She stepped up into the bus, and swung the door closed behind her,
her bagel securely in its little takeout bag, coffee rested on the
dashboard. With a sigh, she checked the small monitor on the front of the
window, and settled back in her chair to tuck into her snack. Her partner
would be back soon. He was probably in the can, knowing him.
Kim Zambano took a moment to retie her long light auburn hair, and flick it back over a feminine shoulder, just as the driver's door opened, and Bobby Caffey slipped into the bus, and he smiled at her at the corner of his mouth. His eyes turned downward for a moment, and Kim laughed quietly, opening her bagel bag.
"What?" Bobby asked, turning his handsome head her way for a moment, bringing the engine roaring into life.
Kim glanced sideways at her partner, and grinned, nodding in a downward direction to jog his memory. "You were checking you hadn't... you know."
Bobby huffed, and shook his head as they set off, causing Kim to smile again. He wouldn't make anything of it, and neither would she... unless she got bored. She didn't know how busy their day was going to be, but from the chaos in the city that had kept them occupied lately, she didn't doubt that they would be kept on their toes.
For a while, they simply drove in silence, Bobby with his eyes on the road, and Kim with her attention on her bagel snack. She sipped her coffee sporadically, her own eyes rarely leaving the road.
"So," Bobby began, his voice stoic, "Jimmy takin' you out tonight?"
"What?" Kim snapped, amazed that he had brought this up again. She thought he was over this crap. "No."
"Hey, I'm just askin'," Bobby said, holding up a single hand, and quickly replacing it on the wheel."
"I can't believe you would ask me that."
She felt his eyes look on her, but ignored him. He was being ignorant again, and she didn't have the patience for it right now. Joey was sick, and her mother was looking after him. She and Jimmy Doherty couldn't afford to take time off to look after the poor kid right now. She couldn't believe he had contracted the flu now... when they were most busy. Any other time, and one of the others could have covered for at least a day or something. She would have been able to stay home with her son, but no.
And she didn't like that Jimmy's work was so hazardous. She knew he was damn good at what he did, but that sometimes made him careless, and Jimmy was a stubborn man. He liked to show off, play the crowd, he always had. That was part of what she had loved in him. It was that edge that attracted her to men like him. Shaking her head, she looked out of her window.
It was going to be a long shift.
* * *
"You not hungry?"
Carlos Nieto looked up from his book, and stared blankly at Doc, who was peering at him through his thin-framed glasses inquisitively. After a moment of realising the young paramedic clearly hadn't heard him, he restated his question.
"Oh, no, thanks," Carlos mumbled, forcing a smile, and looking back to his book. He had learned to fill his time with studies, even though Doc had assured him that he should just stick with being a paramedic, and this was coming from the best damn one in the city... according to Bobby. And Bobby wasn't one for inflation of the truth.
"You gotta eat something," Monte 'Doc' Parker insisted, biting into something Carlos didn't recognise, even with his wide taste in food. Doc had gone out for the food alone, and had brought some stuff back to the bus, leaving the door open on the hot day, so that the scent would not flood the vehicle. The last thing they wanted was to nauseate some unwitting victim who tagged along with a broken leg or whatever. Who knew what the day had in store for them?
"I'm not hungry."
"Why not? You sick or something?" Doc inquired, taking a fork, and stabbing into a container of what -to Carlos- looked like noodles.
"No, it's just I had a big breakfast," Carlos lied. He was just making excuses. He was trying to use his time wisely.
"Don't give me that," Doc teased, poking a plastic fork at him and smiling wanly. "Now try the noodles. Best in the city. Trust me."
Carlos rolled his eyes, and decided he might as well wallow in Doc's good graces if that was what the trainer had in store for him today.
Taking a pot off the dash, and a spare fork, he sampled the noodles, and nodded in agreement. "You're right. These are really good." He smiled.
"What did I tell you? You've gotta learn what ones to trust, and where to stay clear. There's one down on the south side that'll give you the runs for a week."
Carlos pulled a face. "Nice."
Doc laughed, and nodded.
* * *
Patrolling the streets was more of a chore than anything, but Ty Davis Jr. knew when to keep his mouth shut... most of the time. He had learned from his partner when to speak and when not to, when to pretend you haven't heard what you've heard.
