Faith felt desperate as she scrambled her way into the alley where she had last seen her partner carried. Bosco's captor moved amazingly fast, and she had fallen behind. It had started to rain, and as she cautiously moved down the alley water streamed down her face and into her eyes. Irritated, she wiped at her eyes to clear them from the water that was blurring them. Her breath came in fast sputtering breaths, and she wondered hastily where her backup was located since she had not heard a word from the other officers at the warehouse scene.
She took a few hesitant steps down the alley, all the while hugging the slick brick wall of the adjourning building. She was wet and uncomfortable and overwhelmingly terrified for Bosco. But she fought back her apprehensions and forced her feet to continue down the alleyway.
"Bosco, where the hell are you?" she muttered to herself through gritted teeth.
Suddenly, she felt someone's hand grasp her ponytail and pull her head back painfully. She yelped involuntarily as she was drawn into a dark doorway which she had foolishly overlooked while her concentration had momentarily been broken by her preoccupation with Bosco's condition. Before she could react, her gun was painfully wrenched from out of her grasp and a powerful hand that she could not remove no matter how hard she struggled covered her mouth.
"I told you not to follow," her nemesis said with his now familiar but still disturbing voice.
With her mouth covered, Faith could only grunt a reply, but still she managed to express her anger.
"Oh, now don't be that way, officer. I'm going to help you get what you want. You just have to cooperate. And if you don't cooperate, both you and your partner are dead. Now if I uncover your mouth, I expect you to behave properly. Do we have a deal?"
Helpless, Faith had no choice but to concede. She nodded abruptly but was unsure if she would be able to keep her anger at bay when the man uncovered her mouth. She struggled momentarily with her conflicting emotions, and then finally managed to choke out a few civilized words.
"What do you want?" she mumbled. She wanted to take some sort of physical action, but when she noticed the gun aimed directly at her heart, she forced her muscles to relax.
"This will be very simple, officer," her captor said in an almost cheery tone. "You get my drugs out of that warehouse, and I'll give you the location of your partner. He's dying, you know. It's happening slowly, but with each breath he loses a little more blood and comes that much closer to his end. It really must be painful. It makes me almost sorry for him, even if he is a cop."
Faith's muscles clenched, and she took a step toward the man.
"Ah, ah, ah," her captor said sharply and waggled the gun in her direction as a warning. "It's behavior like that which will get you killed."
Faith took a step back and put her hands down to her side. She could not remember a time when she felt more helpless.
"Tell me what you want me to do," she said.
***
Two feet away and behind the door which lead to the alleyway in which Faith and her captor stood, Bosco lay on a cold and damp cement floor. Blood seeped slowly from his wounds to stain his uniform and mix with the rainwater pooling on the floor. His breathing was ragged and uneven, and he could not find enough breath to call out to his partner even though he heard her voice on the other side of the door.
He had regained consciousness momentarily, but could not make sense of his surroundings. He felt cold and disoriented as he struggled to make his muscles obey him. He had an overriding urge to sit up, to get up and out of this dark place. And it was dark, overwhelmingly dark. The blackness in the room was like ink which had poured over him and threatened to drown him. As his awareness sharpened, his fear of this dark place grew, and he felt his heart pump faster with the panic that threatened to overtake him.
Out! He had to get out of this dark place. Closing his eyes, he gathered the remainder of his strength, and pulled himself to a sitting position. Sudden and strong pain flared in his side and in his leg, and yet he did not have the breath to scream in the agony he felt. He sat gasping with the effort of having pulled himself up and tried to gather further reserves. If he was going to get out of this situation, he was going to have to find the energy to move and defend himself.
Again he heard Faith's voice somewhere to his left and tried to yell for her. Again his body betrayed him, and he did not have the breath to utter a sound. In fact, he was wheezing very painfully now, and he realized that sitting had been an irrational urge and a great mistake. He should have begun crawling in the direction of his partner's voice instead of wasting his breath and energy sitting up. Dizziness began to overwhelm him, and the voices outside began to grow distant and muffled to his failing ears and consciousness. Bright sparkles of light exploded in his vision as coldness worked its way through his body again. Sensation in his arms and legs deadened, and despite the struggle he put up to remain conscious, all sensation ceased and he slumped as complete darkness descended upon him once more.
