Fake Fan Fiction ❯ FAKE in Love: Act IV, Disappearances and Reunions ❯ Chapter 2

Warnings and Disclaimers: I do not own FAKE. I am not Sanami Matoh. I am penniless and have nothing worth suing for. This Fanfic is set after (surprise, surprise) ACT III: Pistols and Passion. You may want to read the other ones before you get started, but if you don't feel like it, that's up to you.

Reviews are always welcome, flame me if you like, but I will just point and laugh.

Special thanks to those great people who e-mailed me and gave my ego a nice little stroke. Hope you like it!

 

 

“Freeze! New York Police! You're under arrest for the trafficking of minors and prostitution!” Ryo's voice was commanding and steady as he swept his gun across the circle of men in front of him.

 

“Oh shit!” one of the men barked and Ryo gritted his teeth.

 

Things could suddenly go very wrong here.

 

“Don't move!” Ted roared, stepping to Ryo's side, the room now filling with cops as they stared down the criminals. “Drop your weapons!”

 

A few clunks sounded out and Ryo let out a long sigh of relief. Handcuffs clicked loudly and Ryo prattled off a few Miranda rights before he paced back outside and glanced around the street. Cop cars were spread in front of him, bright lights flashing out into the night. Everything had gone just as they had planned.

 

He and Dee had been working on the case for the past several weeks. It was a big one, and a main reason why they had been working so many separate shifts. One of them was at the station practically around the clock just to keep processing evidence and to oversee the set up of this bust. Ryo sighed. Dee would be sorry he had missed it.

 

There had been no chance of postponing things until his partner made an appearance again. They had gotten word that something big was preparing to go down, and now, instead of just catching the men they had been casing, they had managed to catch several of their most prolific customers. Ryo felt a rush of pride at the work he did and he smiled a little. This was an arrest that wouldn't make it on the news, something that no one would ever really hear about, but it would make a difference to some people.

 

He watched as a few kids were led out of the building, several were crying and clinging to the officers that led them. At least those kids were safe. Ryo smiled slightly and stared back up at the sky. Ted had done pretty well. He didn't have the same presence that Dee did, (he couldn't make Ryo and everyone else certain he was going to start shooting if he wasn't listened to) but he had still done good. Ryo chuckled and decided to inform Dee that he could be replaced.

 

Ryo's laughter died on his lips and he coldly stared at the ground. No, that was a lie.

 

Dee could never be replaced.

 

 

The Chief clapped Ryo on the back and grinned at him before the smile faltered and he sat down.

 

“Good work,” the old man said.

 

“Thank you sir.”

 

“Listen Randy,” the Chief leaned back in his chair. “I know that you were really worried about that case getting completed, but now it's over. So, if you wanted to take some time off, I'd understand. I'd sign off on it.”

 

Ryo blinked. Was the Chief really offering him time off?

 

“No, thank you sir,” he said with a small smile. “I think I'd rather keep working…He's bound to show up here sooner or later.”

 

“Yeah,” the Chief quickly returned to his gruff attitude. “Where else is a bum like that going to go?”

 

Ryo nodded and both smiled. The Chief slumped against his desk and sighed.

 

“You need any help looking for him? I know we've got people out there checking things, but I also know you well enough that I doubt you're really clocking out when you leave here.”

 

“I'm doing everything I can sir,” Ryo said. “And if I need anything I'll let you know.”

 

The Chief nodded and smiled at Ryo again.

 

“I'm sure he's fine. He's too stubborn to die.”

 

 

Ryo walked through Dee's empty apartment again, his eyes carefully gliding across everything. The place looked no different than it had last night, completely unused, although that wasn't too surprising. They hardly came here; in fact Ryo hadn't stayed here since his apartment had been ransacked by someone working for his own family. He slid a finger down one of Dee's bookshelves and smiled at the trail he left in the dust.

 

He'd like to think that was a sign that no one had been using the place, but Dee had lived in much worse. Ryo shuddered to think of it. He sighed and wrote Dee a note which he left taped to the TV. He stood in the doorway a moment longer and then flipped the lights off and locked the door behind him. Dee wasn't there.

 

Dee, love you. Call me. Ryo.

 

 

Ryo tapped his pencil against his desk and sighed as he filled in some more of the report. His mind kept working, absently filling in the paperwork that had been accumulating on their desks for the past couple of months. Maybe Dee had pulled a Houdini to keep from having to help straighten everything out. Ryo sighed and glanced up at the clock.

 

We still on for tomorrow?

