Crash and Burn

Chapter 18 – Out for Blood

The following morning Ryo couldn't help but think that Dee didn't look quite as confident about giving his statement as he had the day before. At breakfast, he snapped at Bicky countless times, leading the blond boy to storm off to school, using his middle finger in a goodbye gesture that left Ryo shaking his head in dismay. Dee was also smoking like a chimney as he nursed a strong back coffee, which annoyed the hell out of his blond lover, but allowing Dee those unhealthy pleasures was the only way he could get him to eat the diabetic breakfast he had prepared for him earlier. The no nonsense side of Ryo was tempted to remind Dee that he shouldn't have to bribe him to eat sensibly, but he held back his comment and excused Dee's behaviour on the basis that he knew his lover had a stressful day ahead of him.

When he left for work forty minutes later, Ryo had to literally drag his feet down the hallway and out to his car, knowing that despite all Dee's protestations, he wanted to be with him while he gave his statement. It was exactly a week since Dee had been rescued and yet he still hadn't told his lover anything about his time held captive, other than the terrible hallucinations he'd suffered in the throes of fever. Dee's reticence worried the blond detective; his lover would be the first to admit that he didn't speak very eloquently and often got frustrated by his inability to express himself, but he usually at least attempted to convey his thoughts and feelings to everyone around him - whether they wanted to hear about it or not. His bold outspokenness was one of the first things Ryo had noticed about him when they were newly assigned partners, and despite his denials, he had quickly fallen in love with the trait that so completely defined the man known as Dee Latener. Ryo could only hope as he climbed into his car, taking one last lingering look up to the apartment window, that the loud, brash, brutally honest side of his lover was only temporarily absent.

At ten am the doorbell rang, causing Dee to jump slightly from his seat at the dining table. Hurriedly stubbing his cigarette out, he took up his crutches and worked his way across to the door calling out "I'm coming" to prevent his visitors from ringing the bell again. As his hand went to the handle, he froze suddenly and changed his mind, throwing the chain on before he turned the knob and opened the door. Through the gap he could make out two faces, both male, dressed in the designer suits usually favoured by the employees at the District Attorney's office.

"Detective Latener?" the older of the two said, trying to see Dee around the door. "My name's Mike Harris, senior investigator and this is my partner Shaun King. We're from the DA's office. We've come to take your statement?"

"You got ID?" Dee found himself saying, although he couldn't for the life of him think why when they'd arrived at exactly the right time and he had already known they were coming.

"Uh sure," the younger man replied, reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out his leather ID wallet. As Dee took both of their proffered badges he didn't miss the look the older of the two shot his partner; a kind of 'uh oh, this is gonna be fun' look, intended no doubt with a large helping of sarcasm. When he was certain they were who they claimed to be, he removed the chain and let them in, directing them towards the chairs in the living room. They made small talk for several minutes, talking about common links between their two offices, swapping names of people they knew to break the ice a little. Soon however, it was time to get down to business and as notepads and a dictaphone were produced, Dee lit himself a cigarette to steady his nerves as he prepared to tell his story.

Two hours later, Ryo made his way back up to the apartment, thinking anxiously of Dee. He'd had word that morning that the two suspects were to be interviewed later that afternoon and the date for the trial had been tentatively set for two weeks from now, with or without the perpetrators' cooperation. Dee would have given his own statement by now and Ryo hoped that psychologically, his lover would be able to move on after this particular hurdle had been overcome. Of course there was the trial yet, but the fact that he would have talked about what had happened was a start at least.

As he reached their floor and headed out of the elevator he could hear voices coming from around the corner. By the steady increase in volume they were coming towards him and it was impossible to not listen in to what they were saying.

"Jesus, he's a mess. You think he's gonna keep it together for the trial?"

"I dunno. But I very much doubt he'll ever return to work."

Realising they were about to turn the corner, Ryo quickly changed direction and ducked down a nearby corridor until they had gone past. It was obvious who they were and who they were talking about and once they were gone, he rushed to the apartment, fumbling for his keys as he went.

