Fake Fan Fiction ❯ FAKE in Love: Act VI, Prejudice and Lovers ❯ Chapter 6

Warnings and Disclaimers: Not Sanami Matoh, no right to FAKE. Boo. So sad and poor. And freakin' busy. Anyway, enjoy. Set in the timeline after (surprise surprise) FAKE in Love Act V. Much love to you all.

 

“Nice neighborhood,” Rose mumbled as the car rolled down the dingy streets.

 

“It used to be worse,” Dee said. “Things have started to look up around here in the last couple of years. Some businesses have been moving in and the community has started to take control again.”

 

Dee chuckled.

 

“Not that I'd want to wander around here alone after dark, and well, speaking of which,” Dee glanced over at Ryo with a small wince. “You might want to pull off that tie and make sure that your gun's full.”

 

Ryo scowled at him and Dee shrugged.

 

“Sorry, but you really look like a cop.”

 

“He's right,” Rose said flatly.

 

 

The bar was dark and full of smoke and quiet voices. Silence spread out abruptly as they entered and Dee glanced around before he sat down at the bar, Ryo and Rose quietly following. The bartender sidled down to them and gave them a skeptical look.

 

“What'll you have?”

 

“We're looking for Joe Kartol,” Rose said.

 

“Never heard of him,” the fat man answered. “What are you drinking?”

 

“We want Joe,” Dee growled darkly. “Stop pissing around.”

 

“Go to hell,” the bartender grunted. “Why in the hell should I tell you anything?”

 

There was a soft clunk and all turned to look as Ryo set his gun down on the bar. Dee had to bite back on a surprised look as Ryo tapped a finger on the barrel. His dark eyes flashed a warning and narrowed as he leaned forward.

 

“Do you want another reason?” Ryo said lowly.

 

The bartender licked his lips and glanced across the three of them again.

 

“He hasn't been in here for a few days,” he said finally.

 

“What number did he give you?” Dee said.

 

The bartender sighed and shook his head.

 

“That'll cost you.”

 

Rose chuckled and leaned forward until his lips were almost touching the bartender's ear. His voice was quiet, dark, and neither Ryo nor Dee could hear exactly what he said, but it definitely got the man's attention.

 

“I'll write it right down,” he murmured.

 

The bar door clicked open again and a tall man with platinum blonde hair entered.

 

“Cops!” the bartender bawled. “Move it Joe!”

 

“Shit!” Dee yelled.

 

The door slammed shut again as Joe Kartol ran back out.

 

“After him!” Rose snapped.

 

“We'll be back later,” Dee growled.

 

They sprinted out into the street and Dee cursed again as they caught sight of Silencer Joe climbing onto a motorcycle. They piled into the car and Ryo grabbed the radio as they roared down the street, siring blaring.

 

“Dispatch, this is Detective MacLean, car 15, we're in pursuit of a suspect, Joe Kartol. Suspect is currently driving a late model Harley Davidson we're--”

 

Ryo's voice cut out and he winced as the car skidded around a corner.

 

“Jesus Dee!” Ryo yelled. “Keep the car on the road!”

 

“He's turning!” Rose grunted.

 

“I can fucking see,” Dee snapped. “Tell them we're headed for the warehouse district, west side, try and get some uniforms out there to meet us.”

 

“Sure,” Ryo answered.

 

“Look out!” Rose said and his fingers dug into the car seat.

 

“Holy shit!” Dee screamed.

 

He spun the wheel hard and the tires squealed as they clung desperately, each trying not to be thrown around. The car twirled and Dee gritted his teeth as he tried to keep the vehicle under control. Silencer Joe was on foot now, his gun drawn as he fired at the car, his eyes narrowed and a small smile on his face. Ryo's eyes widened and he clung to the car door as loud gunshots echoed through the air. The car finally stopped and Ryo flung the door open, one hand unbuckling his seatbelt, the other drawing out his gun with a smooth fluid movement. He darted behind the car for cover and sighted up over it. Joe was gone.

 

“Dee?” Ryo called. “Rose? Are you okay?”

 

“Fine,” Dee muttered as he shakily pushed the car open. “What the hell is wrong with that idiot? We almost ran over him!”

 

“Nice driving,” Rose said sarcastically as he climbed out. “Where'd he go?”

 

“He took off down that alley,” Ryo said and stood up.

 

“You're bleeding,” Dee said.

 

“Hmm?”

 

Ryo brushed a hand up the side of his face and frowned at the thick red that stained his fingertips.

 

“How did that happen?” he said.

 

“He was shooting,” Rose said flatly and held Ryo's head still as he peered into his hair.

 

“Is it bad?” Dee asked anxiously.

 

“It just grazed him,” Rose answered. “Head wounds bleed a lot.”

