Author's note: Well, it looks like you're still liking this story, and that makes me really happy. :) Thanks for your support guys, and keep reviewing!

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Chapter nine - End Game

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"You really believe he's in Providence?" Sully asked as he followed Faith into the building at 1013 Montgomery Street.

"Why not?" she shrugged.

"So what, are you gonna drive up there to find him?"

Faith turned around to face him, a puzzled expression on her face. She hadn't considered the possibility of a trip to Rhode Island, but now it really didn't sound like a bad idea. Providing Bosco still wanted to see her.

Sully's eyes widened. "You are?"

"I don't know, Sully." She sighed. "I mean, he'd probably do the same for me."

"You'd never shoot a suspect, Faith." he stated as he climbed up the stairs to the second floor. "You're smarter than that."

"Bosco's not stupid. And he sure doesn't look for trouble." There it was. That maternal instinct she couldn't help feeling when it came to her partner.

"He may not be looking for trouble but when it comes calling he's never out of earshot." Sully admitted.

"You know what? Forget about it." She replied, a hint of annoyance in her voice. She walked past him and reached the hallway.

The place smelled awful and looked even worse, but no one was around. All the police activity from the previous week had apparently scared the junkies away.

Faith shuddered as she inched forward, weapon drawn, Sully right behind.

"This is where it happened." She said, staring at the large puddle of dried blood a few feet from her. The spot had been chalked off by the detectives, and you could still see the outline of the body on the gray pavement.

Sully nodded his head. "So what exactly are we looking for?"

"I don't know." She couldn't explain it, but something just didn't feel right. Now if only she could figure it out.

"Keep going." She urged him.

They started to search the apartments, one by one, looking for anything even remotely resembling a clue.

"Faith, look at this." Sully called a few minutes later. He pointed the beam of his flashlight to the ground as she approached him.

"What?"

"Looks like someone got hit with this thing."

His words caught Faith's attention and she crouched down, her eyes fixed on what appeared to be some kind of pipe with bloodstains on it.

"Sully..." she whispered, holding out her arm to reach it.

"Don't touch it." The man spoke up. "You don't want to destroy any evidence."

"You think..." Faith looked at him, unable to finish her sentence. Amanda's words echoed in her head. He had a bandage on his forehead. What if Bosco had been hit?

"I don't know. But someone should take a look at it."

She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and used it to carefully lift the pipe from the ground and take a better look at it. "How did the CSU guys miss this?"

"Not sure. Apparently they didn't bother to check all the apartments."

Faith stood up and shook her head. "I can't believe this."

"Slow down, Faith. That doesn't prove anything." Sully warned, his brow creased. "I don't want you to be disappointed if this turns out to be someone else's blood. You know, Sergeant Cruz gave a pretty detailed version of what happened here that day."

"Yeah. HER version..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm sure she knows more than she's telling us." She stated. "That woman's dangerous, Sully. She uses people. I... I tired to warn Bosco, but he wouldn't listen."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?"

Her gaze softened. "I don't want to see him hurt. He... he doesn't deserve this."

Sully put a hand on her shoulder. "We're gonna find him. And if he's not guilty we're gonna do everything we can to help him."

"Yeah," she whispered. "Thanks, Sully."

"Come on. Let's get out of here." He patted her on the shoulder and took the pipe from her hand, placing it back down on the ground, then slowly started to walk towards the hallway.

As he adjusted his utility belt, he dropped the handkerchief to the floor. Faith instinctively knelt down to pick it up when her eye caught something.

She stuffed the handkerchief back in her pocket and took a few steps to her left.

Stacks of crates were piled in the corner of the room, but there was definitely something glinting in the dim light.

Faith switched on her flashlight and pointed it straight ahead, stepping further into the room.

"Oh my god..."

As she took the object in her shaky hand, a breath got stuck in her throat.

A police badge, its broken lace dangling in the air.

She stared at the numbers engraved on it. 3379.

Bosco's badge.

"Sully..." she called, but what came out was a choked whisper.

"Sully." she tried again, surprised at how her voice was shaking too.

A few seconds later he was back in the room. "What?"

He looked at her and instantly knew something was wrong. "Faith, are you okay?" he asked, concerned, as he stared at her pale face.

She didn't say anything, just held her hand out for him to see.

"That's Bosco's badge." he noted as his eyes fixed on the silver shield. "Where did you find it?"