She took a few hesitant steps down the alley, all the while hugging the slick brick wall of the adjourning building. She was wet and uncomfortable and overwhelmingly terrified for Bosco. But she fought back her apprehensions and forced her feet to continue down the alleyway.
"Bosco, where the hell are you?" she muttered to herself through gritted teeth.
Suddenly, she felt someone's hand grasp her ponytail and pull her head back painfully. She yelped involuntarily as she was drawn into a dark doorway which she had foolishly overlooked while her concentration had momentarily been broken by her preoccupation with Bosco's condition. Before she could react, her gun was painfully wrenched from out of her grasp and a powerful hand that she could not remove no matter how hard she struggled covered her mouth.
"I told you not to follow," her nemesis said with his now familiar but still disturbing voice.
With her mouth covered, Faith could only grunt a reply, but still she managed to express her anger.
"Oh, now don't be that way, officer. I'm going to help you get what you want. You just have to cooperate. And if you don't cooperate, both you and your partner are dead. Now if I uncover your mouth, I expect you to behave properly. Do we have a deal?"
Helpless, Faith had no choice but to concede. She nodded abruptly but was unsure if she would be able to keep her anger at bay when the man uncovered her mouth. She struggled momentarily with her conflicting emotions, and then finally managed to choke out a few civilized words.
"What do you want?" she mumbled. She wanted to take some sort of physical action, but when she noticed the gun aimed directly at her heart, she forced her muscles to relax.
"This will be very simple, officer," her captor said in an almost cheery tone. "You get my drugs out of that warehouse, and I'll give you the location of your partner. He's dying, you know. It's happening slowly, but with each breath he loses a little more blood and comes that much closer to his end. It really must be painful. It makes me almost sorry for him, even if he is a cop."
Faith's muscles clenched, and she took a step toward the man.
"Ah, ah, ah," her captor said sharply and waggled the gun in her direction as a warning. "It's behavior like that which will get you killed."
Faith took a step back and put her hands down to her side. She could not remember a time when she felt more helpless.
"Tell me what you want me to do," she said.
***
Two feet away and behind the door which lead to the alleyway in which Faith and her captor stood, Bosco lay on a cold and damp cement floor. Blood seeped slowly from his wounds to stain his uniform and mix with the rainwater pooling on the floor. His breathing was ragged and uneven, and he could not find enough breath to call out to his partner even though he heard her voice on the other side of the door.
He had regained consciousness momentarily, but could not make sense of his surroundings. He felt cold and disoriented as he struggled to make his muscles obey him. He had an overriding urge to sit up, to get up and out of this dark place. And it was dark, overwhelmingly dark. The blackness in the room was like ink which had poured over him and threatened to drown him. As his awareness sharpened, his fear of this dark place grew, and he felt his heart pump faster with the panic that threatened to overtake him.
Out! He had to get out of this dark place. Closing his eyes, he gathered the remainder of his strength, and pulled himself to a sitting position. Sudden and strong pain flared in his side and in his leg, and yet he did not have the breath to scream in the agony he felt. He sat gasping with the effort of having pulled himself up and tried to gather further reserves. If he was going to get out of this situation, he was going to have to find the energy to move and defend himself.
Again he heard Faith's voice somewhere to his left and tried to yell for her. Again his body betrayed him, and he did not have the breath to utter a sound. In fact, he was wheezing very painfully now, and he realized that sitting had been an irrational urge and a great mistake. He should have begun crawling in the direction of his partner's voice instead of wasting his breath and energy sitting up. Dizziness began to overwhelm him, and the voices outside began to grow distant and muffled to his failing ears and consciousness. Bright sparkles of light exploded in his vision as coldness worked its way through his body again. Sensation in his arms and legs deadened, and despite the struggle he put up to remain conscious, all sensation ceased and he slumped as complete darkness descended upon him once more.