On Your Own
Chapter 3
*****
Remember, I don't own the Third Watch characters...I just like to borrow them from time to time.
Thanks for the idea Gauriel!
*****
"They could have told us we were going to have the rest of the day off," Bosco griped as he unbuttoned his uniform shirt. "Then we wouldn't have had to get here in time to change into our uniforms only to be told to go home."
Faith rolled her eyes. "Always gotta look a gift horse in the mouth don't you Bos?!"
"Well, no, I'm just sayin'---"
"I know," she laughed. "I know."
Bosco shrugged off his shirt, and started to unfasten the Velcro of his bulletproof vest. He pulled the vest over his head, and looked at it for a moment before shoving it into the bottom of his locker. "Guess I won't be needing that for a while." Faith stared in his direction. He felt her gaze as he started to change into his jeans. "What?"
Faith shook her head slowly. "I just don't know if I like this."
"Like what?"
She waved her arms in the air. "This whole thing! You going undercover."
"Faith relax I'll be fine."
She carefully folded her shirt, and placed it in her bag that was on the floor in front of her. Then she straightened up, and looked at him with a serious expression on her face. "I just have a bad feeling about this. I don't know what it is. I guess maybe I'd feel better if you could wear your vest."
Bosco stopped lacing up his boot. He sat with his left foot on the bench, he wrapped his arms around his knee that was bent up in the air. His eyes met his partner's. "Are you trying to creep me out?"
"No," she shook her head. "My gut just tells me that something isn't right. I just can't put my finger on it."
He continued to tie his shoe. "I wish you could, 'cause then I could avoid whatever it is your gut feels." When his boots were tied he put his feet on the floor straddling the bench. He picked up his duffle bag, and rested it on his thigh. "Give me a call tonight if you figure out what your gut is trying to tell you. OK?"
Faith chuckled. "Sure thing Bos."
Bosco pushed himself off the bench, and headed out the door. He turned to look at his partner once more. "I'll see you around Faith. Be careful out there."
She looked at him. "Yeah, you too Bos." He nodded, and walked through the door.
******
Bosco walked around his apartment trying to figure out what he wanted to bring with him. So far he had packed some jeans and t-shirts and all the 'necessities', but he couldn't figure out what to take with him that would keep him occupied when he was in the apartment. He wished he knew what Reyes meant when she said "everything else is taken care of".
He plopped down onto the couch, and continued to look around his apartment. "Stuff that doesn't tie me to being Maurice Boscorelli," he thought aloud. "Hmmm." Bosco stood up, and went over to his entertainment center. He grabbed a few CDs, his portable CD player, and his headphones, and then wondered whether or not to take his playstation. "Wonder if they hooked me up with a TV?"
Twenty minutes later his bags were packed and sitting by the door. He returned to the couch, and turned on the television. Bosco flipped through the channels a few times, but couldn't concentrate on what was on. All he could think about was what Faith had said earlier.
"My gut just tells me that something isn't right."
He couldn't get her words out of his head. Ever since they found out about this undercover detail he had been excited; ready and willing to do what he could. But now, after what Faith had said he wasn't so excited...he was nervous, and maybe a little scared though he would never admit that to anyone.
Bosco ran a hand through his short hair, and let out a heavy sigh. He rested his head on the back of the couch, and stared up at the ceiling as he wondered what Faith's gut could be telling her.
The shrill ringing of the phone brought him out of his tortured thoughts. He looked around momentarily trying to remember where he left the cordless. The ringing seemed to be coming from somewhere close. He stood up, and found the phone resting in-between two of the cushions on the couch. He chuckled to himself, and hit the 'talk' button.
"Yeah?"
"Hey Bos it's me."
"Hi Faith. You figure out what your gut was telling you yet?" He said it with a smile hoping his voice would reflect it.
"No, sorry," she said sadly.
"No problem," he tried to reassure her.
"Look Bosco, I hope I didn't scare you with all that talk earlier."
"Scare me?" He chuckled. "You couldn't scare me if you tried Yokas."
"Well, I just wanted to let you know that I'm sure you'll be just fine."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You're a good cop. I know you can take care of yourself. I know you can do this."
He sat back down on the couch, and looked up at the ceiling once again. "You think so? You think I can do this?" The uncertainty was evident in his voice.
