Spring-Heeled Jack by Georgina Kirrin
May. 20th, 2009 01:23 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
jgraeme2007.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
ci5hq
Title: Spring-heeled Jack
Author: Georgina Kirrin
Link to story: http://jess.inengland.googlepages.com/spring-heeledjack
Warnings: NC-17
I’m posting a little early as I have to go out of town this weekend. Hope that's all right!
I have to thank PFL for recommending this fic. I was complaining (tiresomely, I don’t doubt) one day about having run out of things to read -- or at least things I thought worth reading -- and to get rid of me quickly, she directed me to Georgina Kirrin’s site and Spring-heeled Jack. I read the story and I loved it. In fact, I have it in a binder paired with Sebastian’s Perfect Day as two of my all-time favourite fics.
What constitutes a favourite fic for any of us is going to be largely subjective because fics, unlike general fiction, have to appeal to a particular (sometimes even unacknowledged) set of kinks. Mine are generally CI5-based with both lads appearing tough, cool professionals who pretty much like what they do (certainly believe that someone has to do it) -- and do it well. I don’t need a hugely complicated plot as I’m reading these as romance stories. I want realistic characterisations and believable scenarios. And, ideally, I’d like the writing to be of a certain quality, but…I’m a junky and I’m not going to be too fussy about clean needles.
With Spring-heeled Jack, I get all of the above -- and some very solid writing. There are a couple of inconsistencies -- a couple of bits of characterization don’t jibe with my own thoughts -- and I’m not sure I understand the dream Bodie has about Doyle, but all in all, this hits the spot and I've read it a number of times -- always with pleasure.
The story starts out simply enough. Bodie is getting off a dull obbo and looking forward to spending time with his best mate and usual partner, Doyle.
It had been a rotten day -- not bloody, not dangerous, not even particularly active, just dull and uncomfortable. Twelve hours in the unheated, unfurnished attic of 43 Minster View watching the house opposite. Twelve hours of staring down through a pair of binoculars while Jackson sat behind him on the sound recorders. Twelve hours with absolutely nothing happening and nothing to do except listen to that bastard sniffing – a prolonged, juicy, rattling sniff he had had to threaten physical violence to stifle.
After a day like that he had been looking forward to a hot bath, a hot meal and a couple of pints with Doyle. Instead he had been ordered back to HQ for a conference with Uncle George and he was not a happy operative.
Cowley informs Bodie that Doyle has unexpectedly taken two weeks leave and for the foreseeable future Bodie will be working with the sniffly, wet-behind-the ears Jackson. Bodie is disconcerted, but not unduly worried -- although he thinks it odd Doyle didn’t tell him himself.
Things get weirder when Doyle doesn’t turn up for a climbing trip with Murphy -- and then just as Bodie starts to get really worried (and even notices how much he's missing Doyle), he gets a mysterious postcard indicating a meet at a posh hotel.
There’s really good stuff all the way through -- we have a vivid sense of Doyle, Bodie’s “own personal Spring-heeled Jack” even though he’s not been in the fic so far, and we have a strong sense of the lads’ working partnership and friendship.
Bodie goes to the hotel and meets Doyle, and from the instant he sees him, it’s obvious something serious is going on.
This bit is so good, I have to share the whole thing.
Doyle did not move, he just stood by the window and let his partner look at him, at how he had been changed, at what he had become. The familiar shaggy mop had been cut very short indeed, with an expensive expertise that had tamed the curls to a vestigial wave. His suit was several hundred pounds' worth of dark-grey wool, that somehow diluted the familiar steel-cord strength down to a lean and rather frail-looking elegance, an elegance enhanced by the snow-white shirt and the dull crimson magnificence of his silk tie. Doyle looked polished, wealthy and faintly unEnglish.
But most of all he looked old. The lines around his mouth and nose, that normally only showed under high tension or great fatigue, ran deep and there were dark smudges under his eyes. The haircut had taken out all the reddish highlights bleached in by the summer sun, and the grey at his temples showed up stark against the darker hair beneath.
Bodie stared at this elegant stranger and felt chilled. He had the sudden horrible conviction that the Doyle he knew, the scruffy little git who dropped his aitches and drank milk out of the bottle, was just another performance, an undercover job for the real Ray Doyle, a man he had never met. This was Doyle as he would be one day, when he tired of playing cops and robbers through the London streets and turned his attention to more adult concerns.
