Authors note: This story took a bad turn...even I didn't see it coming. I had to change the rating. (I think) I wasn't sure, so to be safe it is now PG13. Sorry if this causes any problems for anyone. It also went from Humor, to action adventure to angst with suspense. If you're confused...put it in the review...which by the way, are greatly appreciated.

Chapter Five-"Save Yourself"

The reverb from the gunshot fades away into the darkness and the only sound now is Polly sobbing to the realization that she is still alive.

Angel looks at Emelio and says mockingly, "How the fuck could you miss?"

Emelio looks at the gun and then points it at her again. All she can do is close her eyes. She is pressed hard against the window, whimpering. He fires it a second time. "Her God damn gun isn't real." He throws it behind him and pulls his own gun from his coat.

He lets go of her hands, and she brings them up to cover her head. Polly curls up against the door. She is stunned and shaking almost convulsively. She is whispering, "Please...don't kill me." She is crying and says softly, as if to herself, "It's just a show." She whispers, "I'm not a cop...it's just a show." Emelio points his own gun to her head.

This time Angel tells him to wait. Jay feels someone pull him over onto his side, and pull the gun from his holster. He is too frightened to understand what is happening. Too scared to open his eyes. He is shaking and sobbing, and suddenly a gun fires...very close to him. He cringes and yells out. He opens his eyes to see that one of the men is leaning over him in the car and examining a gun. It is 'his' gun from the show, with the blanks in it. He thinks to himself 'Oh God...they are just playing with us.' His sob turns into a nervous laugh, and then he feels the car spinning and he blacks out.

"It sounds real." Angel says laughing, as he looks the gun over. "They really must be actors." Then he asks Polly, "What is your name? Are you famous?" Polly doesn't answer him. She can't make out what he is saying, partly because she can't hear from the gun being fired so close, and partly because she is in shock. Emelio pulls her away from the door, and grabbing her hard by the shoulders, he shakes her back to reality, and asks her again who she is. With a shaky voice, she tells them her name and they look at each other. "I never heard of you." Angel says. "What were you filming?"

Then Paulie says, a little excitedly, "I recognize her. That cop show. In the commercial she says 'New York's finest in action' then they show all those chase scenes and explosions. That's her."

Angel asks, "So are they stars?" Will the show pay to get them back?"

Without looking at him, Polly says half sobbing, "Yes. Of course they will." She draws a shaky breath. "They'll use it as publicity for the show...you don't have kill us. We're no threat to you."

"Shit, I don't know Angel...We don't know anything about collecten ransom." Emelio says nervously.

But Angel reminds him, "We're out a lot of money for that dope. We have no choice." He smacks Paulie in the head, "What the hell are you waiting for, I told you to get us another car."

*****[Back at the set]

Faith and Bosco are searching the area in their RMP. Bosco is barking instructions over his radio to Peterson and the other security officers. Faith has switched the car radio back to the real police frequency and is giving instructions to the 55 precinct. A helicopter is being sent up to look for the fake squad car. And soon, most of the city is looking for them. 55 David search the area in an uncomfortable silence.

After a while Bosco asks, "Faith are you ok?"

She looks over at him with a pained expression. "How could I let this happen?"

"Oh don't even go there. This was not our fault."

"Bos...we were the only security at the scene. I should have listened to you. I wasn't doing my job. I was so wrapped up in the excitement of the filming and meeting the stars, that I forgot what I was really there for."

"That 'is' what you were there for...remember? We were being rewarded with an easy assignment. We were not there to be cops. They weren't suppose to 'need' cops. Not with the security that they are paying for." He looks over at her. "This was not our fault. Peterson screwed up. We tried to warn him."

"That don't make it any better. I really like Polly. I feel responsible. I want them to be alright."

"Yah, I know...I do too. We'll find them...we will."

The police and detectives have arrived at the set. Peterson is explaining to the police that they were guarding the perimeter of the other set with the explosives. No one informed them that filming would take place three blocks up the street. The director is on the phone explaining to the producers that two of their stars have been abducted and shot, and may even be dead. One detective is getting a description of the drug dealers and their car from Skeet and Corey and another is watching the film that was shot, of Polly and the cars going into the alley.

