"Detective Latener? My office, please."
Dee looked up from his typing, frowning at the tall, blond man who had dared to interrupt his work. Ryo, glasses perched on the tip of his nose, shot his partner a quizzical look.
"Something wrong?"
"Dunno. No idea. I didn't do anything," he added almost defensively. "I was a model of professionalism lately!"
Ryo smiled. "Yes, you were a good boy."
Dee leered. "But only at work."
"Shoo, go!" McLane chuckled. "Before he comes back. It might be embarrassing."
Dee waggled his eyebrows. "You bet he'd be embarrassed. He might even learn something."
"Shoo!"
"Going!" Dee sang and left the office the two men shared.
He walked down the corridor and into the large corner office of their superior and commissioner, wondering what had Barclay want to talk to him. If it was about a case, why not want Ryo here too? If it was something personal, oh well, he was used to taking some heat.
Barclay stood at one of the corner windows, looking out over the traffic four stories below. He glanced over his shoulder as Dee entered.
"Take a seat, Dee."
He reluctantly lowered himself into one of the chairs, still suspicious about why he was here. The commissioner was still looking out of the window.
"I took the liberty of reading through your file," the older man said almost casually, but there was a strange tension in is voice nevertheless.
Oh well, Dee thought, it wasn't as if the file was confidential. He had probably been looking for some of the black spots Latener was sure there were in his years of service.
"After what happened to you lately, I thought it strange that no one had ever caught so much as a hint as to what you were harboring power-wise."
Dee's eyebrows rose.
"As an ally, it's my job to keep myself updated about paranormals I work in close conjunction with. Usually, we never have many regulars. One or two, that's it. None of my contacts had picked up on your abilities and such powers. Unusual shaman's powers like yours should trigger some alarm bells."
Dee shrugged. "Sloppy work."
"No, not at all." Now Barclay turned. "In your line of work, you came into contact with several magic users. Even the weakest would have caught a blip or two if you had shown your abilities. So I believe they were hidden away for a reason."
Now he was officially confused.
"Which is why I looked into your file. Nothing out of the ordinary, really. Just your family background, or lack thereof, was interesting. So I dug deeper."
Dee tensed. He didn't like people snooping around his personal life. He didn't like opening up his life to others. Ryo was one of the few people who knew his whole story.
"What I found…" Barclay hesitated and suddenly his expression changed, looked almost painfully hopeful and sad. "Dee, you were found in a baby carrier in an alley, with no letter, no evidence as to where your parents had disappeared to. You were a healthy baby, about eleven months old."
"So?" Dee interrupted, voice slightly hostile. "It happens. Parents abandon their children!"
It was a sore spot. A very sore spot. He didn't like to talk about it and having Barclay digging up that old pain… He glared at the blond man.
"I'm the youngest of four siblings," Barclay continued softly, apparently switching the topic and Dee stumbled mentally.
What? Where was that coming from?
"I have three sisters and once I even had a younger brother. My parents died close to thirty years ago and my brother disappeared. His body was never found. We know our parents had taken him with them in a baby carrier. He was covered with a blanket my sister Bethany had made for him with the help from our grandmother. It was a cream colored blanket in which she had painstakingly stitched the initial 'D' in a dark green color. My brother also had a teddy bear which he never went anywhere without. It was mine once. I gave it to him when he was born because I was too old for it, because he needed it more than me. Something to protect him, something he could hold onto."
Barclay's voice was so soft, so far away, Dee found himself mesmerized against his better judgment.
"He loved that bear. It was old, but he loved it. He slept with it, played with it, and Mom had to sew one of the eyes back on because he tried to remove it with his little fingers. She used red thread. One day the stitching on his backside ripped and this time it was Bethany who made it whole. It looked ragged because she wasn't a great talent when it came to sewing, but he didn't care."
Dee shook his head in denial.
"Your powers are that of a shaman, but not that of a pure one. You are special, Dee. You were born from parents that were both strong paranormals and should never have had children. They had five. Only one had their abilities, strong abilities."
Latener stared. "What the fuck…?" he blurted.
"I've been looking for my missing brother for three decades," Barclay went on. "I never would have thought it would be someone I worked with."
He jumped out of the chair, staring at the man he hated for the way he looked at Ryo, for his arrogance, his bearing, his… just for existing, because he made their lives hell on days.