"Bosco I don't *think* you can do this. I *know* you can."
He smiled. "Thanks Faith."
There was a short awkward lull in their conversation. "Can I ask you something Bos?"
"Sure."
"Are you scared? I know I'd be freaking out." He didn't respond. "It's OK to be scared Bosco. It's normal."
"I'm not scared Faith," he lied. "I'm nervous, that's it, just nervous."
"OK," she smiled softly. "Just be careful."
"I will."
"I hope this detail doesn't take a long time. I have this weird feeling that I'm going to miss you or something." She chuckled.
"I'm gonna miss you too," he said seriously, and with that he hung up the phone.
******
Bosco stood on the sidewalk outside of the Nom Wah Tea Parlor, a duffle bag in each hand. He looked up at the window that was surely his apartment. He took a deep breath, and headed for the door. Bosco pushed the door open and headed up the steps. "Wonder what kinda shit hole I'll be living in?"
He inserted the key into the door at the top of the stairs. Bosco stepped inside the apartment, and dropped his bags on the floor as his eyes scanned the studio apartment. "Whoa," he said softly.
The floor was made of hardwood, and there was a small kitchen area to his right. His jaw hit the floor as he looked straight ahead, and saw the entertainment center that was set up, and stocked with CDs and DVDs as well as an Xbox game system. The television set was bigger than the one that he owned. There was a nice sectional couch in front of the entertainment center and between the kitchen and the living room area there was a desk with a computer on it. To the left was his bedroom, which consisted of a large mattress on the floor. Next to that was what he was assuming was a door that led to the bathroom.
"Damn, I went into the wrong occupation. I should really start peddling drugs," he whispered to himself as he shut the door, and walked further into the apartment to study everything. "Wow."
Bosco sat down on the couch, and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. At the last minute he had decided to take it with him today. While he was trying to ignore people on the subway he had reprogrammed it so the display read Jason Muniz rather than Maurice Boscorelli. He had also removed the phone numbers he had stored just incase someone got a hold of his phone.
It was after four o'clock so he figured Faith was probably home by now. He dialed her number.
"Hello."
"How was your day?"
"Bosco?!"
"Yeah."
"Where are you? What are you doing calling me?"
"I'm in my new apartment," he smiled. "Man Faith, we went into the *wrong* profession. You should see all this stuff they stocked me up with. I could get used to this." He put his feet on the coffee table. "This is the life."
"Bos---"
"Hey, it's Jason. Remember?"
She shook her head. "OK...Jason. You shouldn't be calling me. You gotta be smart about this."
"Don't worry Faith. I'm being smart. I just wanted to have some way to talk to you."
"Well, I don't know if this is such a good idea."
"It'll be fine Faith. Quit worrying."
"I can't."
"Well try."
"I'll try, but I'm not making any promises."
He chuckled. "OK. Well I wanted to see how your day was."
"It was good. Different, but good."
"That's good to hear."
"So what are you doing tonight Jason?" When she said 'Jason' she emphasized it. She chuckled to herself as she used his undercover name.
"I'll probably just go for a walk, you know, check out the area. But I gotta hit the sack early tonight cause I have to be at the garage to work at eight."
"That's right. Good luck with that."
"Thanks. It shouldn't be too hard, though I haven't worked on a car other than my mustang for ages."
Faith's apartment door opened. "Hey I gotta go. The kids just got home from school."
"Yeah OK. I'll talk to you later."
"Hey, maybe you shouldn't call anymore. Not that I don't want to talk to you, but I don't know if it's safe."
"What do you want me to do then? Commit a crime in front of you so you can arrest me?"
She laughed. "That could work. Take it easy Jason."
"You too Faith." Bosco pressed 'end' on his phone, and turned it off. He looked around the apartment looking for a place to put the phone. He didn't want to leave it out in the open in case he had visitors. It needed to go somewhere out of sight.
Bosco stood up and walked around the apartment wondering if he should just put it in a drawer in the kitchen or something. He walked over to the nightstand next to his "bed", and went to put it in the top drawer when he stepped down and felt the floor shift slightly underneath him. He looked down to find a piece of loose floorboard. Bosco bent down, and moved the board with his hand, and was surprised when the wood came right out of the floor. He smiled to himself, as he noticed that it was a hollow spot in the floor...and the perfect place to hide his phone.