Doyle explains that he’s deep, deep undercover -- a suicide mission, essentially. The balloon is going up the next day and Doyle wants to see Bodie one last time and ask a favour.
Doyle laughed, a nervous, cut-off sound. "Not quite." He pulled away and stood up, retreating to the other side of the coffee table. "Look Bodie, I need you to do something for me."
"Anything, you know that."
"Don't be so certain." He pulled himself up, almost to attention, and looked Bodie straight in the eye. "I've wanted to say this for years, never thought I would. Never thought there'd be a time when I could." He took a deep breath. "Will you come to bed with me Bodie, please. I want you so bad."
Bodie is shocked and repelled. He’s never thought of his partner like that. Actually, I should note here that this bit is a little confusing and inconsistent with all that follows. The contradiction here is never quite resolved.
Doyle reached out but dropped his hands when Bodie stepped back. "Don't look like that!" he snapped, striking like a snake, belligerence an automatic response to Bodie's obvious revulsion. "And don't tell me you've never done it before! Out in the jungle, night of the battle, nobody you can trust but your own mates and the occasional passing hippo."
"That was different, Doyle!" Wasn't it? "We had no choice, we were all alone out there and it was war. We thought we were going to die."
(So has Bodie done it before or not? Because everything that follows indicates that he has not, but judging by this…he has. Little bit of an inconsistency -- not a big deal.)
Anyway, Bodie knows there’s a good chance Doyle is going to die -- Doyle certainly believes he’s going to die -- and he can’t refuse him this last thing.
Bodie watched him and found, to his amazement, that he couldn't do it. He couldn't let him go, not like that, not with that look on his face. Quicker than thought, he lunged after his partner and caught him in the narrow passage to the door. For half a minute they struggled, and then Doyle collapsed against him, his head on his shoulder, his face turned away, the horribly bare nape pressed against Bodie's face. He could feel the poor little bastard was trembling, and all of a sudden it didn't seem too much to ask. This was Doyle, this was Ray, this was his friend, this was the man who had killed for him, who had almost died for him. Surely, surely, he could do this for him? Suddenly, blessedly, the automatic reactions kicked in. His cock didn't care about the sex of the belly it was grinding into, and Doyle felt warm and smelled sweet and no, it wasn't too much to ask.
Doyle has promised that if he survives the op, he’ll never mention this again -- he understands that Bodie doesn’t feel the same way he does. Well, Doyle does survive the op -- and that’s when things get really interesting.
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Date: 2009-05-20 08:58 pm (UTC)I think one of the things I love most about this fic is the way it ... turns the tables on us, perhaps you could call it, very successfully, three times. We have Doyle at his most vulnerable - knowing he is very likely to die, finally coming right out and asking Bodie for what he wants and needs - and Bode rejects him - cue stomach-clenching awfulness for a moment. Then after the op we have Doyle perfectly and totally in control of everything, or so it seems - telling Bodie how he (Bodie!) feels, keeping Bodie on the back foot the whole time and quite openly and honestly waltzing off with someone else while Bodie's not ready or not prepared to recognise his own feelings. We have Bodie wrestling with himself, Bodie being vulnerable (like the scene with the sandwiches!) - and finally, in a lovely last touch, we get to see that Doyle was not quite as cocksure as all that, after all - in that wonderful moment when Bodie shoves his head under the rainwater, so loving in the way he takes care of Doyle's pride in the instant when that's what he needs, while knowing that they won't be keeping things from each other for any length of time. What all this does, I think, is show us a complex and satisfying balance of power between them; they really are both strong and both vulnerable; it gives their relationship depth and balance, equality without being clones of each other. Oh, and there's lots more to love about this fic too, which I shall probably think of later! And the action and CI5 plot work perfectly too. Altogether an excellent story! Great suggestion for the Reading Room; any excuse to re-read it (such a hardship!)
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Date: 2009-05-20 09:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-20 09:31 pm (UTC)Yes! There's this bit:
Doyle was just waiting, anticipating without anxiety, like a kid waiting for Christmas, eager for it but utterly secure, knowing it must come. It was driving Bodie mad. It was a responsibility he had not asked for, and did not want
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Date: 2009-05-20 10:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-20 10:39 pm (UTC)It's fun seeing the difference between Bodie on obbo with Doyle versus Jackson. Even while he's aggravated with Doyle, we see how at ease they are and how well they work together.
