FAKE
The Games He'd Play
Chapter 2 Damn it All to Hell!
"So...now that we've got everything straightened out and out in the open..." And typical Dee was back again. Insert a Dee stealing a kiss scene here. For once, Ryo felt like it was all right to let him. Dee got a little more forward with Ryo and started to steer him in the direction of the couch – and then the phone rang. Dee wanted to just let it ring. Ryo pushed him away gently.
"Dee, I have to answer that. It might be Bikky." Good guess. It was Bikky, and he was standing in a phone booth screaming at the phone.
"Dammit, Ryo, answer it! I swear to God, if I find out Dee was over there and made Ryo let it ring, I'll kill him!" Ryo picked up on the fifth ring. He hadn't even gotten a hello out before Bikky yelled rapid-fire, "Shit, Ryo, you gotta do something! I was walking with Carol and Lai, and we saw this girl get thrown in the back of a car and I think it was Lass and we followed them to this apartment building, and we're standing outside and you have to get here NOW!"
"I'll be right there. What's the address?" Bikky gave him a building number and floor, but before he could tell him the apartment number, the line went dead. What had happened was exactly what Ryo suspected – the kidnappers had caught on that they'd been tailed, and they'd gotten Bikky, too. Lai and Carol had been hiding in an ally; the kidnappers didn't know there were other witnesses. Still, there was nothing those two could do.
Ryo and Dee drove to the building as fast as they could. They didn't want to do anything that would prompt the assumed kidnappers to speed up any plans they had. The best they could hope to do was stake out the floor and wait to see if the kidnappers left for any reason or try (most likely without success) to find a way into the apartment. They stepped out of the car and didn't take more than four steps before Carol and crew ran up to them.
Carol spoke up first. "Ryo! They're in apartment 4H. We didn't hear much, but it sounded like they only took Bikky to shut him up. They said something like 'he ain't no girl, but he's gotta go.'"
Ryo swore quietly. "Damn it all to hell! We have to get in there before something happens. I want you guys to get out of here. Get inside a public place; it's not safe for you here." Ryo and Dee headed into the building. They each stood at one end of the narrow hallway. They could hear Bikky's voice through the thin walls. It sounded like he was shouting at the top of his lungs.
"You bastards, who the hell do you think you are keeping her tied up in a bedroom like that? If you touch her, I'm gonna kill you!" Whatever the reply to his threat was, it was too muffled by the wall for the detectives to hear it.
Dee motioned to Ryo to come over to him. When he did, Dee spoke quietly about his plan. "I used to have a friend who lived in this building..."
"Really? A friend? That's amazing, Dee! I'm proud of you."
"Shut up, Ryo. So, anyway, these places are really weird the way they're set up. The bedrooms have double doors out to a small balcony. That, and the bedroom is on the end of apartment. If we get cooperation from the neighbor next door, we could probably get into the bedroom through the window. As long as you have a good sense of balance and I can remember how to pick a lock."
Dee knocked softly on the door of apartment 4J next door. A woman opened the door with the chain lock on. She looked nervous. "Can I help you?"
Dee held up his badge. "Please whisper, m'am. We're here because your neighbors next door are holding a couple of kids against their will. They're kidnappers. We need to gain access to their apartment via the window, and we'd have to climb out your kitchen window to do so. Do you mind?"
"Oh, no sir! I'll do anything I can to help. She undid the chain on the door and let the pair in. She headed to the kitchen, opened the window, and slid back the screen. "Well, I wish you much luck."
"Thank you, m'am. If our friends climb in your window, please don't panic. They're a blonde girl and a mixed race guy. If anyone else climbs in, though, please scream and defend yourself." She nodded. He turned to look at his partner. "Well, Ryo, you want me to go first?"
Ryo poked his head out the window. "You seriously think we can balance on that little ledge, get a hold of that balcony's rail, and climb over without falling?"
"Fifty-fifty shot?" With that, Dee climbed out the window and clung to the window frame for dear life. Taking a deep breath, he leaned over and grabbed for the railing. He grasped it just as his fingertips slipped of the neighbor's window frame. He lost his footing and found himself hanging from the balcony railing holding on with only one hand. Ryo gasped. Fortunately, Dee got a good hold on the rail with both hands and climbed over. Ryo had more success, being surprisingly graceful. He smirked at Dee. Dee was less amused. "Show-off."
