Kracken
Disclaimer:I don't own them and I don't make any money off of this
Warning:Male/Male sex, graphic, violence, language
Fake:After the Manga series
Sequel to RipTide
Find Kracken's new yaoi book, The Angel Within, at amazon.com
Read more of Kracken's fiction and fanfiction at http://kracken.bonpublishing.com
Join Kracken's update ML at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/krackenficsml
(Wherein Ryo wonders about Dee's past at the academy.)
Lessons
Ryo pulled an invitation out of the garbage in the kitchen. He shook off coffee grounds and wiped the wet spots with a napkin as he read what it said. "A reunion for Dee's class at the police academy." Ryo waved the invitation to dry it as he went to find Dee.
Ryo's partner and lover was in the bedroom at the small table there, service revolver taken apart on a mat in front of him. He was cleaning the barrel with a small brush, face frowning in concentration.
"Dee," Ryo called, trying not to startle him.
Dee looked at him, frown smoothing out. When he saw the invitation, though, the frown reappeared and he hunched over the gun defensively. "They're idiots. I don't want to see them again," he explained before Ryo could ask.
"Oh," Ryo replied and then sighed. "We both seem to have a problem with reunions."
"I don't have a problem," Dee retorted softly as he picked up a different tool and began working on the chamber of his gun. "They're the ones with the problem."
Ryo pulled out the second chair at the table and sat down. "Want to share?"
Dee grumbled, "No," deep in his chest.
Ryo noticed Dee's face flush red. It wasn't embarrassment, it was anger. "Did they...." Ryo thought about his words carefully. "You've never made your sexual orientation a secret," he tried again. "Did they discriminate against you because of it?"
Dee snorted. "We're at home, Ryo, stop talking like a cop."
"I'm sorry, Dee," he replied contritely. He picked at a thread on his pants. "It still makes me nervous, talking about being gay. I know it shouldn't, but.... "
Dee shrugged. "I always knew what I was, well, since puberty anyway. You didn't let yourself know until now. I can cut you some slack." He gave Ryo a meaningful look though, "Not much longer though. You gotta get over this being embarrassed stuff."
Ryo looked uncomfortable. "Talking about any kind of... sex... embarrasses me. I wasn't raised to think of that as casual conversation." He frowned then and waved the invitation. "We are getting off the subject. You're telling me that you don't want to see these people because they are idiots?"
"I could call them some other things, but, I'll keep it clean," Dee muttered. "I don't want you around them either, okay, so don't try and fix things or try and convince me to go."
Ryo moved his chair closer.
"Stop," Dee growled.
Ryo inched even closer.
"Ryo..."
Ryo pressed up against Dee and slipped arms around his waist. He held tightly and rested his chin against Dee's shoulder. Dee looked at him, his green eyes determined, but they quickly faltered at the look of love and concern in Ryo's dark eyes.
"Okay! Okay!" Dee snarled and then he took a steadying breath and looked away as he confessed, "They thought I was a no good punk and that I didn't have any business trying to be a cop."
Ryo frowned. "How did they find out? Juvenile records are sealed."
Dee shrugged. "I told them. I was pretty damned proud of myself for climbing out of the slum and trying to make something of myself, but they didn't see it that way. I was the kind of guy they wanted behind bars not working along side of them."
Ryo was still confused. "What exactly did you tell them? I can't believe that they couldn't see what a positive thing you were doing and approve."
Dee replied angrily. "The instructors thought I could offer some really good insight into how people in the slum think, how they react to things, how an officer might get their confidence. They also grilled me about what kind of things I did as a kid... like stealing... and..."
"Dee?" Ryo prompted softly.
"When the trainees were allowed to ask me questions, some of them asked me if I ever did drugs or turned tricks, like being bisexual and living in the slum made doing that kind of crap natural," Dee bit out. "The more questions they asked, the more I realized just what they had been thinking about me and what they really thought of people who lived in the slum. Kind of made me even more determined to become a cop. Someone's gotta protect them from cops like that."
"It wasn't all of them?" Ryo wondered.
"No," Dee admitted, "but there was a pecking order and I was the one being pecked on the most. I can do without reliving that crap again."
"J.J. will be there," Ryo reminded him. "He's certainly not going to say bad things to you."
"Proclaiming his undying love for me, in front of everyone, isn't bad?" Dee glared.
Ryo snorted. "He's mostly gotten over that, Dee."
"Mostly," Dee grunted back. He made a dismissive motion. "Besides, it's a long trip from here and we don't have any vacation time left. The Chief won't let us out of the Kinny case."
"He might-" Ryo began, but Dee cut him off.
"If we were both dead, he would prop us up to continue the case," Dee argued. "Just forget about it, Ryo. When you see the road to Hell, don't take it!"
Ryo chuckled. "Did Penguin say that to you?"
Dee nodded and smiled back. "A lot."
"I don't see you taking that advice very often," Ryo pointed out teasingly.
Dee put down his cleaning materials and turned to Ryo. He slid arms around his lover's waist and pulled the man until Ryo was straddling his lap, facing him. "When it comes to you, I don't listen to it at all."
Dee took the invitation out of Ryo's hand, tossed it into the trash can under the table, and then turned all of his attention into unbuttoning Ryo's shirt. "You're avoiding the conversation," Ryo said, but it was almost breathless as Dee peeled back his shirt and roughly nuzzled Ryo's nipples.
Dee said around a mouthful of nipple, "If you wanna talk, we can, but it's case closed as far as I'm concerned. I don't wanna see those people."
Ryo tried to concentrate on the argument as his pants were unsnapped and Dee's warm hand slid inside them. "Surely.... Surely you had some friends there?"
Dee left off his torment and looked thoughtful, his hand resting against the crotch of Ryo's underwear. "For once, I was totally committed to something," he said. "I didn't take time to get buddy buddy and party with people."
"What about the Instructors?" Ryo persisted.
Dee livened up then and nodded. "Yeah, sure. There was Angelini from ballistics and Rolferson. Rolferson took the time to beat all the codes into my head."
"And you don't want to see them either?" Ryo wondered.
"Why is it so important for me too?" Dee grumbled.
""Because it IS important to you," Ryo told him, "Whether you want to admit it or not."
Dee stared and then said, confused, "But, I just told you that it wasn't."
"No," Ryo replied, poking Dee in the chest with one finger. "You told me that you didn't want to see certain people, not that it wasn't important."
Dee thought about that and then gave a slow nod, but he was scowling too. "You're doing it again, opening my head like can opener and dishing out what's inside."
Ryo snorted. "If you weren't so stubborn, I wouldn't have to make you see what you already know."
