The climax you've been waiting for. Hope I didn't disappoint.
I'd Come For You
Joss jumped out of her skin as the bullet broke the bedroom window in the room next to where she was guarding Ray. Grabbing her glock, she lock and loaded a round in the chamber. Then she waited.
"John, where are you?" she asked under her breath.
Another bullet. Another window shattered. Joss closed her eyes and said a quick prayer.
"Come out, Detective," Bogle ordered.
"She's not that stupid," Fusco informed his captor.
"If she knows what's good for her, she'll do as she's told."
"Then I guess you don't know her very well," Fusco and Quinn quipped in unison.
"Warn her again," Bogle told the guy on his right. The rapport of the gun echoed in the air as the bullet plowed thru one more window. Silence followed.
"I have your guy down here," Bogle shouted out loud enough for Joss to hear. "And I'm not afraid to kill him. I'm going to give you ten seconds to show yourself, or I start shooting. Ten. Nine. Eight..."
"You'd better kill me now," Fusco said. "She ain't comin' out."
"...Seven. Six. Five..."
"You're wasting your breath..."
Bogle lifted his gun and pressed it to Lionel's temple. "Who's wasting time now, asshole?" he sneered. "...Four. Three..." he continued.
Lionel closed his eyes and prayed for salvation.
"...Two..."
"I'm coming out," a voice called out from inside the house. The front door opened slowly and Joss stepped outside. "Put the gun down!" she ordered to the men training their weapons on her.
"Put yours down," Bogle returned.
"I'm unarmed." Joss raised her hands to show she said the truth. "Let Fusco go."
"Give us what we want."
"What is that?" Joss asked. She tried to buy time for John and Shaw, but her ears could hear nothing of their approach.
"The location of the safe deposit box."
"What makes you think I have it?" Joss hedged. Hurry up, John.
Bogle scoffed. "You make a crummy liar, Detective. Maybe your partner can teach you how to do it. Then again," he sneered, "maybe not. We know you have Quinn's daughter inside."
Joss threw a disappointed look at the beaten man. "Lionel..."
"I'm sorry, Joss," Fusco hung his head in shame. "I didn't have any choice; they were going to kill my family. And yours, too."
"Walk down the steps with your hands up, Detective," Bogle instructed.
"Let Fusco go."
"No can do."
"Then no deal."
"I'm not kidding. I will kill him."
"You're going to kill him anyway. Me too. Isn't that what your plan is after you get you money?" Joss shot back. "Four lives for twenty million dollars. Sounds like you played the lottery and won."
"I more than won, Detective. Now walk down the steps." He motioned. "Don't make me tell you again."
Slowly Joss did as she was told, but her mind was spinning as she tried to remember the negotiation she did back in Fallujah. A suicide bomber had been cornered but he he had taken a young boy hostage. It had taken everything she had to talk him into releasing the child before a sniper shot the bomber dead. They had saved the child. Now she needed to save her partner.
"That's far enough. Keep your hands up. Now the information."
"I don't have it." Joss turned her hands front to back to show what she meant.
"I know you don't. Where is Quinn's daughter?"
"She's dead."
Quinn made a strangled sound in his throat at the news. His stricken look was not lost on Joss or Fusco.
"You're lying," Bogle contradicted. "Tell us where she is, or I start shooting."
"Start shooting," Joss invited. "It's not going to bring her back. Sonseeahray Quinn died an hour ago from the head injuries sustained when your men ran us off the road," she relayed the information in a flat tone.
"Sonseeahray is dead?" Quinn choked. He looked at Bogle. "You killed her!"
"Shut up, you old fool."
"You killed my daughter!" Quinn struggled to break from the grasp of the man holding him. "You son of a bitch!"
Bogle pulled the gun from Lionel's temple and leveled at Quinn. "No, you and your greed killed her. All you had to do was be a good boy and stay in WITSEC, but no, you had to get greedy and steal from everyone who took care of you."
"It was my money!" Quinn shouted indignantly. Tears ran down his cheeks.
"And now it's my money. Once you give me the location, I'll put you and your friends out of my misery. Now give it to me."
"I don't have it; I sent it to my daughter. Now she's dead." Quinn shook his head in disbelief. "She's dead."
"And you'll be joining her shortly. Now tell me where the money is, you stupid fuck!"
"Why is the money so important?" Joss' voice cut thru the tension.
