Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Insatiable Heart ❯ Following the Lead... ( Chapter 5 )

~~Fake and all the characters belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh. I'm just gonna borrow them for a bit! I'll return them...*Smiles sweetly and walks to Van, where it's moving suspiciously and the side door pops open with Dee all tied up, trying to escape with Ryo. I push him back in and just wink at them both as I drive away laughing.*~~

Insatiable Heart

Chapter 5: Following the Lead…

"Are you sure you got the correct information? This lead was already on a thin thread…"

Dee did not even glance over to his partner, angry that he didn't trust his judgment.

"Will you just hang in with me here, Ryo? I didn't make this decision off the whim." Though many decisions Dee did make was on pure gut feeling…

They drove to this old warehouse that was used for storage. It was virtually abandoned but several witnesses said that there had been some activity in that area. Ryo was still lost in the case for leads but Dee found some and wanted this case done and over with. The criminals wanted were facing charges of thievery, murder and needed to be taken off the streets right away.

Dee parked a block away near an apartment building. Pulling up there was not uncommon and would not seem suspicious. Dee's emerald eyes scanned the area; everything seemed normal but from what the witnesses that he interviewed had said the description of the criminals matched.

He turned to Ryo, suddenly getting an awful feeling in the pit of this stomach. Ryo felt his watchful gaze and glanced in his direction only to be halted by the insecurity exposed on Dee's face. It was something Dee rarely ever revealed.

"What is it?" He watched Dee look away, like he was embarrassed being caught staring but Ryo now was beginning to feel uneasy.

"I…" Dee started but turned back to Ryo. "Just be careful okay, partner?"

Ryo's dark eyes never left Dee's and nodded slightly.

"You're really sure about this aren't you?" Dee nodded and pulled out his gun.

"Maybe we should come back tomorrow. It's getting dark." Dee checked the bullets and reached for the glove compartment to retrieve an extra clip, making a total of four magazines in his possession.

"No and take another clip just in case."

"Dee, I have two guns on me. I think I'm okay."

"Please," Ryo sighed. It wasn't often that Dee begged him and felt this insecure. Wasn't it always his job to be cautious?

"Alright." He complied to his partners wishes and they stepped out of the car.

The wind blew lightly and the bottom of their trench coats billowed behind them as they casually walked across the street.

Ryo was prepared, watching everything around them, eyes darting to the shadows. Dee glanced down the alley way right before the warehouse and motioned Ryo to follow.

"Keep alert. I told headquarters that if we don't report to them within twenty minutes, they are going to send backup."

Dee nodded, already knowing this information but it was nice hearing Ryo's strong voice right now. He tried to squash that feeling of unease but it wouldn't disappear. The things that these guys have done were terrible and though Ryo knew all that they have committed, Dee knew better than he did about the street gangs and such that were out there. As he was growing up, he heard something about this gang. Something about a man named Norris but it was never pursued nor followed in by any detectives. They have their warrant for the place, everything was set and now it was just the matter of finding something for them to continue on the lead and land them to the gold.

His eyes stared into Ryo's deep onyx eyes. He almost couldn't make them out in their dark settings but nevertheless, Ryo was always something wonderful to gaze upon.

"Dee, don't you think we should head over there now?"

"Yea, we are. I just wanted…" And Dee lifted his hand to cup Ryo's face and bring it forward but the other man pulled away.

"What are you doing? We are a very dangerous setting and possible murderers running around and you want to kiss?" Ryo asked incredulously.

"Yes." Dee said firmly. And he pulled Ryo forward and quickly planted his lips on his partners. Though Ryo was going to protest, the kiss immediately eased to being soft, chaste and basically an innocent touch of lips. Ryo felt his face flush slightly but enjoyed the soft caress. Dee's hand found its way inside of Ryo's silky hair and slowly smoothed down to the side of his face. Dee pulled away and Ryo was left licking his lips and the lingering taste of his partner. There was a moment that seemed so long to them that they stared at each other but it was only a matter of seconds before Dee got into gear.

"Let's go."

They walked out and stealthily reached the large dark building. Dee found that there were several entrances but also a broken hole in the wall. They had to crouch slightly to get in but once they did, it was almost pitch black. Darkness had seemed to envelop the sky in the matter of seconds not helping their vision any and the floor creaked where they stood. The wood could have been weak and perhaps there were some holes that they could not make out.

Ryo placed his hand on Dee's shoulder and pulled him near to whisper in his ear.

