Fake Fan Fiction ❯ From the Ashes (Series: What If, Story 1: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust Trilogy) ❯ Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own FAKE or Sanami Matoh's wonderful characters.

Rating: NC-17 OT+16 (Yaoi, Violence, Arson, Character Death)
Pairings: J.J./Drake
Timeframe: Approximately 2005
Series: What If?

Series Summary: The 'What If' is an alternate universe series where I explore various alternatives to the standard story. These can range from character deaths to characters never coming to the 27th in the first place. In other stories, I may deal with changing emotions in relationships and the affects they might have on those relationships. So far, my Dee-muse has been the main inspiration for these stories; so, blame him if you don't like them. ~_^* Whatever else he is, he's very creative and sadistic.


Trilogy: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

Story 1: From the Ashes

Warning: Character Death!

Summary: An arsonist has targeted the men and women of the 27th Precinct, how will they deal with the death of one of their own and the horrific burning of another. Can the survivors push forward and prevent additional tragedy? Or will everyone's dreams go up in flames?

 

 

Chapter 3

 

“Chief,” Drake called. “We couldn't find you. Where are you going?”

 

“To recovery.” The chief swallowed hard. “Berkley made it through surgery. I'll update everyone after we see him.” He looked at Ryo; he was amazed the young man was still on his feet and functional. “How are you holding up, Ryo?”

 

“I don't know. Ted told you about the second .357 found at the scene?” Ryo nodded along with the chief. “I want to see it. Dee didn't own a second .357; it couldn't have been his.”

 

“It's not what Dillon used to shoot the commissioner, either.”

 

Ryo thought for a minute. “Of course not, he would have bled out. At least, he probably would have bled out.” He seemed to fall into his thoughts again.

 

“This is recovery. You can only enter in pairs, at most.” The doctor watched the men's faces. She wasn't surprised that Diana wasn't in the group. She waved over a nurse. “Nurse Benson will assist you with gowns, masks, and gloves. Remember, the risk of infection is very high in burn patients.”

 

“We understand,” J.J. said as he stepped up to the nurse. “I've come this far. I want to see him. Even if he can't hear me, I want him to know he's not alone.”

 

The chief silently stepped over to the nurse. He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle seeing the commissioner; but, just in case the commissioner didn't make it, he owed it to him to see him one last time.

 

Doctor Hughes looked at the other men. She didn't think any more of them would enter recovery and was shocked when the chestnut-haired man stepped over. His eyes were blood shot and he seemed to have been crying for a long time. “You want to see him, as well?”

 

“Yes, he deserves that much. He was injured trying to save my partner,” Ryo said as he swiped a tear away from the corner of his eye.

 

“Okay. Since there are only three of you, I'll let you all go in at the same time.” She didn't think teary-eyed cop could handle going in alone.

 

The nurse had all three men ensconced in gowns, masks, and gloves in a matter of minutes and the small group went into recovery. Most of the beds were filled, attesting to the quantity of people who came through. One corner of the ward was sectioned off, completely enclosed in glass, gently waving plastic sheeting covering the entrance.

 

“The burn recovery section is under positive pressure. Literally, the air pressure inside is slightly higher than the surrounding spaces. This forces air out of the room. The air inside is filtered; so, airborne bacteria and viruses are less likely to get in. When we move him, we'll use a cover over his bed which will give similar protection.” The doctor explained.

 

“That makes sense,” Ryo said. He walked up to the window into the room and had to look away when he saw whom he assumed was the commissioner. There was only one patient in the room; so, there was little chance he was wrong. “He's nothing but bandages.”

 

The other two men stepped to either side. “He was in bad shape, Ryo,” J.J. said as he touched Ryo's back. “The bandages make sense.”

 

“Come inside,” Doctor Hughes said from the doorway. The three men walked to her and entered the room. “He's sedated. He probably won't regain consciousness right away. The amount of pain medication he's on could cause him to enter a coma. That's not unusual after extensive surgery and debridement.”

 

“Can he hear us?” J.J.'s question caused the other two men to look from Berkley to the doctor and back again.

 

“There are two schools of thought on that. One teaches that coma patients can't see, hear, feel, smell, or taste anything. They don't dream or think. The school of thought I come from is that they can at least sense when people are there. I've heard of too many patients who wake up and know people sat with them, sometimes even knowing who the people were, what they read, when music was playing, and even more.” She sighed softly. “I never discourage anyone from trying to comfort one of my patients. Even if they can't sense your presence, the power of touch and touch therapy has been clearly demonstrated.”

 

J.J. nodded and went to Berkley's right side. He forced himself to look at the heavily bandaged face. In his heart, he knew it was Berkley; but, if he hadn't been directed to this bed, he would never have known who was hidden under the bandages. “Berkley,” He whispered. He pulled a rolling stool over to the side of the bed and picked up the injured man's right hand, taking care not to dislodge any of the tubes running to the needles in his arm. “The whole precinct's pulling for you.” He glanced at the chief and thought to what he'd told the commissioner earlier about Diana Spacey. “Diana's on her way. Just like I told you before in the ER. She'll be here.” He fell silent as the chief and Ryo walked over.