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Date: 2009-05-20 10:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-21 06:51 am (UTC)Maybe Bodie hasn't realized it at first, but we the readers already know that Bodie needs Doyle, and that Doyle's presence is essential for Bodie's piece of mind…
I couldn't help but feel sorry for Jackson… a big, strong lad being reduced to "schoolboy in shorts" by Bodie's impatience..
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Date: 2009-05-21 02:34 pm (UTC)"Martel... would probably have enjoyed Jackson's baby-faced looks if the fool had known enough to play up to him. Doyle had leaned back in the sunshine, and let Marty ogle him while maintaining just the right air of knowing disdain. Jackson went stony-faced and glared."
As jgraeme noted, Doyle hasn't even appeared in the action yet, but he is *there*, in other words, never far from Bodie's mind.
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Date: 2009-05-21 03:19 pm (UTC)Yes! It tells us a lot about what Bodie is feeling. Also, it's not an easy trick establishing a character while the character isn't "on screen," but she does it so well here. So by the time Doyle makes his appearance, we already know enough about him to know this elegant stranger is not...Doyle. Or at least not Bodie's Doyle.
And then the pleasure of seeing Doyle surviving and transformed back into his cheeky, sarky, casual self -- Bodie's Doyle once more.
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Date: 2009-05-21 04:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-21 04:36 pm (UTC)I'm glad. Especially as it seems like maybe a lot of people hadn't read this yet.
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Date: 2009-05-21 05:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-21 05:42 pm (UTC)He does draw the eye, no doubt about it.
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Date: 2009-05-21 03:27 pm (UTC)Maybe Bodie hasn't realized it at first, but we the readers already know that Bodie needs Doyle, and that Doyle's presence is essential for Bodie's piece of mind…
Yes. Bodie uses Doyle as a constant source of reference, telling us just how much he's -- even when it's unconscious -- missing him.
I couldn't help but feel sorry for Jackson… a big, strong lad being reduced to "schoolboy in shorts" by Bodie's impatience..
Yes! And it shows us so much about Bodie -- without having the author do something clumsy and say it all outloud. We see the kind of rep Bodie (and Doyle) have with the other agents -- legends in their own time -- we see how strong the B/D partnership is, and it gives us vast insight into Bodie -- his initial barely restrained impatience and then his honesty in accepting that he's part of the problem. He's still exasperated, still missing Doyle, but he's pragmatic and doing what he has to to make it work. A professional, in other words.
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Date: 2009-05-21 03:05 pm (UTC)That's part of the fun of a series with so many blank spots. Gives writers lots of room to run. *g*
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Date: 2009-05-20 09:25 pm (UTC)Yes. This is one of those fics that you look ahead at the number of pages and feel pleasure that there's more to come.
I think one of the things I love most about this fic is the way it ... turns the tables on us, perhaps you could call it, very successfully, three times. We have Doyle at his most vulnerable - knowing he is very likely to die, finally coming right out and asking Bodie for what he wants and needs - and Bode rejects him - cue stomach-clenching awfulness for a moment.
It's very well done. The feeling of horror that Bodie is going to send off to face what he has to having been rejected.
I like the moment too when Bodie worries that the reality will disappoint Doyle when he's in such a vulnerable state -- it's a good touch.
Then after the op we have Doyle perfectly and totally in control of everything, or so it seems - telling Bodie how he (Bodie!) feels, keeping Bodie on the back foot the whole time and quite openly and honestly waltzing off with someone else while Bodie's not ready or not prepared to recognise his own feelings. We have Bodie wrestling with himself, Bodie being vulnerable (like the scene with the sandwiches!)
Yes, many, many great moments here where we can actually SEE them.
and finally, in a lovely last touch, we get to see that Doyle was not quite as cocksure as all that, after all - in that wonderful moment when Bodie shoves his head under the rainwater, so loving in the way he takes care of Doyle's pride in the instant when that's what he needs, while knowing that they won't be keeping things from each other for any length of time.
Great scene.
What all this does, I think, is show us a complex and satisfying balance of power between them; they really are both strong and both vulnerable; it gives their relationship depth and balance, equality without being clones of each other.
Exactly, two strong personalities -- different but equal. It's really well done.
Oh, and there's lots more to love about this fic too, which I shall probably think of later! And the action and CI5 plot work perfectly too. Altogether an excellent story! Great suggestion for the Reading Room; any excuse to re-read it (such a hardship!)
