Faith woke up at 7:45 the next day after a horrible dream. She couldn't remember exactly what happened, all she knew was that Bosco wasn't with her anymore. The feeling was awful, something she never wanted to experience. She glanced at Fred who was snoring away. She wished she could be as easy going as him; not even worrying that Bosco might never come home. She got up and started a pot of coffee and turned on CNN.
She sat down on the couch and blew on her coffee, cooling it down while keeping her eyes on the news. Recent findings about the shuttle were on at the moment.
"Put on some Iraq news." Faith talked to the TV as if it could hear her. She didn't want to hear about the shuttle, she pretty much knew it was NASA's fault. Fred walked in the living room slowly.
"Faith, what are you doing?"
"Watching TV, is that okay with you?"
He sat down beside her and placed his right hand on his head. "How long have you been up?"
"Just a few minutes."
"Why are you watching this crap? It's all depressing."
"I wanna hear about Iraq and what they have planned."
Fred looked at her then back at the TV. "Faith, Bosco is going to be okay. I've never really said good things about the guy but he's smart. He might be a loud mouth bigot sometimes but he knows how to use his head. You've said it before yourself, if there was ever a major crisis you would want Bosco working it."
"I know. I'm just worried because I can't be over there to back him up. I've never experienced war or the military so I don't know what to expect."
"It'll be okay." He ran his hand over her face, trying to make her feel positive.
~~~~
Bosco lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. The bed wasn't too comfortable but at least he got one. He glanced at his watch that was now set for Iraq time. It must've been around 8:00 in the morning he figured. He grabbed his cell phone that they later gave back to him. They told him to use it for emergency use only but he wanted to call Faith so bad. He dialed her number and listened to the phone ring on the other end.
"Hello?" Faith answered, wondering whom it was.
"Hey Faith." Bosco whispered, afraid to wake his regiment up.
"Boz, what are you doing calling me? I thought you couldn't."
"Well, I can't sleep. I just wanted to talk." He glanced at the bed next to him, making sure the guy didn't wake up.
"What time is it over there?"
"2 am."
"Get some rest Boz, you are going to need it."
"I wanted to call at a convenient time for you."
Bosco noticed Corporal Manor standing over his bed. He looked pissed. "Faith, I gotta go. I'll talk to you soon." He hung up the phone and waited for Manor to talk.
"Specialist Boscorelli, give me that phone." He reached his hand out towards Bosco's face. Bosco placed it in his hand, scared to what he might say.
"We told you not to be talking on it unless it was an emergency. You owe me 200 in the morning." He walked off. Damn, 200 pushups? Bosco thought that was for the younger guys. He just knew how to piss everyone off. He rolled over on his side and dozed off.
~~~~
"Boscorelli, get your regiment up there!" Bosco turned around, his face covered in other men's blood as he ran to find his men. He tried to scream but nothing would come out. He tried to move his legs faster but they wouldn't move. Gunshots fired and he could feel the heat off of each bullet. This wasn't like a street war back in New York, this was hell.
~~~~
Bosco sat up in bed. Sweat covered his body and his heart was racing. Those dreams came to him every night now and he was getting sick of it. He would never get any rest if it kept happening.
~~~~
Faith went into work and made it to roll call just in time. Everyone stared at her as she made her way to a seat in the back of the room. She stared back, speechless but pissed at the same time.
"As you already know, Officer Boscorelli has been sent over to Iraq. His rank is specialist, which is equal to a corporal. Be proud that he is representing America. I want you to keep him in your prayers, as well as all the other men that have been sent over there." Swersky kept a solemn look on his face. He was worried about Bosco just as bad as Faith was.
~~~~
Faith's mind wasn't on work today. She waited in line to be assigned a radio but she forgot where she was. Sully and Davis were waiting behind her.
"Faith, you okay?" Sully placed his hand on her arm.
"Yeah." She glanced back at him, then to the front of the line.
"Who does Swersky have you riding with?"
"I'm riding solo for now."
~~~~
The regiments were awakened at 5:45 that morning. That didn't bother Bosco, he couldn't sleep anyway. He hopped out of bed and began changing. Corporal Manor approached him, a serious look to his face.
"Your regiment will be training for an ambush today. Get your men ready, we will start as soon as breakfast is over."
"Yes sir." They saluted and Bosco was released for breakfast.
~~~~
Faith made it home later that night. Fred had the news on, his face filled with anger and doubt.
"What is it Fred?"
"Come sit down."
She watched the TV, dreading what she was going to hear.
