The King Must Die

[murphybabe]

Title: The King Must Die
Author: murphybabe
Artist: bodiecuddle
Archive to Pros Lib: Yes please
Genre: Slash
Characters/Pairing: Bodie/Doyle, Bodie/OFC, Doyle/OFC
Word count: 22,044
Warnings: Explicit.  Some kink.

Summary: There's a traitor in CI5.  Bodie and Doyle are sent to track him down and, if necessary, terminate him.  As they dig into the detail, they realise all may not be quite as it seems.  When Cowley's triple-think results in the death of one of Bodie's protégés and Bodie's admission to hospital, Doyle does some thinking of his own and doesn't like the result. On Bodie's release they review all the facts and come to the grim conclusion that they are being used for Cowley's own idea of political expediency.  It's decision time for the lads - can they live with what Cowley has done?  And if not, what will they choose to do about it?

Notes:  Dedicated to moonlightmead.

Huge thanks to my beta, cornishcat, who did her very best to make it readable.  All the remaining mistakes are mine.  Thanks also to my wonderful artist, bodiecuddle, who has created the most fantastic vid from the little I gave her to work with.  Thanks to the mods for another tremendous year, and to all the writers, artists, cheerleaders and readers who make the Pros Big Bang so fabulous.

The occasional quotations are taken from the song for the vid:  Elton John's The King Must Die.

Link to Fic: The King Must Die
Link to Art: The King Must Die

Comments

[msmoat.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! You've finished and posted! \o/\o/

It sounds intriguing, and I'm just off to watch the vid. I am, of course, way behind in reading, although I am getting started at last, at least. I am looking forward to reading.

In the meantime, yay, you've done it!

[murphybabe]

Thank you! It was a bit of a grim effort, this one. Can you believe that I was still adding bits this morning? *g*

At last I can start to read everyone else's wonderful fic. Yay - ficfest!

[sw33n3y.livejournal.com]

Well done on posting! Ooh desperate times call for desperate measures! I'll bet there's a triple think or three in there somewhere. Can't wait to read it. :D

[murphybabe]

Thank you! And heh, it wouldn't be Cowley without a triple think *g* Hope you enjoy :)

Me, I'm going to go back to the start of October and start reading!

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Very much looking forward to reading this. And how lovely that it's dedicated to our Mead. But I keep getting a 404 error with the link to the art.

[murphybabe]

Oops, sorry - try again for the art, I've corrected it now.

[murphybabe]

Thank you! Mead was present all the way through, always there for long discussions by phone :)

Now I'm off to get myself a coffee and start reading from the start of October - yay!

[bodiecuddle.livejournal.com]

Congrats you finished it YEAHH!!
This is a brilliant story with so much trible thinking. I loved it.
It was a pleasure to be the artist for this story.

Thank you for your hard work!

[murphybabe]

Finally!!! Thank you so much for your fantastic vid! I've commented already on your post, but I'll say again here - you caught the mood exactly. You are wonderful xx

[ali15son.livejournal.com]

i look forward to reading this and thankyou .

[murphybabe]

Thank you! Now I can get back to commenting on everything I've missed over the last month on LJ! Hope you enjoy xx

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

Yay! Fantastic! Congratulations on posting! Now you can sit back and relax... *g*

Thank you for all your hard work and effort. It sounds incredibly twisty and irresistibly whatever comes after triple thinky! Can't wait to read - thank you again.

[murphybabe]

Thank you! I do so hope you enjoy it. And twisty, triple-think - Cowley even confused me at points *g*

[krisserci5.livejournal.com]

Congrats!!!!It's a wonderful feeling to hit the send button. . . . then you wonder what have I done . . . undo, undo. . . . then someone comments and you know that someone understands. . . YEAH, I finished my story. . .. .yeah!!!

[murphybabe]

Ha ha, you got it! Yes - preview, save without posting, preview, edit, edit tags, preview, save without posting, preview - oh, go on then - POST!!!

I can go and read everyone else's now, what a relief and a treat :)

[sc-fossil.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on posting your story!

[murphybabe]

Thank you!

[loxleyprince.livejournal.com]

YAYYYY!!! for posting your story online!!! All the writer-y agonising is finally over and you get to tell Bodie to budge up on the comfy sofa so you can make yourself comfy and relax. Thank you for sharing your story with us!

[murphybabe]

Thank you for all your encouragement :) And yes, phew! I can now start reading all the marvellous fic and looking at all the wonderful art. Lucky me!

[lukadreaming.livejournal.com]

OMG, I think I read the whole of that story holding my breath! It's an absolute belter - dark, intense and very believable. And cor, there's some stellar smut!

[murphybabe]

Thank you - glad you found it believable! And that you had to hold your breath, although perhaps I shouldn't be glad about that *bad MB*. And heh, yeah, smut *g*

[saintvic.livejournal.com]

Massive congrats on posting and this sounds v intriguing, am off to download.

[murphybabe]

Thank you! Hope you enjoy :)

[giseerouchon.livejournal.com]

I will get to this absolutely as soon as I can!!! Can't wait xxx

[murphybabe]

Sorry for the delay in responding! I hope you enjoy this one *g*

[merentha13.livejournal.com]

This was a terrific read! I was a bit concerned about how it was all going to end - but you sorted it out very neatly. The lads were in perfect character throughout. Well done!

[murphybabe]

Oh, thank you! Sorry I had you worried (well, not really *g*) but I'm glad the resolution worked for you, and I'm pleased you thought the lads were in character throughout - that's always a worry for me. Thank you for your kind comment!

[cornishcat.livejournal.com]

This is a great read, full of intrigue, triple-think and hot, hot sex.

I loved it the first time I read it and then again the second. And now I'm really looking forward to reading the final polished version. :D

Thanks for the mention - although I hadn't quite realised you'd not got yourself a 'proper' beta reader.

[murphybabe]

Thank you three times - once for reading it three times (wow!), once for your wonderful comments (thank you!) and once for being my beta (you nutter! Of course you're a proper beta reader!). You made it so much better by your helpful confusion about who was saying what *G* and making me realise that no one else could see them saying the lines, so I had to make it clear who was saying what. I have very fond memories of you counting back up lines and lines of dialogue, going, 'Bodie, Doyle, Bodie, Doyle, Bodie, Doyle, Bodie, Doyle - no - was that Bodie? Who said that?' You also saved someone from having three hands, and from walking out of a room that they weren't in yet, and similar stupidities, so massive thanks to you!

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

Just finished your story.

Phew!

"He’s done several… terminations… for us. Quite a few, actually, both here and overseas.’
‘Charming’, Doyle muttered under his breath.

I don't remember hearing it so downright. And Bodie and Doyle are supposed to do as well in this case. Then this immense setup from Cowley...
That all rings true in your story, as well as their 'escape' from CI5 and Cowley and their revenge.
Not an easy story, but strong and keeps you thinking in the end.
The vid is a fantastic addition.

I just can repeat: Phew! ;-)

Thank you!

[murphybabe]

The vid complemented the story so well - Bodiecuddle got every single element exactly right, didn't she? I'm pleased that you felt the setup from Cowley rang true for you, and that the lads' revenge worked as well. It was a bit grim at times *g* and I appreciate your comment about it being strong and keeping you thinking. Thank you for reading and commenting!