Title: Through the Fire (5/6)
Author: X_tremeroswellian
Email: faithboscorelli1@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Not mine, but I wish they were. Okay, well, I don't wish Cr*z or Fr*d were mine. Ed Bernero can keep them ;)
Rating: PG-13 for language, violence and sexual content
Spoilers: Up through and including "Crime and Punishment II"
Summary: Sergeant Cruz's true plans for Bosco are finally revealed and they're not good. Will Faith be able to help him? Or will she be too busy trying to protect her own family?
Distribution: My site, Only Time
Category: Story
Subcategories: Drama/angst/friendship...could evolve into romance, but we'll see ;)
Feedback: Is essential to every writer. Helps keep the muses flowing.
Author's Note: I know I'm in the middle of writing "Between Time" and my 'There For You' series, but this story was demanding to be written and wouldn't leave me alone until I gave in.
Author's Note II: The X-files episode mentioned is "One Son."
Dedication: For everyone who dislikes Sgt. Cruz as much as I do. This is not to confuse the wonderful actress, Tia Texada with her character.
Through the Fire (Part Five)
Faith sat curled up on her sofa in front of the television watching an old rerun of The X-Files on FX.
//"Mulder, ask yourself why there is no information whatsoever on Special Agent Diana Fowley. Why she would suddenly happen into your life when you are closer than ever to the truth. I mean, you... you ask me to trust no one and yet you trust her on simple faith."
"Because you've given me no reason here to do otherwise."
"Well, then I can't help you anymore."//
"I'm right there with ya, Scully," Faith murmured before squeezing her eyes shut. The parallel between the plot and characters on the to her life at the moment made her shudder.
A moment later she thought she heard a knocking sound and she paused, muting the t.v. It came again and she rose slowly from the sofa and moved toward the door cautiously, peeking out the peephole.
Bosco.
Her heart skipped a beat as she fumbled to unlock the door and open it. He stared at her for a long moment, silent. "I have to talk to you."
She stared back and she knew that he knew -something-. "Okay." She dropped her voice. "But not here."
Bosco gazed at her, nodding. "Meet me at our place in an hour."
Faith nodded her agreement. "Okay."
He gazed at her for another moment, then turned and walked away.
She released a breath and ran a trembling hand through her strawberry blond hair. She closed the door and turned, surprised to see Fred standing there.
"Who was that?" he asked, his arms folded across his chest.
"Bosco."
He scowled. "What'd he want now?"
Faith didn't look at him as she headed toward their bedroom. "I have to meet him. Something's come up."
"What? You're not going anywhere, you're hurt."
"Fred, I don't have a choice." She walked over to her closet and pulled out a clean shirt and jeans quickly got dressed, wincing as her shoulder and ribs protested.
"Forget it. I'm not gonna let you do this. He's not worth it, Faith."
"Excuse me? Let me?" she repeated, turning to face him. "You're not gonna -let- me do this?"
Fred sighed angrily. "You know what I mean."
"Look, I know you're worried, but I'm all right. I have to go talk to Bosco. It's important."
"What else is new?"
She didn't answer him as she headed for the door. She wasn't going to argue with him about this. She was too tired and she didn't have time anyway.
"What is it with you and Maurice Boscorelli?" Fred asked loudly. "What is it about that guy that makes you care so damned much?"
Faith paused in the doorway of her bedroom and slowly turned to look at him. "He's my partner," she answered softly.
"You said yourself you guys have hardly been working together the last couple months!"
She gazed at him. "We may not be working together as much anymore, but he's still my friend, Fred. My best friend. And right now he needs my help."
Fred stared at her silently.
"I have to go," she said softly. "I'll be back soon." Without another word, she turned and walked away.
When she got to the fountain in the park, she saw him already sitting there. "You're early," she remarked quietly, her arms wrapped around her stomach.
"Yeah. It's a first for me." Bosco gave her a small smile, which she returned.
She sat down beside im on the edge of the water foundtain.
There was a moment of silence.
He turned his head to look at her. "I know," he said quietly, his voice tense.
Faith gazed back at him intently and searched his eyes. "What do you know?"
