devastated look on Bodie’s face....When Hope Despairs:lbc