Unfortunately, none of the alley was in view on the film. Skeet and Corey drove out so fast that they didn't see anything. And the producers are worrying about the future of the show. The ratings have been going down, and the studio has been threatening to cancel them. If the stars are dead, would it be in poor taste to add it to the show and kill them off? Would that boost the ratings? Will the studio just cancel if the stars are gone? How can they use this to their advantage?

*****[Still under the bridge]

Angel and Emelio are waiting nervously for Paulie to return. Jay is quiet except for an occasional moan, and Polly is sitting in the back seat, shivering from shock, and staring blankly out the window.

"What are we gonna do when Paulie gets back?" Emelio asks. "Where are we gonna take them?"

"I've been thinking about that. We can't go back to any of our places. Our finger prints are all over that car we left back there. And you can bet they're gonna be looking hard for us now. I know a motel near here. It has rooms in back, off the street so no one will see the car. And there's always yelling and screaming coming from the rooms, so no one will question it if these two make noise."

Emelio looks over at Polly. "She's pretty quiet." He slides closer to her and eyes her up and down. Her eyes dart over at him as she leans closer to the door. She wraps her arms tighter around herself and scrunches down lower in the seat. He reaches towards her and grabs her badge. "Damn...this looks real." He unpins it from her coat and pockets it. She stares out the window as if ignoring him will make him go away.

He reaches his hand towards her face and she turns farther away from him. She can feel the tears coming to her eyes. Instead he removes the clip from her hair, and fluffs her hair down over her shoulders. He grabs her chin and makes her turn back towards him. "That's a better look for you." He turns to Angel. "Don't you think so?" Angel grunts in agreement. "Ya know...I've never screwed a movie star. Have you Angel?"

"Not yet." Angel laughs.

Emelio leans his face close to hers and smells her hair. She is breathing in small sobs now. He licks her cheek and says, "Tonight, we're gonna have a romantic evening...you and us."

He leans against her and his hand slides over her arms and down her stomach. She puts her hands against his chest and pushes him away. And as he backs away, he holds up the hand cuffs that he just unclipped from her belt. Dangling them in her face he says, "We'll need these later."

"Someone's comen." Angel says, sitting up and drawing his gun.

A van pulls up next to them, and Paulie rolls down the window. They usher their hostages into the van and head over to the motel.

*****[Back to 55 David]

The search in Red Hook is getting frustrating. The place is crawling with cops and they are running into police cars at every turn. "Damn it Bosco. They're not here any more. The whole force is in here looking. They've left. We're wasting time."

The radio barks out the news that the squad car has been found on the outskirts of Red Hook. But there was no one in it, and they found blood in the front seat.

Bosco looks at Faith. "You were right. They left the junkyard." He pounds on the steering wheel. "Shit! They could be any where."

Then Faith gets an idea. "Bos...if they abandoned the car, they'd need another ride. The car they left behind was hot wired. Check and see if there are any stolen car reports. If there are, we can search for that...maybe get lucky."

They call in to central, and find out there was a stolen vehicle reported in that area, less than an hour ago. It was a '95' van, stolen from a bar nearby. Bosco puts out an APB that the van may be connected with the hostage situation. Then they just start driving around desperately, combing the area in search of the car.

*****[Angel checks them into the motel]

Jay is floating in and out of consciousness and is vaguely aware that he is being walked somewhere. He is set hard against a wall and he feels someone help him slide down to the floor. He tries to clear his head. He strains to focus his eyes and he sees Polly. She is trying to revive him.

Angel tells Emelio to go out and get them some food, and he tells Polly to take care of Jay's wound so he don't die before they get their money. Paulie gets her some towels as she removes his coat and police shirt. Her back is starting to really ache. She had forgotten that she was shot in the back and didn't consider the fact that she may be injured from it. Jay is barely conscious and in a lot of pain. His shirt is caked with blood, some of it hard and dry already. That's a good sign. It appears that the bleeding had stopped a while ago.

