Part Nine
Notes: Thanks again to Angie for her support. I hope everyone is enjoying this. Comments and any feedback will be given a wonderful home and help me write this faster.
Faith mentally urged Sully to get his car to her apartment faster, but she could see that he was going as fast as he could. The sirens were blaring and they were running through every light they came to. Faith heard a horn sound from somewhere behind them. Sully turned a corner short and she had to grab the dash for support. She turned and saw Davis and Wilkerson in a squad behind them.
Faith's thoughts returned to Emily and Bosco. Why had she left them alone? How could Bosco protect Emily? She forced herself to be honest, he couldn't see to protect himself much less her daughter, then hated herself for the thought. Faith knew that Bosco would do everything he could do to protect Emily. The remark she made earlier about what could go wrong kept jumping into her mind, and it was becoming harder and harder to ignore. Please let Emily be okay, she kept
chanting over and over in her head.
She must have been saying her new mantra out-loud without realizing it because Sully glanced over at her then quickly returned his attention to the street in front of him.
"It's going to be okay, Faith. Emily is going to be just fine," he said to her as they rounded the corner sharply. He reached forward and silenced the siren as they pulled up in front of her apartment building.
Faith didn't wait for the car to stop before she yanked the door open and ran up the steps to the lobby door. She heard Davis and Wilkerson's car pull up behind them. She didn't wait for them to get out, she just took the steps two at a time. Sully's heavy footsteps sounded on the steps as he followed her up the steps into the building.
Faith turned to run up the stairs but was quickly blocked by a short woman grabbing hysterically at her arm. She turned and came face to face with Agnes Pearson, the wife of the building's super. The woman was crying and shouting at Faith. Faith couldn't understand the woman's frantic words. She also didn't care at the moment; she tried to peal herself away from the woman. The only thing on Faith's mind was getting to her apartment and to Emily, and Bosco.
Sully came up to them and tried to pull Agnes away from Faith. He finally succeeded and Faith glanced at the woman, then turned and climbed up two steps. But something forced her to stop and try to understand what the woman was ranting about. She forced herself to concentrate on the woman's words. Each of the woman's sentences was broken with tears and sobs, she was difficult to understand but somehow Faith was able to make out what she was saying.
"Oh, Faith you are here. I called the cops, they said someone would come but I didn't know it would be you." Agnes stopped and wiped her face, then continued. "Henry's gone. Some man took him, I think he's dead, Faith...Oh my dear lord I think he's dead."
Agnes had begun to cry again. Every last instinct in Faith's body was screaming for her to get up those stairs, but her mind forced her to stay. Her mind was telling her that what ever had happened to Agnes Pearson was important and she had to listen to the upset woman.
Sully was trying to calm her down. "It's all right, can you tell me what happened?"
Faith was still standing on the stairs when Wilkerson burst into the doors and looked at the people before him. Agnes was taking deep breaths and trying to get her sobs under control. When she was able to answer Sully, she talked slowly as she wrung her hangs together and tears ran steadily down her cheeks.
"I was baking cookies and the doorbell rang, I thought maybe the children in the building would like them. Oh...well...Henry got up from watching his program and answered the door." She wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her dress and then went on. "I wanted to know who it was so I put the bowl down and went into the hallway near the door. I heard a man asking about your apartment, Faith."
The woman turned to look up at Faith, who stood paralyzed on the stairs listened to her story.
"He wanted Henry to go with him upstairs. He asked Henry if he was alone." Agnes began to sob again but quickly got control of her self and continued. "Henry said he was, but he sounded so strange, sounded frightened. I didn't know what was going on, but I have been married to Henry for thirty-five years and that's the first time I have ever heard him sound like that." Agnes looked Faith directly in the eyes then Agnes' eyes began to tear and she forced her eyes away and turned to look at Sully. "Henry left with the man and when they left I ran to the door and looked out.
The man had a gun pointed at Henry. Henry hasn't come back."
Agnes couldn't hold her sobs in any longer she broke down in Sully's arms. Sully held the woman but Faith saw the pained look in his eyes when he glanced up at her.
Faith looked at the crying woman and then glanced at Wilkerson's face. Their eyes connected briefly and she saw anger and something else flash in his eyes before she turned to run up the stairs. She heard someone behind her on the stairs as she made it to the first floor landing she grabbed the handrail and was about to swing around and charge up the next flight of stairs when someone grabbed her.
"Stop!" he barked as he pulled her around until she faced him. His face was flushed and he was angry, he hissed at her. "You're a cop for god's sake, think like one."
She glared at him and yanked her arm from his grasp. "My child is up there!"
Wilkerson took a deep breath. When he spoke again his words were softer. "That's exactly why you have to calm down and act like a cop right now." He paused and then sighed deeply. "I know it's hard but you can't be a mother right now, you have to calm down and think before you act."
"I can't stand out here and do nothing," she argued.
"We are going to get them out. "
Faith studied him carefully for a second. He looked very serious and determined. Faith wasn't sure if Wilkerson motivations were to grab Covic or to help Emily and Bosco but at that moment she didn't care. He would help her save Emily and Bosco and that was all that mattered to her.