"Right here." Faith replied, pointing to a spot on the ground.

They stood there in silence for a while, facing each other, pondering how much such a discovery would affect the ongoing investigation.

"We should call the Lieutenant." Faith finally said.

"Maybe they had a fight, and then Bosco chased him down the hallway." Sully wondered out loud.

Faith shook her head. "I'm not sure, Sully. The girl at the bus station said he might be hurt. What if Diaz attacked him? I mean, we found that pipe, and his badge. Yeah, maybe they had a fight, but all the evidence points to this room."

"That doesn't explain the shooting."

"Don't you understand? If Bosco was in this room when it happened, that means he's not guilty!" She suggested, trying to convince herself more than him.

Sully held out his hand. "Wait. You're missing something here: Sergeant Cruz. What about her?"

"Cruz..." she gave him a half laugh. "What, you believe her 'he-knocked-me-down' theory too? Come on, she's smarter than that. Think about it. Diaz was a drug dealer. Chances are he was even involved in her sister's death. Now what if she got her revenge on the guy and then set Bosco up so she could walk away with it?"

"You're still short a motive, Faith. I mean, granted, the woman's an arrogant little bitch. But she's a cop. What would she have against Bosco?"

"This is not about Bosco." She replied. "This is about revenge. About her power to control other people's lives."

Sully looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "This is insane. I can't believe she would stoop this low."

Faith moved towards the door. "Trust me. You don't want to know." She sighed. "I'm gonna call the Lieutenant."

They walked back to the hallway and were about to climb down the stairs when they heard a loud thud coming from upstairs, followed by the sound of footsteps pressing on the ground.

They both looked around, their guns ready, trying to locate the source of the noise when they spotted someone coming down the stairs.

"Hey, you! Stop!" Sully yelled.

"Police!" Faith echoed. "Put your hands up!"

They watched as the dark figure slowly did as instructed.

"Good. Now turn around and put your hands on your head."

The perp's face finally came into view, revealing a young woman. "I didn't do anything." She cried out. "Just needed a place to crash."

"Yeah, we'll see about that." Sully said as Faith came forward and started to search her.

"Up against the wall. Now." She ordered. "Spread your legs."

She turned to Sully. "She's clean."

"I told you I didn't do anything!"

"Just shut the hell up, will ya?" She countered, trying not to lose her patience.

"What, you're gonna kill me like the other lady cop did?"

Faith took a step back. "What?"

"You heard me. The bitch killed him without a reason!" She pointed to the blood still soaking the pavement. "Over there. See that big red spot? He was on the ground, and she shot him! You think I'm afraid? No way." She said, shaking her head in protest. "You cops think you can do anything you want? You're wrong! Now leave me alone!"

"Slow down, ma'am." Sully stepped in. "You talking about the man that was killed here a week ago? The drug dealer?"

The woman crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't know about no drug dealer, but he sure didn't deserve to die like that."

"And a woman killed him?" he pressed.

"What, are you deaf or something?"

Suddenly his pulse was racing. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Small, dark hair. Dog-face shot him three times!"

Faith stared at her. "Cruz... I knew it."

She looked at the woman, half shaking her head in disbelief, half smiling as she felt tears welling in her eyes. A million thoughts crossed her mind. Bosco was innocent. She knew her partner wasn't a murderer, but somehow the news that Cruz had set him up upset her even more.

Did he know his girlfriend was playing with his life? Probably not. There's no point in hiding if you're not guilty.

Her heart sank at the thought of what he must've been experiencing since that fateful night. Bosco always acted like a tough guy, but she knew there were things he could not come to terms with, and one of them was the possibility of him acting like one of the criminals he chased down every day.

He'd been devastated after the Golden incident, when he realized he'd helped a man rape a young girl, so there was no way to tell how he was reacting now. Faith knew a thing or two though about his self-destructive behaviour, and that's why she'd been restless all week.

If a trip to Providence was only a possbility just half an hour ago, now it was definitely real.

She was going to bring him back.

"Ma'am, would you tell the detectives what you just told us?" she asked, swallowing hard.

"You can bet your ass I'm going to testify!" The woman spoke up. "People like that make me sick! To protect and to serve, huh? Son of a bitch!"

"Okay, just come with us, ma'am." Sully said, leading her down the stairs.

His eyes met Faith's and they shared a weary smile.

The nightmare was over.

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