(no subject)
Title: A Hole in The World
Author: Vixen
Rating: PG, though probably PG-13 in later installments
Word Count: 1136
Previous Parts: Part 1 / Part 2 /
Summary: RayV is dead, while meanwhile Fraser and RayK are in some serious trouble.
Notes: This is a work in progress. I plan on writing about 1000 words of it a week, though I had a bit of extra time today and decided to put up another part this week.
Warnings: Character death, but he's still around, don't worry.
Disclaimer: I don't own them. If I did, I swear they'd be nekkid more often.
A Hole in The World, Part 3
Fraser leaned his head against the smooth concrete of the room's wall. Without his hat, his head felt unusually vulnerable. If he had been the kind to place faith in good luck charms, that hat would have been his. Ever since arriving in Chicago and stepping into what seemed like a whole other world, every time the Stetson went missing or became marred in some way, trouble followed shortly after. There was the one time it's top ripped off during a kiss with Inspector Thatcher, but she was trouble in a whole other way.
He closed his tired eyes, rubbing them with the back of his palms. How long had they been there? How long before they escaped, if they did escape at all considering all the missteps that he was making lately? Fraser thought of his missing Stetson once more, but put the worries away, storing them in the back of his mind where he kept all the other things he didn't like to think about. Hat or no hat, they were getting out of there. Good luck charms were childhood nonsense anyway.
Kowalski was still gone, taken away hours ago by Tommy Burns' two hired muscle men. Though Fraser's partner was a remarkable police officer and seemed quite capable of handling himself in most situations, Fraser couldn't help worrying about the younger man.
It was different when Ray had been his partner, the original Ray Veechio, the one who had helped forge Fraser's working relationship with the Chicago Police Department. Kowalski was different. He seemed to need more looking out for, whether he wanted the extra care or not, because while he was spry and seemed to really enjoy kicking the bad guys in the head, he was more self-conscious and vulnerable. He wore his heart out there in the open, ready for it to get trampled on at a moment's notice. Fraser prayed his partner could manage whatever the two thugs were doing to him.
Eventually, the door opened with a heavy clank of latches and locks. The Mountie jumped up, just as Kowalski was deposited to the floor, looking much worse than he had before. Blood seeped down his face from what appeared to be a broken nose, while one eye was swollen so much it couldn't close. Catching his partner before he could fall to the hard stone floor, Fraser put one arm around his waist, holding Kowalski upright.
“I didn't tell them, Frase,” Kowalski rambled, half out of it and unable to stand up by himself. He swayed in Fraser's grasp, mumbling words out of his beaten jaw, “I swear it. I didn't. They just knew.”
“Knew what, Ray?” He asked, trying to keep the worry off his face. His partner looked ready to fall apart, so it fell on the Mountie's shoulder to keep it together. His gaze turned from his partner's face, to the two captives that stood in the doorway. Whatever they now knew, it had to be something big and bad from the way Kowalski was acting.
The shorter of the two captives stepped back, as he began closing the door on them again. “Here I thought a Mountie never lied, but you were going to vouch for his being Raymond Veechio, when in all honesty he's none other than Stanley Kowalski. Nice ruse, but it didn't take long to crack him and make him give over his real name. Now if you boys'll excuse me, I gotta see what the boss wants to do with you two now.”
The door shut, leaving the two police officers alone together. Fraser helped Kowalski to a seated position, beginning to attend to his partners injuries with what little supplies he had with him. “I'm fine,” Kowalski pushed him away, his arm as bloodied as his face, with knife cuts running down the length of the top of the forearms. He was missing a few of his fingernails too, but if he didn't want help Fraser wouldn't push it. Kowalski gestured to the now-locked door, “He's lyin', Frase. I swear I didn't tell 'em anything the lamebrains didn't already know.”
