Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Dee ❯ Chapter 1

~AN~ This story is set not long after volume 7 of the manga. More details of the precise setting will be revealed in later chapters. Enjoy!

 

~ Disclaimer ~ I do not own FAKE, or any of it's characters - they belong to Sanami Matoh. I would not object to them being donated to me though. I also do not have a beta - these chaps are all me. You see a mistake, you NOTIFY me! Please!

 

 

 

 

“Another parcel bomb has been reported, Sir.” JJ nearly stumbled as he handed a file over to the commissioner. He awkwardly rubbed a hand over his eyes as Berkeley Rose inspected the document. There was silence for a moment.

 

“Give this to Detectives MacLean and Laytner. Ugh…” Berkeley rubbed two fingers over the bridge of his nose in an attempt to relieve his building headache. “If we don't solve this one soon the woman at the pharmacy is going to start thinking I have a crush on her with all my visits…”

 

JJ looked over at the commissioner in sympathy.

 

“Well, Ted is coming back tomorrow. One more person on the team is always good.” He smiled tightly. “I actually can't wait to give him some of the workload!”

 

Berkeley sighed, certain that he would feel sorry for the young detective, were he not so exhausted himself. “I've got bad news for you then, Adams. I have to remove one detective from your team for a special assignment, so he'll be the one handing over his share of the work.”

 

JJ's face fell.

 

“I'm reluctant to do it though. I feel that the current case is much more important, and his skills are required there. However, this other matter might explode in our faces later if it doesn't receive any attention now, and he's perfect for it.” Berkeley walked over to his desk to sit down on the edge. “Send MacLean around please? I'm not in a hurry.” He leaned back over his desk to reach for his glass of water as JJ slouched out of his office with a dejected `yes, Sir'.

 

With his office door now closed, he popped the last two painkillers out of their casing, threw his head back and swallowed. Maybe dating a pharmacist wasn't such a bad idea after all.

 

~$~

 

JJ crept into the office with a renewed smile on his face. Carefully stepping over the piles of paperwork strewn everywhere, he held out the tray filled with coffee cups to the nearest person. Dee looked up surprised, but his face settled into a grateful expression as he almost grabbed the cup from the tray.

 

“Hot damn, JJ! I swear you were sent by angels!” JJ's smile grew brighter at his comment. Dee glanced over at Ryo. “Now if only I could…”

 

Ryo interrupted him. “No, Dee. We have an agreement.”

 

JJ glared at Ryo as he held the tray out towards Drake, who smiled tiredly up at him. “What agreement?”

 

“I'm not allowed to smoke between breaks. He,” Dee gestured in Ryo's direction, “believes that I'm trying to skip work.”

 

“He's onto you, eh?”

 

Ryo snorted a laugh as Dee glared at Drake. “I do not `skip' work. I carefully plan my day around it so that we encounter each other the least possible amount of time.”

 

A bout of snickering followed his comment before Ryo timidly glanced around. Feeling offended, but not sure how to voice his concern, he kept quiet and continued sorting through the papers in front of him.

 

Dee was the first to notice. “Hey JJ? Where's Ryo's coffee?”

 

Ryo's cheeks flushed red.

 

Snapping his fingers as though he just remembered something, JJ scrambled up from where he was sitting and grabbed a file from the desk nearby. Somewhere in the investigation the detectives had migrated to the floor that offered them more space, and they were all currently situated around the room in Ryo and Dee's office.

 

“I forgot! I'm so sorry Sempai!” He clambered over to where Dee was sitting and dropped the papers in front of him. “I'm so tired, it slipped my mind - these are the papers for the newest report. It happened close-by according to the address. Jim is currently running tests on what the team they sent in gathered.” JJ sat down and sighed. “They're not even sending us out anymore. I feel so unloved.” He looked up with hopeful eyes at Dee.

 

“That's great and all JJ, but what about the coffee?”

 

Ryo snatched the file away from them. “Leave it Dee. I'm not bothered by it.” He flipped the file open and started to browse through it when JJ grabbed it back.

