AUTHORS NOTE: Hey guys!!!!! Sorry this is so delayed, I wanted to end with this chapter but it would have been too long!  I started college this week so it's a little more than a bit hectic if you know what I mean! J Not much to disclaim for this chapter besides the usual, I don't own any one who you recognize haha. As always LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK !!!!!! lol I love hearing from you guys!!! It motivates me ;) Okay well, I'm thinking there's gonna be one more chapter but I might have to make that two, it depends on how long it ends up being, but I am close to wrapping this up. What are you opinions on a sequel? And if so, should I continue it like this one, mostly Higher Ground, take it back to the mountains if you will haha, or should I move it to New York and involve more Third Watch??? Please let me know!!!!

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Scott waited till he knew the coast was clear. Every Tuesday night at 6 o'clock Peter took the books to Horizon's accountant in town and then took Sophie out to dinner. No one was supposed to know this of course but word has a way of getting around. There was one inept clerical worker at the front desk but the girl was so immersed in filing her nails and talking on the phone, getting past her was nothing.

Scott, using one of his very masterful pick pocketing skills conveniently picked up by having to break into his Dad's safe for drug money, easily unlocked the door to Peter's office. Quietly he snuck back to the filing cabinets and using the same technique popped the lock. He winced as the cabinet creaked its way open. He rummaged until he found Shelby's address, wrote it on his wrist and began to shut the cabinet, that was until something caught his eye. One of the folders was flipped upside down. Furrowing his brows, he lifted the folder out.

CONFIDENTIAL: MARISA BOSCORELLI

"That's odd" he mumbled under his breath "Unless.... no. Why would she?"

Scott sighed realizing where Shelby was. He quickly took down Marisa's address and silently thanked Shelby for leaving such a big clue. Expertly he closed up the cabinet and began to leave. All of a sudden, he noticed a shadow under the door. He hadn't even heard footsteps. His heart froze for a second and then began to beat louder and faster than it ever had before. Ever fiber of his body shook, how would he explain this?

The door jiggled and the unlocked. It slowly opened and a girl peeked her head in.

"DAISY?" Scott demanded in a loud whisper

"SCOTT?" She responded in the same fashion. He quickly pulled her into the room and making sure no one was in the hallway shut the door.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh like I couldn't ask you the same thing!"

"Daisy!"

"Bite me Scott! What are you doing here? And what's that?" She lifted up the sleeve of his arm to reveal writing.

"Don't!"

"Whose address is that? Do you know where Shelby is Scott?" Daisy demanded

"No! Well, maybe... I came for Shelby's address and I got that, but then, well there was a file turned upside down, like someone was in a hurry..."

"Shelby?"

"I think so"

"Whose address?"

"Well, that's the part you won't believe..."

Daisy stared at him in confusion for a moment before realizing

"Are you kidding me? Why would she want that?"

"I have no idea! But I really think that's where she went. And there's only one way to know for sure."

"You aren't just gonna go are you? What if she's not there? You don't even know how to get there Scott!"

"I thought you wanted to find Shelby!"

"Well yea! But..."

"No buts, look I screwed things up okay, I always do, maybe this... maybe this is a way for me to start turning things around in a different direction. I can't lose her Daisy"

Daisy was silent for a moment.

"Which one?"

"Either one."

Daisy sighed.

"Well then , I'm going with you."

Scott shook his head. "No. You are not coming"

"Oh really Scott, and what makes you think you are in any position to stop me?" She motioned to his wrist.

"You wouldn't"

"But Peter! I tried to stop him! He just wouldn't-" Daisy pretended to be ratting him out to the thin air.

"Alright Alright! But no one else knows about this. That's all we need is Jules trying to make her way around New York City."

Daisy laughed at this. "Like you're gonna be much better. The suburban prom king. "

Scott was about to say something back but Peter's voice approaching from down the hall caused him to grab Daisy's arm and pull her towards the closet.