John Sullivan, or Sully to his friends, walked with one hand in his pocket, and his eyes on the streets. His mind was on the job, and nowhere else. He didn't fall to distraction. He was a firm officer, set in his ways, and Davis respected that, god knew he was smarter than to try and sway the man to new techniques. Sully had been a cop a hell of a lot longer than Davis, and he was a damn good one at that.
Davis was learning a lot from him. He was glad he had been 'stuck' with him, so to speak. According to Bosco, one of the other officers at the station, the only way to be a real cop was to get away from the old guy as soon as possible. So far, it seemed Bosco was talking out of his ass, from Davis' point of view anyway.
And Sully had worked with Ty's dad. And he had been with him when he'd died too. Hell, Sully had even taken Ty to the place where he had drawn his last breath. That had been tough. Seeing the place where his dad had been shot had wracked his nerves, tempted him to the limit to throw in the towel.
But Sully had held onto the kid strong, and he wasn't letting go. The wisdom he had to share was gold, and Davis was waiting in line, arms wide to receive some of that gold. Occasionally it trickled his way, and he soaked it in willingly.
"You wanna head back to the squad?" Sully asked him, eyes not even turning in his direction, even for a moment.
Davis considered for a moment, glancing around him at the bustling streets of New York, and nodded. "Sure."
"Okay. Doesn't seem to be anything out here that needs our attention."
Just as Sully finished his sentence, a man came running up, breath ragged, arms flailing madly, eyes wild. His voice was panicked, and he had to stop and rephrase.
"There's a guy been shot in the alley, man! He's hurt bad, officer!"
"Alright, calm down, sir, lead the way," Sully advised, reaching for his radio. "This is 5-5-Charlie, we've got a man with a gunshot wound on..." he paused, and looked up for a street sign or familiar landmark, and relayed it into the radio upon spotting it.
He, Davis and the man took off at a jog for the scene, and were there within moments. It was a real mess, and the man who had grabbed their attention stood in the mouth of the alley, gaping like a fish out of water in desperate need of air, and fast. He simply stood there; arms limp at his sides, staring like an idiot. The man who had been shot was lying face down in the trash; a visible gunshot wound bleeding on his back, and a rather bad one at that.
"You know him?" Sully inquired quickly, reaching down and checking the man's pulse. He shook his head, and let out a sigh.
Davis couldn't see the man breathing, and it was a bad sign that Sully had just looked so grave all of a sudden.
"Nah, man, I just saw him down here, and came and found you guys, that's all," the man stated, his voice rushed, waving his arms in a desperate manner.
"It's okay, sir, we're not accusing you of anything," Davis assured him, landing a hand gently on his shoulder to calm his nerves.
Sirens filled the air, closing in on their position, and Davis poked his head out of the alley to see what was on the way. One ambulance and another squad car were arriving even as he peered back into the alley.
He heard the slam of doors, and looking over his shoulder, he saw the approach of Kim and Bobby with their medical bags, tailed quickly by Faith Yokas and Maurice Boscorelli... or rather, Bosco... he refused to be called anything else. Davis understood that, but he didn't share that understanding.
The two police officers let the paramedics into the alley, and stood in the mouth.
"What's goin' on?" Yokas asked, her red-brown hair tied back neatly into a bun, strands of it loose already. Bosco stood slightly behind her, hand on his nightstick, looking incredibly bored. His eyes flicked occasionally to the body of the gunshot victim, and he frowned deeply. He looked as pensive and moody as ever. Yokas was her normal inquisitive calm self.
Sully had his hands on his hips, and moved aside so that Kim and Bobby could work. "Guy found him like this in the alley."
"I didn't touch 'im," the man insisted, shaking his head and staring wide-eyed down at the man.
Kim looked up at Yokas, and shook her head. Yokas nodded, and looked at Bosco, who moved out of the alley, and grabbed his radio.
Davis could just make out his words; "This is 5-5-David, we've got a body in an alley on the corner of West-103rd. Gunshot victim."
There was the familiar sound of a response from the other side, but it was too quiet for Davis to hear, and so he turned his attention back to the other officers, and the two paramedics.
"I'll get the gurney," Bobby said stoically, standing, and retreating from the alley.
