Title: No Mercy (1/?)

Author: X_tremeroswellian

Email: X_tremeroswellian@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The characters belong to John Wells, Edward Allen Bernero, NBC and a bunch of other people I've never met before in my life.

Rating: R for language, violence and content: deals with the issues of rape

Spoilers: Up through and including "Act Brave."

Summary: When one of their own is attacked by a serial rapist, the third watch crew sets out to find him before he strikes again.

Distribution: If you want it, take it. Just let me know the link. Otherwise, its permanent home is at my site, Only Time: www.geocities.com/angel_roswell/onlytime.html.

Category: Story

Subcategories: Angst, angst, angst, drama, angst, friendship and did I mention angst?

Author's Note: A couple of things. First of all, I have no idea where they're headed with a couple of storylines that "Childhood Memories" and "Act Brave" left us with, and I've read no future spoilers so this is only my interpretation of what I think could happen. Also, I did not want to write this fic. The subject matter is not one of my most favorite topics. However, I've learned that refusing my Muse can result in months worth of writer's block. So, where She goes, I follow. Proceed at your own risk.

Feedback: I crave it. And it tends to make me write faster.


No Mercy (Part One)

"I can't believe you took the blame for him!"

"I had to." Faith Yokas tried to concentrate on spreading peanut butter on her son's sandwich for his sack lunch.

"Had to?" Fred repeated, staring at her. "Explain the concept of 'had to!'"

"It was either that or he would have lost his job."

"And that would be bad why?"

She narrowed her eyes. "I know that Bosco isn't your favorite person in the world, but he's a good cop."

"Right. Which is why he called a rape victim a hooker."

She set down the knife she was using and turned to face him. "He made a mistake, but it wasn't just his mistake. We both made it." Faith took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. "Look, you don't understand what it is to be a cop."

"That's right, I don't. I'm just a delivery guy, right?" he remarked bitterly. "So why don't you explain it to me."

"We take care of our own," she answered.

"Oh, I forgot. You can take care of Maurice Boscorelli and everyone else in this city, but when it comes to your own family, you can't spare us more than ten minutes a day." Fred glared at her.

"What the hell is this about, anyway? Are you mad at me because I took the blame for a guy you hate or because I haven't quit my job to stay home and be the perfect little trophy wife?"

"You can be such a bitch, you know that?"

"Dad?"

Faith and Fred both turned to see Emily standing a few feet away, nervously toying with the straps on her backpack.

"What is it, Em?" Fred asked.

"We're gonna be late for school."

He nodded. "You go get Charlie and help him with his boots and coat. I'll be there in a minute."

She disappeared down the hallway.

For a moment they were both silent. Then, "It was never about you being a trophy wife. It was about you being a wife and mother, period. I'm surprised the kids recognize you no more than you're ever here. I'm tired of taking a backseat to everyone and everything else in your life, Faith. I'm tired of doing all the work around here and never getting any time for the two of us."

"Yeah, well anytime I have off you seem to be pretty busy with other things like winning trucks and watching football on television. Don't make this out to be like it's all my fault," she said angrily.

Fred shook his head. "Whatever. If we're going to toss around sins of the past, let's talk about how you went and killed our baby and then lied to me about it!"

The color drained from Faith's face. "Fred--"

"Forget it, Faith. The kids and I won't be here when you get home today."

"What?" She stared at him.

"I'm going to go stay at my parents' for awhile. I'm taking the kids with me," he informed her.

"You can't do that!"

"The hell I can't."

"Fred, you can't take my kids from me!"

"They're my kids, too. And they sure as hell can't stay here by themselves. You're never here." At that moment, Emily returned, holding her younger brother's hand. "Let's get you guys to school," Fred said, his voice full of fake cheer.

Emily and Charlie headed for the door.

Faith reached out and caught her husband's arm. "Fred, don't do this. Please," she said as fear's icy tendrils wrapped themselves around her.

He stared at her for a moment, then pulled free of her grasp and left without saying another word.


"Sully and Davis. You two are mobile patrol sector 10. Boscorelli and Yokas, mobile patrol, sector 8," the Captain informed them after role call. "And everyone be prepared to handle sexual assault calls. We were contacted by the guys at the 15th precinct. They've had three rapes in the past week. After comparing notes, we've determined that it's most likely the same guy we've been looking for. Keep your eyes and ears open. That's it."

