Twilight was creeping in as the sunset reflecting off the Hudson River was sending ripples of color against the windows. As Ryo was gingerly prying open his eyelids, he wasn't sure if he was still dreaming when he saw an unsettling familiar face grinning next to him. A stray thought, that was quickly squelched, had him imagining what it would it be like to wake up next to this person every morning. With no inflection in his voice he said "Oh, God, you again" as he tried to burrow himself deeper into the pillow.
In a far more chippier voice than Ryo was willing to tolerate Dee said, "More like the Devil than God but 'Good Evening' to you too, sleepyhead. Now you can't say it was just a one-night stand."
"So when did you decide to move in?"
"I wanted to make sure you were all right and um.. I think your front door needs to be fixed."
Ryo asked "And-how-did-that-happen?" with a deliberate emphasis on each syllable.
Dee turned on the patented puppy-dog eyes that had gotten him out of more than one scrape. "It was in the way? I guess I just don't know my own strength."
With a muttered "Damn you" under his breath Ryo sat up and rubbing his eyes, asked Dee to pitch him his cell phone so he could call a service to deliver a new door that night. What had actually aroused the young man from his slumber, though, was the enticing aroma of Chinese take-out and his body reacted by sending out an audible response to the call. In the meantime, Dee was opening the plastic bags and wafting the scent in the dark-blonde's direction. "C'mon. Get up. Dinner's getting cold."
Ryo found his clothes rumpled but still intact and obeyed by stumbling towards the bathroom. After splashing water on his face in order to revive his senses he called out "HOW MUCH DO I OWE YOU?"
"IT'S COVERED. I FOUND YOUR WALLET."
"ANY EXCUSE TO FINALLY GET YOUR HAND DOWN MY PANTS?"
"I WISH. YOU STILL DON'T TRUST ME, DO YOU. NAH, IT WAS IN YOUR JACKET. SO HOW ARE YOU FEELING?"
"HMMPH. EMBARRASSED."
"WELL, YOU SHOULD BE. WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?"
Ryo pretended not to hear him. He was in no mood to be lectured while he was making himself more presentable. When he returned to the bedroom various cartons were out of the bags and spread about the round surface in the sitting area.
Dee looked around as though something was missing. "Got anything to drink?"
His tactless question was answered with a glare. Ryo went to the kitchen and returned with a tray loaded with plates and refreshments consisting of a few sodas and some bottles of water.
Turned out they were both proficient with the chopsticks and soon had a dumpling eating competition underway. An unforeseen obstacle was that Dee was left-handed so their sticks kept getting tangled in each other. They stood over the table, and held their utensil like a lethel weapon, prepared to mortally skewer the delicate lumps of dough. By the time there was only one left it was difficult to focus on the designated target as fingers were starting to cramp from the intense concentration. A pause... eyes narrowed... and like two rams locking horns to demonstrate dominance during the mating ritual, they went for it.
The momentum caused Dee to lose his balance and bump into the table. The uneven force, met resistance from the slightly built man on the other side, causing the furniture to topple over setting up a predictable chain-reaction. While Dee instinctively stepped back to avoid having his toes flattened, Ryo sprung forth across the space in an attempt to recover its equilibrium. The resulting crash probably could have been heard some distance and like the proverbial gingerbread man the prize managed to get away. The table revolved around its pedestal base before it came to a halt, grinding its spilled contents deep into the carpet and guiding Ryo's trajectory straight onto a collision course with his nemesis
There was a moment of dismayed silence as Ryo was sprawled across Dee. Then heaving bursts of mirth threatened to suffocate them. His normally pale face was flushed. His body shook while tears of laughter rolled down his face. He looked absolutely stunning. Dee couldn't resist the sight before him and pounced.
