Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Kidnapped ❯ Interrogation ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: I don't own FAKE or any of the characters thus associated with either the manga or the anime.

WARNING: This is YAOI. If anybody has ever watched FAKE (it's only the one movie) or read the manga, you'd know this. If you didn't know this, I'm warning you now. If you don't like male x male relationships, then don't read this, okay? As for those of you who don't care, please enjoy this story.

Chapter Four: Interrogation

Ryo was startled out of bed by the ringing of the phone. Glancing at the clock, he read 3:00 AM. Dammit, didn't people know better than to call him this early in the morning? There had best be a real good reason somebody was calling him this early. He still had at least a few more hours of sleep left before he had to go to work.

Muttering to himself about inconsiderate jerks who had nothing better to do with their time than wake him up, he picked up the phone on the stand beside his bed. "Hello?" he asked politely, deciding that it might be best to see who was calling before he yelled at them.

All he heard on the other side was the sound of soft, steady breaths. Thinking that perhaps the person on other side hadn't heard him, he repeated his greeting, asking, "May I ask who's calling?"

More breathing, then a soft voice. "Is this Randy McLane?" Ryo confirmed this and the voice continued. "This is just a friendly warning for you and your friend. Stay the hell out of my way, and neither of you will get hurt. Continue to bother me, and I will kill you all, starting with your pretty partner." With that, a click sounded in Ryo's ear, signaling the end of the phone call.

Ryo just sat there, stunned for a few minutes, then leapt into action. He first called the 27th precinct, informing them that he had just been threatened by who he supposed was Dee's interrogator, or else a copycat (it didn't matter, either one was equally dangerous), woke up a sleepy Bikky, got them both dressed and in the car, then headed for Dee's apartment.

Ryo's knuckles were white from their grip on the steering wheel. He was so close to hyperventilating that he could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears and feel his breath come in short, panicked gasps of air. Bikky was gazing at him in concern, but he paid no attention to his son, concentrating instead on reaching Dee. All he could think of was that Dee might have also gotten a call and been threatened by the interrogator.

Ryo truly hoped that the phone call was real, and that it was just a warning for them to stay out of the way. If it wasn't, then the brute may have already taken Dee. Ryo growled and shoved that thought out of his head. If the guy had been anywhere near Dee, he wouldn't have bothered calling Ryo.

Fifteen minutes later, he pulled up in front of Dee's home and pounded on the door anxiously, terrified for his partner. When his knocks produced no response, Ryo began to panic and briefly considered knocking the door down.

Bikky must have seen the panic on Ryo's face and gathered that something was very wrong, because he gently shoved his adoptive father to the side and stood in front of Dee's door, yelling, "Dee, we know you're in there, you big jerk. You'd better get out here to see Ryo now, or else I'll break down this door and kick your ass. Got it?"

A few moments later, the door opened a slit, and Dee glanced out. When he saw Ryo and Bikky, he shut the door again quickly, and they heard the chain lock sliding back. Dee opened the door and ushered the two guests into his house, then shut and locked the door behind him again.

Turning around, he was greeted by a nearly panicked look from Ryo and a concerned and angry look from Bikky-the concern being for Ryo, of course.

Ryo gazed at Dee, trying to make a quick assessment of his mental state. Dee was pale and shaking slightly, and was giving Ryo a frightened look. When Ryo shifted slightly to get a better look at his friend's face, the raven-haired cop flinched slightly before straightening and looking him in the eye. "I guess this means you got a call too, huh?" he asked wryly.

Ryo nodded silently, voice stuck in his throat. Bikky was looking back and forth between them, clearly confused about what was happening. He voiced his confusion out loud, startling the two men. "Would somebody please tell me what's going on?! I get dragged out of bed by a panicked Ryo at three in the morning; Ryo drives like a crazed person to the idiot's house, said idiot doesn't answer the door, which makes Ryo panic, then they mention a phone call. What key ingredient am I missing here?!" he demanded.

Ryo bit his lip, wondering just how much he should tell Bikky. He knew full well that he couldn't keep everything hidden from the teenage boy, but he didn't want to tell him everything.

Beside him, Dee let out a sigh of exasperation and took matters into his own hands. "Listen up, you stupid kid, `cause I'm only gonna say this once. You remember when I was in the hospital after being hurt?" Bikky nodded, it was something he wouldn't forget for a long time.

"One of the men who hurt me hasn't been caught by the police yet, and he called both Ryo and me. Ryo panicked and came over here to make sure I was all right. I didn't answer the door right away because I was still in shock over the phone call. Am I missing anything?"

