Title: The Rules of the Game (8/?)
Author: X_tremeroswellian
Email: X_tremeroswellian@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Only in my dreams do I actually own anything. All are property of Edward Allen Bernero and John Wells.
Rating: PG-13 for language, violence and sexual content
Spoilers: Up through and including "233 Days."
Summary: Bosco and Faith find themselves in a predicament in which they can use only their instincts to survive.
Distribution: My site Only Time, 55-HQ, and fanfiction.net. Others, just ask and I'll probably say yes.
Category: Story
Subcategories: Action/adventure/thriller/suspense/romance/friendship/drama/angst...does that narrow it down too much? *wink wink*
Feedback: Makes me write faster.
Author's Note: I sort of got this idea from a third season episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But just for the very general plot idea. The rest came out of my own messed up mind. :)
Author's Note II: Sorry it took so long to get this part out. I had to have two wisdom teeth pulled and wasn't really in the mood to work on fic for awhile.
Dedication: For Dem and Bree
The Rules of the Game (Part Eight)
Sully leaned against Swersky's desk as he watched his wife cry. With every moment that passed, listening to her quiet sobs, he felt a little guiltier for how harsh he'd been with her. Davis's words rang in his mind. //"Something's not right here. There's more to the story than what we're seeing."//
"Tatiana," he said, his voice soft. "What did you mean before? When you said that Chevchinko always finds you?"
"It doesn't matter," she whispered, wiping the tears off her cheeks.
"It does to me."
"You cannot help me."
"Not if you won't at least let me try," Sully agreed, gazing at her.
She stared down at the floor.
He knelt down in front of her. "Please talk to me." He reached up and brushed a tear off her chin.
After a long moment, she finally spoke. "In Russia, my father and Chevchinko were business associates. He borrow a lot of money from him but couldn't afford to pay him back. So my father make a deal with him." Tatiana looked away.
"What kind of deal?" Sully asked gently.
"For Chevchinko to marry his daughter Natasha."
"But that's--"
"Me. My real name." She looked down at her hands.
Sully stared at her. "So you and Chevchinko were--"
"No. I do not marry him. I was in love with another man. His name was Michal. We run away together, but Chevchinko found us. He killed Michal." Her eyes filled with more tears. "I was pregnant with Sergay, and I knew if he found out, he'd kill us both. So I ran." She took a deep breath. "I stow away on boat to America. And when I get here, I hide in Los Angeles for two years before he find me again. Sergay and I move so many times, try to hide from him, but he knows so many people. He always finds us.
"So I change my name and come here to Big Apple. And I meet you." The tears spilled down her cheeks. "And you seem like good man. You remind me of Michal. So I thought maybe this time, Chevchinko won't find us. Maybe I won't have to run anymore. Maybe you love me and we can be happy." Her voice wavered.
"I do love you," Sully whispered, feeling sick and angry with himself for being so harsh with her before, followed by a rush of fresh hatred for Chevchinko.
She gave him a shaky smile. "You are good man." She touched his cheek briefly, then pulled her hand away. "It doesn't matter now. It's over. It's only a matter of time before--"
"Don't," he said, pulling her into his arms. "I won't let him hurt you, Tatiana. You or Sergay."
"He is dangerous man, John. I don't want you to get hurt."
Sully held her a little tighter. "We'll figure something out." He pressed his lips to the top of her head. She buried her face in his shoulder. He closed his eyes as he felt her tremble against him.
"I'm sorry I do not tell you truth sooner," she whispered. "I'm sorry your friends are missing. This is all my fault."
"Shh. It's not your fault, it's Chevchinko's." He let out a breath. "And we're gonna find Faith and Bosco and bring them back."
"How you know that?" she asked, looking up at him with worried eyes.
Sully gave her a small smile. "Because if anyone can survive on an island of hunters, it's them." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You'll see."
"I think we lost the dogs," Faith said, trying to catch her breath as they stopped running for a moment.
He nodded, leaning over, his hands on his knees as he breathed heavily.
She started to say something else, but he held up his hand, a deep frown on his face. "What?"
"Do you hear that?"
She didn't answer, just focused herself on listening.