"I'm home and I'm hungry!" Bicky yelled from the living room. "When you guys are done boinking, could you get out here and make me something?"
Dee stiffened and then snarled angrily, "That little-!" but Ryo stopped him with a severe frown.
Dee pulled his hand out of Ryo's pants. "Well, there's your punishment for talking too much," he grumbled.
Ryo smirked, feeling Dee's erection as he slid off of him and stood up. "I don't think it's just mine."
"Later," Dee promised, "After bottomless pit has gone to bed. And NO TALKING, either!"
Looking at Dee, aroused and sensual, hair a rough fall into his eyes, eyes that were looking at Ryo with open need and warmth, Ryo decided that he wasn't going to argue. The conversation would keep for another day. As Dee stood and moved past him, trying to cool off his heat, Ryo reached into the garbage and pulled out the invitation. He smoothed it out and placed it into a drawer. He was going to put it off, but he wasn't going to forget about it.
Ryo pointed meaningfully to the dismantled gun. "Got it," Dee grunted and began putting it together in preparation to put it back in its lock box.
Ryo hurriedly buttoned and zipped himself, and then ran fingers through his hair as he went into the living room. He found Bicky sprawled on the couch, book bag on the floor and open. Cds were spilled out on the coffee table and Bicky was listening to his cd player. When he saw Ryo he frowned and pulled his earphones aside.
"You didn't have to stop, ya know?" Bicky growled.
Ryo blushed and almost denied that they were doing anything, but Bicky was looking pointedly at his shirt. Ryo looked down and saw that he had buttoned it wrong and part of it was caught in his zipper. Ryo choked on embarrassment and turned away to go into the kitchen.
He supposed that he should have been glad, Ryo thought, that Bicky was becoming that comfortable with his and Dee's relationship, even though he still enjoyed making Dee angry, but Ryo couldn't seem to cleanse that last piece of prudery from his system. He wondered if he should. No matter what Bicky thought, Ryo's idea of right and wrong was almost set in stone. Wrong, for him, was having sex in the next room from his foster son.... well, when foster son was aware of it. The distinction seemed ridiculous, but to Ryo, it made all the difference to his psyche and his nervous libido.
"You gonna make something, Ryo?" Bicky asked and Ryo started, looking down into the curious, blue eyes of Bicky.
"Uhm, yes," Ryo blushed. "What would you like?"
Bicky continued to stare at him and then he said seriously. "When you gonna
stop treating me like a kid, Ryo?"
Ryo started getting out utensils and pans from the cupboards. He said into the reflection of a frying pan, "Some things are private, Bicky. It doesn't matter how old you are. It stays that way."
"Yeah?" Bicky replied. "Why?"
Ryo thought about that himself as he went to the refrigerator and began taking things out to cook. "It makes people uncomfortable and... well, it's personal."
Bicky scowled. "Weirds me out, yeah, but I don't see why you gotta pretend you're not doing it. Just seems stupid."
Ryo thought that he could cook dinner on his red hot, blushing face. He didn't know what to say to Bicky's bluntness. Dee saved him from it.
"Okay, squirt!" Dee said as he came into the kitchen and leaned against a counter. "How would you feel if you and Cal were doing it and we were listening to you going at it in the next room?"
"Dee!" Ryo said horrified.
Dee fished out a carrot from the pile that Ryo had slammed onto the counter in his shock. He bit on one end , chewed, and then said around his mouthful, "Well?"
Bicky was blushing now and looking at his toes. Dee watched him squirm.
"I think you got it," Dee said and hooked a thumb at the living room. "Mind?"
Bicky shook his head and retreated quickly. Dee looked satisfied until he saw Ryo's angry face. The man began cutting vegetables with tense shoulders. Dee took up a knife and began cutting them up as well. He looked sideways at Ryo and saw Ryo's bunched jaw.
"He isn't a little kid, Ryo," Dee finally said. "Gotta teach him some birds and bees and when to keep his nose out of our personal business. He wants to be the man and he thinks you being up front about grown up things is a step towards that. I think I gave him a pretty good lesson in why that kind of thing's a bad idea."
"I know, but... it just seems crude," Ryo bit out.
Dee shrugged and tossed his cut up vegetables into a bowl. "That's what kids his age understand.... not crude," he amended, "Just telling it like it is. You won't get it across to him any other way."
"I wasn't planning on getting anything across to him," Ryo grumbled.
"I know, you're great at avoiding anything embarrassing," Dee pointed out.
"Trying to be my can opener now?" Ryo wondered with a snort.
Dee grinned and rubbed up against Ryo's backside, "Only if it gets me into a certain-"
"NOT while you're cooking my dinner!" Bicky shouted from the other
room.
----------------------------------------
"Get the Hell out of here!" the Chief bellowed. "What makes you
think that I wouldn't jump at the chance to not have to look at your ugly mug?
Your case is closed and the other one is backlogged for at least a week. Maybe,
if I let you go back to the academy, they might realize what a screw up you
are and retrain your sorry ass!!"
"Thanks, Chief, I can always use the moral booster," Dee grumbled as he left the Chief's office and strode back to his desk. Ryo looked up expectantly from his desk, but Dee avoided his gaze as he sat down heavily in his chair and grabbed his cup of coffee. He downed two sips and then searched for his cigarettes.
"Well, Dee?" Ryo asked anxiously. "What did he say?"
"You couldn't hear him?" Dee asked and faked a sad expression. "He said, 'Hell no!', Ryo. Guess we can't go."
Ryo looked unhappy. "I thought he would understand," he said. "An academy reunion is very important."
"Well, PEOPLE are more important and we have cases to solve," Dee retorted as he found his cigarettes in a drawer. He snagged his lighter and stood up, intending to head for a place where he could smoke.
"Dee!" J.J. came running across the room, coming up short almost on top of Dee and grinning happily. "The Chief said that I could have time off for the reunion too! It'll be like old times! Maybe we can share a room there?"
Dee's eyes peeked sideways and saw Ryo's angry expression. "Well, the Chief told me no," Dee snarled at J.J., "so you can kick that dream to the wayside!"
"But..." J.J. looked confused. "I just asked and he said.... Don't you want to go, Dee?" He shot a hard look at Ryo. He mistook Ryo's angry look for something else and suddenly went toe to toe with the dark eyed detective. He jabbed a finger into Ryo's chest and exclaimed, "Are you trying to keep him from going? That's the most despicable, selfish-!"
Dee grabbed J.J. by the collar and hauled him away from Ryo. "Ryo WANTS me to go," Dee growled. "So lay off of him."
"Then... I don't get it!" J.J. whined. "If the Chief said it was okay, and Ryo isn't getting in your way..."
