Fake Fan Fiction ❯ FAKE in Love: Act I, Stalkers and Protectors ❯ Chapter 1

Warnings and Disclaimers: Hey, guess what? I don't own FAKE. I'm not Sanami Matoh, this is just a fanfiction, so if you don't like it, bite me. The characterizations are in my style and I approached the plot how I wanted to. Reviews are appreciated, but flames will just make me laugh…and point.

 

Dee stretched and grunted a little as his back popped, an irritated frown passing over his face as he reached for the next case folder. He was sprawled in Ryo's spacious living room, the coffee table covered with strewn bits of information and his partner hunkered down on the other end of the couch. With a slight sigh he ventured a careful glance over, one hand running through his dark hair as he observed his quiet partner.

Ryo was staring intently at the file he held, the thick framed glasses firmly in place as his dark eyes moved over the text. Dee smiled a little; it was his new goal in life to sneak a kiss while those glasses were still in place, Ryo, however, seemed intent on thwarting him. The Japanese-American flipped the page he was looking at and leaned back into the couch, a small sigh escaping him as he cocked his head and continued to read.

Damn, Dee thought, he's just doing paperwork, what the hell is wrong with me?

He quickly turned back to his own work, knowing that until Ryo was ready to quit, there was really no point in even daydreaming. They had been on the trail of a vicious burglar whose latest crimes seemed to have escalated into murder. The guy had started out just grabbing a couple of TV's and other small electronics, but after a fight in one of the homes he had become bolder. Dee drummed a hand on the arm of the couch as he thought, his dark cynicism easily taking hold. It was a typical pattern; they'd start out small time and then get a taste for something bigger, start to think themselves invincible. The perp really wasn't some criminal mastermind, he just had the luck of the damn devil himself. Twice they had had him cornered and twice the guy had just disappeared. The folder flipped open and Dee frowned suddenly as he scanned the page.

“Hey, Ryo, look at this.”

Dee scooted down the length of the couch and held out the folder, trying to ignore the sharp pain that skittered through his back. Ryo began to read the page slowly and one hand reached out and absently began to massage Dee's back. Dee leaned forward and Ryo applied a little more pressure, his eyes still steadily locked on the folder.

“Okay,” Ryo said as he stared down. “What am I looking at?”

“All the robberies have been right around Fifth Street, right?” Dee said. “The only good fence in the area is Ritchie Smalls, I think we need to lean on him again. This is the third time I've seen his name mentioned in all these cases, and the third time he just `happened across' some of the stolen stuff.”

Ryo nodded and shrugged.

“We don't really have anything else to go on, do we?” Ryo said.

Dee shook his head and moaned a little as Ryo's hand smoothed out a particularly painful kink in his back. Ryo yawned and tossed the folder on the table in front of him, the glasses quickly following it. His head flopped back onto the couch and he shook his head.

“I think I'm about done for the night,” he said after a pause, his hand still massaging at Dee's back.

Dee grinned suddenly.

“Finally!”

“Ack! Dee!”

Dee closed the distance without a second thought for his sore muscles, his mouth clamping tightly over Ryo's. Ryo's hand tightened in his shirt, and he quickly leaned into the kiss, his other hand sliding up Dee's chest. Dee smiled slightly as he began to work his way down Ryo's neck, knowing how crazy it made him, a small moan escaping Ryo in answer. Dee pulled lightly at Ryo's buttons, marveling at how such a small flash of skin could drive him so wild. Ryo pulled him up for another kiss, then suddenly stopped and shook his head.

“Wait, Dee, Bikky'll be home any minute.”

Dee opened his mouth to inform Ryo that he wasn't going to plan his life around the brat's schedule when Ryo pulled him down into another kiss.

“We better move into the bedroom,” Ryo said breathlessly as the kiss finally broke.