 

“Nuh-uh! You're off this case. Rose wants to see you in his office, and before you get mad at me for forgetting, he said he wasn't in a hurry. So there.” He pointedly stuck his nose in the air.

 

Ryo closed his mouth. He was indeed about to scold JJ for it.

 

Then the message sunk in.

 

“Off this case? What? Why?” Even Dee was looking skeptically at JJ, Drake and Marty just flat out glaring at Ryo.

 

“If you get to go home and rest I'll never, ever forgive you.” Marty picked up a bit of eraser and chucked it at Ryo's head.

 

Drake continued glaring at Ryo. “Same goes for me. This better be a difficult assignment, or I'm putting tacks on Rose's chair tomorrow.”

 

“I might end up doing that anyway,” Dee fumed. “I hope it's not one of his tricks to try getting into your pants, `cause heaven help him I'm the only one al-“

 

“DEE! Do you mind?” Ryo whacked him upside the head as a blush spread across his face. He had caught on to what his lover was planning to say, and it wasn't pleasing him in the least. “You make it sound as though I'm not here for my detective skills at all. I could swear I'm only here to uphold the image of this place!” He paced angrily out of the room.

 

“Wait! Ryo, that's not…!” Dee sighed a heavy sigh.

 

“I'll never treat you like that, you know? You're too gorgeous to be neglected like that!” JJ made to embrace Dee, but Marty grabbed his shirt collar.

 

“JJ,” there was a warning in his voice. “You know, Dee, you're only setting yourself up for heartbreak. You've been chasing after him so long it's gonna break you if he does say no in the end.”

 

Dee mulled the words over in his head. That wasn't the point, was it? Ryo hadn't said no. He just didn't want anyone to know just yet. They were waiting for Ryo's aunt and uncle to return to an area where they could be reached by phone to tell them first.

 

Well, technically not `first', since both Mother and Bikky knew.

 

And Carol.

 

Bikky never kept family matters to himself for long.

 

There was another reason why their co-workers weren't being let in on the secret. Ryo had commented off-handedly that they should let the boys figure this out by themselves. When Dee had reacted with a pout, Ryo had laughed at him and told him that were the two of them ever to be married, the position of best-man would belong to who-ever figured them out first.

 

They're detectives, he had said. Let them work for it.

 

Now, as much as Dee liked this idea (and the fact that that little comment nearly made him burst with joy), it was annoying practicing restraint. He WANTED to tell everyone, wanted to see their shocked faces as he told them that Ryo even spoke of MARRIAGE.

 

At least Ryo wasn't ashamed of them being together. Intimacy in public made him blush ten different degrees, but he wasn't jerking away anymore like he used to.

 

`Casually disentangle' would be a more appropriate description.

 

Dee grinned at that thought. “Naw. I think I'll try my luck with him.” There was nothing wrong with dropping hints, now, was there? “It hasn't let me down thus far.” He stood, stretched his legs painfully, gulped the last of his coffee down and crumpled the Styrofoam cup in his hand. With practiced ease he shot the deformed cup into the wastebasket.

 

“I'm gonna go find Ryo. Keep JJ out of my stuff?” with that he strode out he door, but even his confident step looked fatigued. A grumpy JJ stared after him.

 

“It's always about Ryo, isn't it?” His hair was ruffled from behind as a hand came into view.

 

“It's always about Dee, isn't it?” Drake threw his words back at him. JJ mock glared at Drake who smiled his knowing smile. Marty merely shook his head, thought of his wife waiting for him at home and picked up his file again.

 

~$~

 

Outside the commissioner's office Dee stood still, trying to catch a hint of the conversation going on within. Hushed voices drifted to his ears through the closed door, but he could not make out what was being said. Berkeley's voice became more easily recognizable as it grew in volume over time. Then the door was thrust open, hitting him squarely on the nose. Ryo stepped out, disappearing from view as he stalked off in the opposite direction.

 

~$~

 

“Sir?” The knock came discreetly. “JJ told me you wanted to see me?”