"This is very dangerous. There could be holes in the floor that we can't see. Watch your footing."

He felt the collar of Dee's coat moving, knowing that his partner nodded.

They could barely make out the distance from them but the far-off light shining in from the street was a lot of help. They rounded some boxes, their eyes adapted to the near darkness, making it easier for them to see. Dee noticed a light and didn't doubt that Ryo spotted it too. This was the first sign that this warehouse was not abandoned.

About halfway to the room, another light came on, shining into the full warehouse room, giving everything around them a solid shape and color. Though it was a dim light, it was enough for whoever was there to get by, to see the doors to the warehouse and work in there without much problem. The two detectives crouched down behind the boxes in front of them and stayed immobile until they began to hear voices rising in volume as the men grew nearer.

"What the hell are you talking about, Dorz." One man said. "We've been here for five months without encounter from anyone."

The voice t hat just spoke held doubt of what the other man was speaking of.

"I got word that the cops are closing in on us. They spoke to some of the people who live in the building down the street."

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Word gets around and Carl's mother is the friend of the woman they questioned."

Dee peaked over and watched the two men stroll through the warehouse, patrolling he guessed.

"You need to tell Norris as soon as he gets in."

"Yea. We've been here too long. I know we stayed at other places longer but we can't trust anyone really to keep us locked down. Information starts to leak." Dorz said as Dee watched the man run a hand through his dirty blond hair. He wore dark denim jeans and an off white shirt. The man beside him was a brunet with a faded green shirt and raggedy jeans.

As they continued their conversation that turned raunchy, Ryo noticed that they weren't hidden very well and need to get back up. They only saw two men but who knew how many were still hiding out in the warehouse. And with what the men said, more people were coming, including the head honcho.

"Dee…" Ryo barely was audible but his partner turned around and nodded. They turned away from the boxes to see what was behind them and found more boxes. Ryo cocked his head in the direction of the better hiding spot. They crouched low to the ground and went behind the boxes and now they were definitely out of sight.

They tuned back into what they were saying.

"Wait; let me grab the extra weapons that came in. I'll show ya." They still had the men insight but Dorz, the dirty blond, left their view. Dee was trying to get in a full picture of what they were dealing with. How many people were in the building, what were in the boxes, who was their top leader and though they had already answered some questions they still needed to find out more before back up came to arrest them. If they could find out anything else it would be a great help to find all the members and the people who have killed. Dee was focused on two more men coming out from the lit office but Ryo turned around because he heard a noise and found himself staring at the man who went to look for the weapons.

"What the fuck!?"

Dee jumped but turned quickly to find a Ryo staring down the barrel of a gun and not a moment later, a gun was shoved to his head.

"Drop the guns, pigs." Dee's eyes searched for Ryo's but he noticed the brunet was already putting his gun down.

'Shit.'

They jerked them both to their feet and pushed them out into the open.

'A little over ten minutes, that's all we need to stall for.' Dee thought as they stripped himself and Ryo of their coats and extra ammunition.

"Fancy guns there, coppers." Dorz said. "Guess we heard about you guys coming hear a little too late but you're gonna wish you never messed with us."

Ryo was forced to sit down while they tied his hands behind a thin pole. Dee watched them handle Ryo which was why he never saw the hard right hook that knocked him to the ground.

"Dee!" Ryo shouted as his partner cradled his jaw and ran his finger tips over his lip. He pulled his fingers away to see blood on them.

"Naw, not even. That didn't phase the copper one bit." The other man in the green shirt said. "He can take more than that."

Dee stood up aware that he had three men surrounding him.

"Yea, you're right." Dee said lowly. "What kind of hit was that? I bet a little girl could punch better than you."

Another hard right with a fist finding its way to his stomach had Dee grunting painfully. All three men started to beat on the detective.

"Stop. Do you realize what this is going to do to you?"

Ryo tried stopping them as he tried to also stall for their back up but the man next to him decided to answer his question.

"This will do nothing detective because by the time we're done with you, you both will be dead."

Dee screamed in pain as his body collapsed to the ground and barely moved. His body felt weak to him but he managed to push his upper body on his arms and the men around him thought it to be entertaining.

"Wow, you still can move? We were beating on you for a while. This arm," The man said as he nudged Dee's left arm roughly. "…Should be broken." And he pulled his leg back and kicked him hard. Dee couldn't hold in his pain any longer. Dorz walked up to him and swiftly kicked him in the stomach several times before Dee wasn't moving anymore.