Now Dee couldn't help but grin as he followed his lover, Ryo removing his shirt and flinging it aside as Dee clicked the bedroom lock in place. Ryo smiled at him, something in his face still so tentative and shy even after all their time together, and then pulled Dee onto the bed with him. They kissed again, slowly climbing their way up the bed until Ryo lay pinned between Dee's arms, the smaller man tugging insistently at Dee's shirt. Dee smiled down at him and pulled it off, the smile growing wolfish again as he stared at Ryo.

“Oh Ryo,” he whispered quietly and turned his attention back to his lover's pale neck. Ryo moaned happily, his hands sliding gently across Dee's back, pulling him closer, his legs widening to cradle Dee gently.

Dee's tongue darted across Ryo's skin just as the phone began to ring.

“Ignore it,” Dee whispered.

“Mmmmph,” Ryo answered and leaned forward for another kiss.

Their tongues explored each other, mouths hot, lips bruising together. Dee panted a little as they broke apart, the phone ringing loudly in the background. He leaned forward again, resting his full weight against Ryo, a small moan escaping those perfect lips. Dee closed his eyes.

“My sexy little Ryo,” he breathed.

Ryo blushed violently, a small smile breaking across his face as Dee slowly began to slide down his chest. He couldn't help himself, he liked the pet name, it was something just between the two of them. Besides which, at times like these, teetering on the edge of passion, surrounded by warmth, engulfed by Dee's eyes, he did feel small and oh so very sexy. The phone finally grew quiet as Dee sent a long blast of hot breath across Ryo's stomach, causing the pale hands to twist in the blankets. Dee's face grew serious as he set about the task of unzipping Ryo's pants.

Ryo's cell phone went off.

“Ignore it,” Dee growled lowly. “It's not important.”

As if in answer his own pager started to howl.

“Goddammit.”

 

Dee grumbled as he stalked through the dingy station, images of a half-naked Ryo still fresh on his mind as he stormed into the office Drake and J.J. shared.

“Alright, what's this big break in our case?”

“Your guy just confessed to everything,” Drake said as he leaned back in his chair.

Dee's mouth dropped open and he stared down silently for a moment.

“Then why the fuck are we here? Can't you even take a simple confession? We could read it in the damn morning!”

“Jesus Christ,” Drake snapped back. “If it was that simple don't you think I would have handled it? The guy confessed because he wants to go into protective custody.”

Ryo frowned as he stepped to Dee's side, finally catching up with two cups of steaming coffee.

“Who wants protective custody?”

“Our guy,” Dee said as he sat down on the corner of the desk and sipped his coffee. “Jason Mors.”

“Why?”

“We're not sure,” Drake said, resting his head on one hand. “No one's talked to him yet. The guy just grabbed a uniform on the street, completely covered in blood, and started babbling about god only knows what. We've had him in an interrogation room since then, he's just starting to calm down.”

“Covered in blood?” Ryo shook his head. “That doesn't sound like his typical M.O.”

“Yeah,” Dee said with a shrug. “Mors seems like the squeamish type to me, I can't picture him actually killing someone in a way that would get messy.”

Drake shrugged. “He's all yours.”

“DEE!”

“Oh shit,” Dee grunted and yanked Drake over his desk.

“What the--!”

That incessant ball of energy J.J. Adams flew into the room, arms outstretched, happy grin on his face as he raced for Dee. Drake roared angrily as J.J. slammed into him instead, sending them both toppling to the floor. J.J. rubbed at his head as he sat up, a small pout on his face.

“Dee?”

“Dammit J.J., would you stop trying to tackle me?”

“Hey, Drake,” Ryo stared down at the prone policeman with a little concern. “You okay?”

“I'm going to kill him,” Drake said lowly and then shook his head as he got up. “No, correction, I'm going to kill them!”

“Maybe we should go, Dee,” Ryo said and tugged at his partner's sleeve. “We'll see you two later!”

“Dammit J.J., how many times do I…”

The lecture cut off as the door clicked shut behind them, Ryo sighing a little in relief and Dee taking a drink of his coffee.

“So,” Dee said finally. “I guess it's off to interrogation.”