"It's a horse." Bosco stood up straight, his eyes wide as he recalled what Danny had said. //"We were caught by a man on horseback. Most of them will just kill you, but the guy who found us...he's sadistic..."//
Faith met his gaze, her own eyes wide. "It's coming this way."
He could hear the fear in her voice and he hated it. He grabbed her hand as they took off running again.
The hoofbeats were coming closer.
Think, he commanded himself. He spotted a large row of bushes up ahead and quickly made a run for them. He dropped to the ground, pulling Faith down with him, then rolling them so he was lying on top of her, shielding her body further from sight. "Don't move," he whispered in her ear.
Bosco could hear the horse just a few feet away from where they were hiding. He swallowed hard, squeezed his eyes shut as he heard the whinny on the other side of the bushes.
Go away, he thought, every muscle in his body tense, prepared to fight if he had to. Go away.
He felt Faith's heart racing against his chest, echoing his own fear with every rapid beat.
A few seconds later, Bosco heard the horse galloping away, further into the forest.
They remained silent and motionless for several moments, afraid that the man would turn and see them if they moved too soon. Then he lifted his head to look down at her.
Faith stared up at him, breathing heavily, her brown eyes full of mixed emotions.
"You okay?" he asked.
She nodded wordlessly.
Bosco suddenly realized the compromising position they were lying in and he swallowed hard. The urge to kiss her again was nearly overwhelming. He reluctantly slid off her, barely able to resist the temptation. He sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his head. "That was close."
"Too close," she murmured, as she, too, sat up.
He reached out and carefully pulled a leaf out of her hair.
She looked at him.
Unable to resist, he dropped his hand to her cheek, caressing it lightly with his thumb.
Her eyes closed. "Bosco..."
"Faith, I--"
The sound of barking dogs interupted them once again.
Bosco set his jaw, his eyes narrowing. "I thought dogs were supposed to be man's best friend!"
"Sullivan."
Sully looked up as Swersky stepped into his office. "Boss?"
"We have a lead on Chevchinko's whereabouts. I'm sending you and Davis to try and pick him up."
He nodded, then looked at Tatiana. "I want you to stay here, okay?" he said softly. "You'll be safe here."
Her eyes were full of fear. "John, be carefuly, please. He is dangerous."
"I promise I'll be careful," Sully replied. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then pulled away. "Everything's going to be okay." He turned and followed Swersky out the door, glancing over his shoulder at his wife.
"We'll take good care of her, Sully," Swersky said, his voice low.
Sully nodded. "Where's Davis?"
"Right here."
He turned and saw his partner walking toward him, a tense look on his face.
"There's a rumor that Chevchinko's been using an abandoned paper factory on Cantrell and Minister as a meeting place for some of his deals," Swersky informed them.
"We'll check it out," Davis said.
The two of them started to walk away.
"Sullivan, Davis."
They turned to face Lt. Swersky again.
"Be careful. We've already got two missing officers. I don't want to lose anyone else. You hear me?"
Sully and Davis exchanged a look. "We'll be careful," Sully promised.
"What do you suppose is going on?" Alex wondered aloud as she and Kim watched several police officers assembling outside the 55th precinct.
"Maybe they found them," Kim suggested, her eyes locked on the scene before her.
"There's Ty and Sully." Without another word, Alex crossed the street and made it to 55-Charlie before either officer climbed into the squad. "Ty! Did you guys locate Bosco and Yokas?"
Davis looked over the top of the squad at his partner, then at her. "Not exactly. But we have a lead on Chevchinko."
She gazed up at him, feeling a knot form in her stomach. "He's involved in this?"
"Looks that way, yeah." He looked at her for a long moment. "I'll be okay, Al," he said, dropping his voice.
Alex bit her lip and forced herself to smile. "I know."
"I'll call you as soon as we get back, all right?"
She nodded, hesitated for a moment, then stood up on her tiptoes, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. His arms instantly wound around her waist as he kissed her back deeply.
After a long moment, they pulled away and stared at each other.
"I just...wanted to give you another reason to come back," she said quietly, gazing at him.
"It was very motivational," Ty replied, a smile on his lips.
