crack_van | Little Ray by Giuletta (PG13)

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Gen - Vecchio
Author on LJ:

mondschein1
Author Website: Fic in memories
Why this must be read:

Vecchio's life undercover in Vegas is a rich vein for writers - what he did, what it did to him. This is a great example of not only just that but also uses it as a springboard for a character study of Ray. The author manages to weave the two story threads together - and the formatting of the paragraphs back-and-forth really works - crossing Armando and Vecchio, 'til Ray isn't sure who he is.

The impetus of this story is the actions of a Vegas cop, Sandoval - who really works as an OC without saying a word, poor guy - almost breaking Vecchio's cover. The immediacy and speed of this thread contrasts with the other - Ray growing up in Chicago, frustrations with the PD, the mob, the FBI, all leading to Ray alone in a room in Vegas. The author breaks Ray - or watches him doing it to himself - but so elegantly.

Ray got used to it, after a while. He didn't like it -- nobody liked it -- but he got so he could live with it, anyway. He died a little, trying to convince himself that the good guys lose, sometimes; but he accepted it. The guys clapped him on the back and bought him a drink, the time he let Charlie slip through his fingers without a fuss.

Then one day Zuko died, and Ray turned around and found Frankie smirking at him. Smoking a cigar. Scumming up the neighborhood. Slamming his face into the pavement.

Ray thinks he lost half his sanity then. The rest -- well, he waited a few years to lose the rest.

Little Ray