Dee had grasped Ryo by the shoulders to avoid getting crushed on impact. He flipped Ryo on his back and silently asked permission by tickling him with his lips in the hollow of his neck. Initially startled by Dee's forwardness, Ryo took a huge gulp of air before raising Dee's face to his own and pillaging his mouth again and again overtaken by the unfamiliar sensations of true passion coursing through his body. There was a sense of urgency as they began to ground their hips together as Dee unbuttoned Ryo's shirt and moved lower and lower to suck on the smooth, firm skin underneath. Ryo's hands were entangled in Dee's hair, traveling down from the nape of his neck to feel the strong muscles underneath Dee's shirt. Dizzy from lack of oxygen, his inhibitions started to fade away as jolts of electricity traveled up from his toes. With anybody else, he would have let Nature takes its course but as he felt fingers tugging at his waistband he screamed "NO! GET OFF OF ME!" and twisted himself out of Dee's reach hugging himself tightly to calm down his nerves.
Dee had to fling himself off of Ryo in order to reign in his overwhelming desire. They were both panting heavily. Did he think what they were doing was wrong? Had he pushed him too far? "Ryo. I'm sorry. I..I should have asked. I didn't mean to force you..."
Ryo shushed him. "Dumbass. You almost made me forget I'm suppose to be mad at you."
Dee was almost whining. "Nooooo. Skip the mad part. Let's just make up."
Ryo pushed himself off the floor and rebuttoned his shirt. He combed his fingers through his hair and rested his head on his bent knees as he forced himself to control his arousal which was difficult in that it made him all the more aware of it. He couldn't look at Dee. "I know you came by for a reason other than to check up on me. You said you didn't want to force me but you are. You've decided everything."
Dee was terse and insistent. "You can't go on the way you have."
"It's my place and my life and I can do what I want."
"Your place and your life are an empty shell right now. You never answered my question, Ryo. What the hell were you thinking when I walked in?"
There was a pause and a small voice. "Nothing."
"Is that what you were thinking when you tried to rape me?"
Ryo raised his head. "But it's okay for you to do it?"
"That's not fair. You were as turned on as me. And there's no use hiding the evidence."
The truth of that statement was obvious and the barriers were back up.
A sombering mood had descended. Dee didn't want to leave the evening this way and sighed in resignation. "Okay. I came here on business. Do you want to discuss it here?"
Ryo looked around the room. He never liked seeing a mess. "No. We can use the study."
As Dee followed Ryo down a corridor, he was frustrated but he would rather have Ryo's anger than no emotion at all.
The study was large and airy, environmentally controlled for humidity, temperature, and lighting. There was a large mahogany table in the middle and easels around the perimeter, useful for examining large canvases and art pieces. Ryo offered Dee a glass of wine which he accepted before they sat down in a couple of leather chairs in the reading area.
Careful to keep the atmosphere neutral. Dee decided to cut to the chase. "The purpose of the stake-out is to gather evidence. They may not be very high on the totem pole but all we want are some names and we're outta there. No big. I've got some friends helping out to keep eyes and ears on things. If I thought there would be any danger I wouldn't have asked them."
"Would you have asked me?"
"I would have warned you."
"So if the place doesn't get back on its feet the cockroaches will scatter and go elsewhere."
"That's about it." Dee went on to talk about the plan and asked about vendors.
Ryo tossed his cell phone at him and told him all the information he needed was there.
Dee was surprised. "Why are you so pissed off?"
"It's all a game to you, isn't it? All I have to do is fix it, look pretty, and be myself, the dissolute heir."
"Don't you want to get out?"
Ryo shrugged his shoulders indicating his indifference.
"Boy, you can be a catty bitch."
"Deal or get out."
Dee fought to keep himself in check. "I'm trying not to get mad but sometimes I just want to shake you. FINE. Any suggestions? I don't want to lecture you. I just want to help."
Ryo began to point out the shortcomings of the plan. "Look you've got one guy playing bartender. Do you really expect them to be talking about their latest heist at the bar? You've got another guy up on deck. They'll be confined to their stations when the real action happens in dark corners. There's a lot of space and only a few people. You've got the girls practically whoring themselves and they got caught up in a fight last week. They're really nice girls and I don't want anyone hurt.
