It was early in the morning but that didn't stop the policemen\woman and detectives of the CPD from their cases and that didn't stop Lt. Welsh from yelling at 3 detectives, 1 Mountie and 1 deaf wolf.
"You lost her!" he yelled, his face going from red to purple
"I didn't lose her, she was kidnapped" pleaded Ray, not wanting to face the wrath of Lt. Welsh so early in the morning
"What's the difference? Either way she is not in our custody and is somewhere in Chicago, or God forbid, somewhere outside of Chicago and now I have so many Canadian officials breathing down my neck that I have lost count!" he roared, his face now a deep purple
"Sir?" piped Detective Gardino, "I can understand your frustration and…anger that you have for Detective Vecchio and the Mountie because they screwed up the case and are now probably going to get fired…", here Ray scowled and muttered "Suck-up" causing Gardino to chuckle slightly but stopped when he saw the fury that Lt. Welsh had on his face and continued, "But I don't see how or why Detective Huey and I are in here, when we had nothing to do with their screw-up and was at the train station investigating it"
"Because when one of you screws up, we all screw up" growled Lt. Welsh, his eyes narrowed, and glaring at each person in the room, daring them to say that he was wrong. All 3 detectives averted their eyes and either looked at the ground or at something else, but not at Lt. Welsh. Diefenbaker let out a small whine and laid down on the floor, he am have been an animal but he could feel the anger, frustration, disappointment that was in the air. The only person who didn't avert his eyes, and stood straight, was Fraser.
"Permission to speak sir?" he asked, breaking the silence that hung in the air like an unseen pressure.
Lt. Welsh swivelled in his chair and faced Fraser, "Why aren't you doing what you usually do, guarding the Canadian building from door-to-door salesmen?", his tone bitter, hard and cold to the Mountie
Fraser continued to look Lt. Welsh in the eye, not all fazed by his tone or glare, "Ah well you see sir, until further notice, I have been dismissed from my duties"
Ray eyes wide and he spun around and faced Fraser, his mouth wide open, making a large 'O', "What! You were fired because of a little screw up on my part!"
"What? You think I was fired?" Fraser asked, surprise on his face
"But you said 'you were dismissed from your duties'…" started Ray
"Yes, I have been dismissed so that I can focus all my efforts in order to relocate Miss. Riley Kempster before anything bad befalls her" finished Fraser, a look of calm of her face
The room went into an uncomfortable silence when Lt. Welsh cleared his throat and asked Fraser, "What were you going to say Fraser?"
Fraser turned to Lt. Welsh and answered his question, "Sir, she was kidnapped last night. I think she is still in Chicago and that we still have a chance to make up for the mistake that Ray and I had committed. If you have nothing more to say to us and let us continue our work on this missing person case, I am certain that we will find her before the day ends."
"You better, because if you don't, I will fire…all of you before the day ends" and with that, Lt. Welsh waved his hand, dismissing them.
The detectives and Mountie nodded their heads and left, with Diefenbaker in tow, his tag wagging, glad to be able to get out of the stuffy office and outside.
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"Great job Vecchio, thanks to you and your little Mountie friend, if we don't find this special Canadian. I'm going to be out of the job" hissed Detective Gardino
"Hey, don't try to put this on me 'Luey', I didn't think that she was going to be kidnapped when walking her wolf so just drop it" growled Ray as he trudged to his desk
"Good stay there, while some 'real' detectives solve this case and end up keeping their job" said Detective Gardino as he and his partner, Detective Huey, went in the direction of the door
Ray didn't reply, only glare as he made it to his desk and slumped down into his chair with a scowl on his face as he tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling.
"Ray? Are you OK?" asked Fraser as he sat down across from him with Diefenbaker beside him
"Yeah, I'm fine except…that if I have to find a Canadian girl in a city of about 2 million and if I don't find her, I'm fired…god, my dad is probably laughing at me right now from his grave" Ray said, chuckling at the end
"Now Ray, we still have time, if we think we can figure this out" assured Fraser
"Oh really, how?" asked Ray, still looking at the ceiling
"First we need to figure out the basics, like why did Miss. Riley run way in the first place?"
