Disclaimer:Don't own them and don't make any money off of them.
Warnings:Male/Male sex, graphic, violence, language, NCS (Not Main
characters), Very Bad guy nastiness.
One last warning... very scary/nasty bad guy.
"You okay?" Dee stared over the diner table at his partner and lover in concern. He reached out and squeezed Ryo's hand. It was gripping the handle of a steaming mug of tea, yet seemed chill despite the mug's intense warmth.
Ryo was sitting with head bowed, his fall of loosely curled honey-brown hair obscuring his face. His dark eyes, always so expressive, were windows to his true feelings. He hid them now by pretending to read a report that he had put next to his plate, only one elbow was pressed on top of it, obscuring most of the print. "I'm fine," Ryo replied shorty.
Ryo removed his hand from Dee's grip to drink his tea, but, he when he lifted the cup to his lips, Dee could see that hand and cup were shaking despite Ryo's obvious attempt to stop it.
"It's a tough case," Dee said, trying to prod Ryo into opening up to him.
"We'll find him," Ryo snapped back, the grip on his tea cup tightening noticeably.
"We'll give it all we got, that's for sure," Dee assured him.
"We WILL find him!" Ryo growled as if Dee were contradicting him.
Dee blinked at Ryo's vehemence and then he reached out and slid the report out from under Ryo's elbow. Pulling it across the table to himself, Dee looked it over bleakly.
Following a tip, officers had found the girl chained up in a basement. It was clear what had happened to her. The sick bastard had taken his time, using types of torture and torment that had shaken Dee, a veteran of homicides, to the core. They could have waited until forensics had combed the place with microscopic care, but Dee and Ryo had often found clues at crime scenes that experts had missed. Showing up at that particular crime scene had been routine. What they had been forced to deal with once they had arrived, had not. That level of sadistic violence was, luckily, few and far between, and no one ever developed a thick skin when dealing with it.
Dee had been deeply affected by the crime scene, by the unbelievable level of sadism visited on a young girl, but he wore a tough outward persona to hide it and he was confident that his horror wasn't going to affect his work, except to make his search for the killer a top priority; a case that he would solve at all costs.
Ryo was different. He was as tough as Dee when it came to dealing with criminals, but there were some things he always found difficult to remain detached about, children being top most on that list. Dee knew that his partner would delve down deep and find the strength to be professional and to do his job as he should, but it never happened right away. Dee wished that he could help him, but he knew that, aside from offering Ryo verbal and physical support, the man had to find the mental stability, the `zone', that would shut off sadness and horror and allow him to do his job without falling apart, by himself.
Dee wasn't surprised when Ryo suddenly pulled out his cell phone and began punching numbers. This was another of Ryo's quirks. Having witnessed that level of violence delivered to a child, he had to make certain that his children were safe and sound. Dee sat patiently while Ryo called first Bicky and then Cal. He spoke with each briefly, just needing to hear their voices and to assure himself that they were all right. When Ryo finally put away the phone, the man let out a long breath and then finished his tea with several hurried gulps. Putting own the empty cup, he slid out of the diner booth and looked down at Dee impatiently.
"Let's get him," Ryo urged with determination.
"I'm with you, partner," Dee replied with a grim smile and tossed down some bills to pay for their meal as he rose to join him.
"Come on!" Dee exclaimed as he slammed a fist on the counter of the hardware store. "Are you trying to tell me that people buy that kind of shit here every day?"
Dee had his dark sunglasses on and his cigarette was hanging off the side of his lips, sprinkling ashes and filling the small, seedy store with smoke. His rough cut, dark hair made him seem like a gangster and the impression wasn't lost on the store owner, who was beginning to doubt Dee's claim that he was a police detective.
The shop owner was a short, heavy set, African American stuffed in a an undershirt and a ratty pair of pants. His brown eyes were wide and nervous, sweat beading on his double chins. A skinny, younger assistant was peeking from a back room in fear.
"Dee!" Ryo admonished as he quickly walked up to the counter and gave the manager a bright smile. "I apologize for my partner's rudeness. This case is very important and we're anxious to put a killer behind bars. I hope you understand how any small clue would be of immense help to us?"
The shopkeeper wiped at his chins with the back of his hand and then said, "Well, I sell chain all the time. People chain up their things in a place like this. Locks go with the chain, of course. Nothing strange about that."
"Clamps, chains, and concrete screws are items someone in the slum would need, I agree, "Ryo replied smoothly, "But the other things on this list...."
The man looked indignant, "People in the slum DO go camping, officer!"
Dee snorted. "Enough to special order items like a portable toilet and supplies?"
"I have an RV," the man grumbled. "I keep that stuff on hand for myself and my in laws who borrow it for weekends."
"But this was a large request and you had to special order," Ryo pointed out. "You must have a record of the man who requested it?"
The shopkeeper shrugged. "Well, I don't. I figured he'd show up or I'd end up selling it to my in laws."
Dee snapped so quickly that the man flinched, "You took a special order from him, but you don't know what he looked like? I find that really hard to believe!"
The shopkeeper retorted,. "I didn't take the order. Milo back there did! He just came back to the office and asked me about it."
Ryo saw the young man duck back into the darkness of the office. He asked calmly, though his heart was beginning to race with anticipation, "May we speak to Milo?"
The shopkeeper growled, "Not without his parents say so. I won't let you walk all over him and maybe make him say things he don't mean."
Ryo stifled a growl of frustration and he kept his expression pleasant. "Can we at least ask him where we can find his parents?"
A back door opened and slammed shut. Ryo exchanged a look with Dee and then they were both flinging themselves over the counter, ignoring the shopkeeper's startled shout, and racing through the office. Flinging open the back door so that it slammed against the brick wall outside, they both plunged into a vacant alleyway full of garbage.
Dee pointed and then ran one way. Ryo ran in the opposite direction. They both searched for Milo. When they returned to the back door, though, they both were empty handed. Milo had disappeared into the depths of the slum.
"Think he has a record?" Dee panted, leaning with hands on knees as he tried to catch his breath.
Ryo leaned his back against the brick wall, panting and hating the smell of urine and garbage that was filling his lungs. "I think so or he wouldn't have run. We need to check records and find out where he lives."
"That manager knows something too," Dee growled. He straightened and cracked his knuckles.
"Dee!" Ryo warned. "We need copies of his order records and any notes he may have written about it. Antagonizing him won't get us very far. "
Dee made a disgusted face. "He helped outfit a prison for a tortured girl. Being antagonized is going to be the least of his problems if he knows something and doesn't come clean about it."