He continued. "It would be better to install surveillance equipment." He got up and reached into a file cabinet and pulled out the blueprints for the boat. "You see how the ductwork meanders all over the place. Because of the configuration of the floor plan there are acoustic anomalies and hot spots where you could stand and hear what's going on across the room without raising any suspicion."
Dee had attended seminars about surveillance and the placement of security devices. If those mom-and-pop shops he had pilfered from when he was a kid had bothered to install even a camera, his mugshot would have been plastered on bus stops all over the neighborhood. "We won't be able to get the installation complete this week. Experts will need to be consulted to go over the diagrams and blueprints to determine the best placement for the devices and I'll talk to my professor about finding a company that does that kind of work. It will be easier and more discreet to install them while reconstruction is going on so if anybody just 'happens' to drop by, they won't know what's going on."
Ryo agreed. "In the meantime I need to stock up, get some furniture in and a new sound system. Can't have a party without some entertainment, huh?"
Dee told Ryo what he saw the first time he was there in the voice of an impartial witness. Members of the Italian Mafia were mentioned. He kept track of their activities but he knew he had neither the means nor the muscle to get revenge on them for murdering Jess. Which was a good thing because if he did, he knew it would be difficult to keep his promise to be an honest cop."I had seen them before entering the Church where Bruno's daughter got married. It was a huge affair with all the peons paying their respect to the Godfather."
Ryo looked confused. As though he was having a hard time keeping track of all the characters but now seemed willing to cooperate. "What do they look like? I may have recognized them before and seen others they may have associated with." Falling back on his observational training, Dee described them so well a police artist could have sketched them.
They found that they worked well together, tossing ideas back and forth. When the plan was finalized and they had their assignments they took a break to reinstall the door that had been delivered. They were about to call it a night when Dee invited Ryo to come to the Student Union for lunch to meet the conspirators.
"Yeah. Sure. Um, thanks for picking up dinner... You're welcome to stay if you want some of my dad's clothes are still on the upper shelf in the laundry room. You can crash in my room..." a wolfish grin appeared on Dee's face "...and I'll sleep in the cabin berth" and promptly fell.
"Thanks, but we can clean up the guest room and roll the carpet up and maybe we'll find out what happened to that last dumpling."
Ryo's chuckle was magical to Dee's ear. "You're a bad influence, Mr. Laytner. Now I'm starting to trash my own place."
Dee displayed his huge grin. "You're the Master. Hey, it's good to be King."
While reconstruction was going on Ryo met up with the others. It was an urban campus so most of the students frequented the numerous bars and cafes in the area leaving the Student Union usually empty. There were large tables set up for group meetings and tutoring sessions.
Ryo was relaxed but resentful, he was curious why these young people would want to be involved in a stranger's problems. Was it morbid curiosity or merely an opportunity to sneer at society? Since they were meeting for lunch Ryo had gotten a sack full of sandwiches which was gratefully devoured and went far towards supplementing the ham-and-cheese-on-wonderbread that the young men subsisted on and with their hair pulled back in pony-tails the girls were a sharp contrast to the femme fatale roles they had assumed last week.
He listened to their bantering, their plans for the summer, and the typical problems confronting a young person starting out on their own in The City. Surprisingly, Diana, who looked like she couldn't stand to have a chipped nail, wanted to attend a boot camp for potential agents. She came from a family of politicians but realized that the laws didn't always protect the innocent. Janet came across as a flirty airhead but she wanted to raise public awareness that all the women in law enforcement were not Vice bait and was doing an internship at a non-profit. Ted's family had been in the same close-knit neighborhood for generations and his extended family reached beyond the ties of blood. He wanted to maintain the quality of life while improving his own and liked to mix with people from all walks of life. Drake was the most taciturn of the group but he was more aware than any of the others what was going on. He didn't believe in not telling someone something 'for their own good' and he never betrayed a source or a friend. Each one had their own stories, others have had tragedy and risen above it. That knowledge helped Ryo establish a rapport with the others.
