Fake Fan Fiction ❯ FAKE in Love: Act XIV, Family and Forgiveness ❯ Chapter 7

Warnings and Disclaimers: Not Sanami Matoh. Not making a damn dime here. Yaoi involved kids. Set in the FAKE in Love Timeline…as if that wasn't obvious by now.

 

Dee smoked slowly as he circled the points on the map that he and Ryo suspected would be appealing to their killer. There were a lot of them. Dee sighed heavily. Too many of them.

“We need to narrow this down further,” Dee grumbled.

“I know,” Ryo agreed. “Pull up those old case files. Do you see anything that could be useful? `Cause I'm running out of parameters.”

Dee flipped through the pages. They'd been at this for hours now, the station bustling outside their office, but the atmosphere close and still around them. Dee didn't know how much longer he could do this before he needed a break. Ryo lifted his glasses and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. It was hard to explain to someone how exhausting paperwork could be if they didn't already understand.

“Alright,” Dee muttered. “Even when he stayed in the same city for a couple murders he never committed them in the same area. That could help.”

“We had one body,” Ryo said and circled an address on their scribbled up map. “Right here. So that would knock out these.”

Dee shifted a little in his seat. “It's a pretty big risk to take, Ryo.”

“I know,” Ryo said. “But we can't check everything here, not even if we had every cop in the city at our disposal. For now, let's follow the profile and we can branch out if we don't have any luck. So the FBI is staking out these four possibilities…”

Another quick flick with the marker.

“And we've got the Bronx Precinct looking here and the 18th over here, and the 21st is keeping watch here. So that just leaves the 27th with…shit, six options.”

“We're going to have to pull some guys in for this,” Dee said.

“We'll snag them from Juvenile and Records,” Ryo said. “They're always borrowing us, turn about is fair play.”

“You'd think it wouldn't be so damn hard to get manpower for a serial hunt,” Dee grumbled.

“If we had something solid it wouldn't be,” Ryo said. “But we've got the FBI working here so the city will push to have the Feds pay as much as possible. If we can at least get a glimpse of this guy the whole city will be screaming for the cops to do everything necessary to catch him. Right now most people are hoping he's already left.”

“Someone else's problem,” Dee said tiredly. “Alright. Let's set-up the stake-outs. I want to get out of this damn office and do something productive.”

 

“This sucks,” Dee spat.

“Good God are you really going to bitch all night?” Ryo asked tiredly.

“What?”

“First at the office now out here, come on Dee.”

“We've been sitting here for hours and we haven't seen anything. Where the fuck are our replacements? I want to go home.”

“Three more hours, then JJ and Drake are on shift and they'll take over for us.”

The atmosphere in the car tensed suddenly and Dee sighed.

“You think they'll work it out?”

Ryo was silent for a moment and he thought of the small smile on Tim's face just a couple of days ago.

“I hope so,” he said quietly.

Their radio crackled suddenly.

“Detectives Laytner and MacLean?”

Ryo picked up the handset.

“Go ahead.”

“We've got a possible sighting,” the voice crackled to them. “Kight's Hotel, the suspect just entered with a woman.”

“It fits the profile,” Dee said lowly and Ryo nodded.

“Hold your positions, keep an eye on everything. We're on our way, don't make a move without us.”

 

“You're sure he went this way?” Dee asked.

The young officer nodded nervously and Dee sighed.

“Calm down. You did fine. Get back downstairs and keep your eyes on the exits. Our back-up should be arriving any minute. Make sure they have all the info.”

“Yes sir.”

Ryo and Dee watched as he sprinted off and Ryo sighed.

“They're getting younger everyday.”

“Either that or we're getting older,” Dee chuckled.

“Well that's a comforting thought,” Ryo said wryly. “How do you want to run this?”

“I guess we should try by the book first.”

“Probably.”

Ryo knocked loudly at the door and glanced over at Dee.

“What do you want to do for dinner?”

“Don't you mean breakfast?”

“Yeah sure,” Ryo said with a pale smile. “I guess it's early enough for that.”

There was some shuffling inside and then a nervous clunk. Their eyes met and Ryo nodded. Dee pounded on the door.

“NYPD! Open up!”

A gunshot ripped through the air and the door exploded beneath the force of the shotgun blast.

