I've Grown Accustom to Your Face
I haven't seen all the episodes yet, but I know that Van and Deaq at some point have to come to terms with their difference in styles and attitude. So here is my take on what happened when...
Wish I could make money this way, but it's been suggested I keep my day job.
Van had protested this assignment. He had argued with Billy for two days, laying out all that was wrong with the set up. While Deaq was used to his partner raising concerns, he couldn't remember a time when he had been so adamant about not accepting a case.
Billy told Deaq in no uncertain terms that he had to get Van off this particular soap box and get on with the case. When Deaq told Van he was in, the smaller man had searched his face carefully before dropping his head and nodding his capitulation.
A week later, Deaq was seriously wondering why he hadn't listened to his partner. Big E, their drug dealing mark, was a serious head case, making it difficult to maintain control over things. All this was going through the undercover cop's head while he tried to reason with the dealer.
"I told you D. You sample the drug, and then we make the deal."
"And I told you; just because I sell it doesn't mean I use." Deaq's body language caught his partner's attention, from where Van was watching carefully in the mirror while sitting at the bar.
He was already getting off the stool when Deaq called for him "Strummer, we're gone." The use of the last name was a signal that things were about to fall apart, and Van moved quickly across the room.
"There a problem boss?" He asked as he reached Deaq's side.
"Yeah, we just wasted a week on a deal to nowhere. Let's go." Deaq was walking away before he finished.
As Van turned to follow, he was grabbed by three of E's body guards. He struggled, but was seriously out muscled, and they were able to put him on the ground without much trouble.
"Let him go!" Deaq ordered, his gun drawn.
"Not so fast there D. You don't want to sample the merchandise so I figured your 'boy toy' here could be the guinea pig."
"No! Leave him alone."
"Too late." The drug dealer laughed as one of his men plunged a needle into Van'smuscle. He immediately stopped struggling.
"I'll see you tomorrow to discuss the terms D-man." E said still laughing as he walked out the door, followed by his entourage.
"Van?" Deaq knelt by his partner and placed his fingers on his throat, feeling for a pulse. He could feel the heart beat already running beneath his hand. "Come on V, let's get you out of here."
He helped the man up, and guided him to the car. As soon as they were out of the parking lot he called Billy.
"I'm taking Van to the hospital. E shot him up, and I don't know what he used but his heart is already racing!"
"Deaq, this is a test. If you take him to the hospital, he'll know you're a cop. You need to take him back to your place. Just keep an eye on him."
"Billy, apparently you didn't hear a word I said!" he bellowed through clenched teeth, annunciating each word carefully. "Somebody just shot an unknown drug into Officer Ray's body. He is barely conscious as we speak. We are going to the hospital."
"No Deaq, do what Billy says." Van said sluggishly, his eyes clenched against the light.
"V…I am not going to risk your life because Billy wants to trust a drug lord!"
"It'll be alright. You already blew one of the rules. If you take me to the hospital, he'll know we're cops and run. We need to put this scum and his drugs away." The voice was barely a whisper.
"V?"
"Just do what Billy says." The eyes closed, and the body slumped further down in the seat.
"Deaq take him to your place. Give him plenty of water and make sure he can't hurt himself." Billy repeated.
"I'm so sorry Van. I should have listened to you when you said we shouldn't take this case. I do trust your instincts, and I'm…I won't let us be bullied into an assignment again. If you don't want it, we won't do it." Deaq offered his confession as he gently placed his burden on the bed.
Van thrashed, his body glistening as sweat ran down it. He couldn't get a full breathe, it felt as though he was strangling. The noise of his battle brought Deaq into the room at a run.
"Easy Van. Easy. It's the drugs. You're alright, but you need to settle down. The more you fight it, the more it will hurt. Just lay still. Come on, don't fight me. We will get through this together. I promise." Deaq was breathing almost as hard as the patient, as he laid spread eagle over his partner to hold him down.
"You need to listen to me Van. It's important. Just listen to my voice. Everything will be alright. You just need to slow down, and let me help you. Try and relax. Don't fight it. Just let it work its course. Come on now, you can do this. That's right, just listen to me. Forget everything else. Just listen." He encouraged his friend as he felt a slight give in the arms he was holding.
It was after midnight when Van opened his eyes again. He felt like a wet dish rag, sweaty and exhausted with no more give. As he tried to sit up, he realized Deaq was sitting beside the bed.
"Deeaaq." He had a difficult time forming the short word.
"Hey. Welcome back." He placed a hand on the pale, sweaty cheek and pulled the face toward him so he could check the eyes. Then he helped him drink two bottles of water.
"You had me scared."
"Wasn't my idea of a good time either." Van struggled again to sit up but needed some help from his partner to stay up. "You alright?" he asked once he was stabilized.