The officers of the 55th precinct stood up and started to prepare for their shifts.

"A serial rapist. That's great," Officer John Sullivan muttered.

"We don't have anything to go on. No physical description, no unusual speech impediments or accent. We don't even know if the guy's white or black," Officer Ty David said with a furrowed brow.

"He'll slip up. We'll catch him," Bosco said. "You guys have fun on hooker patrol." He turned to see his partner still sitting down. "Yokas, let's go."

Faith rose to her feet, walked right past him, and out the door without a word.

"What's wrong with her?" Sully asked, concerned.

Bosco shrugged. "Probably just her time of the month."


It was quiet. Too quiet. And if there was one thing Maurice Boscorelli hated, it was total silence. Because in total silence, it was all too easy to get lost in your own thoughts. And his thoughts tended to backtrack into bad memories.

He glanced over at Faith, who had barely spoken to him during their entire shift. She was staring straight ahead of her, out the window. "You wanna get something to eat?" He wasn't even hungry, he just wanted to do something, anything, to fill the silence.

She didn't respond.

Bosco waved a hand in front of her face. "Earth to Officer Yokas. Are you in there?"

Faith blinked, then turned her head to look at him. "What?"

"I said are you hungry?"

"Oh. No."

He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "Wanna get some coffee or something?"

"Yeah. I could use some caffeine."

"Great." Bosco climbed out of the car and she did the same. He didn't waste any time getting to the door of the convenience store with Faith right behind him.

He paused in the doorway. The woman at the cash register remained motionless, eyes wide with fear and locked on two figures arguing in the back of the store.

"Boz..." Faith uttered, voice audible only to him.

He nodded imperceptibly and drew his gun from its holster. Bosco moved forward quietly, keeping low as he manuevered behind an aisle of candy and made his way towards the back. He turned to see Faith crouched at the front of the aisle, waiting for him to get into position.

"I'm just sayin', we're already here. We may as well grab a case to go!"

"And I'm tellin' you it'll slow us down!"

He waited, glanced at Faith who nodded at him, before counting silently to three. Bosco rose slowly to his full height and pointed his gun at one of the robbers. "Put the guns and bag down slowly and put your hands in the air," he commanded.

The two robbers--one white, one black--both turned to look at him in surprise. "Aw, shit!" They both did as he said.

"Now move your hands to the back of your head and interlock your fingers," he instructed.

"This is all your fault," the white guy snapped.

"My fault? You're the one standing here arguing about beer. We could have gotten away already!"

"Boys, boys. There's plenty of blame to go around. Stupidity abounds." Bosco rolled his eyes at their confused looks. "Didn't you see us sittin' right out front in the patrol car?" he asked, nodding his head towards the glass window at the clearly visible car.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement. A third robber emerged from the back, carrying another sack of money and a pistol. The guy's eyes widened and he immediately aimed his gun at Faith.

"Faith, down!" Bosco shouted to his unsuspecting partner. She dropped to the ground without question. He swung his gun around and fired it without hesitation.

The bullet slammed into the guy's left shoulder and sent him flying backwards onto the tile floor. His gun clattered to the ground.

Bosco turned his attention back to the other two idiots. He took the handcuffs off his belt. "You're under arrest for attempted armed robbery. You have the right to remain silent..."

"This is 55-David to Central. We need an ambulance on fourth street at the Huck's convenience sotre," Faith said over her radio as she collected the downed robber's gun.

"He fuckin' shot me!" the guy said, outraged as he held his right hand over the wound.

"Boy, nothing gets by you," she remarked sarcastically.

"10-4, 55-David. Bus is on its way."

Faith stood up and walked over to Bosco and used her handcuffs to cuff the other robber.

"Wanna escort Larry and Moe here out to the car?" Bosco asked.

She shrugged. "Sure."

"Thank you so much," the girl behind the counter said to them gratefully.

"All in a day's work," Bosco told her with a slight smile on his face.


"Fire's out!" Jimmy Dohrety shouted. "It was a kitchen fire. No casualties. Not even an injury."