"I think I know why" answered a voice from behind
Fraser turned around and Ray lifted his head to see Elaine Besbriss, holding a file in one hand and her other hand on her hip
"Really Elaine?" asked Fraser
"Yeah and you're not going to like the answer" she answered, her face grave
"Yeah and why is that Elaine?" asked Ray
"Does the 'Chicago's Shadow Gang' ring any bells for you guys" Elaine asked slowly
Ray paled and he stood up, his hands on his desk, "Elaine, are you sure of that?" Ray asked in a demanding tone
Elaine nodded and Ray slumped into his chair again, looking down to the floor, "We are screwed"
"Why? Why are we 'screwed' Ray? Who's the 'Chicago's Shadow Gang'?" asked Fraser, looking confused
Elaine and Ray looked at Fraser in disbelief, "You don't know who the "Chicago's Shadow Gang' is?" Fraser shook his head and Elaine sighed, "Well…they are-"
"They are a group of violent criminals that the police look the other way because if you mess with them, you mess with the Devil's right hand man" finished Ray. Fraser looked at Ray and Elaine nodded. Ray turned his attention to Elaine, "Thanks Elaine, that's all we needed to know"
"But I still-"started Elaine, only to be cut off by Ray
"Thanks Elaine, that's all we needed to know" said Ray, a bit more force this time behind his voice
Elaine looked from Ray to Fraser and sighed. She nodded her head slightly and left to go back to her desk.
"Ok, so now that we know who cause the kid to go on the run, question is now where she is now? And why did the most dangerous gang in Chicago go after a Canadian teenage girl?" asked Ray to no one is particular
"Well Ray" started Fraser, "If the gang that is after Miss. Riley is indeed the most dangerous gang in Chicago-"
"Which they are" interrupted Ray, "There are 2 main rules that everyone follows in this city. 1, its every man, woman, child and animal for their self in this city and 2, don't mess with the Chicago's Shadow or else you end up dead, with your throat slashed and found in the harbour a week later"
"I see" said Fraser, his eyes wide with surprise, "Well Ray as I was saying, if the gang is after Miss. Riley and they finally catch her, wouldn't they take her to an area where they are most familiar and a place where they won't be disturbed"
Ray eyes wide as he looked at Fraser, "Fraser! You're a genius! Why didn't I think of that?"
"Because you're not Canadian" said Elaine from across the room, causing Ray to scowl at her
"By the way, I don't know if this is important to you guys but…" started Elaine
"Out with it Elaine" snapped Ray
"But a woman who lives in the east end, near the warehouses that the Chicago's Shadow own, she saw a small group of 5 men go into one of the warehouses with what looked like a body of a teenage girl" started Elaine only to be cut off with the sounds of the chairs scraping on the floor and the sounds of footsteps hurrying out the door which echoed with a loud, SLAM!
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"Ok, we are here. What do we do now?" asked Ray, who was looking at the warehouses form his car through a pair of binoculars
"Well, it's pretty obvious Ray" said Fraser, "We look for Miss. Riley in one of those warehouse and when we find her, somehow get her out before the gang realizes she is gone and get her back to the station"
Ray looked at Fraser with a look of slight annoyance and disbelief but Fraser continued, "And when we get her back to the station, fill out all the papers, lay charges and other legal matters that must be attended and send her back up to Canada"
"Really Fraser, I didn't know" said Ray sarcastically as he returned to looking through his binoculars, before saying, "Fraser! I think I know which warehouse she might be in"
"Really Ray, which one?" asked Fraser
"Uh, I don't know, maybe the one some of the members of the Chicago's Shadow gang are leaving from to take a break smoking cigarettes"
"Really Ray, may I see?" Fraser asked, Ray nodded and gave Fraser his binoculars. There, at warehouse 5 where a small group of men smoking. "I see Ray" said Fraser, "Good work, now that we know where she might be, we can plan a rescue". Ray nodded as both Fraser and Ray got out of the car- with Diefenbaker right behind them as they started to walk across the street and head for the entrance of the warehouse sector.
