Chapter four

***

"Hey, Sul, you wanna come over for my mother's birthday tomorrow?" Ty Davis asked his partner as they walked to their RMP, each holding a cup of coffee in his hand.

"I don't know, Davis." Sully replied, climbing in the driver's seat and putting the car into gear. "I'm not sure she wants to see me. She hasn't talked to me since you got shot."

"Oh, come on, man, you know her!" he laughed.

"Yeah. That's why I stay clear of the hurricane. Maybe I could... Hey, what the hell?" Sully yelled as his foot slammed on the brakes and he stopped the RMP just before it hit a young man who was crossing the street and was apparently unaware of their presence. "Stupid ass!" he muttered.

The guy fell to the ground, momentarily disappearing from their sight, then put his hands on the hood of the car and got up. He stared at them for a few seconds, a flicker of recognition on his face, and took off running again.

"What's this guy doing?" the older officer asked.

"Sully, isn't that Boscorelli's brother?"

"What?"

"Yeah, remember him, a few months ago? Bosco locked him up for drug possession."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. It looks like he's afraid of something."

"Man, this isn't good." Sully whispered as he started off the engine.

Mikey couldn't stop running. His heart was beating furiously in his chest, sweat was rolling down on his face and neck, and his mind kept taunting him with images of his brother lying in a pool of blood somewhere.

He'd considered talking to the two cops, asking for some kind of help, but decided against it. Hold on, Maurice. I'm coming.

Sully spotted him a few minutes later. He wanted to find out what was going on, but decided not to scare him so he didn't turn the siren on.

"Sul, do you think he's in trouble?" his partner asked him.

"I don't know, Davis. But it certainly doesn't look good." He rolled down the window and hit the horn. "Hey! Boscorelli, stop!" he called out.

Mikey didn't expect the cops to know his name, so he was taken aback and finally stopped running. He turned around to look at them and stared at the younger officer. I've seen this guy before, he thought to himself, and wondered if they knew his brother.

"It's okay, man. We just want to talk to you." Davis said as he got out of the RMP and approached him. "Are you okay?"

"I can't remember... Maurice, he... I can't remember the street..." Mikey said, gasping for breath.

"Maurice? What, you mean... Bosco? Has something happened to Bosco?"

"They said he's ... I have to find him!"

"What's going on here?" Sully asked as he came closer.

"I don't know. He said something about Bosco..."

Mikey looked at the officers. "I gotta go."

Davis grabbed his arm. "No, wait. Is Bosco in danger?"

"He may be! They... they said they were going to kill him!"

Sully and Davis stared at him in shock.

"Who said that?"

"You don't understand, there's no time!" Mikey cried as he tried to get free of Davis' grasp.

"Alright, alright. Get in the car." Sully urged him. "We're going to find him. Now you tell us exactly what happened so we can start looking for him."

Mikey didn't reply, but silently followed them to the RMP and they all climbed in.

"I really don't like this." Sully muttered as he switched on the siren. "55-Charlie to Central." he called over the radio.

"Go ahead, Charlie."

"Central, I need to speak to 55-David."

"Hold on, Charlie."

"55-David," came Faith's voice a moment later.

"Faith, is Bosco with you?"

"Sully, is that you? No, he's not... why, what happened?" she asked, her voice faltering slightly.

Sully looked at his partner and then at Michael through the rear-view mirror.

Oh my God, Mikey sighed, his head resting in his hands. He's dead. Please don't let him be dead. Maurice, I'm sorry...

"Sully, what's going on?" Faith asked again.

"Hold on, Faith." he replied as he pulled the RMP over to a side street and turned to look at Mikey. "Where is he?"

"I don't... I'm not sure..."

"Where the hell is he?" he yelled, rage flashing in his eyes.

"I... I left him near the corner of 58th and 11th."

"Sully, is Bosco alright?"

The older officer listened to his friend's frantic voice but found himself unable to answer her question. "I don't know." he finally whispered.

They were only a few blocks away from the place where Mikey had last seen Bosco, but the ride was long and unnerving. Mikey told them about the meeting with his brother, although he didn't give them all the details. His mind was still racing a mile a minute, and he was having a hard time concentrating on their questions.

***

Faith sat in the driver's seat of her RMP, nervously tapping her hands on the steering wheel as she waited for the red light to turn green. Her mind too was racing, trying to recall her last conversation with Bosco. She'd been waiting for the desk Sergeant to call and tell her to come and get her partner, but no one had called, and then it came Sully's concerned voice over the radio.

Something was definitely wrong. That same uneasy feeling she'd experienced since she'd walked in the locker room was still settled in her stomach, but she chose not to ignore it this time.

She remembered him mentioning his brother's name. Could Michael be involved in this?

"Ma'am, you can go now." Gusler's voice suddenly reminded her it was time to go.

Her foot stepped on the accelerator and she headed towards the intersection where 55-Charlie was already waiting.

TBC...