"Good. Let's get out of here. I'm starving," Carlos complained to Alex Taylor, who rolled her eyes.

"What's new?" she muttered. She glanced across the small crowd gathered outside the apartment building and saw Officer Ty Davis looking back at her.

"Come on. We're not needed here," Carlos said.

"In a minute," she replied, pushing herself away from the ambulance. She carefully made her way through the crowd.

"Hey," Ty said, smiling at her.

"Hey."

"What time do you get off work tonight?"

"Actually, Carlos and I are running a double."

He nodded. "Us, too," he said, nodding towards Sully. "So...do you wanna meet up afterwords? Get something to eat and come over to my place?"

Alex nodded. "Sounds good." She turned to go, but he stopped her with a gentle hold on her arm.

"Do me a favor and be extra careful out there, all right?" he said, a worried tone to his voice.

She frowned. "Sure. Is everything okay?"

Ty pulled her away from the crowd a bit. "There's a serial rapist on the streets. We don't have any idea who the guy is or where he'll show up next. The victims appear to be random." He looked down for a moment before meeting her eyes again. "I just...don't want anything to happen to you."

She nodded, touched by his concern. "I'll be careful," she promised him.

"Yo, Taylor! Move it!" Carlos shouted.

Alex rolled her eyes. "I gotta go or I'll have to listen to him whine all night."

"Like he isn't going to anyway?"

She grinned. "See you later."

He nodded. "All right."

Alex turned and walked towards Carlos. "I'm coming. Don't get your panties in a twist."


Sully glanced sideways at his partner as he drove their patrol car back to their station. "So what's with you and Taylor?"

"What do you mean?"

He raised his eyebrows. "I mean you two have been hanging out a lot."

"She's fun to hang out with," Davis replied nonchalantly.

"And just how much time have you been spending with her?"

"All right, all right. We're together."

Sully nodded his approval. "She seems like a nice girl."

After a moment of silence, Davis said quietly. "I like her. A lot."

"So it's serious?"

Davis looked over at him. "Yeah. It is."

Sully simply smiled.


"You guys heard the latest?" Kim Zambrino asked as she sat down at the table in the fire-station.

"What's that?" Alex asked as she sat down at the end of the table and yawned.

"There's a serial rapist on the loose."

Jimmy looked up from where he was cooking grilled cheese sandwiches. "Where'd you hear that from?"

"Faith and Bosco." Kim shuddered. "I've already made plans for Joey and me to stay over at Mom's for awhile." She picked up the grilled cheese sandwich in front of her and took a bite.

Jimmy nodded, looking relieved. Then his gaze traveled to Alex.

She realized that everyone was staring at her. "Oh. I'm going over to Davis' to help him protect Carlos."

Everyone snickered except for Carlos, who scowled at her. "Very funny. And why are you wasting your time with Davis, anyway? He's not into chicks."

Kim choked on the sip of cola she had taken. "What?"

"Yeah, Sargeant Christopher told me," Carlos said, leaning back in his chair with a matter-of-fact look on his face.

Jimmy ducked his head to hide his grin. Kim glanced at Alex, who was trying to suppress her own smile.

Doc just patted Carlos on the shoulder as he walked by.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Nothing," Alex replied. She and Kim exchanged a smile and Alex took a drink of her diet soda.

"What?" Carlos demanded again.


Bosco changed out of his uniform and into a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt. "Hey, Yokas! You need a ride home?"

She poked her head around the corner. "Nah." She disappeared behind the lockers again.

"Fred picking you up?"

"No. I'm gonna walk."

He frowned, a funny feeling creeping into his stomach. "You sure that's a good idea?"

She stepped into view, having finished changing into her street clothes. She pulled her coat back and revealed her weapon holstered on her belt. "I'll be fine. I just need some air."

He nodded. "All right, so...I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah." She headed towards the door.

"Faith?"

She turned to look at him. "Yeah?"

"Is everything okay?" Bosco studied her face, noted how tired she looked. He didn't feel right letting her walk home alone that late at night.

"Yeah, everything's fine, Boz."

He wasn't convinced, but he knew better than to try and argue with her about it. "All right."

"Good night."

"'Night," Bosco answered. He watched her leave the locker room, a frown on his face. Then he closed his locker, shrugged into his jacket and headed home.