 

“It's fine. He's getting away,” Ryo reminded them sharply as he wrenched out of Rose's hold. “Let's go!”

 

Ryo started down the alley without looking back at either of them. Rose glanced at Dee and Dee sighed.

 

“You want to try arguing with him?” Dee grumbled. “We better hurry.”

 

 

“Why do we always end up in warehouses?” Dee said softly. “I can't see for shit.”

 

“He's around here somewhere,” Ryo said. “We saw him come in here.”

 

“Where in the hell is our back-up?” Rose snapped angrily.

 

“You spend too much time in your office,” Dee said with a grin. “They never get here as fast as we need them. We don't have the budget for enough cops.”

 

“Keep up with your crappy arrest records and we won't get anymore,” Rose said irritably.

 

“Can we argue about money later?” Ryo said with annoyance. “I swear to god the two of you…”

 

He cut himself off and shook his head.

 

“I'm going left, Dee go right, sir wait here and cover the entrances.”

 

Dee and Rose stared at him and Ryo blankly looked back.

 

“Sounds like a plan,” Rose said finally. “I expect to see you both back here in five minutes.”

 

“Sure,” Dee grumbled and smiled at Ryo. “Be careful.”

 

“You too,” Ryo answered.

 

Ryo sprinted through the alley with an annoyed look on his face. He was now uncomfortably aware of the blood that was running down his face and it was sticky and warm. He wanted to just find this guy and get out of here.

 

“Holy shit!”

 

Dee's unmistakable voice echoed through the warehouse and was quickly followed by two gunshots. Ryo flinched and a quiet curse escaped him as his hand tightened on his gun.

 

“Laytner?” Rose called. “What happened?”

 

“Come out slowly,” Joe Kartol yelled. “Unless you want this idiot dead, move it.”

 

Ryo's mouth thinned and he crept quietly forward. He took his time and stayed as quiet as he could, blinking as he struggled to keep focused. Ryo knelt behind a few old crates and stared over them, his eyes narrowed and ready. Kartol had Dee kneeling on the floor, the barrel of his gun pressing into Dee's temple. His fingers were twisted in Dee's shirt collar and Dee had an irritable dangerous look on his face. Ryo sighed; he knew that look. Rose stepped silently into the small open circle his hands held high above his head.

 

“Just keep calm,” Rose said gently. “Just keep calm.”

 

“Where's the third one?” Joe asked flatly.

 

“You shot him already,” Dee growled. “He's waiting back at the car for our back-up.”

 

“Lucky him,” Joe said with a chuckle. “You, throw down your weapon, now.”

 

“Or what?”

 

“Or I shoot him.”

 

Rose stared blankly at Dee and shrugged.

 

“Go ahead.”

 

“WHAT?” Dee roared. “You prick!”

 

“Shoot him,” Rose said with another shrug. “Then I'll shoot you and I won't have to deal with that moron anymore.”

 

Joe stared at him with confusion and Dee was shaking with rage.

 

“You fucking asshole,” Dee growled. “I'm going to shoot you, you dick head!”

 

“That's hard to do without a gun,” Rose said as he crossed his arms. “Would you mind hurrying this up? I don't want to wait around here all day.”

 

“Goddammit,” Dee said. “That's it! I hate you!”

 

“I hate you too,” Rose answered in the same emotionless tone.

 

“You are such a bitch!”

 

“You're the dumb shit who managed to get himself caught.”

 

“You're the jackass who didn't back me up!”

 

“So?”

 

“So?” Dee yelled back. “Son of a…”

Dee wrenched free from Joe's hold and his fingers dug into the man's wrist. He jerked the gun away and flipped the killer to the ground, his fist slamming sharply into Joe's head. Joe grunted as Dee knelt on his back and yanked his hands down, quickly snapping a set of handcuffs in place.

 

“You're under arrest,” Dee said flatly. “You have the right to remain silent, you have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford an attorney one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights as I have given them to you?”

 

“Yes,” Joe said with a resigned sigh.

 

“Now that that's taken care of,” Dee growled and glared at Rose.

 

“What?” Rose said.

 

“You're dead.”

 

“Dee,” Ryo scrambled over the boxes and rushed to his side. “Are you alright?”

 

Dee's eyes narrowed at Rose but the Commissioner just stared back.

 

“Fine,” Dee said. “I'm fine. Let's get out of here.”

 

He hoisted Joe back to his feet, and held tightly to one elbow.

 

“You want to tell us who hired you?” Dee asked.

 

“Now what kind of hit man would I be if I gave that up?” Joe said with a laugh.

 

Suddenly his smile narrowed and he grinned at Dee. “Of course, what kind of hit man would I be if I let you haul me in so easily?”