"Awww, and I thought he was going to last a little longer. That was longer than anyone else we ever beat. Wow, guys a new record. Copper lasted several minutes." They laughed but the man was not done. "He's no fun anymore but we do have pretty boy over there."

"..n-no..." There was a small voice. "You're not done with me." Dee wheezed as he struggled to get himself standing on wobbly legs. His arm hung loosely at his side and bruises and blood marred his beautiful face. "Before you get to him, you have to finish me, don't you?"

"Ah, now that's the fighting spirit. Wow, I really like you man. Giving me more fun but I believe one more hit and you'll go down." The amusement was in his voice but the way Dee was staring at him, even if one eye was almost swollen shut, was slightly intimidating.

"Dee, stop!" Ryo tried but the man didn't listen to him.

"Hush there, fruitcake. I wanna have fun with my energizer bunny."

Dee grinned, it was painful but he managed.

"Don't think you're all that. I've had worst beatings than this." The man's face twisted to anger.

"Well I'll fucking make sure that this ranks as you're top beating of all time!"

He went after Dee and launched a punch that Dee somehow managed to block and landed a solid punch in his opponents face with his right fist. Dee was glad that he could gather enough strength to deliver that punch but that was all he had left. The thug stumbled and growled angrily as his lip bled.

"You're going to pay for that, bitch."

"I thought bitches were people who needed other guys to help them fight."

"Get him." The man said menacingly. And Dee spun to parry one blow but with two men fighting against him and one of his arms rendered useless, their blows landed solidly.

Ryo was trying to work his restraints as fast as possible. They didn't tie them correctly so Ryo finally managed to slip his hand out and watched as Dee couldn't stand any longer and dropped to the ground battered and bloodied.

"Heh heh heh heh. You were fun copper but play time is over for you." And Ryo's eyes widened as the man pulled out a gun and began to direct it at the immobile figure on the floor.

Without really thinking about it, Ryo reached for his ankle and withdrew that second gun he had and shot the man once in a killing blow to the forehead. The gun fell and so did the thug.

He shot the other three men as he jumped up behind some boxes. He kept shooting at them to keep their attention drawn on him. If someone was smart and wanted them dead they would have aimed for the easy target on the floor. Ryo found a man running across his sight and shot him somewhere in his shoulder. He went do with a cry.

"Don't do anything else, Mclean." Ryo paused at the new voice. "Your partner is lying on the ground here and you're willing to shoot up my men without protecting him?"

"All right!" Ryo said. "I give up, just don't hurt him anymore." Ryo was nervous. It should have been time for the force to be there by now. He tried to fumble with his cell and called the force.

"27th precinct, this is Ted-"

"Ted! Send a force down now! Dee and I are caught. Dee's hurt badly and-"

"Come on copper. Drop that gun or your partner is going to get it."

"Ok, I'll slide my gun out." And Ryo turned back to the phone. "There's a hole in the back, sneak in and help us out! We're going to die if you don't come now." And while he said this he slid his gun out in the open.

"We don't have all fucking day, detective."

"Now!" He whispered harshly in the phone before putting it down and walking out with his hands raised in the air. He looked down at the ground where his partner lied and hoped they didn't kill them; hoped that they had enough strength to last until help had arrived.

~~*~~

Ted jumped out of his chair and left the phone off the hook.

"Rose! Rose!! Chief!" He yelled and had the attention of the whole office. Both men he called for were out of their office and looking to see who called them. They saw Ted running towards them.

"Dee and Ryo got caught at the warehouse. The case they were working on with the killers! They're going to die if we don't hurry now. Ryo said that Dee was hurt badly and I heard him giving up his gun."

Rose ran to his office and came back with his coat and gun.

"Ted, Drake, JJ!" Drake and JJ came out of the office in the matter of seconds.

"Gather the emergency police unit and lead them to the warehouse now."

"Ryo left his cell on…" Ted said.

"Can you hear anything?" Rose said as he walked toward Ted to grab the phone.

"There's something but hard to make out." Rose grabbed the phone and put it to his ear. For all he was worth, he could barely make out what was being said because of all the noise in the office.

"QUIET!!" He yelled sharply after he put his hand on the receiver. The whole office went dead silent as he put the phone back to his ear. There was some laughter and thumping.

"Kick that fucking pig's ass! Too bad your buddy is dead; too dead to help you." There was a loud yelp of pain and Rose knew that was Ryo.

