Messing with the timeline in this one involving Bikky's friends who were introduced in Act 10. Bikky is 13. Thanks to my reviewers for their... erm... enthusiasm.

Warning: References to the supernatural and the 'Dominion of Evil'.

4: SIXTH SENSE

Unfortunately it was busy for the next few days.

There were more victims, scattered throughout Manhattan and even into the outer boroughs when a victim was found in Brooklyn. Since Kadee was the only one who had the recorder, she was the one on call and it was up to her to dispatch backup if necessary.

And the procedure was the same. Kadee would scan and encircle the victims with that strange contraption before the physical evidence was gathered. She actually had to leave one crime scene to make it to another and the escalation in activity had the superiors who knew about the case worried.

Kadee, Ryo, and Dee had reconvened in the conference room to put the newly acquired evidence in perspective and to present the results of their research.

Dee started, "According to the Gang Task Force, this is not the symbol of any registered gang in New York."

Ryo, more accustomed to delving through dry corporate records, added. "According to the trademarks on record it is registered to a company that's a known front for Bruno, so now we have a connection."

Dee rejoined, "And taking the idea that it represents some kind of cult, I took it to the Bishop of the local Catholic Diocese and he gave me this information."

He pulled out a folded piece of paper, intending to file it with the rest of the evidence later, he read:

"This is a seal used in the practice of black magic used to summon the demon Shax (with other spelling variations). In demonology, Shax is an Officer of Hell. He takes away the sight, hearing and understanding of any person under the conjurer's request. He also steals everything the conjurer asks. Shax can also discover hidden things and sometimes serves and helps the conjurer not only in performing domestic duties but also aids the person in bewitching people. He is thought to be faithful and obedient, but is a great liar and will deceive the conjurer unless confined correctly.

There was a pause to take in this information. In a tone of voice that indicated that she was absolutely serious, Kadee asked, "Tell me, gentlemen. Do you believe in ghosts and the supernatural?"

Ryo gave a point-blank gaze. "There are no such things as ghosts."

Dee was adamant, "You may not have seen her but I know the ghost of Renard Henry's daughter saved your ass when we were in England."

Just as insistant, Ryo said, "No. You're the one who saved my ass."

Staring at each other and recalling that vacation from Hell, Dee shuddered. "If something had happened to you... I mean, my heart stopped cold in my chest, when I realized you could have been killed."

Ryo's voice softened considerably. "I know." Though that was not the first time Dee showed that he thought of Ryo as more than just working partners, he remembered that time as the first revelation that this obnoxious, egotist actually cared about the part-Japanese man as more than just a conquest. Ryo remembered the warmth and how Dee felt as the dark-haired man laid his forehead against the crook of Ryo's neck and clasped his hand after binding the injuries he had sustained.

After taking in the exchange, Kadee called the men back to order by suggesting, "This fits in with the profile of the victims. If they are under control of this entity's will, they can be led to do what they may not otherwise do or be put under delusions that their contributions would be finally recognized by their supervisors. But what if they are aware they are being manipulated? In other words, as Dee theorized, the victims were about to blow the whistle and were taken out."

In a volley of protest, Dee said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute. We're going up against some spawn of Satan? I didn't sign up for this!"

Ryo thought carefully. "Think of the entity as a genie in a bottle. What we're really going up against is his master, the conjurer pulling the strings." Looking at Kadee he stated knowingly. "And you think that's Bruno, right."

Pulling out a pile of what appeared to be palm-sized x-ray scans, Kadee said "Let me show you what data I've been gathering." Quickly laying them out on the table, the pictures looked like miniature radar screens. As they gathered around the photographs, they could detect a faint lighter area in the northeast quadrant, foggy and barely discernable. "These are from Washington. Victims are still showing up but it doesn't give us any new information."

There was a map of New York City placed on an easel in the room. As she began pinning another set of scans in the areas where the victims had been reported, Dee had picked up the instrument and turned it on, pointing it to the various people in the room. As he pointed it at Ryo an array of colors emanated from the instrument's display.

She went on to explain. Feeling that they needed some convincing. "This instrument measures the energy level of a living object. We call it aura maps. Take a look at a map of the area. And look at the energy pattern generated by the victim. It's important we get a scan as soon as possible, before the energy dissipates. See, the band is much narrower than ones from Washington and can be used to determine distance." Now as they looked at the metropolitan area the patches were stronger with bits of color in different quadrants but collectively, they appeared to be pointing towards a specific area on the East Side.

