Chicago's Most Wanted
| Fraser/Kowalski Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Chicago's Most Wanted |
| Author(s): | Speranza |
| Date(s): | 2001 |
| Length: | 252KB (file size); 42595 words |
| Genre: | slash |
| Fandom: | due South |
| External Links: | online here and here |
 art for this story by Te | |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Chicago's Most Wanted is a Fraser/Kowalski story by Speranza.
Podfic
It was podficced by Zabira in 2007 and by bessyboo and moonling in 2012.
[bessyboo and moonling's podfic]: bessyboo is RayK - filled with drama, energy and dynamism. moonlingmaid is Fraser - subtle, clever and wry. The podfic is fast paced and delightful. It’s packed with action and drama and FEELINGS! I really love how I can connect with the readers’ feelings and emotions. I can really tell that the readers LOVE this story. I love the background extra voices: revolutionaryjo, paraka, lunate8, sly_hostetter queelez bendtothesun. This is the perfect podfic for a first time listener. It’s a fun ride and is acted perfectly. [1]
Reactions and Reviews: "Chicago's Most Wanted"
Unknown Date
Amnesia story. It's been done before, you say? Well, brace yourselves, because this is one heck of a ride. Fraser as a criminal mastermind, Ray doing what he can to catch him, to knock some sense into the Mountie who thinks he's a modern Robin Hood.
Possibly the strangest Due South fic I've ever read. Fraser's undercover in prison when he ends up suffering from amnesia as a result of an overenthusiastic ballgame. Cue Fraser escaping from prison in the company of one of Chicago's most wanted criminals, upon which he becomes Chicago's very own Robin Hood. Quite possibly the most fun you can have in front of a computer. [3]
<snicker. snort. guffaw 'til I can't breathe> Nuns. RayK. Reporters and concerned citizens picketing the 27th precinct. Fraser in a black leather jacket. Guns. Semi-organized crime. Dante's Inferno, in, I might add, the original Italian. Tuna casserole. <snort of laughter, wheezing breath> Oh, Gods, the tuna casserole.... The hell with it, why are you still here, go READ THIS!!! Do not drink or eat while reading; you'll regret it!! [4]
2004
Speranza is probably my favorite author in this fandom. I cannot think of a single story of hers I don't enjoy.
However, Chicago's Most Wanted is my favorite. I read it every three months because it is the best this fandom has to offer, in my opinion, of great writing.
This story has everything, Fraser is undercover in prison, Fraser gets beat up in prison and gets amnesia (who doesn't love a good amnesia fic?), Fraser busts out of prison and becomes a bank robber.
What?
Yes, Fraser becomes a master criminal and he's very good at it. Ray figures out what has happened to Fraser (the blow to the head has scrambled Fraser's brain and he really believes he was in jail because he's a bad guy). Ray tries to stop him.
What follows is pure bliss. High-jinxs, hot sex and some of the funniest dialogue you will find anywhere in any fandom! [5]
It's warm, its funny and its totally in keeping with the feel of the show! Fraser is placed in prison undercover in an attempt to help RayK bring down a local mafia boss. Whilst there he suffers a head injury and ends up loosing all memory and buying into his cover story of being a conman. He escapes (because Fraser is good at whatever he sets his mind to) and embarks on a life of crime as Chicago's answer to Robin Hood whilst RayK has to try and bring him in before anyone is hurt. Includes the immortal line: "when nuns vandalize your car. I mean--really. That has just got to be some sort of low point, right?" [6]
2006
I think "Chicago's Most Wanted" is one of the most brilliant things I've ever read and I am seriously in awe of a mind that could think that plot up. But what makes it so perfect is how perfectly it works with those characters. That could *totally* be a two-part episode of the show (without the slash, sadly, but with plenty of that 'partner' misunderstanding innuendo). [7]
2008
Due to circumstances that do not need to be explained at this juncture (but which are explained in the story), Fraser finds himself without his memory and with the understanding that he is a criminal. Being Fraser, he promptly decides to be the best criminal he can be. While donating a ton of money to charity. And poor Ray is the sucker who has to catch him.
I love amnesia!fic, I love Speranza's DS stories, I love humor, I love angst, and I love quirkiness. All of which are present in abundance in this story. Frankly, this is awesome enough to have been an episode of the show, with a slashy/smutty bonus (just in case you needed a bit more convincing). All around wonderful. [8]
There's Nothing Safer Than Benton Fraser on a Rampage! I Mean, in a Story Sense, Obviously. In Real Life, That'd Be a Bad Thing, Albeit a Polite Bad Thing. Chicago's Most Wanted, by cesperanza. Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski.
I have a friend who told me that once, when she was traveling through India, and sick and tired and miserable, she told herself the entire story of Some Strange Prophecy for comfort.
This proves two things: fan fiction is a powerful healer, and comfort stories are totally individual. Because Some Strange Prophecy in not a comfort story for me (fine story though it is).
But Chicago's Most Wanted totally, totally is. Why? Well. Amnesiac criminal Benton Fraser. Can there be a better reason? I just think the words and the healing begins.
Also, this story proves that in the land far beyond the Broccoli Test, there is another, greater test, and it is this:
If one member of your pairing can forget who he is and go on the lam, and the other one can track him and predict where he'll be next, your pairing has passed the Chicago's Most Wanted Test. I can think of few pairings that could pass, frankly. I mean, of my OTPs - Blair Sandburg could absolutely do this for Jim Ellison, but not vice versa unless you allowed senses-related trickery, which is a rules violation. Rodney McKay and John Sheppard likely have a 50/50 chance, but if they get it wrong, someone ends up in prison or something blows up. And, oddly, I don't believe Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson could do it alone, but any three members of (original) SG1 could easily find the other. I just think it would take all of them.
Anyway. This story can heal, at minimum, major, major tragedy. I turned to this after I finished The End of the Road, people. That's how powerful this is. [9]
References
- ^ 2012 comment at If you only listen to ONE podfic in a fandom ... [part 2]
- ^ "Due South Fanfic Recs - Fraser/Kowalski by Ximeria". Archived from the original on 2015-07-02.
- ^ Mog Recs - Due South: Fic Recs, Archived version
- ^ Recommended Reading - Rhi's Favorite Links, Archived version
- ^ 2004 rec at Crack Van
- ^ Due South Recs by primekaos, 2004
- ^ from a comment at Quality vs. popularity in fiction by summerfling
- ^ Chicago's Most Wanted by Speranza (NC-17), Archived version, posted to Epic Recs by jane_elliot, Nov. 28th, 2008.
- ^ rec by thefourthvine at 283: Let the Healing Begin, October 22, 2008