"Gee Scott, never knew you cared"

"Shhh! Listen"

"Hang on Soph! I forgot the book!"

Scott glanced towards the desk and saw the money books sitting on top of the desk. He squeezed his eyes shut and sighed.

"I can see a lot more church going for me in my future if we don't get caught" Daisy mumbled

"Oh god. This could be very bad"

"No shit now shhh"

Peter walked in and sighed. He grabbed the books and started to leave but stopped in his tracks.

"Hey Soph you think I need a jacket?"

Daisy and Scott exchanged panicked glances.

"Nah. nevermind. Let's get out of here"

Daisy exhaled a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and leaned into Scott.

"Can we go now?"

"Yeah, I'd say that's a good idea."

They walked out by the courts.

"So I'll meet you back here in a half hour."

"Sounds good"

"Meet for what?" Jules stepped out from behind the wall of the building next to them followed by Auggie.

"Yea Meat, what's up?"

Daisy and Scott exchanged looks. Both of them knew that if they were meant to get out by themselves it would have happened that way.

"Alright guys, go get the rest of the cliffhangers and meet back here with a bag you aren't gonna mind carrying for the next few days"

"Why are we going on a misson?"

"Something like that Jules" Scott smiled at her. "But you aren't gonna need your hiking boots"

The confusion was clear but the kids did as they were told and came back half an hour later with the rest of the group.

"Where's Kat?"

"She's working, we couldn't find her" Juliette answered.

"So... where are we going and why wasn't I supposed to bring my compass?" Ezra adjusted the straps on his backpack

"Well guys.." Daisy stepped up "We're going to New York"

The kids just looked at each other.

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"Alright kid, just wait here a sec, I'll be down in a minute to help you up."

"I can walk"

"Yeah, I can fly." Bosco rolled his eyes and shut the door after making sure the guy in the back was handcuffed to the door just in case he woke up.

"Lights on... that's a good sign" Bosco almost bit the words back after he said that knowing he should never think ahead like that.

Each step was a small emotional victory considering how long it'd been since he'd last taken them. Fifth floor apartment C. He opened the door to the fifth floor. Elevators hadn't run in these buildings in decades. Before he could even take a step out he saw the blood splattered against the wall.

"Fuck." He ran out from the door to see Ben who lay bleeding to death on the ground in front of him. He heard a frantic female voice coming from the apartment.

"Please God..." He stepped over the kid and turned into the apartment expecting to see Marisa; instead a hysterical, blonde teenage girl was frenetically trying to explain what she'd seen.

"Hey! HEY!" Bosco put his gun back in its holster and stepped into the room. The girl screamed and went to hit him with the phone.

"HEY RELAX! NYPD! This is my apartment. Where's Marisa!? What the fuck happened!?"

"Are you listening to me??"

"He was ... he was shot!"

"Well thank you for the obvious but who shot him, when did it happen, where did they go, where's my fuckin sister?!"

"Okay OKAY! I'm sorry!" Shelby wrapped her arms around herself and tears flowed freely down her red cheeks.

Bosco through his arms up and stepped back into the hallway to see what he could do for the boy.

"Alright kid, where were you hit?"

"Try the spot where my guts are pourin out "

"Yeah... Hey You!... You! Hey Barbie!!" Shelby looked at Bosco

"Must be a family thing" she mumbled to herself before stepping forward.

"I need you to apply pressure until the paramedics get here. Don't push too hard."

"What you're leaving?!" Shelby asked panicking.

"Which way did they go?"

"It was two guys, the came out of nowhere man, if I had seen, I wouldn't have let them...oh fuck this kills, neva been shot before. They took her that way, messed her head up pretty good."

"The say where they were goin?"

"They said that the wanted me to give you a message but I don't think that..."

"What was the fuckin message?"

"They said that uh... look... I don't know they just took her and they said that they wanted you to know that they had her and ..."

