Crash and Burn
Chapter 14 – The Kiss of Judas
Inside the private room, Rose was still waiting for the invitation to sit down but Dee wasn't about to give it as he returned to staring out of the window. The silence was awkward and Rose knew he had to break it soon. "So… how are you feeling?" he said, shedding his jacket to let Dee know he intended to stay. "Have the doctors said how long you're likely to be kept in?"
Dee shook his head, unable to provide a verbal response to the question as he tried to figure out exactly what Rose was doing here. He turned from the window to see Rose settling into the chair that the psychiatrist had just vacated. "Have a seat," he said, unable to miss the opportunity for sarcasm. Rose studied the battered face for a moment, thinking that maybe he'd underestimated just how difficult this would be. The younger man looked pale and gaunt and inextricably older than his twenty nine years as he glared at Rose, clearly communicating that he wasn't particularly pleased to see his senior at his bedside, two days into his recovery.
Rose however was not to be deterred. He needed to know exactly what the detective knew about Goldsmith, the kidnapping… and anything else his captor might have told him. "I know it's probably not easy Dee," he said, trying to sound as sympathetic as possible "but we need to know what happened to you."
Dee narrowed his eyes; understandably suspicious. "So you're here to take my statement?" he asked. "Any particular reason why you came? Are we so horribly understaffed with me in hospital that the commissioner has to do regular police work keep the department afloat?"
Rose shot him a hard look. "No, but I think the kidnapping of one of our detectives warrants a thorough investigation don't you?"
Dee snorted and made a face, wincing as the wound on his face protested at the movement. "Why do I get the feeling I'm being bullshitted here? You just wanna see whether I've gone crazy so you've finally got an excuse to sack me."
"That's crap," Rose snapped, irritated by the other man's belligerence. "I just don't want to see whoever did this to you to get away with it. Is that so wrong? I'd do the same for any of my men."
"I'm sure," Dee growled as a memory surfaced from his time in captivity. "Although I'm sure if it was Ryo lying here you'd be doing a lot more than sitting here trying to ask a few stupid questions."
Rose's eyes narrowed in response. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means the guy that kidnapped me said he'd seen the way you looked at Ryo. Like a hungry wolf he said. Now why d'you suppose he said that huh?"
Rose found himself on the end of a hard green eyed stare that he had to look away from. So the kidnapper had been talking to Dee about him. His blood ran cold at the thought that his deepest secret could now be in the knowledge of someone who all but hated him. He needed to know how much Dee knew and fast. "I don't know why he'd say that," Rose eventually replied, trying to keep his voice even. "I'd never try anything with Ryo. Frankly I'm insulted that you think I'd try while he's in a relationship. I do have some standards you know."
Dee looked at him doubtfully, already wearied of this verbal tussling. His leg was aching and the skin under the bandages on his wrists was starting to knit together, making them itch like crazy. The last thing he needed was a headache caused by this pointless encounter. Rose was here for a reason; but he couldn't work out why with the other man sat there staring at him. He needed to buy himself some thinking time.
"Commissioner?" he said suddenly, "Could you go and let one of the nurses know that I need to use the bathroom?" He managed to maintain the innocent expression on his face as Rose contemplated whether he was being taken for a ride or not. Eventually the other man nodded and stood, deciding that he needed to keep Dee as sweet as possible if he was to get the information that he needed. He left the room before returning shortly with a nurse in tow, who moved around the bed and helped Dee transfer himself into a wheelchair.
"Back in a sec," Dee said, offering Rose a forced smile as he passed by on his way to the bathroom. Once the nurse had helped him into a standing position in front of the toilet and closed the door behind her, Dee turned his attention to trying to figure out exactly why Rose was sat outside, waiting for him to pee instead of saying he would come back another time. Gritting his teeth, he used the grab handles attached to the wall to turn himself around and lower his body onto the toilet so he could sit down and think properly. After several moments, all deeply painful as he forced himself to recall his days spent shackled and in agony, he suddenly realised why Rose was here. Henry Goldsmith.
His captor had told him things about Rose's good friend; how he wasn't as virtuous as he made out and how he was responsible for the kidnapping instead of the notorious De Luca family. This realisation presented a whole host of questions of its own. Did Rose know what Goldsmith had planned all along or had the commissioner been fooled too? Dee could feel the beginnings of a headache forming as he dropped his head into his hands and started to massage his temples as he tried to decide how much to tell Rose.
