A/N: This story is a new concept for me, as this is moving into more of the crime thriller/comedy realm. This project is based off of the movie R.I.P.D. with Ryan Reynolds. I highly suggest you watch it, as it is amazingly funny.
Now...originally...I had ventured to have this project as another collaboration with the one and only, amazingly brilliant Fandom Angst. But...alas...they are very busy doing the most amazing things these days!
That being said, I also found out that today is their birthday! So, this story is for you, Fandom Angst! Happy Birthday to my partner...my friend...the other half of my sick and twisted literary mind! May you never turn your back on me and shoot me in the face.
Have you ever been stabbed in the back? By someone you trusted with your very life? A partner? A friend?
If the answer to this question is no...then count yourself among the fortunate.
But...if the answer is yes.
Well...then you might be able to empathize with my resentment.
"Hey Yuki! Get your ass in gear!" The dark voice barked out as attention was immediately drawn to its source in the deviating beauty of a man who had snarled these words out.
That...is my partner. Or...as least he had been. For over ten years. Akito Sohma. One of Kyoto P.D.'s finest. Oh sure, the man was wound tighter than a rubber band around a wrist, known to snap unexpectedly. But it was always toward the 'perps.' And they always deserved it.
"I'm increasingly concerned about the amount of attention you give my ass, Akito." Another voice drawled out in a snort of amusement. "The guys are starting to talk about you..." And these words were met with a dark chortle of laughter.
And that's me... Perfect officer. Perfect partner. Some say I took the job a little too seriously. Maybe I should have listened.
But the uniform was my life. I would have done anything for my brothers. My partner. When I took the oath of position as an officer...I told myself I would die for these men. And I meant it.
...I...just didn't think I would be dying so soon...
"Let them talk." The darker voice laughed. "They're just jealous because they know we're the best, Yuki." The words continued with only the slightest of pauses. "You and me, Yuki. We have each others backs. And we get the job done." The voice gained a small level of intensity. "So lets get the job done." And these words of camaraderie were sealed in a solid fist bump of agreement.
But when you're tasked with becoming an undercover narc within your own precinct, and given authorization to engage in illegal surveillance to uncover inside corruption...
Well...lets just say that this isn't the best way to make friends. But it's a hell of a way to make enemies.
And it's amazing how quickly these two become one in the same.
"We have another lead?" The softer voice lilted as the two men moved into the police car, the doors slamming resound and resolute.
"Yeah." The darker voice murmured in response. "A big lead."
"Is this the one we've been waiting for?" The question asked in anticipation.
"I think so. This is the big time, partner." The words came intense in their declaration.
"How is it that you always seem to stumble across these major underground rings, Akito?" The softer voice came inquisitive, followed by a darker snort of amusement.
"Because I'm just that damn lucky." Boisterous laughter erupted from the men and was subdued by the sounds of sirens as the police car finally took flight.
But I had absolutely no hesitation in accepting this task. Because...in the end...right or wrong...I put the uniform first.
Call me a traitor to the uniform. Call me a rat for turning against my brothers.
Yes...my actions were illegal. And the wiretaps and secret video surveillance violated the privacy and trust of my brothers in uniform. But when evidence continued to turn up light, or completely missing from the department's various raids of the underworld of armaments and drugs...I knew something was wrong. And I wasn't the only one tipped off. When I was informed that in no way could I tell anyone of what I was doing, including my partner, you would think that I might have had a moment of hesitation. A small pause, perhaps.
But I never did. Not once. Because I had held fast to two truths.
First...I truly believed that what I was doing was right. Despite the means, the end was justified.
Second...I honestly believed that my partner would have my back, no matter what. No matter what, we always had each others backs. And after ten years together, I knew there was no way he could possibly be a part of what I had become involved in. At the very least it would be one hell of a story to share with him when the whole case broke.
"You have any words of wisdom? A speech for this momentous occasion? I need some encouragement from our fearless leader." These words came sardonic and laced with amusement.
"Yeah." The darker voice chucked out, just as sarcastic in response. "Don't get shot in the face."
"Nice, Akito. I'll be sure to remember that." The snort of a laugh trailed behind the dramatic roll of the eyes.