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"You know this is suicide, right?" hissed Ray as they walked quietly along the side of one of the warehouses
"It's the only way Ray, I apologize" said Fraser as he leaded the way. Suddenly, he stopped, which caused Ray to bump into him. Ray glared at Fraser and was about to retort something but Fraser raised a finger to his lips, a sign of them to be quiet. His warning came a little too late as they heard the sound of several guns having their safety come off and being pointed at them as several men with pistols came from behind and in front of them.
"Well, I guess they aren't called the 'Chicago's Shadow Gang' for nothing" said Fraser, causing Ray to do a face palm
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"Well, what do we have here? A Mountie, a detective and a…mutt?" said a voice from the shadow
"Not quite, actually Diefenbaker is a wolf that is deaf" corrected Fraser
The voice was silent before saying, "Is that so?". Fraser nodded as he looked around. Both he and Ray hand been handcuffed with Ray's handcuffs, much to Ray's displeasure, and where now in the warehouse with Diefenbaker who was tied up and made a made-shift muzzle. It was quite large inside; with computers off to the right and left side, a living-room, complete with a sitting chair, 2 couches, side tables with lamps on them with a run beneath it all. Beyond the 'living-room' where stairs that lead to an indoor balcony which seemed to have several tables and chairs. The room was dimly light, but suddenly it was thrown into light. Ray cried out and closed his eyes, muttering curses under his breathe and Fraser open and closed his eyes, trying them to get use to the brightness. There were many people lining the walls and the balcony but only one sitting in the chairs and there, with him, with a gag and tied up in ropes was…
"Riley!" Fraser cried out, causing her head to snap up and look at him. Fraser gasps as he saw the state she was in. She had bruises on her face and probably had more but her clothes where hiding them and her eyes were red, as if she had been crying. "Riley…" repeated Fraser in a soft voice and Riley turned her head away. A soft laugh seemed to echo and Fraser and Ray turned their attention to the man who was sitting in the chair close to Riley.
"Not exactly in her best state" he said as he raised a hand in her direction, which she flinched from and he chuckled and continued, "But she needed to be taught a lesson in manners and that its rude to try and run away, especially from us" and he let out a loud but cold laugh that made Fraser shiver slightly
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Ray yelled, causing the man to turn his attention to Ray, "What the hell did she do to you? She was all the way in Canada! Why did you kidnap her? And who are you anyway?"
The man smiled and said, "My apologizes detective, let me introduce myself. My name is Matthew A. Smith, and I am…the 'leader' ,if you will, of Chicago Shadow's gang and to answer your question is order: she didn't do anything, even if she was in Canada, I kidnapped her because I wasn't able to get her in Canada and I already told you my name"
Ray was about to say something but was cut off by Matthew, "Mountie, are you familiar about 'Miss. Riley's' family background?" When Fraser nodded, he continued, "Someone like Miss. Riley has skills, great skills that could help the police and all other forms of justice 'get their man' but what if…what if that power came all the way down here, to the states, to Chicago…well, that wouldn't be good for us, now would it?"
"So, let me get this start, 'Matthew'?" began Ray slowly, "The reason why you did all of this…is because you were scared of a little girl's ability?"
Matthew smile froze and disappeared. It was replaced with a thin frown and Matthew walked over to where Fraser and Ray were. He looked Ray in the eye and said, "I wasn't scared, I was worried for my business, because if my 'business partners' go to jail, I lose money"
"Well, I will lose my job if I don't it" replied Ray and before Matthew could stop him, Ray rammed into him, causing both of them to fall to the floor. Several of the men around cried out and rushed to help their fallen leader but Fraser intervened. He had somehow gotten the handcuffs off with an old Mountie trick and was able to hold the men off and stop them from helping Matthew.
"Hold it!" roared Matthew, causing everyone to freeze. Fraser turned slowly and saw an unpleasant scene. Matthew had recovered and now had his arm around Ray's neck and had a gun pointed to his head. "Move so much as a finger, Mountie" growled Matthew, "And your partner here gets some lead bullets into his thick skull"
Fraser was breathing hard as he looked from Matthew's face of fury to Rat's face that had fear and disappointment written across it
"Sorry Fraser" croaked Ray hoarsely, "I tried to hold him; looks like my plan kind of backfired, huh?"
