Standard disclaimer. I don't own any of the FAKE characters, but I'm really getting to love them all equally. The only original characters I have so far are Walter Carrington, Derrick Williams, and Mr. Watson. A tad bit of violence in this one, so be warned. Many thanks to Brit_Columbia for being my beta on this chapter. You helped me immensely.
Chapter 6
Bring The Curtain Down
It was late when the meeting broke up. The Commissioner and the Chief had left, but the four detectives still remained in the small room. Up until now Dee and Ryo had been outside the tight loop around this case, but now they were in need of the little particulars – like the previous interactions with Carrington – most of which had not been discussed at the meeting. Although Drake knew everything, he didn't feel it was proper for him to explain this. But Drake also knew JJ wouldn't start the conversation, so he reluctantly told them about the drug bust and what had happened that night, and of JJ's reaction the next day. JJ glared at Drake as he detailed how JJ broke down in their office.
But one thing that Drake didn't mention was taking JJ home with him; that they didn't need to know under any circumstances.
Dee turned to JJ, still surprised that he had kept such information from him. "Damn it JJ! Why didn't you say something? Ryo and I did most of the setup work on that raid. We gathered the info that put you in this predicament. I know there was a list of people expected to be there, and Carrington was on the list. If you'd read it you would have been prewarned ...."
JJ shook his head, answering harshly. "If you remember, Drake and I weren't supposed to run that raid. We were called in at the last minute to help. And sorry Dee, but I don't think that would have made a bit of difference. I'm a cop. He knew that. He went down, therefore I brought him down. And it was just coincidence that I wound up leading the raid on the room he was in. I went left, Drake went right. We could have easily reversed our directions. Anyway, I was in the detention area the whole time."
Ryo silently listened to the details and the banter between his three co-workers. He was equally upset about the whole affair. Finally he spoke. "You're probably right about Carrington blaming you no matter what, especially with what he said to you at the raid. But you should have told Rose about it right away, before you even wrote up your report. You might have been able to stop this before it went this far."
"Oh, wake up Ryo", JJ barked. "You're a smart cop, think it through. He's a criminal with a cop for a lover. Adds up to four in my book. He doesn't want to stop – he's got me by the balls and enjoys it. It's my fault for not seeing him for what he was. Now I can see signs that should have triggered my instincts, but I was so wrapped up in his good looks and great sex ... " JJ's voice faltered to a whisper, "… and his lies."
Ryo looked unhappy; he'd unintentionally hurt JJ, something JJ didn't need right now. "I'm sorry JJ, I didn't mean to upset you. We'll get this straightened out for you."
Drake heard the tone of JJ's voice rather than the words and put an arm around him. JJ was seriously on edge. "Don't worry JJ, we'll make this right. That SOB has made you unhappy once too often for my liking. We're not going to let him do it again."
Tightening his hold on JJ he turned to look at Dee and Ryo, "Could you leave us for a bit? I think JJ needs some down time …"
#=#=#=#=#
The perfect opportunity arose to put the plan into action the next day. The surveillance team alerted the Commissioner that they had spotted Williams in the small park near the precinct. Drake and JJ were sent out to run their performance as they left shift. Williams hadn't been terribly close when the argument started but they thought he most likely had been able to hear most of the argument. That was confirmed when MacLean and Laytner reported that he called Carrington and relayed to him all the juicy details of the little spat.
JJ was given the information that the argument had produced the desired result and went home to call Walter. He did not relish the idea of making the call. JJ had managed to keep the call short and got Walter to agree to meet him that night. He would expect JJ around 9PM, fitting into the tentative plans Rose had for hitting Williams' place at the same time. All the details had been worked out ahead of time so all they needed was the day and time. Within an hour all was set in place.
Since the planning session all necessary surveillance and sound equipment had been set up discreetly outside both Carrington's and Williams' residences. Rose, Laytner, and Parker had slipped into the sound truck near Carrington's place hours before Carrington got home that evening. Rotating plain-clothes officers were in the area for 2 hour shifts, decreasing any chance of being identified.
The three men in the truck had about an hour to go before JJ was to arrive. They engaged in idle chatter, but each had a different reason for being nervous. JJ was a different person to each of them; to one he was a valued officer, to another a good friend, and to the third, the partner he trusted with his life. They endured as best they could.
At 8:55 they spotted JJ going into the apartment building, checking in with the security officer to gain access to the secure building. They watched and listened as the officer notified Carrington that he had a visitor and was instructed to send him up. JJ didn't show any visible signs of nervousness but everyone in the truck knew that was an act.
Walter was waiting at the door when JJ arrived – a drink in hand – which he handed to JJ. "Ah, my little toy has returned to play. I knew you couldn't resist me. Do come in." Putting an arm around JJ, he ushered him in and closed the door.
