The Witness
Chapter 17
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bosco finished getting his cast applied. He couldn't believe that it went from his toes all the way up to just below his knee. He was instructed to keep his weight off of it as much as possible and to use the crutches at all times. The doctor looked at his dismay and said, "Come back in two weeks and we'll see how you're healing. Maybe we can put on a walking cast and you can lose the crutches - but that's ONLY if you don't abuse it now."
Bosco reluctantly agreed - what else was he going to do - and made an appointment for two weeks. He stopped outside the office at the water fountain to take another pain pill because of the doctor manipulating his ankle during his examination. Before he went back up to Katy's room he sat down in a chair, took out his cell phone and dialed the Rehab Center to check on Cole. He listened to the music as he waited for whoever the switchboard operator was connecting him to. Finally, Cole's doctor came on the phone.
"Mr. Boscorelli. We have some disturbing news. Cole seems to have disappeared," the doctor said.
Bosco immediately stood up to start walking and remembered that he'd just had a cast applied. "What do you mean 'he disappeared'?" he asked the doctor, tilting his head to hold the cell phone between his ear and his shoulder as he positioned his crutches.
"Well, we got a call from Officer Yokas a little while ago about what happened to that woman from Child and Family Services and that we should step up security because of some gang finding out about Cole's whereabouts," he started to explain as Bosco interrupted.
"How long has he been missing?" Bosco asked, a sense of dread rising within him.
"Now, we don't know if he's really missing. It's possible that he just decided to leave," the doctor tried to correct him.
"He didn't just leave," Bosco said. "I talked to him late last night and he seemed fine."
"Well, there's no sign of forced entry to his room," the doctor said.
"Yeah, well I'm on my way up there. And expect a visit from the local authorities, because something's not right and these people that are looking for him are dangerous," he said hanging up the phone before the doctor could tell him about the phone call that Cole received this morning.
He shoved the phone into his pocket and began to make his way back to the elevator to find Faith, cursing his limited mobility.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Faith was supplying Katy with the knowledge of how Bosco came to need a cast - much to Katy's amusement even though it hurt when she laughed. Faith could see that she was tiring and started to stand up.
"Well, you need to get some rest and I need to get to work," she said. "Bosco should be right back and if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me."
"Thanks, Faith," Katy said and Faith turned to walk out the door, colliding with Bosco as he hobbled in. She knew immediately by the look on his face he was not bringing good news.
"What?" she asked him.
Bosco looked over at Katy to get a sense of how she was doing before he continued, "Cole's missing."
"What?!" Faith said. "I just talked to the Center and everything was fine not half an hour ago."
"Well, I just got off the phone with his doctor and apparently he's missing and they don't know how long ago it happened. Did they check on him while you had them on the phone, Faith?" he asked her.
"No, Bos. I'm sorry. I talked to the head of their security office to let him know what was going on. He said that everything there was normal, but that he'd alert the rest of the staff to what was happening. He didn't just leave on his own, did he?" she asked him.
Bosco shook his head, "I don't think so. I talked to him late last night after you'd left and he seemed fine. He was looking forward to coming to stay with me. Why would he blow that now?"
"Does he have your cell phone number?" Katy asked him. He walked over to her and took her hand, his concern over Cole and his concern over Katy's condition tearing at him.
"Yeah," he replied and looked back to Faith. "I'm gonna call the Lieutenant and see if he can contact Upstate and get the police over there to check around," he said, taking his phone back out of his pocket. "Can you get a cab to work? I've gotta drive up there," he said, reaching into his pocket to offer her money for a cab.
"No, Bos. You can't drive up there. Your right foot is in a cast and I can tell just by looking at you that you took another pain pill not too long ago," Faith argued.
"Well, you've gotta go to work and I'm not just gonna sit around when Cole could be in real danger," he told her.
"I'll call Ty. He's not working today. He'll drive you up there," she remembered.
"Oh yeah. I'm sure he'll want to drive me Upstate and hang around," Bosco started to argue, trying to figure out another solution. Faith was right. He could feel the pain pill working. It wouldn't be a good idea to drive.
"Bosco, I'm sure Ty would do it," Faith said, walking over and taking his cell phone from his hand. She dialed the station and asked the Desk Sergeant to look up Ty's home and cell phone numbers for her. She dialed his home number first and left a message on his machine. Then she dialed his cell phone and after three rings, Ty picked up.
"Ty, its Faith Yokas," she said.
"Hey, Faith. What's up?" Ty said, out of breath. She could hear a couple of voices in the background and it sounded like he was outside.
"Bosco needs your help. He broke his ankle yesterday while he was up visiting Cole," she started and Ty started to make a remark.
"Ty. This is important. I've gotta get in to work and Bosco needs to get back Upstate because Cole's missing. You heard about Katy being attacked last night, right?" she said, waiting for him to answer. "Well, she identified her attackers as the Latin Lords. They took her files, with the name and address of the place that Cole is staying. Now Cole has disappeared. Bosco can't drive and I need to know if you'll drive him up there?"