 

Ryo shivered and stood silently. He didn't know what to say and realized with a start, that he might never know what to say. “I should be the one laying there. You proved to me how cowardly I really am.” He turned around and left the clean room, then recovery. In the hallway, the nurse barely had time to gather the gown, mask, and gloves from him before he ran down the hallway to the men's room.

 

“He's in bad shape,” The chief said, stating the obvious.

 

“Sir?” J.J. asked as he glanced at the chief. “It's okay. I'll visit him.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

“Check on Ryo,” J.J. prompted with a nod, before returning his attention to Berkley.

 

The chief sighed in relief and escaped from the sterile room. After returning the protective gear to the nurse, he glanced at Ted who nodded down the hall. “Men's room?” He whispered.

 

“Yeah. Drake went after him.”

 

“Good. Where's Marty?”

 

Ted went to one of the hard-plastic chairs lining the walls and sat down. “His wife came and got him. He was exhausted. Remember, he pulled a double yesterday, slept a few hours at the precinct, then came when we needed backup.”

 

“That's right. I'd forgot.” The chief settled in the chair opposite Ted. “How can he survive?” He sighed. “Would it be better if he didn't?”

 

“I don't know.”

 

The chief wasn't sure which question Ted was answering. “What else had CSU come up with?”

 

Ted opened his notebook. “You already know about the second .357. The last update from CSU was that the serial would be able to be raised. The hazmat fire crew leader said that he'll have a report by noon today. He gave a preliminary report talking about the method of starting the fire, the triggering methods, as well as specifics about the type of chemicals involved.” Ted scratched his forehead. “He mentioned something special about the triggering methods. The initial trigger was set using a pressure sensor on the doorway. When Dillon went into that warehouse, he started the fire, probably by slamming the door.”

 

“The door was sealed after Dee went inside.” The chief remembered when they reached the scene; the door was closed. “Berkley had to use a lot of force to get inside. The door was either locked or somehow barred.”

 

“The crew leader said he was investigating that. He theorized there was a sensor on the hinges or something. Evidently, the foam they use neutralizes the chemicals. After several hours, they can wash it away with water and you end up with a safe scene. We can move CSU back in as soon as they've gotten rid of the foam.”

 

“Good,” The chief sounded tired; but, his anger was keeping him moving. “We need to find out everything we possibly can about this fire and any additional plans Dillon had.”

 

“Yeah, speaking of Dillon,” Ted frowned as he spoke. “According to his file, after his sentencing hearing, he threatened Commissioner Rose as he was being led out of the courtroom. The threat literally said that he would kill the commissioner, detective then, and anyone connected to him. I contacted the prison to see if there was anything in his file that would help determine his movements since he's been out. Unfortunately, it's a juvenile record and the state tries to keep everything sealed, even from us.”

 

“I'll talk to the DA. We lost a detective to this son of a bitch. They can give us the records regardless of the stupidity of him being a kid. He's a murderer and he's dead. I don't think he's going to sue the state for brief of confidentiality.”

 

Ted gave a single sarcastic chuckle. “Depends on how liberal,” He coughed into his hand, “Criminal loving, the DA is. I don't know about this new one. The old one we could count on to go after a cop-killer. This one, heck, she's let off three rapists and two murderers already.”

 

“We'll find a way.”

 

“Okay. One of the CSU picked up a fireproof box. The bomb and arson squads have been going over it. Hopefully, they'll have something on it this afternoon. It's top priority.” Ted flipped to the next page. “There were a variety of other things bagged as evidence. It appeared someone was living in the warehouse office for quite a while. We're trying to run ownership records. What we know so far, the warehouse has a very large state tax lien on it. It's possible the state owns it now.” He leaned back and looked at the notepad a moment. “If it was abandoned, it would be nice to know how long it's been abandoned as well as how often the property was checked.”

 

Both men looked up as Drake came down the hallway.

 

“Is he holding up?” The chief asked quietly.

 

“He keeps saying it should be him in that hospital bed, not the commissioner.” Drake went to the nurses' station and grab a couple of tissues to blow his nose. “He's also berating himself for not calling their son earlier. He called Bikky just now. The kid had found out through the news. It was all over the big cable channels.”

 

“What? We never issued a press release.”

 

“One Police Plaza did. The reported the incident as well as the loss of a detective and even released the name. I guess they didn't think familial notification was necessary. Ryo had me call Sister Lane. She said she knew something happened even before the news report.” Drake paused and settled on the edge of a chair. “Sir, if this Dillon is as careful with his research as he is about setting fires, it's possible he knows where all of us live. He might even know about Dee's connection to the orphanage. Heck, if he's read the newspaper, he would know about the precinct's relationship with the orphanage. Our sponsorship program is a wonderful help for Mother Lane and the kids; but, if that bastard is targeting anyone attached to the commissioner, you have to include anyone and anything attached to the precinct.”