"Dee?" he called out worriedly before his eyes fell upon his lover, hunched on one of the armchairs with his head in his hands. "Dee, what's wrong?" He rushed around, dropping to his knees in front of the dark haired man, tentatively placing his hands upon Dee's shoulders. Eventually, his lover looked up, revealing red-rimmed eyes and a weary smile.

"Hey love," he said looking at Ryo's fretful expression. "How was work?"

"Oh Dee," Ryo said, seeing his lover was about to break. He pulled the other man into his arms and held him tightly as Dee sighed heavily. "At least you've got it over with," he said soothingly before he felt Dee shaking his head against his shoulder.

"But I haven't," he said, pulling away from Ryo's embrace. "By the time I'd finished breathing into a paper bag, they'd had a phone call telling them to get back to the office on urgent business."

"You had another panic attack?" Ryo asked, pushing Dee's perpetually untidy hair away from his face. The other man nodded, causing the locks to fall back in front of his eyes. "Yeah… God, I feel like such an idiot. At this rate they'll never let me come back to work. I mean, who's gonna let me loose with a gun when I can't even keep it together in the safety of my own home?"

Ryo swallowed hard and looked away; thinking of the comments he'd overheard as he'd arrived home. He began to think he'd naively underestimated how much Dee's ordeal had affected him but felt at a loss about what to do, other than be there for him when he needed his support.

"Don't worry about work yet," he said finally answering Dee's question, "The healing process can't be rushed and you won't always feel this way." He offered Dee a loving smile as he reached up and caressed the other's cheek. "So what will happen about your statement?"

Dee shrugged. "They want me to call when I'm ready. So long as they have it four days before the start of the trial, they said I could be flexible about when I did it. That's something at least." He gave Ryo a wan smile. "I don't think they were prepared for Detective Latener, the basket case."

"Sssshhhh," Ryo replied, leaning forward and kissing Dee gently on the forehead. "You're many things, Dee; a great cop, great man and damn hot lover but you're not a basket case." The smile he received in response was genuine and he felt pleased that he was becoming better at judging Dee's moods and reacting accordingly. "Let's get some lunch," he said warmly, standing and offering Dee his hand. "We don't want to be late to the hospital."

"Okay," Dee said, allowing Ryo to help him up, "But d'you mind if I go and have a lie down until lunch is ready? I'm feeling a bit wiped."

"You go and have a rest," Ryo said, as he grazed Dee's lips with a soft kiss, "I'll bring lunch through in a bit."

Dee returned the kiss before he nodded and limped off into the bedroom. Once inside he closed the door before flopping onto the bed, his hands covering his face as he exhaled wearily. The stress of giving a statement had just been too much. He'd been convinced he'd be fine; talking about an ordeal that was now a full seven days behind him, but the combination of being forced to relive his time as a hostage whilst being careful not to drop Goldsmith in it had proved too difficult and he'd found himself gripped by panic, his breathing harsh and laboured as he fought to gain control over it. The investigators had decided to give up; evidently worried that Dee would end up hospitalised if they continued to push him. He'd been glad when they'd gone, even though he knew he was only postponing the inevitable. The best he could hope for would be if the two suspects kept quiet about Goldsmith's involvement, but judging by the hatred his captor had shown towards the arrogant millionaire, he very much doubted this matter would be allowed to rest.

And Dee had been right. As he was attending the hospital for his afternoon's worth of appointments, the shit was really hitting the fan over at the twenty seventh precinct. The two suspects had been interviewed and had both decided to come completely clean about the identity of the mastermind behind the initial crime. By the later part of the afternoon, the media had somehow gotten wind of the brewing scandal and hasty reports were pulled together for the evening's news bulletins, citing 'reputable inside sources' as the basis for their information. Rose of course was livid; Goldsmith certainly wasn't responsible for the leak this time and he was angered that someone within his department was pleased by the thought that the well-known entrepreneur was heading for a fall.