 

That was the last thing Dee had said to him. Ryo tapped the pencil a little harder, now fully ignoring the work in front of him. It certainly had seemed like Dee meant to come back. Ryo frowned. What was he thinking? Of course Dee had been planning to come back, of course Dee was going to come back. Don't be stupid Ryo, he thought angrily.

 

He turned back to the paperwork, but his mind just didn't want to stay focused. It soon drifted again and the pencil's dull tapping became slowly rhythmic. What was the last thing he had said to Dee?

 

“Does that ever work?” he whispered.

 

It sounded lame, pointless. Ryo blinked. He didn't want that to be the last thing he ever got to say to Dee. Dammit. He shook his head angrily as he tried to clear it. That wasn't going to be the last thing he said to Dee. It wasn't. Dee was fine, he was just…

 

Where was Dee?

 

It had been three damn days, and nothing. He hadn't called anyone, he hadn't been spotted by anyone, and he hadn't even left messages with anyone. Ryo had tried all of his old haunts, had called everyone that he could think of, but still, there was nothing.

 

He stared at the phone and willed it to ring, willed it to be Dee. He suddenly didn't care where Dee was or what he had been doing, as long as he was alright. Ryo would forgive anything. Ryo leaned back in his chair and continued to stare at the phone.

 

How many times had he counseled families of missing persons? How many times had he calmly and gently listened to all of their fears and then encouraged them to go on with their lives? He had always felt bad for them, had always sympathized with their plights, but he had never understood it until now. Death was one thing, a huge burning strike, but not knowing was completely different.

 

Ryo blinked. Hope was cruel. He had never realized that before. Hope was a cruel evil bitch.

 

“Fuck,” he whispered, and wiped a hand over his face.

 

He needed to get some sleep. He should rest tonight instead of searching for Dee. He should stay home and try and sleep.

 

Ryo sighed and began a mental list of where to check that night.

 

 

“Dee…”

 

Dee turned and smiled at him and Ryo felt relief rush through him.

 

“What happened? You just disappeared.”

 

Dee's smile remained, but his face grew darker, long shadows running across it. Ryo frowned.

 

“Dee?”

 

Thick blood ran from Dee's eyes and the smile turned into a painful grimace. He dropped to his knees and blood pooled around him, reaching out towards Ryo. Ryo stifled a surprised cry and stepped back, his eyes wide.

 

“Dee?” he whispered.

 

Ryo woke up in a cold sweat, one hand flying to his head. What was that? The dream clung to him and he curled up more tightly in the large bed. He closed his eyes, but the bloodied face slid back across him, and he shivered again. It was going to be a long night.

 

 

The weather had taken a turn for the cold, and Ryo found himself absently wondering if Dee was warm enough. He sighed and stared out his office window, the paper work on his desk still gathering and waiting.

 

“Ryo!”

 

The door flew open and JJ Adams stormed in, limping slightly. He had taken a pipe through his leg after a car explosion and still was a little ginger when the weather shifted suddenly. It didn't slow him down, but it made his hyperactive bouncing look almost drunken.

 

“Hi JJ,” Ryo said, quickly pulling on his small smile.

 

“Don't you “Hi JJ” me!” JJ snapped. “Is it true that Dee's missing?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And you aren't out searching for him? How can you just sit around like this Ryo? Don't you care at all?”

 

Ryo blinked and then stared at him, his eyes suddenly revealing a little of the sadness and worry he had been carrying around so tightly. He didn't say anything but JJ recoiled as if he had been slapped. The blue haired sharpshooter shifted slightly and stared at the floor.

 

“Sorry Ryo,” he murmured. “My mouth just tends to run ahead of my brain when it comes to Dee.”

 

“It's alright,” Ryo said softly. “Don't worry about it. I've looked everywhere that I can think of, but maybe you know of someplace I don't.”

 

JJ leaned against Dee's desk and shrugged.

 

“I doubt it,” he said, his voice just as quiet as Ryo's. “I'll talk to a couple of people, but if he hasn't called you…”

 

The silence passed between them again and JJ kicked himself. Well that was a great thing to say. He sighed and then gently pressed his hand over Ryo's.

 

“I'm sorry Ryo, about what I said. I mean it.”

 

Ryo smiled at him again and JJ felt guilt rip into him with hungry teeth.

 

“It's okay, JJ. Really. I'm fine.”

 

 

“Ryo?”

 

Ryo glanced up from his desk as Diana quietly entered. She smiled at him and he stood up, allowing her to lightly hold him and kiss his cheek.

 

“How are you doing?” she asked softly.

 

“I'm fine,” he answered and gave her the same tired smile he had been wearing for the past few days.

 

She smiled back and sat down lightly on his desk as he returned to his chair. Diana bit her lip a little but didn't try to avoid Ryo's dark eyes.