She smiled back, but her eyes remained serious. "Be careful."
"Always," he told her.
She reluctantly turned and headed back across the street.
Sully looked at Davis with raised eyebrows. "Thought you two were finished."
Davis looked back at him. "Me too. But I think we've decided to take a second chance. Everyone deserves a second chance," he said meaningfully.
Sully didn't respond, just climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine.
He kept running, not pausing to catch his breath, not even sure which direction they were headed. He just knew that if they stopped, they'd get caught. And Bosco was NOT about to be killed by some damned hunter or a pack of dogs.
No way.
It was several long minutes later when his head began throbbing and he began to feel a little dizzy that he finally paused, reaching out and resting his hand on the nearest tree, trying to catch his breath. "I need to rest for just a second."
Faith didn't respond.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked, turning to look at her.
She wasn't there.
"Faith?" Bosco looked around, but didn't see any sign of her. The forest was completely still. "Faith!" he said, raising his voice. His heart began to beat a little faster.
The only thing that answered him was silence.
"Oh, fuck," Bosco whispered in horror.
Sully focused his eyes on the road in front of him. "You were right."
Davis glanced at him sideways. "I usually am." He grinned. "What about this time?"
"About Tatiana. There was more to the story than what she told everyone else."
There was a moment of silence.
"So what'd she say?"
Sully hesitated. "Enough for me to realize that she's just as much a victim of Chevchinko's as Bosco and Yokas."
There was another moment of silence.
"If Chevchinko finds out that she talked to the police, he'll have her killed."
"So what are you going to do?" Davis asked quietly.
Sully gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. "I can't lose her, Davis," he answered, his voice low. "I won't."
Bosco walked back the way he'd come from. Or at least the way he *thought* he'd come from. It was hard to tell. It's not like there were any landmarks to guide his path. "Faith!" he whispered loudly.
Still no answer.
Thoughts flooded his mind. Had she been hurt? Was she lying on the ground somewhere in pain? Unconscious maybe? Had she been caught in one of the damned bear traps the hunters had set? He shuddered at the thought. Maybe one of the hunters had grabbed her. His throat tightened and for a moment he couldn't even breathe.
He felt himself careening dangerously close to a panic attack. He hadn't had one in almost a month. But the thought of losing Faith, of what his life would be like without her--
Bosco leaned against a tree trunk and forced himself to take several slow, deep breaths in an attempt to calm down.
She's okay. She has to be.
He needed her.
He closed his eyes and took another deep breath, telling himself over and over again that she was all right. That they had just gotten separated, that was all. He'd find her, they'd have a good laugh about it, then they'd find a way off the damned island and somehow get home again.
He opened his eyes and pushed himself away from the tree. He forced himself to remain calm as he continued to look for her.
Come on, Faith, he thought. Where are you?
Bosco wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. "Faith!" he whispered loudly.
He heard the crunch of leaves behind him and quickly turned around, expecting to see her there. Instead, he saw Danny. Oh, great, he thought. Just what I needed. A lunatic to slow me down. The other man was looking at him strangely, his face pale. "What?"
"Your friend...the woman you were with..."
"Faith?"
Danny nodded slowly. "I saw her."
His heart leapt into his throat and he took a step toward him. "Where is she?"
"She..."
"What? She what? Where did you see her?" Bosco demanded.
"She was shot."
For a moment, he couldn't breathe. "You're wrong."
Danny shook his head. "I saw it happen. She was shot. There was blood everywhere..."
Bosco grabbed him by his shirt collar and shoved him against a tree. "You're wrong! It was someone else!"
"I'm sorry."
He shook his head furiously. "It wasn't her! It wasn't her."
"It was. I saw her. She's dead, just like Shannon!" Danny said, crying. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."
Bosco let go of him, feeling numb.
"I'm sorry," the younger man said again. Without another word, he took off and disapeared into the forest.
He sank down until he was sitting on the ground.
//"She's dead, just like Shannon. She's dead, just like Shannon...she's dead...she's dead...she's dead..."// The words echoed in his mind and their meaning hit him like a freight train.
And Bosco began to cry.