 

Jason Mors was a fidgety little man, his eyes darting around the small room, never resting in one place long enough even properly see everything. His hands were just as restless and paced across the table and over each other as Dee and Ryo observed him from behind the one way mirror.

“Jumpy little bastard, ain't he?” Dee said as he took another drink of coffee.

“Yeah,” Ryo said. “I wonder what made him so nervous.”

“He probably just realized that he confessed to two murders and six B and E's that we know of.”

“That would make me jumpy,” Ryo said with a nod.

They entered the room slowly, but Mors still flinched and stood up, the heavy chair scraping loudly against the floor.

“Mr. Mors? I'm Detective MacLean and this is Detective Laytner. We hear you've got a confession you'd like to make.”

“Goddamn pigs,” Mors muttered. “I already confessed, take me to one of those goddamned safe houses I hear so much about. I'm a goddamn tax payer, I want protection.”

Ryo frowned a little; this was going to be a long night.

“Who's blood is that?” he said quietly, trying to redirect the conversation.

Mors looked down and wiped at it a little. It had blossomed across his shirt in a strange butterfly pattern, a few smears betraying where he had tried to clean it off. Now it was a dried mess, dark brown under the harsh lighting, and a morbid reminder of some horrible crime.

“Goddamn me if I know,” Mors said finally. “I just walked in, man, I have no goddamn idea who the poor SOB was.”

I hope he uses the word `goddamn' a little more, Dee thought with a small frown. He was getting annoyed, but he wasn't really sure why this guy was starting to bother him. Ryo glanced over at him, a harsh glint in the other detective's eye warning Dee that he had better keep his cool. How does he do that?

“Why don't you tell us what you saw?” Ryo said as he sat down. “We'll take a full statement now and figure out what kind of deal we can work out. I'm sure the D.A. will be interested in your testimony if you really did witness a murder.”

Mors bucked slightly at the word murder, but his hands suddenly rested flatly on the table.

“That means protective custody, right? That means I'm goddamned untouchable, right?”

“Goddamn straight,” Dee said flatly.

 

Ryo tossed the folder onto his desk as he slumped down in his chair, his body rebelling against the coffee he was pouring into it so freely. He would much rather curl up with a nice warm cup of tea (and more honestly with a nice warm Dee) and relax, but the hours kept by NYC detectives didn't seem to be allowing for that. He rubbed at his temple and stared at Dee as the other detective sat down.

“I know it's a brutal crime,” Ryo said slowly, “But why is he so scared? Something has this guy spooked.”

“Or someone,” Dee said. “You notice that he never let the conversation stray that way? He was always careful to skirt around the guy's name.”

“Yeah,” Ryo nodded. “Of course he did the same thing for the location and about a lot of details. He might just be saving it for the D.A.”

Dee shrugged. “Could be.”

“Damn,” Ryo grumbled. “I want to go home.”

“Really?” Dee said with a sly smile. “I want to go to bed.”

Dee enjoyed the pale blush that raced across Ryo's face and stood up again.

“I'll get us some more coffee. I say we go over these reports one more time, hand them in to the badger and go home for a while. If he doesn't like it, he can yell at us in the morning just as easily as he can tonight.”

“Fine,” Ryo said tiredly. “But no more coffee. I can't take anymore.”

 

The alarm clock's shrill scream ripped through the air and Dee snorted irritably as he fumbled to slap it off. He grunted and curled up tighter in the blankets, enjoying the heavy warmth that drifted back through him. A door clicked open nearby and he all but heard Ryo frown irritably.

“Dee Laytner, get out of bed.”

Dee rolled over and stared up at the freshly pressed Ryo. He looked dazzling, clean and everything perfectly in place, his shirt freshly starched and ironed, tie matching his slacks. Dee shook his head with disgust.

“Ryo, do you even know how to sleep late? Or how about just on-time? Can you sleep until your alarm clock goes off?”

“Never have before,” Ryo said, kicking at the corner of the bed. “Now get up and get moving, breakfast is waiting.”