~~*~~

Ryo was on the ground next to Dee's body. They punched and kicked him everywhere and his body ached all over. It was almost coming to the point where he was growing numb to the assault. His ears ringed from all the chanting. It seemed as while he was getting pummeled by four guys, more and more thugs were entering the warehouse. Ryo opened his eyes to see his partner, unconscious. He reached out a bruised arm and laid his hand on the man's neck. He had to know. Dee was a tough guy and he let out a shaky breath of relief. Dee was still alive but his pulse was weak and his breathing was shallow.

"Dee…" He barely whispered.

"Awwww, isn't this precious? You wanted to know if your partner was still alive." The man hovered above them and put his dirty hands in Dee's hair and yanked his head up in an awkward angle.

"Stop." Ryo pleaded.

"Oh? You want me to leave him alone?" This guy was Norris. He was tall with long hair pulled back into a pony tail though the sides and back of his head were shaved. He had reddish-brown eyes and those eyes were staring at him with amusement. He knew he had them and could kill them at any time he wished but he wanted to have fun torturing. "You know he got a worse ass kicking than you did. We just got started playing with you but," He drawled. "I'll think that it's time to end this show." Norris pulled out Ryo's gun that he had tucked in his pants.

"Who do you want to go first?"

Ryo glanced at Dee, seeing his swelled face and wishing that he could see those beautiful green eyes now, to help guide him like he always did, to give him strength… but those eyes never opened.

"Please don't, I'll do anything."

"Too late." The man said coldly and Ryo's eyes widened as he moved the gun over Dee's body. Ryo jumped up as the man laughed and Ryo's body fell on top of Dee's when he heard the trigger being pulled.

Silence filled the warehouse and Ryo had his body sprawled over his partner. The blond detective didn't register any pain and no gunshot noise.

"Oops." Norris laughed with a wicked grin. "I forgot to put the clip in since the gun was taken from you."

*Click*

The sound was heard and was loud in the silent room. Ryo knew this was it and looked down and laid his head next to lover…

"I'm sorry!" Ryo cried. "I couldn't protect you. I love you."

"Die you bitches!"

A window shattered and something fell to the ground. Ryo turned his head to see a hole in the middle of the Norris' forehead. He slumped to the ground and a man came to stand in his place. He picked up the gun and it was shot out of his hands.

A door busted open and a swarm of cops surround the enemies.

"Freeze! We have you surrounded!" Ryo recognized the voice and watched as cops held their guns trained on the group that was trying to kill them. It was the same men who stole from families and killed off their loved ones. They were finally caught. He felt somewhat at ease but he still had to protect Dee and get him help. If only his vision would stop blurring on him but even as Ryo struggled to keep conscious, his mind could not stay focused and darkness enveloped him.

~~*~~

Ryo awoke to a white ceiling and even the dim light hurt his eyes. His mouth was dry and when he tried to move, a sudden ache spread through him in a vicious wave.

"Uhhh…"

"Well you gained consciousness faster than I expected." The familiar voice said.

"Drake." He managed out. To tell the truth, he felt like he got hit by a bus.

"JJ, you owe me lunch. Ryo woke up first."

There was a grumble but Ryo could not hear what was said. His eyes closed and an imaged flashed of Dee in the last state he'd seen of him.

"Dee?" He said worriedly. Then it clicked how awful and serious a condition his partner had been in. He shot up in bed and cried out softly from the pain. "Where's Dee?" He said breathily.

Drake stared at him with a soft smile.

"Right there."

Ryo moved his head to Dee surrounded by white. He was pale with wires coming from his chest and wrist. There was a tube of IV and tubes in his nose to supply him oxygen. There was a cast on his left arm. His arm was pushed up to make a ninety degree angle for the cast. He was hurt on his upper arm. There were bandages on his face and who knew where else. Ryo wanted to get up and do something for him but didn't know what. He wanted to cradle Dee in his arms and whisper everything was fine but it wasn't…

"How long?"

"You were out for a couple of hours and Dee is still unconscious. He was in worse condition than you were."

"I know. I saw them beating him up." Drake's small smile went grim. "Someone is going to have to take your statement. Are you up for it?"

Ryo shook his head.

"No, I…give me a few minutes." Ryo placed his hand on his head. "Is he in a coma?"

He watched JJ walk over from Dee's side and the man with the lavender hair shook his head no.

