In no way do I make any manner of profit from this fan fiction. Nor do I claim ownership of any of the characters of the Fake/ Fake: Second universe. On that note, it's Fake: Second when I'll be setting this so we can have our heroes as an established relationship.

All I claim ownership for are FBI agent Declan O'Rourke and the as of yet unnamed killer.

Given the general content of the Fake series, all the murders and such, this story if going to be rated M. Oh, and hope you guys have strong stomachs, I've pulled on what I've learned from CSI and Criminal Minds for this.

Ch II

Ryo was sitting in the SCIU work area, reading over the coroner's initial report. Toxicology would take another week, but he honestly doubted it would find anything. According to the report, the cause of death was strangulation, leading Ryo to believe the skinning had been done post-mortem. And he'd been right, the flesh used in the skin suit had not been that of the victim. The suit had been made from a man's skin, while the body was that of a woman.

He looked up from the report when Dee came into the room with lunch; a nice big pizza from Famous Ray's. Normally, Ryo preferred to eat a little healthier, but it was hard to turn down a proper New York slice. That's be like going to England and not having a proper cuppa.

"How many times have you read that report since we got it yesterday?" Dee asked as he plopped down into his chair and helped himself to a slice. It was still properly hot to enjoy it just right, the cheese giving a good stretch. "We've been over the details of it more times than I'd like to think about. I thought that vic was seared into my brain before, but now..."

With a sigh, Ryo set down the file a rubbed the bridge of his nose. It wasn't good to be getting this obsessed with a case so early on, he knew that. He just really wanted to get ahead of this guy in case there were any more bodies waiting to drop. "Yeah, I guess I could use a break." Hell, they hadn't even gotten the ID from dental records yet. Sometimes, one just needed to step back and take a breath.

Grabbing a slice before his lover and friends ate all of it by themselves, Ryo ate in silence while the others joked and laughed. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts, he didn't notice Dee trying to get his attention for nearly a full minute.

"...Ryo... Earth to Ryo," Dee said as he tried to bring his boyfriend's mind back from orbit. When he saw the focus starting to come back into those dark eyes, he kissed Ryo to bring him the rest of the way.

Faster than usual when Dee caught him off guard, Ryo pulled back from the kiss. "Dee!" he exclaimed, quickly glancing over at the other two detectives. They shouldn't do such things in public! Not only was it unprofessional, but there were some people who didn't like the sight of two guys kissing.

Drake and Ted didn't look the least bit surprised at what they were seeing. If anything, they looked rather bored. Without even bothering to acknowledge Ryo's shock at Dee's kiss, they faced each other. "So," Ted began around a mouthful of pizza, "what are your plans for your day off?"

"It's nothing they haven't seen before," Dee said, licking his lips of Ryo's taste mixed with that of pizza. It wasn't like this was the first time they'd seen the two of them liplocked. Dee wasn't exactly the type to hold back when he wanted something. "Besides, you were so out of it, it was the only way to pull you back to reality. No need to ask what you were thinking about. Didn't we just point out there's no need to be thinking about the case until we actually have something to go on?"

"Alright, alright," Ryo submitted with a sigh. Not wanting to risk more unprofessional PDA, he resumed eating his pizza. He watched the others joking and having fun, absently planning a light dinner for tonight to keep his mind off the case while making sure he didn't space out again. Oh hell, he might as well have a second slice while he was at it. When in Rome, and all that.

The rest of the day had been fairly uneventful. They wouldn't have the dental ID until tomorrow thanks to a backlog brought on by an apartment fire in Skid Row. So the detectives had been asked to help out with the short staffed officers of the precinct with some of their work. While Dee, Drake, and Ted had grumbled the entire time, Ryo was grateful for the distraction. It kept his mind off things he couldn't do anything about right now.

As usual, Dee followed him home like a lost puppy. Oddly enough, while there was plenty about his boyfriend that that often annoyed him, Ryo found this little trait endearing. It wasn't like Dee had anyone waiting at home for him, not even a pet. At least Ryo had Bikky to keep him company.

Dee was sitting on Ryo's couch, head resting against the back as he took a little rest. One of his cigarettes was slowly burning itself down to nothing in an ashtray that sat in the open window. Ryo was sitting beside him, enjoying a cup of tea and reading a novel. They'd enjoyed a light dinner together, and there was a plate in the fridge for Bikky when he got home. Now it was time to just relax as a couple and enjoy a few moments together. After a few more minutes of that peaceful silence, Dee reached over and plucked the novel from Ryo's hands.

"Hey! I was reading that," Ryo protested, reaching for the book.

"And now you aren't," Dee replied as he tossed the novel over his shoulder. He closed what little distance there was between them and kissed his irritated lover. That silenced any further complaints Ryo might have had.

Ryo fisted Dee's shirt as his mouth was dominated by his partner's tongue. The two of them stretched out on the sofa, Dee's hand unbuttoning Ryo's shirt. Button after button was popped, Ryo didn't even realize it until he felt Dee's hand rubbing his abs.