Dee grunted again but climbed out of bed, stretching and popping his back as Ryo tugged the blankets back in place. Dee smoothed a hand over the covers and tossed the pillows back on top, leaning into a really good yawn. Ryo watched him and smiled before he left the room, a small pang reminding him how much he loved this man. Dee picked up his discarded clothes from the night before and tossed them into Ryo's laundry basket on his way to the shower.

I'm even picking up after myself now, he thought as the warm water helped to bring him back to life.

They had returned to Ryo's place with only a couple of hours left before dawn, both more staggering to bed than diving in. Ryo had pulled Dee close, both breathing deeply and contentedly as they drifted off to sleep. A fleeting image of what might have been if not for that damned phone call drifted through Dee's head and he gritted his teeth angrily. Even now, it still felt like the fates were stacking the deck against him, sending some new distraction every time he got painfully close.

“Ryo! Where's my hat?”

Dee's eye twitched a little at the bellowing voice; of course there were still all the old distractions. Bikky slid up to the table and grabbed a heaping helping of scrambled eggs. Ryo quietly read his paper as the boy at his side struggled to eat, finish getting dressed, and work out a couple of math problems he hadn't finished the night before. The pencil scribbled across the page for a moment longer and then the notebook was thrust at Ryo.

“Look at this, will ya?”

Ryo lowered his paper and quickly scanned the work. He picked up Bikky's pencil and marked four of the problems.

“Re-check those,” he said, as he handed the book back. “You're really getting good at math.”

Bikky grinned at Ryo as he pulled his skates on. “I've got a good tutor.”

Ryo smiled a little at that, and then turned back to his paper. Bikky shoveled some more food into his mouth and started to re-work the marked problems again. Dee slid into his chair and reached for Ryo's coffee cup, his head already screaming for its morning dose of caffeine.

“That's Ryo's, freakzilla!” Bikky roared smacking his hand away.

“Goddammit you midget terror, it's too early in the morning for this crap!”

Ryo got up at the sound of a quiet rap on the door and let Carol in, a warm smile on his face as he greeted her.

“Climb back into your rats nest!” Dee yelled at Bikky.

“Look who's talking you pervert!”

“Here,” Carol said and handed a large manila envelope to Ryo. “This was sticking out of your mailbox, so I grabbed it for you.”

“Thanks,” Ryo said. “Bikky, Carol's here.”

“Oh shit.”

The boy crammed a few more bites into his mouth and spread some eggs between toast before he skated towards the door.

“Have a good day Bikky,” Ryo said.

“Don't do anything too stupid,” Dee added.

“Bye guys!” Carol said happily.

“See ya later!” Bikky grunted.

Ryo sat back down as the door slammed loudly, the envelope tapping lightly against the table for a moment before he tore it open. He pulled out a stack of photographs, frowning a little as a stranger stared up at him. He began to flip through them, his face paling as he went, his eyes flinching a little as he continued to move through them.

“Hey, what've you got there?” Dee said as he looked up from Ryo's stolen coffee cup.

Ryo numbly handed him the stack of pictures and pushed his breakfast away. Dee frowned and looked down at them, his eyes narrowing as a crime unfolded. They showed the steady torture and murder of some unknown man, his blood spattered throughout the shots, his face often frozen in a scream of pain. The images got worse and worse, until the man's head disappeared completely.

“Good god,” Dee breathed.

He flipped through to the end, and then couldn't think of anything else to say. A picture of Ryo finished out the deck.

 

Ryo was almost painfully quiet on their ride to the station, his mouth a thin line as he held the plain envelope in his steady hands. Dee glanced over at him a few times, but Ryo wasn't giving off a talking vibe, and he knew better than to try and push him too hard. They pulled into the station's lot and headed inside, Dee immediately stopping for a cup of coffee before they started the trek up to their office. Ryo waited patiently next to him, chit chatting a little with one of the desk officers as Dee inhaled the fresh scent of java.

“You want a cup?”

“No thank you,” Ryo said.

“You sure? It actually has the thickness of normal coffee this morning.”

“I think I'm awake enough.”