"Dee is just unconscious." JJ said as he stared at Ryo but his gaze advert to the other unconscious detective. "They said that he is healing. A lot of his energy was gone and they were glad that he got to the hospital in time for them to take care of him fully. Don't worry. He'll be fine."

"But…" Ryo was about to break. He felt the tears begin to sting his eyes as he realized how close he was to loosing Dee. "I couldn't do anything to help him. I couldn't stop them." The tears slipped down his reddened cheeks and he moved to whip them with the back of his hand…but more tears slid down.

"Please don't cry." A scratchy voice said. Everyone's head snapped to the dark haired figure on the bed. His eyes were still closed and for a second they all thought that it was in their heads that they heard the man but eyes blinked open and Dee's head tilted to see JJ, Ryo and Drake. His eyes settled on the man in bed and smiled slightly. "There's no reason to cry, Ryo. I told them. I've taken harsher beatings than that."

Ryo choked up on his tears and a shaky hand covered his mouth. Dee was okay and he was still the same. Everything was okay and they were still alive. The smile left Dee's face and he winced as he tried to move his hand to hold it out to Ryo.

He watched as Ryo began taking off all the wires and stuff from his body and stiffly got off his bed to lean against Dee. Ryo leaned his head against Dee's pillow, the sides of their faces touched lightly and he let his tears soak into the white pillow.

Drake stood up and touched JJ's shoulder. The man glanced away from the affectionate scene and up into Drake's eyes.

"Come on." He said lowly and helped JJ to his feet. They left the couple to themselves and Dee managed to move his body over a little to allow some space for his partner. His right hand was pressed securely on Ryo's back and pulled him closer.

"Get in bed, babe." Ryo pulled away. His face was red, eyes puffy and tears streaks down his cheeks.

"But…" Dee closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Just do it and give me some lovin'." A smile broke out on his lover's face and Ryo carefully got into the bed. He groaned in pain but finally settled next to Dee and he ran his hand lightly over the side of Dee's face. His fingertips brushed over the bandage on his eye but touched the skin of his cheek. Ryo couldn't help but just stare into those emerald eyes. One of his thoughts was that he wasn't ever going to be able to lose himself in them again.

"I love you." He whispered and watched those eyes lightened up in response. Ryo felt a small pressure on his back and leaned forward, closer to those beautiful eyes.

"I love you too, Ryo. I will always and I'm so happy that you're ok. I'm so happy…" Dee's eyes closed and so did Ryo's. Their lips met and lingered happily against the other. The kiss was soft and loving. When Dee moved his head slightly, their lips parted to breathe. Dee's green orbs shone through and stared into Ryo's half lidded eyes.

"Hurry up and recover." Ryo said as he snuggled up against Dee. There was a small chuckle.

"Yea, so we can go on our vacation. God, I can't wait to go." Dee felt a small pressure on his chin.

"We can definitely get an extended vacation. So let's rest now so we can get to it sooner." Dee closed his eyes along with Ryo and they submitted to their exhausted bodies.

~~*~~

"You better let me see him!"

"Bikky, Bikky! Chill kid! I'll bring you up to them. They're going to be okay." Drake said as Carol and Bikky walked in to the hospital accompanied by Carol's aunt. Drake walked them up to their rooms and Drake asked that they be quiet.

"We will!" Bikky said impatiently and Carol just gave him a look. Yes, she was worried but Bikky was overly worried and didn't take what anyone was saying to the heart. He was too afraid that he would loose Ryo and wanted to make sure that the man was okay himself. She didn't doubt that he was also worried because he loved Ryo…and Dee. Carol's aunt was talking to Drake while they slipped inside the room unnoticed. In one bed they both saw Dee and Ryo, cuddled up against each other.

"Figures the perv…" Bikky cut himself off as he noticed the shape the two adults in bed were in. He noticed the cast and the bandages and glanced to their calm slumbering faces.

"They must've gone through a lot today, Bikky. But they're okay now so there's no need to worry." Bikky turned to deny that he was ever worried about them but was cut short when Cal put her finger on his lips. She shook her head, her blond hair falling in front of her eyes and she pulled Bikky into a hug. It was something she needed but mostly for him. He needed the comfort and had to know that everything was going to be okay.

"Everything is fine now." Bikky smiled and hugged the girl in his arms.

"I know. Thank you, Cal." They stayed like that for a while before they walked out of the room hand in hand. Everything would be fine.

~~*~~