 

Dee shoved him back sharply, but the killer had already drawn a gun from the back of his pants. Ryo's eyes widened with surprise and then Dee was ramming into him as they scrambled for cover. Joe was firing blind now as he started to run, his face cold and set as he sprinted along.

 

“Shit,” Rose cursed angrily. “He hit me in the arm.”

 

“He can't even see where in the hell he's shooting and he managed to get you,” Dee said with disgust.

 

“Shut up Detective,” Rose said lowly.

 

He started to say more but his words were cut off as a loud explosion suddenly ripped over them. Hot air slammed into them and all three closed their eyes tightly as a thick cloud of smoke began to descend upon them. Dee blinked and coughed, his throat burning as he struggled to his feet. Ryo was coughing next to him, his dark eyes clenched tightly shut as he leaned against the tall crates.

 

“What did he hit?” Dee choked out.

 

“Don't know,” Rose murmured between coughing spurts. “Get out, it's a chemical fire.”

 

They staggered through the long warehouse, their vision blurred and every breath painful. Ryo's head felt fuzzy and distant and a fresh stream of blood rushed down his face. He stumbled and Dee grabbed tightly onto his wrist, determined not to lose him in the smoky haze. They ran as best they could, their movements drunken and dazed as Rose finally kicked open a door and they collapsed in panting heaps outside. They sucked in the fresh air and rubbed frantically at their eyes.

 

“I can't breathe,” Ryo said finally.

 

Every breath burned and ached through them. Ryo leaned heavily against the warehouse wall and Dee squeezed a little at his arm.

 

“How's your head?” Dee asked hoarsely.

 

Ryo chuckled but it turned into a fit of coughs. Rose knelt down shakily in front of them and rubbed at his eyes a little.

 

“We need to get moving again, without the fire department here to control this, there's no telling what we're being exposed to now. The wind's picking up.”

 

Ryo blinked quickly and stared up at the sky the thick dark smoke rising up into the air.

 

“Shit,” he mumbled. “We need to start warning people to move out of here.”

 

“This area's pretty deserted,” Rose answered as he held out a hand to help pull Ryo to his feet. “There's not much here.”

 

Dee nodded and then suddenly froze.

 

“The orphanage,” he breathed.

 

Ryo's eyes widened and Dee scrambled to his feet.

 

“Wait, Dee!”

 

Ryo reached after him but Dee didn't even pause. Ryo struggled up and stumbled, Rose easily catching him.

 

“You've lost a lot of blood,” Rose said. “And inhaling all those chemicals didn't help either, calm down.”

 

Ryo coughed heavily and Rose continued to support him.

 

“Just breathe,” Rose said quietly as he started walking, Ryo leaning against him. “Come on. Let's put some distance between us and this thing.”

 

Ryo nodded and kept coughing, one eye tightly shut against the blood that was still running down his face. He should have done something about the wound earlier, he shouldn't have just ignored it. He panted for breath and squinted forward, a slightly satisfied smile suddenly darting across his face.

 

“Look who we have here,” Ryo grunted.

 

Joe Kartol was kneeling on the ground, his hands still cuffed behind his back as tears streamed down his face. He was coughing loudly and struggling to get back to his feet. Rose gently released Ryo, cautiously watching him for a moment to make sure that the detective could support himself. Rose walked forward and shoved Joe back to the ground as he knelt on his back.

 

“Guess what?” Rose said lowly. “You're still under arrest.”

 

“Goddammit,” Joe wheezed.

 

 

Dee ran down the street, his lungs burning with every breath. His vision kept blurring, and he shook his head as he kept moving. He pounded on the orphanage door, his raspy voice echoing flatly into the cold air.

 

“Sister! Sister! Open up!”

 

The door opened quickly and Sister Beatrice stared at him with an angry glare.

 

“What are you doing here?” she snapped.

 

“You've got to get the kids out,” Dee said as he struggled to breathe. “Chemical fire, in the warehouse…The fumes…they're head this way…Get the kids out.”

 

“What is this?” she said as she tried to force the door closed. “Leave here!”

 

“This isn't a game!” Dee roared as he shoved the door open, his voice fading in a torrent of coughs. “Kids! Kids! Get down here!”

 

“Hey, it's Dee,” a small voice said.

 

“Dee!”

 

“Dee, where've you been?”

 

“Get your coats,” he rasped. “We've got to get out of here right now. Make sure everyone's got something warm on.”

 

“Don't listen to him,” Sister Beatrice growled. “Go back to your chores!”

 

“Shut up!” Dee snapped at her. “Shut up now!”

 

She staggered back in surprise and Dee glared darkly at her.

 

“I'm not going to stand here while you put these children in danger. We're going!”

 

The children looked between Dee and Sister Beatrice, both staring at each other with unmasked anger and hatred. Dee's eyes narrowed and his voice dropped.

 

“Now.”