 

Rose pulled his glasses of his face and rubbed his neck. “He really took it to heart when I told him I wasn't in a hurry. I asked him to send you around more than half an hour ago. Sit down.” He gestured towards one of the vacant chairs in front of his desk.

 

Ryo tentatively stepped into the office, closing the door behind him. “What did JJ mean when he said that I'm off the case, Sir?” He settled into the plush chair.

 

Berkeley closed the file he was reading and slapped it down onto a growing pile to his left. “Exactly that. When Ted arrives tomorrow, I need you to hand over your share of the work to him. Fill him in on your theories, and pray that he does as good a job as you do.” He pulled a face. “I shudder when I think of going through that group's paperwork. Drake's the only one with nearly decent handwriting now.”

 

He took a moment to observe the detective sitting in front of his desk.

 

“Why don't you look half as tired as I feel? As far as I know, you and Laytner have been working on this case the longest - which means you've done most of the work this far…” Rose straightened up in his chair. “How do you do it? I KNOW you haven't been sleeping more than the others have. In fact, I can almost wager that you've had the least amount of shuteye these past few days.”

 

Ryo fidgeted under Rose's scrutiny and blushed slightly. “I have a… A routine that works for me…”

 

Yes, it has become a routine, hasn't it? A scented bath followed by a relaxing massage, served with two glasses of red wine and a side dish a la Dee.

 

“Oh?” Berkeley raised an eyebrow. “Do tell.”

 

Ryo dropped his head. “It's nothing big, Sir. Just some herbs my mother taught me to mix and add to a bath. I'm afraid the plants I've been cultivating for this purpose are suffering from slight shock though. They've never seen such regular abuse. But back to the matter at hand, Sir, what is so important that it couldn't wait for the other case?”

 

The blond man sighed. “A new drug ring. They're fairly new, but they're taking over by force. It's bad enough that even the big gangs are being cautious.” He wiggled a file out from under a stack. Ryo glanced at it suspiciously.

 

“A new gang? Surely we would have heard news of it?”

 

“No, I'm afraid not.” Ryo took the thin file the commissioner handed him. “That is all we know of them. They are discreet, MacLean, frightfully so. I have to warn you, this matter is as confidential as it gets. You cannot confide in anyone other than me, do you understand?” Ryo nodded as he scanned the file. “Even that will be limited.”

 

He took a deep breath.

 

Now came the hard part.

 

“I need you undercover on this assignment. This is a very complicated matter - one I am not quite sure how to handle. One of our informants from the Backpitch gang made his last call in earlier this week. He was running scared - the information he shared was quite shocking. You'll find the details in the file, second page.

 

“What we require of you is to be on the streets, to locate them or even just listen to rumors. In the miniscule chance that you are invited in, we need inside information. Something horribly illegal is going on, and we have people disappearing into thin air. That is the most frustrating part. Whoever is doing this isn't leaving any bodies or evidence behind.”

 

“So why are you so sure that it is a gang involved?” Ryo interrupted him.

 

“The drug routes. Fray - our informant - told us of quite a few. We have video footage of activity, but no evidence to shut the operation down. It seems we won't have to anymore now. If you look at the fourth page, you'll see a picture of a number of people. That was the last footage we picked up before the route died. And we suspect Fray dead.” Berkeley sat back in his chair. “Are you starting to see the dilemma?”

 

Ryo shook his head. “Not really, Sir. This seems more like a hunch to me than an actual case.”

 

Rose closed his eyes and sighed. “I'm not being very clear, am I? I think the fatigue is getting to me.” He sat up straight again.

 

“This case IS a hunch. But there is undoubtedly something going on, and it is dangerous. Dangerous enough to make Alicia Grant personally phone me. I believe the two of you have history together?”

 

This caught Ryo's attention. “She did?” he looked over the file again, skimming more thoroughly. “But why the secrecy? And why me?”