By the time Faith made it to her apartment building, she was cold and exhausted. She practically had to drag herself up the staircase. She paused outside her door and pulled her keys out of her coat pocket, slid the key into door and turned it. Then she stepped inside and flipped on the light, shutting and locking the door behind her.

She took off her coat and hung it up on the coat rack, then removed her gun and holster from her belt. She opened the closet door and set them up on the top shelf where her kids couldn't reach them.

Faith walked down the hallway and peered into Emily's room. Her daughter's bed was made neatly just as it had been before she'd gone to school.

Tears sprung to her eyes and she stifled a sob as she stepped into the room and sank down onto the bed. She laid down and pressed her face into the pillow, curling into fetal position. He'd really gone through with it. Fred had left and had taken her kids with him.

And now she was completely alone.

She gave up trying not to cry and sobbed into her daughter's pillow until she fell asleep.


Faith woke up from a restless, dreamless sleep and was startled to realize she was in Emily's bed. She squinted at the digital clock on her daughter's bedside table. 2:11 a.m.

She forced herself into sitting position, groaning as her muscles ached from the awkward position she'd fallen asleep in. She stood up slowly and left the room. She walked down the hall and into the kitchen, feeling drowsy and worn out, but craving herbal tea. She filled the teapot with water and turned on the stove. She stood there staring down at the glass stovetop, waiting for the water to boil.

She heard a noise from the living room. "Fred?" she called hopefully.

When she receieved no response, she sighed and figured it had just been wishful thinking. She reached up and removed a coffee cup from the cabinet above the sink.

She heard the noise again and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She froze, listening. There was only silence.

Faith could hear the sound of her own heart's rapid beating. She searched her memory, trying to remember exactly where she'd left her gun. Living room closet, she thought, grimacing.

She crept quietly towards the living room, relieved to see the lamp was still on. There was no one there. She released the breath she'd been holding, but decided to get her gun out of the closet anyway. She turned the handle and opened the door. She reached in and removed her holster and gun from the top shelf.

The attack came from behind.

Faith cried out as she was shoved up against the wall and the holster slipped from her hand and dropped to the floor with a loud thud.

She rammed the attacker with her elbow, then turned sharply and punched him in the side of the head. A dark ski mask covered his face.

He launched himself at her, knocking her back onto the floor. She rolled away quickly and attempted to reach her gun.

He was on his feet just as her fingertips brushed the steel handle and he kicked her in the side.

Faith moaned from the sudden pain in her ribs and she scrambled to her feet. He was blocking her only path to the gun. A high-pitched shriek from the kitchen startled both of them, but she recovered first.

She shoved him backwards into the front door and then reached for her gun again. She had no sooner picked it up when he siezed her roughly by her shoulders and threw her onto the wooden coffee table with such force that it collapsed. The landing knocked the air out of her lungs and she struggled to breathe.

He loomed over her like a giant; his only visible feature was his dark green eyes glaring down at her. He reached down and pulled her to her feet, then slammed her into the wall.

Faith slid down to the floor, too dazed to stand. He approached again, this time grabbing her by her neck and hauling her to her feet. She made a feeble attempt to kick him in the groin, but he tightened his grip on her neck and she had to focus her attention on trying to get him to let go before he strangled her. He threw her onto the floor amidst the remnants of the broken table.

She winced in pain and moved her hand to her head. When she removed it, she saw it was covered in blood. Her attacker sat on top of her, pinning her down with his weight.

Tears sprung to her eyes. Think, Faith. You're a cop. Think, she told herself. "You don't want to do this!"

"Oh, yes, I do. And you want me to. You know you do."

Her mind flashed to what Davis had said earlier. "We don't have anything to go on. No physical description, no unusual speech impediments or accent. We don't even know if the guy's white or black."

Faith reached up and yanked his mask off before he had a chance to stop her.

"You'll pay for that, bitch!" he snarled. He reached over beside her and grabbed her gun out of its holster. He raised it up and then slammed it into the side of her head.

Her last thought was that she hoped Emily and Charlie weren't the ones to find her. Then everything grew dark.

End Part 1

I'll try my best to get the next part out by Friday. -X_tremeroswellian