As Dee and Ryo were at the appointment with the diabetes specialist, the door opened and the medic's secretary stuck her head into the room, her expression solemn. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but there's an urgent call for Detective McLain."

Ryo glanced at Dee anxiously before he turned to the doctor. "I'm very sorry Dr Stephens; I don't know what could be so important." He looked up at the secretary "Could you tell them I'd call them back?"

The middle aged brunette shook her head. "I told him you were in an appointment but the gentleman was insistent that he speak to you."

"Don't worry," Dr Stephens said reassuringly to the handsome blond. "We were almost done anyway."

With a last look at Dee, Ryo followed the clerk out of the room and into her office where she handed him the phone before exiting and closing the door behind her.

"Hello? Detective McLain speaking."

"Ryo? It's Drake. Oh man, am I glad I caught you. Sorry to pull you out of your appointment."

"That's okay. I know you wouldn't ring unless it was important. So what's up?"

He heard Drake sigh heavily at the other end of the line. "Our two suspects finally decided to talk when we interviewed them earlier and boy, did they have plenty to say. If they're telling the truth then it seems we were right to be suspicious of our friend Goldsmith. Seems he was the one that hired them to kidnap his own family."

"What? Goldsmith planned it all?"

"Uh huh, apparently so. He did it and tried to make it look like the De Lucas were responsible so his company would be back in the running with some business deal." There was a pause before he spoke again. "And according to them, Dee knows the whole story. The older brother says Dee overheard a conversation where Goldsmith incriminated himself."

Ryo looked up suddenly as through the window he saw the consultant's door open and Dee hobble out, followed by Dr Stephens. The ebony haired man caught Ryo's gaze and his expression seemed to question what was so urgent. Not wanting to worry him, Ryo forced his features into a smile of reassurance as Drake asked, "Has Dee mentioned anything to you?"

"No," Ryo said worriedly, "He's not said much about anything but I'd have thought he'd have told me that. Why d'you think he hasn't said anything?"

"I don't know," Drake replied honestly, "But this just seems to get weirder by the minute."

"Well thanks for letting me know," Ryo said, seeing Dee approaching. He was about to say goodbye when Drake cut him off.

"Actually, that's only partly why I'm ringing." The pause told Ryo the worst was yet to come. "Somehow, the press have got hold of the news already and they're gunning for Dee. Your apartment is a complete no-go area. They've even turned up at Bicky's school…"

"Oh God," Ryo said, starting to panic.

"It's okay, calm down. Ted went to pick him up already. He's taken him back to his apartment."

Ryo let out a shaky breath. "Thank you."

"No problem. Just leave by the hospital's back entrance in case any reporters are casing the joint and get over to Ted's. He's said you can stay the night there if you don't want to take Dee back to your apartment."

Through the glass, Ryo could see Dee's drawn features and his memory immediately panned back to how distressed he'd seemed after the District Attorney's investigators tried to take his statement. He couldn't subject him to any more stress today. "Okay, tell Ted we'll stay at his place if that's really alright with him. I don't want to be a burden to anyone…"

"Ryo, shut up, you're not being a burden to anyone. Just get to Ted's before Bicky drives him mad."

Ryo managed a smile before he thanked Drake and ended the call. Dee was now alone in the waiting room, idly reading some of the posters on the wall as Ryo came out of the secretary's office. He looked up at his lover, concern written across his handsome features. "Is everything okay, Ryo?" he asked, studying the blond's face for any signs that he might try to conceal something from him. Ryo knew the intense, green-eyed stare and didn't attempt to deceive it.

"Not really, but I'll explain once we're in the car. We need to leave and quickly and… and we can't go home."

Dee's eyes widened. "What's happened?"

"The press are out in force again. Drake says there are loads of them at our apartment. Ted's picked Bicky up and is letting us stay at his place tonight so we can avoid them."

"Why?" Dee persisted, not understanding why the press would be so interested in him again. "What do they want?"