"Is he dead, officer?" the man asked in a panic, his voice shaking. He didn't know whether to look at Sully, Yokas or Davis. If Bosco had still been in the alley, the poor guy would have gotten dizzy and fast.
"I'm afraid so, sir. We're going to have to take you down to the station to answer some questions," Sully told the man, his tone soothing, trying to sound understanding.
The man nodded in a daze, and simply continued to stare at the body on the floor.
Bobby pushed his way past patiently with the gurney, and he and Kim went about their business. They would have to wait for forensics to come and take their photos first of course, but then the coroner could take the body back to the morgue at the hospital for... whatever. Davis wasn't too clear on procedure after that. He wasn't sure he wanted to be.
"Well, nothing more we can do here. See ya' later, Sully, Davis," Yokas said quietly, striding from the alley. There was the sound of her calling out to Bosco, before Davis heard them get back into their squad and leave the scene.
Sully looked back at Kim and Bobby for a moment, then led the way to their own vehicle, which was parked down the road. The man who had informed them of the dead body followed obediently, fully aware that he was required for questioning. Sully had explained quietly.
Davis brought up the rear, taking one last glance at the dead man, before moving off.
* * *
Boscorelli sighed heavily, and sunk back in the seat, staring blankly out of the front windshield. Yokas heard his bored sigh, and glanced briefly in his direction as she drove the car slowly down the street, the sun shining through the glass at regular intervals.
"What's the matter with you?" she asked impatiently.
Bosco shrugged. "I dunno. How often do we find guys like that in an alley, Yokas? What's the point of goin' down there and checkin' 'em out anymore?"
Yokas let out a breath quickly. "I can't believe you sometimes. We're out here to... no, I'm not goin' to say anything."
Bosco glanced over. "What did I do?"
"Forget it," Yokas mumbled, and turned onto another street, peering through the windows before simply staring ahead once again.
Bosco shook his head slowly, and rested his elbow on the side of the car door, balling his fist and leaning his head against it.
For ages the two sat there in complete silence, save for the occasional ramble from the radio that didn't concern them. They had learnt to ignore it whenever their squad number didn't come up, and they stared stoically out of the windows.
"5-5-David, we have a family dispute at an apartment block on the corner of Morrison Avenue."
Sighing lightly, Bosco reached up to his radio. "5-5-David, Ten- Four."
Yokas flicked on the lights, and turned off the street they were patrolling and drove quickly to the scene of the dispute, which they couldn't miss unless they were deaf and blind. Even as they parked the squad, a chair flew out of the third floor front window, crashing to the road below, narrowly missing a tow-truck that drove past.
"Oh, this is gonna be fun," Yokas grumbled, slamming the door to the driver's side, and looking up as the sound of screaming filled the busy air. Quite a crowd had started to form below, and they were staring up at the building.
"Hey," Bosco called to them, removing his nightstick, and crossing quickly to the building's main entrance, "come on, get outta here. Move it!"
A few of the crowd immediately started to move away, intimidated by the police officer, who simply carried on into the building, his partner in close pursuit. The others simply gawked.
The lobby was empty, and Bosco headed into the stairwell, and jogged up them with ease, Yokas right behind him, glancing over her shoulder frequently.
Bosco emerged on the third floor, and followed the sound of the shouting to the correct apartment door, which, quite frankly, they couldn't miss, considering the wood was cracked in two places, and the door was starting to warp out of its frame.
"This looks like the place," Yokas said, even as Bosco banged on the door three times in succession.
No one answered, and the shouting continued from inside.
"Police!" Bosco yelled, banging on the door again, hearing what sounded like someone telling them not so politely to buzz off.
Shaking his head, he stood back, and kicked the door in hard, feeling it give way beneath the blow. The screaming from inside did not falter, nor did the smashing of personal objects.
They proceeded with caution, and Bosco emerged into the living room, ducking immediately beneath a plate that shattered inches above his head against the wall. He looked at it as it fell in shards to the floor.
The couple in the apartment were in their mid-thirties if anything, and both showed signs of greying in their hair. The woman's hair was black, tied back into a simply ponytail, swinging from side to side as she screamed and threw objects at a man. She was a reasonably short woman, her arms lean, her legs covered by a long skirt, her face showing her years with bags around her eyes and lines of age down her skin. The man himself was tall and bulky, a receding hairline of brown hair topping off an angry face of sharp lines. The sleeves on his chequered shirt were rolled up roughly, and his fists were balled as he yelled heatedly. They hadn't seemed to take much notice of the two police officers.