"Let's crack the easier nut first," Ryo urged. "We know for certain that the boy saw the murderer and took the order. He knows that we know. That's a much easier situation than trying to force a manager to talk when he knows we are ignorant of his role in all of this."
"Yeah, yeah!" Dee grumbled as they went back into the hardware store, "but I'd still like to put the manager under my thumb and make him squirm. It's people like that, who're too chicken shit to get involved, that make me sick and let murderers walk around free."
Ryo was more understanding. "Since the murderer IS walking around free, and he knows that the manager probably has heard about the crime by now, the manager's fear of talking is understandable, Dee."
Dee didn't want to listen to reason. As they confronted the manager again and demanded his records, all he could see in his mind's eye was a tortured girl and the unknown face of her killer. It was possible that the manger could fill in that blank face. His insistence on his ignorance was almost more than Dee could stand. If Ryo hadn't been there to constantly squeeze his elbow and talk him out of being rash, Dee was sure he would have been shaking the manager like the rat he felt the man was. It was something, Dee felt with chagrin, that Ryo was the more upset of either of them, yet it was Dee who couldn't keep his emotions under control.
Dee sat on the couch, hands hanging lax between his knees and expression despondent, as he tossed his cell phone aside and sighed darkly.
Ryo was finishing up washing the dinner dishes and Bicky was seated on the floor in front of the television playing a video game. The game music, and the electronic sounds of weapons fire, was destroying any hope for a quiet evening.
Ryo looked up from his dishes and saw his lover's frustration. By the time he had finished, he had decided that Dee was working himself into a terrible mood and that he had to be distracted before it crested into something ugly.
Ryo dug into his wallet as he approached Bicky. Tapping the boy on the shoulder to get his attention, Ryo put a ten dollar bill into Bicky's hand while the boy started and blinked like an owl. "Go to a movie, all right?" Ryo told him.
"Movie?" Bicky suddenly looked mercenary. "You haven't been in awhile or something, Ryo? Movies are expensive. Besides, you wouldn't want me to go alone?"
Ryo frowned. "I was going to call Ms. Eckert and have her take you."
"I'm not a baby!" Bicky groused. "I was thinking that Cal could go with me."
Ryo added another ten to the one in Bicky's hand and Bicky grinned until Ryo said, "Ms. Eckert is still going with you."
Ryo was immune to Bicky's complaints as he made the call. When the woman arrived, and she and Bicky were sent on their way, Ryo sighed with relief at the sudden, peaceful quiet. He let it linger while he turned off the television and picked up Bicky's snacks and cd player. When the house was neat and clean again, Ryo turned to Dee.
Dee had sprawled onto his back on the couch, one arm flung over his eyes, his disordered dark hair covering whatever part that shield didn't obscure. Ryo felt a wave of sympathy and love. He wasn't usually the one to initiate intimacy, he never needed to with Dee's hyperactive libido, so it was with nervousness that he undid the buttons of his shirt and let it hang open as he approached the couch.
Dee started and his arm lowered as Ryo gingerly straddled Dee's hips and rested his firm backside against Dee's crotch. Looking down into Dee's dark green eyes, Ryo smiled gently and made a rubbing motion against the man underneath him. Dee's mouth hung open and his eyes widened.
"Ryo?" Dee's voice almost squeaked, but then he relaxed and his expression turned sensual as he reached up to Ryo's bared chest and ran thumbs over Ryo's hardening, pink nipples. Suddenly, the case, and the fact that Milo, the store clerk, had disappeared off of the face of the Earth, was only a back ground concern as Dee marveled at, and eagerly began to respond to, Ryo's unexpected boldness.
Ryo blushed and turned his face aside, feeling embarrassed by his own, strong reaction to Dee's touch. His fall of honey brown, loose curls, and his dark eyes made him look like a shy angel sprung from some renaissance painting. Dee raised a hand and cupped one of those handsome cheeks, caressed with calloused fingers, and then guided that perfect face down so that their lips met. Tongues tangled together as lips parted, tasting the arousal and sweetness found there.
Dee's hips rose up and rubbed against Ryo's backside. Ryo could feel his hardness. Reaching down between them, and rubbing it with his hand, Ryo felt a rush of heat throughout his body as he felt that long, needy length. He pinched the head and Dee yelped and then chuckled, low and throaty.
"Unzip my pants," Dee begged breathlessly.
Ryo made the task slow and sensual, peeling back the material so that he could dip his hand into the waist band of Dee's black boxers. Feeling Dee's flesh, silky, hot, and dripping hard, Ryo felt an overwhelming desire to possess it, taste it, and feel it deep within him. He groaned as Dee gripped his hips and kneaded, making him rub across that hot erection several times before Ryo forgot about shyness and embarrassment and only thought of satisfying an inner itch that only Dee could scratch.
"Pants, off," Dee growled, opening Ryo's belt impatiently and then sliding hands along Ryo's slim, muscular torso as Ryo awkwardly pulled off his pants. "Leave the shirt on," Dee told him when he began to shrug out of it.
Dee grabbed hold of Ryo's shirt with both hands and then pulled shirt and Ryo down to his nose. Dee breathed in the smell of Ryo, and the enticing scent of the after shave that Ryo favored, as the man settled on his pelvis again, but this time with electric results. Skin against skin, and Ryo's own growing erection bobbing teasingly close, Dee was in heaven as he roughly ran his tongue over Ryo's nipples.
Ryo shivered and groaned. Propped up on his arms above Dee's head, Ryo hovered and let Dee's talented tongue torment him. He panted and bit his lip, the sensation of being suckled, and the rough pad of Dee's tongue on sensitive flesh, making his erection rock hard and dripping with need.
Dee's hand went to Ryo's erection and he made Ryo groan and start as he caressed it and then milked out some pre cum. Taking it on his fingers, Dee slid his hand under Ryo's rounded, firm, ass and found his tight, dry entrance. Using the pre cum as lube, Dee teased the flesh there, rubbing gently and even scratching very lightly now and again. Working Ryo's nipples and tormenting his entrance, Dee had Ryo panting and moaning, writhing as pleasure vibrated through him from two points.
Dee's own need soon had enough of waiting. He thought about asking for his lover to take him in his hot, moist, beautiful mouth, but he needed more than that. His need to be physical, to relieve tension, was almost as strong as his need to come.
"Wanna take a ride, baby?" Dee growled sensually.
Dee grinned at Ryo's deep red blush, and his lover looked every where but at him as he nodded.
Dee's fingers stroked Ryo's entrance. "You're still tight," he said in concern. "I think we need something or you're going to be sore."