They listened intently to see if they could ascertain the situation inside. It sounded like Lass was in the room...humming? Ryo peered in the window through the small opening in the curtains. It appeared that she was alone in the room, so Ryo set to picking the lock with his pocketknife. It wasn't much of a challenge; not many people worried much about installing quality locks on fourth floor window. He slid the door open quietly, moved the curtain, and looked into the room. Sure enough, she was sitting on the bed, which she was tied to, and humming. Ryo and Dee grinned. They carefully opened the sliding glass door all the way and stepped into the room. Lass was overjoyed. She smiled from ear to ear as they untied her. Ryo whispered, "I want you to get out of here. If you think you can, climb from that balcony to the window to the right. If you can't, stay on the balcony. We're gonna go get Bikky, okay?" She nodded and headed out.
Guns in hand and not knowing what to expect, the opened the bedroom door and checked around the corner to see what was happening in the living room. "Freeze!" they shouted simultaneously. "NYPD!" They didn't have much work to do. Bikky was tied to a chair with tape over his mouth, watching the kidnappers playing poker for who'd get the first go at Lass. They didn't put up resistance to arrest. Bikky made some rather amusing frustrated noises while Dee purposely distracted Ryo from untying or at least untaping him.
The next morning found the two detectives buried under paperwork. They hadn't exactly followed protocol on this one. Ryo looked up from the thick stack of papers on his desk and sighed. "The two of us alone must do as much paperwork as the entire rest of the department combined."
Dee shrugged, slouched in a chair next to Ryo's desk, and put his feet up next to Ryo's coffee cup. "Hey, what've I said about that brat of yours all along? He'll bring ya nothing but trouble."
"Come on, Dee, I don't think you can hang this on Bikky. Besides, I don't see you dealing with the paper work!"
Ah, the infamous cue to leave. Any hint of someone expecting him to do work, and Dee suddenly became as elusive a creature as straight male stylist. He walked away before Ryo could throw some paperwork on his lap. Ryo shook his head. Dee wasn't going to change; what more could he expect. At least life never got boring.
Chapter 2 Damn it All to Hell!
"So...now that we've got everything straightened out and out in the open..." And typical Dee was back again. Insert a Dee stealing a kiss scene here. For once, Ryo felt like it was all right to let him. Dee got a little more forward with Ryo and started to steer him in the direction of the couch – and then the phone rang. Dee wanted to just let it ring. Ryo pushed him away gently.
"Dee, I have to answer that. It might be Bikky." Good guess. It was Bikky, and he was standing in a phone booth screaming at the phone.
"Dammit, Ryo, answer it! I swear to God, if I find out Dee was over there and made Ryo let it ring, I'll kill him!" Ryo picked up on the fifth ring. He hadn't even gotten a hello out before Bikky yelled rapid-fire, "Shit, Ryo, you gotta do something! I was walking with Carol and Lai, and we saw this girl get thrown in the back of a car and I think it was Lass and we followed them to this apartment building, and we're standing outside and you have to get here NOW!"
"I'll be right there. What's the address?" Bikky gave him a building number and floor, but before he could tell him the apartment number, the line went dead. What had happened was exactly what Ryo suspected – the kidnappers had caught on that they'd been tailed, and they'd gotten Bikky, too. Lai and Carol had been hiding in an ally; the kidnappers didn't know there were other witnesses. Still, there was nothing those two could do.
Ryo and Dee drove to the building as fast as they could. They didn't want to do anything that would prompt the assumed kidnappers to speed up any plans they had. The best they could hope to do was stake out the floor and wait to see if the kidnappers left for any reason or try (most likely without success) to find a way into the apartment. They stepped out of the car and didn't take more than four steps before Carol and crew ran up to them.
Carol spoke up first. "Ryo! They're in apartment 4H. We didn't hear much, but it sounded like they only took Bikky to shut him up. They said something like 'he ain't no girl, but he's gotta go.'"
Ryo swore quietly. "Damn it all to hell! We have to get in there before something happens. I want you guys to get out of here. Get inside a public place; it's not safe for you here." Ryo and Dee headed into the building. They each stood at one end of the narrow hallway. They could hear Bikky's voice through the thin walls. It sounded like he was shouting at the top of his lungs.