 

“Ryo, I've got some information for you.”

 

“What? Diana, I don't have any open cases right now. With Dee…gone…I'm just working on getting our paperwork up to date.”

 

“I know. It's about Thomas Frate.”

 

Ryo's eyes flashed a little and he pushed aside any pretext of working on anything else. Diana Spacey suddenly found herself with his undivided attention.

 

“He was getting us information,” she said. “He claimed that he had something big, something that would give us a serious advantage in the drug war. He was supposed to meet with one of our agents later this week, but now…”

 

Her voice faded and she shrugged a little. She felt so cold to be doing this, to come here searching for information while Dee was somewhere, missing. Such was the glamorous career of an FBI agent. Diana quickly pushed the bitterness aside. She needed to be focused, to be here and now, not just for the investigation, but for Ryo too.

 

“So that's what happened,” Ryo said softly. “Frate must have called Dee for help. I guess things didn't go how he had planned.”

 

“Ryo?” Diana gently lifted his chin.

 

He stared back at her blankly and then smiled again.

 

“I'm fine, Diana. You don't have any idea about what Frate was looking into?”

 

“No,” she answered. “He wouldn't say. He was paranoid, always suspicious. How did he know Dee?”

 

“I guess they grew up together,” Ryo said as he pulled his face out of her hold and stared down at the desk. “Dee talked about him sometimes. He ended up taking the criminal route, but the two of them were still friends. Dee called him a few times and they were supposed to get together when Frate got out of prison, but I don't think that happened.”

 

“Is there anywhere that Dee might have left something? That he might have maybe stashed something away?”

 

Ryo's eyes slid back up to hers and he shrugged.

 

“I've looked everywhere Diana. I haven't found anything.”

 

His voice was dull, empty, and Diana stared at him with open worry. Ryo blinked and then gave her that same small smile.

 

“I'm fine.”

 

 

Ryo stared at the computer screen as he skimmed through Thomas Frate's records. He read through the reports, smiling a little as he read a few case notes from Dee. Ryo always recognized Dee's notes even before he got to the name at the bottom, Dee wrote in the same way he talked. Ryo chuckled and continued to read.

 

Whatever Frate had been up to, something had gone wrong. Ryo skimmed down to his probation records.

 

“Koats Shipping and Receiving,” Ryo read and frowned.

 

Why did that sound familiar? Ryo wrote the name down and read through the rest of Frate's record. Nothing leapt out at him and he tiredly glanced at the clock. He still wanted to swing by Dee's place before he went home for the night, and he needed to pick up some groceries before Bikky started eating the plates. Ryo sighed and grabbed his coat.

 

 

Ryo sighed and lightly caressed the empty bed space next to him. His warm eyes were distant and half-lidded as he stared out into the darkness. Where was Dee?

 

All day he could distract himself, could busy himself with searching and working and taking care of Bikky and being responsible and being polite and a hundred thousand other things. But now…

 

He closed his eyes and pressed his hand to his chest. It felt like a weight was pressing down on him, like he was going to be crushed. The heaviness was going to slowly kill him, but he didn't want it to disappear. If it left, if he stopped feeling that cold pressure, then either Dee would be dead or Ryo would lose control. His hand tightened and he wished that Dee was there to kiss him and say something that would make him blush. He wanted to hold onto Dee, to protect him from everything, to make sure that he was safe.

 

In an hour or so Bikky would sneak out of his own room and climb into the large bed that Ryo and Dee had been sharing. The boy would curl up, determined to be there when Dee returned. Bikky didn't leave the house much anymore, and Ryo wondered what Bikky would do when Dee did finally show up again. It would either be an unexpected hug or well deserved pop to the jaw.

 

Ryo smiled; he wasn't sure which one he was rooting for.

 

Ryo's hand slid up to his eyes and his smile faltered. He should feel more than this. He should feel so much more than this. Why didn't he feel worse?

 

“Because I can't right now,” he whispered. “I'm not going to give in to this. I'm fine.”

 

 

The blaring phone jolted Ryo out of sleep and he groggily fumbled as he picked it up. Bikky grunted and curled up into a tighter ball next to him, a pillow wrapped in the boy's arms. Ryo glanced at him and then blearily stared at the clock as he pressed the receiver to his ear.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Ryo? Is this Ryo MacLean?”

 

“Yes,” he answered sleepily. “Who is this?”

 

“This is Mother Maria Lane, dear. I'm sorry to call you so early.”

 

“No, no,” Ryo said, completely awake now. “Please, Mother, don't worry about it. How can I help you?”