 

“I'll contact Mother Lane and give them police protection. 27th's homicide is only dealing with one case until further notice, hand off everything else to other departments. SVU is light right now. I'm not sure about the other departments. This takes first priority. If Dillon is targeting all of us, we need to find out if there was an accomplice or if this is the end of it.” The chief shook his head and struggled to keep his eyes open.

 

“We need to get some rest if we're going to get anything finished.” Ted's common sense statement drew nods from the chief and Drake.

 

“Where's J.J.?” Drake asked.

 

“He's still in with the commissioner,” The chief answered.

 

“I don't know how he's handling this.”

 

“He's handling it better than any of us. So far, at least,” The chief admitted. “I sent him with Rose because of their past. Now, I realize I made an excellent choice. He understands this stuff and he's very good with Rose. I hope this doesn't interfere with your relationship.”

 

“It won't. They parted as friends. J.J.'s doing what any friend would do. If he has any problems, I'll be there for him.”

 

Ted nodded. “The entire precinct will be there for him. I'm not sure how many of us will be able to look at the commissioner. What did the doctor say?”

 

The chief took a deep breath and gave them an abbreviated update on Rose's condition. When he'd finished, two sets of stunned looks stared back at him. “That's all we know so far. He might still lose his legs and right now, they think he's going to be blind.”

 

“Damn,” Ted said as he looked at the floor. “I guess we lost two people today. There's no way the commissioner can come back from that. Maybe as a cripple but blind?” He shook his head.

 

“That's going to be hard on him. Where's Agent Spacey? I would have thought she'd have gotten here by now.” Drake looked at the chief. “Have you heard back from her?”

 

“She's here,” The chief said as he looked away from his detectives. “She met us in the observation room where J.J. was waiting while Rose was being operated on. I don't think she's handling this very well.”

 

J.J. came out, handed in the gown, mask, and gloves, and sat down heavily in the chair next to Drake. He sighed as Drake's arms closed around him. “She isn't handling it well. I can't believe she wouldn't even go in to see Berkley. I know she's into looks, just look who she's hit on: Dee, Ryo, Drake, Berkley, Ted, me.”

 

“Are you saying I'm not good-looking?” The chief growled out.

 

“I don't think she's worked with you, Sir,” J.J. said as a way of mollifying his irate boss. “Otherwise, I'm sure she'd hit on you, too. Or maybe she wouldn't. You are happily married.”

 

“Yeah,” The chief said as he got a sappy look on his face.

 

“Good save,” Drake whispered into J.J.'s ear.

 

“I hope she'll at least support Berkley during his recovery.” He looked at the floor, exhaustion seeping into his frame and drawing his usually energetic personality down. “Don't worry, I'll talk with her. It might be that she feels overwhelmed. Do we know where she's staying tonight?”

 

The other three guys shook their heads.

 

“Maybe we should ask her to stay with us, Drake.”

 

“I'll have her stay with Margaret and me,” Ted offered.

 

“Also, I don't think Ryo should be left alone,” Drake said softly. “Remember his son's at college. I doubt he'll be able to fly in before tomorrow.”

 

“Ryo can stay with us. Or we'll sleep on his floor. I don't care which,” J.J. said with conviction.

 

“That's settled,” The chief started. “Let's plan on reconvening at the precinct at,” He checked his watch, “At one. That should give us time to get a few hours of sleep.” “And begin dealing with what's happened,” He added silently. “I can't wait to get home. I want to hug my wife.”

 

The trio left recovery. Drake and J.J. went to get Ryo. They found him in a ball on the bathroom floor. “Let's go, Ryo.”

 

“J.J.?” Ryo asked with a confused look in his eyes. “Where are we going?”

 

“To our house.”

 

“Good. I don't want to go home to an empty apartment,” Ryo whispered.

 

Drake just nodded and helped the young detective to his feet.

 

Ted finally found Diana Spacey in the cafeteria. She had a huge tray of empty food dishes in front of her and a blank look on her face. “Agent Spacey.”

 

For a moment, Diana looked confused. “Oh, Detective Spencer.”

 

“Just Ted,” He said as he sat down. “Do you have a place to stay? If you haven't made arrangements, you can stay with my wife and me.”

 

“No, that's okay. I stay with Berkley when I'm in the city. I'll stay at his house.” She stared at the table for moment. “Maybe.”

 

“If you're not sure, stay with us.”

 

“No, I have clothes at his place. I'll stay there.” Diana looked at Ted. “Did you see him?”

 

Ted shook his head. “No, I couldn't go in. I was burned as a child. I don't know how I would react and I don't want to make things worse.”

 

Agent Spacey nodded. “If he's a monster, scarred and crippled and blind, I don't think he'd want to live like that. I know I couldn't live like that.” She looked away. “I couldn't live with someone like that,” She whispered so low Ted could barely hear.

 

“Don't give up on him. The commissioner's strong. He'll make it.”

 

“Is that a good thing?” She thought. “Well, I need to get out of here. I want a shower and a change of clothes.”

 

“Aren't you going to at least find out if he's been moved out of recovery?”