Dee sat down and tossed his cigarettes and lighter on top of his desk. He slumped, "Look, " he said to Ryo, ignoring J.J. "I lied..."
"Apparently," Ryo replied tightly.
"It's just..." Dee ran a hand over his face.
"What is it, Dee?" J.J. demanded, puzzled.
"Jeez!" Dee exclaimed angrily at J.J. "You think it was all fun and games there, don't you? It was just so damned easy for you!"
"You aced everything, though," J.J. remembered, confused. "You were the best."
"I worked my ass off to pass the tests," Dee told him. "The other cadets didn't make it easy. It's them I don't want to see again." He made a cutting motion. "Let's not go there, okay? Go back to work, J.J."
J.J. looked ready to talk some more, but Ryo gave a shake of his head and motioned with his chin for J.J. to go. J.J. looked incensed, but he did go, giving Dee a heartfelt, forlorn look as he did so.
When they were alone again, except for the background activity of the station, Ryo said, "Dee, if you do feel that strongly about it, if you're afraid to see them again, then maybe I should stop pushing this."
"Damned straight!" Dee started to exclaim, but then stopped and scowled. "Who the hell's afraid?"
Ryo reached over their desks and patted Dee's hand in comfort. "It's all right, Dee. I understand. You were treated badly. Those aren't the kind of men that you want to face again. There's nothing wrong with that."
"I'm not scared of those assholes!" Dee shouted angrily and everyone stopped what they were doing and stared. Dee looked around in embarrassment and then he snapped at them, "What?! You never seen a guy get mad?!"
Everyone started and then went back to their duties, not without shooting nervous looks at Dee, though, as he settled with a grunt and took up his cigarettes again. He knocked one out of the pack and shoved it, unlit, into his mouth as he glared at Ryo.
"I'm NOT scared of them," Dee affirmed around the cigarette. "Hating them is NOT the same as being scared of them."
Ryo stared at Dee and Dee stared back. Ryo said as, if trying to sound sympathetic and calming,. "All right, Dee, if you want to look at it that way, that's all right with me. "
Dee bit down hard on his cigarette in anger. "Don't do this shit with me!"
"What?" Ryo asked innocently.
"Make me feel like a wimp for not-" Dee began hotly.
"Dee," Ryo interrupted. "You're looking at it all negatively. You don't want to go because there are SOME people who will be there who you don't like. Because of that, you will miss out on a very good experience; seeing again, the place where you turned your life around and became the best detective-"
"Best?" Dee said, snatching his chewed cigarette out of his mouth and staring wide eyed. "Did you just say, 'best'?"
Ryo looked indulgent. "Yes, the best," he affirmed.
Dee digested the compliment for a moment, but then shot back, "I'm not scared!"
"Okay, you're not scared," Ryo placated him, "Just... avoidant."
"Avoidant?" Dee scowled. "That's the same thing!"
Ryo shrugged as he turned to his computer to start working again. "Almost..."
Dee continued to scowl at him and then he crushed his cigarette in one fist. "Okay, damn it! I'll go, but ... I'm sure as hell not going to like this!"
Ryo smiled in triumph. "You will be glad you went, Dee."
Dee grunted, unconvinced. He stood up with his pack of cigarettes and his lighter. "I'm going for a smoke," he told Ryo, but then paused to look at Ryo intently. "You're not going to forget about that lie about the Chief, are you?"
"No," Ryo replied without looking at him, suddenly growing serious. "I'll have to think of a suitable punishment."
Dee saw that familiar glint in Ryo's eye. As he turned to walk away he grunted,
"Now, I'm scared."
---------------------------------
"You're nervous," Ryo said. Stretched out on the bed in only a bathrobe,
he was watching his lover pace the floor. He put his book aside and took off
his glasses.
Dee stopped pacing. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his pants and his shirt hung off of his shoulders, unbuttoned, but never taken off. He didn't turn to look at Ryo. "Yeah, I guess so."
"I want to help you," Ryo told him. "Can you tell me about what it was like at the academy, so that I can understand better?"
"I already said," Dee grumbled.
"But you didn't explain with any detail," Ryo pointed out. He patted the bed beside him. It was late in the evening. Bicky had already long ago gone to bed and the plane tickets and their bags were packed for the next morning. Dee needed to relax and get some sleep. Talking it out, Ryo felt, was the only way of getting him to do that.
Dee looked reluctant, but he sat on the bed, half turned away from Ryo, hands still jammed into his pockets. Ryo sat up and slowly began to massage Dee's back.
"Tell me," Ryo urged.
"They tried to get me to quit," Dee finally said in a low, tense voice. "Every time I turned a corner, they were there and ready to kick my ass. They got me into trouble, too. Did things and blamed me." He went quiet for a long moment and then said, "It was hard to convince the higher ups that I was keeping my nose clean, that I wasn't the punk that I used to be, that I was serious about becoming a detective."
"You didn't report them?" Ryo wondered, puzzled.
Dee shrugged and then thought about that. "When you live in the slums, you learn not to rat on people. It can get you dead. I thought I could take care of it. I tried to make sure I was always where someone could see me and verify that I wasn't doing anything wrong. Still... they caught me alone a few times. Luckily, they didn't pay attention to the self defense classes as much as I did." He smiled grimly, but with some self satisfaction. "I gave more than I got."
Ryo squeezed Dee's shoulder and asked carefully, "Do you think these people might still be hostile towards you?"
"Are you asking if they scare me?" Dee bristled.
"No," Ryo assured him. "I just want to be there, watching your back, if you think that they might make trouble."
Dee took his hands out of his pockets finally, losing some of his defensive posture. He ran a hand through his dark, tangled hair and said, "I really don't know. Thinking back... it was like..." He stopped, frowning.
"Dee?" Ryo prompted.
Dee shrugged as if embarrassed. "They acted like some gang... like they were doing something wrong and they didn't want me nosing around. That's stupid, because they weren't picking on anyone else. It just seemed..." He shrugged again. "Forget it. They just didn't think I was good enough, bottom line."
"I think you've more than proven yourself," Ryo said to comfort him and slipped arms around his waist, resting his chin against Dee's shoulder. "People change. Maybe they'll see now that they were wrong?"
Dee grunted sourly. "Deep down, people DON'T change, Ryo."
"Still, we can ignore all of them and just visit with your instructors," Ryo pointed out. "If they make too much trouble, I'll arrest them."
Dee turned, startled, and saw Ryo's soft smile. He found the tension draining out of him and he smiled back. He raised a hand and traced a finger along Ryo's jaw. "Damn, you're beautiful!" he said.
Ryo frowned and pushed him away, but it was playful. "Guys are 'handsome', Dee."