"No. I am not alright. My partner gets pumped full of someillegal substance that has his heart beating like a racehorse, and my so called boss tells me not to worry about it!" He stopped short. "I'm sorry."
"Not your fault. Nothing you could have done to stop it."
"I could have listened to you in the first place, and then we would never have even been in the same room with that son of a bitch!"
"Deaq, you need to sit down. All this yelling is wearing me out." Van shrugged.
Deaq sat back in his chair and looked carefully at the man before him. "What did you mean in the car when you said I'd already broken one of the rules?"
"You showed loyalty. Now E knows that he can use me to get to you." Van looked down at his hands as he talked. "But it wouldn't have mattered. He was going to shoot one of us up, regardless. It was better that it was me."
"Van, I am really sorry."
"Could you help me up? I need a shower."
When the shower finally turned off, Deaq waited another ten minutes before heading back into the bedroom. He found his partner, a towel wrapped around his waist, looking through his bureau.
"Sorry man, but I figured it would be alright if I borrowed something to wear." Van said as he flipped a hand through his wet hair to keep it out of his face.
"Sure, check the bottom drawer. That's where I keep things that don't fit anymore."
As Van picked up and reviewed different shirts, he started talking. "We're going to have to be damn careful tomorrow. You'll need to do something to make up for freaking out like you did. You need to show him that you aren't vulnerable. And that may mean knocking me around a little." He tried on a soft gray silk shirt.
"Van, I am not going to fight you in front of him."
"I'm not suggesting that. You need to bitch slap me – make it good and make sure I end up on the ground – show him you don't like the fact that I let his goons get the best of me."
"Van, I don't think that's going to happen."
"Look man, if we are going to both come out of thisalive, you need to play this my way."
"Hey..." Deaq didn't get far.
"Listen, I know this guy. I've dealt with his type before. All he understands is violence and the fear it creates. It's why I wanted to pass. Too much can go wrong because he is totally unpredictable, unless you play his game. And that is exactly what we are going to do tomorrow. You have to trust me on this one Deaq." The green eyes bored into the dark brown ones.
"I do you trust you Van, but …"
"No. Trust doesn't have a 'but'."
"Van."
"There isn't any other way to do this that doesn't get one or both of us dead…so what's it gonna be?"
"I gotta think about it." Deaq left the room quickly, his mind in turmoil.
"Great, just great." Van said, head down, both hands resting on the bureau.
Deaq wanted out. He talked to Billy about 7 the next morning but it did no good. She insisted they finish what they'd started. He stood at the floor to ceiling glass wall staring out at the clouds for a long time, trying to figure out what the hell he was going to do.
"You got to knock me around a little before we go. Some bruises would go well with the game plan." Van announced as he entered the living room. "In fact if you do a good enough job of it, you might not have to hit me once we get there."
"I'm not going to hit you." Deaq announced; his back still to his partner.
"Oh really." Van jerked the bigger man around and landed a sucker punch in his stomach.
Deaq was tired and on edge so the attack sent his instincts into overdrive. His fists were the only thing holding Van upright when he suddenly realized what he was doing. He immediately stepped away, and Van slid to the floor in a heap.
"Jesus Christ Van… what did I do …" his words were barely audible as he crouched down beside his friend. His right hand slowly brought Van's now bruised face into view. "Oh God…I'm so sorry, I, I…I didn't want to hurt you." He picked up the still figure and moved him to the couch. Then his hands began the search for broken bones.
"Get off me!" Van yelped as Deaq unwittingly pressed down on a badly bruised rib cage. Deaq jumped back as though he had been bitten and left the room.
"We need to leave now if we're not going to be late." Van called out an hour later. He was still on the couch, but sitting upright. He had the beginnings of a serious black right eye and his left check bone was already black and blue. He had both arms around his rib cage, and the bruising was just beginning to show through the gray shirt that was unbuttoned to mid-chest.
"We're not going." Deaq said as he walked into the room and went to stand by the door, unable to look at the damage he had done.
"Yeah, we are. It's time to take this guy down." Van finished his sentence on the way out the door. Deaq followed head down.
As they neared the meeting place, Van's left hand reached out and settled softly on his partner's shoulder. "We can do this Deaq. Please, just trust me this one time and play it my way."
As they walked into the warehouse, Deaq had one hand on the briefcase with the cash and the other around Van's neck. When they were met just inside the bay door by Big E, he pushed Van to the ground. He was clearly angry when he faced the dealer.
"I'm tired of the games E. Show me what you got to trade and let's get this deal over with." The voice was commanding --the tone would have cut through stone.
"Have a little fight with the boy toy, that what got you so on edge D?" E was enjoying this and that just made Deaq madder.
"He needed to be taught a lesson about paying attention. If he had been those apes of yours wouldn't have grabbed him, and I wouldn't have had to waste one of my women in watching him last night. I think he's learned his lesson though." The smile on his face was cruel, but only because he was thinking of how badly he wanted to take this man down.