 

“Why? If something happens, they'll notify me. My information is in their computers and my cell is on.” She stood and gave Ted a strange look. “I need to get out of here.”

 

“Okay, Agent Spacey. If we can do anything to help, please let us know.” Ted stood as well and watched as Diana walked away. He sighed and realized things were starting to look bleak for the commissioner. “They'll look a lot worse for the entire precinct if this Dillon character was gunning for all of us. We might all have targets painted on our chests.” He hurried out and flagged a cab. He knew he could have called for a car or had his wife come get him; but, he figured the crazy yellow vehicle would get him there more quickly.

 

~~~~~

 

“What do you mean the report isn't ready? You promised to have it to us by noon!” The chief screamed at his speakerphone.

 

“It's more complicated than expected.” The fire investigator sighed loudly. “I'll bring over what I've got. There's going to be more.”

 

“Fine. In my conference room at three,” The chief bit off another irritated insult. “My investigators will be here.” He hit the button to hang up the call. “I don't need this shit.” He left his office and headed directly to Ted and Marty's office. “We've got a meeting at three in the conference room. The fire investigator will be there. My guess is he'll bring his team. Guess things are more complicated than he thought they were.”

 

Ted looked up and nodded. “Tell me something I don't know, Chief. We've got the train of ownership for the warehouse.” He opened the pertinent folder. “Here's what we've got. The warehouse belongs to the government and was used by the military.”

 

“We were using it to stockpile chemical weapons?” The chief asked. He was shocked at the possibility the federal government had chemical weapons; even worse that they had them on American soil. “I'm not into conspiracy theories. Tell me I'm wrong.”

 

“Yeah. You're wrong. I used the past tense there. The warehouse still belongs to the government; but, it hasn't been used by the military for close to two decades. The last person in charge of the facility was Wayne Dillon.”

 

“Huh?” The chief scoffed. “That little asshole wasn't that old.”

 

“Wayne Dillon, Senior. He was an explosives expert with the military.”

 

“Dillon was a junior?”

 

Ted nodded his head.

 

Marty picked up. “We have some more information on the father. Much of his file is restricted and even what's available is mostly blacked out. What's interesting in what hasn't been blacked out. It's enough to piece together what type of jobs this guy did. He went into the military in 1965 and pulled six tours in Vietnam. He worked with Agent Orange, explosives such as river mining, and had a tour with the CIA.” He turned the page. “Look at this,” He said as he pushed a page to the chief. “The last paragraph, he was heavily decorated through out his career until 1990.”

 

“A few years before he was killed in the fire.” The chief read the entire report. “According to this he was probably going to be court marshaled.”

 

“That's not all.” Marty pushed another page over. “It looks like he was stealing from the military. From this inventory list, he'd stolen everything from chemical and biological weapons to high-end explosives, weapons, ammunition, uniforms, vehicles, pretty much anything he thought he could get away with.”

 

“The apple doesn't fall from the tree.” The chief looked over the inventory of theft charges. “I can't believe this list. This is nuts. Any idea where he'd stored it all?”

 

“I might have an answer to that,” J.J. said from the doorway. “Ryo found this on the internet this morning. He couldn't sleep and ended up doing searches on the Dillon family. Check this out.” He laid a stack of print outs in front of the chief. “They have property in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Michigan. The father and son had various arrests for illegal use of explosives in all three states. Ryo is still searching for more locations. We suspect Dillon was using one of these haunts for testing his trap.”

 

“Would he have needed to test things?” The chief asked as he glanced at the young detective.

 

“Yeah.” J.J. unrolled a large printout on the desk. “Look at this. Drake, Ryo, and I tried laying out everything we could remember from the warehouse. This is the best we could come up with. We're hoping you guys saw something we missed and can fill in the blanks. I want one of the arson investigators to look at it. Ryo also suggested we bring in a military expert. He was an MP in the military before he became a cop. He had some training in explosives; but, he said this is way outside his expertise.”

 

“That's a good idea. It's possible junior learned his trade from his father.” Ted nodded as he spoke.

 

“Did Ryo have a suggestion?” The chief asked. He remembered the detective's stunt when he'd first joined the force.

 

“Of course, Ryo never suggests something if he doesn't have someone in mind. He called a buddy of his. The guy's an explosives expert and just came back from Iraq.” J.J. handed the chief an index card with the man's information on it. “Ryo did say the guys a bit,” he paused a moment, “eccentric.”

 

“As opposed to us?” Marty asked with a chuckle.

 

“I think he was meaning in another way. This guys a soldier's soldier. He did all kinds of cross-training with various military branches and even foreign military units.” J.J. nibbled his lower lip. “Ryo even said this guy shoots better than anyone else he's ever seen and if he wasn't military, would probably be a criminal. He loves what he does and can't wait to get back to killing terrorists.”

 

“I'll call him and bring him aboard.” The chief looked at the map of the warehouse. “There was something on this corner,” He said as he tapped the right, front corner of the warehouse. “Maybe a camera, or a sensor?”

 

J.J. quickly noted the chief's observation. “Could you make sure everyone who was on site takes a look at this? Hopefully, the more information we collect; the more accurate this will be. If we can get an accurate picture of the place, we might be able to determine if this was the work of one person or if we have to find more.”

 

“If it's more, we're all in danger.” The chief stopped as a knock at the doorway interrupted him.

 

“Sir,” Janet from the front desk started. “This came for Commissioner Rose. It's marked urgent and I don't know what to do with it.”

 

“Give it here, Janet. I'll handle the commissioner's calls as well.” The chief took the large envelope. “Where did this come from?”

 

“It arrived by messenger. Just a couple minutes ago.”

 

“Is the messenger still here?” The chief's question made the three detectives frown.

 

“I suppose. He was going to get coffee in the cafeteria.”

 

“Stop him.”

 

“Yes, Sir,” Janet said as she spun on her heels and rushed to the stairs.

 

“What is it, Sir?” J.J. asked the question they were all thinking.

 

“Look at the return address information.”

 

Happy Times Fire Department

123 Dedkops Drive

New York, New York

 

“That's sick,” Ted said with a shake of his head.

 

“Yes, it is,” The chief agreed. “What I don't understand is why it's plural.”

 

“I contacted the hospital this morning. Berkley made it through the night. He's still critical; but, he is stable.” J.J. snapped on a pair of gloves and took the envelope. He held it against the window and gasped at the clear outline of a watch and a square of some opaque material. “Sir, call the bomb squad.”

 

“This is Chief Smith of the 27th. We need the bomb squad here ASAP.”

 

J.J. carefully set the envelope on the corner of the desk. “I think we should get out of here. Should we evacuate?”

 

“The bomb squad's on the way up. They were already contacted about a bomb threat.” He nodded toward the notes. “Gather all the notes and let's get out of here.” At the doorway, he clapped his hands drawing everyone's attention. “We need an orderly exit. This is not a drill. Take active files that are on your desks. Whatever you can carry, take it with you. Don't worry about computers; but, take your laptops. Team leaders, handle checks and verify your people are with you.”

 

The entire office seemed to stand as a single unit. The sound of paperwork ruffling and laptops snapping shut echoed through the large open section. He heard the word being passed via phone and through the doors of other offices. “I'll get the commissioner's laptop, Sir.” Marty edged around the chief and headed directly to Rose's office. He returned to the doorway almost immediately with the laptop in hand along with a stack of files.

 

The chief watched as the office emptied out and waited for the bomb squad next to the elevators. “This way,” He said as soon as the doors opened, showing the team.

 

The small group moved to Ted and Marty's office. The chief pointed toward the desk. “That's it. The manila envelope on the corner of the desk.”

 

“We'll take it from here, Sir. Your people are well trained to have evacuated the building already,” The team leader commented as two of his people moved in to check the suspected bomb.

 

“They've survived enough explosions.”

 

The leader scoffed and nodded. “Head out. We'll contact you as soon as we know anything.”

 

“Thanks.” The chief left the room and after grabbing files from his office, he headed for the first floor.

 