Dee took hold of the edge of Ryo's robe and looked underneath. "Hey, you are a guy, aren't you?"
Ryo snorted and smacked his hand away. "I'm surprised at you, Detective Latener. Maybe they should have taught you sex education at the academy."
Dee smirked. "I don't think that they would have taught THAT kind of sex education."
Ryo blushed. "Guess not."
"Feel like giving me a lesson in anatomy?" Dee asked with a leer.
Ryo smirked, but he tried to look stern. "That might be nice, but you are still being punished."
Dee scowled, but he wasn't ready to give up yet. "Maybe, if you give me my punishment, I can get it out of the way and we can get to that lesson?"
Ryo pretended to contemplate that and then he said, "No."
Dee felt a bite of anger. "Come on, Ryo!"
"Lying to me is pretty damned serious, Dee," Ryo told him.
Dee hung his head and looked genuinely contrite. "I know.... I'm sorry.... I really shouldn't have done that."
A long silence greeted his statement.
Dee sighed despondently, "Okay, tell me what I have to do. I know I deserve it."
Ryo suddenly grabbed a handful of Dee's hair and pulled him over for a deep kiss. Dee's green eyes flew open wide in shock as a warm tongue slid between his teeth and explored his mouth. Their tongues wrapped around each other and caressed, and then Ryo was pulling away with a sultry look in his dark eyes.
"That's all that I wanted; a sincere apology," Ryo told him. He opened his robe and Dee saw that Ryo was hard and obviously wanting him.
"Ryo," Dee breathed, trying to shift mental gears, and then he flung off his shirt and unsnapped his pants. Shoving them down, he released his own aching hard on and then crawled on top of Ryo. Ryo laughed until Dee devoured his lips and pressed their erections together. Then his laugh turned into an eager moan.
Dee rolled to one side and captured Ryo's erection in his big hand. He stroked it roughly as he sucked on Ryo's lips, smearing precum over it and then squeezing the head. Ryo shuddered in pleasure as Dee massaged the underside of the head with his thumb.
Ryo's chest was smooth, the skin soft over hard muscle. His nipples were erect and Dee couldn't help transferring his mouth to them, teasing and licking at them, and then suckling finally with abandon.
Ryo grunted and groaned, his hands sinking into Dee's dark hair and his body writhing under the double assault. Then he was pushing Dee flat on his back, his dark eyes fevered with passion. His hands smoothed over Dee's chest and then down his washboard stomach to his hard, red erection. Ryo took it in one hand and then bent to slide it into the moist, tight heat of his mouth. His tongue rasped and swirled down the length of it as he deep throated it completely.
"SHIT!" Dee exclaimed and tried to control himself from bucking up and seeking even deeper access. He clutched at the sheets and his legs trembled as Ryo began a wicked up and down motion, sucking and using his tongue in a coordinated dance that was driving Dee wild with intense sensations.
"That's it, Baby!" Dee moaned. "Suck it good. God! Take it! Take it deep!"
Ryo reversed himself and Dee found himself looking up at Ryo's bobbing, dripping erection. He reached up and fondled Ryo's balls and then pulled that hard length down to suck on the head. It was hard to explain, that all encompassing need to be with Ryo, with a man, to take full delight in that manhood above him. That need thrummed in every fiber of Dee, made even more powerful by the fact that it was his lover's erection filling his mouth, his lover's essence on his tongue. He pulled Ryo's hips down and took that swollen, throbbing, member deep, sucking hard and tight. When Ryo came, filling his mouth and trying to stifle a cry that would have surely woke Bicky, Dee swallowed and suckled down every drop.
Ryo shuddered and bucked and then moved to stretch out on his back, panting and trying to recover. Dee smiled at him and caressed Ryo's hip as his free hand reached for a drawer and pulled out a tube of lube. Ryo smiled back at him languidly and lifted his knees slightly; open invitation.
Dee prepared himself and then rolled on top of Ryo. He claimed a deep kiss as he hooked powerful arms under Ryo's knees and lifted him into position. Slowly, he worked his screaming erection into the tight, hot sheath of his lover. Ryo groaned and moved, trying to ease the passage, hissing very lightly, but then blushing and making small noises of pleasure. Dee gently stretched him, taking his time until he was seated fully.
Dee arched Ryo even more, curling him up underneath him and positioning himself for the kind of lovemaking he needed. He wanted Ryo badly, his passion so strong it could only be released by powerful motion. He began thrusting slowly at first, but, when he was sure that Ryo was ready, he arched into his lover and began pumping in and out in earnest. They groaned, they clutched at each other, they both rode a wave of thundering love and sexual need that crested impossibly high. When Dee felt himself about to explode, he grabbed Ryo's now hard erection and began pumping it in time with his thrusts. Ryo threw back his head, his silken throat exposed, the pulse throbbing frantically as he let out one long, deep moan and came. Feeling Ryo's hot come shoot into his hand and seeing Ryo's face contort in orgasm, Dee went over the edge himself and couldn't help crying out. Lights flashed behind his eyes and his body convulsed as every nerve was set on fire with pleasure. He rode it, his heart pounding as he thrust in short spasms and spurted his release into his lover's body.
They curled up together, catching their breaths. After a time, when they felt that they could walk, they both staggered into the bathroom, hand in hand. Ryo turned on the shower, checked the temperature, and then pulled Dee in with him so that they were both under the powerful, hot spray of water. Ryo held Dee close and ran hands over him. Dee did the same with Ryo. Soap was applied and hands traveled over bodies as they cleaned each other up. At last, Ryo rested against Dee and they stood quietly, just savoring their closeness.
"Thank you," Dee murmured in Ryo's ear.
"For what?" Ryo chuckled.
"For trying to make me feel better, for putting up with me," Dee replied.
"I'm here for you," Ryo told him. "And I'll stay with you too, right by your side, when we go tomorrow, so stop worrying."
"I stopped worrying when you put your mouth on-," Dee began to laugh,
but Ryo stopped what he had been about to say with a kiss. It was a long while
before they went to bed, but, when they did, they both slept well.
-----------------------------
"Latener! They let you out of jail for this, or are you on a work release
program and they hired you to clean the floors?"
Dee stiffened and then turned with a sullen expression as Ryo, standing by his
side, stared, wide eyed, at the man who had shouted.
In the hotel lobby, holding their bags, and walking towards their room, they hadn't thought that they would run into anyone Dee knew yet. Ryo could see at once that this man was trouble. Dressed in casual clothes and poised on the bottom of a stairway, he had big fists planted on his hips. He looked confident and in control, a man used to intimidating people.
"Yakowski!" Dee shouted back, a sneer lifting one side of his lips, "Did you get a job as a doorman? Glad to see that you could manage to get some kind of work."
