Because Of You

Chapter 6

Kevin gently drifts back into consciousness. The fog clouding his mind begins to clear and with it an intense pain starts to pound in the side of his head. With what little energy he has he attempts to lift open his eye lids. Nothing but pain.

Slowly he closes them over again. Flashbacks appear in his mind. Memories of the attackers. The loud unmistakable sound of bullets exiting their chambers. Ryan attempts to open his eyes again, but yet again he is forced to close them. Head protesting painfully to the bright light. Still, desperate and determined to find out where he is, he tries again. This time he squints rather than attempting to open his eyes fully.  This gives his eyes enough time to adjust to the blinding brightness.

A white wall is the first thing the detective's blue eyes see. It's not what he was expecting at all. A more likely scenario for him would have been some dark damp cellar or the inside of a car trunk. Instead, he's greeted with pristine walls and not to mention the comfortable conditions. Whatever he's lying on is so soft. Ryan hauls his aching body up. Who knew being attacked, chloroformed and kidnapped could take such a toll on a person's body!

Kevin's eyes widen as they open fully. Yet again he is shocked at his surroundings. The detective finds himself in a bedroom. Tracing his hands along the crisp white sheets of the bed he's on he wonders who put him here. Who indeed!

Ryan jolts up off the bed.  It immediately knocks him sick. All the blood rushes from his head. The detective stumbles and grips the bed for support.

After the dizziness wears off he searches for the essentials. Of course he finds neither gun, badge nor phone. In addition to that he realises his jacket is missing. Someone must have removed it, because he doesn't remember taking it off.

Conveniently there's a floor length mirror in front of him. Ryan checks his appearance. Blood stains his nose area. Droplets of blood also linger on his shirt and grey waistcoat. Part of his white shirt hangs out of his trousers. As a force of habit he tucks it back in.

A thought crosses his mind. It causes him to smile. It's a fond memory of his partner. Every time he takes his jacket off Esposito always point out how his pants are too tight. Until now he thought his partner was having a joke at his expense. Now he realises Espo was pointing out the fact he likes his ass. Ryan shakes the thought from his head. As much as the thought of his partner checking out his backside excites him he knows he has to stay focused. The priority right now is to discover where he is.

"Think you idiot" he whispers to himself.

Surprisingly, his self-reprimand kicks his brain into gear. The detective scans the room and weighs up his options. In the corner of the room is a door. Surely his captors aren't this stupid. It's not only the fact they've left a fully trained cop in a room on his own, they've also not even bothered to tie him up! Unless that's what they want?

Cautiously, the detective walks over to the door. Anything could be on the other side. Without his gun for added protection he has to be extra careful. His heart beats loudly in his ears. The door handle is within reach. With one hand on the door handle, he takes a deep breath in...

Click. The door opens. Ryan gulps down the lump forming in his throat. It all seems too easy. This must be a trap, although of what kind he isn't too sure yet.

As quietly as he can he steps out of the room. Kevin finds himself in an empty hallway. On either side are identical doors to the one he has just come out of. No sign of any guards or armed gunmen as he expected there to be. Still, he keeps his guard up he walks down the hallway.

At the end of the hallway he finds a grand staircase. It's made of a stunning white marble. Ryan covers his mouth. As much as he wants to gasp right now he knows he must remain silent. Although, his blue eyes do bulge out of their sockets. Cascading down from the ceiling is a crystal chandelier. Whoever lives here is definitely not on a cop's salary!

Ryan drags his feet down the stairs. Eyes roaming around every inch of the extravagant sight. Suddenly he freezes. A door at the bottom of the staircase is open! Any occupants inside would be able to see him coming down the stairs by now. All he can do is pray to God nobody is home.

Nothing happens. No alarms go off. There's no yelling. No men with guns racing out to meet him. The detective figures no one has seem him. Maybe no one is home? Obviously the detective knows this is wishful thinking, but this isn't your stereotypical place to wake up in after being kidnapped so who knows.

Once he gets his feet, which have been firmly planted on the spot, moving again he descends the rest of the steps. As he reaches the bottom his heart stops. A figure stands in the room. So it looks like his wishful thinking was premature...

However, luckily for him, the person has their back to the doorway. A man is sat down on a couch which faces a fireplace. Ryan figures that this man must have the answers he's looking for. Slowly, he walks into the room.

The room itself is very different from the rest of the house. It's like going back in time. The rest of the house is pristine and modern, but this one room is made mostly of wood. It reminds the detective of the pubs he used to drink in when he was younger. As Ryan gets closer he can see that this man is a lot older than him. Possibly in his 70's. Unsure as to whether the man has spotted him he continues to walk around the couch.

"Sit" the man on the couch says bluntly.

The deep Irish-American accent gives Kevin goosebumps. For some reason he feels like he should know this man. There's something awfully familiar about him.

The detective doesn't do as he is ordered. Instead his attention is focused on the coffee table in front of the man. Neatly laid out on top of it are his gun, badge and phone. The older man flashes his bright blue eyes up at the young detective and studies him carefully.

"Go on, take it if you want, but there's nobody here that would harm you in any way" the man points out with a small smile.

The cop in him is screaming at him to grab his gun and haul this man in for questioning. However, another much stronger part of him, his heart, tells him to sit down. Ryan decides to go with what has always served him well in the past.

Still being very cautious, he sits down in the armchair adjacent to the man. Both stare at one another. Neither is willing to turn away.

"Who are you? Why am I here?" Kevin questions sternly. The man seems amused by Ryan's attempt to interrogate him.

"My name's Mick McConnell" he announces with a smile.

Mick studies the detective's reaction. Immediately Kevin recognised the name. To Mick's great merriment, he doesn't receive the usual reaction from his guest. Normally he can see fear consume people's eyes. The horrific realisation of who he is grips them all. All except the younger man before him. Kevin is different. Either he isn't afraid or he's very good at hiding it.

"The head of New York's Irish mob" Ryan states with a real calmness in his voice.

Inside his heart is racing. Sat across from him is one of the most dangerous men in New York. This is a man who could quite easily kill him without a second thought or at least that's what he first assumed. Now he's not so sure. McConnell hasn't done anything to harm him yet and he's assured him he's quite safe.

"So you've heard of me then?" Mick questions as he leans forward with intrigue.

"Every cop in the city knows who you are. You're the head of the biggest crime syndicate in New York. It's suspected you've ordered dozens of hits" Kevin speaks with no fear. Part of him is starting to believe he need not show any fear. Mick's demeanour isn't sinister towards him in the slightest.

"I believe those are the rumours. Normally when people hear these allegations against me they turn pale in fear, but you haven't done that. Why?" Mick asks curiously.

Only one other person has been able to sit across from him without showing any trace of fear. Just one. Until Kevin came along.

"Why am I here?" Ryan questions, completely ignoring Mick's previous question.

Mick locks his gaze on to him "You're here because you're family"