~~~~~

 

“Drake, we're all right. Don't worry.” He paused as Drake said something. “Yeah. The bomb squad's already here. Now, more importantly, has Ryo found anything else?”

 

Ted and Marty leaned in to try to listen to the conversation.

 

“Wow. Yeah. That's good news. Heck, that's great news.” J.J. waved for Ted to turn around so he could use his back as a writing surface. He took notes as Drake talked about Ryo's newest discoveries. “Drake, has Ryo taken a break at all?” He shook his head as his partner answered. “Yeah. Okay. Try to get him to take a break. His son's flight arrives at JFK at seven, right? Good, I'll pick him up. Love you, Baby. See you in a bit.” He hung up his phone as the chief exited the building.

 

“I hope we don't lose this building. It's great.”

 

J.J. nodded at Marty's comment. “That's because we were instrumental in planning it. That's why it works so well for us.”

 

The other men nodded their agreement as the chief approached them.

 

“The bomb squad is up there. Were you getting an update?” The chief knew the men didn't think he was very observant; but, he'd seen J.J. hanging up his phone and knew the young man was probably getting regular updates on new developments and the condition of Ryo.

 

“Yes. Ryo found a record of a traffic stop of a Wayne Dillon, Senior three months ago in Maine and another in Arkansas six months ago. He's trying to track down more information.”

 

“How's Ryo holding up?”

 

“Well, Chief, he's alive and working his ass off instead of dealing with his grief.” J.J. sighed. “I'm wondering if we should try drugging him to force him to sleep.”

 

“Maybe his son will help,” Marty suggested. “I know there's something comforting in my daughters' presence. Sometimes even more so than my wife's, don't tell her that though.”

 

“I know what you mean,” The chief said quietly.

 

“Okay, how long before we know what's happening here?” Ted asked. He was feeling as if valuable seconds were ticking away. This was not going to be an easy case, not that homicide cases were ever easy; but, there was a greater urgency when a friend is murdered. “Are they going to sweep the whole building?”

“Probably. J.J., do you have enough room for these guys to work with you?”

