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FAKE First Year Together: A New Day (May)	By : BrittColumbia Category: +. to F > FAKE Views: 14597 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own FAKE, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
FAKE
First Year Together: A New Day (May)

chapter
15

Pairing: Dee/Ryo

Rating:    Chapter 15 is totally worksafe. The boys have been a little too busy at
work, not to mention caught up in fears and self doubts recently to get back
into bed.

Spoilers:   To Volume 7

Timing: Set in May directly after Book 7 ended

Summary: Ryo is coming to terms with the changes
in his relationship with Dee, as well as his new sexual identity. Meanwhile,
Dee and Ryo help a young runaway, while trying to find enough evidence to
expose a crooked cop. This story explores homophobic attitudes but is primarily
a love story between two men.

Disclaimer:   I do not own these characters.
They are the property of Sanami Matoh. I am not making any money from
this.

Author's notes: I believe in a strong and equal Ryo and Dee. Sorry to JJ-lovers, but he doesn't make an appearance in this chapter, even though his name
comes up a few times.

Thank
you to Blue Simplicity who is the best friend and beta a girl
could have!

Please
read and review.

Chapter
16 is already up on my Livejournal page at http://brit-columbia.livejournal.com/

If you
ever want to ask me any questions about this story, just ask. I try to reply to everyone who has been
kind enough to contact me.

A New
Day

Chapter 15

Ryo
sat across from Drake in a little Chinese restaurant, sipping jasmine tea and
hoping he could remember not to rest his elbow in a small greasy patch he had
already detected on the laminated tabletop. He also hoped that the food was better than the shabby
interior and relative lack of customers during what should have been a busy
lunch hour indicated. He belatedly
recalled that Drake never picked good restaurants and cursed himself for not
having countered Drake's suggestion with an option or two of his own.

"How's
the food here?" he asked.

"Oh,
nothing out of the ordinary. Just
good old plain, serviceable Chinese food," Drake replied. "They have some good lunch
specials though, and cheaper than you might think."

A
waitress appeared and unceremoniously dumped a pair of menus on the table.

"Menu!"
she said. "Hurry up,
decide. I'm busy." Then she stalked off.

"Thanks,
Lily," Drake called out to her retreating back and opened up one of the
menus. He and Ryo studied them in
silence for a minute.

Suddenly,
Ryo closed his menu and put it down.
The last time he had been sitting across a table from Drake had been
yesterday in the break room when Drake had become uncharacteristically upset with
the ribbing that was par for the course at the 27th.

"Drake,"
he began, "Was there something different about Megan?"

"Huh?
Oh, um, not really. I mean, she's
a great girl and all, but not... you know, 'The One'."

Ryo
smiled. "I'm relieved,"
he said. "You seemed to be
taking it harder than usual."

Drake
looked a little sheepish.
"Sorry about that. I
really shouldn't have yelled at you guys the way I did. It was just a combination of things, I
guess."

Ryo
waved a dismissive hand.
"Don't apologize. No
harm done."

"It
was kind of like the last straw, you know? A couple of other things were going wrong, and then Megan
comes by and breaks up with me at work!
Can you believe it?"

"That
IS pretty tacky."

"She
wouldn't listen, wouldn't let me have my say. It was frustrating, man. She just cut my balls off for me
and left."

"JJ
sure seemed worried about you."

"Yeah,"
said Drake, his voice softening.
"He's being a real sweetheart. He thought I was mad at him."

"What
for?"

"Oh
for spending too much time chasing around after Dee while I'm doing the boring
stuff."

"Mmm,"
said Ryo, picking up his menu again.
What could he say to that one?
That was exactly how he saw it.
But Drake didn't seem to mind.

"Funny
thing was," Drake continued, "It WAS kind of his fault that Megan
broke up with me."

"How's
that?"