Dee couldn't help but chuckle. He knew a lot of people would find his laugh cruel, but that was Ryo's humor. It was blunt, and a little on the dark side sometimes. It tended to confuse people that such a soft man had that little twinge of the macabre sarcasm in him, Dee however, found it adorable.

They turned to the stairs as Ted's loud voice bellowed down to them.

“Hey! Dee! Ryo! Meeting in the commissioner's office! Five minutes!”

Dee visibly twitched at the message and Ryo sighed heavily. I don't need this this morning, they both thought irritably, but resignedly trudged back down the hallway towards Rose's office. Dee's mouth thinned as he glanced over at his partner, a little concern in his eye. Ryo really wouldn't be up for dealing with Rose this morning, and if the little pissant tried anything, Dee vowed then and there to give him a new hole to breathe out of.

Ryo rested a hand on the doorknob and turned slowly back to Dee.

“Behave yourself,” he said lowly.

“What?” Dee said with a frown. “I'm not going to do anything.”

“See that you don't.”

Goddammit, he did it again.

Rose barely glanced up at them as they entered, Agent Diana Spacey draped over him as they examined a thick file in Rose's lap. Dee eyed Diana warily, a little annoyed that the FBI was putting in an appearance at his precinct this early in the morning. Diana smiled sweetly at him and blew a kiss to Ryo who couldn't help but blush a little. Dee gritted his teeth angrily, his hands tightening into fists after Ryo deftly pulled his coffee away.

J.J. grinned happily at Dee.

“Morning Mr. Perfect.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Dee muttered as he sat down next to Ryo.

“Is everyone here yet?” the Chief glared around the room and then nodded to Rose. “They're all yours. Pay attention you dumbasses, I don't want to have to sit here babysitting you any longer than I have to.”

“Yeah, we love you too Chief,” Dee said as he opened the folder that J.J. handed him.

“Shut your mouth Laytner.”

“If we could begin,” Rose said smoothly, and the room quieted immediately. “Thanks to the work of one of our department's stellar officers and his less than brilliant partner, we secured a complete confession from Jason Mors last night.”

You bastard… Dee bit back a growl of rage and calmed himself by glancing at Ryo's tired face. He was behaving because Ryo had asked him too, not because he respected Rose in any way.

“Of course his confession turned on entrance into protective custody after he witnessed the murder of this man, Marcus Finch.”

The folder thumped softly closed in Ryo's hands as he looked up at the picture the Commissioner held. I don't know why I'm surprised, he thought distantly.

“Holy shit,” Dee said lowly.

“Something wrong Detective Laytner?” Rose asked, staring boredly down at Dee.

Dee elbowed Ryo, and Ryo fished out the manila envelope that had arrived at his apartment earlier that day. He tossed it lightly to Rose who pulled out the pictures, his frown darkening immediately as Marcus Finch stared back at him. The dark look only worsened as he reached the end.

“When did you get these?”

“They showed up this morning, sir,” Ryo said. “Plain envelope, no markings. They were stuck in my mailbox.”

Rose flipped through the pictures one more time, allowing the other detectives and the FBI agent to peer over his shoulder at them. When Finch's head disappeared Ryo heard a small gasp, but the room became darkly silent as that last picture, his picture, smiled up at them. He felt their eyes rest heavily on him and he determinedly stared at the corner across the room, his face passive and bored.

“Maybe we should be putting you in protective custody,” Ted said as he sat down.

Ryo snorted. “Yeah right.”

“J.J.,” Rose pulled a plastic evidence bag from his desk drawer and dropped the envelope and its contents in. “Run this down to forensics, tell Jim to run everything on it. How many people have touched it?”

“You, Dee, me, and Carol.”

Rose nodded and scribbled a note on the bag. He quickly filled in the other information and handed it to J.J. The short man set off out of the room, glancing sadly at Ryo as he went. Ryo had to resist the urge to glare back at him.

“Well, considering this new development, I think it's safe to say you're off this case Ryo.”

“I expected as much sir,” Ryo said flatly.