The man glared and then said warningly, "You shouldn't have come Latener." and then he was turning on his heel and going up the stairs.
"Nice welcoming committee," Dee growled under his breath.
"Who is he?" Ryo wanted to know as he shifted a bag under his arm and they continued walking towards their room.
"Peter Yakowski," Dee replied disdainfully. "Ring leader of my fan club."
Ryo frowned. Dee glanced sideways at him as they reached their room and then
he fumbled to unlock the door with a pass key. "You thought I was making
it all up, didn't you?" Dee wondered acidly. "Good ole' Dee getting
worked up over nothing. Well, now you see, Ryo. Yakowski isn't alone either.
He's got a nice little gang to help him out."
The door opened and they both walked into a plain, clean room. Ryo put his bags
by the door and Dee tossed his onto the queen sized bed. They bounced and one
tumbled off and thudded onto the floor. Dee ignored it and sat heavily in a
chair, slumped and chin on fist. He glared at Ryo.
Ryo went to pick up the bag, placing it on the bed with the others. He unlatched it and began taking clothes out. "Dee, you don't know that they are all still like him. In fact, it would be strange if they were still the same. Maybe there was some rivalry during your training that kept them from liking you, but that's long over with."
"All right, Sunshine," Dee grumbled. "You don't have to try so hard. I'm not running away. " There was a hard glint in his eye. "In fact, I'm kind of more determined to stick this out now."
Ryo felt a twitch of trepidation. "Dee," he warned softly and moved to stand by Dee's chair. He reached out and took Dee's hand and gave it a squeeze. When Dee looked up at him through his tangle of dark hair, Ryo said, "Things aren't different now. You still can't beat the hell out of them."
Dee snorted, annoyed, but then he smiled and seemed to relax. "Yeah, I know. I can think it real hard though, can't I?"
"Nothing wrong with that....," Ryo began and then saw Dee's satisfied, dark expression. "I think. Maybe you shouldn't?"
Dee shrugged and sank down into his chair. "I learned to roll with the punches, Ryo," Dee assured him. "I can do it again. "
Ryo sighed and perched on his chair arm. Dee slid an arm around his waist. "You shouldn't have to," Ryo said sadly.
"Yeah, in a better world," Dee grumbled. He eyed Ryo. "Are you ready to take what they're going to dish out, too, Ryo? Yakowski knows you're with me now. He's not going to miss dragging you into this."
"Two days," Ryo replied. "What can he, or any of them do, in two days if we stay with the group and don't wander off where they can say things with impunity?"
"We are cops," Dee reminded him tersely. "Cops with guns."
Ryo arched an eyebrow. "So are they."
Dee smirked, "Yeah, but we're better at it. Bottom line, Ryo, I'm not tucking
my tail and letting those guys have the run of the place. I could take them
on and kick their butts then. I'm sure they still remember it too."
Dee suddenly pulled Ryo over until Ryo was sitting in his lap. "We're partners and we're the best," Dee said, "and those losers are going to know it by the time our two days are up. I won't even have to punch their faces in either."
Ryo was confused. "Why not?"
Dee grinned. "It's not just a two day party, Ryo. We get to show off our skills on the ranges too. What do you think they'll do when they see my lover can take a pimple off of a fly's nose at a hundred paces?"
Ryo smiled, "I think you can show them a thing or two in that area as well."
"Damn straight!" Dee replied with relish.
_________________________
Dee tried to keep his cool on the first day of the reunion. They met in a comfortable room with a buffet table full of food, many tables and chairs where people could sit and reminisce, and a podium where speeches were going to be made. People were slowly beginning to trickle in.
"They're still hanging together," Dee growled under his breath as he downed his drink and slapped the empty glass on the table. He had been sitting with Ryo, greeting the few people who hadn't been opposed to training with an ex street punk, and a few instructors who were genuinely pleased to see Dee. When Yakowski and five other men entered as if making a grand entrance, Dee couldn't help bristling.
Ryo noticed the nervousness of the other people and even a few of the instructors looked wary. That made Ryo's detective instincts sit up and take notice. That some recruits had suffered under a few bullies, was terrible, but not unheard of, that most of the room, including seasoned police officers, should be intimidated, was very out of the ordinary.
Yakowski and his men took up a station by the buffet table and it was suddenly the least desirable place to be in the room. In fact, Ryo saw almost everyone gather into tight groups and begin whispering.
"Dee," Ryo began, but then wondered what to say. What was he accusing Yakowski of? What WERE his suspicions? He fell silent. Dee hadn't heard him, all of his attention on Yakowski and his group. It was better to keep quiet, Ryo thought, until he had more facts. He felt only sure enough to say, "I don't think you're the only one who had a run in with Yakowski."
Ryo had Dee's attention then. "What do you mean?"
Ryo nodded to the nervous people. "Look at them. They're all getting as far away as they can from Yakowski."
Dee looked around the room and then grunted. "Guess you're right. I always thought it was just me." He stood up and Ryo followed him towards the buffet table.
"Dee? Didn't we have a long talk about NOT confronting those men?" Ryo reminded him.
"You know me," Dee chuckled darkly. "I can't leave well enough alone, especially when I think people are stepping over the line."
"Dee," Ryo grabbed him by the elbow and pivoted so that Dee was suddenly facing in the opposite direction. He leaned close as he forcefully walked Dee back to his chair. He couldn't make Dee sit down though. Dee glared at him. "They haven't done anything yet except eat," Ryo told him. "At least wait until you have some sort of provocation!"
Dee heard snickering. He looked back over his shoulder and saw Yakowski look at him and say something to his cronies. There was a burst of laughter from all of them. Dee felt his body go hot and cold. "That's good enough!" he exclaimed and tried to turn and walk back.
Ryo kept a tight hold on him. "If I have to arrest you, Dee-"
"You wouldn't!" Dee snarled.
"Try me!" Ryo snarled back. "If you go over there and make trouble, who's going to look like the bad guy, Dee, you or them?"
Dee looked down at his feet and then shrugged hard as he threw himself back into his chair. "Get me a drink. I'll need it."
Ryo sighed. "One more and that's it. Drinking when you're feeling like a fight isn't the smart thing to do."
"Yes, mother," Dee grumbled and scowled, crossing his arms over his chest and looking as if he were a pouting, little boy.
Ryo smiled softly at him and squeezed his shoulder. "Come on, Dee, remember what we talked about. We're not here to see them. Fighting won't help the situation."
"I'd feel a lot better, though," Dee retorted. "Sometimes, a good ass kicking just makes my day."
"I know," Ryo replied patiently. "And I also know that you're too much of a professional to act on that."