Bikky's eyes widened slightly, but all he said was, "Thanks for telling me, Dee." The other man nodded back at him and gave a small smile, then turned to Ryo. "Well, Ryo, what do we do now? We've got the threat, and we both know that I, at least, have no intention of staying out of this guy's business now."

He growled low in his throat. "I was content to just let the other cops handle him, but now he's gone and pissed me off. Nobody, but nobody, calls me and threatens me like that." The fury was so hot in his eyes that it made Ryo wonder exactly what the threat had been. He knew what the man had said to him, but not what he had said to Dee.

However, the forbidding look on Dee's face kept him silent, which was probably a wise decision. Dee had never truly gotten angry at him, except when he brushed off the other man's advances, but Ryo had never truly been afraid of what Dee could do before he had gotten involved with the Organization.

A few moments later, Dee shook his head abruptly and flashed his trademark grin at Ryo. "Well, since you're both here now, why don't you just stay the night? We can all go to work together in a few hours, okay?"

Ryo nodded in acquiescence, and they all headed to bed. Bikky opted to go with Dee, understanding that the older man was still afraid, but not willing to let him sleep in the same room-and most certainly not the same bed-as the blonde.

Dee just scowled at him, but remained silent, apparently worried that Ryo would be far too anxious over him to get any sleep if they were together. It would most likely be a disaster if he had a nightmare in front of his partner. Bikky, on the other hand, would probably kick him and tell him to shut up and let him sleep.

Dee rolled his eyes at the unfairness of it all and climbed into his bed, scooting over to make room for his friend's son. Sighing, he snuggled under the covers, burrowing contentedly in their warmth, and promptly dropped off to sleep, not even minding that the brat was in there as well, probably planning how to best wake him up as torturously as possible the next morning.

Ryo, on the other hand, lay awake for several hours, just thinking. He knew that Dee was going after this guy, just as he knew that nothing he said would change his partners mind. He sighed-sometimes he worried that Dee was going to end up in over his head.

Sighing again, Ryo vowed to himself that no matter what Dee chose to do now, he would support his partner and back him up in any way possible. With his promise embedded firmly in his mind, he drifted off to sleep.

********************************************************

"You idiots! You're late! What the hell do you two think you're doing, huh?!" screamed the chief. Ryo winced, fighting the urge to cringe away and cover his ears. They were only about an hour late, and that was mostly because they had been unable to sleep very well last night, due to the threats aimed at them.

Dee on the other hand was relaxing against the wall near the office door, yawning tiredly with his hands crossed over his chest. "We had some unexpected problems last night, and they delayed us," he explained, offering no more information and glaring at the chief. If the man wanted to play this game, he was all up for it.

The chief leveled his own glare at his stupid subordinate and snarled, "What could have been so damn problematic that you arrived here an hour late?" Dee noted with idle amusement that the chief was now using big words, apparently trying to impress him. Problem with that was, he wasn't impressed in the least. He was bored, he was scared, he was tired, and he was pissed off, and now the chief was reaming him out almost as soon as he walked in the door.

"A threat from the idiot you all haven't caught yet," he replied neutrally, watching to see how his tone affected the chief. It was rare that he kept this calm when he felt so strongly about something, or felt that he was being unfairly accused, or at all for that matter, so it should throw the guy off-balance enough that he didn't realize what Dee had planned until it was too late.

He blinked in surprise as the chief paled. "You got a call from him, did you?" he asked. When they both nodded, he narrowed his eyes again. "Why did you not tell us then?" he queried. "You know that some of us are here at all times, and you could have called. It might have given us a lead."

Dee was too dumbfounded to reply, and Ryo stared, wide-eyed. "But, sir," he began, catching his superior's attention. "We did call last night and file the incident. We were assured that it would be looked into as soon as possible. Are you telling me that you got notification?"

The chief shook his head and frowned, confused. Then his eyes narrowed and he strode quickly to the door of his office, opening it and grabbing the first person who happened to walk by. "Get Rose in here, now!" he ordered, and the cop he had grabbed nodded and hurried off.

Dee sighed in aggravation-he hated Commissioner Rose with a passion. Ever since he had met him at that isolated inn during his vacation with Ryo, he had noticed that the other man kept staring appreciatively at his partner. His eyes narrowed and he growled slightly at the thought that Rose-pardon me-`Commissioner' Rose was coming within ten feet of his Ryo.

A few minutes later, there was a brief knock on the door followed by the entrance of Berkeley Rose, damn him. His gaze flickered briefly over Dee and lingered for a few moments on Ryo, finally coming to rest on the chief, who told him what he had just learned and asked if Rose had any idea as to why he hadn't been notified about it.

