Introduction
An alternate ending to Act 6. What if Dee hadn't listened to Ryo's pleads? What if the bullet had hit Ryo, instead of the wall?
Torn apart by guilt, Dee can only watch as the trust he shared with Ryo crumbles away, leaving their growing relationship a broken and shattered one.Is this the end of their crime busting team? Has Dee's mistake cost him his dream of being with Ryo?
As events unfold, two hearts are broken….
Chapter One; Fatal Mistake
"Dee!" Ryo leapt down from the wall, landing in front of Ben Lloyd and effectively shielding him from the furious Dee.
"Don't pull this shit on me, Ryo. Don't freaking get in my freaking way. He's trash, man, and I'm just takin' him out. So just move your ass, and get the hell out of my way!" Dee ordered, still pointing his gun towards the unfortunate criminal…and Ryo. >As soon as Ryo gets out of my way, I can pull this trigger. I'll be able to teach Lloyd a lesson that he'll never forget. Because he'll be dead! >
"Dee, you've got to cool it." Ryo pleaded, taking a step towards Dee entreatingly. "Even if you don't do it now, someone else along the line will. I mean look at him. His days are numbered. He's practically got 'shoot me' written on his forehead. So come one, let's just take him back to the station and…"
From the corner of his eye, Ryo vaguely noticed a slightly miffed look on Lloyd's face at being described this way, but Ryo couldn't care less about that at the moment. All he wanted to do was stop Dee from making the biggest mistake of his life.
"But if I don't do it, things'll never be right! I have to settle this myself and by my own hand! So just get the hell out of the way, damnit!" Dee snapped, jerking his gun angrily to the right in order to illustrate his point.
"I won't! I'm not going to just step aside and then be the one having to tell Mother that you're a murderer!" Ryo stated with anguished eyes, refusing to move. >Drake and I joked about you being a murderer or worse if you hadn't been a cop…please don't prove that to be true. Just put the gun down and walk away from this... >
"You're not my friggin' guardian, goddamnit! Now shut your freaking mouth and get the hell out of the way or I'll freaking shoot you too, I swear!" Dee snarled.
"How can you say that! I'm your partner, Dee! And you're my partner for crying out loud!" Ryo desperately cried, rapidly feeling any chance of turning Dee away from this path slipping away from him. His partner's green eyes were narrowed and flashing with murderous rage – and Ryo couldn't ever remember seeing Dee like this before.
"To hell with it! Then, I quit being your freaking partner. So move the hell away, Ryo!" Dee bellowed. Ryo gasped in shock, staring at Dee as the words sunk in.
>Dee…how can you say that after we've become so close? You once told me that your heart stopped cold in your chest when you thought that I was going to be killed by Renard Henry in England. But it looks like your heart has no qualms about me dying here and now by your own hands. Dee…have I fallen for a murderer? Will you really pull the trigger on me?>
"You going to let go of me now Dee? After all we've been through!" Ryo yelled, his eyes squeezed tightly shut as if in denial of what was happening. He could almost sense the deep bond that he had shared with Dee shattering into a million tiny pieces, never to be regrouped again.
But what happened next could not be denied. Even as Ryo's outburst echoed round the alleyway, Dee's finger tightened on the trigger, and the harsh sound of a gunshot split the still night air of New York.
Arm still outstretched and pointing the gun towards the end of the alley, Dee blinked, feeling as though a red mist had finally been cleared from in front of his eyes. A startled gasp and a thud caught his attention, and Dee focused in on the limp form of Ben Lloyd. >No wound…he's only fainted from the shock. So what did I hit? >
Quickly surveying the walls of the alleyway, Dee frowned as he saw a distinct lack of bullet holes in the surrounding scenery. Turning his gaze to the blonde man still standing in front of him, Dee saw that Ryo was staring back at him, a sorrowful expression on his face. Then, Ryo slowly sank to his knees before crashing down to lie on the floor, a rapidly growing patch of red appearing on his shirt.
It was only then that Dee realised exactly what his bullet had hit.
With a choked cry, Dee threw his still smoking gun away from him, not caring where it landed as he ran to his partner's side.
"Ryo! Oh God, Ryo speak to me!" He begged, frantically unbuttoning the blonde's shirt in order to get a better look at the wound.
"Ryo, please!" Hearing no response from the man he cared so deeply for, Dee glanced at Ryo's face, not liking the way that Ryo's dark eyes were rapidly dulling at all. Turning his attention back to the wound, Dee felt himself beginning to tremble as he saw just how much Ryo's wound was bleeding. >Shit! He's losing too much blood! Ryo…what the hell have I done?>
"What the hell was that! A gun being fired?" Dee looked up as he heard people running towards the alleyway, obviously having heard the sound of the gunshot. Pulling Ryo's head onto his lap, he rocked the other man slightly, tears streaming down his face.
"It's going to be ok, Ryo, you'll see. Just hold on a little while longer for me, please…"
Lifting his head, Dee began to call out, trying desperately to get someone's attention.
"We're over here! We need help! Please, we're over here!" He yelled urgently, letting out a small sob of relief as Drake rounded the corner and ran into the alleyway.
"Dee! What the hell was…" Drake's voice died away, and he gasped as he saw the way Dee was cradling Ryo in his arms. "Dee…what have you done?"
"I didn't mean to hit him…I just wanted to make Lloyd pay for what he did to my Mother." Dee croaked, staring helplessly up at his friend. Drake just dashed over to them, carefully extracting Ryo from Dee's death grip, and staring down at the bleeding wound in the blonde's chest.