"Lot you know," Dee glowered.
"Yes, I do know a lot about you," Ryo said. "So, I can leave you alone and get your drink without being afraid that you'll take advantage of my absence to go back over there, right?"
Dee slumped in his chair and looked even more petulant. "I guess you do know me," he grumbled. "It used to be easier to pull one over on you."
"I'm a quick study," Ryo replied, but then demanded, "Answer my question."
"All right, I won't take advantage!" Dee snapped out. "Now get me my drink!"
Ryo sighed. "I'll be right back."
Dee watched his lover go over to the buffet table and order a drink from the server there. "Give me an excuse... just one...," Dee muttered under his breath as he watched Yakowski look at his lover. Yakowski didn't harass Ryo, though, and Dee watched in frustration as Yakowski said something to his cronies and they nodded with serious expressions. Dee didn't like that, but then he supposed that he, himself, was the target, not Ryo. Yakowski was probably going to come at him directly at some point.
You won't be surprising me, Dee thought to himself. I didn't survive the slum by being stupid.
"Latener?" Dee recognized one of his instructors, a good natured man that had been as tough as a bulldog during his training. Dee was genuinely glad to see the man. "I've heard some good things about you," the man continued. He was chewing on an unlit cigar, a drink in one hand. "I knew you had the fire in your belly, boy, and that you were going to do good things with your training."
"I told you at the time, Mr. Kirkland," Dee replied as he shook the man's free hand. "I was going to go back to my old neighborhood and clean the streets."
The man snorted a laugh. "I'm glad that you weren't being literal, boy." He gestured at Dee with his drink. "Not many people go back to where they came from and try to make a difference. Everyone's always trying to 'get away'. They forget why they're trying to be cops in the first place. You don't run away from crime to take care of crime somewhere else."
"Yeah," Dee smiled. "My neighborhood was rough, but I loved it anyway. I hated seeing people leach off of it and abuse the people living there." His expression grew dark. "And I really hated when I saw people, who were supposed to uphold the law, breaking it instead and acting... acting like it didn't matter, that nobody cared, that... everyone does it, so why shouldn't they? I wanted to prove them wrong. I wanted to be the best cop there was. I wanted to prove to them that someone DID care. Me."
Kirkland looked intently at him and then said, "That's admirable, Latener. You know, there were some people who didn't think that you could do it. Your records were pretty thick with petty crimes. I could see that you wanted to turn your life around-"
Dee shrugged. "I didn't turn it around, sir. I wasn't a bad kid, considering. I was on my way to doing good, I just had a very good example of how not caring will destroy people. It clinched it all for me, made me even more determined."
Kirkland glanced over at Yakowski and his group. "You turned out a whole sight better than some I could mention. There were some I was reluctant to hand a gun and a badge too."
"Not hard to guess who," Dee grumbled.
Kirkland grunted. "I never liked that bunch. If you're a good cop, you have instincts. They were setting off my alarms from day one.... just... something about them isn't right."
"I know...," Dee wanted to end the conversation. He didn't want to spend his entire time talking about people he was trying to ignore. "So, you're still an instructor?" he asked to change the subject. Kirkland warmed to it immediately, talking about his new batch of recruits.
Where was Ryo? Dee scanned the room and saw his lover talking to someone he seemed to know. He was nodding and smiling at a very old man. Burnguld, Dee remembered and winced. The old man went to every reunion and was more than a bit senile. He had a small apartment on the training grounds and he had been at the school for as long as anyone could remember. It was just like Ryo to be polite to the old man.
"Got someone special here?" Kirkland suddenly asked.
Dee looked at the man in surprise. "What makes you ask that?"
Kirkland snorted. "Because you're grinning like a fool at someone in the room."
Dee became cautious. Kirkland saw his guarded look.
"I already figured out it was a guy," Kirkland assured him. "You didn't exactly keep yourself in the closet when you were here. Who is it? Not that nervous, little... what was his name? B.J.? J.B.?"
"J.J.,"Dee growled. "I have better taste than that, sir."
"Thought you did," the man laughed.
"I'm with another detective, Ryo McLain," Dee told him.
"Ryo McLain?" Kirkland seemed impressed. "I've heard a lot about him. He was a profiler, solved a couple of big cases. He's also supposed to be the best shot in the country."
Dee felt warmed by pride. "He is, sir, but, I'm not a bad shot, myself."
Kirkland frowned. "You needed more discipline..."
Dee frowned back. "I have learned a thing or two since I've been here, sir."
"Dee, here's your drink," Ryo said as he handed Dee the glass. "Hello," he said to Kirkland. "Sorry, if I'm interrupting."
"No, not at all," Kirkland replied and then toasted them both. "Just reliving old times. I need to go outside and smoke. See you later, Dee."
Kirkland ambled away and Ryo said apologetically, "Sorry if I was butting in, but you were looking angry."
Dee smiled. "Watching out for me?"
"Trying to help you have a good time," Ryo replied, smiling back.
"I was having a good time," Dee told him. "Kirkland's a hard ass, but he's always been fair."
Ryo touched Dee's hand briefly. "Was that worth coming here for?"
Dee nodded. "Yeah."
"Dee!" J.J. breezed up to them, all smiles. Dee rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well, it was until now," Dee grumbled. He winced when Ryo jabbed him slightly in the ribs. Dee sighed then and said reluctantly, "Hey, J.J."
"Are you having a good time, Dee?" J.J. asked, unperturbed by Dee's sour expression. "Did you see Carmichael and Dean? They still look exactly the same. Act it too."
"Yeah, I saw them," Dee replied almost automatically. J.J. kept talking, but Dee only half heard him, most of his attention on Yakowski and his group again. It would have been nice to be able to relax and believe that they had decided not to make trouble, but Dee couldn't do it. He found himself going into detective mode far too easily as he slipped back into J.J.'s conversation and asked, "What about Yakowski and his cronies? What's been going on with them?"
"Oh, them!" Dee at J.J. in surprise at his disgusted tone and saw the man frowning. "Yakowski's on the force," J.J. told him, "but none of the others are. Beam and Harris have seen some jail time, though I don't know what for."
"Is this gossip?" Ryo asked sharply, "or fact?"
J.J. gave Ryo an angry look. "I am a professional," he replied waspishly. "After I received the invitation, I was interested in who would be here and what they'd been doing with their lives, so I did some research."
"You snooped," Dee growled. "Couldn't you wait to just ask them?"
J.J. did look slightly embarrassed, but then he gave Dee a sharp glare. "And who's trying to take advantage of what I found out?"
Dee scowled. "Well, since you already know. It saves me the trouble."
J.J. looked puzzled, "Of asking?"
Dee shrugged uncomfortably. "Yeah."