“Holy shit!” Dee snapped as he rolled back. “NYPD you dumbass! That means don't fucking shoot!”

“Get the hell out of here or I won't be shooting at a door next time!” a thin voice answered them.

There was a loud scream then and Ryo gritted his teeth as he cautiously peaked around the door frame. It was their suspect, his thinning hair sticking out wildly as his eyes darted around the room, a heavy shotgun clutched in one hand. The woman he had entered with was wrapped up in his other beefy arm, the barrel of the gun pressed to her neck. Ryo's eyes narrowed and he glanced over at Dee.

“Dee,” he said softly. “It's Claire.”

Dee's eyes widened and he jerked his head out to look, cursing loudly as he slumped back against the wall. He shook his head angrily.

“Goddammit,” he hissed.

There just seemed to be too many damn coincidences in his life lately. Everything seemed to be happening at the exact worst possible moment. He bounced his head lightly against the wall.

“Shit,” he murmured and then his voice rose again. “Let the woman go and we can talk about your demands.”

“Yeah,” the man inside said wryly. “Because I'm that stupid.”

Dee scowled. “Then what the fuck do you expect us to do?”

“Get out of here! Let me go!”

Ryo's mouth thinned and his eyes locked with Dee's, their voices dropping to faint whispers.

“What are you planning out there?” the gunman yelled. “Don't think I won't kill her! That's what I brought her here for!”

“Yeah, no one's saying you're not a crazy bastard,” Dee answered. “Look, if you want to get out of here, you should think ahead a little more. A woman can get you out of the building, but a cop can get you out of the city or even the country.”

“You want me to trade her for you?” the guy asked flatly.

“It's an option,” Dee yelled.

“Dee, no!” Claire managed, her eyes wide with fear.

“Shut up Claire!” Dee snapped back.

“Oh, you know her,” the little man laughed. “This is rich indeed. You're the one she was looking for.”

“What?”

“How do you think I get them to come with me? It doesn't take much to make someone believe you can give them whatever they want. She was looking for someone, I told her I knew him, that I could arrange a meeting. It was ridiculously easy. I guess it's your fault that she's here now. How do you like that, huh?”

“You fucking little--”

“Dee,” Ryo warned. “He's trying to rile you up. Just keep calm.”

Dee gritted his teeth and nodded. Ryo was right. If he didn't keep his head, this whole situation would go from bad to worse.

“Wait a minute, are you the one I hit? You went down like a sack of bricks you pussy.”

“That fat…” Dee bit off the words and shook his head. “Maybe we should rethink our plan.”

“No,” Ryo said sternly. “Get to work.”

Dee sighed loudly.

“So what now?” Dee asked loudly. “You're not getting out of the building with her.”

There was a long moment of silence and Dee leaned against the hallway wall, waiting, his heart pounding in his ears.

“Alright,” the man inside said. “Her for you.”

There was another shotgun blast and Dee practically wrenched the door off its hinges. The man inside grinned at him, Claire still clutched in his arms, the gun back at her neck.

“Just a warning shot,” the man said. “Just so you know that I haven't forgotten how to fire.”

Dee glanced over at Ryo and their eyes met for an instant. Ryo nodded, his gun held in a steady hand as Dee slowly entered the room. The gun pressed harder into Claire's neck.

“Throw your gun on the bed,” the round man said. “Keep your hands where I can see them.”

Dee's jaw tensed and Claire's eyes stared pleadingly at him, her head shaking a little. He tried to give her his most confident look, a small smile slipping across his lips as he tossed his gun aside.

“Alright,” Dee said. “Here I am. Unarmed. Let her go.”

“Come a little closer.”

Dee sighed and took a couple more steps, his hands held out patiently. The other man stared at him and then tossed Claire aside, his hand snaking out to grab Dee's wrist. Dee grinned then and yanked him forward, careening hard to the side.

“Now Ryo!”

Ryo leaned into the doorway and fired with a sharpshooter's precision, the gun man howling with pain as he collapsed to the floor. Dee reached for the shotgun and then his eyes widened with surprise as the injured man grinned at him and pulled the trigger.

“Son of a bitch!” Dee yelled as the shot ripped into his leg.

“Dee!” Claire screamed and leapt across the room, the gun arcing towards her.

“Claire, no!” Dee roared, reaching for her.