Without looking up, Ryo leaned down and pulled a tube of lube from the pocket of his discarded pants and handed it to Dee. Dee chuckled as he took it. Ryo's uncharacteristic boldness was making Dee very turned on. It made him want Ryo strongly and, even though he coated his erection quickly, his body's response to even those few strokes made Dee afraid that he would come too soon. Too cool down, he reached out to Ryo's erection and took it in a firm, possessive grip.
"Ryo?"
"Hmm?"
"Can you..."
"What?" Ryo whispered throatily, eyes on Dee's hand as it began to stroke his swollen erection.
Dee gave Ryo the lube meaningfully. He didn't think that Ryo's blush could get any deeper, but Ryo didn't hesitate to put lube on his own fingers and slide that hand underneath himself. Dee stroked Ryo in a steady rhythm while he watched Ryo's slicked fingers prepare himself. Ryo shuddered and his hips began to move, his fingers delving deeply now and unable to keep from moving in and out and rubbing sensitive, tingling, flesh.
Ryo came all at once with a shuddering of his body and a bit back, deep moan, as his hot seed splattered over Dee's neck and chest. Dee touched his finger to it and then brought it to his own lips, meeting Ryo's dazed eyes as he licked it off.
Grinning ferally, Dee decided that he had waited long enough. He rolled until Ryo was beneath him, body curling up as Dee hooked arms under his knees and lifted him into position. Sizzling hot, sweat soaked skin, and Ryo's aftershave filling his nostrils, Dee nuzzled Ryo's cheek and lapped with his hot tongue, as he unerringly placed the tip of his erection against Ryo's entrance. Slowly and carefully, Dee pushed in with short, gentle thrusts of his hips, not stopping until he was seated fully. Ryo hissed and panted in his ear with some discomfort, yet feeling Ryo moving his body to take Dee even deeper inside of himself, reassured Dee that Ryo was all right and feeling pleasure as well.
"Love you, baby," Dee breathed and then began to thrust in earnest.
Ryo was tight and hot and his small sounds of pleasure, his broad hands stroking over Dee's rounded shoulders, and the intense masculine scent of arousal intermingling between them, sent Dee quickly over the edge with a loud cry, his body jerking and shuddering in a tremendous orgasm. Ryo clutched at him as if he were Dee's lifeline and Dee's heart thudded against Ryo's breast as he allowed himself to collapse, spent, on top of his lover, panting hard.
They stayed together like that, enjoying the feel of each other and the pleasurable exhaustion of release, for a long while. At last, Dee rose and pulled Ryo up with him. They leaned together, holding each other, and then Dee was leading Ryo towards the bedroom and a hot shower.
Ryo followed with a smile, knowing that he hadn't made Dee totally forget about the case, it wasn't something that he could do himself, but that he had given Dee some peace and a chance to step back and relax. In the morning, they would both have to wade back into the horrors of the case, but for now, they could lose themselves in their love for one another.
Ryo put down the phone receiver and tightened his tie, his eyes hard and staring at nothing. When he finally turned toward the breakfast table, he found Dee looking at him curiously, a piece of toast stuck in his mouth and a steaming mug of coffee half raised in one hand, as if he was about to eat and drink at the same time. Before he could chew and swallow to speak, Bicky, sitting across from him, piped up, "Something wrong, Ryo?"
Bicky sounded worried. At any given time, Bicky could be into any number of things that he knew wouldn't win him his guardian's approval. Unexpected phone calls usually meant trouble if it was about him. The blonde, African-American child of the streets, pulled his most innocent expression out of hiding and prepared to defend himself with a hundred well worn excuses.
Ryo blinked and then shrugged as he clearly forced himself to relax and smile. "Just the station. They want us to stop and investigate a new crime scene before coming into work." Ryo didn't elaborate any more than that as he bent to put on his shoes, but Dee had caught the eyes that had slid his way and he knew what Ryo wasn't saying.
Dee let his toast drop back down onto his plate. He gulped his coffee as he stood up and snagged his coat from the back of his chair. His breakfast had suddenly turned into a lead weight in his stomach. He tried to keep his outward appearance as calm and casual as Ryo, but he couldn't help jerking into his coat on and buttoning it closed with harsh motions, his jaw set hard.
Bicky, oblivious to the leashed emotions around him, was tossing a few muffins into his backpack and standing as well. "Cal's hooking up with me before school, so I'm gonna go now-"
Ryo's hand descended on Bicky's shoulder and Ryo was frowning. "We'll drop you off at school on the way," he said, knowing better than to trust Bicky to get to school if something more interesting came up.
"Aw! Ryo!" Bicky whined. "You gotta give me some slack! You can trust me!"
Dee would have yelled and called the boy an irresponsible little criminal who couldn't be trusted, and the words almost left his lips, but Ryo forestalled him, saying the right thing as usual. "You're a tough kid, and I know you can handle yourself if there's trouble, but I worry about you. Humor me and let us take you to school. It will save me some gray hairs."
Bicky grumbled, but relented in the end. When they all piled into the old car, Dee driving and puffing on his cigarette in unconscious agitation, they were all quiet. It was a relief to let Bicky off at the school and to finally talk.
Ryo was flipping through his notes as he explained, "The phone call... The Chief told me that the killer struck again. Another torture murder in an abandoned building."
"Another girl?" Dee ground out, face dark and brows drawn down hard over his intense, green eyes.
"Yes," Ryo replied. "It was done in the basement of the building and the killer had gone to some trouble to soundproof it."
"More stuff that he had to have bought at a hardware store," Dee said in frustration. "We have to find that damned kid!"
Ryo nodded, "After we check this place out, we'll go over the area where he lives again, talk to some of his friends, check out some of the hangouts there."
Dee grumbled. "He's probably at home, you realize? His folks may not squeal on him no matter how important it is."
"We have officers staking out his apartment," Ryo reminded him.
Dee was dismissive, "And I'm sure everyone on the street knows it too. They don't miss it when strangers suddenly pull up and stay awhile. We need someone who can blend in more. Someone they probably already know."
Ryo raised a honey-brown eyebrow. "Do you have someone in mind?"
Dee nodded. "Yeah, an old friend."
"Saw him just a half hour ago," the lanky, African American youth said. He held up a hand out and gave Dee a hard look. "Pay up and I'll tell you where."
Dee scowled as he and Ryo stood near a burger joint and listened to what a nervous Leonard McGee had to say. Leonard had good reason to be nervous. There wasn't much chance of someone from his depressed neighborhood seeing him in that trendy business district, but there WAS always a chance and he knew what fate a squealer could expect to get on the streets.
Ryo dug into his wallet and pulled out a fifty. Dee growled a protest, but Ryo ignored him as Leonard snatched the money from him. "All right," Ryo said, "Now, tell us where he is."