J.J. seemed to sense that something was going on under the surface. He followed Dee's eyes and saw Yakowski and his friends. He suddenly became very angry. "Are they bothering you again, Dee? I have half a mind-"
"Yeah, you do, if you think you can take them," Dee snapped back. "Don't get into it."
"They are not doing anything," Ryo pointed out to them. "Don't both of you try to make trouble now!"
J.J. glared at him. "You say that, because you don't know what they put Dee through at the academy. I do. They may not be making trouble for now, but their records say that most of them probably will. Yakowski had a list of infractions, minor and major, too, on his records. He's known for stepping over the line."
"Then why is he still on the force?" Ryo wanted to know, shocked, and disturbed.
J.J. shrugged. "Politics? His sister is a commissioner. He's also known for his excellent swat team tactics."
Ryo made a thoughtful sound.
"What?" Dee wondered.
Ryo looked at his lover and touched him on the hand, giving it a light caress of reassurance. "I was just thinking that, for men who didn't like your past, they don't seem to mind their own."
Dee hadn't thought about that angle. His eyes narrowed. "You're right. It's strange that they came here at all. Some of them aren't cops any more and some of them have records. Aren't they afraid people will bad mouth them? I wonder why Yakowski is hanging out with them, too, knowing how he hates people like that. It doesn't make any sense."
"Some things don't make sense," J.J. ventured.
"No, they do," Dee retorted. "You just have to dig deep, sometimes, to find out why."
"You're right about that," Ryo agreed and then shook himself. "But this isn't an investigation, Dee, it's a reunion. They haven't done anything wrong."
"Yet," Dee growled.
"Yet," J.J. echoed and glared at the men.
Ryo sighed in exasperation and then shivered. "It's chilly in here. Why don't I go back to the rental car and get our coats? I told you that we would need them."
"All right, mom," Dee groused. "We aren't staying much longer. I don't see why you're bothering."
"Because it will be even colder outside by the time we leave," Ryo retorted. "We'll really need our coats then."
"Okay! okay! Go get them," Dee retorted and then positioned himself with a clear view of Yakowski as if he were settling in for a long stake out. J.J. unconsciously mimicked his motion, both of them looking at Yakowski and his men.
Ryo muttered under his breath about stubborn partners who went looking for trouble, and left to go to the car.
"Look, Dibbles," J.J. suddenly chuckled and pointed out a man at the far end of the room. "Still a hundred pounds soaking wet. How he ever makes a bust is beyond me."
Dee didn't spare a glance.
J.J. looked at him and then made a face. "I don't want to admit this, but maybe Ryo's right. They don't look too dangerous right now."
"They didn't look dangerous at all back in our academy days," Dee shot back. "That's why no one believed me when I said they were trying to set me up and force me to leave."
J.J. was sympathetic. "I wish that I could have helped you more back then."
Dee growled. "It's not like we could beat them up and get away with it," he replied. "Neither of us had a commissioner sister."
"Yeah," J.J. agreed. "Still..." he trailed off, not knowing what to say.
They waited. Dee finished his drink. He put the glass aside and then looked around them. "What the hell is taking Ryo so long?"
J.J. shrugged. "Maybe old Burnguld got a hold of him again. "J.J. shivered. "That senile old man gives me the creeps."
"He's harmless," Dee replied absently, eyes still looking for his lover.
"Yeah, but still creepy," J.J. insisted. "He used to think I was a guy named Anderson, even though he told me this Anderson only had one eye and died in a car accident. You have to admit, that's creepy!"
"I don't see Ryo anywhere," Dee said, worry plain on his face. He launched himself away from J.J. and headed for the front door.
J.J. didn't follow. Dee didn't expect him to. Ryo had gone for coats. He was a trained detective. All the bad guys were in the hall. They were on a campus full of policemen. What was there to be afraid of?
Dee couldn't help the clenching in his gut, though. He couldn't help his rising trepidation. He couldn't keep his hand off the gun in its holster under his arm. He had brought it without telling Ryo. His partner might go without his gun when he was off duty, but to Dee, his gun was an extension of himself and he never really considered himself off duty. It was something that annoyed Ryo, so Dee usually tried to keep it hidden. At that moment, he felt glad that he had it.
Ryo was not by the car and the coats were still in the back seat, Dee discovered when he reached the parking lot. Dee's trepidation rose as he scanned the lot and tried to figure out where Ryo would most likely have gone. ... or where he would most likely have been taken? Dee squelched that thought viciously. Ryo could take care of himself. He told himself that, over and over again, until it became a mantra, as he began walking towards a main building.
A sound alerted him that he wasn't alone. It was faint and Dee almost missed it. He turned sharply, frowning, and scanned the parking lot again. There! He saw it briefly, a very small light. Dee cautiously walked towards it.
Dee discovered Ryo crouched down between two cars, one of them with the door open. He had a pen light between his teeth and he was thumbing through the papers in a briefcase.
"I didn't know that you got a search warrant before we left town, Ryo," Dee said drolly and Ryo started as if he were having a heart attack, pen light dropping from his teeth and skittering on the asphalt. Dee reached down to pick it up and saw a car door shimmy there as well. He picked them both up and crouched. "Interesting," he said, holding the shimmy where he could see it.
Ryo took it out of his hands with an embarrassed glare. "It's standard issue. I know you have one too!"
Dee grinned. "Just wanted to make you squirm, Baby," and then, more seriously, "So, mind telling me what the hell you're doing?"
Ryo took the penlight and flashed it on the papers. "Something about your 'friends' back there was setting off every instinct I have. It just didn't add up that they would be here. I thought I could find some other motive. This is Yakowski's car and briefcase."
"Ryo," Dee began, perturbed, and then saw something on the papers. "Bank account numbers?"
"Island account numbers," Ryo clarified. "Off shore and safe."
Dee frowned. "So.... Yakowski's a tax dodger?"
Ryo snorted. "It's more than that." He thumbed through more of the papers, pocketed a few floppy disks that he found underneath them, and then pulled out a folder.
Dee was getting alarmed. "Ryo, you just can't do stuff like this. If you don't have a search warrant, none of this will stick!"
Ryo paused long enough to flash his cell phone at Dee. "Already called, already have permission."
"Even out of your jurisdiction?" Dee was skeptical.
"I explained the circumstances," Ryo told him. "I'm suppose to gather evidence and bring it to their station. They'll handle it from there." He looked annoyed. "I'm not permitted to make an arrest on scene though."
Dee's frown smoothed out, but he looked troubled. "That sucks. I think I'd like to arrest that asshole, Yakowski, right in front of everyone else. Why won't they let one of the cops at the school do it if you can't?"
