Act X

Ryo set the vacuum cleaner into the closet and shut the door. At least having time off gave him time to catch up on the cleaning, he thought. Who knew a ten-year-old kid could be so messy?

He really needed to get groceries but he had promised Dee to hang around the apartment. Of course, if he took a cab then Dee couldn't really complain. Smiling, Ryo reached for the phone. Thirty minutes later, he was on his way to the store.

"Any luck?" JJ asked Dee when he got back to the station two and a half hours later.

"No," Dee answered. "So I called Diana."

"The commissioner's Diana?" JJ asked.

"Yeah," Dee admitted. "She's going to check the database for the country and get back to me."

"Jim said to meet him in the lab after lunch and he would be able to tell us a little about our killer," JJ informed Dee. "Are you going to go to Ryo's for lunch?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Nah," Dee replied with a shake of his head. "After this morning, he would let me have it if I showed up before tonight. I know, let's go to Barney's Burgers on the corner," he said, causing JJ's eyes to light up. "I'm anxious to hear what Jim has to say so I don't want to go too far."

"Okay," JJ agreed happily. 'I got Dee for lunch. I got Dee,' the words kept playing JJ's head as followed Dee gaily from the station.

Ryo paid the driver and got out. It was well after one o'clock and he hoped Dee hadn't stopped by in his absence. But then, if he had, he would probably let Dee have it. Dee was being way too overprotective.

Ryo entered the building and climbed the steps to his floor, unaware a pair of eyes was watching his every step.

"What the..." he started but fell silent and set his bags on the floor next to his door which was slightly ajar. Ryo eased the door open, wondering if Bikky had cut school and returned home.

That thought left as quickly as it had come when he got a look at the inside of his apartment. Furniture had been tossed around and almost everything breakable had been broken. He opened the hall closet and removed his gun from its holster. He checked to see that it was still loaded then searched the rest of the apartment.

Bikky's room hadn't been touched but his own bedroom was a shambles. His once plush down pillows lay strewn over the floor with feathers lying as far away as the window sill and as high as the shade encircling the light at the ceiling. The covers were in disarray on the floor and the mattress had been slashed repeatedly.

"I've got to call Dee," he said, moving toward the telephone. He picked it up from the floor and pushed the old fashioned handset down to start it working again but before he could pick it up again, it rang.

"Hello," Ryo answered.

"Ryo, it's Touin," Touin said when Ryo answered. "I'm at the station. Somma's escaped," he continued before Ryo could say anything. "Stay put. The commissioner wants you in protective custody until he's been recaptured since Somma swore to kill you."