"Hey, what's goin' on here?" Bosco called to them over the screaming that never ceased. It was difficult to pick out anything other than expletives in amongst their yelling.
Yokas neared the woman, Bosco closing on the man. They had been in situations like this before, and they knew their strengths. Yokas knew she couldn't handle a man that size. Hell, he made Bosco look short as well.
"Sir, you're gonna have to calm down for me, okay?" Bosco offered, holding out a hand, the one that wasn't holding the nightstick.
"Get your hands away from me!" the man yelled, his face red with rage.
"Ma'am," Yokas began calmly, her voice soothing, "ma'am, do you think you can ease off for a minute so we can talk?"
"He's been cheating on me for six months, the son-of-a-bitch!" she screamed, infuriated, tears streaming from her eyes as her body shook.
"Well, why don't you come over here with me for a minute and we can talk about it, huh?" Yokas told the woman, reaching out, but never touching her.
The woman breathed heavily, and sobbed frantically, but looked Yokas in the eye and saw the compassion there, and so she nodded, moving off for a moment, but not before placing the last plate she held slowly down on a nearby table that had not been toppled.
"See that? Now your wife's calmed down," Bosco said calmly, well, as calmly as he could manage, "you think you can give it a shot too?" He slotted his nightstick away for emphasis, trying to ease the situation. He reached out a hand to the man.
"I swear, if you touch me, I'll break your arm!" the man yelled quickly. He whirled on Bosco, hands balled into fists so tightly that the knuckles went white.
"Alright, I won't touch you if you don't want me to, sir, I just need you to calm down and stop raising your voice," Bosco told the man sternly, and Yokas could see he was starting to lose his own temper.
"That bitch accuses me of sleeping with another woman. What right have you got to come into my home and tell me what to do? And you're paying for the door!"
Bosco looked over at Yokas, and raised his eyebrows, as if to say 'if he doesn't calm down, I'm gonna sock him one'. Yokas shook her head in warning.
"Well, if you keep your voice down, maybe we can talk about it civilly for a little while and sort something out, huh?" Bosco never really was very good at the calm stuff. He was running out of things to say, and he wasn't getting a good enough hold of the situation.
"Civilly? I'd much rather go over there and give her a black eye," the man growled, starting to move over to where Yokas and the woman stood. "Lying through your teeth about me! Why don't you just learn to keep your mouth shut, woman?"
He stepped forward, raising a fist, but Bosco grabbed his arm. The man whirled, throwing Bosco back against the wall. Swiftly, Yokas came over, and rammed the man up against the wall, just as Bosco stood to his full height again.
"You're under arrest for assault on a police officer," Yokas told the man loudly, cuffing him after a moment of brief struggle with him.
Bosco ran a hand over his spiky brown hair, and glared at the back of the man. He grabbed a hold of one of the man's arm, and started to drag him rather unceremoniously out of the apartment.
Yokas stayed behind a few moments to get a statement from the woman, and to tell her what would happen to her husband now, and then followed Bosco.
She slipped her notebook away as she joined Bosco at the elevator, even as the doors opened and the young male officer shoved the man inside angrily.
"My lawyer's gonna have a field day with this," the man grumbled irritably.
"Yeah, well you can just sit tight and shut up until then, can't you?" Yokas told him, never really looking at him, only at Bosco, who seemed pissed. Whenever someone took a swing at him, it was his impulse to swing back. He hadn't really had a chance this time though, thankfully. He might have done quite a bit of damage to the man if he had.
"I'm gonna be out of jail within twelve hours. Just you wait," the man said to them, "my wife will come to her senses."
"Maybe not now she's found out you were sleeping with another woman," Yokas said lightly, leaving the elevator when it reached the bottom. Bosco pushed the man ahead.
"I didn't cheat on her," he stated, "she's lying."
"Yeah, I bet she's really the one sleepin' around," Bosco muttered. He stopped outside the squad car, after leading the man through the small crowd by his arm.
"It wouldn't surprise me."