“We'll put you on a more visible duty for the time being, one around a few more officers. There's a stake-out going on…”

“Hold on,” Dee said sharply. “If it's at an old warehouse, a dilapidated apartment, or some back alley…”

“Actually,” Rose interrupted irritably. “It's at the Astoria Hotel. Ryo will have to spend his time sitting in the busy lobby watching for prostitution.”

“Oh I could get used to that,” Dee said with a grin.

“Notice I said Ryo would have to do it,” Rose said, his voice annoyed at having to explain everything. “You will accompany Agent Spacey to the Finch crime scene and serve as our liaison with her offices.”

“What? You're going to send Ryo out by himself after…”

“Oh don't worry,” Rose said with a small smile. “I'll be there to keep an eye on him, two even.”

“You sleazy son of a--”

Ryo's heavy sigh caused both of them to glance over. He was staring darkly at the two, his arms crossed lightly over his chest, his eyes narrow and heavy. Ryo didn't look annoyed or confusedly upset, he looked pissed. Dee flinched a little.

“Sorry Ryo,” he said quickly.

Rose coughed into his hand and turned back to the office full of people.

“Let's finish this up and get out there.”

 

Dee glared at the city as it rolled smoothly by, Diana had stubbornly refused to let him drive. His mouth thinned a little and Diana smiled.

“Oh come on, what's your problem now?”

“Do you really need to ask that?”

“Please,” Diana said with a wave of her hand. “They're at a stake-out. As if Berkeley would try anything.”

Dee snorted and Diana smiled again.

“Alright, he might, but Ryo's a big boy.”

“Yeah, and I don't think he's in the mood to play the blushing virgin right now either. Rose'll probably end up with another sock to the jaw if he does try anything.”

“Ryo certainly didn't look happy about Berkeley's comments this morning.”

“He wasn't mad about that,” Dee said and slid a cigarette between his lips. “He knew everyone was going to react like that, but it still pissed him off. You know Ryo, he likes being independent and competent. The perfect policeman.”

“No smoking, this is a rental.”

Dee grunted angrily but slid the cigarette back into his pack.

“He did know that Rose was going to pull him from the case, and I think he's secretly pleased that I'm still on it, but still,” Dee shook his head, unsure of how to say what else he was thinking.

“Your partner's a good cop,” Diana said. “He'll just have to get used to having someone watch his back for a while. He won't like it, I'm sure he'd rather be doing the protecting.”

“You've noticed that, huh?”

Diana grinned. “I'm a very observant girl, Detective. If it makes you feel any better, I don't know how serious Berkeley is about your partner anymore. It might just all be in fun now, like you and J.J.”

“That is not fun,” Dee bristled.

“Ah, and here we are,” Diana said as she pulled the car to a careful halt.

Dee pulled his cigarettes out again as they crossed the yellow tape into the crime scene. He took a long slow drag and glanced over at Diana.

“So, find what you were expecting?”

“And what makes you think I was expecting anything?”

“The FBI doesn't just pop in to check out a random murder,” Dee said. “Rose may not have gotten into it, but you're here for a reason.”

Diana's mouth thinned and she nodded.

“We were waiting until after I saw the crime scene to get into it, in case this was just a fluke or something. But with the pictures showing up,” her voice faded and she shook her head.

“What?”

The agent knelt down and pulled a square wooden box from underneath the bed her face sad and a little green as she prepared to open it.

“Our serial killer has come to New York.”

The box flipped easily open to reveal one long finger carefully placed on soft white fabric. It lay in a pool of blood, and Dee saw it all in perfect detail. The nail was chipped a little and had something stuck under it. The skin was abnormally pale with the blood loss, and every crease and wrinkle stood out brilliantly as a CSI snapped a few pictures of the contents. Dee shivered a little, something about that one finger making him feel nauseous and strangely nervous.

“He cuts it off while they're still alive,” Diana said flatly. “We think it's probably the first thing he does, I think it only gets worse from there,” she paused and steeled herself before she spoke again. “He takes pictures while he does it, and then he sends them to his next victim.”