Van struggled to stand up and, clearly reluctant to get too close, moved to stand behind his 'boss.' His head stayed down as though his longish hair could hide the condition of his face from the men in the room.
The dealer walked up to him and jerked his head up by his hair. He held it tight as he examined the bruising. "Guess that'll teach you, huh boy?" He laughed as he flipped Van to the ground, where he lay still after curling into a ball.
"You really need to be more careful about your hired help, my man." E said, still laughing, as he motioned one of his men to bring over the large suitcase.
Deaq kept his eyes on the dealer. He knew if he looked at his battered partner he would lose it. And he was determined to play this out Van's way; it was the least he could do after the beating he had doled out. So his face was grim and he was edgy, clearly ready to explode. He realized as he was examining the 'merchandise' that E was not standing in his space and was waiting quietly for him. Obviously this new new, violent side he was showing was getting exactly the attention Van had suggested, and the dealer and was not going to mess with him.
Deaq picked up the suitcase, and motioned to Van, who had gotten to his feet in the interim. He threw the briefcase at the dealer, growled "Later" and headed for the car.
As soon as he and Van were clear of the warehouse, SWAT appeared and forced the two undercover officers to the ground. Deaq began swearing at E and yelling threats of violence and death as payback for the setup. E took the easy way out, and a short but intense fire fight resulted in the death of the dealer and his four henchmen.
Once SWAT had cleared the scene, Deaq rolled over and sat up next to Van, who was still on his stomach.
"Van, you alright?" He reached out a hand and softly patted the silky hair. "Van?"
"Yeah, but I could use a little help getting up."
Deaq immediately provided assistance, and once they were on their feet, he moved his partner over to the car and into the passenger seat. He knelt beside him on the tar, his eyes doing a thorough assessment of his condition.
"I think we need to have the paramedics do a once over. Make sure nothing got broken in the fall."
"Nothings broken just have a head ache."
"I'd feel better if you let them check you out…I won't let them take you to the hospital, unless you agree." He finished with a tone closer to a mother trying to convince her reluctant child than a man talking to his partner.
"Okay. If it would make you feel better," Van responded, his eyes still closed.
"It would." He motioned the paramedics over and moved out of the way. He stayed close enough to stop them from doing anything Van wasn't agreeable to. The medics went carefully over the clearly bruised body but left after wrapping his rib cage and warning him about the dangers of concussions.
"What the hell happened to you?" Billy yelled when she caught sight of Van's face the next morning.
"I made the mistake of putting up a fight when E's guys took me down the other day." Van sat carefully down at a desk and started pulling up the paperwork he needed.
Deaq, who was sitting in Billy's office, shook his head.
"Has anyone checked you out?" Billy asked in a normal tone, after wincing in sympathy as she watched Van carefully sit down.
"Nothing time won't cure."
"You didn't tell me he was that banged up." Billy said to Deaq.
"As I recall you weren't that interested in his well being at the time." Deaq responded angrily.
"So, are you going to tell him or am I?" Billy asked, changing the subject.
"You can." Deaq rose and left the building.
"Van will you come in here please?"
"What is it Billy?" He asked as heslowly found his way down into the chair.
"Deaq has asked to be reassigned. I told him I needed him for two more jobs and then I would let him go."
"And?" Van asked his eyes on the table.
"I want you to talk him out of it!" Her voice rose as she was not getting the reaction she wanted.
"That's a laugh. He has never listened to a word I said, and I'm pretty sure he isn't about to start now." Van rose. "Okay if I get back to my paperwork?"
"Van, what happened between you two?" She was now totally perplexed.
"Nothing that hasn't happened before," was the somewhat cryptic reply.
Van was simply not in any shape to provide backup for the case Billy had in the queue so she brought in a young detective, Arran Calder, to work with Deaq. She included Van in the briefings and strategy meetings; although it was clear the new recruit had no intention of taking advice from anyone.
Van knew the mark – having worked a case with Andre, and his cover was still intact. He provided insight into the way the man operated. Deaq listened intently and asked his former partner a number of questions. When the meeting was over, Van headed for the storage room to get some items Deaq would need.
"What are we doing wasting all this time listening to that loser?" Arran asked. "He clearly has trouble taking care of himself, what could he add that would be of any value?"
Deaq had the young man up against a wall, hand around his throat, before he finished the sentence. "If you live long enough to grow up to be half the cop he is, you can consider yourself lucky. Don't you ever say anythingabout him again." He dropped his hand, and Arran staggered against the wall.
Billy had watched the interplay with interest, and it only furthered her curiosity into what had gone wrong between her first two recruits. She still planned to bring them back together, although she had no idea how. They were seriously polite to each other, but said very little unless it was part of a group discussion.