Commissioner Berkeley Rose frowned slightly as he puzzled over this. He turned to Ryo and confirmed the story that he had indeed called last night-well, early that morning-right after receiving the threat but before going to Dee's.

Rose frowned again, then asked, "Did you recognize the voice of the cop who spoke to you? Did you ask him for either the chief or myself?" Ryo nodded, replying, "I didn't recognize the voice, so I asked for either you, the chief, or somebody else who worked day shift with us, since some of us work nights too. He told me that neither of you were in, and that the only member of the day shift there had gone to answer a call and hadn't returned yet."

"I asked for his name, and he told me he was Alexander Williamson, Alex for short." He paused, staring hard at both the commissioner and Dee, who had both paled considerably and frozen, their eyes wide open in shock. He raised an eyebrow, asking what was wrong without speaking, and Dee answered him.

"Alex was the name of one of the men who hurt me. I don't know if Alexander Williamson is his full name or even if it's a real name, but I do remember one of the men was called Alex." Rose nodded. "Yes, we are currently hunting for a man who uses the alibi of Alex, but it is the shortened version of William Alexander Northcraft. We are unsure which name is real, or even if any of them are, which is what's making it so hard for us to locate him."

Dee snapped, "Well, then, why wasn't he on television along with my interrogator?! Shouldn't you have the people looking for him too?" Rose looked at him and sighed. "Did you ever see his face?" he asked gently. Dee shook his head slightly, frowning in confusion. "Well, neither have we. We have no idea who we're looking for here, so it's not surprising that we haven't been able to pinpoint his location."

It was Ryo who pointed out the more important fact: "If he was indeed the one we called last night, how did he do it? Was he in here, or was he able to hack into our system and divert the call from here?" The other three looked at him for a few seconds, making him shift on his feet uncomfortably, then jumped into action. Within moments, the entire precinct was being searched for any clue as to how a call to them completely bypassed them.

It was Dee who found the chip at his desk. Apparently, his phone had been the one that the call had gotten diverted to, which made sense for a number of reasons. He ticked them off on his fingers, shivering slightly at the thought that one of his tormentors had gotten into police headquarters.

One, the person knew he would be gone when the call was made at 3:00 in the morning; two, Dee's desk was backed into a corner and well-hidden from prying eyes, which would give him extra cover; three, even if it hadn't been well-hidden, nobody would have come anywhere near his desk, because nobody who worked nightshift was located in that part of the office.

Showing the evidence to his chief, he then took the rest of the day off and headed out, after promising Ryo that he wouldn't do anything rash, at least not without him. Commissioner Rose promised to inform him as soon as something came up-hopefully, they'd get fingerprints or something and be able to nail this guy.

Sighing, the raven-haired cop slid his key into the door to his home and walked inside, sliding the bolt shut behind him. He always left the chain locked when he was inside. When he left, he settled for the regular lock and deadbolt.

Sighing in relief, he slouched down onto his couch and tipped his head back ,exhausted. Reaching out, he clicked on the television and flipped through the channels, pausing when he reached a news station. Sure enough, the search for his interrogator was still on.

Dee set down the remote and watched the broadcast, determined to learn all he could about this guy. The first time he had seen him, he had been in too much shock to even grasp the guy's name, much less learn any other small details the report might give him.

The man's name was apparently Jason Greenberg, a nice, simple name that suited his plain features, but did no justice to his vicious, ruthless nature or his perverse pleasure in being cruel for the sake of being cruel. He had no family to speak of-not surprising, Dee thought, nobody would want to claim a bastard like that as a relative-and traveled around a lot, never staying in one place for too long-`hmm, wonder why', Dee thought caustically.

Dee was so focused on trying to learn what he could of his interrogator that he didn't even hear the near-silent footsteps behind him, or see the shadow of an average-sized man slipping up next to the couch where he sat. That would explain why he was startled when a pale hand clamped over his mouth and why he breathed in before realizing that chloroform was pressed against his face.

As his sight blurred and his feeble struggles ceased altogether, Dee looked up at his captor and straight into the eyes of the man that all the nation was searching for. His only thought, "I hope this time it's multiple choice," before passing out altogether.

********************************************************

Ryo drove straight to Dee's house after getting off of work. Bikky was staying the night over at Carol's, so he didn't have to worry about picking him up from school. Deciding to surprise Dee, he didn't bother to call the man, knowing he'd be home since he had promised.

He ran up the stairs to Dee's door and slid his copy of the key in, opening the door silently. Fortunately, the chain had bee unlocked, so he didn't have to knock and spoil his surprise. Stepping quietly into the foyer, he glanced around, listening for Dee. Hearing the television, he grinned and headed for the living room.

