The Ride-Along
Chapter 5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After they'd left the hospital, it was almost 10:30. There was just about a half hour left of their shift. They decided to start heading toward the precinct in hopes that no more calls came in for them.
"55-David," came the dispatcher's voice over the radio and Bosco groaned.
"Don't answer it," he said and Faith threw him a look in the rearview mirror as she picked up the radio.
"55-David," said Faith.
"David, take a suspicious activity call at Arthur and 197. A woman states that she heard someone call for help outside of her building," the dispatcher said.
"10-4, Central, from Arthur and 209," Faith said.
"You want me to turn the lights and siren on?" Emily asked.
"No, we're pretty close. We don't want to scare the guy off. We'll just cruise right in with our lights off and see if we can see anything," Faith said.
"You stay in the car until we figure out what the story is, okay Em?" Bosco said.
"Okay," she replied as they pulled up to the curb a block away from the call. Faith put the car in park and took the keys, opening the rear passenger door for Bosco as she got out. They both listened for a minute, but didn't hear anything.
"55-David to Central. We're on the scene, but everything's quiet. Do you have an address for the complainant?" Bosco said into the radio.
"Affirmative, David. Complainant lives at 1457 Arthur, Apartment 3C," advised the dispatcher.
"10-4. We're investigating," Bosco said as Faith signaled that Emily could get out of the car. The three of them walked up the steps to the building and rang the buzzer alongside of the label that said "3C."
"Yes?" came the elderly voice over the intercom.
"Police, Ma'am. You called in suspicious activity?" Faith said into the speaker.
"Oh yes. Come right up," she said, buzzing them into the building. They climbed to the third floor and knocked on the door. The woman opened the door with the safety chain still on and looked through the crack. After making sure that it was the police, the woman closed the door and they could hear the chain being taken off and then the door opened again.
"Please come in," she said, stepping aside so they could come in. The woman noticed Emily with them and said, "Oh you poor dear. Are you alright?"
"She's with me, Ma'am. She's riding along with us tonight to observe what we do," Faith explained.
"Oh, I see," said the woman.
"So, can you tell us what you saw or heard that made you call the police?" Bosco asked.
"Well, I was sitting here watching television and I had the window open a little for some fresh air. I heard a young woman's voice telling someone to stop and leave her alone. Then I heard a man's voice talking more quietly. I walked over to the window to look out and it looked like the man was trying to kiss the woman, but I can't be sure. That's why I called you," she explained.
"I see. Well, we're going to go down and check around to make sure everything's okay. You don't know who either of them were, do you?" Faith asked.
"Well, now that you mention it - the woman's voice kind of sounded like Melissa from the first floor apartment - 1C," the woman said.
"Okay. Well, thanks for calling and we'll check everything out," Bosco said as they exited the apartment. "Lock up again, Ma'am."
"Yes, Officer. Thank you. Such a nice young man," the woman said to Faith and Emily and Emily tried not to laugh as Faith elbowed her in the side.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Faith, Bosco and Emily walked out to the side alley, with Emily hanging back slightly. They shined their flashlights around and Faith found a woman's purse lying on the ground. She picked it up and looked inside for some identification and found that it belonged to a Melissa Jonas. She showed it to Bosco and said, "Think it's a coincidence?"
"Yeah, and I'm gonna get a raise tomorrow," Bosco said as they finished looking around the area and headed back to the building to check on Melissa in 1C.
Bosco knocked on the door and heard some rustling on the other side. "Who is it?" came a man's voice from inside the apartment.
"Police. Open the door please," Faith said.
"There's no problem here, Officer," said the man.
"Yeah, well, we'd like to talk to Melissa for a minute, Sir," Faith continued.
"Uh, she's not home right now. What's it about?" the man said.
"Well, she might be a witness to something. We're just checking with all the tenants. Do you live here, Sir?" Faith asked.
"Um, no. I'm just waiting for Melissa to get home from work. She's okay, right?" he asked.
"I hope so, Sir. Could you open the door for a minute, please?" Faith asked again. Suddenly, they heard a loud thump and what sounded like a woman crying. Bosco squared himself in front of the door as Faith pushed Emily to the side and told her to stay put no matter what.