On the day the bust went down, Billy and Van were watching it play out on a screen in a van across the street. Things were going well until Arran clearly lost his nerve - maybe being surrounded by men with automatic weapons wasn't his thing - but when he pulled out his gun Van swore, and Deaq started doing some fast talking. Billy focused all her attention on the screen – and swore to herself when Van strode onto the screen in front of her.
"Hey Blue, what you trying to pull on my man Deaq here?" Van sauntered into the room as though he were entering a cocktail party – not a gun buy about to go bad. Deaq hadn't realized he had been holding his breath until Van was in front of him, eyes full of the spark that told Deaq the man had a plan.
"Van -- it is you, you old dawg, where you been hiding yourself?" The dealer grabbed the smaller man in a bear hug before holding him out at arms length.
"Here and there. Deaq and I have a thriving business but it is only lately that we have been in need of someone with your particular knowledge. Of course, had I known he was doing a deal while I was recovering from a slightly less than satisfying encounter with the husband of one of my lady friends, I would have been here sooner." He smiled at the mark as though the two were sharing a great secret, and the man laughed heartily.
Van walked over to Deaq, and cocked his head slightly. "Just exactly why are you doing business without me, oh partner of mine, and where did you find the boy wonder over there?"
"Just thought it was time to grow the farm team V. Besides you know I get bored when we aren't working, and you really can't blame me for the fact that Chantel's husband was a golden glove boxer." Van walked over to Arran while Deaq was talking and gently took the gun from his hand. The poor boy was white as a ghost. Van put a hand around the back of his neck and escorted him to the door. His smile was intact but his voice was stone cold as he whispered:
"You go out that door, cross the street and keep walking. You almost succeeded in getting my partner killed, and if I see you again it will be too soon." With that he turned to smile again at the mark and shoved Arran out the door.
"So tell me about the deal brother Blue."
Everyone in the room had relaxed, Deaq realized, as soon as Van had entered the room. Himself included he had to admit. His partner, when he was in his role, was better than anybody at the game. He realized how much he had missed that in the last week, and how much he had come to relay on Van to provide the necessary "it" required to get them out of these situations alive.
Van kept the mark entertained for another 20 minutes talking about the guns, where they came from, how he got them (stolen from a US army depot courtesy of the staff sergeant there) and what kind of price they could really work out. Billy shook her head and smiled as she watched a master at work, building a case that was solid steel.
"Deaq, despite the lack of my knowledge or participation, you have made a hell of a deal. Give the man his money and let's go celebrate." Van demanded as he hefted one of the rifles up.
The money and guns were exchanged, hand shakes and hugs all around and the two undercover officers walked to Deaq's car and drove away. Five minutes later Blue and his boys were in the custody of the LAPD.
Van was slumped in the front seat, eyes closed as he tried to slow his breathing down. Deaq looked over and caught the post-bust drop, smiled, and swung the car away from the Candy Store toward a small beach that Van had shared with him a month ago.
Van opened his eyes when the car stopped. He looked that the beach, at his partner and then back at the beach. Deaq got out and started walking. Van caught up with him a few strides later.
"What's going on?" Van asked as he kept pace with his long legged friend.
"Just thought we needed to talk. And if I recall correctly, you often do your best talking on the beach."
Van stepped in front of the man to stop him. "I'm sorry, but I had to do something. When Arran pulled his gun I thought it was over. I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't stand there and watch you die. I couldn't lose you too." His words were rushed, as though he were afraid he would be silenced before he could complete his thought. He dropped his head to stare at the sand once he finished.
"Van, I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life. As soon as I saw you, I knew that everything was going to be alright. You saved my bacon big time."
The shaggy head came up, eyes intent on Deaq's face.
"Funny thing is V, the whole time I was working this deal, and I kept thinking that something was missing. I couldn't put a finger on it – until you walked in that door. You. I was missing you. And the trust that comes from working with someone you know is looking out for you."
"You trust me?"
"With my life."
"You'll stay here in L.A. then?"
"Only if I you're my partner."
They returned to the Candy Store three hours later after a long lunch and a few beers. Arran had been stewing since the bust, and the fact that Billy made him count out the money and all the guns was not going over well. As soon as the two walked in he made a bee line to Van.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" He yelled. "I had everything under control, and than you just waltz in bright as day. You could have gotten us killed." He reached for Van's throat, but Deaq caught his hand and twisted it behind him, bringing the rookie to his knees.
"Listen. What you saw today was how the major leaguers do it. You froze up, and in doing so, came this close to buying the farm and taking me with you. Tonight when you say your prayers, I suggest you thank God that Van walked in when he did, or you'd be spending the night at the morgue."
Deaq let go of the young man, and he and Van continued on their path to Billy's office.
Billy looked quizzically at the two as they sat down at her desk.
"Ready for your next assignment?" She asked.
"Yes sir." They replied.