"Mind your head," Bosco said, pushing the man into the back of the squad car and slamming the door behind him, and moving to climb in the passenger side.
Yokas watched him get in the car, shook her head, and followed suit.
Kim Zambano took a moment to retie her long light auburn hair, and flick it back over a feminine shoulder, just as the driver's door opened, and Bobby Caffey slipped into the bus, and he smiled at her at the corner of his mouth. His eyes turned downward for a moment, and Kim laughed quietly, opening her bagel bag.
"What?" Bobby asked, turning his handsome head her way for a moment, bringing the engine roaring into life.
Kim glanced sideways at her partner, and grinned, nodding in a downward direction to jog his memory. "You were checking you hadn't... you know."
Bobby huffed, and shook his head as they set off, causing Kim to smile again. He wouldn't make anything of it, and neither would she... unless she got bored. She didn't know how busy their day was going to be, but from the chaos in the city that had kept them occupied lately, she didn't doubt that they would be kept on their toes.
For a while, they simply drove in silence, Bobby with his eyes on the road, and Kim with her attention on her bagel snack. She sipped her coffee sporadically, her own eyes rarely leaving the road.
"So," Bobby began, his voice stoic, "Jimmy takin' you out tonight?"
"What?" Kim snapped, amazed that he had brought this up again. She thought he was over this crap. "No."
"Hey, I'm just askin'," Bobby said, holding up a single hand, and quickly replacing it on the wheel."
"I can't believe you would ask me that."
She felt his eyes look on her, but ignored him. He was being ignorant again, and she didn't have the patience for it right now. Joey was sick, and her mother was looking after him. She and Jimmy Doherty couldn't afford to take time off to look after the poor kid right now. She couldn't believe he had contracted the flu now... when they were most busy. Any other time, and one of the others could have covered for at least a day or something. She would have been able to stay home with her son, but no.
And she didn't like that Jimmy's work was so hazardous. She knew he was damn good at what he did, but that sometimes made him careless, and Jimmy was a stubborn man. He liked to show off, play the crowd, he always had. That was part of what she had loved in him. It was that edge that attracted her to men like him. Shaking her head, she looked out of her window.
It was going to be a long shift.
* * *
"You not hungry?"
Carlos Nieto looked up from his book, and stared blankly at Doc, who was peering at him through his thin-framed glasses inquisitively. After a moment of realising the young paramedic clearly hadn't heard him, he restated his question.
"Oh, no, thanks," Carlos mumbled, forcing a smile, and looking back to his book. He had learned to fill his time with studies, even though Doc had assured him that he should just stick with being a paramedic, and this was coming from the best damn one in the city... according to Bobby. And Bobby wasn't one for inflation of the truth.
"You gotta eat something," Monte 'Doc' Parker insisted, biting into something Carlos didn't recognise, even with his wide taste in food. Doc had gone out for the food alone, and had brought some stuff back to the bus, leaving the door open on the hot day, so that the scent would not flood the vehicle. The last thing they wanted was to nauseate some unwitting victim who tagged along with a broken leg or whatever. Who knew what the day had in store for them?
"I'm not hungry."
"Why not? You sick or something?" Doc inquired, taking a fork, and stabbing into a container of what -to Carlos- looked like noodles.
"No, it's just I had a big breakfast," Carlos lied. He was just making excuses. He was trying to use his time wisely.
"Don't give me that," Doc teased, poking a plastic fork at him and smiling wanly. "Now try the noodles. Best in the city. Trust me."
Carlos rolled his eyes, and decided he might as well wallow in Doc's good graces if that was what the trainer had in store for him today.
Taking a pot off the dash, and a spare fork, he sampled the noodles, and nodded in agreement. "You're right. These are really good." He smiled.
"What did I tell you? You've gotta learn what ones to trust, and where to stay clear. There's one down on the south side that'll give you the runs for a week."
Carlos pulled a face. "Nice."
Doc laughed, and nodded.
* * *
Patrolling the streets was more of a chore than anything, but Ty Davis Jr. knew when to keep his mouth shut... most of the time. He had learned from his partner when to speak and when not to, when to pretend you haven't heard what you've heard.