Drake
looked across the table at his handsome and seemingly asexual co-worker, and
wondered yet again if there was a chance that Ryo could be gay and just
seriously in the closet. Somehow, Drake simply couldn't imagine his shy,
mild-mannered colleague cruising the studs in a gay bar. But he'd been working
with this man for two and a half years and had hardly ever seen him with a
woman. Except for that chick -- what
was her name? -- Meredith, about six months back. But she hadn't lasted.
Until Meredith had come along, JJ had been convinced that Ryo was
gay. Drake, however, had never
been sure. In his professional
capacity, he was ever alert to the potential for dissemblance, experience
having taught him that no one with a secret was ever one hundred percent
forthcoming with the police. However, he preferred to take his friends and
co-workers at face value. Life was
easier that way. Ryo claimed to be straight, so Drake chose to believe him. And
if he was straight, Ryo had a right to know what people were saying about the
CI Division of the 27th. He
hesitated, knowing that the other detective would probably be as stunned as he
himself had been. But maybe the
'queer' label was why the poor guy hadn't been able to get a woman. Every time Drake got dumped by another
girlfriend, he secretly took solace from the fact that even though he wasn't a
pretty boy like Dee or Ryo, he was at least getting dates.

Drake
had more or less talked himself into a decision. It was his duty to tell Ryo that the women at Megan's
precinct, plus a few other police departments, were under the impression he was
gay.

He
took a deep breath and plunged into the whole sorry story.

         When
he had finished, Ryo was blushing furiously. "What the hell--? How could they think that?"

Drake
shrugged apologetically. "Who
knows how rumors get started?
Anyway dude, it's not just you.
It's all of us."

"Even
Sheldon? He's, like, sixty."

"I
don't think anyone cares about Sheldon's sexual orientation one way or
another."

"And
what about Eliza?"

"Oh,
no not her. Everyone knows she has
a boyfriend. And before you
mention it, not Marty either because he's married. It's just us single guys who don't have girlfriends."

Just
then the waitress reappeared and glared at them. "You boys ready?"

"Yeah,"
said Drake quickly, picking up his menu again. "I'll have a number 15."

"And
you?" The waitress transferred her basilisk gaze to Ryo.

"I'll
have a number 15 too," he said with a smile, handing her his menu.

"You
want egg roll or extra rice?"

Both
men shook their heads and she disappeared again.

Drake
looked at Ryo in surprise. "I
didn't know you liked chicken's feet," he said.

"Huh?"
said Ryo in alarm, but then Drake chuckled.

"I'm
only kidding. You didn't exactly
read the menu."

"Well,
I figured I couldn't go wrong ordering the same thing as you. Besides, the sudden discovery that all
the single guys in the 27th are gay, including me, really threw me for a loop. So, what DID I order?"

"House
Special chow mein. It's got a
little bit of just about every creature under the sun in it, but it's actually
pretty tasty."

"There'd
better not be any creature's feet in it, or I'll make sure no one ever goes for
lunch with you again."

"Well,
I'll always have JJ," said Drake.
"He'd eat lunch with
me no matter what."

Ryo
smiled and poured more tea for himself and Drake. But behind the smile, his mind was furiously processing this
new information. So much for
staying in the closet for a while.
If he was widely thought to be gay, it had to be Dee's fault. His mouth tightened a little. Then he forced himself to relax.

"Drake,"
he said casually, "How much does it bother you that a certain subset of
NYPD females now believe you're gay?
I mean...does it freak you out?"

"Well,
I gotta admit, it did at first," replied Drake. "Because I really had no idea until Megan pointed it
out. And you know JJ, always
hugging and pouncing. He's a pretty touchy-feely little guy. I guess to an
outsider it looks like I'm condoning all that man-to-man affection. But what am
I supposed to do? Backhand him and
tell him to get the hell off?"

"Dee
does that to him all the time, and it's never been known to work."

"No,"
Drake agreed. "I don't think
anything could discourage JJ from being so...affectionate. And then there's
Dee. He's so far out of the closet
that he couldn't find it again if he needed to change his shirt."

"He's
a pouncer, too," murmured Ryo, who was aware that he was skating on thin
ice.

"Yeah,
but at least he limits his affections to you and you alone. JJ jumps on almost anybody, but I think
Dee gets the brunt of it. Followed
by me. I swear I get more hugs
from JJ in an average week than I ever did from Megan. OR Cordelia," he added, referring
to Megan's equally short-lived predecessor. "Anyhow, with JJ grabbing Dee and me, and Dee grabbing
you, I guess it's unavoidable that their victims -- that's you and me, dude --
are gonna get talked about."

"And
then there's Rose," said Ryo, wanting to get off the topic of Dee and his
victim.

"Yeah,
and what a piece of work he is.
Kissing you in broad daylight like that! On a busy street, too.
I think there are still rumors circulating about that one, even though
it's been a while since it happened."