The gunshot that followed was the most deafening sound Dee had ever heard. Then Ryo was next to him, his pistol against the shooter's head, the long gun wrenched away. Ryo glanced over at Dee, but his partner wasn't even looking anymore. He was gently cradling Claire's head in his lap, her breathing raspy and heavy as she stared up at him.

“What were you thinking?” Dee muttered.

“That I didn't want you to get shot,” Claire answered and smiled. “I think you owe me dinner after this.”

“I owe you dinner after saving your life?” Dee asked with disbelief.

“It's only fair.”

Sirens and yelling began to fill the air and Dee glanced over at the shattered door as a couple of officers appeared.

“It's about time!” he yelled. “Get a damn ambulance!”

 

Dee stared down at the bandage at the junction of his elbow, a thick piece of gauze held in place. He fingered it lightly and then sighed as Ryo sat down next to him.

“Yet another unbelievable coincidence,” Dee said softly.

Ryo smiled and held his hand as both glanced over to Claire, sleeping peacefully beneath a few strong sedatives.

“Lots of people have the same blood type,” Ryo said.

“Yeah,” Dee sighed. “But this happens to us all the time. Think about it. The doorbell or the phone rings every time we start doing anything, we've both been standing in just the right spot to get shot, Tim walks in at the worst possible moment…”

“We both became cops,” Ryo said quietly. “I transferred to the 27th just when you needed a partner, Bikky was our first case, I spotted Carol on that street…”

Ryo smiled at Dee.

“Our lives are nothing more than strings of coincidences, Dee.”

“The good and the bad,” Dee said softly.

“It's been mostly good,” Ryo said and Dee chuckled softly.

Silence filled the room again and Dee sighed once more. Ryo squeezed his hand.

“Now what?”

“I don't know.”

 

“I can't believe you're already back at work,” Drake said as he handed Dee a cup of coffee.

“What? This? This is nothing, I laugh at this pain.”

“Then it's alright to kick you?”

“Do it and I'll shoot you,” Dee warned with a low growl.

“You can tell Ryo had a couple of days without you,” Drake said. “Your office is immaculate.”

“Yeah, that won't last.”

“When are you guys coming for dinner? I swear Diana's about to rip my head off for all the delays.”

“Then we'll wait a couple more weeks.”

“Rat bastard.”

“Yup,” Dee said happily and then glanced around. “Where's your partner?”

“Around,” Drake said. “Probably on the roof again. I have to trek up there at least four times a day to retrieve him.”

Dee's mouth thinned.

“I see.”

 

“Dammit JJ, what is it with you and going up to the roof when you're depressed?” Dee asked as he wiped a hand across his face and thumped across the roof with a cane.

His leg was encased in bandages, the wound mostly superficial but particularly gruesome to look at. It was a little sore, but the doctors assured him it would heal with relatively little scarring. He didn't ask in relation to what.

“I got it from you,” JJ grumbled as Dee leaned next to him.

Dee was silent a moment and then chuckled.

“Yeah, I guess you did. So why are you up here?”

“Why do you think?” JJ snapped and then slumped lower.

“He's probably just been busy. He had a lot of things to take care of, but we solved the case,” Dee said. “Take him out to celebrate.”

“He won't answer his phone,” JJ said and wiped a hand up through his hair, deftly passing it over his eyes to flick away an escaping tear. “He won't talk to me at all. He won't even let me explain.”

“Then go to his place and camp out,” Dee said. “You don't give up JJ, trust me, I know.”

“I think he wants me to give up,” JJ said dully.

“Goddammit,” Dee growled. “That's not you at all. How long have we known each other JJ? In all that time have you ever stopped tackling me when the thought struck you?”

“No,” JJ said.

“What about after Tim asked you to?”

“Of course,” JJ said.

Dee was silent a moment and then shook his head.

“You know what? He doesn't deserve you. It was an accident, and if he's too damn stubborn to even hear that, then fuck him. You're too good for that JJ.”

“He's right.”

Both turned at the sound of Tim's voice and the FBI agent stared at them flatly.

“Detective Laytner, would you excuse us?”

Dee glanced over at JJ and JJ nodded a little.

“Alright,” Dee said. “Good luck.”

The stairwell doorway clicked shut and Tim sighed as he stared out over the city. He pulled his glasses off and loosened his tie.