 

“Yeah, no problem. I'll get some more food in the house and we can work until we're tired. I've got extra rooms where everyone can sleep.”

 

“Good. That way you won't lose much time. I'll contact you with the status of the offices.”

 

“Come on, let's get out of here.” J.J. led the way to their vehicles. Within minutes, they were on their way to the apartment he shared with Drake.

 

The chief stood watching the building that usually felt safe.

 

“Sir,” Janet started as she stepped to his side. “Since you're going to be handling Commissioner Rose's work, you should know the mayor's been calling all morning. He wants to know what's happening on this case and needs security assigned to his fund-raising dinner next week.”

 

“Call him back and tell him, I don't have an update on the case. Even if I did, I don't report to him. As to his dinner, tell him to use some of the millions he's stealing from the citizen's of this city to pay for private security. He can afford it.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Be more tactful about it; but, yes, I'm sure.” The chief turned back to the building.

 

“Okay,” Janet whispered as she stepped away and dialed the mayor's office. “This is going to be interesting.”

 

~~~~~

 

“J.J., where did you put those print outs on Dillon's father?” Ryo asked as he peeked around the computer monitor.

 

“Umm, give me a minute, I'll find them.” He started digging through the stacks of paper that were strewn around him. “I know they're here somewhere.” A folder at the edge of his vision caught his attention and he reached for it. “Here it is. What did you need from it?”

 

“Are there any medical records in there?”

 

“No,” J.J. said with a firm shake of his head. He leafed through more of the documents. “There isn't anything from the military. We have medical records from civilian doctors; but nothing military.” He climbed to his feet when he heard Ryo start typing again. He quickly went to the other man's side. “What are you looking for?”

 

“Information to substantiate this,” Ryo pulled up a small file dealing with a Wayne Dillon with the same birth date and location as the father of their arsonist. “According to this, he was injured in Vietnam and successfully sued the military. Look at the description.”

 

J.J. quickly read, then reread, the file. “Huh?”

 

“That's why I was wondering if we'd gotten anything on his military medical history.”

 

“How could he father a child?” J.J. asked.

 

“He couldn't have.” Ryo pulled up pictures of Dillon and his father. “They don't look alike.” He shook his head. “His father had to know that Dillon wasn't his.”

 

“But, from all this, he treated him like his own son.”

 

“I might have the answer to that.” Drake walked over with a huge stack of print outs. “I've been digging looking through these related arrests and this might be of interest. Wayne Dillon, Senior had a brother. There are at least seven arrests or notices issued to a William Dillon that correspond to Wayne Dillon, Senior's record.” He flipped to the last page. “This is what's really interesting. Look at the last three records.”

 

“This guy was picked up in Arkansas with our arsonist. Have you contacted the departments for additional information?” Drake nodded. “Good. See if this guy owns property, this might be where Dillon did his testing.”

 

“Maybe this guy is his assistant,” Drake whispered. “If he had an assistant, that is.”

 

The trio looked up as a loud knock reverberated through the apartment. A moment of silence was followed by another softer knock. “That's John,” Ryo said as he got up from the computer and headed for the door. “Don't make any sudden moves around him. He's a great guy.”

 

Drake and J.J. exchanged looks that said, “What are we getting into?”

 

J.J. leaned toward Drake and whispered into his ear. “I can't imagine Ryo being involved with someone we can't make any sudden moves around.”

 

“Heck, I can't imagine him being in the military.”

 

Drake and J.J. parted as Ryo came back into the office with a small, unimposing man. J.J.'s jaw dropped and Drake actually gasped. They looked at each other, then back at the man.

 

“Guys, I want you to meet John Baker. I was an MP for his unit. I'm hoping he can help us with the warehouse fire and maybe with locating Dillon's assistant.”

 

“Hi, I'm J.J. Adams,” J.J. said as he went over and offered his hand. He was shocked that John was actually shorter than Ryo by a couple of inches and barely taller than he was.

 

“I'm Drake Parker. Glad to be working with you.” Drake shook the offered hand.

 

“Ryo said you had a layout of the fire?”

 

“Yes, over here,” J.J. said with a nod of his head. “It's on the kitchen table.”

 

“Good, I'll start there. Ryo, collect any information on this kid's training. Barring that, get anything on his father.” John followed J.J. to the door to the kitchen. “I'm sorry about your partner. It's always hard to lose a loved one.”

 

“You approve?” Ryo looked shocked.

 

John turned around and shook his head. “I knew you were gay or at least bisexual while you were with my unit. You're more empathetic than most, which is what allowed you to catch people when they were trying to go AWOL. It's not big deal.” He paused and thought a minute. “Something else to look at, try to find purchasing records for large quantities of asphalt. Stuff that went to individuals versus a company.”

 

“I'm on it.” Ryo returned to J.J.'s computer and started his searches while John followed J.J. into the kitchen.

 

~~~~~

 

“Chief,” The bomb squad leader said as he approached the older man. “The building's clear.”

 

“Good. Everyone! The building's clear, head in.” He turned his attention back to the team leader. “So what was it?”