Emily took a few steps away from the apartment and flattened herself against the wall, frightened for what may have happened to the woman inside the apartment. Bosco and Faith took out their guns and Bosco kicked the door in, splintering the wood where the safety chain was screwed into it. Faith and Bosco entered the apartment and Emily heard Bosco tell someone to stop where they were.
Emily listened from the hallway as Faith radioed the dispatcher for an ambulance and back-up. She heard a scuffle and saw the man try to escape out the doorway, only to be tackled from behind by Bosco in the hallway.
"Don't move, Jag-off!" he yelled as he roughly pulled the man's hands behind him and effortlessly took his handcuffs off his belt and applied them to the man's wrist in what seemed like one smooth motion. Bosco stood up and looked at Emily while he caught his breath. "You okay?" he asked Emily and she nodded that she was.
"Bosco," Faith called from inside the apartment. He hauled the man to his feet roughly and dragged him back into the apartment to see what Faith needed. Emily walked to the door and looked in. She saw a woman lying on the floor, bleeding from a head wound. There was a broken lamp next to her on the floor and Faith had applied a towel to her head with pressure.
"See what the ETA is on that bus. She's losing consciousness," Faith told Bosco.
"55-David to Central. What's the ETA on the bus? Tell them to expedite," Bosco said into his radio.
A moment later the dispatcher came back on, "David, EMS is coming down the street right now. 55-Charlie is arriving at your location also. Do you need another unit?"
"Negative. We have one in custody. My partner will ride with the victim to the hospital and I'll be bringing in one for sexual assault. We'll leave 55-Charlie to secure the scene until the detectives get here," Bosco advised and received acknowledgement.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Emily sat across from Bosco as he did the paperwork on their prisoner. She rode in with Bosco and Faith would catch a ride back to the house with the medics when they'd finished transporting the woman to the hospital.
She noticed the look on Bosco's face as he looked over at the man in the cell. She knew that Bosco had a real problem with domestic cases from what her mother had said and she could tell that he wanted to do something to this guy. She wondered if she wasn't there if he would have. He looked up to see her looking at him.
"You okay, Em?" he asked her quietly.
"Yeah, it's just..." she said, trailing off. He put the pen down that he was writing with.
"What?" he asked her.
"You guys deal with so many different kinds of people every day. And, even if it's only a car accident - you deal with them when they're at their worst. Do you ever see the good that you do out there? Do you ever get any positive feedback from the people you help and protect?" she asked him.
"Not nearly enough, Em. But, sometimes we do. You're right, we see the worst in people every day, but we also see the good. Take that woman that called us about the last call. If she just ignored it or didn't want to get involved, that woman could be dead right now. So, yeah. We get to see the good side of people sometimes too. And then there's times like when we helped that diabetic patient and her daughter," he said as Faith walked through the door.
"Hey guys," she said, walking up behind Emily and putting her hands on her daughter's shoulders.
"How's that woman doing?" Bosco asked her.
"She's gonna be okay. She's got a concussion and she's gonna need some help to deal with the sexual assault, but physically she's gonna be fine," Faith reported.
"Why don't you guys head home. I'm just finishing up this paperwork and then I'm done. I think Emily's worn out," he said, giving her a smirk.
"I'm okay," she said, stifling the yawn that Bosco caught her in the middle of.
"Thanks, Bos. See you tomorrow," Faith said as they got up and headed off to the locker room so Faith could change and hand in Emily's vest.
*^*^**^*^*^*^*
On their way home on the train, Emily looked over at Faith. "Mom?" she said.
"Yeah, Em," Faith replied looking at her.
"I'm sorry."
"For what, Em?" she asked her.
"For not understanding what you have to put up with every day. What you do is important and you're good at it," Emily said.
"Thanks, Em. That means a lot," Faith said, running a hand through her daughter's hair.
"And I'm sorry I was such a jerk about Bosco. He's cool and I saw the way he made sure that you weren't in harm's way all the time. He really loves what he does, doesn't he?" Emily said.
"Yeah, Em. He does and we take care of each other out there. We're a team. We know how each other thinks. That comes from working together for so long. Kind of like how me and Daddy think alike," Faith said.
"So, it's like you have two partners. You're pretty lucky," Emily said.
"Yeah, I am, Emily. I am," Faith said as they arrived at their stop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The End.
