Disclaimer for FAKE
Fandom: FAKE
Pairing: Dee/Ryo
Rating: This is work safe. There's some language in it though.
Spoilers: After Vol. 7
Timing: First year of being together. Just after the end of the last volume for sure. I think somewhere in the middle of May maybe since I want it to be spring. Probably just a couple of months after getting together.
Summary: Whoo boy this is getting good. Hideo and Jerome team up and now Jerome has left the house to meet up with Lloyd. What's Kevin up to? Are things going to go smoothly now? Read and find out.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of FAKE. They belong to Sanami Matoh. I'm just a poor fan fic writer. I do own the characters of Hideo, Kevin, Eric, Lloyd and Jerome.
A/N: So another chapter and still much more to do. I kinda procrastinated with my school work to get this chapter done and now I'm feeling the crunch a bit. If chapter 16 takes longer to come up, you know why. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Beted by no one totally at the moment. Looked at by Vovo after it's up.
Trouble in Little New York Chapter 15
Previously in Trouble in Little New York, chapter 14: it seems as though Jerome is getting sweaty palms about what he's done. Will he be an ally as well? Hideo is now determined to get Ryo out of his predicament. Will it work? Dee Bikky and gang now know that Ryo's still alive and things are starting to pick up in pace. Will they get to Ryo in time? Dee leaves Bikky to take care of talking to his contact.
It is the same hour, same day.
Bikky calls Lloyd back as soon as Dee was gone.
"Hey man, I need to ask you a favor."
"Sure, no problem," Lloyd responds on the other end of the line. "What can I do for you?" He had expected Bikky to call him back soon so he kept his phone near him.
"Is there any way you can get ahold of the person who told you about my dad?"
"Sorry little bro. I never had a way of contacting him. He always got a hold of me and it's usually from a payphone from somewhere. But I'll keep an eye out for him for you."
Bikky sighs in aggravation, "Okay," he says after a moment. "Thanks. By the way, is there any way you could give me his name and description just in case I see him in the streets?"
"Yeah," Lloyd prattles off the description of Jerome along with the name. "But you gotta promise that nothing will happen to him. He's been a good friend of mine for a long time. Besides, I think he's shaken up enough from all of this. He sounded pretty sorry when he was talking to me."
"I'll do my best to make sure that my friend doesn't do anything to him if he runs into him as well. I appreciate you trusting me like this." They say their goodbyes and hang up. Next he calls one of his hooker friends, Shantaya. "Hey there," he says sweetly, "I need to ask you a question."
"Bikky, hon," Shantaya squeals into the phone. "What can I do for you?"
Bikky brings the phone back to his ear after the high pitched squeal was over. "Have you ever seen a man that looks like…" he gives the description of Jerome.
"Sorry, babe. Never seen anyone like that before. What's up?"
"He's a key witness to what happened to my foster father."
"Ahh. Well in that case, I'll let the girls know and even my pimp in case any of them have seen this guy."
"Thanks, Shantaya. Good luck."
"Good luck to you as well, Bikky darling. Talk to you soon."
They say their goodbyes and hang up. By now Bikky feels both accomplished and defeated as he makes one more call to Dee. He tells Dee the information he received from Lloyd and Shantaya. He sighs quietly when he gets Dee to promise to the best of his ability to not let anything happen to Jerome and hangs up. With nothing else to do for the time being, he goes back to his homework.
x x x
At the precinct, Ted, his partner, Drake, JJ, chief Smith and Dee are all gathered in Commissioner Rose's office. Everyone is on edge ever since the phone call from Dee. No one makes a sound as they sit in their seats. Even JJ is quiet for a change while being in the same room as Dee.
"Okay," Rose finally speaks after what seemed like forever, "We all know that the situation is dire. According to Dee, Ryo is still alive and now he's being tortured by the hands of the boss of this gang called the Scythes." He glares around the room. He's not mad at the people there, just at the situation at hand. "We have to step up to the max now and get our man out and safe. I've already sent a specialist out into the street to see what he can learn of this gang and I want all of you to do what you can to know where Ryo is being held."
"I remember," Dee speaks up once Rose was done talking, "Ryo was talking about being after a new gang a short time ago before our vacation. He even mentioned the Scythes name to me and that he was able to put some of their top members behind bars." He gets an annoyed expression with the next statement, "I never really worked with him on these cases. He kept them pretty secret until he went out for the bust."