When he got there, he saw his partner sleeping, his breaths deep and even, his head tilted back in relaxation. Ryo slid up next to him, then froze. There was blood on Dee's left hand, fairly fresh. It was still dripping from a large nick at his elbow. Next to Dee sat a note, stained with his partner's blood.

Ryo ignored the letter and ran to the bathroom, grabbing some peroxide and bandages. He returned to the living room and cleaned Dee's cut, noticing that the cut was rather small, but it was deep, and would likely hurt for a while, a constant reminder of whatever it was that had just happened.

When he finished bandaging Dee up, he cleaned the blood off the couch, then sat down next to his partner and grabbed the note. Carefully, he ripped the seal and opened the letter. Inside was a lock of Dee's hair and a blood-stained fingerprint, probably Dee's as well, along with these words:

Seems your friend here wasn't nearly as careful

as he should have been, with me still on the loose.

This is just a warning to you both: I know how to get

you and I won't hesitate to kill you all if you give me a

reason to do so. I could have very easily killed your

pretty friend today, and there would have been nothing

you could have done about it. So here's your last warning:

watch out, or next time I will capture with intent to kill. Enjoy

life while you can, and stay out of my way.

Ryo's hands trembled as he read and re-read the note, searching between the lines for the hidden meaning. Problem was, he couldn't find any. Apparently the man meant exactly what he had said; he could have killed Dee today, and nobody would have been able to stop him.

Ryo dropped the letters from his lax fingers and put his head in his hands. How the hell was he supposed to explain this to Dee, and what were they going to do now? His head lifted quickly as he felt the man beside him begin to stir.

Groaning, Dee woke up and opened his eyes to mere slits. He didn't know what time it was, and had no desire to worsen his headache by blinding himself with light. When he saw that he was in his living room and that the lights were off, with only a little light coming in through the open window, he risked opening his eyes all the way, coming face to face with a somber Ryo.

He groaned again and closed his eyes as he remembered exactly why he had been unconscious in the first place. "Dammit all to hell," he muttered to himself, then snarled, "Jason, I swear, you're mine. You'd best pray like hell that the other cops find you before I do."

Realizing that Ryo was still there, he opened his eyes again and gave his partner a weak smile, asking, "Where's the brat?" Then he rolled his eyes at himself. "Where's the brat?" That had to be the first question he'd asked when he saw Ryo? Stupid, stupid, stupid! He berated himself, then flushed as he saw the blonde looking at him oddly.

Ryo raised his eyebrows, but otherwise opted not to comment. "Bikky's staying the night with Carol. I came straight over here from work to surprise you. Looks like I was the one who got surprised instead."

Dee nodded his head, then went to push himself off the couch, pausing when he felt something wrapped firmly around his elbow, keeping him from bending his left arm. Glancing down, he saw that his arm was bandaged from just above his elbow down to his wrist and he sighed. That bastard must've cut it, if Ryo had taken the time to bandage it like that.

Getting up with a sigh, Dee headed for the kitchen to prepare some dinner for him and Ryo, but his partner got there first, offering to fix the meal instead. When Dee protested, the Japanese-American cop pointed out that he really only the full use of one hand, so unless he was planning on ordering in, he should let Ryo take over and fix dinner. He'd just owe the smaller man a dinner.

Dee sighed in acceptance and went back out to the living room, then veered away and went into his bedroom instead. He didn't know why he was drawn to the bedroom, but brushed it off, assuming that he was just tired and looking forward to taking a nap before dinner.

When he reached the doorway, he froze. On his bed was another letter like the one Ryo had been reading when he first woke up. He hadn't read the note, but he could guess what it was-a more forceful threat to deter them. Dee just smirked to himself as he moved further into the room, using the heightened senses he had gained from working the streets for years as a cop, checking to make sure that nobody else was in the room, waiting to jump at him and knock him out again.

Jason and his cronies were obviously afraid of something, which meant that Dee probably knew what it was. However, they couldn't just kill him, because they had no accurate way of knowing how many other people he'd told. Of course, they didn't realize that Dee didn't even know what information he'd learned from them, much less told anyone else. That was why they kept him alive-they hoped that the threats would be enough to gain his silence.

`You guys couldn't break me, and you think threats are gonna work?' Dee smirked silently to himself. `You obviously don't know me very well, do you?' Of course, he amended, you didn't have to know a person to threaten them, and these guys were good at threats, whether direct like the phone call and assault, or indirect, like the diverted phone call.