"I know who attacked you. I know he's a cop. And that he works Anti-Crime." He studied her.
She nodded slowly, wondering how he'd figured it out.
"What happened, Faith? What -really- happened? And why didn't you say something?"
She dropped her gaze and remained quiet.
Bosco stared at her for a long moment. "He threatened you." When she still didn't respond, he shook his head. "No. Not you. Son of a bitch," he said under his breath. "Em? Charlie?"
Faith lifted her head and gazed at him, her eyes full of pain, fear.
He stood up. "I'm gonna get this bastard. I swear to you, I'm gonna make him pay!"
She grabbed his arm. "You can't," she whispered.
"If I kill the son of a bitch, he can't hurt your kids, Faith!"
"Bosco, if it's not him, it'll just be someone else." Her eyes were pleading with him.
"I don't understand."
"This goes deeper than you think." She gazed at him intently, willing him to understand.
Bosco stared at her. His mind flashed back to the night she'd been attacked, to the moment when Sgt. Cruz had shown up despite the fact she should've been off duty.
//"How are you?"
"Peachy, how are you?"
"Just hoping I can help put these bastards away," Cruz
said coolly.//
"She knew."
"She knew what?"
"She knew that you were attacked by two people before you told the detectives there were two!" He stared at her wide-eyed, feeling sick.
Faith felt a wave of relief wash over her and she said a silent prayer of thanks as she closed her eyes.
"Was she in on this? Did she set it up?" he demanded, not taking his eyes off her.
"Yes," she answered softly, meeting his gaze once more.
"I don't get it. Why?"
"Sit down," Faith said quietly.
Reluctantly he sat down beside her and continued to stare at her as he waited for her to explain.
She took a deep breath and turned to face him. "That night. I was on my way to see you because I overheard a conversation between Cruz and Officer Dobson."
"What conversation?"
"I didn't hear all of it, but from what I did hear, they were planning to let you take the fall for some mistake they were afraid they'd made." She dropped her gaze.
Bosco stared at her. "You were on your way to warn me," he said quietly, his stomach tightening.
"Yes," she said softly. "The problem was that she found out I heard her conversation."
"So she had you attacked to make sure you stayed quiet," he finished. He felt sick. She'd been hurt because she was trying to help him.
Faith nodded. "Yeah."
He dropped his gaze to the ground. "Why didn't you just tell me?" he asked softly.
She closed her eyes for a moment. "Because I was afraid that with the way things have been between us lately, you wouldn't believe me unless you figured it out on your own first. And I couldn't risk it because I was afraid for my kids."
Bosco felt guilt rise up within him and he buried his face in his hands, trying to absorb everything he'd just found out.
"I'm sorry that I let you down. That I didn't warn you sooner," she whispered, tears in her eyes.
He jerked his head over to look at her. "Hey, you didn't let me down, Faith. If anything, I'm the one who let you down." He rubbed his eyes wearily.
She reached out and tentatively put her hand on his shoulder.
"I should never have trusted her," he murmured, shaking his head.
"You didn't know, Boz," Faith said softly.
"No. I didn't. But I do now. And I'm not going to let her get by with what she's done." He gazed at her, his blue eyes dark and intense.
"Bosco, she's dangerous."
"I know she is. But so am I. The difference is, I have something she doesn't."
"What's that?" she asked.
"You," he answered seriously.
She swallowed hard. "Bosco--"
"I have a plan. But I need your help to pull it off. I can't do it without you." His eyes were pleading with her. "Are you in?"
Faith gazed at him intently. She nodded slightly and held her hand out. I'm in."
Bosco took her hand. "All right. Here's what we're gonna do...."
Sgt. Cruz was awakened from a deep, dreamless sleep by the ringing of a telephone. She rolled over and picked the phone up off the hook, pressing it to her ear. "Cruz."
There was a moment of silence.
"We have to talk." The sound of Faith Yokas' voice threw her temporarily off guard.
"We have nothing to talk about," she replied calmly.
"There's a warehouse on 73rd. Meet me there in two hours. Or you're gonna regret it." The line went dead.