"Yes Ray, yes it did" panted Fraser.
"Well?" asked Matthew, moving the gun slightly on Ray's temple, causing Ray to close his eyes and gash his teeth together
"You win Matthew" said Fraser quietly, as he lifted his hands into the air, showing that he surrenders. Much to Ray's horror and causing him to cry out, "What are you doing?" and for Matthew to smirked evilly
All of the sudden, a voice boomed from outside, "This is the CPD! You are all under arrest! Come out with your hands out! If you resist, we will be force to take action against! This is your first and only warning! Let go of your hostages, and we will not be force to take unnecessary action against you!"
Several cries came from some of the men:
"How did they find us?"
"Who cares? How dare the police trespass on our turf!"
"It's over! Game over man! We should give up"
"Shut up!" roared Matthew, causing everyone to fall into silence. Suddenly cracks where heard as bullets pierced the walls of the warehouse. Everyone hit the ground and covered their heads, not wanting to get hit. Loud bangs echoed as the doors of the warehouse were flung open as police and detectives rushed in, with weapons drawn and ready to fire. Each policemen\woman and detective rushed to one man, arrested him, and took him outside and return, ready to make another arrest. There were fights as some resisted but were stopped when other officers helped the one which was struggling. Some tried to make a break of it but where tackled and the ones that did get past the officers inside the warehouse ended up meeting the ones outside. Guns were fired and bullets were returned. Ray, Fraser, Riley and Diefenbaker could only watch in awe as members of Chicago deadliest gang, the 'Chicago's Shadow gang' were arrested.
"How…" started Ray but he faltered when he saw Detective Gardino and Detective Huey enter. Detective Gardino saw Ray and Fraser and started in their direction; Detective Huey spotted Riley and ran over to her.
"What did I say about staying at your desk, Vecchio" said Detective Gardino with a tone of annoyance when he had walked over and un-cuffed Ray from his cuffs.
"Sorry, but I had a tip that I had to check up on and you had left" snapped Ray with the same tone as he rubbed his wrists which were red and raw
Detective Gardino rolled his eyes and shrugged as he walked over to Fraser to unlock him from the cuff
"Miss. Riley!" said Fraser loudly when he was freed and ran over to where she was with Ray right behind, leaving Detective Gardino alone to untie Diefenbaker
"Miss. Riley?" asked Fraser, "Are you alright"
But it was obvious that she wasn't. She was bruised, tired, and mentally and emotionally broken…but she was alive.
"Yes Fraser" she croaked, her voice quiet and hoarse which cracked at random times, "I'm fine I'm just glad that you…" her voice faltered and seemed to fail her as she began to cry. She cried quietly, shaving slightly but soon, she began to wail. "Oh god, I thought I was going to die!" She wailed as she put her face into her hands and shook like a leaf in the autumn wind. Fraser, Ray, Detective Huey and Gardino, and Diefenbaker-after Detective Gardino untied Diefenbaker and had walked over to the group- didn't say a word, only watched as Riley Savannah Kempster, the pride and joy of The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Forest Ranger, cried her eyes out in the warehouse that was owned by the man who had feared and hated her existence.
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Chapter 4- finally done, 2 days of work! Man, I had 3-4 time writers' block when it came to this chapter, but it's alright now. I should finish chapter 5 today and complete this story today! But if you ask me, this story turned out pretty good, and I think I got the characters right…because if I didn't, then that would be terrible cause I'm quite the 'Due South' fan. XD But I missed one thing: I missed Fraser's father, Bob Fraser! I couldn't believe that I left him out. SO when I finish my other projects, I might rewrite this with Bob Fraser in it, so if I do, some chapters might change, some might become longer, this story might have more than 5 chapters in it and it will have the humour that the 'Due South' is known for. Or I might just write another story that involves Riley coming down to the States with Bob Fraser. Anyway, fav and review!
Thanks
–Cyber out