She slowly nodded her head, closed her eyes for a second then opened them again and turned to look up the stairs. She told herself that she had to force all the fear out of her head. But she had no control of the fear that still gripped her chest, but she knew she had to get control of it. If she couldn't she would make a stupid mistake and she didn't even want to think about what would happen to Emily and Bosco if that happened.
Faith heard footsteps on the stairs and they both turned to see Sully was climbing the last few steps. He was soon standing beside them in the hall. Faith looked up at his flushed face and then back at Wilkerson.
"Davis is downstairs with Mrs. Pearson, he's got her calmed down some. Some of the Agents from your division are out front they wanted to know what you wanted them to..."
The rest of Sully's sentence was cut off by the sounds of multiple sirens and tires screeching outside. Sully tilted his head slightly then frowned. "Sounds like ESU is here."
"Yeah, and if Covic didn't know we were here he sure the hell knows now."
Sully's radio beeped then the voice of the dispatcher brought it to life. "55-Charlie, ESU In charge officer on site Lieutenant Holden would like to speak to the agent in charge from the Bureau."
"What's that about?" Sully asked as he reached for his radio.
"Your ESU Lieutenant wants to remind me that this is his turf."
"We don't have time for that, we have to get up there," Faith muttered.
Wilkerson looked at Faith's worried face and then back at Sully. Wilkerson ran the balls of his fingers over his face then gestured for Sully to hand him his radio. Sully shook his head slightly then passed the mike over to Wilkerson.
Wilkerson grabbed the mike with his right hand and pressed the button with his thumb. "This is Agent..."
He suddenly grabbed the cord with his left hand and with a quick and violent yank he pulled the mike from Sully's radio. Faith reached out and steadied Sully before they both looked at the cord that was now dangling from Wilkerson's hand.
"Well look at what I did," Wilkerson said calmly. "I'm so sorry I broke your radio, Officer Sullivan," he finished with just a hint of a smile on his face. Then he turned and started climbing the stairs. "I don't have time for some stupid pissing contest," he muttered to himself after a couple of steps.
Sully and Faith looked at each other for a second stunned. Then Sully broke out into a huge grin and they both turned and followed Wilkerson up to the next floor and Faith's apartment. When they reached her floor, Faith pointed to her door and then forced herself to stand back and let Wilkerson take the lead.
Sully stepped up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. Without thinking she reached up and covered his hand with hers, grateful of the support he was giving her.
"Don't worry Faith, Bosco won't let anything happen to Emily."
Afraid that she would lose what little control she still clung to if she spoke, Faith just nodded.
Wilkerson looked at the door then back at her. He gave her a tight smile then he turned back to the door.
Faith felt herself draw in a breath and hold it as she watched him take a deep breath and knocked on her apartment door.
"FBI, open the door."
************************************************
Covic dumped Bosco onto the floor near the couch. Bosco could sense him still standing over him, then he grabbed Bosco's shirt and pulled him forward. Bosco could feel the other's man's breath on his undamaged cheek.
"Don't get any ideas either or I'll turn that bat on you. I'll let you see how it feels," Covic stated
icily.
Bosco yanked himself out of Covic's grasp, and slumped to the floor. Then he pushed himself into a sitting position with his back against the side of the couch.
Covic began to mutter in what sounded to Bosco like a foreign language. Then he could smell the smoke from a cigarette. Bosco heard him step away from him toward Faith's door. A few minutes later he heard the deadbolt lock into place. With his last hope of escape cut off, Bosco tried to catch his breath. His lip was bleeding and his ribs were on fire, even if he could manage to get to the door he thought Covic would be able to easily grab him before he had the chance to throw the bolt and open the door.
"I knew I should have stayed out of America. Well now what am I going to do with the two of you?"
Bosco ran his tongue over the cut on hip lip and was about to tell Covic what to do with himself when the words the man said hit him.
Two? Emily got out, I told her to run. Bosco felt a feeling of dread flow through him and settle in his stomach. His expression must have changed because he heard Covic chuckle then step closer to him.
"Are you worried about someone, Officer?"
Bosco shook his head. He sensed that anything he said now, especially since he didn't now what the situation was, wouldn't do him any good. Covic snorted and walked towards Faith's kitchen.
Where was Emily? He hoped that she had made it out the door and was now downstairs at a phone calling for help.
Covic walked back over to Bosco. Bosco heard him grunt. Something hit the floor next to him.
"You really didn't think you could fool me with that pathetic diversion did you?" Covic sneered.
Bosco reached his hands out slowly and gasped when his hands felt smooth fabric. He swallowed quickly and forced his hands to move slowly until his fingers felt a few strands of hair. His chest tightened and he had to force himself to remain calm as he reached a couple of inches more and felt Emily's ear then her still face. He took a deep, shuddering breath and let his hand move to her neck, he was so relieved to feel a steady pulse under his fingers.
"What did you do to her? If you hurt her again I will..."
Covic cut him off with a snort and a slap to the side of his head. "Really, Officer, I don't think you are in any position to threaten me."