"Boscorelli, you need to find her or it's gonna be a repeat of 2 weeks ago... but worse." Ben choked out.

All of a sudden the floor was filled with paramedics.

"What do we got Bosco?"

"Bosco?" Bosco's eyes were glazed over and his jaw was clenched

"Yo Boscorelli! you here?" Carlos waved a hand in front of the mans face.

"Late teens, male, GSW to the abdomen." Bosco muttered before he pushed past his friends and ran down the stairs.

"Bosco wait!" Faith called out from the top of the stairs.

"Not now Faith"

"YES. now. Bosco."

"Bosco please"

"Faith...Look. I can't do this right now okay, I gotta find her, I can't let them do it to her again Faith, I can't!"

"Boz I know, but just think about what you're doing, goin out there all gung ho, you could jeopardize her situation further, let's just take a second and get Sully and Davis..."

"FAITH! You aren't hearin anything I am sayin to you! No, I'm goin now. "

"Bosco!"

"Faith what if it was Emily, What if it was her?"

"Bosco... that would be ... different"

"Why? You know you'd be out there doin anything you could"

"Bosco she's my daughter, of course I would..."

"Yea and Marisa is my baby sister, I'm the closest thing she's had to a god damn father, and apparently that's not much either, I gotta do this, I'm not askin you to come. Hell, I don't want you to. So just turn around Faith... just turn around"

"NO. Boz, you don't even know where you're goin! Why don't we go down to Mercy and talk to the perp in your backseat."

"Cause he's passed out."

"He was awake when they found him"

Bosco knew that Faith was making sense. He didn't have a clue as to where to begin looking for Marisa, this guy did though, and he'd get his answers.

"Lets go"

The two headed towards the exit. Neither one said anything as they made their way to Mercy.

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"Ow" Marisa groaned as she slowly began to regain consciousness.

Her hands instinctively moved to her head to feel the area causing her so much pain but as she tried to lift them she found herself incapable of doing so. Her arms were tied behind her back, and a rope seared through the torn skin of her wrists.  Tears instantly stung her red eyes like acid.

"Oh god…" she murmured through the pain.

"Sleeping beauty awakes…awww what's a matter princess..." the voice mocked her and tried to tilt her bruised face toward its own.  "Lost your crown?"

Marissa fought the motion and through swollen eyes glared at the man. His greasy hair shone in the dull, twitching light of the warehouse ceiling.  Yellow teeth rotted in his diseased gums and his thin stature added to his ghoulish appearance. Chills ran up her spine as hopelessness set into her veins.

"I know what you're thinking babycakes… you're thinkin that any minute now, your big bro boscorelli will attack the gates and storm the…" the sleazebag took a second to glance around him "castle…"

The man stepped toward her and a fear that had been churning deep within her began to boil at the surface.

"Ain't gonna happen sweetheart. Just you and me for now. And trust me, we have so time to uh…perform some extracurricular activities if you will, you know what I'm talking about… you remember"

"You'd be surprised how easy you are to forget" her words bit back at him causing a slap in the face.

Fresh tears stung her eyes but she refused to let them fall, refused to give him the satisfaction.

"That's okay baby, I don't care if you like it, I know I do and that's all that matters" 

Marisa took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Quickly she removed herself from the situation, a skill she'd picked up on long ago, the ability to detach oneself emotionally from everything around them. As the filth of his skin burned hers she allowed herself to escape, to go numb, it was the only way she'd survive it.

"You guys ready?" Scott took a breath and turned back around to face his friends. There they all stood. Eyes wide, not sure about anything besides this is what they wanted to do.

When all was said and over with, when all the chips fell and all the words were spoken, battles fought, nothing was worth anything if they weren't there for each other. Right now, they were all there and ready, willing to face irreparable consequences and none of them cared, because they believed in each other, as much as they fought and argued and through all the crap they gave each other, they were closer to a family than any of them had every had before. Scott smiled and led the way onto the train.

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