*g*
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Date: 2009-05-21 06:37 am (UTC)Poor, poor sniffing Jackson..it is SO difficult not being Doyle.
I thought the writer managed to move the emotional pace along seamlessly, from the initial pleasant "all is well and Doyle's just away" to the growing apprehension and then the horror of what Doyle is actually expected to do (his fear and despair just leap off the page and hit you) and then to the happy, almost maniac in- charge Doyle once the obbo is over …
Also, maybe it's a bit pop-psychology, but Doyle's outlook of "lovable" and "un loveable" people just made a weird sort of sense to me..
Since I enjoyed this story so much, I looked into the other Pros fic on the web-site, and found another fic , "cards on the table" which I thought was just brilliant.
So there were many hours of enjoyable reading in this for me.. :-)
Thanks for the rec
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Date: 2009-05-21 03:14 pm (UTC)Poor, poor sniffing Jackson..it is SO difficult not being Doyle.
Now there's a slogan. *g*
I thought the writer managed to move the emotional pace along seamlessly, from the initial pleasant "all is well and Doyle's just away" to the growing apprehension and then the horror of what Doyle is actually expected to do (his fear and despair just leap off the page and hit you) and then to the happy, almost maniac in- charge Doyle once the obbo is over …
It's all very well done, isn't it?
Also, maybe it's a bit pop-psychology, but Doyle's outlook of "lovable" and "un loveable" people just made a weird sort of sense to me..
I was willing to go with it for the story. Since her Doyle's ego seems pretty much unimpaired, and I do consider Doyle an egotist to an extent.
Since I enjoyed this story so much, I looked into the other Pros fic on the web-site, and found another fic , "cards on the table" which I thought was just brilliant.
I REALLY like that one too. The sequel doesn't do much for me. But there's a pair of Christmas stories that are quite nice. Half a Loaf of Bread and Christmas Pudding? Something like that.
So there were many hours of enjoyable reading in this for me.. :-)
Thanks for the rec
Great! I'm so pleased the rec led you to something you hadn't read before.
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Date: 2009-05-21 10:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-21 01:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-21 03:37 pm (UTC)That was a great touch. Very nice action sequence there.
and a beautifully confused Bodie. Plus, (and it’s a very big plus for me) not too much explicit sex so I could dream, instead of having to follow the action ‘blow by blow’ and at the end only the promise of ‘thrashing and moaning’ to finish with really pleased me!
A nice balance, I thought.
I wasn’t certain about the likelihood of the op, with Ray so badly caught between various bad scenarios - I suppose those sort of things do happen but the time scale seems a bit off - however, I’ll accept it. Bodie being ‘queer’ purely for Ray also jarred, given that he was also content to recall previous m/m experiences.
That's the confusing part for me. In the hotel, Bodie seems to be acknowledging that he's had previous experiences (and how he rationalized them to himself isn't much explored), but in the scene that follows with Ray it seems as though he's a complete novice. Or am I reading that incorrectly?
Then he took Bodie by the arm and led him through the suite to the bedroom. Bodie could feel them both trembling now, and wondered whether Doyle was as scared as he was. Not of what
Doyle might do to him, he was in no doubt that he could defend himself if he had to, but of what failure might do to both of them. What if he just couldn't do it? Whatever it was. What if he made things worse? What if he sent Doyle out to face the future with his dreams in tatters and his mind off his job?
If he'd had sex with his merc pals then surely he'd have some idea of what the options were? But he seems oddly frightened for someone with even rudimentary experience. Or is it just that he's fearful of disappointing Doyle?
As the scene progresses it seems to underline how utterly inexperienced Bodie is.
But Ray sorted him out so that was OK too. I liked Ray’s happiness and his explanation of how he’d recognised love, and I liked the Seven Dwarves allusions. Altogether satisfying and well-written. And longish - I get desperate for long fics because I read really quickly! Thanks for the rec - this is a story that will go in my ‘to keep and re-read’ folder!
Me too. I love a story of length and reasonable complexity. Glad you enjoyed this one.
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Date: 2009-05-21 04:54 pm (UTC)I thought that the point of Bodie's previous experience (such as it was) was that might have been as little as a handjob, but even if it was fucking, it was something Bodie had told himself was a case of "making do when you're desperate", he wasn't queer he was just somewhere he wanted sex but there were no women. Now he can tell that Doyle wants and needs to make love, not just get off. He (Bodie) isn't in a life or death situation and, if he agrees to this, it will mean he has to change how he has seen himself.