"Didn't you even try to stop the bleeding? Dee, you idiot, that's basic first aid!" He snapped, shrugging off his jacket and placing it over the wound, applying pressure in the hope that the bleeding would slow. Glancing up at Dee, he frowned as he saw the terrified expression on the other man's face. >Great. I have one dying of a bullet wound, and one going into shock. >
"At least tell me that you had the sense to call for an ambulance, Dee!" Drake begged. Blinking, Dee slowly shook his head, his eyes still focused on Ryo.
"I left my mobile at home…I couldn't…"
Drake groaned. Digging around in his pocket, he chucked his own phone at Dee, relieved that Dee managed to find the wit to catch it.
"Call for an ambulance, Dee. Now!" He barked. Dee seemed to get a better grip on himself, and nodded, beginning to quickly dial the number in.
Satisfied that an ambulance would be on its way soon, Drake turned his full attention back to Ryo. The Japanese-American's breathing was laboured, and Drake bit his lip as he realised that it was very likely that the bullet had hit Ryo's lung.
"Stay with us, Ryo…don't you dare close your eyes on us, you hear me?" He whispered, staring into Ryo's glazed over eyes. Ryo coughed slightly in response, a small trickle of blood slipping from the corner of his mouth as he did so.
"I guess…I did…" Ryo murmured quietly, his eyes unfocused.
"You did what?" Drake asked gently, trying to keep Ryo awake by his questioning. Ryo began to mutter something in reply, but it was too quiet for Drake to make out. Frowning, he leaned closer, trying to catch what his friend was saying.
"…len for a murderer." Ryo breathed, his eyes fluttering shut. Drake's eyes widened, and he began to shake Ryo, desperately trying to get him to wake up.
"No! Come on Ryo, just keep those eyes open a little while longer!"
Dee chose that moment to look up from Drake's mobile.
"They said that they'll be here as soon as…Ryo!" Moving back to Ryo's side, Dee grabbed the blonde from Drake, pulling him into his fierce embrace.
"Please Ryo…don't die like this…don't let go. Not like this. You're too beautiful to die!" He pleaded.
Just then, the scream of sirens came into earshot, and the alley was momentarily lit up by a flash of blue light. Doors were slammed on a vehicle, and then the alley suddenly seemed to be full of people, as the Chief and other officers followed the paramedics into the alley.
"Damn…what the hell happened here!" The Chief demanded, although the look on Dee's face was enough to tell him exactly what had happened.
"You guys are lucky that we were in the neighbourhood…your pal's in serious condition." One of the medics said, quickly removing Drake's jacket and beginning to dressRyo's wound. Once she was sure that it would do until they got Ryo to the hospital, she nodded to her colleague and they carefully lifted the blonde onto the stretcher, hurrying back to the ambulance.
"Wait!" Dee called, scrambling to his feet. "I thought that it was ok for someone to go with anyone rushed away in an ambulance?" He made to run forward after the medics, but Drake blocked him, glaring at his friend.
"Don't you think that you've done enough for tonight? You're right, when a person is rushed off to hospital like this, they do allow one person to ride in the ambulance with them. And that person's gonna be the Chief!" Drake stated, pointing over to the ambulance. Sure enough, Dee saw the Chief climbing into the ambulance after Ryo's stretcher had been rolled inside.
"But he's my partner!" Dee protested, trying to get past Drake.
"That didn't stop you from shooting him, did it?" Drake replied. Dee gasped, taken aback by Drake words.
"I didn't mean to shoot him…I just wanted to revenge Penguin…" He choked out.
"Yeah, and that turned out well, didn't it! You let your anger blind you, and it was Ryo that got caught up in the crossfire tonight. You should know better, Dee! As a cop, you've seen just as many revenge cases as me, and you know as well as I do how they all turned out!"
"I just couldn't help it…it was like all I could see was Penguin lying there in the orphanage rubble…I just wanted to make Lloyd pay." Dee said hoarsely. Drake's eyes softened, and he placed a reassuring hand on Dee's shoulder.
"Ryo's gonna be ok, Dee. He may not look it, but he's strong. Probably stronger than you or I could ever be."
"Yeah…"
"Why don't you just get yourself over to the hospital, and leave me to handle Lloyd?" Drake offered. Dee nodded, and turned to the end of the alley, pointing.
"He's over…there." His voice died away, and he stared in disbelief at the empty spot where Ben Lloyd had previously been.
"Don't tell me that after all of this, he managed to escape…" Drake groaned.
Dee simply moved towards the empty corner, his movements jerky as he gazed at the area in shock.
"He must have woken up and escaped whilst I was busy with Ryo…" He said in a strangled voice.
Collapsing to the floor as his legs finally gave out beneath him, Dee could only close his eyes in dismay and begin to sob as he realised the awful truth. Ryo had been shot because of his mistake…and he didn't even have Lloyd to show for it.
"Oh God Ryo…I'm sorry…I'm so so sorry…"
Hi there, everybody! I just read Fake Volume 2 the other day, and when I saw Act 6, I was blown away! Then I kind of noticed the soulful look in Ryo's eyes at the bullet hole in the wall behind him...and I just thought to myself - what if Dee hadn't just grazed Ryo's cheek? What if he had shot him in the chest instead?
And so my first Fake fanfic was born. Hope it's alright! Read and Review please!