"All right," Chief Smith speaks out, "It looks like we have a motive. And since we all know that prison can be a rough place, I'm pretty sure that these guys are still getting information out and to their boss somehow." He glowers around the room, "This one requires a lot of foot work now. And late shifts are obvious. Also, Dee," he looks at the dark haired man, "I know that you're in charge of this case, but I want you to partner up with Drake and JJ for the duration of this case."
Neither a single complaint nor a sigh comes from a single mouth as they normally would. They all nod in agreement to what must be done and how quickly everything must be accomplished. They all file out of the office silently. Drake and JJ follow Dee to his office and sit in the extra chairs waiting for further instructions. A few minutes later, Ted and his partner show up to see what they could do to help.
Dee looks around at his fellow detectives and smiles for the first time since Ryo was taken away. He gives a content sigh at the sight of all of friends waiting to help him get his partner back. "Okay," he says to everyone, "It's obvious that we need to work together. And it's obvious that we need to work hard if we're going to get anything worthwhile done." He looks at Ryo's empty desk and continues his speech, "I know that the comish has sent someone to the streets, but I feel that the five of us can do better. We're going to go out and do the same. Bikky has a contact in this borough and that contact is not to be harmed or arrested at all. This person is putting a lot on the line to tell us what he's already told us. I'm not sure about this fella's own source of info since this other man is one of the ones who helped kidnap Ryo, but Bikky asked me to make sure nothing happens to him as well. I told him that I would try." Dee then gives the names of Lloyd Benson and Jerome and tells them to wait as he makes a quick call. He dials Bikky once again. "I need to ask you a question about your boy, Lloyd."
"Whatcha need?" Bikky replies.
"I need to know where he usually hangs out. I just want to ask him a few questions."
"You still gonna keep your promise to not hurt him or arrest him?" Bikky's voice sounds suspicious.
"You betcha. I won't lay a hand on him."
"Okay." Bikky then tells Dee where he could possibly find Lloyd.
Dee gives his fellow detectives the information and they all head to the garage and get into their cars.
On the road, Dee is driving with Drake in the passenger seat and JJ in the back. Ted and his partner follow along in their car. They get to their destination in about thirty minutes. They park their cars a couple of blocks away from the meeting place that Bikky told them about when he called while they were on the road. Once they get out of their cars, Dee and Drake walk in the lead while JJ, Ted and his partner walk a reasonable distance behind. They all keep an eye out for anyone who looks like they're looking for them.
Dee and Drake find the apartment building that Bikky told them to wait at and they lean against it. They make small talk as if they were just friends who met up somewhere, all the while, keeping a sharp eye on all people who pass by. Drake spots a man coming their way first from across the street. He makes a short sound to get Dee's attention and nods towards the street.
Dee watches the man with the triangular face walking in their direction give them quick look and a 'follow me' nod and then continues down the sidewalk. He and Drake wait until the man turns a corner and then push off the wall to follow him at a distance. As they pass an alley, they hear a whisper come from in it and without a backwards glance, walk into it. They come face to face with the young man that had passed them on the sidewalk. He has his hands in his pockets and a careful expression on his face.
For a minute no one says a word as the three stare at each other for a size-up. Drake and Dee glance at each other and Drake nods as he takes a position slightly behind Dee to give himself an advantage of seeing outside the alley to see if someone else would be coming in, but no one could really see him.
Finally Dee speaks the first words, "Are you Lloyd?"
Lloyd doesn't answer right away, but instead gives a question back, "Are you Dee?"
The stare they give each other was answer enough to confirm names. Dee speaks again, "This is my temporary partner, Drake."
Lloyd and Drake nod at each other in acknowledgement.
"I've made a promise to not arrest you or to manhandle you," Dee continues once he has Lloyd's attention again. "I intend to keep my promise."
"I trust you. Bikky says you're a good man," Lloyd says as he takes his hands out of his pockets. "I'm not fond of putting a cop back out on the streets, but Bikky is my little bro and he had such a stricken look on his face when he asked me for help. I'll do whatever I can to help you out."
"Thank you, Lloyd," Dee says gratefully. "Let's get down to business. Are you willing to wear a wire for the next time you meet up with your informant?"