"Iraq is hiding nuclear weapons and U.S. weapons inspectors cannot vouch for them." A news anchor spoke, her words hitting Faith like a freight train.
"Colin Powell says the brink of war is approaching. War could be started any time now."
Faith began to cry. Now she knew Bosco was in immediate danger. She wanted to go over there and take him away from the madness but there was nothing she could do. All she could do was sit and watch the news and hope Bosco would stay safe.
Fred glanced at her. "It's out of our hands Faith. May God be with Bosco and America." A tear ran down his cheek.
~~~~
Bosco and his regiment began training. The heat pounded down on them like a heater. Sweat ran into his eyes. They were training for a flanking movement. He was in the front with four of his other men. Five were to the right of him and five were to the left of him.
Bosco spoke to his men, "This is to set up a trap for the enemy. They walk in between us and they have nowhere to go."
Later that day the regiment was sent to the firing range to practice target shooting. This reminded Bosco of the academy. He loved target shooting so this was something he could actually look forward too. He stared at the other men as they practiced. Thoughts crossed his mind. What if they did go to war? Which of these men would be doomed? He ran his hand over his face and felt the caked on sweat from earlier. He wanted a shower so bad.
~~~~
After dinner that night the men were given some free time. Bosco decided to write a letter to Faith since he wasn't allowed to call her. It was the only communication he could have toward her. He pulled out a black pen from a pocket on his cargo pants.
Faith,
Hey, how's work going? I'm not allowed to call you anymore so I'm going to have to write you. Who do they have as your partner? Today we trained for ambushes and things like that. It wasn't fun at all. The heat is killing my men and me. This place is nothing like New York. I keep having these dreams about being in combat. Dreams that I wake up to in a cold sweat. My heart beats out of my chest. Sometimes I can't remember the dream but sometimes I can. Faith, I want to come home to you so bad, I pray everyday that this turns out okay. I'm keeping you in my thoughts, as well as everyone back at "Camelot." You stay safe for me and I'll do the same for you. If the war does start and I die, don't mourn for me. Just remember that I'll be out of harm's way and I won't be in Iraq where hell is. Tell everyone hi for me. God bless you and I'll see you soon. I love you so much.
Maurice
He looked over the letter. It was somewhat negative but he wanted Faith to know how he felt. He folded up the paper and placed it in an envelope. He leaned his head against the wooden pole behind him and closed his eyes. Images of New York and Faith filled his mind. He smiled and kept his eyes closed, never wanting to lose those images that he had grown to love so much.
She sat down on the couch and blew on her coffee, cooling it down while keeping her eyes on the news. Recent findings about the shuttle were on at the moment.
"Put on some Iraq news." Faith talked to the TV as if it could hear her. She didn't want to hear about the shuttle, she pretty much knew it was NASA's fault. Fred walked in the living room slowly.
"Faith, what are you doing?"
"Watching TV, is that okay with you?"
He sat down beside her and placed his right hand on his head. "How long have you been up?"
"Just a few minutes."
"Why are you watching this crap? It's all depressing."
"I wanna hear about Iraq and what they have planned."
Fred looked at her then back at the TV. "Faith, Bosco is going to be okay. I've never really said good things about the guy but he's smart. He might be a loud mouth bigot sometimes but he knows how to use his head. You've said it before yourself, if there was ever a major crisis you would want Bosco working it."
"I know. I'm just worried because I can't be over there to back him up. I've never experienced war or the military so I don't know what to expect."
"It'll be okay." He ran his hand over her face, trying to make her feel positive.
~~~~
Bosco lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. The bed wasn't too comfortable but at least he got one. He glanced at his watch that was now set for Iraq time. It must've been around 8:00 in the morning he figured. He grabbed his cell phone that they later gave back to him. They told him to use it for emergency use only but he wanted to call Faith so bad. He dialed her number and listened to the phone ring on the other end.
"Hello?" Faith answered, wondering whom it was.
"Hey Faith." Bosco whispered, afraid to wake his regiment up.
"Boz, what are you doing calling me? I thought you couldn't."
"Well, I can't sleep. I just wanted to talk." He glanced at the bed next to him, making sure the guy didn't wake up.
"What time is it over there?"
"2 am."
"Get some rest Boz, you are going to need it."
"I wanted to call at a convenient time for you."
Bosco noticed Corporal Manor standing over his bed. He looked pissed. "Faith, I gotta go. I'll talk to you soon." He hung up the phone and waited for Manor to talk.
"Specialist Boscorelli, give me that phone." He reached his hand out towards Bosco's face. Bosco placed it in his hand, scared to what he might say.