"You bastards, who the hell do you think you are keeping her tied up in a bedroom like that? If you touch her, I'm gonna kill you!" Whatever the reply to his threat was, it was too muffled by the wall for the detectives to hear it.
Dee motioned to Ryo to come over to him. When he did, Dee spoke quietly about his plan. "I used to have a friend who lived in this building..."
"Really? A friend? That's amazing, Dee! I'm proud of you."
"Shut up, Ryo. So, anyway, these places are really weird the way they're set up. The bedrooms have double doors out to a small balcony. That, and the bedroom is on the end of apartment. If we get cooperation from the neighbor next door, we could probably get into the bedroom through the window. As long as you have a good sense of balance and I can remember how to pick a lock."
Dee knocked softly on the door of apartment 4J next door. A woman opened the door with the chain lock on. She looked nervous. "Can I help you?"
Dee held up his badge. "Please whisper, m'am. We're here because your neighbors next door are holding a couple of kids against their will. They're kidnappers. We need to gain access to their apartment via the window, and we'd have to climb out your kitchen window to do so. Do you mind?"
"Oh, no sir! I'll do anything I can to help. She undid the chain on the door and let the pair in. She headed to the kitchen, opened the window, and slid back the screen. "Well, I wish you much luck."
"Thank you, m'am. If our friends climb in your window, please don't panic. They're a blonde girl and a mixed race guy. If anyone else climbs in, though, please scream and defend yourself." She nodded. He turned to look at his partner. "Well, Ryo, you want me to go first?"
Ryo poked his head out the window. "You seriously think we can balance on that little ledge, get a hold of that balcony's rail, and climb over without falling?"
"Fifty-fifty shot?" With that, Dee climbed out the window and clung to the window frame for dear life. Taking a deep breath, he leaned over and grabbed for the railing. He grasped it just as his fingertips slipped of the neighbor's window frame. He lost his footing and found himself hanging from the balcony railing holding on with only one hand. Ryo gasped. Fortunately, Dee got a good hold on the rail with both hands and climbed over. Ryo had more success, being surprisingly graceful. He smirked at Dee. Dee was less amused. "Show-off."
They listened intently to see if they could ascertain the situation inside. It sounded like Lass was in the room...humming? Ryo peered in the window through the small opening in the curtains. It appeared that she was alone in the room, so Ryo set to picking the lock with his pocketknife. It wasn't much of a challenge; not many people worried much about installing quality locks on fourth floor window. He slid the door open quietly, moved the curtain, and looked into the room. Sure enough, she was sitting on the bed, which she was tied to, and humming. Ryo and Dee grinned. They carefully opened the sliding glass door all the way and stepped into the room. Lass was overjoyed. She smiled from ear to ear as they untied her. Ryo whispered, "I want you to get out of here. If you think you can, climb from that balcony to the window to the right. If you can't, stay on the balcony. We're gonna go get Bikky, okay?" She nodded and headed out.
Guns in hand and not knowing what to expect, the opened the bedroom door and checked around the corner to see what was happening in the living room. "Freeze!" they shouted simultaneously. "NYPD!" They didn't have much work to do. Bikky was tied to a chair with tape over his mouth, watching the kidnappers playing poker for who'd get the first go at Lass. They didn't put up resistance to arrest. Bikky made some rather amusing frustrated noises while Dee purposely distracted Ryo from untying or at least untaping him.
The next morning found the two detectives buried under paperwork. They hadn't exactly followed protocol on this one. Ryo looked up from the thick stack of papers on his desk and sighed. "The two of us alone must do as much paperwork as the entire rest of the department combined."
Dee shrugged, slouched in a chair next to Ryo's desk, and put his feet up next to Ryo's coffee cup. "Hey, what've I said about that brat of yours all along? He'll bring ya nothing but trouble."
"Come on, Dee, I don't think you can hang this on Bikky. Besides, I don't see you dealing with the paper work!"
Ah, the infamous cue to leave. Any hint of someone expecting him to do work, and Dee suddenly became as elusive a creature as straight male stylist. He walked away before Ryo could throw some paperwork on his lap. Ryo shook his head. Dee wasn't going to change; what more could he expect. At least life never got boring.