Ryo sighed, knowing he couldn't avoid the question. "The suspects have named Goldsmith as the one that hired them for the kidnapping of his family and they're saying you know about it." It was Ryo's turn to study his lover's expression; watching him carefully to see how he responded to this news. "The press obviously want to know what you make of these allegations."

Dee said nothing, his face remaining a blank mask, and Ryo knew it was neither the time nor the place for the man to answer these questions, even though he desperately wanted to know the truth himself. "Come on," he said gently, touching Dee's arm.  "Let's get out of here."

Dee nodded silently, wishing he'd brought his cap and sunglasses, before they set off in search of a side exit where they'd hopefully escape any journalists that had come looking for them at the hospital.

Lady Luck was on their side as they managed to reach Ted's apartment without incident. Dee had been mute since they'd left the hospital and Ryo hadn't tried to pull him from his silence since he was so preoccupied with the combination of driving and worrying. When they arrived at Ted's apartment complex, Drake was waiting at the entrance to the garage to show them where they could park. He followed the car at a jog and when the vehicle pulled to a halt in the appropriate parking space, he opened the passenger door for Dee, his face breaking into a wide smile on seeing his colleague and friend for the first time in just over a week.

"Hey buddy," he said, stepping back to give Dee room to get out. "It's really good to see you."

Despite his anxieties Dee smiled, glad to see a friendly face. "Hey Drake. Good to see you too."

There was a pause before Drake stepped forward and pulled Dee into a firm embrace, clearly feeling his verbal greeting was inadequate in expressing his joy at seeing his friend alive and well. Dee returned the gesture, appreciating the warmth demonstrated by the other man. The three detectives then took the elevator up to Ted's place on the ninth floor. As they approached, they could hear Bicky's voice telling someone, they could only presume was Ted, exactly how poor he was at videogames in no uncertain terms. Ryo winced at the boy's forthright attitude as Drake chuckled to himself, imagining the child-unfriendly Ted's face. "Is he always like that?" he asked, glancing at the two men on his right.

"Always," Dee replied flatly as Drake rang the doorbell. They were eventually let in by a harassed looking Ted whose expression changed to one of enormous relief on seeing Ryo and Dee. "Hey guys," he said holding the door and stepping back to allow them past. "Glad you could make the party."

Bicky turned from where he was sat cross-legged on the floor in front of Ted's Playstation and grinned. "Hey Dee, this guys sucks at Vice City even more than you do!"

Dee forced a smile as Drake cleared some magazines off the nearest armchair for him. "Maybe so, but he still wouldn't be as sucky as you," he smirked as he sunk into the chair and discarded his crutches so no one would trip over them. The other men in the room laughed at Bicky's expression of annoyance as he petulantly turned back to the TV and resumed his game.

"Okay, who wants a drink?" Ted asked, heading towards the kitchen. When everyone present nodded, Ryo made to go after him. "I'll give you a hand," he said, shrugging out of his jacket and draping it over the nearest chair. He followed Ted into the kitchen and leaned against the counter as the other man began to search his cupboards for something to give his unplanned guests. "We really appreciate this, Ted," he said sincerely, sweeping a hand through his wavy blond hair. "I can't believe what a mess this whole situation is turning into."

Ted paused thoughtfully and his eyebrows quirked as he contemplated everything that had happened over the last couple of weeks. "Yeah… I'm sure it's been tough for you and Dee. Look, you can stay here as long as you need to. I can crash at Drake's until those bastards leave you alone."

Ryo smiled gratefully. "No it's okay. I'm sure we'll be able to go back home tomorrow." As Ted moved to take something from the fridge he glanced out into the living room to see Dee engaged in conversation with Drake. Although the ebony haired man was smiling, the tension in his expression was clear. "Is he okay?" Ted said quietly to Ryo as he turned from the scene in the lounge to see the blond man watching it too.

Ryo mulled this over for a moment before he answered. "I don't know; we're just taking one day at a time." He sighed wearily as he accepted the two empty glasses from Ted. "This media scrutiny isn't helping matters though and as the trial gets nearer, I can only assume it's going to get worse."