"We told you not to be talking on it unless it was an emergency. You owe me 200 in the morning." He walked off. Damn, 200 pushups? Bosco thought that was for the younger guys. He just knew how to piss everyone off. He rolled over on his side and dozed off.
~~~~
"Boscorelli, get your regiment up there!" Bosco turned around, his face covered in other men's blood as he ran to find his men. He tried to scream but nothing would come out. He tried to move his legs faster but they wouldn't move. Gunshots fired and he could feel the heat off of each bullet. This wasn't like a street war back in New York, this was hell.
~~~~
Bosco sat up in bed. Sweat covered his body and his heart was racing. Those dreams came to him every night now and he was getting sick of it. He would never get any rest if it kept happening.
~~~~
Faith went into work and made it to roll call just in time. Everyone stared at her as she made her way to a seat in the back of the room. She stared back, speechless but pissed at the same time.
"As you already know, Officer Boscorelli has been sent over to Iraq. His rank is specialist, which is equal to a corporal. Be proud that he is representing America. I want you to keep him in your prayers, as well as all the other men that have been sent over there." Swersky kept a solemn look on his face. He was worried about Bosco just as bad as Faith was.
~~~~
Faith's mind wasn't on work today. She waited in line to be assigned a radio but she forgot where she was. Sully and Davis were waiting behind her.
"Faith, you okay?" Sully placed his hand on her arm.
"Yeah." She glanced back at him, then to the front of the line.
"Who does Swersky have you riding with?"
"I'm riding solo for now."
~~~~
The regiments were awakened at 5:45 that morning. That didn't bother Bosco, he couldn't sleep anyway. He hopped out of bed and began changing. Corporal Manor approached him, a serious look to his face.
"Your regiment will be training for an ambush today. Get your men ready, we will start as soon as breakfast is over."
"Yes sir." They saluted and Bosco was released for breakfast.
~~~~
Faith made it home later that night. Fred had the news on, his face filled with anger and doubt.
"What is it Fred?"
"Come sit down."
She watched the TV, dreading what she was going to hear.
"Iraq is hiding nuclear weapons and U.S. weapons inspectors cannot vouch for them." A news anchor spoke, her words hitting Faith like a freight train.
"Colin Powell says the brink of war is approaching. War could be started any time now."
Faith began to cry. Now she knew Bosco was in immediate danger. She wanted to go over there and take him away from the madness but there was nothing she could do. All she could do was sit and watch the news and hope Bosco would stay safe.
Fred glanced at her. "It's out of our hands Faith. May God be with Bosco and America." A tear ran down his cheek.
~~~~
Bosco and his regiment began training. The heat pounded down on them like a heater. Sweat ran into his eyes. They were training for a flanking movement. He was in the front with four of his other men. Five were to the right of him and five were to the left of him.
Bosco spoke to his men, "This is to set up a trap for the enemy. They walk in between us and they have nowhere to go."
Later that day the regiment was sent to the firing range to practice target shooting. This reminded Bosco of the academy. He loved target shooting so this was something he could actually look forward too. He stared at the other men as they practiced. Thoughts crossed his mind. What if they did go to war? Which of these men would be doomed? He ran his hand over his face and felt the caked on sweat from earlier. He wanted a shower so bad.
~~~~
After dinner that night the men were given some free time. Bosco decided to write a letter to Faith since he wasn't allowed to call her. It was the only communication he could have toward her. He pulled out a black pen from a pocket on his cargo pants.
Faith,
Hey, how's work going? I'm not allowed to call you anymore so I'm going to have to write you. Who do they have as your partner? Today we trained for ambushes and things like that. It wasn't fun at all. The heat is killing my men and me. This place is nothing like New York. I keep having these dreams about being in combat. Dreams that I wake up to in a cold sweat. My heart beats out of my chest. Sometimes I can't remember the dream but sometimes I can. Faith, I want to come home to you so bad, I pray everyday that this turns out okay. I'm keeping you in my thoughts, as well as everyone back at "Camelot." You stay safe for me and I'll do the same for you. If the war does start and I die, don't mourn for me. Just remember that I'll be out of harm's way and I won't be in Iraq where hell is. Tell everyone hi for me. God bless you and I'll see you soon. I love you so much.
Maurice
He looked over the letter. It was somewhat negative but he wanted Faith to know how he felt. He folded up the paper and placed it in an envelope. He leaned his head against the wooden pole behind him and closed his eyes. Images of New York and Faith filled his mind. He smiled and kept his eyes closed, never wanting to lose those images that he had grown to love so much.