Bosco could hear him take a deep breath and he knew the man was standing over him. Then Bosco heard the sirens from outside the building. Somehow Faith had figured out what was happening and she had sent help.
Faith would save them.
"Looks like you spoke too soon."
Bosco heard a strange sound, almost like a low growl and then Covic had a tight grip on his throat. Bosco was lifted up from the ground as Covic squeezed his throat slowly. 'He's going to kill me' ran through Bosco's mind as he tried to breathe.
"I should have killed you when I had the chance in the back of that building. If I had just had a second more you would have got a bullet in the head like that young FBI fool."
Bosco felt the grip tighten, then Covic released his grasp and Bosco sagged back to the ground gasping for breath. Covic took a couple of steps away from him then turned and walked back to him.
"I'm not one of the stupid thugs you spend your days chasing after, I know I have very little options open to me. I'm not stupid enough to think that just because I have one of New York's finest as a hostage that your fellow police officers are just going to open the door and let me walk out of here. Just like you, in my line of work you have to be prepared to die."
Covic bent down close to Bosco, he could smell the cigarette smoke in the other man's breath. "How about you, Officer Boscorelli, are you prepared to die?
This man's crazy, Bosco thought, I'm locked in here with a psycho. Bosco swallowed and forced himself to calm down and try and figure a way out of this.
A knock at the door made him jump and Covic snort. Covic stood and walked to the door.
"FBI Open the door," a voice called through the door.
Silence filled the room, and then there was a second knock.
"Covic, this is Agent Wilkerson with the FBI. We know you're in there, why don't you take this opportunity to come out and you have my word that you will not be harmed."
Bosco listened as Covic stepped away from the door and back toward him.
"That's what I love about FBI agents," Covic said. "They always have such fine manners right before they try to kill you. It doesn't matter what he says now they will kill me, so tell me, Officer Boscorelli, what should I do?"
"I thought you had this all figured out, you have no chance with these guys."
Bosco heard another knock at the door then he heard Covic's steps as he stopped in front of him. He heard the snap of the other man's knees as he bent down, and then he could feel his presence very close to him.
"I told you before that if I hadn't lost my chance behind the hotel you would be dead already. This whole situation is really your fault. So what I propose to you now is a question."
Bosco was confused, where was he heading. "What? Just unlock the door and give yourself up, you don't have a choice."
Bosco had no warning so he couldn't prepare himself for the blow from Covic's gun when it landed on the side of his head right above his ear. He felt his head snap back as pain flooded through him.
"Now, let's try this again. We both know that I have no chance of getting out of here. Correct?"
"Yes," Bosco said slowly, not understanding where the man was going.
Bosco heard a rustle as Covic reached over him quickly and then he felt Emily's hand on his leg pulling at him. He heard her moan and knew that Covic had silenced her somehow.
"I'm going to ask you again, Officer Boscorelli," Covic continued calmly. "Are you prepared to die?"
**********************************************
Faith's anxiety rose every time Wilkerson knocked on the door and there was no answer. Sully turned to look at her and threw up his hands in frustration. She closed her eyes and listened to Wilkerson pound on the door again. When she heard his footsteps turn and come to her, she forced her eyes open.
"Door's locked, but I did hear movement." He blew out a short breath and then looked away from her. "It's not much but it's a start." Then he pulled out his cell phone and punched several buttons, then handed it over to Faith he said. "Go ahead and put your apartment number in there, hopefully he'll pick up the phone."
Faith nodded and punched her home phone number into his phone then handed it back to him. She was about to ask him when he would try the number when they heard the sounds of several pairs of feet on the steps behind them. They both turned and Faith recognized Lieutenant Holden of ESU standing on the top step. Behind him were Ty and several men in suits that Faith didn't know but figured could only be FBI agents.
The agents stepped around Ty and the Lieutenant and made their way to Wilkerson.
"Sir, we have a perimeter around the building with sharpshooters of the NYPD on the surrounding buildings."
Wilkerson glanced sideways at her then returned his full attention to the agent in front of him. "Targets?"
"We have a confirmed ID on Covic, he was spotted in the window but there wasn't time to get a clear shot before he took cover."
Wilkerson cursed and Faith saw the other agent redden slightly.
"He hasn't put himself in the clear again, he must know we are here."
"Of course he knows we're here. The man's not stupid or deaf."
Lieutenant Holden stepped forward at that moment; he looked like he was barely holding unto his temper. Wilkerson turned to Holden and stared at the man, they both looked furious and more than a little frustrated by the situation.
"If you have something to say about the way the New York City Police Department responds to a situation in their own city I would be more than happy to hear it."
Faith couldn't take anymore of it from either of them; she stepped forward between the two and forced them to step back from one another. "Shut up both of you!" she screamed.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Sully and Ty's surprised reactions. It crossed her mind for a second that she was yelling at a superior officer and a government agent, but she quickly pushed it aside, deciding that at that moment she didn't care who these two idiots were. "If the two of you want to kill each other you can do it later after Emily and Bosco are out of there!"