"Dee? Are you okay in there?" A voice asked from the other side of the door, startling him from his thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm nearly done," he called back to the nurse as he hauled himself up again and flushed the chain to complete his pretence. Once he had lowered himself back into the wheelchair he announced that the nurse could come in to assist him in getting back to bed. As she wheeled him out of the bathroom, his eyes fell upon Rose, still sat stiffly in the visitor's chair, waiting for him to return. He sat patiently and watched as the nurse helped Dee into bed, bearing the weight of his casted leg as he got himself comfortable again with several grunts of pain and curses under his breath. Eventually the nurse left and Rose decided to jump straight in, feeling enough time had been wasted already.
"Yesterday evening, the man who held you prisoner was apprehended at the factory where he was keeping you. We have him Dee, but we need to know what happened to you in order to prosecute him."
Dee looked stunned, verbally unable to express his thoughts at that time. Of course he wanted the bastard bringing to justice but he hadn't yet been able to bring himself to contemplate the ordeal of a trial. "You… you caught him?" he said in disbelief. He watched as Rose nodded, his expression by no means indicating that he was pleased about this turn of events. "Yes, but this is likely to cause some problems and I think you know why."
Dee eyes went wide before his expression turned stormy. "You knew?" he spat, realising that one of his questions had now been answered. "And you let us go out there and risk our lives for a goddamned setup?"
"No," Rose said before the furious detective could continue. "When I gave you the case I knew as much as you. It was only after you were rescued that Henry came to me and told me everything."
Dee stared hard at his superior for a moment. "Pardon me for saying Sir but you have real shitty taste in friends."
Rose ignored the comment as he pushed his glasses further up his nose. "I need to know what he told you," he said matter-of-factly.
Dee turned to the window, trying to organise his jumbled thoughts. His captor had spoke to him, at length on some occasions, but with his fever and prolonged period of agonising pain it was difficult to remember the precise details of their interactions. Being forced to recall his ordeal in an already agitated state was proving stressful and Dee could feel his heart rate increasing as a result. Flashes of his nightmarish existence pounded his brain and Dee could feel his sanity slipping a little as he started to tremble under the strain. Rose watched as the other man gripped the bed sheets; his face a grim mask as he battled his emotions and for brief moment he almost felt guilty for what he was doing, but he had to know.
"Dee," Rose said finally, "Did he tell you how they knew Henry?"
Dee fought his stormy emotions as he nodded his head. He didn't know why he felt so vulnerable and the instability of his emotions scared him but he sure as hell wasn't going to get all weepy in front of Rose. "Yes… he said his brother was a rent-boy that Goldsmith took a shine to. He arranged for them to do the kidnapping." He paused, allowing Rose chance to dispute his words but the other remained silent. "I'm guessing that's no surprise to you then."
Rose shook his head. "That's what Henry told me too."
"Good, because it's the truth."
Rose raised an eyebrow carefully, demanding clarification. He watched as Dee swallowed nervously before he put voice to a memory. "When… when I asked him a second time about the kidnapping I said that I didn't believe that Goldsmith was responsible for it so he called him up on his cell phone. He made me listen while he taunted him and eventually Goldsmith incriminated himself, calling him a stupid bastard for kidnapping me and screwing up the original plan."
Rose pondered this for a moment, making no attempt to fill the void of silence.
"So what exactly is this about commissioner?" Dee asked, finding his strength once more, "I mean, now we've established that your friend is a lying bastard, what do you expect me to do about it?"
Rose took a deep breath. Dee hadn't mentioned that he knew potentially damaging things about him and he desperately wanted to keep it that way, but in order to ask him to protect Goldsmith he had to explain why it was so important. "When it comes to trial, the brothers are likely to try and take various other people down with them, including Goldsmith. You'll of course be made to testify…"
He never finished the sentence as Dee interrupted him angrily. "And you're concerned that your precious friend will pay crimes that he did actually commit?" He swept a hand through his dark hair in irritation. "Jesus Rose, so far I'm not seeing much of a problem here."
"I know," Rose said quietly, realising that he was about to strip himself of his dignity whether he liked it or not, "Henry does deserve to be jailed but… if that happens then he intends to make things difficult for me."
Dee looked up from where he had been staring at the zig-zag patterns on the bed cover. "Meaning?" he snapped.
"Meaning… he knows about things in my past that I'm not proud of."
"So you're telling me to lie about what I know about Goldsmith?"
"I'm asking you," Rose corrected as if that made any difference. Now was the time to use his trump card. "Because if I'm removed from my post then Ryo will never get that promotion he's after."