Chapter 3
*****
Remember, I don't own the Third Watch characters...I just like to borrow them from time to time.
Thanks for the idea Gauriel!
*****
"They could have told us we were going to have the rest of the day off," Bosco griped as he unbuttoned his uniform shirt. "Then we wouldn't have had to get here in time to change into our uniforms only to be told to go home."
Faith rolled her eyes. "Always gotta look a gift horse in the mouth don't you Bos?!"
"Well, no, I'm just sayin'---"
"I know," she laughed. "I know."
Bosco shrugged off his shirt, and started to unfasten the Velcro of his bulletproof vest. He pulled the vest over his head, and looked at it for a moment before shoving it into the bottom of his locker. "Guess I won't be needing that for a while." Faith stared in his direction. He felt her gaze as he started to change into his jeans. "What?"
Faith shook her head slowly. "I just don't know if I like this."
"Like what?"
She waved her arms in the air. "This whole thing! You going undercover."
"Faith relax I'll be fine."
She carefully folded her shirt, and placed it in her bag that was on the floor in front of her. Then she straightened up, and looked at him with a serious expression on her face. "I just have a bad feeling about this. I don't know what it is. I guess maybe I'd feel better if you could wear your vest."
Bosco stopped lacing up his boot. He sat with his left foot on the bench, he wrapped his arms around his knee that was bent up in the air. His eyes met his partner's. "Are you trying to creep me out?"
"No," she shook her head. "My gut just tells me that something isn't right. I just can't put my finger on it."
He continued to tie his shoe. "I wish you could, 'cause then I could avoid whatever it is your gut feels." When his boots were tied he put his feet on the floor straddling the bench. He picked up his duffle bag, and rested it on his thigh. "Give me a call tonight if you figure out what your gut is trying to tell you. OK?"
Faith chuckled. "Sure thing Bos."
Bosco pushed himself off the bench, and headed out the door. He turned to look at his partner once more. "I'll see you around Faith. Be careful out there."
She looked at him. "Yeah, you too Bos." He nodded, and walked through the door.
******
Bosco walked around his apartment trying to figure out what he wanted to bring with him. So far he had packed some jeans and t-shirts and all the 'necessities', but he couldn't figure out what to take with him that would keep him occupied when he was in the apartment. He wished he knew what Reyes meant when she said "everything else is taken care of".
He plopped down onto the couch, and continued to look around his apartment. "Stuff that doesn't tie me to being Maurice Boscorelli," he thought aloud. "Hmmm." Bosco stood up, and went over to his entertainment center. He grabbed a few CDs, his portable CD player, and his headphones, and then wondered whether or not to take his playstation. "Wonder if they hooked me up with a TV?"
Twenty minutes later his bags were packed and sitting by the door. He returned to the couch, and turned on the television. Bosco flipped through the channels a few times, but couldn't concentrate on what was on. All he could think about was what Faith had said earlier.
"My gut just tells me that something isn't right."
He couldn't get her words out of his head. Ever since they found out about this undercover detail he had been excited; ready and willing to do what he could. But now, after what Faith had said he wasn't so excited...he was nervous, and maybe a little scared though he would never admit that to anyone.
Bosco ran a hand through his short hair, and let out a heavy sigh. He rested his head on the back of the couch, and stared up at the ceiling as he wondered what Faith's gut could be telling her.
The shrill ringing of the phone brought him out of his tortured thoughts. He looked around momentarily trying to remember where he left the cordless. The ringing seemed to be coming from somewhere close. He stood up, and found the phone resting in-between two of the cushions on the couch. He chuckled to himself, and hit the 'talk' button.
"Yeah?"
"Hey Bos it's me."
"Hi Faith. You figure out what your gut was telling you yet?" He said it with a smile hoping his voice would reflect it.
"No, sorry," she said sadly.
"No problem," he tried to reassure her.
"Look Bosco, I hope I didn't scare you with all that talk earlier."
"Scare me?" He chuckled. "You couldn't scare me if you tried Yokas."
"Well, I just wanted to let you know that I'm sure you'll be just fine."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You're a good cop. I know you can take care of yourself. I know you can do this."
He sat back down on the couch, and looked up at the ceiling once again. "You think so? You think I can do this?" The uncertainty was evident in his voice.