She turned to look at Holden first, he had a shocked look on his face. He nodded stiffly at her then took a couple of steps back from her and Wilkerson. Faith turned to Wilkerson. The look on his face surprised her; he was smirking at her. She glared at him for a second then he turned and pulled his agent a few steps away and began to give him orders.
Faith took a deep breath and tried to get herself under control. Ty and Sully were quickly at her side. Ty had a grin on his face but Sully was frowning.
"That was cool," Ty said
"No, That was stupid," Sully growled.
Faith looked up at him and knew he was right. "Yeah, I'll worry about it later."
"You have been hanging around Bosco too long," Ty said with a laugh then became silent when he saw the look on Sully's face.
Sully still looked angry but when he spoke again his words were calm and his voice had softened. "You will worry about it when they finally realize that you're way too close to this whole thing and someone yanks you back downstairs to wait it out in an RMP."
She knew he was right. She had to force herself to get some kind of control, if she made too many problems she would be forced outside and away from the one place she needed to be right now.
Wilkerson finished with his agent and the man turned and jogged down the stairs. Holden looked at him for a second then stepped over to him.
"What's the plan?" he asked evenly.
Wilkerson didn't blink an eye at the man's change in attitude instead he motioned toward the stairs were his agent just left.
"Shepherd went for the super's key. But first we need to know what's going on in there. Are your sniper's in position?"
"Yes."
"Tell them to determine the location of Covic and the hostages. He has two for sure--Officer Boscorelli and Emily Yokas. He took the super hostage also and we haven't been able to locate him so determine his position inside, too. If we have to take the door, I don't want hostages taken down by mistake. I need three of your best men up here with me in the hall."
When Wilkerson finished, Holden nodded then turned and took his radio from his belt and began to issue orders. Wilkerson turned back to Faith and Sully and then motioned for them to follow him to Faith's door.
"If we can't get him to talk to us we're going to have to make some tough choices and soon," he said quietly
"We can't just wait him out?" Sully asked.
Wilkerson bit his lip and then looked from Sully to Faith. He looked like he was trying to decide how much to say. He met Faith's eyes and said. "I'm afraid the Bureau...no I haven't been that up front with a few things."
"What kind of things?" she asked.
"Well, the day that we asked the NYPD to pull officers for crowd control, we learned that Covic was indeed in the country and that the threat was indeed real and not just talk. If that information had been provided to you, Officer Boscorelli might have been prepared when he ran into Covic."
"Why are you telling us this?" she asked.
"Because I need for you to understand something. You can't think about Covic as your standard every day criminal. He's a professional. He is very good at his job and worse, he understands how the game works, how we work." He paused then ran his through his hair.
"What are you trying to say?" Faith asked firmly.
Wilkerson looked away from her briefly he let his eyes rest on the door for a second then he looked back at her.
"I'm trying to tell you that you have to be prepared for this to go bad."
Sully took a step closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She bit her lip, and silently repeated, 'you will not cry' over and over until she knew she was in control. Sully squeezed her shoulder as Wilkerson brought the phone his was still holding up and pressed a button.
As Wilkerson put the phone to his head Faith could faintly hear her own phone in the apartment start to ring. She counted the rings silently and when they reached fourteen they stopped.
"Hello?" Wilkerson said into the phone.
Faith leaned forward to try and hear who was on the other end of the phone. Wilkerson put up his hand for a second then leaned toward her and pulled the phone from his ear so she would be able to hear.
"Emily?"
Faith's heart raced when she heard him. She strained to hear Emily's voice.
"Yes," Emily said softly.
Faith looked up and grinned at Wilkerson, who nodded at her. Faith felt Sully's fingers tighten their grip on her shoulder and she turned back and smiled at him. Her little girl was alive.
"Emily, are you okay?"
Faith heard Emily sniff and then she whispered. "He hit me."
Faith felt like she had been hit in the stomach. Her child had been hurt and she couldn't do anything to help.
"Emily, it's okay. My name is Kenny. Can you tell me who's inside with you right now?"
There were some muffled voices in the background and then Emily sniffed again. Then with a trembling voice said, "He told me to answer the phone and tell you that if you come in the door the first person shot is going to be me."
Faith tried to reach up and grab the phone from Wilkerson's hand. She had to speak to Emily, but he twisted his body away from her and shot a look at Sully. Sully reached up, put his other hand on her shoulder, and pulled her backward from Wilkerson.
"Emily, you doing great okay? Can you give the phone to the man?"
Faith was too far away now and couldn't hear Emily's voice any longer. Suddenly there were loud footsteps on the stairs behind her and Faith turned to see the agent that Wilkerson had sent downstairs to get the keys climbing the last step with a key ring and a long gym bag in his hand.
"Snipers say they have a lock on the girl on the phone, she's in the clear standing next to the window they can't locate another target."
"He's using her to block the sniper's shots?" Sully asked.
The agent nodded his head and avoided Faith's eyes. "Look like it."
Faith shook free of Sully's grasp and stepped back over to Wilkerson, he glanced at her then shook his head no. She didn't care, she needed to be close and right now that phone was the only link to her daughter.
Before Faith had a chance to cover half the distance, a gunshot rang out from inside the apartment and Faith's heart stopped as she heard Emily's scream.