They aren't just getting their rocks off as quickly and efficiently as they can - quick and dirty - Doyle wants him as a person, not just as a means to an end.
I liked that bit of the story, I thought the lead-in was a little long and I wasn't quite convinced about the McGuffin, but I did enjoy the story and I did think they presented as adults, something I find sadly lacking in much fanfic.
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Date: 2009-05-21 05:12 pm (UTC)Absolutely. And welcome.
I thought that the point of Bodie's previous experience (such as it was) was that might have been as little as a handjob, but even if it was fucking, it was something Bodie had told himself was a case of "making do when you're desperate", he wasn't queer he was just somewhere he wanted sex but there were no women. Now he can tell that Doyle wants and needs to make love, not just get off. He (Bodie) isn't in a life or death situation and, if he agrees to this, it will mean he has to change how he has seen himself.
They aren't just getting their rocks off as quickly and efficiently as they can - quick and dirty - Doyle wants him as a person, not just as a means to an end.
Maybe it is something like that. Maybe it's the fact that if he does this, it's because it's Doyle and that alone takes it far beyond sex for the sake of sex.
That seems to follow with this part:
He put his arms round Doyle and drew him closer. This at least he knew, the feel of someone's mouth, warm and hungry on the skin of his throat and chest and shoulders. He closed his eyes and shuddered, as Doyle's mouth and hands moved over him. Let it work, he thought, please let it work.
He did not think he could initiate anything, too afraid that anything he did would be wrong, not what Doyle wanted, not what he had dreamed, but it did not matter. Doyle knew what to do
The main concern here is clearly that he wants this to live up to Doyle's fantasy so that Doyle doesn't go out to face the job ahead distracted and distraught.
I liked that bit of the story, I thought the lead-in was a little long and I wasn't quite convinced about the McGuffin, but I did enjoy the story and I did think they presented as adults, something I find sadly lacking in much fanfic.
It's so clearly a McGuffin, though. Because first and foremost this is simply about getting Doyle and Bodie in bed together. *g* As these sorts of stories go, I think it's one of the best.
The moment when he refuses Doyle and Doyle is clearly shattered...very effective, as the reader knows that if Doyle walks out that door now, he's not going to survive the op.
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Date: 2009-05-21 05:27 pm (UTC)I wonder if Bodie isn't also worried that Doyle might want to fuck him, - that - would really make him queer! And ahhhh, of course Doyle does, but doesn't expect that of him.
I know what you mean about the McGuffin, and I suppose it's a bit much to expect plot and romance to be equally balanced. This is pretty close and if the author could write commercial standard thrillers, we'd have a prodigy.
I see you like Sebastian. I've often thought that she is one author I would not be at all surprised if she turned out to be known name author.
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Date: 2009-05-21 06:22 pm (UTC)Yes, I think he's definitely considering that possibility, and of course because we don't know what his sexual history is, except that he apparently had sex with men and hippos *g* it's difficult to know what that means big picture.
I know what you mean about the McGuffin, and I suppose it's a bit much to expect plot and romance to be equally balanced. This is pretty close and if the author could write commercial standard thrillers, we'd have a prodigy.
We would. Absolutely.
Although, if I'm honest, I DON'T need a massively complicated genre plot for fan fic. In fact, sometimes too much plot (beyond the well-charted course and conflict of the romance, I mean) is distracting.
I see you like Sebastian. I've often thought that she is one author I would not be at all surprised if she turned out to be known name author.
I would be grieved to think she was writing and had abandoned Pros. Especially with some of her fics so desperately in need of a proper finishing (Siren series, Smooth Sailing, etc.) I read somewhere that she had moved on to writing Titanic fan fic, but I thought that must be something said merely to drag her name through the mud. *g*
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Date: 2009-05-21 06:36 pm (UTC)Now can you or jgraeme enlighten me what is a McGuffin (sounds like a MacMuffin *ducks*)
Sounds like it's something to do with plot. In which case my gripe is with how the author copped out of telling us how they managed to get Doyle out of what had seemed like death, or a fate worse than, after all that build up. On reflection, maybe Cowley threw more back up in there than Doyle had expected (Stuart, even someone they thought was dead...), and Doyle had brought in his specialist private contractor for the electronic surveillance.
But then I wondered sceptically if Doyle was exaggerating the danger of his position, laying on the 'dying man's last wish' in order to get Bodie into bed. Just a thought.