"That's not a problem," Lloyd contemplate his next set of words, "but the problem is, I'm not sure when my man will get back in contact with me. I have no way of getting to him."
"That's cool, man," Dee give a reassuring grin, "I understand how that can go." he pulls out his cell phone, "Let me give you my personal number so you can keep in contact with me."
"Cool. I'll give you mine as well just in case." Lloyd pulls out his own cell phone and types in what Dee tells him. He then tells Dee his number and they put their phones away.
The three wordlessly shake hands and Dee and Drake turn to leave the alley. Just before stepping back into the daylight, Dee turns around and gives Lloyd a meaningful look, "Be careful with this gang. We only have an idea of what they're capable of."
Lloyd nods his head in agreement and goes down the alley in the opposite direction.
x x x
Hideo sits quietly in a chair outside of the room, where Ryo is being held, waiting for his boss to come for another time of torture. As he watches the hallway in front of him, he sees a person coming towards him who wasn't Eric. He wasn't ready to see a new face just yet so this person came as a shock to him. Though he hasn't worked with everyone in the gang, he has a very good memory of all of the people he's worked with so far and this young man was an entirely new person to him. He puts to memory the chocolate brown skin and the black hair that's braided into cornrows and the handsome round face with a broad (but not ugly) nose with a pair of warm brown eyes above it. He nods stiffly at the newcomer as he sits in the other chair next to the door.
Jerome looks at his new temporary partner with interest. He never really thought about how diverse this gang really was until he saw the Asian man sitting by the door. He knew there were different races but not quite like this. He notices that the man next to him is on edge and very wary. He decides to be polite since they were to be together for the night. "Hello, there," he finally says as he holds his hand out, "I'm Jerome," he introduces himself.
Hideo looks down at the proffered hand and then back up to the warm brown eyes in curiosity. He takes the hand and gives it a firm shake. "Hideo," he says in return.
"Well, now that we know each other," Jerome says as he looks down the hallway again, "would you please tell me what's going on tonight? No one said anything to me except to just come here, sit and wait for the next orders."
Hideo looks down the hall as well before answering. When he finally speaks, he keeps his voice low so as not to be overheard. "We are waiting for the kaichou to come later to rape the man in the closed off room. He comes every night to do this. He is probably going to hurt him further again with more bruises." His accent becomes thicker as he gets mad from the thought. "I have been here since almost day one since that man has been here. Every night there is hollering, crying and even muffled screams as one can hear something hard come into contact with flesh." He sees Jerome flinch from the story and realizes that the black man next to him seems more unnerved than he should be. "What do you know about that man in the room?" he asks carefully. "Did you have anything to do with him being here?"
Jerome gives a sidelong glance at the Japanese man and then sighs in defeat. He slowly nods his head as he places his arms on his legs and clasps his hand together. At first he remains silent as he watches the hallway for anyone to come and when no one shows up, he finally tells his tale once again. He said he was sickened by the whole ordeal once everything was done except for the guy he was working with that day. Kevin looked like he was having the time of his life all that day.
Hideo listens quietly to story and at first he was seething with a bright red anger. He felt a hatred so pure and raw that it took a lot of self-control to keep from lashing out. How could this man put Randy in this situation? Finally, after Jerome stops speaking, his own anger ebbs away when he sees how visibly shaken this man was. And with that sight, a perfectly understandable thought popped into his head, This man is nothing but a pawn in this whole situation, just like me.
Before either man could say another word to each other they hear a pair of booted footsteps fall in the hallway. Their heads pick up to see their boss sauntering towards them with his usual smug look on his face. Both men stand at attention, keeping their faces blank of all expressions as Eric nods at them. He goes into the room and Jerome and hideo follow behind.
"Flip him and then leave us." He tells his two subordinates.
Jerome struggles to keep his face from showing anything as he looks down at the deep purple and blue bruises that cover the torso, arms, legs and even the back when he flips Ryo over. He notices that the face is untouched. Once he and Hideo are done and leave the room, he hears the click of the door locking behind them. His shoulders slump as he releases the air he didn't realize he was holding and sits heavily into the chair. He hears the whimpering begin soon after followed by a wicked sounding chuckle. Some low tone words, that couldn't be understood, are said followed by a foreign language being yelled from an already too hoarse voice. He looks at Hideo with a pained look in his eyes.
Hideo translates the Japanese words that are being cried out for Jerome. "Stop! Please don't! Please no more!"