Cruz stared at the phone in her hand, feeling herself start to get angry. Who the hell did that bitch think she was, anyway? She narrowed her eyes and dialed a number.
"Hello?"
"It's me. Get up and get dressed. I'll pick you up in fifteen minutes," she told Martin. She hung up the phone.
No one got away with threatening her.
No one.
Faith walked into the warehouse exactly two hours later. I hope this works, Bosco, she thought, swallowing her anxiety as she spotted Sgt. Cruz. She stood a few feet away, her arms folded across her chest. Four of the other guys from ACU stood behind her, including Martin.
She felt a shudder pass through her as vivid memories from two nights ago flashed through her mind. She shoved them away. Show no fear.
"Well, this is a little unfair, don't you think? Five against one?" she remarked.
"Life's unfair, Officer Yokas," Cruz replied. She turned to look at Martin. "Search her."
Faith swallowed hard, narrowing her eyes and glaring at him.
"Nice to see you again," he said softly as he searched her for weapons or a wire. His hand lingered on her breast for a moment.
She spat on him and he stumbled away from her, shocked. "If you ever touch me again, I'll rip off your testicles and hang 'em up as Christmas decorations, you son of a bitch."
Martin stared at her for a second, open-mouthed. He turned to see Cruz. "She's clean," he mumbled.
Cruz narrowed her eyes and stepped forward. "Just for your information, I've sent two guys to keep an eye on your kids. You pull anything stupid here and they'll be the ones who pay the price."
Faith felt the rage and hatred building in side her but she managed to keep calm. "I'm ready to make a deal with you."
"I don't make deals, Officer," Cruz replied with a smirk.
"Kick Bosco loose from the unit. Stay away from him and my family."
"Or what?" she mocked.
"Or I'll go to Swersky and tell him everything you've done."
"You don't know anything."
"I know that the reason you brought him into ACU was to be the fall guy for your crimes and stupid mistakes."
"Boscorelli is an idiot. If he's too stupid to realize what's going on, that's his problem, not mine."
"I'll tell Swersky what I heard you say that night, and that you and your guys were the ones who attacked me and threatened my kids to keep me quiet," Faith continued coldly. "It's your choice."
"Well, thne I guess we'll just have to get rid of you to make sure you keep your mouth shut, won't we?" Cruz pulled her gun out and pointed it right at Faith.
She swallowed hard, her heart skipping a beat.
"Put the gun down."
Cruz turned to see Bosco standing a few feet away, a gun pointed at her head. She whipped around to stare at Faith. "You set me up?"
"Hey, Sully, you get all that?" Bosco called, glancing up to the second floor of the warehouse.
He held up the video camera. "Got it."
"You stupid bitch," Cruz said, her eyes full of hatred as she glared at Faith. "You just killed your own kids."
"I doubt that Lt. Swersky will let anything happen to my kids," Faith answered smugly.
Cruz cocked her gun.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she said softly. Her gaze traveled past Cruz to where Davis, Gusler and four other officers stood, holding guns on the other ACU officers.
Bosco moved forward slowly, keeping his gun steadily trained on the sergeant. "Put your gun down, Sarge," he said coldly.
"No way." She kept her gun pointed at Faith.
"Take your weapon off my partner or I -will- shoot you," he warned, no hint of hesitation in his voice. He was now standing directly beside Faith. He could feel the tension flowing off of her in waves.
"You don't have the guts."
Bosco cocked his gun. "If you think I'm gonna let you hurt her again, you're sorrily mistaken. Now drop your gun. You're not walking away from this one. So either you leave quietly or you leave in a body bag. I don't much care which."
Cruz stared at him for a moment, a deep scowl on her face. She slowly lowered her weapon to the floor.
Without warning, Faith slammed her fist forward into Cruz's face and the sergeant cried out, grabbing her now bloodied nose. "If you -ever- threaten my kids again, I will kill you," she said darkly.
"Someone cuff these jag-offs," Bosco said loudly. He looked at Faith. "You okay?"
She met his gaze and nodded slowly. "I am now."
Go to Part 5
Back to X_tremeroswellian's Third Watch Fanfic