"You can tell the first victim was moved because the energy pattern is coming across the page but not too far, otherwise there would have been no reading at all. He's no longer in the middle of the scan and I had to expand my radius until I picked up his signal. That showed he had been moved after he died. The idea is, if these victims are being targeted, how are they being murdered? What if it's not a physical assassin. You may have supplied the answer. I'll let the computer run the data through to triangulate the coordinates and maybe we can find the source. Then it gets down to grunt work because we're still talking about plenty of places to hide in."

Dee had been toying with the instrument. When he pointed it at himself, the colors changed, but when he pointed it at Kadee, there was nothing. 'Oh, crap. I broke it.' And he instinctively slapped it on the side with the palm of his hand.

That caught Kadee's attention and she nervously laughed. "It's tuned to me. My energy has been filtered out so it doesn't interfere with the readings. Careful it's very sensitive. You... um... have to be specially trained to use it."

It was a lot to take in but at least they were beginning to understand the magnitude and that it may involve having to suspend their belief system. With the weekend looming they all felt like they could use the break.

As they adjourned the meeting Ryo asked Kadee "You still coming over for dinner tonight?"

"Sure. What time?"

"Dinner's at 6. It'll just be me and Bikky." Somehow Kadee wasn't surprised at this news realizing the reason.

Dee made his excuses. "It's okay. I've... got some things to do then I'm going to watch the game with the guys at the bar. I think I'll go visit Penguin, tomorrow."

Kadee was amused. "Penguin?"

Forgetting that not everyone knew his childhood name for the woman who had raised him, Dee said, "That's the Mother Superior at the orphanage I grew up in. Looks like I may have to borrow some holy water and silver crosses."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It was Friday night. There was no school tomorrow, no work tomorrow, and no Dee at the table. Without his dynamic presence, the two males felt a sense of something lacking. By instinct Ryo had laid out place settings for three but seeing someone else in Dee's seat was oddly disconcerting.

Since Ryo asked Dee to cool it, even though they saw each other at work, he has to admit to himself that he missed Dee sitting at his table, fighting with Bikky, and crashing on the couch where Ryo would join him later after clearing up the chaos those two rumbustious individuals left in their wake. It wasn't that Ryo was delegated to the kitchen but it was his territory, a sanctuary over which he ruled.

Throughout dinner, Bikky was sizing Kadee up as girlfriend material. Even though he looked upon her with some suspicion that she would take over his position, he had been enjoying the conversation. The adults hadn't been talking about him in his presence as in 'Yes, Bikky enjoys basketball' and 'No, Bikky is incapable of speaking for himself'.

Because she usually worked with men, Kadee knew sports and wondered why, for some reason, just because she was Asian, people assumed she can kick ass. "Some people ask me straight out. Usually I just give them an intimidating stare and say 'Maybe.' as in 'Mess with me and you'll find out'. Luckily I haven't had anyone call my bluff. You should ask Ryo to teach you some moves. Give your opponents some surprises if they're only used to street fighting."

Bikky eagerly agreed with the idea. "That would be so cool. You know, Ryo, they say it's a great way to learn discipline."

Ryo protested. "As if that would be enough to keep you under control. You can already be a terror when you're riled up, I don't think you know your own power. If I teach you, I'm afraid you may accidently kill someone."

"But," Bikky said in defense, "part of my training will be 'how not to kill people' just to hurt them." He turned towards their dinner guest, "He's only concerned with my grades and keeping me out of trouble."

Ryo had started to serve the cheesecake. The young man was properly appreciative since Ryo usually didn't keep really sweet things around the house - something about hyperactivity.

Kadee laughed, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Seeing the PlayStation tucked into the corner where no one would trip on the wires, Kadee said to Bikky with glee. "Oh, wow, you have the coolest games."

Bikky, ever eager to show off his skill, said, "Do you want to play?"

Carefully laying her fork down and crooking her fingers in a come-hither manner, she said in a menancing voice, "Bring it on."

The duo quickly cleaned their plates, thanked Ryo for dinner, then swooped upon the pile of video games with enthusiasm.

