due South
By Holly Rixon
Chapter 1
Meetings
His footsteps eccohed as he walked away from the apartment door and headed back down the hallway towards the elevater. He had wasted his time. The man would never talk. He jabbed his finger against the call button and leant on the wall opposite the silver doors. His head throbbed painfully and he raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. Closing his eyes for a moment he let out a long sigh. He was getting nowhere with the case. If he didn't convince Atler to testify before the jurry at the preliminary trial then Strenfield would walk free. Another criminal back out on the street. Opening his eyes, he steped forward and jabbed at the button several more times. Seconds later the doors slid open and he stepped inside. He pushed the button for the lobby and the doors closed. He grimised at the tacky music that ebbed out of a speeker in one corner. He hated these new uptown apartment blocks. The people who lived in them were all snobs. He trudged through the lobby and pushed against the revolving door with his shoulder. It turned and took him out onto the pavement. He took in a breath of fresh air that cleared his head a little. The heating had been up full wack in Kash's apartment.
He headed down the block and turned into the alley where he had parked his car. He pulled his keys from his pocket, unlocked the door and pulled it open. An aroma of coffee and smoke wafted out. He reached in and grabbed the radio.
"Franchesca, it's Ray." He spoke into the handset and waited for a responce to interupt the crackle of the frequency. When none came he called in again. "Franchesca. Franchesca come in." There was a snap over the speeker and Franchesca's voice rang out.
"I'm here, I'm here, keep your beard on."
"Frannie, we've been over this. You need to answer the radio as soon as your called." He sighed at Franchesca's lack on compatance.
"I would have done but my nail's were wet." Franchesca snapped back.
"Whatever, look, I just left Kash's. The mans doing a great impression of a clam. I'm off duty now. Tell Welsh I'll see him in the morning."
"What am I, your postalwoman?"
"Bye, Frannie." He turned off his end of the radio before Franchesca could respond. He hung up the handset and straightned back up to take off his coat.
He froze when he felt something placed against the back of his head. The click of the chamber as it was loaded told him it was a gun. Rough hands grabbed his arms and shoulders and pushed him against the side of his car. He tried to struggle but the hands pushed harder against him.
"You should have known we'd want to talk to you, Ray." The voice cut through the air like a hot knife.
"I ain't got nothing to say to you." Ray growled. Once more he tried to shake off the hands holding him down. He felt something connect with the back of his head. The blow caused bursts of colour to flash infront of his eyes.
"We'll see." A hand grabbed a fistfull of hair and pushed his head down so that the side of his face was squashed flat against the side of the car. There was a scratch against his skin. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a syringe being emptied into his neck. He started to feel drousy and his legs no longer supported his weight. Panicking, he tried to slip from the tight grip holding him. Blackness swam over his brain and he closed his eyes.
"Yes, I know. I'm looking forward to seeing him again too." Benton Fraser looked down at his wolf and smiled. "You're right. It has been a long time." A woman walkign past gave him a funny look. A fully grown man in a red suit talking to a dog. Fraser reached out a hand and pushed the button for the walk sign. "You don't think we should have called first, do you?"
The wolf whined and yawned. Fraser rolled his eyes. "Yes, we could have gone to see him yesterday, but i thought you were tired from the flight." The floresent light over head flashed for them to cross and he steped out into the road. Deifenbaker trotted at his heals. "You'll see him soo enough. The station is just around the corner."
Sure enough, they turned the next corner and there stood the building in which he had spent a great deal of his time. Excited at the prospect of seeing his friend again after so long, Benton's pace quickened. Deif, broke into a run to keept up with him. Pushing open one of the large doors, he steped into the main hallway of the station. Looking around himself he notised that nothing had changed. He headed up the stairs to his left. Chicago had also been home to an odd assortment of people. A small portion seemed be congrigating the station today. He passed a drunken man in a wedding dress whom he recognised. He reached the second floor and approached the enterance to the squad room. A young woman carrying an armfull of files backed out of the door just as Fraser had begun to push it open. The door knocked into her arms and sent her files crashing to the floor.
"Great. Thanks a heap, ya big jerk." She dropped to her knees and began to pick up her files. Benton also crouched to the floor and started to retieve the files.
"I'm so teribbly sorry." He said as she snatched the files from his hands. Retrieving the last one she stood and jugled them in her arms trying to maintain her grip on them. There was a clatter as her gun fell from it's holster. Fraser scooped down and picked it up. He placed it ontop of the files, notising her police badge clipped to the strap of her holster.
"Yeah, I'll bet ya are." She flashed him an extremly anoyed look. "Do you know how long it took me to alpertise these?"
"I assure you I didn't do it on purpose." He looked at her. Her blue eyes had dark bags under them and she looked as though she could do with a good meal.
"Just get out of my way." She pushed past him and carried on down the corridor. She narroly avoided collieding with a delivery man. "Watch it, asshole." He heard her shout.
Shaking his head he turned to Diefenbaker and shook his head. "Completly irrational." He pushed at the door and it swong open letting him into the squadroom. There was a squeal from his left.
"Fraser?" Franchesca Vecchio was infront of him in an instant. She flung her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug. "Oh, my god. Fraser. How are you?"
