Title: Meeting William
Fandom: FAKE
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Dee, OFC, William.
Rating: PG
Setting: After the manga.
Summary: While questioning a witness, Dee makes the acquaintance of an unusual character.
Written For: Challenge 417: Amnesty 69 at
fan_flashworks, using Challenge 355: Bird.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
A/N: Quadruple drabble and a half, 450 words.
“William likes you,” the elderly woman said, nodding in satisfaction. “He can always tell if someone’s a bad sort.”
Dee wondered how she could tell he met with William’s approval. The elderly tabby hadn’t so much as opened an eye since he’d stepped into the cramped apartment and taken the seat he was ushered towards, in the chair right next to where the cat was curled up on a plump cushion at one end of the sofa. Still, it paid to be polite to potential witnesses.
“Glad to hear it; I’ve always liked cats.”
“Oh, no,” Miss Prentiss said, “That’s Claude. Deaf as a post, sleeps all the time, but he’s eighteen now, doesn’t have the energy he used to. Neither do I, come to that; we’re both showing our age. No, that’s William.” She pointed.
Following the bony finger, Dee turned and found himself staring at a large bird.
“’Allo, mate,” said William.
Dee’s eyebrows shot up, but he decided he’d better answer. He didn’t want to wind up on William’s bad side “Uh, hello, William.”
“He’s a sulphur crested cockatoo,” Miss Prentiss informed Dee. “I’ve had him for over sixty years. Better than any burglar alarm, William is. In fact, he’s the one who alerted me to what was happening across the way. If he hadn’t started shouting last night, I never would have looked out of my window when I did and seen that awful man stab poor Mister Cheng outside the Chinese takeaway and run off with all his money.”
“Well then, I guess the NYPD owes William a reward.”
“That would be nice. He’s very fond of peanuts, the kind that come in their shells.”
“Right, I’ll personally see to it that he gets some. Now, why don’t tell me exactly what you saw when you looked out the window?” Dee tried to ignore the way William was sidling along the back of the sofa towards him. He had nothing against birds, but he’d never been this close to a beak that big. “What did Mister Cheng’s attacker look like, can you describe him?”
“Oh yes, I got a very good look; I used my binoculars. He was much taller than Mister Cheng, probably about your height. A white man, with long, dark, greasy hair, going thin on top, and one of those tribal tattoos all the way down his left arm. I could see it because he wasn’t wearing a jacket, just scruffy jeans and one of those sleeveless t-shirts; it looked black or very dark blue. I didn’t see his face though; his back was towards me.”
One eye on the bird, Dee busied himself taking notes. He really hoped William wasn’t hungry.
The End