"Don't
remind me," growled Ryo, flushing at the memory. He had rarely been more
embarrassed or shocked in his life than when the Commissioner had taken that
particular liberty.

Drake
grinned. "Good thing you
clocked him one. I don't know many
guys who would've had the guts to punch out the Commissioner of the NYPD. Potential career suicide."

"Yeah,
but what with the potential of a sexual harassment suit, we ended up at a
stalemate. He's hasn't tried it
again since."

"What
I don't get," Drake said, "is why you were so pissed off about the
Commissioner trying to kiss you, but you always forgive Dee."

Ryo
sighed. "I don't know why,
but I can never stay mad at Dee."

"So
what are we gonna do now?" Drake asked as he unwrapped his chopsticks and
broke them apart. "We got
ourselves a rep, through no fault of our own, for being gay."

Ryo
was silent.

"Does
it bug you?" Drake asked.

"Yes
and no."

"Yeah,
me too. Yes, it bugs me because I
really like girls and a gay label is going to make it even harder for me to get
a cute one, but on the no side, gayness in general doesn't bug me. I've even been JJ's 'date' a couple of
times when he wanted to go clubbing and not get hit on."

"Really?" Ryo was surprised. He himself had never willingly stepped
into a gay bar unless he was working.
"What was it like?"

"Pretty
wild. Got my butt pinched."
Drake took a sip of his tea and chuckled. "But JJ defended my honor."

"Did
you see anyone you knew?"

"No,
thank God. I'll admit I was a
little nervous about that. But JJ
made sure we didn't go anywhere where we might run into other NYPD
people."

"Did
you dance?" Ryo couldn't
resist smirking a little. Drake
was famous for his two left feet.

"No
way, man. I draw the line at
dancing. I just stood around and
tried to look butch. JJ wanted to
dance but I promised I'd seriously embarrass him if he left me alone for too
long."

"Must
be hard for him sometimes," murmured Ryo, looking at his chopsticks.

"Who,
JJ? I don't think so."

"No?"

"Well,
you gotta remember, he's been out for a long time. Pretty well everyone in his life knows he's gay. He's got a good job, lots of
friends...He's good-looking...He's got everything he needs."

"But
don't you think that gay people have to endure a lot of direct and indirect
discrimination?"

"Come
on dude, this is New York City!
It's not that hard being gay here. We're not in rural Nebraska. I don't think JJ and Dee could get away
with behaving the way they do in a place like that without getting themselves
lynched. But here in the city,
there's a pretty high level of acceptance. Even the Commissioner of the NYPD doesn't try all that hard
to hide his sexual orientation."

"But
still, we hear about incidents."

"Yeah
that's true. Like those two
homophobes that came in threatening to press charges against Dee last week, for
example. He got JJ to run 'em
off."

Ryo
looked interested. "Mm? I didn't hear about that. What two homophobes?"

"Oh,
I'm surprised Dee didn't tell you.
Apparently Dee was kissing a guy in a parking lot somewhere and two
douchebags came up and gave him a hard time. He punched them both out and told them to beat it, but then
they showed up at the precinct a couple of days later with the license plate
number from Dee's car."

Ryo
almost choked on his tea, but by the time he had recovered enough to ask for
more details, the waitress was suddenly there, snapping, "Move hands! Got hot plates here. Sheesh."

She
slapped the plates down in front of the two detectives, who barely managed to
get their elbows off the table in time.
Ryo was so distracted by her brusque manner that he forgot to ask for
more tea before she swept off. But
Drake remembered.

"Lily!"
he called, holding up the empty teapot.
"More tea, please!"

Lily
stopped halfway across the restaurant and heaved an exaggerated sigh before she
turned around. "Pay
extra!" she snapped, pointing a finger at him. "Don't drink fast next time." Then she stamped away to the kitchen.

Ryo
turned incredulous eyes to Drake.
"We have to pay for the tea in a Chinese restaurant?"

"Maybe,
maybe not. She's normally a fiery
little thing, but today she's extra ornery," said Drake tolerantly. "I wonder why?"

"Maybe
she's heard we're gay," remarked Ryo staring glumly at what looked like a
large octopus tentacle that was draped over the top of his chow mein.

