Fake Fan Fiction ❯ FAKE in Love: Act XIX, Goodnights and Goodbyes ❯ Chapter 5

Warning and Disclaimers: I'm not Sanami Matoh. I do not own FAKE. I am making no money off of this. Please sue me, I would really enjoy the chance to laugh in your face as I offer up the three pennies that I own outright. Fool.

 

 

Ryo had been eighteen when his parents died. An adult, at least in the legal sense of things, but he had never felt like more of a helpless child than he did when he stood by those dark graves. He wondered what it had been like for Dee, if his lover had felt just as lonely and abandoned as Ryo had. But Dee had known why Jess Latener had died, and he had known who had been behind it. He hadn't been left with the questions that Ryo had. And regardless of the truth, Dee's family had stood beside him. He hadn't been stained.

Ryo wondered if anyone had told Dee that his `father' was nothing but a good for nothing criminal that deserved to be shot in the back. He wondered if anyone had ever told Dee that dirt was in his veins, mixed in with his mixed blood, and he'd never be able to escape what he was meant to be. He wondered if anyone had called Dee the son of a criminal as he stood over Jess' grave.

Bitterness rushed through Ryo and he leaned against the kitchen counter as the thoughts rolled through him. Damn, he hated funerals. He couldn't seem to make them stop playing in his head, but things were getting mixed together. It was too easy to imagine his parents' caskets rolling along a field of blue clad officers, all saluting, all saying goodbye. Ryo rubbed at his temple.

“Goddammit,” he muttered.

Damn, he hated funerals.

“Hi-ho, Hi-ho, it's back to work we go,” Dee said chipperly as he entered the kitchen. “What's for breakfast?”

“Cereal,” Ryo answered. “We need to do some grocery shopping.”

“Fantastic,” Dee said as he stared down at the multi-colored sugar cubes floating in his bowl. “I love starting the day out with processed sugar.”

“I forgot to go shopping,” Ryo murmured absently.

“Hey,” Dee said, one hand gently catching Ryo's wrist as the brunette went for the coffee pot. “Don't do that.”

“Get coffee?” Ryo asked with a forced smile.

“Ryo.”

Ryo's smile softened and he shrugged.

“It's fine, Dee.”

Dee stared at him a moment longer and then released Ryo. His partner didn't deal well with death. Well, Jesus, who did? Dee's eyes slid over Ryo as his lover poured them each a cup of coffee and then returned to the table. Ryo would be absent minded for the next few days, he always was when something was bothering him. A flash of yesterday's funeral burst through Dee's mind and he leaned back in his chair a little.

“When do you want to write up a will?” Dee asked, his voice flat.

Ryo's eyes jerked to him and then fell away to stare down into his coffee. Ryo fidgeted with the cup a little and shrugged.

“I don't know.”

“It might make you feel better.”

“To think about dying?” Ryo snapped.

Dee's hand closed around Ryo's and squeezed lightly.

“It's okay,” Dee said. “You can tell me, Ryo.”

Ryo shook his head, but he didn't pull his hand away.

“I just…hate funerals.”

 

The work continued, as it always did, and Dee and Ryo were quickly swamped beneath a wave of files and cases. Organized Crime seemed just as over worked as Criminal Investigations, and Ryo began to get a sinking feeling in his stomach whenever he thought about returning to their office; just how much paperwork was going to be waiting for them?

“What's this?” Dee asked with a frown.

Ryo glanced over and a similar frown pulled his features.

“Isn't that a summary of the Mike Johnson shooting?” Ryo said.

“Yeah,” Dee answered. “But what's it doing here?”

“They ID'd a few of the suspicious characters that had been hanging around the scene,” McArthurs explained as she headed for her own desk. “They were known mafia soldiers.”

“What?” Dee said, his face darkening.

“Are they thinking this was a hit?” Ryo asked.

McArthurs shrugged. “We don't know. That's why the file's here. We're supposed to dig around a bit and see what we've got.”

Dee stared down at the file. Johnson's personnel file was attached and Dee vacantly flipped through it. Two sisters, a young wife, one accommodation for going above and beyond the call of duty (awarded posthumously), range certification for the last six months, an annual review pending…a man's whole career summed up in a few pages.

“Damn,” Dee said quietly.

 

“Hey,” Jamie Karlisle said as she peered into Rose's office. “You alone?”

Rose chuckled quietly and nodded as he slid a few files into his drawer.

“Come in,” he said.