Notes: Thanks again to Angie for her support. I hope everyone is enjoying this. Comments and any feedback will be given a wonderful home and help me write this faster.
Faith mentally urged Sully to get his car to her apartment faster, but she could see that he was going as fast as he could. The sirens were blaring and they were running through every light they came to. Faith heard a horn sound from somewhere behind them. Sully turned a corner short and she had to grab the dash for support. She turned and saw Davis and Wilkerson in a squad behind them.
Faith's thoughts returned to Emily and Bosco. Why had she left them alone? How could Bosco protect Emily? She forced herself to be honest, he couldn't see to protect himself much less her daughter, then hated herself for the thought. Faith knew that Bosco would do everything he could do to protect Emily. The remark she made earlier about what could go wrong kept jumping into her mind, and it was becoming harder and harder to ignore. Please let Emily be okay, she kept
chanting over and over in her head.
She must have been saying her new mantra out-loud without realizing it because Sully glanced over at her then quickly returned his attention to the street in front of him.
"It's going to be okay, Faith. Emily is going to be just fine," he said to her as they rounded the corner sharply. He reached forward and silenced the siren as they pulled up in front of her apartment building.
Faith didn't wait for the car to stop before she yanked the door open and ran up the steps to the lobby door. She heard Davis and Wilkerson's car pull up behind them. She didn't wait for them to get out, she just took the steps two at a time. Sully's heavy footsteps sounded on the steps as he followed her up the steps into the building.
Faith turned to run up the stairs but was quickly blocked by a short woman grabbing hysterically at her arm. She turned and came face to face with Agnes Pearson, the wife of the building's super. The woman was crying and shouting at Faith. Faith couldn't understand the woman's frantic words. She also didn't care at the moment; she tried to peal herself away from the woman. The only thing on Faith's mind was getting to her apartment and to Emily, and Bosco.
Sully came up to them and tried to pull Agnes away from Faith. He finally succeeded and Faith glanced at the woman, then turned and climbed up two steps. But something forced her to stop and try to understand what the woman was ranting about. She forced herself to concentrate on the woman's words. Each of the woman's sentences was broken with tears and sobs, she was difficult to understand but somehow Faith was able to make out what she was saying.
"Oh, Faith you are here. I called the cops, they said someone would come but I didn't know it would be you." Agnes stopped and wiped her face, then continued. "Henry's gone. Some man took him, I think he's dead, Faith...Oh my dear lord I think he's dead."
Agnes had begun to cry again. Every last instinct in Faith's body was screaming for her to get up those stairs, but her mind forced her to stay. Her mind was telling her that what ever had happened to Agnes Pearson was important and she had to listen to the upset woman.
Sully was trying to calm her down. "It's all right, can you tell me what happened?"
Faith was still standing on the stairs when Wilkerson burst into the doors and looked at the people before him. Agnes was taking deep breaths and trying to get her sobs under control. When she was able to answer Sully, she talked slowly as she wrung her hangs together and tears ran steadily down her cheeks.
"I was baking cookies and the doorbell rang, I thought maybe the children in the building would like them. Oh...well...Henry got up from watching his program and answered the door." She wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her dress and then went on. "I wanted to know who it was so I put the bowl down and went into the hallway near the door. I heard a man asking about your apartment, Faith."
The woman turned to look up at Faith, who stood paralyzed on the stairs listened to her story.
"He wanted Henry to go with him upstairs. He asked Henry if he was alone." Agnes began to sob again but quickly got control of her self and continued. "Henry said he was, but he sounded so strange, sounded frightened. I didn't know what was going on, but I have been married to Henry for thirty-five years and that's the first time I have ever heard him sound like that." Agnes looked Faith directly in the eyes then Agnes' eyes began to tear and she forced her eyes away and turned to look at Sully. "Henry left with the man and when they left I ran to the door and looked out.
The man had a gun pointed at Henry. Henry hasn't come back."
Agnes couldn't hold her sobs in any longer she broke down in Sully's arms. Sully held the woman but Faith saw the pained look in his eyes when he glanced up at her.
Faith looked at the crying woman and then glanced at Wilkerson's face. Their eyes connected briefly and she saw anger and something else flash in his eyes before she turned to run up the stairs. She heard someone behind her on the stairs as she made it to the first floor landing she grabbed the handrail and was about to swing around and charge up the next flight of stairs when someone grabbed her.
"Stop!" he barked as he pulled her around until she faced him. His face was flushed and he was angry, he hissed at her. "You're a cop for god's sake, think like one."
She glared at him and yanked her arm from his grasp. "My child is up there!"
Wilkerson took a deep breath. When he spoke again his words were softer. "That's exactly why you have to calm down and act like a cop right now." He paused and then sighed deeply. "I know it's hard but you can't be a mother right now, you have to calm down and think before you act."
"I can't stand out here and do nothing," she argued.
"We are going to get them out. "
Faith studied him carefully for a second. He looked very serious and determined. Faith wasn't sure if Wilkerson motivations were to grab Covic or to help Emily and Bosco but at that moment she didn't care. He would help her save Emily and Bosco and that was all that mattered to her.