Chapter 5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After they'd left the hospital, it was almost 10:30. There was just about a half hour left of their shift. They decided to start heading toward the precinct in hopes that no more calls came in for them.
"55-David," came the dispatcher's voice over the radio and Bosco groaned.
"Don't answer it," he said and Faith threw him a look in the rearview mirror as she picked up the radio.
"55-David," said Faith.
"David, take a suspicious activity call at Arthur and 197. A woman states that she heard someone call for help outside of her building," the dispatcher said.
"10-4, Central, from Arthur and 209," Faith said.
"You want me to turn the lights and siren on?" Emily asked.
"No, we're pretty close. We don't want to scare the guy off. We'll just cruise right in with our lights off and see if we can see anything," Faith said.
"You stay in the car until we figure out what the story is, okay Em?" Bosco said.
"Okay," she replied as they pulled up to the curb a block away from the call. Faith put the car in park and took the keys, opening the rear passenger door for Bosco as she got out. They both listened for a minute, but didn't hear anything.
"55-David to Central. We're on the scene, but everything's quiet. Do you have an address for the complainant?" Bosco said into the radio.
"Affirmative, David. Complainant lives at 1457 Arthur, Apartment 3C," advised the dispatcher.
"10-4. We're investigating," Bosco said as Faith signaled that Emily could get out of the car. The three of them walked up the steps to the building and rang the buzzer alongside of the label that said "3C."
"Yes?" came the elderly voice over the intercom.
"Police, Ma'am. You called in suspicious activity?" Faith said into the speaker.
"Oh yes. Come right up," she said, buzzing them into the building. They climbed to the third floor and knocked on the door. The woman opened the door with the safety chain still on and looked through the crack. After making sure that it was the police, the woman closed the door and they could hear the chain being taken off and then the door opened again.
"Please come in," she said, stepping aside so they could come in. The woman noticed Emily with them and said, "Oh you poor dear. Are you alright?"
"She's with me, Ma'am. She's riding along with us tonight to observe what we do," Faith explained.
"Oh, I see," said the woman.
"So, can you tell us what you saw or heard that made you call the police?" Bosco asked.
"Well, I was sitting here watching television and I had the window open a little for some fresh air. I heard a young woman's voice telling someone to stop and leave her alone. Then I heard a man's voice talking more quietly. I walked over to the window to look out and it looked like the man was trying to kiss the woman, but I can't be sure. That's why I called you," she explained.
"I see. Well, we're going to go down and check around to make sure everything's okay. You don't know who either of them were, do you?" Faith asked.
"Well, now that you mention it - the woman's voice kind of sounded like Melissa from the first floor apartment - 1C," the woman said.
"Okay. Well, thanks for calling and we'll check everything out," Bosco said as they exited the apartment. "Lock up again, Ma'am."
"Yes, Officer. Thank you. Such a nice young man," the woman said to Faith and Emily and Emily tried not to laugh as Faith elbowed her in the side.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Faith, Bosco and Emily walked out to the side alley, with Emily hanging back slightly. They shined their flashlights around and Faith found a woman's purse lying on the ground. She picked it up and looked inside for some identification and found that it belonged to a Melissa Jonas. She showed it to Bosco and said, "Think it's a coincidence?"
"Yeah, and I'm gonna get a raise tomorrow," Bosco said as they finished looking around the area and headed back to the building to check on Melissa in 1C.
Bosco knocked on the door and heard some rustling on the other side. "Who is it?" came a man's voice from inside the apartment.
"Police. Open the door please," Faith said.
"There's no problem here, Officer," said the man.
"Yeah, well, we'd like to talk to Melissa for a minute, Sir," Faith continued.
"Uh, she's not home right now. What's it about?" the man said.
"Well, she might be a witness to something. We're just checking with all the tenants. Do you live here, Sir?" Faith asked.
"Um, no. I'm just waiting for Melissa to get home from work. She's okay, right?" he asked.
"I hope so, Sir. Could you open the door for a minute, please?" Faith asked again. Suddenly, they heard a loud thump and what sounded like a woman crying. Bosco squared himself in front of the door as Faith pushed Emily to the side and told her to stay put no matter what.