 

The children scattered and returned with coats and sweaters, Sister Beatrice staring at them with open rage.

 

“What is this?” she roared.

 

“Let's go,” Dee said and the children clustered around him as he threw open the door.

 

He led them out into the cold, his arms quickly filled with children as they climbed over him and clung to him. They were shivering, not from the cold but from fear. Dee was silent and had to focus all his energy on walking in a straight line. The air was soon filled with the sounds of sirens and a fire truck pulled to a halt in front of them.

 

“You must be Detective Laytner,” a fireman said as he hopped down and began to load the children onto the truck. “Your Commissioner said to come and pick you up. The smoke's headed this way, we've got to move.”

 

Dee nodded and helped him pick up the kids.

 

“You okay?” the fireman said with a concerned frown.

 

Dee shook his head but remained silent.

 

 

“Dee!” Mother Maria almost leapt out of her bed when he came in.

 

Ryo was seated at the foot of her bed, a warm smile on his face and a thick bandage wrapped tightly around his head. Dee smiled tiredly at Mother and leaned down so she could hug him before he turned and lightly kissed Ryo's check. Ryo blushed darkly but didn't pull away or shove Dee back.

 

“How are you feeling?” Dee asked, his voice still hoarse.

 

“Fine,” Ryo answered. “How are you?”

 

“Tired,” Dee said and gave them the small smile again. “Very tired.”

 

“What happened?” Mother said. “How are the children? How's the orphanage?”

 

“Everything's fine and so is everyone,” Dee said as he sat down. “They got the fire under control and the fumes dissipated before they reached the orphanage. The kids got a ride on a fire truck, but they're all back home now. I'll…I'll try and check in on them again tonight, to make sure they're okay.”

 

“I won't let you in,” Sister Beatrice said lowly from the door.

 

All three turned to look at her and she glared darkly at Dee. A pained look darted across his face and he instinctively wrapped his hand around Ryo's. Sister Beatrice's mouth thinned further.

 

“This isn't the time or the place,” Mother said quietly.

 

“You're blinded by your feelings for him,” Sister Beatrice said. “You can't see what he is. What he's going to do to those children.”

 

“What did you just say?”

 

They all looked up in surprise as Bikky stepped into the room, his eyes blazing angrily as he stared at Sister Beatrice.

 

“What did you just say?” he yelled again.

 

“Bikky, calm down,” Ryo said.

 

“No, I don't want to be calm,” Bikky said as he shook his head. “Did you hear what she said?”

 

“It's okay Biks,” Dee said softly.

 

“No it's not!” Bikky roared and spun angrily on Sister Beatrice. “No wonder they all hate you! I'd leave too! Dee is…He's always taken care of me, so you just shut up!”

 

“Bikky,” Ryo whispered.

 

Bikky glared at Sister Beatrice and shook his head.

 

“People like you make me sick. You don't know anything. You don't know anything at all!”

 

“Bikky,” Ryo said, his voice a little louder.

 

Bikky's eyes never left Sister Beatrice as he walked across the room and sat down on the bed next to Ryo. His hands laced quickly into Dee and Ryo's and a look of stubborn determination painted itself on his face. Sister Beatrice stared at them for a moment longer and then she turned on her heel and left. Bikky let out a satisfied grunt and then pulled his hands free and crossed his arms.

 

“How are you feeling Dad?”

 

“Er…fine,” Ryo answered.

 

“Are you coming home tonight? Because me and the guys are hungry and if you're not going to be there we need money for pizza.”

 

Ryo chuckled. “We'll be home.”

 

“Good.”

 

Mother Maria smiled suddenly and her eyes drifted warmly to Dee. She felt so happy for him, a family; just what he had always wanted. A long moment of silence passed and Dee sighed.

 

“Hey, Biks…thanks.”

 

Bikky stared at him and then shrugged.

 

“Don't worry about it pervert,” Bikky said as he leaned back. “I'm the only one allowed to give you shit anyway.”

 

 

Mother Maria Lane leaned back into her hospital bed and sighed, a far away look on her face as she stared out the window.

 

“You're sure about this Mother?”

 

The tall bishop next to her had a sad frown on his face as he looked at the old woman seated before him.

 

“Yes,” she said softly. “Sister Beatrice isn't cut out for this place, at least not yet. In a few years, maybe she'll be ready, but for now…”

 

A long moment of silence stretched out and the man fidgeted uncomfortably.

 

“She's leveled some serious accusations at you.”

 

“I don't doubt that,” Mother said with a chuckle. “I'm sure most are true. Decide what you want to do about them, but I don't want to leave her in charge.”

 

He sighed and shook his head.

 

“What are we going to do? You're a paragon of selflessness and love,” he said as he ran a hand through his hair. “We'll send you someone else, someone more suited to the work you do.”

 

“Thank you.”