"Bosco I don't *think* you can do this. I *know* you can."
He smiled. "Thanks Faith."
There was a short awkward lull in their conversation. "Can I ask you something Bos?"
"Sure."
"Are you scared? I know I'd be freaking out." He didn't respond. "It's OK to be scared Bosco. It's normal."
"I'm not scared Faith," he lied. "I'm nervous, that's it, just nervous."
"OK," she smiled softly. "Just be careful."
"I will."
"I hope this detail doesn't take a long time. I have this weird feeling that I'm going to miss you or something." She chuckled.
"I'm gonna miss you too," he said seriously, and with that he hung up the phone.
******
Bosco stood on the sidewalk outside of the Nom Wah Tea Parlor, a duffle bag in each hand. He looked up at the window that was surely his apartment. He took a deep breath, and headed for the door. Bosco pushed the door open and headed up the steps. "Wonder what kinda shit hole I'll be living in?"
He inserted the key into the door at the top of the stairs. Bosco stepped inside the apartment, and dropped his bags on the floor as his eyes scanned the studio apartment. "Whoa," he said softly.
The floor was made of hardwood, and there was a small kitchen area to his right. His jaw hit the floor as he looked straight ahead, and saw the entertainment center that was set up, and stocked with CDs and DVDs as well as an Xbox game system. The television set was bigger than the one that he owned. There was a nice sectional couch in front of the entertainment center and between the kitchen and the living room area there was a desk with a computer on it. To the left was his bedroom, which consisted of a large mattress on the floor. Next to that was what he was assuming was a door that led to the bathroom.
"Damn, I went into the wrong occupation. I should really start peddling drugs," he whispered to himself as he shut the door, and walked further into the apartment to study everything. "Wow."
Bosco sat down on the couch, and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. At the last minute he had decided to take it with him today. While he was trying to ignore people on the subway he had reprogrammed it so the display read Jason Muniz rather than Maurice Boscorelli. He had also removed the phone numbers he had stored just incase someone got a hold of his phone.
It was after four o'clock so he figured Faith was probably home by now. He dialed her number.
"Hello."
"How was your day?"
"Bosco?!"
"Yeah."
"Where are you? What are you doing calling me?"
"I'm in my new apartment," he smiled. "Man Faith, we went into the *wrong* profession. You should see all this stuff they stocked me up with. I could get used to this." He put his feet on the coffee table. "This is the life."
"Bos---"
"Hey, it's Jason. Remember?"
She shook her head. "OK...Jason. You shouldn't be calling me. You gotta be smart about this."
"Don't worry Faith. I'm being smart. I just wanted to have some way to talk to you."
"Well, I don't know if this is such a good idea."
"It'll be fine Faith. Quit worrying."
"I can't."
"Well try."
"I'll try, but I'm not making any promises."
He chuckled. "OK. Well I wanted to see how your day was."
"It was good. Different, but good."
"That's good to hear."
"So what are you doing tonight Jason?" When she said 'Jason' she emphasized it. She chuckled to herself as she used his undercover name.
"I'll probably just go for a walk, you know, check out the area. But I gotta hit the sack early tonight cause I have to be at the garage to work at eight."
"That's right. Good luck with that."
"Thanks. It shouldn't be too hard, though I haven't worked on a car other than my mustang for ages."
Faith's apartment door opened. "Hey I gotta go. The kids just got home from school."
"Yeah OK. I'll talk to you later."
"Hey, maybe you shouldn't call anymore. Not that I don't want to talk to you, but I don't know if it's safe."
"What do you want me to do then? Commit a crime in front of you so you can arrest me?"
She laughed. "That could work. Take it easy Jason."
"You too Faith." Bosco pressed 'end' on his phone, and turned it off. He looked around the apartment looking for a place to put the phone. He didn't want to leave it out in the open in case he had visitors. It needed to go somewhere out of sight.
Bosco stood up and walked around the apartment wondering if he should just put it in a drawer in the kitchen or something. He walked over to the nightstand next to his "bed", and went to put it in the top drawer when he stepped down and felt the floor shift slightly underneath him. He looked down to find a piece of loose floorboard. Bosco bent down, and moved the board with his hand, and was surprised when the wood came right out of the floor. He smiled to himself, as he noticed that it was a hollow spot in the floor...and the perfect place to hide his phone.