Not long afterwards, there was a knock on the door. Bikky's best friend Lai, a dark-haired adolescent of Asian descent, had come over to pick Bikky up to watch the playoffs and spend part of the weekend at his place. Their main girls, (Bikky was embarrassed to admit that Carol was his 'girlfriend' - also he didn't want to totally cut off his options), were inseparable and the boys would often play basketball in the neighborhood courts. Both of them were fearless in looking for adventure by keeping an eye on the street and often found themselves in situations they would miraculously emerge unscathed from and Ryo, not realizing half their shenanigans, felt secure knowing they were a formidable pair.

When Kadee saw or rather sensed Lai, her heart sank. He was peering at her with squinted eyes as though he were looking for something that wasn't there. Surprised that a normally polite boy (to adults at least) like Lai would be staring at the stranger in their midst, Bikky introduced her as one of Ryo's co-workers, telling him that she worked for the FBI.

Bikky went into the kitchen to fill Ryo in on their plans for the weekend. "...Carol's going to meet up with us tomorrow and we're going to see a movie tomorrow night. I'll call you when we get back in so you won't worry..."

Left alone in the family room, Lai spoke to Kadee in a low voice. "Why is it missing?"

Not pretending not to understand what the youth meant all she could say was, "For the reason you're thinking."

Faced with the unexpected, the overly-sensitive and perceptive boy said, "It must be something big for you to be involved."

Kadee pleaded with her eyes. "Please stay out of it. I don't want anyone hurt."

At that point the voice of the blonde boy was approaching them. "...and we'll be over for Sunday Brunch." Ryo was behind him with a washcloth in his hand and he looked upon the boy with pride. "Okay. And thanks Bikky, for being so responsible."

Forever cool Bikky said, "Hey. I just don't want you to send a squad car after me." Grabbing his bag and shoving his preoccupied pal out the door, he waved, "See you guys later," as the door slammed shut.

There was a pause while Kadee collected herself before turning to Ryo with a small smile. "'See you guys?' Should I read more into that comment?"

Ryo raised his eyebrows. "I guess he wouldn't mind having you around. Neither would I."

After a nervous chuckle, silence hung between them. Each one waiting for the other to make the first move. Kadee was avoiding Ryo's appraising look until he finally said with a sigh, "I didn't mean to make things ackward. Why don't you pick a movie from the shelf while I fix some snacks. We can relax, forget about everything and just enjoy some time together."

As he came back with a tray of goodies, Kadee pulled an old CD from his media shelf and said with pleasure,

"Ah. I see you still have it."

He blushed as he saw the collection of oldies she held out. "I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it."

Getting a sudden idea, Ryo ran into the kitchen. "Back in a minute." Using the step stool he had gotten for Bikky, he reached for the top cabinet and brought down the large candle pillars he usually had on the table for special dinners and filled a clear glass bowl half-way with water. Reaching into his utility drawer he found a lighter that Dee had left one evening, rubbing his thumb thoughtfully over the casing for a brief moment. In the meantime, Kadee was shoving the couch off to the side. Upon returning, Ryo placed the candles in the bowl of water on the glass coffee table and lit the wick, the reflections off the shimmering surface sent sparkles thoughout the space.

Handing the CD over to Ryo, he fiddled with the controls on the stereo system while Kadee flicked off the overhead switch. After pressing the play button, he stood before her and, as the atmosphere began to change, held his hands out, saying softly. "Think back to that last summer we spent together."

As she approached him she entwined her fingers with his and placed her other hand on his shoulder while he laid his free hand lightly on her hip. She said, "No... Think of that first summer. When we had all the time in the world, Onii-chan."

They danced together in the flickering illumination supplied by Dee's lighter while the voice of Doris Day sang through the speakers

...Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see,
Que sera, sera...

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Across the street from the apartment building, where they could witness the comings and goings of the residents, there was a bit of green space where the old men gathered to talk in the evening hours.

Long after they had gone to get their dinners, a not-so-old man remained, a column of smoke could be seen rising from his bench while the lights went out from the window above him.

TBC.

A/N: All that information about demons I looked up for the purpose of the story. If I'm wrong don't correct me because I'd rather not know too much about that stuff. I got the idea when I saw these black/white magic icons in my clipart book. Oh, and onii-chan is an honorific for a close older male friend.