&^&^&^&^&^&^

Ryo
glanced over at Thomas, who sat quietly in the passenger seat of the car. His body seemed to be drawn in upon
itself in some way so that he looked smaller than usual in his fashionably
oversized clothes, and there was an anxious little furrow between his
brows. Ryo knew he was nervous
because this was the first time in their short acquaintance that the normally
chatty and confiding boy had fallen silent.

"Are
you ready for this?" Ryo asked him.

"I--
Yeah, I guess so."

"Remember,
this is just a chance to talk things out a bit," Ryo said encouragingly.
"You don't have to go home today if you're not ready to."

"But
can I stay with you?" Thomas asked quickly, turning beseeching eyes toward
the detective beside him.

"I
doubt Lieutenant Smith would allow it," Ryo answered gently. "It seems your dad has complained
about me. If you choose not to go
home, you'll be placed in temporary foster care. I've met the family you would be staying with. They're very nice."

Thomas
gave him a doubtful look before casting his eyes down and playing with the
strings of his hoodie.
"Ryo--" he began and then hesitated.

"Yes?"

"I
just wanna...I wanna thank you for being so nice to me. I've been really happy staying with you
the last couple days. I wish my
dad could be more like you."

"Well
thank you, Thomas," said Ryo, ignoring the part about the boy's father.
"We've enjoyed having you stay with us too."

"You
and Dee, you're so great together.
You're the first real gay couple I've ever met. You guys seem so happy with each
other. I mean, you're so
normal."

"Uh...I'm
glad you think so. Though
sometimes I think mealtimes at our house are anything but."

Thomas
looked at him again and his eyes looked a little damp. "You guys have really given me
hope," he said. "Dad thinks
I'll never be happy and I'll have a bad life for sure if I'm gay, but now I
know he's wrong."

"I
know he's wrong, too," said Ryo warmly. "Your happiness is up to you and will come from the
choices you make."

"Now
if I could just stop getting beaten up at school..." said Thomas with a
self-deprecating grin.

"Which
that brings us to something I've been meaning to talk to you about," said
Ryo. "Have you ever thought about trying any martial arts?"

"Uh,
well once I went to my friend Clifford's Kung Fu class, but the guys were
really, um, big, and kind of tough and mean. I didn't think it was for me."

"Bikky
used to do Kung Fu," Ryo said.
"But when he started getting really serious about basketball, it
kind of fell by the wayside. I do
Karate, myself," he added.
"I started when I was about your age. I know what you mean about the macho attitudes of the guys
at your friend's Kung Fu class, but not all clubs are like that."

"But
isn't it really hard?" Thomas asked.
"Even if they're nice to beginners?"

"No
sport is easy in the beginning. It
always takes time and effort for a person to become good at it. But I think that learning a martial art
is a practical way to increase fitness, strength and self-confidence. Not to mention self-defense."

"Huh,"
said Thomas, who appeared to be thinking about it. "Um, so...do you think I could come with you sometime
when you do your Karate?"

"I
haven't gone to a Karate class in about 2 months." Ryo sighed. "I got really busy and then I got out of the habit. But it's definitely time to go
back."

"Are
you, like, a black belt or something?"

Ryo
confirmed that he was and had been since he was seventeen.

Thomas
looked at him in admiration and then sighed. "Just like Bikky," he said. "You don't have to take shit,
either. You can make people
respect you."

Ryo
almost smiled as he thought about the precise amount of respect he was able to
command from the Chief and his co-workers on a daily basis. Thomas seemed to have a somewhat
exaggerated idea about the powers that a black belt conferred on one. Ryo knew that if the boy had any idea
of how much shit cops had to take just as a daily part of the job, he would be
disappointed.

"Thomas,
I'm going to start going to my classes again next week," he said.
"But at my dojo on Tuesday and Thursday evenings they have a teen
class. It's from six to eight
pm. The kids range in age from
thirteen to eighteen or nineteen, and they go from beginner all the way up to
black belt. If you're interested
in trying it out, I'll be happy to go with you and introduce you to them."

"Yeah,
I'd like that. If no one wants to
beat the crap out of me on my very first day, of course. Uh, when? Next week?"

"How
about tomorrow?"

"Yeah? Cool! So I'm not really saying goodbye to you today. I'm gonna see you again tomorrow?"

"Yeah,"
said Ryo, smiling. "And I
think you'll like the class.
They're a nice bunch of people, boys AND girls. And don't worry. No one's going to beat
you up. I'll write down the
address for you when we get to the station. Let's meet there at a quarter to six, okay?"