They discussed the plan and assignments. Ryo still felt uneasy involving the others in his mess. "When this is all over, we'll celebrate" Ted had said. The group broke up and Dee headed towards his work-study. 'When this is all over.' Ryo heaved a sigh. He didn't have time to dwell upon that right now. As he hit the streets once again he smiled as he realized he was going to be quite busy for the next few days. A coed in his line of sight was caught up in his good mood and smiled back.
The look could be called Contemporary-Bohemian. Diana had a rather a outlandish fashion sense. Given carte blanche but only a few days, she wasn't going to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Saris were draped across mass import furniture. Gypsy jewel-tones mixed with bold patterns accented the fabrics and accessories, strategically creating hidden nooks for clandestant meetings. Candles for lighting and sectional furniture formed a harem pit with plush pillows for lounging and some of the Macleans' more risqué pieces adorned the walls. The theme was rich and opulent. It looked like money. A DJ with his own equipment had been hired since the surveillance system called for combining the sound system with the security system and the additional wiring had not been completed. Ted was behind the bar willing to listen to any of the patrons problems: trouble with their significant other, unreasonable demands at the office, how hard it was to find a reliable delivery service these days... While Drake was up on deck keeping track of the odds that the ante came from dirty money or embezzeled funds.
Ryo was determined to be the pleasant host and warmly greeted his guests. He acknowledged the numerous complements on the exotic decor "but if your designer should ever fail you give me a call and I'll set you up with the best in the business" and cards with personal phone numbers were slipped into his pocket, that is, until Dee showed up. With a nod of the head to acknowledge the dark-haired man's presence that was neither a welcome nor a deterrent Ryo's cold attitude was noted.
The girls, showing more skin than last week, were accepting invitations to dance. There were so many people vying for their company any attempt to whisk them away would be witnessed. The team members were at their stations.
Ryo and Dee agreed not to appear overly friendly together. If Dee hung around Ryo too much it would make him inaccessible, unapproachable. But with Ryo giving him the cold shoulder, Dee couldn't help but wonder if Ryo was still feeling resentful over the whole operation. He kept an eye on him but gave him space as he went after his own targets.
Tonight, Ryo had a certain devil-may-care attitude. He had a unconscious charisma of his own. To his foes it targeted him as an easy mark, to his friends it triggered a protective response. As Dee watched him dance and flirt with the girls he felt jealous and jilted at the same time. He just didn't know what Ryo was thinking. He wondered what his true personality was or if he had had to fortify himself earlier that evening in order to lose his inhibitions to play his part. Besides wanting to gain his trust, he wanted to be someone special in his life, to help him break free from his years of self-imposed isolation. He longed to wrap his arms around the young man's slim waist and feel the close warmth of his body. Those few wanton moments of ecstasy on the floor of the guest room were unlike any he had ever experienced before.
"Looks like he and Maclean had a falling out."
The voice drifted out of a dark corner as Ryo grabbed a couple of drinks and retreated to a reserved table with Diana. They appeared to be in intimate eye contact so they were left alone but their lovers' nest actually gave them a vantage point to allow them to listen to the fragments of conversations. Based upon Dee's description Ryo was able to identify the criminals. He knew where their favorite table was in a corner where they could see the door and their backs were to the wall. He knew exactly where to hear their covert whispers.
"...nice setup. just the place for the working man to hang out and get a taste of how the other half lives..."
"...hey, isn't his daddy a judge..."
"...Horsen's always going to be a pee-on with his whore of a sister..."
"...I thought he was in Chicago. Looks like more of Bennett's scouts..."
"...That's Jess Latener's boy."
"I didn't know he had a kid."