 

“Something this big can only be shushed out with some interference. They have to have someone within the force helping them out - and out of the bunch here, you are the least susceptible to any such an approach. There is also the case of your intelligence. You are by far the best educated detective in this station, and we need that diversity on this case.”

 

Berkeley slouched a little. “Know that I do not want you on this case Ryo. You are just the best suited for it. It is much too dangerous for my liking,” he looked Ryo in the eyes, “because you might be required to kill.”

 

Ryo's eyes grew wide. “Sir?”

 

“You will move out of your apartment as soon as possible. Find a reasonable excuse for extended leave, but tell no one of this case. I am aware that the other detectives know you are switching cases, but you cannot risk the details. You may tell them that you will be working undercover, but not where. I have a new identity and lodgings ready for you, including a day job downtown. More details are in the file.” Berkeley stood up and walked around the desk.

 

Ryo made to leave. “Dee isn't going to like this…”

 

“'Dee' isn't going to hear of this. You cannot have any contact with ANYONE other than me while on this case.”

 

Ryo frowned. “But…”

 

“Is there a problem?”

 

Ryo shrunk back. He couldn't very well tell his superior he was having a relationship with his partner, now could he? They could both be suspended! His almost black eyes swam with worry as he considered the new information. They hadn't thought about that, did they?

 

“Detective?”

 

How were they going to handle THIS hurdle?

 

“MacLean?”

 

What was he going to say to Dee?

 

“Ryo?”

 

Ryo started out of his thoughts, finding the commissioner's face inches away from his own. “Err, no Sir, there's no problem.” He inched back.

 

The commissioner stepped closer.

 

“Are you sure?” Rose angled his face closer to Ryo. “You looked lost there for a second.” His hand reached up to brush a stray strand of hair out of Ryo's face.

 

Ryo tried to move back again, but a hand behind his head stopped him.

 

Ryo's temper flared. Didn't he just march out of a room implying that THIS wasn't going to happen? Dee would never let him live it down!

 

So he roughly pushed Rose away as his lips started their descend, yanked the door open and practically ran out of the office.

 

This was going to be a long day.

 

~$~

 

Dee grabbed hold of the door as Ryo removed himself from view. Glancing into the office, he snorted a laugh before clutching his hand to his nose again as the pain ebbed a little stronger.

 

Berkeley Rose was sitting on the floor in a puddle of water, the discarded glass lying harmlessly on it's side from where it fell from the desk when Berkeley had clawed the air to gain a handhold. He was blinking stupidly as he processed the data of what had just happened.

 

He did NOT expect Ryo to react as he had. Perhaps his favorite detective was more worn out than he let on. He looked up sharply as he heard a snicker from the open doorway.

 

Dee laughed out loud when he saw that he had the commissioner's full attention. Carefully feeling his nose over, he hitched his hip against the framework of the door.

 

“Whatever you did, I'm sure you deserved much worse than that.” He paused for a second, then, almost as an afterthought, added “Sir.”

 

The blond man seethed on the inside as he stared up at the leering detective. Placing a hand on his desk, he hefted himself up. “I'm glad to see that you have so much free time on your hands that you can afford to go out of your way to insult me. I'm honored.” He walked back around his desk to pick up his glasses and perched them on his nose once again. “Next time, do not make it so obvious that you are attempting to eavesdrop on confidential information.”

 

Dee pushed away from the door to lean on Rose's desk instead. “So it's true then? Ryo really is off the case.”

 

Glaring over the top of his glasses, Berkeley stilled himself. “I would appreciate it if you could close the door behind you. Preferably with yourself on the OTHER side?” Sinking down into his chair, he picked up a new file.

 

Dee triumphantly strode over to the door. “As you wish.” The door was nearly closed before it was opened again, and a belated “Sir” floated in.

 

~$~

 

 

 

 

 

~AN~ I'm trying my hand at writing since I love reading so much. I might not update regularly, but I will finish this story. I hate it when a story is left dangling. I probably shouldn't complain eh? I hardly ever review. So I don't blame anyone if they don't review this - but it would be appreciated!

 

~Me~