Thomas
agreed enthusiastically and then lost himself in verbal imaginings of how cool
and popular he would be once he had mastered Karate that were so
unintentionally funny that it was difficult for Ryo to refrain from
laughing. He just loved the
innocent enthusiasm of kids. If
only the harsh vagaries of life didn't so frequently crush it out of them. He thought of Eddie, all washed up at
twenty with nothing to look forward to except jail or death. Eddie had been a laughing child once,
some mother's hopefully beloved baby, and now he was selling drugs and boosting
stolen merchandise to survive. Yet
Eddie had taken Thomas in and looked out for him during the boy's brief stint
as a runaway. Perhaps there was
still hope for Eddie. There was
certainly hope for Thomas.

&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^

Ryo
and Dee stood with Thomas outside the closed door of the Chief's office. They could hear Lt. Abernathy's big
rolling voice inside, cheerfully reminiscing with his old friend, Lt. Warren
Smith.

"Shall
we go in?" Ryo asked Thomas, his hand on the boy's shoulder. The boy's
body felt as hard as a rock underneath his hand. Thomas stood looking at his shoes for a few more moments
until Dee nudged him.

"Yes?
No? You need more time?"

"No,
it's okay," said Thomas in a small voice. "We can go in.
Only--" Suddenly he turned around and fiercely hugged first Ryo and
then Dee.

"Thanks. For everything," he said in a
shaky voice. "You guys are
great."

"You're
not so shabby yourself, kid," said Dee with a grin. "Ready to face a
couple of cantankerous old farts?"

Thomas
grinned bravely at Dee.
"Let's go. And don't
worry. I remember what you told me
and I won't say anything about anyone's sexual orientation except mine."

"Thanks,
bro," muttered Dee conspiratorially and then rapped on the door.
"We're here, Chief."

"Good. Get your butts in here," the Chief
called back and Dee pushed the door open.

Mike
Abernathy greeted the two detectives jovially, but did not get out of his chair
to shake their hands.

"Tommy-boy!"
he exclaimed. "Och, what a
worry you've been to your poor old dad."

"Dad,
you know I prefer 'Thomas'," the boy said impatiently, although his voice
shook a little. "'Tommy is
for little kids. I'm almost
fourteen. Where's Mom?"

"Your
mother sends her apologies, but she had a very important appointment that she
couldn't miss. But you'll see her
at home later, won't you? She�s
been just beside herself with anxiety about you."

Dee
and Ryo exchanged glances.

"I
might not...Dad, I might not be at home later," Thomas mumbled, looking
down at his shoes.

"Tommy,
what's this, what's this? And here
we've been missing you so much these past ten days."

"Let's
introduce Thomas to the Chief before we begin our meeting, all right?" Ryo
interposed smoothly. "Thomas,
this is Lieutenant Smith. He's our
boss. Chief, Thomas
Abernathy."

"Nice
to meet you, sir," said Thomas, stepping forward and extending his
hand. The Chief transferred his
cigar from has right hand to his teeth and offered a meaty paw to the youth.

"Welcome
to the 27th, son."

"Sir,
are you a Chief or a Lieutenant?" Thomas asked suspiciously.

The
Chief emitted a shout of laughter.
"According to my paycheck, I'm still only a Lieutenant like your
dad over there," he growled.
"Chief is just my nickname around here."

"Yeah,
he liked that one better than 'Mein Fuhrer'," said Dee. "Besides, it's easier to
pronounce."

"Quiet,
Laytner. Let's not confuse the
kid. Have a seat, Thomas. Let's get this show on the road. Mclean, you and Laytner sit down
too."

Thomas
took the seat that was furthest away from his father, and perched on the edge
of it, looking for all the world like he was poised for flight.

The
Chief assumed his responsibility as chairman of the meeting and began to speak,
and as he did, Thomas' eyes, which had been darting all around the room, came
to rest on him.

"Thomas,
we've called this meeting so you can tell us what happened to make you run away
from home. Your father came to me
very worried indeed, so I sent these two id-- er, gentlemen to find you. Now I'm sure you had your reasons for
leaving home the way you did, and I'm looking forward to working through this
problem with you. You may of
course participate in the decision-making process of where we go from
here."

"Yes
sir. Dee and Ryo explained to me
that I had choices."