There was the sound of something heavy coming in contact with flesh followed by a scream of pain and then a muffled sobbing. Eric's sharp voice comes clearly through the door, "Shut your fucking mouth! You need to be trained to do as I say!"
By now both Hideo and Jerome are looking at each other with determination in their eyes.
"I have had some small conversations with Randy and I have learned that he has a son and a lover," Hideo says in hushed tones so as to not be overheard (Ryo never mentioned that his lover was a man). "He might be a cop, but he has a life that is missing him." He looks down the hallway to make sure no one was coming. "This man might have been the guy that was messing us up, but I feel that this has gone on long enough. This treatment should be no more." He sighs as he hears more Japanese being yelled. "Maybe it is because he can speak Japanese that I am getting a soft spot for him. There's a possibility that he has Japanese in him with the way he speaks it. But I do know that I am fed up with this. It is time for him to escape."
During the whole speech by Hideo, Jerome is nodding his head in complete agreement. The constant wailing coming from the other room was beginning to get to him. "I'm real sorry for tricking him and having him end up like this," he says quietly, "I really thought it was going to be something different, though I don't know what. Maybe a quick death. That would have been better than to know all of this." He looks meaningfully at Hideo, "What are we going to do to get him out?"
Just before Hideo could answer the question, all goes deathly quiet in the room. He gives Jerome a quick warning look and then fixes his face to be expressionless. He watches as Jerome does the same.
The two hear the door's lock click and see it open to reveal Eric fully dressed with a rather foul look on his face. He glances down at his subordinates and gives them his orders, "Go and take care of him and make sure he survives the rest of the day and night," and he leaves their presence.
Hideo and Jerome stand as one person and turn to the room.
"I need you to do me a favor, Jerome," Hideo blocks the door.
"Whatcha need?"
"I need you to go to the kitchen and get Randy something to eat. We need to keep his strength up. I will take care of the cleaning."
Jerome goes down to the kitchen in the small house and finds no one in charge. Eric probably told them to leave for the day, he thinks to himself as he goes to the cabinet. He opens it to find a can of chicken noodle soup in a can. He then finds a can opener, and heats it up on the stove. He goes back to the room with a tray of the soup and some crackers he found on the counter and a glass of water. When he gets to the door, he kicks it softly with his foot and waits for Hideo to open it. He's surprised to hear the lock click and gives the Japanese man a curious look as the door opens.
Hideo beckons the young black man to come in quickly and then he relocks the door. "I do not want anyone to come in while we are talking about escape," he explains.
As Jerome moves across the small room to the small table, he glances at Ryo and notices the he's sitting up. Then he cringes once again at the sight of the bruises on the man's body. When he's finally able to tear his eyes away from that, he notices that Ryo is now sporting a swollen jaw. He looks away to set down the tray and then steals his nerves to look back at Ryo. He watches Hideo rub an ointment all over the dark bruises and hears that he's speaking very softly in a foreign language to the man with the glazed eyes. He waits patiently for Hideo to give him his next set or orders.
After he's done attending the bruises and cuts on Ryo, Hideo looks over at Jerome, "You can bring the food now," he says in a low tone.
Jerome brings the tray and sets it across Ryo's legs (which are still tied to the bed) and uncovers the bowl. He waits for Ryo to begin eating until he realizes that there's no movement. He looks into dark eyes that are glazed over from pain. He picks up the spoon, places it into a pale, limp hand, and helps the hand hold the spoon. He puts some soup on the spoon and makes the motion of the hand feeding the mouth.
First Ryo feels the cool metal of the spoon being pushed into his hand followed by the warmth of another hand on his. Then he feels his hand being pushed towards his mouth. Why won't these people just leave me alone, he thinks bitterly to himself. Before he could stop the rest of the motion of his hand, the alluring smell of the soup wafts to his nose and his stomach protests loudly from being empty for so long. He mouth begins to water uncontrollably as he begins to focus his gaze to the spoon still being held in his hand. Instincts take over then and he finishes the movement with the spoonful of soup. He takes a careful sip of the hot liquid and relishes at the heat as it goes down his sore throat. From there, he continues to feed himself.
While Ryo eats, Hideo and Jerome give him a little space and converse quietly by the window in case someone was by the door trying to listen in.