Polly tries to make him comfortable, and talks to him reassuringly, that he's going to be

ok. He is just as scared as she is, telling her that he don't want to die. Her hands are shaking as she wipes the blood off of him. His wound doesn't look too bad now that she has it cleaned it up, but he is in obvious pain, as he clutches her arm, moaning.

This whole thing feels surreal. This is the sort of thing they do on the show, and even now it feels like the show, as Polly tries to remember what first aide she was instructed to do in the scenes they have filmed. And at the same time this doesn't feel like the show at all. Like the fear that she is feeling, that she realizes now, she never truly felt in the scene. The shaking hands that she can't control. The tears that she didn't even realize she was crying.

Jay cringes in pain. "Polly...it hurts. God. I need to get to a hospital." Tears roll down his cheeks as he squeezes her arm harder.

"It's alright. You're gonna be alright." She wipes his tears gently with her thumbs as she cradles his face. "You just need to hold on a little longer. The police should be here soon."

She tries not to think about what will happen if they aren't...when Emelio gets back. And she just holds on to him, hoping that will be enough. Because she knows in her heart that there is no help for her here.

****[55 David]

The two officers drive slowly through the area, looking for the stolen van. They drive into every parking lot, behind buildings, everywhere that a stolen vehicle could be hidden. They drive into every hotel and motel they encounter, searching the parking lots. Other than an occasional, "Over there...pull in there.", they drive in silence.

Bosco keeps going over in his head, what should he have done differently. He should have dropped them the minute they got out of their car. Before they got to Polly. He should have tried harder to tell Peterson there was a security risk there. He should have made the producer wait until they checked the location for possible dangers. Maybe they should have taken the RMP that he was crouched behind when they were shooting at him. He could have chased them, and with the back tires flat, he could have caught the bastards. He growls out loud as he runs his hand through his hair.

Faith looks over at him, then glances back out her window. He is getting frustrated. It's all her fault. She feels tears coming to her eyes but she blinks them away quickly and wipes her eyes hard with her fingers. She is angry, no...embarrassed. She keeps playing over in her mind, Bosco saying "We have to check in with Peterson." And her telling him..."Since when do you follow orders...have some fun...I am." She thinks to herself, 'What an ass I am, getting all wrapped up in the excitement of it all...feeling special for being the one singled out by the star of the show. I should have been more professional.' She says out loud, "God damn it."

Bosco glances over at her, but says nothing. He can tell that she too, is wrestling with her own demons.

The radio pierces the eerie silence in 55 David's RMP. "63 Adam to central...we have a visual on the stolen vehicle wanted in connection with the hostage situation...heading west on Lexington...requesting instructions."

*****[Back at the motel]

Emelio returns with three bags of McDonalds food. As the three men eat, they discuss different plans to collect the ransom. They are arguing. They can't decide how to make the exchange, who will make the exchange, or even how much to ask for.

Polly is sitting on the floor with Jay. The ache in her back has become a pain reaching through to her chest as she breathes. Jay is sleeping against her shoulder, and she has her arms around him. Selfishly, she thinks...he should be doing this for her. She wants someone to be holding her...reassuring her that she is going to be ok. How did it come to this? How do real cops deal with this shit everyday? If she was a real cop...she'd be dead.

The men devour the food quickly. Emelio reaches into a bag and grabs two cold french-fries from it, then crinkles the bag up. He stands and pats his belly and says, "Well...now I'm gonna have me some movie star for dessert."

Jay is dreaming that he has been injured and is being handled roughly by doctors and nurses in emergency. He is trying to tell them he is in pain, but he can't speak. Suddenly he wakes to find Polly shaking him. Her eyes are red and her face is wet with tears and she is talking really soft.

"Jay...please...wake up. Oh God. You gotta help me. Please...stay with me. Suddenly she is yanked away from him and he hears her cry out, "Please...don't. Please." Then a scream, and "Please...don't hurt me."

Emelio and Paulie each grab her by an arm and drag her towards the bed. She is kicking and trying to squirm out of their grasp in spite of the pain she is feeling. She pulls away, falling to the floor and tries to curl up, as they try to get a hold on her again.