She slowly nodded her head, closed her eyes for a second then opened them again and turned to look up the stairs. She told herself that she had to force all the fear out of her head. But she had no control of the fear that still gripped her chest, but she knew she had to get control of it. If she couldn't she would make a stupid mistake and she didn't even want to think about what would happen to Emily and Bosco if that happened.
Faith heard footsteps on the stairs and they both turned to see Sully was climbing the last few steps. He was soon standing beside them in the hall. Faith looked up at his flushed face and then back at Wilkerson.
"Davis is downstairs with Mrs. Pearson, he's got her calmed down some. Some of the Agents from your division are out front they wanted to know what you wanted them to..."
The rest of Sully's sentence was cut off by the sounds of multiple sirens and tires screeching outside. Sully tilted his head slightly then frowned. "Sounds like ESU is here."
"Yeah, and if Covic didn't know we were here he sure the hell knows now."
Sully's radio beeped then the voice of the dispatcher brought it to life. "55-Charlie, ESU In charge officer on site Lieutenant Holden would like to speak to the agent in charge from the Bureau."
"What's that about?" Sully asked as he reached for his radio.
"Your ESU Lieutenant wants to remind me that this is his turf."
"We don't have time for that, we have to get up there," Faith muttered.
Wilkerson looked at Faith's worried face and then back at Sully. Wilkerson ran the balls of his fingers over his face then gestured for Sully to hand him his radio. Sully shook his head slightly then passed the mike over to Wilkerson.
Wilkerson grabbed the mike with his right hand and pressed the button with his thumb. "This is Agent..."
He suddenly grabbed the cord with his left hand and with a quick and violent yank he pulled the mike from Sully's radio. Faith reached out and steadied Sully before they both looked at the cord that was now dangling from Wilkerson's hand.
"Well look at what I did," Wilkerson said calmly. "I'm so sorry I broke your radio, Officer Sullivan," he finished with just a hint of a smile on his face. Then he turned and started climbing the stairs. "I don't have time for some stupid pissing contest," he muttered to himself after a couple of steps.
Sully and Faith looked at each other for a second stunned. Then Sully broke out into a huge grin and they both turned and followed Wilkerson up to the next floor and Faith's apartment. When they reached her floor, Faith pointed to her door and then forced herself to stand back and let Wilkerson take the lead.
Sully stepped up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. Without thinking she reached up and covered his hand with hers, grateful of the support he was giving her.
"Don't worry Faith, Bosco won't let anything happen to Emily."
Afraid that she would lose what little control she still clung to if she spoke, Faith just nodded.
Wilkerson looked at the door then back at her. He gave her a tight smile then he turned back to the door.
Faith felt herself draw in a breath and hold it as she watched him take a deep breath and knocked on her apartment door.
"FBI, open the door."
************************************************
Covic dumped Bosco onto the floor near the couch. Bosco could sense him still standing over him, then he grabbed Bosco's shirt and pulled him forward. Bosco could feel the other's man's breath on his undamaged cheek.
"Don't get any ideas either or I'll turn that bat on you. I'll let you see how it feels," Covic stated
icily.
Bosco yanked himself out of Covic's grasp, and slumped to the floor. Then he pushed himself into a sitting position with his back against the side of the couch.
Covic began to mutter in what sounded to Bosco like a foreign language. Then he could smell the smoke from a cigarette. Bosco heard him step away from him toward Faith's door. A few minutes later he heard the deadbolt lock into place. With his last hope of escape cut off, Bosco tried to catch his breath. His lip was bleeding and his ribs were on fire, even if he could manage to get to the door he thought Covic would be able to easily grab him before he had the chance to throw the bolt and open the door.
"I knew I should have stayed out of America. Well now what am I going to do with the two of you?"
Bosco ran his tongue over the cut on hip lip and was about to tell Covic what to do with himself when the words the man said hit him.
Two? Emily got out, I told her to run. Bosco felt a feeling of dread flow through him and settle in his stomach. His expression must have changed because he heard Covic chuckle then step closer to him.
"Are you worried about someone, Officer?"
Bosco shook his head. He sensed that anything he said now, especially since he didn't now what the situation was, wouldn't do him any good. Covic snorted and walked towards Faith's kitchen.
Where was Emily? He hoped that she had made it out the door and was now downstairs at a phone calling for help.
Covic walked back over to Bosco. Bosco heard him grunt. Something hit the floor next to him.
"You really didn't think you could fool me with that pathetic diversion did you?" Covic sneered.
Bosco reached his hands out slowly and gasped when his hands felt smooth fabric. He swallowed quickly and forced his hands to move slowly until his fingers felt a few strands of hair. His chest tightened and he had to force himself to remain calm as he reached a couple of inches more and felt Emily's ear then her still face. He took a deep, shuddering breath and let his hand move to her neck, he was so relieved to feel a steady pulse under his fingers.
"What did you do to her? If you hurt her again I will..."
Covic cut him off with a snort and a slap to the side of his head. "Really, Officer, I don't think you are in any position to threaten me."