John Sullivan, or Sully to his friends, walked with one hand in his pocket, and his eyes on the streets. His mind was on the job, and nowhere else. He didn't fall to distraction. He was a firm officer, set in his ways, and Davis respected that, god knew he was smarter than to try and sway the man to new techniques. Sully had been a cop a hell of a lot longer than Davis, and he was a damn good one at that.
Davis was learning a lot from him. He was glad he had been 'stuck' with him, so to speak. According to Bosco, one of the other officers at the station, the only way to be a real cop was to get away from the old guy as soon as possible. So far, it seemed Bosco was talking out of his ass, from Davis' point of view anyway.
And Sully had worked with Ty's dad. And he had been with him when he'd died too. Hell, Sully had even taken Ty to the place where he had drawn his last breath. That had been tough. Seeing the place where his dad had been shot had wracked his nerves, tempted him to the limit to throw in the towel.
But Sully had held onto the kid strong, and he wasn't letting go. The wisdom he had to share was gold, and Davis was waiting in line, arms wide to receive some of that gold. Occasionally it trickled his way, and he soaked it in willingly.
"You wanna head back to the squad?" Sully asked him, eyes not even turning in his direction, even for a moment.
Davis considered for a moment, glancing around him at the bustling streets of New York, and nodded. "Sure."
"Okay. Doesn't seem to be anything out here that needs our attention."
Just as Sully finished his sentence, a man came running up, breath ragged, arms flailing madly, eyes wild. His voice was panicked, and he had to stop and rephrase.
"There's a guy been shot in the alley, man! He's hurt bad, officer!"
"Alright, calm down, sir, lead the way," Sully advised, reaching for his radio. "This is 5-5-Charlie, we've got a man with a gunshot wound on..." he paused, and looked up for a street sign or familiar landmark, and relayed it into the radio upon spotting it.
He, Davis and the man took off at a jog for the scene, and were there within moments. It was a real mess, and the man who had grabbed their attention stood in the mouth of the alley, gaping like a fish out of water in desperate need of air, and fast. He simply stood there; arms limp at his sides, staring like an idiot. The man who had been shot was lying face down in the trash; a visible gunshot wound bleeding on his back, and a rather bad one at that.
"You know him?" Sully inquired quickly, reaching down and checking the man's pulse. He shook his head, and let out a sigh.
Davis couldn't see the man breathing, and it was a bad sign that Sully had just looked so grave all of a sudden.
"Nah, man, I just saw him down here, and came and found you guys, that's all," the man stated, his voice rushed, waving his arms in a desperate manner.
"It's okay, sir, we're not accusing you of anything," Davis assured him, landing a hand gently on his shoulder to calm his nerves.
Sirens filled the air, closing in on their position, and Davis poked his head out of the alley to see what was on the way. One ambulance and another squad car were arriving even as he peered back into the alley.
He heard the slam of doors, and looking over his shoulder, he saw the approach of Kim and Bobby with their medical bags, tailed quickly by Faith Yokas and Maurice Boscorelli... or rather, Bosco... he refused to be called anything else. Davis understood that, but he didn't share that understanding.
The two police officers let the paramedics into the alley, and stood in the mouth.
"What's goin' on?" Yokas asked, her red-brown hair tied back neatly into a bun, strands of it loose already. Bosco stood slightly behind her, hand on his nightstick, looking incredibly bored. His eyes flicked occasionally to the body of the gunshot victim, and he frowned deeply. He looked as pensive and moody as ever. Yokas was her normal inquisitive calm self.
Sully had his hands on his hips, and moved aside so that Kim and Bobby could work. "Guy found him like this in the alley."
"I didn't touch 'im," the man insisted, shaking his head and staring wide-eyed down at the man.
Kim looked up at Yokas, and shook her head. Yokas nodded, and looked at Bosco, who moved out of the alley, and grabbed his radio.
Davis could just make out his words; "This is 5-5-David, we've got a body in an alley on the corner of West-103rd. Gunshot victim."
There was the familiar sound of a response from the other side, but it was too quiet for Davis to hear, and so he turned his attention back to the other officers, and the two paramedics.
"I'll get the gurney," Bobby said stoically, standing, and retreating from the alley.
"Is he dead, officer?" the man asked in a panic, his voice shaking. He didn't know whether to look at Sully, Yokas or Davis. If Bosco had still been in the alley, the poor guy would have gotten dizzy and fast.