Dee's emerald eyes flashed angrily as he thought about Ryo's dream job, due to be vacated by the current holder when he retired in two months time. "Ryo's a dead cert to make the co-ordinator of the armed response unit. It doesn't matter who the commissioner is."
"Not so," Rose said shaking his head. "Do you remember when Ryo first came to the precinct and he rescued you and Bicky from that dealer's house by planting explosives in the attic? That went on his file but I've always let it go, knowing he was a damn good detective who acted rashly on one occasion. If I was to leave then I'm sure a replacement commissioner wouldn't be prepared to overlook such an extreme incident, particularly if the person in question was wanting the responsibility of overseeing a group of elite armed officers." He paused and stared hard at Dee to check the other man was listening. "In fact, they may even want to investigate it anyway, possibly leading to a demotion from his current position in homicide. I don't think he'd suit desk duties, do you?"
Dee was seething, his chest heaving in and out as he took in exactly what Rose was saying. "You're blackmailing me?" he said in disbelief, resisting the urge to reach across and punch Rose hard in the face.
"Oh come on Dee," Rose said wearily, waving a hand dismissively. "Don't be so melodramatic. Let's say we're just engaging in some mutual professional back scratching."
Dee snorted angrily. "I prefer the term 'blackmail'." He turned to the window as he thought of how much Ryo was chasing the promotion to the head of the armed response team. As a born organiser and the precinct's best shot, he seemed the obvious choice and it seemed unfair that one indiscretion that occurred almost three years ago would prevent him from achieving his dream. He spoke after a long silence, his voice weary at the decision he had already made. "What if I keep quiet but they still find out about… whatever it is you did?"
Rose pondered this. "Then I'll personally destroy that record in Ryo's file before I'm forced to leave. Whether I leave or not you can't lose. I'll make sure that that record is no longer an issue for Ryo."
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"You have my word. I've been honest with you about this. You can see what I've got to lose." He stood up and pulled on his jacket before he headed for the door. "I trust you won't share the details of this meeting with anyone Dee, not even Ryo." With his hand resting on the handle he turned back and looked at the bed-bound man, for once his expression genuinely remorseful. "Believe me; I'm not proud of any of this Dee."
And then he was gone, leaving Dee to stare blankly at the now closed door.
With one last day of paid vacation time Ryo sat on the park bench, idly watching the world pass him by as he reflected on the recent events that had turned his world upside down. One minute, he and Dee had been blissfully happy; successfully proving that despite their many personal differences, they could live together and remain so completely in love and the next, they were forced to contemplate a new future, one of which neither of them was prepared for. He loved Dee so much he didn't care what was wrong with him but he sensed that it mattered very much to Dee himself.
His lover had told him a little about his past; how he'd been abandoned and, apart from the intervention of Penguin and Jess Latener, how he had practically raised himself. Dee hated showing any sign of weakness; he very rarely admitted to any pain and shrugged off most bouts of illness with well practised nonchalance. To know that he, Dee the infallible, had a condition he couldn't dismiss so easily was no doubt partly responsible for his sudden mood swings and Ryo told himself to remember that no matter how Dee treated him when he saw him next. He knew Dee loved him; he was just hurting badly but Ryo desperately wanted to show him depth of his commitment, whatever the circumstances.
His attention was drawn by a commotion occurring away to his left. He turned, squinting as the sun dazzled him as it burst between the leafy boughs, and shielded his eyes to see a horse-drawn carriage making its way through the park towards the ornamental gardens in the centre. The horses were both exceedingly magnificent; two sturdy greys with proud heads and long flowing manes, entwined with pink and yellow flowers. The carriage they pulled behind them was black with shiny gold fittings, also adorned with the same flowers. The driver was dressed smartly in top hat and tails as he guided the horses towards their destination and riding in the back were a young couple, obviously bride and groom, beaming at the beauty of their surroundings and the excitement about the new life they had just begun as husband and wife.
Seeing their happiness, Ryo couldn't help but smile as he watched the carriage stop and the driver climb out to help the bride from her seat. She looked truly beautiful as she stepped down from the coach, her long flowing gown trailing across the grass behind her as she clutched her bouquet of flowers and gazed lovingly at her new husband as he followed her out into the gardens. After several moments, a man appeared with a camera on a strap around his neck and a large bag of equipment in his hand. The photographer then proceeded to set up, instructing the happy couple on where to stand in order to achieve the most desirable pictures.