Ted could only offer Ryo a sympathetic expression, knowing any form of denial would be a lie. The Goldsmiths were a prominent celebrity couple and there was always interest them, no matter how insignificant the reason for a story. The fact that they were central to a kidnapping plot was almost movie of the week material and as a result, the media interest wasn't likely to die down any time soon. "Well remember, we'll all be here for you both," Ted said earnestly, his hands laden with three more empty glasses and a large bottle of Coke.

"Thanks," Ryo replied before they headed into the living room to where the two men were watching Bicky mow down rival gang members in an ice cream van. Ryo frowned as he watched the action on the screen. "Is this game really appropriate for a teenager?" he said disapprovingly, handing a glass to Bicky before he gave the other to Dee. "Or for a bunch of policemen for that matter?"

Once Ted had dispensed of the other tumblers, he twisted open the bottle of Coke and prepared to pour some into Dee's glass. "Sorry I haven't got anything stronger in at the moment," he said with an apologetic smile. "I'll go out in a bit and get a takeaway and beers since we're having a boys' night in." He grinned and noted Bicky reciprocating the gesture, evidently pleased at the thought of indulging in a little adult male bonding, but Dee looked less enthusiastic. "Uh Ted, you haven't got any Diet Coke have you?" he asked before the other man could fill his glass. Ted froze with the bottle mid-tilt, like a child just told that Santa Claus didn't exist. "Diet?" he repeated, not certain he'd heard right.

"Uh yeah," Dee replied, feeling awkward that this was such a big deal. Damn diabetes, he thought darkly. "That's all they let you have in the hospital and I guess I acquired a taste for it. Can't stand the normal stuff now. It's okay if you've not got any, I'll just have water."

"Sure," Ted replied, taking the glass from him and heading back to the kitchen to fill it up. He chuckled to himself at his subsequent thought. "Next you're gonna tell me you've gone off beer too." He poked his head back around the kitchen doorway when he didn't receive a response and frowned at the serious expressions. "Sorry… did I say something wrong there?" he asked, worried that he'd inadvertently put his foot in it.

Dee was first to speak. "Look Ted, Drake, you may as well know. I've been diagnosed with type one diabetes. I've gotta watch what I eat and drink from now on, so I've gotta take it easy on the beer." He paused and rolled his eyes. "And the takeaways and the doughnuts and blah blah blah…"

"Jeez Dee, I'm really sorry, I didn't know," Ted said, holding the glass of water as he stood in the doorway. He glanced at Drake who was displaying a suitably surprised and sympathetic expression.

"Yeah well, how could you since I've never told anyone, well apart from Ryo and the kid of course."

Bicky frowned at being referred to as a 'kid' but didn't say anything as he paused his game to take a drink. "That must have seemed like really bad timing with everything else that's going on," Drake said quietly, knowing Ryo would be praying that he maintained the façade that he'd only just found out about Dee's condition.

"Yeah," Dee said dismissively, "But shit happens so I guess I just have to get on with it." He forced a smile. "At least Ryo's now got a reason to feed me all his health food crap." He looked across at his blond lover as he said it, letting the other man know that he was only joking.

"Okay," Ted said, handing Dee his glass of water. "Well if you want to choose what we have for dinner then me and Drake can go get it."

Dee nodded, grateful that neither man seemed overwhelmed by what he'd just told them. "What time d'you need to eat at?" Drake asked, and then in response to the green eyed detective's quizzical expression added, "I have a cousin with type one, so I kinda know how it all works."

Dee looked impressed and somewhat relieved. "I've been eating at about six pm," he said confidently; glad that he had told the two men he considered his closest friends about his condition. "And pizza should be okay." He glanced at Ryo who was smiling proudly at him and returned the expression, determined to keep it together in front of his friends despite the overwhelming urge to crawl into a corner and hide from this latest madness, which was now keeping them away from their own home.

TBC…