"I'm afraid so, sir. We're going to have to take you down to the station to answer some questions," Sully told the man, his tone soothing, trying to sound understanding.
The man nodded in a daze, and simply continued to stare at the body on the floor.
Bobby pushed his way past patiently with the gurney, and he and Kim went about their business. They would have to wait for forensics to come and take their photos first of course, but then the coroner could take the body back to the morgue at the hospital for... whatever. Davis wasn't too clear on procedure after that. He wasn't sure he wanted to be.
"Well, nothing more we can do here. See ya' later, Sully, Davis," Yokas said quietly, striding from the alley. There was the sound of her calling out to Bosco, before Davis heard them get back into their squad and leave the scene.
Sully looked back at Kim and Bobby for a moment, then led the way to their own vehicle, which was parked down the road. The man who had informed them of the dead body followed obediently, fully aware that he was required for questioning. Sully had explained quietly.
Davis brought up the rear, taking one last glance at the dead man, before moving off.
* * *
Boscorelli sighed heavily, and sunk back in the seat, staring blankly out of the front windshield. Yokas heard his bored sigh, and glanced briefly in his direction as she drove the car slowly down the street, the sun shining through the glass at regular intervals.
"What's the matter with you?" she asked impatiently.
Bosco shrugged. "I dunno. How often do we find guys like that in an alley, Yokas? What's the point of goin' down there and checkin' 'em out anymore?"
Yokas let out a breath quickly. "I can't believe you sometimes. We're out here to... no, I'm not goin' to say anything."
Bosco glanced over. "What did I do?"
"Forget it," Yokas mumbled, and turned onto another street, peering through the windows before simply staring ahead once again.
Bosco shook his head slowly, and rested his elbow on the side of the car door, balling his fist and leaning his head against it.
For ages the two sat there in complete silence, save for the occasional ramble from the radio that didn't concern them. They had learnt to ignore it whenever their squad number didn't come up, and they stared stoically out of the windows.
"5-5-David, we have a family dispute at an apartment block on the corner of Morrison Avenue."
Sighing lightly, Bosco reached up to his radio. "5-5-David, Ten- Four."
Yokas flicked on the lights, and turned off the street they were patrolling and drove quickly to the scene of the dispute, which they couldn't miss unless they were deaf and blind. Even as they parked the squad, a chair flew out of the third floor front window, crashing to the road below, narrowly missing a tow-truck that drove past.
"Oh, this is gonna be fun," Yokas grumbled, slamming the door to the driver's side, and looking up as the sound of screaming filled the busy air. Quite a crowd had started to form below, and they were staring up at the building.
"Hey," Bosco called to them, removing his nightstick, and crossing quickly to the building's main entrance, "come on, get outta here. Move it!"
A few of the crowd immediately started to move away, intimidated by the police officer, who simply carried on into the building, his partner in close pursuit. The others simply gawked.
The lobby was empty, and Bosco headed into the stairwell, and jogged up them with ease, Yokas right behind him, glancing over her shoulder frequently.
Bosco emerged on the third floor, and followed the sound of the shouting to the correct apartment door, which, quite frankly, they couldn't miss, considering the wood was cracked in two places, and the door was starting to warp out of its frame.
"This looks like the place," Yokas said, even as Bosco banged on the door three times in succession.
No one answered, and the shouting continued from inside.
"Police!" Bosco yelled, banging on the door again, hearing what sounded like someone telling them not so politely to buzz off.
Shaking his head, he stood back, and kicked the door in hard, feeling it give way beneath the blow. The screaming from inside did not falter, nor did the smashing of personal objects.
They proceeded with caution, and Bosco emerged into the living room, ducking immediately beneath a plate that shattered inches above his head against the wall. He looked at it as it fell in shards to the floor.
The couple in the apartment were in their mid-thirties if anything, and both showed signs of greying in their hair. The woman's hair was black, tied back into a simply ponytail, swinging from side to side as she screamed and threw objects at a man. She was a reasonably short woman, her arms lean, her legs covered by a long skirt, her face showing her years with bags around her eyes and lines of age down her skin. The man himself was tall and bulky, a receding hairline of brown hair topping off an angry face of sharp lines. The sleeves on his chequered shirt were rolled up roughly, and his fists were balled as he yelled heatedly. They hadn't seemed to take much notice of the two police officers.