“I believe you, Ray,” Fraser answered, with complete faith in his friend. Ray had always protected his true identity before, keeping both him and the real Ray Veechio out of even bigger trouble. No matter what, he had kept quiet about it before. There was no reason to believe Kowalski would betray the truth not. Although, now that the truth was out, no matter how it did unfold, they were all in deep water.
Kowalski relaxed a little, having gained Fraser's vote of confidence, but not completely. There was still something troubling the man greatly. “I don't know how they knew who I was. I just know they heard 'bout Veechio, and how he was, uh,” he paused and looked up at Fraser, the worry lines creasing his face even more. He eventually continued, turning away from the Mountie, “How he was, uh.. sleeping with fishes. They put two and two together, came up with my name.”
“Sleeping with fishes?” Fraser asked carefully, his voice catching on the words. He knew the expression, but silently hoped there was a different meaning in Chicago lingo. Fraser stood up, crossed his arms and looked at his feet, trying to gain some clarity as a wave of emotions started hitting him. “You can't possibly mean--”
“He's dead, Frase.” Kowalski said after a moment of respectful silence. He knew how deep that friendship went, could see it in Fraser's eyes the first day they met, the way the Mountie had looked at him like there was something missing. As much as he tried to be a replacement, Kowalski couldn't fill the gap Veechio had left.
The Mountie took a deep breath and then shook his head, “I don't believe it. Whatever Tommy Burns and his men think they know about Ray.. they're baiting us. It must be.” He sat back down, feeling a sudden sinking as he remembered how everything seemed slightly off this week, how it felt like something was missing. He put his head in his hands and let out a shuddering breath, holding back a floodgate of tears. This wasn't the place to fall apart. He couldn't fall apart here. He wouldn't let his emotions get the best of him.
“I'm sorry, man. I, uh, I knew you guys were really close.”
“He was a good friend and the best partner I've ever had,” Fraser said without thinking about his words. He could only think about the pain now and holding it as bay for as long as it took to get him and Kowalski out of this mess.
Kowalski nodded, feeling suddenly second best, helpless and completely at a loss for words for once in his life.
Author: Vixen
Rating: PG, though probably PG-13 in later installments
Word Count: 1136
Previous Parts: Part 1 / Part 2 /
Summary: RayV is dead, while meanwhile Fraser and RayK are in some serious trouble.
Notes: This is a work in progress. I plan on writing about 1000 words of it a week, though I had a bit of extra time today and decided to put up another part this week.
Warnings: Character death, but he's still around, don't worry.
Disclaimer: I don't own them. If I did, I swear they'd be nekkid more often.
A Hole in The World, Part 3
Fraser leaned his head against the smooth concrete of the room's wall. Without his hat, his head felt unusually vulnerable. If he had been the kind to place faith in good luck charms, that hat would have been his. Ever since arriving in Chicago and stepping into what seemed like a whole other world, every time the Stetson went missing or became marred in some way, trouble followed shortly after. There was the one time it's top ripped off during a kiss with Inspector Thatcher, but she was trouble in a whole other way.
He closed his tired eyes, rubbing them with the back of his palms. How long had they been there? How long before they escaped, if they did escape at all considering all the missteps that he was making lately? Fraser thought of his missing Stetson once more, but put the worries away, storing them in the back of his mind where he kept all the other things he didn't like to think about. Hat or no hat, they were getting out of there. Good luck charms were childhood nonsense anyway.
Kowalski was still gone, taken away hours ago by Tommy Burns' two hired muscle men. Though Fraser's partner was a remarkable police officer and seemed quite capable of handling himself in most situations, Fraser couldn't help worrying about the younger man.
It was different when Ray had been his partner, the original Ray Veechio, the one who had helped forge Fraser's working relationship with the Chicago Police Department. Kowalski was different. He seemed to need more looking out for, whether he wanted the extra care or not, because while he was spry and seemed to really enjoy kicking the bad guys in the head, he was more self-conscious and vulnerable. He wore his heart out there in the open, ready for it to get trampled on at a moment's notice. Fraser prayed his partner could manage whatever the two thugs were doing to him.