Leonard shoved the money into the pocket of his ratty jeans and then said in a low voice, "He was hanging out with the Lobo Gang in that big, abandoned hotel. Pretty damned stupid! Those guys are tight. They don't let strangers in on their `family'. They'll probably make the kid run some dirty jobs they don't wanna do themselves until someone kills him."
"He's not going home at all?" Ryo wondered, puzzled.
Leonard snorted contemptuously, "I don't know about that, but he hasn't been there since I've been watchin' the place. I don't blame him either. His family stinks! The Lobo Gang is probably a step up for him."
"I spoke his parents..." Ryo began, skeptical.
Leonard rubbed a hand across his nose and looked at Dee with a laugh. "Your partner always this much of a chump?" Dee growled a warning, but Leonard ignored him and said to Ryo, "Everybody learns to do `the song and dance' man, when the government folks come around. Everybody has a story to cover up their shit."
"His parents are abusing him?" Ryo asked in concern.
Leonard shrugged, "I just know he don't go back there and, from the yelling and screaming, the liquor store runs, and the way his brothers and sisters come running out of the place looking like they got beat up, I can freakin' figure out what's going on."
"You got your money," Dee said impatiently. "Come on, Ryo! Let's move." He pulled his car keys out of his pocket and motioned Ryo to follow.
Ryo hung back, "Thank you," he said to Leonard, "You may have helped bring a killer to justice."
Leonard grinned and sank a hand into the pocket where he had placed the fifty. "There's lots of other guys to take his place, man. You're stupid if you think it makes a difference. I got what I came for! You can keep your goody-goody shit to yourself."
Ryo watched Leonard turn and disappear into the milling lunch crowd. Dee placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. Ryo said, "It must be hard to have hope when you live in a place like that."
"Forget about it Ryo," Dee replied as he steered Ryo towards the car. "He's just talking tough. He's not about to go all gooey and hug you for giving him one less killer to worry about on the street. I'm sure he appreciates it though. He'd be a moron if he didn't."
Ryo was nodding as he opened the passenger side door of the car. "I'm not doubting anything, especially my job, Dee, but Leonard's attitude does bother me. He did only care about the money. A man that young shouldn't be that hard or that mercenary."
Dee didn't reply. It was hard to know what to say to Ryo. The man was such a good person and he wanted so badly for things to be right with everyone, that it often worried Dee that he would burn out or get emotionally out of control. That day in the diner, he had suspected that Ryo had been close to both. His partner had a tough core though, just like Leonard, and he had managed to pull himself back and to put himself on the job again with his idealism and sensitivity intact, but his professionalism and determination to do his job right firmly in place. Even now, as Dee climbed into the driver's seat and looked over at his partner, he could see Ryo calmly scribbling notes, even though he knew that Ryo was just as eager as himself to get to that hotel and to take Milo in for questioning.
"I really love you," Dee suddenly blurted and then blushed and glared at the road hard as he put the car into gear.
As Dee pulled away from the curb, Ryo chuckled and replied, "That's good, because I love you too, Detective Dee. Now, can I please see a demonstration of that lead foot you're famous for?"
Dee grinned. "Will do, partner!"
They had parked a block away and walked the rest of the way, trying not to call attention to themselves. It was hard. Dee fit right in, dark haired, tee shirt, old jacket to hide his gun and shoulder holster, ragged tennis shoes, a cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth, and a closed sullen expression on his face. Ryo looked like a dapper choirboy, tumbled, loosely curled hair framing a wide, innocent expression that just screamed easy mark, and clothes that were casual, but bordering on preppie. He was the kind of person Dee would have picked out of any crowd as a stranger and an easy mark. Dee walked behind him, hands stuffed into his jean pockets, and tried to look as if he were suffering through the visit of some idiotic relative, hoping that would at least give the locals some explanation for Ryo's obvious, misplaced, presence.
When they neared the hotel, they picked up food at a hole in the wall take out and stood, leaning back against a wall as they ate their sandwiches and sipped on cans of soda. Dee was looking over Ryo's shoulder to the hotel while Ryo was looking at him and making small talk. The locals stared at them curiously as they passed them by and Dee had a sense that they weren't fooling anyone. He knew that their success or failure hinged now on how much the locals liked or disliked the gang. There was a general solidarity on the street, especially when the law was sniffing around, but if a gang had gotten on the outs by making too many enemies with the locals, then there was a chance that the locals would turn the other way and let the gang go down.
"Your friend looking for some action?" A voice said near Dee's elbow.
Dee kept himself from starting as he turned his head and glared at a very short, well dressed man. The man had a flashing gold ring, gold chains, and his grin revealed one, large gold tooth. "No," Dee said shortly.
"Got some hot girls out back just ready to take it anyway you wanna give it, my man!" The man persisted. "Come on! Don't be shy!"
Ryo looked annoyed. "We aren't interested, right cousin Vinny?"
Dee blinked and kept from smiling. "He's slumming," he told the man, "while he does research for an article in a newspaper he's gonna write about the poor. I know he don't need to do no research between some bitch's legs." Dee fell into his street slang easily enough, but he didn't over do it.
The man looked Ryo over. He was dismissing Dee as one with the slum that easy and probably too poor to pay his turn with the prostitutes. Ryo was another matter entirely. He was going after the `easy mark'. "Come on!" he crooned. "They is sooo fine!" When Ryo blushed and shook his head no in obvious distaste, the man tried another tack. "Maybe you don't like it that way, huh? I got some strange stuff too, if you into that, my man! Got a fine piece of ass that likes it rough and, if you got the cash, I can even find you some young dick."
Dee tensed, remembering ugly things he had witnessed in his youth. "How young?" he asked as if he were suddenly interested and wondered if their case was going to get sidetracked.
The man scowled, suddenly angry. "You'se a fucking pervert?! I don't do no shit like that, man!"
Dee snarled. "Me either, which is why I was goin' ta be the shit out o' you, if ya said ya did!!"
The man stepped back, holding up his hands with a nervous grin. "I get ya, man. I get ya! Change your minds about the normal shit and you can come bang it out back, got it?"
"Got it," Dee grumbled and gave the man his shoulder as he turned back to Ryo and began watching the hotel over his shoulder again. Ryo was blushing, but looking pleased. His dark eyes were sparkling. Dee joked, "Didn't mean to speak for you, baby. Did you want some dick?"
Ryo almost spluttered and he turned a deeper red than Dee had ever seen before, but he shocked Dee by shooting back under his breath, "Only if it's yours."
Dee smirked, hardly believing his ears. "I'm pretty expensive," he warned.