Bosco could hear him take a deep breath and he knew the man was standing over him. Then Bosco heard the sirens from outside the building. Somehow Faith had figured out what was happening and she had sent help.
Faith would save them.
"Looks like you spoke too soon."
Bosco heard a strange sound, almost like a low growl and then Covic had a tight grip on his throat. Bosco was lifted up from the ground as Covic squeezed his throat slowly. 'He's going to kill me' ran through Bosco's mind as he tried to breathe.
"I should have killed you when I had the chance in the back of that building. If I had just had a second more you would have got a bullet in the head like that young FBI fool."
Bosco felt the grip tighten, then Covic released his grasp and Bosco sagged back to the ground gasping for breath. Covic took a couple of steps away from him then turned and walked back to him.
"I'm not one of the stupid thugs you spend your days chasing after, I know I have very little options open to me. I'm not stupid enough to think that just because I have one of New York's finest as a hostage that your fellow police officers are just going to open the door and let me walk out of here. Just like you, in my line of work you have to be prepared to die."
Covic bent down close to Bosco, he could smell the cigarette smoke in the other man's breath. "How about you, Officer Boscorelli, are you prepared to die?
This man's crazy, Bosco thought, I'm locked in here with a psycho. Bosco swallowed and forced himself to calm down and try and figure a way out of this.
A knock at the door made him jump and Covic snort. Covic stood and walked to the door.
"FBI Open the door," a voice called through the door.
Silence filled the room, and then there was a second knock.
"Covic, this is Agent Wilkerson with the FBI. We know you're in there, why don't you take this opportunity to come out and you have my word that you will not be harmed."
Bosco listened as Covic stepped away from the door and back toward him.
"That's what I love about FBI agents," Covic said. "They always have such fine manners right before they try to kill you. It doesn't matter what he says now they will kill me, so tell me, Officer Boscorelli, what should I do?"
"I thought you had this all figured out, you have no chance with these guys."
Bosco heard another knock at the door then he heard Covic's steps as he stopped in front of him. He heard the snap of the other man's knees as he bent down, and then he could feel his presence very close to him.
"I told you before that if I hadn't lost my chance behind the hotel you would be dead already. This whole situation is really your fault. So what I propose to you now is a question."
Bosco was confused, where was he heading. "What? Just unlock the door and give yourself up, you don't have a choice."
Bosco had no warning so he couldn't prepare himself for the blow from Covic's gun when it landed on the side of his head right above his ear. He felt his head snap back as pain flooded through him.
"Now, let's try this again. We both know that I have no chance of getting out of here. Correct?"
"Yes," Bosco said slowly, not understanding where the man was going.
Bosco heard a rustle as Covic reached over him quickly and then he felt Emily's hand on his leg pulling at him. He heard her moan and knew that Covic had silenced her somehow.
"I'm going to ask you again, Officer Boscorelli," Covic continued calmly. "Are you prepared to die?"
**********************************************
Faith's anxiety rose every time Wilkerson knocked on the door and there was no answer. Sully turned to look at her and threw up his hands in frustration. She closed her eyes and listened to Wilkerson pound on the door again. When she heard his footsteps turn and come to her, she forced her eyes open.
"Door's locked, but I did hear movement." He blew out a short breath and then looked away from her. "It's not much but it's a start." Then he pulled out his cell phone and punched several buttons, then handed it over to Faith he said. "Go ahead and put your apartment number in there, hopefully he'll pick up the phone."
Faith nodded and punched her home phone number into his phone then handed it back to him. She was about to ask him when he would try the number when they heard the sounds of several pairs of feet on the steps behind them. They both turned and Faith recognized Lieutenant Holden of ESU standing on the top step. Behind him were Ty and several men in suits that Faith didn't know but figured could only be FBI agents.
The agents stepped around Ty and the Lieutenant and made their way to Wilkerson.
"Sir, we have a perimeter around the building with sharpshooters of the NYPD on the surrounding buildings."
Wilkerson glanced sideways at her then returned his full attention to the agent in front of him. "Targets?"
"We have a confirmed ID on Covic, he was spotted in the window but there wasn't time to get a clear shot before he took cover."
Wilkerson cursed and Faith saw the other agent redden slightly.
"He hasn't put himself in the clear again, he must know we are here."
"Of course he knows we're here. The man's not stupid or deaf."
Lieutenant Holden stepped forward at that moment; he looked like he was barely holding unto his temper. Wilkerson turned to Holden and stared at the man, they both looked furious and more than a little frustrated by the situation.
"If you have something to say about the way the New York City Police Department responds to a situation in their own city I would be more than happy to hear it."
Faith couldn't take anymore of it from either of them; she stepped forward between the two and forced them to step back from one another. "Shut up both of you!" she screamed.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Sully and Ty's surprised reactions. It crossed her mind for a second that she was yelling at a superior officer and a government agent, but she quickly pushed it aside, deciding that at that moment she didn't care who these two idiots were. "If the two of you want to kill each other you can do it later after Emily and Bosco are out of there!"
She turned to look at Holden first, he had a shocked look on his face. He nodded stiffly at her then took a couple of steps back from her and Wilkerson. Faith turned to Wilkerson. The look on his face surprised her; he was smirking at her. She glared at him for a second then he turned and pulled his agent a few steps away and began to give him orders.