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Date: 2009-05-21 07:14 pm (UTC)I thought in this story there is a whole bunch of agents (including the not-dead Hobday). I assumed that the bad guy had incriminated himself on tape and been arrested. Anyway, this is the McGuffin, we don't really care what happens because the lads are shagging :D
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Date: 2009-05-21 07:21 pm (UTC)Now can you or jgraeme enlighten me what is a McGuffin (sounds like a MacMuffin *ducks*)
OUCH. *g*
A MacGuffin is a bit of writerly sleight of hand. It's the thing that draws the reader's eye, but in fact, it's not what the story is about. The classic example is The Maltese Falcon, the MacGuffin is the Maltese Falcon -- the search for the fabulous statue. But the story is actually about the murder of Sam Spade's partner. In this, the MacGuffin is the big arms deal -- the one that will supposedly do for Doyle. In fact, the story is a romance story -- how Bodie figures out he's in love with Ray.
But then I wondered sceptically if Doyle was exaggerating the danger of his position, laying on the 'dying man's last wish' in order to get Bodie into bed. Just a thought
Ooh, you little cynic.
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Date: 2009-05-21 07:53 pm (UTC)"I wondered sceptically..." It's the methods of Cowley, the Machiavellian bastard, rubbing off.
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Date: 2009-05-22 01:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-21 02:24 pm (UTC)“While certainly not effeminate, there was something distinctly dandified about Doyle when he dressed up, a sense that, while he knew what a man in a suit was supposed to look like, he preferred not to pander to the conventionalities.”
Hence, the scene is set that when Bodie finds Doyle in the hotel room looking quite comfortable in an expensive, conservative suit and neat haircut, he is quite disturbed.
I liked very much the canon background stuff – the cases, the banter between the agents – but I thought the hotel room scene was the best part of the fic. Bodie sees Doyle in a new light and feels a pang that his friend has inexplicably changed and perhaps moved on, or how he will do one day. He is then completely disoriented to learn that Doyle is bi, and that he is in love with Bodie, and that he is asking Bodie to make love with him.
(Last week, I appreciated Bodie’s cleverness in finding a way to seduce Doyle as necessary to save their skins. This time Doyle has the cunning plan of deploying the ‘last dying wish’ prerogative, which Bodie just can’t refuse.)
Things that I found less satisfying were Cowley not telling Bodie about Doyle’s one-man ‘Susie’, and Bodie’s passivity when he finds out from Doyle. In canon, I am one of those who thinks Cowley has a closer relationship with Bodie than with Doyle. That relationship is even shown here, brilliantly, with Bodie in Cowley’s office:
“Bodie tried again for anger, but it was already out of reach. He dropped into a chair, knowing himself defeated. ‘You Machiavellian old bastard,’ he said, accepting the glass that was thrust at him.
‘Ach, get that down and come along with you, we'll be late. You might as well see it through.’ He took his gun from a desk drawer and limped towards the door. ‘And that's Machiavellian old bastard, sir, to you.’”
Hence it didn’t seem likely that Cowley would keep Bodie completely in the dark. There is also Bodie’s passivity – after his outrage about Doyle’s op, he just happily goes to bed with him, accepts that Doyle has disappeared in the morning, and toddles off to work trying to pretend nothing has happened. It is only at the end of the day, and when he sees the compromising photo, that Bodie is spurred into action. I would have expected Bodie to start trying to save Doyle immediately. Still, that’s the plot.
I also wasn’t convinced by the dialogue scenes of Doyle (doing most of the talking) in the car with Bodie back at Minster View. Thought these were a bit laboured and not quite Doyle’s voice. I could definitely see Doyle taking this attitude of ‘you love me and I’ll just wait until you come around’, and worrying at a problem, just not so much the way it was expressed here.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-21 04:30 pm (UTC)“While certainly not effeminate, there was something distinctly dandified about Doyle when he dressed up, a sense that, while he knew what a man in a suit was supposed to look like, he preferred not to pander to the conventionalities.”
Yes. The observations and descriptions go to character. Look how much we learn about Doyle and Bodie simply through Bodie's choice of what he considers appropriate wear for such an occasion, Doyle's comments on Bodie's clothes, and Bodie's wryly amused acceptance of Doyle's comments. It's a lovely example of showing, not telling though it's done through the characters reflections. Very nice.