"Are you worth it?" Ryo asked with raised eyebrows.
"Hell, ye-" Dee froze mid sentence as he saw Milo, looking nervous and hands jammed into his ragged pockets, appear and shuffle out of the hotel door. He took a right and slipped down an alley. "Let's go," Dee said and Ryo didn't need an explanation. They were both serious in an instant as they turned as one and followed Milo.
Dee took the lead as they entered the alley and both of them undid the safeties on their guns. It was possible that it might be a trap, that Milo and the gang were aware of their presence and were ready to jump two cops and show them how invaders on their home turf were treated.
Dee twitched at every noise, his eyes trying to adjust to the gloomy light of the ally as he hurried as quickly as he could after Milo. Ryo was a comforting presence at his back and he didn't have to look to know that Ryo was watching behind them to make sure that no one came up and attacked them from that quarter.
"Damn!" Dee swore under his breath as the alley emptied out onto the street again. He looked quickly around, but it was Ryo who pointed left. Dee saw Milo's retreating back and he hurried after him.
"Backup?" Ryo asked, panting as he tried to keep up with Dee's longer strides.
"Make the call," Dee agreed. As they moved further and further away from their car, and followed Milo into the deeper slums, the chance for trouble multiplied.
Ryo spoke quickly to a dispatcher on his cell phone. He tried to be as discrete as possible, but it was impossible to hurry and talk on a cell phone, while in pursuit of a young gang member, without being noticed. People were already frowning and turning to look at them. Some of those looks were ugly and dangerous, while others were curious and hopeful, hopeful that another criminal was about to be taken off of those dangerous streets.
"There!" Dee said as he turned into another alley. This one had dumpsters and rotten food smell. Steam boiled out of the back of small, take- out restaurant and a foul, green smelling trickle of something oozed down a narrow gutter.
There was a patch of deeper shadow underneath a fire escape. Milo was there, anxiously passing a bag to someone. A hand reached out and snagged the bag while another reached out and grabbed Milo. Dee and Ryo both broke into a hard run and drew their weapons as they heard a frightened cry from the boy.
"Freeze!" Dee shouted, hoping to forestall any violence until they reached the fire escape.
Three young men bolted, legs flying and gang clothes flapping as they tried to escape. Dee motioned for Ryo to follow them as he kneeled to check on Milo. The boy was sitting, back against a cracked brick wall, and eyes looking at Dee with shock and fear. One of his hands was raised to his neck. He lowered it and brought it before his wide eyes. His hand was covered in blood and more of it was streaming down into the collar of his tee shirt. It was obvious that one of the men had tried to slit his throat.
"Armed!" Dee shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping that Ryo would hear him. Throwing aside his coat, Dee then yanked off his shirt and pressed the material hard against Milo's bleeding throat. Keeping on the pressure, Dee used his free hand to hit the speed dial on his phone, calling an ambulance.
"Y-you!" Milo stuttered. "From the store..."
"Yeah," Dee muttered, worrying about Ryo and hoping back up would come quickly. "Don't talk. Help's coming."
"You going to arrest me?" Milo sobbed. "The boss said you were looking for me. He told me it was probably because of my record. I-I don't wanna go to jail!"
"I said, don't talk!" Dee grumbled. "Don't worry about nothing except not bleeding to death, okay?"
Milo started shaking. "A-Am I gonna die?"
Dee kicked himself mentally. "No!" he reassured the boy. "Looks just like a paper cut to me, but I had to call the wagon. I've got rules I have to follow and that's one of them. Don't worry about it. They'll probably just stick a bandaide on you."
Milo wasn't that stupid. He reached up to help Dee keep the shirt tight against his neck. His hands were shaking hard. "They said it'd be simple. Just hand the stuff over and they'd give me the money. Why- Why they do this?"
Dee frowned and his jaw worked for a moment before he replied tightly, "Some guys want to keep the drugs and the money, kid. That's why your `fiends' sent you. They knew there was a chance of getting your ass capped instead of getting paid."
Milo looked angry, almost hurt. "They said I was one of them, `family'."
"Now you know," Dee replied simply.
"Yeah," Milo replied shakily.
"Damn it, Ryo! Call me!" Dee muttered under his breath. He had placed the cell phone on the pavement so that he could have both hands free. He was glaring at it now, imagining Ryo chasing the bad guys and then maybe getting jumped himself. If Ryo hadn't been able to call... If backup didn't know where he was... If he ran into more gang members... Dee shut those thoughts off abruptly. Ryo was the best. He wasn't an idiot. He could take care of himself. His head knew it, but Dee was finding a hard time convincing his heart.
"Why were you guys chasing after me?" Milo wanted to know. "Was it because of the money I stole?"
Dee frowned. "We were chasing you to ask you some questions. You heard us at the store. We are investigating a string of torture murders. We think you saw who committed them. That's what we wanted to talk to you about."
"I knew you were talking about something, but I was worrying about me and what I did too much to listen to what you were saying," Milo admitted. "I heard when you started talking about me though, so I ran. I didn't want to get arrested."
Dee could hear a siren. The ambulance was close by. He asked quickly, not wanting to miss his opportunity, "Milo, did you see anyone at the store who bought clamps, chains, wall rivets, and supplies for a portable toilet?"
Milo was looking weak now and his dark skin was paling. Dee gave a quick look under the shirt and went a little pale himself. The wound was a long slice and the pressure to it, though it might have slowed the bleeding, hadn't stopped it completely. Dee suddenly forgot all about his line of questioning. Milo hadn't though, he rallied and gave Dee a ragged reply.
"Only person I ever seen getting that stuff was Mr. Samuel," Milo said with a small frown. "Never said what it was for."
Samuel, Dee thought with a chill start. That was the name of the owner of the hardware store. "Damn!" Dee swore and then jumped when his cell phone rang. He snagged it from the pavement and put it to his ear. "Ryo?"
"Everything's okay, Dee," Ryo's welcome voice told him. "Back up arrived and we arrested two of the suspects. The third one was positively identified, so they should pick him up soon as well."
"Love you, Baby!" Dee grinned. "You're the best! Get back here as quick as you can and I'll give you a big kiss!. An ambulance is picking Milo up any second and I have some new info."
"I'll be there shortly," Ryo promised, sounding amused, and then he hung up. Dee dropped the phone again and grinned at Milo, who was looking at Dee with wide eyes.
"Y-You're gay?" Milo stuttered anxiously.
"Bisexual," Dee told him with a nod.
"O-Oh," Milo replied, relieved. "You're not gay, good, I thought, when you said..."
Dee sighed, opened his mouth to explain, and then closed it with a snap. It wasn't the time to educate a wounded boy. "The guy I'm married to is though," his devil tongue couldn't help saying.
