Disclaimer: Rights to The Pretender world and all its characters belong to creators Craig Van Sickle and Steven Mitchell. NBC owns a share, as do Twentieth Century Fox and MGM.
Due South was created by Paul Haggis and produced by Alliance Atlantis, BBC, CTV television and Pro Sieben Media. It's a wonderful show, mixing action and humor together into a delightfully quirky detective drama. If you've never seen it, I highly recommend the DVDs.
The point is I'm borrowing someone else's creations. No profit is being made and no copyright infringement is intended.
Defining Connection 7
By Phenyx
06/10/2006
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The wolf was staring at him.
For the past five minutes, Constable Fraser's wolf had been sitting beside Jarod, giving him the oddest look. Jarod leaned back in Kowalski's chair and did his best to ignore the dog. But the creature gazed at him with such intent that Jarod was getting uncomfortable.
Jarod tried to ignore the animal. He spent a few minutes sipping at his coffee and watching Miss Parker in his peripheral vision. She sat perched on the edge of the detective's desk, quietly drinking from her own cup. Jarod had been unable to convince her that the brew would be bad for her stomach. But her breakfast had been eaten along with the herbal tea Jarod had given her. So perhaps it would result in a balance.
Together they waited in companionable silence. They had arrived at the precinct a quarter of an hour early. Ray had promised to meet them at eight o'clock and wouldn't be late for another three minutes. The dog had appeared shortly after Jarod and Miss Parker yet Constable Fraser was nowhere to be seen.
"What?" Jarod asked the wolf.
"What?" Miss Parker asked.
Jarod sighed. "Diefenbaker keeps staring at me," he explained.
"So?"
"I don't like the look in his eyes," Jarod continued. He shook his head. "Brigitte had that same look to her that time she nearly caught me."
Miss Parker's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"I was cuffed to a bed. She straddled my lap, stroked my face with the barrel of her gun and stared down at me just like that," Jarod said with a vague gesture toward the dog.
Miss Parker frowned. "Like what?"
"Like she hadn't eaten in a few days and I was the main course," Jarod replied.
"The bitch looked at everyone that way," Miss Parker said with a shrug.
"Dief!" Ray Kowalski was suddenly there. "Leave Jarod alone." The detective set a large Styrofoam cup on this desk and made a shooing motion with both arms.
"Jarod thinks Diefenbaker wants to eat him," Miss Parker said, rolling her eyes.
Ray grinned. "Maybe he does. He is a wolf, not exactly domesticated either." He eyed Jarod carefully. "You do anything that would make the wolf dislike you?"
"Not to my knowledge," Jarod answered.
The detective frowned at the animal at his feet. "What gives Dief? Jarod's okay. Don't give him a hard time."
The dog looked up at Ray and huffed. The wavering growl that the animal emitted sounded like a strange foreign language.
Ray looked up at Jarod again, frowning with puzzlement. "Want did you eat for breakfast?" he asked abruptly.
"I had a coffee and a couple of donuts. Why?"
The detective grinned with sudden understanding. "Ah, that explains it. You had the gall to eat pastries and you didn't bring him any. Dief can smell a donut from three counties away." He leaned over and ruffled the dog's fur. "Cut him some slack big guy. Jarod didn't know. He'll make it up to you tomorrow. Right Malloy?"
"Sure. Donuts for everyone," Jarod agreed.
Ray gave the dog a reassuring pat and then straightened. "Where's Fraser?" he asked.
Miss Parker answered. "We haven't seen him yet this morning."
"What, you're here by yourself?" Ray asked the dog. "Fraser's okay, isn't he?"
At that, the animal made a decidedly rude noise and turned his back on the trio. A moment later, Constable Fraser, dressed in his red serge, came into the room.
"Good morning, Ray," he said. "Good morning Detective Parker, Detective Malloy."
"Morning Frase," Ray said. "What bug does Diefenbaker have up his butt today?"
Constable Fraser swallowed hard and tugged at his collar before answering. "Well, I'm afraid he's rather annoyed with me. You see, Mrs. Haviland's toy poodle is in heat."
Ray started to laugh.
"It is no laughing matter Ray," Fraser said in a tight voice. "Prada is very important to Mrs. Haviland."
Diefenbaker made another sound, something between a yowl and bark.
"For pity's sake Diefenbaker, she's a toy poodle," Fraser scolded. "You should be ashamed of yourself."
The dog snorted.
"Well yes, I am aware that you are a predator," Fraser said. "But this is unconscionable, even for you. Prada could be injured. Think of the difficulty she'd have whelping!"
"Has anyone asked Prada what she thinks?" Miss Parker asked innocently. The three men turned to look at her in confusion. She shrugged. "She might be willing to give it a try. Because despite what everyone says," Miss Parker's voice dropped a full octave, turning into something warm and sultry. "Size does matter."
Ray bent over with laughter, pounding on his desk in amusement. Fraser blushed, mortified at the suggestion. Jarod gaped. He was completely stunned. He stared at Miss Parker in complete shock as she smiled back at him mischievously.
"Hot damn, Parker," Ray managed to say between chuckles. "Warn a guy before you say something like that. Do you want the Mountie to implode?"
"Ray, please! " Fraser's face was almost as red as his uniform.
This only made Ray laugh harder. Diefenbaker made a snickering noise as well, his tongue lolling out of his mouth to one side.
The constable whirled on the dog and snapped, "Do be quiet! Wanting to protect that innocent creature from your untoward advances does not make me a prude. I simply will not allow you to ravage that little dog."
Diefenbaker evidently had something to say about that. He growled and huffed a quick series of barks. Then he pointedly turned his back and trotted out of the room.