"Leave me alone...please." She screams again.

Paulie grabs her hair and holds her head to the floor as Emelio grabs the collar of her coat and rips it down her back and pulls it off of her. She is pleading with them to stop. They pick her up by her arms, and pull her backwards onto the bed, and as they hold her arms down, Angel cuffs her wrists to the bed post.

Jay tries to move but his arms feel like lead. He has lost too much blood. He can hear Polly screaming and struggling. Her voice is high pitched and shrill. He has never heard anyone sound like that before. He hears the terror in her voice. He and Polly have been good friends since they met on the show, and he wants desperately to help her, but he is in such pain and so weak. And if they turn on him instead, they could kill him with no effort at all. He is afraid...and ashamed.

Angel and Paulie hold her legs down and Emelio tears her police shirt off. She is struggling against the handcuffs, that are cutting into her wrists. She is still trying to kick her legs free but she feels her energy exhausting. Emelio rips open the Velcro and removes her bullet proof vest.

"Jesus Christ, she is wearing so many layers of clothes. Look Angel...no wonder cops all look big. She has another whole outfit on." He laughs like a kid opening up a gift. "You are making this suspenseful."

She is crying hard now and the tears stream down her face as she feels his weight move off of her hips and down onto her legs. "Please...don't do this." She screams, "Get off me!"

He unbuckles her belt. She is screaming harder now, and Angel tells him to shut her up. Emelio slides forward and straddles her stomach, making it hurt even more for her to squeeze out enough breath to scream. But she does scream...as hard as she can.

Jay squeezes his eyes closed, and tears run down his face. It is killing him to listen to what they are doing to her. Polly's scream is suddenly cut short by the sound of a fist hitting flesh. He can hear them beating her and she is crying...and then she calls his name out. She calls for him to help her.

He yells her name back. His emotions finally overcome his fear and he starts yelling for them to stop and to leave her alone. And then he just plain yells 'help' on her behalf. He can see the blurry image of one of them coming towards him and he prepares to be hit, but then suddenly...the door slams open.

The room fills with cops, Guns drawn, yelling angrily at the top of their lungs to 'Get on the floor!'...'Face down!'...'Get your hands on your head!' 'Do it now!'.

Paulie, leaps off the bed. He throws his hands up over his head and then drops to the floor, screaming "Don't shoot...ok...ok. Don't shoot." as an officer places a gun to his head.



Angel, who was standing over Jay, looks towards the door, pulling a gun from his belt. Bosco yells "Don't!" but Angel continues to turn and draw. Bosco unloads his gun, striking him in the chest five times.

Emelio, who was on top of Polly, rises up to his knees, and doesn't have time to do anything more. Faith runs at him. She lets her gun drop to the floor as she grabs him by the back of his shirt with both hands, pulling him backwards off the bed, yelling, "Get off of her!" She turns him, as she pulls him back, slamming him face first onto the table. Blood sprays onto the table from his nose and mouth, and she drags his face through it, as she slams him to the ground, jamming her knee in his back. She is filled with so much rage that it scares her.

"You son of a bitch.", she yells out in anger. She sees her gun on the floor next to him. She grabs it and jabs it hard into his temple. Her hand is shaking. Almost immediately, another hand grabs her wrist.

"Yokas...that's enough. We got him. That's enough." The cop that grabbed her wrist, takes the gun out of her hand, and a second cop grabs her left arm and together they stand her up, and push her back away from him. She stands there for a second, breathing hard. Trying to calm herself down. Shocked at the rage she is feeling.

Faith glances over at Bosco, who is tending to Jay. They share an understanding look, that for their own reasons, they each took this very personal. She goes over to Polly and un-cuffs her from the bed, comforting her that she's going to be alright. She tells her that it's all over now. Then there is a loud commotion at the door, and as EMS enters, they can see lights flashing outside. The press has arrived.

Faith looks at Bosco, "If any of them get in here...you shoot them too."

"You got it." He grins at her, mostly out of relief that this ended as well as it did.

~ "Check the Gate" ~

* Thanks for the set lingo Sarah...and thanks to everyone who gave reviews*

8