I just wish that at the time I had taken his words of advice more seriously.
...I find myself wishing a lot of things I can't have anymore...
"You okay?" The dark voice murmured through the sound of the sirens, darker onyx eyes casting a sidelong glance before returning to the road.
"Hm?" The softer voice came drawn out of revery as fingers stilled their nervous spinning of the thick gold wedding band.
"You seem nervous." The voice continued coolly. "You know...you really shouldn't think about her when you're out on the job. It's a distraction that will get you killed." These words of advice came blunt.
"Tohru's not a distraction." The voice responded in a soft whisper, amethyst eyes flitting to the window of the police car. "She's why I get up in the morning." And a gentle scoff of disapproval came from the driver's seat.
"What?" The softer voice countered. "You thought I got my ass out of bed for you, Akito?"
"I had kind of hoped..." Came the sarcastically wry response before more laughter erupted through the car.
Tohru... That name ripped through my heart. My life. My love. My reason for breathing. And how I had taken her for granted. So many times. Pushed her to the side for the sake of my career. I told myself it was for us. For her. But how I wish I had done things differently with her. I wouldn't have been so eager to put on that uniform and walk out the door.
I would have spend more time in bed with her every morning.
"The only thing that's distracting me is your smell." The softer voice grumbled. "Your cologne makes you stink like cinnamon. It's disgusting." These words were muttered as the car window found itself rolling down in response.
"That's not what the ladies say." The darker voice quipped with a chuckle.
"Why do I find that very hard to believe?" Came this countered response.
"You should try it." The darker voice offered.
"And smell like you? No thanks." These words came on the heels of a cynical snort of disagreement.
"Suit yourself." Came the shrugged answer as fingers once again went to twist the wedding band in the ensuing silence.
"I don't know why you're so worried. We do this every day." The darker voice murmured again after a time. "And I always bring you back to her alive, don't I?"
"Tohru asked me to stay home this morning." The softer voice whispered seriously in response. "She said she had a bad feeling about today."
"A bad feeling, hm?" The voice came slightly disinterested as dark onyx eyes kept themselves on the road.
Tohru always worried about me. All the time. But...she was so good at covering it over with her smile that I often forgot about how much my job really bothered her. And she knew how much serving on the force meant to me. But Tohru was always so supportive of my decision, and she would have never asked me to do anything different. Ever.
...with the exception of this morning...
And I knew it had been more than just a bad feeling for her. She had woken from a horrific nightmare, sobbing in my arms. And as I held onto her it became clear that the dream had been too disturbing for her to even talk to me about. All she could manage to choke out through her tears were the words 'don't go.'
And I know now that I should have listened to her.
I never got the chance to find out about her nightmare. But...knowing what I know now...I think I have a fare idea anyway.
"Hey Akito, can I talk to you about something..." The softer voice murmured from the passengers seat after a moment of silence.
"Of course." The response came immediate. "We're partners, after all. We don't keep things from each other, right...?" The darker voice grew a little lower in tone. "You can tell me anything, Yuki."
But...I was keeping something from him. Something big. And secrets aren't free. Not now. Not ever. I learned this the hard way.
...secrets come at a cost...
"Well...it's about Tohru. This weekend...well..." The words came hesitant as they worked themselves through the news to be delivered. "She told me that she's pregnant." At this announcement more silence ensued.
"That explains the bad feeling, then." The darker voice conceded coolly.
"You think so?" The question came softly murmured.
"Probably." Came another concession.
"...yeah... Maybe." A smaller voice of agreement answered, though far less convinced of this explanation.
"This is great news, though. You should be really happy." The darker voice offered casually. "You'll make a decent enough father."
"Gee, thanks." The words were followed by a snort of amusement before the car came to a stop just outside of a seemingly abandoned warehouse just outside of the city center.
"You know...you have time off coming up." The darker voice murmured through the heaviness of the moment. "Maybe after we break this case wide open you should take it."
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea, actually." These words of agreement came calm and thoughtful. "Tohru would like that." And with that settled, the driver's side door flung open.