"Because," Ryo explained, "They have to investigate the crime, first. This is all very...." He searched for words. "Complicated," he finished.
"How complicated?" Dee wanted to know. "What's Yakowski been doing?"
Ryo pointed to some of the papers. "Blackmail is the least of it. Seems he has some dirt on some of the instructors and he's using his leverage to run drugs with their protection, extort money, and launder money through their accounts. What he can't launder, he's been placing it into these foreign accounts so that no one is the wiser to his sudden fortune."
Dee was shocked. "So, why come here? Why now? Is something going down and they're using the reunion as cover?"
Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Actually, as far as I can tell, no. They seem to have honestly come here to be in the reunion... of course, I wouldn't put it past them to consolidate their hold on the instructors while they were enjoying themselves."
Dee grunted, "Getting in their faces," Dee said, understanding that. "Yakowski wouldn't want them to think him and his gang are afraid to show up."
Ryo nodded, agreeing.
Dee started to straighten. "Let's get the hell out of here with our proof, then, before they show up."
A gun was suddenly pressed to Dee's ear. "Oh, too late for that, Street Trash," Yakowski growled, low and dangerous.
"Neighborhoods going to hell," Dee grumbled.
"Shut up!" Yakowski swore and shoved Dee over to stand by Ryo. His friends were ranged behind him, looking around them anxiously. "Should have kept your nose out of my business, Latener, just like you should have kept it out when you were training at the academy. I always did peg you for a snooper. That's why I rode you so hard and set you up. Too bad you were too much of a dumb shit to take the hint and quit."
"I don't give up," Dee replied angrily. "I'm not giving up now either."
"Yeah?" Yakowski snorted, "What's the plan, then, detective?" he sneered. "How you gonna get out of this one?"
"The police already know about you," Ryo told him, motioning with his cell phone. "I obtained a search warrant and advised them of my investigation."
Yakowski's hand tightened on his gun. "Then what do I have to lose getting even with you?"
"Don't be foolish, Yakowski!" Ryo warned.
"Why not?" Yakowski replied flippantly. "Are you guys in?" he asked the men over his shoulder and there were angry grunts of assent.
"See?" Yakowski told Ryo and Dee with a dangerous smile. "Looks like nobody cares about the 'consequences'. Get into the car. Both of you. If you make a move or a sound to alert anybody, I got something quieter than a gun. " He patted the handle of a knife under his coat. His smile widened to a grin. "Maybe you can make a move and get somebody to try and rescue you, but not before I kill the both of you, I promise. Come on. Try it. It'll be beautiful, " he told them sarcastically. "Two guys in love, dying together doing their duty. Maybe they'll make a trashy romance novel out of it ... or maybe I'll kill whoever tries to butt in too and nobody will ever know. What'll it be, guys?"
Dee and Ryo looked at each other. Ryo nodded shakily and Dee's eyes turned hard. They both knew the score. They both knew what would happen if they went quietly with Yakowski. Dee and Ryo prepared themselves, waiting for their chance to act.
Yakowski grunted. He opened the back seat of his car and motioned inside with the barrel of his gun. "Sorry for the tight fit. I carry a lot of my 'work' with me. Get in."
As the barrel twitched one more time, Dee gathered himself to leap, hoping to bring Yakowski down before the man could level the gun at them again. A shout stopped him.
"Dee! What are you guys doing out here?!" J.J. exclaimed as he approached, flapping arms as he tried to keep warm. "It's freezing out here!" He smiled at Yakowski. "Yakowski! I've been wanting to talk to you! Are you catching up on old times with Dee? He hasn't changed much, has he? You look the same too. Still walking the beat or have you- Hey! you know who wants to see you too? Peron over there. He's with his wife and kids too!" J.J. turned to shout into the darkness of the parking lot. "Hey! Peron?! Come on over here! Yakowski's here with the guys! Is Davis still with you?! I know he wanted to see Yakowski and Dee too!"
"Forget it, " Yakowski swore, glared at Dee and Ryo, and then motioned his men to get out of there. He slammed the rear door of his car shut and then opened the front door and slid quickly behind the wheel. "They aren't going to catch me, Latener. I'll get even. Count on it!"
The car squealed as Yakowski raced it out of the parking lot, almost sideswiping several parked cars in the process. The other men were just as quick to try and make their getaway.
Ryo flipped open his cell phone to call for help, but J.J. reached out with a shake of his head and had his own cell phone out. "Yeah," he said into it when someone answered. "Trouble, just like we thought. Get backup to the front gate, pronto, and stop them. Be careful, they're armed and dangerous."
J.J. closed his phone and pocketed it. He looked at Dee and Ryo's surprised faces. He snorted, "Come on! Ryo leaves and doesn't come back. Dee runs after you and doesn't come back. Those guys take off... a three year old could add up what was going down."
"So, you made all that up about the other guys?" Dee wondered looking around at the dark parking lot.
J.J. frowned. "Of course! I wouldn't get anyone in the line of fire intentionally. It was just a distraction."
Dee sighed in relief and then turned an unpleasant shade of red. He raked a hand through his dark hair, chewing on something unpleasant. Finally, he growled, "Thanks!" and then added quickly, "Not that I needed help."
J.J. beamed. "Of course you didn't , but backup never hurts," he replied. "Now, about my reward..."
"I said thanks," Dee grumbled and started walking away. Ryo caught him by the arm and stopped him with a scowl.
Turning back to J.J., Ryo said with heartfelt gratitude, "You really saved the day, J.J. I can't thank you enough. If there's any way-"
J.J. looked uncomfortable. "Just doing my job and I don't need any thanks for helping Dee. Let's get up to the front gate and help them out now." He moved forward to hook an arm through Dee's and he pulled Dee away from Ryo, smiling up into Dee's eyes happily. "I've always wanted to work with you, Dee. Now's my chance! Ryo, why don't you go back to the hall? Me and Dee can handle this."
Ryo almost objected, but then he smiled. J.J. had proved just how capable he could be and he was owed something despite his protests. Besides, Ryo thought, by the time they arrived at the front gate, most of the action would probably all ready be over. "All right, I'll do that," he agreed
Dee was shocked. "Ryo! You can't-!"
J.J. fairly crowed with delight as he dragged the protesting Dee away. "Yes, he can, Dee. Come on! You'll see how well we work together! Maybe you'll want to partner with me all the time!"
Ryo chuckled as he walked back to the hall and then he grew pensive. The reunion had been effectively ruined, he thought at first, but then he reconsidered. What better time could a detective have than to be on the job, crack a case, and then bring the bad guy to justice? Dee, Ryo decided, despite J.J.'s presence, was probably having the time of his life.
End