"Hey, what's goin' on here?" Bosco called to them over the screaming that never ceased. It was difficult to pick out anything other than expletives in amongst their yelling.
Yokas neared the woman, Bosco closing on the man. They had been in situations like this before, and they knew their strengths. Yokas knew she couldn't handle a man that size. Hell, he made Bosco look short as well.
"Sir, you're gonna have to calm down for me, okay?" Bosco offered, holding out a hand, the one that wasn't holding the nightstick.
"Get your hands away from me!" the man yelled, his face red with rage.
"Ma'am," Yokas began calmly, her voice soothing, "ma'am, do you think you can ease off for a minute so we can talk?"
"He's been cheating on me for six months, the son-of-a-bitch!" she screamed, infuriated, tears streaming from her eyes as her body shook.
"Well, why don't you come over here with me for a minute and we can talk about it, huh?" Yokas told the woman, reaching out, but never touching her.
The woman breathed heavily, and sobbed frantically, but looked Yokas in the eye and saw the compassion there, and so she nodded, moving off for a moment, but not before placing the last plate she held slowly down on a nearby table that had not been toppled.
"See that? Now your wife's calmed down," Bosco said calmly, well, as calmly as he could manage, "you think you can give it a shot too?" He slotted his nightstick away for emphasis, trying to ease the situation. He reached out a hand to the man.
"I swear, if you touch me, I'll break your arm!" the man yelled quickly. He whirled on Bosco, hands balled into fists so tightly that the knuckles went white.
"Alright, I won't touch you if you don't want me to, sir, I just need you to calm down and stop raising your voice," Bosco told the man sternly, and Yokas could see he was starting to lose his own temper.
"That bitch accuses me of sleeping with another woman. What right have you got to come into my home and tell me what to do? And you're paying for the door!"
Bosco looked over at Yokas, and raised his eyebrows, as if to say 'if he doesn't calm down, I'm gonna sock him one'. Yokas shook her head in warning.
"Well, if you keep your voice down, maybe we can talk about it civilly for a little while and sort something out, huh?" Bosco never really was very good at the calm stuff. He was running out of things to say, and he wasn't getting a good enough hold of the situation.
"Civilly? I'd much rather go over there and give her a black eye," the man growled, starting to move over to where Yokas and the woman stood. "Lying through your teeth about me! Why don't you just learn to keep your mouth shut, woman?"
He stepped forward, raising a fist, but Bosco grabbed his arm. The man whirled, throwing Bosco back against the wall. Swiftly, Yokas came over, and rammed the man up against the wall, just as Bosco stood to his full height again.
"You're under arrest for assault on a police officer," Yokas told the man loudly, cuffing him after a moment of brief struggle with him.
Bosco ran a hand over his spiky brown hair, and glared at the back of the man. He grabbed a hold of one of the man's arm, and started to drag him rather unceremoniously out of the apartment.
Yokas stayed behind a few moments to get a statement from the woman, and to tell her what would happen to her husband now, and then followed Bosco.
She slipped her notebook away as she joined Bosco at the elevator, even as the doors opened and the young male officer shoved the man inside angrily.
"My lawyer's gonna have a field day with this," the man grumbled irritably.
"Yeah, well you can just sit tight and shut up until then, can't you?" Yokas told him, never really looking at him, only at Bosco, who seemed pissed. Whenever someone took a swing at him, it was his impulse to swing back. He hadn't really had a chance this time though, thankfully. He might have done quite a bit of damage to the man if he had.
"I'm gonna be out of jail within twelve hours. Just you wait," the man said to them, "my wife will come to her senses."
"Maybe not now she's found out you were sleeping with another woman," Yokas said lightly, leaving the elevator when it reached the bottom. Bosco pushed the man ahead.
"I didn't cheat on her," he stated, "she's lying."
"Yeah, I bet she's really the one sleepin' around," Bosco muttered. He stopped outside the squad car, after leading the man through the small crowd by his arm.
"It wouldn't surprise me."
"Mind your head," Bosco said, pushing the man into the back of the squad car and slamming the door behind him, and moving to climb in the passenger side.
Yokas watched him get in the car, shook her head, and followed suit.