"Hang on, Faith," Ty said, putting his hand over the phone. She could hear him talking to someone, but she didn't know who it was. Finally he came back on the line.
"Where is he now?" Ty asked her.
"He's here at Mercy. I'm on my way to work," she told him.
"We'll be there in like ten minutes. Jimmy, D.K. and Billy Walsh are with me. We were playing basketball. They wanna help," Davis said.
"Okay, Ty," Faith said. "Do you need Bosco's car, cause I can take a cab to work?"
"No, we'll never all fit in his car. We'll take my Explorer. Have him meet us out front. Ten minutes," he said.
"Thanks," she said, hanging up. She looked over at Bosco and Katy. "Ty, Jimmy and Billy Walsh will pick you up out front in like ten minutes."
"Why?" Bosco asked.
"They all want to help," she said. "I've gotta get to work. You better head downstairs, Speedy. I'll let the Lieu know what's going on when I get to work. Don't worry. He'll turn up. Keep in touch," Faith said, before she turned to leave.
"Thanks, Faith," Bosco said as she left. He turned back to Katy.
"What?" Katy said, noticing the look on his face.
"I don't want to leave you here by yourself. I'm worried about you," he said.
"I'll be fine, Bos. Cole needs you now. Besides, you can't doctor me. You can nurse me later," she said, winking and squeezing the hand he was still holding her's with.
"You're okay, you know that?" he said. "I'll have my cell on. Call me if you need anything. I'll call my Ma. She'll come by to see you . That'll give you a kick," he said sarcastically, stepping away from the bed. She tightened her grip on his hand and pulled him back toward her.
"Not so fast, Gimpy," she said. "I'm hurt, I'm not dead. How about a good luck kiss?"
"Absolutely," he said, smiling and leaning over to give her a kiss.
"Be careful," she said in his ear, before he stood up to leave.
"Always," he said as he positioned his crutches and started to the door.
"Oh yeah, that's evident," she said, getting the last word in.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Cole was walking alongside the road, trying to catch a ride back to New York City. The phone call he received had scared him. He wanted to get back to familiar territory. It was evident he wasn't ever going to live a 'normal' life.
He was walking along the road when an SUV pulled up alongside him, the windows tinted quite dark. He approached the car and before he could realize it, it was too late.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...
Chapter 17
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bosco finished getting his cast applied. He couldn't believe that it went from his toes all the way up to just below his knee. He was instructed to keep his weight off of it as much as possible and to use the crutches at all times. The doctor looked at his dismay and said, "Come back in two weeks and we'll see how you're healing. Maybe we can put on a walking cast and you can lose the crutches - but that's ONLY if you don't abuse it now."
Bosco reluctantly agreed - what else was he going to do - and made an appointment for two weeks. He stopped outside the office at the water fountain to take another pain pill because of the doctor manipulating his ankle during his examination. Before he went back up to Katy's room he sat down in a chair, took out his cell phone and dialed the Rehab Center to check on Cole. He listened to the music as he waited for whoever the switchboard operator was connecting him to. Finally, Cole's doctor came on the phone.
"Mr. Boscorelli. We have some disturbing news. Cole seems to have disappeared," the doctor said.
Bosco immediately stood up to start walking and remembered that he'd just had a cast applied. "What do you mean 'he disappeared'?" he asked the doctor, tilting his head to hold the cell phone between his ear and his shoulder as he positioned his crutches.
"Well, we got a call from Officer Yokas a little while ago about what happened to that woman from Child and Family Services and that we should step up security because of some gang finding out about Cole's whereabouts," he started to explain as Bosco interrupted.
"How long has he been missing?" Bosco asked, a sense of dread rising within him.
"Now, we don't know if he's really missing. It's possible that he just decided to leave," the doctor tried to correct him.
"He didn't just leave," Bosco said. "I talked to him late last night and he seemed fine."
"Well, there's no sign of forced entry to his room," the doctor said.
"Yeah, well I'm on my way up there. And expect a visit from the local authorities, because something's not right and these people that are looking for him are dangerous," he said hanging up the phone before the doctor could tell him about the phone call that Cole received this morning.
He shoved the phone into his pocket and began to make his way back to the elevator to find Faith, cursing his limited mobility.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Faith was supplying Katy with the knowledge of how Bosco came to need a cast - much to Katy's amusement even though it hurt when she laughed. Faith could see that she was tiring and started to stand up.
"Well, you need to get some rest and I need to get to work," she said. "Bosco should be right back and if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me."
"Thanks, Faith," Katy said and Faith turned to walk out the door, colliding with Bosco as he hobbled in. She knew immediately by the look on his face he was not bringing good news.
"What?" she asked him.