The CSI smiled as she entered and propped herself on the corner of his desk.

“Are we going out to dinner tonight or are you going to run off to another press conference?”

“Hmm, I suppose that would depend,” Rose said, one hand lightly resting at her waist.

“On what?” she asked, a playful wariness in her voice.

“What do you plan to feed me?”

Jamie burst out laughing.

“God, how did you manage to pick up any girls before me? Your lines are terrible.”

Rose smiled roguishly.

“They worked well enough on you.”

“I'm forgiving,” she said. “Give me your keys. I'll pick something up and we can eat in tonight.”

“Where's your car?” Rose asked as he fished out his key ring.

“Shop,” Jamie said with a sigh. “Something's busted on it again.”

“You should buy a new one.”

“Yeah, when I'm making commissioner level money I'll think about it.”

There was a sharp rap at the door and Rose's hand immediately pulled away from Jamie as she quickly got to her feet.

“Come in,” Rose said sternly.

The door opened, Dee Laytner glanced between the two of them, and shook his head.

“Didn't anyone warn you about fraternizing in the workplace?” he asked dryly.

“That's highly amusing coming from you,” Rose said. “Just what do you want?”

“The Chief's looking for you,” Dee said. “And Ryo sent me up with a report. Apparently, they want to make an announcement this afternoon. There's evidence linking Johnson's death to the mob.”

Rose's face hardened and he held his hand out. Dee scowled but obediently handed the paperwork over. Jamie sighed dramatically and spun the keys on her finger.

“I guess this means dinner's off,” she said. “You owe me, Commish.”

“Mmm-hmm,” he answered distantly.

Jamie shook her head with annoyance and started for the door.

“I'll see you boys later,” she said. “Bye.”

“Goodbye,” Rose muttered.

“See ya, Jamie,” Dee said and boredly sat down on the corner of Rose's desk as the door closed. “So you let her drive your car, huh?”

“Hmm?” Rose said, still reading the file. “Oh. It's not so much let her as she doesn't give me much of a choice.”

Dee grinned and Rose looked up with narrowed eyes.

“What?” the Commissioner snapped.

“Nothing,” Dee said. “Just thinking how much fun it's going to be to tell everyone I know about this.”

“Go ahead,” Rose said darkly. “You want that transfer to Organized Crime to be permanent for you?”

“Jackass.”

“Dick.”

 

Chief Smith shook his head angrily as he slammed his hand onto his desk.

“It's a war,” he ground out. “They're starting a war with us.”

The detectives seated before him didn't answer, but most were thinking that they had been at war for a long time now. Smith's lips narrowed and he shook his head again.

“Or at least they're launching a new offensive,” he muttered.

A few nodded now; yes, that was more accurate.

“The bullet that killed Johnson has been matched to a weapon used in an unsolved case from last year,” Smith said quietly. “It was a mafia hit then, and it's a mafia hit now.”

Quiet murmurs filtered through the room and Smith sighed.

“It's going to get worse long before it gets better.”

 

“The NYPD will not back down in the face of threats,” Rose said. “This isn't a game for us, this is the law. We are here to protect and serve, and we intend to see that job done…”

Every word filtered out through countless televisions and radios and netted around the whole city. It may have been a silent war before, but both sides were ready to bring the fighting to light.

 

“I don't think they got the message yet.”

 

“So that's the latest word,” Ryo said. “Any word on how much longer we're going to be down with Organized Crime?”

Rose shook his head and closed the file that Ryo and Dee had brought him.

“How are your new recruits training in?”

“Pretty well,” Dee answered. “They're young, but they're eager.”

“Good,” Rose said. “I'll talk with the section chiefs and get you a date for the return transfer.”

All three glanced up as a quick knock sounded at the door and then Jamie leaned inside.

“Keys,” she said.

Rose sighed loudly and pulled his keys from his pocket.

“Honestly,” he said. “How much longer until your car is fixed?”

“I have no idea,” she answered sweetly. “If you hurry up we can ride home together.”

“Then give me my keys back,” Rose said.

“No. I like driving your car.”

Rose scowled as the door shut and Dee and Ryo both tried to keep from smiling.

“Anything else?” the Commissioner asked.

“No sir,” Ryo answered.

“Alright. Dismissed.”

The door shut behind them and Dee chuckled.

“Oh, Jamie just gave me ammunition to use against the bastard for the next three months.”

Ryo resisted the urge to roll his eyes as they headed downstairs.