I liked very much the canon background stuff – the cases, the banter between the agents – but I thought the hotel room scene was the best part of the fic. Bodie sees Doyle in a new light and feels a pang that his friend has inexplicably changed and perhaps moved on, or how he will do one day.
Yes. Nice poignant bit there.
Things that I found less satisfying were Cowley not telling Bodie about Doyle’s one-man ‘Susie’, and Bodie’s passivity when he finds out from Doyle. In canon, I am one of those who thinks Cowley has a closer relationship with Bodie than with Doyle.
I don't think it's a matter of closeness, though. I think it's Cowley deliberately keeping Bodie out of the picture because he fears Bodie's personal loyalty and affection for Doyle will outweigh his discipline and commitment to duty.
Likewise, stories where the lads suddenly throw aside all thoughts of duty and responsibility because they can't bear the thought of the other dying...I just can't buy that. It's not the military or police mindset, for one thing. These are men who accept that every day they might die in the course of their sworn duty -- that duty being to protect the public. Is Doyle's life worth more than that of hundreds of people? Maybe it is to Bodie, but I think Bodie is tough-minded enough to accept that in the larger scheme of things, no. They are both expendable and they know it -- they're prepared for it. And I think this is the point of the scene below:
That relationship is even shown here, brilliantly, with Bodie in Cowley’s office:
“Bodie tried again for anger, but it was already out of reach. He dropped into a chair, knowing himself defeated. ‘You Machiavellian old bastard,’ he said, accepting the glass that was thrust at him.
‘Ach, get that down and come along with you, we'll be late. You might as well see it through.’ He took his gun from a desk drawer and limped towards the door. ‘And that's Machiavellian old bastard, sir, to you.’”
Cowley goes too far
Date: 2009-05-22 03:45 pm (UTC)You are certainly right about that!
But I think there is a big difference between risking your life in your daily work as an agent, and this Kamikaze mission!
Even IF Bodie understands, he clearly sees that Cowley goes a bit too far! Again!
"You can't have everything you want, Cowley. Sometimes the risk is just too damn high."
Not only that Cowles risks Doyle's life, he also had constructed a whole scenario of Doyle's guilt.
And in the end, I think, there would be the only solution to even kill Doyle in prison - because he wouldn't be quiet for ever...
(It reminds me of 'The Six Days Of The Condor' with Robert Redford...)
Those are worst CIA methods (OK all I know about it is from movies...)! Maybe CI5 is supposed to be the GB match - but I don't need to like it... :-(
Had to answer in two parts - sorry
Date: 2009-05-21 04:33 pm (UTC)As much as Bodie wants to interfere, to stop it...he knows he can't. That's what that scene is about. Although I think Cowley was wise to have Bodie drugged because in the heat of the moment -- if Doyle HAD been "made" -- all the discipline in the world probably wouldn't have stopped Bodie from going in.
Hence it didn’t seem likely that Cowley would keep Bodie completely in the dark. There is also Bodie’s passivity – after his outrage about Doyle’s op, he just happily goes to bed with him, accepts that Doyle has disappeared in the morning, and toddles off to work trying to pretend nothing has happened. It is only at the end of the day, and when he sees the compromising photo, that Bodie is spurred into action. I would have expected Bodie to start trying to save Doyle immediately. Still, that’s the plot.
To me, it makes sense. Doyle isn't a child or a halfwit. If he thinks it's worth it -- if he believes this is worth dying for -- for Bodie to overrule him like the hero in a Mills and Boon romance? Wouldn't that be staggeringly offensive and overbearing?
I also wasn’t convinced by the dialogue scenes of Doyle (doing most of the talking) in the car with Bodie back at Minster View. Thought these were a bit laboured and not quite Doyle’s voice. I could definitely see Doyle taking this attitude of ‘you love me and I’ll just wait until you come around’, and worrying at a problem, just not so much the way it was expressed here.
Interesting. Did anything in particular hit you as off? I'm not convinced by the "unlovable" scenario, but I could go with it. What I really liked were the scenes of action that followed.
Not a perfect fic, no, but very, very satisfying.
Re: Had to answer in two parts - sorry
Date: 2009-05-21 06:45 pm (UTC)It goes to what is the principle of Cowley pairing them. Is it like a marriage? Or (as seems here) can Cowley just send Doyle off singlehanded and pair Bodie with a new agent, with no explanation at all? The former is more canon IMHO.