 

“There were several things in the envelope. First, a watch was wired to a small sliver of C-4. It would have been enough to take off a hand, not enough to kill unless it was close to someone's head. Second, this letter was folded into a triangle and taped in a corner. Third, there was this.” He pulled a small lock of hair in a plastic packet from his pocket. “Any idea whose hair this is?”

 

“No, we'll look into it though.” The chief took the packet and looked at it. He frowned as he turned it to get a better angle. “I don't know. I'll get it to CSU. Maybe we'll be lucky and there are some follicles still attached. It doesn't look cut. It's more like the hair you pull from a matted comb or brush.”

 

“That's what my guys thought. If you need us any more, call,” He said as he handed the letter to the chief.

 

“Thank you. We will.”

 

“Someone's targeting the 27th. We received a letter yesterday evening saying that it was open season on the 27th precinct and that only Armageddon would end the hunt.” The leader looked uncomfortable at the chief's shocked expression.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“You weren't informed about it?”

 

“No, I wish I had been.” The chief sighed and wondered whom the idiot was that was keeping him in the dark.

 

“Will you be here this evening?” The chief nodded. “After I get off shift, I'll bring a copy of the letter over and give it to you.”

 

“I would appreciate that. Did it say only our building? The officers? Anything?”

 

The squad leader shook his head. “I don't know. I wasn't on duty yesterday so what I know is second hand. What I know is that when the call came through, someone said they'd thought the letter was a hoax. When I asked for further explanation, they told me the Armageddon quote. They said the letter was several page. Most of it dealt with your commissioner and his role in an arrest years ago.”

 

“He's hospitalized.” The chief glanced over the letter in its page protector.

 

“We all hope he makes it and has a full recovery. We don't like to lose our own.” The leader pointed to the second paragraph on the page. “I know you lost a detective as well yesterday. I think this might deal with him.”

 

The chief read the letter. It was typed on plain paper and he didn't think either the ink or the paper would give up any clues but he could hope. He skipped to where the other man had indicated.

 

“Your dark-haired, falling angel was glorious yesterday. As he sailed down from the heavens on his cement coffin, his calm voice recited the Lord's Prayer, such peace in a man readying to die. I wonder if the blond demon bathing in fire was experiencing a similar euphoria? I hope not. He deserves to live in hell forever for wrongfully sentencing me to prison when all I did was cleanse the world of a little evil. My time isn't long but I'll succeed in ridding this dimension of more evil before I leave.”

 

“He's talking about Dee.” The chief swallowed hard and fought back tears at the reminder of his detective's death.

 

“Which one?”

 

“The dark-haired, falling angel,” The chief answered quietly.

 

“The blond demon referred to your commissioner?”

 

“I guess.” The chief nodded. “I don't understand the rest of this. It had to be written after the catwalk collapsed. By that time, our arsonist was already dead.” The chief looked up as he realized what this meant. “He had help.”

 

“I think we're going to be busy. Should I set up a team and assign them here?”

 

“I don't know.” The chief sighed as concerns ran through his head. “Can I let you know tonight when you bring over the copy of the other letter?”

 

“Yes. I'll set up a team anyway. That way, if you need it, it'll be ready.”

 

“Thank you.” The chief turned back to the letter and continued reading.

 

“Don't forget to let your people know they can go back inside,” The team leader said as he headed for his waiting vehicles.

 

“I won't.” The chief waved to Janet and pointed to the building before giving thumbs up. As the remaining personnel returned to the precinct house, he sighed and turned his attention to the paper.