“How nice for you,” he said.

A small mob was gathered around the central posting board and Dee frowned as he slid a cigarette between his lips.

“What's going on?”

“I don't know.”

Ryo snagged one of the young officers who had just left the board and pulled him to a stop.

“Hey, what's all this?” Ryo asked.

“Ride alongs,” the man answered. “They put up the schedule for our evaluations one week before they're supposed to happen. It's supposed to give you some time to prepare.”

“Ah, I guess it is that time of year,” Dee murmured as he lit his cigarette. “It's amazing how many kids they pick up right out of school.”

“Hmm, yeah,” Ryo said and frowned. “Didn't you join just out of the academy?”

“Yup,” Dee said and grinned. “You did too.”

“Yeah, but I'm not worried about my evaluation.”

“You little--”

“Oh crap!” one of the officers suddenly yelled. “I've got Rose.”

Dee snorted laughter, but Ryo's frown darkened. He pushed a little closer to the board and scanned the notices.

“Excuse me,” he said to no one in particular. “Why is Commissioner Rose conducting evaluations?”

“The higher ups are short handed, sir,” someone volunteered.

“Yeah, Rose picks up a few of the ride alongs every month,” another officer explained. “Apparently, he's a real pain in the ass to get.”

Snorted laughter escaped at that.

“Hmm,” Ryo said and flipped through a few of the sheets. “There are a lot of ride alongs scheduled for this week.”

“Yes sir, they got behind because of the funeral,” the uniform next to Ryo said, and a moment of uncomfortable silence filled the room.

“Mike was up for an eval,” someone else murmured.

“At least he got out of that.”

There was some strained laughter at the anonymous comment, but now Ryo's frown was darkening. He flipped back a few sheets further in the schedule and suddenly froze.

Berkeley Rose had been scheduled to ride along with Mike Johnson on the night the officer was shot.

 

“It's probably just coincidence,” Dee said as they climbed back into the elevator.

“Probably,” Ryo said. “But we should still look into it.”

“Why did Rose back out?” Dee asked.

“The post didn't say,” Ryo said. “His name was just crossed off with a `reschedule' notice attached. It was changed the day before the shooting.”

“They said that the things go up a week before the evaluation,” Dee said thoughtfully. “Someone could have checked it days before and then not seen that Rose cancelled at the last minute.”

“That's what I'm thinking,” Ryo agreed.

“Why didn't we hear anything about this before?” Dee muttered as he flipped open their file on Johnson's shooting.

Suddenly, Dee ground his teeth together and shook his head.

“Goddammit, it's right here in the fucking file,” Dee said angrily. “I must have read it three hundred times and it never registered.”

“Same here,” Ryo said. “Let's just get upstairs and talk to Rose.”

 

Dee knocked for the second time and then tried the handle.

“Locked,” he said. “He must have left for the day.”

Ryo sighed and pulled out his cell phone.

“Why can't it ever be easy?” he muttered as he dialed Rose's number.

The phone rang loudly in his ear and Ryo leaned against the wall next to Dee, the dark haired detective smoking again.

“You know, if Rose catches you doing that outside of his office, he's going to put that cigarette out on your arm,” Ryo said.

“I do not fear him,” Dee said dramatically. “I've got a lighter, dammit.”

Ryo smiled and then suddenly stood up a little straighter.

“Sir? It's Ryo.”

“If he hits on you, I want you to hang up the phone,” Dee said.

Ryo shot him an annoyed look and shifted the cell to his other ear.

“I'm calling because we've got some new evidence in the Johnson case,” Ryo said. “Were you supposed to be with Mike that night, sir?”

Ryo frowned.

“Sir, you're breaking up. Sir? Did you hear me? Where are you, sir?”

 

Rose frowned as he stared down at his phone. The damned parking garage just didn't help phone communication.

“I'll speak to you tomorrow,” Rose said. “Good night, Ryo.”

Rose flipped the phone closed and glanced around. He'd parked right around here.

“Over here,” Jamie yelled as she unlocked the driver's side door to his car and slid inside.

“Ah, come on,” Rose answered. “I'm here. I can drive.”

Jamie's eyes flashed at him mischievously as she leaned against the wheel.

“But you do know how much I like to drive.”

Rose was amazed that his cheeks flushed. That damned Karlisle. Jamie chuckled darkly and turned the key.

“Just where do you plan to take my car?” Rose called.

“Wherever--”

The explosion cut off whatever she had meant to say next.