"Naw. He dumped a bastard at the orphanage and got soft. Latener was on Bruno's payroll before he got offed for taking out one of our own. The kid found him before he croaked and said he was gonna be a cop."
"So he's a plant?"
"Don't see how a kid like that got the dough to be a high-roller unless he's on the take or found himself a sugar mama or maybe he's looking for a sugar daddy, the way he was hanging all over Maclean last week."
"Damn brat. Movin' in on our target. If he's a plant that upstart needs to be taught a lesson. But if he's finally gotten a reality check on how things really work we need to find out whether he can be useful. That girl with Maclean's a hot piece of ass. How much do you think it's worth..."
Diana caught the worried look in Ryo's expressive eyes. Really, a person could drown in them. A little too delicate and introverted for her own personal tastes, she was not so jaded that she couldn't still recognize a good person. She suspected he wanted to warn Dee and announced she had better start circulating again to see how much her ass would fetch. Ryo laughed at such a straight-forward refreshing attitude but begged her to be careful before escorting her back to her classmate.
Realizing Dee's cover has been blown. and that Dee was in danger, Ryo started to go off to warn him when the front of Ted's jacket was grabbed by an obviously inebriated customer who accosted him for refusing service.
"It was a misunderstanding, we were just running low." Ryo unlocked the cabinet where his personal supply was kept. "Serve her until she passes out." He grabbed one of the business cards in his pocket and coyly elicited the woman's address - writing it on the card and tucking it into her pocket like a tag on a gift - just in case he had to dump her into a taxi if her companions desserted her.
He skimmed the perimeter when another fragment caught his ears.
"...saw Bruno's little girl at the Plaza the other day. She sure didn't inherit her daddy's ugly."
"Where's your money on who takes over when Bruno finally kicks the bucket?"
"Grant's still a young guy, it's not his fault his first job got botched up by Fry 'cause he picked out the wrong car. Still, it's just a business to him. Bow's more like Bruno, he actually enjoys screwing people."
"Is Fry still around?"
"He's on the lam put he pops up once in a while from his rathole. The Wayburn should've been torn down years ago."
"If you know Bruno wants Ernie whacked why not tell him where he is?"
"No profit. He's still a good source. It'll be a plus for Bow or Grant but only if I get something out of it. "
"Yeah, they're not exactly buddies..."
Ryo was looking around for Dee's position as an argument on the upper deck erupted. Loud voices were accusing Drake of favoring a patron by feeding good cards to a reputed card shark. He headed up the staircase to diffuse the situation by rotating the dealers to different tables. As he prepared to head back downstairs to find Dee, he couldn't help but slow down his steps upon hearing his name.
"...Maclean? Poor little rich boy. His old man gets rubbed out, the cops pull in the guys but they don't have shit so they got off. With his stash he could put out a hit on them. I know a few who would do the job, too, though I hear the guy who was in charge of the operation is being groomed for bigger things since he married the boss' daughter a few years ago."
"Squeezing all of us hard-working stiffs back to the bottom..."
His steps accelerated as he heard an altercation on the dance floor. One of those ex-athletes whose bulky muscles had sunk to his stomach was pawing at Janet. "C'mon, baby. You NEED another dance, we were just getting warmed up." Janet made a gesture and proceeded to tell him in no uncertain terms she was not interested.
Diana offered to buy him a drink but his manhood had been insulted. "No bitch is goin' flip me the bird" and the girls prepared to defend themselves. His movement was stayed as his arm was pulled back and squeezed in a vise-like grip by his host as he was discreetly reminded that "A player doesn't stick to just one lady. Let them come to you." The uncouth gentleman muttered that the whore wasn't worth it and headed for the bar.
His new friends saw that Ryo was willing to intervene on their behalf. They had seen enough and experienced enough to know that they may be in over their heads and the reassurance that this young man was willing to stand up for them immediately included him in their inner circle.