Faith took a deep breath and tried to get herself under control. Ty and Sully were quickly at her side. Ty had a grin on his face but Sully was frowning.
"That was cool," Ty said
"No, That was stupid," Sully growled.
Faith looked up at him and knew he was right. "Yeah, I'll worry about it later."
"You have been hanging around Bosco too long," Ty said with a laugh then became silent when he saw the look on Sully's face.
Sully still looked angry but when he spoke again his words were calm and his voice had softened. "You will worry about it when they finally realize that you're way too close to this whole thing and someone yanks you back downstairs to wait it out in an RMP."
She knew he was right. She had to force herself to get some kind of control, if she made too many problems she would be forced outside and away from the one place she needed to be right now.
Wilkerson finished with his agent and the man turned and jogged down the stairs. Holden looked at him for a second then stepped over to him.
"What's the plan?" he asked evenly.
Wilkerson didn't blink an eye at the man's change in attitude instead he motioned toward the stairs were his agent just left.
"Shepherd went for the super's key. But first we need to know what's going on in there. Are your sniper's in position?"
"Yes."
"Tell them to determine the location of Covic and the hostages. He has two for sure--Officer Boscorelli and Emily Yokas. He took the super hostage also and we haven't been able to locate him so determine his position inside, too. If we have to take the door, I don't want hostages taken down by mistake. I need three of your best men up here with me in the hall."
When Wilkerson finished, Holden nodded then turned and took his radio from his belt and began to issue orders. Wilkerson turned back to Faith and Sully and then motioned for them to follow him to Faith's door.
"If we can't get him to talk to us we're going to have to make some tough choices and soon," he said quietly
"We can't just wait him out?" Sully asked.
Wilkerson bit his lip and then looked from Sully to Faith. He looked like he was trying to decide how much to say. He met Faith's eyes and said. "I'm afraid the Bureau...no I haven't been that up front with a few things."
"What kind of things?" she asked.
"Well, the day that we asked the NYPD to pull officers for crowd control, we learned that Covic was indeed in the country and that the threat was indeed real and not just talk. If that information had been provided to you, Officer Boscorelli might have been prepared when he ran into Covic."
"Why are you telling us this?" she asked.
"Because I need for you to understand something. You can't think about Covic as your standard every day criminal. He's a professional. He is very good at his job and worse, he understands how the game works, how we work." He paused then ran his through his hair.
"What are you trying to say?" Faith asked firmly.
Wilkerson looked away from her briefly he let his eyes rest on the door for a second then he looked back at her.
"I'm trying to tell you that you have to be prepared for this to go bad."
Sully took a step closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She bit her lip, and silently repeated, 'you will not cry' over and over until she knew she was in control. Sully squeezed her shoulder as Wilkerson brought the phone his was still holding up and pressed a button.
As Wilkerson put the phone to his head Faith could faintly hear her own phone in the apartment start to ring. She counted the rings silently and when they reached fourteen they stopped.
"Hello?" Wilkerson said into the phone.
Faith leaned forward to try and hear who was on the other end of the phone. Wilkerson put up his hand for a second then leaned toward her and pulled the phone from his ear so she would be able to hear.
"Emily?"
Faith's heart raced when she heard him. She strained to hear Emily's voice.
"Yes," Emily said softly.
Faith looked up and grinned at Wilkerson, who nodded at her. Faith felt Sully's fingers tighten their grip on her shoulder and she turned back and smiled at him. Her little girl was alive.
"Emily, are you okay?"
Faith heard Emily sniff and then she whispered. "He hit me."
Faith felt like she had been hit in the stomach. Her child had been hurt and she couldn't do anything to help.
"Emily, it's okay. My name is Kenny. Can you tell me who's inside with you right now?"
There were some muffled voices in the background and then Emily sniffed again. Then with a trembling voice said, "He told me to answer the phone and tell you that if you come in the door the first person shot is going to be me."
Faith tried to reach up and grab the phone from Wilkerson's hand. She had to speak to Emily, but he twisted his body away from her and shot a look at Sully. Sully reached up, put his other hand on her shoulder, and pulled her backward from Wilkerson.
"Emily, you doing great okay? Can you give the phone to the man?"
Faith was too far away now and couldn't hear Emily's voice any longer. Suddenly there were loud footsteps on the stairs behind her and Faith turned to see the agent that Wilkerson had sent downstairs to get the keys climbing the last step with a key ring and a long gym bag in his hand.
"Snipers say they have a lock on the girl on the phone, she's in the clear standing next to the window they can't locate another target."
"He's using her to block the sniper's shots?" Sully asked.
The agent nodded his head and avoided Faith's eyes. "Look like it."
Faith shook free of Sully's grasp and stepped back over to Wilkerson, he glanced at her then shook his head no. She didn't care, she needed to be close and right now that phone was the only link to her daughter.
Before Faith had a chance to cover half the distance, a gunshot rang out from inside the apartment and Faith's heart stopped as she heard Emily's scream.