JJ placed the drink on the table; he didn't put it past Walter to drug him. Pushing Walter away he replied, "I'm not your toy. You've got to stop this. I'm about to lose my job because of you and your damned photos. Why the hell did you send them to the Commissioner? I got suspended! And he's starting an investigation into my activities with you. He suspects I'm supplying you with drugs! What can I do to make you stop this nonsense?"
"Grace my bed again. Let me play with you. I've already told you that several times now. You don't seem to be hearing me very well. We had such good times in the past. How about I show you right now, show you how I can make you feel? Here, I'll even close the drapes for you this time. Feel better?"
"No Walter! I don't want you to touch me. Ever again. You've dragged me down to the depths of hell, probably lost my job for me; what more do you want to do to me? I don't want to lose my job, I can't. It's all I ever wanted to do." The panic in JJ's voice wasn't all put on. Once Walter had closed the drapes surveillance couldn't see if he was in trouble. Everything relied on the wire right now since it was too risky for him to wear a camera.
"No, I don't want money. I can get that from others that are much better off than you. What I want is your sweet little ass to play with. I even have a new toy for you. I know you'll like this one. It even has adjustable voltage." Walter had been moving toward JJ the whole time, backing him to the wall, and he now stood directly in front of him.
Walter undid the buttons on JJ's jacket, then slid his arms around him. "No gun? Have you really been suspended? Then I think I do need to comfort you. You've had a bad day. Let's lose this jacket and get comforable…."
After dropping JJ's jacket to the floor, Walter slid one arm back around the slightly smaller man while he unbuttoned JJ's shirt with the other. "Oh, so tense JJ. I just take a kiss for now, a small one." He felt JJ flinch and try to back away, but he had nowhere to go. "You never minded before." Walter's hand moved from the buttons to stroke the side of JJ's face. "You need to calm down and relax." Walter pulled JJ closer and moved to kiss him.
JJ tried to push Walter away, but was in such a position he could not move very well. "NO! Don't do this, I can't … Walter … please …." But it was no use, it had only been a few weeks. He still had feelings for him. His warmth, his scent, his breath – all were doing things to him that he knew were wrong. As a single tear slid down his cheek he deepened the kiss – he knew he shouldn't let this happen, but it felt so good….
As Walter broke the kiss his face went cold, "Strip for me; everything off now. And silently just in case you're live."
This bastard was sharper than he thought. He slowly shed his clothes, anger overriding his humiliation. "You're an asshole." JJ spat, feeling his heart beat faster as the last of the clothing fell to the floor.
"I said silently." Walter growled. His fists lashed out, catching JJ completely off-guard. "And funny you should mention that part of the anatomy ...."
#=#=#=#=#
Rose suddenly cursed loudly, the look on his face was annoyed. "Damn! Surveillance says Carrington just closed the drapes. They can't see in. We're relying on just the wire now. You do still have him, don't you?" asked Rose.
"Yeah, JJ's trying to bait him, but he ain't buying it. Come on JJ. No JJ, don't fall for his lines! Oh JJ, snap out of it. He's a jerk …. Carrington's getting pushy … I think we ought to get up there. Oh shit! We really got problems now." Tossing the headset onto the counter Dee was already up and moving toward the doors at the back of the van. Dee tapped Rose on the shoulder as he passed him. "That son-of-a-bitch figured out he's wired. Sounds like he hit him a few times too."
Rose quickly moved to follow Laytner. "Drake, take over here, maybe we'll get lucky and hear something damning. I've got my ears on if you get anything."
Drake nodded and took over the seat that Dee had vacated. He just hoped he didn't hear anything that would give him nightmares. He knew that this case could go wrong at the slightest turn, and it was beginning to look like it was getting as wrong as it could. JJ had to be all right.
Both men quickly exited the van, and Rose ordered the waiting officers to follow them as soon as they called in an emergency medical alert. The high-rise had a security desk at the entrance, and Rose wasted no time heading toward it.
Flashing his badge, Rose went straight to the guard at the desk. "I'm Police Commissioner Rose. We need access to a room on the 14th floor. We've had a distress call from one of my officers."
The guard immediately recognized Commissioner Rose and grabbing the keys from the desk asked them to follow him. He did a security call for an elevator and had one there as quickly as possible. On the ride up Rose had the guard, a Mr. Watson, fill him in on the layout of the floor. The hallway where Carrington was located had 4 apartment entrances, 2 each side. Carrington was the furthest on the right from where they would enter.
Rose instructed the officers with him to block the hallway once they arrived – no one was to enter or leave. The officers were to make sure the other tenants did not leave their apartments. None of the officers were to enter Carrington's apartment unless specifically called. Rose also insisted that Mr. Watson leave immediately once he had unlocked the door.