He finally caught sight of Dee outside, flanked on both sides by some ugly mugs, looking agitated and restraining himself as if he would throw those guys overboard given the opportunity. Ryo boldly strided up to the dark-haired man, ignored his company, and punched him in the jaw. He was sprawled across the deck with a shocked expression before bouncing up and grabbing Ryo by his lapels. "What got up your ass!"
Ryo said through clenched teeth and in an intensely chilling voice "Get out and leave me the fuck alone." Dee's antagonists had melted away leaving the two men confronting each other.
He yanked himself out of Dee's grasp. "I know all about you and you disgust me. Who did you have to sleep with to get those clothes? I'd rather deal with the scum than be deceived by someone claiming to be my friend. No money, no connections. Nothing but an orphan from the street feeding off of others. I doubt you expected to find someone resistant to your charms. What the hell use are you to me? Now if you don't leave now. I will have you escorted off my premises."
Dee reaction was not feigned. 'What kind of show was this? This isn't part of the script.' Everything he had ever known or imagined about stuck-up, overprivileged, rich snobs was oozing out of Maclean. And yet the volume of his voice was clearly meant for his ears only. It wasn't a hissy fit put on for the benefit of spectators. "Ryo..."
"Don't ever address me again. GET OUT!"
Dee's shoulders were slumped in defeat. His classmates eyes showed signs of surprise as they saw their leader heading towards the exit. As he passed by a table he couldn't help but give a double-take as his professor gave Dee a quick wink and he remembered what the former police officer had told them about stakeouts. 'You need to be cautious but don't let it cloud your judgement. The key is not to try and guess who the good guys and bad guys are but to use close observation in order to gather evidence that can be used to form a conclusion.' But he didn't know what to think at the moment except the person he wanted to protect, that he wanted to extract from the pain of his past, had just literally knockedhim out of his life.
Ryo was leaning over the bannister. A casual observer may have assumed the landlubber's equilibrium was off and he would have been correct to some degree. Ryo's eyes were clenched shut. He felt like retching but there was nothing physically inside him to throw up. At that moment there was nothing emotionally inside him either. Even the sounds of general debauchery could barely permeate his stupor.
From the walkway off the pier. A pair of binoculars were trained on the slim individual. 'I don't know what YOUR game is, Ryo, but don't do anything stupid. Don't do anything stupid. ' He repeated again and again like a mantra. He was relieved when he saw him pull himself together, drawing away from the rail, to head indoors.
A large vase had been knocked over which had knocked candles over which had set the material on fire. The fire had fallen into the lounge pit and a panicked patron, who was the same one Ted had refused service to, threw her drink onto the fire producing a merry bonfire inside the living space. And though it was cozy, the smoke began to overwhelm the ventilation system. Ted had the presence of mind to grab the fire extinguisher beforeguests could suffocate. He made short work of it leaving tufts of white foam all over the place.
Seeing the excitement was over and everything was under control, one of the onlooker's attention was off the scene and scanning the room. "Shit. You recognize that guy over there?"
"Yeah. Haven't seen the Lieutenant work the beat for a few years. What the hell is doing here? I knew this setup was too sweet to last. Damnit, we'd better blow this joint."
There was a touch of nuance mixed with malice in his colleague's voice as he said. "That's not a bad idea."
Their escape was cut off by an elegantly dressed young man. "Excuse me, gentlemen. You had presented me with an interesting proposition as I'm sure you recall. After careful consideration I'd like to discuss terms."
The chisler couldn't help but be suspicious in the change in attitude. "Er... sure. But why the sudden interest, Maclean?"
"You're a businessman and you have something I want. So now we can deal. Care to step into my study? I'm sure it will be worth the investment."
He knew the case by heart, he knew the names of the suspects: Horsen, Fry, and Grant. The heir's smooth voice continued. "And I have a favor to payback to a mutual friend of ours."
The binoculars followed his every movement.
TBC.