"Oh hey!" The softer voice halted swift departure. "Tohru wanted me to ask you something." And amethyst eyes met deep onyx before continuing. "We both want you to be the baby's God Father." A softer whisper followed. "You got my back on this one, partner?" And a smile spread in response.
"Sure thing...partner."
I'm still beside myself with how much faith I had placed in this man. My partner. My friend. My brother...closer than any blood. Akito was family. Even my wife had come to accept him. Welcome him in.
...it had been her idea to have him as our child's God Father...
And...she had been so excited to find out what he would say.
I never got the chance to tell her he had said yes.
"What exactly are we walking into, Akito?" The voice came low and hissed in slow, stealthy approach to the building.
"The intell I stumbled upon said something about illegal artifacts. The Yakuza plan to auction them off on the black market in order to fund weapons and drug trafficking." The darker voice murmured as bodies pressed themselves against the wall in anticipation.
"Dammit." Another low hiss came in response. "This is bigger than I thought..."
"Huge, Yuki." Came the concession of agreement.
"What are the odds that we're going to be walking into enemy crossfire?" The question came lowly whispered, only to be met with a sardonic snort of laughter.
"I doubt they're just going to let us walk in there an take it." The darker voice quipped.
"Point taken..." The words came softly grumbled. "Then where the hell is your vest?!" The accusatory question came followed with the observation of the lack of a bullet proof vest.
"It slows me down." The response came cool in its bluntness.
"And you're worried about me getting killed?" The softer voice questioned incredulously.
"What can I say?" The voice mused. "We both know I'm a far luckier bastard than you are." The words came laced with amusement before continuing. "We going to do this, or what?" And with that, legs took flight into the building as shots rang out from all directions.
I knew that I had been keeping something from my partner. My friend. My brother. The fact that I was secretly investigating over half of the precinct in what was quickly turning out to be one of the largest cases of evidence embezzlement that the force had ever seen.
What I didn't know...?
I wasn't the only one keeping secrets.
"...you couldn't have left at least one for questioning?" The words came breathless and shaky, weak in the question they had asked.
"Not when they were all bound and determined to kill us. No." The response came blunt. "You can thank me later."
"How are we going to gather more information about the drugs and weapons ring if we have no one to question?" The softer voice came agitated.
"That's never really been my concern, my friend..." The darker voice murmured lowly. "Finding answers has always been more of your department...hasn't it?"
"...that's what we do, Akito..." The statement came mildly perplexed.
"Well..." The words were murmured dismissively. "At least this will make our job easier. We'll be able to take in the evidence without a fight."
"Is that what this blood bath was all about?" The softer voice hissed in complete disbelief. "Getting the evidence?!" And silence wrapped itself tightly around the moment before it was dispelled by the gentlest of sighs.
"You know..." Dark words came murmured softly in the eery quiet. "You've always been just a little too nosy for your own damn good..." A startled gasp followed the presentation of a gun.
"Akito! No!" A horrified scream that was quickly overtaken by the sound of a single shot fired before silence enveloped the moment once more.
Look up the definition of 'irony' in the dictionary, and I'm sure it describes this very moment of my life. 'A difference between what you expect to happen...and...what actually happens.' Most people find irony quite humorous. I...am not one of those people.
I didn't find it at all 'funny' when my partner had pressed his gun to my forehead and pulled the trigger.
And when I say 'I really didn't see it coming,' the meaning is more...metaphorical. To claim otherwise would be difficult when a gun is pointed at your face.
But I honestly hadn't seen it coming. Not from him.
Apparently he had been a lot closer to my investigation than I had thought. And I think he had suspected my activities for some time. It would have only been a matter of time before I put the pieces together. And they all pointed to him.
So...
Have you ever been stabbed in the back? By someone you trusted with your very life? A partner? A friend?
If the answer to this question is no...then count yourself among the fortunate.
But...if the answer is yes.
Well...then you might be able to empathize with my resentment.
But this is not where my story ends.
This...is just the beginning...
A/N: So...as tradition dictates on your birthday, Fandom Angst, I so serenade you with a song of old to commemorate the day of your birth. May this day be far better to you than the characters in your stories. Yeah...you know what I'm talking about... Here we go.
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday
There's clouds in the air
People dyin' everywhere
But Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday
To you