“We need to talk,” he said finally.

JJ closed his eyes. Straight, gay, it didn't matter; those were not good words to start a conversation with.

“I'm sorry Jemmy,” Tim said. “I'm so…I just couldn't face you. Why do you love him?”

JJ started to deny it, but his breath caught and he shook his head slightly.

“I don't know,” JJ said sadly.

Tim slumped. He had wanted a denial, he had wanted Jemmy to tell him what a possessive bastard he was, that he had misunderstood everything. But he had come, and found Jemmy alone with Dee, both staring out over a hopelessly romantic cityscape, Jemmy so beautiful in the sunlight that Tim could feel it in the very palms of his hands. He wanted to touch Jemmy, to be sure he was real, but he just couldn't escape that blade of jealousy that sliced into him again.

“I think that some small part of me will always love him,” JJ said softly. “I know it's not fair. I know it's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth. There's always going to be some piece of me that wants him. But it…”

JJ shook his head. “It doesn't matter.”

He turned and tackled Tim, burying his face in Tim's neck, clinging tightly to him.

“I'm not letting go. I love you, I don't care what you do. I'm not giving up! I won't let you go, ever. You can't make me stop loving you!”

Suddenly Tim's arms were around him, holding him close, Tim clutching desperately at him.

“That's the first time you said it,” Tim murmured.

JJ blushed suddenly and Tim's arms became impossibly tighter.

“I love you too,” Tim whispered. “I love you Jemmy.”

 

“I'll be glad when your leg heals,” Ryo said as he set down the stack of files. “I'm sick having to run and get everything.”

“Speaking of which,” Dee said as he held up his empty coffee cup.

Ryo glared at him.

“You're enjoying this far too much.”

Dee chuckled as Ryo left, a soft knock cutting into the office.

“Come in,” Dee said lightly.

Claire Klarks stepped inside. Dee stared up at her in shock and then looked back down at his paperwork.

“Isn't it kind of early for you to be out of the hospital?” he asked flatly.

“I'm tired of being there,” she said quietly.

“So I guess you want your dinner.”

“No,” she said and set a business card on his desk. “That's my number and address. It's what I should have done in the first place. If you ever…maybe someday we can catch up.”

Dee stared at the card and nodded slightly. Claire sighed and glanced over at the empty desk across from Dee.

“He's more than just your partner, isn't he?”

Dee looked up, his eyes soft but challenging.

“Ryo? He's the love of my life.”

Claire smiled slightly and shook back some of her long dark hair.

“Good.”

She turned to leave and Dee flinched slightly.

“My family,” he said suddenly and she paused.

Dee sighed heavily, biting his lip for an instant as he struggled to organize his thoughts. He closed his eyes before he spoke again.

“When I was little I had this friend, Pete, he moved into the neighborhood with his mom and dad. I used to go to his house for dinner sometimes, and his mom would always bake cookies and give us hugs and tell us to drink our milk. I used to daydream that one day she'd come to the orphanage and tell me that I was really her son, that she hadn't given me up, I'd been taken away.”

Dee shook his head and took a deep breath.

“It was just a dumb dream, but for a long time, it was all I wanted. Then they moved away, and I was so angry that I couldn't even pretend that I was their son anymore. I guess a lot of kids make wishes like that, but it was a long time before I realized the truth. Most people get born into their families, I got to make mine. Mother and…Jess…Ryo and Bikky. I got to find them, and they had to find me. Do you know how lucky I am? These people chose to love me, they didn't have to. And I guess that's why…that's why I don't know what to say to you. I love them too much to forget about them.”

Claire shook her head. “I could never ask you to do that.”

She knelt before him, her hands resting on his knees as she stared into his eyes.

“They're your family, I understand. I have a family of my own, and I was just as lucky as you were to be found by them. I could never do that to them, and I would never expect you to. I just wanted to find you too, I want to choose to love you Dee. That's why I came. You don't have to give anything up to be my brother.”

Dee wiped away a few tears that were running down her face and she smiled at him before she embraced him tightly. He hugged her back, a little uncomfortable at first, but soon relaxing and happily holding her.

“So,” he said when they finally pulled apart. “You never said. Are you a big sister or a little sister?”

“I'm your big sister, you spoiled brat,” she said.

“Great, someone else to call me names.”