 

“Well I'm sorry to be doing this, but I'd like you to come down to the orphanage if you could. The officers that are here now just don't seem to be listening to a word I'm saying and I can't get a hold of Dee anywhere. Not that that's too surprising. With the way he took off this morning--”

 

“What?” Ryo interrupted her sharply. “You saw Dee this morning?”

 

“That's why I'm calling you,” she said. “I know how worried you are. I saw him Ryo. I saw Dee.”

 

 

Ryo climbed out of the car and surveyed the orphanage that loomed above him. After her first building had been destroyed in a land grabbing scheme, Mother Maria had been given a large cash bribe disguised as a donation to cover up the scandalous connection between the bombing and S Corp. Dee had called in every connection he had to get her the best deals available, and Ryo knew that a whole flock of former charges had done the same. While the building lacked the church like atmosphere of the orphanage Dee had grown up in, it did boast air conditioning, internet access, a pool, and a private gym.

 

The old woman bustled quickly to him and encircled him in one of the warm hugs she lavished on all of “her kids.” She smiled at him and gently patted his cheek.

 

“You look tired, Ryo.”

 

He smiled at her and nodded. “A bit, Mother.”

 

He glanced up and down the street at the cop cars parked in front of the orphanage. Their lights flashed and bounced against his breath as it clouded in the bitter cold. A couple of officers were milling back and forth and taking statements from the small crowd that had gathered.

 

“What happened here?” he asked.

 

“A shooting,” the Mother said as she shook her head. “Can you believe that? It's ridiculous.”

 

A shooting? Ryo's mouth thinned and he surveyed the scene a little closer, quickly picking out a few bullet marks in a nearby building. Someone had been shot at, and Mother Maria had seen Dee here. So maybe…

 

“I saw Dee early this morning,” Mother Maria said. “I was out here talking with our garbage man about collection times and I saw him come walking up that side street over there.”

 

Ryo followed her hand and winced. She was pointing to the bullet marked building.

 

“I think he was headed here,” she continued. “I started to wave to him, but then a car pulled out of the alley over there and roared past. The windows went down and they started shooting.”

 

“Was anyone hurt?”

 

She smiled at him and gently patted his cheek again.

 

“You've got such a warm soul, Ryo. No wonder Dee loves you so much. No one was hurt, not even him. He ran off and the car followed him. Dee knows this area pretty well, so I'd bet that he lost them in the maze of alleys back behind that warehouse,” she winked at him. “That's what I would have done anyway.”

 

“Thanks Mother.”

 

“Ryo,” she squeezed his hand with all the comfort she could muster. “Make sure to bring both of your monsters around to see me soon.”

 

“Alright,” he returned her smile with his tired one. “Thank you Mother.”

 

 

She hadn't been kidding about the alleys being a maze.

 

Ryo paced through them cautiously, his gun drawn and held at the ready, something about the quietness of the place getting to him. It was too empty, too still. He winced as he accidentally kicked an empty bottle and it clattered loudly in front of him.

 

Mother thought that Dee had been coming to the orphanage and from her statement, it sounded like the shooters had been waiting there for him. That meant they knew who he was and they knew about him. Ryo sighed. Adding two plus two told him that he shouldn't expect to see Dee in any of his usual hide outs. Whoever was after him might be waiting.

 

He peered around the next corner and frowned as something strangely familiar caught his eye. Ryo cautiously moved forward and then knelt down, gently fingering the smooth fabric of Dee's coat. He blinked quickly and felt his mind shutting all of his emotions off.

 

The jacket was covered in blood.

 

Ryo pulled his cell phone from his pocket and started to dial the precinct, his eyes distant as he stared down. A dull click sounded behind him and Ryo rolled sharply to his left, his instinct saving him as a bullet ricocheted loudly off the pavement he had just been kneeling on.

 

“NYPD!” he yelled as he scrambled behind a dumpster. “Hold your fire!”

 

“You think I care that you're a cop?” someone yelled back.

 

Ryo's mouth thinned irritably. Great. Things just kept getting better and better. A couple more shots bounced against the hard metal of the dumpster and Ryo winced at each loud pop. His hand tightened around the grip of his gun and he carefully peered around. He was in time to see a couple of shadowy figures disappear at the mouth of the alley. Ryo waited a moment longer and then sat down on the cold ground, raising the phone and finishing his call.

 

“Dispatch, this is Detective MacLean. I have shots fired at…”

 

 

Ryo ran a hand through his hair as he walked down the apartment building hallway. He needed to get a hold of himself; he had to stay strong, focused. He wasn't going to do anyone any good if he spent all of his time worrying over Dee. Ryo sighed and paused with one hand on his apartment door handle. If only he could get the image of Dee's bloodied jacket out of his head.