Emily took a few steps away from the apartment and flattened herself against the wall, frightened for what may have happened to the woman inside the apartment. Bosco and Faith took out their guns and Bosco kicked the door in, splintering the wood where the safety chain was screwed into it. Faith and Bosco entered the apartment and Emily heard Bosco tell someone to stop where they were.
Emily listened from the hallway as Faith radioed the dispatcher for an ambulance and back-up. She heard a scuffle and saw the man try to escape out the doorway, only to be tackled from behind by Bosco in the hallway.
"Don't move, Jag-off!" he yelled as he roughly pulled the man's hands behind him and effortlessly took his handcuffs off his belt and applied them to the man's wrist in what seemed like one smooth motion. Bosco stood up and looked at Emily while he caught his breath. "You okay?" he asked Emily and she nodded that she was.
"Bosco," Faith called from inside the apartment. He hauled the man to his feet roughly and dragged him back into the apartment to see what Faith needed. Emily walked to the door and looked in. She saw a woman lying on the floor, bleeding from a head wound. There was a broken lamp next to her on the floor and Faith had applied a towel to her head with pressure.
"See what the ETA is on that bus. She's losing consciousness," Faith told Bosco.
"55-David to Central. What's the ETA on the bus? Tell them to expedite," Bosco said into his radio.
A moment later the dispatcher came back on, "David, EMS is coming down the street right now. 55-Charlie is arriving at your location also. Do you need another unit?"
"Negative. We have one in custody. My partner will ride with the victim to the hospital and I'll be bringing in one for sexual assault. We'll leave 55-Charlie to secure the scene until the detectives get here," Bosco advised and received acknowledgement.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Emily sat across from Bosco as he did the paperwork on their prisoner. She rode in with Bosco and Faith would catch a ride back to the house with the medics when they'd finished transporting the woman to the hospital.
She noticed the look on Bosco's face as he looked over at the man in the cell. She knew that Bosco had a real problem with domestic cases from what her mother had said and she could tell that he wanted to do something to this guy. She wondered if she wasn't there if he would have. He looked up to see her looking at him.
"You okay, Em?" he asked her quietly.
"Yeah, it's just..." she said, trailing off. He put the pen down that he was writing with.
"What?" he asked her.
"You guys deal with so many different kinds of people every day. And, even if it's only a car accident - you deal with them when they're at their worst. Do you ever see the good that you do out there? Do you ever get any positive feedback from the people you help and protect?" she asked him.
"Not nearly enough, Em. But, sometimes we do. You're right, we see the worst in people every day, but we also see the good. Take that woman that called us about the last call. If she just ignored it or didn't want to get involved, that woman could be dead right now. So, yeah. We get to see the good side of people sometimes too. And then there's times like when we helped that diabetic patient and her daughter," he said as Faith walked through the door.
"Hey guys," she said, walking up behind Emily and putting her hands on her daughter's shoulders.
"How's that woman doing?" Bosco asked her.
"She's gonna be okay. She's got a concussion and she's gonna need some help to deal with the sexual assault, but physically she's gonna be fine," Faith reported.
"Why don't you guys head home. I'm just finishing up this paperwork and then I'm done. I think Emily's worn out," he said, giving her a smirk.
"I'm okay," she said, stifling the yawn that Bosco caught her in the middle of.
"Thanks, Bos. See you tomorrow," Faith said as they got up and headed off to the locker room so Faith could change and hand in Emily's vest.
*^*^**^*^*^*^*
On their way home on the train, Emily looked over at Faith. "Mom?" she said.
"Yeah, Em," Faith replied looking at her.
"I'm sorry."
"For what, Em?" she asked her.
"For not understanding what you have to put up with every day. What you do is important and you're good at it," Emily said.
"Thanks, Em. That means a lot," Faith said, running a hand through her daughter's hair.
"And I'm sorry I was such a jerk about Bosco. He's cool and I saw the way he made sure that you weren't in harm's way all the time. He really loves what he does, doesn't he?" Emily said.
"Yeah, Em. He does and we take care of each other out there. We're a team. We know how each other thinks. That comes from working together for so long. Kind of like how me and Daddy think alike," Faith said.
"So, it's like you have two partners. You're pretty lucky," Emily said.
"Yeah, I am, Emily. I am," Faith said as they arrived at their stop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The End.