Knowing he was stalling, Dee sighed and snatched up the new note quickly, before he lost his nerve. Ripping open the envelope, he opened the piece of paper contained within, and several pictures fell out. Picking them up, Dee blanched as his mind processed what he was seeing. He was looking at his own torture.

Tearing his eyes away from the condemning photos, Dee read the note. It was rather short and to the point:

Don't forget. We owned you, Detective Dee Laetner. And your pretty boyfriend. If you get in our way again, we'll make you beg for death, watching as your lover and son are taken again, and again, and again. Sweet dreams, detective.

Dee snarled, then headed for the kitchen, note clenched in one tight fist. He left the pictures on the floor where they had fallen. He'd pick them up later and burn them. For now, it was more important to inform Ryo of the threat against them. Dee knew that most likely this letter would result in his partner urging him to back off and stay out of the way of these men, and he knew also that he'd agree. Revenge was not nearly as important as the safety of Ryo and Bikky, even if the little pest did annoy him to no end.

Ryo was just setting down the last dish when Dee stormed into the room, his face dark with anger tinged slightly with fear. Eyes widening, Ryo just opened the letter that Dee thrust at him silently, reading the message it contained. As he read it for a second and third time, his eyes narrowed in anger and he looked up at Dee.

"That's it," he snarled, losing his temper. "I am sick and tired of the games these men are playing. We're never going to be safe until they're on Death Row, each and every one of them. I don't know about you, but I have no intentions of letting them get in another shot at us. I'm ready to take them out once and for all."

Dee blinked for several long moments, processing what Ryo had just said. He actually wanted to go after these guys? Looking at Ryo's face, he knew that it was true. Ryo was tired of being threatened, tired of having the people he cared for threatened and hurt, tired of worrying about where and when they'd strike next, just tired of it all. Now he was determined to finish this, and Dee couldn't agree more.

"Fine, then we'll show them just how much we can interfere with their operations. First, however, we'll have to make sure Bikky will be safe while we work. It wouldn't do for him to be taken prisoner while we hunt these jerks down." Ryo nodded in agreement, and the two sat down together, planning on just what they were going to do and how they were going to do it.

After dinner, Ryo left to pick up Bikky from Carol's, even though he was supposed to spend the night, and Dee began making phone calls. He knew quite a few people from the streets from his years as a cop, and had learned that they could be most helpful when it came to getting information, provided you knew how to ask, of course. Within an hour, he knew the precise location of the two men-Jason Greenberg and William Alexander Northcraft-and was ready to head out, as soon as Ryo returned.

Ryo had taken Bikky to the police station, then left after calling Dee and getting the location of the two men. Since it had been determined that they were being watched, Ryo left the station alone and headed back for the apartment. Within the next fifteen minutes, three other squad cars, two of them unmarked, were headed for the street Dee had given them.

The street was accessible from several different direction, and the cops used them all. Ryo and Dee took the shortest route there since Ryo had stopped to pick up his partner before heading to the scene.

Once they had arrived, the cops all drew their guns and slipped silently towards one of the dilapidated buildings, which Dee had indicated with a flick of his wrist. Once they had all the exits covered, Dee and Ryo made the first move, busting through the front door and aiming their guns into the room, searching for the two men.

They found them both rather quickly, neither one apparently expecting an assault to occur right in their hideout. Dee barely managed to restrain himself from killing the bastard in front of him, Jason, but he let the other cops handle it.

He did, however, get a perverse sense of pleasure and satisfaction when the man broke free and grabbed one of the cops' guns, giving Dee ample reason to shoot him in the shoulder, forcing him to drop the gun from weakened fingers.

As the two men were led out to the squad cars, Dee leaned in close to his interrogator, his uninjured arm wrapping around Ryo's waist, and hissed, "You can only threaten us for so long before we get royally pissed off. Then no force on earth can save you from our wrath."

Ryo simply glared at the men who had dared to threaten his partner and his son in such a crude manner. Then he smiled and also leaned in close to Greenberg. "Yes, and this time, we'll be the ones running the interrogation."

Dee laughed as the men were taken to prison to await their trial. Ryo, realizing that Dee's arm was still around his waist, squirmed away until he broke free of Dee's grip. His partner just grinned at him and said, "Let's go get that brat, shall we? And then maybe we can all watch a movie, hmm?" Ryo laughed and nodded, and they headed for the police station to gather Ryo's charge.

Okay, people, let me know what you thought, okay? I'm afraid the ending may have been a bit rushed, but I really couldn't help it. Thirteen pages is a lot to write in one day. Anyhow, review, okay? If you want me to write more, I will. Anybody up for some fluff say `aye.' ^__^ Review, please! Thank you.