I do not own any of the characters from The Phantom of the Opera, although I do rather enjoy borrowing them from time to time.

Author ToryD

Beta MJ Mod

Broken Sparrow

Chapter 1

Detective Nadir Khan looked out of his 5th floor office window at the rainy Philadelphia night. The heavy October rain matched his dark mood perfectly. He rubbed his eyes tiredly having only clocked sixteen hours of sleep in the last six days. As a lead homicide detective on the Philadelphia police force for the last ten years, he was well versed in the more horrific side of life. But the case that had taken hold of him six days ago had him questioning if there was any compassion among the men who walked this earth. He picked up the phone to call in a favor that was not his due. If anything, he owed his longtime friend more favors than could ever be repaid in this lifetime. But as he pictured the beautiful young woman he had left heavily guarded by ten of Philadelphia's finest at the hospital just a short time ago. He knew that he would fight heaven and hell to bring some sense of justice for all that she was suffering. So he continued to push the buttons to connect him to the one and only person he trusted on this earth.

Erik Destler was working on a complex piece of code that for the last two months had eluded his numerous highly paid programmers. With the January 2006 launch date of the latest version of his business operating software fast approaching; he was well aware of the impending deadline he was facing. Even though he grumbled at the tedious work, in reality enjoyed the technical challenge it brought to his analytical mind. The antique clock on his desk noted that the time was 11:48 PM thus he had been working without break for the last twelve hours. He had started his computer software business as a diversion from his self imposed solitary life. He never dreamed that his small company would expand to become the leader in the world of business software and an employer of over 23,000 employees worldwide.

He was known throughout the business world as an excentric billionaire, who was obsessed with keeping himself out of the public eye. To date he had proven quite successful, as a photograph of him had never been published. Little did they know that the truth was that the world had driven him to his self-imposed exile. The cruel world that had proven itself so un-accepting of a deformity of birth, a deformity that had even caused his own mother to turn her back on him in utter disgust. Thus, the life lessons learned early in life for the young boy was to harden his heart and accept that he would always be truly alone and unloved.

His success allowed him to create a lifestyle that suited his desire to shut himself off from the rest of the world. While he was responsible for the livelihood of numerous employees, he only surrounded himself with a few trusted individuals who had proven their unwavering loyalty to him. Only those proven honorable and faithful earned a place into Erik's inner sanctum, and thus the privilege to serve in the running of his 44-room mansion, which sets atop the majestic cliffs overlooking the Severn River in Annapolis, Maryland.

His mobile phone interrupted his concentration and received his annoyed scowl and the menacing growl of his ever-present companion Apollo, his pedigreed black Doberman. Picking up the offending instrument he glanced at the caller id to see who would be calling at this late hour. Leaning his lean, muscular 6'2" frame back in his leather chair he activated the phone

"Nadir, to what do I owe the pleasure of this interruption?" Erik sighed wearily into the phone.

Nadir winced at Erik's tone "Erik, what have you been up to lately? I would have thought making the top ten richest men in the world list would have brightened your always cheerful disposition." Nadir teased as he recalled the article from the Wall Street Journal that ran last month.

Erik let a scowl grace his scarred face as he snarled into the phone. "What do you want?"

"Now Erik, why do you always think I only call you when I want something?'' Nadir chuckled.

"Past history?" Erik intoned as he raked a long elegant hand through his thick black hair.

Nadir sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Well, now that you mention it I could use a favor."

Erik waited silently for his friend to continue.

"Have you been keeping up on the news?" Nadir inquired.

"No, I have been working against a deadline thanks to you I'm certain to miss!" Erik yelled into the phone.

Nadir held the phone away from his ear for a moment. "Now Erik, you know I wouldn't dream of imposing on your valuable time unless I really needed you."

"Again I will ask you. What do you want?" Erik said very carefully, barely holding his temper in check.

"Ah Erik," Nadir sighed heavily. "I don't even know how to ask this but I really do need you and only you for this." Nadir paused and took a deep breath before continuing with his request. "I need to place a crime victim under your protection for the next few weeks, until we catch the murder who is stalking her."

Erik's eyebrows rose in surprise at the strange request. "I believe that I must have heard you incorrectly. Did you or did you not just request that I open my home to a stranger?"

Nadir closed his eyes knowing what he was asking of the private man on the other end of the phone, for he had witnessed first hand the prejudice that his friend had endured at the hands of horrified strangers. Erik and Nadir had been fellow students of the juvenile detention center that their troubled youth had led each of them too. Both he and Erik fought the world that seemed to have no place for either of them, and thus began a bond that survived all the years that followed. They each held the certain knowledge that the other would lay down their life for the other. "God Erik, if there was any other place that I could ensure her safety I would take her there, but I need to know that she is safe and you my friend are the only one I can trust with this."

Erik hesitated to issue his automatic refusal; there was something in Nadir's weary voice that sounded almost pleading. "Nadir you of all people know that I value my privacy above all else, so with that said I will inquire as to why you would even ask for such an unrealistic request?"

"The suffering that this woman has endured is beyond anything I can convey to you. To look upon her is to see all the pain of the world reflected in her eyes, yet she suffers in silence. Her name is Christine…Christine Daae, and if you had been watching the news for the last week you would know that she was held hostage for thirty hours and forced to witness the torture and murder of her parents and sister at the hands of a madman who has made her his obsession. She has not spoken a word since the afternoon of the murders; the doctors said that she is suffering from a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I cannot explain it to you but I must do everything in my power to protect her. I don't believe I could live with myself if anything happened to her." Nadir stated in a tone that revealed his utter despair over the events of the past week.

Erik was astounded by Nadir's uncharacteristic show of emotion. "Alright Nadir, I will do what you ask of me."

Nadir felt a great release of stress that had imposed itself upon him over the last six days. He closed his eyes tightly against the emotion that readily came from the selflessness of his friend's acceptance of his request. "Thank you Erik."

"Is there anything else that I can do for you or may I get back to my work?" Erik inquired not liking the emotional turn of the conversation.

"Well now that you mentioned it, how is that new plane of yours?" Nadir boldly questioned.

Erik shook his head as he proceeded to make the travel arrangements.