The officers positioned themselves where instructed and the guard unlocked the door just as they heard a muffled scream from JJ.
The scene was not a pretty one. JJ was on the floor, naked, wrists hastily bound to ankles with a cord that also wrapped around his neck, and hooked up to some sort of electrical device. Carrington had a controller box in his hands, apparently adjusting whatever the device was sending into JJ. He was laughing as he watched JJ writhe in pain.
Dee was on Carrington before he could fully turn around, knocking him to the floor and away from the controller and JJ. Several punches were landed quickly, to assist in subduing the subject.
Rose immediately pulled the plug on the torture device being used on JJ. As he was undoing the bindings on JJ he turned to make sure that Laytner had Carrington. The look on Laytner's face concerned him. "I'll tend to Addams. Can I trust you not to damage the suspect too much this time, Laytner? Just Mirandize him and get him to the squad car without need for an ambulance." Rose had already been notified the Rescue team was on it's way up.
"Spoilsport." Turning his attention back toward Carrington he smiled his most menacing smile. He had a death grip on Carrington's tie and shirt, using them to pull him up to his feet and across the room. "Hello Walter. …. You have the right to remain silent …. Understand asshole?" Dee thrust Walter into the wall face first, bloodying his nose while trapping both arms against the wall.
".…Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. …. Capiche dickwad?" Dee violently jerked Walter's left arm tightly behind his back, causing him to cry out loudly.
"….You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning…. I think you can relate to that you son-of-a bitch, just call in that rat bastard you had before. But we'll be ready for him this time." Dee ratcheted the handcuff tightly onto Walter's left wrist and twisted it. Walter hissed in pain.
"….If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you…. And we'll make sure you get a real winner, you useless piece of shit." Dee twisted Walter's right arm back to join the left, again evoking a yelp.
"….Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? …. Of course you do, you sick fuck." Dee closed the right cuff as tightly as he had done with the left, and again twisted.
"….With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?… Oh please, pretty please, give me a reason to hurt you." Dee spun Walter around, slamming the back of his head into the wall, leaving a nice sized dent in the wallboard right next to the bloodstains where Carrington's face had hit the wall. Blood ran from Carrington's nose and mouth, and his eyes looked glazed.
LAYTNER!" bellowed Rose's voice from the other side of the room. Dee just growled, flames dancing in his green eyes. He glanced toward Rose and saw that he had managed to get JJ out from under the effects of that torture machine, unbound, and wrapped in what looked like the comforter from the bed. JJ looked so small; like a child. He was curled in a fetal ball and looked to be in a lot of pain, possibly fading in and out of consciousness. Dee felt his anger go up a few notches. Nobody did that to any of his friends.
With one hand on the cuff chain and the other clenched tightly in Carrington's hair Dee started pushing him toward the door. "Ready to go sweetheart? I'll make sure you get the honeymoon suite at Riker's while you await trial. They're just gonna love that model figure of yours. Maybe we'll even send that little toy of yours along so you can see how much fun it is."
While Dee was none too carefully escorting Carrington down to the waiting squad car, a Rescue Squad crew was tending to JJ. Dee felt he had exercised good behavior – all things considered – Carrington left still conscious. Yup, good behavior. Another arrest completed successfully. Now to see how JJ was doing.
#=#=#=#=#
In another part of town the Chief and Ryo were readying their raid on Derrick Williams' apartment. With a search warrant in hand, they had entered and detained Mr. Williams. The chief waited with Mr. Williams while Ryo led the other officers in a search of the apartment for evidence to validate an arrest. One of the bedrooms had been converted into a darkroom and Ryo knew they had hit pay dirt. Ryo directed the men with him to search the other rooms while he disassembled the darkroom.
When Ryo had finished his search of the darkroom, not only did they have all the photographs and negatives pertaining to JJ, but equally incriminating files for almost two dozen well-to-do professionals as well. Each person had a file containing their pictures and negatives. Ryo opened one of the businessmen's files to ascertain what he predicted was actually in them – and there was no mistaking what they were to being used for. There were records of dates, times, and dollar amounts, both asked and paid. He didn't open JJ's files.
When all was said and done, they had the evidence they needed, plus a nice extra. What they hadn't expected to find was a briefcase in Williams' bedroom, full of cocaine ready for sale. Looked like this pair was just full of surprises.
Evidently the little scheme Carrington and Williams had cooked up had been going for a while. A few days later when they checked back with the businessmen whose photograph files they had found, most were more than willing to admit they were being blackmailed for large amounts of money. Several were also willing to press charges, especially since the offending pictures were now out of Carrington's greedy hands.