Milo stared. "M-married?"
The EMS crew chose that moment to run up carrying a stretcher with their equipment piled on top. Dee stood, relinquishing his place as they kneeled to start working. None of them commented on the wound. They'd seen worse.
"What happened?" Ryo asked at Dee's elbow.
Dee turned, startled, and then grinned as he grabbed Ryo's elbow and led him a little ways away from the working EMS crew. Ryo looked sweaty and exhausted, his coat thrown over his shoulder and the collar of his shirt open, but he also looked unhurt. "Okay?" Dee asked.
Ryo nodded impatiently. "Fine. Tell me what's going on?"
"Milo there had his throat slit," Dee explained, "and had a sudden revelation that the gang who called him `family' was really just calling him `chump'." He added quickly when he saw Ryo's alarm, "I think he's going to be fine. Don't worry. The really good news is that Milo spilled the beans and told me that the hardware store owner has been taking supplies home that match the description of our killer's shopping list."
Ryo's eyes went wide and then he looked excited. "Let's make sure Milo gets off okay and then lets set up surveillance on the store owner," Ryo suggested. "He may have another victim that we don't know about."
"I'll call the station and see if our shop owner has a record," Dee said. "If he does, I'll have forensics try and match up DNA and fingerprint samples on file." The more evidence they had going in after the suspect, the better case they'd make, Dee thought. A bastard like that wasn't going to get off on any technicalities when he was on the case!
Dee stared at the pavement, leaning against a brick wall and cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth, forgotten, as he cradled his bleeding knuckles against his chest. The pain was vicious, but he didn't care. Ryo's handkerchief was tied around the wounds, but blood was slowly staining the white cloth.
Ryo was going up and down the street, stopping and talking to the locals. His anxious questions were met by uninformative shrugs, stammered denials, and, in some instances, sullen anger. If anyone knew where the hardware store owner had gone, they weren't saying.
Returning to Dee at last, with shoulders slumped in defeat, Ryo stared sadly at the empty store front window. There were still fixtures in the store and some equipment and stock left behind, but, for the most part, it looked as if someone had packed the store up hastily and closed shop for good. Somehow, The store owner, maybe getting nervous at his questioning by Dee and Ryo, or simply knowing that he would be found out eventually, had fled the area. It hadn't taken Dee and Ryo long to find out that his name was an alias and that he had operated under a false identity.
"He was good," Ryo said softly. "He must have rented his moving van from outside the area, or he might own his own truck. Since no one saw him packing to go, he must have pulled up at the back, maybe early or late yesterday while there were few people on the street.
"They wouldn't say even if they did see him go," Dee growled. He turned as if to punch the brick wall. He had already lost to it once. Ryo grabbed his bleeding hand and held it between his own.
"Dee, that isn't going to help!" Ryo exclaimed in worry as Dee pulled his injured hand away. "Start thinking and stop reacting!"
Dee puffed on his cigarette and then threw it aside. His face was hidden by his tangled black hair as he stared at the pavement, jaw working. Suddenly, he was reaching into his pocket and pulling out his car keys.
"What?" Ryo asked, confused. "We should stay and look for clues inside the shop."
"I'm thinking, just like you said," Dee replied. "I'm thinking that bastard probably has someone chained up around here and he might not want to go before he's done playing. If we case the streets, we might spot a large truck where it shouldn't be."
Ryo frowned. "We should look for clues first. If you're wrong and we miss something..."
"You stay here and do that," Dee suggested. "Call if you find something."
"Dee..." Ryo began and then nodded, seeing that Dee wasn't going to follow the book on this one. The man had good instincts. He wasn't usually wrong when he followed them.
Dee pointed a finger at Ryo as he began walking towards the car. "Be careful, partner."
"You too," Ryo retorted.
Dee watched Ryo go into the hardware store, the handsome man looking determined. He smiled. If there was something to be found, Ryo would be the one to find it.. That bastard wasn't going to get away. Between them, they would find him. A person couldn't leave that quickly without leaving something, without screwing up somehow and revealing where he was going.
Dee drove up and down the streets, slowly widening his pattern and not leaving any road, however dubious, unsearched. He stopped several times to check out vans, but none of them proved to be the right one. His frustration began to grow again. His wounded hand worked on the steering wheel angrily, making the knuckles sting and throb with pain.
The cell phone rang. Dee quickly answered it, hopeful, but Ryo dashed his hopes at once. "I found some small clues, but nothing concrete," Ryo said dejectedly. "We'll have to take them and research them at the station."
Dee knew the next question and he scowled, not wanting to hear it.
"Dee, maybe you should come pick me up and we'll-" Ryo began, but Dee cut him off.
"A few more minutes," Dee found himself saying, though he knew it was ridiculous. He just couldn't bring himself to stop. He had to find that point of defeat in his own gut. It wasn't there yet. He wasn't ready to say that he had done all that he could. Ryo seemed to understand that.
"I'll wait. There are a few calls I can make from here," Ryo said.
Dee sighed. He really had to find a way to show that man how much he appreciated him, Dee thought. "Thanks," He grunted. "I won't be long.... stay in the store, okay?"
There was a pause and then Ryo said with some exasperation, "Dee...."
Dee growled. "I know! I know! You can take care of yourself."
"I'll be careful, don't worry," Ryo said, softer. "It's the murderer who should be worrying."
"Yeah, he should," Dee agreed and started looking again with desperate determination.
He almost missed it. The truck was a dirty, rusted brown and it was tucked into an alley with an old tarp covering the hood. Dee left his car on the street and slid through the space between the truck and the wall to reach the alley behind it. He called in the tag number and the truck VIN number and wasn't surprised when the tag came back as stolen and the truck number belonged to another truck entirely. The truck looked as if it had been put together from scrap parts from other vehicles.
The owner might be an illegal alien, trying to stay under government radar and living the life of an undocumented person, Dee thought, trying to be pessimistic to save himself another disappointment. Closer inspection of the truck didn't give him any clues for or against that theory. The truck was locked with a hefty padlock and there wasn't any way to see inside. Moving along the side again, Dee peered through the dirty glass of the cab window. He saw discarded drink and food containers and some papers strewn over the passenger seat. He squinted. The papers seemed to be lists of some sort, but he couldn't make out the cursive scrawl they were written in. He tried the door, but it was predictably locked.
"Okay, Mr. Owner," Dee said softly. "Dee is coming for a visit."