 

Jim was testing it now, checking to see if they had the donor on record. Donor. Ryo frowned and shook his head, that just didn't seem right. Whoever had bled on that jacket probably hadn't “donated” it willingly. His head bowed slightly as he tried to clear it. He needed to pull that smile back in place, he needed Bikky to know that everything was okay and was going to be okay. He was fine dammit, and that was it. His final word on the subject.

 

Ryo opened the apartment door and trudged inside, tugging at his tie as he walked. He paused and then rushed forward, crying out as he spotted Bikky lying motionless on the living room floor.

 

“Bikky!”

 

Ryo never saw the man with the baseball bat.

 

 

Rose drummed his fingers on his desk and stared at the heavy file in front of him. The lab results had just come in, it wasn't Laytner's blood, it was Frate's. Rose sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. Whatever had happened, Laytner had been there when Frate had died, but the Commissioner was no closer to understanding the situation now than he had been that morning. Everything was unconnected and drifted around him. The FBI reports shed no light on anything, and Ryo's investigation hadn't turned up any hints about where Laytner was hiding.

 

And now, with open attacks on the orphanage and on Ryo…

 

Rose's mouth thinned. Ryo MacLean. He sighed and closed his eyes. Ryo looked so tired lately, so distant, and Rose hated it. He couldn't even bring himself to flirt with the attractive detective. All he could do was stand by and be supportive, angrily cursing Laytner for making Ryo so upset. He was again surprised at the layers his lust seemed to possess. The phone rang abruptly and Rose answered as he glanced up at the clock. If this call wasn't quick, he'd be late for his dinner plans.

 

“Commissioner Rose, 27th Precinct,” his eyes narrowed and he slammed a fist down onto his desk. “Where the fuck have you been?”

 

Rose's eyes widened suddenly.

 

“What?”

 

 

Ryo's eyes opened slowly, his head pounding as light burned against his pupils. He was hot, so hot, his body felt like he was dying. He tried to sit up and his vision swam, tight ropes cutting into his wrists and ankles. Ryo winced and closed his eyes again, the heat closer now, a loud popping in his ears.

 

Ryo forced his eyes open and looked around, his breath catching in his throat. His apartment was on fire. Bikky lay unconscious next to him, the living room eerily flickering with firelight. Ryo grunted and tugged, but the restraints binding his wrists behind his back refused to loosen even a little. He looked frantically around and stared at the glass topped coffee table. He scooted down to it, his head throbbing as he tried to focus.

 

Ryo lifted his legs and gently rested them on the table, carefully making sure he knew where he was going to strike. He lifted them quickly and slammed his heels down hard. The table shuddered, but didn't break. Ryo's mouth thinned and he slammed his legs down again, and this time a spider thin network of cracks appeared in the glass. He gritted his teeth and kicked a third time, and now the table shattered apart.

 

Ryo squirmed around on the floor, his body scraping painfully through the glass until his fingers seized a long shard from the table top. He scraped it against the rope at his wrists and winced as he felt it cut deeply into his fingers. A long moment passed and he was suddenly certain that it wasn't going to cut, but then he heard a low twang. The rope began to loosen and he yanked his wrists free. He clawed at the rope around his ankles and then staggered to his feet, his head screaming from all of the movement. Ryo gently gathered Bikky into his arms. Bikky groaned and then cried out, clutching at his right arm as Ryo held him close.

 

“Shh, Bikky,” Ryo whispered. “It's alright. We're getting out of here.”

 

His vision was graying and clouding now, but he just shook his head and forced it aside. He stumbled to the door and wrenched it open, the first sounds of sirens beginning to reach him. He clung to Bikky and moved down the hall, bouncing wildly against the walls as he struggled to stay on his feet.

 

“Ryo!”

 

Ryo blinked thickly and shook his head as he tried to push aside the falling curtain of darkness. Rose rushed forward and quickly supported him, gently prying Bikky from his hold. Ryo slumped against him, his head resting heavily against Rose's shoulder as the Commissioner drug him out of the burning building.

 

 

“Ryo? Ryo, are you alright?”

 

Ryo stared at Rose as the Commissioner hovered over him, an EMT carefully loading Bikky into the large ambulance. Ryo's mouth dropped open and then he smiled and shook his head.

 

“I'm fine. I need to go with Bikky. I need to stay with him.”

 

Rose blinked, a small worried frown on his face, but he simply nodded and helped Ryo into the ambulance. The EMT yelled out the name of the hospital they were headed to, and Rose dimly thanked him.

 

Rose couldn't shake the dull emptiness in Ryo's eyes.