ci5hq | Pros Novel Read-Along - Painted Angels by Angelfish

At last!

Painted Angels by Angelfish.
Cover art by

firlefanzine

Chapter Four

Chapter Four
The lads are properly part of CI5 now, and Cowley is sending them out to work. Doyle finds that he enjoys it, although he struggles with the tedium of stakeouts and obbos. Bodie, on the other hand, is easily able to sit still and quiet, watching, perhaps because he's been working for Cowley for longer.

The lads are also getting on better - they're not friends, they don't drop around to each other's place unannounced, but they'll go for a pint after work now and then. Doyle's relaxing into not expecting anything, and Bodie's relaxing because he realises he doesn't have to meet someone's expectations.

Then they're sent on an op that nearly goes very wrong. Bodie is stabbed, and out for the count, and Doyle is caught and threatened with rape at gunpoint. At the last minute Bodie appears after all and shoots Doyle's attackers, and then it's all over - except that they both need to come to terms with what happened.

Bodie buys a bottle of whisky and drops in to see Doyle, who it turns out is trying to come to terms more with the fact that he'd been sure Bodie was dead, than with his own attackers. They realise that they're both concerned for the other, and enough of a moment passes between them that Doyle decides to show Bodie he wouldn't rebuff an advance - but just before anything more can happen, CI5 interrupts and the lads are sent out on another op.

Cowley was not pleased that Bodie shot two witnesses dead - no interrogation possible - but he makes Bodie and Doyle a permanent team on the strength of it, and confirms Bodie's permanent place in CI5 rather than the SAS at the same time.

So - what did you think this time?!