Lt.
Abernathy's eyes narrowed momentarily, but no one noticed except Dee, who was
watching everyone from underneath his lashes.

"So,
can you tell us what happened then?" the Chief continued.

"I
had a fight with my father.
Actually, many. A really
bad one the night I left."

Bit
by bit, with the Chief's forthright but kind coaxing, the story came out. Thomas was gay and Mike was unhappy
about it. Their life together had
devolved into a series of power struggles over Thomas' friends, activities,
truancy from school, and above all, his sexual orientation. It had escalated to the point where
Thomas felt he couldn't live with his parents anymore and had left home shortly
after midnight, nine days before.

"He
smashed my computer!" said Thomas in an aggrieved voice. "And all my CDs. He threatened to send me to boarding
school in Ireland. Ireland! I'd be
all alone there."

"Did
he at any time behave violently toward you?" asked the Chief, and Thomas
lapsed into silence as the atmosphere in the room became charged with
anticipation. This was the main
question, the heart of the matter. Thomas' answer to this question would
determine the tone of his and his father's relationship, not to mention their
respective futures.

"N
-- No," stammered Thomas, and Ryo bowed his head, while Lt. Abernathy
suddenly seemed to sit up a little straighter.

"Are
you sure, son?" probed the Chief.

"M-hm,"
the boy nodded, not meeting anyone's eye.

"Do
you want to go home with your father today? Or would you prefer to stay with a very nice family that is
awaiting a phone call from me?"

"I
don't want to go home with him if it's just going to be the same old
scene," replied Thomas.
"I'm sick of defending my sexual orientation all the time and
fighting about my friends and that stupid school he knows I hate."

"Tommy,
you know we can certainly talk about those things," offered Lt.
Abernathy. "I am not an
unjust man and I've fair missed you these days you've been gone. I may be an old dog, but I fancy even I
can learn a few new tricks if I must."

"Dad,
I'm glad you said that, because I've given this a lot of thought, and I want to
switch schools. There's a school
where people like me can feel comfortable. It's called Harvey Milk High School."

Lt.
Abernathy looked suspicious, especially when Dee began nodding in assent.

"Good
school," Dee remarked to Thomas.
"I know a girl who goes there."

"And
what exactly would this, er, 'Henry Milk' high school be about?" Lt.
Abernathy asked cautiously.

"It's
a gay high school, sir," said Dee.
"Harvey Milk. In the Hetrick-Martin Institute in the
East Village, on Broadway, I think.
It was the first school of its kind in the country." He noted with relish that Mike was
absolutely horrified and was trying to disguise his reaction as mere surprise.

"Now,
Tommy, surely you're too young for such a place! Why, you're still in middle school."

"Dad,
my middle school year will be over in another month. I'm gonna turn 14 in July. Harvey Milk accepts kids who are 12 years old. I think I'm old enough."

His
father sputtered and protested, but Thomas remained adamant. Finally the Chief intervened.

"Mike,
I know it's an unconventional place, but you did say you would be willing to
compromise here. One of your main
concerns is that your son's grades have been slipping. He claims he's being persecuted for his
sexual orientation at other schools, so let him try this one as long as his
grades go up."

Lt.
Abernathy glared at his old friend for a moment and then heaved a
long-suffering sigh, saying, "I daresay you're right, Warren." He turned to Thomas. "I expect to
see some serious improvement in your grades, young man. If you fall back into partying, I'll
pull you out of that place so fast your shoes will stay behind."

"No
problem, Dad," said Thomas who was finally starting to look happy. "Once I'm not constantly worrying
about being BEAT ON," -- just for a split second a spark of challenge
appeared in his eyes -- "I'm sure I'll be able to concentrate more on my
schoolwork."

Over
the next fifteen minutes, Ryo marveled as Thomas entered into negotiations with
his father with a skill, focus, and discipline that he never would have guessed
at. His hapless parent,
effectively backed into a corner, was forced to agree to most of Thomas'
demands. In addition to being
allowed to attend the gay high school, he was to have a later curfew on
weekends, his father was no longer to enter his room without permission (Mike
vetoed a lock), he would not be sent to Ireland, he would be allowed to choose
his own friends, he would not have to listen to any more derogatory comments
about the fact that he had turned out to be gay and he would be permitted to
have a cell phone. In return, he
would not openly flaunt his sexuality and he would maintain a B-average in his
grades with an eye toward improving them further.