Dee called in his position and his intent and then began searching the alley behind the truck. Both buildings on either side of the alley were boarded over, the doors bolted closed. They were old stores from a more prosperous time and, while one building had obviously been settled by squatters, nothing looked disturbed, pried off, or vandalized on the opposite building. Knowing the habits of the homeless, drug dealers, and gangs, Dee found that instantly suspicious. Abandoned buildings didn't usually stay abandoned. Someone had to be keeping the locks and the boards in working order to keep trespassers out.
Dee called Ryo. "I think I found something, Ryo," Dee told him. "If you're not having any luck where you are, you might want to join me."
"I'll be right there, Dee!" Ryo replied anxiously, knowing Dee's impatience too well. "Wait for me."
Dee frowned, not wanting to make any promises. "I'll just poke around and try to find a way in while I'm waiting for you. Hurry up, okay?"
"Dee!" Ryo exclaimed in exasperation. "Call for backup and wait until I get there. We know he's a dangerous man!"
"We know he's a slippery man too," Dee snapped back. "I'm not letting him slip out of my hands again. I'll call for backup, but I'm not waiting around for it. You know how damned slow they are responding to anything around here, especially if I don't have anything to tell them yet."
Dee ignored Ryo's continued protests as he gave him the address. "Make the call and then call me back," Ryo begged. "Leave your phone on at least, so I can hear if you run into trouble."
Dee could hear Ryo making noises and knew that the man was hurrying to his position, probably at a run. "Don't panic and watch where you're going!" Dee exclaimed. "You can't help me if you get flattened in traffic."
Dee made the call for backup. If it was the murderer in that building, or an illegal alien stealing license plates, the situation could turn dangerous all too quickly. Both men might be desperate and armed. Calling back Ryo, Dee heard his partner answer the phone, hardly able to speak through his labored breathing.
"I made the call and now I'm going to look for a way in," Dee told him as he approached the boarded over doors and windows. "We're dealing with someone who knows hardware and everything looks brand new. If this is our guy, I just bet he has a way for himself to get in."
"Dee!" Ryo complained. "Why didn't you tell me how far away you were?!"
"Sorry, Baby," Dee replied apologetically. "I guess I did do some driving. Maybe you should have backup pick you up-"
Ryo came sliding through the space between the truck and the wall, stumbling, gasping for breath, and running with sweat. His red face was angry as he threw off his coat and pulled loose his tie. He leaned over, hands on knees, and tried to catch his breath while glaring at Dee accusingly.
Dee grinned. "Glad you could make it, partner."
"Dee!" Ryo panted in an angry growl.
"All that jogging you do was good for something after all," Dee joked. "You made pretty damned good time."
Ryo straightened, still taking in deep breaths. "The streets are lined up in a pattern. It was simple to figure out that several back alleys cut across them."
"How many drunks and garbage cans did you jump over on the way?" Dee chuckled.
"Several," Ryo grumbled.
"Well, backup is still in route. We won't wait," Dee told him and turned to the building again, pocketing his cell phone. He reached out to the boards over a door and looked closely. He grinned. "Smart man. This just looks screwed shut." Dee pulled and the screws easily slid out of their holes. The boards were all connected and boards and door opened easily.
Dee undid the safety on his gun and said, eyes gleaming with anticipation. "I'll go first."
Ryo took out a small flashlight from his pocket and turned it on, shinning it over Dee's shoulder. His other hand was on his gun and he shouldered the door to let Dee creep in first. He lowered the flashlight when he saw the lights, but his nerves ratcheted up a notch. Lights meant occupants.
"His M.O. is basements," Dee whispered. "Let's find the way down."
There was a sound. Ryo tried to figure it out as they moved around bolts in the floors, metal frames from old displays, and exposed wiring. Machinery? A compressor maybe? The sound led them through open doorways. An old sign read, `stockroom' and a dimly lit stair led to the basement. The sound was definitely coming from there.
"Ready?" Dee asked unnecessarily.
"You?" Ryo shot back.
"Oh, yeah!" Dee grinned, adrenalin starting to pump, and he began descending the stairs with Ryo close at his elbow.
The stairs ended and they found themselves looking at a very large open space hung with bare bulbs. Boxes of equipment were placed haphazardly everywhere. An old mattress was shoved against one wall, a portable toilet near it. On the mattress was the huddled a figure of a naked, young girl. Her hair was hanging over her face and she looked as if she were sleeping. Ryo's hand clamped down hard on Dee's elbow in horrified reaction as they both realized that she had been chained to the wall by her wrist.
Their guns came out. They nervously eyed the cluttered space of the basement, knowing that it could easily hide a dozen people. "You guard the girl while I find the bastard who did this to her," Dee snarled. "Watch your back."
Ryo nodded. His gun wavered between shadows and boxes as he moved cautiously towards the girl. Kneeling beside her, he took out his cell phone, checked on backup, and then called an ambulance. The girl didn't wake up at the sound of his voice. Her bruised and haggard looking face remained lax. That worried Ryo and it was an effort to not try and pull the locked chain out of the wall to release her immediately. Instead, Ryo waited impatiently for help to arrive. He looked about for something to cover her. There was a ratty blanket. He pulled it over her and tucked it about her tenderly, not wanting her to endure the further trauma of being exposed in front of officers. He tried not to think about what had already been done to her, settling on being glad that the murderer hadn't had time to claim yet another victim.
Dee slipped around boxes, trying to hear over the steady sound of what he had decided was a compressor. He looked for it, eager to turn it off so that he could have a better chance of hearing the murderer moving around. He also looked for other exits and spotted one, it's glowing sign at the far end of the room. Dee kept an eye on it, hoping that the man hadn't already made use of it.
"Latener!" a voice called and Dee knew that backup had finally arrived.
"Secure the exits!" Dee shouted back. "Our man may try to slip out!"
"Will do!" the voice replied. Dee knew that he had to secure the area quickly. The girl needed the paramedics, but they wouldn't venture into a potentially dangerous situation like that one until he gave the all clear.
"You've ruined everything!" A shrill voice suddenly shouted, followed by a low burst of a sound that was unfamiliar to Dee. Dee ducked instinctively and felt something snap his cheek. A metallic sound skittered across the floor. Dee dove for the cover of a large box. It was light and it toppled over, spilling it's contents. Dee had a glimpse of deviant sex objects and what could only be described as torture devices, before he was flinging himself behind a metal support pole. His jaw hardened and his stomach turned as he reached up and felt the sting of a shallow cut on his cheek.
"You're surrounded!" Dee shouted. "Put down your weapon and come out with your hands up where I can see them! If you don't, I'll be forced to shoot you."
"You aren't taking her away from me!" the man shouted back. "I'm not done playing with her!"