Bosco looked over at Katy to get a sense of how she was doing before he continued, "Cole's missing."
"What?!" Faith said. "I just talked to the Center and everything was fine not half an hour ago."
"Well, I just got off the phone with his doctor and apparently he's missing and they don't know how long ago it happened. Did they check on him while you had them on the phone, Faith?" he asked her.
"No, Bos. I'm sorry. I talked to the head of their security office to let him know what was going on. He said that everything there was normal, but that he'd alert the rest of the staff to what was happening. He didn't just leave on his own, did he?" she asked him.
Bosco shook his head, "I don't think so. I talked to him late last night after you'd left and he seemed fine. He was looking forward to coming to stay with me. Why would he blow that now?"
"Does he have your cell phone number?" Katy asked him. He walked over to her and took her hand, his concern over Cole and his concern over Katy's condition tearing at him.
"Yeah," he replied and looked back to Faith. "I'm gonna call the Lieutenant and see if he can contact Upstate and get the police over there to check around," he said, taking his phone back out of his pocket. "Can you get a cab to work? I've gotta drive up there," he said, reaching into his pocket to offer her money for a cab.
"No, Bos. You can't drive up there. Your right foot is in a cast and I can tell just by looking at you that you took another pain pill not too long ago," Faith argued.
"Well, you've gotta go to work and I'm not just gonna sit around when Cole could be in real danger," he told her.
"I'll call Ty. He's not working today. He'll drive you up there," she remembered.
"Oh yeah. I'm sure he'll want to drive me Upstate and hang around," Bosco started to argue, trying to figure out another solution. Faith was right. He could feel the pain pill working. It wouldn't be a good idea to drive.
"Bosco, I'm sure Ty would do it," Faith said, walking over and taking his cell phone from his hand. She dialed the station and asked the Desk Sergeant to look up Ty's home and cell phone numbers for her. She dialed his home number first and left a message on his machine. Then she dialed his cell phone and after three rings, Ty picked up.
"Ty, its Faith Yokas," she said.
"Hey, Faith. What's up?" Ty said, out of breath. She could hear a couple of voices in the background and it sounded like he was outside.
"Bosco needs your help. He broke his ankle yesterday while he was up visiting Cole," she started and Ty started to make a remark.
"Ty. This is important. I've gotta get in to work and Bosco needs to get back Upstate because Cole's missing. You heard about Katy being attacked last night, right?" she said, waiting for him to answer. "Well, she identified her attackers as the Latin Lords. They took her files, with the name and address of the place that Cole is staying. Now Cole has disappeared. Bosco can't drive and I need to know if you'll drive him up there?"
"Hang on, Faith," Ty said, putting his hand over the phone. She could hear him talking to someone, but she didn't know who it was. Finally he came back on the line.
"Where is he now?" Ty asked her.
"He's here at Mercy. I'm on my way to work," she told him.
"We'll be there in like ten minutes. Jimmy, D.K. and Billy Walsh are with me. We were playing basketball. They wanna help," Davis said.
"Okay, Ty," Faith said. "Do you need Bosco's car, cause I can take a cab to work?"
"No, we'll never all fit in his car. We'll take my Explorer. Have him meet us out front. Ten minutes," he said.
"Thanks," she said, hanging up. She looked over at Bosco and Katy. "Ty, Jimmy and Billy Walsh will pick you up out front in like ten minutes."
"Why?" Bosco asked.
"They all want to help," she said. "I've gotta get to work. You better head downstairs, Speedy. I'll let the Lieu know what's going on when I get to work. Don't worry. He'll turn up. Keep in touch," Faith said, before she turned to leave.
"Thanks, Faith," Bosco said as she left. He turned back to Katy.
"What?" Katy said, noticing the look on his face.
"I don't want to leave you here by yourself. I'm worried about you," he said.
"I'll be fine, Bos. Cole needs you now. Besides, you can't doctor me. You can nurse me later," she said, winking and squeezing the hand he was still holding her's with.
"You're okay, you know that?" he said. "I'll have my cell on. Call me if you need anything. I'll call my Ma. She'll come by to see you . That'll give you a kick," he said sarcastically, stepping away from the bed. She tightened her grip on his hand and pulled him back toward her.
"Not so fast, Gimpy," she said. "I'm hurt, I'm not dead. How about a good luck kiss?"
"Absolutely," he said, smiling and leaning over to give her a kiss.
"Be careful," she said in his ear, before he stood up to leave.
"Always," he said as he positioned his crutches and started to the door.
"Oh yeah, that's evident," she said, getting the last word in.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Cole was walking alongside the road, trying to catch a ride back to New York City. The phone call he received had scared him. He wanted to get back to familiar territory. It was evident he wasn't ever going to live a 'normal' life.
He was walking along the road when an SUV pulled up alongside him, the windows tinted quite dark. He approached the car and before he could realize it, it was too late.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...