Breaking the kiss somewhat reluctantly, he gently pushed Dee up a little. "W-we shouldn't... Not r-right here..." he managed to pant out. He was out of breath from the kissing, his lips swollen and bruised a bit as well.

"Too late for that," Dee countered with a grin. Dipping his head, the dark haired male began kissing and nibbling at his lover's neck and collarbone.

Even as Ryo wrapped an arm around Dee's back and ran the fingers of his other hand through those ebony locks, he still- weakly- tried to protest. "But B-Bikky-"

"Can already see you guys," came the voice of the aforementioned youth as he stepped into the apartment and closed the door.

Dee gave an irritated growl but didn't move from his position over Ryo, looking rather like a jungle cat guarding a kill.

"Bikky!" Ryo exclaimed, his face turning a bright shade of red. "There's ummm... There's dinner for you in the fridge." It was all he could think to say at the moment. What else could he say? He'd been caught with Dee's hand in his cookie jar.

Tucking his hands behind his head, Bikky headed for the kitchen, not sparing the grown men a second glance. "If guys are gonna do it, at least do it in the bedroom and try to keep it down."

"I'd say that's good enough for permission," Dee said with a wicked grin. Rising from the couch, he hooked a finger around Ryo's belt and pulled his sputtering partner towards the bedroom to have his way with him.

The room was white and sterile, the lighting poor. In the corners sat four large metal drums filled with something that gave off an acrid smell. The only other things in the room were a large metal table and a wooden chair. Well, along with a young man on the table and a lovely young lady in the chair. Both were currently unconscious.

Slowly, the woman started to come to, her eyes fluttering open. The first thing she noticed was that her red hair had fallen over her face from the way her head had been slumped. Tossing her head back to clear her vision and groaning at the slight headache it produced, she got her first good look at what was immediately before her: her boyfriend lying naked on a table just a few feet away. As she took in the sight, part of her mind registered that she was naked as well, her wrists and ankles zip tied to the limbs of the chair she was propped up in.

"Hello?" she called out, her voice raspy from whatever had knocked her out. "Is anyone there?" What the hell was going on? The last thing she remembered was answering her door, expecting her boyfriend... and then nothing. As her head began to clear a little from that headache, panic slowly started to seep in. "James? Baby, wake up," she said, leaning forward as far as she could, ignoring the raw scrape of her bindings on her wrists from the movement. "James?" Why wasn't he waking up?

"Please! Somebody! Anybody!" she cried out, struggling in her chair. The legs had been bolted to the floor, keeping her firmly in place. All she managed to do was scrape herself a bit more with the zip ties. Her eyes darted around the room, trying to find anything that might tell her where they were. The lighting was dim, but not so much that it hindered her sight in any way. It had actually helped when she'd woken as it hadn't overloaded her eyes with glare and making her headache worse.

Behind her, she heard a door open and the squeak of wheels as something was pushed into the room. "Hello?! Is someone there? Please, can you help me? My boyfriend won't wake up." No answer came, but she was soon able to get sight of the source of the squeaking as a metal cart was wheeled into her peripheral vision.

Turning her head to get a better look, she saw that it was a metal cart, similar to what might be in an operating room. The individual pushing the cart wore black sweatpants and a matching hoodie with the hood pulled up. A welder's mask covered their face so there was no way for her to see the face of this stranger. She couldn't even see their hands thanks to the leather gloves covering them.

"Please, are you the one who did this? Just let us go, we haven't done anything to you. I promise, we won't tell anyone." The young woman was struggling a little more in her seat again, some hair splashing back into her vision, but not enough to obscure it.

Her captor gave no sign that they'd heard her, and instead moved around to the far side of the table and began examining her still out of it boyfriend. They turned his head this way and that, lifted an arm and let it fall back to the table. Then they began checking his pulse at the wrist and the neck.

"Leave him alone! Do whatever you want with me, but just let him go. You can even fuck me if you want to." Still, nothing. "Goddamnit, say something!" she yelled.

That seemed to get her captor's attention. They looked up at her and tilted their head like a curious dog before going back to ignoring her and double checking her lover's pulse. Whatever they were looking for seemed to satisfy them, for they reached over to the cart and wheeled it closer. A gloved hand picked up a scalpel from the cart, and they turned it over in the light, examining it closely.

With another glance toward the young woman in the chair, who had begun panting in horrified anticipation at might might be coming, they hovered the scalpel above the male's body, moving from groin to throat. Finally, they put the scalpel to the hollow of their victim's throat and began to cut to the increasing screams of the young woman forced to watch.

Author's Note: I know what you guys are thinking, how dare I cut off Dee and Ryo like that. You lot were hoping for a hot yaoi scene from those two, weren't you? Well, you'll probably get one at some point. Every good thriller need at least one to help break up the tension for a few moments, but not before any tension has actually happened.

That being said, I think we all know what's about to happen to that helpless couple in the killer's hands. We got a good preview in the first chapter. And for those of you who think things are moving a little fast, don't worry, there'll be a nice cool down period for our killer after this. Might not hear from them for a few chapters so I can more fully flesh this story out.

As always, I look forward to reading your opinions on the chapter. Until next time, avid readers.