"I know you won't believe my words, and I wouldn't either. I had to be sure, so I ran a DNA test."
Barclay took a piece of paper from his desk and held it out to the stunned detective. "It's a match, Dee."
Dee stared at the sheet of paper, read the words.
No…
Energy surged inside of him.
'Pure blood relation… 50 % genetic match…'
No!
Emotions threatened to release the energy, but he automatically took control of it, calming himself down. That at least Mitsumi had been able to teach him.
He looked up into the ice blue eyes that were so unlike his own green ones. The blond hair that was in contrast to his black one. The slightly paler skin. The glasses that acted like a shield against the blue stare. The narrow face, the tall, slender form, dressed in expensive suits.
Ross Barclay…
NO!
The energy spiked, but he bit back down on it. This wasn't a paranormal matter. He wasn't fighting an enemy. He crumbled the piece of paper in his hands and glared at the older man.
"I don't know what kind of sick joke that is, Barclay, but it's not funny!"
"It's not a joke, Dee. It's the truth. We're related. First degree relation, actually. We have the same parents."
"No!" he spat.
"You grew up in an orphanage after your parents left you in that alley…"
"Shut up!" Dee hissed. "Maybe it's funny to you, but I'm not laughing. I'm not your brother!"
"You are, Dee. I've been looking for you for the last thirty years."
Barclay's voice was soft, convincing, and his expression… Dee tore his eyes away from the unusually soft and expressive face, the hope in those normally intense eyes.
It couldn't be true. He wasn't related to this guy. No way!
"Our parents… were powerful paranormals. Mother was a shaman, father was a warlock," Barclay continued calmly. "They wanted children, but there was no guarantee what would happen on a genetic level. My sisters and I, we didn't inherit a single ability. We all have very much dormant genes that not even a Trigger can activate. Then you were born."
"Liar!" Dee interrupted him. "That's all a lie!"
"No, it's the truth."
Dee shook his head in denial and stumbled backward toward the door. "No, I don't want to hear it!"
And with that he fled, pushing past his colleagues and friends, ignoring them all. He tore out of the precinct without another word, pushing those haunting words away.
'You're my brother.'
But they stayed.
Brother…
Dee looked up from his typing, frowning at the tall, blond man who had dared to interrupt his work. Ryo, glasses perched on the tip of his nose, shot his partner a quizzical look.
"Something wrong?"
"Dunno. No idea. I didn't do anything," he added almost defensively. "I was a model of professionalism lately!"
Ryo smiled. "Yes, you were a good boy."
Dee leered. "But only at work."
"Shoo, go!" McLane chuckled. "Before he comes back. It might be embarrassing."
Dee waggled his eyebrows. "You bet he'd be embarrassed. He might even learn something."
"Shoo!"
"Going!" Dee sang and left the office the two men shared.
He walked down the corridor and into the large corner office of their superior and commissioner, wondering what had Barclay want to talk to him. If it was about a case, why not want Ryo here too? If it was something personal, oh well, he was used to taking some heat.
Barclay stood at one of the corner windows, looking out over the traffic four stories below. He glanced over his shoulder as Dee entered.
"Take a seat, Dee."
He reluctantly lowered himself into one of the chairs, still suspicious about why he was here. The commissioner was still looking out of the window.
"I took the liberty of reading through your file," the older man said almost casually, but there was a strange tension in is voice nevertheless.
Oh well, Dee thought, it wasn't as if the file was confidential. He had probably been looking for some of the black spots Latener was sure there were in his years of service.
"After what happened to you lately, I thought it strange that no one had ever caught so much as a hint as to what you were harboring power-wise."
Dee's eyebrows rose.
"As an ally, it's my job to keep myself updated about paranormals I work in close conjunction with. Usually, we never have many regulars. One or two, that's it. None of my contacts had picked up on your abilities and such powers. Unusual shaman's powers like yours should trigger some alarm bells."
Dee shrugged. "Sloppy work."
"No, not at all." Now Barclay turned. "In your line of work, you came into contact with several magic users. Even the weakest would have caught a blip or two if you had shown your abilities. So I believe they were hidden away for a reason."
Now he was officially confused.
"Which is why I looked into your file. Nothing out of the ordinary, really. Just your family background, or lack thereof, was interesting. So I dug deeper."