So engrossed in witnessing this wonderful occasion, Ryo didn't notice as two women sat down on the bench beside him. A quick glance told him that they were related; the younger of the two looked strikingly similar although her hair was still shiny and black where the other's was greying slightly at the temples. When they noticed what was going on, they started to talk about marriage, evidently with differing opinions on the value of such a union.
"It's wonderful, don't you think?" the first woman said, smiling broadly as she gazed dreamily at the couple as they embraced for a photograph.
"Hn," came the non-committal reply as the younger of the two folded her arms across her chest sulkily. "Don't see what's so great about it. It's just a bit of paper after all."
Ryo glanced around as the older woman snorted. "That's typical of your generation. Marriage isn't just a bit of paper. It's about showing to the world that you're seriously committed to one person for the rest of your life; for better or worse, 'til death us do part'. It's so much more than paper Amy." She saw Ryo watching the couple up ahead and leaned across her daughter. "Are you married?" she asked the handsome man, smiling brightly.
Ryo blushed slightly. "No… no I'm not."
"But I'm sure you will right?" the woman persisted, evidently looking for support in her argument.
"Mother…" the girl said, rolling her eyes in embarrassment.
Ryo blushed even harder. "I'd like to… but I don't think it'll happen." He ducked his head, wondering whether the day would ever come when he'd be able to look people in the eye when he told them about himself. "I… I have a male partner." He expected a negative reaction, particularly from the older woman who was so clearly 'pro-marriage' but she merely smiled in response. "I see," she said thoughtfully. "Well that doesn't mean you can't be committed to each other."
Ryo smiled, relieved that she was so positive. "It's nice to meet understanding people," he said with all sincerity.
"My nephew is gay," the woman replied without a hint of embarrassment. "He recently got married although they're not allowed to call it a marriage. It's a 'civil union'." She rolled her eyes and made inverted commas with her fingers as she said the last two words. "It doesn't matter though. They've still shown that they're committed to each other, even if it isn't legally recognised."
"Yeah…" Ryo said vaguely as his mind started to race with possibilities. He had wanted a way to show Dee he was committed to him; what better way than offering him a lifetime of devotion? He stood without thinking, thanking the woman who smiled and nodded although she wasn't sure exactly what she'd done, and headed out of the park, already set on his next destination.
The public library was a large imposing looking building set a mere stone's throw away from the park. Ryo entered the cool foyer, pausing to read the building map near the door before he headed up to the second floor to where the public access computers were located. Forty minutes later he left, armed with a wealth of information about same-sex unions and what they could be legally entitled to. He was thoroughly glad he came, having found the information very enlightening. With Dee being in hospital, he had had no problems gaining access to him but only because he was a police officer and the injured party was his partner at work. If he had just been Dee's 'boyfriend', the story would have been very different and the realisation left Ryo cold.
Fortunately New York seemed to be further on than some states in recognising same-sex unions with the passing of the Domestic Partners Bill but Ryo wanted something more; some kind of ceremony so they could declare their love publicly. The more he thought about it, the more he became convinced it was just what Dee needed right now, while he was feeling so low. He'd found a site of a Presbyterian church that offered same-sex joining ceremonies here in New York and it looked perfect so he'd printed off the information for Dee to look at. All he had to do now was get the other man to say yes…
As he stepped back out into the bright sunshine, he reached inside his jacket for his cell phone, which he'd turned off whilst he was in the library. As the device turned on, Ryo jumped as it started to ring in his hand.
"Hello?" he said, holding it to his ear, his heart lurching as it had done every time his phone had rung over the last week or so.
"Ryo?" the voice said, sounding relieved, "It's Drake. I've been trying to get hold of you since last night!"
"Sorry, I was at the hospital and now I've just been in the library. What's wrong?"
"I just thought you should know. We caught the guy that kidnapped Dee. Ted and JJ were on watch when he showed up at the factory last night."
Ryo smiled, feeling that things were starting to look much brighter. "That's great."
"But…" Drake said, and Ryo immediately recognised the solemnity of his tone, "Rose went to interview Dee this morning at the hospital."
Moving aside to let a large group of school children past, Ryo's face creased into a deep frown. "What?! I told him Dee wasn't ready to be interviewed!"
"I know," he heard Drake reply as the phone crackled briefly. "He didn't exactly make it common knowledge either. What the hell is he up to?"
"I intend to find out," Ryo growled, surprising himself with how aggressive he sounded. "I swear if he's upset Dee…"
"I know," Drake answered. "I just thought you should know."
"I'm going to the hospital now," Ryo said, having just decided. He ended the call as he ran back to his car; his speed owning to both anger and fear at what Rose might be up to now.
TBC…