Finally,
the deal had been done. Thomas was
satisfied that his father had agreed to these things before witnesses, and
therefore the Chief decided to draw the meeting to a close.

"So
Thomas, in light of the fact that your father has shown himself willing to
compromise and make adjustments so that you can feel comfortable at home again,
are you willing to go home with him today?"

Thomas
hesitated, watching his father's face.
He seemed to be consciously enjoying his last moment of power. "Yes," he said.

"Aw
Tommy, come here and give an old man a hug," cried Mike, opening his
arms. Thomas hugged him back,
clinging tightly, and Ryo could see that Thomas really did care about his dad,
deep down. It was difficult for
him to understand, since he knew that the man had beaten his son mercilessly
and repeatedly denied him the right to be himself. He looked up in time to catch
Mike glowering at him over the top of Thomas' head with such malevolence that
he couldn't help but feel chilled.
This is far from over,
those eyes seemed to say.

It
was only when he heard Thomas saying, "And remember, you promised to buy
me a new computer. A good one this
time, not like that crappy one you wrecked," that he realized that Thomas
had obviously been in touch with his father in the last couple of days. The computer had not been part of
today's negotiations. It added a
new facet to Thomas' character, one that Ryo had not seen until today.

"Yes,
boy, we'll go shopping for it together this weekend," soothed Mike. "Thank-you Warren, and thank you,
Detectives, for looking after my boy." He shook the Chief�s hand and gave Dee and Ryo a curt nod.
"We've got to be going now."
He gathered up his coat which had been hanging on the back of the
Chief's door and took his leave, one arm tightly around Thomas' shoulders.

"Bye,
guys," Thomas called over his shoulder. "Nice to meet you, Lt. Warren!"

"That's
'Smith', you little punk," murmured the Chief good-naturedly as man and
boy disappeared down the hall. He
turned to his two detectives and said, "Good job, boys. You got that man out of my hair in only
a week."

"I'm
afraid their reconciliation isn't going to last," Ryo said.

"Yeah,
I know. The kid lied about the
beatings."

"Isn't
there something we can do? What if
he seriously hurts Thomas next time?"

"We
got no proof. That cell phone you
talked about is either at the bottom of the river or in the hands of that
junkie you can't seem to find.
Even what the doctor said is inconclusive. Without the kid's word, we got nothing. We've got to let it be for now. He might change his mind in the future,
but for now he's choosing the devil he knows over the devil he don't."

The
Chief could see that Laytner understood how the kid felt a little better than
McLean did. The man had had a
rougher upbringing; he had seen firsthand how fear or desperation sometimes
drove people to bargain away their dignity one crumb at a time. McLean, with his well-known soft spot
for kids, looked truly distressed.
Well, the best cure for that was hard work. The best cure for almost everything, according to the Chief,
was hard work.

"All
right, back to work, boys. I'm
sure you have things to do. I'd
appreciate an update on where you're at with the Lydgate family by the end of
the day. It's not technically
murder until we get a little more evidence. The D.A. doesn't like what you've got so far, so you'd
better come up with something better or someone's gonna walk."

"Yes
sir," said Ryo, taking the hint.
"See you later, Chief."

"Yeah,
bye Lt. 'Warren'," said Dee, shooting him a cocky grin.

The
Chief couldn't help but grin back.
Bastard.

&^&^&^&^&

"Hey,
hey, Ryo, wait up," said Dee, hurrying behind his rapidly moving
partner. "Where are we going
now? Don't you know it's smoke
time?"

"I
don't know about you, but I'M going back to the fingerprint lab," retorted
Ryo. "I spent a couple of
hours this morning with Jeff, lifting prints off all those packages of heroin, but
I only checked for Eddie's in front of him. Now we're going to look for a couple of bigger fish. Or at least I am. You'll probably be too busy
smoking."

"Hey,
I can skip the occasional smoke when things start getting interesting. Maybe we should have brought that girl
in just so we could've fingerprinted her to eliminate hers from the
mix."

         Ryo
shook his head. "Poor thing," he said. "But we don't need her. Like you said earlier, this
evidence is inadmissible. All
we're after is information. I
don't care if the pope himself left prints on those bags. It's Abernathy and
Shaver I want to nail."

Dee
chuckled. "That's my little
crusading worker ant."

&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&

end
of chapter 15
- 14
- 15
- 16
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