Eventually, the door opened with a heavy clank of latches and locks. The Mountie jumped up, just as Kowalski was deposited to the floor, looking much worse than he had before. Blood seeped down his face from what appeared to be a broken nose, while one eye was swollen so much it couldn't close. Catching his partner before he could fall to the hard stone floor, Fraser put one arm around his waist, holding Kowalski upright.
“I didn't tell them, Frase,” Kowalski rambled, half out of it and unable to stand up by himself. He swayed in Fraser's grasp, mumbling words out of his beaten jaw, “I swear it. I didn't. They just knew.”
“Knew what, Ray?” He asked, trying to keep the worry off his face. His partner looked ready to fall apart, so it fell on the Mountie's shoulder to keep it together. His gaze turned from his partner's face, to the two captives that stood in the doorway. Whatever they now knew, it had to be something big and bad from the way Kowalski was acting.
The shorter of the two captives stepped back, as he began closing the door on them again. “Here I thought a Mountie never lied, but you were going to vouch for his being Raymond Veechio, when in all honesty he's none other than Stanley Kowalski. Nice ruse, but it didn't take long to crack him and make him give over his real name. Now if you boys'll excuse me, I gotta see what the boss wants to do with you two now.”
The door shut, leaving the two police officers alone together. Fraser helped Kowalski to a seated position, beginning to attend to his partners injuries with what little supplies he had with him. “I'm fine,” Kowalski pushed him away, his arm as bloodied as his face, with knife cuts running down the length of the top of the forearms. He was missing a few of his fingernails too, but if he didn't want help Fraser wouldn't push it. Kowalski gestured to the now-locked door, “He's lyin', Frase. I swear I didn't tell 'em anything the lamebrains didn't already know.”
“I believe you, Ray,” Fraser answered, with complete faith in his friend. Ray had always protected his true identity before, keeping both him and the real Ray Veechio out of even bigger trouble. No matter what, he had kept quiet about it before. There was no reason to believe Kowalski would betray the truth not. Although, now that the truth was out, no matter how it did unfold, they were all in deep water.
Kowalski relaxed a little, having gained Fraser's vote of confidence, but not completely. There was still something troubling the man greatly. “I don't know how they knew who I was. I just know they heard 'bout Veechio, and how he was, uh,” he paused and looked up at Fraser, the worry lines creasing his face even more. He eventually continued, turning away from the Mountie, “How he was, uh.. sleeping with fishes. They put two and two together, came up with my name.”
“Sleeping with fishes?” Fraser asked carefully, his voice catching on the words. He knew the expression, but silently hoped there was a different meaning in Chicago lingo. Fraser stood up, crossed his arms and looked at his feet, trying to gain some clarity as a wave of emotions started hitting him. “You can't possibly mean--”
“He's dead, Frase.” Kowalski said after a moment of respectful silence. He knew how deep that friendship went, could see it in Fraser's eyes the first day they met, the way the Mountie had looked at him like there was something missing. As much as he tried to be a replacement, Kowalski couldn't fill the gap Veechio had left.
The Mountie took a deep breath and then shook his head, “I don't believe it. Whatever Tommy Burns and his men think they know about Ray.. they're baiting us. It must be.” He sat back down, feeling a sudden sinking as he remembered how everything seemed slightly off this week, how it felt like something was missing. He put his head in his hands and let out a shuddering breath, holding back a floodgate of tears. This wasn't the place to fall apart. He couldn't fall apart here. He wouldn't let his emotions get the best of him.
“I'm sorry, man. I, uh, I knew you guys were really close.”
“He was a good friend and the best partner I've ever had,” Fraser said without thinking about his words. He could only think about the pain now and holding it as bay for as long as it took to get him and Kowalski out of this mess.
Kowalski nodded, feeling suddenly second best, helpless and completely at a loss for words for once in his life.