"I think you are, bastard!" Dee snarled. That sound came again, short and sharp, and Dee felt something sting his arm. He jerked himself further into cover, looked down, and saw a long nail sticking out of his arm. The man was using a nail gun! At close range, it could have been deadly, but that far away, it had just sunk in enough to bleed. Dee jerked the nail out and swore as he stepped out of hiding and leveled his gun.
The man was standing in plain sight, nail gun pointed at Dee and a demented look on his face. He looked desperate, furious, crazy. Dee wasn't about to underestimate him and give him an opening.
"Put the nail gun down... Now!" Dee ordered and threatened with his gun.
The man grinned. Dee twitched nervously. That wasn't what he had expected. He knew a look like that meant trouble. "Ryo?" Dee called. "Some help!"
"Right here, Latener!" A new voice called. "You got two officers standing by. You think we'd leave you to collar this bastard by yourself?"
"I think I can handle one crazy bastard, guys!" Dee grumbled. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the officers with their guns drawn, prepared for trouble.
"Says you!" one of the men snorted.
"Get on with it then and cuff him!" the other one said impatiently. "My damned lunch is waiting for me in my cruiser!"
"As long as we have our priorities straight," Dee hissed angrily under his breath as he slowly began to approach the smiling murderer.
To Dee's surprise, the man lowered his nail gun, letting it slide to the floor with a clatter. He kept his grin and waved Dee towards him. Dee stopped walking, highly suspicious.
"I want you to lay flat on the floor with your hands behind your head!" Dee ordered. "Do it now!"
The man held out his empty hands, shrugged, and then began to kneel. There was a box near one of his hands. As his knees hit the concrete, he suddenly reached behind it. Before Dee could react, there was the distinct sound of an aluminum container going over, followed by the sound of liquid pouring out. The sharp smell of gasoline came to Dee's nose.
"Freeze!" Dee shouted, his heart thudding wildly as he quickly moved forward. "One move and I'll-"
The man's grin became even wider and his eyes sparkled as he held a lighter near the liquid. "You are all going to pay for spoiling my fun!" he said.
"Shit!" One of the officers yelled.
Dee advanced again, but then stopped once more when the man began flicking the lighter. The man stopped flicking when Dee stopped advancing. One good light and the gas can would blow, Dee knew, and he wasn't sure how much of a fire it would make. It might be nothing or it might turn that trash filled room into an inferno.
"Come here," the man cooed. "Just you and me. I won't light it if you play nice with me."
"That's bullshit!" Dee snarled.
"Is it?" The man pouted and made a pantomime kiss. "I just want to play. If you let me, I'll go quietly."
It sounded crazy enough to be true. If it helped him get close enough to the man for a cleaner shot... "Okay," Dee said, faking a defeated slumping of his shoulders. "I don't want anyone hurt. I'll come over to you and I'll let you... play." The word almost made him sick, but he kept his face expressionless as he moved forward cautiously. The man grinned and waved to him encouragingly.
When Dee was barely a foot away, looking down at the ginning, sweating, lunatic man, the man laughed, "Time for punishment!" and his hand started to flick the lighter in earnest.
Dee's gun went off before he could think. The man's face exploded with blood and pieces of flesh as he toppled backwards, lighter flying from twitching fingers. At that close range, death was the only outcome and only morbid satisfaction made Dee stepped forward and looked down at the dead man. When he saw two bullet holes in the man's face, he turned and saw Ryo close by, gun still raised and face white and tensed.
"Dee?" Ryo said breathlessly.
"Okay," Dee assured him. Ryo nodded shakily and holstered his gun.
The other two officers approached and one whistled at the sight. "That was taking a freakin' chance! What are you, as nuts as he was Latener?"
Dee scowled as he turned and started back over to the chained girl. "I was trying to keep you from being barbecued alive, wasn't that considerate of me?"
The men spluttered and then Ryo snapped at them, "Get the paramedics in here and see if he has a key. The girl needs medical attention!"
The men started and then began scrambling to follow Ryo's orders. When Ryo joined Dee by the girl's side, Dee put an arm over Ryo's shoulders and said, "Thanks for the real backup." When Ryo blinked at him in confusion, Dee added in disgust, "I don't think those two clowns know how to do anything except lift a sandwich to their faces."
They both looked down at the girl. She was still sleeping. She looked very young and very vulnerable. Dee's blood boiled with anger and he almost wished that the murderer was alive so that he could kill him again.
"I hope that she's going to be okay," Ryo whispered in concern.
Dee pulled Ryo in close for a comforting hug, half needing the comfort himself. "We did our jobs," he said to Ryo, "We got the bad guy. We saved her life. I guess we weren't in time to spare her the pain, but nobody else is going to suffer."
"It doesn't seem enough," Ryo replied sadly. "Not now."
Dee knew that Ryo was enough like him that he wouldn't be satisfied until his gut told him that he had done all that he could. It might be after the girl was released and the paramedics had treated her wounds, or it might be later when the murderer was officially declared dead by an expert and the proper paperwork filed. Until that happened though, Dee knew that he had to return the favor that Ryo had granted him so many times before. Dee had to stand by his partner, the man he loved, and wait for the moment when gut agreed with heart and head and Ryo was satisfied that there was nothing else that could be done.
Dee waited. They gave reports, filled out paperwork, and talked to the paramedics and the other officers. Dee didn't suggest at any time that they leave things and go back to the station. Dee practiced an uncharacteristic patience and stayed at Ryo's shoulder as the man hovered over every aspect of the clean up, especially when the paramedics treated the girl and carried her to the waiting ambulance. Dee knew that Ryo would be calling the hospital later for updates on her condition.
At last they were standing by their car, everyone beginning to leave the crime scene. Dee saw Ryo let out a long breath. He looked exhausted. Dee leaned on the hood of the car and looked over it at Ryo. "Okay?"
Ryo looked pained for a moment and then he nodded, the dog of guilt finally ceasing to gnaw at his conscious. "Thanks," he said, packing a lot of meaning into that small word.
"We got the bad guy," Dee said.
"Yes, we did," Ryo replied.
"We saved the day," Dee persisted.
"Yes, we did that too," Ryo replied with a firm nod.
"Let's go get another one then," Dee suggested and opened the car door.
Ryo opened his as well and he fiercely agreed as he slid into his seat, "Let's!"
Dee slid into his seat as well, leaned over, grabbed Ryo's chin, and gave him a passionate kiss. Ryo was startled, but then he returned it just as passionately. When Dee broke the kiss and started up the engine, they looked at each other with the fire of determination in their eyes. They nodded at the same time, both of them reaffirming their readiness and commitment, and then Dee was pulling away from the curb. It was time to get back to work.