'If he thinks it's worth it -- if he believes this is worth dying for -- for Bodie to overrule him like the hero in a Mills and Boon romance?'
Well Bodie is rather romantic (I love it that Bodie is characterised as 'lovable' here, BTW, not the mean, moody characterisation). I could see Bodie trying to overrule Doyle, and having to be talked out of it.
To be cont'd
Re: Had to answer in two parts - sorry
Date: 2009-05-21 07:11 pm (UTC)Knew you'd ask. It's hard to put my finger on. The banter is there, especially in Bodie's responses, with canon references added in. I think it's the amount of rambling Doyle does, I'm surprised Bodie doesn't lose patience. In canon, we all treasure the banter in the car scenes, but they are sadly very short. Here there are 2 quite extended ones in quick succession, and it's not the same. To be specific, the speech that is least Doyle to me is the anatomy lesson. But it hits the mark with Bodie!
Re: Had to answer in two parts - sorry
Date: 2009-05-21 07:17 pm (UTC)Re: Had to answer in two parts - sorry
Date: 2009-05-21 07:56 pm (UTC)Re: Had to answer in two parts - sorry
Date: 2009-05-21 07:33 pm (UTC)I love Doyle's line about being happy and Bodie's shudder and "I know. 'S awful!"
I think it's the amount of rambling Doyle does, I'm surprised Bodie doesn't lose patience. In canon, we all treasure the banter in the car scenes, but they are sadly very short. Here there are 2 quite extended ones in quick succession, and it's not the same. To be specific, the speech that is least Doyle to me is the anatomy lesson.
I agree with you there. Very hard to picture that discussion taking place -- it didn't ring true for me, but it wasn't so off that it threw me out of the story.
Re: Had to answer in two parts - sorry
Date: 2009-05-21 07:30 pm (UTC)It goes to what is the principle of Cowley pairing them. Is it like a marriage? Or (as seems here) can Cowley just send Doyle off singlehanded and pair Bodie with a new agent, with no explanation at all? The former is more canon IMHO.
I think it's the duplicitous old bastard Cowley. He doesn't trust anyone entirely. And while Bodie does manage to stop himself each time he starts to ride to Doyle's unwishedfor rescue, I think the instinct that had Cowley drug Bodie was a good one. Imagine the scene of Bodie listening in while it all goes south and Ray is shot on tape? Very good chance that Bodie would charge in and consequences be damned.
'If he thinks it's worth it -- if he believes this is worth dying for -- for Bodie to overrule him like the hero in a Mills and Boon romance?'
Well Bodie is rather romantic (I love it that Bodie is characterised as 'lovable' here, BTW, not the mean, moody characterisation). I could see Bodie trying to overrule Doyle, and having to be talked out of it.
I liked that too -- that Bodie was the one who had the loving background and Doyle's history was the hardscrabble one.
I think we do get something like that scene when Cowley points out to him that Doyle knew about the photo before he met Bodie that night -- one more reason perhaps why Doyle was sure he was going to die. And something he didn't mention to Bodie -- probably for a very good reason.
Doyle overruns Bodie
Date: 2009-05-22 03:25 pm (UTC)"I have to concur with everyone else, this is really good writing and well worth reading..."
OK! No need to write my own answer, I can 100% agree to everything you wrote! :-)
An interesting and thrilling read!
But I also feel a bit distressed by Cowley's role and also by Doyle's reaction after his op. There is not only the scene in the car, also earlier at HQ .
"Bloody hell Bodie, you look good enough to eat." He waggled his eyebrows, meaningfully.
That would be maybe a 'good' chat-up line in a pub, but that's not something to convince your insecure partner, who needs nothing more than time. The whole behaviour of Doyle is really worth to 'knock his teeth in' as you said. Doyle is so sure of Bodie, that he doesn't pay in the slightest any attention of Bodie's feelings.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-22 04:14 pm (UTC)And certainly I take a look at the other stories.
But I'm not so sure if I would read this one a second time. There are some parts I feel uncomfortable with. First of all the dimension of Cowley's game he plays with Doyle. To probably die or to end in prison - who would be SO foolish to agree?
Then after the op Doyle shows IMO an unexplainable behaviour. After waiting for such a long time he now risks to disgust Bodie forever with his silly "don't fight it Bodie, I know that you love me" enthusiasm... There is nothing that Bodie needs more than time to think!
OR that intoxicating end with the trains...! :-)
No, I really don't know yet what to think about that story...