Dee tensed. He didn't like people snooping around his personal life. He didn't like opening up his life to others. Ryo was one of the few people who knew his whole story.
"What I found…" Barclay hesitated and suddenly his expression changed, looked almost painfully hopeful and sad. "Dee, you were found in a baby carrier in an alley, with no letter, no evidence as to where your parents had disappeared to. You were a healthy baby, about eleven months old."
"So?" Dee interrupted, voice slightly hostile. "It happens. Parents abandon their children!"
It was a sore spot. A very sore spot. He didn't like to talk about it and having Barclay digging up that old pain… He glared at the blond man.
"I'm the youngest of four siblings," Barclay continued softly, apparently switching the topic and Dee stumbled mentally.
What? Where was that coming from?
"I have three sisters and once I even had a younger brother. My parents died close to thirty years ago and my brother disappeared. His body was never found. We know our parents had taken him with them in a baby carrier. He was covered with a blanket my sister Bethany had made for him with the help from our grandmother. It was a cream colored blanket in which she had painstakingly stitched the initial 'D' in a dark green color. My brother also had a teddy bear which he never went anywhere without. It was mine once. I gave it to him when he was born because I was too old for it, because he needed it more than me. Something to protect him, something he could hold onto."
Barclay's voice was so soft, so far away, Dee found himself mesmerized against his better judgment.
"He loved that bear. It was old, but he loved it. He slept with it, played with it, and Mom had to sew one of the eyes back on because he tried to remove it with his little fingers. She used red thread. One day the stitching on his backside ripped and this time it was Bethany who made it whole. It looked ragged because she wasn't a great talent when it came to sewing, but he didn't care."
Dee shook his head in denial.
"Your powers are that of a shaman, but not that of a pure one. You are special, Dee. You were born from parents that were both strong paranormals and should never have had children. They had five. Only one had their abilities, strong abilities."
Latener stared. "What the fuck…?" he blurted.
"I've been looking for my missing brother for three decades," Barclay went on. "I never would have thought it would be someone I worked with."
He jumped out of the chair, staring at the man he hated for the way he looked at Ryo, for his arrogance, his bearing, his… just for existing, because he made their lives hell on days.
"I know you won't believe my words, and I wouldn't either. I had to be sure, so I ran a DNA test."
Barclay took a piece of paper from his desk and held it out to the stunned detective. "It's a match, Dee."
Dee stared at the sheet of paper, read the words.
No…
Energy surged inside of him.
'Pure blood relation… 50 % genetic match…'
No!
Emotions threatened to release the energy, but he automatically took control of it, calming himself down. That at least Mitsumi had been able to teach him.
He looked up into the ice blue eyes that were so unlike his own green ones. The blond hair that was in contrast to his black one. The slightly paler skin. The glasses that acted like a shield against the blue stare. The narrow face, the tall, slender form, dressed in expensive suits.
Ross Barclay…
NO!
The energy spiked, but he bit back down on it. This wasn't a paranormal matter. He wasn't fighting an enemy. He crumbled the piece of paper in his hands and glared at the older man.
"I don't know what kind of sick joke that is, Barclay, but it's not funny!"
"It's not a joke, Dee. It's the truth. We're related. First degree relation, actually. We have the same parents."
"No!" he spat.
"You grew up in an orphanage after your parents left you in that alley…"
"Shut up!" Dee hissed. "Maybe it's funny to you, but I'm not laughing. I'm not your brother!"
"You are, Dee. I've been looking for you for the last thirty years."
Barclay's voice was soft, convincing, and his expression… Dee tore his eyes away from the unusually soft and expressive face, the hope in those normally intense eyes.
It couldn't be true. He wasn't related to this guy. No way!
"Our parents… were powerful paranormals. Mother was a shaman, father was a warlock," Barclay continued calmly. "They wanted children, but there was no guarantee what would happen on a genetic level. My sisters and I, we didn't inherit a single ability. We all have very much dormant genes that not even a Trigger can activate. Then you were born."
"Liar!" Dee interrupted him. "That's all a lie!"
"No, it's the truth."
Dee shook his head in denial and stumbled backward toward the door. "No, I don't want to hear it!"
And with that he fled, pushing past his colleagues and friends, ignoring them all. He tore out of the precinct without another word, pushing those haunting words away.
'You're my brother.'
But they stayed.
Brother…