"I'm very well, thank you, Franchesca. And you?" She released him and steped back.
"All the better for seeing you." Benton smiled wearily. The look on her face revealed the fact that she still had feelings for him even after all this time.
"Is Detective K..." Benton was interupted by another familier voice.
"Constable Fraser." Fraser turned to see Leutenent Welsh standing in the doorway to his office. "How are you?"
"I'm very well, thank you, sir." He steped forward at shook Welsh's hand.
"How long has it been? Two years?" Welsh's asked.
"Two years, four months and sixteen days." He replied.
Welsh smiled. "What brings you back to the windy city?"
"I have finished my posting in the Northwest Territory so i though I'd visit some old friends before I move to my next one." Welsh's phone rang. He turned and headed back into his office.
"I'll get the boys together before you leave. We can all catch up." He called through the door as he picked up the resiever.
"Sounds like a good plan, sir." Fraser looked around. When he saw no sign of his friend he approached his desk and sat down on the chair in front of it. Looking around the room he saw various people he remembered. None of them stopped to say hello. They were all rushing around, going about their own business. The squad room seamed frought, stressed. As Benton sat poundering what could be wrong, the blond haired detective he had bumbed into moments before stomped over. She thudded a large cardbord box onto the desk followed by the pile of files from before. She flopped down into the chair and rubbed her eyes with the heals of her hands. Her blond hair was pulled scruffly back into a ponytail but she had missed a few sections of hair which fell in curls around her face. Despite her tired, haggered look she was extremly attracive. She looked up and saw Fraser sat infront of her desk watching her with a puzzeled look on his face.
"Oh god, not you." She sighed. "What do ya want?" She pulled the lid from the cardboard box and began to search through the contents.
"I'm sorry. I must have the wrong desk. I was looking for Detective Kowalski." He moved to stand.
"Yeah, that's me. Detective Kowalski." She pointed to the nameplate on her desk.
"No, I mean Detective Stanley Raymond Kowalski." Her head snapped up and her eyes locked on his. Fraser was slightly taken aback.
"Is this some kinda joke?" She said quietly.
"I beg your pardon?"
"You've got some nerve." She rose from her chair and marched off across the squad room. "Did Kash put you up to this?" Benton jumped to his feet and followed after her. He noticed that her gun had now been tucked into the back of her trousers.
"Forgive me, but I'm not completely sure what you think it is I've done." She turned and looked him up and down. He was clean cut and smart. Red certainly suited him.
"Who the hell are you?" She crossed her arms and stared at him.
"My name is Constable Benton Fraser of the Royal Canadian Mountain Police. I first came to Chicago on the trail of my father's killers and for reasons that probably need explaining at this juncture I remained attached with the Canadian Consulate as Liaison Officer with the Chicago Police Department."
The blond haired officer cocked an eyebrow. "Canadian?" She asked. Benton nodded. "That explains a lot." Fraser open his mouth to ask what it explained but changed his mind and closed it again.
"So, do you know where I can find Detective Kowalski?" She continued to stare at him for a minute.
"You really don't know, do you?" She asked finally.
"Know what?" Fraser asked in return. Before she could reply, there was a shout from across the room.
"Evelyn, the front desk called up. Your mother's down stairs." Welsh called to her. She turned briefly and waved a hand in acknowledgement. "And Kowalski, get a holster for that weapon."
"Yes, sir." She replied through a forced smile. Turning back she saw Fraser had extended his hand.
"I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Evelyn Kowalski." He said. Evelyn took his hand in her own and shook it. "I take it from your last name that you are Ray's wife. I didn't know he had married. Congratulations."
"If you're into that sort of thing." Evelyn gave a small laugh. Fraser gave her a puzzled look. "I'm his sister. Half sister. Different moms. But we're so close we might as well be full blood relatives."
"I had no idea Ray had a sister. He never mentioned you."
"Yeah, it had something to do with a big family rift. But then our dad died a couple of years back and that's how we found out about each other. He had left stuff to me in his will and Ray wanted to find out who I was. The rest is history." She looked at him for a moment, eyes brow furrowed. "So how do you know Ray?"
"Well, when I stayed here attached to the Consulate I became his unofficial partner. Well, I actually became Ray Vecchio's partner, but that's a whole different story. To get to the point, I worked alongside your brother for a few years before I was assigned to a case back in the Yukon. We became very good friends." He rattled off. "I haven't seen or spoken to him since I left." He saw Evelyn raise her eyebrows.
"How long ago was that?"
"Two years, four months and sixteen days."
"But you just said you were good friends. How could you not have spoken to him in over two years?" Evelyn queried.
"Well, it's quite difficult to find a stable phone line in the Yukon. Quite often I was two days sled from the nearest connection. When ever I did try to call, I kept missing him." Benton replied.
Evelyn let out a long sigh. "That explains why you didn't know."
"Know what?" He asked, his brow furrowing.
She didn't answer him straight away. She looked down at her feet. If he knew Ray as well as he said he did, he might be able to help. She looked back up and fixed her eyes on his face. He looked like someone who cared, who could help. Someone she could trust. She took in a great breath and then let it out in a sigh.
"Ray's missing." She looked into his eyes, trying to gage his reaction. "He disappeared four days ago."