"It's my fresh start, if you want to know," Bogle told her.
"I thought that money belonged to the mob. Won't your boss get mad when he finds out that you stole from him?"
"Fuck him. This is my money. I found Quinn. I did the hard work. This is my reward. And once I've killed all of you and buried your sorry asses in Oyster Bay, I'm going to live the life I deserve."
"Bogle..." One of the men spoke up. "Didn't Don Grifoni say that we are not supposed to kill Detective Carter?"
"Don Grifoni can go fuck himself," Bogle bit off angrily. "That old man doesn't know what he's thinking. He's only in power because Elias felt sorry for him."
"Don Grifoni?" Lionel asked. "You stole money from him? Sucks to be you, man," he told Quinn.
"Shut up, scumbag," Bogle ordered.
"And for the record, he does have a soft spot for Carter. After all, she did save his life." His memory flashed back to when he and Joss risked their lives to save a group of dons from the hit Elias had put on them so he could take over the city.
"He has no love for you," Bogle returned.
Lionel shrugged indifferently. "He let me live once, so I guess that was his payback for my good deed." It made no difference to him. Not now.
"Karma is a bitch."
"I can vouch for that." His head, his face, and his hand could vouch that karma could bite back twice as hard as anything. And he was sure that Bogle was going to find that out. Sooner or later. He just hoped sooner was on the calendar.
"Now back to the topic on hand," Bogle redirected his thinking. "Where is the money?"
"I don't know," Joss replied honestly.
"You know that I will kill your family," Bogle threatened. "And I will kill your partner's family."
"Do what you have to. I don't have the information."
Suddenly a cloak of protectiveness fell over Joss, and the fear she felt seemed to melt away. John!
"You have five seconds to give me what I want," Bogle said and raised his gun. "Five...four..."
"I'm sorry, Lionel." She looked at her partner and gave a small nod.
"See you on the other side, partner," he returned with a wink.
Oblivious to the signals, Bogle continued counting. "Three...two..o-" he was interrupted as Lionel suddenly grabbed his chest and fell to the ground. "What the hell?!"
Stunned by the unexpected action, the men stood unsure as to what to do next.
"Fusco?" Joss called out and stepped forward to help.
"Stay right there," Bogle ordered. "Get up," he told the prone man. "Get up!" He delivered a kick to make his point.
"He's having a heart attack," Quinn supplied.
"Bullshit!"
"You worked him over like a dog, and he's not in the best of shape," Quinn reminded Bogle. "How much abuse did you think he was going to be able to take?"
"How do I know he isn't faking it? That this isn't something that he and his partner cooked up to try and overpower me?"
"He was complaining of chest pains in the car."
Joss rushed forward and knelt on the ground beside her friend. Pressing two fingers to Lionel's neck, she felt for his pulse. It was rapid. Something was wrong, but before she could put it all together, Bogle delivered a kick. Lionel made no sound.
Bogle looked down at the body lying motionless on the dirt. "At least it saves me a bullet." He pointed his weapon at Joss. "Your partner is dead. We killed your friend in the woods. You're all alone, bitch. How does it feel to know that no one is coming to save you?" He grinned evilly and narrowed his eyes.
Knowing that Bogle was right, Joss surrendered to the cloak and closed her eyes. At least a bullet to the head wouldn't hurt, she comforted herself.
"Her name isn't bitch," Lionel growled and swung his leg to throw Bogle off his feet.
"What the hell-?" Bogle shouted in surprise as he fell to the ground. His finger pulled the trigger of the gun. The rapport filled the air. Followed by another.
Stepping out from the shadows, Reese lined his targets. "Get down, Joss!" he shouted and then fired his weapon in rapid succession. Out in the open without anywhere to hide, the men scrambled for cover.
"Hey!" Quinn shouted to try and make himself be heard over the loud noise. "Hey!" Putting his hands over his head, he ducked to avoid the flying bullets. The ricochet of bullets hitting the ground and wood filled the air.
Reese took shelter behind one of the pillars on the porch and reloaded. Cocking the gun, he loaded the chamber before calmly stepping out and firing. One bullet found a target, followed by another. He scanned the area quickly and saw that Lionel had thrown himself over Joss to shield her.
Winded from falling on the hard ground, Bogle tried to gather his wits. He vaguely heard the bullets hit the ground around him as he rolled over and tried to find his gun. Crawling across the dirt, he pulled himself over to where the glock lay. Wrapping his hand around the butt, he grinned in victory.