"Fine," Fraser grumbled under his breath. "Be angry with me." He looked up at the three detectives. "He's not thinking clearly at the moment. I am quite sure he will thank me later."
"Yeah, sure he will," Ray said as he retrieved his cup from his desk and drained the contents. "Need more java," he added, shaking the empty Styrofoam. He turned and had started across the room when a voice called out.
"Vecchio? I have a delivery for a detective Vecchio?" A courier stood hesitantly at the doorway.
"YO!" Ray called, raising his hand.
The young man handed Ray a clipboard and Ray signed where indicated. The courier handed Ray a flat envelope and tipped his hat. "Have a nice day," he said as he left the room.
"Ray," Constable Fraser said. "That was meant for Ray Vecchio, not you."
"Until a recently, I was Ray Vecchio," he replied. "Maybe it was meant for me. Maybe it's important. Besides, Vecchio's in Florida. He won't care."
Ray tore open the packet and pulled out a single sheet of paper. A moment later, the mischievous grin on his face slipped away to be replaced with wide-eyed horror.
"Ray?" Fraser asked. "Ray, what's wrong?"
Jarod and Miss Parker were both on their feet in an instant.
"Stella," Ray gasped. "They've got Stella."
Ray stared at the paper in shock, forcing the other three to gather around so they could read over Ray's shoulder. The note was brief, written in large black letters on plain white paper.
It simply read, "We have your fiancée. Pier 13."
"Fiancée?" Miss Parker frowned.
"Oh dear." Fraser tugged nervously on his ear as he explained. "Ray Vecchio is engaged to Assistant State's Attorney Stella Kowalski."
"Stella. The ex-wife you mentioned last night," Jarod recalled.
"Yeah," Ray replied in a small voice.
"Ray," Fraser placed one hand on his partner's shoulder and said, "We will find her."
"I'll kill them." Ray's surprise morphed abruptly into anger. "They touch even one hair on her head, I will kill them."
"We'll find her, Ray" Fraser repeated.
Miss Parker glanced quickly at Jarod. They both knew it was possible the missing woman was already dead. As a detective, Ray probably knew that too. Yet the fierce look of determination on his face discouraged any argument.
--
Pier 13 was closed. A severe storm last winter had damaged a large section of the jetty and the warehouse had lost its roof. Repairs had begun over the last few months but were only barely underway. As a result, the area seemed deserted.
It hadn't taken long to find the kidnappers. Or to be more precise, it hadn't taken the kidnappers long to find them. There were at least eight men, well armed and ready. When shots rang out, Jarod instinctively grabbed Miss Parker's arm and dashed for cover. Fraser and Ray dove in the opposite direction.
From their hiding places behind large stacks of lumber, Jarod, Ray and Miss Parker all returned fire. Meanwhile, Fraser scanned the area looking for the missing woman. Bullets thudded all around them and chips of wood flew everywhere.
"Fraser?" Ray called out as he reached into his pocket for another clip for his gun.
The Mountie shook his head. "I don't see her Ray. They must be holding her in the building."
At least three of the kidnappers had gone down, wounded or killed, when a woman's voice called to them from the warehouse.
"Ben?" The voice called. "Tell them to hold their fire."
Jarod glanced toward Fraser and saw the Mountie's face go pale. Peeking around the lumber, Jarod looked toward the building and saw two women emerging. The first woman was a pretty blonde in an expensive business suit. This was Stella the lawyer, no doubt about it. Behind her, very close against her back was the raven-haired beauty Jarod had met in New York. Victoria had a pistol in her hand, the barrel of which was pressed against Stella's delicate throat.
"Ben," Victoria called. "Come out or I'll shoot her."
Without a moment's hesitation, Constable Benton Fraser popped up from his hiding place. He held his hands out to his sides in surrender. Ray lurched forward in an attempt to grab the Mountie back but he wasn't quick enough.
"Hello, Victoria," Fraser said.
"Hi there, Ben." Victoria's voice was soft and warm. She sounded as if she was greeting someone home from a long trip rather than threatening a hostage. "I know you're not alone, Ben."
Fraser's glance met Ray's eyes and he nodded once. Ray set his gun down and pushed it away, sending it skittering out of his reach. He stood slowly; convinced he'd be shot as soon as he was visible.
"Very good," Victoria purred. "Now walk this way, slowly." When the two men began to head toward the kidnappers, Victoria pressed the gun against Stella's throat even harder. "I know there are two more of you out there!" she hollered. "Throw down your weapons or she's dead!" She smiled at Fraser and said, "Tell them, Ben. Tell them that I will kill her."
"Yes, Victoria," he answered. "I know you will."
"Tell them."
"Detective Malloy, Detective Parker," Fraser called. "Your failure to cooperate is seriously endangering the victim's life."
Victoria yanked on Stella's hair, startling a cry from the frightened woman. Jarod sighed and did as he'd been told. He laced his fingers behind his head as he left his hiding place and moved forward. For a heart-stopping moment, he was unsure of Miss Parker's reaction.
Victoria tugged again at the victim's hair and jabbed the gun into her neck hard enough to leave a mark. With a hiss of frustration, the blond woman began to cry.
"Please, Stell," Ray murmured. "Don't cry."
Jarod could sense Miss Parker's indecision. He could feel her ambivalence toward endangering her own life for someone she'd never met. To surrender for the benefit of this unknown woman was against everything the Centre had ever taught her.
A moment later, Jarod heard a gun clatter to the ground. He felt Miss Parker's presence at his side as he walked toward the gunmen. She had done it! Miss Parker had sacrificed her own well being for another.
Jarod had never been so proud in his life.
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End Part 7