"What are we going to do to get Randy out of here?" Hideo asks while looking out of the filthy window.
Jerome stays quiet as he thinks about a way. "Wait a minute," he says when a thought comes to mind, "I think I might know a guy who could help us out. He's always on the streets and he might know someone in his family."
"Good idea," Hideo looks at Jerome with a little more respect. "Can you call him now? Once the police arrive, I will give Randy-san some sort of cover up and get him out of here."
With an agreed plan, Jerome flips open his cell phone and seed dial Lloyd's number. This is the first time he's used his own phone to call this man.
"Hello?" comes a wary voice.
"Lloyd, it's me, Jerome."
"Oh, hey man. New number you calling from? You need to re-up?"
"Nah. It's my cell phone this time. And no, I don't need anymore. Look, I really need your help now. I need to locate the family of the cop that's locked up with my boss. I want to help him get away."
"Okay," Lloyd says with some relief in his voice, "I can help you out right now. Let's meet at our usual place in Manhattan."
"Right. See you soon." And Jerome hangs up his phone. He gives Hideo a wide grin of satisfaction.
Just before Hideo can give Jerome the go ahead, there's a loud and rapid knocking at the door. All three heads snap in the direction of the sound. No one says a word. Hideo is the first to break the silence. "Who is there?"
A high reedy voice comes from the other side, "It's Kevin," he answers. "Why is this door locked?"
"It's for minor safety while I take care of the prisoner," Hideo responds.
Kevin's voice sounds funny with his next question, "Can I help in any way?"
Hideo and Jerome look at each other with some concern before Hideo answers back, "No thank you. I have help already."
"Who is it?" Kevin's voice begins to have an edge in it.
"It is Jerome."
"Can you let me in?" The reedy voice gets an angry sound.
"Why do you want to come in? There is no need for you to be here unless you were ordered be here."
Kevin shouts in frustration at the fact that he's being denied entry and kicks the door hard. It shakes on its hinges.
"There is no need to be angry at the truth. Besides, you know the rules from kaichou. No one is to touch the prisoner."
"I don't give a fuck about that rule!" Kevin hollers through the door and kicks it again. "I'll get in one way or another! You can't protect that pretty boy forever!" the sounds of angry footsteps stomp down the hallway as Kevin stalks away. Then there's silence.
Hideo and Jerome look at each other with more concern. They know that Kevin intends to come back. They just don't know when that will be.
"Will it be alright to leave you here alone?" Jerome asks as he looks back at Ryo who has finished eating but the glazed look has returned to the dark eyes.
"Everything will be fine," Hideo reassures his partner. "I can handle Kevin if he returns and tries something." He quietly unlocks the door, peeks outside and is satisfied when he sees no one tries to rush him to get inside. He closes the door and looks back at Jerome. "Let me give you my cell number so you can get in contact with me just in case."
"Yeah, and I'll give you mine as well."
"I will be fine," Hideo gives one last reassurance to Jerome when he realizes the other man's reluctance to leave the room.
Outside of the room, Jerome waits for the door to close behind him and listens as the lock slips quietly back into place. He waits for another few minutes and he hears a chair being pushed against the door. Satisfied that there was some sort of barrier, he sets off carefully down the narrow hall, keeping an eye out for Kevin. When he doesn't see the white man skulking in any shadows, he leaves the house, gets into his car and leaves for Manhattan.
In the room, Hideo sits in the chair that he had placed in front of the door and listens for any odd noises from the rest of the house. He left Ryo able to sit up and lay down as needed along with his hands still untied. At first they don't speak to each other. Hideo watches the dark eyed man for a while, noticing that the eyes were still glazed and staring at nothing. He sighs and finally he speaks in a soothing tone to make Ryo feel better.
"Everything is going to be okay Randy-san. Jerome-san and I will get you out of here no matter what. Jerome-san already went out to find help." He gets a little sad when he gets no response but he continues to talk. "I will protect you Randy-san. With my very life if I have to."
More A/N: And there's chapter 15 for you. I'm getting real close. This chapter seems to be longer in pages but not in words. Wonder why. Eh, not a problem. As long as you enjoy it. comments are love. Thanks for sticking with me so far. Also, there's no more Shantaya and hoookers nor is there going to be a wire involved since things are going to come together in an interesting way. this all occurs in the same day and even before the sun goes down. Yeah ^_^'