Slowly pulling himself to his feet, he looked at the man whom he despised protecting the woman he hated. Aiming, his finger wrapped around the trigger.
"Give me my money!" Bogle shouted at the pair. But before he could fire, a body slammed into him and knocked him back to the ground. "Oooof!" he grunted as he hit the hard earth and the body landed on him. Opening his eyes, he saw Alonzo Quinn hovering over him.
"Give it to me," Quinn grunted and tried to pull the glock out of Bogle's hand.
"Get off of me!" Bogle pushed against the man who seemed slight by sight, but weighed significantly more. He felt Quinn's hand wrap around his. It was now a battle of wills between the two men.
"You killed my daughter," Quinn accused and punched wildly. "You son of a bitch!"
"Get off of me!" Bogle demanded and pushed hard. Pulling his legs up, he kicked Quinn in the mid-section to send him flying backward. At point blank range, he pulled the trigger three times. The sound of the bullets hitting their target filled him with satisfaction. Pushing himself up, he relished in a victory that was short lived as a foot hit his chest and pushed him back down.
"Don't you move. Or do us both a favour and move," Shaw lifted a shoulder and dropped it. "Personally, I would love for you to try and pull that trigger." Sighing, Bogle gave up the fight.
Keeping her weapon trained on Bogle, Shaw used her hand to wipe the blood from her face. "Reese! Check on Joss," she ordered. In the background the sound of a helicopter filled the suddenly still air.
Running down the steps, Reese hurried over to the woman of his heart. "Joss. Joss," he called out.
"Get Lionel off of me," Joss demanded. "Lionel, move!"
"I would if I could, but I can't since I got shot in the ass...again," he stated in a bemused tone. He groaned in pain as Reese carefully lifted him off of Joss. "Hey, Wonderboy, watch it."
"Sorry, Lionel."
Joss pulled herself up. "Where's Quinn...?" She searched for her arch-nemesis. She spied him lying on the ground a few feet away. Hearing his gasps, she ran over to him.
"Joss..." Quinn gasped. "Joss..." His hand weakly searched for hers. He felt her take his hand.
"We're going to get you help," she promised.
Quinn shook his head. "Won't...won't make it. Tell me the truth...please." He struggled to take in air, but it was getting more difficult with each passing second.
Joss looked down at the dying man who had destroyed the city she had vowed to protect. The same man who had ordered the executions of his own godson and a highly decorated and respected detective and a D.A. The same man who had signed her death warrant. She couldn't help but notice the irony that she was holding his hand as he bled out.
Joss' brown eyes met Quinn's. "What?"
"Is Sonsee..." Quinn tried to take a deep breath. He coughed hard. "Is she...dead?"
Joss debated remaining silent. "No."
Quinn smiled. "Thank you. Tell her...tell her...I...I am...s-s-sor..." The unfinished word hung in the air as Quinn struggled then went still. His grip loosened and Joss felt his hand slip from hers to land with a small thud on the ground. She watched impassively. Then she closed her eyes as dirt flew from the ground to fill the air. A second later the helicopter landed on the grassy circle.
"Looks like the cavalry finally made it," Shaw shouted to be heard about the whirring blades. Slowly the engine shut down and a few men jumped from inside. Each carried a First-Aid kit.
"Thank you, Finch," Reese said.
"Hey, can I get some help over here?" Fusco called out from his spot. "I've been shot." A paramedic ran over to render aid. "Another million dollar wound," he joked.
"Just lay there, sir," the paramedic directed. "I'll take care of it."
"It's not over," Bogle stated defiantly.
Shaw reached down and drove her fist into Bogle's jaw. "Aw, shut up." She took pleasure as he went unconscious. "That's better."
"Joss?" She looked up and saw Reese's outstretched hand. "Come here, darling," Reese invited. With a sob, she fell into his arms and held on for dear life. She felt his hand stroke her hair. "It's over," he comforted. "Shhh...it's over."
"I'm sorry," she apologized. She closed her eyes and wished for the world to stop turning.
"It's okay. We'll talk about it later."
"Later," she repeated, but her tongue was thick and heavy. Feeling protected and loved, she felt the strength leave her body and darkness beacon her with promises of rest and quiet. "John..." she whispered.
Then she went limp.