 

~~~~~

 

“J.J.,” Ted called into the office. “Chief says the building's clear. We can go back when ever we want. The fire investigator's meeting was postponed until tomorrow at 11 am.” He frowned as the lavender-haired detective just nodded and returned his attention to the print outs. “Hey, check the time,” Ted prompted as he walked over to the desk. “If you're going to pick up Ryo's son, you need to leave now.”

 

“Dang. Yeah. I'll get out of here. Ted, could you do me a favor?” He waited for the red-haired detective to nod. “Try sorting this stuff by topic. Ryo found a ton of stuff concerning Dillon Senior's unit during and after Vietnam. Most of it seems to be misrepresentations by anti-war groups; but, some of it has actual military documentation. A large chunk of it deals with their testing of CS and blistering agents and their application on everything from crowd control to wide-spread use on populations. None of it was authorized by the military and at least according to the articles in these stacks, these experiments were being done using chemicals that had been listed as destroyed.”

 

“And Dillon used a blistering agent in the warehouse,” Ted said as he nodded.

 

“And, the federal government used CS tear gas at Waco, just like was outlined in three of these reports attributed to Dillon's unit. It's supposedly not flammable; but, when the carrier evaporates, the particles suspended in the air will burn.”

 

“High school chemistry 101. Any uniformly suspended fine matter will burn,” Ted said with a nod. “I was working that day. My dad called to tell me about it though.”

 

“Yeah. What do you get when CS burns?” J.J. asked with a frown.

 

“I don't know.” Ted shrugged.

 

“Hydrogen cyanide. That's the reason we're not supposed to use large amounts of it inside a structure. It'll kill you when it catches fire.” J.J. looked at the stacks of papers. “This idiot would have been better off using the CS than mustard gas or some other blistering agent. If he wanted to kill us, that was a proven murder weapon.”

 

“Maybe he didn't want all of us dead, yet.” Ted settled into the desk chair. “He might have wanted to play. He didn't know Dee was going to shoot him.”

 

“True. I'll be back in a bit. Let Ryo know where I went if he wakes up.” J.J. quickly said his leave to the other men and hurried out the door. He was going to take Drakes car because he knew Bikky wouldn't fit in his little Neon. It took him just under seventy-five minutes to reach the airport because of heavy traffic and easily spotted Ryo's 6' 6” son. “I remember when he was shorter than I was,” J.J. thought as he pulled in front of the young man and rolled down the window. “Bikky McLean.”

 

“Where's dad, J.J.?” The young man opened the door and slid inside.

 

“He's at my place, resting.”

 

“I'm surprised you got him to sleep,” Bikky said before his voice cracked.

 

“I'm sorry about Dee.”

 

“Yeah. Me, too.” Bikky looked out the window and rubbed his nose. “I didn't really hate him, you know?”

 

“I know.”

 

The pair drove in silence for about forty-five minutes when J.J.'s pager went off. “Huh?” J.J. pulled the noisy thing from its clip at his waist. “Why wouldn't they call me on my cell phone?”

 

“Who is it? Is Dad okay?”

 

“I'm sure he's still asleep. This is the doctor at the hospital.” J.J. explained as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “I don't remember turning it off.” He tried turning it on and discovered the battery must be dead. “Drat. Battery's dead.”

 

“This would be for the commissioner?” J.J. nodded. “Here, use mine.” Bikky shoved his cell phone into J.J.'s hand.

 

“Thanks. Could you dial the number for me?” Bikky did and handed the phone back to the detective. “This is Detective J.J. Adams, I was paged by Doctor Hughes.”

 

“One moment, Detective.”

 

“J.J.?” Doctor Hughes asked.

 

“Yes, Doctor. You paged me? Has something happened to the commissioner?” He thought of something and shook his head. “Why didn't you contact Agent Spacey? She's his medical contact.”

 

“I've been trying to reach her all day. She isn't answering her cell phone and I haven't gotten a response via her e-mail or office. I remember you were seemed most concerned and willing to care for Mr. Rose last night and this morning and decided to contact you.”

 

“Damn, Diana,” J.J. mumbled. “What's wrong, Doctor?”

 

“Mr. Rose has taken a turn for the worse. He's in a coma and his stats are declining.” She paused and sighed quietly. “I think it's time to look at whether or not he would want extraordinary measures taken to prolong his life. I'm not giving up on him; but, it's something that should be looked at now, before the time comes and a decision has to be made at the last minute.”

 

“Doctor, I'm only a few blocks away. May I come in and talk to you in person? I would also like to see Berkley before I make a decision.”

 

“I'll be here. Come directly to the burn ward and ask for me. Once we talk, you can see Mr. Rose.” The doctor paused and realized there was little more she could say over the phone. “We'll talk more when you get here.”

 

“Thank you,” J.J. said before hanging up the phone.

 

“I heard most of the conversation. Why was your commissioner injured?” Bikky took back his phone.

 

“He went into the warehouse to try to save Dee.”

 

“I thought the commissioner hated Dee; wanted him gone so he could date my other dad.” Bikky looked confused as past conversations came back.

 

“Berkley didn't hate Dee. Even if he did, Dee was a cop under his command and he was willing to risk anything to protect us.” J.J. shook his head. “No, Berkley gave up on Ryo a long time ago. Way before I gave up on Dee.”

 

“I'm sorry. It's just the way Dee always talked about him, it sounded like the commissioner was always hitting on my dad and doing stuff to irritate Dee.” Bikky looked out the window as they pulled into the parking structure next to the hospital. “Can I come in with you?”

 

“If you want,” J.J. said as he looked at the young man's reflection in the window. “I don't know if they'll let you see him.”

 

“It's okay. I don't want to go in his room. I just want to see how willing he was to save Dee. I'm sure I can do that from the edge of the room or a doorway.” Bikky sighed as he climbed out of the car. “Plus, maybe I'll see Carol. This is where she does her internship.”

 

“Okay,” J.J. shrugged and led the way into the hospital. They made their way to the burn ward; pausing briefly when one of Bikky's friends recognized him and gave him their condolences on the loss of his dad. They also mentioned that Carol had taken the day off. “Detective Adams to see Doctor Hughes,” J.J. said to the nurse working the desk as he flashed his badge.

 

“Who's that?” She asked pointing at Bikky.

 

“He's with me. It's a training run for him.”

 

J.J.'s lie seemed to mollify the nurse and she waved them down the hall. “Last room on the right.”

 

“Thank you.” J.J. followed the directions, found the doctor's office, and knocked.

 

“Come in, door's open.”